News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 211 - 28/11/2010
- ROLLING STOCK [all issues]
- RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE [all issues]
- Ipswich footbridge lifted into place but not ready yet
- Royston down platform extension almost complete for December 2010 timetable
- Second entrance at Witham station will ease congestion and provide easier access
- Vauxhall railway suspension bridge in Great Yarmouth may be beyond repair
- STATIONS [all issues]
- GUIDED BUSWAY [all issues]
- WEBSITES [all issues]
The next Railfuture East Anglia Branch meeting be on Saturday 4th December in Bury St Edmnunds. The guest speaker will be James Steward, the NXEA Area Manager for Rural Routes. He is also a member of the Trust council of the Mid-Norfolk Railway and will be giving an update on its recent progress and plans for the future.
On Saturday 11th December the Friends of March Station group, which has been in existence since July 2009, will be holding a public event from 08:45 to 11:00 to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the platforms opening at the station. The Friends have applied to become a Community Interest Company. Anyone wishing to join the Friends should contact Adrian Sutterby, FOMRS Chairman, Mobile - 07972027331, [a.sutterby at hotmail.co.uk].
On Friday 4th February 2011 Mike Lamport of the Olympic Development Agency will be giving an up-to-date talk to the Cambridge Railway about the railway works being delivered to provide the necessary public transport for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012. He gave an excellent presentation to Railfuture on the same subject in December 2009.
On Thursday 3rd March 2011 BAM Nuttall's Peter Pascall will be giving an illustrated talk about the Construction and Logistics of the Guided Busway Project. It will be held in the main hall at Royston Town Hall from 20:00. It is organised by the Royston Local History Society. There will be a £2 charge for non-members.
On Friday 22nd April 2011 (Good Friday) the Mid-Norfolk Railway will hold its seventh sponsored walk between County School and Dereham stations. This time it will be in aid of the northern extension.
The tanker driver who opened the crossing gates and drove onto the Sudbury branch without getting approval from the signaller has been jailed for 15 months - see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11845696.
The public inquiry into Chiltern Railways' proposed new Oxford to Bicester line started on 2nd November at the Conference Centre Oxford in Park End Street. It is due to last until 26 January 2011.
ROLLING STOCK
NXEA WiFi facility on London-Norwich trains on schedule for 2011 start
On 24th November NXEA staged a preview event at Norwich and Ipswich stations to demonstrate its WiFi service that will operate on the London-Norwich trains from 2011. This has been achieved with £346,000 funding from the East of England Development Agency along with Norfolk and Suffolk county councils. The on-board Wi-Fi signal will be fed for satellite broadband and multiple mobile phone sources allowing a continuous service to be provided.
RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE
Ipswich footbridge lifted into place but not ready yet
Over the weekend of 13th/14th November Network Rail engineers and a 450-tonne crane worked around the clock to lift into place the new 'country end' footbridge at Ipswich station. The footbridge and associated lifts, which are costing around £3.5m and are are expected to open in spring 2011, will provide passengers with step-free access between the station entrance and all four platforms. The existing footbridge at the London end, which is not accessible to the disabled, will remain in place.
Royston down platform extension almost complete for December 2010 timetable
The extension to Royston's Cambridge-bound platform at the northern end with a modular platform system is nearly complete. It will be used from the December 2010 for 12-coach trains originating from King's Cross at 17:44 and 18:14. The former will split at Cambridge with four carriages going forward and eight remaining, whilst the latter train will split at Royston with the front eight carriages going onto King's Lynn, whilst the rear four carriages will terminate at Cambridge calling at Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton, all of which have only 4-carriage platforms. This 'portion working' will reduce the number of paths needed on the East Coast Main Line.
Second entrance at Witham station will ease congestion and provide easier access
A second entrance to Witham station is to be constructed. It will be funded by Essex County Council and Network Rail. There will be a direct link between the station car park and the platforms for the first time via the footbridge which will be extended.
Vauxhall railway suspension bridge in Great Yarmouth may be beyond repair
Engineers who have been conducting an in-depth study into the state of the former Vauxhall railway bridge next to Great Yarmouth station believe it is beyond repair in the current economic climate. Mainly funded by Norfolk County Council, they spent two weeks using 3D imaging and internal checks on the rusting bridge (along with the footbridge, that had again been closed because of problems with the timber deck). Demolition of the bridge, which has been called a "significant monument" is not imminent as Norfolk County Council believes the demolition cost is likely to be large.
BBC news: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-11733378
Gt Yarmouth Community website: http://www.96ktalkback.co.uk/vauxhalbridgecondition/.
STATIONS
Lowestoft station will not be relocated but could be reduced in size
Keywords: [LowestoftStation]
According to its press release, ESTA has studied the Lowestoft Lake Lothing & Outer Harbour Area Action Plan and is pleased that the proposal to move Lowestoft station up to 400 metres inland has been dropped. However, ESTA is concerned by apparent suggestions for Waveney District Council and 1st East that a smaller station would be acceptable. Their document refers to "a minimum of two platforms and a siding to accommodate special services."
In its response ESTA has urged that the station needs three platform faces of the same length as now. It supports proposals for better facilities at the station and seeks clarification of who will pay for them. In the short term it wants the 'misguided' the policy for letting non-operational properties on the station to be reconsidered citing the end of Shopmobility's lease.
GUIDED BUSWAY
Whole of Cambridgeshire Guided Busway has now been constructed allowing tests to begin
In November the last construction work on the guided busway was completed allowing some trials of buses on the southern section to be conducted. However, BAM Nuttall does not expect all of its work to be completed until January 2011 when a formal handover of the busway would take place. It is still unlikely that a public passenger service would commence before spring 2011.
News story: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Southern-busway-just-days-away-from-being-ready.htm.
CGB Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridgeshire_Guided_Busway.
WEBSITES
Revamped First Capital Connect website
Keywords: [FirstCapitalConnect]
Following customer feedback, First Capital Connect has launched the first phase of its new website. FCC claims that it is now easier to navigate with "a logical, structured approach taken to ordering site content that should enable you to find the information you need quicker" according to its press release. It will also be much easier to tailor the site and the information to needs e.g. for regular journeys. FCC also claims that additional hardware means it can support higher levels of traffic during periods of increased demand. In the coming months extra functionality will be added such as a tool to create your own timetable (something that Southern Railway introduced several years ago!). See: firstcapitalconnect.co.uk, not to be confused with a passenger's highly critical website with an extra 'r' in the URL!
New website to promote 'bridging the gap' across the Midland Mainline to link the Great Central heritage railways
A new www.bridgingthegap.org.uk website promotes the £15m scheme to join the heritage Great Central Railway with the Great Central Railway (Nottingham) lines.
Editor's update in 2012: the website has been taken over by another organisation.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 211 - 28/11/2010
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