Rail fares protest
- Published Mon 04 of Jan, 2016 19:18 GMT - (3865 Reads)Fare rises - RPI vs CPI
- Published Sat 02 of Jan, 2016 16:42 GMT - (6988 Reads)Railfuture succeeded in calling (along with other groups) for an end for RPI+1% fare rises, which were introduced by the government in 2004. Railfuture is now lobbying hard for the government to switch away from the obsolete RPI measurement to the modern CPI inflation figures, which are about 1% lower, when setting the annual regulate fare rises.
New Year, better railway
- Published Fri 01 of Jan, 2016 15:05 GMT - (6098 Reads)Railfuture looks forward to a lot of rail schemes coming to fruition in 2016 along with progress on longer-term schemes such as CrossRail, Thameslink and electrification. However, it’s important not to forget about the small things that improves the passenger experience. Railfuture has a wish list for those items too.
Nine days rail surge
- Published Sat 26 of Dec, 2015 18:06 GMT - (5018 Reads)In a nine-day period in December 2015 passengers benefited from the opening of two tram extensions (the above photo shows the Midland Metro leaving Bull Street for Wolverhampton - by Ian Brown), two brand new stations, a relocated and much-improved station plus the resumption of train services through a re-bored and much larger tunnel allowing faster journeys and future electrification. It’s not a bad way to end 2015 – a year that also saw the longest ever rail reopening – and hopefully a sign of further progress in 2016.)
Tube usage hits record
- Published Thu 24 of Dec, 2015 17:26 GMT - (5417 Reads)Annual passenger numbers on the London Underground grow each year and in December 2015 it had its busiest-ever day carrying 4.821 million passengers. Is the under-pressure system capable of carrying more, and if so, how? (Photo montage shows a new entrance at King’s Cross, Northfields station on a Sunday afternoon, interior of a Central Line carriage, passenger flow control around lifts at Heathrow Airport.)
Passenger growth future?
- Published Wed 23 of Dec, 2015 17:24 GMT - (5784 Reads)Britain’s railway has seen a massive growth in the number of passenger journeys over the last 20 years. There are various reasons for this unexpected and unprecedented resurgence. However, looking at the graphic from the Shaw Report (interim) published in November 2015, one might ask how this has been possible without a corresponding increase in capacity.
Trains boxed in
- Published Mon 21 of Dec, 2015 21:59 GMT - (4703 Reads)Felixstowe cut off
- Published Mon 14 of Dec, 2015 18:18 GMT - (5713 Reads)In the 1930s a newspaper once used the now-famous phrase “Fog in channel - Continent cut off”. In November for 12 days residents of Felixstowe were feeling rather “cut-off’ as their train service was temporarily abandoned by train operator Abellio Greater Anglia, which has a desperate shortage of fit-for-use diesel trains and this was exacerbated at the time by the ‘autumn leaf-fall’. This mocked-up newspaper display stand gives an indication of how seriously stakeholders are treating this complete failure to provide a contacted service.
Railfuture shows their complaints and includes a communication from Abellio Greater Anglia to give reasons why they had utterly failed to deliver the contracted service. Now that almost all leaves have fallen the service is back to normal but only time will tell how much damage has been done to passenger confidence and short-term patronage.
Railfuture shows their complaints and includes a communication from Abellio Greater Anglia to give reasons why they had utterly failed to deliver the contracted service. Now that almost all leaves have fallen the service is back to normal but only time will tell how much damage has been done to passenger confidence and short-term patronage.
Cranbrook station opens
- Published Mon 14 of Dec, 2015 12:53 GMT - (8823 Reads)Minehead rail link
- Published Mon 14 of Dec, 2015 10:27 GMT - (7395 Reads)Northern + TPE franchises
- Published Wed 09 of Dec, 2015 23:31 GMT - (5494 Reads)PASSENGERS were promised a transformation in their journeys today as the winning companies to run Northern rail services were announced.
EU looks at transport
- Published Fri 27 of Nov, 2015 19:21 GMT - (4317 Reads)The European Union has influenced Britain’s railway for more than two years. Some Railfuture members recently sat in on transport discussions at the European Parliament in Brussels (photo shows Parliament building, left, and the entrance to the adjacent Luxembourg railway station on the right).
RUG Award winners 2015
- Published Sun 15 of Nov, 2015 19:08 GMT - (7233 Reads)On behalf of Railfuture Scotland, Allison Cosgrove received the Judges Special Award from Railfuture President Christian Wolmar in recognition of all who contributed to the campaign to reopen the Borders Railway.
Passenger priorities
- Published Tue 10 of Nov, 2015 17:53 GMT - (4678 Reads)Rail passengers have increasing expectations and we all need them to be satisfied if the railway is to continue to grow and take an increasing market share. So, what matters to them? This photo montage may give some ideas.
Passenger frustration
- Published Mon 09 of Nov, 2015 20:37 GMT - (5121 Reads)The Woodlesford Train Users Action Group has been formed by disgruntled passengers fed up with overcrowding and late trains after being told that no improvement was on the horizon.
Oxford Parkway opens
- Published Thu 29 of Oct, 2015 20:46 GMT - (8301 Reads)Railfuture members were out in force on Monday to celebrate the official opening of the first new main line between two English cities since 1899, the first new station in Oxfordshire for 70 years, and the first step in reinstating rail services between Oxford and Cambridge.
All photos by Chris Page for Railfuture.
All photos by Chris Page for Railfuture.
Oxford preview
- Published Sat 24 of Oct, 2015 10:17 BST - (6285 Reads)London-south coast study
- Published Tue 20 of Oct, 2015 19:36 BST - (9579 Reads)The DfT took the opportunity of the official opening of the Thameslink traincare depot at Three Bridges last week to publish the Terms of Reference for the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study, which will review the demand for rail travel and proposed rail schemes in the area between London and the South Coast. Keymer Junction (pictured) is the key constraint on the Brighton Main Line south of Three Bridges; Network Rail proposes quadruple track and a dive-under junction here to boost capacity. Alongside this study, local authorities must quantify the economic growth benefits which rail investment in the area would generate.
Accessible travel
- Published Fri 16 of Oct, 2015 21:11 BST - (7409 Reads)Railfuture champions rail passengers and campaigns for a bigger and better railway that is fit for purpose and provides a good passenger experience. A railway that is accessible to everyone is vital but British railway industry standards can be over the top adding millions to the cost of opening or enhancing stations as the ramps at Honeybourne (photo above) show, yet still fail to provide truly accessible travel. This article also looks at how accessibiilty is supported in other countries.
SENRUG gets a GRIP
- Published Fri 16 of Oct, 2015 09:55 BST - (5948 Reads)On 12th October 2015 Northumberland County Council initiated the GRIP 2 feasibility study, costing around £850,000, to carry out the detailed development work for the Ashington, Blyth & Tyne scheme. (photo John Brierley)
Railfuture’s campaigns, opinions and successes are often reported by the press and media, see Railfuture in the news.