News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 85 - 21/02/2002
- GUIDED BUSWAY [all issues]
- RAIL BARGAINS [all issues]
- RAIL FUNDING [all issues]
- INTEGRATED TRANSPORT [all issues]
- RAIL FRANCHISES [all issues]
- PROMOTING RAIL TRAVEL [all issues]
- RAIL AWARDS [all issues]
- WEBSITES [all issues]
Bedford to Bletchley Rail Users Association (BBRUA) are holding their AGM on Wednesday 20th March 2002 at 19:15 in St.Johns Church Hall, Bedford. The Guest Speaker will be Chris Hayward, Senior Project Officer for the East-West Rail Link Consortium. Non-members are welcome, but obviously will not be allowed to vote.
GUIDED BUSWAY
Guided busway consortium announces dates for "superCAM" road show
The guided busway consortium, which includes Gallagher Estates and Cambridge Rapid Transit System, have
announced the dates and locations for a series of public exhibitions. The venues are:
* Friday 1st March - Q.ton Forum (Unit 24, Cambridge Science Park)14:00-20:00
* Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd March - Cambridge Market Square, 10am-16:00
* Monday 4th & Tuesday 5th March - St.Ives Free Church (10am-16:00 on 4th, 14:00-19:30 on 5th)
* Wednesday 6th March - Oakington Primary School, 4pm-20:00
* Thursday 7th March - Longstanton Village Institute,14:00-20:00
* Friday 8th March - Cambridge Railway Station, 7am-20:00
* Saturday 9th March - Arbury Community Centre, 10am-16:00
* Wednesday 13th March - Swavesey Village College,14:00-20:00
* Thursday 14th March - Trumpington Village Hall,14:00-20:00
* Friday 15th March - Huntingdon Commemoration Hall,14:00-20:00
Richard Sutcliffe-Smith, spokesman for the consortium, said: "We hope to bring over the front section of a similar vehicle in use in France, so that people can climb aboard." In an attempt to get the kiddies hooked, a leaflet containing a cut-out-and-make model of the guided bus will also be distributed!
It will be possible to ask the busway representatives searching questions such as:
1. How will the articulated buses get into Cambridge City, given that the city centre is already saturated
with buses? How will these vehicles be able to negotiate the city's relatively narrow streets?
2. Will guided buses attract motorists out of their cars, where existing buses have failed? The journey
will be longer than the current bus service, up to 50% of the passengers on the vehicles will have to
stand (they have a capacity of 130 passengers per vehicle) and to recoup some of the investment cost,
premium fares will have to be charged?
3. Why have they rejected a proper LRT system?
superCAM website: http://www.supercam.co.uk/.
Hunts Post "Let's boot out the bus": http://www.huntspost.co.uk/man/community/Hunts/asp/BootOutBus.asp.
RAIL BARGAINS
Anglia Railways offer discounts to encourage groups to travel by rail
Keywords: [AngliaRailways]
Anglia Railways has announced that it is willing to negotiate a discount to groups of 10 or more people who are travelling together. This needs to be agreed in advance, contacting them by telephone or email, rather than at a station.
RAIL FUNDING
Cambridge Futures suggests large local employers could fund transport improvements
Cambridge Futures, which is a group made up of experts from local authorities and business and academic communities, met on 18th February at Huntingdon's Hinchingbrooke Business Park to discuss how to fund the transport improvements which the region, and particularly Cambridgeshire, needs. Although the transport schemes under consideration were general they could apply to the raiwlay as well.
The options discussed included creating mutual industrial societies, private finance initiatives, as well as lobbying the Government for funding. It was suggested that members of the public or large local employers could buy into a mutual which would invest money into projects. In return, they would receive regular dividend-style payments and concessions on tickets.
INTEGRATED TRANSPORT
WAGN launch new bus link from stations for Sandy and Biggleswade areas
Keywords: [WAGN]
 |
On Monday 18th February, a new rail-bus link from Sandy or Biggleswade stations was launched. It serves the villages of Everton, Potton, Sutton, Cockayne Hatley, Wrestlingworth, Eyeworth and Dunton. |
RAIL FRANCHISES
Chiltern's 20-year franchise extension signed with SRA
Any Railfuture members who attended the Rail Users Conference in October 2001, at which Chiltern
Railways managing directory Adrian Shooter was guest speaker, will be interested to know that the SRA and
Chiltern have now signed the 20-year extension. Improvements, funded with guaranteed £371m of private
money, include:
* re-doubling 9 miles of track from Bicester to Aynho Junction - now taking place for completion by summer 2002
* platform extensions at 13 stations, and other station and car park improvements
* reopening of two terminus platforms at Birmingham Moor Street station
* £150m on new or refurbished trains
The SRA has the ability to shrink the extension back to 12 or even 10 years if certain commitments are not
met. There is also the possibility of new parkway stations and new or reopened rail routes, but these are
not commitments and these aspirations will be reviewed with the SRA in 2005.
SRA press release: http://www.sra.gov.uk/news/releases/2002/feb/370million_investmen_programme_180202.htm
Chiltern Railways news: http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/pages/newsDetails.asp?dtlsID=56.
PROMOTING RAIL TRAVEL
First Great Eastern advertises on television
Keywords: [FirstGreatEastern]
 |
First Great Eastern's first TV commercial will be shown on Anglia TV for six weeks from Monday 18th February. |
After months of disruption, punctuality of FGE services has recently been at a very high level. Latest figures show that during January 2002 more than 90% of trains ran on time - the best result for eighteen months.
BBC news item: http://www.ger.co.uk/html/news_story.asp?which=79.
RAIL AWARDS
Award for Bittern Line Community Rail Partnership
Keywords: [BitternLine]
Anglia Railways and Norfolk County Council, through the Bittern Line Community Rail Partnership, have jointly won the Integrated Transport Scheme of the Year award 2001, for their positive and innovative partnership in driving forward integrated transport initiatives and other improvements on the Norwich to Sheringham line.
Anglia press release: http://www.angliarailways.co.uk/latest-information/news-detail.asp?id=270.
WEBSITES
Bedford to Bletchley Rail Users Association launch new website
The Bedford to Bletchley Rail Users Association (BBRUA), which has around 500 members, and is a corporate member of Railfuture, has launched a new website at http://www.tauruspr.co.uk/bbrua to promote the 16.5 mile long Marston Vale line - an integral part of the East-West Rail Link.
Membership form: http://www.tauruspr.co.uk/bbrua/join.htm - £2 per year.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 85 - 21/02/2002
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