News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 358 - 31/01/2023
On Monday 16th January 2023 Murphy (which constructed Soham station) were viewed on site preparing the first compound for the construction of Cambridge South station in the area of Addenbrooke's Road and Dame Mary Archer Way overbridge.
During the Anglia Route briefing at Eastern Region CP7 stakeholder briefing in York on Thursday 26th Janaury 2022, it was revealed that the Cambridgshire (C3R) resignalling project will include the creation of an extra block section between Haughley junction and Chippenham junction of the mid-Anglia line, which will increase capacity.
Greater Anglia (GA) has recently installed water dispensing machines at 11 more of the stations that it manages. In the Railfuture East Anglia branch area the new ones are Cambridge North (added in December 2022), Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Marks Tey. It also added an additional one at Colchester. This brings the total to 22 stations, with existing branch area ones at Bishops Stortford, Cambridge, Ely, Ipswich and Norwich. GA says that far more than half a million bottles have been refilled at its stations, which will have saved a lot of single-use plastic bottles being discarded.
In late January 2023, Network Rail announced that it had awarded the first of two contracts to build the new Beaulieu Park railway station (just south of the Railfuture East Anglia branch area) on the Great Eastern Mainline to J Murphy & Sons Ltd., which built Soham station. The £37.8 million contract includes work to begin construction and enabling work. Main construction for the new station will be part of a second contract expected to be awarded in spring 2023. On Twitter @networkrailANG using the hashtag #BeaulieuParkStation.
Greater Anglia has gradually been rolling out online virtual tours of its stations. The latest to go live is Manningtree railway station.
GTR has revealed results from research (conducted bv renowned psychologist Emma Kenny) that employees are starting to favour in-person interactions again (now that the pandemic has become a memory) and getting the most from their journeys into work. Many workers are successfully balancing the benefits of working from home and working in-person with two-thirds of respondents agreeing that the working environment is more enjoyable when there are others around them, with 42% of respondents sayinf that it helps boost their development at work, with individuals noting that their confidence in meetings (70%) and when presenting (64%) is much higher in person. GTR's Southern routes are trialling a new loyalty scheme (from Monday 9th January until Sunday 5th March 2023) whereby customers can accumulate points with every pound spent, working towards rewards such as days out for families, self-education courses and money towards cinema tickets, coffee and dining out. More details here.
STATIONS
Peterborough station funding confirmed to create a western entrance
Keywords: [PeterboroughStation]
Peterborough is to get a new western entrance to the station (with a new wider footbridge over the railway lines) and a car park — to create a double-sided station — with a new wider footbridge over the train lines. This will alleviate pressure on city centre roads, making it easier and safer to travel around the city by bicycle. The government's 'Levelling Up Fund' is providing a total of £48 million, which will cover not just the railway station but the area around it, known as Station Quarter. Peterborough City Council and the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) received official confirmation of the ring-fenced funding (which can only be spent on the Station Quarter regeneration) on 19th January 2023. The first phase could take place between 2024 and 2026, with wider development of the Station Quarter continuing up to 2028.
The western entrance will shortern the journey times (walking or cycling) to and from the station, therefore making rail a more attractive option. Railfuture has long campaigned for additional routes and entrances to stations, as it is a cost-effective way of increasing patrionage on the railway.
Additional content will be added to this page.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 358 - 31/01/2023
[Prev Issue (357)] [Snippets Issues] [Next Issue (359)] [Category List] [Keyword List] [People List] [Story List] [Branch Dashboard]