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East Anglia Branch News - Snippets Issue 165 - 29/06/2007

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

Railfuture News Snippets 165 - 29/06/2007



On 25th June the DfT announced that the new East Midlands franchise, which combines the current Midland Mainline routes with the some parts of Central Trains, has been won by Stagecoach, who beat Arriva, First Group and National Express Group. It will be the new operator of the Norwich to Liverpool services and has promised to provide a 35% increase in capacity on the weekday services. The franchise will run from 11th November 2007 until 1st April 2015.

In early June a major leaflet drop to residential properties promoted the rail service on the Ipswich-Felixstowe line. It was a joint campaign by 'one', Passenger Focus and ESTA Felixstowe. The promotional material included timetables and fare information.

As is normal practice each year, there will be additional trains from Norwich for the Lowestoft seafront airshow on 26th and 27th July.

On 27th June at the National Rail Innovation Awards for 2007, 'one' railway won the customer service award for its on-board catering on the London-Norwich inter-city service.

No smoking legislation is introduced in England and Wales on 1st July. Although it does not apply to open spaces, railway bylaws will prevent smoking on any national railway station from this date.


RAIL ROUTES
Bittern Line community rail partnership celebrates 10 years of success

Keywords: [BitternLine]

On 29th June the Bittern Line's Community Rail Partnership (CRP) celebrated its tenth anniversary. The date was marked by the unveiling of a specially branded Class 156 celebrating the succeses of Norwich to Sheringham railway line, which was once threatended with closure and has seen a dramatic increase in patronage (an unprecedented 190% growth) during the short life of the CRP. Representatives from 'one and Norfolk County Council, which funds the CRP through an annual grant, were present.

From the timetable change on 20th May, the Bittern Line now has the best summer Sunday service in its history, with 13 trains each way (up from seven in previous years). The summer timetable ends on 9th September.

Whilst the CRP has promoted the line heavily, in 2000 Network Rail completely re-signalled the railway line, although it did not result in any capacity increase on the route as, presumably, no-one anticipated future demand. The only infrastructure enhancement in the next decade is the possible reconnection to the North Norfolk Railway in Sheringham.


PRESERVED RAILWAYS
North Norfolk Railway sees its new carriage sheds at Holt finally completed

Keywords: [NorthNorfolkRailway]

The North Norfolk Railway's £419,000 carriage sheds at Bridge Road in Holt were completed on 10th June. They can store 14 carriages and will provide covered storage for the NNR's historic rolling stock protect them from both sun and rain. The railway made use of worn bullhead reoved form its running line for the new siding. The Heritage Lottery Fund provided around 75% of the funding, primarily to preserve the historic Gresley Quad-art set.


Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 165 - 29/06/2007

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