Activists Briefing - Issue 3
15th June 2005
IN THE NEWS
Railfuture Membership Secretary, David Harby, was interviewed during a local interest programme on Radio Lincolnshire on 24 May. The interview was a general discussion about the history of Railfuture and our current campaigns. This was followed by the question ‘ When did you first become involved in rail campaigning?’ When David replied ‘Whilst I was still at school we campaigned against the closures of my local stations as part of the Beeching cuts’ he then had to go on and explain about Dr Beeching and his notorious report ‘The Reshaping of British Railways’. The interviewer had never heard of Dr Beeching.
This highlights something that is often forgotten. The Beeching report was published in 1963 and a sizeable proportion of the population was not even born then. We can not assume that all our readers/listeners know anything at all about the report or the dubious statistics used to justify many of the closures implemented in the 1960’s.
NEWS FROM RAILFUTURE BRANCHES
Railfuture North East have organised a visit to the award winning Locomotion, NRM at Shildon on Saturday June 25th. Meet at 11:30 at the Welcome Building, which is on the west end of the site about 5 mins walk from Shildon Railway Station. A short business meeting of about 10~15 mins will preceed the visit. Should you wish to attend please advise Ian Walker, Secretary Railfuture North East, tel. 0191 372 0538 (answerphone), email: ian.walker2 at virgin.net, in order that he can give the museum a rough idea of the number attending
The Coastway Division of Railfuture London and South East branch have sent a response to the draft Southern 2005 Winter Timetable for Coastway eastwards of Brighton, Marshlink and Eastbourne – Victoria services. Details are available from Railfuture Coastway Division Chairman, Ivor Hueting, email hueting at euphony.net
REOPENINGS CONFERENCE
The 12th National Conference of Rail Reopenings will be held in the Memorial Hall Theatre, Barry, South Wales on Saturday 2nd July. The conference will celebrate the reinstatement of local services on the Vale of Glamorgan line. Speakers representing The Welsh Assembly, Network Rail, University of Glamorgan, Vale of Glamorgan Council, Arriva Trains and Cardiff International Airport will be present.
It seems that Royal Mail have failed to deliver some of the flyers advertising the conference (see next item). If you have not received a booking form but would like to attend just send your name and address together with your payment to John Lee, Railfuture Administration Officer, The Birches, Eye Lane, East Rudham Norfolk PE31 8RH. The attendance fee is £5 for each Railfuture member PLUS £5 each if you require a buffet lunch. John Lee must receive all bookings no later than 24th June 2005. This is essential if you require a buffet lunch as we have to order these in advance. No lunches will be available on the day for anyone who has not booked one in advance.
LOST IN THE POST
A copy of the Railway Development Society Limited Annual Report and Financial Statements was posted to every member before the AGM. Reports from members indicate that the Royal Mail have failed to deliver some of these. If you have not received your copy please notify David Harby (email david.harby at ntlworld.com). We would like to ascertain if the delivery failure could be traced to specific local Royal Mail delivery offices or further back up along the chain where the letters were posted in London.
NEWS FROM SRA
Greater Western Franchise
The SRA has published on its website a Stakeholder Consultation Document, which provides details of the bidding process and the proposed service specification. http://www.sra.gov.uk/publications
The main ‘improvements’ to the present service are:
- Segregation in Monday – Friday peak hours of use of the two pairs of tracks between Paddington and Reading (the Main Lines and the Relief Lines), with exclusive use of the Main Lines by trains capable of running at 125 mph. The purpose is to improve operational performance and to minimise the consequences of delay
- More 125 mph trains
- Additional peak hour seats into and out of London
- Improved frequency (three trains per hour) on the Slough – Windsor line
- Half-hourly service frequency between Reading and Gatwick rather than the current hourly
- Simplified service between Bristol, Plymouth and Penzance to give a more regular pattern
- New pattern for cross-Bristol services, with through services Worcester/Gloucester to Weston-super-Mare/Taunton and Cardiff to Westbury/Weymouth/Southampton replacing radial services, which currently start/terminate in Bristol, offering more through journey opportunities and improved performance
- Daily inter-city standard services between London Paddington and Newquay, reflecting the nature of passenger demand to this destination
- Extension of Paddington to Bedwyn services to Westbury
Some services are however being cut: -
- Withdrawal of Slough stops from Main Line services.
- Withdrawal of off-peak Paddington to Exeter semi-fast services (although the hourly semi-fast Bedwyn service will be extended to serve Westbury)
- Reduction of services on the Oxford – Bicester Town route to morning and afternoon only.
- Reduction of services on the Swindon – Westbury via Melksham route. (According to the SRA this is to match demand, which is mainly for commuter travel.)
- Reduction of stopping services on the Par – Newquay branch. (Railfuture Devon and Cornwall are strongly objecting to this.)
The SRA is requesting bidders to outline the costs of running the following services separately:
- The overnight service between Paddington and Plymouth/Penzance, which conveys sleeping coaches and seated accommodation. (Press speculation from seemingly well informed sources are that this service is to be discontinued.)
- The off-peak half-hourly services between Paddington and Cardiff
Thameslink/Great Northern Franchise
A Stakeholder Briefing Document was published on 2nd June and can be found on the SRA website at http://www.sra.gov.uk/publications
The main service change is an improved timetable on the north part of the Thameslink route with all peak trains formed of 8 carriages. There is no change on the south part of the Thameslink route or on the Great Northern route.
Source: SRA press release http://www.sra.gov.uk/news/2005/6/thameslink
RAILFUTURE NETWORK DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
At their meeting on 11th June the Railfuture Network Development Committee elected Jerry Alderson as Chairman. Jerry can be contacted by email at jerry.alderson at virgin.net or by post to 32 The Oaks, Milton, Cambridge CB4 6ZG.
ORR COMMENTS ON NETWORK RAIL’S PERFORMANCE
On 7 June 2005 The Office of Rail Regulation published several documents in its continuing monitoring of Network Rail’s operational and financial performance. The documents are:
- The second edition of the quarterly Network Rail Monitor. This covers ORR’s assessment of Network Rail’s performance against targets across a wide variety of measures for the last quarter of 2004-05, available at http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/nr_monitorq4_0405.pdf;
- A statement on Network Rail’s 2005 business plan. This assesses whether the plan meets the needs of the business, and the company’s stakeholders and forms an adequate basis to assess future expenditure needs, available at http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/nrbp_stat.pdf;
- A consultation on how ORR proposes to monitor and account for Network Rail’s underspending, if any, against regulatory assumptions in a way that ensures delivery of Network Rail’s obligations while providing effective incentives to achieve greater efficiency, available at http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/237.pdf; and
- A letter to Network Rail containing ORR’s assessment of its 1 April 2005 asset information plans, available at http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/aip_let05.pdf
Specific issues highlighted in the documents include:
- Train performance is well ahead of target - delay minutes 7% better than 2003-04 at 11.4 million minutes, Public Performance Measure (PPM) 2.4% better;
- Asset condition is 15% better than target.
- Asset failures show a 10% reduction on 2003-04. There was however a shortfall of approximately 6% in planned delivery of track renewal volumes;
- Cost control – expenditure on operations, maintenance and renewals some £0.8 billion less than 2003-04
- Expenditure overall was approximately £1 billion (15%) less than budget. Of this approximately £90 million represented reduction in payments due to better performance and possession planning. Enhancement spend was 35% (nearly £0.4 billion) below budget, due in part to lower expenditure on the Southern Power upgrade.
- There is a need to get better measurement of network availability to ensure cost savings are not being achieved at the expense of unnecessary/inefficient possessions.
ORR ISSUES FRESH GUIDANCE ON ROUTE UTILISATION STRATEGIES
The Office of Rail Regulation has issued fresh guidance to Network Rail to help it to prepare and review Route Utilisation Strategies. Select the appropriate heading on the following web page:
www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.001007
STEWART FRANCIS RESIGNS AS RPC CHAIRMAN
In a press release from the DfT Alistair Darling, Transport Secretary, announced that because of ill health, Stewart Francis has resigned from his position as Chair of the new RPC. The Transport Secretary said he understood and supported this decision. He has written to Stewart Francis accepting his resignation from both his current appointment as Chairman of the RPC and his recent appointment as Chairman of the new RPC. "Stewart has been the key architect of the organisation's reform and his contribution over the last year in particular has been vital. His involvement in the RPC network and advocacy on behalf of rail passengers over the last 8 years must also be commended. I wish him well for the future." added Alistair Darling.
The Transport Secretary is still expecting the new RPC to come into existence in July and will keep the House of Commons informed of further developments as he continues to implement the proposals set out in the White Paper. Railfuture understands that interviews of prospective members of the new RPC have been taking place.
Source:
www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_railways/documents/page/dft_railways_038004.hcsp
"WHAT LIGHT RAIL CAN DO FOR CITIES: A REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE"
This new report reviews evidence for the economic, environmental and social benefits of urban light rail and examines the outcomes of light rail schemes operating in the United Kingdom. It offers data on patronage and on levels of modal shift.
The authors argue that, although passenger numbers have not reached the totals predicted, patronage has increased to the extent that all systems operate at or near full capacity during peak times. They also consider evidence from Britain and overseas for the positive impact of light rail on the urban economy, including its contribution to regeneration through an enhanced city image. The 85-page report, issued last February, also looks at the role of UK light rail in promoting social inclusion and at its environmental and safety record.
Copies can be downloaded from this website
www.pteg.net/LightRailCentre/01-Whatlightrailcandoforcities.htm
Passenger Transport Executive Group, Steer Davies Gleave, 28-32 Upper Ground, London SE1 9PD.
HOUSES FOR SOCIAL/KEY WORKERS MAY BE BUILT ON DISUSED RAILWAY LAND
New government plans for housing includes building on brownfield land, including government owned, mod, railways and so on. A list of the land held in the BRB (Residuary) Ltd file can be found at http://www.brb.gov.uk/property/property_listings. You are recommended to check if land within your area is in danger. Most of the important sites were handed over to SRA/Network Rail and the remaining pockets of land are thought to have little rail potential, although some may have slipped through. The housing in question is social/key-worker, so our opposition needs to be constructive and only targeted at land that remains important to the railway.
WITHERING SUPPORT
Paul Witherington, the man behind Transport Watch, the organisation arguing for the closure of much of the rail network, contested the Northampton North constituency in the General Election. He stood as the S O S! Voters Against Overdevelopment of Northampton candidate and amassed 495 votes (1.2% of votes cast).
See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/html/433.stm
TV ON TRAINS TRIAL IS OVER
The trial installations of TV’s on some c2c and Central trains services has met with considerable opposition from user groups, especially Thurrock RUG. A motion deploring the introduction of television in trains with audible sound was carried by a clear show of hands at the RDS AGM in Peterborough on 7th May 2005.
We are pleased to report that this trial is now over due to TNCI (UK) Ltd, ceasing trading. Further details can be found on the TRUG website http://www.c2c-offline.co.uk/news/tv.htm#over
A TALE OF THREE TOCS
Some readers may be aware that over the Bank Holiday weekend of 28th – 30th May football play off matches were held in Cardiff. Lincoln City played on 28th and Sheffield Wednesday on 29th. Central Trains organised special trains to take both sets of fans to Cardiff with 400 seats available from Lincoln at £57 each and 500 from Sheffield at £57 each. First Great Weston also ran additional services from Paddington for fans from West Ham and Southend.
In marked contrast Virgin Cross Country just issued a press release saying that they were unable to run any additional trains for Hartlepool supporters because all Voyagers were already in use on that day. Overcrowding is now a frequent occurrence on Virgin Cross Country services and there is no doubt that more trains are needed. At the same time 7 brand new 9-car Meridian trains, ordered for St. Pancras – Leeds services, are standing unused in sidings amid reports that they may be exported to Eire. Perhaps one of the first decisions taken by the new Rail Directorate at the DfT should be to sort this mess out and get the Meridians out of the sidings and into service carrying passengers?
CPRE LAUNCH ATTACK ON PARK-AND-RIDE
The Campaign to Protect Rural England have questioned the growth of park-and-ride sites on the grounds that they are being constructed on ‘Green Belt’ land and just shift congestion from one area to another. The documentation concentrates on park and ride followed by a bus journey into town and it is not clear whether they also object to park and ride from rail stations. The campaign follows on from the launch by CPRE last month of a report that said that after 50 years of Green Belts they were under attack as never before.
Source: CPRE press release http://www.cpre.org.uk/news-releases/news-rel-2005/35-05.htm