A conductor strike in Wales....
Driverless trains ...a reality.......?
A footbridge ..not a level crossing...
Next week's key events, railway wise...
Canada..and railroad mishaps......
Click on the links.....
Headlines
UK
Arriva Trains Wales rail conductors hold 24-hour strike.(BBC News)
Driverless train fantasy exposed.(Christian Wolmar)
Boris Johnson’s con trick over driverless trains has finally been exposed. The mayor has long argued that it would be possible to have trains with no drivers, implying that there would be no staff on board. This was deliberately raised to rile the unions and suggest to the public that there would no longer be any industrial action on the Underground.
However, the draft design for new Tube trains revealed yesterday shows that the trains would still have a cab and therefore someone in the front of the train. While indeed the trains might be automatically controlled by computer, as is already the case on three lines, there would still have to be someone on board, and they would be at the front.
Johnson tried to cover this up by arguing that the cabs would be ‘removable’ but there would be no point in doing this. A senior source at TfL said to me: ‘We had to do this because the mayor would not accept the idea that there would be permanent cabs. But in effect it is a fig leaf to cover up the fact that there would still be someone on board’.
The simple fact, as I have pointed out before, is that in the deep tube tunnels, where there is no room for anyone to walk along the track beside a stalled train, having a member of staff on board as reassurance to passengers and to sort out any emergencies is essential. And in order to ensure that they can communicate with the controllers, the best place for that person is at the front in a cab. If they were in the middle of the train in rush hour, they would not be able to get through the carriages to the cab.
The myth of the staffless train therefore has now been exposed like, as pointed out by ASLEF, the notion that there ever could have been an estuarial airport. Both Boris’s other two transport innovations, the cable car and the new bus, have proved to be expensive failures.
Network Rail
Great news for Lincoln pedestrians as work starts on High Street footbridge
Lincoln High Street footbridge design - Oct 14
Karl McCartney MP and Network Rail Route Managing Director, Phil Verster, officially launched the project to build a footbridge over the level crossing on Lincoln High Street today (Friday, 10 October).
The project, which includes re-modelling the property at 179 High Street, will mean pedestrians and cyclists can cross the railway 24-hours-a-day, and there will be no need to wait at the level crossing barriers. The re-modelling work will see a lift provided at each side of the bridge, capable of carrying mobility scooters and pushchairs. 179 High Street will also be further redeveloped for reuse after the bridge is constructed.
Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “The start of work on the High Street bridge is the result of many months of collaborative working. I thank the teams from English Heritage, City of Lincoln, Lincolnshire County Council, University of Lincoln, business leaders and Karl McCartney MP for the support and guidance they have provided.
“Residents, visitors and businesses in Lincoln will benefit from the new footbridge. It will improve safety and mean far less people will have to wait to cross the railway.
“High Street and Brayford level crossings remain among our worst crossings for instances of misuse. Incidents range from people running across after the warnings have started to thoroughly reckless acts such as lifting or climbing over the barriers once they are down. In such circumstances the signaller has no way to stop an oncoming train.
“We understand that a lot of misuse is driven by frustration at having to wait at the barriers. We have accepted that it is not possible to close the crossings at this time but doing nothing was not an option. Thanks to the close working with city stakeholders we have developed high quality, deliverable solutions for each site.”
Karl McCartney, MP for Lincoln, added: “I am very pleased that work on the new footbridge over Lincoln High Street’s level crossing has finally started. Today's event is definitely a positive step forward as we work to address the disruption and risk to the public posed by these level crossings that cut the City I represent in half."
Cllr Ric Metcalfe, Leader of City of Lincoln Council, said: “We have lobbied long and hard with our partners for this new footbridge, which will be hugely welcomed in helping us resolve the effect of the severing the High Street by the rail corridor.
“It will have both important safety gains and will support our city centre regeneration aspirations.”
Richard Davies, Executive Councillor for Highways and Transport at the county council, said: "This footbridge will be a welcome addition to Lincoln's High Street, making it easier for residents, visitors and students to access all of our fantastic attractions and shops. Local people have been asking for a solution for this junction for a long time and we are pleased to see these plans come to fruition."
Network Rail took ownership of 179 High Street in late September 2014; and today’s event was a key milestone in the project. The bridge is set to open in October 2015. A second footbridge is also being planned for Brayford Wharf East.
Both of the level crossings - at High Street and Brayford Wharf East - in Lincoln are of the highest possible safety design, yet record such significant levels of misuse that they are ranked first and third on the risk register for Network Rail’s east coast and east midlands route.
Both footbridge bridge projects are complex; Brayford Wharf East because of the proximity to Brayford Pool, and High Street because of the narrow nature of the street. Both are also important sites to English Heritage in terms of visual lines to the Cathedral, and also High Street itself, which is one of the longest Roman Roads in the country.
Network Rail has sought advice from Lincolnshire County Council, City of Lincoln Council, English Heritage, University of Lincoln, the Brayford Trust, Lincoln business groups and local residents as part of the design and development of the two footbridges.
CCTV of cars and pedestrians running warnings at level crossings
(Network Rail on YouTube)
Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “The start of work on the High Street bridge is the result of many months of collaborative working. I thank the teams from English Heritage, City of Lincoln, Lincolnshire County Council, University of Lincoln, business leaders and Karl McCartney MP for the support and guidance they have provided.
“Residents, visitors and businesses in Lincoln will benefit from the new footbridge. It will improve safety and mean far less people will have to wait to cross the railway.
“High Street and Brayford level crossings remain among our worst crossings for instances of misuse. Incidents range from people running across after the warnings have started to thoroughly reckless acts such as lifting or climbing over the barriers once they are down. In such circumstances the signaller has no way to stop an oncoming train.
“We understand that a lot of misuse is driven by frustration at having to wait at the barriers. We have accepted that it is not possible to close the crossings at this time but doing nothing was not an option. Thanks to the close working with city stakeholders we have developed high quality, deliverable solutions for each site.”
Karl McCartney, MP for Lincoln, added: “I am very pleased that work on the new footbridge over Lincoln High Street’s level crossing has finally started. Today's event is definitely a positive step forward as we work to address the disruption and risk to the public posed by these level crossings that cut the City I represent in half."
Cllr Ric Metcalfe, Leader of City of Lincoln Council, said: “We have lobbied long and hard with our partners for this new footbridge, which will be hugely welcomed in helping us resolve the effect of the severing the High Street by the rail corridor.
“It will have both important safety gains and will support our city centre regeneration aspirations.”
Richard Davies, Executive Councillor for Highways and Transport at the county council, said: "This footbridge will be a welcome addition to Lincoln's High Street, making it easier for residents, visitors and students to access all of our fantastic attractions and shops. Local people have been asking for a solution for this junction for a long time and we are pleased to see these plans come to fruition."
Network Rail took ownership of 179 High Street in late September 2014; and today’s event was a key milestone in the project. The bridge is set to open in October 2015. A second footbridge is also being planned for Brayford Wharf East.
Both of the level crossings - at High Street and Brayford Wharf East - in Lincoln are of the highest possible safety design, yet record such significant levels of misuse that they are ranked first and third on the risk register for Network Rail’s east coast and east midlands route.
Both footbridge bridge projects are complex; Brayford Wharf East because of the proximity to Brayford Pool, and High Street because of the narrow nature of the street. Both are also important sites to English Heritage in terms of visual lines to the Cathedral, and also High Street itself, which is one of the longest Roman Roads in the country.
Network Rail has sought advice from Lincolnshire County Council, City of Lincoln Council, English Heritage, University of Lincoln, the Brayford Trust, Lincoln business groups and local residents as part of the design and development of the two footbridges.
CCTV of cars and pedestrians running warnings at level crossings
(Network Rail on YouTube)
CCTV taken from enforcement cameras of misuse of level crossings.
UK Heritage
Raildate (Courtesy: Howard Sprenger)
Events......
All details are correct to the best of my knowledge, but no responsibility is accepted for inaccuracies or changes.
10/10/14 Railway Club of Wales
Dyfatty Community Centre, Chapel Street, off High Street, Swansea, SA1 1NB
“Travels by train and other forms of transport throughout Russia and the former
Soviet Union" by Rhys ab Elis
There is a donation box at all meetings (but no compulsion to put anything in it)
Starts at 1930 (meetings finish by 2130)
10/10/14 Derwent Railway Society
Distington Community Centre, West Cumbria
“La'l Ratty - a Railway of the Past and the Future" by Peter Vanzeller
Members: £1.50, Non-members: £3.00
Starts at 1900
10/10/14- Keighley & Worth Valley Railway: Autumn Steam Spectacular
12/10/14 http://www.kwvr.co.uk/
11/10/14- Kings Cross station: Steam Extravaganza
12/10/14 Railwaylands area between Kings Cross and St Pancras
A family weekend to celebrate the age of steam at King's Cross
Featuring two famous layouts - "The Gresley Beat" and "Copenhagen Fields"http://www.kingscross.co.uk/
11/10/14- Bodmin & Wenford Railway: Victorian Weekend
12/10/14 http://www.bodminrailway.co.uk
11/10/13- Farnham & District Model Railway Exhibition
12/10/13 http://farnhammrc.org.uk/?
11/10/14- The Battlefield Line: Vintage Crafts
12/10/14 http://www.battlefieldline.co.
12/10/14 Warminster Vintage Bus Running Dayhttp://www.warminstervbrd.
13/10/14 North East Derbyshire Industrial Archaeology Society St Thomas’s Church Centre, Chatsworth Road, Brampton, Chesterfield, S40 3AW
“The Arkwrights and the Sutton Scarsdale Estate” by Paul Halksworth
Starts 1930, £2 admission for non-membershttp://www.nedias.co.uk
13/10/14 RCTS Sheffield Sheffield Scouts HQ, 60-68 Trippett Lane, Sheffield, S1 4EL
“The Midland Railway in the East End of Sheffield" by Ted Hancock
1900 for a prompt 1930 start
14/10/14 Great Western Society (Bristol Group) Room 7, BAWA, 589 Southmead Road, Filton, Bristol, BS34 7RG
"Old Railway Stations of the Bristol Area" by Mike Oakley
1930 for 1945
There is no admission charge, but a donation of at least £2 is appreciatedhttp://www.gwsbristol.org/
14/10/14 Monmouthshire Railway Society Lecture Theatre A10, Newport Riverside City Campus
"The Gloucester, Ross & Hereford Line" by Dr Martin Connop-Price
Starts at 1915 prompt, admission for non-members is £3.00http://mrsoc.org.uk/
16/10/14- Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition
19/10/14 http://www.
17/10/14- Swanage Railway: Autumn Steam Gala
19/10/14 http://www.swanagerailway.co.
18/10/14 Bodmin & Wenford Railway: Branch Line Dayhttp://www.bodminrailway.co.uk
18/10/14- IW CAMRA & IoW Bus Museum: Classic Buses, Beer & Walks Weekend
19/10/14 http://iwbeerandbuses.co.uk/
18/10/14- Avon Valley Railway: End of Season Gala
19/10/14 http://www.avonvalleyrailway.
18/10/14- Rushton, Higham & Wellingborough Railway: LMS Branch Line at War - 1940s
19/10/14 http://www.rhts.co.uk
18/10/14- The Battlefield Line: Diesel Gala
19/10/14 http://www.battlefieldline.co.
18/10/14- Ecclesbourne Valley Railway: Wirksworth Model Railway Show
19/10/14 http://www.e-v-r.com
18/10/14- East Lancashire Railway: Autumn Steam Gala
19/10/14 http://www.eastlancsrailway.
18/10/14- Middleton Railway: Model Mania
19/10/14 http://www.middletonrailway.
19/10/14 Wimborne District Society of Model Engineers: Open Dayhttp://wdsme.co.uk/
20/10/14 Newbury and District Transport Group The Community Space, Kennet School, Stoney Lane, Thatcham, RG19 4LL
1915 for a prompt 1930 start
"Denver to Detroit in a Model T Ford" by Peter Yeoman
Non-members welcome
Admission and car parking free, but donations towards expenses welcome
20/10/14 Friends of the Cromford Canal: Talk "William Jessop - The Man" by Martyn Taylor-Cockaynehttp://www.cromfordcanal.info/
21/10/14 RCTS Cheltenham Victory Club, Burlington House, Lypiatt Road, Cheltenham GL50 2SY
"Signalling on the G-WR and the Preservation of Swindon Panel" by Danny Scroggins
Starts at 1930
Non-members are very welcome - a donation of £3.50 is requestedhttp://www.rcts.org.uk/
24/10/14- Mid-Hants Railway: Autumn Steam Gala
26/10/14 http://www.watercressline.co.
25/10/14 London Omnibus Traction Society: Autumn Transport Spectacularhttp://www.lots.org.uk/
25/10/14 Wimborne District Society of Model Engineers: Halloween Open Dayhttp://wdsme.co.uk/
25/10/14 Rushton, Higham & Wellingborough Railway: Hallowe'en Ghost Trainhttp://www.rhts.co.uk
25/10/14- Sandtoft Trolleybus Museum: Twilight Trolleydays
26/10/14 http://www.sandtoft.org
International
Canada
CN Rail will repair James St. bridge, but wants new deal.(CBC News)
Trending that caught Doug's eye... Canadian rail disasters.(Winnipeg Free Press)
China
Price of High-Speed Trains Expected to See Further Declines this Year.(CaixinOnline)
Taiwan
Taiwan High Speed Rail Near Bankruptcy.(Heartland.org)
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