News and Views about Railways in the North East of England Welcome to the April 2020 RailFuture From the North East Bulletin. This edition is, Editor’s because of the current problems in getting it printed and distributed, only Chair available electronically. It is being emailed to members and will be on our website. We’ve added a number of links to items either on the Railfuture Website or to websites run by other local rail groups – all of these will offer more detail than we can provide in this newsletter. These links are embedded in the text so if you see something that looks like this, and this link takes you to the NE Home page on the Railfuture Website, just click and you will be transported to the appropriate page on the internet. A message from the Branch Chair I find myself writing this from a position of ‘Lockdown’ at home. I, together with the rest of the committee, hope that you are all managing to steer clear of the horrid Covid-19 virus. The current situation means, of course, that we have had to cancel our branch AGM on 25 April, we don’t know whether the current restrictions on meeting will still be in place by then, but we have to assume that they, or something very similar, will. One further change to report is that Tony Walker has chosen to stand down as editor of this Bulletin. Tony has been a stalwart of the branch committee for many years and has given freely of his time over many aspects of our activities. He has edited the Branch Bulletin for as long as I can remember with great skill and, as he seeks to reduce his level of involvement, I should like to thank him for his work on our behalf and I hope that we, as a committee, can continue to benefit from his sageness and wisdom in the years to come. April We are very fortunate that we have modern communications, so the work of the branch has continued and, in fact, has become more relevant as train companies have brought in their reduced 2020 “Key worker” timetables. Down here on Teesside, TransPennine’s service to Middlesbrough and Redcar saw a reduction to 2 trains each way daily, though these have now been increased to 4. These trains are the only ones that serve Yarm and I had been able, with the support of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, to get 1 TransPennine and Grand Central to agree that, “Operator of last resort”. The problems faced by during this emergency, most Grand Central the operator, and their impact on the level of trains will also stop there to give key workers a service – particularly in West Yorkshire and the better chance of travelling to their places of North West, had led to so much bad publicity, employment. Unfortunately, I have now heard that the move was probably inevitable. We have that Grand Central are suspending their train to now try to get some representation of the operations from 4 April until further notice. Just “Advisory panel” that is now being set up – or before the emergency really hit, Railfuture will be once the current emergency situation is North East received a request from the new resolved. At present, the make up of the panel is Sedgefield MP for a meeting to discuss the largely local authority based, the same opportunities for rail in his area. I, together with stakeholders as sit on the board of Transport for Tony Walker from our committee, met up with the North. A voice from the rail users’ sector is him on 13 March and we were able to have a vitally important. North East branch is in good discussion about our campaigns. In communication with Yorkshire and North West particular, a new station for Ferryhill, which is in branches to try and take this forward. his constituency was of interest to him. Without our members, Railfuture wouldn’t exist Further north, there have been positive to fight for better services on our railways. comments from government about the Best wishes to all of you in these unprecedented possibility of bringing passenger trains back to times. the Ashington, Blyth and Tyne line, and from Keith Simpson local authorities about funding studies for Branch chairman better local services on the main line north of Morpeth. Both of these campaigns are being led Electrification and capacity by our colleagues in SENRUG, to whom we wish every success. priorities. We face many challenges ahead, not least in We all know that much of life is currently on managing to secure any investment in the rail hold. The likely effects on the viability of the network as the country recovers from the UK’s rail industry are dire in the short term but financial impact of the current Covid-19 virus. in the longer term we will return to rail growth, However, it is imperative that we keep trying, and to all the issues of lack of capacity on our climate change isn’t going away any time soon rail network to accommodate it. In such a and air quality in our towns and cities, whilst situation it is wise to use the current ‘life on temporarily improved by the current decimation hold situation’ to prepare for the future. of traffic levels, needs concerted action to At a national level Railfuture has been using the achieve a permanent turn around. Rail is already time to give some thought to the issue of a low carbon transport mode and electric electrification. An early draft of the paper, that traction can bring this down to almost zero, will eventually be available on the RailFuture depending on how the power is generated. website has been circulated to branches for There is progress towards alternative fuels, comments about priorities and to ask if there most notably hydrogen, where Tees Valley are any local schemes that Ian might have Combined Authority are proposing that local missed. services there are a major test bed for this form The RailFuture proposal is to build on the work of propulsion. Railfuture supports this, of the current electrification teams now nearing especially as the hydrogen will be sourced from the end of the current electrification plan. They an industrial by-product that is presently burned should complete the programme they were set off. up to deliver and then move on to deliver The beginning of March saw Northern, the incremental programmes in specific geographic operator of our local services, transferred from areas. A continuous programme of work will Arriva to the Department for Transport’s allow skills to be retained by the industry in all 2 parts of the country. However, just because a also allow for electric stock to be used between proposed development isn’t actually in our area Redcar and Manchester Airport. As a further doesn’t mean it won’t be of benefit to us. We addition to the Northallerton - Eaglescliffe line support all proposals for electrification but we electrification of the Stillington line would particularly welcome proposals in the draft of provide an alternative route, in effect the much the paper for electrifying the York to needed slow lines, to the ECML. These lines have Manchester line and all of the proposals that great potential for capacity enhancement for facilitate electric haulage of freight. both Teesside-bound services and those linking As one of our committee members has said our area of the North-East with Tyneside and “Isn't it really a question of what shouldn't be Scotland in general. electrified rather than what should?”. On the The Durham Coast: Once the new Metro stock issue of timing another member makes the arrives, with its ability to run on battery power point that “in the next 10 years we’ll see the for up to 45 minutes, the Coast line’s case for increasing change to hybrid if not fully electric electrification all the way through to Newcastle cars. Which means road travel will leapfrog rail at 25kv increases considerably. and become the environmentally way to travel, unless rail electrifies fast.” Northern Advisory Panel Your RailFuture NE Committee are responding A few weeks ago, we read that the new, to this Railfuture paper with the following government owned, Northern was to set up an priorities for the North East: advisory panel. Great news we thought until we saw the list of the members of the panel. In Newcastle to Carlisle where the line comes into themselves they are, we are certain, all proper its own, as a diversionary route, whenever people to be on such a panel but there was a disaster occurs on the ECML & WCML. It is problem. The panel didn’t include any important to note that not all current, or future, individuals from County Durham, Tyne and passenger stock on these routes is bi-mode. Wear, and Northumberland. After some There is also the potential to route Teesport to discussion amongst the branch committee we Mossend freight traffic via this route avoiding issued a press release that drew attention to unwired lines around the Edinburgh suburbs. this omission and asked the Department For When the coal mine at Whitehaven comes on Transport to appoint a local authority stream it could be possible for electric haulage representative from the North East Joint of this coking coal in trainloads from Carlisle to Transport Committee, to augment the expert Teesport. Finally, there is another real local panel and confirm there is a level playing field benefit: the present route has a linespeed across all the regions in the north.