Railway Cuttings 70

13 January 2004

IN THE NEWS

On 22 December 2003 Railfuture Chairman Peter Lawrence was interviewed by the Eastern Evening News and also Radio Broadland on the announcement by the Strategic Rail Authority concerning the Greater Anglia Rail Franchise being awarded to National Express.

Peter represented Railfuture East Anglia Branch at the Suffolk Rail Policy Group meeting in Ipswich on 5 December 2003 and Norfolk Rail Policy Group meeting in Norwich on 11 December 2003. The major topic of conversation at both meetings was the awarding of the Greater Anglia Rail Franchise.

On 10 December 2003 with others from Railfuture Peter attended the Rail Passenger Council Conference in London. In a recent survey carried out by RPC among 2,000 passengers from thoughout the UK, most passengers believed that rail services would worsen over the next three to five years. Interestingly the 250 delegates at the RPC conference were surveyed and the rail industry and rail user groups voted in the opposite direction and believe rail services will improve over the same period.

Andrew MacFarlane was on Granada Reports, the ITV local news programme for the North West of England, on 9 January talking about the end of the travelling post office trains. He followed an rail union man, who had made the point that the decision flew in the face of Government policy and environmental good sense. Andrew said that Royal Mail might be claiming a saving of £10million by making the switch but that you got what you paid for. Experience in Germany, where postal traffic was transferred from rail to road some years ago, was that users of the postal service ended up with a worse service.

CAMBRIDGE GUIDED BUSWAY - URGENT

The Government has agreed to part-fund the Cambridge to St Ives guided busway as part of its local transport funding. The county council will decide in February 2004 if t should proceed to Transport and Works Act stage. To help the East Anglian branch put forward a case against the busway we need some help and advice from other members. For starters can anyone offer help on the following. At TWA stage, will the Inspector allow alternatives such as a rail reopening to be put forward? Are there other cases where this has been done and more importantly been accepted? Part of the scheme involves new bus lanes on normal roads. These will not form part of the TWA process. It is likely that there will be local opposition to these proposals as they may involve chopping down trees, loss of cycle lanes etc. Will the Inspector allow concerns about non-TWA work to be used in opposing the scheme?

Because of bus de-regulation and the open access nature of the proposed busway, the county council will not be able to provide details of the services that would use the busway when it is opened. Is it a requirement of the Act that this information is provided?

No doubt more questions will follow. Any suggestions of ways to fight the busway welcomed, but don’t forget that the Government has accepted the costs and user numbers and the SRA has stated that it doesn’t want the line as a strategic route. Therefore if we want to challenge these issues we need facts and figures not opinions.

Offers of information, help and advice to Railfuture East Anglian branch secretary, Nick Dibben, 24 Bure Close, St. Ives, Cambridge PE27 3FE. Tel: (01480) 495101.

TRANSLINK

A briefing and draft letter has been prepared for anyone who wishes to object to the TWO for the Translink scheme. This is primarily for residents who will be affected by the scheme but the briefing could be useful for objectors from other areas. The documents are on a MS Word file which I can email to anyone on request. Objections have to be in by 9 February 2004.

‘WAY TO GO’ CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED

Later this month a coalition of environmental and social justice groups including Railfuture, Friends of the Earth, Transport 2000, Campaign for the Protection of Rural England and Sustrans are launching a joint campaign to influence the Government’s review of the Ten Year Transport Plan. The 10YP review is running alongside the next public spending review and in July 2004 ministers are expected to announce how they will roll forward investment and policy on transport through to 2016. The ‘Way to Go’ campaign is aimed at changing the focus of the transport plan. The current plan is focused on reducing congestion instead of reducing traffic and favours large infrastructure schemes such as big road projects. The Government is being urged to switch the emphasis away from these schemes and concentrate instead on small, integrated schemes that reduce traffic and offer an alternative mode of travel. We aim to show that building more roads is not the answer to traffic congestion.
There are 12 points in the campaign manifesto. The ones related to rail are:

• Quality standards that bus and rail services must meet.
• Discount nationwide railcard open to all.
• Long-term funding for urban and rural local public transport.
• Grants for rail freight.

Key activities by the ‘Way to Go’ coalition are a postcard action aimed at MPs and a website www.waytogo.org.uk. The website should be online by the end of January 2004 and the postcard will be included in the next Railwatch mailing. In addition we are asking Railfuture branches to promote the campaign at their AGMs and in their branch newsletters. A more detailed briefing is being sent to every Railfuture branch contact. If any other member would like a copy please email myself at and I will forward one by email as an MSWord file.

The campaign is due to run to July 2004 when it will be reviewed with the possibility that it will continue through to the expected general election in spring 2005.

The roads lobby have already started their campaign. On 3 January my local paper had an article from the Freight Transport Association calling for a programme of new road building followed by a statement from local hauliers a few days later calling for many local ‘A’ roads to be dualled. The roads lobby are well organised and will be putting on more pressure as the year unfolds. If you see pro-roads items in your papers get your pen (or PC) out and write a letter putting the case for rail. We cannot all afford to sit back and let the roads lobby have a clear run.

KEEPING THE COVENTRY-LEICESTER TRAINS

Railfuture Midlands have published a leaflet proposing a simple low cost track arrangement at Nuneaton that would enable the retention of Coventry-Leicester trains when the West Coast main line upgrade is completed at Nuneaton. A press release was issued on 12 January. Any enquiries to Alan Bevan (0121 745 6001) or Ron Steven (01530 835089). Railfuture North Midlands are also campaigning. See http://www.rdsnm.btinternet.co.uk/campaigns.htm

FREIGHT RECORDS BROKEN AT FELIXSTOWE THREE TIMES IN THREE WEEKS

Rail volumes at the Port of Felixstowe have broken records three times in as many weeks. 6,519 units were loaded or discharged there in the week ending 23 November 2003, a significant increase on the previous record of 6,347 units set in week ending 20 December 2002. This new record was broken in week-ending 7 December 2003 totalling 6,536 units and again in the following week when 6,676 units were loaded or discharged.

Significant enhancements in respect of rail activities are under way at the Port of Felixstowe. Freightliner Ltd launched a new service to Hams Hall last month, two months after Tibbett & Britten introduced a new freight link to its international rail terminal at Daventry, and GB Railfreight launched a new Midlands service to Hams Hall.

There are now 22 inbound and 21 outbound trains per day from the Port of Felixstowe’s North and South Rail terminals, linking the port to Coatbridge (Glasgow), Trafford Park (Manchester), Liverpool, Leeds, Cleveland, Birmingham, Cardiff, Tilbury, Doncaster, Selby, Widnes, Wakefield, Hams Hall, and Daventry. The port also handles two forest products trains per day at its dedicated paper-handling rail terminal.

Source: www.eyefortransport.com

CHRIS BOLT TO SUCCEED TOM WINSOR

Chris Bolt has been appointed as chairman-designate of the new Office of Rail Regulation. Chris Bolt succeeds Tom Winsor at the end of his five-year term of office on 5 July 2004, when the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) becomes the Office of Rail Regulation, under the provisions of Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003.

Biography (From DfT press release)

Chris Bolt, 50, is currently the Tube Public Private Partnership Arbiter. He was appointed to that post in December 2002 for a four-year term. Previously he was group director of regulation and public policy at Lattice Group, and a director of Transco plc. He is an economist and senior manager with direct experience of the water, rail, telecommunications and energy sectors and wide knowledge of Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts.

He also held senior roles in Ofwat (from 1989 to 1994) and subsequently ORR, and was appointed temporarily as Rail Regulator from December 1998 to July 1999. He then joined Transco as Regulation Director, before taking up his role in Transco’s parent company, Lattice, in November 2001

Source: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2004_0002

ORR WANTS TO STANDARDISE STATION OPERATIONS

Rail Regulator Tom Winsor has published proposals for a stations code to transform the Contractual arrangements at Britain‚s 2,500 mainline railway stations. The proposals would sweep away the current unwieldy structure of contracts between different train operators and Network Rail. These would be replaced by a Stations Code ˆestablishing simpler, clearer contractual arrangements for all stations, and stronger remedies for when things go wrong. A draft conclusions document explains the key provisions and seeks views from consultees. Structural issues are dealt with through a radical overhaul of the existing contractual arrangements, and the existing provisions through focused review and reform, so that there would be more clarity in the expression of the rights and obligations of each of the parties.

The Regulator’s draft proposals may be read on-line at http://www.rail- reg.gov.uk/filestore/bluedocs/185.pdf.
The consultation period ends on 10 March 2004. The Regulator’s proposals follow his earlier consultations on the stations access regime. Source: ORR Press Release ORR/01/04.

MILTON KEYNES GROWTH PILES ON PRESSURE FOR EAST-WEST RAIL LINK

Milton Keynes is set to grow by a massive 70,000 new homes housing an additional 110,000 people by 2031. Under growth plans now being formulated by English Partnerships the city will become one of the fastest-growing settlements in England. The rise from the current population 210,000 to 320,000 means that the over-burdened existing infrastructure will need large-scale investment.

Last year the London to South Midlands Multi Modal Study recommended a number of major transport infrastructure schemes in the MK area. These include the widening of the M1 motorway from 3 to 4 lanes from Junction 13 (MK South ) down to the M25 and widening the A421/A428 from MK all the way to Cambridge. On the rail front, London and South Midlands Multi-Modal Study recommended the proposals for East West Rail and also a new link connecting Bedford with Northampton, as an extension of Thameslink 2000. If built, this could equally enhance the EWR scheme by providing an effective link from the WCML to the MML and to East Anglia. Although the Secretary of State for Transport has accepted the road element recommendations, some have already been included in the Highways Agency’s TPI (Targeted Programme of Improvements), the rail schemes have not been so favoured. Nor has the area-wide road-charging recommendation.

Milton Keynes was one of the four “sustainable communities” announced by John Prescott last year. The others being the Cambridge/Stansted/Harlow corridor, the Thames Gateway and Ashford in Kent.Sustainable Communities: an urban Development Area for Milton Keynes, is available at www.odpm.gov.uk

LEEDS SUPERTRAM CUTBACK FEARS

The project costs appear to be escalating and may force the network to be Cut back. Private sector partners are having to boost cost figures by writing substantial risk costs into their quotes in case unexpected events cause delay or additional work. The final cost of the scheme may rise by up to £100million above the original £500million allocated for the project.

The Department for Transport agreed to fund 75% of the £500million with the balance amounting to £125million coming from local authorities and the private sector. The three-line network of 28km would bring rapid transit to one the few major cities without such a scheme. Now transport chief are battling to ensure costs can be kept under control to avoid the need to cutback on the proposed network which will bring a major regenerative effect particularly to the deprived southern part of the city. Urban rapid transit can deliver significant uplifts in property values. The Jubilee Line extension was calculated to added over £12billion to property valuations along its route; this is in addition to the underlying growth in property prices. The Government has yet to identify an acceptable mechanism, whereby the private gain resulting from public investment in transport infrastructure could be “captured” and recycled into further “public goods”. (Answers: On a postcard to Rt Hon G Brown c/o HM Treasury. Please continue on a sheet of A4 if necessary!)

THAMESLINK 2000 BY....2006

2006 could see the long awaited Thameslink 2000 project.................started.

At a recent meeting of consortium members, chairman Mark Miller, predicted that implementation of the scheme would start in 2006, that earlier setbacks would not hold up the delivery of improvements and that the scheme will bring major benefits to businesses and residents in the South East of England. Let’s hope the SRA’s forthcoming announcement on its, also long awaited, East Coast main line strategy does nothing to dent Mr Miller’s predictions.

STANSTED TO BE BIGGER THAN HEATHROW

The Aviation White Paper published in December has prioritised a second runway at Stansted. This is the main thrust of the Government’s strategy to provide extra capacity for its predicted increase in air passenger growth, some 500 million passenger per annum by 2031.

Stansted, estimated to have moved approximately 16 million passengers in 2003, already has approval to expand to a 25 million passengers per annum. The AWP proposes an increase of a further 46 million passengers per annum. This will give it a total capacity of 71 million. By comparison Heathrow, “the busiest airport in the world”, is estimated to have handled some 62million passengers last year. Quite how the surface transport infrastructure will cope has not been spelt out by the Government.

The AWP has also authorised, in principle, a third runway at Heathrow by 2020 if environmental - mainly local air quality issues - can be resolved. Failing that, Gatwick would get the additional runway instead. Birmingham and Edinburgh are also set to receive one additional runway each. Nearly all other regional airports are scheduled to expand as well, some with runway extensions, others with more terminal capacity.

The full document is available at ww.dft.gov.uk/aviation/whitepaper

DHL AWARDS EWS CONTRACT TO MOVE PARCELS BY RAIL

At a time when the Post Office is saying that rail is uneconomic DHL, the world’s leading express and logistics company has awarded EWS a three-year contract to manage the transportation of parcels by rail between the West Midlands and Scotland.

DHL has previously used EWS services on a trial basis. By transferring haulage from road to rail, DHL says it is able to provide a faster, more reliable service to its clients, while reducing the environmental impact of road haulage.

Dave Ansell, DHL UK director of terminals and line-haulage, said: “The move from road to rail means greater speed and flexibility for our customers as well as less air pollution, which is great news for the environment. EWS has demonstrated that it can provide a punctual, reliable and effective service which allows us to give quality assurances to our customers.”

EWS trains will operate over six nights a week for DHL, transporting parcels from Walsall to Aberdeen, Inverness and Motherwell.

Source: EWS and DHS Press releases

HELP NEEDED WITH RESEARCH PROJECT ON BEHALF OF RSSB

The Human Factors Group at Cranfield University have been commissioned to undertake a study on behalf of the Rail Safety and Standards Board Ltd (RSSB). The aim of the project is to improve the probability that passengers will behave appropriately in a range of routine and emergency situations, including perturbed operations, incidents and accidents.

The researcher would like to interview passengers and rail staff who have been involved in a wide range of incidents and accidents, to determine how they behaved and how they coped with the situation. Interviews may be conducted individually or in groups, at a convenient location for all concerned and or by telephone. Any and all personal information provided during these interviews will be kept strictly confidential, in that there will be no way for any one individual to be identified from the work.
If you have any experiences to share as a passenger or member of staff please contact Caroline Kibblewhite on (01234) 750111 ext. 5186 or by email at C.kibblewhite at cranfield.ac.uk

EMAILS

I have had pleas from a number of sources who have inboxes inundated with copy emails. Is your copy email really necessary? It is all too easy to send copy emails to a multitude of recipients but before doing so please ask yourself do they all need to see it?

An email headed *Railway Cuttings 29* is again circulating. It purports to come from Peter Lawrence. If your receive it DELETE IT IMMEDIATELY and DO NOT OPEN IT as it could contain a virus. This email is probably coming from a computer with a virus that is programmed to send itself to members of the computers’ address book at regular intervals. If you still have Railway Cuttings 29 on your computer can you check to make sure you do not have a virus on your machine.