News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 293 - 31/08/2017
- STATIONS [all issues]
- Secretary of State for Transport officially opens Cambridge North station
- Cambridge station shortlisted as 'Large Station of the Year' at the National Rail Awards 2017
- Department for Transport "determined" to deliver Cambridge South station
- Station adopters at West Runton held annual event to raise money for the gardens
- RAIL ROUTES [all issues]
- East West Rail very unlikely to be electrified
- Network Rail awards £29m contract to re-signal the Norwich-Yarmouth/Lowestoft 'Wherry Lines'
- Greater Anglia improves train information for passengers by introducing route-specific Twitter feeds
- RAIL FRANCHISES [all issues]
- PRESERVED RAILWAYS [all issues]
Greater Anglia has announced that the three-month introductory car parking charge for peak-time Monday to Friday is to be extended until November 2017. It costs just £5 to park for 24 hours, and is £3 in the evenings and at weekends. Around 50 cars are currently using the car park, which is 12% of capacity, compared to around 150 cycles parked (15% of capacity). Residents in the Moss Bank cul-de-sac near Cambridge North station have complained that station users are parking in the street. It is unclear if this is because it is a shorter drive or to avoid parking charges at the station.
Railfuture members travelling on Great Northern Class 387 trains to Cambridge North have reported that since early August doors have been released without delay upon arrival so it appears that the software update containing the location of the new station has been downloaded so the problem of the driver not being able to immediately release the doors has been solved.
On Tuesday 5th September at 19:00-20:30 there will be a free event in Cambridge entitled "Cambridge deserves better: a new vision for our region." Colin Harris of Cambridge Connect, which is proposing a tram system for Cambridge, backed by Railfuture, is one of speakers, along with mayor James Palmer. It will be held at the Cambridge Rugby Club, Grantchester Road, Cambridge CB3 9ED.
STATIONS
Secretary of State for Transport officially opens Cambridge North station
Keywords: [CambridgeNorthStation]
On 7th August 2017 Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Transport, officially opened Cambridge North station. There is now a plaque on the station commemorating this. He spoke about its importance in making the region a technology powerhouse, which is seen as key to the wider UK economy, and said: "We are committed to making journeys across this region quicker and easier, as soon as possible. The new station is already contributing to that." Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail's route managing director for Anglia, attended the official opening.
Mr Grayling also met key stakeholders to talk about East West Rail project, which will connect Cambridge and Oxford by rail. He said: "East West Rail is at the heart of that transformation and can be a critical part of our plans to make this region the UK's own Silicon Valley, a world-renowned centre for science and innovation."
Cambridge station shortlisted as 'Large Station of the Year' at the National Rail Awards 2017
Keywords: [CambridgeStation]
Cambridge rail station has been shortlisted in the "Large Station of the Year" category at the National Rail Awards, partly for the complete refurbishment of the existing ticket hall which has seen it double in size (with an open plan counter service, additional ticket vending machines and improvements to the customer information screens), along with a wide range of improvements including redecorated waiting rooms, new toilet facilities (though not large enough in Railfuture's view), a new disabled access toilet with baby change facility and the massive 3,000-space cycle park. At the same time, the new Station Square, built by developer, Brookgate, which surrounds the station has provided station users with a range of quality food and retail options and a new Ibis hotel (far superior to the old Sleeperz 'hotel').
As well as Cambridge station, Greater Anglia is also shortlisted for Ipswich Station and its train driver, Stuart Connell, who is nominated for the Outstanding Personal Contribution Award having been badly injured when his train collided with a tractor at a level crossing.
Department for Transport "determined" to deliver Cambridge South station
Keywords: [CambridgeSouthStation]
On 13th August the Department for Transport has confirmed that it is "determined" to deliver a new station to the south of Cambridge at Addenbrooke's hospital and the bio-medical campus where AstraZeneca has its headquarters. The station, which is needed to help Cambridge's economy grow, would be known as Cambridge South. Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, had confirmed that the station would go ahead when he visited Cambridge on 7th August. Councillor Ian Bates, chairman of the economy and environment committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said Network Rail was being "very cooperative" with the project, and that it would now include four tracking the rail lines to allow trains to overtake stationary trains. As a result the cost would be much higher and would not be completed solely with private funds.
News: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/cambridge-south-third-train-station-13468658.
Residents living near the potential site of a Cambridge South railway station have expressed concern that passengers will park their cars in nearby streets, especially as the new station would not have a car park - there is no space for it. The region's mayor, James Palmer, believes the solution is to avoid people using a car to get to the station. He supports a light railway network - a plan that also has support from Mr Grayling - to the station.
Station adopters at West Runton held annual event to raise money for the gardens
On Saturday 26 August the volunteer station adopters at West Runton, which is on the Bittern Line between Cromer and Sheringham, held their annual fund-raising event at the station in aid of the gardens, which the adopters work very hard to keep the gardens looking bright and welcoming. Following successful tea party events in the past, it sold cakes and local produce for two hours in the afternoon. This year the event was enhanced by live music from the Pleasant Pluckers from Briston, which helped create a party atmosphere." The event has the full approval of Greater Anglia. The event will be repeated in 2018.
RAIL ROUTES
East West Rail very unlikely to be electrified
Keywords: [EastWestRail]
The DfT is "very unlikely" to reverse its decision to cancel plans to electrify the East West Rail (EWR) link between Oxford and Cambridge, having instructed Network Rail to remove electrification from the scope of the Western Section because of the cost overrun of recent electrification schemes. The DfT directive was included in the public consultation documents released in June 2017 for Phase 2 of the Western Section. Andy Free, head of engineering assurance at EWR Alliance, which comprises VolkerRail, Atkins, Laing O'Rourke and Network Rail and will delivering Phase 2 of the Western Section, told Rail Technology Magazine that "on the face of it [the impact is] not a lot" but conceded that removal of electrification, which has changed the environmental impact of EWR, "was one of the big drivers behind our slippage to date for submitting our TWA application, because we had done the initial modelling for the environmental impact assessment based on some of the trains being electric. We have had to redo all of that modelling to provide an accurate model once the railway is an all-diesel railway." He said that it has cost money to change the plans, which has slightly reduced the capital cost saving. The EWR Alliance hopes to submit the TWA application in spring 2018, but definitely some time in 2018, allowing the line to open to passengers in 2023, with work is due to start on the route 18 months after the TWA application is submitted. The EWR Alliance will also be submitting a number of local planning applications to construct new overbridges at the same time as the TWA. EWR Phase 2 includes upgrading and reinstating the Bicester-Bletchley-Bedford, and Aylesbury-Claydon junction railway lines. There will be a new station at Winslow, a new platform face at Aylesbury Vale Parkway and high-level platforms at Bletchley station. Platform extensions are envisaged at Woburn Sands, Ridgmont and Princess Risborough.
The good news, however, is that when building any new structure on the railway it needs to be high enough to be clear and suitable for future electrification and nothing must be done that hinders future electrification even if it is not on the short- or medium-term horizon. However, Railfuture believes that it is a false economy not to, at least, perform the groundwork for electrification when building the route. It will be far cheaper to do work during the construction stage rather than require expensive possessions in the future, and there would be no risk of stanchion bases severing buried cables.
Network Rail awards £29m contract to re-signal the Norwich-Yarmouth/Lowestoft 'Wherry Lines'
Keywords: [WherryLines]
On 16th August Network Rail announced that it had awarded a £29m contract to Atkins as part of the project to re-signal the Norwich-Yarmouth/Lowestoft 'Wherry Lines', which comprises around 42 kilometres of route. Atkins, which specialises in design, engineering and project management, will provide a full suite of GRIP 5-8 design, engineering, construction, testing and commissioning services for the scheme, which is due for completion in spring 2019.
The new signalling system will be the first implementation of the latest digital interlocking technology in East Anglia. The installation of bespoke, programmable ElectroLogIXS equipment, controlled from the Colchester Signalling Centre will be a giant leap forward as it will be replacing infrastructure from the Victorian era - semaphore signals, manned signal boxes and manually-operated level crossing gates.
Greater Anglia improves train information for passengers by introducing route-specific Twitter feeds
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
Users of Greater Anglia (GA) train services can now get tailored information about their journeys as GA has launched four new route-specific Twitter accounts: @ga_southend, @ga_mainline, @ga_westanglia and @ga_regional. GA will use the accounts in the same way as it uses the @GreaterAnglia (which has over 89K followers) and @Stansted_Exp accounts to post information about unplanned disruption, cancellations or alterations and delays of 10 minutes or more. The advantage of following the route accounts is it will not be cluttered up with future events, such as planned engineering work, or comments from passengers, which will not be replied to. The new Twitter accounts are:
RAIL FRANCHISES
Greater Anglia now supports M-Tickets between any two of its stations
Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]
Greater Anglia (GA) has completed its roll out of mobile tickets, which it introduced in 2015 for limited routes. The "M-tickets" can be purchased from the Greater Anglia app and downloaded straight to a mobile phone, with the barcode image being scanned but ticket barriers and for presenting to on-board staff. GA says this is now possible for journeys between any two stations on its network for Advance Purchase, Peak, Off-Peak, Super Off-Peak and Anytime tickets.
Customers can now buy their ticket up to ten minutes before departure using the app on their mobile phone. Facilities to buy tickets on the GA website remain and are unchanged.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Mid-Norfolk Railway runs first works trains north of Worthing level crossing towards its North Elmham terminus
Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]
Mid-Norfolk Railway volunteers who have been restoring the northern section between Dereham and North Elmham since around 2002 are getting ever closer to reaching North Elmham, which has not seen a train since the last freight left in January 1989. To celebrate progress, a volunteer and members' special train was run to the limit of the re-sleepered track on the evening of Saturday 13th August 2017. A train top-and-tailed by two steam engines proceeded across Worthing level crossing to the river bridge, from where the North Elmham distant signal could be seen. It is the first steam train to operate this far north since 1962. Progress towards North Elmham will depend on how many sleepers are sponsored. Visit http://mnr.org.uk/donations/sleepers/donations-sponsor-a-sleeper to do so.
News: https://www.heritagerailway.co.uk/elmham-in-sight/.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 293 - 31/08/2017
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