News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 303 - 30/06/2018
As reported in [Snippets 302] the main news on the railway on the western side of East is the continuing chaos caused by the enormous changes made to the timetables on 21st May 2018 for the first (and largest) phase of the new Thameslink services operating from Peterborough and Cambridge to new destinations south of London. The major problem, as stated previously, is the lack of trained drivers who know the full route, which has been exacerbated by some drivers moving to new depots and having to learn to drive the new Class 700 trains that use ATO/ETCS in combination (a world first) within the tunnel section. In June it was revealed that a revised timetable will be introduced from Sunday 15th July 2018, one month after the resignation of Charles Horton, GTR's CEO. GTR claims that the so-called "interim" timetable will prioritise peak trains, giving commuters more certainty to plan their journeys to and from work. It hopes that once this has "bedded in" more trains can be added ultimately reaching the full service that should have run from May. It has been confirmed by government that "qualifying" passengers affected by disruption will be entitled to a refund equivalent to the cost of up to four weeks of travel.
Following a formal suggestion by Railfuture, Greater Anglia (GA) has adopted our idea of allowing passengers eligible for a Delay Repay claim to have the option to donate the money to its chosen charity, the Samaritans, instead. In fact, Railfuture had suggested that charity as their work helps to prevent suicides on the railway, and therefore passengers benefit from their donation. GA has also responded to complaints about the time it took to complete the online form and they have made that process far easier and quicker for repeat claims by saving user details so that it can be paid directly into their bank account as well as the existing options of cheque, credit/debit card, PayPal or voucher.
Accessible from the station square outside Cambridge station, a new pub called the Old Ticket Office, opened in early June 2018. It uses the part of the station building that many years ago used to be the ticket office (and was temporarily re-used for that purpose when the new enlarged ticket hall was created around 2016).
In the fight against the global problem of waste polluting the world's oceans, partly through single-use plastic bottles, Greater Anglia (GA) has become one of the first train operators in Britain to offer free water to customers by installing a new water fountain at Chelmsford station, soon followed by a fountain at Ipswich. GA hopes to roll it out to some other stations.
Highways England (HE) have held a number of exhibitions in the Huntingdon area regarding the future of the current A14, which passes over the top of Huntingdon station, once the new road is built. The existing A14 will be cut either side of the railway line and the bridge removed. The road will be diverted to link into the existing road to the station. There will be new access roads to the car park and a separate bus/taxi/cycle access point to the station. This appears to benefit station users - Railfuture considers that it's important that access to and from the station is improved - but changes to bus services serving the station are outside HE control. Details provided in a Highways England booklet.
The Fen Line Users Association (FLUA) will hold its Annual General Meeting at Littleport Village Hall on Saturday 24th November 2018. This is a new venue. In 2017 it was held in Waterbeach and prior to that in King's Lynn for several years.
Like many organisations, the Mid-Norfolk Railway is asking its members to give consent to receive marketing information about the railway. Their http://www.mnr.org.uk/consent website page is easy to complete.
EAST WEST RAIL LINK
Timeline for Western Section phase 2 Transport & Works Act Application submission
Keywords: [EastWestRail]
People in East Anglia are, naturally, eager to see the railway line between Cambridge and Bedford reopened after closure in 1868. However, before that it is necessary to reopen the mothballed route from Bicester to Bletchley to allow services between Oxford and Bedford / Milton Keynes and also from Aylesbury. For various legal and technical reasons, but essentially about land acquisition and level crossing closures, Network Rail needs additional powers to undertake the work of not just reopening the line but significantly upgrading it for higher capacity and faster trains - something that will be vital to eventually run competitive fast rail services between Cambridge and Oxford.
Unjustified objections delayed the new London Marylebone to Oxford direct service, which became phase 1 of the Western Setion of the East West Rail Link, and it is hoped that similar delays will not occur with pahase 2. All supporters of the railway are urged to email to formally support the scheme during the objection period, which will run between 27 July and 7 September 2017. Details of how to do so will be given in [Snippets 304].
The TWA application timescales, which are a series of "waterfall" events and may be subject to change, were revealed by Network Rail in spring 2018 as follows:
- 27/07/2018 - TWAO Submission
- 27/07/2018 - Objections Period (42 days - until 7 September)
- 11/09/2018 - Notification of Inquiry
- 11/09/2018 - All parties submit "statement of case" (30 days)
- 24/10/2018 - Request for proofs of evidence & statement of matters (10 days)
- 07/11/2018 - Proofs of evidence submission (40 days)
- 10/01/2019 - Notice of Pre-Inquiry Meeting (10 days)
- 25/01/2019 - Pre-Inquiry Meeting
- 06/02/2019 - Commence Public Inquiry
After the public inquiry ends the inspector has to write up a report for the Secretary of State, who then has six months to decide whether to grant it or not. This is unlikely to occur before December 2019, after which there is a statutory six-week period to object on the basis of irregularities, meaning that construction work requiring the TWA powers will not commence until at least spring 2020, although that would not prevent preparation works on operational railway land from being performed earlier.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Mid-Norfolk Railway agrees major deal with Greater Anglia to store trains for four years
Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]
On Saturday 30th June 2018 at its AGM, the Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) announced to its members one of the very best pieces of news in its history - something that many would never have dreamed possible.
In a deal signed in June 2018, Greater Anglia (GA) will pay the MNR £3m to rent storage facilities over four years initially for its new Stadler Flirt trains, which will begin to arrive in Britain in late 2018, while they are being commissioned, and then the old trains that have come off lease. GA will pay the MNR the money up front allowing it to pay contractors to construct a new 1.85-mile running line between Kimberley Park and Hardingham stations. This will be used for the MNR's services, and the existing track next to it will be used to stable GA's trains, and four rows of sidings will also be installed on MNR-owned land near to Kimberley Park. The contractors have already been on site doing some preparation and works on the tracks will begin in July 2018 and the sidings in November 2018, with everything being completed by March 2019.
The deal requires GA to manage the security of the trains. There will be protective fences along the line and there will be 24/7 security guards with dogs to protect the trains. The MNR will not be liable for any damage to the trains but hopes that awareness of the security will spread and put off vandals and thieves on the rest of the line.
Another benefit for the deal is that the private rail services company based south of Hardingham station will finally have a connection to the MNR so that they can bring vehicles in and out by train rather than on country roads as at present. This will be happening because British Rail sold them a small strip of land that is partly needed to lay the second track, so they will be exchanging that land for the rail connection.
According to the Dereham Times, Sonic Rail Services will carry out the work of designing, planning and installing the new infrastructure, including the miles of siding space needed to accommodate the new trains. The MNR will own all of the track, and after the storage contract is finished the MNR will be able to put it to good use.
This is yet another example of the enormous value of the MNR's connection to the national rail network at Wymondham mainline station on the main Norwich to Ely line, which is within close proximity to GA's Norwich Crown Point depot, where the new trains will eventually be based.
News: http://www.derehamtimes.co.uk/news/mid-norfolk-railway-deal-store-greater-anglia-trains-1-5586057
https://www.railbusinessdaily.com/greater-anglia-partners-with-mid-norfolk-railway-on-new-trains-introduction/.
Mid-Norfolk Railway gets second boost by receiving redundant Network Rail equipment from the Wherry Lines
The above amazing news followed on the heels of a generous gift to the MNR from Network Rail of redundant assets from the resignalling of the Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft routes, known as the Wherry Lines. This saw the old "first generation" signalling, such as semaphore signals and mechanical points, being replaced by modern technology. Heritage railways, of course, still operate old systems and most will continue to do so for decades to come. The MNR, which has a mixture of old and new technology, was granted access to dismantle equipment (taking totalling 240 hours of volunteer labour) and therefore now has a large amount of point rodding, cranks, compensators, roller stools and associated fittings all in a condition suitable to use on the railway, primarily to to progress the signalling at its Dereham headquarters. Although losing the scrap value, Network Rail benefits financially from reduced the costs of recovery.
News: http://www.derehamtimes.co.uk/news/mid-norfolk-railway-network-rail-improvements-1-5548638.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 303 - 30/06/2018
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