Loading...
 

East Anglia Branch News - Snippets Issue 309 - 31/12/2018

[Home] [Meetings and Events] [Campaigns] [Consultations] [Newsletters|Latest|Covers] [News Archive] [Document Archive] [Gallery] [User Groups] [About] [Contacts]

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

Railfuture News Snippets 309 - 31/12/2018



Network Rail (BR) intends to bring the third bore of Gasworks Tunnel just outside the King's Cross station throat back into use, having been closed in the 1970s, in order to increase capacity and run more long-distance trains. This project has been widely known for some time. However, the scale of the trackwork needed requires up to half of King's Cross station's platforms, which handle around 38 million passengers per year, to be closed between December 2019 and March 2020 and this proposal has been rejected by train operators. As a result, alternative dates are now being considered and the completion of the £237 million work could be delayed by up to a year.

On a more positive note, over Christmas 2018 period three new switches and crossings were installed on the Felixstowe branch as part of the upgrade to provide almost a mile of double track. Signalling was also upgraded.


STATIONS
Greater Anglia expands Manningtree station car park by 40% and will invest in car parks across its network

Keywords: [ManningtreeStation]

The NCP car park at Manningtree railway station, which currently has 561 parking spaces, will be increased by 220 (of which 20 will be for blue badge holders) up to 781, after a £1.5m investment from Greater Anglia has been given planning approval. The work will be done in two stages: work to extend the surface area will start in February 2019 for completion by summer 2019, followed by the extension of the deck shortly after. When complete it will be a welcome relief for rail users as there is not alternative car park close to the station. Moreover, some commuters pay for their parking spaces in advance yet when they arrive they can't find a space.

Greater Anglia (GA) plans to invest £60 million in stations across East Anglia but only some of that money will increase the number of parking spaces. As part of that expenditure will fund the rolling out Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANR), which maximises revenue (as everyone staying more than around 15 minutes must pay) and reduces the management costs (since staff to check tickets in windscreen windows are no longer required) - a good return on investment for GA.

Network Rail to end toilet charges at all stations it manages

Keywords: [ManningtreeStation]

Toilets at railway stations in East Anglia are all free. However, many passengers will be travelling to or from London, where there has been a charge for many years, currently 30p, although free for accessible toilets and baby changing areas. However, after much pressure from rail user groups, and Railfuture, Network Rail has set a date of 1st April 2019 for getting rid of all toilet charges at the stations it runs. This will include King's Cross and Liverpool Street stations. This means that London will be an exception internationally, as there is a charge at stations in most European capitals. Network Rail said the change was "to make our stations more friendly, accessible and open to the people who use them every day."


RAIL ROUTES
Mill Road bridge in Cambridge will be closed for eight weeks in 2019 to allow for siding to be extended

Keywords: [ThameslinkProgramme]

Mill Road bridge in Cambridge, which crosses the railway will be closed for about six weeks in 2019 to allow for a new train underpass to be created within the arch on the eastern side of the bridge. This will enable sidings to be extended beyond the bridge so that more trains can be stabled there in a £30 million project that is part of the £7 billion Thameslink Programme that will provide extra trains for services to and from London. Consultations comprising a public meeting (see [Snippets 307]) and three further drop-in sessions have taken place to warn local residents and traders about the closure. Because of the concerns raised in the feedback, Network Rail has agreed to install a temporary footbridge for both pedestrians and cyclists (who will have to dismount to cross the footbridge to ensure the safety of pedestrians) and to move the closure to eight weeks in July and August 2019 as people suggested. There will be occasions when NR's contractors have to close the footbridge for safety because of cranes moving overhead.


ROLLING STOCK
Greater Anglia promises to reduce overcrowding by 2020 after introducing new trains and abolishing first class

Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]

Greater Anglia hopes to reduce overcrowding on its trains from 2nd January 2020 — when many of its new trains will be in service — by ending first class on all services except intercity trains. This will avoid passengers in standard class being forced to stand while there are empty seats in first class. The first-class areas will be declassified on old trains still running. Around 20% seats will be created on GA's brand-new trains from Stadler and Bombardier, which are significantly longer. They are all due to enter service during 2019 and 2020. This assumes, of course, that the trains will enter service on time, which is by no means certain especially as Bombardier has experienced problems with its delivery of Aventra trains to Transport for London.

Greater Anglia announced the change in December 2018, so that all passengers, including annual season ticket holders, have more than a year's notice of the change. It has written to all first-class annual season ticket holders to inform them about the new policy, with details of how to swap a first class ticket for a standard ticket near the time.

Greater Anglia hires roaming train cleaners to keep trains looking fresh and presentable

Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]

Four new roaming cleaners have been recruited by Greater Anglia to improve the cleanliness of their trains. They will be hopping on and off services throughout the day on services to and from London, especially after the morning and evening peaks when most litter (e.g. coffee cups and newspapers) is left. Generally they will be on board at stations close to London, and will not be travelling far into East Anglia. However, GA may consider extending them further, perhaps to Cambridge, in future.


Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 309 - 31/12/2018

[Prev Issue (308)] [Snippets Issues] [Next Issue (310)] [Category List] [Keyword List] [People List] [Story List] [Branch Dashboard]