‘Norwich in Ninety’ rail taskforce announced by Chancellor
George Osborne. P
The new taskforce will be made up of Department for Transport officials, experts from Network Rail, and local MP’s. As part of its work, the group will identify practical and
affordable options to improve services to stations along the line from London to Norwich. This will include examining the potential for cutting journey times to London by around 30 minutes and how ‘Norwich in Ninety’ could be achieved.
East Anglia has a growing reputation as a centre for new high-
tech businesses and research. Norwich is now one of five science capitals of Europe, with Ipswich an international hub for software development. Links to similar centres of excellence in Cambridge and high value manufacturing along the line to Norwich mean that the region is one of the fastest growing in the UK economy. Said Osborne: ‘To support this growth we need to have modern, efficient rail services and improved connections. I am absolutely behind the region and that’s why I’ve set up a taskforce to see how we can build on the excellent work by Chloe Smith, Ben Gummer, Priti Patel and Simon Wright and set our sights on getting to ‘Norwich in Ninety’.’ The chancellor’s announcement builds on publication of the East Anglia rail prospectus supported by MP’s across the region. The DfT has also asked current operator Abellio to develop plans to refurbish and modernise the current fleet, update interiors and provide improved facilities such as power sockets so commuters and business travellers can work more easily on the train. The government is already undertaking to increase capacity along the line in response to the anticipated 50 per cent growth in passenger numbers. There are currently works at Chelmsford and Ely to increase capacity; upgrade to the cross-country freight
lans for a new expert group charged with finding ways to speed up rail services to the East of England by as much as 25 per cent have been set out by chancellor
route between Felixstowe port and the Midlands via Nuneaton and bottleneck improvements at Peterborough and Leicester as well as expanding Bow Junction to improve access to London Liverpool Street. Ruud Haket, managing
director for Greater Anglia said he welcomed the chancellor’s announcement. ‘We have taken a proactive role in building the case for additional investment in rail services in East Anglia, both in the short and long-term, since we took over the franchise in February 2012. We will continue to make a positive contribution to plans for the development of longer-term upgrades for the Great Eastern Main Line, while in the short-term we are in discussions with the DfT and our suppliers about potential improvements to rolling stock. However, at this stage, we cannot make any further comment on those discussions.’
Innovators win funding to re-think the train contributing a similar sum.
Radical Train competition, run by the Enabling Innovation Team. The investments, which are the first substantial tranche of competition funding to be released from EIT, will allow the winning SME’s, organisations and consortia to practically demonstrate the viability of their proposals. The Radical Train challenge was set up
T
to seek proposals for new ideas that could make a difference to the performance of trains on Britain’s railways, encouraging ideas to re-think the fundamentals about rolling stock. A total of 56 entrants applied and eight were shortlisted in May to develop their proposals further to secure investment. The first four contracts have now been agreed supporting more than £6 million worth of innovation projects in the UK. The EIT is investing approximately £2.5 million with the innovators
he first four of eight finalists have been awarded investment as a result of entering the
The first four successful applicants are:
• VLR (very light rail) consisting of GKN, Unipart, Warwick Manufacturing Group, TDI, Trellborg and Electra receive for a light weight whole passenger vehicle demonstrator
• Holdtrade, Transnet, Huddersfield University and HBA for their radical freight bogie concept
• Thales and NewRail for their active adhesion monitoring project
• a confidential investment in emissions reduction and fuel efficiency technology.
Applications were assessed on their
ability to realise significant improvements and create benefits for passengers, freight users, train operators, the environment and supply industry. The judges also considered the international market potential of the proposals.
December 2013 Page 25 David Clarke, director of the Future
Railway Enabling Innovation Team, said: ‘We’re looking forward to the winners demonstrating their proposals to show how they can deliver a tangible benefit to both the UK rail sector and to the economy through exports.’
www.futurerailway.org/eit
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