There is considerable reaction to Network Rail's response to the Transport Select Committee's level crossing safety recommendations. Pleasing to some..."mealy mouthed " to others.
HS2 is in the news too, with Baroness Kramer visiting Derby and Nottingham to see how HS2 could benefit the region....
New trains are on order for Chiltern Railways, and the Midland Metro extension causes closure of Colmore Circus, Birmingham.....
Relief for European Railways, as the use of megatrucks "without any prior impact assessment" will not happen! So, delaying tactics seem to be the order of the day....
Read on............
Headlines...
UK News
Network Rail 'mealy-mouthed' in level crossing safety response.(Telegraph)
'Wipe out rail level crossing deaths' call dismissed.(heraldscotland)
Sleaford rail upgrade completed.(Network Rail)
Rail passengers and road users in Metheringham are travelling over four improved level crossings and 19 miles of new signalling after engineers completed the latest phase of investment to modernise the Great Northern Great Eastern (GNGE) line between Peterborough and Doncaster via Lincoln.
Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, explained: “The GNGE line is an important route for both freight and passenger trains. Demand for rail services continues to grow and the upgrade of this line is an important project to help meet that demand.
“During just ten days our engineers have installed modern signals which will help to allow for future increases in services as well as improving reliability. At the same time the level crossings at Scopwick, Rowston, Blankney and Sleaford North have been upgraded with the latest technology.”
The new signalling system replaces 1930s mechanical technology with modern electronic systems now controlled from Network Rail’s Lincoln Signalling Control Centre.
This most recent phase of works saw the closure of signalboxes at Rowston, Scopwick, Sleaford South, Sleaford North and Blankney – although Blankney has been left in situ as the building has been listed by English Heritage.
Blankney level crossing now includes a new footpath to allow passengers to access the southbound platform at Metheringham station from the car park. This path replaces an outdated crossing in the station which has been removed. Passengers are being advised to allow slightly more walking time for the new route.
The work on the four level crossings was the largest number so far achieved in a single operation. Two level crossings were also completely closed during this phase of the project at Beevors and Rowston, further improving safety.
The completion of this phase means that trains which are not calling at Sleaford are now able to bypass the town, reducing traffic and delays to level crossing users in the town centre.
“During just ten days our engineers have installed modern signals which will help to allow for future increases in services as well as improving reliability. At the same time the level crossings at Scopwick, Rowston, Blankney and Sleaford North have been upgraded with the latest technology.”
The new signalling system replaces 1930s mechanical technology with modern electronic systems now controlled from Network Rail’s Lincoln Signalling Control Centre.
This most recent phase of works saw the closure of signalboxes at Rowston, Scopwick, Sleaford South, Sleaford North and Blankney – although Blankney has been left in situ as the building has been listed by English Heritage.
Blankney level crossing now includes a new footpath to allow passengers to access the southbound platform at Metheringham station from the car park. This path replaces an outdated crossing in the station which has been removed. Passengers are being advised to allow slightly more walking time for the new route.
The work on the four level crossings was the largest number so far achieved in a single operation. Two level crossings were also completely closed during this phase of the project at Beevors and Rowston, further improving safety.
The completion of this phase means that trains which are not calling at Sleaford are now able to bypass the town, reducing traffic and delays to level crossing users in the town centre.
Blackminster, Worcestershire
Midland Metro extension: Colmore Circus closes for Birmingham tram works.(BBC News)
Network Rail promises action on road delays.(ITV News)
£1.8 million to improve Carlisle Railway Station access.(ITV News)
Carlisle Station
Rail passengers call for £43,000 fare dodger to be prosecuted.(The Guardian)
Andrew Latchmore: Region must act now to reap benefits of HS2.(The Yorkshire Post)
Guest Blog: HS2 – Open Access or Nationalise?(totalrail)
Completely wrong for HS2 to miss Stoke-on-Trent and be routed through Crewe instead.(Stoke Sentinel)
TfL begins search for supplier to provide new trains on new and existing London Overground routes(eurotransport magazine)
New trains on order for Chiltern services. (Oxford Mail)
Chiltern Railways: At London Marylebone.
GOV.UK
Baroness Kramer visits Derby and Nottingham to see how HS2 could benefit the region
Derby and Nottingham are set to benefit from HS2
Transport Minister Baroness Kramer was in the East Midlands today (15 April 2014) to find out more about how HS2 will benefit the region.
She toured the proposed line of route, including Long Eaton and Toton, and met with D2N2, the region’s Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Baroness Kramer said:
HS2 will spur economic growth across the whole country, creating new opportunities that places like Derby and Nottingham will benefit from. With its strong railway and engineering heritage the East Midlands will undoubtedly be involved in the construction and operation of the largest construction project of our generation.David Ralph, Chief Executive of D2N2, the Local Enterprise Partnership for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, said:
The LEP, D2N2, is working with HS2 Ltd to maximise the benefits of HS2, and we are working with local communities and leaders to mitigate the problems that inevitably come with a project of this scale.
D2N2 is unequivocal in its support for HS2 and cannot overstate the importance of certainty being established for the earliest possible delivery of the eastern leg of Phase Two.It is estimated that HS2 could boost productivity in Derby, Nottingham and the surrounding region by up to £2.2 billion per year within five years of the railway opening.
Also, given the region’s 175 year history in manufacturing excellence in the rail industry, winning the competition to host the new HS2 College would be a real boost. We are looking forward to sharing our views on this with Baroness Kramer.
The Department for Transport (DfT) is an important partner to delivering economic growth across the D2N2 area and the importance of strategic projects such as the electrification of Midland Mainline, the smart motorway and the A453 are currently being delivered.
Securing DfT’s support for local D2N2 priorities such as the Newark Southern Relief Road, Sherwood Growth Corridor in Mansfield, Chesterfield Town Centre and the Harworth Bircotes transport improvements as well as accelerating delivery of the eastern leg of HS2, is also of upmost importance.
A new hub station at Toton would be incredibly well connected with a fast and frequent shuttle service linking Derby and Nottingham to the station. Journey time to and from London will be just 51 minutes from the East Midlands hub, while the stations in Leeds, Sheffield, East Midlands and Birmingham will each be less than 20 minutes apart, making daily commuting easy.
There is massive potential for regeneration around the proposed station sites and last month’s HS2 Growth Taskforce report called for planning to begin now. Combined with the current programme of electrification across the north, this improved connectivity will unlock the enormous potential and opportunities that cities like Derby and Nottingham have to offer – making them more attractive places to locate and do business.
The consultation on the Phase Two route, stations and depots closed on 31 January 2014 and the government will announce a decision on the final route by the end of this year.
European News
www.cer.be
CER - The Voice of European Railways
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Today, the European Parliament voted against the European Commission’s attempt to liberalise the use of longer and heavier vehicles without any prior impact assessment. The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) welcomes the result.
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The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) adopted by a large majority the Parliament Resolution drafted by MEP Jörg Leichtfried (S&D, AT). The Resolution calls on the European Commission to assess the impact of longer and heavier vehicles on the environment, road safety and infrastructure adaptation costs, as well as on rail freight, before any attempt to further liberalise their use is made.
Today´s vote once again highlights the opposition to longer and heavier vehicles and the necessity to promote the future development of freight traffic in connection with inter-modal solutions. At the same time, changes made to the current modal split at the expense of more sustainable transport modes must be avoided.
CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said: “The Parliament vote is good news from a transport and from an environmental viewpoint. The more you open the door to megatrucks, the more freight will shift away from sustainable transport modes. It is necessary to invest in rail freight, as the EU shows in the recently adopted Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) budget, to achieve the EU’s overall targets in transport policy: reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and decreased dependency on oil.”
CER has consistently underlined the consequences of introducing longer and heavier vehicles on rail freight, which could amount to over 35% of rail freight being shifted back to road on specific corridors[1]. Allowing any wider use of megatrucks will inevitably lead to a domino effect and, in time, to their general use across Europe. This would undermine the Commission’s own agenda for modal shift from road to rail and inland waterways, set out in the 2011 Transport White Paper.
The European Parliament has recognised the important concerns raised by several stakeholders, and called upon the Commission to carry out a proper impact assessment by 2016, and in any case before any further changes to the weights and dimensions of trucks are proposed.
CER Executive Director Libor Lochman added that CER will continue to draw the Commission´s attention to the impact of longer and heavier vehicles: “We welcome the Parliament’s clear call for the Commission to publish a proper impact assessment on this subject before any decision is taken. Openly discussing the impact of longer and heavier vehicles is a constructive way forward. Unilateral decisions and reinterpretations of Directive 96/53, like the Commission’s attempt in 2012, should not occur.”
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Australasia News
High Speed Rail: too good to be true?(the urbanist)
Delays expected in high speed rail project.(The Standard, Hong Kong)
Hefei-Fuzhou HSR to cut travel time between Xiamen and Beijing to 10hrs (Whatsonxiamen)
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has floated a call for tender inviting consultants to conduct an engineering feasibility study of the Singapore Leg of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) link.
SilverRail seeks to invest in global rail ticketing technology
American passenger rail search and distribution technologies provider SilverRail Technologies has raised $40m to boost the integration of global rail carriers, continue building next-generation search technology, and expand carrier IT solutions.
Epsom railway station construction contract awarded to Ducon
The Victoria government in Australia has awarded a design and construction contract to Ducon for a new railway station in Epsom.
Eltek's inverter receives approval from Network Rail in UK
Network Rail has granted approval to use Eltek's INV222 DC-AC modular inverter across the UK rail network.
www.progressiverailroading.com
Amtrak, FRA and Maryland DOT begin study of Susquehanna River bridge
EIA report: Potential savings make LNG an attractive fuel option for railroads
MTA, LIRR kick off Long Beach Branch restoration projects
UP garners more recognition for military hiring efforts
Construction advances on NS' Ohio yard expansion project
BNSF to increase velocity, improve efficiency for fertilizer moves
Canadian government extends CN funding another year for Algoma Central passenger service
PATCO enters final stage of parking lot, access road improvement projects
Rail supplier news from Koppers, Railhead, Holland, Protran, Bombardier and Perpetuum (April 15)
Huge Big Boy steam locomotive coming back to life.(Houston Chron)
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