International & UK Railway News Saturday 22nd November 2014

..Total Railway News

Positive vibes from the construction industry re the benefits of high speed rail development....
Electrification for Valleys lines gets closer...
China will be much closer to Moscow, rail wise, before 2025.....Year 2025, that is...
South West Trains want the paying passenger to have his/her say regarding future developments...
Punctuality may well head the list of improvements sought, given the latest figures...
And a look at railway related events over the next week or two, courtesy Howard Sprenger at RailDate.


Click on the links....

Headlines

UK

Report issues call-to-arms on regeneration through high speed rail.(The Construction Index)


Police seek two men after assault on train guard at Preston railway station.(BlogPreston)


Kenilworth railway station design is selected.(BBC News)


Welsh rail electrification impact 'will be huge', PM says.(BBC News)

 

SouthWest Trains

 

Have your say on rail industry plan for growth on routes to London Waterloo

Plans to make sure the railway from London Waterloo to the south and south west of England can continue to accommodate the huge growth in passenger journeys have been published by the Network Rail-South West Trains Alliance – and members of the public are being encouraged to have their say as part of a 90-day consultation period.

 

The Wessex Route Study, put together with the help of Transport for London, the Department for Transport and train and freight operating companies, covers lines from London Waterloo to Reading, Southampton, Weymouth, Portsmouth and Exeter and includes suburban services in London and Surrey.

 

Those lines include some of the most congested sections of railway in Britain, with more than 55 trains arriving at London Waterloo every hour at the busiest times of day, and a significant amount of freight traffic operating to and from the Port of Southampton.

 

Tim Shoveller, chief executive of the Network Rail-South West Trains Alliance, said: “Our railway already carries more than 220m passengers a year, and that number is predicted to grow significantly in the years ahead.

“Work we are already doing over the next five years will make a huge difference, including lengthening suburban trains and reopening the Waterloo International Terminal. But we need to do more, and do it quickly.

“The plans we are proposing in this study mean we will be able to cope with a forecast growth of 40 per cent on main line [R1] services over the next thirty years. We are also looking at what kind of improvements we can offer in reliability and frequency by introducing new technology which will allow us to improve the network further.

“It’s fantastic that more and more people want to travel by train and we want to provide the railway to take them where they are going.”

 

The draft study identifies priorities for the period from 2019 to 2024 – and looks ahead to 2043. The draft Wessex Route Study is now open for consultation and is available to view here.

 

Potential options include:

• New double-deck trains
• Electrification to Salisbury
• 125mph on some sections of track
• Flyovers at Woking and Basingstoke
• Extra platforms at Southampton Central and Guildford
• Development of cab based signalling and automatic train operation
• Extra track from Surbiton to Clapham Junction
• Crossrail 2

see also next item......

 Network Rail

Wessex route study - draft for consultation

The Wessex Route Study has been in development since December 2013 and has now been published as a draft for consultation. This consultation period will run from the date of publication, 20 November 2014, to 18 February 2015.


Details on how to respond can be found within the document itself.

Wessex route study, draft for consultation 

Wessex route study, draft for consultation (alternative download) - please try this if you are experiencing difficulties with the document above

 

Key industry parties as well as wider local stakeholders with an interest in the Wessex route have assisted in the production of the study; these include train operating companies such as South West Trains, First Great Western, LOROL, CrossCountry Trains, and all major freight operating companies. In addition other industry stakeholders such as the Department for Transport (DfT), Transport for London (TfL), the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) and Passenger Focus have all provided an input to this process.

 

The study sets out a strategy for the development of the Wessex route to meet capacity and connectivity conditional outputs identified in the Market Studies, published in October 2013. Geographically the study covers all services as far as Weymouth that utilise the South West Main Line (SWML), services to Portsmouth Harbour which use the Portsmouth Direct Line, services to Alton and services from Exeter using the West of England Line. The study also covers a large suburban network using the Windsor Lines to destinations such as Reading and Windsor & Eton Riverside, as well as Main Suburban services to destinations such as Kingston, Hampton Court and Epsom.

 

The Wessex route is also a significant generator for freight with key intermodal freight facilities located in the Southampton area transporting goods to the North and Midlands. In addition to intermodal traffic the route also supports other freight flows such as construction materials and oil traffic.

The study identifies a number of constraints across the network, the most significant of which is on-train crowding and capacity on peak services into London Waterloo. Other constraints examined include regional and suburban connectivity, freight capacity and access to diversionary routes.

The study identifies a range of choices for funders for Control Period 6 (2019-2024) which seek to address these constraints through additional services to accommodate the growth in passenger and freight services whilst maintaining performance, as well as through national programmes such as the Electrification Programme.

In the longer term the Long Term Planning Process proposes a strategy to address the challenge of accommodating the projections for growth, outlined in the four Market Studies, for passenger and freight services through to 2043.

Have your say

If you would like to comment on the Wessex Route Study Draft for Consultation, email WessexRouteStudy@networkrail.co.uk
All feedback must be received by 18 February 2015 when the public consultation period closes.

 

 

Performance & Punctuality

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 12 October - 08 November 2014 (period 8)

The national PPM is 84.6%.
This compares to 86.2% for the same period last year.
The moving annual average (MAA) is 89.3%.

Performance 2002-2014

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 08 November 2014.

Franchise	Punctuality % period 8 2013/14	Punctuality % period 8 2014/15	Moving annual average
Abellio Greater Anglia	88.6	89.1	90.6
Arriva Trains Wales	92.5	89.6	91.7
c2c Rail	96.6	96.9	96.3
Chiltern	93.0	93.3	94.6
Crosscountry	83.0	79.3	86.5
East Coast	77.1	82.7	86.5
East Midlands Trains	88.8	86.6	91.5
First Great Western	84.0	83.9	87.4
First Hull Trains	72.8	84.4	85.6
First Scotrail	88.3	84.9	91.2
First Transpennine Express	88.4	80.5	88.8
Govia Thameslink Railway	82.2	78.7	84.8
Grand Central	74.8	84.0	84.6
Heathrow Express	91.3	89.4	93.5
London Midland	80.2	81.4	86.7
London Overground	93.4	93.6	96.0
Merseyrail	94.8	91.7	95.2
Northern Rail	88.0	83.5	90.5
Southeastern	81.7	82.4	87.5
Southern	80.4	78.7	83.8
Stagecoach South West Trains	85.3	83.4	88.7
Virgin Trains	85.1	81.2	84.9
National	86.2	84.6	89.2

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.

Sub-operator performance

A breakdown of each operator's performance, known as sub-operator PPM, is available to download:
Sub-operator PPM, Period 8 2014 / 15

Right-time performance

Right-time performance measures the percentage of trains arriving at their terminating station early or within 59 seconds of schedule. The process for gathering data of this accuracy is currently not 100% reliable and the industry is working on improving the quality of this information to make right-time data more reliable.

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See also: London & the South East | Continuing the transformation(Network Rail)
Including Video.

UK Heritage & Events


WARLEY NATIONAL 2014

At the NEC Birmingham

Saturday 22nd November 2014 (9.45am* - 6pm)

Sunday 23rd November 2014 (9.45am* - 5pm)

*Advance ticket holders 9.15am - Saturday and Sunday


We're going to see Peter's Railway.....





More on the Warley Show in tomorrow's edition of The Railway Chronicle........

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Toddington Station on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.


Joy at Broadway steam railway project's £565,000 lift.(Gloucestershire Echo)

 

 

Raildate
(Courtesy: Howard Sprenger)
EVENTS

 

All details are correct to the best of my knowledge, but no responsibility is accepted for

inaccuracies or changes.

 

21/11/14 "Picture Postcard Railway Rambles" by Stephen Gay

Coal Aston Methodist Church, Eckington Road, Coal Aston, Dronfield, S18 3AW

http://www.coalastonmethodist.org.uk/events/events.php

 

27/11/14 The Army Flying Association

The Museum of Army Flying, Middle Wallop

Flt Lt Tim Dunlop, Bomber Leader of The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

A presentation on "The Two Lancasters"

Starts 1900

£10 per person (Air Cadets free)

Register online: marketing(at)flying-museum.org.uk

 

28/11/14 Oxford House Industrial History Society (Risca)

Oxford House Adult Education Centre, Grove Road, Risca, NP11 6GN

"The Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Line" by Dr Martin Connop-Price

1900 for a 1915 start

http://www.riscamuseum.org.uk

 

28/11/14 WC&P Railway Group

St Andrew’s Church Centre, Old Church Road, Clevedon, BS21 7UF

AGM plus subject TBA

Visitors are welcome - cost £2 (refunded if you join)

http://www.wcprgroup.org.uk/coming%20events.html

 

01/12/14 Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society

Underhill Centre, St John's Road, Hedge End, SO30 4AF

“20 Million Bricks”

by Dr Carolyne Haynes

1930 for a 1945 start

http://www.hias.org.uk

 

02/12/14 Monmouthshire Railway Society

Lecture Theatre A10, Newport Riverside City Campus

"Latest Additions to the Colour Rail Catalogue" by Paul Chancellor

Starts at 1915 prompt, admission for non-members is £3.00

http://mrsoc.org.uk/

 

05/12/14 RCTS Bristol

St Peters Church Hall, Church Road, Filton, BS34 7BX

"Mostly Narrow Gauge - an Evening of Sound Cine" by Terry Nicholls

Starts at 1930 (room open from 1900)

Non-members are very welcome

http://www.rcts.org.uk/branches/bristol/events.htm

 

09/12/14 Great Western Society (Bristol Group)

Room 7, BAWA, 589 Southmead Road, Filton, Bristol, BS34 7RG.

"Martin's Miscellany Again - incorporating the famous quiz" by Martin Baker

1930 for 1945

There is no admission charge, but a donation of at least £2 is appreciated

http://www.gwsbristol.org/gwsmeetings.html

 

10/12/14 RCTS South Wales

Old Church Rooms, Park Road, Radyr, Cardiff, CF15 8DF

"Rails through the Tongwynlais Gap - an historical perspective" by Jeff Morgan

Starts at 1930 (room open from 1900)

Non-members are very welcome - a donation of £2.00 is requested

http://www.rcts.org.uk/branches/south_wales/events.htm

 

 

International
Canada
Canadian rails limiting farmers’ railcar orders, hoping to ease bottlenecks.(Seeking Alpha)

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) and Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE:CP) have reduced the number of railcar orders farmers will be able to place this crop season, as the Canadian rails attempts to manage rail congestion and prevent the kind of months-long grain bottleneck that plagued North America last winter.

CNI says the changes were made in response after dealing with a number of “phantom” railcar orders during the last crop year when farmers were able to place unlimited railcar requests.

Both Canadian railroads say that new rules on railcar orders will not affect their ability to deliver their minimum grain allotments to market.

Official: Farmers' rail concerns addressed.(Aberdeen News)


Canada: Alstom Press Release
Alstom to deliver new signalling system for Canada’s largest transportation hub


Alstom has been awarded a contract worth over 230 million EUR [1] by Metrolinx, the regional transportation agency for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, to equip the Union Station Rail Corridor (USRC) with a new signalling system due to be installed in 2019. 
The scope of the project includes the planning, design, manufacture, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning of a new and complete modernized signalling system. It will consist of a wayside signal system based on Alstom’s Integrated Vital Processor Interlocking (iVPI®) technology, Alstom switch machines and all associated and supporting electrical, power and communications sub-systems.
The new signalling system will increase the reliability of the system and provide Metrolinx increased control and maintainability for years to come. Moreover, it will guarantee maximum passenger safety and flow, while decreasing maintenance costs for the operator.
The USRC is a 6.4 km long complex network for which a signalling system has been installed in the 1920s. Union Station in Toronto, part of USRC, is the largest passenger train station in Canada and the second largest in North America – with over 250,000 people per day; it connects multiple modes of transportation: commuter, intercity, subway, streetcar and bus. With passenger traffic expected to double over the next 20 years, modernization of the station’s original signalling equipment is essential.
“We are proud to have been selected by Metrolinx to support the largest signalling project in North America, which will ensure the continued safe and fluid transport of millions of passengers ”, said Jérôme Wallut, Senior Vice-President of Alstom Transport in North America. “ This order reinforces Alstom’s leadership and demonstrates its capability to deliver reliable and high-performing solutions to customers. ”
Components of the new signalling system will be manufactured at Alstom’s North American centre for signalling and control systems located in Rochester, NY. At its peak, the project will employ in excess of 100 people and has the potential to create approximately 50 new jobs. Alstom has been offering signalling solutions to Canadian transit customers for years, most recently to Toronto Transit Commission and Société de Transport de Montréal.
[1] The contract was booked in Q1 of current fiscal year

China
China could have high speed rail to Central Asia and Moscow around 2025.(Next Big Future)