News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 248 - 30/12/2013
- STATIONS [all issues]
- Councillors approve planning application for Cambridge Science Park station
- New platforms at Peterborough station open on 28th December but Railfuture disappointed by certain features
- RAIL ROUTES [all issues]
- ROLLING STOCK [all issues]
- PRESERVED RAILWAYS [all issues]
Railfuture is pleased that after a lot of lobbying by itself and others the government has scrapped the annual RPI+1% fare increases that were introduced in 2004 and have operated every year since (in England). On 2nd January 2014 regulated fares will increase by an average of RPI (using the annual rate at July 2013 i.e. 3.1%), with no regulated fare rising by more than 5.1% (providing that it is balanced by other fares that rise less than RPI). The government and the media have claimed that this is an end to 'above inflation' fare rises but it is not. Railfuture is continuing to campaign for CPI to be used rather than the higher RPI, as CPI is used for nearly everything else and more fairly represents changes in people's income (benefit and pension changes) and expenditure (changes in spending behaviour as prices change). CPI tends to be around 0.5% lower than RPI. Railfuture has published an analysis showing that regulated fares have gone up 25% more than if increases had just been CPI since 2004 - see http://www.railfuture.org.uk/dl692.
Network Rail and Greater Anglia have announced that there will be only minimal weekend closures for planned engineering works on the Great Eastern Main Line in 2014. Day-long rail-replacement buses wiil be used on just two Saturdays and six Sundays. These are scheduled during February and March (between 15th February and 30th March) with none after the end of March for the rest of the year.
Passenger Focus is conducting a survey on East Coast performance - see http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/key-issues/passenger-power. It has 33 questions, some are multiple choice and others free text. It covers stations, tickets and on train facilities but not much on performance.
The fifth year of Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys television series returns to BBC-2 in early January 2014.
STATIONS
Councillors approve planning application for Cambridge Science Park station
Keywords: [CambridgeNorthStation]
On 18th December Cambridgeshire County Council's joint development control committee unanimously approved the planning application for the £30m Cambridge Science Park station, which is still on track to open in December 2015.
During the three-hour debate, in which the station was described as a "game-changer for the employment cluster centred around the science park, St John's Innovation Centre and the business park", concerns were raised about bicycle safety and the potential use of Bramblefields nature reserve for access as the beauty spot could be damaged.
Bob Menzies, Cambridgeshire County Council's head of major infrastructure delivery, is leading the project. He will be speaking to the Railfuture summer conference in Cambridge on 21st June 2014 about the scheme - see http://www.railfuture.org.uk/conferences for details.
On 12 December Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that the government would provide £6m towards links to the new station during his visit Cambridge. Part of the funding will pay for an extension to the guided busway from Milton Road to the station building.
New platforms at Peterborough station open on 28th December but Railfuture disappointed by certain features
Keywords: [PeterboroughStation]
Railfuture East Anglia branch members visited Peterborough station on the morning of Saturday 28th December, just hours after the new island platform for east-west trains had been opened, following a three-day closure for commissioning of the signalling for the £42m project. Although the platforms had opened there was still much work in progress (for example the footbridge extension still had temporary protection covering it) and the station is not expected to be completed until March 2014. The initial impression was that whilst the changes there, and similar ones at other stations, may tick all the boxes and meet the appropriate standards, they fall short of being "of the highest quality" and have features that appear to frustrate passengers.
Toilets on platforms 6 and 7 were not open on the opening day, but that was the least of the issues. The most annoying features are the canopies. They only stretch a short way along the platform from the main footbridge (with the stairs and lift) and do not reach as far as the second footbridge (the one with the ramp) which has absolutely no protection from the rain once you reach the platform. The canopies themselves are quite narrow, stopping a long way short of the platform edges. In fact they protrude less than a foot from the edge of the waiting room so the cover from the rain is negligible and certainly insufficient. Railfuture suspects that this separation means the roof can be cleaned without having to take a line possession, although these days surely a solution such as a robot cleaning device could be used. There was a lack of standardisation with announcement speakers on platforms 6 and 7 directed along the platform but the ones on the new platform 3 of a completely different type and directed out onto the track. Like the lifts at Cambridge station they are too small inside for a full-sized bicycle although in contrast to Cambridge the former parcels bridge can be used, albeit a much further walk to the train door. Probably the greatest passenger dis-benefit from the new arrangements, which has been known about since Network Rail first revealed its plans, is the loss of the cross-platform interchange between trains from Ely/March onto inter-city trains heading north. It now requires use of the footbridge, possibly following a hundred other passengers.
Railfuture was very surprised to find a brand new ticket machine on the new platform 1 i.e. on the platform side of the barriers. This appears to be unprecedented at barriered stations and an open invitation to buy a ticket to get through the barriers without facing a penalty charge.
The new island platform can only take eight-car trains, which is perfectly adequate for normal service trains (given that it is inaccessible to the London tracks) but is too short for the (admittedly) occasional charter trains to be fully platformed. However, the Cambridge route is being increasingly used as a diversionary route and will be more often if Ely-Peterborough is electrified. Given the minimal cost of making the basic platform longer it seems short-sighted. At least it is a properly built brick and concrete structure, which was constructed away from operational tracks over several months. Extending existing platforms needed the work to be done faster and a cost-effective solution was found whereby a pre-fabricated platform extension was added on the slope of the existing platform avoiding the cost of demolishing the slope. A similar technique was used at Milton Keynes station.
It is assumed that Network Rail plans to fill in the track beside the former platform 1, which currently has temporary fencing to protect it and some temporary lighting along the fence. The old lights between what was half way between platforms 1 and 2 have been cut down to about a metre prior to being removed in the future.
The plans were reported in detail in [Snippets 225] (January 2012) and it is a credit to Network Rail that the new platforms have opened in December 2013 as stated back then. Of course, one of the main outstanding disappointments is that the footbridge was not extended to the far side of the station to allow a western entrance. However, Network Rail was not created with the responsibility of attracting more passengers to the railway or making their experience more pleasant and is really just concerned with satisfying its direct clients, the passenger TOCs and freight operators. Unfortunately the city council did not have the money available to pay for a second entrance and developer opportunities were not forthcoming in the current financial climate.
RAIL ROUTES
Department for Transport quietly publishes "Tech Connect" document supporting need for Cambridge to Oxford rail link
Railfuture was delighted in early December to read an announcement from the DfT supporting a rail link between Cambridge and Oxford under the banner of "Tech Connect". The announcement said "the DfT is developing proposals for the construction of a new railway line from Bedford to Cambridge. This would build on the ongoing work on the East-West Rail project and complete the London-Cambridge-Oxford tech triangle. Once both of these lines are completed they will allow for fast direct rail services between Cambridge and Oxford for the first time in a generation." The wording of this announcement was astonishing as it seemed the rail link was a 'done deal' and the government intended to 'just do it' without the scheme being 'studied to death' before being given approval, which has been the tortuous story of the western section. A glossy three-page brochure was produced to promote it - see https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263864/tech-connected.pdf.
DfT announcement: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tech-connected
News item: http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/News/oxford-cambridge-varsity-line-reopening-proposals-gather-steam.
ROLLING STOCK
Upgraded Greater Anglia Class 321 "demonstrator" train runs in service for passengers to evaluate
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
On 18th December an upgraded Greater Anglia 4-car Class 321 emu (with refurbished seating, new air conditioning and heating systems, LED lighting, double glazed windows, better wheelchair access and an accessible toilet) was launched at Liverpool Street Station. This is a "demonstrator" vehicle, which has been fitted with two different passenger interiors, metro (2+2 seating) and suburban (2+3 seating) along with a new look first class with new leather seats and power sockets. The train's owner, Eversholt, hopes to show that a high-specification refurbishment of older rolling stock is significantly cheaper than purchasing new trains (the 94 4-car units would cost about £100m, which is about £250,000 per carriage compared to more than £1 million for a new carriage) and can also offer a 'new train' feel that will enhance the passenger experience. The train will run on Greater Anglia routes for a year during which feedback from passengers will be used to identify whether any tweaks are needed or requested (such as power sockets throughout the train and Wi-Fi) before the changes are made to other vehicles in the class. Feedback can be entered by passengers on http://www.eversholtrail-innovations.co.uk or on Greater Anglia's website at http://www.greateranglia.co.uk/class321.
News article: http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/eversholt-rail-launches-class-321-demonstrator
In November a Greater Anglia Class 317 train underwent a £7m overhaul to improve performance and reduce maintenance, which included engineering work on the doors and major retraction work to move to an AC power unit (from a DC one) that allows regenerative braking to be introduced and achieves faster acceleration. Interior work consisted of new seating, additional grab poles, larger vestibule areas, CCTV, a climate controlled environment, wi-fi throughout the vehicle and passenger information systems. The train is now being tested overnight (initially on the Colchester to Clacton branch to be followed by testing on the mainline at 100mph) and will enter passenger service in early 2014. It is unclear how heavily it will used, but a typical Greater Anglia Class 317 unit travels around 100,000 miles per year.
News article: http://www.greateranglia.co.uk/about-us/news/2013/11/trial-refurbishment-unveiled-for-train-used-on-west-anglia-routes
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Mid-Norfolk Railway wins Heritage Railway of the Year Award 2013 following excellent year in which extension to Hoe finally opened
Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]
The Mid-Norfolk Railway began operations in the late 1990s but has grown to become a significant heritage railway organising some major and unique galas and being the destination for several charter trains. It can now claim to be in the premier league, despite being primarily a diesel operation. This year it opened its 2.5-mile extension to Hoe, so it is now one of the longest preserved lines in the country. As a result of these achievements it has just won the Heritage Railway of the Year Award 2013, sponsored by Ian Allan Publishing. The announcement was made at the National Railway Heritage Awards ceremony in London on 4th December with TV presenter Loyd Grossman presenting the winning plaque to MNR Chairman, Barry Woodgett and the Operations Manager, George Saville. Mr Woodgett said "It will further establish the Mid-Norfolk Railway as a valuable attraction in the area as the railway continues to move forward and develop its reputation as a heritage railway."
Sponsor a sleeper on the Mid-Norfolk Railway's northern extension to North Elmham and possibly win a driver experience
Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]
Now that the Mid-Norfolk Railway has opened its 2.5-mile extension to Hoe it is eager to continue resleepering the next two miles that will take it to North Elmham. Unfortunately it has no funds to do so (money needs to be spent on the operational line between Wymondham and Dereham) so it is dependent totally upon supporters. The MNR relied upon its 'sponsor a sleeper' appeal (see http://www.mnr.org.uk), which has enabled it to reach Hoe. Now a supporter has agreed to match-fund the first 100 sleeper sponsored (each costs £30) up to and including 31st December 2014. Everyone who sponsors a sleeper up to that date will be entered into a draw (each sleeper gives one entry), to be announced at the AGM in 2015, to win a driver experience. This will give the winner the chance to drive a diesel locomotive between Wymondham and the limit of the northern extension (normal driver experiences do not go north of Dereham). Every person who sponsors a sleeper will receive a certificate and gets a free trip.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 248 - 30/12/2013
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