News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 384 - 31/03/2025
Rail fares increased by an average of 4.6% in England on Sunday 2nd March 2025. Meanwhile, Transport for London (TfL) has announced that bus and tram fares are frozen until March 2026.
The GBR Transition Team (GBRTT) was officially disbanded on 31st March 2025) with most of its functions and records transferred to Network Rail (NR). This was not a surprise as members of the Transition Team knew that they would transferring back to NR, DfT, and DfTO (to start preparations internally for them to be turned into GBR) on 1st April 2025, and it was on their email footers as well. The GBRTT website has now been transferred under the National Archives website.
Richard Goodman was appointed Director General Rail Reform and Strategy in the Department for Transport (DfT) on 11th March 2025. The Rail Reform and Strategy Group leads on the reform of the railway and strategic rail issues.
The deadline for submitting objections to the Transport and Works Act 1992 ("TWA") application for the proposed Cambridge South East Transport (CSET) order was Friday 7th March 2025. Railfuture understands that more than 325 objections were received by the Department for Transport (DfT) by this deadline. Railfutuue and the Fen Line Users Association (FLUA) objected on the basis of the harm that it would do the railway, both in reducing the number of passengers and making the reopening of the railway to Haverhill much more difficult. A decision on whether to hold a public inquiry or a hearing is normally made within 28 days of the closure of the objection period.
According to a BBC news report, the government is to consider the Peterborough station redevelopment plans, which includes the western entrance and transformation of the surrounding area (the so-called Station Quarter), which includes removing the underpass at the Queensgate roundabout by raising the ground level to form an easier route to the city centre, plus the construction of a new multi-storey car park. In March 2023 Peterborough City Council had secured £47.9m of Levelling Up funding for this project, which is now estimated to cost £65m. The council will be submitting a full business case, with building work expected to start within six months of DfT approval.
For the third year in a row, Greater Anglia (GA) has won three national awards for train performance at the Golden Whistles Awards, an annual event organised by Modern Railways magazine and the Chartered Institution of Rail Operators to celebrate excellence in GB railway operations. GA won the Best London and South East operator (for its commuter and regional services), Best Long Distance operator (for its Norwich – Ipswich – Colchester – London intercity services) and Best Operational Performance (for minimising delays).
UK Railtours has announced that it will be running a charter along the recently-reopened Bicester-Bletchley route. Its 'The Thundering Shed' tour on Saturday 17th May 2025 will start from the Chinnor terminus of the Chinnor-Princes Risborough heritage railway line, take the rarely-used connection to the mainline at Princes Risborough and proceed to Oxford before reversing, to travel all the way along the East West Rail line to Bletchley, where it will proceed to Northampton. The train will then return in the reverse direction, allowing a second chance to travel between Bletchley and Bicester.
On 24th March 2025, Ellie Burrows officially started her role as managing director for Network Rail's Eastern region (she had previously been managing director for Network Rail's Southern region), replacing Jake Kelly, who is returning to the North West & Central region as their new regional managing director. See news story.
In mid-March 2025 work commenced on the East of England Co-op's 1,500 sq ft store at Ipswich railway station for a planned opening in June. It will be fully cashless. One of the features of its "modern shopping experience" will be a walk-in chilled area, which is arguably a more efficient way of keeping food and drinks at the optimum temperature. Ipswich station already has Costa, Greggs and WH Smith.
According to the Ely Stardard, Greater Anglia is appealing for individuals or groups to adopt Shippea Hill station, near Ely on the Norwich to Cambridge line, which is one of the least-used stations in Britain. Greater Anglia provides funding to help cover the costs of small initiatives, tools and materials to help adopters fulfil their work.
A recent BBC news article says that a blue and white plaque with tactile lettering has been unveiled at Colchester and Norwich stations as part of an exibition, called 'Do You See What I See?' to coincide with the 200th anniversaries of both Braille and the birth of the modern railway. Visitors can scan a QR code to listen to an audio description of each piece of artwork and the eye condition it represents.
Prolific railway YouTuber Geoff Marshall has uploaded a YouTube video, lasting 10 minutes, on Cambridge South Station, entitled 'Cambridge South Station is Under Construction'. It is an excellent one to look at and Geoff does it well, finishing with a short chat with Stephen Deaville of Network Rail. Mr Deaville confirms that the new Cambridge signalling system should be finished by Christmas 2025 and the station is to open in the early part of 2026. The stairs are finished, although the cycle gullies are not yet in place. The lifts are also installed (but not working). The video also incorporates the Shepreth Branch Junction area upgrade.
On Friday 14th March 2025, after the sentencing hearing at Cambridge Crown Court, following the earlier prosecution of Cambridgeshire County Council (under the Health and Safety at Work Act) for three deaths on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, several news outlets reported the comments from the on of one victim that it was "such a preventable accident" and the brother of another victim who said "multiple opportunities were missed to design and implement safety measures to prevent further serious incidents occurring" but feels more positive now, saying "We welcome Cambridgeshire County Council's new attitude in the hope that from now on all reasonable safety measures will be implemented." In its defence, the council's KC admitted "The emphasis seems to have been on the timetable and efficiency of the guided busway rather than the council's health and safety duties" adding that that "new management" and "new systems" were in place. Watch an ITV News video, and BBC report. A judge will decide what fine to impose at a later date, but it is expected to run into millions.
The Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton CRP (MSFCRP) has published its Annual Report. See the positive impact that the CRP has made here.
The East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership is conducting a survey (open for only a limited time) to gauge community support concerning the future of the old station building at Trimley.
Interrail has a 'Spring Sale' until 1 April 2025, offering 15% off rail passes. They have to be used within 11 months. See www.interrail.eu/en/interrail-passes/global-pass for details.
Arriva TrainCare's Crewe depot has completed work on the first of 29 Class 170 Turbostar diesel multiple-units operated by CrossCountry (XC), which are to be fully refurbished by 2028. The work includes the removal of first class, replacing 2+1 with 2+2 seating, new carpets, USB sockets etc. On-board CCTV has been added along with automatic passenger count equipment. According to XC, the first train was ready in February and is now in daily service on its regional network between Cardiff - Birmingham - Nottingham and Birmingham - Leicester - Cambridge - Stansted Airport.
The list of guest speakers at the Cambridge University Railway Club (CURC) mentioned in [Snippets 382] included a planned talk by Ben Eyers of Hovertravel. How this has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances that means he cannot deliver it, virtually or otherwise. This talk may be rescheduled for next term.
A consultation on the forthcoming Railways Act was launched in March 2025, as a prelude to the bill being presented to Parliament later in 2025. According to Lord Hendy, the rail minister, at the UK Rail Summit in London on 3 March 2025, Great British Railways (GBR) — which would bring together 17 different organisations and 100,000 people — "will be up and running within 12 months" after royal assent but "we're already doing what we can now, so GBR can hit the ground running." Another speaker raised the risk that the DfT might "never lose the habit of micromanagement" so that GBR is never truly able to plan long-term. A review of what was said at the rail summit can be read here.
On 25 March 2025 the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that Chiltern Railway (CR), which is owned by Arriva Group, would be the operator of the new East West Rail service between Oxford and Milton Keynes that uses the recently-reopened line between Bicester and Bletchley. Snippets readers will remember that this was informally stated about four years ago, but it is now officially the case as the contract between DfT and CR has been signed. The DfT issued a press release to state that trains would be operated by CR, but provided no useful information at all, other than it "hopes" that services would start in 2025. The public don't actually care which train operator will run the trains, but they do care about when it will open, what the service will be like and how much the fares will be — none of which was in the press release. Network Rail is still training the signallers to control the route, whilst CR will need to obtain sufficient rolling stock and train its drivers on the route. Even so, one might have hoped that a taster service might begin, such as Saturday morning and early evening for shoppers and day trips. Some eyebrows were raised that the DfT issued a press release that heavily promoted CR, despite its days being numbered (its national rail contract ends on 12th December 2027, at which point it will be renationalised).
East Midlands Railway's (EMR) current Rest Day Working (RDW) agreement for drivers came to an end at 00:01 on Saturday 29th March 2025, which means that there could be short-notice service cancellations as no driver is available. Discussions around a new agreement are ongoing. In East Anglia, this will affect the Liverpool-Norwich trains.
Help points across Greater Anglia (GA) stations have been upgraded feedback from customers. AI technology, called 'IVY', was initially installed at its help points in 2023 to supplement teams who answer the help points manually, freeing up operators to deal with more complex queries. GA claims that, following the upgrade, there will be a clearer voice, and that a range of foreign languages (Spanish, French, German, Dutch, and Italian) are now possible. This is particularly useful for the thousands of customers who travel to or from Stansted Airport each day. The AI responder is triggered by pressing the blue 'information' button, whereas for assistance or emergencies users can also press the dedicated green 'emergency' button. See news story.
On 25th March 2025 LNER published an article on how it is rolling out a machine learning-based tool that helps its station staff predict train delays and adapt the support they provide to more closely meet passenger needs.
In late March 2025 it was announced that Andrew Haines, the Chief Executive of Network Rail, will retire in October 2025, after seven years at the helm.
The Branch Line Society is offering the chance to view inside the Eastern Rail Services operation at Great Yarmouth on Saturday 3rd May 2025 to raise funds for Martin House Children's Hospice. It is the culmination of a charter train operated by GBRf that starts from Great Yarmouth at 07.30 and picks up at Shippea Hill, Great Yarmouth again at 09.55, and March, and travels via Peterborough Two Way Goods, Claypole Loop, Grantham, Highdyke, Whitemoor Yard, March, Ely, Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket, Bacon Factory Chord, and Westerfield to a break at Ipswich. It then travels back via Claydon, Stowmarket, Bury St Edmunds, Ely, Shippea Hill, Brandon, Trowse, Norwich Low Level, and Acle to arrive back in Great Yarmouth. See here.
STUDIES
Greater Anglia funds feasibility study for active travel improvements around Postwick, near Norwich
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
Greater Anglia (GA) has provided a £25,000 grant to Postwick with Witton Parish Council to carry out a feasibility study for the upgrade of walking, wheeling, and cycling routes in the area. The money (ultimately from taxpayers, as GA receives no income from fares) came from its Customer and Community Improvement Fund initiative, which is also being used on some initial groundwork, which began on Monday 10th March, to clear the overgrown path which runs from the end of Ferry Lane in Postwick through the woods to West Lane, Witton. From there, the path runs alongside the railway line onto Brundall Gardens station.
According to the GA website, Julie Smith, Chair of the cycleway feasibility study subcommittee and vice chair of the Postwick with Witton parish council, said: "this work which has brought an immediate benefit to the community by clearing the path of fallen trees and clarifying the route of the footpath." The clearance means that walkers, cyclists, and those with prams can avoid using an alternative route on Brundall Low Road, which has no pavement, high vehicle usage (including tractors), and is very narrow at one point.
News: https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/greater-anglia-funds-feasibility-study-for-postwick-improvements/.
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Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 384 - 31/03/2025
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