London King's Cross.(C) P.S. Lewis
On the day rail fares went up (by around 2.2%) a government Press Release carries the headline "Government Curbs Rail Fare Rises".
The flack from the chaotic scenes at some London locations due to overrunning engineering works continues to fly... Mark Carne and Robin Gisby will appear before the House of Commons Transport Select Committee on Wednesday next, since Network Rail has questions to answer according to said committee...
And HS2 won't go away...
Perhaps maglev is the answer....Christian Wolmar has tried it out.....
Click on the links...
Headlines
UK
GOV.UK.
Government curbs rail fare rises
Patrick McLoughlin visits Birmingham New Street station to see upgrade work as fares freeze comes into effect
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin visited Birmingham New Street station today (2 January 2015) to see how the government’s record investment in the rail network is benefiting passengers.
The visit took place on the day the government’s latest freeze on rail fares came into effect. For the second year running, regulated fare rises have been capped at the rate of inflation (RPI) in order to support hard-working families and protect passengers from unnecessary fare hikes.
The Transport Secretary was given a tour of the £700 million station upgrade which is transforming the city station and shopping centre complex into a modern gateway to the West Midlands. The improvements will help boost economic growth by creating jobs and encouraging regeneration of the wider area.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said:
We are investing in the biggest rail modernisation since the Victorian era, and fares have a crucial role to play in funding these improvements. This is because building better infrastructure helps create jobs, building a stronger economy for us all.In addition to freezing regulated fares at 2.5% in 2015, the government has also removed the train operators’ powers to increase individual fares by as much as 2% more. Operators have also been asked to improve the information passengers receive when buying a ticket.
The work at Birmingham New Street is truly impressive and will make a real difference to passengers when it completes later this year. As we invest in projects like this, it is important that we recognise passengers’ concerns about the cost of rail fares. This is why we have frozen them for the second year in a row.
Industry figures show that for every pound spent on fares, 97 pence goes back into the rail network in the form of track maintenance, improvement works, staff and train costs, while only 3 pence goes into train company profits.
When completed in September 2015, Birmingham New Street will have larger waiting areas, a new ticket office, improved security and better passenger information. Accessibility will also be improved, with 15 new lifts, more than 30 new escalators and the station will be enclosed by a giant atrium allowing in natural light.
The adjoining Pallasades shopping centre is also being redeveloped, with a new John Lewis store creating up to 1,000 new jobs for Birmingham and boosting the local economy.
Rail investment 2014 to 2019
Over the next 5 years, £38 billion of investment will:- provide capacity for 170,000 extra peak-time seats
- electrify more than 850 miles of railway, and improve more than 4,000 miles of track
- transform hundreds of stations around the country including London Bridge, Manchester Victoria, Birmingham New Street and Glasgow Queen Street
- close 500 level crossings to improve safety
- provide faster journeys and more trains every day between key northern cities as part of the Northern hub
- deliver a new electrified railway connecting Oxford with Bedford and Milton Keynes, as part of the east west rail project
- increase central London’s commuter rail capacity by 20% through the completion of the Crossrail and Thameslink projects
More train trouble as fares rise.(Mail Online)
Rail fare rises come into effect.(BBC News)
'Rip-off railway': Government accused over runaway fares for packed and aged trains.(The Independent)
Commuters hit by rush-hour chaos as rail fare increases kick in.(The Guardian)
Exclusive look inside Northampton's new train station.(BBC News)
Network Rail 'has questions to answer'(BBC News)
Rail companies ordered to highlight best ticket price.(heraldscotland)
Tony Lodge: Competition the key on Britain’s great rail arteries.(The Yorkshire Post)
Virgin Trains advises Scots not to travel as flooding causes havoc to rail services.(heraldscotland)
Survey shows attitudes about public transport.- CILT(UK)
HS2 spur through Warrington could be scrapped.(Warrington Guardian)
Ffestiniog Railway volunteers to celebrate 50th anniversary of a unique project(Daily Post)
International
China
High-speed railway 63% complete: MTRC.(The Standard)
France
Fret SNCF to shed 450 staff in 2015 (Lloyd's Loading List)
USA
www.progressiverailroading.com
- FHWA approval ends environmental review stage for NS bridge replacement in New York
- Atlanta initiates streetcar service
- STB addresses Chicago rail performance, BNSF's utility coal service
- North American rail traffic gains continued at 2014's end
- Progressive Railroading is searching for 'Rising Stars'
- Gold Line Foothills Extension board re-elects top leadership
- Sen. Schumer on rail bridges: FRA should audit safety inspections, add inspectors
- BART pulls plug on free wireless Internet service
- BLET members ratify BNSF agreement
Other Railway Press
video125
WESSEX Weymouth to Waterloo Driver's eye view preview
video125
WESSEX Weymouth to Waterloo Driver's eye view preview
www.video125.co.uk the home of great British Driver's eye views. Filmed in 1994 from a class 442 Wessex Electric, this is a DEV from Weymouth to London Waterloo. The train runs via Dorchester, Poole, Bournemouth, Southampton and Winchester before running non-stop to Waterloo at 100 mph via Basingstoke, Woking and Clapham Junction. The film begins with a look at the so-called Weymouth "Tramway" the street running railway that took boat trains to the quay en route to the Channel Islands. We travel on board a class 73 electro-diesel, hauling one of the last trains to use the line, which has now been out of use for decades, almost certainly never to be used again....
Christian Wolmar
Maglev, still not taking off after 10 years
I am often asked about Maglev and whether it is the technology of the future. So it was fascinating to travel on the maglev between Shanghai and Pudong Airport, to find out more about it.
The line which yesterday celebrated its 10th anniversary, is not a great success. The 19 mile line cost $1.3bn to build and has never recouped any of its capital costs, just about covering its operational expenditure in a good year Partly this is because it goes to the wrong place in Shanghai, the Longyang Road metro station which is nine miles from the town centre. Since the metro actually then continues out to the airport for just 10 yuan (about £1) many people use that rather than hopping out and taking the Maglev which costs 50 yuan (40, oddly, if you have plane ticket). Although the metro takes 30 minutes compared with the Maglev’s eight, since the latter only runs every 15 or 20 minutes, the time saving is marginal. As a result loadings are barely 20 per cent and on the morning Maglev I took, it was more like 10 per cent.
. The ride was surprisingly bumpy and actually the maximum speed was only 300 kph, the same speed as most high speed lines, rather than the advertised peak of 430 kph because running it faster uses more energy which already accounts for two thirds of the operating costs. The whole operation of the line indeed seems a bit clunky and a weird mix of low and high tech. Before you can board the train, the various uniformed platform staff, of whom there are several, have to open a gate manually and take down a red rope strung across the gap.
While it is obviously exciting to travel at that speed, the infrastructure is immensely complex and expensive. Piling had to be done to very small tolerances in order to ensure stability and it is probably necessary to keep the track in the air on concrete tracks, which consequently is extremely expensive.
The whole scheme, therefore, does not make sense and would never have been built in that way in a country more attuned to the market. In fact, it was really a testing ground for the technology and it has consequently failed. Initial plans to build a line between Beijing and Shanghai, which were mooted when the scheme was first given the go ahead, have been scrapped and a conventional high speed line constructed instead. While a few schemes around the world have being mooted, most have not passed a financial viability test and the incompatibility with rail and the cost of construction, combined with the difficulties of creating junctions and turn-offs, means maglev is unlikely to take off (except for the 10-15mm it is levitated above the tracks).
. The ride was surprisingly bumpy and actually the maximum speed was only 300 kph, the same speed as most high speed lines, rather than the advertised peak of 430 kph because running it faster uses more energy which already accounts for two thirds of the operating costs. The whole operation of the line indeed seems a bit clunky and a weird mix of low and high tech. Before you can board the train, the various uniformed platform staff, of whom there are several, have to open a gate manually and take down a red rope strung across the gap.
While it is obviously exciting to travel at that speed, the infrastructure is immensely complex and expensive. Piling had to be done to very small tolerances in order to ensure stability and it is probably necessary to keep the track in the air on concrete tracks, which consequently is extremely expensive.
The whole scheme, therefore, does not make sense and would never have been built in that way in a country more attuned to the market. In fact, it was really a testing ground for the technology and it has consequently failed. Initial plans to build a line between Beijing and Shanghai, which were mooted when the scheme was first given the go ahead, have been scrapped and a conventional high speed line constructed instead. While a few schemes around the world have being mooted, most have not passed a financial viability test and the incompatibility with rail and the cost of construction, combined with the difficulties of creating junctions and turn-offs, means maglev is unlikely to take off (except for the 10-15mm it is levitated above the tracks).
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