Railway Cuttings 78

14th September 2004

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The Railfuture Equal Opportunities policy is currently being rewritten so as to comply with the latest legislation. To some members this may seem to be just a paper exercise. Equal opportunities is however much more than that. The Board have a duty to ensure that not only is all legislation complied with but also to monitor our activities so as to demonstrate that we are taking equal opportunities seriously.

Equal opportunity monitoring also brings us opportunities. It highlights where our membership does not reflect the diversity of the population and where there is potential to recruit new members. One only has to attend Railfuture meetings to see that the majority of our active membership is white, male and over 50. On all my recent rail journeys the majority of passengers have been students and families with young children. We campaign as ‘a voice for rail users’ and we do endeavour to represent all their views but we do need to find ways of reaching out to a new generation of rail users and recruit them into Railfuture.

Once the Board has approved the policy the next stage is implementation. The position of Equal Opportunities Officer is still vacant so does any ‘Cuttings’ reader have experience of this or do they know someone else who is prepared to take on the task of implementation. If so, please contact David Harby at david.harby at ntlworld.com.

RAILFUTURE OFFICE – NEW ADDRESS

The office move to the new address of Room 205 at The Colourworks has been completed. The new telephone line has been installed and is now working. The telephone number 020 7249 5533 is unaltered. Please note however that the fax number has changed to 020 7249 5533.

ORR REMINDS NETWORK RAIL THAT THEY MUST PROVIDE TIMETABLE INFO 12 WEEKS IN ADVANCE

As most readers will be aware Network Rail has been failing in its obligation to provide TOC's with details of timetable changes at least 12 weeks in advance. Many APEX tickets, especially Virgin Value, have been unavailable because the operators have not known which trains will run until a few days in advance. This has prompted the ORR to take action.

On 2nd September The Office of Rail Regulation announced that it had sought and obtained a commitment from Network Rail to restore compliance with its obligation to provide accurate information about revisions to the national timetable at least twelve weeks in advance of operation.

Chris Bolt, Chairman of ORR, said: "Experience over the August Bank Holiday has shown, once again, that the current position on the provision of advance timetable information is unacceptable, a point highlighted by the recent Rail Passengers Committee report. Network Rail is failing to meet its licence requirement to make timetable information available to train operators 12 weeks in advance, so that passengers can plan journeys, reserve seats and access the full range of fares.

Network Rail has committed to delivering a recovery plan that provides for a staged improvement through to full compliance in September 2005, with major milestones designed to improve conditions at key holiday periods. The first milestone will be to provide revised timetable information for all seven days of the week four weeks in advance, with effect from 20 November 2004. This will improve on the position experienced over the August Bank Holiday period, when some information was only available less than one week in advance, and ensure that passengers will have accurate timetable information for the Christmas and New Year period at the latest from the beginning of December.

ORR will be monitoring the position carefully and if Network Rail fails to deliver on the commitment it has made, ORR will consider what further action is required to achieve compliance with the licence requirement.”
Source: ORR press release http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.6632

£44.5 MILLION HUMBER INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL EXTENSION ANNOUNCED

ABP has announced plans to build a £44.5 million extension to the Humber International Terminal on the back of term agreements with BHP Billiton, Drax Power Ltd, and EDF Energy. The terminal predominantly handles coal from some of the UK’s major energy suppliers. This second-phase development of Humber International Terminal will be capable of handling 7.5 million tonnes of coal each year, and will be rail connected. Work on this project has already commenced, and the terminal is expected to handle its first shipment of imported coal by mid-2006.
Source: ABP press release http://www.abports.co.uk/news20043442.htm

BLI CEMENT AWARDS EWS SEVEN YEAR BULK HAULAGE CONTRACT

EWS announced on 7th September that it has won a major 'new to rail' seven year contract from BLI Cement, a Tarmac Central company. The contract will see EWS move cement from BLI Cement's new £115 million cement works at Tunstead Quarry, near Buxton to depots at Leeds, Walsall and Willesden.

The depots were built with the assistance of a £12 million freight facilities grant awarded to BLI Cement in February 2002. This grant also enabled the purchase of thirty 90 tonne gross tank wagons to move the cement. The new to rail traffic will remove 24,000 lorry movements and 4.5 million lorry kilometres from the road network each year.

EWS has already started operating trains to Leeds and Walsall under pre-commissioning work, before the cement works at Tunstead Quarry are formally opened. Services for Willesden will commence later this year.

Source: EWS press release http://www.ews-railway.co.uk/cmsystem/news_article.asp?guid={DC24432C-110C-4344-9305-3D97C4E4E0E4}

SRA PUBLISHES GUIDE FOR PROMOTERS OF NEW STATIONS

The Strategic Rail Authority has published a comprehensive 60-page guide for promoters of new railway stations. The new guide entitled ‘New Stations: A Guide for Promoters’:

 Sets out for the first time in one document the approach that developers, local authorities and others should follow when proposing new stations. The rail industry will consider new stations only where their economic and environmental benefit to society outweighs any impact on the network’s capacity and the operation of existing passenger and freight services.
 Makes clear the practical limitations on the number of new stations that could be introduced onto the existing rail network. The document notes that 55 new stations have opened since 1994. It also notes that there are plans for 350 new stations, but that large numbers of these will not be acceptable to the industry.
 Explains that introducing new stations is a complex process that requires detailed assessment and appraisal. This work needs to consider a wide range of issues including the commercial / economic, operational and technical impacts of the proposal. It also makes clear that with limited funding available to the rail industry, the financing of proposed station developments – both in terms of capital costs and ongoing revenue support – should be considered from the outset.

There is a 6-stage process. In future, developers and passenger groups would be expected to do a lot of the stage 1 work in order to convince local authorities to take up the ideas. The issues for Stage 1 are:

a) Consistency with local planning policy
b) A capacity utilisation statement
c) Site suitability - compliance with guidelines e.g.:
 Any gradient greater than 1 in 270 may not prove feasible.
 HSE station guidance requires that new station platforms should be straight.
 Location – problem of significant demand being abstracted from existing stations.
 Is the railway in a cutting/on an embankment/difficult to access? Extra construction costs associated with DDA implementation requirements. Availability of land for parking and bus interchange facilities must be considered.
 Signalling considerations – ability of capacity to accommodate additional stops or services. Will equipment require relocation?
 What type of service is currently provided along the line? Can extra station stop be accommodated without detriment to existing services?
d) Preliminary cost estimate - Indicative station costs are:
 Single platform station, on single-track railway with small station building and little requirements for trackworks. - £2m to £4m
 Two platform station on twin track railway with booking hall, toilets and minor infrastructure changes. - £5m to £7m.
 Four platform station, on four-track railway with appropriate station buildings and need for significant track, signalling and overhead line changes. £15m to £20m.
e) Preliminary appraisal in accordance with the Government /SRA appraisal criteria: environment, safety, economy, integration and accessibility.
f) Transport needs statement including assessment of alternatives

Promoters should consider private sources of funding such as Section 106 agreements. Even if stations are provided free to the rail industry the long-term impact on rail industry finances need to be considered.

New station proposals must not have a negative effect on network performance.

In the SRA’s view schemes that encourage very short distance commuting by rail need to be carefully assessed against other public transport options that may provide more cost effective solutions. There is an emphasis on only approving new stations if the new station represents the optimal, i.e. cheapest, means of delivering public transport access. Bus, light rail and community transport need to be considered first.

The guide will be discussed at the Railfuture Network Development Committee meeting on 25th September. If you have any comments please either post to Richard Pout, Committee Chairman, or send by email to Nick Dibben nick.dibben at ukgateway.net to arrive by 23rd September.

Some questions you may like to comment on are:

Question 1. Would Railfuture be able to do most of the stage one work?
Question 2. How many of the schemes being put forward by Railfuture would meet the new criteria?
Question 3. Should we challenge these rules?
Question 4. Should we be giving money or spending time on projects that do not meet the criteria by a large margin?

The guide can be accessed via http://www.sra.gov.uk/publications/strategy_default

NEW TRANSPORT TEAMS FOR LABOUR AND TORIES

Transport Minister Kim Howells replaces Alan Johnson at higher education with Transport Minister Tony McNulty being promoted to Minister of State within the transport department. Charlotte Atkins is the new Parliamentary Under-Secretary at transport.

The Tory reshuffle sees shadow transport secretary Damian Green leave the front bench. Shadow Environment Secretary Tim Yeo adds Mr Green's transport brief to his responsibilities.

CROSSRAIL CONSULTATION ROUND 2

Crossrail has launched a series of information centres across London in a step up of its Public Consultation Round 2 which began on 5 August 2004. These will complement the two information exchanges already running at Farringdon and Spitalfields, which will continue.

The centres will run over two days each time in various locations along the route of Crossrail line 1 as follows:

Maidenhead, Slough, Iver, Hayes & Harlington, Southall, West Ealing, Ealing Broadway, Acton Main Line, Ladbooke Grove, Paddington, West End, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Spitalfields, Whitechapel, Isle of Dogs, Stratford, Ilford, Romford, Brentwood, Custom House, Woolwich, Abbey Wood, Erith, Dartford, Ebbsfleet

The Information Exchange in Farringdon is open every Monday and Thursday from 12noon to 8pm. Spitalfields is open every Tuesday and Wednesday 12noon to 8pm at Second Floor, Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, E1 6QL.

If you wish to be registered on the contacts database please call the Helpdesk on 0845 602 3813 (24-hours, 7-days a week). Email: helpdesk at crossrail.co.uk Fax: 020 7941 7703 or write to:
Crossrail
FREEPOST NAT6945
London
SW1H 0BR

http://www.crossrail.co.uk/pages/launchofinformationcentres.html

NEWS FROM THE SRA

The good news is that the SRA has confirmed that a case exists for a new parkway station at Gloucester. Of the sites assessed, the location at Elmbridge has the strongest case to be progressed. Further feasibility work is needed before the SRA and wider rail industry can commit finally to a new station. However the SRA say that, although the initial work indicates that a commercial case exists for the station, they have no funds available to implement a station at this time. Third parties will be sought to determine their interest in investing in the project.
http://www.sra.gov.uk/news/gloucester.html

A draft Route Utilisation Strategy has been released for the Brighton Main Line. The deadline for responses is 3rd December 2004.

According to the SRA the key benefits of the draft RUS, the second of a series planned for Britain’s busiest and most congested main lines, include:
 More frequent Gatwick Express service, running every ten minutes from London Victoria and Gatwick, calling at East Croydon, with extensions to coastal towns, integrated into the overall service pattern. This will also provide an enhanced service, in terms of speed, quantum and quality, from coastal towns to Gatwick and London;
 More seats for commuters on the main line north of Gatwick, achieved by running all peak hour trains in 12-car formation. This will reduce overcrowding on the Brighton Main Line fast services (currently 130%)and increase patronage on the relatively lightly-loaded Gatwick Express services (often no more than 50%), such that on average, main line trains will be 80% full on leaving Gatwick for Victoria in the morning peak hours;
 Better train punctuality throughout the route, and faster journey times to many destinations on the South Coast. This will be achieved by measures such as reducing complex train moves between lines, abandoning the splitting and joining of trains at Haywards Heath, and tailoring timetables to the speed profile of new trains;
 All-day hourly fast services to Uckfield from London Bridge;
 A regular and frequent suburban service on all the corridors from London Victoria and London Bridge, with some peak hour improvements.
 In order to facilitate the major improvements, a number of other changes would need to be made. They include the curtailment of the Hastings – Eastbourne – Gatwick – Victoria service at Eastbourne (but there will be an additional Brighton – Ashford fast service using brand new diesel rolling stock) and the alteration, in the interests of performance, of the Watford – Brighton service into a Watford – Clapham Junction train.

http://www.sra.gov.uk/news/2004/9/bml_rus.html

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Saturday 18th September
Railfuture Yorkshire Branch meeting, Ilkley
Railfuture East Anglia Branch meeting, Assembly Rooms, Norwich 14.00
Monday 20th September
Railfuture North East Branch meeting, St Margaret's Church Hall, North Road, Durham 19.00. Slide show outlining both the history of, and future plans for the Weardale Railway. Details from Ian Walker - Secretary 0191 372 0538 Martin Murphy - Chair 01665 608150
Saturday 25th September
Railfuture Freight Committee meeting, Carrs Lane Church Centre, Birmingham
Railfuture Passenger Committee meeting, Carrs Lane Church Centre, Birmingham
Railfuture Network Development Committee meeting, FOE Warehouse, Birmingham
Thursday 30th September
Railfuture London and S.E. Branch (Guildford Division) open meeting at Guildford Institute, Guildford (10 min walk from station) 19.30 - 22.00. Surrey County Councillor and Railfuture member, John Pincham, will talk about the latest Airtrack proposals. Details from htjones at raildev.fsnet.co.uk.
Saturday 2nd October
BRTA Conference at De Pary’s Hotel, De Pary’s Avenue, Bedford. 10.30am — 5.00pm. Details from Richard Pill, BRTA Chairman, 24c St Michael’s Road, Bedford, MK40 2LT, phone: 01234 405268 or see www.brta.org.uk
Saturday 23rd October
Railfuture Policy, Lobby and Campaigns Committee, Calthorpe Arms, London
Saturday 6th November
Rail Users Conference 2004. Carrs Lane Church Centre, Birmingham. Booking forms will be included with Railwatch, which will be despatched later this month.
Saturday 13th November
Railfuture Board meeting, (Venue to be confirmed)
Railfuture Scottish Branch Meeting at 1400. Venue TBA
Saturday 27th November
Railfuture International Committee meeting, VAT & Fiddle, Nottingham at 13.00.
Saturday 4th December
Railfuture Passenger Committee meeting, Nottingham (to be confirmed)