Railway Cuttings 75

17th June 2004

IN THE NEWS

Whilst on holiday in Pembrokeshire Peter Lawrence, Railfuture President and media spokesman, was still in demand by the media. Radio Wales (Cardiff) left a message on his mobile as they wished to interview him about the forthcoming RMT strikes. Unfortunately by the time Peter was able to return the call they had fixed up an alternative interviewee. This is the first time Radio Wales had contacted Peter. Another BBC researcher contacted Peter looking for Rail User Group contacts.

The Eastern Daily Press was interested in the possible RMT strike. Peter’s comments were published the next day, Saturday, 22 May 2004. He was pleased to see that he had been given a three inch column.

The Metro Newspaper, London contacted Peter about a London to Eastbourne train that was apparently delayed by five hours recently because of a lack of power. Gwyneth Dunwoody has now got her fangs into this issue and it is now before the Transport Select Committee. A one-off evidence session on the Southern region power supply upgrade was announced for 9 June 2004 but has been postponed.

Railfuture Midlands branch member Alan Bevan was interviewed as part of an item on BBC R4 ‘You and Yours’ on 1st June. This looked into local services on the Trent Valley route being replaced by buses whilst the WCML upgrade is ongoing. Alan said that Railfuture was concerned that there may be a policy of reducing services to local stations to such a point that it was effectively closure by stealth.

COMPETITION COMMISSION RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT NATIONAL EXPRESS ACQUISITION OF GREATER ANGLIA FRANCHISE

The National Express Group's acquisition of Greater Anglia Franchise is raising concern about a possible monopolistic situation developing in the public transport market. The Competition Commission is inviting representations and evidence regarding any conflicts envisaged between this take-over and the public's interests. Find out more at: http://www.competition-commission.org.uk. Written comments have to be with the Competition Commission by 17th June.

Railfuture’s East Anglian branch was asked by the Office of Fair Trading to comment on this issue back in March 2004. The branch responded to the effect that they have no problem with the competitive effects of National Express running the franchise. Specific comments were:

 Under the old franchise two operators ran services between London and Colchester/Ipswich. Railfuture would want to see that cheap fares designed to encourage off-peak travel retained.
 On the rural routes parallel bus services tend to serve different villages en-route so the train is much faster than the bus.
 Much of the rail network in East Anglia is close to capacity. Therefore there is little scope for new passenger train operators. Any spare train paths would be better used for freight services. This issue is independent of who operates the franchise.
 National Express also operates long distance coach services from Cambridge, Stansted Airport and Norwich to London. However under the old franchise National Express operated WAGN so there is no change in competition from Cambridge or Stansted.

Railfuture London and South East branch have also responded. They said that they had at the moment no competition concerns and are unable to foresee any realistic problems in the future. Whilst many of our members may well support the work of the commission, they do feel that in relation to public transport different rules should apply. The majority of journeys by public transport are done using either different modes of transport or different operators. If there is not co-operation and co-ordination between them in relation to service provision, and the inter-availability of ticketing, then travel by public transport becomes unattractive, and the consequences of that are dire.


VIRUS INFECTED MAIL

There is a virus infected email circulating which is reported to come from editor at railwatch.org.uk. However on investigation it appears that the email was sent from mailserver host2.ortonpeterborough.co.uk though this may be a spoof address. If the virus is working the way our expert thinks it is then the email user with the virus infected machine also has Ray King editor at railwatch.org in their address book.

Therefore if you have editor at railwatch.org in your address book please make sure your anti virus software is up to date. If it is not you could be heading for serious problems with your PC.

RAILFUTURE APPOINTS A MEMBERSHIP PROMOTION AND FUND RAISING OFFICER

At their last meeting the Railfuture National Executive confirmed the appointment of Peter Harris as Membership Promotion and Fund Raising Officer. Peter will be working for us for three days a week. He will be based at the Railfuture Office in the Colourworks and can be contacted by email to peter.harris at sundonconsultancy.co.uk. As Peter’s job title suggests his specific remit is to raise funds and support our efforts to increase membership.

RAILFUTURE WELCOMES NEWQUAY TRAIN BOOST

Railfuture Devon and Cornwall branch have issued a press release welcoming improvements to the Newquay branch timetable that started with the new National Rail timetable on Monday 24 May. After a number of years where Newquay had to make do with just four trains a day (six in July and August) from May 24 the Monday to Friday service was doubled to eight trains a day. The change results from a partnership including Wessex Trains, the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership and Cornwall County Council.

Stuart Walker, Secretary of Railfuture Devon and Cornwall said: that “This was a long overdue improvement for the train service to one of Cornwall’s largest towns. Railfuture have been campaigning for years to have a two hourly service to Newquay and from Monday 24 May it will be a reality. It is a pity that this improved service will only run in the summer and may be reduced back to four trains a day for the winter period”.

Elsewhere in Cornwall, the St Ives Branch line timetable has been revised with the emphasis clearly on maximising demand from the Lelant Saltings Park and Ride scheme. As a result some connections with main line trains at St Erth have been lost.

Stuart commented that “It is now clear that Wessex Trains, the operator of the branch line, feel it is more important to serve park and ride traffic than ‘traditional’ rail passengers making connections at St Erth. The new Summer timetable increases the number of trains serving Lelant Saltings but those making connections with the main line on weekday afternoons and on Sundays will find they have some very long waits at St Erth. Wessex Trains regularly tells Railfuture that ‘only’ 30% of passengers make connections with main line services. They feel that the needs of these passengers should be placed second to park and ride traffic. Ideally we should have a timetable that serves all passengers well. Relocating the Park and Ride operation to St Erth station would probably achieve this and Railfuture thinks this option should be explored”.

MAKING THE CASE FOR RAIL – A NEW RAILFUTURE PUBLICATION

A new booklet entitled The Case for Rail has just been published. It is packed full of arguments for rail campaigners and statistics to back up arguments – enlightenment for the unconverted! For instance the original TGV route from Paris to Lyon now carries 65% of all journeys, with 30% by road and only 5% by air. The Tokyo to Osaka Shinkansen line transports 362,000 people a day, the equivalent of a jumbo jet every two minutes.

Written by Norman Bradbury and edited by Keith Dyall, it is available for £2.75 including post and packing from the Railfuture Office, Room 206 The Colourworks, 2 Abbot Street, London E8 3DP. Please make cheques payable to Railfuture.
A new edition of ‘A-Z of Rail Reopenings’ is being prepared. It is planned to have this published in time for the Rail Users’ Conference in November.

TRANSPORT SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS INTO THE BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE AND NATIONAL RAIL ENQUIRY SERVICE ARE PUBLISHED

The Report into the NRES can be viewed at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmtran/580/58002.htm
and the Report into BT Police can be viewed at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmtran/488/48802.htm

NEWS FROM THE SRA

The Strategic Rail Authority have announced, in a progress report on the fitment programme for the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), that the system would begin `live' testing along the Cambrian Line in mid-Wales in 3 years' time. It is claimed that once successfully trailed, the system has the potential to reduce train delays by up to 20%. ERTMS is required under EU Directives on 'Interoperability' and is programmed to become standard across all of Europe's mainline networks as existing systems are renewed. (See http://www.sra.gov.uk/technical/european for more information on the EU Interopability directive)

FirstGroup plc has been announced as Preferred Bidder for New Scottish Passenger Rail Franchise. http://www.sra.gov.uk/news/2004/6/110604news


NEWS FROM THE ORR

A Consultation Document discussing reforms to the rail industry dispute regime was issued on 4th June. No, the Rail Regulator is not getting involved in industrial disputes – the document mainly refers to track access disputes and proposes the establishment of a Railway Industry Mediation and Arbitration Service (RIMAS), made up of experts who can be appointed to deal with railway industry disputes referred to arbitration, mediation or expert determination, and available to all railway industry players, not just parties to access contracts.
The Annual Report 2003-2004 can also now be viewed at / downloaded from the ORR website. Both documents at http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.00100700400d

COLNE – SKIPTON ROUTE PROTECTED IN LANCASHIRE STRUCTURE PLAN

SELRAP, the group campaigning to see the Colne-Skipton railway line re opened, has welcomed the report of the Inspecting Panel which has been examining the Joint Lancashire Structure Plan (2001-2016). The Inspecting Panel's report says that there should be no change to the wording of the Draft Joint Structure Plan, which says that, while construction of the proposed A56 "Villages By-Pass" should not be delayed, nothing should be done to jeopardise the possible re-opening of the railway, and that in the meantime the trackbed through the county should be protected, as a transport corridor, from development.

The "Villages By-Pass" is currently envisaged to be built in the 2010-2016 timeframe, which SELRAP also sees as being realistic for the reconstruction of the railway. The Draft Joint Structure Plan notes that the two projects are not mutually exclusive. Website: www.selrap.org.uk

SELRAP has also announced that they have received a grant in excess of £3000 from Pendle Community Network. "The grant will totally transform the way we are able to operate," says SELRAP chairman Steve Broadbent. "Firstly, we can equip our Membership Secretary with computer equipment and internet access to greatly speed up the increasing amount of work that he does. Next, we plan on improving our publicity effort, especially by the provision of more supporting literature and better display stands for exhibitions."

"But even with those major items under our belt, there will still be money left over, and the committee will be discussing over the coming months how to make best use of every penny - and we will certainly need every penny as our future strategy unfolds. We are indeed grateful to the Pendle Community Network - which administers the Community Chest Grant fund on behalf of the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit.- for agreeing the grant, and we look forward to working closely with them in the future."

There are Neighbourhood Renewal Community Chests, worth £75m over 2001-06, in 88 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund Areas. Neighbourhood Renewal Community Chests are aimed at increasing and enhancing community activity in deprived areas and further details can be found at www.neighbourhood.gov.uk/commchest.asp

NEWSPAPER LICENSING AGENCY

Will all members and branches please note that Railfuture have declared to the Agency that we do not, as a policy, take or distribute copies of press cuttings. To comply with the NLA regulations and copyright legislation branches and members must not take or distribute copies of press cuttings.

RAIL USERS CONFERENCE 2004

It has been confirmed that this conference will be in the Main Hall of Carrs Lane Church Centre, Birmingham on Saturday 6th November 2004.

RAILFUTURE AGM 2005

It is anticipated that the 2005 AGM will be held in East Anglia on Saturday 7th May 2005.

FUTURE RAIL 300

Future Rail 300 is the newsletter for the Campaign to build high-speed railways in Britain. Copies of the latest edition, which has just been released, can be obtained by email from Graham Nalty at graham at grahamnalty.co.uk.

SET AGREE THAT BELTRING CAN BE USED WITH ALL IN TICKET TO THE HOP FARM

It was reported in Cuttings 72 that even though Beltring station is only a short walk from The Hop Farm the rail inclusive ticket is only valid via Paddock Wood and a courtesy bus link. Barry Doe now reports in RAIL 489 that after a RAIL reader complained about this he was assured by SET’s External Relations Manager that the combined ticket may be used to Beltring if the passengers prefer to walk (or cycle). Beltring is currently served by 40 trains a day though these will be reduced to one Parliamentary train a week if the SRA proposals for the Integrated Kent Franchise come to fruition.

THE PLANE TRUTH

Some interesting facts from the May 2004 edition of GNER’s electronic newsletter ‘Inside Track’. During 2003 for journeys from Edinburgh, Newcastle and Leeds to London GNER services were more punctual than corresponding air flights. Overall 80% of trains arrived within 15 minutes of the scheduled time but only 70% of flights were within 15 minutes.

For longer journeys such as Edinburgh to London the plane is faster than the train for the actual journey but this does not include check in, baggage collection and travel between the airport and city centre. If there was a high speed rail link between our major cities, as is becoming increasingly common in the rest of Europe, these rail journeys would be even faster.

RDS LTD - VACANCY FOR HON. AUDITOR

There is a vacancy for an auditor for the RDS accounts. Ideally we would like to find someone to do this on a voluntary basis but a fee will be paid if necessary. If anyone is interested themselves or knows someone who may be then further details can be obtained from Railfuture Treasurer, Tony Sheward. (Phone 01234 823045 or email tony.sheward at btinternet.com)

POSSIBLE HOUSING THREAT TO EPPING – ONGAR ROUTE

Potential outline planning applications for residential development on land associated with the disused Epping - Ongar Railway are being discussed with Epping Forest District Council planning officers. If approved, the potential applications for land at Ongar and North Weald could form part of a negotiated settlement to transfer the main railway holdings to Essex County Council. This used to be the eastern extremity of LUL's Central Line.

The discussions are focusing on retirement homes in Ongar and dwellings at North Weald. The railway line along with ancillary land and buildings could be transferred from Epping Ongar Railway Ltd to Essex County Council if such applications were approved.

Such applications would be considered by the District Council's Development Control Committee. Although no dates can be set until the potential applications have been processed, the Council expects to register them in the next few weeks.

London Underground Ltd (LUL) originally sold the Epping - Ongar line with a clause that should a rail service not be restarted within certain timescales, the new owners must offer the line back to LUL, Essex County Council and Epping Forest District Council. Since no trains ran and LUL are unwilling to buy back the line, the challenge of negotiating a new deal has fallen to Essex County Council. The article doesn't indicate whether the homes are planned on the trackbed or on former areas off to the side, clearly a story that needs watching!

Our understanding is that only the track is being offered back to the ECC but on condition that the present owners can be given permission to develop land at North Weald and Ongar Stations. The Ongar Railway Preservation Society is still hopeful of getting the right to run some sort of railway if the track is purchased by the County.
Source: http://www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/news/railway.asp and local contacts

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