News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 352 - 31/07/2022
According to figures released by Trainline on 5th July 2022, US-based tourists have been booking rail tickets to explore Britain in record numbers recently. Sales to them in June 2022 are up 16% on the same period in 2019, which is the last year before the impact of Covid travel restrictions. Cambridge was the sixth most popular British railway station destination sold by Trainline in June. Of course, most tickets are not sold by Trainline, but the trend with tickets bought elsewher, especially at stations is likely to be similar.
On 20th July 2022 the government announced that it had approved the construction of Sizewell C. Railfuture has long called for construction materials to be brought in by rail (and any spoil taken out by rail), with upgrades to the East Suffolk Line to support the extra traffic.
People travelling to the Cromer Carnival on Wednesday 17th August 2022 are set to benefit from extra Greater Anglia train services. In the morning there will be an additional service that departs Norwich at 10:10 calling at Hoveton & Wroxham (10:25), North Walsham (10:38) and Cromer at 10:54. An extra evening service will run, departing Cromer at 22:10, calling at six stations on the way, and due to arrive in Norwich at 22.57. The event attracts thousands, and on its post-pandemic return will feature everything from jousting to a Red Arrows display.
A three-month trial, involving Amey and Sella Controls, will focus on an alternative method of managing level crossing signalling at Watlington station (still known as Magdalen Road signal box), near King's Lynn. In July 2022 the control of the Manned Crossing Barrier (MCB) level crossing there was transferred from the controlling relays managing the level crossing to a new digital signalling system (HIMatrix), which has been in development for the past five years and is compatible with a number of level crossing systems. If successful, it could be rolled out across Network Rail, replacing Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) systems across the network.
STATIONS
Greater Anglia invests in small facilities at many of its stations
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
In July 2022 Greater Anglia said that it had invested more than £1 million at its stations to upgrade waiting shelters, toilets and benches. These include replacement shelters at Brandon and Great Chesterford. Toilet facilities have been refurbished (tiling, hand dryers and decoration with some stations getting new sinks and worktops) at Audley End, Manningtree, Marks Tey and Thorpe Le Soken in the East Anglia branch area. More than 450 platform benches (the equivalent of a kilometre long if placed end to end) have also been improved with some old style metal benches being replaced with more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing timber alternatives.
Chelmsford City Council has approved the latest Beaulieu station proposals
Keywords: [BeaulieuStation]
The opening of Chelmsford's new Beaulieu station, on the Great Eastern Mainline (just a little south of the Railfutrue East Anglia branch area) has moved a stage further in its long-running saga. Chelmsford City Council has approved the latest proposals, which could see consttrucuion eotk begin in spring 2023 with a target completion date of December 2025. Perseverence is paying off. An application for outline planning permission was submitted to Chelmsford City Council in 2010 by Andrew Martin Associates on behalf of property developers Countryside Zest (Beaulieu Park) LLP. Then in 2015, Network Rail signed an agreement to build station, and in 2019 government funding was secured, with the station expected to cost £157m. A revised Network Rail cost estimate, from its GRIP 3 report in September 2020, had increased this to £171m, although it was later reduced to £155m - largely by scrapping plans for a multi-storey car park.
News: https://www.essexlive.news/news/beaulieu-train-station-full-timeline-7264924.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 352 - 31/07/2022
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