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East Anglia Branch News - Snippets Issue 78 - 29/11/2001

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News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.

Railfuture News Snippets 78 - 29/11/2001



The Rail Passengers Committee for Eastern England will be holding its third meeting on Tuesday 4th December at 10:00. The venue has changed from Newark to the Bull Hotel, Westgate, Peterborough, which is around 10 minutes from Peterborough station. Speakers will include Dominic Booth (Man.Dir., WAGN), Christopher Garnett (Chief Exec, GNER), Jim Morgan (Man.Dir., Hull Trains) and Robin Gisby (Railtrack Zone Director) and Richard Brooks (Retail Services Manager, Central Trains).


RAIL MEETINGS
Railfuture East Anglia Branch Meeting on Saturday 17th November 2001 in Cambridge

The Railfuture East Anglia branch meeting in Cambridge on Saturday 17th November, focused on CHUMMS, the East-West Rail Link and canvassed attendees opinions for rail improvements to be presented to the national campaign. The branch also gave thanks to branch chairman Peter Wakefield, who is taking a sabbatical for two years.

During the meeting, a branch campaign list - for a limited number of schemes which could be delivered quickly, during this parliament - was drawn up based upon suggestions from members. A summary is as follows:
* New routes: EWRL, St.Ives/Huntingdon, Stansted to the East, March-Wisbech
* New stations: Addenbrooke's + Chesterton Parkway, Soham, Norwich P&R
* Bottlenecks: Cambridge new platform, Stansted second tunnel, Ely junction, Soham redoubling, Peterborough station
* Freight: Felixstowe-WCML loading gauge, Great Yarmouth dock, King's Lynn dock, Alconbury
* Electrification: Sudbury line
* New services/rolling stock: New London-Norwich stock, hourly rural services, half hourly cross-country to Stansted/Norwich

Peter and Nick asked all members to keep up the letter/email writing campaign to keep up pressure to reopen the St.Ives line to rail and defeat the guided busway scheme. A suggested list of people and organisations to write to is:

Cambridge Evening News: [letters at cambridge-news.co.uk]
Hunts Post: [editor at huntspost.co.uk]
Anne Campbell MP: [info at annecampbell.org.uk]
James Paice MP: [paicejet at parliament.uk]
John Brown - Government Office for Eastern England: [jbrown.goe at go-regions.gov.uk]
Brian Smith (Head of Environment and Transport, Cambs County Council): [brian.smith at envtran.camcnty.gov.uk]
Councillor Shona Johnston (Cambs County Council): [shona.johnstone at council.camcnty.gov.uk]
Chief Executive of Cambs County Council: [chief.executive at cambridgeshire.gov.uk]
Stephen Byers MP (Secretary of State, DTLR): [stephen.byers at dtlr.co.uk]
John Spellar MP (Transport Minister): [john.spellar at dtlr.gov.uk]
Rail Passengers Council: [rpc at gtnet.gov.uk].

You can find your MP using http://www.locata.co.uk/commons.

Postal Addresses:
Cambridge Evening News, Winship Road, Milton, Cambridge CB4 6PP
Hunts Post, 30 High Street, Huntingdon PE29 3TB
Cambridgeshire County Council, Shire Hall, Castle Hill, Cambridge CB3 0AP
House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA
Strategic Rail Authority, 55 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0EU

Peterborough Norwich Rail Users Meeting, Saturday 24th November

Andy Garner, Central Trains' Customer Services Manager, for east of Birmingham was the guest. He explained that Central derives much of its business from 16-25 and 50+ age groups, and that airport services had suffered greatly since September.

There was considerable criticism of the lack of information at stations regarding the closure of the Ely-Norwich route between Ely-Shippea Hill for track renewals. Central promised to put out clearer information where this was practicable by the next day.

Central were criticised for abolishing Apex fares.  Their new "Central Value" fares which commence early in January 2002,must be booked a minimum of three days in advance and will be about 40% cheaper than Saver fares. Railcard discounts will also be available. They will also be available to a much wider range of destinations than the former APEX fares.

There were growing calls for Anglia, Central and WAGN Railway to get around a table to come up with ways of making more efficient use of track capacity, particularly between Ely & Peterborough. A "clockface" (regular interval) timetable was one suggestion put forward.

Andy demonstrated one of the new portable ticket machines are currently being trialled on TOC's belonging to the National Express Group. They consist of an electronic organiser with a touch-screen display that contains the timetables, fares (including bus add-ons) & routing options for the whole of the UK, that are currently spread over numerous printed manuals.

Fen Line Users Association AGM, Saturday 24th November

Keywords: [FLUA]

There was a strong line up of senior representatives from WAGN at the FLUA AGM, also at Ely Maltings. Managing Director Dominic Booth gave a presentation "to angry passengers" according to Ceefax. It was followed by a panel including himself and Suzanne Page (GN route manager), Angela Palmer, Bob Warner (GN retail manager) and Steve Newland (major stations manager) from WAGN and Susie Holman from Railtrack.

Problems of parking cars & accessibility at Fen Line stations were raised. RPP bids have been initiated for car park improvements at Watlington and Downham Market. Littleport station remains a problem in terms of wheelchair access, as a ramp conforming to disabled legislation is likely to prove costly (a wheelchair lift was suggested, but these are prone to breaking down & could attract the attention of vandals).

  A number of Fen Line stations, notably Waterbeach & Downham Market, are suffering from problems with vandalism. The shelters on both platforms at Waterbeach have several glass panes missing, which have not been replaced (WAGN promised to repair the shelters as soon as possible). At Downham Market, the Grade 2 Listed station buildings have suffered from damage caused by vandalism (the toilets were recently damaged by vandals, but were repaired within an hour of the damage being reported!). Cars in the station car park have also been vandalised. Car parking at Ely was acknowledged as a major problem.
WAGN are well aware of the cancellation problems on Great Northern lines and a poor punctuality record generally, much of which is blamed on Railtrack.

There will be severe congestion problems (particularly during peak hours) at Kings Cross station from late 2002 when major reconstruction work starts to integrate the station into the Kings Cross/St.Pancras redevelopment. The existing entrance/exit to platforms 9-11 will be closed to permit construction of a direct escalator link to a new London Underground ticket hall, with passengers redirected via the main line platforms. The "train shed" over platforms 9-11 will be demolished, with the platforms incorporated into a new structure. The platforms themselves will be extended to permit their use by GNER as well as suburban services

It was also revealed that once the existing West Anglia Route Modernisation (WARM) scheme is complete sometime in 2003, Railtrack (or whatever succeeds it) are looking to replace the numerous signal boxes that still exist on the Ely-Peterborough, Ely-Kings Lynn & Ely-Norwich routes. 


RAIL PUNCTUALITY
WAGN punctuality criticised

Keywords: [WAGN]

More than 23 per cent of WAGN trains operated by WAGN were at least five minutes late in October 2001, caused by around 30 emergency speed restrictions, flooding, leaves on the line and a shortage of drivers. The October figure was three per cent worse than September. WAGN has consistently missed its target to run 91 per cent of trains between Cambridge, Huntingdon and King's Cross on time.

  The figures were revealed by transport minister David Jamieson in a parliamentary answer to Huntingdon MP Jonathan Djanogly, who said "People are concerned about the delays and want a situation where things are getting better. They have been patient but I think they are going to be disappointed."
Rail Passengers' Committee Eastern England secretary Guy Dangerfield said: "It is a pretty poor service. A lot of people are getting to and from work later than they should. They want the rail industry to pull itself out of the trough it has fallen into."

Peter Lawrence, chairman of Railfuture, was quoted in the Cambridge Evening News saying "I can understand the frustration. There is considerable room for improvement."

Alan Wheeler, WAGN spokesman, said that "services would only improve if the Government invested heavily in the railway network. The uncertainty over the future of Railtrack, which was put into administration was adding to the industry's problems".

Anglia Railways introduce live travel news service for computer and mobile phone users

Keywords: [AngliaRailways]

Anglia Railways has invested £15,000 to connect its Real Time Passenger Information system, which controls and updates the departure and arrival boards at stations, to its web site so that travellers can check how the trains are running across the network from their home computers or WAP enabled mobile phones.

It shows information about the expected arrival and departure times of trains, it can even provide detailed information about any problems, from signal failures to cows straying onto the line. It is refreshed every three minutes.

Anglia Railways also hopes to introduce an 'alert service' whereby registered customers will be sent live messages about train running information by email or to their mobile phones as text messages.
Anglia Railways press release: http://www.angliarailways.co.uk/latest-information/news-detail.asp?id=245.


Study to look into improving rail links to Stansted

Keywords: [StanstedAirport]

British Airports Authority (BAA) and the Strategic Rail Authority have agreed to commission a feasibility study into improving the rail link between London, Stansted Airport and Cambridge. Mike Grant, SRA chief executive, said: "There is still a long way to go to identify the right enhancement and secure funding but this is a useful first step. BAA's involvement in developing the West Anglia line is most welcome. We have a common aim to further improve services for all users of this route, whose success is closely linked to that of Stansted Airport, where ambitious expansion plans are being pursued."

BAA has offered £500,000 towards the work and has earmarked an extra £1.5 million towards a viable enhancement scheme.


STATIONS
North Norfolk Railway link to National Rail network costed at £4.25 million

Keywords: [NorthNorfolkRailway]

The Ove Arup report of its recommended scheme for relinking the North Norfolk Railway's Sheringham Station to the national rail network, commissioned by the Bittern Line Partnership, was published on 23rd November.

Since North Norfolk District Council have ruled out closure of Station Road to vehicles a level crossing is inevitable. Ove Arup propose that NNR platforms 2 and 3 be used for through running of trains between Cromer and Holt, with platform 3 dedicated to Anglia Railways, platform 1 dedicated to NNR, and platform 2 shared.

The work required is not limited to the level crossing construction, track reinstatement, signalling and track changes. The NNR Sheringham station does not conform to current safety standards, meaning that platforms may need to be raised or track lowered. Also significant platform widening to support footbridges, lifts and full disabled access (including to the car park) are needed.

The signalling for the level crossing is further complicated by there being no signalling cables beyond Cromer, so cables need to be laid. It is likely that the level crossing will require manually controlled barriers (MCB-CCTV) which are monitored from Trowse Junction signal box, meaning changes there too.

All these factors have pushed the cost up to a staggering £4.5m. Ove Arup have assumed costs at contract rate and used Spon's railway construction price book to calculate costs. This huge figure excluded the Railtrack station demolition and TWA costs.

The North Norfolk Railway has now exchanged contracts for Sheringham Station. They now own the site, although it is estimated that the station roof will cost about £120K to repair.

Ipswich Station car park awarded secure car park status

Keywords: [IpswichStation]

Following an audit inspection by the British Transport Police, Suffolk Constabulary and the British Parking Association, the recently opened two-storey car park at Ipswich station has been commended for its 'secure by design' features, which include the open nature of the construction, CCTV, the provision of dedicated parking attendants at peak times and regular security patrols by Anglia Railways staff.

The secure car park award was presented to Anglia Railways by Chief Superintendent Peter Hilton of the British Transport Police on 22nd November, when the car park was officially opened by SRA director Iryna Terlecky.

SRA funds third stage of development at Witham

The SRA, in partnership with Essex CC, First Great Eastern, Railtrack, is providing £445,000 Rail Passenger Partnership (RPP) funding for the third stage of development of Witham Station in Essex as a transport interchange. It will involve extending the station footbridge to the car park and town side of the tracks - avoiding a length walk - and the provision of cycle parking. The work is expected to be completed during 2002.

The first phase, funded by Railtrack and completed in the spring, saw the modification of the existing platform lifts for passenger operation. The second phase, funded by Essex County Council and completed in the summer, provided for improvements to the station forecourt.

Theo Steel, FGE Sales and Marketing Director, said "Witham car park is one of the few along the heavily congested A12 corridor that has some spare capacity, but as traffic conditions become even worse in the months ahead, we expect this will change as motorists seek alternatives to daily traffic jams".


ENGINEERING WORKS
Shippea Hill five-day blockade

The link between Ely and Shippea Hill is closed for five days - reopening on 1st December - to perform a £1m track renewal project. Steve Lombard, Railtrack project manager, said: "We thought long and hard about shutting this section of line and decided that five days of inconvenience would be preferable to passengers than the alternative of shutting it for nine weekends."


PROMOTING RAIL TRAVEL
Anglia Railways launch television advertising campaign

Keywords: [AngliaRailways]

Anglia Railways have launched a new television advert, which according to their press release, "takes a fun look at the joys of driving and suggests train as an alternative".


PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Mid-Norfolk Railway announce daytrip to Portsmouth from Dereham station

Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]

There will be a NENTA rail tour from Dereham to Portsmouth on 20th April 2002. Departs 07:00 from Dereham, stopping at Wymondham, Thetford, Ely, Cambridge, Royston and Hitchin allowing four hours in Portsmouth before returning. Adult fare is £43.75. Telephone (01692) 406152 (09:00 to 21:30 seven days a week) or eemail [Enquiries at nentatraintours.co.uk]. Details of this tour on NENTA website: http://www.nentatraintours.co.uk/Portsmouth.htm.


RAIL IN THE MEDIA
Channel 4 documentary "A Secret history of Rail" on 1st December

Channel 4 is showing an hour-long programme "A Secret History of Rail" on Saturday 1st December at 19:10. It shows how, when and where the rail industry went wrong. Journalist Ian Hargreaves, who was transport correspondent for the Financial Times in the 1970s, talks to key figures in politics and industry. The programme looks at how initiatives to improve the system often failed. It provides lessons for the future.


WEBSITES
Superb website showing maps of current and former railway lines

A new Railway Atlas website http://www.systemed.net/atlas by Richard Fairhurst is an atlas of Britain's railways, present and past. It is still under construction, and currently only includes part of the country, including all of East Anglia.


Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 78 - 29/11/2001

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