Today is an auspicious day in railway history..since on this day in 1830, The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened...and the first railway fatality occurred, with the death of the MP William Huskisson.
And today, in 2014, a new rail franchise..set to "transform London's busiest routes" started operations...The Thameslink,Southern & Great Northern franchise..
At the same time, an MP urges more to back a Great Eastern Rail Campaign.....
And an opportunity to own a superb print of Tornado by GRA member Kevin Parrish......
Click on the links...
Tornado at King's Cross station in oils. Original painting size 24in x18in.
Fine art prints available from artist size 16inx12in. endorsed by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust.(Trade Mark Licence Agreement)
£35.00 per print....
10% from sale of proceeds to the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust.
To order your copy, contact Kevin Parrish email:parrish@quicknetuk.com
Quote Reference: STUBETOR.
Headlines
UK
New mega rail franchise starts up.(Belfast Telegraph)
GOV.UK
New rail franchise to transform London’s busiest routes
New trains, more seats and faster journeys as part of new Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise.
A brand new rail franchise that will deliver new trains, more seats and faster journeys on some of London’s busiest routes was launched by Rail Minister Claire Perry today (15 September 2014).
The Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise will transform journeys for millions of passengers across the capital and help to deliver the government’s multi-billion pound investment in the region’s rail network.
The franchise will initially serve destinations including Brighton, King’s Lynn, Peterborough, Cambridge, Bedford, Luton and Gatwick, with destinations including; Southampton, Milton Keynes, Hastings, Eastbourne and Sevenoaks being added over the next year.
Claire Perry said:
The new TSGN franchise will be at the forefront of the massive investment we are making in the rail network in London and the South East. Passengers can look forward to new trains, more seats, improved stations and better services, and today marks the very start of that journey.The 7-year franchise, the largest-ever let in terms of passenger numbers with around 273 million passenger journeys annually, was awarded to Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd earlier this year.
This is all part of our plan to support economic growth by building a world-class rail network fit for the 21st century.
It will play a central role in delivering the government’s £6.5 billion Thameslink Programme, a major programme of infrastructure and fleet improvements that will allow 24 trains per hour at peak times to run between Blackfriars and St Pancras as well as delivering longer trains, new connections and improved stations, including a rebuilt London Bridge station.
As part of this upgrade programme, a fleet of state-of-the-art new electric trains, comprising more than 1,100 new carriages, will be introduced on the Thameslink network, improving services to scores of destinations, including a connection at Farringdon to Crossrail.
New carriages will also be introduced on the Gatwick Express and Moorgate routes, replacing the ageing trains currently in operation. In total, the new carriages will provide 50% more capacity and 10,000 extra seats every weekday into central London during the morning peak by the end of 2018.
Millions of pounds will also be invested in improving stations and staffing, with tough new targets to improve train punctuality and cleanliness; while website, smartphone and tablet apps will be developed for passengers.
The TSGN franchise replaces the previous Thameslink and Great Northern franchise, operated as First Capital Connect. It will also include the South Central franchise (operated as Southern and Gatwick Express) when it expires on 26 July 2015, and a small number of services and stations will transfer from the Southeastern franchise by 21 December 2014.
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Minister's comments on train overcrowding are "strange".(The Northern Echo)
East Anglia: New Anglia LEP urges business leaders to back Great Eastern Rail Campaign.(EADT24)
Stressed? Walking or cycling to work ‘calms you down’ (travelling by bus or train is also better than driving) (Mail Online)
Rail Freight Group....... September 2014 Newsletter
Selected headlines..
Network Rail reclassified:Business as usual?
Potter Logistics has extended its head shunt from 468m to 775m,
allowing its Selby rail terminal to take the longest trains...
Network Rail awards £1.6bn in framework agreements
OnThis Day
15/09/1830 The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened.
During the ceremony, William Huskisson MP, became the first person to be killed by a train.
Network Rail on YouTube
Flythrough: Manchester Piccadilly and Oxford Road railway improvement scheme
What would Manchester Piccadilly and Oxford Road look like when the proposed works are completed? The 3D animation starts at Oxford Road showing the widened railway at Whitworth Street West, before moving along to Piccadilly showing the new viaduct supporting platforms 15 and 16, and the extended footbridge.
The proposed work at Manchester Piccadilly and Oxford Road will allow for:
- Four extra trains an hour through Manchester, an increase from 12 to 16 trains an hour
- Longer trains across the north of England with more seats
- Faster services to overtake stopping trains, helping make services quicker and more reliable.
More about the proposals at http://www.networkrail.co.uk/oxpicc
2nd European Railway Photography Contest
CER is happy to launch the 2nd European Railway Photography Contest,
under the theme “Railways and modern mobility”!
under the theme “Railways and modern mobility”!
What is the objective?
The objective of the contest is to stimulate rail customers’ creativity and to highlight the
modern, environmentally-friendly and human dimensions of railways.
modern, environmentally-friendly and human dimensions of railways.
The twelve best photographs will each receive a 200 euros prize and will illustrate the 2015 CER calendar.
Concept
The theme of this year’s contest is: “Railways and modern mobility”.
The contest is open not only to CER members but to all residents of the 28 Member States of the European Union,
Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey.
Only photos taken in those countries can be submitted.
High resolutions photographs (preferably in a horizontal format) should be submitted electronically
before 15 October 2014 on the CER website.
Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey.
Only photos taken in those countries can be submitted.
High resolutions photographs (preferably in a horizontal format) should be submitted electronically
before 15 October 2014 on the CER website.
More information
For the detailed rules of the contest, click here.
To see the winning pictures from the 1st edition of the contest, click here.
For more information on this contest, please contact Aline Bastin (aline.bastin@cer.be / +32 (0)2 213 08 72).
International
India
How Indian Railways is ensuring cleanliness on tracks.(The Economic Times)
China on track to develop Indian Railways as Xi heads to South Asia (India Today)
Hungary
USA
Other Railway Press
Stockholm's solution to its 'Wasp's Waist'
The Stockholm Citybanan is a new commuter railway tunnel currently under construction beneath central Stockholm, which will be used for the Swedish capital’s commuter rail service.
Crossrail Farringdon station construction
Farringdon Station will be “the heart of the heart” of Crossrail. It is going to be the only station in London with interchanges between Crossrail, London Underground services and the Thameslink network.
Borders on track
David Shirres explores the latest developments in the construction of the longest new UK domestic railway to be built for over a hundred years.
Signalling the passenger
A look at how introducing impressive new technology to run a 24 trains-per-hour service through the Thameslink core could be frustrated by the very object the systems are ultimately provided for – the human passenger.
41 years of Ethernet
Paul Darlington gives a potted history of Ethernet's evolution.
Read the whole magazine online
See the full digital edition here - now downloadable.
The Stockholm Citybanan is a new commuter railway tunnel currently under construction beneath central Stockholm, which will be used for the Swedish capital’s commuter rail service.
Crossrail Farringdon station construction
Farringdon Station will be “the heart of the heart” of Crossrail. It is going to be the only station in London with interchanges between Crossrail, London Underground services and the Thameslink network.
Borders on track
David Shirres explores the latest developments in the construction of the longest new UK domestic railway to be built for over a hundred years.
Signalling the passenger
A look at how introducing impressive new technology to run a 24 trains-per-hour service through the Thameslink core could be frustrated by the very object the systems are ultimately provided for – the human passenger.
41 years of Ethernet
Paul Darlington gives a potted history of Ethernet's evolution.
Read the whole magazine online
See the full digital edition here - now downloadable.
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