News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 353 - 31/08/2022
- TRAIN OPERATORS [all issues]
- STATIONS [all issues]
- New entrance at Bury St Edmunds station on the northern side has opened
- Whittlesea Station has a new wayfinding pillar
- Oxford station revamp to support future East West Rail trains
- Frinton-on-Sea station receives a makeover
- RAIL ROUTES [all issues]
The Department for Transport (DfT) has published figures showing that national rail passenger numbers have reached a new post-pandemic milestone, with 95% of pre-COVID levels being recorded on 10th August 2022. This came in a run of seven straight days, from Saturday 6th to Friday 12th August, where 93-95% of pre-Covid passenger levels were hit every single day of the week. This was acheived in spite of industrial action in recent weeks, perhaps showing that passengers have learned to work round strikes and still use the railway when it is possible to do so. Normaly patronage would be down in August (the traditional summer season when many go on holiday) but perhaps rail is increasingly used for 'staycations'. This welcome milestone has been hit less than six months since final pandemic (Omicron) restrictions started being relaxed. See article.
British travellers are increasingly turning to the train during summer 2022 because of petrol prices (reaching £1.93 for a litre of unleaded in mid-July) and concerns about climate change have become important factors in deciding their travel plans, according to a poll of over 1,000 people commissioned by Trainline.
Greater Anglia (GA) announced on 1st August 2022 that all of its West Anglia services (i.e. the routes in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and West Essex) are now served by its new class 720 trains — in the Railfuture East Anglia branch area, these are the services into London Liverpool Street from Cambridge, Ely, King's Lynn, Audley End and Stansted Airport. The last old train on these routea was taken out of service at the end of July 2022. The next stage of the new train roll out will see Greater Anglia's remaining un-refurbished old trains still running in the rest of Essex replaced. So far Greater Anglia has taken delivery of 131 out of 191 brand new trains.
A new Costa Coffee shop has opened at Ipswich rail station, employing seven people. Customers can enter from either the front of the station or from platform 2, and can sit down to eat and drink or take their purchase away with them.
The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) has not been running public trains south of Thuxton for several months because of problems with the quality of the track. Following substantial work, the track south of Thuxton weas assessed to be usable again and trains start running from Dereham to Wymondham Abbey again on Saturday 6th August 2022. Whilst Wymondham Abbey station was closed MNR volunteers refurbished the platform there so that it is ready to welcome passengers again. The MNR will run a busy Diesel weekend from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th September 2022 and feature a guest heritage locomotive (a class 20 form the Epping and Ongar Railway), a mainline one from Direct Rail Services (which us active in the region and the MNR's resident diesel locomotives. A two-train service will be in operation, hauling Mk1, Mk 2 and Mk3 train sets, the latter being former Greater Anglia cartriages. There wil also be a beer train, with beer from the Tindall Brewery of Seething, Norfolk, being sold on board. Tickets for the event will be priced at £20 for an adult Rover ticket, A senior Rover is priced at £15 with children and MNR members at £10. Two day Rover tickets are also available at £30, £25 and £20 respectively. The' Kids go Free' offer does not apply for this event.
Network Rail (NR) will be undertaking track and signalling work between Ely to Ipswich and Norwich at weekends throughout August and September. Work started on Sunday 7th August and will take place every weekend until Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September, and from that weekend to Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September on the line between Norwich and Peterborough. Work includes track renewal at Elmswell level crossing, and also work as part of the Cambridgeshire 'C3R' resignalling programme, mentioned above.
On Tuesday 6th September from 07.30-12.00 at March station passengers can talk directly to rail managers and transport representatives during a 'Meet the manager' feedback session. Management chose March for this event because of its recert redevelopment, which has seen the interiors of the buildings completely remodelled and a new and extended car park provided. Greater Anglia, Fenland District Council's Transport Team and the Hereward Community Rail Partnership will all be present.
The Whitwell & Reepham Station will be holding a Christmas Craft Fair on Sunday 27th November 2022 from 10:00 to 16:00. The railway is offering visitors to 'Drive a Diesel train' on its next 'Steam Sunday' on Sunday 2nd October 2022 for just £10. Book and pay on the day.
Greater Anglia has updated its app to help move its website and app onto a single booking platform — one might well ask why separate platforms were created in the first place. They say that the update adds new features, such as buying tickets with Apple Pay, making the app "quicker and easier to use than ever before."
In [Snippets 348] there was a feature about Greater Anglia (GA) creating online virtual tours of its largest railway stations. It has now added Ipswich station to the growing list, which now numbers 12, all of which have been produced for GA by Virtual Tour Experts.
Greater Anglia says that it now has over 290 adopters at over 117 stations across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, the majority of these being in the Railfuture East Anglia branch area.
At Cambridge station there were two AMT coffee outlets, on platform (within the southern waiting room), platform 4 (in the northern waiting room), and passengers could also get a hot drink at the retail outlets that sold food. However, there was no services on the island platform that was opened in December 2011 (partly because of a lack of plumbed services). After several years, a third AMT outlet opened on platforms 7 and 8, utilising the old kiosk that was previously in the ticket hall before it was expanded. Recently, Greater Anglia has constructed a brand new building on the island platform, with a high-quality enclosed waiting room on one end (facing the AMT coffee kiosk) and a new coffee shop at the other end (but sadly, no hatch between them to allow people in the waiting room to purchase something without having to leave the warmth of the waiting room). The new shop opened several months after the waiting room, as a tenant was needed and then it had to be fitted out.
On Thursday 25th August 2022 a diesel-hauled Pullman special ran from London Victoria to Watlington station in Norfolk where passengers disembarked for onward travel by luxury coaches to Sandringham. Train was stabled at King's Lynn beside the unused platform.
Cambridge 'Silicon Drinkabout', which is a 'Meet-Up' group for people who work in IT, meet at pubs twice a month. To enable people to come by train they have decided to try the Old Ticket Office at Cambridge station for their meeting on Monday 12 September 2022 from 18:00.
TRAIN OPERATORS
Dutch state railway pulls out of Britain — Management buyout for Abellio UK
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
Dutch state passenger operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) has announced a management buy-out (MBO) of its Abellio rail and bus business in Great Britain, subject to approval by the Department for Transport (DfT) — the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) will also have to approve the contract change, although this is seen as a formality. Abellio UK currently operates the services of Greater Anglia, East Midlands Railway and West Midlands Trains, which are contracted to the DfT, as well as the Merseyrail, which is contracted to the devolved local transport body, Merseytravel. Abellio UK also operates more than 50 London bus routes.
New company Transport UK Group Ltd, led by Dominic Booth (Managing Director of Abellio UK), hopes to take over the group by the end of 2022. NS changed its international strategy in 2018 to require foreign activities to contribute to the interests of Dutch travellers, and with Abellio UK no longer of strategic importance it decided to withdraw from the UK (after around 20 years) to focus on services within, to and from the Netherlands. The buyout announcement came as NS presented its half-yearly results on 23rd August 2022. The Dutch Ministry of Finance (NS's principal shareholder) has already approved the sale.
Members of Railfuture and various rail user groups in East Anglia may remember Dominic Booth as the boss of WAGN (the National Express franchise). He joined Abellio Group in 2007, having been Managing Director of six train operating companies and subsequently Chairman of 10, with roles at British Rail, Connex Transport, Prism Rail and National Express Group where he was Deputy Chief Executive of the rail division before leaving to join Abellio.
NS has €0.5bn of outstanding guarantees and the MBO would be likely to take over these obligations rather than being settled when the MBO takes over. This means that NS will, presumably, financially support the MBO for several years to come.
News: https://www.modernrailways.com/article/management-buyout-returns-abellio-operations-uk-ownership.
STATIONS
New entrance at Bury St Edmunds station on the northern side has opened
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
A second entrace at Bury St Edmunds station officially opened on Friday 12th August 2022. This is on the northern side of the railway with a walkway through to the existing entrance on the souther entrance, and means a much shorter walk for passengers using the large car park on the northern side. Funding for the £1.6m scheme included a grant from the government's Access For All Scheme, as well as financial contributions from Suffolk County Council and West Suffolk Council. The new underpass has enabled an increase in the size of the booking hall to accommodate two new retail units and a new ticketing hub (a small kiosk next to the new gateline) with automatic ticket vending machines. The work also included the reinstatement of a Victorian undercroft — discovered on old records from when the station was built in 1847 — which passes beneath the railway lines, to link both sides of the station and make access easier.
The BSE Rail Station Group is a local advocacy and community group focused on the preservation and improvement of the Bury St Edmunds railway station. John Popham, who represents the group through his affiliation with the Town Trust, was quoted saying the group "greatly welcomes the completion of the new northern entrance to the station which saves those using the new car park a long walk round to the existing southern entrance. It now only remains for the repair of the station's northern embankment brickwork to complete the outstanding work on the station as soon as funds are available."
News: https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/about-us/news-desk/news-articles/new-accessible-entrance-opens-bury-st-edmunds-rail-station
https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/bury-st-edmunds-station-opens-new-accessible-entrance/.
Whittlesea Station has a new wayfinding pillar
Keywords: [WhittleseaStation]
A new wayfinding pillar has been installed at Whittlesea station to help people get to and from Whittlesey town centre more easily. A map of the station, directions, and a plan promoting the various walking and cycling routes around the historic market town are now there to guide and assist people using the station. Walkers and cyclists can pick up walking and cycling map brochure when they alight at the station.
Oxford station revamp to support future East West Rail trains
Keywords: [EastWestRail] [OxfordStation]
Rail Minister Wendy Morton said that Oxford station is due a £161 million revamp, with a series of works due to be finished for passengers by 2024, in time for the first Oxford-Milton Keynes services that will eventually lead to an Oxford-Camrbdge servicne in the 2030. These upgrades include the creation of a brand new track — three new high-speed crossovers to enable trains to turn around in the station, increasing services and reducing journey times — a new platform and a fully accessible entrance on the west side of the station, making travel far easier for all passengers, significantly improving capacity at the station, which should boost connections. Oxford station had 8.7 million passenger journeys a year pre-pandemic.
Funding will also be used to renovate the existing road bridge on Botley Road to create a four-metre-wide cycling and walking path and allowing standard height double-decker buses to pass underneath for the first time ever.
Oxford Station is one of the first projects delivered through the Government's new scheme SPEED (Swift, Pragmatic and Efficient Enhancement Delivery) which aims to halve the time it takes to complete a rail infrastructure project and slash the cost of project delivery.
Frinton-on-Sea station receives a makeover
Keywords: [FrintonOnSeaStation]
Victorian Frinton-on-Sea railway station has received a £250,000 makeover (of which £50,000 came from the Railway Heritage Trust) with work including the repair and restoration of the roof and canopy, the installation of new decorative 'dagger boards' to the canopy and repainting of the support structures in heritage colours, in line with the station's designation as a 'heritage station'. Old guttering and downpipes have also been replaced.
News: https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/frinton-on-sea-rail-station-receives-makeover/.
RAIL ROUTES
Network Rail launches TWA Order application for Cambridgeshire 're-signalling, re-lock and re-control project' C3R project
Keywords: [C3R]
On 5th August 2022 Network Rail submitted a Transport and Works Act Order application to the Secretary of State for Transport for the 'Network Rail (Cambridge Re-Signalling) Order', which covers the 'C3R' re-signalling project in the South Cambridgeshire District Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council and Breckland Council local authority areas. The period of objection will be open for six weeks until Friday 23rd September 2022
A statutory six-week objection period opened on 5th August 2022 into Network Rail "Cambridgeshire Resignalling" Transport & Works Act (TWA) Order application. Responses must be sent to the Secretary of State for Transport by 23 September 2022 (the DfT contact email is [transportinfrastructure at dft.gov.uk]).
Network Rail (NR) has sought powers to "upgrade" (that is really its opinion as "conversion" would be a more accurate and unbiased term) six level crossings in Cambridgeshire and one in Norfolk — the last has been tacked onto the £194 million Cambridgeshire re-signalling scheme for efficiency. Essentally, NR want wot replace automcatic half-bartrier (AHB) crossines with full-barrier ones (from a manual gate in the case of Dullingham). The full barrier will be fitted with either obstacle detection or CCTV technology.
The seven level crossings set to be converted are: Dimmocks Cote, Waterbeach, Milton Fen, Meldreth Road, Six Mile Bottom, Dullingham and Croxton (Norfolk).
NR does not need legal powers to do this, but because it wants to purchase additional land at each level crossing site (to allow the installation of new level crossing equipment, possibly keeping the old equipment in place until commissioning, to minimise the road closure period) a TWA Order would allow it to compulsorily purchase the land at a market rate rather than being held to ransom by the landowner. One might ask whether the chance of the latter outweighs the eonormous cost and delay of submitting the TWA Order application and probably having to take part in a public inquiry. The TWAO application documents, along with information on how to make representation to the Department for Transport, is available to view by visiting Network Rail's Cambridge Re-signalling project webpage, or by visiting on the Government's website 'gov.uk'. A public consultation was held in 2021, but any representations made then are not automatically carried forward to the TWA Order consultation or a public inquiry.
Network Rail's major re-signalling programme for the wider Cambridgeshire area will deliver significant benefits for all rail users by upgrading signals, power and communications systems that are coming to their end of their operational life, although some passengers may miss their train because they get stuck behind a full-barrier that is down for four minutes rather than less than a minute. Over 700 assets are set to be replaced with new signalling technology delivered by Alstom that provides a platform ready for future conversion to the European Train Control System (ETCS).
News: https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/powers-sought-to-upgrade-level-crossings-in-cambridge/.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 353 - 31/08/2022
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Railfuture is a non-profit making pro-rail campaiging organisation, which is run entirely by unpaid volunteeers, including production of Rail News Snippets for the East Anglian branch of Railfuture.
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