UK & International Railway News Saturday 6th December 2014

..Total Railway News

Making trains more accessible...
Austrian punctuality..
Canadian concerns..
UK fares anger..
Remembering Jack Mills....
..and more...


Click on the links...




Headlines
UK
UK rail passenger groups slam 2.2% fare rise.(FT.com)


See the moment rail staff discover the Dawlish line has disappeared.(The Telegraph)
The Railway: First Great Western started on Thursday, December 4 at 8pm on Channel 5


Not-for-profit firm could run Welsh rail services, says Hart.(BBC News)


Harrogate prepares for ‘biggest step’ of rail improvement in decades.(Harrogate Advertiser)


Southeastern trains: MP calls for more delay refunds.(BBC News)


Passenger fury at almost 6400 minutes of Snow Hill rail route delays.(Birmingham Post)


Trams won't reach Leith for 10 years(HERALD SCOTLAND)


Making train travel more accessible.
We want train travel in the UK to be easier for disabled and older people. -

Please tell us how travelling by train affects you. You can answer from your own point of view or from the point of view of someone you know. - See more at: http://www.papworthtrust.org.uk

DB Schenker Rail UK Names Locomotive in Honour of Jack Mills

(Tuesday 02 December 2014)

DB Schenker Rail UK is extremely privileged to have named one of our trains in honour of Jack Mills, the driver who was seriously injured in the Great Train Robbery 51 years ago.
Locomotive 90036 was named Jack Mills at Crewe Railway Station this morning (Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014).
Today's train naming ceremony was combined with an unveiling, by Virgin Trains, of two plaques at Platform 12 at Crewe. These plaques honour Jack Mills and also David Whitby, Jack's colleague who was alongside him at the controls of 1M44 that fateful night in 1963.
Family and former colleagues of the two men took part in the moving ceremony.
Andrew Byrne, Head of Maintenance and Infrastructure at DB Schenker Rail UK, said: "DB Schenker Rail UK is pleased to be able to name one of our locomotives in honour of Jack Mills who was seriously injured in the Great Train Robbery over 50 years ago. This should not be forgotten. Today's naming ceremony pays tribute to the commitment of Jack Mills to the railway and others affected. It will make sure that they continue to be remembered on the rail network for many years to come.
"We are delighted that David Whitby has also been honoured at the ceremony, when Virgin Trains unveiled a plaque in his memory on Platform 12. Today's events represent a permanent reminder of the price these two men ultimately paid."
During the ceremony DB Schenker Rail UK driver Paul Fowles presented a replica of the Jack Mills name plate to his family.
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UK Events (Courtesy Howard Sprenger at Raildate)

EVENTS

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



07/12/14 Model Railway and Toy Collectors Table Top Sale
The Old Schoolroom, The Kingsley Hall, 17 Atlantic Way, Westward Ho!
1000-1400
Free admission, light refreshments

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



15/12/14 Newbury and District Transport Group
The Community Space, Kennet School, Stoney Lane, Thatcham, RG19 4LL
1915 for a prompt 1930 start
Members Photographs
Non-members welcome
Admission and car parking free, but donations towards expenses welcome

16/12/14 RCTS Cheltenham
Victory Club, Burlington House, Lypiatt Road, Cheltenham GL50 2SY
"Taking the Broad Gauge to Great Western, Ramblings around Sri Lanka" by Stewart
Blencowe
Starts at 1930
Non-members are very welcome - a donation of £3.50 is requested


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



19/12/14 RCTS Bristol
St Peters Church Hall, Church Road, Filton, BS34 7BX
Christmas Buffet & Quiz set by Branch President Arthur Turner
Starts at 1930 (room open from 1900)
Non-members are very welcome


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



21/12/14 Leicester Film Archive, Phoenix, Middleton Street, LE7 7PR
“Bygone Leicester Picture Show” a film show by Rob Foxon
1130 and 1430

For a comprehensive listing of UK Heritage sites.....

UK Heritage Lines Websites.

International
UIC- International Union of Railways.
Information published on 2 December 2014 in the UIC electronic newsletter "UIC eNews" Nr 426.

10th edition of the UIC Global Rail Security Congress held in Lisbon from 26 – 28 November

UIC was pleased to hold the 10th Edition of the UIC Global Rail Security Congress from 26 – 28 November in Lisbon, Portugal, with around 150 attendees, organised in close partnership with the Portuguese rail companies REFER, EPE e CP Comboios de Portugal.


Following the three previous editions that were mainly dedicated to the transverse topics within rail security: “Technologies” in Rome in 2011 organised in partnership with FS Group, "Human factors” in Bratislava in 2012 organised in partnership with ZSSK, “Strategies, regulations and partnerships” at Paris UIC HQ organised in partnership with SNCF, this 10th edition focused on the concept of “comprehensive rail system protection” which consists of two main topics:

• Coherence between the rail protection policies addressing safety, security, and other hazards or risks (civil defence, civil protection, natural disasters and other disruptions).
• Resilience of the rail systems or services: crisis management and communication.

The concept of “comprehensive rail system protection” implies that there must be an observation, understanding and effective management of the interdependencies between the railway internal and external protection sub-systems such as Railway Safety, Rail Security, Civil Protection Agents (CPAs), Law Enforcement Authorities (LEAs).
The congress is designed to help attendees understand the forthcoming challenges that rail security will face in the coming years, also providing a unique opportunity to meet strategic partners and to help capitalise on new opportunities, solutions and exchange of good practices. In this edition, the congress theme is addressing a new and arising concept linked with the overall world security challenges such as the rail transport system becoming increasingly relevant within societal developments.
This 10th Edition of the Global Rail Security Congress is also particularly important due to the themes addressed and also with regard to the European framework developments on EU Internal Security Strategy for 2015-2020.

Continue reading HERE

EU to invest in studies on high speed railway between Dresden and Prague - European Railway Review.




Austria

(used with permission)


Time as the web ... Upper Austria trains with high punctuality

95.5 percent of the trains were on time in Upper Austria in this year

The trains of the ÖBB were particularly timely in this year: From January to the end of November, 96.7 percent of the ÖBB passenger trains were on time traveling throughout Austria.This figure was five years ago, at 91 percent, punctuality could be significantly increased by continued efforts. Upper Austria train drivers can look forward to date on the top mark of 95.5 percent on-time trains. Alone in the Upper Austrian transport are 582 daily trains on the railway network of ÖBB rail, also run numerous long-distance trains in all directions. An important contribution to the high punctuality of trains makes the modern control center for railway traffic in Upper Austria at the Linz Hauptbahnhof. In the management center Linz all comes together for reliable daily train control. It is comparable to the control tower at the airport and is staffed around the clock for points, signals and routes of trains to control. Punctual trains make the customer satisfied: Based on the already high in Europe compared satisfaction of the local train driver, customer satisfaction has improved in almost all areas. Across Europe, punctuality is measured such that all trains to five minutes maximum deviation from the schedule are considered on time. This high value of punctuality is pleasing but also a challenge to be even better. In the area of ​​customer information in the event of a fault, the ÖBB intend to put another focus - because only a well-informed customer is a satisfied passenger.

Full transparency on oebb.at/puenktlichkeit

The punctuality statistics for the whole of Austria and for each individual state may at any time www.oebb.at/puenktlichkeit be accessed around the clock. Punctuality values ​​are updated in a clear and transparent monthly. Thus were and are the ÖBB Europe at the forefront.

(C) OBB


The new Vienna Central Station (OBB on YouTube)

Canada
Transportation Safety Board of Canada

TSB’s 2014 Watchlist highlights eight significant transportation safety issues

Gatineau, Quebec, 26 November 2014 – Through its updated Watchlist for 2014, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is once again raising awareness about the safety issues that pose the greatest risk to Canada’s marine, rail, and air transportation sectors.
“Our role at the TSB is to shine a spotlight on the areas where strong action must be taken by the regulator and transportation industry officials, and our evidence is found in hundreds of accident investigations, thousands of hours of research, and dozens of TSB recommendations,” said Kathy Fox, Chair of the TSB.
On this Watchlist, the one multi-modal issue is safety management and Transport Canada (TC) oversight. While all federally-regulated rail companies are required to have safety management systems (SMS), not all operators in the marine and air industry are required to have formal safety management processes to manage their risks. The TSB is therefore asking TC to require all companies to implement some formalized process to proactively identify and reduce risk.
In addition, in recent investigations, including the one into the tragic accident in Lac-Mégantic, the TSB has identified problems with TC oversight, including a failure to identify companies' ineffective processes, and an imbalance between auditing processes versus traditional inspections.
“An SMS on its own is not enough,” added Ms Fox. “That's why we are also calling on TC to regularly oversee all safety management systems and processes to ensure they are effective. And when transportation companies are unable to effectively manage safety, TC must intervene in a way that succeeds in changing unsafe operating practices.”
Furthermore, the TSB is calling on TC to ensure flammable liquids are safely transported by rail by requiring railway companies to properly classify these products, ship them in containers of the safest design, and conduct a route risk assessment to proactively mitigate risks.
Despite some progress on issues included on previous Watchlists—there are still persistent risks in all modes. On our waterways, too many Canadian fishermen are still losing their lives each year. In rail, the number of collisions with vehicles at railway crossings remains high; the problem of railway signal indications not being recognized and followed continues; and there is still no requirement for on-board locomotive video and voice recorders. And in the air industry, approach-and-landing accidents continue to occur; and there is still an ongoing risk of aircraft colliding with vehicles or other aircraft at airports.
“For each of the issues identified on our Watchlist—issues supported by our science, and our thorough examination of the facts and findings in every accident we investigate—we believe actions taken to date are insufficient,” added Ms Fox. “We expect Transport Canada and the transportation industry to take concrete steps to eliminate those identified risks. Canadians deserve no less than the safest possible transportation system.”

WATCHLIST 2014 ISSUES

Multi-modal

Safety management and oversight

Marine

Loss of life on fishing vessels

Rail

Following railway signal indications
On-board video and voice recorders
Railway crossing safety
Transportation of flammable liquids by rail

Air

Approach-and-landing accidents
Risk of collisions on runways
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India
Mumbai: Suburban Trains Travel Thrice the Earth's Circumference Daily!(NDTV)
For an insight into Bomaby Railways, see the two episodes of Gerry Troyna's documentaries......here

Ireland
CIÉ to examine ways of monetising onboard wifi. (The Irish Times)





Switzerland
Swiss border link inaugurated - Railway Gazette