AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR RAIL USERS No 155 £2 April 2018 Laying new tracks for Blackpool’s electric future: Page 2 Picture: FREIGHTLINER PAGE ONE PICTURE: New ‘vision’ for railway of the future Blackpool is lucky. Electrification as hydrogen trains was touted as is at last coming to the seaside a reason not to electrify! Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced the town, eight years after the deci- Most experts would agree that sion was taken to electrify. Government’s Strategic electrification is still the best Vision for Rail to the House In the light of cancellations else- motive power for many reasons, of Commons in November. where, Network Rail announced including both reduced noise Then in February Rail Minister in September 2017 that Blackpool and pollution. Jo Johnson announced that electrification would go ahead. Picture: NETWORK RAIL The best solution, acknowledged diesel trains would be phased Electric trains will be able to run throughout the world, is electrifi- out by 2040. ABELL Pictures: PAUL to the town from the West Coast cation, but for short-term reasons Chris Austin and Paul Abell main line at Preston, with some the Government was prepared pick their way through Pendolino services from London. to ignore advice from experts changes which have already While passengers in Leicester, that hydrogen-powered vehicles been announced, and some Derby, Nottingham and Swan- are unlikely to play a significant that have not. sea are seething over the Gov- part in the development of a low n ernment’s decision to axe their carbon transport network, for East Coast franchise set to electric hopes, work continues on both cost and energy efficiency rejoin trains and infrastructure the 17-mile route from Preston to reasons. Probably the most controversial Blackpool. One campaigner was dismissive: proposal is the termination of Sections of the line had to be “They are talking about fool’s the present East Coast passen- closed while track layout and sig- gold. Hydrogen-based technol- ger franchise three years early, in 2020, in order to establish an East nalling was also being upgraded. ogy has a long way to go, being Coast Partnership “as the first of both expensive and energy-inef- In January the line to Blackpool the new generation of long term ficient. It is currently economi- South reopened, and the line to regional partnerships bringing Blackpool North was scheduled cally unviable.” together the operation of track SUCCESS ON A SHOESTRING: The Government kept British Rail short of money in the 1980s but it to reopen in March. Another said: “One problem is and train under a single leader still managed to build new stations. Our picture shows two trains at Salford Crescent which opened By then, more than 75% of the the lack of a hydrogen distri- and unified brand.” in 1987. It cost £660,000 and was paid for jointly by BR and the Greater Manchester Passenger electrification masts had been bution network, another is the This reflects an admission by the Transport Executive. The station has proved such a success that it was extended in 2013 to cope installed. energy cost associated with its Government that splitting trains with the 1.5 million passengers who use it each year. It will be even more attractive to passengers production. But like many of Network Rail’s from infrastructure when the when the diesel-powered Pacer at Platform 1 is replaced. More than 100 years ago, the Lancashire electrification projects, the Black- “This misplaced confidence in railways were privatised in the and Yorkshire Railway phased out non-bogie coaches on such services but, always under pool scheme has been hit by a the development of hydrogen 1990s has proved unsatisfactory. pressure to save money, BR reinvented the four-wheeled train design with the Pacer in the 1980s string of delays. as a power source looks like Current competitions for the In contrast, the passenger- Hopes that an electric train time- delaying important decisions to East Midlands and South East- expand the electrified network. ern franchises envisage one team kilometre figure for Chiltern table could be run in May 2017 Railways showed a remarkable proved unrealistic. BLACKPOOL NORTH: Track re-laying under way in November. “Perhaps if we wait a little longer, working between train operators Electrification should mean Pendolinos can call later this year we will have machines similar to and Network Rail. annual increase of 15.9%, fol- The project was in trouble as far lowing the completion of its new back as 2015 when contractor those on Star Trek for beaming us n GW to split? on a scale not seen since the Vic- about reversing the Beeching London-Oxford route in 2016. Balfour Beatty “surrendered” the up to places!” cuts. The euphoria diverted Another controversial proposal All credit to Chiltern Railways’ scheme. torian age, and I am excited to see “Hydrail” experiments have what the next few years delivers attention away from the disas- is to extend the present First enterprise in creating the new The present work involves however been carried out in Group Great Western franchise for passengers.” trous state of affairs on electri- Japan and China, while in service to Oxford and being so VolkerRail, working with Atkins, fication by encouraging dreams by an uncontested direct award proactive on rail development. Another electrification project, Topeka, Kansas, BNSF has oper- Murphy and Siemens. about wholesale reopenings. to 2022. This could lead to split- the 25-mile Manchester-Preston ated a hydrogen-powered loco- ting the franchise into two geo- Railfuture branches can quote In June last year, Virgin Trains This cynical approach to news motive, part-funded by the this 15.9% increase as an example planned to apply for an extra line via Bolton and Chorley, has graphical entities. One could also hit trouble, with some gan- management may well come Defense Department. Denmark, include services north of the of the traffic to be gained by rail- three trains per day to London back to bite the politicians, how- Norway and the Netherlands are way operators with imagination. Euston. try foundations failing in the London-Bristol main line, with n ever, because all over the country “interested”. the other to the south. 1960s cuts to be reversed: Bolton and Chorley areas. Okehampton service back Blackpool North MP Paul May- more and more people took them o See Alternative power sources nard, a former transport minis- Despite having cancelled essen- at their word and started cam- The aim would also be to com- on page 10 bine infrastructure and train In a statement we never expected ter, said: “We are at the dawn of tial electrification projects, the paigning afresh for station and o SURVIVOR WITH A FUTURE: Endon station slumbers on the to see, a Government report a golden age for Blackpool’s rail Government had the press and line reopenings. In similar fash- See Diesels out on page 15 operation in some way. Stoke-Leek line which lost its regular passenger services in o promises to explore opportuni- link, following a transformation TV going into raptures of delight ion, unproven technology such See North West on page 16 The Greenford and Brighton- 1956. The line has been leased from Network Rail by Moorland ties to restore capacity lost under Southampton services could be & City Railways, and some track clearance has already been the Beeching and British Rail cuts hived off to other franchises. n done by the volunteers of the adjacent Churnet Valley Railway. of the 1960s and 1970s by iden- President’s column: Two giant steps take us all forward Thameslink to split A planning application to reinstate the rail line from Leekbrook tifying new schemes that unlock The Government intends to split (on the preserved Churnet Valley Railway) to Cornhill was new housing or economic growth By Christian Wolmar and though it still does have lots of results, though, are unequivocally the Thameslink, Southern and made in November by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, and offer good value for money. [email protected] weird passageways beneath the city worth the hassle. Every time we Great Northern franchise in 2021. following a feasibility report on bringing the trains back to A team has been established to Every bit of good news about the streets, it now has a concourse and get an additional bit of railway The two previous franchises Leek. The cost of reinstating Leekbrook station and repairs at deliver East West Rail, and the railways seems to be tempered a connecting passage worthy of the reopened, or improve the service for were combined with the inten- Cheddleton station was agreed earlier. Council leader Sybil Vision document refers to dis- cussions on lines around Bristol, with bad. For example, the huge 21st, rather than as previously the passengers from a particular station, tion that “this would help the Ralphs told The Sentinel newspaper: “The first stage is to bring Ashington to Blyth, and a central investment in improving London 19th, century. Waterloo, the busiest we are boosting the industry as a implementation of the Thames- the heritage railway line into Leek, then build the station at whole. The complaints about noise route through Birmingham, as Bridge and Waterloo stations station on the network, has had link upgrade programme, which Barnfields. This will happen as I am very passionate about the required lengthy closures over the to wait too long for its extended or intrusion will soon dissipate and is now near completion.” well as Exeter-Okehampton. This railway line. Once the heritage line is in place we can look to line actually survived the 1960s Christmas week.