The Railway Chronicle: International & UK Railway News Wednesday 10th September 2014

Leaves on the line (an explanation).... overcrowding ( a request)...clean air in London means cleaner transport(a discussion).. the transit revolution (an insight)..the Burma Railway (a sad history)..the history of the Trans Siberian (an epic)..and some more ...
Click on the links....

Headlines
UK
East Coast rail franchise increases return to taxpayer.(BBC News)

Lease signals a step closer for rail link between Swanage and Wareham.(DorsetForYou)

Leeds railway station staff 'fail to help' fall woman.(BBC News)

Network Rail on YouTube.

Delays explained - Leaves on the Line
Fallen leaves stick to damp rails and passing trains compress them into a slippery layer that reduces grip. Find out more, including how we're reducing delays caused by leaves at http://www.networkrail.co.uk/timetabl...

UK Parliament on YouTube

Air pollution causes 29,000 early deaths a year according to Public Health England, yet the Government has admitted that European safety limits on exposure will not be met in many UK cities until the late 2020s.

The cross-party Environmental Audit Committee investigates the problem and asks whether the Government and Local Authorities are doing enough to get the dirtiest vehicles off the road and promote cleaner forms of transport.

For more information on the inquiry please visit http://www.parliament.uk/business/com...
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GOV.UK
Train operators urged to tackle overcrowding.
Train companies are challenged to do more to help meet the capacity challenge on the rail network in England and Wales.

Transport Minister Claire Perry challenged the rail industry today (10 September 2014) to find new ways to give commuters more seats on busy trains following publication of the latest crowding statistics.
Claire Perry said:

Since 1995 passenger journeys on the railway have more than doubled, with 1.6 billion journeys being recorded in the last year. This means that on too many journeys, passengers have to stand in cramped conditions. Train operators must act now, they must find new ways to create space on the network and in their trains.

We are investing more than £38 billion in our railway delivering more trains, more seats and more services and we are pushing ahead with plans for a national high speed rail network that will help solve the problem in the long term. I understand the frustration of rail passengers forced to stand on busy services and that is why I am calling on the operators to do more.

Today’s figures show the extent of crowding in England and Wales across the network. While the level of overall crowding has stayed much the same as the year before, the situation has worsened in some cities where there has been growth in passenger numbers. The top 10 lists of crowded trains issued alongside the statistics give a snapshot of train overcrowding showing the busiest services in England and Wales during spring and autumn last year.

The ‘top 10’ for spring 2013

1. 16:46 service from London Euston to Crewe: load factor 201%

Capacity is based on seats only. Service has first class.
London Midland recognise that while the formation of this train may not have been the maximum allowed by the route, it was the maximum allowed at that time for the combination of the train path and the rolling stock available to them. The train has been formed of 8 cars since the start of the December 2013 timetable, the earliest point at which this was possible, reducing the load factor significantly.

2. 07:33 service from Bedford to Brighton: load factor 171%

Capacity is based on seats only. Service has first class and train is at maximum length.
This is now a 12 car rather than an 8 car train. First Capital Connect introduced additional carriages in line with the December 2011 HLOS initiative.

3. 07:00 service from Oxford to London Paddington: load factor 168%

Capacity includes seats and a standing allowance. Service has first class.
First Great Western has recognised this service is crowded and has enhanced the capacity by changing the formation to a 165 3-car with 270 standard class seats.

4. 07:44 service from Henley-on-Thames to London Paddington: load factor 161%

Capacity is based on seats only. Service has first class.
First Great Western has recognised this service is crowded and it had already been strengthened from 3-cars to 4-cars before these counts were produced.

5. 07:21 service from Oxford to London Paddington: load factor 156%

Capacity is based on seats only. Service has first class.
First Great Western has recognised this service is crowded and has enhanced the capacity by changing the formation to a 165 3-car with an additional 28 standard class seats

6. 07:32 service from Woking to London Waterloo: load factor 154%

Capacity is based on seats only. Service has first class. This train and those adjacent to it are operating to maximum formation on this route.
The South West Trains and Network Rail Alliance, with the Department for Transport, have developed plans for increasing capacity on the routes into London Waterloo during the peak periods, in addition to that currently being introduced under the HLOS programme.

7. 18:13 service from London Euston to Birmingham New Street: load factor 152%

Capacity is based on seats only. Service has first class and train is at its maximum length.
From the start of the December 2014 timetable this service is being replaced by a pair of new trains under the Project 110 Peak scheme, thus providing additional seats in this time slot to help relieve the crowding present. The Project 110 Peak scheme is the main forthcoming London Midland scheme for tackling overcrowding during both the morning and evening London Peaks.

8. 07:02 service from Woking to London Waterloo: load factor 151%

9. 06:35 service from Caterham to London Victoria: load factor 149%

Capacity includes seats and a standing allowance. Service does not have first class.
Southern introduced this train at the December 2011 timetable change in addition to the trains that are contracted to run. This was part of an initiative to using their trains more efficiently to get an extra trip and to plug what was previously a half hour interval between fast East Croydon to Victoria trains. This train primarily serves the fast East Croydon to Clapham Junction and London Victoria market. Currently there are no more carriages available to lengthen this train or to run any additional trains between East Croydon and London Victoria unless they were taken from other trains, but that would cause even worse crowding elsewhere.

10. 17:46 service from London Euston to Birmingham New Street: load factor 148%

Capacity is based on seats only. Service has first class and the train is at its maximum length.
Going forward, London Midland has taken delivery of 10 new 4-car trains, of which 7 will be utilised on the West Coast Main Line and 3 for the West Midlands. This will increase peak capacity by approximately 2,500 seats per day.

The ‘top 10’ for Autumn 2013

1. 16:46 service from London Euston to Crewe: load factor 211%

2. 07:32 service from Woking to London Waterloo: load factor 173%

3. 07:21 service from Oxford to London Paddington: load factor 173%

4. 18:33 service from London Paddington to Heathrow Airport: load factor 169%

Capacity includes seats and a standing allowance. Service does not have first class and train is at maximum length.

5. 06:30 service from Manchester Airport to Middlesbrough: load factor 166%

Capacity is based on seats only. Service has first class.
First TransPennine Express have mitigated some of the challenges of crowding by the introduction of the May 2014 timetable, which introduced a fifth train per hour in each direction across the Pennines. The new fifth train per hour helps out in relieving constrained capacity by reducing the gap in frequency of services.

6. 18:13 service from London Euston to Birmingham New Street: load factor 164%

Capacity is based on seats only. Service has first class and train is at maximum length.
From the start of the December 2014 timetable this service is being replaced by a pair of new trains under the Project 110 Peak scheme, thus providing additional seats in this time slot to help relieve the crowding present. The Project 110 Peak scheme is the main forthcoming London Midland scheme for tackling overcrowding during both the morning and evening London Peaks.

7. 06:07 service from Banbury to London Paddington: load factor 157%

Capacity includes seats and a standing allowance. Service has first class and train is at maximum length.
First Great Western has added 16 extra standard class seats to all its 3-car Class 166 turbo trains by declassifying half of first class. This coupled (ie 6-car) service now has an extra 32 standard class seats.

8. 06:30 service from Scarborough to Manchester Airport : load factor 156%

9. 06:28 service from Nottingham to St Pancras: load factor 155%

Service operated by East Midland Trains and capacity is based on seats only. Service has first class and train is at maximum length.

10. 07:00 service from Oxford to London Paddington: load factor 153%

Capacity is based on seats only. Service has first class.
First Great Western has recognised this service is crowded and has enhanced the capacity by changing the formation to a class 165 3-car with 270 standard class seats.

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Building Burma's Death Railway: Moving Half the Mountain.(BBC )

Duration: 1 hour (Check BBC iPlayer for days left to view)
The brutal use of British prisoners of war by the Japanese to build a railway linking Thailand to Burma in 1943 was one of the worst atrocities of the Second World War. For the first time in 70 years, British POWs and their Japanese captors, many now in their nineties, open their hearts to tell the story of what really happened on the 'Death Railway'. Alongside the extraordinary experiences and stories of survival told by the British, their Japanese guards tell of different horrors of war, some never disclosed before.
Exploring how they have survived the terrible memories, this is an often inspiring story that many of these men have waited a long time to tell. What emerges is a warm and emotional journey through the lives of men from different sides reflecting on a terrible event that still haunts them.

pteg - The Voice of Urban Transport
Autumn 2014 Newsletter ... extracts...an insight into UK transit systems
Courtesy pteg

Transit revolution

Our major cities are benefiting from a wave of investment in new transit systems that will transformjourneys and support growth. From modern trams and trolleybuses to bus rapid transit networks, our cities will have some of the largest and most innovative schemes in the country.

In West Yorkshire a public inquiry is currently underway into the New Generation Transport (NGT) that will bring back the trolleybus to the streets of a British city for the first time since 1972. The 14.8km system will run between the northern and southern edges of Leeds through the city centre. Powered by overhead cables,modern trolleybuses can carry up to 160 standing and seated passengers in comfort. NGT combines dedicated lanes with junction and traffic signal priority to ensure improved journey times, with over two thirds of the route being segregated from regular traffic.

Another first will be the introduction of tram-trains in South Yorkshire. Used widely elsewhere in Europe,tram-trains have the flexibility to operate both as street running trams, and as trains on mainline railway lines.The trailblazing scheme will see tram-trains operating between the cities of Rotherham and Sheffield from 2015. The vehicles will run on Sheffield’s Supertram network and on part of the adjoining national rail network, which will be adapted to allow seamless travel from one to the other. Passengers will be able to travel from Parkgate Retail Park in Rotherham, through Rotherham Central Station and on to Meadowhall (a major shopping centre just outside Sheffield). At Meadowhall, the tram-train will transfer onto the Supertram network, allowing direct access to the heart of Sheffield city centre. Bus rapid transit schemes will also become common in the city regions with more bus-only roadways being built, including in Leigh in Greater Manchester and in the Don Valley in South Yorkshire.

Tram systems too are being expanded.Manchester Metrolink is growing rapidly with a new fleet of trams and new routes across the conurbations. The next route to open will be to Manchester Airport via Wythenshawe and the network is now so busy that a second route across the city centre is also being constructed.

The Midland Metro in the West Midlands is also expanding. Currently the one line from Wolverhampton terminates at the edge of Birmingham city centre at Snow Hill. Construction is underway to extend the route across the city centre to the transformed Birmingham New Street station. The go-ahead has also been given for further extensions to Five Ways and Edgbaston;Digbeth and the planned High Speed 2 station at Curzon Street; and connecting Wolverhampton’s

bus station to the railway station. Meanwhile work to refurbish Britain’s first

modern light rapid transit system – the Tyne and Wear Metro – continues. Metro is

benefiting from a £389m, eleven year modernisation programme, which will overhaul

track, technology, stations, ticketing and rolling stock right across the system. The programme is well underway and includes replacement of 60kms of track, power lines, communications systems and infrastructure; refurbishment of 45 stations and 86 Metrocars; and upgraded ticketing systems able to handle ‘Pop’ martcards.Nexus, (who own and manage the system) has also been consulting on possible extensions to the system which could expand its coverage to parts of Tyne and Wear that have not yet benefited from the Metro (like Washington), as well as the potential for on-street running.

Photos courtesy: pteg

Manchester Midlands Metro Sheffield Supertram Tyne & Wear Metro

HS2 ready

HS2 will be the biggest re-writing of the inter-city rail network yet. HS2 will increase capacity on the network at a time when the railways are seeing unprecedented growth in demand; it will bring England’s largest cities closer together, expanding markets and inviting investment; and it will open up potential for major urban renewal around key stations.

But the opportunity doesn’t stop there – the potential benefits from HS2 could be further enhanced by complementary investment in local transport networks. There are three key reasons for this. Firstly, HS2 stations will become major local destinations in themselves, and could risk becoming congestion hotspots. Secondly, improved local networks will expand the catchment of HS2 stations several-fold, increasing the scale of economic gains and the number of people who will feel the benefits. Finally, released capacity as a result of HS2 could be used to significantly improve the connectivity of places not directly served by HS2 stations.

More.......Here

UK Heritage
(From Huntley Film Archives on YouTube)

A study of GWR 'King' 4-6-0 No 6000 King George V at that time trapped in a short length of track at Bulmers Cider at Hereford. GWR Great Western Railway Locomotive no 6000 King George V built in 1927 and restored and preserved at Bulmers Cider Factory. Lots of lovely shots of steam trains in the cherry blossom.
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Ambitious £250,000 bridge repair programme completed by Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway ahead of schedule.(Gloucestershire Echo)

Toddington on the GWSR

International
Africa

Railways Africa

3RD ANNUAL AFRICAN RAILWAY SUMMIT
OREX LINE SHUTDOWN
STARS OF SANDSTONE
WAGON REPAIR FACILITY AT DE AAR
TFR’S MARKET SHARE GROWING BY 20% PA
METRORAIL AND JOB CREATION INITIATIVES
RAIL TRANSPORT OF OIL FROM LAGOS

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Chile
Explosion in a subway station in Santiago, September 9, left at least 14 injured.(La Vie Du Rail)

China
Riding Beijing's subway end to end: 88km of queues and crushes on a 20p ticket.(The Guardian)

France
Alain Vidal, announced on September 9..maintenance of the infrastructure becomes the strategic priority.(La Vie Du Rail)

India
PM Modi's 100-day report card: Major initiatives undertaken by Railways.(The Economic Times)According to this report, major initiatives include: Train enquiry mobile app, 'Go India' smart cards, next-generation e-ticketing system and successful trial of semi-high speed trains . And another landmark engineering marvel, Indian Railways completed Udhampur-Katra Broad gauge line in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Also, Safety measures Automatic Signalling on 150 Route Km is targeted for commissioning during 2014-15, and Route Relay/Interlocking at Major Stations to eliminate mistakes ..... and improving cleanliness.

Chinese President Xi Jinping may offer cheaper high-speed trains during his India visit.(The Economic Times)

Final trial of semi-high speed Delhi-Agra train on Sept 11. (Times of India)

Russia
Chinese to Invest $10 Billion in Moscow-Kazan High-Speed Railway.(The Moscow Times)

The History of the Trans - Siberian . Part 2 (Russian Railways on YouTube)

We are glad to share with you a documentary about the longest railway in the world, the Transsiberian Highway. The Trans-Siberian Highway construction was expected to terminate within 10 years, despite of hard conveniences and deep crisis.

Christian Wolmar at The Hay Festival .May 2014

Christian Wolmar expertly tells the story of the Trans-Siberian railway from its conception and construction under Tsar Alexander III, to the northern extension ordered by Brezhnev and its current success as a vital artery. He also explores the crucial role the line played in both the Russian Civil War -Trotsky famously used an armoured carriage as his command post - and the Second World War, during which the railway saved the country from certain defeat. Like the author's previous railway histories, it focuses on the personalities, as well as the political and economic events, that lay behind one of the most extraordinary engineering triumphs of the nineteenth century.
Buy your copy here....

USA
www.progressiverailroading.com.

USDOT approves TIGER VI grants to fund numerous rail, port projects

Sens. Rockefeller, Thune unveil STB Reauthorization Act

Labor: CP traffic controllers ratify pact; CN opens Winnipeg training center

Montreal transit agency to upgrade station in preparation for medical center opening

SEPTA completes upgrades at City Hall, 15th Street stations

Plans advance for several rail-served facilities

Criminal acts dropped to five-year low in 2014's first half, WMATA says

North Carolina DOT to seek new operator for state-owned short line

BTS Releases July 2014 Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI)

The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), which is based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, rose 0.9 percent in July from June, rising after a one-month decline, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS). The July 2014 index level (119.6) was 26.5 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession (Tables 1, 2, and 2A).

The level of freight shipments in July measured by the Freight TSI (119.6) was 0.5 percent below the all-time high level of 120.3 in May 2014 (Table 2A). BTS’ TSI records begin in 2000. See historical TSI data.

The June index was revised down to 118.6 from 119.1 in last month’s release. The May index, the all-time high, was revised up slightly while the January through April indexes were revised down slightly.

The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments by mode of transportation in tons and ton-miles, which are combined into one index. The index measures the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and consists of data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.

Analysis: All freight modes but two grew in July after declines in June. Water and pipelines continued to decline. During the month, several other indicators of related parts of the economy that often impact transportation increased. Industrial production, led by manufacturing and construction, increased. Both shipments and inventories of manufactured goods increased. Overall employment grew, as did transportation employment.

Trend: July was the second month in which the Freight TSI reached the levels that had been attained prior to the weather-related downturn in the early part of the year. The index reached its second highest level, below only the all-time high (120.3) in May 2014. The increase in the index represents a return to growth after the decline in June. After dipping to 94.6 in April 2009, the index rose by 26.5 percent in the succeeding 63 months. For additional historical data, go to TSI data.

Index highs and lows: Freight shipments in July 2014 (119.6) were 26.5 percent higher than the recent low in April 2009 during the recession (94.6). The July 2014 level is down 0.5 percent from the historic peak reached in May 2014 (120.3).

Year to date: Freight shipments measured by the index were up 0.4 percent in July compared to the end of 2013 (Table 3)

Long-term trend: Freight shipments are up 21.9 percent in the five years from the post-recession level of July 2009 and are up 7.7 percent in the 10 years from July 2004 (Table 5).

Same month of previous year: July 2014 freight shipments were up 3.2 percent from July 2013 (Tables 4, 5).

The TSI has three seasonally adjusted indexes that measure changes from the monthly average of the base year of 2000. The three indexes are freight shipments, passenger travel and a combined measure that merges the freight and passenger indexes. TSI includes data from 2000 to the present. Release of the August 2014 index is scheduled for Oct. 8.

Passenger Index: The TSI for passengers rose 0.3 percent in July from its June level (Table 6). The Passenger TSI July 2014 level of 119.8 was 2.6 percent above the July 2013 level (Table 7). The index is up 8.8 percent from July five years ago and up 14.8 percent from July 10 years ago (Table 5). The passenger TSI measures the month-to-month changes in travel that involves the services of the for-hire passenger transportation sector. The seasonally adjusted index consists of data from air, local transit and intercity rail.

Combined Index: The combined freight and passenger TSI rose 0.7 percent in July from its June level (Table 8). The combined TSI July 2014 level of 119.8 was 3.0 percent above the July 2013 level (Table 9). The combined index is up 17.8 percent from July five years ago and up 9.6 percent from July 10 years ago (Table 5). The combined TSI merges the freight and passenger indexes into a single index.

Revisions: Monthly data has changed from previous releases due to the use of concurrent seasonal analysis, which results in seasonal analysis factors changing as each months data are added.
For a webinar on the TSI, see Past Webinars. For a video explanation of the TSI, see Overview of the Transportation Services Index. A BTS report explaining the TSI, Transportation Services Index and the Economy, is available for download.

Other Railway Press Releases
SmartRail World

Welcome to the September issue of SmartRail News. As always, the team have endeavoured to find and report on the most innovative rail stories from around the world. We find out how drones are already working in the rail industry around the world. Ask why BART knew about the recent San Francisco earthquake before anyone else. Travel to Dublin to learn about the Metro project there. We watch a video guide to PTC and gain CBTC experts insights in a Top Ten.

We are also proud to continue to offer you are faithful readers not one, but two free reports for you to download: The Future of US Rail and CBTC for Mass Transit Mobility. Plus we have some exciting new features on SmartRail World including a Reports & Research page and LinkedIn directory for the rail industry.

Thanks for reading!

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www.railway-technology.com.
TfL set to launch contactless payments on London Underground
The UK's Transport for London (TfL) is set to launch contactless payments on its Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and National Rail services that accept Oyster from 16 September.

Network Rail to start consultation on railway between Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations in Manchester
UK infrastructure operator Network Rail is set to launch a public consultation on the development of the railway between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road stations next week..

Alstom UK paid $8.5m bribes to win contracts, says UK fraud prosecutor
The UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has alleged that Alstom Network UK paid around $8.5m in bribes over a six-year period to win transport contracts in India, Poland and Tunisia.

Construction begins on Newcourt railway station in UK
UK Transport Minister Susan Kramer has cut the first turf on the £1.5m new railway station at Newcourt, Exeter, marking the start of construction on the first of five government-funded stations.

UK Parliament Live TV. Investing in the Railway