AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR RAIL USERS No 145 £1.50 October 2015 Picture: SCOTRAIL We salute you, Madge Borders Rail heroine BORDERS RAIL FOUR-PAGE SPECIAL: Centre pages Page one picture How rail can help cities LOCAL ACTION Book review: Rail and the City parks are heavily subsidised and Madge Elliott is one of the campaigning heroines who fought years ago, Madge led a petition to keep the line open and, on 18 Roxanne Warren has written though free to motorists, costs Yorkshire long and hard for the reopening of the Borders Railway, which December 1968 – along with son Kim – hand delivered it to Prime a beautifully produced book. are passed on to factory and welcomed its first passengers on Sunday 26 July 2015, more Minister Harold Wilson. Sadly, despite her efforts, the line closed Written from the standpoint supermarket customers. With By Chris Hyomes [email protected] than a month before it was officially opened by the Queen on on 6 January 1969. Not one to be put off, in 1999 Madge helped of the architect, it is aimed at 87% of US trips currently by car, Wednesday 9 September. found the Campaign for Borders Rail, a grassroots group which a United States car-orientated emphasis must be placed on audience but contains plenty pushed for the restoration of rail services to the Scottish Borders. walking and cycling as well as Mrs Elliot MBE, accompanied by her husband Bob, sons Kim and of examples of good practice developing land near stations. Sean, as well as other friends and family, joined a driver training Kim said: “Experiencing the route first-hand is something we’ve elsewhere – such as in Zurich. The book is an inspiring source service at Tweedbank station, making her one of the first people all been looking forward to since the Borders Railway deal The waste of city space devoted for rail development activists in the country to travel on the new route. was concluded in 2012, and it’s great to see my mother being to car parking is emphasised. and a pertinent message to Born in Hawick in 1928, Madge is renowned for her fight to save honoured for the role she played in the reopening.” Only 2% of the US population politicians. Roxanne Warren Rail the Waverley route from Edinburgh-Hawick-Carlisle. Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown said: “It was a real privilege live near railway stations and and the City: Shrinking our carbon Our four-page supplement, produced by Railfuture Scotland, for me to meet Madge when we named a locomotive in her park and ride has perverse footprint while reimagining urban RAIL Picture: NORTHERN celebrates the opening of the 30-mile-long Borders Railway honour. Madge Elliot is a legend of the Borders and consequences. The capacities of space. Cambridge Mass, MIT rail systems are limited by the Press (2014). ISBN 978-0-262- and can be found in the centre of this Railwatch. More than 40 the railways.” size of the station car parks! Car 02780-9 n n THE CAMPAIGN FOR RAIL FREIGHT by Peter Wakefield [email protected] Work starts on a new rail station for Bradford Construction work on a new £10.8 million rail station at Low Moor, Bradford, was officially launched in August. It is the third new station to be built in West Yorkshire, Searching for rail freight construction growth following Apperley Bridge and Kirkstall Forge which Wagonload and trainload are expected to open later this year. Low Moor is on the The rail freight construction located in a variety of sites also being sought where bulk actively seeking places where Recent work to establish new railway passenger services Calder Valley Line between Bradford Interchange and sector is experiencing from urban areas such as Bow handling as well as storage, such activity can take place. uncovered a pent-up demand for rail freight from Halifax and is close to the M62/M606 road junction. It strong growth as a result in London to rural areas next processing and distribution By incorporating a physical multinational companies. These companies appear to be is expected to attract park and ride passengers which of increased demand for to strategic trunk roads such can take place. These sites link to the railway network, taking their obligations to operate sustainably and reduce will reduce road congestion when it opens next year. building materials. This as Kennett in Suffolk. must be able to accommodate a site becomes an access carbon dioxide emissions seriously and want to use the Pedestrians and cyclists will have direct access to the demand is being met with a Fewer, longer trains give rail high capacity wagons, with point to rail. We welcome local railway. Of course they need a good old-fashioned canvass station from the adjacent Spen Valley Greenway which daily average of 60 bulk trains minimum train lengths of knowledge from branches, uses a disused railway line between Cleckheaton, freight an efficiency edge to tell them how, when and at what cost. That does not linking quarries, works and 450 metres that carry 2,000 groups, individual members Dewsbury, Heckmondwike and Bradford. “It has been that can be unbeatable so seem to happen nowadays for the more difficult to carry factories to regional terminals tonnes of payload, have and other interested parties finished goods – which can be less than a train load. a long journey to get to this point, with a number of and depots. Typically these the focus has been, as far as sufficient land available for who could suggest suitable difficulties that have had to be overcome, but persistence Reading through DB Schenker’s excellent in-house terminals are served on a possible, on providing much product storage, road access locations for further detailed and hard work have paid off and I look forward to the magazine, it is encouraging to learn how valued wagon- just-in-time basis with cement, longer and heavier trains. for onward delivery by lorry, examination by the society’s opening of the station,” said Councillor Val Slater of load services are, both for the customer and DBS itself. stone, sand, building blocks However, such is the demand and be suitably zoned in freight group. Please email: Bradford Council. There will be 130 car parking spaces These services work well for the environment and the and steel products and are that new larger locations are the district plan. Industry is [email protected] as well as cycle parking. The new station is expected to economy. That is, until you read the catch! All this positive be open in spring 2016. The Friends of Low Moor Station development takes place in Germany and its neighbours are now hoping that Grand Central will serve the station, but not in the UK. Why no innovation here? It is sad to as well as Northern Rail. Initially there will be no direct Out with the old, in with the new learn that DB Schenker (formerly EWS), is to make 118 service to Manchester. The Leeds-Bradford-Halifax- drivers redundant around the country. More than 230 staff Huddersfield service will serve Low Moor with only one Rail freight has to adapt to less dense than coal so for every altogether will go, including managers, clerks and fitters, train per hour in each direction. changing times, as we all do. one coal train, there needs to be depots may be closed, including Tyne Yard. n Coal mining in Britain is virtu- one and a half for biomass. More The picture shows, from left: Natalie Loughborough of Coal is going slowly so change is necessary but rail Northern Rail, Councillor Val Slater, Cllr David Warburton, ally extinguished – as gradually local sources of biomass are services are needed for all of industry here as much as in being identified and rail freight Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Cllr Keith Wakefield, Network Rail’s will be the burning of our tradi- Germany. It is good news that DB Schenker is developing could play a big part in that too. Dan Guiher, MP Judith Cummins, Steve Butcher and tional energy source. land at Barking Ripple Lane into a state-of-the-art freight A company called Pelco is seek- Graham Walker of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Imported coal is still important hub but let us have some real innovation and investment to and Network Rail’s Steve Watson. but much of it will also go. Mean- ing planning permission for five factories to convert straw into develop new domestic traffic and create more skilled jobs. while the demand for electricity n n Wensleydale celebrates with Revolving Words pellets to burn in power stations. Innovation is occurring in other parts of the country. There is increasing and as a part of Revolving Words, the festival of railway literature, is being Currently wending their way is work to load timber along the Far North Line, and to the future mix, there will still be staged at Bedale from 23-25 October, as part of the 25th through the planning system in get bulk whisky back on rail. Progress is patchy though. huge power stations. Some, such anniversary celebrations of the Wensleydale Railway. East Cambridgeshire and Nor- Companies are interested in using the new terminal at as Drax, will be fed by biomass More information: www.revolvingwords.com/ wich are two applications, one Georgemas Junction but so far cannot. The rail freight pellets, currently imported from companies find it difficult to risk capital to get a new for a factory to convert wheat n n Georgia, USA, and taken by train POWER: A class 70 diesel locomotive at Ipswich service up and running to cater for this latent demand.