Activists Briefing - Issue 6

17th September 2005

FUEL TAX PROTESTS

Railfuture issued the following press release to around 500 media contacts on 13th September.

Railfuture will be writing to the Prime Minister (copied to the Chancellor and Transport Secretary) urging the Government to disregard the pleadings of the small but noisy minority seeking a reduction in fuel tax.

These people, many of whom enjoy access to cheap "red diesel", must come to terms with the increasing scarcity of fossil fuels, and learn to pay the true costs of road transport.

In real terms, motoring costs have fallen since 1997 in spite of fuel cost increases, while rail fares continue to increase above inflation.

We support Jonathan Porritt of the Sustainable Development Commission in his call for a longer term strategy to reduce dependence on polluting technologies.

We endorse the call by Transport 2000 to address rising carbon emissions from transport, which are contributing heavily to climate change.

If as a result of current world market conditions, the Chancellor enjoys a tax windfall, he should consider spending some of it on public transport, or on measures to reduce our dependence on oil. Simply increasing oil production is not the answer. ENDS

In response to the press release Peter Lawrence was interviewed by BBC Radio Plymouth at lunchtime on 14th September. He also gave permission to the Editor of Rail Manager On line to publish our press release as a letter to the Editor in the next edition. MET Television of Leicester are due to interview Roger Skilton, Chairman Railfuture East Midlands, on Monday 19th September.

IN THE NEWS

On 7th September Railfuture President and media spokesman, Peter Lawrence, had a long telephone conversation with Ben Webster from “The Times". He was concerned about the proposals for the Busway (St.Ives to Cambridge), East-West Rail link and new railways for the UK.

NEWS FROM RAILFUTURE BRANCHES

Railfuture North Midlands chairman and branch contact, Graham Nalty, has new daytime phone and fax numbers - Phone 01332 342233 Fax 01332 342373

A Railfuture North East branch meeting will take place at 7pm on Wednesday 20th September. Speaker is Wayne Kyte, Operations Manager North for GNER. Wayne is responsible for Newcastle, Durham, Darlington & York Stations Venue is the GNER training room between platforms 3 & 4 at Newcastle Central station. Access is gained from the overbridge. Both members & non members are welcome to attend.

A joint East and North Midlands branch meeting is planned for Derby on Saturday 12th November. It is hoped to have a speaker from Midland Main Line. This meeting will give members the opportunity to discuss arrangements for the East and North Midlands branch merger which will take effect on 1st January 2006.

Railfuture East Anglia will be delighted to welcome all Railfuture members to their stand at the Community Rail Fest at Great Yarmouth Station on 24 and 25th September

Railfuture Lincolnshire branch AGM has been organised for Saturday 18th March 2006 at the Grantham Railway Club.

TRAVEL EXPENSES REVIEW

The Board has appointed a sub committee to conduct a review of travel expenses and suggest revisions to the current policy. The aim of the review is to identify ways of reducing travel costs by looking at both travel needs and what expenses can be claimed.

Issues to be looked at include the number and location of meetings; the size of committees; alternatives to meetings (i.e. email forums). When looking at what can be claimed they are considering issues such as; should all travel expenses be reimbursed or should there be a deduction per meeting or per month/quarter; should car parking fees be reimbursed; what rate should be paid for personal car use (if any). This is not an exhaustive list – all aspects of travel needs and related expense claims are being looked at.

Jerry Alderson is leading the sub committee and would welcome submissions from members, especially those who are not on any committee and therefore have no pecuniary interest in the outcome of the review. Comments should be sent to Jerry at 32 The Oaks, Milton, Cambridge CBV4 6ZG email jerry.alderson at virgin.net to arrive by 30th September 2005.

WHO’S WHO 2005-2006

A copy of Railfuture Who’s Who 2005-2006 is due to be despatched with each copy of Railwatch 105. It is also now available in pdf format from the Contact Railfuture page of our website. We have incorporated all the changes to secretary, email address and/or phone/fax numbers etc that we are aware of but could all branch contacts please check the pdf version to ensure that your branch details are correct. Jerry Alderson or David Harby should be advised of any inaccuracies as soon as possible so changes can be made before printing.

POSSIBLE CUTS IN LOCAL RAIL PASSENGER SERVICES

Members will be aware that there have been articles in the press about cuts to local rail services. This article from the Guardian on 29th August is typical. http://search.guardian.co.uk/search97cgi/s97networkr_cgi?QueryText=%28+%28rail%29+AND+%28VdkPublicationDate+%3D+29%2D8%2D2005%29%29&ResultColSize=&ResultTemplate=Archive%5FArtifact%2Ehts&Collection=&SortSpec=score+Desc&Query=rail&ResultStart=1&ResultCount=10&ResultMaxDocs=1000&Dtv=&remote_address=193%2E122%2E208%2E99&Action=FilterSearch&Filter=FltArchive%2Ehts

The Railfuture Passenger Committee meets on 24th September and will be considering the reports of cuts. The committee will need to build up a picture of what is happening throughout the country. To help it in this work the committee chairman, Howard Thomas, is asking branch contacts and individual members to let him know of any possible cuts or closures being proposed in their area and of the reasons promulgated for these cuts. Comments please to Howard Thomas, 24 South Primrose Hill, Chelmsford CM1 2RG.

Members are also urged to write to their MP’s seeking ministerial answers to specific questions about reported cuts in their area. If you ask them MP’s are bound to seek answers to questions. Now that rail has passed back to the DfT the department can no longer respond to questions by saying it is not their responsibility as decisions are made by the SRA not themselves. If you are a Labour Party member then why not contact your constituency chairman telling him you are concerned about the cuts and asking him to pass on your concerns to Labour Party HQ. Please let Howard know the replies to your questions.

CALCULATING THE BENEFITS OF MODAL SHIFT FOR FREIGHT

The notion of Sensitive Lorry Miles has been used over many years in the UK to support the payment of public funds towards projects that seem likely to shift freight loads regularly from congested roads onto railway or waterway-dominated alternative routes.

Estimated monetary values are used as a means of quantifying the benefit of shifting freight from road to rail or water. These values are used in the calculations of Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) and Track Access Grant (TAG) and Company Neutral Revenue Support (CNRS).

The website www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_freight/documents/divisionhomepage/039740.hcsp points to documents that will assist anyone striving to estimate the benefits of rail reopening schemes largely destined to enable freight rather than passenger flows.
Source: Railfuture Yahoo Group

NEWS FROM DFT RAIL

The DfT website now includes more detail on rail issues. Among these is the feasibility study by Atkins for the Strategic Rail Authority into whether there is a transport and business case for a new high speed rail line (HSL) in the UK. http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_control/documents/contentservertemplate/dft_index.hcst?n=6193&l=1

The following link will take you to a letter from Director General, Rail Group at DfT, Mike Mitchell, on how they propose to take on new responsibilities as the new DfT Rail Group. This letter has details of phone numbers and email addresses for the senior managers in the Rail Division. http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_railways/documents/page/dft_railways_038368.hcsp

NEWS FROM ORR

On 7th September 2005 the ORR published draft conclusions on Network Rail signalling expenditure

These refer to proposals for increased signalling expenditure in the current price control period running to March 2009. The ORR proposes to accept the need for additional signalling renewal work compared with that allowed for in the 2003 access charges review. However they consider that efficient delivery of this will involve expenditure of only £175 million on signalling renewal in the control period, in addition to the £1,723 million allowed for in the 2003 review. This compares with Network Rail's proposed addition of £296 million.

The consultation document sets out the reasons for these conclusions. Announcing these proposals, Chris Bolt, ORR Chairman, said: "Network Rail has made a case for additional expenditure on signalling renewals over the next three years, but needs to increase its efficiency in delivering those schemes. And while we are confident that the signalling supply industry has the capacity to deliver the volume of signalling renewals contained in Network Rail's programme, we have some concerns about Network Rail's ability to deliver. So we have sought further information from Network Rail about its ability to deliver this programme and will monitor delivery of it closely."

In its proposals, ORR has also set out how Network Rail will be penalised if it does not deliver the enhanced programme, or fails to achieve the additional efficiency reflected in the draft conclusions.
Source: ORR press release

A summary of the SRA thinking on the East Coast Main Line can now be viewed at, and downloaded from, the ORR website by using this link http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/ECML_Review.PDF. This document is not a strategy. It is a review of the work carried out to June 2005 by the SRA and provided at the time of hand over of its strategic Planning functions. The document is detailed and runs to 102 pages.

RAIL USERS’ CONFERENCE 5TH NOVEMBER 2005

Confirmed speakers include Brendan O'Friel, Chairman of the North West Public Transport Users' Forum and formerly Chairman of RPC (NW); Brian Simpson, until June 2004 a Euro MP and now Director of the North West Rail Campaign; John Mooney, RPC Passenger Link Director based in Manchester; Tony Young, formerly of Greater Manchester PTE, now an internationally-known light rail consultant and Trevor Garrod, Chairman European Passengers’ Federation.

For the first time at a Railfuture conference there is an opportunity for members to meet up on the night before the conference (Friday 4 November) at about 8pm. We will choose a pub near to the venue and possibly go for a meal as well. If you are interested in meeting up please contact Jerry Alderson (email: jerry.alderson at virgin.net).

It's excellent value at £10 for Railfuture members and the first two representatives of affiliated user groups; £15 for others. This includes tea/coffee in the morning and afternoon. A buffet lunch is available for an extra £5.

The venue for the conference is the Mechanics Centre, 103 Princess St, Manchester M1 6DD. A 10-minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road railway stations. Please don't wait for Railwatch to arrive with a booking form - book now! APEX train tickets now available for 5th November. A booking form/conference flyer can be downloaded from our website http://www.railfuture.org.uk/tiki-index.php?page=Rail%20users%20conference

If a branch has a meeting before Railwatch arrives can they please arrange to have some conference flyers available for members who do not have facilities to download one themselves.

EOC SUGGESTS BUS AND RAIL SCHEDULES DISREGARD WOMEN'S TRAVEL NEEDS

The Equal Opportunities Commission has published new research showing that Britain's transport systems are failing to address the needs of women. The research shows that this failure wastes public money, denies access to vital services, impedes job prospects, fails to ensure that people can travel safely and excludes the vulnerable.

The research points to persistent and costly problems caused by a transport system that prioritises men and perpetuates the social disadvantages faced by women. These include:

 Inadequate access for women to schools, shopping facilities and health care because of (a) transport routes designed for traditional commuters (i.e. which run from suburbs to town centres) and (b) prioritisation of services at peak-time commuter periods over daytime travel
 Difficulties for women taking up employment and training opportunities because of inappropriately timed and routed transport provision - women on low incomes are the worst affected
 Women's difficulties in accessing health care contribute to the significant costs to the NHS from missed appointments - the overall figure is between £250 and £400 million annually
 Negative impact on family health, as poor access to shops restricts access to healthy food
 Wasted investment of public money as core services are not properly accessible
 Reluctance on the part of women to travel at night due to safety concerns
 Vehicle design which hinders those with children or shopping

The report "Promoting Gender Equality in Transport", by Kerry Hamilton, Linda Jenkins, Frances Hodgson and Jeff Turner was produced by Transport Studies at the University of East London in collaboration with Jeff Turner Transport and Social Development Consultancy Ltd and the Institute of Transport Studies, University of Leeds.

The Equality Bill will require public services providers to conduct an assessment of men and women's different service needs and deliver action plans in response.

 Changes said to be needed in the transport sector include:
 Policy-makers specifically addressing the different transport needs of women and men.
 Employers tackling the under-representation of women as workers in the transport sector, particularly in management positions.
 Greater involvement of women users in the design of our transport system.
 Greater promotion by central government of the need for gender equality in the country's transport network.

This report is a reminder to Railfuture that there are many potential rail users’ who are not catered for by current services and that we need to take this into account when we are discussing service provision.

Source: www.eoc.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=17577&lang=en