News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 287 - 28/02/2017
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On Tuesday 7th February 2017 Railfuture was given a guided tour (along with members of Cambridgeshire County Council) of much of the site of the new Cambridge North station. This included the ground floor of the station building and access to all the platforms. The building is fully constructed but is yet to be fitted out. The bricks on the car park were being laid out. Much of the site is still covered in mud. Railfuture tweeted about 20 photos from its visit to raise awareness of the new station amongst the public.
Members of the East Suffolk Travellers' Association (ESTA) completed a questionnaire about 145 local train and bus journeys, which they made during November 2016, giving a snapshot of good and bad points. Train journeys made on the Ipswich-Lowestoft and Lowestoft-Norwich lines were surveyed, as were bus trips on the services of all local operators. Results showed that 85% of trains arrived on time or within five minutes, only one train was cancelled and two were severely delayed, while such disruption as did occur was well handled. However, on one in eight journeys, fares were not collected or tickets checked on the train as the conductor was unable to deal with all passengers. There was also criticism of facilities of Lowestoft and Saxmundham stations, with calls for the shop to be reopened and real-time bus information to be installed at Lowestoft, and the waiting room and toilet to be reopened at Saxmundham.
Every station has a 3-char code e.g. PBO=Peterborough, KLN=King's Lynn, CBG=Cambridge. Code for Cambridge North station will be "CMB", which is not very intuitive but CBN is used by Camborne in Cornwall. When the station was proposed to be called Cambridge Science Park Railfuture had suggested that CSP be used.
ROLLING STOCK
Greater Anglia's Class 321 and Class 317 electric trains to undergo a significant programme of refurbishment
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
Greater Anglia (GA) has announced a £4.7 million refurbishment of its Class 321 and Class 317 commuter trains used in Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire. This investment will be short-lived on GA's routes as new trains will be introduced in 2019. However, the rolling stock company, which owns the trains, hopes that the trains will be cascaded elsewhere, and in the case of the 321s (like the Class 319s) it is considering adding diesel engines to allow them to be used in the north of England.
The investment will see 212 Class 321 carriages (used on services from London Liverpool Street to Broxbourne, Hertford East, Bishop's Stortford, Harlow Town and Cambridge as well as some Bishop's Stortford / Stansted Airport to Cambridge services) and 72 Class 317 carriages (used on the Great Eastern Mainline from London Liverpool Street to Braintree, Southend Victoria, Southminster, Ipswich, Walton-on-the-Naze, Clacton-on-Sea and Colchester Town) receiving new carpets, new seat covers, dado panels, a deep clean throughout and interior repainting. The Class 317 work is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, with the Class 321s finished by spring 2018.
News: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/better-more-comfortable-trains-way-12638083.
RAIL FRANCHISES
Greater Anglia Customer Services Manager tells ESTA of its plans for the new nine-year franchise
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
On Saturday 18th February James Steward, Area Customer Services Manager for Greater Anglia (GA), spoke to a full audience at the East Suffolk Travellers' Association (ESTA) meeting at Beccles Station in the refurbished Arthur Crisp Studio. He looked forward to the introduction in 2019 of the fleet of new trains that would "transform the region's services.", with all local trains formed of at least three coaches. These would be bi-mode units, running on diesel power from Lowestoft to Ipswich but then using the wires from there to London, with four through workings a day were envisaged. With new trains in 2019/20, the journey time from Ipswich to London could be reduced to 61 minutes for most of the day and there would be an hourly Ipswich-Peterborough service, with many trains starting and finishing at Colchester.
But it is far from jam tomorrow, as GA's existing fleet will be refurbished prior to the new trains entering service. A programme of heavy overhaul had just started on its class 170 2-car and 3-car diesel trains, which are used on many local services.
Those present heard that new-style ticket vending machines would be introduced, with Beccles due to have one by mid-2017, and soon it would be possible to use a contactless debit/credit card to pay for a ticket. "Totems" would be installed on platforms, combining CCTV, a help point, interactive screen and better information at times of engineering work.
In answer to questions, Mr Steward said that the current diesel trains would go back to the leasing company when they were withdrawn, and could well then get used in other parts of the country. In the meantime, because of the current shortage of diesel units, the "short set" comprising three coaches with a diesel locomotive at either end was expected to continue in use on the Norwich to Lowestoft/Yarmouth lines until 2019. He stressed that local trains would still have conductors to sell and check tickets and assist passengers, although drivers would take over control of door operation.
RAIL ROUTES
Solution planned to avoid freight trains delaying passenger trains north of Peterborough station
Keywords: [EastCoastMainline]
In February 2017 Railfuture attended a presentation by a Jacobs engineer who revealed the designs of the Werrington 'dive under', which is a solution to the major problem of freight trains holding up passenger trains north of Peterborough on the East Coast Mainline (ECML) as they cross tracks to go via Lincoln, ironically to free up capacity on the ECML. Any container trains coming south from Lincoln also have to cross the tracks as well, in order to take the route via March to Felixstowe.
A lot of effort had gone into looking at grade-separation solutions i.e. bridge versus underpass, including a Hitchin-like viaduct and bridge that would have cost more than the underpass. As an example of the disruption that will occur when the Werrington underpass is built they will have to move one of the Stamford lines to make space for construction and then (possibly) move it back afterwards. There will also be an eight-day blockade of the ECML. They need to acquire (demolish) two properties and deviate a road (reasons for needing a TWA). The aim is for construction to start in 2019. That is a big project!
The Werrington work is a seriously expensive project with no diversion route available. If only British Rail had not closed the March to Spalding branch in 1982. Freight operators would have benefited as the route would be a lot shorter - and therefore use less diesel - than going via Peterborough.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Mid-Norfolk Railway replaces large number of sleepers as it gets closer towards its North Elmham terminus
Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]
Thanks to Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) members, including Railfutrue members, sponsoring sleepers (at £23 each originally but costs have since risen) sleeper changing on its northern extension has been in full swing recently and has now moved north of Worthing Level Crossing and over the triple-span viaduct bridge (No. 1704) over the River Black Water. The next few hundred yards are in a particularly bad state with a high proportion of sleepers needing to be replaced. The MNR's permanent way volunteers will then face a better stretch near the 15.5 milepost where fewer old sleepers need to be replaced, but it reverts to a second bad batch in the final stretch to North Elmham. With less than 3/4 of a mile to go until North Elmham level crossing the end is in sight (or would be if there weren't a couple of curves!).
The MNR urges everyone, not just its members, to keep sponsoring new sleepers to help trains to return to North Elmham. This can be done via the website: http://mnr.org.uk/donations/sleepers and Gift Aid is now an option online.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 287 - 28/02/2017
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