London King’s Cross to Edinburgh on Tuesday 11^th June 2013 with No. 60163 Tornado and Deltic No. D9009 Alycidon

Following the extraordinary success of this train during the year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is once again recreating ‘The Elizabethan’ express. ‘The Elizabethan’ was the premier train on the East Coast Main Line in the post-war period and this unique railtour will again showcase Tornado at her best and provide nearly 400 miles of travel behind iconic Deltic Alycidon.

On Tuesday 11^th June 2013, Tornado will set out from London King’s Cross station and head north to Edinburgh, the route of her famous BBC Top Gear 'Race to the North' with Jeremy Clarkson on board, pausing to collect passengers at Peterborough, York and Darlington. After a break in the Scottish Capital, Alycidon will head the train south covering the 393 miles to London - setting down as outward. This will be the first time a blue liveried Peppercorn class A1 will has arrived at Edinburgh Waverley station since the 1950s and we hope that the carriages will be in matching carmine and cream livery (including our own service vehicle!). Passengers in premier dining will receive a traditional silver service throughout the journey based upon an Anglo-Scottish menu.

We expect there to be much fast running at Tornado's permitted maximum of 75mph

and Alycidon's 100mph limit. With this being a summer tour we anticipate wonderful views of the Scottish coast and the Northumberland and Yorkshire scenery with the long daylight hours. Put the date in your diary now!

Bookings are via Pathfinder Tours.

Check to see if seats available!!!

Timings:

LONDON KINGS CROSS 06.40

POTTERS BAR 06.59

STEVENAGE 07.15

SANDY 07.35

PETERBOROUGH 08.09 08.12

GRANTHAM 08.46 09.10

NEWARK NORTH GATE 09.25

DONCASTER 09.56 09.58

YORK 10.30 10.44

DARLINGTON 11.44 11.47

DURHAM 12.08

NEWCASTLE 13.00

EDINBURGH 15.40

EDINBURGH 17.38

DURHAM 19.59

DARLINGTON 20.23 20.25

YORK 21.03 21.06

DONCASTER 21.35

NEWARK NORTH GATE 21.58

GRANTHAM 22.21

PETERBOROUGH 22.45 22.48

SANDY 23.19

STEVENAGE 23.37

POTTERS BAR 23.47

LONDON KINGS CROSS 00.09

Network Rail

Network Rail full-year results 2012/13

Network Rail invested more than ever before (in cash terms) – some £14m a day (£5bn for the year) – in renewing and expanding Britain’s railway in 2012/13, the company announced today in its full-year financial results.

It has been a challenging year on train performance, influenced by bad weather, and as a result the company faces a tough final year of the control period to meet stretching efficiency targets.

Group finance director, Patrick Butcher, said: “The challenge we have faced over the last year, and will continue to face in the years ahead, is one of success – more people wanting to use more trains, more of the time. Over the last 12 months we have invested an unprecedented amount in growing and expanding the rail network through over 2,000 projects nationwide.

“However, the economic times in which we live mean that alongside delivering new capacity we need to keep a constant drive for improved efficiency. Our overall financial performance remains strong and we are on track to deliver over £5bn of cost savings for the five years to 2014.

“Building capacity and driving efficiency while maintaining performance at today’s historical high levels lie at the heart of our bid for funding for the next five year control period (2014-19) and the future of the company.”

Financial highlights

Revenue was £6,197m (2011/12: £6,004m)
Operating profit was £2,217m (2011/12: £2,347m)
Profit after tax was £699m (2011/12: £761m)
Capital expenditure was £5,050m (2011/12: £4,600m) contributing to an increased asset value of £46,411m (2011/12: £43,112m)
Net debt at year end was £30,358m (2011/12: £27,282m) with a gearing ratio of 65%, comfortably within our regulator’s 75% limit

Operating costs

Operating costs increased from £3,657m last year to £3,980m this year. Of the £323m increase, £113m was related to depreciation with £58m related to damage caused by extreme weather
Staff costs increased to £1,779m from £1,679m. Average staff numbers fell to 35,190 from 35,253

Performance results

In 2012/13 90.9% of passenger trains ran on time, slightly down on 91.6% last year but still the third best year on record
Passenger satisfaction reached a record high of 85% with customer (i.e. passenger and freight train operator) satisfaction rising to 66% from 43%
Performance is at historically high levels and despite our best endeavours the weight of traffic and extreme weather means that regulatory performance targets for the end of the control period will be very challenging to meet. We continue to make improvements and aim to raise punctuality to as high levels as possible
In ten years, Network Rail has added over a million more train services a year, increased passenger journeys by half a billion and doubled the number of passengers arriving on time
Passenger growth is running at double the rate forecast in 2009

Projects
Network Rail is managing many vital enhancement projects to add capacity to the railway and drive economic growth. Some highlights include:

The £130m Edinburgh Waverley station improvement project achieved substantial completion in December 2012 with a new roof, better lighting and access and improved customer facilities and information systems
The Thameslink programme reached significant milestones including the new stations at Farringdon and Blackfriars (including one of the largest solar arrays in Europe) and completion of 12-carriage capability at all stations north of the Thames. Work now starts in earnest at London Bridge on the most complex station remodelling ever attempted
On the West Coast Main Line, the team completed the remodelling and resignalling of the Bletchley area with new more reliable equipment delivering a layout more suited to current and future requirements
The King’s Cross project has been an outstanding success. Its transformation will come to an end this autumn with the completion of the new King’s Cross Square
The rebuilding of Birmingham New Street hit a key milestone on April 28th with the opening of the first part of the new station, enabling the closure of the old concourse to allow it to be rebuilt
The c£895m Reading station redevelopment is now on target to be completed a year ahead of schedule in 2015. Significant track and signalling upgrades during Easter, and the opening of the massive new footbridge and new platforms, mark the first phase in unblocking the Reading bottleneck

OrganisationNetwork Rail completed the major part of its internal restructuring during the year that saw the devolving of control from the centre to improve safety, service and efficiency. Highlights were:

The new structures, accountabilities and responsibilities for the ten operation routes completed and bedded in
Continued development of alliances with both train operators and suppliers to better deliver projects and customer service

Mr Butcher concluded: “The last year has been one of operational and financial challenges. We have been disappointed with the slowing of train performance improvements but celebrate continued strong growth, savings made, better passenger and customer satisfaction and hundreds of projects to improve and expand the railway completed.”

Rail companies and residents join forces at Totterdown nature garden.

Around 60 people attended a nature garden planting day in Bristol on Saturday, 1 June.

The day was organised by Signalling Solutions Ltd, one of the main contractors for the Bristol area signalling renewal and enhancement (BASRE) project. It was supported by Network Rail, BCM Construction and RJC Ltd Midlands Division which had all assisted in the construction and development of the nature garden.

The garden has been created in a derelict site next to the BASRE project office in Mead Rise, Totterdown, Bristol to provide a suitable habitat to help increase wildlife biodiversity within the city and to use spoil materials that would otherwise go to waste.

Jill Poyton, Network Rail’s BASRE project manager, said local residents and community groups, including Guide and Brownie units, had shown a good response to the garden.

She added: “The main aim of the nature garden is to create a suitable habitat that will allow for an increase in wildlife biodiversity within the city, particularly birds, butterflies and bees.

“The construction of the garden used spoil that was already on site following our work to upgrade the railway, thereby reducing both the cost and carbon footprint of removing the spoil to another facility. This initiative has helped promote sustainability and the environment in a positive way and allowed the community to be involved in something that they will be able to see grow as the project continues.”

Louise Abbey, ecology and environmental advisor with Signalling Solutions Ltd, said: “We invited local wildlife charities and several allotment groups to help with the planting but many had to decline as their summer calendar of activities was already rather full. Despite not being able to help with volunteers, Avon Wildlife Trust offered the use of their gardening equipment.

“It was a fun and productive day for all involved, especially as there were 920 individual plants to get in the ground. We were pleased to see everyone getting stuck in, working as a team and all the children enjoying themselves. Even the weather was fantastic!”

The volunteers planted all native species to create a diverse habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. Hedgerow species included hawthorn, blackthorn, gorse, holly and dog rose and wildflower species featured bird’s foot trefoil, ox-eye daisy, lesser knapweed and lady’s bedstraw. A cornfield seed mix was also spread over the garden. Two ‘insect hotels’ were established using old wooden pallets. These will be added to as the garden grows to further increase local insect biodiversity.

Volunteers met at the BASRE Project Office and planting took place from 9am to 2.30pm. Volunteers were asked to bring gardening gloves and small gardening tools for the planting. Those that were unable to bring their own tools were able to use equipment provided by the Avon Wildlife Trust. Refreshments were provided throughout the day for those taking part.

Railway footbridge plan for Chippenham is on track.

Network Rail is working on a £2.98m project to improve access for passengers at Chippenham railway station.

A new footbridge and lift could be installed as part of the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme. The new footbridge would replace the existing footbridge, which is a public right of way.

They would enable people to reach platforms 1 and 2 by using a new lift at the front of the station, making journeys easier for elderly and disabled people as well as people with pushchairs or heavy bags to carry. The platforms are currently only accessible via a second footbridge with stairs.

The existing footbridge was built around 1899 to provide pedestrian access over the railway track. The station itself dates from 1841.

International Railway Journal

THE New South Wales government has indicated that it will adopt driverless technology for the 23km North West Rail Link (NWRL), making it the first completely driverless mass transit system in Australia.

MZKT, the municipal public transport operator in the Polish city of Toruń, has issued an invitation to tender for a contract to supply a fleet of 12 low-floor LRVs for the city's 41.4km metre-gauge tram network.

THE Argentine government announced on June 3 that it will revoke the two 30-year concessions held by Latin American Logistics (ALL) to operate the former San Martin and Mesopotámico freight networks..

A REPORT by Britain's National Audit Office (NAO) warns that delays to the procurement of rolling stock for the cross-London Thameslink project could significantly impact the rest of the programme, which is due to be completed in 2018.(see next news item from National Audit Office)

National Audit Office (UK)

Progress in delivering the Thameslink programme

Thameslink aims to reduce overcrowding and journey times. Initial progress has been good but a 3 year delay in awarding the train contract puts the 2018 programme deadline at risk.

"It’s too early in the Thameslink programme to conclude on whether or not it will achieve value for money. That will have to wait until the new service is running. However, there has been good progress in delivering the first stage of the infrastructure part of the programme on time and under budget, which the Department now needs to build on. Our principal concern is around the delay in agreeing the contract to build new trains which raises questions about the feasibility of delivering the whole Programme by 2018.”

Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, 5 June 2013

The Department for Transport has done well so far to contain the infrastructure costs for the Thameslink Programme within the original budget, according to an examination of the progress being made to increase passenger capacity on the rail route through central London. Phase one of the Programme cost £1.704 billion, was completed on time and was £143 million under budget.
However, delays of more than three years in agreeing the contract to buy new trains mean that delivering value for money from the Programme as a whole is at greater risk than the National Audit Office would have expected at this stage.

According to today’s report, there continues to be a robust transport case for the £3.552 billion (at 2006 prices) Programme. Thameslink services have consistently been among the most crowded London routes with passengers amongst the least satisfied with space on trains; and demand is forecast to increase. The Department estimates that the Programme will make net present benefits of £2.9 billion through reduced journey times, reduced overcrowding on trains and quicker interchanges between services.

The Department needs to manage a complex interaction between completing the infrastructure project; buying new trains; and letting a new franchise. Delays to any of these projects can delay significantly or complicate delivery of other parts of the Programme. The award of the estimated £1.6 billion contract to buy new trains is currently delayed by over three years and this has implications for the rest of the programme and also plans for electrification of other parts of the rail network.
The delay raises questions about whether the Department underestimated the scale of the work, time and skills and resources it needed to negotiate a PFI deal of this complexity. And until the contract is let it will not be clear whether delivery of the whole Programme by 2018 is still feasible.

As work begins on phase two of the Programme, the Department needs to ensure it has the necessary capacity and skills to keep it on course alongside other rail projects it manages, such as Crossrail and High Speed 2.

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