East Midlands Trains’ best station award winners

Jonathan Webb
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East Midlands Trains’ station staff are celebrating after the winners of the company’s newly launched ‘Best Station Awards’ were announced.  The awards look to recognise the best of the company’s 89 stations under the categories of Best Small Station, Best Medium Station, Best Large Station and Most Improved Station.   

Leicester scooped the award for Most Improved Station this year.   The judges commented that they were particularly impressed with the team’s consistent high standards and flexible approach.   

In the large stations category, London St Pancras was named as winner due both to the initiatives taken by the staff to improve customer service at this busy station, and the care and attention given to passengers by the staff working there, often under difficult circumstances. 

At Corby, which picked up the award for Best Medium Station, judges praised the success of the newly opened station as well as the team who work closely together to deliver a professional, high quality service to customers. 

And, last but by no means least, Blythe Bridge claimed the award for Best Small Station for the improvements made there, including new customer information screens and new platform shelters.  The judges were also particularly impressed by the level of community support for this station. 

Derby, Sheffield, Beeston and Narborough stations all received Highly Commended awards. 

David Horne, Customer Service Director for East Midlands Trains, added:  “These awards are a reflection of the hard work that goes on at our stations day in, day out.  For many passengers travelling with us, the first time they will come into contact with East Midlands Trains is when they arrive at one of our stations, so it’s absolutely crucial that they start their journey with a positive impression. 

“We’re delighted with the enthusiasm shown for this year’s awards and would like to congratulate all the winners on their success.” 

Kelly Betchley, Passenger Link Executive for Passenger Focus who helped to judge the awards, added: “Stations are the gateway to a passenger’s railway journey. Our latest research shows that passengers rate East Midlands Trains’ stations higher than the national average and these awards recognise and applaud the company’s efforts to improve passengers’ experience. Keep up the good work!” 

Winners of the East Midlands Trains Best Stations Awards. Pictured from left are Kas Pinjara of London St Pancras station, Janine Ward of Leicester station, Faye Lambert from the North Staffs Community Rail Partnership representing Blythe Bridge and Pauline Wilson of Corby station.

Plaque unveiling at Chester marks latest phase of Station Work

Stewart Thorpe
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A plaque was unveiled on the island platform at Chester railway station today (Friday 6 August 2010) to mark the completion of the latest phase of work to renovate the station.

The £1.1m project was largely paid for by Network Rail, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Railway Heritage Trust and Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Network Rail route director Jo Kaye said: “The station is an important gateway to the city, used by nearly 3.5m people a year, who rely on rail. Much has been done in recent years to improve the station frontage, with a new road layout, architectural lighting and structural repairs. The main concourse has been transformed with a new ticket office, coffee shop and ticket barriers and the roofing renewed.

“Now we have been concentrating on the island platform, used by Merseyrail passengers on the line to Liverpool.”

Work started in February to refurbish platform 7 and part of the station buildings on the platform known as the West Pavilion. Being a listed building, special permission had to be obtained to carry out the work and any new material used had to replicate the existing fixtures and fittings as closely as possible.

Two unused out buildings that had previously been add but were out of character with the original structure, were demolished.

Platform paving was taken up so that the material it was embedded in could be renewed, any old slabs that were serviceable were reused and new slabs matched to the old.

Uneven coping stones that line the platform edge were levelled.

The stone and brickwork of the West Pavilion was repaired and cleaned, and new cast iron guttering and rainwater pipes were installed.

Six doors and five windows were replaced, all matching the style of the originals, and all the external windows, doors and pipe work was painted.

At roof level, the sheeting that covered the gable ends of the canopies over platforms four and seven was removed so that steelwork could be repaired and painted before new glazing was fixed in place.

Work is continuing on a new waiting room, customer services office and café to serve the island platform, and in a completely separate scheme, negotiations are ongoing to build multi storey car park.

Reunion of Hiroshima tram girls

Jonathan Webb
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Today, as they do every August 6th, the girls who drove trams in Hiroshima during the war hold a reunion at the Hiroshima Electric Railway Company. They remember the day, 65 years ago, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city and many of their fellow workers were killed or badly  injured.

The girls, some as young as 14, were trained as drivers and conductors to fill the vacancies left by the men who had gone to fight. It was the first time that girls had been allowed to drive trams in Japan.

Some of the trams were so busy that there was no room for the conductor and she would have to stand on the front coupler and ask passengers, through an open window, to ring the departure and stopping bell.

In total approximately 300 girls were trained to work on the trams, with the older girls working the late and night shifts. Although the bombing, which killed 140,000 civilians, devastated the city, trams began running 24 hours later, albeit on a very short section of route.

Tram 3701 passes near Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park and Museum. Picture: www.upmain.com

£300m contract awarded for redevelopment of Bond Street Tube station, London

Stewart Thorpe
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The redevelopment of Bond Street Tube station, a key element of the Tube upgrade, moved a step closer today as Transport for London (TfL) announced that it intends to award the contract for the redevelopment of the station to Costain Laing O’Rourke JV. Main construction will get underway in 2011.

When completed in 2017 the £300million redevelopment will transform the station delivering:

  • A dramatic increase in station capacity ahead of the completion of Crossrail;
  • A new entrance and ticket hall north of Oxford Street to increase capacity and provide step-free access to both the Central and Jubilee lines;
  • New escalators and an additional access route to the Jubilee line to reduce congestion; An improved interchange between Central and Jubilee lines;
  • Step-free access to the new Crossrail station;
  • and Improved pedestrian areas around the station with new seating and lighting;

More than 155,000 passengers currently use Bond Street Tube station every day, a figure that’s expected to rise to over 225,000 with the arrival of Crossrail in 2017.

Kulveer Ranger, the Mayor of London’s transport advisor, said: “This station emphasises the need for progress to be maintained on both upgrading the Tube and building Crossrail. London is the heartbeat of the UK and upgrades like this are vital to long-term job creation and economic growth around the whole of the country. Our focus at all times will be on delivering the infrastructure London needs at the best possible value for tax and fare payers.”

The announcement of the contract award has been made following a competitive tendering process and in line with European procurement requirements.

David Waboso, Capital Programmes Director for London Underground said: “By 2017, Bond Street station will be served by both London Underground and Crossrail and will be a key gateway to the West End. This redevelopment is essential to ensure the station can accommodate the large increase in passengers that will use the station. The £300m redevelopment of the Tube station, coupled with the new Crossrail station, will transform the Bond Street area and act as a catalyst for further investment securing the West End’s position as a premier shopping and entertainment destination and major employment centre.

“Work will shortly get underway to increase the station’s capacity by creating a new entrance and ticket hall on the north side of Oxford Street and installing additional escalators and passageways below ground. In addition, the station will be made accessible, with step-free access from the street to all platforms and interchanges.”

Separate contracts will be let by Crossrail in due course for the construction of the new Crossrail stations at Davies Street and Hanover Square which will connect to Bond Street Tube station.

M-Pact Thales consortium awarded additional extension works on prestigious Manchester Metrolink Project

Gemma King
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The M-Pact Thales (MPT) consortium has been awarded the contract to provide the new Manchester airport link and extensions through Oldham town centre and into Rochdale town centre as part of the ongoing programme to deliver a world-class tram system around the city of Manchester.

Construction work for this additional £275m extension has already begun with MPT carrying out all the design, construction and maintenance work for the new lines. Laing O’Rourke and VolkerRail, jointly M-Pact, will deliver all the civil and rail infrastructure requirements and Thales UK will provide all the electrical systems engineering works, including power and overhead line equipment, and the tram operating system under a standalone contract.

The works follow on from the original phase 3 contract awarded in June 2008, which was further extended in March 2010 to provide an additional 3.9km line to Ashton and 4.5km line to Didsbury.

Bryan Diggins, Project Director, M-Pact Thales, says: “It is a great achievement for the consortium to continue working together on this critical project. This award will allow us to complete the original vision for Manchester, providing the vital link from the urban areas of the city to the airport, and essential town centre links for both Oldham and Rochdale.”

David Leather, Chief Executive of GMPTE, says: “Following the approval of funding support from AGMA and GMITA, we have concluded negotiations for the delivery of the long awaited expansion of the Metrolink network.

Contracts have now been signed for new lines to Manchester Airport and the town centres of Oldham and Rochdale, adding to the construction that is already underway from Manchester through Droylsden to Ashton, from Manchester through Chorlton to East Didsbury and the conversion of the former heavy rail line to Rochdale via Oldham. This milestone in Metrolink history will see the system almost treble compared to today’s network. With the support of our Delivery Partner, Parsons Brinckerhoff, and the experience of MPT we are confident of successful delivery of the new lines.”

It is anticipated that trams will be running to Oldham and Rochdale town centres during spring 2014 and to Manchester Airport during mid 2016.

The Blue Train Scoops Africa’s Leading Luxury Train Award

Stewart Thorpe
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The Blue Train, so-called ‘window to the soul of South Africa’  won ‘Africa’s leading luxury train award’ in July during the World Travel Awards – Africa and Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony.

The World Travel Awards, since its inception 17 years ago, has always been an important aspect in travel and tourism as it has raised the bar for standard of customer service.

These prestigious awards aim to encourage a world-class competition and to stimulate innovation and creativity as well as ensuring that travellers receive exceptional value. It further acknowledges the organisations that contribute significantly in the tourism and travel industry.

The world Travel Awards are known as “the Oscars of the Travel Industry”, and winning these awards is a great achievement for any company because it means that winners consistently excelled beyond expectations, the awards separates the good from the outstanding while reassuring travellers and taking their expectations to greater heights.

Winners were carefully selected based on the 183 000 votes cast by travel professionals which include travel agencies, tour and transport companies as well as tourism organisations in over 160 countries across the world.

The Blue Train which combines the luxury of the world’s leading hotels with the charm of train travel out- shone its competitors and claimed it’s well deserved first spot. It has built an incredible legacy and has now won this award for two consecutive years. It has also won The World’s Leading Luxury Train award in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and again in 2009.

By winning Africa’s Leading Luxury Train, the Blue Train will automatically go through as a nominee for the World’s Leading Luxury Train where the travel trade will cast their votes later in the year.

Amsted Rail and Faiveley Transport join forces on the market for freight rail brakes

Stewart Thorpe
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Ellcon National, Faiveley Transport’s American subsidiary, and Amsted Rail, world leading manufacturer for undercarriage rail components for the freight market, announced the creation of a joint subsidiary in which Faiveley Transport will have majority ownership.

“This new company will be fully operational on October 1, 2010. It will enable freight car manufacturers to have access to the widest range of components and undercarriage equipment systems”, said Robert Joyeux, Chairman and Managing Director of Faiveley Transport. “This strategic agreement gives Faiveley Transport direct access to the global freight market through Amsted Rail. We will have the opportunity to further discuss this agreement at the end of September when the new joint venture will become operational.”

This union between two world leaders puts them in an ideal position to provide outstanding technical solutions that will improve the performance of trains and increase savings during the lifecycle of rolling stock.

“Ellcon National’s existing brake components portfolio will be integrated with Amsted Rail’s extensive undercarriage systems, enabling railcar designers and their customers to access an unprecedented component engineering team”, explains Mr. John Wories, President of Amsted Rail.

The alliance between these two century-old companies, with their technical expertise and commercial synergies, will significantly accelerate their growth on the world market.

$18 Million (Aus) Burwood Station upgrade completed

Stewart Thorpe
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Minister for Transport John Robertson and Member for Strathfield Virginia Judge today announced the $18 million upgrade of Burwood Station is now complete.

“This is a major win for Burwood and will benefit more than 25,000 commuters who use this station everyday,” Ms Judge said.

“Burwood passengers will now have access to state-of-the-art facilities including four new lifts, new ramps and a family accessible toilet designed to provide greater access for people with disabilities, the elderly and customers with bags, prams and young children.

“Additional work has also been completed on the provision of a new ticket office, central concourse and the station’s Burwood Road façade.

“The upgrade includes an extension of some of the station platforms to the new lift entrances, improvements to station lighting and CCTV cameras, and additional ticket gates.

“New passenger information screens and signage improve customer information available at the station.

“The upgrade also features the construction of the central concourse and the glazed atriums at the station entries, and new interior finishes to the concourse walls and floorings.

“I would like to thank the residents of Burwood for their understanding and support while this major upgrade was being carried out.”
Mr Robertson said that the upgrade of Burwood Station is part of the NSW Government’s successful Easy Access Program, which has seen nearly $500 million spent on upgrading stations across the CityRail Network.

“The Easy Access program aims to make CityRail stations more accessible for all rail travellers, especially people with mobility impairments, elderly passengers, and customers carrying luggage or moving prams,” Mr Robertson said.

“Burwood is the 121st CityRail station to be made wheelchair accessible. These 121 upgraded stations serve the majority rail passengers, with more than 750,000 people – or 77 per cent of passengers – using one of these stations each day.

“The station upgrade is part of the NSW Government’s commitment to providing better public facilities for commuters,” he said.

California High-Speed Rail Authority listens to community and narrows Bay Area Section

Stewart Thorpe
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Based on feedback from more than 30 community meetings in just the past four months, the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board agreed to focus its analysis of the San Francisco-to-San Jose section on alternatives that substantially narrow the right-of-way property needed to build the project.

The Supplemental Alternatives Analysis adopted by the Authority’s Board of Directors calls for more detailed study of three approaches to creating a four-track system along the Caltrain corridor through the Peninsula to be shared by the two rail systems, each using designs that shrink the width of the project from 120 feet to as little as 80 feet.

“Our challenge is to build a statewide high-speed train system that works in concert with local commuter rail systems and respects the communities through which it passes – with this action we are moving toward that solution,” said Authority Chairman Curt Pringle. “This report shows we are not just listening to community concerns, we are taking them to heart – and building them into our design for the project.”

The three alternatives to be studied in the Draft Environmental Impact Report call for using a combination of at-grade, aerial, trench, and – to a lesser degree – tunnels along different parts of the route. The Draft EIR is expected to be circulated to the public in December.

No final decision on alignment alternatives will be made until the Authority and the Federal Railway Administration complete and approve the final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for each section of the project.

The 800-mile high-speed train project is the largest public infrastructure project in the nation, and is expected to create as many as 100,000 construction-related jobs each year while the project is being built.

Narrowing the width of the project poses design and construction challenges, but would also sharply reduce the amount of property needed to build the project, and lessen the construction impacts, the analysis found. In Burlingame alone, for example, narrowing the project would save 3.3 acres in total right of way – about the size of 2 1⁄2 football fields, including the end zones.

The refinements included in the analysis also help the project achieve other goals identified as community priorities during the intensive outreach effort, including:

  • Improving current rail services and seamlessly linking them to the new high-speed train project.
  • Protecting natural resources and open space, avoiding impacts to creeks and preventing tree and habitat loss;
  • Improving connections between communities with grade separations for cars, bicyclists and pedestrians.

The supplemental alternatives analysis also calls for continued study of station locations in San Francisco (a joint terminal station at Transbay Transit Center and 4th and King), Millbrae and San Jose, with a potential Mid-Peninsula station located at either Redwood City, Palo Alto or Mountain View.

Additionally, the analysis calls for continued study of a maintenance facility at the Brisbane/Bayshore site, which provides space for maintenance and storage of the trains and good access from the Caltrain main tracks.

Merced to Fresno

The Authority also approved a Supplemental Alternatives Analysis for the Merced to Fresno section of the project that reduces the number of potential locations for a heavy maintenance facility from eight to five.

The five potential maintenance facility locations to be included in the Draft Environmental Impact Report are: Castle Commerce Center, Kojima, Harris-deJager, Gordon Shaw and Fagundes.

The analysis removed from further study included the Harris-Kwan and Harris Farm sites, which are not located along track alignments being considered for the project. The Mission Avenue site was also removed from further study based on difficulties providing access to the site from the north.

In addition, the analysis calls for further examination of new design options near the communities of Le Grand and Chowchilla. It also calls for study of two alternatives for connecting the Central Valley portion of the project with Gilroy and San Jose, including a larger triangle “Y” (wye) along Avenue 24 and an Avenue 21 “Y” The analysis recommended against further study of a “Y” along Avenue 22.

New depot to be built at Stourbridge Junction

Jonathan Webb
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A new maintenance facility is to be built at Stourbridge Junction to house and maintain the 2 London Midland class 139 Parry People Movers that operate the Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town branch.

The new depot will be constructed at the rear of the current Chiltern sidings and will incorporate some of the latest sustainable design features, in keeping with the sustainable credentials of the PPMs.

It is envisaged that the depot will be ready by the end of April next year.

A PPM arrives at Stourbridge Junction. Picture: Jonathan Webb
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