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East Anglia Branch News - Snippets Issue 104 - 14/11/2002

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News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.

Railfuture News Snippets 104 - 14/11/2002



A correction to [Snippets 103]. It was not Councillor Shona Johnstone who said that people who want a rail service on the St.Ives line are "living in the past" but Brian Smith of Cambridgeshire County Council. In fact Mrs Johnstone has said: "if we could deliver the heavy rail option in the required timescale, then it would be far more attractive".

Railfuture will be holding a High Speed Rail conference on Saturday 26th April 2003 in Birmingham. This will replace the usual Re-openings Conference, since reopenings are not high on the government or SRA's agenda at the moment.

The next East Anglian branch meeting will be the AGM on Saturday 22nd February 2003 in Bury St.Edmunds.

The next Rail Users Conference organised by Railfuture is provisionally planned for 4th October 2003, but it will be in a different venue.

On Tuesday 10th December 2002 from 10:00 the Rail Passengers Committee for Eastern England will be holding a public meeting at the White Hart Hotel in Lincoln. The national Rail Passengers' Conference will be held on 4th December 2002 from 10:00 at the Congress Centre, Great Russell Street, London.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the Government's South East Regional Air Study (SERAS) need to send their views in by 30th November. Details on http://www.airconsult.gov.uk. Information about air travel from campaign groups can be found at http://www.airportwatch.org.uk.

Readers who are concerned about rail reopenings being threatened by Sustrans cycle route development might like to visit: http://www.cheltenhamextension.fsnet.co.uk/sustrans.html. This has details of the alleged threat to reconnecting Cheltenham Racecourse to the national rail network, allowing trains from Paddington. The web-page gives details of how to protest to the planning authorities. In a related story, it is claimed that Sustrans want to sell 4 miles of line to the Eden Valley Railway for £49,000, even though they bought it for only £1.


GUIDED BUSWAY
Still no government funding approval for Luton-Dunstable scheme

Keywords: [LutonDunstableBusway]

There's no news about the guided busway schemes on the St.Ives line. Snippets readers might be interested to know that Luton Borough Council have still not received 'in principal' funding approval for their busway scheme on the similarly mothballed Luton-Dunstable line. Their third funding application was submitted late in 2001 and an announcement is currently expected in December 2002. It is claimed the delay is due to staff changes within the DfT, minor changes in the way some of the information was presented, and further discussions about other potential sources of funding.

By comparison Cambridgeshire County Council are unrealistically expecting approval for their first submission within six months of submission, and want their busway to open in 2006. The Luton-Dunstable "Translink" busway (which would be less than half the length, though around the same cost) would not open until 2007. Their timetable announced in November 2002 is:
* TWA Order application - Early 2003 (requires confirmation of 'in principle' funding)
* Public Inquiry - Autumn 2003 (likely to last between 3 and 6 weeks)
* Final decision from Government - Autumn 2004
* Finalise scheme detail - Late 2004 / Early 2005
* Award construction contract - Early 2005
* Construction - Spring 2005 - Early 2007
* Testing of infrastructure - Early Spring 2007
* Translink services operational - Mid 2007

Isle of Wight "Island Line" saved from busway threat until 2007

Stagecoach PLC, partners in the SuperCAM consortium, will have their Island Line franchise extended until February 2007, meaning that Stagecoach will not be able to convert it into a guided busway for another five years. Ominously Stagecoach said "We look forward to working with the SRA and Island stakeholders to find a suitable solution for the long term future of the line."


STATIONS
Station area plans on show at Cambridge Station and Cambridge City Council offices

Keywords: [CambridgeStation]

There is an exhibition of joint proposals by Railtrack/Network Rail and property developer Ashwell Group to redevelop the run-down area near to Cambridge station. Proposals for 650 houses, shops, restaurants, offices, a hotel are displayed at Cambridge station from Wednesday 13th November to Sunday 17th November and at St Paul's Church, Hills Road on Friday 15th November (12.00-19.00) and Saturday 16th November (10.00-15.00). The current station car park could be replaced by a multi-storey car park.


RAIL COMPANIES
GB Railways PLC announce return to profitability following Anglia Railways franchise renegotiation

Keywords: [AngliaRailways]

Anglia parent GB Railways PLC have announced their half yearly results to 30th September 2002. The company made a pre-tax profit £800,000 (of which £487,000 came from GB Railfreight) with Anglia revenue up 7.8%, compared to national average of 3.2%. Hull Trains pre-tax profit was £389,000, although really a loss of £111,000 since £500,000 post-Hatfield compensation was received. Despite the profit no interim dividend is planned.

GB Railways has been shortlisted for the Wales and Borders franchise with Connex, and has joined up with shortlisted bidder Keolis for MerseyRail. They have pre-qualified for the Northern franchise too and have submitted an expression of interest to bid for the ScotRail franchise.

GB Railfreight expects its growth to continue, with the GBRf board approving the acquisition of a further five locomotives (in addition to the original 7 plus 5), which will be available for service in early 2003.

The only disappointing news is that GB Railways has suspended its involvement in the East West Rail Link because the SRA has said that is unlikely to support new rail schemes of this type because of a shortage of money.


RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE
Potters Bar bridge replaced following damage caused by rail accident

Railtrack are replacing the bridge near Potters Bar station that was damaged since during the rail accident. The bridge work and line relaying will be performed over two weekends in November, during which through trains will be diverted via the Hertford loop and local trains substituted by buses. When the work is complete, the 20mph speed restriction will be removed.

Apparently the Department for Transport have decreed that the down fast to down slow crossover cannot be restored until the enquiry report is published, so plain line will remain.


RAIL ACCIDENTS
Tony Blair challenged to explain the cause of the Potters Bar accident

During Prime Ministers questions South Cambridgeshire MP Andrew Lansley called on Tony Blair to find the cause of the Potters Bar rail accident. He said: "On Sunday, it will be six months since ... two of my constituents died." There are "still have no conclusive answers of why that crash happened and how it can be prevented from happening again." Mr Blair said "We simply have to let the [current] process work its way through ... as soon as we can give answers to those concerns the families have, we will."

Rail campaigners may question why so much time is spent following up rail accidents when so few people are killed compared to other causes of death. For instance, last year 99 people died falling out of bed, and 50 getting out of a chair, yet no-one is suggesting major furniture re-design!


PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Anglia Railways commence driver training on Mid-Norfolk Railway

Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]

Anglia Railways planned to use a single-car Sprinter unit (class 153) on the Mid-Norfolk Railway for a two-week driver training course between 29th October and 8th November. The 153 is capable of a top speed of 75mph - although it will be limited to 40mph over the Mid-Norfolk line.


WEBSITES
Anglia Railways revamp their successful website

Keywords: [AngliaRailways]

Anglia Railways had a 90% increase in the number of visitors to their website in the year to July 2002, after introducing real-time train running information. They have recently spent £50,000 to revamp their website http://www.angliarailways.co.uk to enable ticket purchase online and show train information on WAP enabled mobile phones.

Anglia Railways' sales and marketing director, Liz Mullen, said "The number of hits on our site grows every day and we hope that this significant investment in a more user friendly site with more tickets available on-line will prove even more useful to our customers."

Bedfordshire Rail and Transport Association also relaunch their website

The Railfuture-affiliated BRTA have set-up a brand new website http://www.brta.info which has details of their campaigning, including the East West Rail Link. Their previous website, which was launched in March 2002, http://www.brta.org.uk still exists, but has not been revised and will be removed when the next hosting fee is due.

Railway Forum also revamp their website

Keywords: [RailwayForum]

The Railway Forum have recently revamped their http://www.railwayforum.com website. Few press releases have been issued recently, or publications produced, but it does have a useful list of rail-related organisations including TOCs, unions, and the Heritage Railway Association but not Railfuture!

New UK rail news website set-up - to launch soon

A new UK rail news website [http://www.railuk.co.uk] will be launching soon. In the meantime, a 'test version' can be viewed at [http://www.railuk.co.uk/index2.php]. The website creator claims that news is entered via on-line forms straight into the database and is immediately seen by anyone accessing the site.


Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 104 - 14/11/2002

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