The Peterborough-Norwich Rail Users Group AGM in being held in Thetford on Saturday 26th April. Contact John Saunders for
details.
The next ESTA-Felixstowe AGM/Spring meeting is on Tuesday 6th May from 7.30 p.m. at St. Andrew's Hall, St. Andrew's Road. The
Guest Speaker is Sean Daw, First Bus Depot Manager at Ipswich. Following cutbacks in services in October 2002 it promises to be a
lively meeting.
A new page has been added to the branch web-site. It lists the forthcoming (and past) branch meetings. See
http://freespace.virgin.net/martin.thorne/snippets/branch_meetings.htm.
Railfuture have recently received sponsorship from Birmingham City Council for their High-speed Rail conference (on Saturday
26th April 2003 1030-1600, at the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Victoria Square, Birmingham) and therefore the entrance fee
has now been reduced to £10. Anyone who had already booked at the previous cost will receive a part refund. There will be presentations
on Japanese and European high speed railways, plus how to take such schemes in the UK forward. Speakers include Prof. Roderick
Smith of Imperial College London who is an expert in this area and has featured in such publications as the Financial Times, the
Guardian and numerous other journals. Any questions, please contact Graham Nalty
[naltyp@grahamnalty.co.uk].
The campaign for a National Railcard was launched by Railfuture and the Rail Passengers Council on Monday 14th April at
Liverpool Street station. About 800 press releases and executive summaries of the National Railcard report were sent out. It was
arttended by staff from the Times, Independent, Transit, Modern Railways, Jeremy Corbyn MP, a representative of the City of London,
Douglas Medrisch, Nigel Harris, authors of the report from The Railway Consultancy Ltd, Ray King (Vice Chairman Railfuture),
Robert Stevens (Railfuture Head Office), Mick Duncan from Transport 2000 and David Redgewell from Railfuture, Severnside Branch.
For details of the National Railcard campaign, see: http://www.railfuture.org.uk/cgi-bin/newspro/tmpl.cgi?campaigns-natrailcard.
This includes links to press release, an executive summary of the report and the full 44-page "Report into the economic
implications of introducing a national railcard in Britain" by the Railway Consultancy Ltd, who were commissioned by Railfuture.
On BBC-1 on Wednesday 23rd April at 21:00 there is an hour-long "Rail Cops Special" about the Potters Bar accident.
Railfuture members may be interested to know that Alix Stredwick, former Railfuture Campaigns Director, is now working for
Transport for London.
RAIL FRANCHISES
SRA issues invitations to tender for the Greater [East] Anglia franchise
On 15th April the SRA issued Invitations to Tender (ITT) to the three pre-qualified bidders for the Greater Anglia Franchise. This
gives the TOCs nearly five months to submit their bid, which must be received by 1st September 2003. The bids will be the first
under the "new model contract", which the SRA claims will give clearer rewards and penalties for key performance indicators (such
as train and station cleanliness, security and passenger information).
SRA announcement: http://www.sra.gov.uk/sra/news/releases/franchise/
20030415_new_model_contract_debuts_on_greater_ang.html.
First Group continues to win support for its attempt to pre-qualify for the Greater [East] Anglia franchise
Peter Northfield of First Great Eastern has been overwhelmed with the response from passengers to the news that FGE were denied
the chance to bid, saying: "Our station staff can't get used to being praised rather than being at the receiving end of passengers'
complaints." Comments can be sent to FGE on: franchise@firstgroup.com.
Former Shadow Transport Minister Bernard Jenkin MP, whose constituency is in the FGE area said "I can see no sense in the
government's decision". Also, in the 16th April edition of Rail magazine, Christian Wolmar systematically takes apart the SRA
decision.
In a reply to a rail user group, the SRA justified their action with the brief opaque statement: "The qualification threshold
for this franchise was set at a very demanding level indeed to ensure the best possible competition on behalf of passengers and
taxpayers. There were many criteria involved of which operation of the existing franchises was only one."
STATIONS
Station building at Trimley threatened with demolition
In March, Network Rail announced their intention to demolish the 112-year-old Trimley Station building "imminently". So far, it is
still standing. A picket fence will then be erected alongside the platform.
The booking office was closed in 1967 and it has been virtually unoccupied since and is in a very sorry state. Until the
signalling was modernised and a crossing barrier installed some five years ago, a signalman was stationed in a signal cabin, the
'box having been demolished some 10 years previously. Signalling is now controlled from Colchester.
As some platform lighting is attached to the building, ESTA (Felixstowe) is concerned that new light standards should be erected
before or as demolition takes place. The only shelter from the elements will then be a small (six-person) bus-stop type and ESTA
are pressing for this to be replaced with a larger one as part of a trade-off.
RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE
Network Rail stage "Bringing the railways back to March" exhibition for Whitemoor Yard proposals
Between 10th and 12th April, Network Rail staged an exhibition entitled "Bringing the railways back to March" in March town hall,
which was attended by over 300 people.
As revealed in Snippets 108, Network Rail will have to close their Temple Mills logistics distribution centre in 2004, as it will
be used for servicing Eurostars. They have looked at three replacement sites in East Anglia (which included Chesterton Sidings in
Cambridge) and have chosen the Whitemoor Yard in March for their new "virtual quarry" plus locomotive depot, and possibly a
concrete sleeper manufacturing site relocated from Tallington alongside the ECML. There could be 200-250 new jobs created.
Network Rail require planning permission, hence the exhibition, which needed to identify concerns about noise from nearby
residents. Landscaping and noise barriers would be built to reduce the effects of the work, although plans for a country park in
the yard area, would no longer be possible. They admitted that March was really their only possible location, and they had no
fallback plan if permission was refused.
Network Rail said there were no plans to reopen the Wisbech line, but the track would definitely not be lifted. The drawings on
show implied that the branch would not be severed. By chance, a track worker attended one of the exhibitions, and revealed that he
walked the Wisbech line once a month to ensure that rail was not stolen (like the Leamside line) and cars were not dumped on it.
The Wisbech line, throughout its length, is still in remarkably good condition, with little vegetation on the track.
Malcolm Moss MP said: "This is wonderful news for March and for the local railway network. I am holding a meeting at Westminster
on the issue with Network Rail and representatives of Fenland Council in the near future."
RAIL SERVICES
Anglia Railways enhances Bittern line services without RPP funding
Anglia Railways will be introducing a late night return train service to North Norfolk on the Norwich-Sheringham "Bittern Line"
from the start of the summer timetable on 18th May 2003. The service costing £110,000 for 12 months is funded by Anglia Railways,
the East of England Development Agency, Norfolk County Council and the Bittern Line Community Rail Partnership.
The two additional Monday to Saturday evening services, bringing the number of daily return services to 17, will operate on a
one-year trial basis. Trains will leave Norwich at 19.56 and 22.45, and leave Sheringham at 21.03 and 23.47. The services are
intended to tackle social exclusion - enabling passengers in rural North Norfolk to enjoy an evening out in Norwich - and in the
promotion of local tourism on later trains on the Bittern Line. The trains also allow travellers to return from London Liverpool
Street at 20.30 in the evening. The existing last service with a Sheringham line connection departs London at 19.00.
If the service is successful then the extra trains will become a standard addition to the timetable.
Anglia Press Release: http://www.angliarailways.co.uk/latest-information/news-detail.asp?id=413.
ROAD SCHEMES
A14 road widening authorised by government
On 1st April the government announced £755m of road improvements, which includes £490m to widen the A14 to three lanes in each
direction in three sections between Cambridge and Huntingdon, Huntingdon to Ellington and Cambridge to Fen Ditton, although
the "Preferred Route" is still to be ratified by the Department for Transport. It was intended that within just four weeks of
funding approval consultants would be appointed to develop the scheme in more detail. Can anyone imagine the railways starting
with just 4 weeks notice?
The Cambridge Evening News claimed credit for road widening, with its editor handing over a 10,000 petition to 10 Downing
Street in March 1999. The widening, which was endorsed in February by consultants commissioned by the Government Office for the
East, should be complete by 2010. However, the government has not explained how traffic will get onto and off the widened A14,
particularly around Cambridge Science Park, which has the dormant St.Ives line running beside it.
Note: the government's road improvements included funding to convert concrete on all trunk roads to tarmac by 2011 to reduce
noise to nearby residents, but this doesn't extent to the proposed guided busway which will be made of concrete.
Cambridge Evening News: http://w3.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/story.asp?storyid=10181.
Skyrocketing road costs acceptable but cost increases for rail are not
The Dept for Transport has successfully wiped out many new rail projects for the foreseeable future owing to huge cost
increases. However, it's not just rail projects where costs have been going up. CHUMMS originally suggested £192m for the A14
work just 20 months ago, but the DfT has willingly approved £490m, a staggering 155% increase, without blinking an eye.
According to Local Transport Today, the £300m increase on the 37km A14 upgrade is down to the following:
* 35% is due to the costs being based on 2010 prices rather than 1998
* 26% is due to an optimism bias adjustment (whatever that means)
* 17% is VAT
* 13% due to cost re-assessment of the engineering
* 9% due to changes in unit costs of materials.
Does the CHUMMS underestimate mean that the £55m guided busway, already revised to £73m, may now cost £140m? For what it's
worth, CHUMMS estimate for a heavy rail link - all the way to Huntingdon - was £104m.
County Council press on with guided busway plan
The guided busway scheme, which is supposedly essential prior to A14 widening, had been left out of the government's road scheme
announcements, and according to a commentator has been "left as a side show for the county council to deal with."
As stated many months ago in Snippets, Cambridgeshire County Council have now fully taken over responsibility for the guided busway
on the St.Ives line, with the SuperCAM consortium (which includes Stagecoach) playing no further part, other than possibly being an
open-access bus operator. Brian Smith, head of environment and transport for the council, recently said: "There has been confusion
about which of us, the council or superCAM, was driving the scheme forward. As the local authority will be the body submitting an
application to the Government in the autumn for legal permission to run the scheme, we have reached agreement with superCAM that
we will take things forward." The council intend to consult the public in summer 2003 about the type of system they would like to
see, and the council will add the results of that to their funding bid.
Cambridge Evening News: http://w3.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/story.asp?storyid=10184.
Meanwhile another guided bus scheme hits the kerbs as the mayor of Orleans, in the south of France, has decided to defer the
building of an east-west guided bus system to compliment the existing north-south route.
RAIL PROMOTIONS
London 2-for-1-Plus advertised on local radio
An advertisement for the 2-for-1-Plus offer whereby two rail travellers get entrance to a London attraction for the price of one
has been broadcast on commercial radio in the Cambridge area during the week leading up to Easter. It's a very good advert,
clearly explaining the offer and how to get the vouchers, but is marred by suggesting that travellers go to their local South
West Trains station. Oh dear!
RAIL BARGAINS
Central offer cheap trains to BBC Good Homes Show in Birmingham - pity about lack of fast route from East Anglia
Central Trains have produced an All-in-One ticket, which includes return train travel and entrance fee, for the BBC Good Homes Show
at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
In 2002 more than 12,000 people out of the 128,000 visitors to the show chose to go by train. Unfortunately, the lack of a
good East West Rail Link - plus the Bedford to Northampton rail link as recommended by LSMMMS - discourages many people in East
Anglia from using a train to get to Birmingham, since a car journey is quicker than the tortuous Oakham-Leicester route.
Central Trains news: http://www.centraltrains.co.uk/_popups/news/news_detail.asp?id=20030403103219-112.
FREIGHT
EWS sale rumoured to be imminent
According to the Scotsman Business pages, APAX Group will be purchasing Canadian National's stake in EWS for £500 million, with
the sale to be processed and completed in late April or Early May.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Filming takes place at Nene Valley Railway
BBC TV have recently been filming an episode of Casualty at Yarwell junction, on the western end of the Nene Valley Railway.
The episode will be shown early in the next series.
On Saturday 18th April Sally Chidzoy of BBC Look East will be open the Jubilee playground, which has been created with the help
of a £5,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Commission.
The NVR will be opening a new platform at Yarwell junction in the next year or two, allowing passengers to board and alight there for
the first time. It is part of a scheme to expand tourism in the Nene Valley, which will include boat trips back to Wansford.
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