News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 359 - 28/02/2023
In mid-January 2022, rail passenger numbers in Britain were barely half of pre-pandemic levels. Yet a year on, according to Department for Transport figures, levels have risen dramatically — between 14th and 31st January 2023, passenger numbers hit 90-98% of pre-Covid levels every single day, including on Mondays and Fridays. In addition, passenger revenues are reaching 85% of pre-Covid levels too although this includes new journeys following the opening of the Elizabeth Line in May 2022.
It has been announced that the public inquiry for the Transport & Works Act (TWA) application by Network Rail for the Cambridgeshire resignalling (C3R) project will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Downing Street in Cambridge on 12th, 13th, 14th, 18, and 19th April 2023. A TWA Order is needed to acquire land for the new signalling equiment, but the Secretary of State for Transport has widened the remit of the inspector to consider the impact of replacincg automatic half-barrier (AHB) crossings with full-barrier ones, which will have a much longer barrier downtime and therefore be more disruptive to road users and pedestrians (including those going to and from the adjacent railway station).
GTR is launching an experiment to allow use of advance tickets on commuter services on Monday and Friday, when loadings are much lower as many commuters now travel to their office on just three days per week (Tuesday to Thursday). It is good that at least one train operator has woken up to this, but it says a lot about the agility (or lack of it) of the railway in its current form that it has taken all this time to even do a trial. Even so, it hardly seems bold if you have to book ahead — yet again too much complexity to make it attractive. Will the railway do something dramatic, such abolishing peak restrictions on Mondays and Fridays on commuter routes? The bad news, however, is that GTR is implementing this only on Southern services, so those using its Great Northern trans will have to wait.
The Epping Ongar Railway has announced the appointment of George Saville (was was, until recently, General Manager at the Mid-Norfolk Railway) as its new general manager, joining on 27th February 2023. The appointment arises after the previous General Manager decided to stand down at the end of 2022. Mr Saville has an interim contract to help further the success of the railway through the 2023 operating season.
Charlie Robinson has announced that he will stand down as Chair of the Mid-Norfolk Railway at its AGM in Septemewbr 2023, although he will remain on the MNR's Trust Council. This will be the second major personnel change, as General Manager George Saville has departed (see above).
STATIONS
Whittlesford Parkway station building and canopy to be improved
Keywords: [WhittlesfordParkwayStation]
A £500,000 project at Whittlesford Parkway railway station to upgrade the station building and restore the canopy will commence on 6 March 2023 and be completed by the summer. The canopy will be stripped back to its timbers and refurbished. A temporary ticket office will be in use while the work takes place whilst some car parking spaces in the car park near platform 2 will be out of use while the work takes place (plenty of parking is available near platform 1). This work will help enhance the appearance of Whittlesford Parkway and make it a more pleasant and welcoming space.
News: https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/improvement-work-to-take-place-at-whittlesford-parkway-station/.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
North Norfolk Railway replaces critical life-expired pointwork at Weybourne station
Keywords: [NorthNorfolkRailway]
The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) will be spending £300,000 on replacing pointwork at the eastern end of Weybourne Station. The turnouts allow trains to use the stations two platforms and also allow entry to the line's locomotive depot. The major project will be undertaken during three weeks in the short winter closed season and completed in time for trains to run during the February 2023 half-term break (Saturday 11th to Sunday 19th February 2023). The sections of track being renewed were last replaced in the 1970s using second hand materials so many components are almost life-expired. Thr new track, comprising, any components prepared offsite, will be made by specialist contractor Trackwork and will last for generations to come.
The NNR run trains on more than 250 days a year and carries up to 165,000 passengers annually.
News: https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/north-norfolk-railway-invests-300000-in-track-replacement/.
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Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 359 - 28/02/2023
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