New signalling at Shrewsbury paves way for increased capacity

Jonathan Webb
-
0


 

The upgrade of the signalling system in the Shrewsbury area will now enable trains from the Hereford and Cambrian lines to travel via platform 3. 

The enhanced capability will help ease congestion on the line, bringing a more reliable service to passengers.  It also spells an opportunity for more trains to operate between Hereford and Shrewsbury and the Cambrian Lines to Shrewsbury, catering to any potential passenger growth in the future.

In addition, the new infrastructure will pave the way for more capacity and better performing rail services on the North-South Wales rail link.

Mike Gallop, principal programme sponsor, Network Rail said: “Britain relies on rail.  The number of passengers traveling through Shrewsbury station has grown by around 25% in the last five years and the station now serves around 1.6m passengers per year.

“As the railway continues to grow, we will need to create flexibility on the railway and more importantly, room to cater to future demand.  This effort underscores our commitment and the importance to invest in the future of our railway.”

On top of this investment, Shrewsbury station has also benefited from a series of upgrades, including new electrical system, real-time customer information system, CCTV and a new lift at platform 3. 

Network Rail is also currently working with Arriva Trains Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government to further improve the station with new lighting, paint, canopies and waiting facilities to provide passengers with a clean, bright and secure environment.

The new signal is an upper quadrant semaphore. Signals in the station area consist of a mixture of upper and lower quadrant semaphores along with colour lights. These are all operated from mechanical signal boxes.

A Wrexham and Shropshire train arrives in Shrewsbury. Picture: www.upmain.com

Alliance Rail Holdings announces new appointments to the development team

Gemma King
-
0
From the left, Chris Brandon, Chris Hanks, Neil Yeowart

Alliance Rail Holdings was founded in 2009 and is seeking to introduce new rail services through its subsidiary companies, Great North Western Railway (GNWR), and Great North Eastern Railway (GNER), on the West Coast and East Coast Main Lines and across the Pennines.

Alliance Rail Holdings (Alliance) is pleased to announce three new appointments to complete its in-house development team, and also the appointment of AECOM to carry out its demand and revenue modelling work.

Chris Hanks has been appointed as Head of Development. His main role  will be to develop service plans and timetables for the new West Coast Main Line, East Coast Main Line and Pennine services. He joins Alliance from Funkwerk Information Technologies, where he was Consultancy Manager. Chris is an engineering graduate with more than 30 years’ experience in the rail industry. During his career he has managed both the development and the application of several train planning and operations systems, including TrainPlan which is in worldwide use. More recently he has specialised in providing advice and support to open access operators and was influential in securing train paths to Sunderland and Bradford for Grand Central.

Head of Systems, Chris Brandon, has joined the Company from Grand Central where he started in 2007. With a strong background in IT Chris also has extensive knowledge of the commercial requirements of new rail services, particularly fares implementation. Chris’s role is to manage all business systems and to ensure Alliance captures the economic value of services to the communities it will serve, whilst ensuring compliance with all aspects of licensing, access and ticketing.

Neil Yeowart is the new Head of Communications, having also recently worked for Grand Central where he started in 2006 as Resource Planning Manager, helping to appoint and assemble the Traincrew in preparation for the launch of train operations in 2007. Neil then successfully edited and published the critically acclaimed ‘GC Magazine’  which ran throughout 2008 and 2009. Neil’s role at Alliance is to use his knowledge of media and marketing to ensure that Alliance’s message is regularly communicated to all stakeholders.

Alliance Managing Director Ian Yeowart said of the appointments: ‘I am delighted that our new operation has attracted such experts in the disciplines required to mount a succesful open access application. Having worked with my new colleagues on the development of previous open access services, I am confident that Alliance has the right blend of enthusiasm and experience in place to ensure the development of a robust and detailed plan. Additionally I am delighted that AECOM will be carrying out our revenue demand work, having previously worked successfully with Simon Temple and his team on previous (East Coast Main Line) applications.’

£13m Investment programme in customer facilities at key Essex stations

Gemma King
-
0

National Express train companies National Express East Anglia (NXEA) and c2c are working in partnership with Network Rail to improve customer facilities at seven Essex rail stations with funding from the Department for Transport’s National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP).

The Essex stations to be upgraded through this Programme are:

NXEA stations at Billericay, Brentwood, Colchester and Marks Tey;
c2c stations at Chafford Hundred, Shoeburyness and Southend East;
NXEA station at Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire will also be upgraded under the NSIP scheme.

In assessing which stations would most benefit from investment and improvements Network Rail and the train operators used various criteria in considering how to improve station capacity, provide better customer information, improve safety, security and accessibility, and develop interchanges with other forms of transport. Customer feedback from the twice-yearly National Passenger Survey was also assessed in deciding which stations should be prioritised for improvement work.

An information leaflet for customers and stakeholders providing more details of the improvement works is being prepared for each station to benefit from the NSIP investment. Although the scope of the works – which are due to commence from Autumn 2010 – will vary according to the location, amongst the type of improvement to feature as a result of the investment is: new and improved ticket office and booking hall areas, new waiting shelters and retail outlets, improvements to station accessibility and station forecourts.

Commenting on the investment programme, Andrew Goodrum, Customer Services Director for NXEA said:

“We are working with Network Rail and our external partners to develop these improvement schemes which will help to transform the customer facilities at a number of our stations in Essex. Feedback from the National Passenger Survey has been instrumental in our criteria to select the stations most deserving of this welcome investment from the Department for Transport’s NSIP fund.”

Andrew Munden, Network Rail route director, said:

“This programme of investment will give passengers what they want – safer, brighter, more spacious stations providing an improved environment for everyone travelling by train. Britain relies on rail and the planned new facilities are a great example of how the rail industry is working together to bring Britain’s stations into the 21st century, encouraging even greater use of the railway network.”

Celebration marks 40 years on the railway

Jonathan Webb
-
0

Neville Royce, from Bicester who works at Chiltern Railways celebrated 40 years working on the railway on Tuesday, 10 August.  To mark this achievement there was a surprise presentation for him attended by his family and colleagues. 

 Adrian Shooter CBE presented him with a certificate, an engraved whistle and a model bubble car.  Neville’s wife, Glynis was presented with a bouquet of flowers. 

 Five generation of Royce’s have worked on the railway.  Neville’s great-grandfather and grandfather worked on the railway, his father worked at Oxford station and now his son, Martyn plans timetables at Chiltern Railways.  

 Neville said:  “I’m proud to work in the railway for 40 years and be part of this fine tradition for so long.  I had no idea that I would receive such a lovely surprise.”  

Australia’s RailCorp welcomes Union’s decision on Industrial Action

Stewart Thorpe
-
0

RailCorp CE Rob Mason today welcomed the decision by the combined rail unions to suspend further industrial action while the two parties negotiate an agreement.

“Today’s announcement means that all planned industrial action including Monday and Friday of next week will no longer go ahead,” Mr Mason said.

“This is a welcome gesture and a strong indication of the good faith being shown by both parties as part of these negotiations.

“The delegates at today’s meeting agreed RailCorp and the unions still have some work to do before they’ll put an offer to their members.

“But I am pleased that we can continue to negotiate a resolution without impacting on rail commuters wanting to get to and from work.

“Both the unions and RailCorp have clearly demonstrated they want to reach an agreement and we both want these negotiations to continue.

“RailCorp is committed to working with the unions to reach a fair agreement.

“In the meantime, I’m pleased that unions have taken these steps to minimise any impact on rail passengers.

“It’s a good sign of the progress we’re making in our discussions.”

Gautrain Passenger Numbers Surpass all Expectations in South Africa

Stewart Thorpe
-
0

More than 400,000 passengers travel on Gautrain during the Soccer World Cup


All predictions of ridership of Bombardier’s Gautrain have been greatly exceeded during the system’s first month of operations whilst the World Cup was in full swing. While the eyes of the world were on South Africa, a staggering 400,000 people used the new trains to travel between Johannesburg’s commercial district at Sandton and the OR Tambo International Airport.

Gautrain’s operator, the Bombela Concession Company, had expected around a third of that number during June. Its Chief Executive, Jerome Govender told the media: “Demand was such that on our first weekend of operation we had to increase the frequency of the trains from every 30 minutes to every 12 minutes to meet the demand. We were carrying about 20,000 passengers on weekends.”

Bombardier’s Vice-President for Gautrain, Dave Barry, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Gautrain is proving such a hit with passengers in South Africa. The World Cup was a fantasic showcase for Gautrain’s early launch and I’m exceptionally proud of the Bombardier team that made this dream a reality and enabled us to open the system early, proving our commitment to exceeding expectations. We now look forward to opening the rest of the system to Johannesburg centre and up to Pretoria during 2011.”

Bombardier Transportation’s facility in Derby, United Kingdom, manufactured the BOMBARDIER ELECTROSTAR fleet of trains. Fifteen complete vehicles were exported to South Africa and the remaining 81 vehicles have been supplied as flat pack deliveries of roof, underframe, cab and intermediate end modules, for final assembly in South Africa.

The current 20km route is due to be extended to connect Johannesburg with South Africa’s capital, Pretoria via ten stations along 80km of dual track. Signs that Gautrain would prove a success came early as it attracted 1,000 passengers in its first hour of operation on June 8. Bombardier Transportation had significantly accelerated its programme of works in order to enable South Africa to welcome World Cup visitors with Gautrain. Scheduled completion of the remainder of the project is during 2011.

Bombardier Transportation, as a member of the Bombela Consortium, was awarded a contract by the Gauteng Provincial Governement of South Africa in September 2006.

Bombardier’s overall contract scope includes the design and supply of 96 ELECTROSTAR vehicles and the BOMBARDIER CITYFLO 250 train control technology. In conjunction with its Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment partners, Bombardier is also supplying the power supply and distribution systems, communications systems, automatic fare collection, track work and maintenance equipment, as well as project management, systems engineering and integration, and testing and commissioning. The partnership also will be involved in maintaining the system during the 15-year operating period following construction. The civil contractors are responsible for all of the civil works, including tunnels, stations and the maintenance depot.

One of the key elements of the Gautrain Project is the Social Economic Development (SED) program. This requires Bombardier to meet various obligations in terms of local employment and procurement. Bombardier to date has achieved all of its obligations and will exceed the remainder during the construction period. The Bombardier project team comprises of around 90% South African employees, with the remaining 10% participating in intense skills transfer programs.

Day Out With ThomasTM at MOSI

Gemma King
-
0

All aboard for the best party ever! Thomas the Tank Engine is chugging into MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry), Liverpool Road, Manchester, for the first time ever for a Day Out With ThomasTM from Thursday 2 September to Sunday 5 September 2010 inclusive.  All Thomas fans are invited to come and spend the day with their favourite No. 1 engine and celebrate his 65th anniversary.  For 65 years, children have been captivated by the courageous adventures of Thomas and his engine friends.

A Day Out With ThomasTM is an exciting way for children and grown-ups to enter the world of Thomas & FriendsTM. The event provides an opportunity to ride on board a train led by Thomas & have your pictures taken with Sir Topham Hatt, the controller of Thomas’ railway.

Tony Hill, Director of MOSI, said: “This is the first time Thomas has visited the museum and we are all thrilled he will be here during his 65th anniversary celebrations.”

Thomas will be at the museum from Thursday 2 September to Sunday 5 September 2010 inclusive, from 10am to 5pm, with activities running throughout the day, including facepainting, balloon modelling and MOSI’s very own science buskers. Ticket prices £34 family ticket (two adults, two children), £10 adult, £8 child, £8 concession £6 wheelchair users, available at MOSI box office www.ticketmaster.co.uk or call 0844 847 2261 (24 hours). Tickets are non-refundable.

Mechan exceeds export expectations

Gemma King
-
0

Rail depot equipment specialist, Mechan, is on target to double its export turnover this year.

In the last month alone, the Sheffield-based manufacturer has taken orders from as far afield as France, Taiwan and New Zealand, worth in excess of £600,000.

Mechan’s order from Bombardier in France is its first installation in the country. The firm is producing a bogie transfer system that will be installed in three stages. The initial phase is currently taking place while the plant is shut down for the summer holidays and Mechan expects to complete the project during the Christmas break, when operations are again suspended.

FEMCO, the main contractor working on Taiwan Rail Authority’s Airport Maintenance Phase One project outside Taipei, has asked Mechan to supply six sets of bogie rotators, one wheel drop system and two bogie presses for delivery in May 2011. KiwiRail in New Zealand requires four 30-tonne lifting jacks for its Hamilton depot. Mechan is familiar with the firm, having supplied jacks for its Palmerston North depot in 2000.

Richard Carr, Mechan’s managing director, said: “We are really pleased to be so far ahead of our export forecasts and confidence is high that progress will remain strong for the rest of the year. We have worked hard to establish a network of agents across Europe, the Middle East, Far East and Australasia who are spreading the word about our expanding range of depot maintenance products and this investment is now clearly paying off.”

In addition to its recent orders, Mechan is also in the process of shipping a bogie drop to Egypt for French transport infrastructure specialists, Alstom, who are working on phase one of the Cairo Metro Line Three project. Mechan’s engineers will carry out the installation in September, in advance of its launch in 2012.

Mechan will be exhibiting its range of lifting and handling equipment at rail trade fair, InnoTrans 2010, in Berlin, Germany from September 21-24 on stand 212e, hall 2.2. For further information telephone (0114) 257 0563 or visit www.mechan.co.uk.

Brits do like to be beside the seaside with First Great Western

Gemma King
-
0

Seven First Great Western routes have been named in a report of the top 10 branchlines to see the most significant passenger growth over the past year.

All six lines to seaside resorts in Devon and Cornwall as well as the Severn Beach Line featured, with the Atlantic Coast Line from Par to Newquay topping the bill, with a 55 per cent increase in passenger footfall.

This surge, which was revealed in the research gathered by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), has been put down to recession-hit Brits opting for beach holidays over fights abroad as well as investment to increase the frequency and capacity of local services.

The figures are better than those recorded during the days of steam, when the Cornish Riviera as a holiday destination was in its prime, which is great news for us.

First Great Western Regional Manager for the West of England, Julian Crow, said: “All the signs are that this summer is going to be even busier than last year when we saw significant increases.

“It is great news for everyone. In many local seaside resorts the growth means more visitors than ever are arriving by rail rather than adding to road congestion.”

One last push

Jonathan Webb
-
0

The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway is aiming to change 728 rotten wooden sleepers in the next 3 weeks in order that the line, that runs between Wirksworth and Duffield, is ready for inspection by HM Railway Inspectorate. 

This inspection is carried out for free, but after September the responsibility will pass to private companies and could cost the railway an extra £10,000 and delay the start of passenger services to Duffield by a year.

A formal launch of services to Duffield, where passengers will be able to connect with national rail services, is expected to take place next spring. It is hoped that a main line steam locomotive, hauling a rake of LMS carriages, will participate in the opening ceremony. At present the railway operates between Wirksworth and Idridgehay.

Ferrybridge 3 departs Idridgehay with a service for Wirksworth. Picture: www.upmain.com
1...1,7141,7151,716...1,723Page 1,715 of 1,723