News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 401 - 31/08/2026
When the 16-17 rail card was introduced in August 2019, it had an anti-user condition that differed from every other rail card, which the government is now rectifying. Every other rail card that has lasted for precisely one year (i.e. 365 days), or three years for a Senior railcard. Its validity expires 364 (or 365 in a leap year) days after it was bought. However, the 16-17 rail card lasted only until the day before that person became 18 years old. So, when they bought their 16-17 rail card they would get between 1 and 65 (366 in a leap year) days' worth of discount if they were 17 years old, meaning that the discounts were inconsistent - some people got full value and some got ripped off. It will now last for the full year. Although an 18-year-old could have bought a 16-25 railcard, that is practically useless for anyone in full-time education because of the minimum fare of £12 during the morning peak. On the other hand, unlike any other railcard, the 16-17 railcard can be used to buy a discounted season ticket! See BBC news story and a Rail Business Daily article, which is clearer about the change. Railfuture's Bruce Williamson was interviewed on the radio about the change. Listen here.
An Architects Journal website article uploaded on 6th August 2026 featured Cambridge South station. It explained the architectural vision for the station and also included a useful layout of the station.
The Platform4 partnership has secured planning approval from Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council for 425 new homes at Cambridge North Residential Quarter on brownfield railway land. These will be high-quality build-to-rent 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartment, with linear parks, ground floor retail spaces, community spaces and amenities. There will be pocket gardens, and tree-lined streets. The scheme was one of four developments highlighted as part of Platform4's launch in November 2025. The development is being brought forward by blocwork, a joint venture between Platform4, Network Rail's property development company, and partnership developer bloc ltd. Grainger plc, the UK's largest listed residential landlord, will forward fund the scheme and manage the development once complete. See news story.
The Eastern Daily Press (EDP) reported on 18th August 2026 that "leaders at Norfolk County Council have said they are continuing to lobby the government over the long-called-for upgrade to Ely railway junction, which is seen as key to the prosperity of Norfolk." The article said that "When the Conservatives were in control of County Hall, they had lobbied for investment and, with Reform now running the authority after May's elections, senior councillors confirmed that they are continuing the fight to convince the government to pump in money."
A news story in the North Norfolk News reported that the Bittern Line has become one of fastest growing lines in Britain with a quadrupling of passenger numbers in the last 30 years, from just over 200,000 a year in 1994 to more than 827,000. The article did not reveal that much of this increase occurred in the first decade coinciding with the launch and promotions of the Bittern Line Community Rail Partnership along with Anglia Railways dramatically increasing the number of services especially in the winter.
There has been a lot of criticism in the media that the East West Rail service between Oxford and Milton Keynes (utilising the Bicester-Bletchley route that was opened in late 2024) has not started yet. Chiltern Railways has been advertising for Customer Service Inspectors at its Bletchley depot, the base for East West Rail services. They would perform 'guard-like' duties such as "provide a high level of customer care on trains", "take part in revenue protection activities on trains", "perform on-train announcing", and "take action to rectify or report faults". This would be a DCO+1 option - train doors operated solely by drivers (known as DODC for Driver Opens, Driver Closes) not guards. Chiltern is due to be nationalised on 20 September, potentially making a December 2026 start for the service a possibility. However, the RMT union has rejected this proposal, so that date looks unlikely to be achieved. Network Rail is trying to secure a small piece of land next to Winslow station to ensure that a 'secondary means of escape' is available; the designs for most new EWR stations have this.
Network Rail will be conducting more testing of the ETCS digital in-cab signalling over the August bank holiday - see article. It will affect passenger journeys south of Peterborough towards London between 20.00 on Saturday 29th August and 08.00 on Monday 31st August, with rail replacement bus services in operation for some journeys (on Sunday 30th August, LNER will divert two return services from Newcastle to Bedford for the first time, allowing passengers to transfer onto Thameslink services to London St Pancras). The work forms the final stages of testing the initial in-cab signalling section between Welwyn and Hitchin on the East Coast Main Line, which will see gradual extensions in the next few years under the £1.4 billion East Coast Digital Programme. It was successfully introduced on the Northern City Line (Finsbury Park to Moorgate) in London in 2025, with the signals being removed.
The 08.05 Great Northern service to Moorgate on Monday 31st August 2026 became the first passenger train to use the European Train Control System (ETCS) system on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) as it was signalled out of Welwyn Garden City station. ETCS is now live on the 15-mile section stretch between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin (where ETCS has been fully commissioned in 'overlay' so that trains can operate using either conventional or digital in-cab signalling), but no services are currently using that full route under ETCS yet. This first stage in the use of ETCS on the ECML will just see Great Northern's Class 717 fleet transition in and out of the system when entering and leaving the Welwyn area. More fleets and passenger services will begin using the in-cab system from 2027. See news story.
Greater Anglia (GA) has signed a new five-year agreement with German ticket vending machine (TVM) provider Scheidt & Bachmann (S&B) Fare Collection Systems, effective 1st July 2026. Anglia Railways, the former train operator before GA took over, first purchased TVMs from them in December 2002, for Colchester station. S&B now supports a fleet of 268 TVMs. The GA press release implied that they had been delsainfg with GA since 2002, but GA did not takeover Anglia Railways or National Express East Anglia; the latter's franchise ended in 2012, so GA has really only been dealing with them for 14 years, although the previous contracts may have been novated. See news story.
Both the Mid-Norfolk and North Norfolk heritage railways suspended steam services because of the risk of fire caused by successive heat waves this summer that has seen the ground become very dry. In 8th August the North Norfolk Railway (NNR) resumed steam services between Sheringham and Weybourne following discussions with the Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service. By only uperating as far as Weybourne, the NNR protects the vulnerable Kelling Heath and avoid Kelling Bank where locomotives have to work hard which can increase the chances of emitting sparks. The MNR resumed steam locomotive hauled services on Friday 21st August, having consulted the Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service with its risk controls/miitgations.
The North Norfolk Railway has announced the dates and opened bookings for its 2026 festive events, which will run on selected dates between 14th November(with the Norfolk Lights Express on that date, followed by Santa Special Steam Trains on weekends from 21st November to 13th December and daily from 19th to 23rd December) until 3rd January 2027. The full programme of events for 2026 can be viewed by visiting www.nnrailway.co.uk.
The Whitwell & Reepham Railway hopes to raise £100,000 towards the total restoration costs of two stream engines. It has setup a new Community Lottery where a £10 a month recurring stake could win up to £25,000 in the monthly prize draw.
The Times newspaper reported, in its "Historical Homes" section, on 21st August 2026 that the former Wolferton station, which is close to the Sandringham estate is up for sale with an asking price of £1.25m, which includes signal box). The building, which has been a private home since the line to Hunstanton closed in 1969, is on the down (west) side, where arriving visitors were greeted.
GUIDED BUSWAY
Cambridgeshire Guided Busway services reduced because of slower buses ar eless attractive to passengers
Because of a "significant" drop-off in the number of passengers, Stagecoach East has decided to reduce the frequency of its services whilst its buses are restricted to 30mph on the busway (rather than the normal 56mph) until the safety fencing is complete. As reported previously in Snippets, fencing is being erected along all 26 kilometres of the busway at a cost of £12.5m. Stagecoach has claimed that the extended journey times had led to people "changing their travel patterns", implying that the cuts are for economic reasons. From 1st January 2027, frequencies will reduce from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes at peak times, and from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes off-peak.
News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cglj3nne4x2o.
Cambridgeshire County Council imposes speed restriction on bicycles on the guided busway maintenance track
An article in the Cambrdge News on 17th August 2026 says that Cambridgeshire County Council has imposted a 15mph speed limit for cyclists on the path (a.k.a. the maintenance track) adjacent to the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway "to enable safe active travel for all users of the shared use pathway" and is intended to reduce accidental conflict between users. The article says that electric bikes that exceed 15mph and motorcycles are banned from it with these restrictions implemented in partnership with the police. The county council has become risk averse after its £6 million fine arising from the deaths of three people on the guided busway.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 401 - 31/08/2026
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