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East Anglia Branch News - Snippets Issue 311 - 28/02/2019

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

Railfuture News Snippets 311 - 28/02/2019



Greater Anglia (GA) says that during 2018 more than 80,000 passenger made use of its Virtual Agent facility, which is available on all of its new TVMs. The ability to talk to a person who can control the TVM is especially useful at stations without full-time staff. GA also says that it sold 677,650 'group save' tickets in 2018, which is the financial equivalent of 226,000 passengers having travelled for free.

On Saturday 13th April 2019 at 14:00, the Mid-Anglia Rail Passengers' Association (MARPA) will be holding its AGM. There will be presentations from Matt Brennan, Network Rail's Public Affairs Manager for the Anglia region, and Alan Neville, Greater Anglia's Community and Customer Engagement Manager. The venue is the Friends' Meeting House, St John's Street, Bury St Edmunds IP33 1SJ. Non-members are welcome.


STATIONS
Waterbeach station will not have eight-car trains calling until 2020

Keywords: [WaterbeachStation]

According to news reported by King's Lynn radio station KLFM, Network Rail will not have extended platforms in place until at least 2020, which the station inferred as meaning King's Lynn would not have regular peak-time eight-car trains to ease overcrowding until then. It reported that South West Norfolk MP Liz Truss has been pressing Network Rail and Govia Thameslink Railway for this and is frustrated that it is taking so long. North West Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham, Bellingham MP, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Mayor James Palmer are amongst politicians calling for the capacity increase to be provided as a matter of urgency.

The eight-car scheme, which is part of a work package of approximately £27m, has been awaiting final funding announcement from the DFT, and it was finally given the green light in mid-February 2019. It is intended to start work in October 2019, for completion in summer 2020. It is widely assumed that eight are trains would not start until a timetable change, probably the December 2020 one. Preparation work has already taken place for Littleport station (extending platform 2 to 167 metres and providing step-free access to platform 1), but in the case of Waterbeach (where both platforms would be extended to 167 metres) some are querying why Network Rail is progressing the extension at all given that a new (replacement) Waterbeach Station to support a major new housing development could open in 2021, and naturally it will support the stopping of eight-car trains.

This is one of the first projects to progress to this stage of the new Rail Networks Enhancements Pipeline process, which the Department for Transport and Network Rail now jointly use to manage the delivery of new rail infrastructure.

Sheringham station platform to be completely rebuilt to be doubled in length and meet modern standards

Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]

The makeshift basic narrow 40-metre two-platform station, which was built in 1967 when the large Sheringham station (now used by the North Norfolk Railway) was no longer used, and in expectation that the Norwich-Sheringham line would not survive long, is finally being made fit for purpose more than 50 years later. The driver for the improvement is, of course the new Greater Anglia (GA) class 755 bi-mode trains, which will be three or four carriages long, and unlike the existing one- or two-carriage trains would not be able to rely on grandfather rights to use the inadequate station platform.

It is not practicable to make the existing platform compliant - this is the reason why running trains into the NNR station was considered 15 years earlier - so it is being completely demolished and rebuilt at a cost of £1 million as a wider 80-metre-long platform with better lighting and a new customer shelter. As well as being fully accessible, safer and more passenger friendly the new platform will be able to cope with the busiest days during the holiday season.

To allow the work to be performed, Sheringham station will be shut from Sunday 31st March to Sunday 5th May 2019, with services terminating at Cromer, despite it being perfectly possible to terminate trains at West Runton and reverse from there. Rail-replacement buses will be operated.

Soham station becoming a reality as Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority works with Network Rail to speed up delivery

Keywords: [SohamStation]

In January 2019, as mentioned in [Snippets 310] Network Rail revealed its proposed design for a new railway station at Soham, on the line between Ely and Bury St Edmunds. The public information event in Soham in January 2019 saw over 550 people attend. The station is a scheme that Cambridgeshire County Council has been working on for nearly a decade, which has since June 2018 been taken forward by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority. The authority has produced a series of clear, budgeted next steps to bring the scheme to delivery and the elected mayor, James Palmer, has also hailed the positive signs of progress that show the station is becoming a reality.

In February Mr Palmer announced that through close working with Network Rail, the Combined Authority has identified time savings that could see the station ready by summer 2021, instead of March 2022, if the process can be accelerated, and funding for the remainder of the scheme is awarded by the Combined Authority Board in autumn 2019 (£3.2 million has been allocated for the current design and investigation phase; an additional £20 million has been allocated to deliver the station through to detailed design, construction and final handover). In Autumn 2019 a report is due to be put before the Combined Authority Board to approve the funding the remaining phases of work, A streamlined process to deliver schemes more quickly is a high priority of Railfuture.

In March 2019, Network Rail can start the noise, vibration and light monitoring work on the site, which is needed to support the planning application for the station, which is currently at the third stage of Network Rail's eight-stage GRIP process and should be complete in August 2019. But before that on 26th and 27th February 2019 the public were invited to see the designs for the new train station, which consists of a new platform and car park facilities on the site of a former Soham train station that closed in 1965, at the Ross Peers sports centre on College Close, Soham, when people could talk to members of the project team.

Although the station would be built prior to any future doubling of the railway line between Soham and Ely, around £7m will be ring-fenced to upgrade the station to add a second platform and footbridge to future-proof the station. The new station would serve the potential 1,655 new homes in the town by 2031 as well as supporting its economic growth and attracting further investment and also reduce pressure on the local road network, particularly the A142.

Greater Anglia is improving cycle parking security at 13 stations

Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]

Following a review of all bike parking across the stations it manages, Greater Anglia (GA) will be investing £7,500 to improve cycle parking security at 13 of its stations. The changes will include new tamper-proof fixtures and fittings on single bike stands and two-tier cycle racks where it has found to be necessary. The stations include Newmarket, Cambridge North, Shelford, Whittlesford Parkway, Great Chesterford, Audley End, Elsenham, Roydon and Thorpe-le-Soken. Railfuture was aware, from social media users who had contacted it, of inadequate security on bike stands and racks at the new Cambridge North station.


ROLLING STOCK
First of Greater Anglia's 12-car Stadler electric trains arrives at Norwich Crown Point depot

Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]

As is well known, Greater Anglia (GA) will be replacing its entire train fleet by 2020. Around a third of the trains will be built by Stadler in Switzerland and these comprise both three- and four-car bi-modes (some of which have already arrived and are being tested by GA) along with 20 12-carriage Aventra electric-only trains, the first of which arrived in Norwich on 28th February 2019 from Switzerland.

These Aventra trains will replace the slam-door trains that currently run on the Stansted Express route between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport. Although they look the same from the outside, and have some common features such as Wi-Fi, plug and USB sockets and air conditioning, the interiors of the trains for these two routes (ten on each) are fitted out differently, with the new London-Norwich Intercity trains including a café-bar and first class seating area, which will not be available on the new Stansted Express trains. From March 2019 the new arrival will be put through a series of rigorous safety and performance tests (initially testing its performance at different speeds on different tracks at night between Norwich, Ipswich and Colchester - initially between just Norwich and Diss for signalling interference tests) before it is passed as fit to go into passenger service.

Greater Anglia's wins award for improving reliability of its Class 156 diesel trains

Keywords: [GreaterAnglia]

In late February 2019 Greater Anglia won a 'Rolling Stock Excellence' engineering award at the Rail Business Awards for innovation to improve punctuality (4% improvement) and reliability (90% reduction in cancellations) and fewer short formations on its 156 diesel rural line trains, which had suffered in the leaf-fall season. The new 'Wheel Slide Protection' (WSP) braking system, which has been fitted to the trains (funded by train owner Porterbrook Leasing), helping the trains to cope better in slippery conditions caused by wet weather and falling leaves by stopping train wheels locking when braking. This results in fewer train cancellations because of damaged wheels where the train has slid a long distance. It had been assumed that the Class 156 trains, which date form the British Rail era and use old technology (clasp brakes rather than disc brakes), could not be modified for WSP but the team came up with a new design, hence the innovation award. As a result of the success of the various WSP projects at Greater Anglia, other train operators in Britain are fitting their fleets with the same upgrade.

Following the success on the Class 156 trains, Greater Angla also modified its single-car Class 153 diesel trains as well.

The successful work on the class 156 trains was also recognised in the National Rail Awards announced in September 2018.


RAIL ROUTES
New loop line installed on the Felixstowe branch completing the first stage of upgrade for more trains

Keywords: [FelixstoweBranch]

In mid-February 2019 during a five-day blockade the first stage of the £60m major capacity-increasing upgrade on the Felixstowe branch (which is being funded by the Strategic Freight Network and a contribution from Hutchinson Ports UK), was successfully completed. Two new crossovers and a single turnout were installed for the new 1.4km track loop, which will increase capacity on the current single-track that currently limits the number of freight trains that can operate. When complete, the new track loop will support up to 10 additional trains in each direction per day, to move goods to and from the Port of Felixstowe, as well as improving reliability for passenger services between Ipswich and Felixstowe town stations.

Signalling upgrade of the Norwich, Yarmouth, Lowestoft 'Wherry lines' continues with another blockade in late March 2019

Keywords: [WherryLines]

The major re-signalling project on the Norwich, Yarmouth, Lowestoft (NYL) lines, which replaces first-generation (semaphore) signalling and manually-operated level crossings is continuing. The next work will involve a nine-day closure from Saturday 23rd March 2018 to Sunday 31 March on services between Norwich and both Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft (when rail replacement buses will be provided) so that engineers can undertake major track remodelling at Brundall junction. All of the track will be replaced, the junction reconfigured, and powered switches installed, which should improve reliability and operational efficiency. Network Rail provides more information about the project at www.networkrail.co.uk/nyl">. The Reedham to Yarmouth line via Berney Arms has been closed since autumn 2018 to help facilitate the upgrade.

While Brundall station is closed improvements will be made for passengers. This includes constructing a new access ramp and reconstructing 50 metres of platform to support Greater Anglia's new - longer - trains.

Greater Anglia pleased with Cambridge-Norwich passenger numbers following opening of Cambridge North station

Keywords: [CambridgeNorwichService]

Greater Anglia (GA) claims that more people than ever travelled between Norwich and Cambridge by rail in 2018, during which more than 35,000 additional passenger journeys were made with GA, bringing the annual total to over 1 million - up 3.6% on 2017. Patronage has grown steadily since the direct train service began in September 2002, it says, with the opening in 2017 of Cambridge North station, which is served by both Greater Anglia and Great Northern trains, also boosting passenger numbers. When the new Stadler bi-mode fleet is in use some of the services will be extended through to Stansted Airport, providing a direct link through from Norwich with no need to change trains.

In the same press release, GA said that Cambridge North station welcomed 546,717 passengers in 2018, a 28% year-on-year increase for the same months.

Public inquiry for phase 2 of the western section of East West Rail opens in Milton Keynes

Keywords: [EastWestRail]

The public inquiry into phase 2 of the western section of East West Rail - a key Railfuture campaign for decades - opened in Milton Keynes on Wednesday 6th February 2019 and will last for 12 weeks. The inquiry will examine the detailed proposals for the first direct rail link between Oxford and Bedford, and Milton Keynes and Aylesbury in more than 50 years. Phase 1 between Oxford and Bicester is already complete and opened in 2016. Phase 2 involves track and signalling upgrades between Bicester, Bedford, Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, including the reinstatement of track on the mothballed section of railway between Bletchley and Claydon Junction. It is hoped that the inspector will recommend the go ahead of the scheme to the Secretary of State for Transport, who will agree and grant the order to Network Rail so that it can begin the main construction works.

Government's National Infrastructure Commission calls for 'clearer vision' from government to deliver growth in Cambridge-Oxford arc

Keywords: [EastWestRail]

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) says in its Annual Monitoring Report for 2019 that the government needs to provide a 'clearer vision' and better joined-up working" to maximising the output of the Cambridge-Oxford arc corridor, otherwise the potential of the project could be stunted. Although the government's East West Rail Company unveiled in January 2019 the five route options for public consultation for the new rail line between Bedford and Cambridge, the NIC has raised doubts about the progress of the responsibilities of local authorities to develop long-term transport strategies surrounding the East West rail route and feared that a number of "key dates" are at risk of being missed. Its report also recommended improvements to the integration of housing developments and transport schemes surrounding the rail route.

East West Rail makes 'powerful case' for direct services from Ipswich and Norwich to Oxford

Keywords: [EastWestRail]

According to a case for investment from the East West Rail Consortium (EWRC), which is starting to look at the eastern section from Cambridge to Norwich and Ipswich (now that the western section is at public inquiry and the central section is being moved forward by the East West Rail Company), a direct rail link between Ipswich, Norwich and Oxford could unlock £17.5bn for the East Anglia community

The consortium's new report outlines the benefits of new East West rail services, including the creation of 120,000 jobs and connecting high-value economies with fast rail links. It wants to see enhanced rail services between Ipswich and Cambridge - as well as Norwich and Cambridge with faster journey times and more services - in advance of the Bedford-Cambridge section being opened in the late 2020s and says improving services sooner rather than later would make the eastern section 'central section ready' and make the link from Bedford more successful when from the day it opens. It also calls for the line to allow for a direct freight link between Felixstowe and south west England.


GUIDED BUSWAY
Lorry stuck on Cambridge guided busway for more than six hours

In a long list of incidents since the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway opened in August 2011 to the promise of "reliability, reliability, reliability" by its supporters in Cambridgeshire County Council, on Thursday 7th February 2019 a heavy goods lorry became stuck on a section of the guided busway at Longstanton Park and Ride for more than six hours. Despite warning signs on the route, the lorry driver turned onto the busway causing damage to front end of the MTS Logistics lorry when a front wheel got stuck between two guide beams. Buses were re-routed after services on the guided busway were suspended from around 18:00 for the rest of the evening.

According to the BBC, the incident prompted comments on social media. One man said on Facebook: "How? I mean just HOW?" Another comment said: "Will he get fined for driving in a bus lane?"


Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 311 - 28/02/2019

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