New trains for the south east.. an end ..for the time being anyway, to the threat of strikes in Ireland...Crossrail gains planning consent for new homes
above Woolwich station....Will Self's take on Crossrail, Andrew martin's Top 10 railway books.....
Click on the links....
Headlines
UK
Siemens UK - Passengers to benefit from £210m train order for UK's busiest commuter network
New trains on old tracks..UK Railtours’ Silver King travels on the SVR.(Kidderminster Shuttle)
A new platform for trainspotters.(The Telegraph)
Second death on Merseyside railway near Formby in six days.(BBC News)
Hastings Ashford rail improvements 'should be sooner'.(BBC News)
Nato Summit Wales set to cause congestion and delays.(BBC News)
Labour and Tory MPs unite for change to HS2 route(Liverpool Echo)
Living near a Metrolink station could add over £8k to the value of your home(Manchester Evening News)
Crossrail
PRESS RELEASE
Crossrail gains planning consent for new homes
above Woolwich station
above Woolwich station
· Royal Borough of Greenwich approves plans for ‘Armourer’s Court’
· Design of Woolwich Crossrail station is also given planning permission
· Click here to download images
Crossrail has received a green light from the Royal Borough of Greenwich to build nearly 400 new homes above the new Woolwich Crossrail station.
The major new residential development, to be known as Armourer’s Court, will consist of approximately 490,000 sq ft in five high quality buildings of varying heights set around a landscaped garden. Carefully located retail and business space will be at ground level.
The Armourer’s Court design by architects TP Bennett was reviewed by Design Council CABE and created in consultation with the local community, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greater London Authority and English Heritage. It draws upon the heritage of the nearby Royal Arsenal buildings, with brick, metal and glass façades.
Crossrail will market the Armourer’s Court site to potential development partners in the coming year and aims to commence construction once the station has been completed in 2018. It is part of Crossrail’s strategy to develop three million sq ft of new commercial and residential space above stations, returning funds to the Crossrail budget and regenerating urban areas all along the line.
At the same meeting, Greenwich Council also granted consent for the external appearance of the Woolwich Crossrail station. This will include a ticket hall and entrance facing west onto Dial Arch Square. The high quality, distinctive station design by Weston Williamson visually enhances the Royal Arsenal conservation area, which includes nearby listed 17th, 18th and 19th Century buildings.
Ian Lindsay, Crossrail’s Land and Property Director said: “The successful development of this site will be another major step forward in the regeneration of Woolwich. This is part of our ongoing efforts to breathe new life into areas above and around our new stations. Crossrail is helping to boost the supply of new homes across the capital.”
The Woolwich area has enjoyed a renaissance thanks to the opening of Woolwich Arsenal DLR terminus in 2009, improvement of public areas and the impending arrival of Crossrail. Since 2008 there have been 13 planning applications within a kilometre of Woolwich Crossrail station, equating to 4,286 new homes, over 70,000 sq ft of new office space and 114,000 sq ft of new retail space.
Southeast London will benefit from some of the largest cuts in journey times when Crossrail opens in 2018. Woolwich to Bond Street will take just 21 minutes, a 15 minute saving and Woolwich to Heathrow will take 47 minutes, a 40 minute saving.
Ends
========================================And now, for another take on Crossrail..in his own style.....
Will Self on Crossrail: ‘Projects don't get much grander - or more phallic’ (The Guardian)
UK Heritage News
WEST SOMERSET RAILWAY TOURIST INFORMATION NEWS. SEPTEMBER 2014 « West Somerset Railway
A comprehensive look at the WSR's programme ahead...and a review of some recent...and not so recent events...including references to such VIPs as Stephen Hawking (2014) and The Beatles (1964).
.."STEAM IN SOUH WALES” IS THE THEME FOR WEST SOMERSET RAILWAY’s 2015 SPRING STEAM GALA ..and THE 2016 SPRING STEAM GALA
will take place over the four days March 10th to 13th 2016. The theme will based on the 50th Anniversary of the closure of the Somerset and Dorset Railway’s lines which linked Bath (Green Park) and Bournemouth (West) stations with the branch line between Evercreech Junction and Highbridge. There will be locomotives of appropriate types in action with stations appropriately renamed. It will also be a WSR Anniversary in its own right as our first ever major Spring Steam Gala took place in March 1996 and had as its theme the 30th Anniversary of the closure of the Somerset and Dorset.The West Somerset Railway carried 37,434 passengers in August bringing the total for the year to date to 140,428.
International
Africa
Railways Africa
Headlines
TRANSNET TO INCREASE IRON-ORE CAPACITY
CAPECOR LINE IN TFR SPOTLIGHT
CONCESSIONING TFR BRANCHLINES
OVER-BORDER RAIL RELIABILITY IN QUESTION
CHINA REPEATS HIGH-SPEED RAIL OFFER
ALSTOM INTERCITY TRAINS FOR ALGERIA.
Brazil
Rio metro train on test in China - Railway Gazette
China
Chinese companies to team-up with Indian firms o bid for five high-seed railway projects. Economic Times.
High-speed race for China and Japan to export rail technology.(wantchinatimes)
High-speed race for China and Japan to export rail technology.(wantchinatimes)
Germany
DB Schenker launches eastbound Europe-China rail option.(Lloyd's Loading List)
Ireland
Weekend rail strike averted after late-night deal.(Irish Times)
David Franks, CEO Iarnród Éireann told "The Railway Chronicle": "The key messages are... I am relieved the Unions have called off their proposed industrial action, our focus now turns to addressing the remainder of the financial difficulties facing the company. I have always said pay cuts are only part of the solution.
But most importantly I am relieved we will not cause any more inconvenience and disruption to our customers who had been unnecessarily effected by the previous strike action"
Iarnród Éireann blog
This is an extract from the above mentioned blog, which puts the recent strike action(and the calling off of the planned stoppages) into perspective......
Financial situation of Iarnród Éireann
Iarnród Éireann has suffered a reduction in annual income of over €108 million since the onset of the economic crisis - €72.3 million in PSO payments (a reduction of 38%) and €35.2 million in revenue.
Despite reducing annual operating costs by €73 million in the same period, the company has recorded losses annually in successive years, with a loss of €16.4 million in 2013. Continued losses are unsustainable, and the company requires payroll measures, further savings in non-payroll areas, business and revenue growth, and sustainable funding of services and network to address the financial situation.
Israel
Police arrest dozens in train corruption scandal.(The Times of Israel)
It would appear that some railway employees have allegedly conspired with outside contractors to defraud the railways of millions......
Russia
First double-decked train in Russia (Russian Railways on YouTube)
Real Russia was one of the very first to try out the new double-decked train from Moscow to Adler. Happy to share with you as always!
USA
Amtrak to STB: Investigate CN over timekeeping...(Railway Age)
www.progressiverailroading.com
SmartRail World
How did BART know about the San Francisco quake before anyone else?
The biggest earthquake in 25 years struck San Francisco earlier this week, measuring 6.0 on the Richter Scale causing at least 200 injuries, power outages and an estimated $1 billion worth of property damage, though thankfully no fatalities. The earthquake happened overnight Sunday at a time with no passenger service on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), the rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area but the transit agency had already received advanced warning prior to it striking... Read the full story here...How did BART know about the San Fran quake before anyone else?
SmartRail World
| Video: PTC - Meeting the challenge and getting it right |
By SmartRail World Staff, 3 Sep 2014 15:00:00
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As planning gets underway for the 2015 PTC World Congress we highlight an excellent new video from the Associaiton of American Railroads offering a great insight into the role of PTC. For those of you new to this technology Positive train control (PTC) describes technology designed to automatically stop or slow a train before certain accidents occur. To learn more and download a free e-book click read more...
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Total Rail
UK Rail bosses will strike against below inflation pay offer
Alstom take steps in expanding France's tram network
India begin important high speed rail talks with Japan
The history of InnoTrans: The world's largest international rail trade fair
www.railway-technology.com.
Swiss Federal Railways contracts ABB for new traction equipment
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has awarded a $75.4m contract to ABB Switzerland to deliver new traction equipment for its Re 460 fleet electric locomotives.
Eversholt Rail awards Scottish suburban trains upgrade contract
Eversholt Rail has signed a two-year contract with Alstom to carry out upgrade works on its 40 First ScotRail Class 334 trains.
Hochtief wins Waterloo & City line station refit contract from TfL
The UK's Transport for London (TfL) has signed a contract with Hochtief to refit the new Waterloo & City line Bank station entrance.
Network Rail opens new platforms at London Bridge station
UK infrastructure operator Network Rail has opened two new platforms at London Bridge Station after completing nine days of renovation work
Events
NCE's Tunnelling Summit is the best opportunity for the tunnelling community to gather, build lucrative contacts and share crucial updates on current and future projects.
EXPERT CLIENT SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
- Michèle Dix, Managing Director, Planning, Transport for London
- Graeme Shaw, Head of Northern Line Extension, Capital Programmes Directorate, London Underground
- Phil Stride, Head, Thames Tideway Tunnel
- Chris Dulake, Chief Engineer, Crossrail
- David Luetchford, Head of Cable Tunnels, National Grid
- Nick Fawcett, Head of Major Projects, Thames Water
- Donald Milne, General Manager, Managed Delivery, Scottish Water
- Anna Rosenlind, Deputy Project Director, Trafikverket
- Kim Smedegaard Andersen, Contract Director, Immersed Tunnel, Fehmarnbelt Tunnel
- Simon Addyman, Programme Manager, Bank Station, London Underground
Books
The top 10 books about trains.(The Guardian)
Andrew Martin's Top 10 railway books include Dickens, Zola and George Bradshaw.
He is known for his fictional detective Jim Stringer..and has now written "Belles and Whistles: Five Journeys Through Time on Britain's Trains" published by Profile Books.
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