The next meeting of the Rail Passengers Committee for East England will be at 10am on Tuesday 14th September at Cambridge.
The venue will be announced on http://www.railpassengers.org.uk/site/Eastern/Our_Work/RPCMeetings.
The next Bramley Line meeting is at 7.30pm on Wednesday 25th August in St Peters Church Hall, Wisbech.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch Secretary Nick Dibben recently gave a talk to the Bury St Edmunds Society on
current and future rail developments in the region.
A full transcript of the transport debate in the House of Commons on 15th June 2004 can be found on
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2004-06-15.651.1.
This includes references to the East West Rail Link as well as the awarding of funding for the guided bus schemes in
Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR OBJECTORS of Cambridgeshire Guided Busway: Around 430 objectors have asked to appear at
the inquiry when it opens in September. The Inspector says it is unlikely that all these people could be fitted in
and urged those with a common cause to work together and put forward a joint case. All objectors who have indicated
a wish to appear at the inquiry should have received a questionnaire (which must be returned by 11th August), asking
if they are willing to be represented at the inquiry by someone else. Members are encouraged to respond by saying that
they want Railfuture to represent them. (If you want CAST.IRON or other organisation to represent you, it's not a
problem). If you opt for Railfuture, please notify Nick Dibben and include your objector number and a copy of the
objection letter and/or statement of case so that we can include all the points in our Proofs of Evidence that must
be submitted by 2nd September. Railfuture is likely to join with other organisations such as the St Ives Civic
Society and CPRE to put a combined case.
RAIL REVIEW
Alistair Darling's rail review should put rail back on track but "bustitution" looms
On Thursday 15th July the Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling, announced the conclusions of
his rail review launched in January 2004, which had been driven by the government deciding it could no longer
write blank cheques to an industry that it did not control.
The review is clearly intended primarily to reduce the costs of the railway, with performance improvement
clearly in second place, largely being delivered by a reduction in bureaucracy (e.g. simplified penalty regime).
The main changes, some of which will require primary legislation, are:
* SRA will be abolished - role taken over by NR and DfT - Bowker resigns and will leave in September;
* ORR will take over responsibilities of rail safety from HSE;
* Transport strategy will reside with DfT;
* Franchise areas will move closely match Network Rail's structure, eventually resulting in fewer franchises;
* Responsibility for specifying local services devolved in Scotland, Wales and to PTEs allowing switch of
funding between modes;
* Network Rail will have freedom to decide upon - and implement - small schemes without asking government;
* Freight companies will get guaranteed long-term access (but will have to pay more) and will have to pay
100% costs of freight-only lines.
The white paper repeatedly mentioned the freedom that local bodies would be given to reallocate funding
between rail and buses, which was likely to see rail services replaced by buses. Cynics will see this as the
government making the local PTE the scapegoat for service cuts and passenger line closures, with freight-only
line closures becoming more likely as freight companies would be required to fully fund their operation.
On the good side, Network rail will be able to unilaterally decide to extend platforms and make other small
enhancements without requiring government or ORR approval. No mention of Rail Passenger Partnership of Freight
Grants was made.
In recent years the Rail Passengers Council and its committees have done much that Railfuture used to do.
Following on from the reported remarks of Transport Minister Kim Howells "Why do we pay £6m for middle-aged men
to sit in a room", the RPC's committees will be dissolved, although the central RPC will remain.
Reaction to the proposals have varied. Chris Bolt, new chairman of Office of Rail Regulation is concerned
that NR will be too powerful resulting in a "producer-led railway". The Health and Safety Executive's own
union, Prospect, feels that moving responsibility for safe rail travel from the HSE to the Office of Rail
Regulation will compromise safety, and the government has pandered to those in the rail industry who have
lobbied for a softer regulatory regime. Rail magazine's editor Nigel Harris, who has been running a campaign
against the HSE, was delighted with the decision.
White Paper: http://www.dft.gov.uk/railways/whitepaper/.
RAIL FRANCHISES
Statistics revealed by 'one' at Railfuture branch meeting
On 13th June Peter Meades of 'one' Railway gave a presentation to the East Anglian branch of Railfuture.
Some of the information about the new franchise that he revealed included:.
* Revenue for the franchise based on 2003 figures is £360m per annum - 10% of the UK rail revenue
* Unsurprisingly it accounts for 10% of the passenger journeys too (45% commuter, 26% business/full fare
ad 29% leisure)
* Franchise area consists of 630 route miles
* 'one' manages 170 stations (£11m will be spent upgrading them) and has 3,100 employees.
When the December 2004 timetable commences, it intends to have:
* 6 direct services per day between Lowestoft and London (3-car 170 units)
* 6 direct services per day between Peterborough and London (3-car 170 units)
* Hourly service between Cambridge and Ipswich, largely using single-car 153.
The three trains per hour between Ipswich and London will use two inter-city services and one train per
hour will be joined with the service for Lowestoft or Peterborough, which run alternate hours. All
branches and mainline services will operate a clockface timetable. This was a requirement that many
passengers raised. In order to achieve this, some of the 'midget' stations on the Bittern Line will
have a reduced service.
The new Stansted-Stratford and Hertford East-Stratford services should commence in December 2005, which
is the anticipated date for full deployment of the Mark III stock on the Norwich service.
The separate routes of 'one' have offices in various locations, but it is likely than the main office
will be in Colchester.
SRA press release: http://www.sra.gov.uk/news/2004/6/preferred_bidder_northern_rail.
Virgin drops out of bid for East Coast franchise
The joint Virgin/Stagecoach/Deutsche Bahn bid for the East Cost franchise currently held by GNER has been
withdrawn. This is because Deutsche Bahn faced lodging a large bond to continue in the bid process, because it
was not a current franchisee unlike both of its partners, and it refused to do so. Virgin and Stagecoach decided
not to pursue the bid on their own. GNER still faces two rival bidders: First Group and Danish Railways (DSB)
in association with EWS.
ST.IVES LINE
London Eastern Railway and Central Railways object to guided busway works around Cambridge Station
Representatives of London Eastern Railways ('one'), made a surprise announcement at the guided busway pre-inquiry
meeting on 19th July that they would be objecting to the scheme (number 1813) and would be representing Central
Trains (number 1818). It appears that the public inspector (Chris Gossup) was not aware - they promised to submit a
statement of case by the 21st July deadline. They are objecting because of disruption to rail services during the
construction of the tunnel through Hills Road railway bridge, and a fear that the adjacent busway will result in
loss of access to the railway line in order to maintain rail infrastructure. This would risk increased possession
times affecting services. Network Rail was also a late objector (2576). The Rail Freight Group (2092) will be calling
for the line to be retained for freight.
Cambridgeshire Guided Busway public inquiry to look at the whole "project" not just the busway "scheme"
Cambridgeshire County Council had been careful to differentiate between the "scheme", which is the guided busway
that falls under the TWA process, and the rest of the "project" that consists of the on-road parts. Their
documentations and statement of case had used these terms carefully. However, the Secretary of State has asked
the public inspector, in a document known as a Statement of Matters, to consider the whole project to the delight
of many objectors, as the on-street running is its Achilles heel. At the pre-inquiry meeting the inspector
confirmed that on-road impact would be studied carefully, and he would be visiting all affected locations in
Cambridge, St.Ives and Huntingdon.
Objectors who have submitted a statement of case and asked to appear can ask questions about the process by
contacting the Programme Officer, Pam Perceval-Maxwell pam61@supanet.com
at 46 The Fairway, Kettering, Northants, NN15 6GQ.
Cambridgeshire County Council believes that the inspector will look favourably on their application owing to
their "good record on running bus services". They are one of three local authorities who have recently been
praised by the DfT for "the initiatives taken to make bus services more attractive and safer".
DfT report: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/page/dft_about_029977.hcsp.
STATIONS
Cambridge station is highly-commended in National Rail Awards
Cambridge railway station, which sees more than 5.5 million passengers per year, has been 'Highly Commended'
in the 'Large Station of the Year' category in the National Rail Awards, partly for its pleasant and
welcoming environment for passengers. The stations are selected by the RPC.
In the small station category, Wymondham and West Runton stations were commended for their appearance,
which is largely due to the work of volunteers.
'one' press release (Cambridge): http://www.oneanglia.com/latest-information/news-detail.asp?id=582.
'one' press release (Wymondham): http://www.oneanglia.com/latest-information/news-detail.asp?id=579.
RAIL SERVICES
Bittern Line success wins Norfolk County Council recognition at the National Transport Awards
Norfolk County Council has won a prize at the National Transport Awards for its work with the Bittern Line Community
Rail Partnership, which has seen a 19% increase in passengers (440,000 in total) on the thriving rural line in 2003.
Clive Morris, 'one' Rural Route Director, said: "Norfolk County Council has provided strong leadership for the
partnership as a whole, and in conjunction with support from all the other partners the Bittern Line is now seen as a
shining light among community rail partnerships across the rail network."
Bittern Line web-site: http://www.bitternline.com.
RAIL SERVICES
Late-night WAGN service will continue to stop at Foxton, Shepreth and Meldreth until December 2005
The last train from Cambridge to King's Cross, which has been stopping at Foxton, Shepreth and Meldreth since
March following a successful 10-month campaign by the Rail Passengers Committee for Eastern England, has been
well patronised and will be retained until at last the timetable change in December 2005.
Late-night Bittern Line services also continue after 12-month experimental service
The two late-night Monday-Saturday service on the Bittern Line have been continued by 'one' beyond the
initial 12-month experimental period, and are now a contracted part of the franchise. Patronage was more than
20,000 in the first year.
'one' Anglia InterCity services become non-smoking
Anglia Railway's London-Norwich services were one of the few train services to retain smoking carriages.
However, 'one' Anglia has announce that from 6th September (when the Ipswich tunnel reopens) those trains
will also change to a non-smoking policy. It is claimed that "The majority of customer feedback supports
a non-smoking railway".
'one' press release: http://www.oneanglia.com/latest-information/news-detail.asp?id=583.
RAIL REVENUE
GNER uses demand and revenue management computer system to maximise revenue from each train
GNER has gone live with software from Manugistics to forecast passenger demand, based on ticket sales to 15 million
customers per year, in order to maximise revenue on each train service. They system aims to fill every unsold seat
using cheap fares, but nut sell too many so that full-fare passengers are refused. This is considered to be far more
effective at growing passenger numbers than a flat-rate discount offered by a national rail card. The deal to buy the
system was first announced in late 2002.
Press release (2002): http://www.manugistics.com/news/detail.asp?id=363.
Penalty fares set to increase
The minimum for a penalty increase is set to double from £10 to £20, if a 12-week consultation recommends it. The £10
minimum has been in place for 15 years. The increase will only make a difference where the full fare single is less
than £10, since the penalty is twice the full fare. As well as discouraging fare-dodging, which is believed to cost £200
million a year, it is hoped that 'driver-only operation' train operators will be able to justify increasing the number
of revenue protection officers. WAGN tend to perform ticket checks on only one in five of their services, which currently
means that avoiding a fare costing £10 and paying a penalty one in five times is still much cheaper than paying the fare
every time.
It should be noted that penalty fares are a higher fare charged to people who don't pay in advance but who are not
suspected of fare evasion. They are absolutely not a "fine". Fines are issued by courts after prosecution. Anyone
suspected of fare evasion should not be charged for a penalty fare, but should be prosecuted. The fine could be £1,000
or more.
The deadline for responses to the consultation is 26th October 2004.
Consultation: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_railways/documents/page/dft_railways_030143.pdf.
RAIL FREIGHT
Barrington cement works freight line may close
According to a recent issue of "Heritage Railways" the Barrington branch, just south of Cambridge on the Shepreth branch,
may be due to close. The Barrington stub is only about a mile long, but Barrington Cement Works long ago went over to using
road tankers for taking away the finished cement. The rail connection only serves to bring in coal for firing the ovens, and
only operates about once a week or so. They'll continue to use the internal line from the chalkface.
RAIL ROUTES
Bramley line group moves forward in plan to take over the March-Wisbech branch
The Wisbech and March Bramley Line Committee held an initial meeting with David Bryett of Network Rail on Wednesday 14th July at
Network Rail Headquarters in London. Bramley line chairman Peter Downs said "The initial agreed proposal would see a mile and a quarter
of track between Weasenham Lane and the A47 restored to an operational standard, and on completion of this, a further application to be
made to continue the track improvement work beyond the A47 to Coldham and eventually into March." The next stage is for Mr Bryett to
perform "clearance" in order to establish whether there are any departments of Network Rail who want to use the line or have plans for
the line before things proceed any further.
Following the worrying removal in May of level crossings at the A47 and Weasenham Lane, the committee has received a letter from
John Armitt, Network Rail chief executive, stating that "It must be stressed that these level crossings have only been closed on a
temporary basis. Network Rail designed the project [to remove the crossings] in such a way that were the line to be reinstated for
train services these crossings could be returned to operation within two months". However, he omitted to state whether long-term
removal would affect the railway's legal rights to cross the A47. The group have arranged a meeting with Cambridgeshire
County Council’s Railway Development Manager to see if they are willing to offer support.
The Committee are now appealing to locally based solicitors to offer their assistance with the legal work that will be required
once the go ahead has been received from Network Rail. The Bramley Line group, which is currently wholly funded from donations and
membership fees, is currently applying for charitable status.
The Bramley line would become one of Britain growing number of heritage railways, the newest being the Weardale Railway
(http://www.weardale-railway.org.uk) in the north-east, which opened on Saturday
17th July, with 2,500 passengers boarding in the first week. See:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3928717.stm and
http://www.penrith-keswick4.wanadoo.co.uk/wdr.htm. Railfuture members
who have been following the activities by the slightly nearer Wyvern Rail to reopen the Duffield-Wirksworth line in Derbyshire will be
pleased to know that Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) has granted permission for them to operate the first 1km stage of the
line between Wirksworth Station and Gorsey Bank. See: http://plc.wyvernrail.co.uk/news.asp?id=51
and http://newssearch.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/3921597.stm.
Although only a tiny part of the 14km line will open to passengers initially, about 75% of the paperwork to open the entire
line has already been completed.
Bramley Line press release: http://www.bramleyline.co.uk/html/23_july_04.html.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Mid-Norfolk Railway completes re-sleepering on northern extension up to Swanton Road
On Sunday 11th July the Mid-Norfolk Railway completed resleepering the track on the northern extension between
Norwich Road, Neatherd Road and Swanton Road, replacing 26 that day and 52 the previous day. Works trains are
now able to run at full line speed. The next stage will be to continue resleepering from north of Swanton Road
all the way to Hoe, where the next station platform would be built.
WEB-SITES
ESTA goes on-line
The East Suffolk Travellers Association have launched their own web-site:
http://www.eastsuffolktravel.org.uk. It will contain details
of both bus and train developments in the area and enable passengers to submit their own ideas.
A related web-site: http://www.eastsuffolklinewalks.co.uk
describes walks between the various stations between Ipswich and Lowestoft. The walks range between 1.5
and 10 miles. Details of the walks are also available in print form. The booklet costs £2 including postage from
Trevor Garrod, 15 Clapham Road South, Lowestoft NR32 1RQ. Cheques should be made payable to ESTA.
ESTA are also stepping up their campaign for an hourly service along the route. From December it will become
the only line in East Anglia that does not have an hourly service. An extra passing loop would be required to
enable the service to be run. The scheme was included in the SRA's possible plans a few years back, although
little has been heard since.
Campaign to save Histon Station relaunches web-site
The Histon "Save Our Station" campaign has relaunched its web-site with a slightly different domain name. It
is now http://www.saveourstation.co.uk. Much good work has
been done (see below) but they are desperate for more volunteers, even if only for simply tasks such as painting
a fence, plating flowers or fixing hanging baskets to the station canopy. Volunteer Phill Diver, whose grandfather
was station master there and later at Dereham, is present most days. Donations to buy materials can be made online
at this web-site.
A new footpath, adjacent to the road, has been constructed across the track - not affecting the track - with
the opening performed live on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. A new level crossing gate post has been erected, the front
fence is being replaced and a new door has been installed in the crossing keeper's hut.
New web-site to find transport options for any journey
A new web-site http://www.transportdirect.info that provides journey
routes using all modes of transport has been launched. It claims to "bring together road and public transport
information to give you choices when planning journeys from your door to anywhere in Britain".
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