Railfuture is having a stand at Green Fair in Bury St.Edmunds on Saturday 23rd November (same day as the FLUA
AGM and PNRUG meeting, both in Ely). Volunteers are requested to help man the stall with Nick and Ivan. Anyone
wishing to help out should contact Nick Dibben. The Green Fair is organised by West Suffolk Green Party and
Friends of the Earth. Details on http://www.burygreen.org.uk.
It's not too late to attend the Rail Users conference at Scientific Societies Lecture Theatre, New Burlington
Place, London W1 on Saturday 5th October from 10.30. It costs £10, and you can pay on the day. Speakers include
Chris Green of Virgin Trains, Anthony Smith of the Rail Passengers Council and Steve Thompson of National Express,
who is managing their bid for the Greater Anglia franchise. For details, contact John Lee
john.lee@rdsadmin.freewire.co.uk.
An Exhibition about Alconbury airfield's possible revival as a low-cost passenger airport is scheduled for
Thursday 3rd October between 9.00am and 9.00pm in the Trinity Room of the Huntingdon Marriott Hotel, Kingsfisher
Way, Huntingdon, PE29 6FL. See http://www.aviation.dft.gov.uk/consult/airconsult/se/exhibitions/.
NEW RAIL SERVICES
Anglia railways pre-launch Norwich-Cambridge service popular with passengers
Anglia ran their pre-launch Cambridge-Norwich services for two weeks, in which hundreds of people took advantage
of the £5 promotional to raise awareness of the new service. Peter Meades, spokesman for Anglia Railways, said:
"Our trial runs have been very busy, the demand is certainly there."
On Monday 30th September, there were photocalls at both Norwich and Cambridge stations, with Nick Newton,
chief operating officer at the Strategic Rail Authority joining Anglia Railways’ managing director Tim Clarke.
Anglia press release: http://www.angliarailways.co.uk/latest-information/news-detail.asp?id=352.
FARE EVASION
Are WAGN to do something about fare evasion at Cambridge at last?
WAGN advertisements for on-train ticket inspectors have recently appeared in local Cambridge newspapers. WAGN
have long claimed that it was difficult to recruit on-train staff. A salary of £16,250 and free WAGN travel plus
reduced rate national travel is offered for a 35-hour week (with shift work including weekends). Anyone
interested should send a CV quoting GN/0903 to Diane Barnes, HR dept, WAGN, 1st Floor, Hertford House, 1
Cranwood Street, London, EC1V 9QS.
TRAFFIC CONGESTION
Great Yarmouth calls for study into traffic congestion
John Holmes, a Yarmouth county councillor has complained that Yarmouth hasn't had a traffic study for 30 years
despite being the "second-largest urban area in the county and the third-largest seaside resort". He feels they
have been short-changed compared to Norwich and King's Lynn. He and other councillors claim that road congestion
is intolerable.
GUIDED BUSWAY
Potential conflict over the use of dismantled Cambridge-Trumpington line
The Hunts Post ran a news item suggesting that there may be conflict for the Cambridge-Trumpington railway line
between Cambridge to Huntingdon Multi Modal Study (pro-busway) and London to South Midlands Multi-Modal Study
(LSM MMS) which might include a Cambridge-St.Neots rail link on that line.
Howard Blessington, a director of LSM MMS consultants FaberMaunsell, said it not possible to say one MMS scheme
has preference over the other." He said the LSM MMS team were 90 per cent certain they could find a way of bringing
in a train from the west, possibly via St Neots, and 100 per cent certain of a route from the south.
The Hunts Post quoted Branch secretary Nick Dibben saying "One thing that is very clear is that there is a
number of very differing developments being talked about and there does not seem to be any co-ordination. The
Government is looking at airports, the district is looking at housing, the county is looking at guided buses and
then teams such as CHUMMS and LSM MMS are looking at transport issues. Much of the route is open country so there
would not be a problem, but the railway bridge [A1301 in Trumpington] is a pinch point."
Meanwhile, Cambridge residents have been accusing the SuperCAM brochures of disguising the sizes of the
monster-sized buses. They claim that "every picture except one shows only front or rear sections of a bus. In
one picture a bus is shown in full length but at a very steep angle, which makes it look shorter. There is not a
single picture of a bus in full-length profile against a building for proportion and all pictures are
computer-generated impressions, not real photos."
EAST WEST RAIL LINK
Bedford-Sandy Report available from Bedfordshire Railway and Transport Association
Copies of a report showing the planned rail route between Sandy and Bedford, which includes diagrams and
photos, are available for £7.50 from the BRTA. Send a cheque payable to BRTA to 24c St Michael's Road,
Bedford, MK20 2LT.
RAILWAY CRIME
Stone throwing vandals cause Cambridge train to be taken out of service
A King's Lynn to London WAGN train, with 300 passengers, was taken out of service at Cambridge station after a
passenger carriage window was smashed by young vandals (aged 7 and 15) from Chesterton railway bridge, north of
the city, at 4.30pm on 20th September. The BTP have warned youngsters that they risk imprisonment for such
acts.
RAIL IN THE MEDIA
BBC News Online appoints Witham-London commuter as "Rail Commuters' Champion"
BBC News Online, which has been asking for nominations to become their Rail Commuter's Champion, has announced
that Jon Yuill has been chosen. He commutes each weekday between Witham and Liverpool Street, and says his
biggest gripes are overcrowding of trains and unreliability. His quick-win solution would be more seats and
better information for passengers who are often "left milling around, frantically trying to locate their train,
wondering which platform it will arrive at".
Jon, who's been commuting for 20 years, was quoted saying "When I started, I was a passenger. Now I'm known
as a 'customer'. It's a ridiculous affectation. Customers tend to have a choice. We don't."
BBC news report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2288272.stm.
RAIL BARGAINS
WAGN offers free rail travel with McDonalds 'happy meals'
Just buy two McDonalds Happy Meals between the 23rd September and 27th October 2002 and you will receive an exclusive voucher giving you free rail travel and entry into one of our 10 top family attractions which will be valid when you buy one Wagn Adventure Days ticket.
Must also buy a full-price Adventure Days ticket to venues such as British Museum and London Zoo. Only from certain McDonalds 'restaurants'. See www.wagn.co.uk
for details.
RAIL COMPANY TAKEOVERS
Freightliner parent withdraws from offer to buy GB Railfreight
Freightliner parent MCB has said it no longer wishes to acquire GB Railfreight, which it was trying to buy in a
venture with GNER. The GB Railways board did not consider MCB's offer to be of sufficient merit to enter formal
discussions, since it did not reflect the potential value that GB Railways felt it could delivering for
shareholders. GB is now no longer in an "offer period". The Company expects to announce its interim results for
the six months ending 30th September towards the end of November.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Funding assured for Mid-Norfolk station at Kimberley Park to reopen
The Countryside Agency has awarded funding, under the Vital Villages Scheme, to Kimberley & Carleton Forehoe
Parish Council for the reopening of Kimberley Park station, which has been disused for over 30 years. The grant
will be used to repair and regauge the platform edge slabs, which had subsided, and provide a platform shelter,
lighting, replica signage and cycle racks. MNR volunteers have already started working on the station. The parish
council (also through the grant) will provide a footpath linking the Station with the village green.
WEB-SITES
Network Rail launches web-site
Network Rail, the new not-for-dividend company set up to run the rail infrastructure in place of Railtrack
has a new website now running at http://www.networkrail.com.
They are running an advert for members of the public to join the board as public interest members. See
http://www.networkrail.com/Network_Rail_press_ad(ii)_20-09-02.pdf
for a copy of the advertisement. The completed questionnaire, which asks why you think you should be a public
member, needs to arrive by 11th October.
New web-site to promote 'piggyback' freight transport on rail
A new web-site http://www.piggybacktrial.com has been set-up to
promote the use of intermodal or 'piggyback' transportation which is current operating from Tilbury in Essex
and Grangemouth in Scotland. The web-site shows a video of the Blue Circle, with a tanker arriving by road,
being offloaded and then continuing on its way by rail.
Railtrack's dedicated web-site for its 14 major stations
Railtrack has a web-site http://www.majorstations.com with information
for passengers about each of its 14 major stations (Fenchurch Street omitted), including copies of the latest
station newsletter for each.
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