News in brief...
Bombardier wins £88 million TfL order Bombardier Transportation has signed a contract with Transport for London to provide 57 additional Electrostar rail cars for the London Overground network. The order is part of TfL’s programme to increase passenger capacity on the LO network and the 57 new Class 378 cars will be used to turn existing four-car trains into five-car versions. Delivery will start in late 2014 and finish by 2015.
TfL publishes chief officers’ expense claims Transport for London is now proactively publishing all expenses over £500 claimed by chief officers, including London’s transport commissioner, in the chief officers section of the TfL website. TfL says the move is in recognition of its
role as a public body and its commitment to delivering value for money. The majority of expenses claimed for the first quarter this year were for taxis.
Big 40 for North Yorkshire Moors Railway On 1st May 1973, the Duchess of Kent travelled by special Royal Train to officially open the NYMR between Grosmont and Pickering. With trains now running through to Whitby, the railway has developed to become the world’s most popular heritage railway, with almost 350,000 visitors each year. To celebrate its milestone birthday, NYMR ran a special anniversary train for passengers including those who have volunteered for the past 40 years as well as the original Royal Train crew.
Medway Valley Line breaks one million journeys barrier More than one million passenger journeys were recorded on the Medway Valley Rail Line in the year to end March 2013 - a record for the line. Since 2005/6 the annual number of journeys has increased by 52 per cent. Kent Community Rail Partnership chairman, Mike FitzGerald, said: ‘New trains and direct services from Maidstone West to St Pancras are helping to turn the line into an indispensable part of Kent’s infrastructure.’
Guided path for Clapham Junction Europe’s busiest interchange station has become the first in the UK to be equipped with a guided path for blind or
Page 10 June 2013
Northern Rail staff balloted for strike action
The RMT’s Northern Rail members have voted to strike over the
company’s use of sub-contractors, which the union says has undermined staff job security, pay and working conditions. The union balloted members recently
over Northern’s use of agency staff for revenue protection work, amid what it says is a ‘’growing move’ to ‘casualise’ core rail work and deliver skilled rail jobs ‘on the ‘lump’.’ Northern also stands accused by the union of a campaign of ‘lies and dirty tricks designed to interfere with the balloting process.’
Adrian Thompson, HR director,
Northern Rail, said: ‘The RMT has demanded that Northern either sacks or employs the 260 people employed on these contracts, and is claiming that Northern is gradually replacing employees with ‘agency staff’, a claim that is completely unfounded and untrue. We do not want to put these people out of work. The changes the RMT is demanding we make would also potentially breach the rules governing the last 12 months of our franchise agreement.’ Continued Thompson: ‘We are
disappointed that RMT Northern members have voted in favour of strike action, but note that only just over one third of members voted yes while 63 per cent of members voted no or abstained.’ The result of the ballot will now be considered by RMT’s executive.
Cambridge Station set for £4.25 million improvements
Cambridge station is set to benefit from a £4.25m improvement scheme
after funds were released by Cambridge based developer Brookgate, as part of a land purchase from Network Rail and an S.106 agreement with NR and the city council. Greater Anglia, which manages the
station, will deliver the work. An application for listed building consent is being discussed with the local planning authority and a consultation event for station users will be held before the work starts. The aim is to start the work in late summer, with completion in mid- 2014. Funding for the improvements was released from the development of more than 1,000 student units and forms a key element of the regeneration benefits of CB1, an urban mixed-use development in the heart of the city centre. Network Rail, Greater Anglia and Brookgate will
continue to work together on the wider regeneration of the area which will include improvements to the station approach – including future proposals for a station square – a hotel and extensive cycle parking. Latest figures from the ORR show that in 2011/12 8,823 million people used Cambridge station compared to 8,245 million in 2010/11 - an increase of seven per cent. Richard Schofield, Network Rail route managing director, said: ‘Cambridge station is one of the busiest stations in the east of England and this investment will make a positive difference for passengers and further boost Cambridge’s economy, bringing benefits to passengers and the wider community.’
North-east passenger growth underlines need for investment
New figures showing significant growth in passenger numbers across
the north-east of Scotland underline the need for greater investment in rail infrastructure, according to the region’s transport partnership Nestrans. Rail station use in the region has
increased by 78 per cent between 2004/05 and 2011/12, compared to a Scotland-wide increase of 51 per cent for the same period. The strongest growth in passenger numbers has been seen at stations north of Aberdeen, with Dyce recording a 151 per cent increase since 2004/05 and Inverurie 216 per cent. However, the figures also show that despite the region having almost nine per cent of Scotland’s total population it still accounts for less than three per cent of the country’s rail station passengers, suggesting there are constraints on passenger uptake. As well as that, the region receives only a fraction of rail investment made in Scotland as a whole. Derick Murray, director of Nestrans, said: ‘Prioritising rail spend in the north- east could bring significant additional benefits to the region by reducing the need for car journeys and shifting us towards a properly integrated transport network that would support our economic development and quality of life aspirations.’
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