An Uphill Struggle for the Right to Travel by Train
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AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR RAIL USERS No 154 £2 December 2017 An uphill struggle for the right to travel Picture: Paul Tattam by train SEE PAGE 2 PAGE ONE PICTURE: Chinley (and many other stations) deserve better access Our page one picture shows red- The sun should be setting on diesels up there too. The £70 million coated MP Ruth George surrounded national initiative for full accessi- By Chris Austin by people on the footbridge steps of bility on the railways launched in [email protected] Chinley station in October. 2016 by Transport Minister Alex- Since the shock announcement The High Peak MP promised to ander Dobrindt started, interest- from Transport Secretary Chris deliver an 800-signature petition ingly, with smaller stations with Grayling in July which brought to the Department for Transport, Picture: Paul Tattam less than one 1,000 entries/exits to a close the ambitious electri- calling for better access to the per day. Additionally the Ger- fication programme supported station. man “Northern Powerhouse” of previously by industry and Gov- Lifts and ramps can be life- Nordrhein-Westfalen has its own ernment, Railfuture has been Picture: NETWORK RAIL transforming for people with £900 million programme for the working to understand the issues disabilities but they help virtually modernisation of 150 of its 697 and what is best for the passen- everyone else, especially those with stations between 2017 and 2023, ger, the freight customer and the prams, luggage and bicycles too. by which date 80% of its stations railway which serves them. And Chinley is typical of many other will have step-free access (cur- None of us believes that the pres- stations throughout Britain where rently 73%). ent position is tenable for long. improvements are long overdue The British railway authorities The Infrastructure & Networks Here, Paul Tattam of Chinley must catch up. Friday 13 Octo- Group has looked at the prob- & Buxworth Transport Group ber saw a very stimulating occa- lems in depth, and meetings have describes the background to the sion at Chinley Station when been held with experts includ- protest at Chinley the Chinley & Buxworth Trans- ing our own vice-presidents and port Group handed a petition chairman Chris Page. of well over 800 signatures to Branches and individual mem- “I have not been able to use my POWER POLITICS: Scotland’s busiest inter-city route between Edinburgh and Glasgow via Falkirk High Ruth George, MP for High Peak, bers have shared their views and is being electrified as part of EGIP (the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme) local train station for over a year demanding that the Department ideas and much has been written to travel to Manchester with my for Transport improve access to in the trade press on the issue. the benefits of electrification to between the wars, and BR strug- remodelling is required to baby and my two-year old.“ the platforms at Chinley station. We are now in a good position to be spread more widely, more gled valiantly during its 50 years improve track geometry, raise When we conducted a survey of Turnout by members of the pub- set out our stall and to start cam- quickly, and the first reaction to of existence, but, after 113 years line speeds and provide addi- local rail users in late 2016, this is lic for the handover of the peti- paigning on this important issue the new trains on Great Western we still have only 34% of the net- tional capacity, before the lay- how a person living in a popular tion was extremely encouraging, for the long-term future of the (despite the unfortunate launch work electrified, although this out is frozen by the provision of commuter village on the Man- CHINLEY: Struggling with a baby buggy over the station bridge and Paul Abell, vice-president of railway and the country. day) is good, with vibration lev- accounts for over half the traffic overhead line, masts and signal chester to Sheffield main line at Railfuture, was able to be present els reported to be low when on carried. gantries. Chinley described her access to Why is it important? The funda- either a taxi to or from Hazel for a person with a disability, on the day. The Buxton Advertiser diesel power. There were government enqui- the railway. mental reason for electrifying is Similarly, the delay could be Grove in a district notorious for the Dutch equivalent of the UK’s reported in depth, and we were that the operation and mainte- But, as our vice-president Roger ries into the subject in the 1920s, used to revise plans to reduce No fewer than 114,000 passen- traffic congestion on the A6, or Passenger Assist scheme asks delighted that disability cam- nance of electric trains is cheaper Ford says, they are not the solu- and the Weir report of 1931 costs, and to identify and justify gers are estimated to use the sta- Edale – a small village which is the passenger to contact a well- paigner Chris Hughes had come and cleaner than diesels. tion to network electrification: looked at the technical issues separately the many add-ons tion every year, but they all have also inconveniently located. advertised number three hours along to support, but sadly, as a of overhead or third rail supply that were lumped in with electri- to be able to negotiate a foot- in advance to arrange a mobile In simple terms, a train with It does not have to be like this. wheelchair user, could not access electric motors and transform- Bi-modes are either and optimum voltage. The Mod- fication proposals and eventually bridge with steep steps which On a recent trip to the Nether- ramp for the train (as opposed to the platforms. ‘ ernisation Plan of 1955 included sank them. provides the only access to the the 24 hours requested in parts of ers is going to be lighter than one overweight electric lands there was such obvious We are hoping that the publicity a major programme, as did the single island platform. the UK). requiring diesel engines and fuel In July, the Government was provision for accessibility that generated will prompt the DfT tanks. trains or under- main line electrification report of faced with a project out of con- The bridge is treacherous to on our return home we checked Over the border in Nordrhein- to improve Chinley station so 1981, but neither were fulfilled as trol, and in political terms I can- climb and descend for a person With less time required on depot, powered diesel ones the Nederlandse Spoorwegen Westfalen, Germany’s most that this accessibility blackspot ’ intended. not see an early resumption of travelling alone with a pushchair website – and could not find a populous state has had a similar electric trains should have better The history of decision making becomes a community asset for availability, so fewer are required. There have been endless stud- the plans that were suspended. and infant, extremely difficult single example of a station with history to Britain of problems on infrastructure in Great Britain ies since, and more will follow. everyone. In environmental terms too, elec- The case for further electrifica- to negotiate with heavy lug- inaccessible platforms. It gets created by outdated rail infra- has not been good. The sad thing is that the great Faryal Velmi, director of Trans- tric trains are better, with zero tion remains strong as one ele- gage or bicycles, and wheelchair better. If assistance is required structure. But things are looking opportunity that was offered by port for All, recently wrote to emissions at the point of use, and Just think about the time taken to ment of route modernisation to users are simply not catered for the Government has been squan- Transport Secretary Chris Gray- capable of drawing electricity agree on the Channel Tunnel Rail improve the capacity, quality and – which rather makes a mockery Link, or runway capacity in the dered by the failings of the Great ling on behalf of 55 organisations from any power source, includ- resilience of the railway for pas- of the provision of three disabled In what is claimed to be a world first, infrastructure manager Prorail South East, and the same is true Western and Gospel Oak-Bark- to demand that as an immediate ing renewables. sengers and freight customers, parking spaces in the nearby sta- has completed a £26 million programme to make all stations on the of railway electrification. ing schemes. tion car park. priority all deferred Access for All There are other benefits too in but it may not be the first prior- Netherlands national rail network accessible to passengers who are Electric trains go right back to There is one benefit of the delay, Government-contracted fran- projects should be delivered by terms of the availability of power, ity. Our job is to articulate that blind or visually impared. It involves high-contrast platform edging, Volk’s Railway in 1883, and to however, and that is the opportu- chises should not be able to ignore the end of 2020, with additional which is particularly impor- case clearly and move opinion braille signs, tactile maps and the removal of obstacles. 1904 for the Tyneside electrifica- nity to carry out work in prepara- the needs of significant sections funding being made available in tant for freight where it could formers to the position where it The work is part of a broader initiative to improve accessibility for tion by the North Eastern Rail- tion for electrification in a rather of society in this way, especially the next control period.