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East Anglia Branch News - Snippets Issue 131 - 04/02/2004

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News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.

Railfuture News Snippets 131 - 04/02/2004



Railfuture nationally requires nominations for the posts of Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Sales Officer and 10 members of the National Executive. Nominations should be sent before 29th February 2004 to John Lee, RDS Administration Officer.

The closing date for objections to the proposed Willington rowing lake, which would sever the old rail route between Bedford and Sandy/St Neots (needed for the East West Rail Link from East Anglia to Bristol), has been deferred to 13th February. Objections should be sent to Mr Richard Koller, Development Planning and Control Manager, Beds CC, County Hall, Cauldwell St, Bedford MK42 9AP. The reference is BC/CM/2003/33. If emailing, send to [richard.koller at bedscc.gov.uk] and include your postal address in the message.

Objections to the Translink guided busway scheme, which could destroy the Luton-Dunstable railway line, should be sent to Secretary of State for Transport, c/o DfT, TWA Orders Unit, Zone 3/11, Gt. Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR, and must arrive by 9th February 2004. Don't delay!


RAIL FRANCHISES
National Express signs contract with SRA for Greater [East] Anglia franchise

At the end of January, National Express signed a contract with the SRA to operate the Greater Anglia franchise under the London Eastern Railway name. The SRA hopes that Natinoal Express will return up to £50m per year in premium payments, which would be help to offset subsidies in other parts of the country.

Improvements to services in the region are minimal, comprising little more than:
* New improved standards for train cleaning, security and passenger information, set as key performance indicators
* Improvements such as CCTV, help points and ticket machines to over 50 stations by the end of 2005, costing £11.3m
* Refurbishment of rolling stock on London commuter trains including CCTV and information displays
* Extra carriages on trains to Stansted Airport
* New service between Stansted and Stratford
* Peterborough to Liverpool Street trains via Ipswich, which would give Bury St Edmunds more direct trains
* Newer trains (class 90s and Mark III's) for London to Norwich services by end of 2005
* New academy for employees of franchisee to improve level sof customer service.

Railfuture nationally issued a press release expressing concern that hundreds of millions of pounds paid by passengers in fares will go to the Government rather than fund local improvements such as an hourly train service between Ipswich and Cambridge to provide an alternative to the congested A14. Railfuture also asked the SRA to clarify whether services on the Great Eastern Route between London and Ipswich would be cut and if inter-city services to Norwich would be making extra stops.

SRA invites bids for East Coast franchise

On 29th January the SRA advertised the new franchise for long-distance trains on the East Coast Main Line, currently operated by GNER. Other than stating that it would be from seven to ten years long, no other details were given. National Express and Virgin Trains are expected to big. First Group's chief executive Moir Lockhead has announced that it will be bidding. It is not clear what would happen to Hull Trains, its own rival service, were First to win the franchise.


RAIL DEPOTS
Central Trains installs motion-detecting CCTV cameras to monitor carriage sidings

Keywords: [CentralTrains]

Central Trains have installed a CCTV system that is triggered by motion at some of their carriage sidings. The system is linked to some local public address speakers so that a "we have seen you, the police have been informed" announcement is issued if an intruder is detected around the depot. It was installed initially West Midlands and Boston, but is also being installed at Cambridge and Ely. It is hoped that graffiti and vandalism will be significantly reduced.


ST.IVES LINE
County Council's cabinet decides to put guided bus to the vote

As expected, on 27th January, Cambridgeshire County Council's cabinet meeting decided to proceed with their plans for a guided bus on the Cambiidge-St.Ives railway line, and the former Cambridge-Bedford line as far as Trumpington Park and Ride. It will now be put to a vote of all members on 10th February, and if agreed, the TWA will be submitted on 19th February. The County Council needs a few days to complete documents and the lawyers asked for some extra days to ensure that all the information is publicly available for the start of the 42 day consultation period. The public will be able to purchase 10 CDs for £10 which describe the scheme in as much detail as Cambridgeshire County Council are able and willing to supply.

CAST.IRON, which wants to reopen the railway line to passenger rail services, intends to mount several public events, the first of which will be in Cambridge on 27th February, allowing for a few days to read the TWA documents. Its regular information stalls in Cambridge on Saturdays will continue.


RAIL ROUTES
Problems with Trowse swing bridge might land Network Rail in deep water

The Broads Authority is threatening legal action against Network Rail for failing to ensure that navigable bridges at Trowse, Reedham and Somerleyton can open to allow the free passage of vessels. In 2003 owners of tall craft were unable to get through Trowse swing bridge after Network Rail welded the rail lines together. However, the authority claims that Network Rail refused to open the bridge to avoid incurring penalties for delayed trains.

Hope for Beccles loop dashed by SRA owing to lack of funds

Keywords: [BecclesLoop]

A lack of money is the excuse the SRA gave in December 2003 for putting on hold a £600,000 passing loop at Beccles, which would have enable trains to run hourly from Lowestoft to Ipswich.


RAIL AWARDS
Anglia Railways' public relations team wins award following successful Norwich-Cambridge service launch

Keywords: [AngliaRailways]

The Anglia Railways public relations team has won the 'Best Integrated Campaign' at the East Anglia Institute of Public Relations Pride Awards 2003/4 for its PR and marketing campaign for the direct Norwich-Cambridge service prior to launch and through the first year of operation.


TRAVEL RESEARCH
Travel to work information issued by Office of National Statistics

The 2001 UK Census measured the distance travelled to work as a straight line from each worker's usual residence to their workplace. Using these distances, 6.5% of men and 3.0% of women travelled over 40km to work. Conversely, 25.4% of women worked less than 2km from home, compared to 15.4% of men.

Over 5 per cent of workers travelled more than 60km to get to work in several areas in the South East of England, including Milton Keynes, which could be served by an East West Rail Link. Around 59% of men drove to work compared with 51% of women. In 1991 the figures were 62% and 43% respectively.

Railfuture campaigners will not be surprised that women were twice as likely to travel to work by bus than men. Bus usage by both sexes was lower than in 1991. Only 3.5m workers (15%) use public transport to get to work, with another 3m going by foot or bicycle. Homeworking has risen from 4.9% in 1991 to 9.2% in 2001, helped by increased use of computers and reducing in phone costs.


PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Mid-Norfolk Railway completes Dereham station roof renovation and announces mid-week services

Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]

At the Mid-Norfolk Railway contractors have completed the roof repairs to Dereham station, including the renovation of the canopy. The main car park has also been surfaced. The station building, which is being virtually rebuilt inside, will not be reopened to the public until summer 2004.

The MNR plans four trains a day on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 21st July and 26th August, with the first train leaving Dereham at 10:00. This will be their best ever mid-week service. Weekend services will remain at three trains a day.


WEBSITES
Advenza Freight Ltd's about-to-launch 'Freightbus' service has details on its website

Advenza Freight Ltd, who will be operating a rail freight service to carry any consignment from a single pallet up to a full train load will be launching on 1st March 2004. Their website http://www.freightbus.com has details. The website is fundamental to the business as it is used by hauliers to book pallet space on-line. and track consignments throughout the journey.

East London Line Project website allows you to register for progress information

The http://www.ellp.co.uk East London Line Project website enables you to subscribe for announcements about progress of the scheme.


Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 131 - 04/02/2004

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