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Northern franchise

Author: Railfuture Board - Published At: Fri 10 of Jan, 2020 14:37 GMT - (1140 Reads)
Lobbying
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has stated that he will take action on the Northern franchise, but will not decide until end January 2020 exactly what that action will be - either an Operator of Last Resort or a direct contract. Railfuture analyses the causes of Northern’s poor performance and recommends what action the Transport Secretary should take. Insufficient time was allowed between letting the franchise and the PRM compliance deadline for procurement, delivery and testing of new trains such as these class 195 units. Image by Geof Sheppard under CC by SA 4.0.
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Railfuture 2030 manifesto

Author: Railfuture Board - Published At: Tue 07 of Jan, 2020 13:57 GMT - (1065 Reads)
Lobbying
Our 10 year manifesto for the new government and the rail industry represents a distillation of the electorate’s wishes, published manifesto commitments and expectations for a developing railway for the UK. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, pictured (left) launching the extension of Oyster and contactless cards to Potters Bar and Radlett, has the job of delivering these expectations. Image oliverdowden.com.
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Rail 2019 year end report

Author: Railfuture Board - Published At: Fri 27 of Dec, 2019 13:08 GMT - (1518 Reads)
Campaigns
In promoting a bigger and better railway, Railfuture issued a 10 point challenge to the rail industry and government for 2019 to rebuild public trust in its service delivery. Here is our end of year report on how well we think the rail industry performed as a whole in 2019. Did the rail industry rise to Railfuture’s challenge? Christmas is traditionally the time when the railway undertakes major remodelling projects such as at King's Cross throat – image Network Rail.
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Decision time

Author: Chris Page - Published At: Tue 03 of Dec, 2019 17:16 GMT - (1369 Reads)
Network
The snap general election is with us as expected and we have to wait until afterwards to find out what the recommendations of the Williams and Oakervee reviews of franchising and HS2 will be – as amended to make them acceptable to the new government. Enter our competition to propose a new name for HS2 which will capture the public imagination. Image HS2 Ltd.
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Party manifestos for rail

Author: Ian Brown CBE FCILT - Published At: Fri 29 of Nov, 2019 23:22 GMT - (2338 Reads)
Lobbying
This is Railfuture’s guide to the 2019 election manifestos. Transport commitments are quoted verbatim in red italics. A commentary is provided in black, non-italics giving Railfuture’s position or observation on each. Our analysis includes other modes, both to illustrate emphasis but also to ascertain how changes to other modes may benefit railways, such as integrated travel. The most important issue to be tackled by the next government is to provide capacity for double the number of passengers, both to resolve the overcrowding (despite new trains) illustrated at Manchester and Euston, and to address climate change by modal shift from road to rail.
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Building for future users

Author: Chris Page - Published At: Sun 17 of Nov, 2019 11:33 GMT - (1110 Reads)
Network
Rail capacity must be doubled by 2050 to achieve net zero carbon with growth and deliver a sustainable lifestyle. The new Meridian Water station will enable 10,000 homes and 6000 jobs - photo courtesy Enfield Council.
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South East Rail Strategy

Author: Chris Page - Published At: Fri 08 of Nov, 2019 14:29 GMT - (1417 Reads)
Lobbying
Transport for the South East (TfSE) has recently published its draft transport strategy to achieve sustainable growth in the region. Railfuture invites your comments on how this objective should be achieved. Image by Sherlock Holmes Lending Solutions - Dollar Photo Club.
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High Speed 2 Review

Author: Ian Brown CBE FCILT - Published At: Sun 13 of Oct, 2019 22:38 BST - (3519 Reads)
Campaigns
Ian Brown, Railfuture’s Policy Director, explains the purpose of the HS2 Review commissioned by the new government, and Railfuture’s position.
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Levenmouth on track

Author: Jane Ann Liston - Published At: Fri 09 of Aug, 2019 12:40 BST - (3134 Reads)
Scotland
On 8 August 2019 the Scottish Transport Secretary, during his visit to Levenmouth, announced the green light for reopening the rail line to Levenmouth to passenger services, with an estimated cost of £75m. It's great news for this long running saga, which will benefit a deprived area of Fife. Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson on the mothballed track - photo by Transport Scotland.
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Britain back into rail

Author: Jerry Alderson - Published At: Thu 08 of Aug, 2019 16:40 BST - (1606 Reads)
Passengers
On Wednesday 7 August 2019 Britain’s Rail Delivery Group (RDG) announced that it would be withdrawing from membership of the highly-valued and long-standing Interrail Europe-wide rail passes for European residents, along with the Eurail equivalent for non-European residents. Protests were loud and clear, many on Twitter. A day later the RDG backed down. Railfuture looks at what happened and why.
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First step to Berwick

Author: Dennis Fancett - Published At: Thu 30 of May, 2019 18:17 BST - (3236 Reads)
Campaigns
SENRUG, the Railfuture-affiliated rail user group that campaigns for better rail services in South and East Northumberland, has secured funding for a feasibility study which will look at the possibility of running a local rail service between Morpeth and Berwick. Could local trains soon be running over Berwick’s Royal Borders Bridge? Photo (adapted) by Clive Nicholson / Steve Miller.
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Rails back to Brierley Hill

Author: William Whiting - Published At: Mon 13 of May, 2019 22:04 BST - (3238 Reads)
Light Rail
Railfuture welcomes the news that funding has been secured to extend the Midland Metro from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill. The metro will serve Dudley Zoo and Castle – image by Midland Metro Alliance.
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Money for Portishead

Author: Nigel Bray - Published At: Wed 17 of Apr, 2019 22:59 BST - (3750 Reads)
Campaigns
After a long hard campaign by Railfuture and affiliated groups, the government has stumped up the extra £32m needed to reopen the railway line to Portishead. New Portishead station as proposed in 2015. Image by North Somerset Council.
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Electric alternatives

Author: Chris Page - Published At: Sun 07 of Apr, 2019 18:40 BST - (5047 Reads)
Campaigns
The government cut electrification projects in favour of alternative technologies for rail traction but in response to the Transport Select Committee, the Rail Industry Association has published the Electrification Cost Challenge report showing that electrification costs could be cut by more than 50%. This briefing explains how the alternatives stack up. Proposed hydrogen-powered "Breeze" conversion of class 321. Image by Alstom.
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Balkan bustitution

Author: Ian Brown CBE FCILT - Published At: Thu 28 of Mar, 2019 20:31 GMT - (2544 Reads)
International
In the latest of our Go and Compare series, Ian Brown takes a bus from Zagreb to Ljubljana and compares it with the rail alternative, then travels from Ljubljana to Trieste by train and compares it with the bus alternative. The competition - the Flixbus on the properly signed stand on arrival at Ljubljana, going through to Florence arriving late the same evening.
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Welborne station campaign

Author: Alan Mayes - Published At: Wed 20 of Mar, 2019 20:14 GMT - (2680 Reads)
Campaigns
Railfuture Wessex continues to campaign for a railway station at Welborne near Fareham at the site earmarked for 6,000 new homes. A single platform station could be built at Welborne at economical cost on the single track railway line.
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Multifranchise disservice

Author: Dennis Fancett - Published At: Sun 10 of Mar, 2019 12:29 GMT - (2451 Reads)
Lobbying
In the first of a series focusing on individual topics raised by the Railfuture response to the Williams review, South East Northumberland Rail User Group (SENRUG) chair Dennis Fancett highlights the lack of a coordinated timetable on routes served by multiple train operators. Arriva Cross Country and East Coast (now LNER) trains at Newcastle Central - photo by Russel Wills reproduced under Creative Commons.
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