News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 86 - 04/03/2002
- ST.IVES LINE [all issues]
- SuperCAM busway public exhibition opens
- Hunts Post newspaper publishes two-page article by Nick Dibben
- Friends of the Earth issues petition to reopen the St.Ives railway line
- RAILCARD DISCOUNTS [all issues]
- Network Card £10 minimum fare restriction to be introduced from June
- Free Family Railcard with Prima Magazine
- ENGINEERING WORKS [all issues]
- RAIL PATRONAGE [all issues]
- RAIL SAFETY [all issues]
- Norfolk County Council among first in country to look at road bridges near rail lines
- Microlight crashes near Manea station
- RAIL USER GROUPS [all issues]
- PRESERVED RAILWAYS [all issues]
- Branch invests in Mid-Norfolk Railway bearer bonds
- Best year ever for Great Britain's heritage railways
- WEBSITES [all issues]
Central Trains have offered Railfuture 10 pairs of tickets (20 people) to and from the AGM in Nottingham on Saturday, 27 April 2002.
ST.IVES LINE
SuperCAM busway public exhibition opens
The very professional SuperCAM exhibitions opened on Friday 1st March in Cambridge, and continue until 15th March. See Snippets 85 for list of venues. It offers the chance to ask detailed questions about the guided bus proposal, which they insist on calling a "rapid transit" to make it more appealing.
The consortium claim that they will fund the majority of the £60m cost, though public money will be required. Their business plan is not solid, as they do not know whether it will be franchised or open access. The track access charges may not be sufficient to cover the maintenance of the track or upkeep of the stations (which would have waiting rooms with refreshments), and will not recoup the initial investment costs, which will be borne by the housing development at Oakington/Longstanton.
The busway team seemed doubtful that an acceptable route could be found through Cambridge via the railway line, and without it did not intend to connect with trains at the proposed Chesterton Interchange station.
The consortium has brought over from France the front part of one of their £600,000 bendy-bus vehicles, which will run on either diesel or gas. The mocked-up interior was very spacious but will require many peak time passengers to stand for the 30+ minute journey from St.Ives.
superCAM website: http://www.supercam.co.uk/.
Hunts Post newspaper publishes two-page article by Nick Dibben
The Hunts Post, as part of its "Boot out the Guided Bus" campaign, printed a two page article by Railfuture East Anglia branch secretary Nick Dibben. The introductory paragraph nicely sums up the current situation: "Before anyone will look at the alternatives again [i.e. heavy rail/light rail], those in authority will need to be convinced that the busway idea simply wont work, and that the risks of proceeding are too high".
Hunts Post "Let's boot out the bus": http://www.huntspost.co.uk/man/community/Hunts/asp/BootOutBus.asp.
Friends of the Earth issues petition to reopen the St.Ives railway line
Brian Smith, Hunts Friends of the Earth, (not Cambs CC Transport boss, of same name) has started a petition calling for the reopening of the St Ives line. However, the wording of the petition seems to suggest that the local train service between Huntingdon and Peterborough should be reduced as a consequence. Nick Dibben has written saying that the branch cannot support such wording and suggested an alternative. The branch wishes to stress that any through services via St Ives would be in addition to existing trains rather than replacements.
The Cambridge branch of Friends of the Earth in their December 2001 newsletter said that "a re-instated, efficient, railway service along the route of the Cambridge-St Ives line would make an immense difference to the volume of traffic in the CHUMMS corridor" and described the guided busway as "a railway for the financially timid".
RAILCARD DISCOUNTS
Network Card £10 minimum fare restriction to be introduced from June
 |
Holders of Network Railcards purchased after 2nd June 2002, will find that the discount on adult fares will kick in at £15 (i.e a minimum adult fare of £10) on weekdays. |
Philip Benham, director of commercial services for ATOC, said "The commercial reality is that the card is no longer achieving what it set out to do when it was introduced in 1986 and that is to grow the off-peak market. In fact it is losing the train operators a considerable amount of money which could be reinvested in better passenger services." Other types of railcard will not be affected.
This change, which many believe is designed to cut down on overcrowding on London departures in the evening peak, is likely to hinder the government's Ten Year Plan target of increasing passenger numbers by 50%.
ATOC press release: http://www.atoc.org/communications/press/press/01_03_02.htm.
Free Family Railcard with Prima Magazine
If you purchase the April issue of Prima, the magazine for Women, you should find attached to the cover a free Family Railcard valid until 30th April 2002. It will also give you a £5 discount (£15 instead of £20) when buying a Family Railcard if presented to a staffed station before 30th June 2002.
ENGINEERING WORKS
Railtrack start rail replacement to remove speed restrictions on Hertford loop
 |
Railtrack has begun major engineering work (including laying of over seven miles of new track) to remove two speed restrictions at Ponsbourne Tunnel on the Hertford Loop line. |
RAIL PATRONAGE
Passenger usage of reopened lines normally far exceeds original estimates
At the Railfuture East Anglia branch AGM, Bury St Edmunds, Railfuture national chairman Peter Lawrence told the audience that passenger numbers for rail reopenings so far have been grossly under estimated, and it is abundantly clear that when considering re-openings, the potential passenger usage is not being properly considered. Peter cited the East-West Rail Link which was turned down on the grounds of insufficient passenger numbers. Indeed, when Peter met John Spellar MP on 8th January, he pointed out just how pessimistic the estimates were.
At the branch AGM, the London Crosslink was discussed in depth. A study has suggested that the financial benefits will be more than double the cost of construction.
Crosslink website news item: http://www.crossrail.co.uk/pages/-01march2002.html.
RAIL SAFETY
Norfolk County Council among first in country to look at road bridges near rail lines
According to BBC Ceefax, Norfolk County Council has announced that will look at up to 80 road bridges where road vehicles could end up on rail lines - 12 months after the Great Heck accident. Researchers will look at hazards such as the sun shining in driver's faces, signs near bridges, state of embankments, fencing or wall. Norfolk County Council will report back to the Health and Safety Executive with findings within one year.
HSE document (500kb): http://www.info4local.gov.uk/searchreport.asp?id=5491&frompage=subjects&subject=23.
Microlight crashes near Manea station
Keywords: [ManeaStation]
Not only do cars and vans pose a threat to rail passengers, but so too do small aircraft! On 3rd March, a microlight crashed just metres away from the Ely to Peterborough line near Manea station. Train services between Ely and March had to be suspended for a time.
RAIL USER GROUPS
Sudbury-Marks Tey Rail User's Association is wound up
The Sudbury-Marks Tey Rail User's Association no longer exists, following the creation of the Gainsborough Line Action Group under the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership. Members of the new partnership include Essex County Council, Colchester Borough Council, Braintree District Council, Babergh District Council and First Great Eastern amongst others.
Chairman David Taylor has sent a cheque for £329.12 to Railfuture, the amount representing its share of the funds.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Branch invests in Mid-Norfolk Railway bearer bonds
Keywords: [MidNorfolkRailway]
At the branch AGM, members approved a proposal to purchase £100 of bearer bonds (the minimum amount). Bonds can be applied for by post, or in person at Dereham Station, especially on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th March during the MNR's diesel weekend when there will be five trains in each direction on both days.
MNR Train times: http://www.mnr.org.uk/news/gala.html.
Incidentally, the Nene Valley Railway will be holding a diesel a week earlier on 16th/17th March.
Best year ever for Great Britain's heritage railways
2001 was the best year ever for passenger numbers at Britain's growing number of heritage railways, which also celebrated their 50th year of existence.
The Mid-Norfolk Railway carried 15% more passengers in 2001, a rise of 45% over two years, and the Bure Valley Railway set a new record of 127,089 passenger journeys, an increase of nearly 10% over 2000.
Ticket sales and revenue receipts for 2001 were highest on the Severn Valley Railway, which had the best ever season for passenger figures in its 31-year history: 230,436, more than 2,000 up, with receipts also at a new all-time high of £3.53m.
The Swanage Railway celebrated another record season - the seventh in succession - with passenger numbers hitting 180,911, nearly double the 98,000 in 1995. It is closest to becoming part of an integrated local transport network, regularly providing 'real' services as opposed to tourist trains, offering a park-and-ride facility at Norden.
WEBSITES
Anglia Railways launch website for cyclists
Keywords: [AngliaRailways]
Anglia Railways has launched a web site for cyclists [http://www.anglia-railways.com/cycle/index.htm] to provide a 'one-stop shop' of information about taking cycles onto the trains. It gives fares, cycle carriage, Anglia Railways' unique 24-hour cycle rescue scheme, cycle parking and cycle routes.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 86 - 04/03/2002
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