The next branch meeting will be held on 26th September 2009 in Norwich. Full details in the next edition of Snippets.

RAIL ROUTES

Essex resignalling scheme will be complete on Bank holiday Monday

Commuters returning to work on Tuesday 1st September will see the final results of Network Rail's £104m scheme to resignal the railway in Essex. The multi-year project has seen new signals on the Great Eastern Main line and the branches to Colchester Town, Clacton and Walton-on-the-Naze, which are now controlled from the enlarged signalling centre in Colchester. The project has seen obsolete first-generation mechanical searchlight signals replaced with LED versions and a series of level crossing automated with CCTV, including the very controversial one at Frinton.

The signalling centre at Colchester, which still has a large amount of free space, is being considered by Network Rail as the location to control the Ely to Norwich line when it is resignalled in the next few years. Alternatively it may be controlled from Cambridge.

RAIL FARES

FCC introduce carnet tickets for use from selected Great Northern stations

Following a trial on the Thameslink route two years ago, First Capital Connect has announced new '10 for the price of 9' carnet tickets from September 2009 on the Great Nrthern route, The stations served are Royston, Letchworth Garden City, Huntingdon, St Neots, Hitchin, Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Potters Bar, and Hertford North. Tickets will be valid for three months from date of issue and passengers must validate the ticket using permanent ink before boarding the train.

Details: http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?iCmsPageId=485.

RAIL FREIGHT

Regular nuclear flask trains resume on the Sizewell branch

Until 2007 trains ran each week on the Leiston branch line to take spent fuel rods from Sizewell A nuclear reactor to the Sellafield reprocessing centre in Cumbria. However, with Sizewell 'A' being decommissioned and the newer Sizewell 'B' not requiring such activbities, the branch was rarely used. However, recently DRS has resumed regular flask traffic, using its Class 37 locomotives.

GUIDED BUSWAY

Cambridgeshire County Council confirms date when stage one of busway will open to the public

On 7th August Cambs County Council announded that contractors BAM Nuttall expect to hand over the busway track between St Ives and Cambridge at the end of October 2009, rather than "late summer" as had been promised. That approximate date was changed from "spring 2009" only a few months earlier. The new date means that, provided BAM Nuttall achieve this date, Cambridgeshire County Council will be able to open the busway by the end of November 2009 following a month of final testing and trials.

Although all of the track on the northern section has been laid, and bus shelters have been erected, along with lighting and signs, there are still planning issues with the noise barriers at Histon to be dealt with. Whilst the County Council have stated an opening date for the busway on the former St.Ives line, they have avoided guaranteeing anything about the service on day one or whether the parallel cycleway and bridleway will be open. No date for any part of the southern section, which uses the old Cambridge-Bedford railway line up to Trumpington, has been published, and neither is there any indication of when a date might be given. However, on 10th August BBC Look East suggested that the spur to Addenbrooke's Hospital might open by the middle of 2010.

Busway site: http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/guided.

PRESERVED RAILWAYS

Whitwell and Reepham station launches railway refernece library

The recently reopened Whitwell and Reepham station has launched a new attraction for visitors. It is a railway reference library, where people can read railway books, but not take them away. For a list of the books available see http://www.whitwellstation.com/library.asp.