Activists Briefing - Issue 23
18th February 2007
NEWS FROM RAILFUTURE BRANCHES
On 6th February Andrew MacFarlane, on behalf of Railfuture North West, attended a public exhibition about the Crewe Rail Gateway Project. The scheme incorporates the redevelopment and refurbishment of Crewe Rail Station. Work could start in 2009 with completion anticipated in 2011. The deadline for comments to Cheshire County Council is 30 April 2007. Details are at www.cheshire.gov.uk/crewerailgateway . Andrew filled in a comments form on behalf of Railfuture North West making the following points:
1. The need to protect the platform 12 island platform from development so that it is available to cater for future growth in demand.
2. It would be better to have escalators down to the platforms (currently more and bigger lifts are planned).
3. The need for adequate cycle parking.
4. The need to cater for rail replacement buses.
Railfuture East Anglia are pleased to note that from 20th May 2007, train operator 'one' Railway will be providing a weekend service at two small stations next door to RSPB reserves. Lakenheath (on the Norwich-Ely-Cambridge line) for RSPB Lakenheath Fen, which is alongside the railway and the visitor centre a short walk from the station (see: http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/l/lakenheath/index.asp), and Buckenham (on the Norwich-Gt. Yarmouth/Lowestoft, 'Wherry Lines') for RSPB Buckenham Marshes (next to the station) and RSPB Strumpshaw Fen (a short walk), which gives free admission to visitors coming by train (see: http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/buckenham/index.asp, http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/s/strumpshawfen/index.asp).
2007 ELECTIONS FOR DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
There have been insufficient nominations to necessitate a ballot for Directors and Officers this year. A vacancy still exists for Sales Officer.
RAILFUTURE BRANCH AGM'S
Some branch AGM's have already taken place. Dates etc. for all the others that have been confirmed are listed in Forthcoming Events.
Railfuture Scotland Spring Meeting and AGM is provisionally fixed for 24th March at 14:00 in Royal Over-Seas League, 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh. Richard Burningham from the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership has agreed to speak at Railfuture Devon & Cornwall AGM. The provisional date is March 31st, but they are currently having trouble fixing a venue.
WHO'S WHO 2007-2008 AND MEDIA SPOKESPERSONS FOR 2007-2008
After their AGM's can branches please advise David Harby of their branch contact details for insertion in the 2007/8 Who's Who. We also intend to update the Railfuture Media Contacts listed on our website. Can branches therefore please give some thought to who they would like listed as their branch media spokesman. Please bear in mind that when the media are trying to cover a story they usually want to speak to someone quickly whilst the story is still in their headlines. By the following day they have moved onto something else. Ideally a media spokesman should therefore be contactable by telephone during working hours.
REPORTS OF BRANCH ACTIVITY IN 2006
As in recent years would Branch Chairmen/secretary please send Membership Secretary, David Harby, a brief report of their branch activities in 2006. A copy of the Chairman’s or Secretary's report to the AGM is usually sufficient. The intention is to collate all of these into a single document for consideration by the RDS Board and for circulation to branch contacts.
WANTED – RAILFUTURE ARCHIVIST
Scattered around the Country in member's offices, attics, garages etc. are many examples of old leaflets etc. from Railway Development Society and even some from the time of the Railway Invigoration Society and Railway Development Association. It would be a shame if this was all consigned to the recycling bin when members die. We would therefore like to appoint an archivist to sort through old files etc. and catalogue it. The idea is that material could be scanned and stored electronically for future reference. If anyone is interested in this task would they please contact David Harby.
FRANCHISE NEWS
After consultation with branches along the ECML Railfuture North East have submitted a Stakeholder Consultation response to DfT. Some branches have also sent their own letter to DfT supporting the North East response and highlighting issues of local interest. If anyone would like a copy of the response please email David Harby.
ORR
ORR's proposed approach to consideration of applications for track access rights relating to the East Midlands, West Midlands, Cross Country and West Coast franchises are now on their website. See http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/cons_em_wm_xc_frns-180107.pdf
PDF Access options: a consultation paper setting out the ORR position, and a number of key principles, in relation to the way in which applications submitted to ORR for the approval of an access option will be considered is on the ORR website. End of consultation: 23 March 2007. See http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/313.pdf
In October 2006 ORR held a sustainable development consultation. Copies of the responses can be downloaded as PDF files from http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.8527
ON LINE PETITIONS TO NO 10
Readers will by now almost certainly have heard of the petition from the roads lobby calling on the government to abandon the idea of road pricing. There are now at least two opposing petitions in favour of road pricing: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/yes2roadpricing and http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/TRACK-CARS/
Roger Ford would like you to sign his online petition to No. 10 calling on the government to implement a national electrification strategy. Roger would like to get the electrification petition to at least no. 2. Then we can nudge a minister to ask a question in the house. If you support electrification please click on this link http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Electrify/ and ask all your friends to join in - and note, the petition is simply worded, without lots of additional riders which make many of these petitions complex and, in the end, useless. Source: Tony Miles/Roger Ford on uk.railway newsgroup.
There is also an online petition to scrap the Cambridgeshire guided bus scheme. http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/huntingdonbusway/. Please consider it on its own merits and sign up if you decide you agree with it.
An attempt has been made to lodge the following petition: but it has been rejected.
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Make the provision for Bicycles on Trains Free and Compulsory by all train operators."
The rejection is detailed on http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page10943.asp. Briefly this says that DfT encourage TOCs to carry bikes on trains whenever possible in line with the Cycling Policy document first published by the former Strategic Rail Authority in 2004 and recently adopted by DfT. They have asked Cycling England, their advisory group on cycling, to look into how they might better encourage bike and rail journeys. Cycling England have accepted this remit and are now looking to see where progress can best be made to further improve bike and rail integration.
SNIPPETTS
The February edition of RFG News is now on the Rail Freight Group website www.rfg.org.uk/news/newsletter. It leads with news of a new Purfleet Grangemouth service for TDG and of more reductions in the Channel Tunnel rail freight trains. Other news covers the Non-Intrusive Crossing, coal by rail in Wales again, progress on freight projects shortlisted for the Transport Innovation Fund and of Network Rail and the NAO. The Opinion columns cover Eurotunnel, the 24% hike in charges for rail freight and the ORR's need to be bold in fixing Network Rail's efficiency targets.