News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 324 - 31/03/2020
- STATIONS [all issues]
- New information screens continue to be rolled out at Greater Anglia stations
- More than 220 additional car parking spaces now available at Manningtree railway station
- ROLLING STOCK [all issues]
- RAIL DEPOTS [all issues]
- RAIL PUNCTUALITY [all issues]
- Greater Anglia's managing director pledges to make more trains run on time
- Quartz software tool enables Greater Anglia's to reduce train delays by identifying on station dwell times
- RAIL ROUTES [all issues]
- Latest report on reopening Wisbech railway line for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
- Ely capacity upgrade could cost £600m
- East West Railway Company invites bids for short-term rolling stock contract
- PRESERVED RAILWAYS [all issues]
The big news is that on Monday 23rd March 2020, because the lockdown to cope with COVID-19 outbreak severely limits rail travel, the government took over the revenue and cost risks of all TOCs, by introducing a management contract of up to 2% of costs, depending on performance, for all TOCs in England. TOCs had the chance to walk away and have the operation taken over by the DfT's Operator of Last Resort. All operators accepted the terms of the Emergency Measures Agreement (EMA), which last for an initial six months (end on 20th Septembwr) but are certain to be extended in some form. This provides security for both passengers and rail staff. Prior to the pandemic, Greater Anglia was already seeking to negotiate with the government for changes to the financial terms of its franchise with the government. It has been bailed out by both of its owners, to enable it to keep operating. It was able to pay its staff their annual bonus in March 2020. GTR's existing contract, which includes the Great Northern and Thameslink branches, saw the government take the revenue risk but GTR faced the cost risk. This is now also transferred to the government.
The East West Rail company has cancelled its remaining community events, consulting on the detailed options for the Bedford-Cambridge route. They hope to reschedule them later in 2020, coronavirus permitting.
On 26th March it was announced by Bombardier that as a result of COVID-19 it had suspended its rolling stock production in Derby - where two of the six production lines at our Derby factory dedicated to the Greater Anglia project - because it was not possible to work productively whilst complying with the government's social distancing rules. However, the main cause of the delay in putting trains into service has been software issues. These could be resolved now and in the near future, whilst maintaining social distancing, especially as Bombardier does not have in-house software developers but relies on suppliers. So, with any luck the dozens of Greater Anglia (GA) trains that have been constructed could be tested, so that they are ready to come into service in late 2020. Clearly the introduction of the full fleet will be delayed well into 2021.
In the budget on Wednesday 11th March 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced funding for the new Cambridge South station.
STATIONS
New information screens continue to be rolled out at Greater Anglia stations
Keywords: [CambridgeNorthStation]
Greater Anglia has continued with the roll-out of modern full-colour widescreen customer information screens (CIS) at its stations. The latest to have the treatment, in March 2020, was Cambridge North, where some £50,000 was spent on new CIS, replacing the basic orange-on-black displays installed in May 2017 when it opened. All were installed in the first half of March. Railfuture had asked for CIS in the waiting rooms on all platforms and this has now been provided.
More than 220 additional car parking spaces now available at Manningtree railway station
Keywords: [ManningtreeStation]
On Monday 16th March 2020 the completion of a £3.1 million extension of Manningtree railway station's car park saw 220 additional spaces made available. Greater Anglia had expanded the existing one-storey decked car park and developed wasteland, bringing the total number of spaces to over 800. An additional 20 Blue Badge spaces have been created. It has also installed energy efficient LED lighting throughout.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) had recently been installed at the car park. The primary reason, of course, is to avoid the cost of staff checking each parked car and reduce non-payment along with re-use of tickets, but also gives customers greater control over how and when they pay for their parking. Payment can be made online (via the Greater Anglia Parking Portal - gaparking.co.uk) anytime up until midnight the day after parking. It is also possible to pre-register the car and payment details online, allowing automatic payment to be made, so that it is "hassle-free". Blue badge holders will continue to park for free, provided they register with NCP either online or by phone up within 24 hours of leaving the car park. They can do this online, by phone or by post and register more than one car if required.
Bury St Edmunds station also has new car parking spaces. The improvements/changes being made to Greater Anglia's stations is costing £25 in total.
In addition to car parking, the government has announced funding to make some of Greater Anglia's stations accessible. This includes Needham Market station, which has severe problems; these have been covered in several issues of Railfuture's RAIL EAST newsletter.
ROLLING STOCK
Greater Anglia first Class 720 Aventra test train reaches Liverpool Street but not carrying passengers yet
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
During March 2020 the first of Greater Anglia's 111 Class 720 Aventra EMUs, which Bombardier Transportation is supplying for its commuter services, completed its first test run into Liverpool Street station, enabling technicians to establish how it interacts with the signalling system. The unit had already been tested on 17th March on the Southend Victoria line. It was also tested on the Great Eastern main line to Norwich although the trains will not operate a regular service there, other visits to and from Crown Point depot in Norwich. On 26th March 2020 the Class 720 made its first run to King's Lynn. The trains will be used on all other lines into London (from Essex, Cambridge, Hertfordshire and Ipswich).
Despite the coronavirus outbreak, Greater Anglia is continuing with the testing programme, following all Government guidelines to keep staff safe. Drivers will also be using two train simulators — full-size replicas of the train cabs — at GA's training academy in Stratford. The simulator doesn't require the trainer to be close to the trainee, enabling social distancing to be maintained. Drivers must complete a three-day course — a mixture of classroom learning and practical experience on the simulator — before they are able to complete their training on the real thing, still under the supervision of a driver instructor for a further two days.
When trains are first tested on a new route they are initially run in the early hours in isolation. Gauging tests are also run to ensure that the trains do not foul platforms and other lineside structures.
Having introduced all of its bi-mode trains into service, Greater Anglia is now starting to store its withdrawn rolling stock at the Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR). During March 2020 an eight-car set of Mark 3 carriages arrived for storage prior to disposal. The MNR will be purchasing one Mark 3 set (and has also purchased a Pacer unit that until recently had been operated by Northern Rail).
RAIL DEPOTS
Norwich Victoria sidings reopened to enable Greater Anglia to stable its larger train fleet
Keywords: [NorwichVictoriaSidings]
Greater Anglia (GA) has totally rebuilt and re-opened the Norwich Victoria sidings, which are next to the mainline just beyond Crown Point depot, providing four electrified tracks long enough to stable 12-carriage trains. A new shunter's cabin has been provided, as well as drivers' walkways with bollard lighting, which are modern requirements, and CCTV along with an accommodation building with an office for the site security and welfare facilities for drivers and shunters. As well as replacing points at the entrance to the sidings, the exit signal was moved.
GA's new fleet with be larger than the one it replaces both in number and length of trains. Therefore it needed more siding space, hence bringing the facility, which had been mothballed for 15 years, back into use (having previously recommissioned the Wensum sidings adjacent to the Crown Point depot). Greater Anglia directly managed the project (in its biggest infrastructure scheme to date, which took just over nine months from May 2019 to complete), using its project management, engineering and commercial teams alongside principal contractor Keltbray. The project was also carried out in close collaboration with Network Rail's Asset Protection team.
RAIL PUNCTUALITY
Greater Anglia's managing director pledges to make more trains run on time
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
People: [Jamie Burles]
Greater Anglia (GA) claims to have achieved a big improvement in punctuality in 2019, following a big push on punctuality that which saw regular 'performance summits' between Network Rail and GA. There were also weekly meetings at Greater Anglia where it looked at every single minute of delay to see how it could be avoided again and a number of initiatives aimed at getting trains departing from stations on time.
GA's Managing Director, Jamie Burles, has pledged to do everything he can to make sure more trains run on time. In early March 2020 the operator received two awards for punctuality at the independent Golden Whistles Awards, including 'most improved' operator for punctuality on its commuter services in Essex and Hertfordshire. Overall punctuality rose last year despite a very difficult December 2019 on its rural lines when compatibility issues it the Class 755s and the signalling issues saw a temporary reduction (or suspension in the case of Ipswich-Peterborough) in services. GA is using new software to monitor the punctuality of trains at stations (see below), so that it can work out how to stop them being consistently delayed, whilst Network Rail is focusing on improvement works at Liverpool Street to reduce delays caused by infrastructure problems.
Quartz software tool enables Greater Anglia's to reduce train delays by identifying on station dwell times
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
Greater Anglia (GA) has been using a new piece of software called Quartz, which was commissioned from Amey Consulting by Network Rail, to enable more trains to depart on time at stations across its network. The tool helps it to better understand the performance of trains at individual stations and even at individual platforms and/or the time of the day. This is achieved by filtering large volume of operational data (already being gathered from route monitoring points, such as track circuits) to quickly and simply present to-the-second punctuality of trains at any chosen station or any chosen platform. In particular, it can highlight where trains regularly spend too much time at a platform — so that they can take steps to find a solution, which might involve better use of station staff.
News: https://www.railbusinessdaily.com/the-power-of-quartz-to-help-greater-anglia-reduce-delays/.
RAIL ROUTES
Latest report on reopening Wisbech railway line for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
Keywords: [WisbechBranch]
In March 2020 the latest report on reopening the seven-mile-long Wisbech railway line - a business case costing £1.5m - was due to be studied by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, which commissioned it. A report in the Ely Standard by John Elworthy on 3rd March 2020 suggested that the full scheme would cost around £200m including a town centre station and bridge over the A47 road - both vital as far as Railfuture is concerned - plus a passing loop built at Coldham to support a half-hourly service and a reinstated platform at March. Presumably this high cost allows for works at March to enable a through service to Peterborough, plus a contribution to the re-signalling between Ely and Peterborough. However, the rumoured £600m cost to upgrade Ely North Junction - Railfuture East Anglia's top-priority campaign of 2020 - is a pre-requisite for a twice-hourly direct 45-minute services from Wisbech into Cambridge, which is a key economic driver for the reopening, although the second service may not be possible until 2030.
Annoyingly the report almost goes back to square one by raising the other options of a guided busway (£75m) or a tram-train (£152m) but dismisses both of them. A busway shuttle was described as "poor value for money" and rail only was the best option as it has "a much more certain and lower risk delivery path".
The report, produced by Mott Macdonald, considered 10 options for a station in Wisbech but favours one near the town centre. It supports Network Rail's view that all 22 existing crossings between March and Wisbech (some road level crossings but mainly farm crossings) will be closed. In addition, all 39 level and occupation crossings between March and Cambridge will require risk assessments to ensure they can cope with the extra rail services. Some could be replaced with bridges.
The return of the railway to Wisbech is strongly supported by the Combined Authority Mayor, James Palmer, who said: "The Wisbech Rail project is a prime candidate for accelerating existing proposals with funding from the [recently-announced] Restoring Railways Fund.
Ely capacity upgrade could cost £600m
Keywords: [ElyNorthJunction]
According to local news reports, the cost of vital Ely capacity enhancement rail scheme has grown to £600. The key component is Ely North Junction, which British Rail rationalised around 1991 to reduce maintenance costs, where the originally proposed simple reinstatement of the full junction layout dating back a decade was expected to cost £35m. The single-lead junctions, whereby five out of six trains share a short stretch of track at Queen Adelaide, north of the city, causes a major bottleneck across East Anglia's rail network, primarily because it prevents more trains running through Ely, including freight trains to and from Felixstowe docks.
Network Rail refuses to simply reinstate what British Rail ripped out because the level of rail traffic now, never mind about the proposed traffic in future, exceeds what was running in the 1980s. Health and safety is now a much greater concern, especially at level crossings (three are located in less than a mile of road at Queen Adelaide), where car/lorry driver behaviour can lead to fatal accidents, so they must be addressed, probably with bridges or diverted roads, and that will not be cheap. Even so, the track changes to remove the single lead junctions onto the King's Lynn and Norwich lines would not have increased capacity to anywhere near the amount needed and as such would been poor value for money if just £35m was spent.
Therefore the scope of work has risen way above that first suggested to include extra tracks and strengthening to major bridge, where a speed restriction of 20/30mph has been imposed on traffic for years, to allow significantly faster trains (and therefore increase capacity). At one time, British Rail had threatened to close all lines north of Ely because those bridge rebuilds were unaffordable. Network Rail also wants to reconfigure the platforms at Ely for more passenger traffic and through running as well as doing some capacity work on the Soham branch. All are part of this inflated cost, which has been exacerbated by the poor ground/earth conditions around Ely. Network Rail abandoned work on the Ely Dock Junction to Soham partial doubling project around 2015 when it found the ground conditions so poor that it couldn't afford to do the job. It isn't just the railway alignment that suffers such problems: Cambridgeshire County Council and its contractors found that out to their cost when the final bill for the Ely southern bypass went up from £36m to £49m.
According to news reports, a Network Rail spokesman said: "We are absolutely committed to improving the railway for our passengers and to drive and support economic growth. The scheme originally put forward was to double the junction at Ely but this wouldn't release the additional services the rail users and local communities need. A far wider range of interventions is required including layout changes at Ely station, improvements to bridges, power upgrades and improvements to level crossings, in order to fully meet demands. We will put this forward to the Department for Transport" in spring 2020.
Around 5,000 vehicles a day use the road through Queen Adelaide. However, housing developments are expected to increase traffic to an estimated 8,000 a day, causing gridlock when the crossings are closed. Any funding from developers would not cover the cost of a new bridge or underpass to enable more frequent trains, and it must be covered by central government.
East West Railway Company invites bids for short-term rolling stock contract
Keywords: [EastWestRail] [ETCS]
The East West Railway Company needs trains for the new services between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Aylesbury and Bedford, which are due to commence in 2024. It has opted for a short-term solution of leasing trains for this section of East West Rail, and published an official Invitation to Tender (ITT) in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) offering a four-year contract (with an option to extend for two years) with maintenance package for 12 or 14 three-car trains with modifications including European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 and Driver Controlled Operation (DCO) capability. The interim solution gives the East West Railway Company time to explore a wider range of green energy technologies to power their trains, as it hopes to become a net zero carbon railway when services run all the way through from Oxford to Cambridge by 2030. There is support for electrification across the whole East West Rail line, from Oxford to Cambridge, although the government has not (yet) agreed to it.
The ITT follows a Prior Information Notice (PIN), which was lodged on Friday 5th July 2019 and published in the OJEU. The PIN requested that interested parties refrain from further interaction with East West Railway Company until the formal process began.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Heritage railways close to the public during COVID-19 outbreak
Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]
In mid-March the Mid-Norfolk Railway announced on Twitter "Please be aware the railway remains closed to the public, including our Stations, Shop and Cafe. This has now been extended until at least 2nd May. The railway remains operational for non-passenger work." Since then it tweeted to say, "at least the end of May". Like all heritage railways, the MNR will take a huge financial hit because of the closure. Donations can be made at: https://www.mnr.org.uk/coronaclosurefund.
The MNR had wanted to replace the track under the Yaxham Road level crossing, just south of its Dereham base late in 2019 but had not been able to get permission to close the road to traffic during that period. It has now obtained permission to close it from 27th - 31st May 2020, which could well be after the COVID-19 lockdown has ended. April would have been an ideal time as there is very little car traffic anywhere!
The Whitwell and Reepham railway ceased all train services on 20th March, prior to the COVID-19 lockdown coming into effect because it did not want to put its staff at risk. However, it continued to operate a takeaway-only service from its cafe. It also offered a free hot drink to all members of the emergency services.
Ministry of Defence train visits Dereham to deliver personnel carriers for Swanton Morley
Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway] [WhitwellReepham]
On 4th March 2020 an MoD train ran from Ludgershall near Andover to Dereham (on the Mid-Norfolk Railway) carrying Jackals, Coyotes and Panthers returning to the former RAF base at Swanton Morley — now occupied by the British Army and known as Robertson Barracks — after spending a month on Exercise Wessex Storm on Salisbury Plain. The 'freight' movements provide useful income to the MNR, and is especially needed during the COVID-19 lockdown when it is not earning any income from the public.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 324 - 31/03/2020
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