Optimism for rail travel is the highlight of today's news... more passengers might mean new trains, according to the Blackpool Gazette, and the Birmingham Post enthuses over possible benefits to the site at Washwood Heath given HS2 potential adjustments....and , according to EIN, rail travel..that is, high speed rail travel..is friendlier than flying....
Two new senior appointments to congratulate..David Horne as MD at Virgin Trains East Coast , and Jake Kelly as MD Designate at East Midlands Trains..
The RAIB report on a Chilterns Railway train passing through two red signals is a little worrying...hence some recommendations....
Click on the links....
Headlines
UK
Washwood Heath jobs breakthrough as committee calls on HS2 to adjust plans.(Birmingham Post)
Traws Link Cymru rail campaign to meet Stephen Crabb.(BBC News)
Passenger rise ‘should lead to new train stock’.(Blackpool Gazette)
Rail network 'at risk from climate change'.(West Briton)
An upside of high-speed rail? It's more traveler friendly than flying.(EIN)
The InterCity 125 and its high-speed replacement.(BBC News..Interactive Video)
Stagecoach - Press Release
New appointment confirmed for East Coast franchise
22 Dec 2014The head of the new company which will take over responsibility for running rail services on the East Coast mainline next year has been confirmed today (22 December 2014) by Stagecoach and Virgin.
David Horne, currently Managing Director of Stagecoach-owned East Midlands Trains, has been appointed to play a leading part in the mobilisation and transition arrangements for the new InterCity East Coast franchise which is to be operated by Stagecoach and Virgin from March 2015.
He will take up the role from next month and, subject to the commencement of the franchise award as envisaged, would become Managing Director of Virgin Trains East Coast when the franchise starts.
David has more than 25 years experience in the rail industry, having started his career in 1988 as a ticket office clerk in Cornwall. He has also held senior positions within South West Trains and Virgin Trains.
David led the successful bid on behalf of Stagecoach for the East Midlands Trains franchise in 2007. In his time at East Midlands Trains, David has been responsible for delivering the UK's most punctual long distance services over a five year period which has also seen significant increases in customer satisfaction. East Midlands Trains was named Passenger Operator of the Year at the National Rail Awards earlier this year.
David (42) currently lives in Nottinghamshire with his wife and two-year-old son.
Martin Griffiths, Chief Executive of Stagecoach Group, said: "We're now well underway with putting our plans in place for the new Virgin Trains East Coast franchise and we're pleased to be announcing David's appointment.
"David has a wealth of experience of the railways which will be invaluable as we prepare to launch the new franchise.
"East Midlands Trains has been a great success, and I am very proud that under David's leadership it has maintained an unbeaten record as the UK's most punctual train operator and was recently named Passenger Operator of the Year.
"I am confident David will be a great addition to the East Coast team and will use his experience to make Virgin Trains East Coast a huge success.
"I would also like to pay tribute to Karen Boswell, who has been Managing Director at East Coast over the past five years. In challenging circumstances Karen has ably led a team of 3,000 committed employees and ensured we have a good platform for our future plans."
Patrick McCall, Senior Partner, Virgin Group, said: "We are looking forward to taking on the East Coast Mainline in spring next year and have a number of new initiatives ready to launch under the Virgin brand. The appointment of David Horne as Managing Director of InterCity East Coast will greatly help us accelerate these plans."
Speaking on his appointment, David Horne said: "I feel very privileged to be given the opportunity to lead this major new franchise. I've travelled on East Coast on many occasions over the years and have seen first-hand the level of pride the team have and the focus on delivering a great service for customers.
"Over 20 million journeys are made every year on this franchise which connects some of the UK's most important cities and it plays a key role in the local communities it serves. There are some really innovative plans for the future which will see investment in our people, in delivering more for our customers and will provide better support for our local communities.
"I'm really excited about the future for Virgin Trains East Coast and I'm looking forward to meeting the team and getting started on the next phase of the journey.”
The new Virgin Trains East Coast franchise will start in March 2015 and is planned to run until 31 March 2023, with the option for a one-year extension at the Department for Transport's discretion. Trains will operate under the ‘Virgin Trains East Coast' brand and the franchise will be managed by Inter City Railways, a venture between Stagecoach and Virgin. Plans are now well underway to ensure a smooth transition to the new franchise, and it has recently been confirmed that the Head Office will remain in York.
Over £140 million will be invested in the new franchise delivering major improvements for customers. Stagecoach and Virgin have exciting plans to transform the on-train experience and deliver a more personalised service, with at-seat food ordering from the buffet car and hot food available to passengers in standard class. A new Nectar loyalty scheme will be launched and it will be easier to buy tickets and make seat reservations. Passengers will also benefit from new trains, an improved timetable with faster journeys and better connections, more services to new destinations, better value fares, new technology and a range of station and accessibility enhancements.
Jake Kelly has been appointed Managing Director Designate of East Midlands Trains. He has previously worked as a director of the company and joins from the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance where he has worked since 2010 in the roles of Commercial Director, Customer Service Director and more recently as Development Director.
ENDS
22.12.2014
East Midlands Trains announced today (22 December 2014) that Managing Director David Horne has been appointed to play a leading part in the mobilisation and transition arrangements for the new InterCity East Coast franchise which is to be operated by Stagecoach and Virgin from March 2015.
He will take up the role from next month and, subject to the commencement of the franchise award as envisaged, would become Managing Director of Virgin Trains East Coast when the franchise starts.
Jake Kelly has been appointed Managing Director Designate of East Midlands Trains. He has previously worked as a director of the company and joins from the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance.
David (42) has more than 25 years experience in the rail industry, having started his career in 1988 as a ticket office clerk in Cornwall. He has also held senior positions within South West Trains and Virgin Trains.
David led the successful bid on behalf of Stagecoach for the East Midlands Trains franchise in 2007. In his time at East Midlands Trains, David has been responsible for delivering the UK’s most punctual long distance services over a five year period and has also seen significant increases in customer satisfaction. East Midlands Trains was named Passenger Operator of the Year at the National Rail Awards earlier this year.
Under his leadership, East Midlands Trains has gone from strength to strength with some of the highlights being:
He worked as Customer Service Director for East Midlands Trains from 2007 to 2010 before moving to South West Trains, where he held the positions of Commercial Director and then Customer Service Director before moving into his current role as Development Director in 2013.
Commenting on the changes, David Horne said: “I have really enjoyed my time at East Midlands Trains and feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to lead such a successful franchise.
“We’ve had such fantastic support from our stakeholders, partners and customers who have all helped to make East Midlands Trains the business it is today. I would also like to pay particular tribute to our great team of people who have helped to ensure that East Midlands Trains is in the best possible position moving forward.
- See more at: http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/information/media/news/Senior-Management-Changes-At-East-Midlands-Trains1/#sthash.l2MqI6Ae.dpufHe will take up the role from next month and, subject to the commencement of the franchise award as envisaged, would become Managing Director of Virgin Trains East Coast when the franchise starts.
Jake Kelly has been appointed Managing Director Designate of East Midlands Trains. He has previously worked as a director of the company and joins from the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance.
David (42) has more than 25 years experience in the rail industry, having started his career in 1988 as a ticket office clerk in Cornwall. He has also held senior positions within South West Trains and Virgin Trains.
David led the successful bid on behalf of Stagecoach for the East Midlands Trains franchise in 2007. In his time at East Midlands Trains, David has been responsible for delivering the UK’s most punctual long distance services over a five year period and has also seen significant increases in customer satisfaction. East Midlands Trains was named Passenger Operator of the Year at the National Rail Awards earlier this year.
Under his leadership, East Midlands Trains has gone from strength to strength with some of the highlights being:
- Named as Passenger Operator of the Year at the National Rail Awards 2014
- Recognised by the Institute of Customer Service as best train operator and one of the top 10 most improved UK organisations in 2014
- Most reliable long distance train operator over five consecutive years
- Working successfully with Network Rail to complete a £100 million re-signalling project at Nottingham
- Completing a major improvement scheme at Nottingham station to create a new world-class transport hub
- Securing additional trains to provide extra services on the Norwich-Liverpool route and between Nottingham and Lincoln
He worked as Customer Service Director for East Midlands Trains from 2007 to 2010 before moving to South West Trains, where he held the positions of Commercial Director and then Customer Service Director before moving into his current role as Development Director in 2013.
Commenting on the changes, David Horne said: “I have really enjoyed my time at East Midlands Trains and feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to lead such a successful franchise.
“We’ve had such fantastic support from our stakeholders, partners and customers who have all helped to make East Midlands Trains the business it is today. I would also like to pay particular tribute to our great team of people who have helped to ensure that East Midlands Trains is in the best possible position moving forward.
Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) ..blog...
Why is it so hard to capture complaints made through social media?
The impact of social media, Peter Moran and Sneha Patel, ORR information and analysis team.
Read the blog!!
Specialist technical advice for rail framework: contract notice
Informs potential suppliers about the specialist technical advice for rail framework competition.
Document
Detail
This contract notice informs potential suppliers about the specialist technical advice for Rail (STAR) framework contract opportunity.
Pre-qualification documentation has also been published.
Pre-qualification documentation has also been published.
Crossrail
PRESS RELEASE
Two Turner Prize-winners commissioned for Crossrail art programme
at Tottenham Court Road station
at Tottenham Court Road station
· Douglas Gordon and Richard Wright awarded Crossrail art commissions
· Artworks to be funded by property group Almacantar, City of London Corporation and Derwent London
Renowned artists Douglas Gordon and Richard Wright have been commissioned to create large-scale artworks in Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station.
Douglas Gordon’s commission will be installed in the station’s western ticket hall in Dean Street, Soho. A series of three video screens will display images of people to evoke the history, culture and character of Soho. These images collectively form human compositions in a concept known as ‘Exquisite Corpse.’
Richard Wright’s commission will see gold-leaf hand-gilded on the vast ceiling above the eastern ticket hall, next to the existing Tottenham Court Road London Underground station. It draws on the lightness and colour of the ticket hall architecture and the rapidly improving public areas around the station. The pattern, which echoes the tile patterns of historic underground stations, will appear to change, fading in and out, depending on the light and viewpoint.
Both artists’ concepts will be developed over the coming months, with imagery released in the New Year.
The commissions are lead-funded by Almacantar and the City of London Corporation and co-funded by Derwent London. Both artists are from Glasgow and had proposals selected by the Crossrail Art Advisory Board in consultation with Gagosian Gallery, station architects Hawkins/Brown and the funders.
Douglas Gordon commented: “The work will draw upon the history of the Soho area, where I spent a lot of time in the 1980s and 1990s. It will also allude to the area’s ability to recreate itself. It is vital that Soho’s historic identity should be embedded in its current renewal and this art will help achieve that.”
Richard Wright commented: “I aim to create something that gives people a sense of enchantment. I want the painting to be delicate and elusive; folding, unfolding and fading in and out with the light and different viewpoints.”
Kathrin Hersel, Development Director of lead-funder Almacantar commented: “Tottenham Court Road is going to become a major new interchange for London. We are very excited to play our part of transforming the area with the redevelopment of Centre Point and the new public square as well as enhancing London’s cultural scene by helping to fund public art works from these renowned artists.”
Simon Silver, Director at Derwent London commented: “Derwent London are delighted to be co-funding new artworks at Tottenham Court Road Station. It marks our commitment to integrating art into the built environment, something that is part of our own mantra. The artworks will bring a special quality to the station and complement the other pieces by Eduardo Paolozzi and Daniel Buren. The area around Tottenham Court Road is seeing the biggest change for decades and we are all excited by the benefits Crossrail will bring.”
Terry Morgan, Crossrail Chairman commented: “The art at Tottenham Court Road will be enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people every day, embedding culture into the heart of the world class railway that will be delivered in 2018. It will be a terrific inheritance for us to leave for future generations.”
Crossrail’s new artwork at Tottenham Court Road will join an Art on the Underground commissioned work by renowned French artist Daniel Buren, to open in 2015. It will also join the existing, iconic 1984 mosaics by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi.
Tottenham Court Road station will be run by Transport for London and will be a key interchange when Crossrail opens in 2018. Crossrail is working alongside TfL on a transformation of the station and the surrounding public realm, in one of the biggest transport investments in the West End for decades.
The improvements will future-proof Tottenham Court Road station for the expected 200,000 people using it daily from 2018. This, along with the planned changes at Centre Point and other nearby property developments and urban realm improvements, is expected to revitalise the eastern end of Oxford Street.
Crossrail will carry over 200 million passengers per year, adding 10% to London’s rail network and bringing an additional 1.5 million people within 45 minutes commute of central London. It will link London’s key employment, leisure and business districts – Heathrow, West End, the City and Canary Wharf, and encourage regeneration across the capital.Ends
Rail Accident Investigation Branch(RAIB)
Unauthorised entry of a train onto a single line at Greenford
Report name:
141222_R292014_Greenford
141222_R292014_Greenford
Incident date:
20 March 2014
20 March 2014
Category:
Heavy Rail
Heavy Rail
Summary: At around 11:55 hrs on Thursday 20 March 2014, the 11:36 hrs passenger train from London Paddington to West Ruislip, operated by Chiltern Railways, passed two consecutive signals at danger near Greenford, west London. It was stopped when a signaller sent an emergency radio message to the driver. Although no-one was hurt in the incident, the unauthorised entry of a train onto a single line creates the potential for a serious collision.
A freight train had passed the junction at Greenford shortly before the passenger train was due. Because the freight train was still occupying the line between Greenford and South Ruislip, the signaller at Greenford kept the signal at the junction at danger. The passenger train, travelling at about 20 mph (32 km/h), passed this signal and the next one, 142 yards (130 metres) further on, which was also at danger. It passed over the junction and onto the single-track section towards South Ruislip, which was still occupied by the freight train. The train had travelled about one mile (1.6 km) beyond Greenford by the time that the driver received the emergency radio message.
The investigation found that the driver of the passenger train did not react to the two signals at danger, for reasons which are not certain. It is possible that he had formed the impression that the train had been given clear signals through Greenford, because of his interpretation of the meaning of the signal preceding those that he passed at danger, and he had not been stopped by signals at Greenford in the recent past.
The Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) was fitted to the train and to both the signals, but it did not intervene to apply the brakes of the train, as it was intended to do. This was because the on-train TPWS equipment had self-isolated when the driver prepared the train for departure from Paddington. The isolation of the equipment was indicated by a flashing light in the cab, but the driver still drove the train.
Although the signaller at Greenford wished to stop the train by sending an emergency call on the GSM-R radio system, he did not attempt to do so because the information presented by the radio equipment in the signal box suggested to him that any message he sent would not reach the train. Instead, he contacted Marylebone signal box, which was able to send a message to the train.
RAIB has made three recommendations. One is addressed to Chiltern Railways, and covers the need for a review of the company’s driver management processes. The other two, addressed to Network Rail, cover the configuration of the GSM-R radio system as it affects the ability of signallers to directly contact trains that are within their areas of control, and the training given to signallers in the use of the GSM-R system. RAIB has also identified two learning points: one for signallers, relating to the use of delayed clearance of signals to warn train drivers of the state of the line ahead, and the other for train operating companies, relating to the upgrading of on-train TPWS equipment.
A freight train had passed the junction at Greenford shortly before the passenger train was due. Because the freight train was still occupying the line between Greenford and South Ruislip, the signaller at Greenford kept the signal at the junction at danger. The passenger train, travelling at about 20 mph (32 km/h), passed this signal and the next one, 142 yards (130 metres) further on, which was also at danger. It passed over the junction and onto the single-track section towards South Ruislip, which was still occupied by the freight train. The train had travelled about one mile (1.6 km) beyond Greenford by the time that the driver received the emergency radio message.
The investigation found that the driver of the passenger train did not react to the two signals at danger, for reasons which are not certain. It is possible that he had formed the impression that the train had been given clear signals through Greenford, because of his interpretation of the meaning of the signal preceding those that he passed at danger, and he had not been stopped by signals at Greenford in the recent past.
The Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) was fitted to the train and to both the signals, but it did not intervene to apply the brakes of the train, as it was intended to do. This was because the on-train TPWS equipment had self-isolated when the driver prepared the train for departure from Paddington. The isolation of the equipment was indicated by a flashing light in the cab, but the driver still drove the train.
Although the signaller at Greenford wished to stop the train by sending an emergency call on the GSM-R radio system, he did not attempt to do so because the information presented by the radio equipment in the signal box suggested to him that any message he sent would not reach the train. Instead, he contacted Marylebone signal box, which was able to send a message to the train.
RAIB has made three recommendations. One is addressed to Chiltern Railways, and covers the need for a review of the company’s driver management processes. The other two, addressed to Network Rail, cover the configuration of the GSM-R radio system as it affects the ability of signallers to directly contact trains that are within their areas of control, and the training given to signallers in the use of the GSM-R system. RAIB has also identified two learning points: one for signallers, relating to the use of delayed clearance of signals to warn train drivers of the state of the line ahead, and the other for train operating companies, relating to the upgrading of on-train TPWS equipment.
Download report:
141222_R292014_Greenford.pdf (6,208.44 kb)
141222_R292014_Greenford.pdf (6,208.44 kb)
International
Argentina
China
As Chinese scramble for train tickets for Lunar New Year, high-speed sleepers get cold shoulder (SCMP subscription)
"The 857-kilometer railway linking Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou Province, with Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, is expected to become operational on Friday....."
India
USA
Other Railway Press
NSW Transport awards $73m Wickham interchange project
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Italy's Trenitalia receives new Alstom-built Jazz train Australia's Transport for New South Wales (NSW) has awarded a $73m contract to Laing O'Rourke Construction Australia to design and build a new transport interchange at Wickham.
Italian rail operator Trenitalia has received a new Jazz train from French train manufacturer Alstom for operation in Abruzzo, Italy.
Cubic to replace Irish Rail's passenger service systems
Ireland's railway system operator Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) has selected Cubic Transportation Systems for the replacement of its entire national reservation, pricing, ticketing and distribution system.
Metrolink trains to offer Wi-Fi service for its passengers
UK's Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is set to provide Wi-Fi service on its Metrolink trains by mid-2015, as part of an £1.7m deal.
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