Today's news is somewhat overshadowed by the sad news of Bob Crow's death. The Railway Chronicle offers its sincerest condolences to family and friends at this sad time.
He would undoubtedly have had much to say on today's unfolding stories....Zero Hours contracts endanger safety, FGW to have a further 5 years on the Great Western franchise, the rolling stock transfer from Trans Pennine to the Chilterns, level crossing safety, Network Rail resilience and punctuality, HS2... and last but by no means least, he would have fought the corner for his union's members....to the end...
Read on......
Headlines.......
Bob Crow, RMT union general secretary, dies.(BBC News)
Bob Crow passed away in the early hours of this morning.(RMT)
11 March 2014
Geoff Martin
It is with the deepest regret that RMT has to confirm that our General Secretary Bob Crow sadly passed away in the early hours of this morning.
The union’s offices will be closed for the rest of the day and the union will make further announcements in due course. The media have been asked to respect the privacy of Bob’s friends and family at this difficult and distressing time.
Five-year direct award Great Western franchise proposed - Railway Gazette
Thousands of people rush to ‘train of hope’(dispatch.co.za)
Five-year direct award Great Western franchise proposed - Railway Gazette
Thousands of people rush to ‘train of hope’(dispatch.co.za)
Plans to extend high speed rail services in east Kent.(BBC News)
‘No transport funding bonanza if HS2 is axed’(TransportXtra)
Amtrak sets key 2014 capital projects. (Railway Age)
Waterloo International station: 3 platforms open by end of year.(London SE1)
Rolling stock transfer from TransPennine Express to Chiltern Railways - Letter from Louise Ellman MP to Patrick McLoughlin MP dated 3 March 2014.(parliament.uk)
Xiamen North Railway Station handles 600,000 passengers in 8 days.(whatsonxiamen)
Zero hours concern over rail safety.(BBC News)
MP calls for apology for rail death girl’s family.(Doncaster Free Press)
Extra train carriages between Windsor and Waterloo welcomed.(BBC News)
Going loco in a triumphant era for the railways.(The Yorkshire Post)
Projects Update – Brian Screaton and Tom Chaplin report on current and proposed works at Quorn & Woodhouse and Rothley.
Network Rail
National train performance for period 12 is 87.1% despite severe storms
The wettest winter for almost 250 years with the network experiencing severe flooding, landslips and line closures, tested the rail industry’s resilience during a difficult period 12.
Punctuality on the railways reached 87.1% during period 12, according to monthly performance data released today by Network Rail. The data for Britain's train services covers the period from 2 February 2014 - 1 March 2014. This compares to 91.1% for the same period last year. The moving annual average is now at 89.9%
During the period, another wave of severe storms, very strong winds and torrential rainfall caused further substantial damage to the rail network. Since December, Network Rail has had an army of engineers and maintenance staff out on the ground dealing with over 500 fallen trees blocking lines, 285 flooded sites and 73 landslips or washouts with the sole aim of getting the lines cleared as quickly as possible and trains moving
Our projection for performance on exiting CP4 has been further eroded as a result of the weather over the last few months.
Track inspections begin for €2.75bn rail maintenance programme.(Global Rail News)During the period, another wave of severe storms, very strong winds and torrential rainfall caused further substantial damage to the rail network. Since December, Network Rail has had an army of engineers and maintenance staff out on the ground dealing with over 500 fallen trees blocking lines, 285 flooded sites and 73 landslips or washouts with the sole aim of getting the lines cleared as quickly as possible and trains moving
Our projection for performance on exiting CP4 has been further eroded as a result of the weather over the last few months.
| Franchise |
Punctuality %
Period 12, 2013/14 |
Punctuality %
Period 12, 2012/13 |
Moving annual
average (MAA) |
| Arriva Trains Wales |
91.7
|
95.8
|
93.1
|
| c2c Rail |
94.7
|
98.1
|
96.6
|
| Chiltern |
91.0
|
95.8
|
94.9
|
| Crosscountry |
78.1
|
88.8
|
86.9
|
| East Coast |
81.7
|
76.6
|
84.0
|
| East Midlands Trains |
91.7
|
90.7
|
91.3
|
| First Capital Connect |
82.0
|
84.0
|
86.1
|
| First Great Western |
80.4
|
91.8
|
87.8
|
| First Scotrail |
94.1
|
93.0
|
91.2
|
| First Transpennine Express |
89.7
|
90.4
|
90.3
|
| Greater Anglia |
90.6
|
92.4
|
91.8
|
| London Midland |
84.5
|
86.9
|
85.7
|
| London Overground |
96.9
|
96.7
|
96.2
|
| Merseyrail |
96.1
|
96.2
|
95.8
|
| Northern Rail |
91.4
|
90.8
|
90.9
|
| Southeastern |
83.6
|
90.4
|
89.2
|
| Southern |
77.1
|
88.5
|
85.9
|
| South West Trains |
83.6
|
91.5
|
89.6
|
| Virgin Trains |
80.7
|
83.1
|
85.2
|
| National Performance |
87.1
|
91.1
|
89.9
|
Notes:
- Southern services were particularly badly hit by a series of infrastructure problems caused by the extreme weather resulting in multiple landslip and flooding sites including Whyteleafe where the speed restrictions were only removed on Friday and the flooding of Patcham Tunnel (just north of Brighton) which closed the Brighton main line
- Arrived on time - the measure of train punctuality also known as PPM (public performance measure) means trains arriving at their destinations within five minutes for commuter services and within 10 minutes for long distance services.
- This measure of punctuality is commonly used throughout Europe
- National train punctuality is measured for all trains across the whole network, including cancelled services and delays caused by external factors (such as vandalism, extreme weather, suicides etc).
- Punctuality did not start to be recorded in this vigorous and thorough way until 1997. Before then Railtrack, and BR before, did not measure all services and also excluded external factors and other items from their numbers
- These figures represent provisional data for the period and individual operators' performance data may vary slightly from the full period performance report that
- Network Rail publishes on its website every month
- Network Rail and the train operators run more trains across Great Britain than are run in most European countries - almost 20% more than in France and 60% more than in Italy.
- Great Britain's 24,000 trains per-day is also more than Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Norway combined
Russian Railways on YouTube
Adler - Alpika-Service combined motorway and railway route is under construction as part of preparations for 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The new route, which is a little shorter than 50 kilometers, will be the main highway for bringing Olympic participants and guests from subtropics to a real Russian winter in 20-25 minutes. The route is as straight as possible, so the trains will speed at up to 160 km/hr. Unfortunately it will be hard for the riders to see and appreciate the route itself, which is a real miracle of engineering created be the specialists of the SK MOST Group of Companies.
The film shows how the entire system of man-made structures including dozens of tunnels, bridges, and viaducts emerged among the mountains and wilderness. The film narrates about the difficulties that the bridge builders and tunneling teams had to overcome and shows how they were on top of the most challenging situations.
Original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhMgi-...
allAfrica.com: Ethiopia: Russian Company Tracks Ethiopian Railway Sector
Total Rail
This week's hot topics:
- Delhi Metro launches 'know your campaign' for commuters
- Experts back light rail airport link for Glasgow
- Attracting passengers to inter-city rail and HS2
- 3 shortlisted for $1.6bn Sydney light rail project
- Most successful air rail projects 2013
Oyster Smart - On the move with Oyster (TfL on YouTube)
This video demonstrates how to use your Oyster card on the Tube, London Overground, DLR and most National Rail services well as on buses and trams.
The video shows how to travel across the network to ensure you pay the right fare for your journey. For example, what to do when changing lines and how to use contactless payment on buses.
The Oyster Smart video series demonstrates how to get more from your Oyster card and become more 'Oyster Smart'.
Share this video with your family and friends to help them become more Oyster Smart.
For more information visit:http://www.tfl.gov.uk/oyster
www.railway-technology.com Updates...
Škoda Transportation's first ForCity tram prototype enters service
European manufacturer Škoda Transportation's first prototype of low-floor tram 'ForCity' has entered into service in China.
FutureRailway launches competition for new pantograph design
Rail technical strategy delivery team FutureRailway has launched a competition to design a new pantograph, as part of the electrification programme.
Costain secures new Crossrail improvements contract from Network Rail
British engineering group Costain has secured an initial £150m contract from Network Rail to provide infrastructure and stations on the Crossrail North East Spur between Stratford in east London and Shenfield in Essex.
CNMIEC wins $600m rail track extension contract in Sri Lanka
China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CNMIEC) has secured a $600m contract for the phase II and phase III of the rail track extension from Beliatta to Kataragama in South Sri Lanka.
CER - The Voice of European Railways
|
| |
In view of the upcoming Transport Council in Brussels on 14 March, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) calls for a sound balance in Shift²Rail between all actors, including railway undertakings, infrastructure managers, manufacturers, academia and others. For the ERA Regulation, CER encourages EU Member States to set up a strong and effective business-oriented European Railway Agency.
| |
For many years the European Institutions have been calling for a breakthrough approach for the European railway sector and started such by drafting a new legal framework for research - the Shift²Rail Joint Undertaking initiative - and for the Single European Railway Area - the Fourth Railway Package’s Technical Pillar including the Regulation for the European Railway Agency (ERA).
Shift²Rail
CER welcomes the efforts made by the Member States to set up a sound framework for rail research in Europe. It needs to be ensured:
· that both railway undertakings and infrastructure managers can become Associate Members with a minimum contribution of EUR 12 million across all Innovation Programmes, and
· that companies of various size, pooling their capacities and knowledge, are enabled to enter the Shift²Rail Joint Undertaking.
Fourth Railway Package
With regard to the Fourth Railway Package, CER stresses the need for a breakthrough approach in terms of a strong European Railway Agency. The Agency should serve as the central point in Europe enforcing harmonisation of certification and authorisation processes and executing them across the European Union.
Consequently the Agency shall have the right to audit the national safety agencies and, where it is found that procedures are not working properly, appropriate corrective measures must be taken. With ERA becoming the railway authority in Europe, the establishment of an independent Board of Appeal is necessary. The decisions of this Board of Appeal must be binding for the Agency as this is the only way to ensure legal certainty for all actors in the railway sector.
In addition, the Agency has an essential role to play in identifying spare parts to be standardised, in particular by establishing a working party to this end.
Libor Lochman added: “The European institutions have been continuously demanding a modern European railway sector able to face the challenges of the future. The sector has made huge efforts to deliver a competitive 21st-century transport system and asked the European institutions in return to provide a sound legal framework. The Council now needs to suit the action to the word.”
Amtrak cites key infrastructure projects for 2014 NTSB launches investigation into another Metro-North accident Short line pioneer and former Pinsly leader Maggie Silver: 1925 to 2014 Container volume to surge in March, Global Port Tracker predicts Oregon DOT shuts down bridge project due to lack of funding CaseStack taps CSX service at new Atlanta consolidation center Rail supplier news from RailComm, LIFT, AXION, GE, AngelTrax, Cubic and Retlif (March 11) |
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