News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 314 - 31/05/2019
- STATIONS [all issues]
- Contractor appointed to extend four-car platforms at Waterbeach and Littleport stations
- Improved facilities for passengers waiting at Sudbury station
- Bury St Edmunds station's historic building to undergo extensive restoration by Greater Anglia thanks to grant
- RAIL ROUTES [all issues]
- Hourly service doubles passenger numbers on Ipswich-Lowestoft route over a decade
- Norwich in 90 service brings faster journey times from East Anglia to London
- GUIDED BUSWAY [all issues]
Following the Department for Transport (DfT) announcement on 10th April 2019 naming Abellio as winning bidder for the East Midlands rail franchise, the DfT confirmed on 9th May 2019 that the 'standstill' period has ended and Abellio will be the new operator. This was despite Stagecoach and Arriva - both disqualified - separately launching legal action against the government. It is also likely that the Competition and Mergers Authority wil express concern about the monopoly of fare setting by Abellio between Ely and Norwich.
Sheringham station finally reopened to passengers on Wednesday 22th May 2019 following a complete rebuild for longer trains, having been delayed from Monday 6th May and then 16th May. Not everything was complete when it opened, and the remaining work will take several more weeks.
The Fen-Line Users Association (FLUA), which affiliated to Railfuture in 2019 (and was affiliated a long time ago), will hold its AGM at the Discover Downham Heritage Centre, 28-30 Priory Road, Downham Market PE38 9JU, at 14:00 on Saturday 16th November 2019. This is the first time it has ever held an AGM in the town, having managed to find a suitable venue.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority's board decided on 29th May 2019 to launch a public consultation on its new Local Transport Plan (LTP), which documents its strategy to tackle transport challenges and support a doubling of the economy of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough over the period to 2050. The plan will cover key projects such as the CAM Metro, Wisbech railway line plus new stations at Soham and Cambridge South, as well as road upgrades (such as dualling the A47 and A10) plus ongoing work to reform the bus network.
Greater Anglia's (GA) decision to withdraw free food and drink on its London-Norwich service to travellers buying a £10 weekend first class upgrade was criticised in the national newspapers including the Daily Telegraph om 16th May 2019. GA had claimed than "some" passengers (althugh it did not give numbers) had "abused" the offer of limitless complimentary food and drink, which comprises tea, coffee, water, fruit juice, biscuits and crisps. GA has discontinued the upgrade saying that it is "no longer commercially viable". Other rail companies, including Virgin, LNER, CrossCountry, Great Western and Grand Central, still offer complimentary snacks and drinks. GA will continue to do so for first class season ticket holders during the week.
STATIONS
Contractor appointed to extend four-car platforms at Waterbeach and Littleport stations
Keywords: [FenLine]
Network Rail (NR) has appointed VolkerFitzpatrick, which built Cambridge North station, as principal contractor to extend the platforms at Waterbeach and Littleport stations so that eight-car trains can call in the peak, which will tackle unacceptable levels of overcrowding on trains between Cambridge and King's Lynn. The contract award, follows confirmation that the government would fund this work, along with construction of a new siding at King's Lynn (along the old dock branch) for stabling the longer train formations. In previous NR control periods, enhancements were funded and managed as part of the five-year financial settlement. However, this work will be undertaken under the new Rail Networks Enhancements Pipeline process, which the Department for Transport and Network Rail now jointly use to manage the delivery of new rail infrastructure.
As last mentioned in [Snippets 311] both platforms at Waterbeach station will be extended, but only the London-bound platform 2 at Littleport station. Greater Anglia's (GA) new Class 720 Aventra train fleet, which will be used on the West Anglia line between Liverpool Street and King's Lynn (via Cambridge and Ely) from 2020, consists of 122-metre-long five-car trains and 243-mete-long 10-car trains. The extended platforms will only be 167 metres long, so the 10-car trains will not be able to call at Waterbeach or Littleport. However, GA currently runs few trains beyond Cambridge North each day; they are all eight-car trains that skip the short-platform stations.
Work is expected to start in October 2019, with completion in the summer of 2020, with Great Northern eight-car trains introduced at the first opportunity, probably with the December 2020 change.
Developers of the new town at the former Waterbeach airfield site (where outline plans have been approved) are now aiming to deliver a new, relocated, Waterbeach station by 2023. It has accepted that 2021 was unlikely because of Network Rail's processes, as explained to them in a meeting with Railfuture. Planning permission for the new station has already been granted. The extended platforms at the current sub-standard station will only be used for around three years. However, they will be a modular design and can be used at another station in future. The piling work to support them will be entirely wasted money though.
News: https://www.railbusinessdaily.com/cambridge-and-kings-lynn-upgrade-awarded/.
Improved facilities for passengers waiting at Sudbury station
Keywords: [SudburyStation]
Greater Anglia (GA) has spent over £50,000 improving the small unstaffed Sudbury station, which has been the terminus of the branch from Marks Tey since the through route to Cambridge via Haverhill was closed in 1968.
The modest work includes a brand-new wooden waiting shelter, a resurfaced platform and energy-efficient, brighter white LED lights to replace the old orange-coloured lighting. This is a small part of the £60 million that GA is spending to upgrade its stations over the nine years of its franchise.
Bury St Edmunds station's historic building to undergo extensive restoration by Greater Anglia thanks to grant
Keywords: [BuryStEdmundsStation]
It was announced in early May 2019 that the old station master's house at Bury St Edmunds railway station is to be restored, thanks to a £192k grant from the Railway Heritage Trust (RHT). Greater Anglia (GA) will add £400k to this money to reinstate the roof, repair fractured brickwork and replace all the windows and doors to replicate the originals.
The beautiful Grade II listed building, which is adjacent to the more modest station facilities that was has a £1 million restoration programme in 2016, was last used as the Great Eastern nightclub between 1993 and 1995, but has stood empty for more than 20 years, slowly deteriorating due to the effects of the weather, pigeon infestation and vandalism. The speculative work, which is programmed for later in 2019, will make the building watertight so that it is suitable for a tenant to use.
In a press release the RHT implicitly criticised National Express saying "We had previously sponsored work on the building in the 1980s and were very disappointed that previous operators of the station had allowed it to deteriorate so much" and it congratulate Greater Anglia "on its responsible attitude to its heritage." West Suffolk Council and the Bury Town Trust had been pressing for Greater Anglia to invest in salvaging the station master's House, criticising its present state as "hardly the first impression that we or Greater Anglia want to give to the 500,000 passengers that currently come into Bury St Edmunds each year."
RAIL ROUTES
Hourly service doubles passenger numbers on Ipswich-Lowestoft route over a decade
Keywords: [EastSuffolkLine]
Over 725,000 passenger journeys are now being made each year on the East Suffolk line, which runs between Ipswich and Lowestoft. This is an increase of 110% on a decade earlier before the hourly off-peak service was introduced in two phases from 2010 to 2012, the latter having had to wait for the Beccles loop to be constructed and become operational. This is proof that a major improvement in a rail service, so that it becomes useful and reliable, will attract a lot of new passengers and encourage existing ones to travel more often.
In economic terms one might say that doubling passengers - and therefore revenue - has also led to a doubling of costs, hence a business case doesn't stack up. However, this isn't the full picture. Only the train and crew operational costs have increased, as much of the railway costs relate maintaining and operating the route, which have barely increased at all (minimal extra renewals through increased track damage). But more importantly the wider economic benefits of enabling people to travel and the potential reduction in road traffic are substantial and help to drive the economy.
The increased patronage is not entirely down to the improved train service. The East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership has helped ro promote the service, and there have been some modest improvements at stations such as a new waiting shelter and heritage station signage at Beccles. A further increase in patronage is anticipated when Greater Anglia introduces its new Class 755 bi-mode rural trains.
News: https://www.railbusinessdaily.com/passenger-numbers-up-on-ipswich-lowestoft-rail-route/.
Norwich in 90 service brings faster journey times from East Anglia to London
Keywords: [EastSuffolkLine]
On Monday 20th May 2019, the fastest-ever regular train service between Norwich and London began, achieving the "Norwich in 90" target that politicians (and organisations such as Railfuture) had been calling for via the East Anglian Rail Prospectus and Great Eastern Main Line Taskforce (established in 2013). Initially there will only be two trains per day in each direction that take just 90 minutes between Norwich and London 55-57 minutes between Ipswich and London. However, it was heralded as "the start of the transformation of rail services in the region" and was a key Greater Anglia (GA) franchise commitment. When GA has its new inter-city fleet fully in service (potentially delayed until the end of 2020) then more services could be speeded up.
The 90-minute services, which are all off-peak because of pathing limitations, depart Norwich at 09:00 and 17:00, calling at Ipswich at 09:33 and 17:33, withe London Liverpool Street services departing at 11:00 and 19:00, calling at Ipswich at 11:55 and 19:57. They operate on Mondays to Saturdays.
Despite the high-profile of the campaign, it is hardly a game changer as only 12 minutes has been shaved off the previous fastest journey between Norwich and London and cut the fastest journey between Ipswich and London by four minutes.
GUIDED BUSWAY
Bus catches fire on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway
On Monday 20th May 2019 just before 09:30 a Stagecoach guided bus was totally destroyed by fire at the busway crossing on Station Road in Longstanton after fire spread from a car that burst into flames when the bus collided with. The car driver was taken to Addenbrooke's hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries. The bus driver suffered minor injuries and shock. Passengers were evacuated immediately and none of them were injured.
The media reported plumes of black smoke from the incident being visible a long distance away, with police officers, paramedics and firefighters at the scene. The busway was closed for several hours but reopened shortly after 15:00 the same day.
The busway has had dozens of incidents, two of which were fatal, since it opened on 7th August 2011. However, this time it made the national newspapers, with the Sun using the dramatic headline "BUS INFERNO Passengers flee for their lives as bus bursts into flames after crash with car."
News: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-48354112.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 314 - 31/05/2019
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