News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 273 - 28/12/2015
- RAIL FRANCHISES [all issues]
- Stagecoach withdraws from partnership with Abellio for Greater Anglia franchise
- Government announces inquiry into Abellio Greater Anglia's catastrophic failure to run services during leaf-fall deluge
- STATIONS [all issues]
- 'The Key' smartcards can now be used at Foxton, Shepreth and Meldreth stations for season ticket journeys
- Network Rail finally repairs pedestrian gates at Foxton Station level crossing after eight months
- Rebuilt waiting room on island platform at Ely station opens to passengers
- Office of Rail and Road releases 2014/15 station usage figures showing significant increases in East Anglia
- Platforms take shape at new Cambridge North station but s106 agreement is still not signed
- ROLLING STOCK [all issues]
- GTR Great Northern orders 'better' Class 700 variant fleet for Moorgate to Stevenage 'inners' service
- Abellio Greater Anglia completes upgrade of electric trains used on West Anglia route
- RAIL ROUTES [all issues]
- Government designates Ely to Peterborough line as Hereward Line Community Rail Service following public consultation
- Alliance formed to design and build East West Rail phase 2
- Railfuture's City Metro proposal for the Cambridge City Deal gets more publicity
- GUIDED BUSWAY [all issues]
Rail fares will increase by an average of 1.1% according to the Rail Delivery Group. This implies that unregulated fares are increasing by a little more than the 1% increase in the regulated fares that the governmetn controls. Railfuture has produced a list of before and after fares from Cambridge.
Abellio Greater Anglia's New Year promotion will allocate 80,000 £5 one-way off-peak standard-class rail tickets for weekday travel between 11th January and 4th March 2016 inclusive from all stations on the Norwich-London mainline route and its connecting branch lines such as Bury St Edmunds, Clacton On Sea, Cromer, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Felixstowe, Sheringham and Walton on the Naze. The tickets will be on sale, on the AGA website, for a very short time - from 8th January until midnight on 10th January 2016.
Network Rail are scheduled to give an update about Cambridge North station at the Cambridge North Area Committee public meeting on Wednesday 20th January 2016 (around 20:30 after the intermission).
There will be a meeting of the Rail Haverhill group on Monday 25th January 2016 from 19:00 to 22:00 at the Town Hall Arts Centre in Haverhill town centre (a few minutes walk' from the Bus Station).
RAIL FRANCHISES
Stagecoach withdraws from partnership with Abellio for Greater Anglia franchise
Keywords: [GreaterAngliaFranchise]
On the same day that the DfT have announced winners of the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises (Arriva won the former from an Abellio/Serco consortium and First keep TPE), it was announced that Stagecoach has pulled-out from its financial partnership with Abellio to bid for the Greater [East] Anglia franchise. Observers were originally surprised that Abellio, which currently holds the franchise on its own, felt that it needed Stagecoach as a partner for what is essentially the same franchise albeit with a probable commitment for new rolling stock. Stagecoach says that it has been unable to reach an agreement with Abellio on certain elements of the bid. This may be caused by Stagecoach's downturn in its coach business globally, slower growth in off-peak journeys on its South West Trains franchise plus its failure to negotiate a direct award to extend the SWT franchise, now having to re-bid for it. As a result Abellio will have to fund its commitments although Stagecoach has confirmed to Abellio that it will provide support and advice to the franchise if Abellio's bid is successful.
Meanwhile MPs in the region have described the new nine-year franchise beginning in October 2016 as a "once in a generation opportunity" and have called for it to must be more ambitious than the modest improvements in the specification produced by the DfT. In particular they demand new trains as an absolute requirement. Bury St Edmunds MP Jo Churchill secured the debate in Parliament on East Anglian rail services and called for "Stowmarket in 70" to match the "Norwich in 90" and "Ipswich in 60" campaigns. She said "My constituents don't want to stand on their trains, they want to sit connected by Wi-Fi, maybe with a cup of coffee." She wanted "maximum punch" for her constituents saying that operators should be challenged to fill in the gaps in the tender had failed to specify.
Government announces inquiry into Abellio Greater Anglia's catastrophic failure to run services during leaf-fall deluge
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
Following a catastrophic fortnight for Abellio Greater Anglia (AGA) in November during which it abandoned running rail services on the Felixstowe and Sudbury branch lines whilst thinning out other diesel-operated services (see [Snippets 272] and Railfuture article) because of a severe (and unique) lack of working diesel trains owing to wheelsets being damaged because of leaf-fall, the government has announced an inquiry into the crisis dubbed "leafgate" by some. The House of Commons select committee for transport will look at reliability and other issues beginning in a one-off session prior to agreeing the terms of reference or timetable for a full inquiry.
In an investigation of their own performance, AGA and Network Rail have commissioned rail resilience expert John Curley to write an independent report about the causes if the problem with recommendations on and how to prevent a repeat in future. The report will be made available to Abellio's successor if it does not awarded the new franchise that will begin in October 2016.
Of the 26 dmus that AGA has in its fleet it needs 21 in service each day but during the crisis it had ten with wheel damage leaving just 16 (five short) before any allowance for other maintenance, in effect having just 11 available for duty. Railfuture has questioned by Abellio has suffered so much more than any other operator and has also called for a wheel-lathe to be installed at AGA's Crown Point depot in Norwich - there has not been one there for many years - so that it does not have to rely upon depots further away (it has been using facilities at Ilford and Derby).
News: http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/government_announces_inquiry_into_east_anglian_rail_chaos_1_4349395.
STATIONS
'The Key' smartcards can now be used at Foxton, Shepreth and Meldreth stations for season ticket journeys
Keywords: [FoxtonStation] [SheprethStation] [MeldrethStation]
Go-via Thameslink Railway has been rolling out use of 'the key' smartcard, which involves the installation of readers at stations (often at entrances). On its Great Northern route to Cambridge they had only been active as far north as Royston but in December they went live at Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton stations. However, they are only active for season ticket journeys to and from London and stations in between. Unfortunately, they are not yet usable for journeys to Cambridge - a key destination for many passengers using these three stations - as it is operated by Greater Anglia. A similar problem occurs on the East Coast Mainline where 'the key' can be used as far north as Huntingdon.
Unlike an Oyster card where there is a deposit, 'The key' can be requested online and posted to homes free of charge. Currently it can only be used for season tickets (weekly, monthly and annual), with the advantage both greater longevity than a paper ticket and the ability to renew online (by credit/debit card) and top-up the card at the station simply by touching it against the reader. From 2016 it will support single and return tickets, and the pay-as-you-go facility should dramatically reduce queues for ticket machines and ticket offices.
The smartcard can also put passengers' minds at rest. If a registered card is reported lost then it becomes "hot listed" and cannot be used and the passenger is then issued with a new card with their existing products already on the card, so nothing is lost and there is minimal inconvenience. More infor at https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/tickets-and-fares/the-key-smartcard/.
Network Rail finally repairs pedestrian gates at Foxton Station level crossing after eight months
Keywords: [FoxtonStation]
The electronic wicket gates at the level crossing next to Foxton station had not been working properly since March 2015 when they were fixed closed to allow repairs to be carried out. They are supposed to lock automatically before the barriers to road traffic lower, giving those already crossing the chance to clear the track, and unlock as barriers go up again. The pedestrian gates had a history of malfunctioning dating back years, and were still unreliable after new gates were installed in summer 2014, with people, many of them children, being trapped on the tracks when the gates would not open.
New gates are now in place and working after an eight-month period of closure, which was exacerbated when the company that made the parts went bankrupt in July. Cambridgeshire County Councillor Susan van de Ven, who represents Meldreth and chairs the Foxton, Shepreth and Meldreth Rail User Group, described the delay as "completely outrageous", describing the crossing as "chaotic and dangerous enough when the gates work properly" with "horrendous" traffic queues even at off-peak times. Everyone hopes that the new gates will be fit for purpose.
In 2014 Network Rail spent £100,000 on a feasibility study for a redesigned level crossing, outlining some very expensive options including a northerly bypass of the A10 to reroute it through fields in Barrington and a road bridge costing £11.65 million. The cheapest option was a footbridge estimated at £2.3 million.
Rebuilt waiting room on island platform at Ely station opens to passengers
Keywords: [ElyStation]
The old life-expired wooden waiting shelter on the island platform at Ely station was demolished in summer 2015 and its replacement, open to passengers on 19th November. Weeks later the ramps to the doors were still under construction and the toilets were not all open initially either. There are wheelchair-accessible toilets on the platform for the first time. The seating outside the old building was removed to clear space for construction but has not yet been replaced. The cafe has yet to be fitted out and will not open before 2016. Unfortunately, and some would say annoyingly, like the old building they can only be entered from the platform meaning that it is necessary to leave the waiting room and go outside (in the cold in winter) to go to the toilet. There is a new operations room on the platform. It is bigger and better with 240 degree sight-lines. Two blinds will be put in (to prevent sun glare when it rises in the mornings, etc. It is much more approachable for passengers. There is a window along the end of the building behind which are two booths (one suitable for a wheelchair user) with two-way microphones. However, the temporary pane of glass will be replaced to allow for an opening at the base in order to allow papers to be exchanged and passengers will be able to ask for connections, times, etc.
The 'brickwork' on the new building is cladding backed with steel and that means notice boards cannot be screwed into it. Instead another Board stanchion frame for a series of boards will be erected - FLUA's board will go onto it. The staff room between the operations room and the toilets has been made smaller (it is seldom used for such these days) but there is a locked room off it for storing cleaning materials etc.
The waiting room itself has modern furniture plus two sofas. Behind the various chairs are a number of sockets for charging phones, tablets and laptops. Wi-Fi is also available. Air conditioning has been installed and is working (this acts as heater as well as a cooler).
To avoid line possessions the subway was used to take out the old building and bring in all building materials. The new building has been built on the concrete footings of the old structure so is slightly smaller. It is a great disappointment to passengers that the new building is not substantially larger as Ely station is now much busier than even a decade ago, so it will not be able to cope with the number of people who wish to use it on a particularly cold day (the platform is used by trains heading to London and therefore the busiest for boarding). In conclusion it is of a much higher standard and is very welcoming. Nothing appears to be worse but if passengers had been put first, rather than providing little more than a like-for-like replacement, it could have been so much better.
In 2016 the final area at Ely station to be tackled will be the station entrance/exit, which will be widened. As in Cambridge, this will require Listed Building Consent. Ticket barriers will also be installed.
Office of Rail and Road releases 2014/15 station usage figures showing significant increases in East Anglia
Railfuture analysed the ORR station usage figures for 2014/15 within hours of them being released on 14th December and gained valuable media exposure (the Cambridge News included the full analysis on its website). Some key points in the analysis include:
- Cambridge has broken 10 million with 10,420,178, up 6.1%
- Stations with over 100,000 footfall that saw greater than 10% growth: Waterbeach, Arlesey, Shepreth, Stansted Airport, Hythe
- Stansted Airport up 22.1% at 4,501,996
- Peterborough up 4.5% at 4,596,144
- Colchester up 1.3% at 4,457,306
- Ely up 4.7% at 2,068,240
- Manea has the highest growth, up 192% (although still only 10,794)
- The only line where every station has seen a decline is Felixstowe, which saw a decline in service quality
- Overall a growth across East Anglia of 4.6% (22.6% over 5 years)
Platforms take shape at new Cambridge North station but s106 agreement is still not signed
Keywords: [CambridgeNorthStation]
The railway line between Cambridge and Ely has been closed on several weekends towards the end of 2015. This has been for various reasons, including work on the new Cambridge North station. Passengers passing on trains can finally see progress on the new station as the concrete bases of platforms on both sides of the track are starting to be constructed. To minimise the construction time the platforms are being constructed from compressed polystyrene with prefabricated concrete slabs on top for people to stand on. The up platform on the far side from the new station building for trains to Cambridge, Stansted and London will be platform 1 and the down platform on the island for through trains to Ely wil be platform 2. The bay will be platform 3.
The opening date to passengers is still intended to be December 2016 (previous dates have been May 2015 and December 2015). However, Railfuture has learned from South Cambridgeshire District Council that the Section 106 Legal Agreement had not been signed by early December as, according to SCDC, "negotiations are ongoing at the moment but they are nearing completion" and they - along with Cambridge City Council - will not be able to issue the Decision Notices for the planning permission. Railfuture has been unable to get confirmation of whether the Decision Notices are merely a formaility - given that the planning application was passed with conditions (including making the disused access to the sidings a new pedestrian and cycle route to the new station and enabling the side accesses to the Business Park) by the Cambridge Fringes Joint Development Control Committee on 19 August 2015 - or whether they prevent Network Rail doing work beyond its permitted development rights or opening it to the public.
ROLLING STOCK
GTR Great Northern orders 'better' Class 700 variant fleet for Moorgate to Stevenage 'inners' service
Keywords: [Class700]
Go-via Thameslink Railway will be introducing the large Class 700 fleet into service covering almost all of its network (but not Cambridge to King's Lynn). The trains were specified by the DfT back in 2009 and although having air conditioning they do not meet current passenger expectations as they have neither Wi-Fi nor power-sockets for charging smartphones, tablets and laptops. Railfuture and others have been lobbying the DfT and FCC now GTR for both Wi-Fi and power-points on all Class 700, especially those going to the hi-tech hub of Cambridge and the surrounding area but the DfT are unwilling to change their mind even though few of the trains have been built yet.
The good news is that an order just placed by GTR for Class 700 variants will have power points throughout, but there's no mention of Wi-Fi. These trains will be for the Great northern Inners operating out of Moorgate station and being used only as far north as Stevenage. It is ironic that short-distance services get power-points when longer ones (e.g. to Peterborough and Cambridge), where your smartphone, tablet or laptop is more likely to have a low battery, do not.
Abellio Greater Anglia completes upgrade of electric trains used on West Anglia route
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia] [Class317]
The £1.3m interior refresh of 24 four-car Class 317/6 emu trains that Abellio Greater Anglia (AGA) operates on the West Anglia line between London and Cambridge, Cheshunt and Hertford East has been completed ahead of schedule. The work, which was done in-house by AGA at its Clacton-on-Sea depot, included new seat covers, vinyl flooring, carpets and signage, as well as resprayed interiors. The first refurbished train re-entered service back in June 2015, implying one every week.
News: http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/news/europe/single-view/view/greater-anglia-emus-refurbished.html.
RAIL ROUTES
Government designates Ely to Peterborough line as Hereward Line Community Rail Service following public consultation
Keywords: [ElyPeterboroughLine]
Following an eight-week public consultation from July to September 2015, which received 'overwhelming support', on 22nd December 2015 the government designate the Ely to Peterborough Line (the "Hereward Line") as a 'community rail service', which changes its status thereby allowing greater freedom in promoting local services on that route. The existing Hereward Community Rail Partnership (CRP), chaired by Fenland District Councillor Simon King (Portfolio Holder for Equalities and Transport), will aim to securing better rail services and improve the facilities at the five stations. The CRP, which was launched three years earlier, comprises local organisations, operators, councils, rail users and other interest groups, and will have a stronger say and access to additional funding to make small-scale improvements to the railway. However, it does not directly affect the two-hourly train service that Abellio Greater Anglia operates between Peterborough and Ipswich and calls at Whittlesea, March and Manea.
Railfuture has many aspirations for this route, primarily the introduction of an hourly service between Ipswich and Peterborough (which is necessary for Soham station to be reopened), later evening services (it's not possible to travel by train between Cambridge and Peterborough via Ely after 21:00) and, of course, the reopening of the March-Wisbech branch, with new services making use of the 46km route between Peterborough and Ely.
Alliance formed to design and build East West Rail phase 2
Keywords: [EastWestRail]
Despite phase 2 of the East West Rail route (Bicester to Bletchley plus the Aylesbury link) still being designed and request for powers yet to be submitted, an alliance of key rail industry design and construction firms has been chosen to complete the design and re-build the route. These are the same members that have been involved in the Stafford Area Improvement Programme, namely Atkins, Laing O'Rourke, VolkerRail and Network Rail. According Network Rail such an alliance has never been convened this early in a project; it believes that by scoping all aspects of the project now they will see potential problems early and be able to mitigate them rather than allow costs to escalate, and delivery dates slip, during the construction phase. The project includes a new station at Winslow, two new (high-level) platforms at Bletchley, 18 new overbridges, 22 new footbridges and changes to 97 railway crossings. In 2016 it is intended to submit a Transport & Works Act application to obtain the powers for much of this work. Network Rail has said that subject to design work and authorisation there would be "significant delivery" of phase 2 by the end of March 2019 (when Control Period 5 ends) although the full scheme would only be completed in CP6. Railfuture and the East West Rail Consortium are still hopeful that services over part of the route will commence in 2019, as had bene originally planned, prior to the Network Rail review carried out by its new chairman, Sir Peter Hendy.
Railfuture's City Metro proposal for the Cambridge City Deal gets more publicity
Keywords: [CambridgeCityDeal]
The Cambridge News has given considerable space to the Cambridge City Deal and Railfuture's Cambridge Metro proposal in particular. In December, for example, it showed the entire Cambridge Metro slide presentation that Railfuture had presented as 'spoken evidence' (see website) to the City Deal's team at a public meeting on 30th November, along with a similar idea from a South Cambs District councillor Tom Bygott.
There are other city Deal options including an expanded bus service to ease congestion in Cambridge but many residents had been vocal in their opposition because bus lanes would have been carved out of gardens and trees would have been cut down, especially at the north of the city in Milton Road (between the Science Park and the city centre) and Histon Road. Others have suggested a congestion charge or providing jobs and facilities at new communities so people do not need to commute into Cambridge. Enterprise zones have also been created at the likes of Northstowe, Waterbeach and Cambourne to encourage businesses to locate there. The public consultation launched in December and will run until the 15th February 2015 (see http://www.gccitydeal.co.uk/citydeal/info/2/transport/1/transport/8.
GUIDED BUSWAY
Cambridgeshire Country Council announces increase in passengers "using" the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway
Cambridgeshire County Council has announced, rather misleadingly, that the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway "system" has reached 13.9 million passengers in the 52 months since it opened in 2011 (an average of 3.6 million passenger journeys a year), having hit the 12.5 million figure in September 2015. There has been an annual rise of around 6%: November 2015 had 327,185 trips versus 308,866 in November 2014. They also say that traders in St Ives have also reported benefits for the town with more visitors, although they did not quantify it or give the time period.
These references to the "system" are NOT the number of busway users. They are the number of bus passengers in a bus that will use the busway at some point on its route, but the passengers may not. The operators and the county council refuse to reveal figures for busway use, partly because they do not record where 'DayRider' passengers actually alight. It is likely that 40% of these passengers do not use the busway at all (e.g. only in the city centre or beyond St Ives) or just travel on 50 metres from Milton Road to Science Park stop.
Cyclists demand changes to dangerous bollards on cycle track parallel Cambridgeshire Guided Busway
Bollards at the entrance to the cycle track (aka maintenance track and bridleway) along the route of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway are small, square, unlit and difficult to see resulting in accidents when cyclists collide with them. For example, in December 2015 the Cambridge News reported that cyclist Clare Downie suffered a broken collar bone, which resulted in an overnight stay in hospital and put her out of action for weeks, after colliding with a bollard on the southern section as it goes under Hills Road near to the railway station. In her case cyclists in front had obscured her view of the bollards. A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesman admitted the bollards could be "improved" and has discussed various ideas such as replacing the existing bollards with a smaller number of single, tall reflective bollards.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 273 - 28/12/2015
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