News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 204 - 26/04/2010
- RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE [all issues]
- STATIONS [all issues]
- Chesterton Station may not go ahead...so CAST.IRON steps in with alternative proposal
- Cambridgeshire County Council criticises inadequate footbridge and lifts planned for Cambridge station island platform
- NXEA claims progress being made on improving appearance and facilities at Great Yarmouth station
- RAIL FRANCHISES [all issues]
- Aslef union announces intention to bid for East Coast mainline franchise as not-for-profit operation
- RAIL FARES [all issues]
- GUIDED BUSWAY [all issues]
- Mid-April passes with no date for Cambridgeshire Guided Busway opening then suddenly mid-June trial date possible
- Government refuses to increase its share of the funding for the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway
- Cambridgeshire County Council releases details of busway 'Compensation Events' under Freedom of information Act
- Private Eye magazine's Dr B Ching criticises government's obsession with guided busways
- PRESERVED RAILWAYS [all issues]
- Changes at Bramley line as it becomes the Wisbech & March Bramley Line Heritage Railway Trust
- North Norfolk Railway considering dining trains to Cromer
- WEBSITES [all issues]
A reminder that the summer timetable commences on Sunday 23rd May.
A new version of the Tube map http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/standard-tube-map.pdf has been issued to take account of the imminent opening of the first phase of the East London Line as part of the national rail network - preview services commence on Tuesday 27th April. Equivalent changes have been made to the http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/london-overground-network-map.pdf Overground Map. Oddly neither of these show the Stratford International DLR extension as being under construction.
Arriva Trains, which runs the Cross Country service from Stansted Airport, has been acquired by Deutsche Bahn, through its subsidiary DB Regio UK.
Organisations such as the Campaign for Better Transport have responded to the DfT's report on the future of franchising, which is focused on reducing costs - see http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/passenger/franchises/futureoffranchising/pdf/report.pdf.
In its response to the DfT's Greater [East] Anglia franchise consultation, ESTA has called for an hourly train service between Ipswich and Lowestoft by December 2011 and an hourly frequency on Sundays between Lowestoft and Norwich. It also demands at least one off-peak through service between Lowestoft and London along with better bus-train integration. Meanwhile Felixstowe Travel Watch's concern is that passenger trains are not ousted by increased railfreight traffic on the line.
The current edition of Modern Railways suggests that the "business case" for the East West Rail Link between Bletchley and Bedford to Cambridge will be completed "by autumn 2010". It is believed that a report by consultants Arkins has suggested the £200m-£250m western section would have a BCR of 5:1. The same MR article also raises the possibility of services along the Peterborough-Leicester-Oxford-Bristol route. There are some interesting photos of the EWRL route around Calvert at http://www.meadwaypark.co.uk/Calvert.
First East have issued updated proposals for the redevelopment of the area around Lowestoft Station. There consultation period that lasts until 4th June and will include local exhibitions. Documents can be found on: http://www.consult.waveney.gov.uk.
Felixstowe Travel Watch (formerly ESTA Felixstowe) will hold its spring meeting followed by the AGM on Tuesday 11th May 2010 at 19:00 at St. Andrew's Church Hall in Felixstowe. The speaker is Linda McCord from Passenger Focus.
According to Felixstowe Travel Watch the Port of Felixstowe has applied to have the time limit of its TWA Order to double track the Felixstowe branch (from Trimley station to Levington) extended as it wishes to delay the scheme by four years with completion in 2018. This delay is partly because of the recession but also because it is now believed that 32 freight paths a day can be accommodated with the existing infrastructure.
UK Rail Tours (http://www.ukrailtours.com has announced that on Saturday 14th August 2010 it will be running a charter over the Bletchley Flyover as far as Swanbourne.
On 26th April Microsoft Corporation announced that its Cambridge research arm would relocate to the new 'cb1' development next to Cambridge station in summer 2012. This is the first company to confirm it would move there.
The next Friends of March Station meeting will be on Monday 17th May at the Fenland District Council offices at Fenland Hall, County Road, March starting at 18:30. Use the Civic Entrance to enter the building. The next March station clean-up event will take place on Saturday 22nd May between 10:00 and 13:00. Suitable boots are required.
RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE
Hitchin flyover public inquiry ready to commence
Keywords: [HitchinFlyover]
The Public Inquiry into Network Rail's planning application for the Hitchin Flyover, a scheme which has been around since 1997 when a pre-feasibility study was conducted, is scheduled to start on Tuesday 11th May and is expected to finish on Friday 21st May after eight days (including one day for site visits).
North Herts District Council and Herts County Council are the main objectors; they have concerns about haulage by road and safety of road users, as do indivisual objecters. There are also objections from farmers whose land will be compulsorily purchased to build the new link. The Inquiry will be held at The Spirella Ballroom, The Spirella Building, Bridge Road, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, SG6 4ET. The inspector is John Watson BSc FIHT MICE MCMI. It is unclear how many objections have been received but there have been at least 58 (compared to 2,471 for the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway TWA Application). For documents relating to the Inquiry see http://www.persona.uk.com/hitchin/index.htm.
STATIONS
Chesterton Station may not go ahead...so CAST.IRON steps in with alternative proposal
Keywords: [CASTIRON]
Cambridgeshire County Council has expressed concern that the proposed £24 million Chesterton station, which is sees as a regional priority, might not go ahead if transport budgets are substantially reduced after the general election. Just over £20 million has been allocated from the Government's Regional Funding Allocation but it fears that part of this could be withdrawn and it could probably not fill the gap, as it would already need £4m from developer contributions or its local transport plan. The council had hoped to get cash for the station project from the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) but that has now been replaced by the Urban Challenge Fund, which it intends to bid for. The station has a start date of 2012/13 and a completion date of 2015/16.
Although council officer Graham Hughes said the station was merely "at risk", Conservative Party election literature said that the station would now NOT happen. All political parties support a north Cambridge station, and accept the desperate need for it.
In order to get something built sooner rather than later, CAST.IRON has revisited its earlier proposal to provide a station at the Cambridge Science Park. Although it designed a dual-platform station, the county council's rail consultants, Atkins Rail, suggested at the busway public inquiry having a platform on either side of Milton Road. CAST.IRON has developed a proposal (see http://www.castiron.org.uk/MiltonRoad) to make use of the surviving stub of the St. Ives line to build a terminus station at Milton Road to serve the businesses and houses there and connect with the guided buses. Its proposal would replace the bay platform at the proposed Sidings station, whilst still allowing the sidings station (without the bay) to be built in the future as 'phase 2'.
CAST.IRON's 14-page detailed proposal on the area that a Milton Road station would serve, how easily and quickly it could be constructed, has been sent to the DfT as part of its consultation on the Greater Anglia franchise. CAST.IRON suggests that the relaying of 1.1km of track, electrification, replacement of points, and a new station platform could be built for as little as £3m if the work is done at the same time as constructing the new island platform at Cambridge station. As well as avoiding additional possessions, materials and track-laying/OLE erecting equipment could be brought to site at the same time, along with the workers. It would be possible to work on the St. Ives line during the week (without a possession) and Cambridge station at the weekend.
CAST.IRON's proposal has been sent to local politicians and the rail industry. Cambridgeshire County Council's spokesman responded immediately (without looking at the detailed proposal apparently) claiming that the county council costed this station at Milton Road some years ago at £16.3m. Confident that this is clearly not a like-for-like comparison CAST.IRON asked Cambs County Council for this breakdown in a Freedom of Information request: "Please provide the breakdown of this [£16.3m] figure to include identification of all infrastructure items and associated works. The level of detail should be sufficient to be able to identify all elements in order to make a valid comparison with the scheme proposed by CAST.IRON as already provided to the County on Thursday 15th April."
Although the council did not explain its cost it did supply, within just two days, a breakdown of the costs of all four stations options considered. In fact, it did not look at a station at Milton Road but just beyond Chesterton Junction on the St. Ives branch. This included several features that a Milton Road station would not need (such as a footbridge) and car parking (CAST.IRON proposed using the former Cowley Road park and ride) along with an excessively-sized station building. The costing also included the clearance of the entire sidings side (vegetation, 7km of track removed and five huts demolished). CAST.IRON has subsequently used the county council's unit costs and formula for overheads etc. and has costed the Milton Road station for just over £4m (before optimism bias is added). This cost would be reduced, as CAST.IRON said in its proposal, if construction were done at the same time as the island platform at Cambridge station and/or if no station building were constructed.
CAST.IRON Detailed Proposal: http://www.castiron.org.uk/MiltonRoad/Greater-Anglia-Consultation-Response-from-CAST-IRON-v1_3.pdf.
Cambridge News article: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/3m-railway-station-plan-unveiled-by-campaigners.htm.
Cambridgeshire County Council criticises inadequate footbridge and lifts planned for Cambridge station island platform
Keywords: [CambridgeStation]
As part of its response to the DfT's consultation on the Greater [East] Anglia franchise, Cambridgeshire County council has criticised Network Rail's proposed footbridge to the new island platform and the lifts, which it says will be "inappropriate" for cyclists. It is also concerned that access to the bridge will be overcrowded. Jeremy Smith, Cambridgeshire County Council's acting head of transport policy and strategy, included these concerns in a report set to be approved by the authority's cabinet on Tuesday 27th April.
The council claims that the island platform will use 'off the shelf' designs for the bridge and lifts, which do not take account of the "many hundreds of cycles a day to use the stairs, lifts and bridge" at Cambridge station, which would trigger "inevitable congestion and resulting complaints from station users". Network Rail says that the lifts will be able to accommodate 16 people at a time.
The county council also criticised the relationship between rival operators National Express East Anglia (which operates the station) and First Capital Connect. It claims that NXEA has prevented FCC from having staff accommodation within the station.
CN Report: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Transport-boss-slams-design-of-new-station-platform.htm.
NXEA claims progress being made on improving appearance and facilities at Great Yarmouth station
Keywords: [GreatYarmouthStation]
In [Snippets 203] the http://fixourstation.com campaign to demand improvements at Great Yarmouth station was mentioned. Recently new station signage has been fitted throughout the station whilst a replacement and additional customer information screen has been provided. Litter and vegetation clearance has also taken place. NXEA intends to erect a series of poster boards and new litter bin holders.
RAIL FRANCHISES
Aslef union announces intention to bid for East Coast mainline franchise as not-for-profit operation
In an example of 'poacher turned gamekeeper' the train drivers' union Aslef says it intends to bid to run the currently nationalised East Coast inter-city franchise as a not-for-profit business if the government invite tenders in late 2010. Aslef claims that it wants to show how services could be improved without spending more money. If successful, the set-up would be the first of its kind in the UK.
BBC News item: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8631062.stm.
RAIL FARES
City councillor claims that Cambridge passengers are being 'ripped off' by TravelCard prices
Cambridge city councillor Colin Rosenstiel is demanding to know why a one-day Travelcard from Cambridge station costs £6.50 on top of an off-peak return train ticket when it costs only £3 extra on a £20 return ticket if bought in Oxford. Both ticket prices are set by First Capital Connect, which runs the majority of services to London from both Cambridge and Oxford.
Cllr Rosenstiel, who commutes to London, believes the same add-on should apply from both destinations. For travellers from Cambridge it is cheaper to use an Oyster card rather than buy the Tube upgrade. An FCC spokesman said "Transport for London set the Travelcard price based on the numbers of passengers heading to the capital. Each operator pays a differing amount to Transport for London for this based on a number of factors, including usage levels." This answer implies that TfL believes a traveller from north of London would travel further on London Transport than someone from the west.
GUIDED BUSWAY
Mid-April passes with no date for Cambridgeshire Guided Busway opening then suddenly mid-June trial date possible
In [Snippets 203] it was reported that "provided that the expected progress occurs" both Cambridgeshire County Council and busway contractor BAM Nuttall "are hopeful that it will be possible to indicate by the middle of April the target date for trialling and then operating the [northern section of the] busway." That date passed with Cambridgeshire County Council claiming that BAM Nuttall (BNL) has reneged on a commitment to fix the 'defects' and now wants to hand over the route as it is, dealing with the defects, in the words of Councillor Roy Pegram, "on a 'wait and see' basis in the hope they won't come to anything." Asked by the Hunts Post for an article on 31st March Cllr Pegram said "As the weeks pass it seems more and more likely that both the northern and southern sections of the route will be handed over together as originally envisaged. At that point the contract allows the council to step in and address the defects."
With just days before the county council's cabinet was due to discuss the progress (or lack of it), it was announced that both sides had greed a timetable for BNL to complete works on six outstanding issues on the northern section (see [Snippets 203]) by mid-June, which could lead to "trials" commencing immediately afterwards. Some of these issues require physical work, whilst the others are merely assessments of the busway to see if remedial work is required, such as foundation work to avoid future settlement of the busway. The risk is that additional work is them deemed required therefore pushing back the opening date by months, although work on the maintenance track could take place whilst buses are running.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have demanded a public inquiry into the project, which should have been running 14 months ago. According to the Cambridge News, Julian Huppert, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Cambridge, who voted against the guided bus when he was a county councillor, said: "This project is seriously over budget and over deadline and still there is no end in sight. We must have a thorough investigation into what went wrong. Clearly this whole project has been poorly managed from the start and the Tories must be held publicly accountable."
Government refuses to increase its share of the funding for the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway
On 29th March, the Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Adonis, speaking in the House of Lords, said that the government will not bail out Cambridgeshire County Council. He said: "The Department for Transport's contribution has been capped at a maximum of £92.5 million. There is no intention to contribute further to this scheme. I understand that Cambridgeshire County Council has recently indicated that the total may now fall between £140 million and £145 million." This was in response to a question tabled by Lord Berkeley: "To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial contribution they have committed to the Cambridge guided busway project; what is its expected opening date; what is the estimated outturn cost; and whether they intend to contribute further funding to the project."
Lord Adonis reply: http://railwayeye.blogspot.com/2010/03/lord-adonis-in-holy-week-on-guided.html.
Cambridgeshire County Council releases details of busway 'Compensation Events' under Freedom of information Act
As explained in previous editions of Snippets, Cambs County Council is reimbursing BAM Nuttall for the work it does, which
is currently more than £40m over budget, and is borrowing the additional money. How much of the overspend that the council will be
able to claw back once the two sides 'settle up' will depend on whether the cost increase was legitimate based on unforeseen changes. These
are known as 'compensation events'. Following a Freedom of Information Act request, the council has provided a long list. Highlights are as
follows:
* Council saved £90k when Histon station building was not demolished and car park was not constructed in its place;
* Changes to the design for the busway bridge at Addenbrooke's when Network Rail required space for a fourth track added £2,017;
* NR allowing two heritage railways to take rails cost BAM Nuttall £26,521 in lost revenue from selling the rails for scrap;
* Cambs County Council had to pay almost £250k because of government tax increases: fuel duty, aggregates levy and landfill tax.
FoI Request: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/busway_contract_compensation_eve.
Private Eye magazine's Dr B Ching criticises government's obsession with guided busways
The 16th-29th edition of Private Eye (issue number 1260) has criticised the government's continuing funding of guided busways, which are supposed to be cheaper than railways, according to their promoters. It compared the original £86m price tag of the delayed Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, which has jumped to £161m and rising, with the successful reopening of the 18-mile-long disused Ebbw Railway for about £30m.
The same article also reported on criticism of the apparent bias against rail schemes. It cited optimism bias, which is much higher for rail schemes than road schemes and may cause cost inflation as there is less need to stop costs rising, whilst light-rail schemes pay for almost the entire cost of moving utilities although road schemes pay much less.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridgeshire_Guided_Busway.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Changes at Bramley line as it becomes the Wisbech & March Bramley Line Heritage Railway Trust
The Annual General Meeting of the Bramley Line on 27th March saw a new chairman and treasurer elected, along with a new constitution that established the Wisbech & March Bramley Line Heritage Railway Trust (modelled on the Swanage railway) in place of old Bramley Line group. The trust runs membership and policy whilst the dormant company will hold the lease to the line. The organisation is in the process of becoming a member of the Heritage Railway Association.
The new chairman is Simon Rudge, who is a manager in the rail industry, whilst the new treasurer, Derek Orr, is a guard for one for one of the TOCs, as well as a volunteer at the Mid-Norfolk Railway.
Press Release: http://www.bramleyline.org.uk/files/press7_agm.pdf.
On Wednesday 14th April the Bramley line track clearance volunteers joined some Network Rail staff who were using the Wisbech branch line being trained how to replace sleepers. This took place between Coldham and Chain Bridge with several wooden sleepers being replaced. It is the first time that Network Rail has used the branch for any purpose since it was mothballed in 2001, although some emergency work has been done on level crossings.
North Norfolk Railway considering dining trains to Cromer
Keywords: [NorthNorfolkRailway]
A recent article in Railway Magazine suggested that the North Norfolk Railway is considering operating dining trains to Cromer and back on Sundays. This would make further use of the new Sheringham level crossing, although the tramway crossing is limited to 12 movements (i.e. six return trains) a year. At present the railway is merely examining the viability and practicality of the idea.
WEBSITES
Train ticket website offers 'air miles' to rail passengers
The new http://www.mytrainticket.co.uk website is aiming to attract business away from competitors by offering travellers one Airmile for every £10 spent on train tickets. The air miles are limited to air travel and can be used on Eurostar along with hotels and other goods and services. However, the deal offered is not very generous compared to, say, Tesco where one Clubcard point is earned for every £1 you spend, and 250 Clubcard points can be exchanged for 60 Airmiles (that's one Airmile per £4.17 spent).
Mytrainticket.co.uk, which is owned by rail industry website designer Assertis, is aiming for £40 million of sales in its first year. The website claims to show best fares by price and route showing all available fares for all train companies on a single screen. It even shows where two singles would be cheaper than a return, and allows travellers to compare train facilities and ticket flexibility before booking.
Website for new co-operative seeking to run open access passenger service from West Country to Midlands
Go! Co-operative's website http://www.go-now.coop says that it aims to be the first co-operatively owned train operating company in the UK. It recently announced its intention to bid for open access rights to run a service of four trains a day from Yeovil Junction to the Midlands from December 2011. If successful it would reinstate a direct service between Oxford and Swindon, which was withdrawn by the SRA in 2003. It needs to raise £500,000, which it hopes to achieve from small investors buying as few as 100 shares for £100. It has raised more than £50,000 so far.
New website for campaign to build a second Brighton Main Line using Uckfield-Lewes route
The impressive http://www.bml2.co.uk website promotes the construction of "BML2", a second Brighton Main Line to provide extra capacity when the current mainline fills up in 2020 according to predictions.
The website contains a 44-page report and detailed plans of how a new second Brighton Main Line would provide "the most realistic, reasonable and quickest solution" to the increasing lack of rail capacity between London and Brighton by making use of existing line to Uckfield and then reinstating the line to Lewes with a new tunnel to provide a fast route to Brighton.
The plans show how the new Thameslink service could be considerably enhanced by using BML2 with intensive services to and through London from both Eastbourne and Brighton. Reinstatement of the line from Tunbridge Wells West Station to Eridge, which is currently used by the heritage Spa Valley Railway, would also provide new travel opportunities.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 204 - 26/04/2010
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