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East Anglia Branch News - Snippets Issue 307 - 31/10/2018

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News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.

Railfuture News Snippets 307 - 31/10/2018



The interview that Railfuture East Anglia vice chairman Peter Wakefield had given to ITV on Wednesday 26th September 2018 in Wisbech at the proposed location of the station was finally broadcast on Thursday 11th October. A brief article (but not the programme) can be read at https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2018-10-11/reopening-of-wisbech-railway-line-closer-than-ever/.

As reported in [Snippets 306], letters of support can be sent to the DfT for the public inquiry into Network Rail's application for a TWA Order to build phase 2 of the Western Section of East-West Rail Western section. On 18th October 2018, Railfuture submitted its Statement of Case for the inquiry, which can be read at https://www.railfuture.org.uk/display1886.

On Monday 29th October the Chancellor of the Exchequer revealed £20m extra development funding for the Central Section of the East-West Rail line in his 2018 Autumn Budget.

The new Ely bypass road, which includes a bridge over the railway line enabling the level crossing north or Ely station to be closed, finally opened. Read more at: https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/ely-bypass-opens-a142-bridge-15349242.

The train times from 10th December 2018 were available on www.nationalrail.co.uk from early October. From the winter timetable the Thameslink/Great Northern services will include a regular hourly service Cambridge to Brighton at xx54 from 0454 to 2154 with no gaps, and a regular half-hourly service Peterborough to Horsham every 30 minutes 0420 to 2154 with no gaps plus some Peterborough to King's Cross trains stopping trains and a half hourly service Foxton to King' Cross 0536 to 2344 only gap at 1236. These are on Monday to Friday only. Unfortunately there will still not be any services through the Thameslink core on Saturday and Sunday (they will still all terminate at King's Cross) even though they should have run from May 2018.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling visited Launton Junction in Bicester on Thursday 4th October to see progress on the enabling works for phase 2 of the western section of the East West Rail Link, which comprises major track and signalling upgrades extending services from Oxford to Bedford and Milton Keynes to Aylesbury. Mr Grayling said "Rapid progress on the project means we will see construction underway...from 2019." For this timescale to be achieved the TWA Order application will need to be granted promptly.

A good news story for a change with Network Rail completing work ahead of schedule. It finished engineering works early on the Sheringham line so there were no rail replacement buses on the weekends of 20/21 and 27/28 October as had been intended. However, this was only the first phase and there are some Sunday closures in November and September 2018.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Network Rail and its contractors will host a public meeting at the Double Tree Hilton at 18:00 on Thursday 1st November 2018 to discuss a proposed eight-week closure of Mill Road bridge in Cambridge from May 2019. This would allow an expansion of one of the bridge's arches to be wider ad taller to allow an additional electrified rail track to run beneath the bridge, in order to stable more trains as required by the planned increase in the number of Thameslink services.

On Wednesday 21st November 2018 the guest speaker at the Cambridge University Railway Club meeting will be Hans-Georg Werner CEO of DB Cargo UK, which is the largest rail freight operator in Britain. He has been with Deutsche Bahn (DB) for more than 30 years, becoming CEO in 2016. Since then he has been appointed as chairman of the freight board of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), the membership body that brings together passenger and freight rail companies, Network Rail and High Speed 2. The talk will begin promptly at 18:00 and be held in the Knox-Shaw room at Sidney Sussex college.

GTR's Autumn 2018 "Connections" magazine can be read at: https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/-/media/lr_connections_autumn18.pdf.

More than five acres of disused railway sidings at Lowestoft are up for sale as Network Rail looks for new owners for the land. It has been instructed by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to sell off non-operational land.

A new report linking new homes and transport was reported in the media yesterday on 24th November 2018. It was produced by a group called Transport for New Homes, which is part of the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT). Twenty new housing developments were studied for their provision of non-car transport with most lacking. The full report can be found at http://www.transportfornewhomes.org.uk.


RAILCARD DISCOUNTS
Millennial's 26-30 Railcard to be rolled out nationally by end of 2018

Keywords: [LowestoftStation]

A new "26-30 Railcard" is to be rolled out across Britain by end of 2018. Like the "18-25 Railcard" it which offers a third off train fares for £30 a year, with an estimated 4.5 million people eligible to benefit from it. There has been no explanation from the rail industry why it did not simply create an "18-30 Railcard", assuming that the "18-20" phrase is not trademarked. In the days of plastic smartcards and railcards that are stored on mobile phones, both of which can be topped up (subject to eligibility), it really does seem quite strange for a holder of an 18-25 rail card to have to obtain a brand new card when they reach the age of 26.

The terms and conditions that restrict travel and impose a £12 minimum fare on all journeys made between 04:30 and 10:00 Monday to Friday seem to be the same for both 16-25 and 26-30.

As always, the rail industry and the government is nervous about revenue abstraction so the roll-out follows a trial of 10,000 discount "millennial railcards" in March 2018, which sold out within hours, despite the website crashing under high demand. Prior to that a trial in December 2017 when 10,000 cards were made available in East Anglia only. Having performed an analysis of results the rail industry predict that cardholders will save an average of £125 a year on normal fares. However, this is not a great loss to the industry as it would lead to additional journeys being made. The 26-30 railcard must be downloaded onto a smartphone and is aimed at leisure travellers rather than commuters.


STATIONS
New heritage style energy-saving lamps for Lowestoft rail station

Keywords: [LowestoftStation]

As part of the rejuvenation of Lowestoft station, which will also see buildings restored and reopened to the public create a new public exhibition space, new heritage-style lighting that mimics Victorian gas lighting has been installed both inside the station concourse and on the perimeter, bringing not just the benefit attractiveness but also using modern energy-saving LED technology. The lighting was chosen by the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership in conjunction with train Greater Anglia, having studied old photographs and film from a royal visit in 1936 that clearly showed an original lamp in the background.

Solar power lights up footpath leading to Whittlesea railway station

Keywords: [WhittleseaStation]

A footpath leading from the entrance to Whittlesea station now 70 new LED 'cat eyes' solar-powered illuminated road studs, making the route safer in the evening, as requested by passengers. Previously it was unlit. The £15,500 cost, which is less than street lighting (and more environmentally friendly as well) has been funded by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and is the first of a range of improvement works at Whittlesea station (and also at Manea and March) being driven by Fenland District Council on behalf of the Hereward Community Rail Partnership, which aims to make stations more accessible to local residents, businesses and tourists thereby increasing usage.

Future plans include extending the platforms at Whittlesea and Manea, improved car and cycle parking and waiting shelters. A new ticket machine and information point has also been installed at Whittlesea station by Greater Anglia and will become operational before the end of 2018.


ON-BOARD CATERING
Greater Anglia introduce vegan food range in buffet car on Norwich-London intercity services

Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]

Greater Anglia has introduced a vegan sandwich, chocolate and orange cake and flapjack at the buffet car on its Norwich-London intercity services, giving at least three began options in the café bar. According to GA the range has gone down well with customers, prompting it to investigate more vegan alternatives. According to The Vegan Society, the number of vegans in Britain has quadrupled in the last four years, but many train operators offer little more than a packet of ready salted crisps.


RAIL FRANCHISES
Greater Anglia heavily subsidised by its parent companies in the Netherlands and Japan according to latest accounts

Keywords: [GreaterAngliaFranchise]

A recent East Anglia Daily Times article revealed that Greater Anglia (GA) has received a £80m foreign subsidy over the last year, 60% of that effectively from Dutch taxpayers. Its parents are the state railway in the Netherlands and Mitsui in Japan, which owns 40% of it (the newspaper article is misleading on this). This is unsustainable and GA has been discussing with the DfT options for a change to its franchise agreement.

Core to the problem is the "Central London Employment" (CLE) risk-sharing mechanism, which is intended to protect the train operator from changes to the economy in London. If the number of jobs falls in London then the massive premiums it is obliged to pay would be reduced. The problem for GA is that the mechanism equates jobs with travel, and does not cater for the scenario where the amount of travel being undertaken falls without jobs being lost simply because travel habits change. More people are working from home part of the time, and many of those find that it does not make sense to buy a season ticket, instead switching to other fares that bring in less revenue to GA. For someone rigidly working from home (WFH) each Friday, for example, an season ticket is still cheapest, but if they have more flexiblity such as a cycle of five days in the office and two days at home the buying a series ofnon-continuous weekly seasons would be cheaper. For those staff allowed to arrive in the office later in the day then an off-peak day returns may also be cheaper than a peak-time season. But the big problem for GA and other operator is the increasing number of employees who only occasionally go into the office. These societal changes have been blindingly obvious to many observers, but Abellio was either oblivious to it or desperate to keep the franchise, and some say it is their problem to deal with,not the taxpayers.

Responding to press enquiries, Jonathan Denby at GA said "a small loss of £1.1 million in the year to March 2018 is solely down to the application of that franchise clause and its unintended consequences, as underlying revenue growth was positive." Revenue for the full year grew by 5.3% to £650.3m. The company accounts can be found from filing history at: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07861414/filing-history.

In Modern Railways magazine Roger Ford observed: "tucked away on page 30 of the accounts was the revelation that on 31st January 2018 the franchise had drawn down £30 million of its Parent Company Support (PCS), repayable in two equal instalments in December 2020 and December 2021. This was followed in August by a further £50 million. Repayment, in two equal instalments, falls due in December 2023 and December 2024. The total PCS facility is set at £271.8 million. Abellio claims that rail franchises let after East Anglia do not have the same arrangement in their franchise agreements. Yes they do. Let six months after Greater Anglia, South Western Railway has same CLE section in its franchise agreement."


RAIL ROUTES
Ballast and sleepers laid for second track on Felixstowe branch line

Keywords: [FelixstoweBranch]

The installation of a second track on a 1.4km stretch of the Felixstowe branch line is progressing well. Network Rail engineers have installed 2,300 sleepers along with ballast on the line between Trimley and the level crossing at Gun Lane. The rails will be installed in the coming months. Unlike many railway lines that had two tracks with one removed in the British Rail era, the Felixstowe line was never double tracked, and was not built to have a second one added in the future. Therefore the work has been quite expensive.

Upgrades to four road level crossings between Trimley and Westerfield will be carried out before the new track can be used. In August 2018, permission was granted for a new Bridleway bridge, to be built on the site of the existing Gun Lane level crossing, which will provide an alternative safe route across the railway for walkers, horse riders and cyclists to access the local countryside. This will allow Network Rail to permanently close six pedestrian level crossings in the area.

The work will support up to 10 additional freight trains in each direction per day, moving goods to and from the Port of Felixstowe. Passengers will benefit from improved reliability for existing services between Felixstowe and Ipswich, which should no longer need to be cancelled to allow freight trains to run.

Reedham junction and re-signalling works completed as part of Wherry Lines resignalling

Keywords: [WherryLines]

During the week of 19th-29th October 2018 the £68m modernisation of the railway between Norwich and Yarmouth/Lowestoft, known as the Wherry Lines, saw the third phase of re-signalling works completed following a nine-day suspension of rail services. Engineers installed 26 new signals, signal equipment cables, replacing some of the oldest signals in the country. They also renew 1,000 metres of track and crossings Reedham, remodelling the junction and removing 300 metres of a disused rail siding. The signalling will be switched on in 2019, but in the meantime rail services between Reedham and Yarmouth are suspended (until at least April 2019), with the station at Berney Arms having no train service.


GUIDED BUSWAY
Multi-operator smartcards withdrawn on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway

Keywords: [SmartCards]

Travellers on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway have been able to buy a 10-trip top-up on their smartcards. These allowed a journey on either Stagecoach or Whippet buses, with the revenue being correctly apportioned to each operator by touching in when boarding. Cambridgeshire County Council will be withdrawing the facility, which is expensive to operate, in three stages. New smartcards cannot be purchased after the end of October 2018; they cannot be topped up after 10th November and cannot be used on a bus after 31st January 2019.

Cambridgeshire County Council took the decision to withdraw the multi-operator smartcards, which are more expensive to buy than a single-operator multi-trip season, because Whippet Coaches will be deregistering the guided busway C service to St Ives and Fenstanton from 10th November 2018, leaving only one bus operator travelling on the northern section of the Guided Busway. The council said that there are currently 1585 active multi-operator cards and if another bus operator does come along then the withdrawal could be reversed."

Some observers said that they were not surprised at the withdrawal of Whippet services as it provided only a small fraction of the Stagecoach service and for many bus users it was never worth having a more-expensive ticket which enabled them to use Whippet bus services.


Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 307 - 31/10/2018

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