PUBLISHED BY RAILFUTURE – THE INDEPENDENT CAMPAIGN FOR RAIL No 157 £2 October 2018

Picture: ANN VERNER

TRANSPORT FUND YES FOR ST ANDREWS: PAGE 2 PAGE ONE PICTURE: Hope for St Andrews and a series of other rail projects Tribute to Helen Our Page One picture shows St of Law and Symington stations, Andrews rail campaigners Dita also supporting Beattock re- A plaque was unveiled at East Stanis-Traken and Jane Ann opening) Kilbride station in September to celebrate the 150th anniversary Liston at the site of the old St n Tactran – Bridge of Earn/

Andrews rail station. of the opening of the Busby to Picture: SCOTRAIL Oudenarde Park & Ride East Kilbride line. They are pictured after meeting n Tactran – Stirling Strategic Scottish Government minister John Yellowlees, honorary rail Picture: RAILWATCH Picture: RAILWATCH Park & Ride Michael Matheson. ambassador at the ScotRail It will be noted that seven of the Mr Matheson, the Cabinet Secre- Alliance, said: “It is great to be successful applicants were local tary for Transport, Infrastructure able to celebrate East Kilbride authorities or regional transport & Connectivity, announced the station’s place at the heart of its partnerships. 10 successful applicants for fund- community. The line has been a ing from the Scottish Govern- East Lothian Council’s grant phenomenal success.” ment’s Local Rail Development will be used to take a fresh look The East Kilbride line almost Fund. at options for improving rail closed in 1963, following the Rail champion Helen The announcement was made in connections in the county, par- Beeching Report. Broadbent who died in August, not in the Scottish Gov- ticularly for Haddington and However a vigorous campaign 1990, several years after her ernment’s home in Edinburgh, ­Tranent. led by Railfuture members Jack husband Jack. nor in the offices of Transport In the past 20 years East Lothian and Helen Broadbent resulted She was still serving Scotland in Glasgow, but on the Council has twice investigated in it becoming one of only seven enthusiastically on the site of the former railway station the reopening of the Hadding- routes in Scotland to be granted national executive of in St Andrews, Fife. ACHNASHEEN: This tiny village in Ross-shire still retains its ton branch line, but concluded a ministerial reprieve. Railfuture’s forerunner when rail station, thank goodness, and fantastic views. It also serves As StARLink (St Andrews Rail that the costs outweighed the When ScotRail introduced she died. a very wide, thinly populated area, stretching far into north- ­benefits. Link) campaign was one of the west Scotland. By contrast, St Andrews, which has a settled Class 156 trains in 1989, the line At a service at East Kilbride lucky recipients of money, the population of 17,000, plus a highly mobile student population of However, the changing land- went from strength to strength. South Lanarkshire Council Deputy Provost Collette Stevenson, station, the then ScotRail fact that the Minister chose to around 8,000, does not scape of significant increases in Sunday services came in 1996, left, East Kilbride station team member Louise Costello, director Cyril Bleasdale come to the Fife town was con- population resulting in growing followed by longer platforms in Doris Donnelly and Arlette Robinson from the Kiwi Preschool praised the vision of both sidered very significant. the Scottish budget, because the n Fife Council – Cross Forth congestion on both road and rail 2004. Playgroup and pupils who have adopted the station Helen and Jack. Mr Matheson said: “Provid- Holyrood government does not Travel (access to railway stations networks, the proposed four- ing funding for these transport enjoy an absolute majority. near the Forth Bridge) tracking of the line near Pres- minister, while not committing himself to a specific appraisals will allow the suc- The decision followed the set- n Hitrans – HMNB Clyde Trans- tonpans, and the environmental Scottish Scotland date, instructed Transport Scotland that this cessful applicants to consider the ting up by Mark Ruskell MSP of port Opportunities need to reduce emissions from should happen at the same time as the upgrade of transport issues and opportuni- the Fife Rail Forum, an umbrella n Linlithgow and Linlithgow transport, mean that it is timely to [email protected] Portobello Junction. It should be remembered that organisation looking at how re-evaluate how the future popu- Reston and East Linton were supposed to be open by ties affecting their local commu- Bridge Community Council – transport nSt Andrews success nities. It has been great to hear, the Fife rail network could be Access to Linlithgow Station lation of East Lothian will access the end of 2016. The lack of services to Dunbar, which first-hand, the enthusiasm and enhanced and including repre- employment and ­amenities. The main news has been the announcement of the is planning to have 1,500 new homes, was also drawn n Nestrans – Accessibility at drive behind them. sentatives from the Dunfermline- successful applicants to the Local Rail Development to the minister’s attention, as the current capacity will Insch Station Fife Council’s application took Alloa, Levenmouth, Newburgh as a premise the high demand fund fund (details on page 2 and left) receiving a total of not be enough to accommodate all those wanting to “Helping communities bring for- n £681,000 out of a possible £2 million for appraisal and St Andrews rail campaigns. Newburgh Train Station Group for railway station parking, commute to Edinburgh and elsewhere. ward proposals to tackle these work. Most of the funds were granted to corporate The 10 successful applicants out – Newburgh Transport Appraisal which needs to be addressed as ◄ From Page 2 specific, local rail connectivity applicants, mainly councils or regional transport nLevenMouth Rail Campaign of 35 were awarded a total of (further STAG work) it is constraining access to the rail issues, will allow us to consider n partnerships, though in some cases on behalf of The LevenMouth Rail Campaign continues to sign nearly £700,000. They and their StARLink – St Andrews (pre- network for longer distance trips, to commuters, and causing potential projects as part of our community groups. Some community or action up supporters to its charter while the further STAG plans for future investment in areas of interest were: STAG and STAG 1 appraisal) reducing travel choices available parking overflow issues for n n many towns. In particular, groups, for example StARLink, were successful on evaluation is carried out. That makes three STAGs our railways.” The £2 million East Lothian Council – rail South Lanarkshire Council – their own account. It was unfortunate that Railfuture Inverkeithing railway station for this campaign, almost a herd! STAG: Scottish fund was a result of negotia- connections particularly Had- connectivity in Clydesdale (con- Continued: Page 3 ► could not pursue these funds to advance various Transport Appraisal Guide. tions with the Green Party over dington and Tranent centrating on possible reopening continues to have high pas- highly desirable schemes, apparently on account of Contacts: senger and parking demand director liability and lack of project management because of lower fares and expertise. Rail Action Group, East of Scotland (RAGES): President’s column: Root and branch crisis on the Lakes Line higher service frequency. www.rages.org.uk/ nBreich station It seems like there is nothing in no doubt about the root of all-too-remote Department for With work habits and travel Beattock Station Action Group: patterns changing, the open- The Scottish Government has provided www.beattockstationactiongroup.org.uk/ but bad news on the railways. their particular problems – train Transport that led to the decline £2.4 million to completely rebuild Breich station on cancellations. in their local service. It is the ing of the Queensferry Cross- St Andrews Rail Link campaign (StARLink): The Thameslink and Northern ing, the expansion of East the Shotts line. The station has very low usage and fact that the railways are run www.starlink-campaign.org.uk/ timetable crises were quickly They can date the deterioration Dunfermline and the west of was reduced to one train a day each way. Because by too many different people facebook.com/StARLinkCampaign followed by announcements in service to the point two years Edinburgh and proposals for of the expense of bringing it up to standard during with no one in overall charge twitter@StARLinkRail of fare rises and then the ago when their service was a significant review to the rail electrification of the line, Network Rail applied that is at the root of many of its LevenMouth Rail Campaign: announcement that Crossrail transferred from TransPennine timetable, a review of strate- for closure. There were many objections, though problems. Having civil servants www.lmrc-action.org.uk/ will be nine months late and to Northern. gic, multi-modal, Cross Forth most from people who will never use the station running the railway is never a facebook.com/LevenmouthRail/ £600 million over budget. A reliable service run by staff travel is required. and were objecting “on principle”. The location, good idea and oddly they have There is no doubt that this has who took great care in dealing though, is most unsuitable, with no community Capital Rail Action Group (CRAG): far more control today than The appraisal work is to within normal walking distance. Through mischief or www.capitalrail.org.uk/ been a challenging year for the with passengers turned quickly consider how to optimise they did in the days of British malice, Scottish Government ministers simply told Newburgh Train Station campaign: railway, especially as passenger into one with large numbers passenger access to the rail numbers have started declining Rail. Network Rail to rebuild it, to the extent that even http://newburghtrainstation.org.uk/ of cancellations and an network and to develop solu- for the first time since Railfuture president There is, apparently, set to be the platforms were demolished to ground level. unresponsive management. tions that could benefit travel Forth Rail Link (Dunfermline-Kincardine-Alloa): privatisation, apart from that Christian Wolmar another examination of the There will be no footbridge access, with passengers The last straw was a complete in the Forth Bridgehead area. having to use a ramp up to a nearby road overbridge. www.forthraillink.com short blip following the 2008 investment programmes such as franchising system, a mere five facebook.com/forthraillink/ shutdown of the line in The Newburgh campaign Responsible objectors to the closure proposal financial meltdown. Thameslink 2000 (only 18 years years since the last one which twitter@forthraillink response to the timetable chaos seeks to have a station in the actually wanted the station rebuilt at the village of Yet, begin to unpick all this and late!) and the reinstatement of resulted in very little change. in May, which was averted only town re-opened on the Lady- Breich, which would have resulted in a much safer Thornhill Station Action Group: actually many of the problems the Ordsall Chord. because local protests led to While that is to be welcomed, and better used station. [email protected] arise from the fact that there is a bank-Perth line, as there was However, there are more a temporary heritage service given the recent chaos over until 1955. n www.thornhillstation.co.uk/ massive investment programme being provided. While this franchising, in the longer term RAGES (Rail Action Group, East of Scotland) fundamental problems which Bonnybridge Railway Campaign: taking place on the railway. will not be easy to resolve. I attracted a lot of favourable disengaging the Department for This part of North West Fife RAGES met the then Transport Minister Humza http://bonnybridgerailway.scot publicity, sadly it is not a viable Transport from the day to day suffers from poor transport Yousaf to present him with a petition, signed by It can easily be forgotten spent a couple of days in the www.facebook.com/bonnybridgerailway that the timetable changes Lake District recently and met a permanent solution. The user decision making on the railway links, both within Fife and over 3,400 people, calling for reopening of Reston which caused the collapse in couple of members of the Lakes group members were clear that is probably the biggest change over to Perth. A railway sta- and East Linton in the early part of Network Rail’s Campaign for Borders Rail: performance were the result of Line Rail User Group who were it was a decision made by the needed. tion would alleviate this control period 6 (April 2019 to March 2024). The http://www.campaignforbordersrail.org/ ­isolation. 2 railwatch October 2018 Twitter: @railfuture www.railfuture.org.uk ◆◆◆◆ Railfuture conference in Reading, Berkshire on 10 November 2018 Hotel Novotel railwatch October 2018 3 at the Canalhouse pub in Nottingham. Together reinstatement of the west curve), passing East Midlands with their traditional pre-Christmas gathering, loops for freight at Bury St Edmunds, and this now gives Railfuture East Midlands platform capacity improvements at Cambridge, Bright future spelt out for high speed rail [email protected] members two opportunities a year to discuss Newmarket, Norwich and Ipswich, as well as local rail issues without the discipline of an schemes already in the pipeline from Network By Graham Nalty nNorth Staffs line campaign agenda, and to get to know one another better. Rail at Soham, Ely, Trowse and Haughley. These [email protected] would see both Ipswich and Norwich enjoying A remarkably positive endorse- Railfuture East Midlands is preparing for nLittle on offer for station opening an event in Derby to launch the artwork two trains per hour to Cambridge, both fast ment of future railway develop- Corby Railfuture campaigner David Fursdon and stopping, with the fast services extending ment to warm the hearts of all we have commissioned from artist Laura Picture: GovHK protested to his MP Tom Pursglove about Buckland. She will create an image of the towards Oxford. rail campaigners was published irregular closures of the station which class 153 rolling stock typically used on the this year by Greengauge 21. prevented passengers reaching the ticket nAnglia Local Enterprise Partnership Beyond HS2 is an extensive list Derby-Crewe line as the Inter-City Kitty with its machines and toilet when the ticket office was Railfuture East Anglia submitted a four-page of work parallel to HS2 and has strapline Shouldn’t it be a lion? The event will closed. Rail Minister Jo Johnson responded document in May, responding to the recently been prepared to enable the Gov- be a twilight slot reception, with invitations with a letter of explanation that East Midlands published New Anglia Local Enterprise ernment to be better equipped to going to representatives of a wide range of Trains was required to keep the ticket office Partnership strategy for integrated transport address questions from people organisations with an interest in improving open only until 13.00 on weekdays! Mr Johnson in Norfolk and Suffolk. The submission was who claim that HS2 does not services on this line. It is hoped that a few said the ticket office hours could be reviewed followed up by a meeting in July with Ellen benefit them. stirring speeches will buttress everybody when the new franchise starts after 2020. Mr Goodwin, infrastructure manager at NALEP, concerned’s belief in the line’s importance, Johnson added: “I wish to reassure you that attended also by David Cummings of Norfolk At the same time Beyond HS2 following which the artwork will be made the Department does not believe that there is County Council. makes the case for a proper available to all who would like to use it for the a case for Corby station now or in the future to We raised the case for improved train/bus national strategy for rail. Green- purposes of the campaign. become unmanned. “ integration in both Lowestoft and Great gauge 21 believes that the ben- efits of HS2 can be spread over a nOur Routes to Growth nBimode train future Yarmouth and improved accessibility at certain stations (such as Needham Market, much wider segment of the pop- Several Railfuture Derby-built 125mph trains capable of operating Stowmarket, Diss and Wymondham) and for ulation if certain sensible options members were as diesels or electrics are likely to be offered to new stations in the Norwich area. We were are explored. present at the launch the new East Midlands franchise by Bombardier informed that NALEP would contribute to It points out that the regions with of the latest Midlands from 2023, according to a report in Railway work to improve the capacity of the Felixstowe best rail connectivity to other Connect report, Our Magazine. Bombardier is expected to face rival regions are those with the high- branch and could potentially fund a feasibility POST-COLONIAL PROGRESS: 21 years after Britain handed over sovereignty of Hong Kong Routes to Growth, on bids for bimode trains from Hitachi, Stadler, study to improve line capacity to Stansted est earnings. 9 July. The items of CAF and Talgo. to China, a new high speed train service has opened from the former colony to the mainland Airport jointly with neighbouring authorities. Inevitably, even with a project as most interest to us www.railfuture.org.uk/East+Midlands+Branch cities of Shenzen and Guangzhou. A ceremony was held on 23 September to launch the line far reaching as HS2, there is the are the proposals Twitter: @RailfutureEMids nEast Midlands franchise and celebrate the completion of the final 16-mile length of the 80-mile line. China’s high speed potential danger that economies network now amounts to an amazing 15,500 miles. “High speed rail will open a new page in to improve rail The East Midlands franchise is entering the that are currently left behind rail travel in Hong Kong and will impact positively on the city’s economic development,” said connections between bidding phase and Railfuture East Anglia has because of poor transport links Professor Frederick Ma, chairman of MTR Corporation which acted as project manager for the East and West East Anglia met with the lead members from the three may be further left behind unless construction of the 16-mile route and has been awarded a 10-year operating concession Midlands. These preferred bidders to discuss with them our other action is taken. include reinstating direct services from [email protected] concerns for the service and how it might Greengauge 21 is an ardent sup- that the route from Birmingham extending to Marks Tey in the also be used for a direct Not- Leicester to Coventry with a journey time of nImprovements in Norfolk be developed. The talks must be regarded as 35 minutes, reducing Birmingham-Leicester confidential, but topics discussed were: porter of the HS2 project and has to the South West is upgraded, east and Audley End in the west tingham to London HS2 service, The Mid-Norfolk Railway has become an contributed a great deal to our changing the HS2 network from could form part of alternative at least 15 minutes faster than journey times to 40 minutes and Birmingham- o unexpected beneficiary of Greater Anglia’s new Backing of the through Liverpool to knowledge of high speed rail by a Y to an X. routes from London to Norwich either the Midland main line or Nottingham to 50 minutes, as well as the Norwich service improvements needed for the Derby-Crewe train fleet. A £3 million deal will enable the research reports, many of which Nottingham-Birmingham and Cambridge-Peterborough via Toton. o have influenced HS2 and other line. The report also refers to the need for good train operator to store some of its new Stadler The need for fast journey times from for an additional East Coast route It would have a much better rail developments. It under- Greengauge 21 notes the pub- connectivity to the HS2 station at Toton (if the trains at the heritage line during the testing Norwich to Peterborough to Doncaster and further north. business case than many of the and commissioning phase before their launch stands high speed rail and all it lished aspirations of Midlands HS2 station was at East Midlands Parkway, o Wymondham as a secondary access point for Glasgow currently proposed HS2 London into public service. The project will involve the does. Connect for faster rail services it would already have good connectivity), Norwich between these cities. Greengauge New high speed lines are recom- services. including connections to the classic network to provision of extra track capacity which will The measures suggested by initially be used to store the new trains and also o An evenly spaced half-hourly service (with 21 recommends making connec- mended from Glasgow to both Nottingham is the largest city enable fast journeys such as Leicester-Leeds. Greater Anglia) from Norwich to Ely Greengauge 21 have been very tions between the classic lines Carstairs and Shotts plus a new the old trains as they are taken out of service, thoroughly researched for a year in the East Midlands and as the nDerwent Valley line but will then leave the railway with the benefit o The need for a Sunday morning service and HS2 south of Nottingham line from Edinburgh airport to regional capital ought to have and deserve to be taken seri- and east of Birmingham to meet Perth using the Forth Bridge. of the additional infrastructure once the new o Extended services to Great Yarmouth ously. Some of the most note- direct HS2 services to all the Midlands Connect aspirations. main HS2 destinations includ- trains are launched into service. www.railfuture.org.uk/East+Anglia+Rail+Network worthy recommendations are: The underlying message of Old Oak Common Beyond HS2 is that of extending ing London, Birmingham, Leeds, n Maximum train paths Great Yarmouth bucks the trend nAction for freight Greenguage 21 suggests that the benefits of HS2 by applying York and Newcastle. Greengauge 21 argues that no On the coast, improvements are planned at Works continue on the Felixstowe branch only one in every four HS2 trains carefully considered options. The very high cost of building railway has ever run 18 trains Great Yarmouth which has disappointingly line to increase capacity for freight trains stops at Old Oak Common. They are based on viewing the the proposed parkway station at an hour on a high speed railway seen a drop in passenger numbers over the serving the port of Felixstowe. With the Manchester Piccadilly railway as it is now but with the Toton can then be avoided. and that a lower number of 16 past five years in contrast to the growth seen current infrastructure, careful timetabling has There will always be capacity full HS2 network added. elsewhere, possible reasons being the lack of trains will be more reliable. There are many more possibili- permitted the number of freight services to limitations of East to West trains But what if we look beyond ties which I have not covered. through trains beyond Norwich, infrequent rise to 33 trains per day each way alongside East Coast main line crossing the throat of Piccadilly Greengauge 21 to consider what services compared to the competing bus Ian Clark has taken over from Ariadne the hourly passenger service, although this station. Greengauge 21 recom- further improvements could be I hope Railfuture members in service, and the edge of town location of the Additionally Greengauge 21 Tampion as Railfuture East Midlands’ portfolio inevitably leads to delays. When the line was notes that HS2 will offer very mends building a two mile tun- made once both HS2 and the other areas will follow my exam- station. The walking route from the town centre built in the 1870s sufficient land was acquired nelled route from the West to Beyond HS2 recommendations ple to see how much more their holder for the Derwent Valley Line, now that to the station is being radically improved and small journey time savings for the branch to be a double-track railway the proposed Piccadilly HS2 are in place? railway can be developed fol- Ariadne is branch chair. His duties include Railfuture is calling for a half-hourly service, between London and Newcastle except for a single-track viaduct. The urgent platforms. Not only could this lowing Beyond HS2. attending the meetings of the Friends of the some services extended beyond Norwich, and that this market is better If London to Newcastle services priority is to raise capacity to 45 trains per day, in future serve the proposed fast It offers rail campaigners a new Derwent Valley Line in order to understand better bus connections at Yarmouth, and served by upgrades of the East run via the East Coast main line, and currently the double trackbed is being Liverpool-Leeds services, but framework with which to view their particular concerns, representing these a longer term aim of achieving a timing of Coast main line, enabling the then the value (in terms of pas- used to install a 1.6km loop at Trimley. also creates the opportunity for concerns both within Railfuture and in the Yarmouth in 120 minutes from London. number of trains paths on the senger minutes saved) of the their own rail expansion projects southern section to be reduced. London-Manchester HS2 trains which I hope will be explored wider rail forums available to Railfuture as nEast Coast dive-under Shimmer Estate route bypassing a national organisation, and exploring the nEngagement with decision makers CrossCountry being extended to Glasgow. Sheffield is much reduced. vigorously by all Railfuture Further west, the grade separation at potential of this line in the context of the The East West Rail consortium of local Manchester Airport branches. Werrington Junction, 5 km north of The HS2 services between Bir- All London-Leeds HS2 services national rail network. One concern raised at the authorities held its AGM in Bedford in June. By extending the line to the west Greengauge 21 is a not-for-profit Peterborough, has been granted its Transport mingham and both Leeds and could more sensibly go via Shef- last meeting was that the new franchise may A draft prospectus for the eastern section was to join the mid-Cheshire line, the registered company that aims to and Works Act Order, which will allow freight Newcastle duplicate the Cross- field, saving considerable track specify only a Matlock-Derby service, when discussed at length and it was agreed that a Country services which will rail catchment of the airport is costs and achieving more effi- investigate and develop the con- it is important to retain through running to separate meeting of eastern section authority services from Felixstowe heading for Yorkshire increased to Chester and North and the North East to dive under the East Coast still be needed to serve stations cient rolling stock utilisation. cepts associated with a UK high- Nottingham. officers would undertake further work on not on HS2. Those HS2 services Wales, but this offers an alterna- Extending these trains to Brad- speed rail network Mainline north of Peterborough then travel tive route to Sheffield avoiding n this, before sharing with the rail industry and would be better extended to ford would benefit a city very You can view Beyond HS2 at: Summer lunch launching to MPs in the autumn. via the upgraded line through Spalding and Piccadilly. Lincoln to Doncaster. Bristol or Cardiff via Birming- much left behind by present HS2 Following last year’s successful event, Railfuture Proposals included doubling the line between ham New Street, with a connec- Stansted Airport plans. A Nottingham HS2 South http://www.greengauge21.net/ East Midlands has repeated its Free-form Cambridge and Newmarket (including www.railfuture.org.uk/East+Anglia tion from HS2 into New Street, A new high speed line from Lon- connection built for Nottingham wp-content/uploads/Beyond_ railway conversation summer lunch gathering Twitter: @RailfutureEA and Greengauge 21 recommends don Stratford to Stansted airport to Birmingham services could HS2WEB.pdf 4 railwatch October 2018 Twitter: @railwatch www.railfuture.org.uk ◆◆◆◆ Morocco is preparing to open its high speed Tangier-Casablanca line by the year end railwatch October 2018 5 CrossCountry connections are a major asset It may be a little late but it will be great By Steve Wright By Christian Wolmar [email protected] Railfuture President Consultations with Railfuture It is a shame Crossrail did not branches are now over and a make its deadline of 9 December, response has been submitted to but frankly it was never going to. the Department for Transport. I have spent the past nine months writing a book about the new The consultation ran from June Picture: RAILWATCH Elizabeth Line, the rather mis- to August and the new franchise Picture: HEAD OF ZEUS is expected to start in December leading operational name, and I next year. realised some time ago that the The Railfuture submission ended deadline was impossible. There up not being as radical as I sug- was simply too much to do, too gested it might be in Railwatch much complexity and too many 156. unknown unknowns. I was enthusiastic about Cross- Nor was it a surprise that the Country adding a set of inter-city budget limit of £14.8 billion was services to something akin to the broken and the eventual cost will present network. be £15.4 billion. I even asked if we needed a fran- The announcement of the chise at all, instead allowing open delay did take me aback in two access operations to provide long LONG SERVICE: A Cambridge to Birmingham New Street CrossCountry train passes through the respects. The opening day will distance inter-city services, and Victorian station of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, in July. The Derby-built three-coach class be in Autumn 2019, not a specific regional train operators to pro- 170 diesel trains are now 20 years old and are often overcrowded for much of their journeys. date. vide the inter-regional services. Luggage space and bike space is so limited that there is likely to be significant potential demand And it is set so far in the future. Only two people liked the idea that could be tapped if longer and better trains were provided I had expected May, but I reckon of leaving it to the market. One Crossrail’s managers want to other person thought the idea again at times more convenient fer ­Birmingham-Stansted Airport population and business centres make sure this is the last bit of had some merit but doubted the to typical optional travellers to the East Midlands franchise as to the CrossCountry network bad news from them. open-access operators would be n it already operates the Notting- and provide a direct connection They may be able to squeeze in One per hour continuing ham-Norwich service, so man- to these areas from the Midlands much interested. It was likely beyond Southampton to Bourne- some kind of train service before that they would want to serve aging both would enable better and beyond that they have never then, perhaps not serving all the mouth, one or two of the other integration and should provide had in the past. only the cities of the present core, Reading trains per day to Ports- stations, which might give them plus any significant towns en better connections between the It is probably unnecessary to say a positive news story. But do not mouth (perhaps via Southamp- Midlands and East Anglia. there is unanimity also about the route. ton) or Brighton. Again the times hold your breath. Railfuture members will prob- inadequacy of the present roll- The delay and cost will be forgot- It was the connectivity of the of these trains should be conve- ing stock, both in terms of train present network that was liked nient to the typical leisure trav- ably have noticed from the above ten however once the line opens. scheme that there are four trains lengths and on-board facilities. Crossrail will be recognised as by almost everybody I consulted. eller We think it impractical to try to In fact, what was wanted was n per hour into Birmingham from London’s most impressive piece One train per hour to Edin- the south west or south east, reduce overcrowding by restrict- of transport infrastructure. The more connectivity, with more burgh via Newcastle, two of these ing short-distance commuting, destinations. but five to the north west and money has been well spent. per day extended to Aberdeen north east. Transferring the Car- omitting stops or making stops However, adding more long- and one to Perth and Inverness. set down or pick up only, as this Some may argue that the speci- diff/Birmingham/Nottingham fication was too lavish but the distance trains to the present core On one thing there was almost semi-fast service to other train would generally restrict longer has one major impediment and distance connections and give important point is that there has unanimity, namely transferring operators would give the oppor- been no skimping on the details. that is the lack of capacity at Bir- the Birmingham-Leicester and tunity to make Cardiff to and rise to a great deal of adverse mingham New Street station. press and no little ill-feeling from My grandchildren’s grandchil- I was advised by a Network Rail existing passengers. dren will be travelling on this manager that the station was Railfuture therefore sees the line well into the 22nd century “full” (although West Midlands If some CrossCountry services are only practical solution to over- and that was always recognised Trains has some plans to alleviate ‘ crowding to be substantially lon- by the scheme’s managers, if not that). transferred to East Midlands or West ger trains – say, seven or eight their paymasters. Therefore, we have parked that coaches – on all long distance The stations are magnificent, idea until the new chords are Midlands, there may be a tendency services, possibly with some on a scale far beyond anything built at Bordesley to allow some splitting or joining of train sets London has seen underground trains presently using New Street to favour their own local travellers to reduce the number of empty before. But I think it was a bad to be diverted into Moor Street – ’ seats over long distances. idea to call it the Elizabeth Line. probably towards the end of the Not just longer trains, but more Crossrail is not a new Tube line next XC franchise. comfortable trains with bet- for London but a large main line Birmingham-Nottingham ser- from Birmingham­ into a proper ter seats, more leg room, seats railway which happens to go So we are advocating a strength- vices away from CrossCountry express service and extend it to ening of the present core aligned to windows as far as pos- beneath the capital. to a local train operator. the north east, to at least Leeds sible, more four-seat bays with ­network: or York, thus providing the extra There are platform-edge doors FRONT COVER: A Crossrail junction on the front cover of Christian Wolmar’s new book But which one? If they are trans- tables, less smelly toilets and far at all the below-the-surface sta- n Two trains per hour (approxi- train northwards and restoring a ferred to East Midlands or West better catering available through- tions ,and air conditioning. There is, though, a major flaw in the possibilities, such as running ser- to build Crossrail 2 – though at mately every 30 minutes) Midlands there may well be a connection lost in 2007 or earlier. out the operating day and to the is a relaxed feel to the architec- scheme. Half the 20 trains per vices up the West Coast main line twice the cost. There is a rather between Birmingham and Bris- tendency to favour their own extremities of the network. At least Leeds/York? The DfT ture. Walk-through carriages will hour (which may later go up to or south west through Heathrow, big financial hurdle to overcome tol/Exeter, Reading (most to local travellers. is intimating that with the new It is also time to have trains that allow passengers to move to less Southampton), Manchester, and 24) will turn around at Padding- but it will cost more money and which will need some innovative So we are proposing that Mid- hourly Liverpool/Edinburgh can make use of the overhead crowded areas. ton because no useful destina- many years to realise. forms of funding. The opening of Sheffield/Leeds lands Connect should become TransPennine Express service line electricity supply between n But above all, the sheer size of tion could be found for them. Crossrail will also increase pres- One per hour continuing the key stakeholder for these and there will be a path for only Coventry and the North West In a decision that will be seen as For now, though (or rather from the stations will impress. They next autumn) enjoy what is the sure to get rail investment on a beyond Exeter to Plymouth, with other West to East Midlands ser- one CrossCountry train north of and between Doncaster and are bigger than any existing shortsighted, Labour’s Alistair two or three per day to Penzance, vices, such as Derby to Crewe. Northallerton. Edinburgh/Glasgow. most fantastic addition to the rail similar scale outside London. Underground stations, apart Darling scrapped the idea of run- n but at more convenient times A chance meeting with Maria Railfuture suggests that some of So, not a radical package as from those such as King’s Cross ning services through to Rich- network in the capital – or indeed My new book, The Story of than now Machancoses, the director of the trains to Leeds go forward to we said at the outset, but we St Pancras that have recently mond and Kingston without nationwide apart from the Chan- Crossrail, is published by Head of n Two or three of the Exeter Midlands Connect, yielded Teesside and to Newcastle via the hope something useful for most been expanded. Passengers will creating another route for trains nel Tunnel – since the early 20th Zeus on 15 November. To reserve trains per day continuing to Tor- that that organisation is think- Durham coast. Also that one or parts of the country and distinct be amazed at the feeling of space arriving at Paddington from the century when three Tube lines a discounted signed copy at quay and Paignton in the winter ing along very similar lines. It two trains per day go forward to improvements on what we have compared with the Tube sta- east. Over time this will probably were opened in 1906/7. Once it £16 inc post and packing, email months, more in the summer, would also make sense to trans- Hull. This would add ­substantial at present. tions on adjoining lines. There change and there are various is open, there will be ­pressure [email protected] 6 railwatch October 2018 Twitter: @railwatch www.railfuture.org.uk ◆◆◆◆ You can join the Railfuture lottery at www.railfuture.org.uk/lottery railwatch October 2018 7 Your views Inter-regional bus the same congested roads as people to travel into New be a nuisance from the operating cars and lorries. Street. An 8km length of track viewpoint. Why not, therefore, Thank you for an interesting It is salutary to be reminded would have to be reinstated have a through service from Railwatch 156, especially that much of the country’s rail north of Walsall on the former Leamington to Nuneaton? The the news about possible rail network was laid down within South Staffordshire line which service would be more useful reopenings in Wales where long- about 10 to 20 years in the early happily remains unobstructed. and the main line platforms at distance buses have replaced to mid nineteenth century and At Brownhills a modern rail Coventry would not be occupied many train services. now it can take much longer overbridge takes the line over for long periods by the local In 2006, the Welsh Assembly than that to get one route back, the M6 motorway. trains. The distance to both introduced TrawsCymru buses if at all. Where are the priorities? I am realistic enough to know Leamington and to Nuneaton is for long-distance travel and in Ted Bottle, Coalville, that not only CrossCountry only 10 miles. I am sure that a Llandrindod Wells we benefit © Picture: SHROPSHIRE STAR Leicestershire would have to be involved, but decent through service is better from the T4 bus which runs from [email protected] countless other authorities. than a fragmented one requiring unnecessary changes. Cardiff rail station to Newtown. As well as providing a better Some years ago the T4 used Leicester-Coventry route and bringing CrossCountry In the 1960s timetable, before to serve Newtown rail station closure, virtually all the services The letter in Railwatch 156 more revenue, it would solve but it was cut back to the bus were through trains from from Tim Mickleburgh refers one of my problems, how to station, a great pity because it Leamington to Nuneaton. to a future planned direct rail book a forward-looking seat in is a long walk from bus to rail Peter Fleming, Dunstable service between Leicester and a train that currently reverses at station. I hope that Newtown [email protected] Coventry. Unfortunately trains New Street. Few booking clerks rail station will again be served can no longer travel in and out of are aware of how to do so. Plastic pollution once the Newtown bypass is Nuneaton Trent Valley station as completed. The T4 bus is slow, I travel with my wife from I am concerned at the over-use the connections across the West taking four hours from Newtown Bridgnorth to Newcastle of plastic which is having serious Coast main line were removed to Cardiff, and it does not have Money tree bears fruit for roads regularly to visit relatives, implications for the environment, about 10 years ago to make the toilets which means that many Shropshire Star and we go by road to in particular the marine This picture shows construction of part of high-frequency Virgin service people are prevented from even Wolverhampton, and then by ecosystems. Plastic pollution is the Dolfor Bridge, on the bypass road for Newtown in mid possible. There is no way to considering travelling. Wales. Construction has involved extensive earthworks. train to New Street to catch our widespread in the oceans and cross the WCML at Nuneaton. CrossCountry train. marine life is being killed on a On the Aberystwyth-Carmarthen The £60 million road will be welcome to local people The solution being proposed is large scale as a result. route, the T1 bus takes more Of course, CrossCountry could who have suffered the tyranny of road traffic for decades to remake the tunnel under the than two hours. The loss of the because it is one of the major north-south routes in Wales. also improve its service by not It is important we reduce WCML south east of Nuneaton cramming us into its trains like our dependency on plastic, Aberystwyth-Carmarthen rail But it is a big contrast to the attitude shown to railways in station and build a line from the route was fairly typical for the sardines. particularly that of single use. Wales. The Severn Railway Bridge was closed 50 years ago Leicester-Nuneaton line under Michael H Pead, Bridgnorth 1960s. The line near Tregaron Under the circumstances, because it was £80,000 cheaper to knock it down than to the WCML. please would you discontinue was washed away so “they” repair it. Result: More traffic on the roads. decided it was a good excuse At that point there is a choice Editor’s note: The Connecting mailing Railwatch magazine with to scrap the whole line. It would Around the same time, the Carmarthen-Aberystwyth line of turning right into Nuneaton Communities: Expanding plastic packaging and use paper have been much more sensible was washed away near Tregaron. Rather than repair the station or left to join the Coventry Access to the Rail Network, instead. to provide a bus service from line, it was closed. Result: More traffic on the roads. line avoiding Nuneaton. It would published in 2009 by the David Bailey Aberystwyth to Aberaeron or This stupidly short-sighted policy continues in Wales and make more sense to bring all Association of Train Operating [email protected] Lampeter and then the journey the rest of Britain today with money being found for new trains into Nuneaton station Companies, identified Walsall- n n Ben Simmons of could have continued by rail. roads which merely attract more traffic and worsen the for connections, but going left Lichfield as a viable reopening Intercity Communications Sadly public service and the problems of pollution and danger everywhere. towards Coventry and avoiding with new stations at Pelsall which dispatches Railwatch wellbeing of local people was Nuneaton will reduce the overall and Brownhills. The estimated said: “Our wrapper is 100% completely ignored. the promises of a grandiose enthusiasts to incredible Leicester-Coventry time and cost was £122 million. biodegradable. We switched future under the new Transport difficulties and delays before any also create a possible route for to this at the start of this Something similar happened for Wales franchise. Arriva positive result is achieved. freight. It may be possible to year as many clients are when the Severn Railway Bridge CrossCountry query Trains Wales and Network Rail The Waverley route to build links in both directions. Buses replace trains in Wales now looking into helping the near Lydney was damaged in So many rail lines were axed in Wales in the 1960s that had achieved an enormous Tweedbank took long enough Graham Nalty While reading the article environment and this was a 1960 and 1961. Instead of being [email protected] enormous detours now have to be made to travel around amount with a consistent policy but how much more time will be on CrossCountry Trains in way we could do our part as repaired, it was demolished the country by train. The Welsh Government has attempted of improvement, with upgrades spent before it reaches Carlisle? Railwatch 156, it begged the well.” because it was £80,000 cheaper at many stations. Abergavenny XC to Lichfield? to create an alternative with subsidised long-distance bus following question in my mind: than repairing it. and Llanelli stations however are Then there is the Okehampton services, branded TrawsCymru. The buses are advertised Has anyone carried out a study Pass it on to Bere Alston line (mentioned Steve Wright’s article in Thank goodness that 50 years badly in need of improvements, as having free wifi and are completely free to travel on at to understand what proportion The best way to recycle later, attitudes have changed including lifts to improve in the letters), Leicester to Railwatch 156 prompted me weekends.Our lead letter shows that problems still remain. of current, proposed new rail to suggest that CrossCountry Railwatch is to pass it on to a slightly and when the line at accessibility and, at Ammanford, Burton, Oxford to Cambridge, connections were originally part trains should consider changing friend who may be interested Dawlish, Devon, was washed there are no car parking facilities Matlock to Buxton, Skipton to of the system prior to the 1960s in railways and tempted to the route of its Birmingham to town of Walsall. Currently would miss Tamworth but only away in 2014, it was repaired and no taxi rank. What do the Colne and many, many others, cuts? At Rail Haverhill we are join Railfuture. and rail services from Exeter not to mention the benefits Newcastle upon Tyne service, to CrossCountry’s train comes into six of the 26 daily Birmingham- locals do? I wonder. currently endeavouring to get the Recycling plastic is a very along the coast to Plymouth and of electrifying main lines and accommodate at least an extra Birmingham New Street from Newcastle CrossCountry trains J Evered, Llandrindod Wells, line from Haverhill to Cambridge complicated issue. Readers Cornwall continue. Meanwhile reopening closed stations on 370,000 potential passengers, the south and departs south, stop there anyway. Tamworth Powys reinstated as you probably know. may need to check what their in North Wales, I am not existing routes. the combined population of going though Water Orton and has a population of 77,000 Marcus Field-Rayner, Chartered the city of Lichfield and the local council recommends. convinced that the narrow gauge Reopenings priority Another section of Railwatch 156 Tamworth. I think it would be while Walsall has 269,000 and Engineer, Bury St Edmunds, railways can offer a practical mentions the use of Heritage better if it came in from the Lichfield 100,000. Suffolk The “Lifeline for West Wales” public transport service. The Railways for commuting. south but continued through The new route would also attract [email protected] article in Railwatch 156 Send your letters­ Welsh Highland Railway takes Birmingham New Street via passengers from all over the highlights the urgent need to It seems that many in central 2.5 hours for the journey from and emails to: Walsall, Brownhills (Anglesea) Black Country by providing a Through service Porthmadog to Caernarfon, spend what money is available and local government pay lip The Editor, 4 Christchurch and Lichfield. This new route rail route which did not require I was pleased to see in compared to 20 minutes by bus. on reopening certain Beeching service to the above, while often Square, London E9 7HU giving the road lobby priority. Railwatch 156 that Kenilworth The lack of Carmarthen-Bangor lines rather than continuing with Email: [email protected] station has at last reopened. rail services is highlighted by High Speed Two. With so much additional housing Railwatch also welcomes Accessible station? But mind the big gap The new service, operated by a visit to Dovey Junction, near If an additional route is needed in all parts of the country, the ­articles and pictures I am pleased to see accessibility problems at Lichfield Trent a class 153, seems to hang Machynlleth, where many between the two cities it has roads are barely able to cope Please use email if possible Valley being raised in Railwatch 156. Platform 1 may be around between duties at the with the burgeoning traffic, people used to change trains been estimated that reopening but include your postal technically “accessible” but getting on or off a train is a huge south end of Coventry station. therefore additional rail services address. Postal and email on their north-south journeys. part of the former Great Central problem for anyone with reduced mobility. The gap is both The station has no bay platforms Railway to Rugby might be a are needed to take what load addresses may be published Today Dovey Junction is high and wide. Sad to say, booked assistance is not always (I understand remodelling cheaper option. Attempting to they can off the highways. unless writers specifically ask windswept and has no vehicular to exclude them is planned) so the lines to Letters extra: Page 18 access. I am also worried by reopen closed lines exposes Unfortunately, buses travel on forthcoming. R G Burns, Stroud Green, London N4 3QD Leamington and Nuneaton must 8 railwatch October 2018 Twitter: @railwatch www.railfuture.org.uk ◆◆◆◆ Ecuador is preparing to open Metro line 1 in Quito in December next year railwatch October 2018 9 Severnside Yorkshire Wessex [email protected] [email protected] Engaging the next generation nAdvice on boosting commuter profile nOutcry over strike-day provision At the Railfuture Severnside meeting in A report on Young People and Industrial action on the South Western Railway Heritage Railways was published Trowbridge in June, Peter Travis explained network continues to inconvenience the his role as Railfuture business transformation in July by the All-Party Parlia- travelling public, although the operator does director and suggested ways in which mentary Group on Heritage manage to provide most stations with either the Railfuture branch could increase its ­Railways. a reduced rail service or a bus replacement membership and profile. He said Railfuture ABELL Picture: PAUL The findings followed an 18 needed to become more representative of on strike days. Salisbury-Exeter rail users were month study of the subject with people commuting by train. The meeting incensed to find that minor stations on their the committee taking evidence approved grants to three local campaigns, route were being offered no service at all. After from heritage railways, the including Melksham Rail Users Group, which lodging a complaint and conducting a media National Railway Museum and used the money to produce a leaflet promoting campaign, they managed to secure the promise the STEAM museum at Swindon the enhanced TransWilts services which they of a replacement bus service for every station as well as Her Majesty’s Rail- distributed at the town’s carnival. on the line on days when there are no trains way Inspectorate, insurers and due to strike action. experts from the Heritage Rail- nRail’s key role in transport strategy On the subject of rail replacement buses, one way Association. The draft Taunton Transport Strategy, produced of our members on the Isle of Wight questions The evidence showed that vol- jointly by Taunton Deane Borough and why there appears to be no requirement for Somerset County Councils, contains some unteering on heritage railways Swanage Railway M WRIGHT ANDREW P Picture: the vehicles to be accessible to persons with is a great way for young people sensible proposals for rail. Those described as mobility difficulties, whereas buses used shorter term commitments include upgrading to learn life skills as well as the for local bus services now need to be fully technical skills involved in run- Taunton station, developing a case for a accessible. station at Wellington, and encouraging the rail ning a railway. industry to trial connecting services from the nInfrastructure matters Heritage railways have also national network to the West Somerset Railway proved to be an important It is encouraging that Network Rail has begun recruiting ground for the national at Bishops Lydeard. Longer term aspirations nTram-train test under way at last work to extend freight sidings at Redbridge include working with the Peninsula Rail Task rail network. to accommodate the longer (775m) container Force to secure electrification of the main lines Test running has at last started on the Rotherham tram-train pilot (picture above), trains from Southampton docks. Meanwhile, “Members of our group found through Taunton and supporting the industry some of the evidence from young though as car 399 202 left Rotherham Central passengers along the South Western main line in formulating a plan for regular services people involved to be inspira- heading for Sheffield on 15 August it was would like the infrastructure company to give between Taunton and Minehead. Our response tional and the work being done some attention to eliminating temporary and to the strategy consultation welcomed the rail clear that there was work to complete on by the railways to be a powerful policies but expressed reservations about a the new tram train platforms. The tram train emergency speed restrictions on the line, which force supporting social cohesion proposed transport hub at Taunton station. service through Rotherham between Sheffield are having an impact on punctuality. and a great example of vocational Cathedral and Parkgate will, we hope, be open development and training,” said nWalkers and cyclists spend more nProgress along the Waterside NOT A SMART PHONE IN SIGHT! Young volunteers totally focused on the controls of a West by the end of the year. MP Nicky Morgan who is the A perceptive comment in the draft strategy’s Country class locomotive on the Swanage Railway Our campaign for a restored passenger service group chairman. section on active travel is that spending by nTube trains to be built in Goole on the Waterside Line took a major step walkers and cyclists is underestimated. We The yet-to-be-built Siemens train factory in forward in the summer. The developers of the However, the evidence also showed that the number of Vickers (Cleethorpes Coast Light commented that tourists arriving by public Goole has won a contract to build 94 trains redundant power station site at Fawley have Railway), Lord Faulkner (Heri- transport spend more in eating places because for the London Underground Piccadilly line, revealed proposals for a “Hythe and Fawley young people volunteering on heritage railways was only a tage Railway Association presi- they do not bring provisions on the scale which at a likely cost of £1.5 billion. There could be a Parkway” station at the southern extremity of small proportion of the total vol- dent), Lord Grocott (Telford are carried in a car. While we would support further £1 billion contract to build another 150 the line where it enters Fawley oil refinery. They unteer workforce – around 3.5% Steam Railway), Lord Berkeley, extra car parking at stations, we recommended trains for the Central, Bakerloo and Waterloo & envisage a train every 30 minutes between the which, the committee concluded, Lord Snape and Lord Shutt. Somerset developed station travel plans, on the City lines. new station and Southampton, with a journey was not enough to continue the The report follows the first pro- lines of those in Gloucestershire, to make rail time of 20 minutes. Buses would connect the Children Act of 1920 has inhib- course it is denying them the nTransPennine disruption ahead present level of heritage rail duced by the group in 2013 on more accessible by bus, bicycle or on foot. benefits of the skills they could station to their main housing development activity in the long term. ited the engagement of young- The Value of Heritage Railways, On 16 August, just before the consultation Network Rail has warned that engineering south of the refinery, although we would prefer sters in railway work. have acquired and friendships closed, the Somerset County Gazette included a The number of young women which highlighted their value work on the TransPennine route between to see the new town served by a “tram-train” they might have made during very positive article on plans for a connecting volunteers is very small indeed, This is a real problem as it is to the local economy in terms of Manchester and Leeds will cause disruption extension skirting the refinery perimeter. the process. rail service to link the national rail network with even though the opportunities during this period between 14 employment, skills training and for five years. Parts of the route will have to be The northern part of the line continues to and 16 years of age when many The All-Party Group will be fol- the West Somerset Railway at Bishops Lydeard closed for up to 39 weeks a year, after 2020. offered in terms of encourag- tourism. in the summer of 2019. Our affiliated group carry regular freight traffic for Marchwood ing young women engineers are children become fully engaged, lowing this up with meetings The work will involve Leeds-Huddersfield Freightliner Terminal. and if they can’t go to the local with ministers involved during Together, the two reports dem- Minehead Rail Link Group has sent a supportive and Stalybridge-Manchester Victoria entirely in line with Government onstrate a balanced picture of the letter to the Gazette, summarising the benefits n policy. heritage line they are likely to go the autumn. electrification. Four tracks will be reinstated Island Line hangs in the balance somewhere else and will be lost key social role played by heri- in terms of journey opportunities and potential between Huddersfield and Ravensthorpe near It is 50 years now since the end The group is open to all Parlia- tage railways, a far cry from the for reducing traffic on the A39. A decision on the future of the Island Line is to the railway. mentarians from any party, but Dewsbury. awaited from the Department for Transport of main line steam on BR, so the public perception of them a few appeal to youngsters today is not So far, the Government has the work of the group in produc- nLinks to hospitals after South Western Railway submitted its years ago as little more than a nCall for Calderdale stations nostalgia but the engineering shown no inclination to correct ing this report was largely under- Railfuture campaigns to improve access preferred “Priced Option”. There is recognition theme-park ride. challenge and the stark contrast this divisive piece of legislation, taken by the chairman, Nicky to hospitals by train. Our campaign for Network Rail held drop-in sessions in Brighouse of the need for infrastructure improvements to The full report is available on line in August to explain what plans it has for between the physical reality of which is excluding children from Morgan (Great Central), Liz Sav- direct access from Gloucester station to bring the line up to an acceptable ride quality, the fun and excitement of work- ille-Roberts, whose constituency on the HRA website: Gloucestershire Royal Hospital achieved the station, which has seen a 48% growth in a railway and the virtual world and it is certain that more modern rolling of social media and gaming, and ing on a steam railway that we in North Wales includes no fewer https://www.hra.uk.com/all-party- success in September. We support a Taunton passenger numbers over seven years. There are stock, refurbished to as-new condition, forms this appeals to young people of a all enjoyed at that age, and of than six heritage railways, ­Martin parliamentary-group-on-heritage-rail plan for a cross-town bus service linking the rail now calls from the public for new stations not part of the plan. Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely practical disposition. station with Musgrove Park Hospital. We would just at Elland, but also at Hipperholme. has written to the Transport Secretary backing A major stumbling block to prog- like to see the shuttle bus between Bristol nBacking for Bradford hub station SWR’s proposals and goes further, urging him to Stay Grounded teams up with Back on Track for Vienna rendezvous Temple Meads and Bristol University Hospitals ress is an outdated piece of legis- consider the possibilities of line extensions to Stay Grounded is an informal alliance pressing for some medium-distance flights can be shifted extend its service to weekends. A new hub rail station in Bradford city centre lation passed in 1920 which has as part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail plan both Newport and Ventnor. inadvertently been extended by alternatives to airport expansion, writes Trevor to trains in regions where relevant railway nCampaign for Pilning could provide an economic boost of The Isle of Wight Council wants the Government subsequent interpretation to pre- Garrod. It is non-party and includes academics, infrastructure exists. Trains do not necessarily The campaign continues for improvements to £1.5 billion a year to the local economy, to explore extending the island’s rail network vent children under 16 working trade unionists and transport professionals as need to be high-speed, but daytime and night services, restoration of platform lighting, and according to a report by building company to serve Newport, the island’s county town. on heritage railways, even as vol- well as environmental and passenger bodies from services should be attractive, affordable and ultimately reinstatement of the footbridge to Mace for the Northern Powerhouse Rail Council leader Dave Stewart made the request unteers with their parents. around the world. powered by renewable energy.” in a letter to the DfT supporting First/MTR’s plan enable westbound trains to call once again. proposals. However, it appears that these This was not the intention of Members of Railfuture and other EPF-affiliated The Back on Track alliance, which promotes Meanwhile usage continues to rise despite the to modernise the Island line between Ryde and organisations took part in its recent conference proposals disappointingly do not include the Parliament back in 1920 (no heri- night trains as part of the international European station’s limited service. joining up of the two railway routes into central Shanklin. tage railways existed then) but in London and a follow-up weekend event takes Network, will also meet in Vienna that weekend www.pilningstation.uk Bradford. since its provisions were high- place in Vienna on 12-14 October. Stay Grounded www.railfuture.org.uk/Severnside Branch www.railfuture.org.uk/Yorkshire+Branch www.railfuture.org.uk/Wessex+Branch lighted in 2016, the Employment issued a six-page position paper which includes and plans joint sessions with Stay Grounded. Twitter @RailfutureSSide Twitter: @RailfutureYorks Twitter @RailfutureWessx of Women, Young Persons and a call for modal shift. It stated: “Short-haul and www.stay-grounded.org 10 railwatch October 2018 Twitter: @railfuture www.railfuture.org.uk ◆◆◆◆ Sweden has started building the 170-mile long North Bothnia line railwatch October 2018 11 Rail industry must get a grip and recognise that passengers come first The press, politicians and even rail supporters have revelled in the current rail industry prob- HIGH FARES POLICY DOES NOT RECOGNISE RAIL’S SOCIAL BENEFITS lems culminating in the Thames- By Ian Brown over the years that the RPI +1% important area where demand led by the Rail Delivery Group link and Northern timetable price increase each year should is structurally weakening (formerly the Association of ­fiascos. Railfuture has been a strong campaigner on fares. The be abandoned. We have also – season tickets. Further Train Operators), an industry Each player blames another of Railfuture website has a chart called for the consumer price increases in season ticket trade body, hardly likely to course and many observers have Picture: IAN BROWN showing how they have risen index to be used instead. CPI prices, especially if they are champion the interests of used the situation to advocate in real terms every year over reflects what families spend above CPI, cannot be good passengers unless it means their own, often political, solu- the 14 years since 2005. including travel and is lower business when there is a more income for the train tion, including a chorus of Bring than RPI. It is a better measure decline in demand. Imagine Successive governments have operating companies. Back British Rail. of the real price rises which a retailer on the High Street adopted a policy of attempting The RDG proudly announces people have to cope with. advertising a sale where We have seen the East Coast to remove or reduce taxpayers’ an intention to simplify rail The Government has, at last, prices are increased owing to a franchise handback, followed by subsidy of rail transport. But fares. You know it makes sense recognised the need to switch reduction in sales! operational performance under such a policy ignores the social, – or do you? Railfuture takes to CPI but says the switch will its national operator LNER being economic and environmental A more radical solution is the view that this can quickly be “in the future”. the worst for six years. value of rail travel. needed for irregular work- lead to a reduction of flexibility Railfuture believes the switch related travel. Far fewer people Nothing has really changed and The aim was to increase rail and choice for passengers. from RPI to CPI should be work a standard five-day 9am the performance dip is directly fares to match the annual What is needed are clearly related to the weather. applied immediately. The to 5pm week. Many people explained fares which offer rise in the retail price index, vary their hours of working, So, where does Railfuture stand argument has been won but choice, not simplistic ticketing but also to add a further 1% for example, work four or even in all this? Can we afford simply passengers will lose out again which removes flexibility. QUALITY TRAVEL: View from the 14.05 Carlisle via Dumfries to Kilmarnock and Glasgow. A per annum on regulated three days a week at their base, to ignore it and carry on cam- in January 2019 when fares refurbished, comfortable train with tables and great views. Helpful, friendly staff, lovely stations fares. Railfuture has argued working from home at other paigning for re-openings and go up. Train operators argue en route, new disabled toilet available, licensed at-seat trolley service and working no-fuss free consistently and successfully times or travelling to other service improvements? that franchise bids were wi-fi. It can be done, even with a two-car ex-BR diesel train, which ran on time throughout made on the basis of RPI. locations. The danger is that railways are They will almost certainly Many stay late at work in the becoming toxic in the minds of customers. Customers, both pas- seek compensation from the evenings. A morning doctor’s many stakeholders, politicians sengers and freight hauliers, are Government when the switch appointment makes it sensible and the general public. the last people to be considered. They should be the first. is made. to buy an off-peak day ticket. The level of toxicity increases Picture: ELLIE KING The fares issue must be There is evidence that many when fare rises are announced. If we step back from the firma- addressed because passenger people are trading down – We need to have the confidence ment of all this for a moment it numbers are going down after using full or off-peak day of stakeholders that Railfuture is probably worth reflecting on years of big increases. tickets for the days they travel. understands how the rail indus- some of the positives which are try works and that what we to be produced, maintenance officials allocating franchises currently being eclipsed by the I believe the reason for this dip A new product, using smart campaign for is sustainable in schedules agreed, rolling stock mid-way through projects such negatives. Probably the key point is a decline in the quality of technology, is urgently needed transport and economic terms. has to be matched to expected as the Waterloo rebuilding or is that most of the myriad prob- service, particularly reliability, which will provide value for We need to engage with both demand. immediately before major ser- lems besetting the rail industry cancellations, incidents, money and flexibility on a passengers and industry insiders In fact a complete operational vice changes as in North West result from worthy attempts to strikes, poor performance, daily basis for the passenger. because talking among ourselves plan has to be compiled, based England. provide more rail services. poor punctuality, weekend and The benefit to the train is pointless. on what the timetable require- We have seen the inflexibility of The aim was to achieve this by a even weekday diversions, and operator would be an increased ments actually are. rolling stock contracts frustrat- combination of including extra substitute buses because of number of passengers using Railfuture’s view off-peak services. Some people are advocating a ing the effective “cascade” of services in franchise contracts engineering works, sometimes We have published our own diag- separate independent organisa- rolling stock when electrification and by embarking on big infra- hopelessly organised. nosis of the current time-table tion to do this. Railfuture is not. schemes have been delayed as in structure projects to enable more Without this string of ‘Simplification’ problems entitled Murder on the Scotland and the North West. trains to run. calamities the trend would Railfuture is part of the A disciplined systems aggrega- NOW: The tickets for two Thameslink Northern Express. This is not a happy story, strongly The problem with the privatised have continued upward, ongoing dialogue about rail tion role, with timely sign-off THEN: BR advert for cheap people and two bikes from The House of Commons trans- model in Britain is probably not particularly for longer fares in general. The formal points, is clearly necessary, and indicating that the rail industry fares at Saughtree station London to Strathcarron port select committee has a copy this should be done by Network is not fit for purpose. It needs to ownership in itself, but more the distance travel. There is one consultation exercise is being of it, and so too do many indus- Rail. The industry is too frag- be if we are to continue to see a fact that the structure, as adopted in the 1990s by John Major’s try players. I will not repeat the mented as it is – and that is part growing railway. we know. Instead of addressing have to move towards the con- the industry needs to facilitate big three political imperatives detail here but you can find it on Government, was based on the of the problem. Network Rail has The industry reaction is to go into increased demand structurally, cession model where the client it. We also need electrification of health, education and the the Railfuture website. notion that demand was steady. https://www.railfuture.org.uk/ a recognised process for this. But its shell and become risk averse. the Government has attempted stipulates what is required and as part of a policy for growth in ­economy. in the case of Northern, for exam- The mistaken assumption was article1797-Murder-on-the- There are signs of this already, no growth. In fact, the opposite to use the existing franchise probably procures the kit to run the use of railways. Railfuture Cost minimisation and transfer Thameslink-Northern-Express ple, Network Rail did not adhere with timetable enhancements structure to implement massive it. This seems to work very well will continue to campaign for a of costs to the user through fares to its own processes because it has happened as road conditions We can draw several principal due in December put back until have worsened and people have change through the franchise for the London Overground, for consistent policy of incremental were the name of the game. was part of the problem. It was bidding programme in the form instance. issues from this, all in the area May 2019. All very pragmatic become more aware of the result- electrification. But good, integrated transport is of governance. Just a couple of responsible for late delivery of in the circumstances, but who of huge investment programmes. We are conditioned to think that enhancement projects. ing pollution problems. Education is expensive and Net- actually an enabler in address- these issues, timetabling and is going to invest in an industry At that time, our political leaders In parallel, Network Rail has railways have low market shares. work Rail has by now learned ing many issues, not simply a resilience, are discussed below. Resilience that does not deliver the prom- saw no real need for a guiding attempted to implement mas- This does not have to be so if many expensive lessons on secondary activity competing sive project programmes, includ- There is a lot of talk about how It is clear that the rail industry ised benefits from investment hand. The idea was to leave all the conditions and the product how to carry out electrification for resources. Transport actu- ing an ambitious electrification the rail industry goes about cre- is not as agile as it needs to be schemes? parties simply to carry on as nor- offered are right. ­projects. ally matters to people, hence ­programme. ating its timetables. Putting train in delivering change. We have Things will go wrong if the mal, taking a modest margin for Network Rail took on too much, Now is the time for a strate- the outcry about service failures paths on a timetable graph is seen the RMT union involved in industry takes no risk at all and a small amount of risk. The Government is at last begin- and just at the point when Net- gic approach to a rolling pro- and relentless fare increases only the start of the process. a series of disputes throughout becomes stagnant. In a stable environment this ning to realise that structural work Rail was starting to gear gramme of incremental electri- demanded by the Government. reform is required to achieve bet- Issuing this a couple of weeks the country over the future role The key is to ensure the industry might have worked well, even if itself up to a massive project fication. Scotland is on the case We need to continue to campaign ter results from franchises. before the service is expected to of the guard. is resilient enough to cope with it was likely to increase the over- programme, including electrifi- already, but elsewhere we still for capacity and service enhance- start clearly does not work. We have seen that travel on Sun- specific problems without fall- all cost of running the railway. The most problematical aspect cation, the Government threw a seem to view these as individual ments to the network and an spanner in the works by ordering The timetable has to be distrib- days is increasing to weekday ing apart. All parties must pull At least we can content ourselves of letting franchises has proved schemes. improved, more consistent offer cutbacks. uted and the people expected to levels. Even with seven-year together to do this – the unions, with the knowledge that we have to be the difficulty of assessing Who cares anyway? to passengers, including those operate it have to be able to make franchises, train operating com- the leasing companies, the train the safest railway in Europe. likely revenue at a time of eco- Network Rail is delivering many with mobility impairments. their own plans for which trains, panies have not been able to operators and Network Rail, nomic uncertainty. projects such as London Bridge We do. Many of us recall the days Dare I say we need an integrated staff and routes will be used. The integrate Sunday working into instead of ducking and diving to The reality There has also been increas- and Derby very well. We need when transport, particularly rail- transport system for Britain? key role belongs to the systems four-day working patterns. We protect their own positions at the In fact, passenger journeys have ing demand for devolution. It these capacity enhancement proj- ways, was seen as a marginal n Ian Brown CBE FCILT is aggregator. Crew diagrams have have seen gullible government expense of the industry and its doubled since privatisation as seems clear that franchising will ects as growth will resume and activity when compared to the ­Railfuture’s policy director 12 railwatch October 2018 Twitter: @railwatch www.railfuture.org.uk ◆◆◆◆ Join Railfuture online at www.railfuture.org.uk/join railwatch October 2018 13 nCounty transport chief backs rail User Group. SENRUG warned that even the local Thames Valley Railfuture Thames Valley members had another service between Newcastle and points north THE CAMPAIGN FOR RAIL FREIGHT meeting with County Councillor Yvonne is chronically inadequate. The DfT approach [email protected] Constance, the cabinet member for transport conflicts with Network Rail’s East Coast Main Line Route Study, which states that there is nBridges cause a spot of bother and the environment. She is enthusiastic about Rail battles against 25% drop in tonnage proposals for a new station at Grove/Wantage. insufficient capacity for additional local services Railfuture is dismayed that the Vale of White The existing road network could not cope and that the answer is for more long-distance By Lee Davies ­Victoria station in June to wish Horse District Council has rejected Network with extra traffic generated by planned new trains, not fewer, to call at Morpeth. [email protected] Tony Berkeley a happy retire- Rail’s application for planning permission to housing, and the new station would serve as Main line expresses must continue to call at ASLEF leader Mick Whelan ment. Lord Berkeley was speech- rebuild Steventon bridge, to provide greater smaller stations, just to cope with present traffic the railhead for the whole Vale of White Horse. warned the Government in less for a short time as he clearance for the overhead line electrification. levels. Cramlington – with 40,000 inhabitants – We think it could be as successful as Oxford September that rail freight has unveiled his own train - a GBRf Objectors said the bridge work would cause Parkway. Councillor Constance also supports should be added as a calling point. class 66. Guests were taken on inconvenience by cutting off direct road access declined by 25% in five years. the development of Hanborough station. Good n the Pullman style coaches for to the village from the south. They also said the Horden hopes rising The general secretary of the train DAVIES Picture: BILL news is the Government’s grant of £300,000 for drivers’ union called for higher an on-train lunch around the bridge is a listed historic structure which must studies on reopening the Cowley branch for Durham County Council’s detailed design for Kent countryside. Lord Berke- be protected. Network Rail will appeal against Horden station and its the car park is in its final levels of investment to offset the passengers. Discussions on rebuilding Oxford drop. ley praised his successor Maggie this decision, and in the meantime bimode station envisage not only widening Botley Road stages. A planning application for the new Simpson. trains are running through the bridge under station from Network Rail is imminent. bridge with extra tracks, but widening the road He said the collapse from 22.7 n diesel power with a 60mph speed restriction. billion net tonne kilometres to Rail hub plan beneath. Councillor Constance doubts whether nTyne Valley collaboration A similar problem could arise with the bridges road widening is necessary, and hopes the 17 billion was largely due to the Harworth Group has submit- at Appleford and Culham when electrification volume of road traffic could be controlled by The new entrance at Blaydon station (Railwatch problems of the steel industry ted an outline planning applica- is extended to Oxford. Steventon and Culham traffic management measures. 156), was influential in getting Tyne Valley and the Government’s decision tion to Selby District Council to bridges will actually be preserved – as models Community Rail Partnership’s Blaydon project to tax coal traffic. transform its Gascoigne Wood n Community Rail for North Downs line shortlisted for an Influencing Change award from In the past year, coal transported site in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Railfuture Thames Valley heard a presentation the Association of Rail Partnerships. has fallen by 12.7% along with a Yorkshire, into a major rail-con- in June from the Sussex Community Rail From September, the partnership has 5.4% drop in metals. nected hub servicing the north of Partnership which has extended its reach into tourism intern Matthew Barrett working with ­England. partnership officer Fiona Forsythe for a year Mr Whelan told the Trades Union The 276-acre site, formerly Surrey and Berkshire, along the North Downs Congress in Manchester: “Areas line from Guildford to Reading. David Daniels, to research new opportunities to link in with DRIVER’S VIEW: Retired Bedford train driver Bill Davies had a the Gascoigne Wood Colliery, rail services. This post is funded through a of growth for rail freight such chance encounter with a colleague who was driving this class includes the existing 124-acre North Downs community rail development as intermodal consumer goods officer, talked about work being done collaboration with CrossCountry and Northern, 60 train of empty tankers from Knuckle Yard. Looking into the Sherburn Rail Freight Terminal. supported by Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site and construction, have not been cab, Bill said: “I see they have fitted a cab fan since I last drove between Reigate and Guildford to involve able to compensate for this rapid Selby District Council leader, Cllr local communities in promoting rail travel and and Northumbria University. The partnership one of these.” The jovial driver from Margam replied: “Yes Mark Crane, said: “Gascoigne participated in heritage open days in early decline. Unfortunately, while Picture: Oxfordshire Guardian but they are pretty useless so open windows provide the air improving stations. Information boards about decline in capacity can happen has the potential to be a really September, showcasing the Old Booking Hall conditioning!” the easily accessible Surrey Hills are being very quickly, growing capacity significant new investment site.” installed, along with signs from each station and signal box at Haltwhistle station. and recruiting drivers takes far suggested by the Rail Delivery multi-million pound deal, secur- nRail freight in Spain to the North Downs Way. Pupils from local longer.” schools are providing art work for the stations. nLast of Teesside semaphore signals Group as a way to avoid the need ing business and jobs in Tees- Spain is to have a new standard Tim Sparrow, a “founding father” of the Sussex A tentative long-term plan to transfer signalling nBe fair to rail freight for a single border checkpoint side. British Gypsum imports gauge rail freight line along the Protestors at Steventon bridge CRP, talked about the general framework of control to York, away from Teesside itself, and for imports through the Channel materials through its site in Catalonian coast. The Spanish Rail freight is unfairly treated Tunnel by rail. Middlesbrough and will use Transport Ministry has decided in Pendon Museum, Long Wittenham. partnerships which are supported by rail and to close signal boxes around Stockton, Norton bus companies, transport authorities, tourist and Billingham, suggests that Network Rail by the Government, according At present, rail freight inside the A V Dawson’s Teesside termi- to develop the new line between On the Oxford line, the footbridge across to Philippa Edmunds of Freight nal at Riverside Park to deliver Castellbisbal, in the south of Bar- Hinksey yard was closed in August following bodies and local government. Schools are is radically revising operating possibilities. European Union operates with- involved with courses to encourage safe travel Railfuture North East hopes this will allow on Rail. Lorries pay only a third out the need for customs declara- ­material to the East Midlands celona province, and Tarragona. a bridge strike by a lorry. Local people have of the cost they impose on the by children. The Department for Transport now higher speeds, especially from Northallerton to tions. area. It will allow existing lines to be demanded that when it is rebuilt for overhead economy yet diesel duty for lor- includes partnerships in rail franchises. Eaglescliffe, which would benefit virtually every A £2 million investment will used exclusively by passenger line electrification it should be provided with ries has been frozen since 2011, Over 2,000 trains transported www.railfuture.org.uk/Thames Valley Branch passenger train journey to or from Teesside. allow the material to be loaded services. access ramps which would cost millions of while rail freight charges have 1.22 million tonnes of freight last Twitter @RailfutureTV directly on to trains, under cover. pounds. This might give Network Rail an excuse n increased by 22%. Another rise is year, excluding containers from The line will also allow chemi- Apology and correction ships. In the first three months of to remove the bridge, even though the right of threatened to 29%. nTrain name for Lord Tony cal products from Tarragona to way existed before the railway was built, even North East Apologies for mis-naming the shadow transport this year, international rail freight be exported directly to France, Lorries are also excluded from being shown on an 1830 Ordnance Survey map. spokesman in Railwatch 156. He is not Andy across the channel increased to Leaders of the UK rail freight without broad gauge wagons the Department for Trans- At Osney Lane footbridge, just south of Oxford [email protected] Taylor, but Andy McDonald, and he is the MP for 100 million tonne kilometres, up industry ​gathered at London being needed. port’s ban on selling diesel road station, Network Rail put up notices declaring it Middlesbrough. by nearly a quarter (23%) com- nTees and Durham bid for CrossCountry ­vehicles. is not a dedicated right of way. In fact, the lane www.railfuture.org.uk/North East Branch pared to the same period in 2017. ADVERTISEMENT was there well before the railway. The Department for Transport’s consultation Twitter @RailfutureNEast Yet 79% of car drivers want to on the new CrossCountry franchise gave rail The report Rail Freight – Work- see fewer lorries on the road ing for Britain sets out how rail nPositive encounters with MPs campaigners the opportunity to put the case and want to see necessary rail for running trains directly to Teesside and freight secures over £1.7 billion Railfuture Thames Valley committee members European Passengers Federation upgrades to transfer freight to of economic benefits for Britain. met Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat MP for the Durham coast towns. With half a million rail. Ms Edmunds called for Gov- Oxford West and Abingdon, who is keen to people living along the coast alone, Saltburn [email protected] ernment investment to unblock nShippers in rail deal promote public transport. She opposes the Line User Group and Coastliners believe their rail pinch points. proposed Oxford-Cambridge expressway. She rail route deserves more inter-city- style trains, The European Passengers Federation, of which A group of shippers called Ocean Railfuture is a founder member, has started an Enhancements to rail freight Network Express (ONE) and is also concerned about delays in rebuilding to complement those which Grand Central infrastructure often have strong Oxford station and extending electrification to already operates to York and London. We have investigation of customer experiences with rail train operator Freightliner have passes, ranging from international Interrail to benefit-cost ratios – typically signed a deal to guarantee capac- Oxford. So far, only artist’s impressions of the known for some time that Sunderland city varying from 4:1 to 8:1. new station have been shown to the public. council shares this view and it was heartening national and regional passes, in the UK and in ity on the main intermodal routes Layla agreed to put an oral parliamentary to find, at a DfT stakeholder meeting in York the rest of Europe. “Lorries receive a large subsidy in the UK. According to ONE, the question to ask what progress has been made in June, that a spokesman for Tees Valley The best of such passes give flexible travel from the Government which agreement will encourage modal in planning the new station. Written questions Combined Authority put the case for adding by train, bus and urban transport and we adds another barrier to enabling shift, removing 118,320 miles of rail freight to compete on a level lorry use from UK roads per day get only a written answer, but the minister has the coast route to the CrossCountry network. campaigners need to spread good practice. playing field,” she said. and reducing greenhouse gases to reply in person to an oral question, which The new franchise will begin at the end of Some passes also give easy travel across by 67 per cent. opens the subject to debate. 2019 and is the first franchise renewal since national borders. Maggie Simpson, executive We have also had a meeting with Robert Courts, Transport for the North was set up. Railfuture director at the Rail Freight Freightliner, a subsidiary of Trevor Garrod has already received customer Conservative MP for Witney. He admitted he North East wants to see TfN closing the large Group, said: “Moving freight by Genesee & Wyoming, already experiences of some passes, including in Berlin- does not know much about railways, but he gap in transport spending per head between rail is good for the environment, worked with shipping com- Brandenburg, the Czech Republic, the Loire would be glad to receive any information that the London area and the North of England. reduces road congestion and is panies MOL, NYK and K-Line region of western France, Switzerland and we could feed to him. We are hoping he can n safer than by road. “ before they gathered to become persuade West Oxfordshire district council to CrossCountry 2 Wales. ONE in 2017. take an interest in rail matters, and in particular Fears of a reduction in the number of If you have used one or been deterred from nPost-Brexit plans nGypsum deal for Dawson the role for Hanborough station as the railhead CrossCountry trains serving Morpeth prompted buying one because of negative experiences, The creation of new railway cus- for Eynsham, where 2,750 new homes are a strong response to the Department for please contact Trevor at 15 Clapham Rd South, toms areas at freight terminals Middlesbrough freight logistics proposed in the local plan. Transport by South East Northumberland Rail Lowestoft NR32 1RQ or by email. throughout the country is being firm A V Dawson has signed a 14 railwatch October 2018 Twitter: @railfuture www.railfuture.org.uk ◆◆◆◆ Rail User Express can be downloaded from www.railfuture.org.uk railwatch October 2018 15 nTransport innovation networks Cymru Wales The transport innovation networks were launched across Wales earlier this year, Prize challenge for engineers of the future [email protected] with Railfuture attending the South Wales event. The initiative is part of the Connecting By Ariadne Tampion nPublic transport for the future Communities in Wales project being delivered [email protected] A new approach to transport is needed in by the Community Transport Association. This The future of the railways Wales to replace the “road-based solution” that project is supported by the Welsh Government depends fundamentally on has been on the table for 30 years. That is the Rural Communities Development Fund – Rural people. verdict of Sophie Howe, who was appointed by Development Programme 2014-20, which Picture: ADRAIN NICHOLLS Rolling stock and infrastructure the Welsh Government three years ago as the is funded by the Welsh Government and RESCUE: West Coast Railways came do not magically appear when Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. European Union. to the rescue of the Lakes line in June politicians release funding. The commissioner says the Welsh Government The feedback provided by people who by providing a heritage diesel to run They have to be designed, should not spend £1.4 billion building a new attended the first round of transport innovation the regular service. It is seen here at constructed and commissioned Picture: ARIADNE TAMPION Black Route section of M4 motorway around networks meetings is shaping transport solutions for the benefit of people living and Staveley level crossing on the line from by engineers. With this truth Newport. Oxenholme to Windermere in mind, the Institution of Instead it should use the money to invest in working in rural Wales. There has been a further series of meetings to find out how ideas have ask West Coast Railways to run the Lakes Mechanical Engineers has set public transport, active travel and delivery of all up Railway Challenge to find phases of the South Wales Metro. been taken forward and what plans there are line service on a full-time basis, charging the for the future for the community transport costs to Northern, until Northern can prove the next generation of Sir Nigel sector in Wales it is capable of operating it alongside other Gresleys. www.railfuturewales.org.uk services. This could then provide the necessary The challenge for each team Twitter @RailfutureWales focus and incentive for the staffing issues to be is to build a locomotive of resolved. the appropriate size to run FLAG hopes that the timetable improvements on the Stapleford Miniature North West can then be implemented as soon as possible, Railway near Melton Mowbray hopefully in May 2019, ready for the full in Leicestershire, where the [email protected] introduction of the Northern Connect service, competition is held over a with new stock, from December 2019. weekend every summer. nCrossCountry franchise renewal nMorecambe line suffers too The requirements change from In its submission to the CrossCountry franchise year to year, so there is always a consultation, the North Cheshire Rail User Railfuture member David Alexander who fresh challenge. Some teams are Group calls for the completion of the Halton is station adopter at Bare Lane, points out made up of university students, Curve to provide an opportunity to restore that the focus of the timetable meltdown others are young graduates and COMMISSIONER: Sophie Howe direct services previously lost from Liverpool, was on the Oxenholme-Windermere line apprentices from industry. Some without adding to congestion on the West during the summer. Yet the Furness line and The commissioner’s new report Transport Fit are a collaboration between Coast main line south of Runcorn. the Morecambe branch (both of which also for Future Generations calls for far-reaching and neighbouring academic and Although these services could lead to capacity see summer holiday visitors) have also been ambitious solutions. industrial organisations. A few issues on the Rossett Junction to Wrexham significantly affected by the Northern timetable The report says: “Over three million people in cuts. It will be a challenge to recover the are from overseas. Wales rely on its transport infrastructure on North junction section, if Transport for Wales ENGINEERS: The University of Sheffield team with their locomotive. Isobel is third from the left sticks to its words then this section will be re- passenger traffic lost as a result. The 2018 competition began on a daily basis and it is important to know that The mix of buses and trains during the Thursday 28 June with teams the Welsh Government and public bodies are doubled in the not too distant future. Previously, Liverpool had direct rail links summer on the Morecambe branch has caused arriving, unloading and setting in her first year of Mechanical investing in a transport infrastructure that is fit to Scotland (soon to be reinstated by confusion among passengers, many of whom up camp. Engineering undergraduate Railfuture Rail Users Conference 2018 for current and future generations. TransPennine Express), Bristol, Plymouth, deserted the line. The RMT Saturday strikes studies there. “With transport and technology developing On the Friday and Saturday the Rail driving growth in the Thames Valley Penzance, Southampton, Bournemouth, during August and September, which halted She found participation rapidly, revolutionising not only how we travel locomotives were assessed for Weymouth, Brighton and Poole to name but the service completely, have added to the maintainability, and undertook in Railway Challenge Novotel, 25B Friar Street, Reading RG1 1DP but the ways in which we will live and work in a few, and NCRUG feels that new routes on woes of passengers. The Furness line still has overwhelmingly positive. the future, we want to help formulate policies cancellations because of driver or conductor 5-10 minutes walk from Reading station CrossCountry could help to remedy the present It gave her the opportunity to and interventions which are in the interest of sad state of affairs. shortages or mechanical failure. the future generations we champion. Now a proper rail service is finally restored work in a team with students NCRUG accepts CrossCountry is currently a from different year groups and Saturday 10 November 2018 10.00-17.00 “We want to help transport in Wales become Birmingham-centred operation, and to have on the Morecambe branch, it is going to take truly sustainable, maximising its contribution to exceptional effort on the part of Northern to different engineering disciplines, a route which does not take in New Street on a real-world project to a all seven well-being goals. would be a departure from the norm, but regain lost traffic. SPEAKERS test runs. Each team was also deadline. “We offer an alternative package of transport hopes nevertheless that consideration will be nSouthport-Piccadilly bonus required to give a business solutions to help solve congestion and make a Councillor Tony Page, chair, Reading Council given to linking Liverpool with the South West Campaigners are celebrating some good news presentation. As a bonus, the competition better contribution to Wales’ well-being goals. of England and possibly the Thames Valley, on the long-running issue of the loss of through camping weekend proved a real Reading’s successful transport strategy “We need one that better contributes to local Sunday 1 July was the main bypassing congested Birmingham New Street. services to Manchester Piccadilly. The Ormskirk- bonding experience. She referred Howard Smith, operations director, Crossrail well-being objectives and the aspirations of challenge day, when spectators subsequently to her “Railway As well as making this key point, NCRUG calls Preston-Southport Travellers Association were welcomed and trains Cardiff Capital Region and one which helps Challenge family”. for longer trains, better seating and a complete and Southport Rail Transport Forum, with from the Stapleford fleet Crossrail and its future as the Elizabeth Line the Welsh Government and local authorities re-think of the seat reservation system. Merseytravel support, had a meeting with In the seven years for which the meet their decarbonisation targets, reduce were run for them in between Ian Baxter, SLC Rail Northern on 22 August when it was confirmed competition has been running inequalities and transport poverty, improve nFLAG raises service concerns the competitors’ trains. The that two additional direct Piccadilly services will so far, the number of entries has Developing a business case and building new stations physical and mental health and reduce noise competitor locomotives were The Furness Line Action Group notes that be added from December. been restricted to a maximum and air pollution.” assessed for ride comfort, Anna Holbrook, Network Rail during the summer timetable chaos when A Southport-Piccadilly service will leave at of twelve, due to the limited The report focuses on south-east Wales, but Northern was unable to run services on the traction, noise and energy 0817, with a return at 1618, calling at Oxford storage. facilities at Stapleford. Western rail link to Heathrow project the findings and conclusions in the report are Lakes line, service reliability on the Furness line Road. Northern also announced that from designed to apply to any area of Wales – or improved to its best level since Northern took September it expected to return to running a The worthy overall winning But such has been its success Howard Elliot, Network Rail beyond. over the franchise, without the emergency full timetable of services between Southport team was from Ricardo Rail, that these are being expanded so reduced timetable imposed by Northern across with their first ever entry in the that many more teams will get Electrification nWales and Borders franchise and Manchester Victoria. much of the rest of their network. The groups, with Merseytravel support, are competition. Their locomotive the chance to take part next year. Mark Walker, Heathrow Southern Railway Ltd Arriva Trains Wales arranged a number of However, all came crashing down again when excelled at the energy storage pressing for the full service to return in May Registrations for the 2019 The new way of getting a bigger and better railway farewell events after 15 years of operating the Northern recommenced Lakes line services next year, despite the “industry resistance” to challenge, which was weighted challenge open on 8 October Wales and Borders franchise. KeolisAmey takes in early July. Cancellations on the Furness line change after this year’s fiascos (which could very highly, in line with 2018. over the new franchise on 14 October. Most swiftly returned to the grossly unacceptable contemporary environmental £30 for members and non members delay any further improvements until at least For further information, of the ATW vinyls had been removed from the levels before the timetable change. December 2019). However the groups do concerns. Its striking camouflage £20 16-25 Railcard holder exterior of the coaches by mid September. FLAG believes that the postponement of the livery turned heads too! including how to become a not accept that, and will be pressing their spectator, see n original December 2018 timetable changes MPs and Transport for the North, as well as My daughter Isobel Catt, whom Transport strategy consultations (which included the restoration of through www.imeche.org/events/challenges/ Includes welcome refreshments and buffet lunch Northern. They were pleased to hear Northern’s some readers will remember railway-challenge Railfuture has participated in three regional services to Manchester) would enable Northern commitment to restoration of a full service at from her role in the Railfuture You can book your place at: meetings organised by Welsh Government, to resolve staffing issues and run a reliable the meeting. Leicester Conference last year, n Dr Ariadne Tampion CEng which is the start of what will be a long term timetable, but as a short-term expedient FLAG www.railfuture.org.uk/North West Branch was a novice member of the MIET is chair of Railfuture https://www.railfuture.org.uk/conferences/ process developing its transport strategy. feels the Department for Transport could Twitter @RailfutureNWest Sheffield University team, being East Midlands. 16 railwatch October 2018 Twitter: @railwatch www.railfuture.org.uk ◆◆◆◆ Please remember Railfuture in your will: www.railfuture.org.uk/legacies railwatch October 2018 17 Your views London & South East Nuneaton changes

I do not know how long ago Pride of Picture: RAILWATCH it was that Tim Mickleburgh was a student in Nuneaton, but I suspect that the layout Scotland of Nuneaton Trent Valley has Picture: SCOTRAIL ScotRail trains were branded WIXAMS: Earth movers on a part of the site near Bedford where 4,500 homes are being built and where a station was promised changed considerably since with the rainbow symbol in then. For a Coventry-Leicester June to support two LGBTIQ [email protected] popular with residents of the adjacent new Barham Village housing train to reach the Leicester events – Pride Edinburgh and development. platform from the Coventry side n Pride Glasgow. Raising Railfuture’s media profile www.stra.org.uk would entail crossing at least Several requests for live radio and TV appearances on topical rail issues four running lines of the West Alex Hynes, ScotRail Alliance nMayor backs cash input for new Bedford station Managing Director, lined up gave Railfuture opportunities to get our message across during the Coast main line. Pathing this summer. The stories included July’s 10 most crowded trains, and the Plans for a £27 million railway station south of Bedford could be back would be extremely difficult. with representatives from on track, according to the Bedfordshire Times & Citizen. Bedford Borough British Transport Police, restoration of most of Northern’s reduced services. There used to be a single-track Council executive was meeting in September to consider whether DIVERSITY: ScotRail’s Alex Hynes, centre, with rail staff Network Rail and ScotRail. Railfuture joined forces with the Campaign for Better Transport for dive-under at the south end of the May launch of a campaign for a Government-funded network it should help bridge a £14 million gap. Extensive house building is the station but this was aimed at He said: “I’m thrilled to development fund, similar to the new stations fund. We handed in a currently under way near the site and developer Gallagher Estates has traffic running directly between support Pride Edinburgh 4000-signature letter to the Department for Transport after meeting at pledged £13 million for the station at Wixams which was proposed 12 Coventry and Leicester, avoiding unwilling or unable to provide he is proposing instead of the with our specially designed Lea Bridge, one of London’s newest stations. Lea Bridge reopened two years ago. The Liberal Democrat Mayor Dave Hodgson said: “While it the station. The dive-under (to these services, it is therefore Stadler bimode trains now being rainbow trains. years ago with support from the new stations fund after a Railfuture- is not the job of councils to build railway stations and that was never what extent it still exists) would necessary for another operator built for services in East Anglia. “We want our workforce to inspired campaign. intended in this case, I am stepping in to make it our business. We will to do so. West Midlands Railway reflect the diversity of our make sure residents get the station they were promised.” He said the need extensive reconstruction Is he suggesting new diesels n in order to provide direct access is the obvious front runner and to replace the ones that are customers. Speakers on fares, tickets and accessibility council could act “on the basis of recovering the costs from fares”. Wixams between Coventry and the there is no reason why they between 20 and 30 years old? “I would encourage anybody Railfuture Sussex and Surrey division members were able to quiz would be served by Thameslink trains to Bedford and London. Leicester platforms. should not operate to Tamworth Or that old trains should continue with an interest in LGBTIQ to speakers from the Rail Delivery Group and Transport Focus who spoke in www.railfuture.org.uk/London+and+South+East and Nuneaton. In order that no As a resident of the West to soldier on until such time as get in touch with us to find July on the Easier Fares consultation (which concluded in September). Twitter: @RailfutureLSE more diesel fumes are produced Midlands, I enjoyed reading all the lines are electrified? It has out more about the work the In June, speakers from Govia Thameslink Railway and Brighton & Hove Buses spoke about passenger accessibility. The four presentations are Steve Wright’s analysis of the in Birmingham it is essential that long been Railfuture’s policy to ScotRail Alliance is doing ISSN 0267-5943 www.railwatch.org.uk available in the Sussex Division page of the Railfuture website. CrossCountry franchise. One early consideration is given to press for a rolling programme to celebrate diversity and electrification. of electrification, but that thing that Steve did not touch promote equality.” nA million reasons to provide station lifts railwatch There will be electrification presupposes priorities. is edited by Ray King, 4 Christchurch Square, London E9 7HU upon was that because of XC’s Volunteers from Railfuture-affiliated Cambridge Heath and London Fields Tel: 020 8985 8548 [email protected] teams looking for a project once As I indicated in my earlier letter, stranglehold on the eastern a completely new route for Rail User Group have concluded their annual passenger counts at two Printed by Print-Out, High Street, Histon, Cambridge CB4 4JD routes into Birmingham from Bromsgrove and the Chase Line the Stadler bimodes have been some miles before joining the designed so that they can in London Overground stations. Weekday patronage has jumped by 28% Tel: 01223 232709. Railfuture members receive ­Railwatch free. Leicester and Derby, the eastern are in service. Electrification to old trackbed perhaps around at Cambridge Heath and 23% at London Fields in the three years since part of the city lacks a suburban Nuneaton in particular provides future be converted to all-electric Dersingham. At the Hunstanton Railwatch abides by the National Union of Journalists’ code of conduct. trains as more of the network Transport for London took over from Greater Anglia. service commensurate with that a useful diversionary route end, although the line has been This gives both stations “a million passengers a year” status, although the Non-members can subscribe online at www.railfuture.org.uk/shop or by provided by West Midlands Rail. should there be any kind of is wired up. They are a logical built on, there might well be sending £8 (cheque payable to Railfuture) to: Alan Cocker, 11 Derwent response to present needs in Office of Rail and Road data do not yet reflect that for Cambridge Heath. A glance at the map on page interruption between Rugby and room for a tramline. Hence a But it puts the stations in the same league as other stations which have Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP3 0QR. 17 of Railwatch 156 shows the Birmingham. this region and quite possibly tram/ light rail/ tram-train solution elsewhere. received Access for All funding for lifts. Lifts are badly needed at both Copy deadlines: For the next issue, published in November/December, lack of suburban stations in east West Midlands Mayor Andy might be best. This would surely Trevor Garrod, Lowestoft, Suffolk stations and larger platform shelters are also needed for the increased please email ­material to [email protected] by Thursday 25 October. Birmingham and beyond. The Street and the Midlands Engine help at other points where the [email protected] number of passengers. Emergency late news up to Tuesday 13 November. first station on these routes is need to seize this opportunity. trackbed has been messed with. n Railfuture makes waves in Sussex Postal address: 4 Christchurch Square, London E9 7HU. Water Orton, which has a very Donald Payne, Tipton DY4 8EE It would not have to be very fast irregular service. [email protected] No room for buggies to be faster than the road. The The timetable changes in May caused ructions in many parts of Britain Advertising: Full page: £190. Half page: £95. Quarter page: £45. Small ads are free to members. Otherwise: 30p per word. There is a need for stations I agree with those campaigning key to its success in my mind but East Coastway and MarshLink saw the successful introduction of at places such as Saltley, Electric future for a lift at Cambridge Heath, would be frequency and well- the Railfuture-inspired “Eastbourne overlap” services. Bexhill now has an Please report any problems with the delivery or condition of your copy of Washwood Heath, Fort as this would be a great boon placed stops near key tourist extra train per hour and there are quicker connections with St Pancras Railwatch to [email protected] or to the E9 7HU address above. Dunlop, Castle Bromwich and One of your correspondents in for those with wheelchairs locations. services at Ashford International, when the train service works properly. a park and ride serving Castle Railwatch 156 criticises bimode (Railwatch 156). But I cannot Peter Solomon, Recent reliability has been poor. Railfuture Vale. Since XC is probably trains, but it is not clear what [email protected] Regular liaison between the alliance of six local user groups and share any enthusiasm for is independent and voluntary. Railfuture Ltd is a not-for-profit company Editor’s note: According to the Railfuture with the two local MPs, one of whom sits on the House of encouraging buggies on trains, limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales No 05011634. Eastern Daily Press, a group was Commons transport committee, continued with a catch-up in June, and based on my experiences with ­Registered Office: 24 Chedworth Place, Tattingstone, Suffolk IP9 2ND. buses. formed in 2017 to campaign for with Govia Thameslink Railway timetable planners in September. We now hope for fine-tuning improvements in December’s timetable. The trains the reopening of King’s Lynn- Media enquiries Join They take up space that would themselves need substantial reliability improvements. Get four copies of Railwatch magazine a year, early-bird be occupied by fee-paying Hunstanton. More information: Bruce Williamson, 29 Granby Hill, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4LT. discount for our annual national conference passengers, who are annoyed http://www.hunstantonrail.org.uk/ n Railfuture puts the passenger view in three reviews Tel: 0117 9272954 Mobile: 07759 557389 and the chance to help improve Britain’s railways when they have to stand as https://www.facebook.com/ Railfuture has responded to consultations on the Economic Connectivity Email: [email protected] JOIN USING PAYPAL AT www.railfuture.org.uk/join a result. There is a case for KLHunstantonRailwayCampaign/ Review carried out by Transport for the South East, the future of rail in charging for buggies on space Membership £18 per year. Pensioners, n Individual £18 per year London by the Greater London Assembly’s transport committee, and the grounds. students and unwaged: £14. Joint: £20. n Joint £20 timetable disruption on Thameslink and Great Northern carried out by Tim Mickleburgh, Grimsby User groups, community and parish councils: £21. Businesses: £35 n Pensioners, students and unwaged £14 Railwatch welcomes the Office of Rail and Road. We are confident that our contributions have [email protected] You can join using PayPal via www.railfuture.org.uk or by post, please n Rail user groups, community and parish councils £21 articles and pictures been informed, independent and influential. n Businesses £35 ­contact Railfuture Membership, 1 Queens Road, Barnetby le Wold Hunstanton appeal from rail users and nLondon’s new connection to heritage railway DN38 6JH. Email: [email protected] Name ...... rail user groups The heritage Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway became fully Is there any kind of campaign up connected with the main line network when it opened its reinstated link and running for reinstatement of Send your material to: The Renewals and other membership queries: Address ...... Editor, 4 Christchurch Square, into Princes Risborough on 15 August. King’s Lynn-Hunstanton? I was London E9 7HU www.chinnorrailway.co.uk . Use PayPal on the website or send a cheque to Railfuture Renewals, 24 Chedworth Place, ­Tattingstone, Suffolk IP9 2ND. recently in the area, and it took Email: [email protected] ...... Postcode ...... us about an hour and a half to nTalks to improve service at adopted station Email: [email protected] cover 20 or so miles by car. Please use email if possible but include your postal The campaign to improve Sudbury & Harrow Road station’s skeletal Email ...... Elections Board elections held annually. Nomination forms can be Some observations: address. Postal and email service was recently featured in the local press. Sudbury Town Residents’ obtained from www.railfuture.org.uk/Elections Send to addresses may be published Association has officially adopted the station and is in talks with Chiltern Railfuture, 1 Queens Road, Barnetby le Wold DN38 6JH There is already a freight railway Many other useful contact details can be found on the Cheques payable to Railfuture. Email: [email protected] unless writers specifically ask Railways about improvements. Despite the sparse service (four trains Who’s Who coming out east of King’s for them to be excluded. ­Railfuture website: www.railfuture.org.uk Lynn. It would have to follow each way daily, Mon-Fri only) the station is becoming increasingly 18 railwatch October 2018 Twitter: @railfuture www.railfuture.org.uk ◆◆◆◆ European Rail Timetable available at http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu railwatch October 2018 19 Travis, amarketing consultant, Railfuture’s board andPeter membership portfolio within I havebeentasked withthe as wesharethatsamegoal. we wantthemtojoinRailfuture demanding betterrailwaysand I believethesecampaignersare huge disruptiontorailusers. meant masscancellationsand relations, bothofwhichhave dysfunctional industrial timetabling problemsand might beprotestingover reopen arailwaylineorthey They mightbebattlingto campaign withus. them tojoinRailfutureand a betterrailwayandpersuade are activelycampaigningfor is torecruitmoreofthosewho campaigners. Theprimetarget wide rangeofrailusersand profile thatbetterrepresentsthe Railfuture hasamembership importantly, itistoensure reasons but,evenmore It isnecessaryforfinancial within therailwayindustry. organisation ofsignificance to ensureitcontinuesbean active campaigningmembers Railfuture needstorecruitmore It haslongbeenrecognisedthat Portbury Docks projectPortbury hadbeen By 2002the£21millionRoyal the linewas£7million Projected costofreopening infancy. limited andsocial media in their access was considering internet petition, a pretty impressive feat Over 2,600peoplehadsigneda of 1964. line, closedintheBeechingcuts reopen thePortishead to Bristol formed arailpressure group to when residents of Portishead day inMarchsince that 2000 Railway Group haveendured Portishead highs andlowsthat which chartedthe sentation Members were treated toapre- North Somerset. town ofPortisheadin Country to bringtrainsbacktheWest mark 18yearsofcampaigning A celebrationwasheldinJulyto of age comes Group Railway Portishead 20 railwatch October 2018 Twitter: @railfuture www.railfuture.org.uk [email protected] [email protected] By WendyThorne By WendyThorne Agents ofchange [email protected] Peter Travis at members please contactmeor Team andhelp recruitnew volunteer tojoinourChange Anyone whowouldliketo face.” addition tolobbyingface channels andsocialmediain Railfuture throughdigital probably wanttoengagewith our futurememberswill these meetings.Furthermore of ourmembersdonotattend to recognisethatthemajority of Railfuturebutwedoneed remain avitallyimportantpart “Branch meetingswillalways membership. way weengagewithour We alsoneedtochangethe management andrecruitment. such associalmedia,event a rangeofskillsinareas “We needvolunteerswith Change Team. organisation aspartofa process throughoutthe to drivethistransformation find peopletoworkwithus within Railfuture.We wantto seeking are‘agentsofchange’ Peter explained:“Whatweare transformation ofRailfuture. alongside metotrydrivethe has beenappointedtowork the Portisheadlineaired, butthe TV programmea 30-minute on GRIP 3 had been publishedand the three milesofdisused track, North SomersetCouncil bought intertwined withbad.In2008 few years,goodnewswas next risen to£13million.Overthe future. The projected cost had a promise ofarailwayinthe Portishead was starting, with The marina development in not builttopassengerstandards. way forfreight butthelinewas delivered on time toclear the PARTY TIME:FoundermembersofPortisheadRailwayGroupcelebrate18yearscampaigning Back tothepresent day, in2018 Back onTrack inequalmeasure. swung between headlines overtheyearshave £56 million. Local newspaper time. first projectedBut the costwasnow the for cleared was Hopes were raised as the track a few.Severn Beachtonamebut into andoutofBristol,Bath project thatincorporatedlines head waspartofamuchbigger was formedandsuddenlyPortis- £38 million.In2013MetroWest projected cost was now up to easy-reading travel book. Peter’s easy-reading travelbook. Peter’s to appealthose whoenjoyan is designed railway theme but Remote Stations is written with a ident MichaelCaton. to hisfather, Railfuture vice-pres- Peter Catondedicatedthebook A committedenvironmentalist, nowhere atall”. me” andthestation“serves that thetrainstopped “just for ­others obscure. Heoftenwrites railways. Some are wellknown, on resurrected narrow gauge of stations,including afew ety His choicecoversawidevari- cially existed. offi- it before closed that ­station and railway history. He found a dents, tales of human endeavour ­stories ofsome bizarre acci- Along the wayheunearthed of ourmostscenicrailwaylines. and marshes,asherode onsome snowy mountain,tomoors, hills ners ofthecountry, tothetopofa He also journeyed toallfourcor out tosea. His travelseventookhimamile lonely railwaystations. Peter visits 40 ofBritain’s most In his new bookRemoteStations ling oninteresting trains. love ofremote placesandtravel- Author PeterCatoncombinesa In loveIn withlonelystations End of the Line to End ofthe - seems more hopefulthanever. returning trainstoPortishead but, despitethe funding gap, been verypatientovertheyears Residents of Portishead have ebratory drink. ber andglasses raised with acel- cake wascutbyafoundermem- were inpartymood as a birthday members has itschallengesbut and optimistic upbeat Staying million. costs havenowsoared to£116Projected filled. be can gap ing we awaitnewsofhowthefund- Troubador. ISBN:9781789014082 and historical. It is published by and whitephotos, bothrecent more than150colourand black The £9.90 book is illustrated with but withfrequencies increased. now slowerthan20yearsago, surprising numberofroutes are a old timetablesshowedthat 50 yearsago.Hisresearch into recalled his childhood journeys Stop previous bookTheNextStation was publishedin2013,and

Picture: WENDY THORNE The pace wasnowhotting up, Master atBlaydon closeby. Newcastle, followed by Yard tant Yard MasteratHeaton, getting his hands dirty as Assis motion scheme and was soon Stan wasonanacceleratedpro - was notunusual. heading plussometimes a banker the Stainmore Railway. Double- Winston ontheeasternsideof soon pastures newbeckonedat Ravensthorpe followed though A spellasstationmasterat continued torun through. line wasaxed,thoughexpresses senger service on theSpenValley It wasnottolast.Thelocalpas- signal- men underhiswing. fifteen than less no had of signalboxes,andStansoon A stationmasterhadsupervision before Stan’stimethere. just station Iwasfamiliarwith lived inBattyeford soitwasa My favouriteauntanduncle the SpenValley”. on the “New Line to Leeds via course appointed toBattyeford a stationmasterandwasindue He sethissightsonbecoming booking clerk. on 30 Keighley April asajunior at He wasaccepted,starting Clerks to replace staff in HM Forces cies for Temporary JuniorRailway answered anadvertforVacan- life camein1943whenhe in Stan’s moment defining The and York.Leeds Crewe, Carnforth, as such afield money tovisitsheds further mates were usingtheirpocket Soon he and his like-minded Moor andMirfield. cle –tolocomotivesheds at Low frequent visits–initiallybybicy- School dayswere punctuatedby the trainsgoby. bridge sotheymightbothwatch park hispramonarailwayover ated whenhismotherwould interest inrailwayswasgener ley where, from an earlyage, his in Bing- Hall wasborn Stanley fond memoriesofhim His friendBobSwallowhas safety operation, signallingand on thesubjectofrailway foremost commentators Stanley wasoneofBritain’s and authority.” realism, commonsense a beaconofexperience, Ford said:“Heprovided Fellow vice-president Roger because ofillhealthin2015 many yearsuntilheretired Railfuture vice-presidentfor Stanley HallMBEwasa ◆◆◆◆ Turkey is planning tobuild a high speed link from Istanbul toBulgaria Railfuture vice-president Stanley HallMBE vice-president Railfuture - - - . Stanley HallMBE9 April 1926–29June2018 December 1964,avery wildday, phone at04.00 on7 ened by that beingon call he was awak- It wasfrom his home inBarrow station northwards. Settle and Carlisle from Settle Carlisle but also– joy of joy - the the coastalroute from Barrow to the West Coastmainlineplus which positioncovered notjust ments Superintendent,Barrow, to homeas Assistant Move- His nextmovewasadealcloser capital. Queen back tothe Majesty the asthe Stationmaster welcomed Her he watched day first his Master at King’sCross where on during 1961as Assistant Station moted backtopassengerwork Stan howeverwasthenpro- shalling yard there. plans tobuildahugenewmar This was1959andthere were Peterborough as Yard Master. next stopbeingNewEngland - intervals, his final posting being posting final his intervals, Promotions followedatregular inside him. of clareting carwithhalf abottle wild nightina12-wheeleddin - travelling upMallerstangon a his times on the S&C, especially Stan hadwonderfulmemories of ply toppledoffbythegale. level with theparapet,were sim- transporter train.Thecars,being wheels on theLuton-Bathgatecar secured bychocksunderthe weretime they At the simply Humber SuperSnipes! trucks which should have beencarrying flat unoccupied several signalman at BleaMoor noted have been hadnotthe it might he realised just howmuch worse Exciting times,especiallywhen head Viaduct”. down ontheuplineRibble- new motorcarsare lyingupside believe this but four or five brand “Youthe newsthat with won’t railwatch October 2018 21 way Journal inAugust2018 published inthe Settle-Carlisle Rail n richly deserved. the RailwayIndustryandU3A is son whose MBE for Services to Hall wasasmashingper Stanley wayman’s Odyssey. two-part autobiography ing withrailwaysafetyand his Der Mark; CrossingsLevel VanPeter with aspects oftherailwaysincluding Stan wrote severalbookson yard. the experthand of Ian Apple- 2014. Hislegacycontinuesunder when he suffered a stroke during Sadly for him this came to anend ticular area ofthecountry. several heritage lines in apar days, initiated byStan,visiting organise theannualrailwayholi- Latterly manyofushelpedto the funnysideofthings. He sooncooleddownandsaw “Having arantagain”. we theaudience liked toputit, Government causedhimtobe,as Board and theirmasters in the directions takenbytheRailways his thoughts on some of the Never onetomincehiswords, expound hisrailwayknowledge. bers joined,coming tohearStan of theSettle-CarlisleLinemem- It washere thatmanyFriends by farthelargest group. aroundwas seventymembersit he ranfor14years.With latterly the RailwayStudyGroup which He founded, at SkiptonU3A, tion of Stan puttinghis feet up. On retirement there wasnoques- Hall, Settle. Victoriaone conductedinthe surethe of theS&C,thisbeing over theproposedinquiry clo- Stan certainlyhadhis say atthe erties theyhadlivedin. lost countofthenumberprop- doubtless his lovely wife Val had accidents. Bythistimeheand ters asheadofsignallingand to BritishRailboard headquar o Salws ril ws first was article Swallow’s Bob Hidden Dangers, Hidden A Rail deal------Electric the norm for rail, all the way to the Pyrenees By Peter Hall Are you sitting comfortably? No! Railfuture life member [email protected] Paul Abell looks at the At the start of May 2018, I joined EVEN THE RAILWAY INDUSTRY deteriorating travel conditions for a group of Railfuture members train passengers’ bottoms – but and a few partners assembled NOW WANTS BETTER SEATS now there is hope expectantly at St Pancras Inter- national for the latest European Long-suffering passengers, especially Picture: PHILIP BISATT Picture: PHILIP adventure. those who travel regularly on the class

700 trains used on the Thameslink ABELL Picture: PAUL That same evening, courtesy of services, will be relieved to hear that Eurostar and SNCF, taking the the Rail Safety and Standards Board TGV on the high-speed line to Bordeaux, then the “classic” line, is looking at ways of improving train we checked into our comfortable seating.

hotel in central Toulouse. Picture: ROGER BLAKE As part of its research and develop- The station and its entrance were ment programme, the RSSB is man- Some things were definitely better under impressive, but the city itself – aging a research project Defining the British Rail, such as the seats on this the fourth-largest metropolitan requirements of a seat comfort selection Class 323 electric train built in the last area in France, and about the size process. days of BR in the 1990s of greater Glasgow in terms of The research will explore the human population – was a little disap- factors affecting comfort, taking into pointing. account factors such as the shape of It was undergoing major build- the seat, its material and cushioning, The Thameslink experience: it is not difficult to lumbar spine support, vibration, leg- ing works which made it a little SNOW ON PYRENEES: Railfuture members at Latour-de-Carol with a French train from Toulouse harder to get around. But with see why these seats have been dubbed “ironing room, and the length of the journey. boards”. Captive commuters may have to put up the help of Trevor Garrod, our scenic ride all the way up to the Announcing the project, the RSSB with them, but clearly such seating will do little leader and tour guide, we soon Spanish border at Latour-de- was at pains to point out that it was a to encourage off-peak travellers to go by train ABELL Picture: PAUL got our bearings. Carol in the Pyrenees. continuation of previous work, rather than a reaction to widespread public The Toulouse metro was quite The station is the terminus of impressive, and one line was criticism of the ironing board seating three lines, each with different having its train lengths doubled on the Thameslink trains, but it did gauges so passengers have to from two to four coaches. admit that the rail industry had woken change trains for onward travel. up to the fact that “seat comfort was an Less impressive were the BISATT Picture: PHILIP Moving to First Class, the Lancashire & unstaffed ticket gates which Once past Toulouse commuting issue that could be better informed by Yorkshire Railway clearly did not want nearly always left one or two distance, the line from Toulouse new research.” to offend its local millowners when it group members stranded from is no more than a single-track But how has train seating offered them this level of comfort in the the remainder of the group, branch line with an infrequent Picture: ROGER BLAKE got into such a mess? 1880s despite their having a valid service. But it does have over- head electrification! One important factor has been that ticket. successive train procurement pro- However, the nimble-footedness So do the other two lines from grammes have seen the seating as an of those members ensured that Latour-de-Carol. Come on Win- area in which costs could be reduced. with a bit of tail-gating, they dermere, Swansea and Leicester! If seats cost around £100 a time, there were able to rejoin their col- The ongoing SNCF strike meant SPANISH CONNECTION: The train for Barcelona at the border is a great temptation to cut this by £10, leagues! Alas, the Paris metro that our booked train home along station of Latour-de-Carol which has three different gauges. and, a cynic would say, especially if ABELL Picture: PAUL was similar in that respect. the scenic route was cancelled. One of them, Le Petit Train Jaune, goes to Villefranche-de- The facing seats on Thameslink are hardly more you do not intend to travel on these Monsieur Evin from Tisseo, the Our leader managed to rebook Conflent, with onward connections to Perpignan attractive trains yourself. public transport and mobility all 20 or so of us, one-at-a-time, The resulting decline in comfort is authority for greater Toulouse, on the TGV so we still got to palmed off as being insignificant when gave the group a presentation in Paris in time for our homeward passengers are only travelling a short The new diesel trains of the 1950s French about current and future journey on the Eurostar, for no Roll up for the lottery journey. plans for transport in the region offered First Class seats matching the extra cost. Big thanks. for the next 10 years. ROLL UP for the Railfuture Lot- costs just £1 per month per entry. Thameslink has brought this into the L&Y standard of comfort – little did spotlight – a lot of influential people passengers know what was to come! The story was familiar, trying to Mind you, the people behind tery – and help boost our prize You can pay by PayPal (see live in North London and were expect- tempt people out of their cars, him in the queue at the Toulouse fund! The Lottery raises funds www.railfuture.org.uk/lottery), with promises of longer trains, booking office probably had dif- for our campaigning, but also internet banking or by cheque. ABELL Picture: PAUL ing Thameslink to give them a direct greater frequencies and longer ferent views! pays back half of what is received You can receive your winnings comfortable ride to Brighton, just to operating hours, with more and So overall it was an enjoyable in prizes, so the more of you using any of these methods too! mention one of the more alluring des- tinations on the Thameslink network. extended lines, and even a cable trip, and members learnt how who join, the more is paid out in For more information, email car. Let us hope it succeeds. one French city plans to address prizes every month! [email protected] or send What a let-down, or to be accurate a We experienced the vagaries its transport problems over the There are six prizes each draw a cheque for a multiple of £12, bump-down, as they made contact with the ironing board seats. One just of SNCF ticketing, whereby next decade or so. with a top prize of £40, and it payable to Railfuture Lottery, ABELL Picture: PAUL between us we managed to pay 24 Chedworth Place, Tatting- hopes that they could not remember at least three if not four different Reviled in its time to the extent that they the Brighton Belle. stone, Suffolk IP9 2ND. encouraged the Underground Group to extend fares for the same day trip! GROUP VISIT TO BERLIN IN MAY 2019 Unfortunately West Hampstead to RECENT WINNERS Tube services through North London, even the RDS Group Travel, which is independent of Railfuture, will Brighton is scheduled to take 97 min- That of course created a feeling LNER Quad-art stock of the 1920s is nowadays run its main visit next year to Berlin 8-15 May. More details June: Peter J Pass, Graham of both satisfaction at having regarded by passengers as offering seating utes, at the end of which passengers bagged a bargain and trepidation will be in the December issue of Railwatch. Smith, John O’Sullivan, Alan will be hoping that the RSSB research John Boultwood, Michael John which is a great improvement on current in case le conducteur ruled that the The trip will be by high speed trains from London via bears fruit, and quickly. Savage, Brian Balmain. provision ticket was invalid in some way. Brussels and Cologne, with seven nights in an hotel and Meanwhile the shortcomings of mod- Despite the strikes on some optional visits, including one across the border to Poland. July: Graham Smith, Robert ern seats are totally shown up by the days, members did manage to There will also be the chance to meet campaigners from our Crockford, Allison Cosgrove, comfortable passenger experience to visit some other places by rail. German sister organisations. Susan Riley, Roger Goring, Mark We are not amused be had on heritage railways. Thameslink passengers might prefer Albi with its massive brick-built If you are interested, please contact Trevor Garrod, 15 Edgell. Her Majesty The Queen is said to dislike the The Department for Transport used to to go back to the 1930s and Brighton cathedral was quite an attraction Clapham Rd South, Lowestoft NR32 1RQ (trevorgarrod2000@ August: John Fancourt, Peter J seats on the new Thameslink trains. She is said claim that the seats must be acceptable Belle style. They would have had to for most of us. yahoo.co.uk) at this stage. Booking forms and further Yates, Steve and Sue ­Boulding, to prefer older class 365 trains for her journeys because there were so few complaints pay a Pullman supplement, but this Some ventured to Lourdes, some information will be sent out immediately after Christmas. Brian Balmain, Michael from London to Sandringham in Norfolk. about them – make sure that this photo shows part of the Third Class to Carcassonne; others took the ­Blackshaw, Barrie G Meadows. excuse is no longer tenable! accommodation 22 railwatch October 2018 Twitter: @railfuture www.railfuture.org.uk ◆◆◆◆ An Athens-Thessaloniki high speed rail service is expected to start next year railwatch October 2018 23 Rail revolution planned for the Midlands By Colin Major [email protected] Rail services across Birmingham and other Accessibility Midlands cities are set for a revolution – with journey times cut and train frequencies boosted. campaign A new 20-year strategy aims to create a Mid- lands rail hub, creating capacity for six mil- lion more passenger journeys while reduc- goes to DfT ing many inter-city journey times to an hour. Our Routes to Growth has been drawn up by The campaign to make Chinley regional transport agency Midlands Con- station in Derbyshire (Railwatch nect in collaboration with Network Rail, 155) more accessible continued train operating companies, local enterprise over the summer as the Govern- partnerships and the West Midlands Rail ment said it would make £300 Executive. million available as part of its It also aims to increase the use of rail freight Access for All programme. and take 4,320 lorries off the roads by cre- The aim is to provide more step- ating a further 36 train paths per day for free access at rail stations. freight. The funding was announced as The benefit from improving rail connections the Government published its is expected to be worth £649 million a year Inclusive Transport Strategy, hop- to the regional economy. ing to improve all types of travel Midlands Connect, which was set up four for those with disabilities. years ago, wants to double the number of The announcement came after trains per hour from Birmingham to Not- campaigners from Chinley went tingham, Leicester and Hereford. to the Department for Transport for a meeting with Minister Nus- Hourly services between Birmingham and rat Ghani (who has responsibil- Derby would increase from four to six. ity for rail access) and MP Ruth Lincoln-Birmingham would increase by one George. train per hour. The MP had earlier presented a A direct Leicester-Coventry service would petition organised by the Chinley also be introduced which does not require a Women took on railway often being no toilets & Buxworth Transport Group. change at Nuneaton. roles which were for them and how they Also at the DfT meeting were Transport Secretary Chris Grayling joined completely new to them coped with swearing Miriam Walton and Paul Tat- Midlands Connect bosses to launch Our during the Second and troublesome tam from the Chinley/Buxworth Routes to Growth in July. World War. colleagues. Transport Group. He said the Government has invested They worked as porters Most books on They explained that Chinley has £5 million to help develop the Midlands and guards, on the women’s wartime roles a centre of excellence for children Rail Hub. permanent way, and focus on the military and adults with disabilities. in maintenance and It involves longer and restored platforms, services or industrial The inaccessible station prevents workshop operations. improved junctions and signalling, and work. This book offers activities such as training for Susan Major’s new some minor electrification. valuable insights into independent travel. book features the the perceptions and One target date is 2026 – to allow some new voices of women Of course also affected are travel- concerns of these services to run in time for the arrival of HS2. talking about their lers with luggage, families with young women. Midlands Connect chairman Sir John Peace wartime railway pushchairs and people wishing said: “The Midlands is the beating heart of experiences, based Susan Major completed to use the train with a cycle. our nation and the centre of the UK trans- on interviews carried a PhD with the Institute The Minister undertook to look port network. Our ambition is to improve out by the Friends of of Railway Studies & very carefully at the case for rail connectivity from the Welsh border to the National Railway Transport History at Chinley station to receive Access the Lincolnshire coast.” Museum. the University of York for All funding. He added: “The initiatives are based on thor- Many were working in 2012. Her earlier ough research and detailed studies to iden- in “men’s jobs”, or book Early Victorian tify which projects would give the greatest working with men Railway Excursions 40th birthday for the first time, and was shortlisted for the returns to rail passengers, road users and This edition of Railwatch these interviews offer Railways and Canal most importantly, the regional and national marks a 40-year milestone. economies.” tantalising glimpses of Historical Society Book The magazine started life in Nottingham-Birmingham journey times conditions, sometimes of the Year Awards under great danger. 2017. October 1978 as duplicated would be reduced from 69 minutes to A4 pages stapled together, What they say She was also a 50 minutes while Hereford-Birmingham when it was called Railway would be cut from 84 to 60 minutes. contrasts with the way programme consultant Development News. The first they were portrayed for the BBC series The improvements would support the Railwatch magazine (number growth of more than 100,000 planned jobs. in official publicity Railways: the Making of campaigns. a Nation. She is retired 23) was published in 1983. The improvements are essential, said ­Malcolm Holmes, executive director of the They talk about there and lives in York. West Midlands Rail Executive. The launch was well received and had exten- sive media coverage including BBC Radio 40th birthday: The Railway Invigoration 4, BBC Midlands Today, BBC East Midlands Society and the Railway Development Association Today, ITV News Central, and newspapers merged in November 1978 to form the Railway from Hereford to Lincoln including the Bir- Development Society which later changed its name mingham Post, Coventry Telegraph, Express and to Railfuture. Star, Nottingham Post and Derby Telegraph.