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East Anglia Branch News - Snippets Issue 126 - 30/10/2003

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

Railfuture News Snippets 126 - 30/10/2003

It's still not too late to come to the 25th Anniversary Rail Users Conference on 1st November at Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD. You can pay on the door. Doors open at 10:00, with opening presentation at 11:00. Speakers include Chris Austin, Executive Director, Community Rail Development at the SRA, Theo Steel, Managing Director of First Great Eastern and Paul Salveson, General Manager, Association of Community Rail Partnerships and Transport Research & Information Network. There will also be an opportunity to take part in one of four workshops. £10 for Railfuture members, £12 for others.

Please could everyone who opposes a guided bus on the Cambridge to St.Ives line sign an on-line petition at: http://www.petitiononline.com/chrt/petition.html.

ST.IVES LINE
Cambridge And St.Ives Railway Organisation (CAST.IRON) commences series of public meetings

CAST.IROM, which has over 570 members after just 8 weeks of leafleting, is holding a series of public meetings near to the St.Ives line prior to Cambridgeshire County Council's full members' meeting on 17th December, at which the submission of a TWA for a guided busway on the line could be authorised. The council would need a majority of all elected members, not just those attending: 30 out of 59. The Conservatives have an overall majority with 33 (Labour having 9 and LibDems with 17), so it is hoped that at least four Tories can be persuaded not to back the busway.

The public meetings, which all start at 19:30 (doors open 19:15) are as follows:
* Tuesday 4th November - Manor Community College, Arbury Road, CAMBRIDGE, in Main Hall
* Tuesday 11th November - Junior School, The Green, HISTON
* Wednesday 19th November - Swavesey Village College, Gibraltar Lane, SWAVESEY CB4 5RS
* Tuesday 25th November - St.Ivo Centre, Westwood Road, ST IVES, in Burgess Hall
* Tuesday 2nd December - Holiday Inn, Cambridge Road, IMPINGTON

At the Holiday Inn meeting, doors will open at 17:00, allowing commuters a chance to pop-in when leaving work. Between 13:00 and 16:00 a series of private meetings for invited guests only will take place.

CAST.IRON has continued to receive plenty of media coverage, including a large feature in the Hunts Post newspaper following a presentation by the County Council in Huntingdon (see below). There have been reports in Rail magazine and also Rail Staff although its story "Popular agitation for rail instead of buses has caused Cambridgeshire County Council to have a change of heart and rule out a guided bus way", was a bit premature, since Cambs County Council merely delayed their TWA decision until December.

CAST.IRON website: http://www.castiron.org.uk.

Cambridgeshire County Council pro-busway presentation in Huntingdon greeted with scepticism

On Tuesday 14th October in a public meeting in Huntingdon, Cabinet member Coun. Shona Johnstone and a project manager colleague presented details of the busway scheme with emphasis on the Huntingdon end. Representatives of four other organisations, including Nick Dibben of Railfuture raised concerns about the scheme, and CAST.IRON chairman Tim Phillips, three days after a live BBC Radio Cambridgeshire debate with Conservative Mrs Johnstone, held up the membership form of the leader of "Conservatives for an Innovative Britain" who had just joined CAST.IRON!

In the two-hour meeting, only one member of the audience, a County Councillor, spoke up for the busway, whilst Mrs Johnstone admitted that she had never seen a busway - never having visited Ipswich or Leeds busways, and refused the offer of a free trip to Essen from one of the audience. She had learned about them by research through the internet. Taking her remark that "Rail is a lovely idea. I like it. But I cannot deliver it for you. The Government isn't interested in railways. It wants a Rapid Transit System", the Hunts Post entitled their article "Guided bus champion prefers rail"!

Times article about light rail schemes being abandoned including one in Cambridge

A Times article on 8th October said that the government was likely to withdraw funding from all light rail "Rapid Transit" schemes, as they were not sufficient value for money. Included in the list was Cambridge. This led many people to assume that the government had decided not to support the guided bus "Rapid Transit" system.

The Department for Transport have since confirmed that no decision about the guided bus has been made and that journalist Ben Webster "had his wires crossed".

Times article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,172-845906,00.html.

RAIL SERVICES
Anglia's Cambridge to Norwich service gets huge proportion of drivers out of their cars

Anglia Railways claims that up to 44% of passengers using the Norwich - Cambridge service have switched from using their cars! Drivers have used the service to avoid the busy A11 and increasingly congested Cambridge and Norwich city centres.

Anglia's rural lines are doing good business too. In the year ended 31st March 2003, 470,000 passengers travelled on the Bittern Line - a phenomenal increase of 134% on the 1997 figure. On the Wherry Lines 990,000 journeys were recorded (up from 690,000 in 1997).

The Suffolk lines have also been successful. In 2002/3, 215,000 passengers used the Ipswich - Felixstowe service, with 340,000 on the Ipswich - Lowestoft line and just under 600,000 the Ipswich to Cambridge / Peterborough link.

Anglia press release: http://www.angliarailways.co.uk/latest-information/news-detail.asp?id=499.

Stansted rail service patronage continues to improve

According to edition 220 of Transit magazine, 76% passengers on Stansted Express are fliers, 11% London commuters. Most aged 18 to 24 are first time rail travellers. Patronage is up 15% year on year. Surveys of responses have elicited words such as "seamless, tailored, international, refreshing."

RAIL ROUTES
Wisbech and March Railway Trust plans to present its proposals to the public

Keywords: [WisbechBranch]

The Wisbech and March Railway Trust held their first group meeting on Wednesday 22nd October. They have set-up a committee of four people, with Graham Chapman as treasurer. Their plan a massive advertising campaign to let the public know their intentions, followed by a public meeting, which will hopefully get more support. A website is currently being worked on.

It is believed that last charter train on the branch was in 2001 - unless Snippets readers know otherwise - but the line is still walked regularly to check that it is still usable.

They have three possible sites for a station in Wisbech but nothing has been finalised yet. They have not looked at the March end of the line yet for a station. Contact [Wisbechrailway at aol.com] for more information.

East West Rail link - yet more rubbish

Keywords: [EastWestRail]

Shanks (the rubbish people) received planning permission in mid-October to build their new waste/recycling centre at Milton Keynes. The site is just south of Bletchley station between the WCML and the Oxford route. The plans include sidings from the East-West route, although this was not part of the planning permission. Capacity is up to 1 million tonnes per year.

Shanks are still discussing with various local authorities about sending their waste to the site, also some recovered material could be used as fuel in processes such as brick making. The need for rail sidings will depend on what contracts are agreed. As the planning permission sets limits on the road traffic, some rail traffic is very likely.

St.Ives branch NOT yet disconnected from network

The November 2003 issue of Modern Railways carries the following in its Trackwatch column: "Between Chesterton Junction and Fen Drayton (2:11C) [miles:chains]: Line permanently closed to traffic. The permanent way and all connections to, plus associated level crossings, secured out of use pending removal. The connections to the Fen Drayton branch from Chesterton Junction yard secured out of use in the normal position and plain-lined."

Nothing has yet happened to the branch, and Railfuture along with CAST.IRON have made representations to Network Rail - both personally and via Members of Parliament - to ask that nothing is removed. Network Rail are refusing to make any statements about the line citing legal reasons.

ROLLING STOCK
Anglia Railways to replace more Class 86s with newer Class 90 locomotives on mainline services

Keywords: [AngliaRailways]

Anglia Railways is to increase its use of Class 90 electric locomotives on mainline services between Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester and London, to improve train performance. It has agreed a deal with EWS to hire four Class 90 locomotives, built between 1987 and 1990, from 13th October until 31st March 2004.

RAIL DEPOTS
Network Rail issues tender for March Whitemoor Yard reopening after approval Cambridgeshire County Council

Keywords: [WhitemoorYard]

Cambridgeshire County Council's development control committee approved the Network Rail application for a depot at the Whitemoor Yard in mid-October, Although the scheme still has to be sent to the office of the Deputy Prime Minister for final approval. Now four contractors (Balfour Beatty, May Gurney, First Engineering and Grant Rail) are hoping to win the £25 million contract, which would take two and half years to complete, allowing trains displaced from the Temple Mills depot in East London, which will begin housing Eurostar sets within the next 18 mouths.

Work on the first phase - which would be used for storing rail infrastructure materials - is scheduled to start in November, to become operational by spring 2004.

CEN news article: http://w3.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/story.asp?storyid=39587.

RAIL FREIGHT
GB Railfreight launch weekday service between Felixstowe and West Midlands

Keywords: [GBRailfreight]

GB Railfreight has launched a new container train service from Felixstowe's north terminal to the ABP Connect's recently expanded Hams Hall Railfreight Terminal near Coleshill in the West Midlands. The new Monday-Friday service, which began in mid-October, leaves Felixstowe at 11:25 and arrives at Hams Hall at 19:00 the same day arriving back 08:16 the next day. It is expected to save around 20,000 lorry trips on the A14. It has the potential to transport up to 66 containers a day on 22 of GB Railfreight's container-carrying wagons. The train is open to any shipper and doesn't rely on long-term contracts.

GB Railfreight's Business Development Director, Phil McGrath, explained, "This new service meets the market need for those who prefer to 'turn up and go'. Space is available to any shipper who wants to move as little as one container." Source http://www.eyefortransport.com on 20/10/2003.

RAIL ACCIDENTS
Yet another level crossing fatality

A motorcyclist was killed at about 19:50 on Wednesday 22nd October at a crossing in March Road, Turves, in Cambridgeshire, by the Anglia Railways 18:20 Ipswich to Peterborough train. A BBC report qouted the police saying "the man had appeared to have weaved between the barriers before colliding with the train". The line was blocked for several hours following the incident and there were delays between Peterborough and Ely. No-one else was injured in the accident.

BBC news item: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/3196520.stm.

RAIL COMPANIES
Railfuture welcomes Network Rail's decision to take maintenance in-house from external rail companies

Railfuture issued a press release following the announcement that Network Rail would take rail maintenance back "in-house", saying that "it is common sense to do so. This move it is long overdue. It will boost passenger confidence that infrastructure safety is being addressed and taken seriously."

RAIL FRANCHISES
Greater Anglia franchise bidders all make shortlist for ScotRail franchise

The three rail groups shortlisted for the Greater Anglia franchise (Arriva Trains Ltd, FirstGroup PLC and National Express Group PLC) have submitted their bids for the ScotRail franchise which also takes effect on 1st April 2004. Meanwhile, the Wales and Borders franchise, which was awarded to Arriva, may be the subject of a legal challenge.

PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Membership number 1 at Mid-Norfolk Railway becomes available

Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]

Membership number 1 has recently become available. Dating from the dark days when the line's very existence was in doubt, this piece of history is now available to the highest bidder. If you would like to be Number 1, send your bid to: Member Number 1, The Mid-Norfolk Railway, The Railway Station, Station Road, Dereham, NR19 1DF. Offer closes on the 31st December 2003.

WEBSITES
Mid-Norfolk Railway website updated to include detailed route maps

Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]

People interested in the exact route of the Mid-Norfolk Railway, will be interested to know that the website has been updated to include maps showing structures along the route. See http://www.mnr.org.uk/about/routemap.

New Pro-Rail website for Cambridge launched

A recently elected Lib Dem County Councillor, Alex Reid, has become increasingly worried that the proposed Huntingdon to Cambridge Guided Bus Scheme is deeply unsatisfactory in environmental and strategic terms. He has set-up a new website: http://www.cambrail.com to propose a rail-based alternative.

Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 126 - 30/10/2003

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