News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 125 - 10/10/2003
- RAIL FRANCHISES [all issues]
- ST.IVES LINE [all issues]
- STATIONS [all issues]
- Broadland District Council looks to developer to fund new north Norwich station
- Plans for first stage in Cambridge station area redevelopment go on show
- Return of litter bins at five Anglia Railways' stations
- RAIL DEPOTS [all issues]
- POLITICAL PARTIES [all issues]
- RAIL ACCIDENTS [all issues]
- Cyclist dies on level crossing between Waterbeach and Ely
- Network Rail takes in-house day-to-day maintenance of ECML and other routes from Jarvis
- PRESERVED RAILWAYS [all issues]
- WEBSITES [all issues]
A reminder that Railfuture members near Huntingdon should try to attend a public meeting on Tuesday 14th October about the guided busway plans from Cambridgeshire County Council, at which Shona Johnstone, cabinet member for environment and transport, will be speaking. The meeting, which starts at 8pm, is held on at St Mary's Parish Hall, The Walks East, Huntingdon. The venue is near the bus station. If you plan to attend, please contact Nick Dibben as he can advise on some suitable questions.
A warning to travellers who often buy an Anglia Plus on a train when boarding at a staffed station, such as Cambridge. Discounted fares - of which the ranger/rover is one - are only available on the train when boarding at an unstaffed station. Anglia staff had overlooked this rule, but have recently been enforcing it rigidly, rumoured to be following complaints from other TOCs who were losing their 9% commission.
RAIL FRANCHISES
SRA signs two-year franchise extension with Central Trains
Keywords: [CentralTrains]
The SRA and National Express Group have signed a contract to extend the Central Trains franchise by two years to 31st March 2006, when a new franchise will commence following a competitive tender.
The current service levels will be maintained and measures to address customer service issues will be implemented, such as improved passenger information, new train cleaning programmes, increased staff training and additional staff to manage timetable and engineering strategies.
The subsidy payments will be around £221m in 2004/05 (dependent upon the final outcome of the financial arrangements for revenue and performance), which is an increase of £54m compared to 2003/04 levels, and £236m in 2005/06 (£69m more than 2003/04 levels). National Express Group has committed £5m to fund some capital schemes.
SRA press release: http://www.sra.gov.uk/news/20031009_two_year_central_trains_extension.tt2.
ST.IVES LINE
Cambridge And St.Ives Railway Organisation (CAST.IRON) grows membership partly thanks to newspaper coverage
CAST.IRON and its proposals to reopen the Cambridge to St.Ives railway line, has received regular coverage in the Hunts Post newspaper, including a major feature in the 8th October issue. This has helped paid-up membership to exceed 400 by 10th October. WAGN have given permission for CAST.IRON leaflets to be displayed at Cambridge, Ely, Huntingdon and St.Neots stations. If anyone visits these stations and does not see a CAST.IRON leaflet on show, please enquire at the booking office.
CAST.IRON website: http://www.castiron.org.uk.
Following the CAST.IRON chairman's meeting with Anne Campbell, MP for Cambridge, she has confirmed to Cambridgeshire County Council that she has asked John Prescott, as deputy prime minister, to call-in the structure plan for the Cambridge are, which if followed will lead to an inquiry into the plans for the guided busway, before the TWA can be submitted.
STATIONS
Broadland District Council looks to developer to fund new north Norwich station
Keywords: [NorwichStation]
Broadland District Council has asked the developers of a new business park to come up with the money for a new station along the Bittern Line running through the outskirts of Norwich. A feasibility study into a new £800,000 station has already been conducted. The council believes the new development will strengthen passenger demand for the station and the company behind it, Lothbury Property Trust, will be able to provide some of the finance needed. (Report from: http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk).
Plans for first stage in Cambridge station area redevelopment go on show
Keywords: [CambridgeStation]
The developers who wish to bulldoze the empty Railtrack building on the Red House site near Cambridge station to make way for 75 flats plus shops, cafes and a public courtyard at a cost of £250 million are putting the plans on display at St Paul's Church, Hills Road, Cambridge on Monday 13th October between 10:00 and 18:00 and on Monday 20th October between 10:00 and 20:00.
Domaine Developments intend to submit a planning application for phase 1 in November 2003 and hope to start building in early 2004. Later phases may see a public square, a bus station, 650 houses, restaurants and a hotel.
Return of litter bins at five Anglia Railways' stations
Keywords: [AngliaRailways]
One of the recommendations from Anglia's 'adopt a station' scheme has been provision of litter bins at unstaffed stations. Following the relaxing of rules, litter bins in which bombs are less likely to be hidden are being installed at Sheringham, Halesworth, Cromer, North Walsham and Felixstowe. All of these stations suffer from a persistent problem. At some of these stations, their 'adopters' have agreed to regularly empty the bins.
The stations at Buckenham, Derby Road, Diss, Elmswell, Gunton, Hoveton & Wroxham, Ipswich, North Walsham, Roughton Road, Stowmarket, Thurston and Westerfield have still not been adopted. For information on adopting one of these, please send an email to [pr at angliarailways.co.uk].
Anglia press release: http://www.angliarailways.co.uk/latest-information/news-detail.asp?id=489.
RAIL DEPOTS
March Whitemoor Yard reopening set to be approved by Cambridgeshire County Council
Keywords: [WhitemoorYard]
On Monday 13th October Cambridgeshire County Council's development control committee is expected to approve the application by Network Rail to build the country's largest rail track maintenance centre on the 108-acre Whitemoor Yard site in March, despite objections from nearby residents (and prisoners!) concerned about noise levels.
Cambridgeshire County Council officers are recommending approval for the £30m depot, which would bring jobs to the area.
BBC news item: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/3176870.stm.
POLITICAL PARTIES
Transport issues ignored at political party conferences
There was barely any mention of transport at the recent party political conferences. According to the websites of the political parties, which contain records of speeches, only Tim Collins for the Conservatives raised the issue of rail.
The Tories would slim down the SRA, have longer franchises and more freedom for train operators. It was noted that in the last 18 months since the last passenger died in a train crash there had been 5,000 deaths on the roads, so the Conservatives would adopt a more realistic view on safety. However, they would also built new roads and introduce an 80mph speed limit for motorways, with more 20mph limits in towns and cities.
If any member went to the other conferences and heard other mentions of transport, please could they contact Nick Dibben.
RAIL ACCIDENTS
Cyclist dies on level crossing between Waterbeach and Ely
A 56-year-old cyclist died on the AHB-controlled level crossing at Fen Road in Milton (between the A14 and Waterbeach) when he was hit by the 08:25 WAGN train from King's Lynn at around 09:15 on 9th October. No train passengers were injured.
The driver saw him and sounded his horn but the train couldn't stop in time. Trains were stopped for several hours whilst British Transport Police investigated, which included testing of the crossing equipment. Services were running by 11:30, two hours later.
British Transport police spokesman Simon Lubin later warned people about mis-using level crossings, saying: "Is it really worth the seconds you will save on your journey to try to beat the train when something like this can happen?"
Network Rail takes in-house day-to-day maintenance of ECML and other routes from Jarvis
On Saturday 4th October in Ely, Rail Passengers Council Chairman Stuart Francis said that following the derailment at King's Cross a few weeks earlier, the chief executive of Network Rail "should have demanded that the chief executive of Jarvis see him that morning and give a reason why Network Rail should not cancel their contract with Jarvis immediately".
On Thursday 10th October it was announced that Jarvis had asked Network Rail to relieve it of its contract to provide day-to-day maintenance on around 25% of rail lines, including the ECML, and that Network Rail had agreed to take the work (which involves 3,500 staff) back in house. (Jarvis earned around 15% of its turnover from the maintenance work. It will continue with renewals and enhancements, including the West Coast Main Line.
In a press release Railfuture welcomed the announcement, saying "We believe that today's move will bring greater confidence for rail travellers and that moving maintenance back "in-house" is the right way forward for the rail network."
BBC news item: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3179640.stm.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Nene Valley Railway helps to teach children about their local environment
Keywords: [NeneValleyRailway]
Preserved railways offer a valuable education service. On Tuesday 14th October, according to the environment agency, 50 schoolchildren will be taking a journey along the Nene Valley Railway to learn about flooding and the Environment Agency's flood warning system. They will learn where flooding took place along the Ferry Meadows flood plain in 1998, when 56mm of rail fell in one day.
Environment Agency press release: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/571882.
WEBSITES
East London Line Project now has official website
There is now an official website for the East London Line Project at http://www.ellp.co.uk. Additional info is also still available at http://www.tfl.gov.uk.
London 'OverGround' rail network also has official website
The 'Overground Network' (ON) pilot scheme aims to encourage passengers to make more use of London's off-peak suburban rail services, and has its own website: http://www.overgroundnetwork.com. The scheme, which involves four routes, is a partnership between the Strategic Rail Authority, Transport for London and three train operators.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 125 - 10/10/2003
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