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The next major step in restoring rail links between Oxford and Cambridge was taken this week (27 July 2018) when Network Rail applied for legal permission to rebuild a railway across central England.
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Railfuture briefing by Ian Brown, Railfuture Policy Director, on the December timetable ‘cutbacks’ announced by the Rail Delivery Group today, 10 July 2018. Image by About Manchester
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In the last 11 years passengers travelling between London and York, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh have been carried by five different train operators as the above image shows. Virgin Trains East Coast was the third east coast mainline intercity franchised train operator to “fail” in that time. On 24 June 2018 the government replaced it with an outsourced operator under its control. The question for the government, rail industry, staff and, most importantly, passengers, is can a fourth be prevented? Photo montage of tweets and logos by Jerry Alderson |
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Power to award rail franchises in Wales was devolved to the Welsh Government in 2017. This power has been used for the first time to award the Wales and Borders passenger franchise to Keolis and partner Amey to operate the franchise from October 2018 to 2033. New Stadler tram-train to be procured for South Wales Metro, including street running to a new station named ‘Flourish’ in Cardiff Bay – image from Transport for Wales presentation.
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Help us design an App to reduce passenger crowding on trains - fill in our survey to let us know what information you need to find empty carriages.
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In his letter to local MPs Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has thrown Network Rail, Govia Thameslink and Northern Rail under the bus, but how much responsibility should the DfT bear for the excessive cancellations and delays following the introduction of new timetables? Photo by James Chespy.
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Some people are deterred from travelling by train by the complexity of buying a ticket and the perception that fares are expensive, whilst some passengers are unclear whether they have the best deal so feel ripped off. Image: Play the ticket maze game to reach the Oyster!
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The invitation by the Department of Transport on 20th March 2018 for investors to invest in rail infrastructure ‘made it real’ for the promoters of privately financed lines such as Heathrow Southern Railway and London & Southern Counties Railways.
Image: Service opportunities, by Heathrow Southern Railway. |
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Railfuture have linked with Campaign for Better Transport to deliver a letter to the Department of Transport calling for a Network Development Fund to pay for project development of realistic proposals for new and reopened stations and lines with the best projects joining a pool of national projects to be taken to full development and implementation. Photo: Railfuture media spokesman Bruce Williamson at the Department for Transport with the letter to hand in.
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After 6 different opening dates, the new service at Kenilworth station finally started on 30 April – good news for frustrated Kenilworth residents at last. However the delays and cost overrun does raise the question of whether local authorities are yet equipped to manage rail development projects.
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HS2 must be integrated with local transport networks, otherwise congestion, not economic growth, will be generated. However in Birmingham, the HS2 terminus at Curzon Street will be remote from local rail services, even though they run alongside. Phil Bennion, a past MEP for the West Midlands, has a solution. Image: Curzon Street station between existing rail line and new development area.
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10:10, the climate change charity, is working with the Energy Futures Lab at Imperial College, London, to develop a viable solution for solar-powered railways. The graphic by 10:10 Climate Action illustrates the principle. It is ironic that the artist has depicted a diesel unit but we like the picture so used it anyway.
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Railfuture has joined together with local people, rail planning experts and influential local business leaders to progress Wisbechrail through a new group they have set up called the Wisbech Consultative Group. This will harness peoples’ ideas about where the station should be, what facilities it should have and other issues to do with a new train service.
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This picture is the image chosen by Transport for the North to illustrate its Long Term Rail Strategy. Is it fantasy or reality?
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A UK rail employee survey to explore the relationship between self-reported fatigue levels and characteristics of influential risk factors of workload, sleep quality and daily life events.
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HS2 will create massive extra rail capacity, but unless it is integrated with local transport networks to create connectivity with city centres and their surrounding city regions, congestion not economic growth will result. Image: proposed colocation of HS2 platforms and existing city centre station at Leeds.
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