UK & International Railway News Tuesday 13th January 2015

..Total Railway News

London King's Cross.(C) P.S. Lewis


Punctuality to the fore...or rather, a lack of it for Southern commuters on the 0729 Brighton to London.....
And trains could get where they are intending to go..if there were enough drivers...
Developments include a revenue earning low carbon battery powered train...
And how they managed to keep the trains running through Bristol Temple Meads , even with a major work project ongoing (Timelapse video)
HS2 has a serious opponent.. a 9 year old appears before  a parliamentary committee, questioning their maths.... 
Eurotunnel looks to expand on the back of increasing ecommerce.....
..and African aspirations have a Chinese look.......


Click on the links....

Headlines

UK

Britain's worst train service: Southern's 7.29 Brighton to London train was late every day for a year.(The Telegraph)

Christmas rail chaos caused by lack of train drivers(The Telegraph)

The train can't take the strain(Telegraph View)

Network Rail

Performance

The number of trains that arrive on time has risen dramatically since we took over the running of Britain's railway in October 2002

Public performance measure

The public performance measure (PPM) shows the percentage of trains which arrive at their terminating station on time.
PPM combines figures for punctuality and reliability into a single performance measure. It is the industry standard measurement of performance.

Performance for 9 November to 6 December 2014 (period 9)

The national PPM is 85.7%.
This compares to 84.4% for the same period last year.
The moving annual average (MAA) is 89.3%.

Performance 2002-2015

Performance by train operator

The table below shows the average PPM for Britain as a whole and by train operating company. The moving annual average is calculated over the 365 days to 6 December 2014.

Franchise	Punctuality % period 9 2013/14	Punctuality % period 9 2014/15	Moving annual average
Abellio Greater Anglia	86.8	87.3	90.7
Arriva Trains Wales	87.1	92.6	92.1
c2c Rail	97.3	97.7	96.4
Chiltern	93.6	94.3	94.6
Crosscountry	80.9	84.8	86.8
East Coast	78.7	81.0	86.7
East Midlands Trains	87.7	91.2	91.8
First Great Western	84.1	84.5	87.4
First Hull Trains	73.3	85.8	86.6
First Scotrail	83.5	88.8	91.6
First Transpennine Express	84.7	85.4	88.8
Govia Thameslink Railway	80.5	81.0	84.9
Grand Central	71.9	85.2	85.6
Heathrow Express	92.2	89.8	93.3
London Midland	76.0	81.8	87.2
London Overground	94.8	92.1	95.8
Merseyrail	90.5	94.7	95.5
Northern Rail	81.8	85.9	90.8
Southeastern	82.9	82.9	87.5
Southern	81.8	77.1	83.4
Stagecoach South West Trains	86.4	85.3	88.6
Virgin Trains	79.5	82.5	85.2
National	84.4	85.7	89.3

Notes:

• The measure of train punctuality also known as PPM (public performance measure) means trains arriving at their terminating station within five minutes for commuter services and within 10 minutes for long distance services.
• This measure of punctuality is commonly used throughout Europe.
• National train punctuality is measured for all trains across the whole network, including cancelled services and delays caused by external factors (such as vandalism, extreme weather, suicides etc).
• Punctuality was not recorded in this thorough way until 1997. Before then Railtrack, and British Rail before that, did not measure all services and also excluded external factors and other items from their numbers.
• These figures represent provisional data for the period and individual operators' performance data may vary slightly from the full period performance report that we publishes on our website every month.
• Network Rail and the train operators run more trains across Great Britain than are run in most European countries - almost 20% more than in France and 60% more than in Italy.
• Great Britain's 24,000 trains per-day is also more than Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Norway combined.

Delays explained: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/timetables-and-travel/delays-explained/
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Railway trespasser escapes immediate jail term after shutting down line - at a cost of £122k

(Get Surrey)

Railway report rekindles row over break-up.(FT.com)




North ‘needs one voice on transport’ - McLoughlin.(The Yorkshire Post)




Gillan claims HS2 land plans won't be published until after General Election (Bucks Free Press)


Video: Young foe of HS2 cannot be railroaded by committee on Whovian timescale.(The Guardian)


Train bosses buoyed by rail link numbers.(Blackpool Gazette)


Low carbon battery-powered train carries first passengers.(The Guardian)





Network Rail on YouTube









Network Rail on YouTube
The removal of the conveyor belt at Bristol Temple Meads station timelapse
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International
Africa
Six African countries bonded by China's high-speed rail dream WantChinaTimes

Europe


Europe's high-speed rail networks face problems down the line (Minneapolis Star Tribune)



Eurotunnel
Eurotunnel announces order for 3 new Freight Shuttles to meet growing demand.

With the British economy continuing to grow and cross-Channel traffic flows concentrating on the shortest routes as a result of environmental constraints, the market in the strait of Dover is set to grow over the coming years.

In order to reach the target of transporting 2 million trucks per year in 2020, Eurotunnel today announces the order of three new freight shuttles to add to the 15 in its existing fleet.

These additions to the fleet will enable Eurotunnel to increase its capacity by 20% and to run up to 8 departures per hour at peak, compared to 6 currently. This immediacy of departure added to the established speed of crossing is a major differentiating factor which will enhance the attraction and the competitiveness of the Eurotunnel service.

The new, €40 million order, has been placed, following a European tender process, with WBN Waggonbrau Niesky GmbH. It is for the construction of three new shuttles, each 800 metres long, with 32 carrying wagons, 3 loader wagons and a carriage to transport the truck drivers.

The new shuttles will be built using the latest technology to ensure that energy efficiency and strength are coupled with reliability: they will be fully interoperable with the existing shuttles. Delivery is set for the end of 2016 and early 2017.

The order for three new shuttles is supported by a €30 million programme of investments in the expansion of the terminals in Folkestone and Coquelles which will ensure the fluidity of traffic across the Eurotunnel site.

Michel Boudoussier, Chief Operating Officer – Concession of Groupe Eurotunnel stated: "As the world leader in the rolling motorway industry, Eurotunnel has been able to draw upon its 20 years of experience in the design of these third generation shuttles. The consultation that we led confirmed that we are at the leading edge of railway development.


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Eurotunnel eyes expansion as ecommerce drives trade.(FT.com)

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Ireland






The Iarnród Éireann Seat Sale continues, with relaxed fares

available online from €14.99 to many popular destinations like

Dublin to or from: -

Cork from €14.99

Ennis / Limerick from €14.99

Galway from €14.99

Westport from €14.99

Sligo from €14.99

or

Kerry from €21.99

Book the Seat Sale today and dont miss out on these great value fares.

See irishrail.ie for more details

Germany

Say hello to 2015 and test the Probe BahnCard 25 for just EUR 15 for second-class travel. Don’t wait too long, as this special offer can only be ordered until 31 January 2015!In addition:

■	Europa-Spezial: Travel  to the most exciting cities in Europe
■	IC Bus: New routes for 2015 – check them out!  bahn.de

USA

Washington DC Metro passenger dies and dozens injured as smoke fills train and station.(The Guardian)

California High-Speed Rail: The Collector's Edition The Atlantic

www.progressiverailroading.com

NTSB investigating WMATA smoke-filled train incident

Panama's growth bodes well for canal railway, KCS says

NJ Transit to rebuild rail station in Elizabeth

Virginia port broke container volume record in 2014

RDC makes quarter-stake investment in Eurorail

Shuster announces T&I committee leaders

North Carolina Railroad notes completion of siding, bridge on rail corridor

Rail supplier news from Bombardier, Alstom, DSC Logistics and R&R (Jan. 13)

Other Railway Press
www.railway-technology.com
Brazil's Trensurb to receive last metro train from Alstom
Brazilian metro rail operator Empresa de Trens Urbanos de Porto Alegre (Trensurb) is set to take delivery of a new metro train from Alstom.
UK's Northampton railway station reopens
UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has reopened the new £20m railway station in Northampton, providing improved journeys for thousands of passengers every day.
Trafikverket contracts Strukton for €50m railway maintenance in Sweden
Dutch rail technology company Strukton Rail has secured a contract from the Swedish Transport Administration Trafikverket for the maintenance of railways around Malmö, Sweden.
US Federal Government grants $996m for Boston's Green Line extension
Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx have announced a $996m federal grant to extend the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line light rail service from East Cambridge to Somerville and Medford.