Owing to a request from the speaker, John Hillman from East Midland Trains, the branch has had to rescheudle the next meeting to Saturday September 27th 2008 at Norwich Chapelfield Methodist Chapel. It will start at 14:15.

Members of the branch will be perofmring a station count at Meldreth station, form the first to the last trains of the day, on Thursday 18th September. Permission of the count has been given by First Capital Connect, who will be helping.

At the reconvened Railfuture AGM on 6th September in Peterborough, members voted to appoint Caroline Lucas MEP, nevely elected leader of the Green Party, as a vice president. They join around 20 other VPs, which include Lord Berkeley, chairman of the Rail Freight Group. John Gummer MP, who was suggested at the AGM in May 2008, was also confirmed as a new VP.

Until 28th September, the Hunstanton Civic Society will be holding an exhibition of photographs and memorabilia of the Kings Lynn-Hunstanton line, which closed in 1969, at the Coal Shed Gallery, Le Strange Terrace, Hunstanton. The exhibition is open Wed-Sun 1100-1600hrs and there is no charge for admission.

Railfuture representatves will attended be the Transport Summit organised by EEDA in Newmarket on 16th September. Network rail, NXEA, c2c are also planning to attend.

The Fen Line Users Asosciation (FLUA) is conducting an online survey of people who use Waterbeach station, which they fear might be affecgted if Chesterton Interchange station opens. The survey, which has already recieved many responses, can be found at www.flua.org.uk/FLUAmembers.

The http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/WisbechRailway petition set-up calling upon the Prime Minister to reopen the March-Wisbech railway line for commuters had attracted 138 signatures by the closing date of 5th September 2008.

The DfT is proposing changes to the minor changes procedure affecting moving stations and reducing the number of tracks through stations. Details can be found at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/minormodificationsrailways/maindocument?page=2#a1002.

RAILWAY ROUTES

Beccles Loop on East Suffolk Line passes Network Rail study

A £25,000 feasibility study by Network Rail has considered the £5m Beccles Loop value for money. The loop at Beccles station, utilising the redundant second platform, would allow an hourly service between Ipswich and Lowestoft instead of two hourly. Campaigners have been calling for a loop since since the line was singled as an economy measure in the 1980s.

Network Rail will now work with stakeholders to secure funding.

East West Rail Link Consortium signs agreement with Chiltern Railways to work together

Chiltern Railways, which is now owned by Deutsche Bahn, recently confirmed its intention to build a chord from the Chiltern Line (just south of Bicester North station) onto the East-West route just east of Bicester Town station. This would allow trains to run between Marylebone and Oxford. The £200m scheme, whichh is dependent on a franchise extension, would be fully funded by Chiltern Railways, and include redoubling of the line from Oxford to Bicester plus a new station built at Water Eaton park-and-ride.

Agreement has been reached between the EWR Consortium and Chiltern Railways to enable Chiltern Railways to deliver this scheme, which will include sufficient capacity for both their likely two trains an hour to London Marylebone (Evergreen 3) and the proposed EWR services from Oxford to Milton Keynes/Bedford. Because of this development (and perhaps the need to take into consideration the proposals for a third Eco-town on the EWR route at Winslow Green?), there is to be a delay until October 2008 in the award of the contract for the detailed surveys to start in November 2008 necessary for GRIP4.

PRESERVED RAILWAYS

Mid-Norfolk Railway starts to move redundant East Winch signal box for use at Thuxton

The MNR has started to dismantle the former East Winch signal box to save it from demolition. It will be use at the new passing loop at Thuxton, which is essential to allow the railway to provide an hourly passenger service.

On the weekend of 6th-7th September the MNR also organised a vintage bus to visit all of the former stations on the route from King's Lynn to Dereham, which had closed 40 years earlier.

Third heritage railway in Norfolk gets approval

Local planning permsision has been given to a new group based at the former Whitwell and Reepham railway station (on the former Melton constable to Norwich city line), which was purchased by rail enthusiast Mike Urry in September 2007. Following delivery of rails in March 2008, around 400 metres of track has been laid with a small number of rail vehicles being located there. It is hoped to open a museum there. The group will be featured on a forthcoming BBC East TV programme about the Beeching cuts in the 1960s.

Project web-site: http://www.whitwellstation.com
WikiPedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitwell_Station.