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News ItemsUpdated 19th March 2008 |
| Up and Down the Line Other News The World Turned Upside Down Steam News |
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| On Tuesday March 18th, Class 66 locomotive, No. 66 114 with a driver training special waits for the 1527 ex Aberystwyth to arrive
at Machynlleth. The crew training was being carried out in preparation for the extensive engineering works this year. Photo:- Gareth Marston |
Up and Down the Line
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| Shrewsbury No work has started on the planned improvements mentioned in previous Newsletters. The new London Midland livery can be observed on ex Central Trains units following the franchise swap over. Direct trains to London Marylebone have been confirmed as starting this spring. These will be operated by Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway (WSMR), part of Laing Rail, which has recently been acquired by Deutsche Bahn. (DB) Trains are to be made up of a locomotive and coaches. The Webmaster thinks tt would be nice if the new service could be worked by 01 Pacifics, though unfortunately they won't fit under the bridges and would probably worry the good folk at Network Rail. On a more practical note it might be helpful if WSMR introduced something along the lines of DB BahnCards to encourage patronage. Incidentally, a look at the DB website via the link above gives the impression that in Germany, the railway is rather more "on the ball" than is the case with our own rather humble efforts nationwide. A bit embarrasing really as we invented the things! Connectivity of the WSMR services to our line at present is poor, however there's hope that the December 2008 timetable shake up will allow some re jigging. Monday to Friday Departures from Shrewsbury at:- 06.25 08.10 11.53 15.53 18.53 Arrivals from Marylebone at:- 10.08 13.41 16.38 19.41 23.15 Welshpool There are reports that Welshpool Town Council are going to take over the management of the car park at the station. This would be something of a relief as Arriva have not bothered to do anything at all about the chronic misuse by non-rail users. A large unauthorised banner on the footbridge to the station, advertising some manner of "Green Homes" event and which you couldn't get to by train (So not very "green", then!), was recently removed by one of the station adoption team. A perfectly good scarf was found abandoned on a platform seat on Easter Sunday by one of the station adoption team. Claims of ownership by email, to the Webmaster, please. We have reported before regarding the dearth of bus services which serve the railway station at Welshpool. Despite efforts by the new town clerk, there has been no change. A new "Heritage" town bus service will be operating during the summer, however and the good news is that it will actually call at the station, serving both the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway and Powis Castle, as well as the town itself. The Bad News is that it misses the main line trains by about half an hour on every occasion, so it will not be a great deal of use, with the possible exception of the 40% or so of instances when the Arriva rail service turns up late! As regards, proper integrated connections between bus and rail, it seems that further moon landings would appear more likely as these rely on the simple and easy to understand discipline of Rocket Science. Newtown The clearing of a temporary speed restriction in the Forden area has seen on time departures from Welshpool appear as much as 4 minutes early at Newtown. There have been unconfirmed reports that "Station Grill", the successor to Cafe Loco at Newtown station is to close. If true, the revived venue has barely been open for a year. Work has started on the Mid Wales Housing Association office and social housing in the upper goods yard including the demolition of some 1950's British Railways concrete buildings. What we said in the proposals for the new structure plan for Powys County Council appears to have been all too true, despite assurances from the Council that access to the railway would not be restricted by the planning guidelines (or more to the point, the lack of them). No doubt there will be much expensive wringing of hands in the future if the role of the railway expands. It seems that Powys are keen to replicate the short sighted silliness which occurred in London, when the site of the Midland Railway Goods Depot at St Pancras was sold off for the British Library. It would have saved a huge amount of money if it had still been available for railway use, not to mention a substantial amount of shoe leather for passengers from the East Midlands, whose departure point is now located beyond the realms of the Eurostar terminal.. It is clear that over the years, the disposal of former railway land has been nothing short of a national scandal. The taxpayer has in many cases been short changed and the strategic protection of the railway for possible future use just does not happen. This is in complete contrast to the case in France, where we are led to believe that in the event of closure, the railway formation and infrastrucure are protected from development for no less than fifty years. Machynlleth ATW - Several months after the official launch of the new depot work has continued mainly in the ground under the old 1863 engine shed where material has been removed for decontamination. Some nearby residents have made a fuss about the increased noise levels overnight since the level of activity on site has been boosted. At least one has put up a for sale sign. The Old Magistrate's building at the bottom of the station drive is on the market with Sanderson's Estate Agent for £275,000.00. Network Rail have constructed a new depot in the throat of the old lower goods yard and by raising the level of the ground alongside the UP side of the track toward Talerddig. The 1950's goods shed in the main yard has been demolished and the house at the end of the DOWN platform bought and turned into office accommodation. Aberystwyth The official release of the master plan for the town has seen the crazy scheme to relocate the station reincarnated in another form. Gone is the multi storey car park. However with no public money available quite where the money will be found to concrete over half of Aberystwyth into retail units is to be found remains uncertain. Work has started on the construction of the new Assembly building; rail users can see all, but screens have been built on the road side of the complex. The Relative Importance of Cambrian Line Stations For a full view of passenger numbers using stations on the Cambrian lines, see the website of the Office of Rail Regulation and click on the link for Station Usage Excel sheet. These figures are a listing of all stations in Great Britain, ranked in order of importance, based on the number of people using them. They exclude journeys made using Travel Passes, Rover tickets bought off the line, as well as staff travel passes. There is a clear growth in use for stations on the Cambrian Main Line Back to Top |
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| The new bike stands at Aberystwyth Station are shown in this photo reproduced courtesy of the Cambrian Railways Partnership Arriva profits From the Investor Relations section on the Arriva group website. Take a look at the report for 2005, where it sayeth on page 12:- "Our UK Trains division achieved an operating profit in 2005 of £14.9 million on revenue of £239.4 million. Operating profit includes some residual income from the Arriva Trains Northern franchise that ceased in December 2004. Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) was our only UK Trains business operating in 2005." The report for 2006 shows that Arriva's UK rail sector achieved an operating profit of £12.3 on revenue of £253.9 million.(Wade your way through the corporate glossy flannel to page 16.) The Welsh Assembly Government said:- "As co-signatory to the Franchise with the Secretary of State the Welsh Assembly Government, through Transport Wales, is responsible for the financial and performance management of passenger services covered by the agreement and any enhancements to it. This high profile undertaking will form a major contribution to driving forward the Welsh Assembly Government's agenda for improving rail services in Wales involving a budget currently running at around £140 million per annum." This is the subsidy paid to ATW and as far as we understand, is clearly the largest component of Arriva UK Rail's revenue. Well, previously we did have a link on this site to page on the Welsh Assembly Government's website: where it actually said this but if you clicked on it just now, dear reader, you will have found that you were asked for a user name and password. Now it may be that the Assembly's webmaster is not quite on the ball and has made a mistake, such things can happen. There again, it couldn't be that a subsidy of £140 million for a service that is quite often below standard is such sensitive information that the good folk at the Assembly don't want us to know about it, now could it? Not that the webmaster is cynical in any way, you understand. ATW's aspirations for the future ATW has notified the Rail Regulator's office of some increased track access rights. Including * Extension of Aberystwyth and Chester services to Birmingham International. * Doubling of service frequency on Shrewsbury - Aberystwyth line. * Provide service to Manchester Airport from the south. (From Rail Wales No.40, Spring 2007) Transport 2000 Transport 2000 have changed their name to "Campaign for Better Transport". The change took place in September 2007, but their work has stayed the same: to fight for transport that improves our quality of life and reduces our environmental impact. |
The World Turned Upside Down
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| From the Australian Track & Signal Magazine Australia appears to have a vibrant rail industry, with a viable rolling stock manufacturing sector, which contrasts with some of the disappointments here over the past 12 years or so since privatisation. Naturally, we think that the UK could do better with rail transport, being the 4th or 5th biggest economy, depending on who you talk to. We bring you some highlights from down under. New Inland East Coast Railway Update Government commits to inland railway study The Australian Federal Government has committed itself to the proposed Inland East Coast Railway, linking Melbourne and Brisbane. The railway will help stop a dramatic increase in trucks on the roads, while also reducing the time it takes freight to travel between the two cities, federal Transport Minister Mark Vaile says. He has announced a $15 million feasibility study for the much-touted railway - which would run through the central NSW town of Parkes - at the Nationals' NSW state conference in Singleton. A study by Ernst and Young last year identified western NSW as the best route for the railway, which would link Brisbane and Melbourne without the need to pass through the choked railways of Sydney. Mr Vaile said the study had estimated the cost of the corridor at around $3.5 billion but the new feasibility study would give a exact answer on where the line should go and how much it would cost. He said the federal government would be looking for the majority of the cost to be met by the private sector, although he accepted the federal government would have to make some input. "There has already been a significant level of interest shown from institutions and organisations that invest long-term in infrastructure." he told reporters. Mr Vaile indicated that the government had decided to push ahead with the railway to help meet the forecast increase in freight, which was expected to double in Australia by 2020. He suggested that the railway would increase rail's share of freight on the east coast from about 30 per cent to 73 per cent, with every double-stacked container train equivalent to 276 semi-trailers. "The economic forecasts are that freight is going to double, we don't want to see it double on the roads," he said. "The road freight will increase, but we need to have a competitive and efficient rail system to absorb some of the growth." Mr Vaile commented that the railway would also allow freight to be transported between Melbourne and Brisbane in about 20 hours, compared to 38 or 40 at present. He also said it was possible that land acquisition for the railway could begin as early as 2010, and construction would start in 2014. The expected date for completion would be 2019. Perth Mandura Railway The Western Australia says it will open the new Perth Mandurah line towards the end of the year. This is a suburban railway line currently under construction in Perth, Australia. It will run through Perth's southern suburbs and connect Perth and Mandurah. Construction of the line started in February 2004. The underground tunnels were bored using a Tunnel Boring Machine manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries . The completion of the first tunnel was completed on 3 June 2006, and the second tunnel was completed on 27 October in the same year. You can see a video of a construction train by Clicking here New Zealand Road Fuel Levy for Public Transport The New Zealand Government's budget, released on 17 May 2007, marks a new era for Auckland's public transport. The Government has given the green light and committed to the funding tools necessary to electrify Auckland's rail network. The region's ability to double public transport patronage on fast, efficient, reliable, clean trains is now achievable. This marks a major step forward for Auckland. The budget proposal allows for a regional fuel tax of up to 10 cents per litre on petrol and diesel. Of this, up to 5 cents per litre will be available to use for public transport in the Auckland region. The regional fuel tax will be used primarily as the basis of funding for electrification in particular the purchase of new EMUs. This means that rail can be upgraded as well as the forthcoming roll out of a single transferable ticket and improvements to bus and ferry services across the region. Steam Down Under "38" Class 4-6-2, No. 3801 has been active on the main line. See a movie from YouTube the engine at work. The locomotive was also involved in some paralell running with 3830. |
Steam News
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| In this photo, Class 4 Mogul, 76079 stands admired at Porthmadog West Coast Railways are planning to run "The Cambrian" steam service once again in 2008, with an extension to Pwllheli on Wednesdays and Fridays. The departure time from Machynlleth is provisionally set for 10.05, with a somewhat earlier return than hitherto, the start from Pwllheli being at 14.15 and Porthmadog at 14.55. The intention at this stage is that trains will run from Monday 28th July to 29th August. The locomotive will once again be the BR Standard Class 4 Mogul, 76079, described on the web page as a "Standard Black 4" which is something we haven't heard this type of engine called before! We have also received unconfirmed reports that this locomotive may be fitted with ERTMS equipment for work on the Cambrian section. The website gives details of times and ticket prices, though it appears that bookings are only available by telephone. If so, this is regrettable. The lack of local booking agencies discouraged people last year, so it would be nice to hope for some improvement. We do not understand why tickets could not be sold at tourist information centres and at staffed stations. As we are now in the 21st century, why are bookings not taken on the web too? All the same, we hope that paying on the train at the time of travel will remain an option. Full details of all steam traction on the main line can be found at http://www.uksteam.info/tours/trs08.htm |
Shrewsbury
to Aberystwyth Rail Passengers Association (SARPA) 64 Churchill Drive, Barnfields, Newtown, Powys, SY16 2LH, Wales, United Kingdom © SARPA 2005-2008 All Rights Reserved Website:- Angus Eickhoff |