News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 339 - 30/06/2021
- COVID-19 PANDEMIC [all issues]
- RAIL FARES [all issues]
- RAIL ROUTES [all issues]
- Miniature Stop Light installed at ten level crossings across East Anglia to improve safety
- Network Rail to replace more softwood wheel timbers on the Manea Washes Viaducts
- STATIONS [all issues]
- RAIL FRANCHISES [all issues]
- RAIL DEPOTS [all issues]
Railfuture East Anglia will have its first meeting for members and the public since COVID-19 on Sunday 25th July 2021. See flier at the usual St Mary's at Stoke venue.
On 15th June 2021 there was a formal notice in the Cambridge News regarding Network Rail's application for a Transport and Works Act Order to build Cambridge South station, which was formally submitted on 18th June. If the necessary consents are given, work could start on the station in 2022 with possible opening in 2025. The station plus associated track works (including loops) could cost £183.6m. Network Rail's website has a page for the station project.
On Thursday 3rd June 2021 BBC Look East (West) devoted the whole programme to East West Rail. Simon Blanchflower, Chief Executive Officer at East West Railway Company, answered questions from viewers. The public consultation that launched on 31st March 2021 ended on 9th June. Railfuture's 18-page response can be read at www.railfuture.org.uk/display2717.
LNER has launched an eight-week consultation (until 5th August 2021) to seek views on its proposed major timetable changes to take effect in May 2022. The proposed new timetable makes use of LNER's new Azuma trains and Network Rail's modernisation of the East Coast mainline. Its five trains per hour into and out of London King's Cross would be increased to six, and it proposes will be 39 additional LNER services per weekday and many more at the weekend too. See: www.lner.co.uk/Timetable2022, which went live on 11th June. The consultation is also available on https://lner.citizenspace.com/.
GTR is also consulting on its 2022 proposed timetable for the GN/TL routes. To take part, visit https://www.greatnorthernrail.com/help-and-support/listening-to-you/timetable-consultation.
On Monday 21st June 2021 Greater Anglia (GA) increased the frequency of its intercity services between Norwich and London in response to growing passenger numbers by adding an extra 12 services to the weekday timetable, bringing the intercity service up to 77% of the pre-pandemic timetable. GA had reduced the frequency when the first lockdown occurred in March 2020. GA said in June 2021 that it was carrying about 50% of pre-pandemic passenger numbers across its network.
On Monday 7th June 2021 Network Rail engineers have completed the major work at King's Cross station and the 1.5-mile approach to it (including reopening the eastern tunnel after 44 years with two additional lines plus completely remodelling the track layout. The "once-in-a-generation" improvements, which took two years and form a key part of the £1.2bn East Coast Upgrade, were dubbed "King's Uncrossed" by Network Rail, which says its engineers carried out the replacement of: over 6km of new track; over 30 new sets of points; over 50 new signals and over 20km of new overhead wires. The Werrington drive-under, north of Peterborough, is on track to open in autumn 2021.
The Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership's popular "Bucket and Spade Train" events are back for 2021. There will be special trains on Tuesday 27th July, Tuesday 10th August and Tuesday 24th August, which will take families from Colchester to Walton-on-the-Naze, with return tickets (available online from Greater Anglia) priced at £5 per adult and £3 per child.
In June 2021, Railfuture East Anglia and Cambridge Connect wrote a joint article promoting light rail for Cambridge, rather than a busway, for the Cambridge Independent newspaper.
Greater Anglia (GA) intends to run its Class 755 Stadler Flirt bi-mode trains in pairs during busy periods on certain routes. This is to avoid overcrowding. GA refers to this as 'multi-mode' and has been testing trains (without passengers) on the route between Norwich and Sheringham. For example, units 755333 and 755411 were coupled on Wednesday 23rd June 2021 (with head-code 5Q62).
The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) has further delayed its reopening to the public (partly because of track works being needed at Dereham) from 23rd June and will finally welcome passengers back on Saturday 3rd July with a steam service. Pre-booking is required initially. The MNR's 2021 AGM has been delayed until Saturday 11th September (instead of 3rd July) because of the delays in ending COVID-19 restrictions. There was no AGM in 2020. Meanwhile, the North Norfolk Railway, which has been running services since 12th April 2021 (and was also open in summer 2020), reopened its Weybourne station to the public for the first time since COVID-19, on Saturday 19th July.
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has started to use Quantex software (from data and analytics software company Contextual Decision Intelligence, to help spot attempts at ticket and Delay Repay fraud. Neither party will give examples of what it detect, for obvious reasons, but one technique it uses is to comparing purchases and claims by the same person to look for incompatibility - a person cannot be in two places at the same time.
A new sculpture entitled 'Hercules Meets Galatea' by artist Matthew Darbyshire has been erected outside Cambridge North station. More information at: https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/hercules-meets-galatea-the-new-sculpture-at-cambridge-north-9203549/.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Office of Rail and Road releases rail patronage figures for full year of COVID-19 restrictions
According to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) just 388 million journeys were made in the 12 months From April 2020 to March 2021, throughout which there were restrictions because of COVID-19 that ranged from 'stay at home' to 'only essential journeys' and 'minimise travel' along with strongly negative messages creating a sense of fear of using public transport. It was no suspense that rail passenger journeys in Great Britain fell dramatically, although one might not have envisaged it would be to the lowest levels of annual passenger usage since before 1872 (407 million), when records started. Blame for the collapse in passenger journey numbers (just 22% of the 1.739 billion journeys seen the previous year, and total journey distance [2.5 billion passenger-km] being just 18.7%) and revenue can be laid firmly at the door of the governments.
The months between April and June 2020 were the low point, with just 35 million journeys made, rising to 133 million between July and September as restrictions were eased, and creeping up to 139 million between October and December. But the new national lockdown saw just 80 million journeys were made in the first three months of 2021. Passenger revenue was £1.9bn in the year 2020-21, just 18% of the £10.4bn generated in the previous 12 months. The average revenue per franchised journey was £4.89, a real terms fall of 17.4%, which the ORR said could mostly be explained by the drop in the average journey length. The ORR press release, issued on 3rd June with the figures, said "Despite this, recent estimates published by the Department for Transport show that rail usage has recovered to around 45% of pre-COVID levels by the end of May 2021." With restrictions lifted over the summer, patronage is expected to rise substantially.
Christian Wolmar, who is Railfuture's Honorary President, told PA news agency: "Far too much energy is going into sanitising handles and all that, rather than trying to reassure people that actually with the ventilation you have on railways, air conditioning and so on, it's very safe." Railfuture agrees with that and also his view that "There needs to be a big marketing campaign. That needs to include fare offers. Instead of putting the fares up - which is what happened in March 2021 - the fares need to come down both across the board but also there needs to be lots of good offers [such as] two for one, get the family on free."
Unsurprisingly, season tickets saw the largest drop in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20. They were down to 15.9%. Anytime/peak tickets were at 25.0%, presumably because workers had to travel to work some of the time. Leisure did much better with off-peak at 26.8%, Advance at 20.9% and other (rover, group and packages) at 35.8%, although that was only 2.9 million journeys. Greater Anglia recorded 19m journeys during the year (22.4% of the previous year). GTR recorded 76.10m (21.8%), but much of that is outside East Anglia. Many observers assumed a substantial number of journeys are not paid for (not necessarily evasion but because on-board staff did not come through the carriage selling tickets), and it is unclear whether the passenger numbers are based entirely on ticket sales or if an estimate of ticketless travel has been included.
Data: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/passenger-rail-usage/.
RAIL FARES
New Flexi Season tickets will be valid for eight days of travel in a 28-day period
Following the government's announcement in May 2021, the rail industry has provided further details about the new Flexi Season tickets, which valid for eight days of travel in a 28-day period, reflecting changes in working habits that are expected to be accelerated as a result of the increase in home working during the coronavirus pandemic. The tickets will be supplied as either a smart card (where the operator has readers at stations) or a barcode product (delivered as a PDF attached to an e-mail, which can be stored in your phone wallet or to an app for manual scanning by on-board staff) and sold through an operator's website or app. These all-day passes allow unlimited travel between two named stations from the time of activation until 04.29 the next morning. Starting, ending or breaking the journey at any station on the permitted route will be allowed, and they will be valid on any train operator unless otherwise specified. To ensure that there is no confusion with an existing smart-card ticket, which could result in an unwanted or higher charge, a separate smart card will be needed for flexi-tickets, and this may need to be linked to a different email address.
The Flexi Season will be priced between an Anytime Day Return and a 7-Day Season, and will only be available for standard class travel, there will be no child or off-peak versions, and journeys within the London zonal fare area will not be available. The 16-17 Saver and Job Centre Plus Travel Discount Card holders will get 50% off, but no other railcard or group discounts will apply. It is aimed at commuters who travel at peak times on two or three days a week and went on sale on 21st June 2021 for travel from 28th June.
If someone does not make all eight journeys within the 28 days, they will be able to request a refund for the remaining day passes before the expiry date. This will be calculated from the difference between the price paid and the cost of an Anytime return ticket for each day used, with an administration fee of no more than £10. Being able to obtain a refund only within the validity of the ticket period seems antiquated and unnecessarily restrictive given that it will be an electronic smart-card.
Railfuture has been calling for a new type of ticket for part-time workers and had suggested solutions such as a weekly carnet that allowed five journeys in a fortnight. The new ticket, however, will only provide a small discount and will not be worth using on long-distance routes where a season may already cost less than two Anytime Return tickets. Railfuture had wanted a loyalty-bases scheme (the more you travel the cheaper each journey becomes), and is disappointed that nothing is being offered to those who travel off-peak particularly people who work half days or from mid-morning because of childcare reasons. The new flexi-tickets are only for individuals, rather than for businesses so unlike existing carnets they cannot be handed out by an employer to staff making common business trips.
In a press release, Railfuture gave a cautious welcome to new flexi-season tickets, but expressed fears that some travellers may end up worse off. See: New flexi rail fares: one step forward, one step back.
.Info about Flexi-tickets: www.greateranglia.co.uk/flexi-season-tickets and www.greatnorthernrail.com/help-and-support/contact-us/faq/flexi-season-tickets.
RAIL ROUTES
Miniature Stop Light installed at ten level crossings across East Anglia to improve safety
Keywords: [LevelCrossings]
Network Rail has installed new equipment Miniature Stop Light (MSL) at ten minor level crossings in East Anglia to make them safer. These are located at: Big Hill (CM3 6HQ) at Latchingdon in Essex; Pond Street (NR28 0NH) and Grammar School Farm (NR28 0NE) both near North Walsham; Worlingham (NR34 7PF), North Cove (NR34 7QR), Wadehall Old Dam (NR34 7QG) all near Beccles; Maltings (SG12 8EU) near Stansted Abbotts; Melton (IP12 1LT) and Dock Lane (IP12 1PE) near Woodbridge; and lastly East Runton, NR27 9PS.
Miniature Stop Light systems consist of red and green lights and an auditory warning, which warns level crossing users of the arrival of a train several seconds in advance. An audible warning and a red light will activate when a train is approaching. If the red light is still on and the audible warning is still sounding after the train has passed another train will be coming. You should only cross when the green light is showing and no warning is sounding. The new technological system replaces a stop, look and listen system that relied on users checking that there was no train approaching before crossing. The new miniature stop lights give users a clear message about when it is safe to cross.
Network Rail plans to implement 90 MSL systems at East Anglia level crossings in the three years to 2024.
Network Rail to replace more softwood wheel timbers on the Manea Washes Viaducts
Between September and November 2020 Network Rail (NR) replaced 57 pairs of wheel timbers across four bridges on the line between Ely and Peterborough. NR has now said that another 29 pairs of timbers need to be replaced at four bridges near Manea, having performed hi-tech inspections on 115 timbers over the last 18 months to understand the internal condition of the timbers. Work is planned for seven weekends, starting on Saturday 11th September 2021, and continuing on Sunday 19th September, Sunday 26th September, Sunday 3rd October, Sunday 10th October, Sunday 17th October with completion on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th October 2021.
Network Rail has also completed "vital" track improvements in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, which commenced in May 2021. The works included:
- Renewal of nearly half a mile of track just north of Trowse swing bridge
- Renewal of one mile of rail at Tharston
- Renewal of track, sleepers and ballast at Wassicks level crossing just north of Haughley junction
- Replacement of wheel timbers on the line between Ely and Norwich
- Resignalling work on the Wherry Lines between Norwich, Lowestoft and Yarmouth
- Maintenance work at Oulton Broad swing bridge
STATIONS
Protests against Greater Anglia plans to demolish Salhouse station building
Keywords: [SalhouseStation] [GreaterAnglia]
Despite having suffered a defeat over its plans to demolish Brandon station building, Greater Anglia is continuing in "Great Destroyer" mode. Residents and the parish council have objected to GA's plans, which have been submitted to Broadland District Council, to demolish the original station building at Salhouse on the edge of Norwich on the Bittern Line. The Salhouse Parish Council Neighbourhood Plan identifies the historic station building as needing protection with special features including the ponds and the old waiting room. Broadland councillor Fran Whymark, who represents Salhouse, has described it as a heritage building. The station dates back to 1874.
"Sadly, like Brandon's now listed station building, it has not been maintained in recent years and had become neglected. Greater Anglia proposes to erect "a modern waiting facility enables passengers to wait for trains in a comfortable environment" on both station platforms. The new Rackheath development over the next 15 to 20 years may bolster patronage.
News: https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/salhouse-station-plans-lodged-by-greater-anglia-8082354 .
RAIL FRANCHISES
Govia Thameslink Railway continues as train operator until March 2022
In June 2021, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that it had extended its Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (ERMA) with Govia Thameslink Railway GTR) under the same contractual terms, from its current end date of 20th September 2021 until 31th March 2022.
The ERMA arrangements pay the operator up to 1.5% of costs as a management contract fee – the percentage depends upon meeting its performance obligations – with no financial exposure to passenger volumes, or other revenue generators such as car parking and retail concessions at stations. GTR is 65% owned by the Go-Ahead Group, and the various 'risk-free' train contracts generate around 90% of the group's revenues. At the time of the GTR extension passenger volumes had grown substantially, with more people using its rail services than at any time during the pandemic.
News: https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/gtr-contract-extended-to-march-2022/.
RAIL DEPOTS
New bogie drop commissted at Crown Point depot in Norwich
Keywords: [CrownPointDepot] [GreaterAnglia]
Greater Anglia (GA) has commissioned its new £l8.7m bogie drop at its Crown Point depot in Norwich, which involved excavating soil to create the hole for the bogie drop structure into which a Mechan lifting table was fitted before lowering in the 31-tonne bogie drop assembly. The facility will be used to help maintain The Class 755 bi-mode trains, by enabling engineers to repair, remove and replace the underneath of train carriages, such as the wheelsets and underframe equipment. Rather than lifting trains up on jacks to work underneath them, a bogie drop keeps the train carriage at track level, and instead, the bogie - the undercarriage of the train to which the wheels are attached - is lowered away.
This upgrade is part of GA's £40m redevelopment of Crown Point depot that began in 2018, which was necessary to accommodate its fleet of new trains, including a new train washing facility, improved servicing equipment and the ability to store and dispense more fuel. High walkways have been installed to give engineers access for maintenance and repairs – as most of the new trains' components are on the roof – due to their lowered floors which make them more accessible to passengers.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 339 - 30/06/2021
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