Loading...
 

East Anglia Branch News - Snippets Issue 115 - 12/05/2003

[Home] [Meetings and Events] [Campaigns] [Consultations] [Newsletters|Latest|Covers] [News Archive] [Document Archive] [Gallery] [User Groups] [About] [Contacts]

News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.

Railfuture News Snippets 115 - 12/05/2003



Snippets readers might be interested in a documentary-style drama on BBC-2 on Tuesday 13th May at 21:00. Titled "The Day Britain Stopped", it envisages a day when Britain's transport infrastructure comes to a total stop because of decades of poor planning and under-investment, which have stretched all transport modes to the limit. Railfuture chairman Peter Lawrence says: "We may learn lessons from it. I would be pleased hear your views after the showing of this programme."

The Rail Passengers Committee for Eastern England will be holding their Rail Users Conference 2003 on Saturday 4th October at the Maltings, Ely. Speakers will include Chris Austin of the SRA and a representative of the railway press. Representatives of user groups who have not received an invitation need to apply by 18th July, and can get a form from http://www.railpassengers.org.uk/Eastern.

The Bedfordshire Railway and Transport Association (BRTA), whose campaigns include the East West Rail Link and Bedford-Northampton reopening, will be holding their AGM and public meeting on Saturday 5th July at 13:00 in the upstairs room of the Old White Hart, Cotton End/London Road, Northampton. Their speaker will be from Avondale, the railway environmental services company that cleaned up the mothballed Claydon Junction-Bletchley trackbed. Non-members welcome.


RAIL FRANCHISES
Passenger poll backs First Great Eastern's attempts to be reinstated in Greater Anglia franchise bids

Keywords: [FirstGreatEastern]

A survey conducted by MORI, the respected opinion research organisation, found that more than 85% of passengers who use First Great Eastern services believe the Company should be allowed to bid for the new Greater Anglia franchise.

Although only 85% support implies that a considerable 15% (1 in 6) of its passengers wanted rid of First, Analysis of responses from 584 passengers surveyed at stations on the route also showed that just 20 (3%) backed the SRA's decision to exclude First from the bidding process. The remaining 12% were "don't knows".

Incidentally, according to "Transit" magazine, it is expected thet First Great Exstern's new Desiros, which should have started with the summer timetable, will be late entering service as more testing time is required, because heavy maintrenance on the Great Eastern Mainline preventing testing taking place. July is a likely revised start date.


RAIL SERVICES
Wherry and Bittern line passenger figures continue to grow

Keywords: [BitternLine]

At the Norfolk Rail Policy Group in April 2003 Anglia Railways announced that the Wherry Lines had 1,059,515 passengers in 2002, a 14.14% increase compared with 2001, and the Bittern line had 371,129, which was a 6.72% increase. This is against a 5% increase nationally.

Averaged across the year, the Wherry lines, from Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, had 2,900 passengers per day, and the Bittern line, from Norwich to Sheringham, had 1,000 per day. Since these figures are based on ticket sales rather than passenger counts, they would not include passengers using the Anglia Plus ranger and rover tickets that were not bought on those trains.


TRANSPORT CONSULTATIONS
Cambridgeshire County Council LTP exhibitions take place throughout the county

Cambridgeshire County Council's LTP exhibitions are now taking place in various towns and villages in Cambridgeshire - see Snippets 114 for a list of venues. All households should have received - included within free newspapers - an 8-page leaflet, outlining the council's plans for transport, with the last two pages being a questionnaire.

In the leaflet under the section 'public transport' are the comments: "A key element [of high quality public transport corridors] will be the Rapid Transit system between Huntingdon and Cambridge. Where appropriate, we will also aim to improve the rail network." This appears to place rail a long way behind buses in terms of priorities. The leaflet reveals that around 20% of Cambridgeshire's bus services are subsidised.

Chesterton interchange station is the council's second priority, after the CHRT (guided bus), but there is no mention of a new station at Addenbrooke's Hospital or anywhere else.


RAIL DEPOTS
Whitemoor Yard development has tough environmental obstacles to overcome

Keywords: [WhitemoorYard]

Following Network Rail's (NR) recent public exhibition of plans to build a large "virtual quarry", infrastructure distribution and recycling facility - and possibly a concrete sleeper factory - at March, residents affected by the works are expressing concern. NR will need to address some tough environmental issues if they are to get planning permission for their project.

Ivan Ivanovic says: "Unfortunately, from a developer's perspective, leaving redundant railway sidings to be recolonised by flora and fauna for twenty or thirty years means that it quickly becomes an area rich in bio-diversity. This comparative "richness" is helped by the lack of bio-diversity in our modern agricultural landscape. To put it bluntly - farmers spray - Railtrack didn't."

The planning application will be determined by Cambridgeshire County Council using its Minerals and Waste Plan. A full Environmental Impact Statement will be required which could take some time to produce. An early decision is unlikely. Whether this will have serious consequences for the CTRL works at Stratford remains to be seen.

Incidentally, during April, minor resignalling work took place in the March station area that was left unfinished from 2001, when the track layout was altered to provide wheelchair/cycle access to the eastbound Platform 2. Semaphore signals have been replaced by 3-aspect colour light signals and an existing signal was relocated closer to the station to improve visibility to drivers of approaching trains. Barriers at level crossings around March have also been replaced recently.


RAIL ROUTES
Haverhill Town Council contributes towards funding of Cambridge-Haverhill-Sudbury reopening study

Haverhill Town Council is to donate £2,000 towards the cost of the first stage of a full feasibility study into reopening the Cambridge-Haverhill-Sudbury railway line. However, the donation is conditional in that it must be repaid in full if the feasibility study does not take place. St.Edmundsbury Borough Council has already ring-fenced £10,000 towards the cost of the first stage of the study. Another £58,000 is needed to pay for a full study. A pre-feasibility study carried out in 1999 estimated the cost of providing the rail link at £49 million, though it is more like £100 million now.

The Cambridge-Sudbury Rail Renewal Association (CSRRA) has produced a double-sided A4 glossy leaflet promoting the line. They are available by emailing Malcolm Hill [mk.hill at talk21.com] with your name and postal address. A donation towards postage costs would be appreciated. A CSRRA petition in Sudbury recently attracted 180 signatures, and more were obtained in Haverhill town centre on 26th April.

Tesco has announced plans for a Tesco Metro grocery store, that would be located on the former Haverhill station site plus the adjoining local authority vehicle depot (which is to be relocated). The design could incorporate a railway station, in a similar manner to Costcutter grocery stores that are already provided at some stations operated by Connex. Haverhill is the second largest town in England without a rail link, Corby being the largest.


HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINES
South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) backs high speed trains between London and the north

Writing in Regeneration and Renewal magazine in early May, Mike Gwilliam Director of Planning and Transport for SEERA backs a HighSpeed Line between London and the North and says it should connect directly to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and by-pass London. This can be achieved, he claims, by linking the fast line with the Lower Thames Crossing a major new link between the north and south shores of the Thames.

One significant issue for London suburban commuters is where and how exactly will the HSL terminate in the capital. If it uses existing platforms and train paths, who is going to miss out? Ivan Ivanovic asks: "Do Snippets readers have a view on where the new HSL should terminate? Should it be central London, or a parkway station near the M25, or even near Heathrow Airport?"


RAIL NEWS OUTSIDE EAST ANGLIA BRANCH AREA
Double-tracking approved for London-to-Penzance line in Cornwall

East Anglian campaigners eager to see track redoubled (e.g Fen Line, Beccles loop) will be pleased that eight miles of single-track line between Probus and Burngallow in Cornwall will be redoubled at a cost of £15m. At £2 million per mile this is substantially less than the £5.5m a mile for Chiltern's Project Evergreen.

Work will commence in winter 2004 for completion in 2006. Objective One funding, which gives European cash to low-income areas, is providing £3m and the Strategic Rail Authority is putting in £12m.

First new station of 2003 opens in May - on former freight-only route

The Chandler's Ford station in Hampshire will roepen in May. This is along a former freight-only route, which now has a new daily passenger service between Romsey and Totton.

East London Line extension approved as high court judge rejects protestors case

The £600m East London Line extension should now go ahead, following a successful appeal by the SRA, allowing the historic Bishopsgate goods yard to be demolished. The extension will link the line to Dalston Junction and create four new stations.

Wensleydale Railway obtains licence from Rail Regulator

Rail Regulator Tom Winsor has granted five licences to Wensleydale Railway. These cover management of the 22 miles of track and infrastucture between Northallerton and Redmire, operation of stations, passenger trains, freight trains, and train maintenance. This follows on from the signing of the 99-year lease on 11th November 2002.

On 4th July the first passenger is train is due to run. Before then platforms need to be built at Leeming Bar and Leyburn, with track and points to laid in, staff to be trained, and a long list of other things to be done.


Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 115 - 12/05/2003

[Prev Issue (114)] [Snippets Issues] [Next Issue (116)] [Category List] [Keyword List] [People List] [Story List] [Branch Dashboard]