NEWS
LU announces winner of £500m Northern Line Extension contract works.
London Underground has picked Ferrovial Agroman Laing O’Rourke to deliver the £500m contract to design and build the Northern Line Extension from Kennington to Battersea via Nine Elms.
The contract will last for six years and covers the main construction
Balfour Beatty/BAM, Bechtel/ Strabag, and Costain/Murphy were the other three bidders.
The full cost of the Northern Line Extension scheme is expected to be up to £1bn, which is being
funded entirely through developer contributions from Battersea Power Station and other developers and, from 2016, a new Enterprise Zone.
RTM looked in detail at the scheme in our June/July 2014 edition.
Swindon to Kemble re-doubling completed despite delays
Network Rail has finally completed the £45m line upgrade project between Swindon and Kemble, paving the way for greater capacity, reduced journey times and a better experience for passengers.
The project, which has been hampered by delays since work started in January 2012, was unveiled in the 2011 budget as part of a £200m package of support for regional rail works across England.
By re-doubling the 12.5 mile stretch of track, trains will be able to travel simultaneously back and forth from Kemble in Gloucestershire into north Wiltshire. The line had been singled by BR in the 1960s to cut costs, but GWML
electrification and rising passenger numbers made re-doubling vital. Trains from south Wales can now be diverted along the route when Bristol Parkway station and the Severn Tunnel are closed for electrification work.
More backing for re-opening of Oxford-Cambridge ‘Varsity’ route between
The East West Rail Consortium (EWR) is making the case for the difficult ‘Central
Section’
between Bedford and Cambridge, emphasising its “substantial” economic benefits.
The ‘Western Section’ between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Bedford is approved and funded, but the Central Section is more complicated. The old line between Bedford and Cambridge has been dismantled, the land sold, and parts of it are now covered by buildings. The link would therefore involve a new stretch of track.
The latest Atkins study, an in-depth 129-page analysis, examines forecast population growth, employment levels, economic activity and planned growth, as well as a review of existing and forecast transport requirements, and finds “significant economic growth potential that could be unlocked through new rail services”.
Network Rail is doing feasibility work to identify a preferred route, with input from EWR and the DfT.
If a route with a convincing business case can be found by
2016, the ‘Central Section’ could be a candidate for construction during CP6 (2019-24).
Bob Menzies, service director
for strategy and development at Cambridgeshire County Council and chair of the EWR ‘Central Section’ steering group, said: “Now that the Western Section
Oxford, Bedford and
Milton Keynes is going ahead, we are working to develop the business case for the Central Section to complete the missing link.”
Graham Botham, principal strategic planner at Network Rail, added: “We welcome the exciting opportunity to unlock the economic growth of the region through improving rail services and the infrastructure that may be
required to support these.” Crime on the railways falls for tenth successive year
There has been a fall of almost 6% in the number of serious offences dealt with by the British Transport Police (BTP), writes Alexandra Clarke, but a rise in reported sex offences on the railways.
During 2013-14, compared with the previous year, there were 18% fewer recorded robberies, a 17% drop in theft of passenger property and a 37% fall in cable theft from the railway. There were 3,000 fewer ‘notifiable
crimes’
overall – the most serious dealt with by the force – from 53,885 to 50,840 (a 5.7% fall).
BTP Chief Constable Paul Crowther credits the force’s specialist railway knowledge, its close working with Network Rail and the operators, plus targeted operations like Operation Magnum to cut theft at stations and Project Guardian to encourage people to report unwanted sexual behaviour and harassment.
BTP, like other forces, has welcomed the apparent rise in sex offences by saying it actually reflects victims having more confidence in coming forward to report these crimes.
16 | rail technology magazine Aug/Sep 14
Crowther added: “For the coming months and years we will have one simple goal – to make sure everyone who travels or works on the railway can get home every day, safe, secure and on time.
“The rail industry is growing at an exponential rate and, as a police force designed with specialism at our core – we are the world’s only national force dedicated to the railways – it is vital that we able to adapt to meet the challenges this brings.”
Cable theft has also been a major
success – see page 48 for an in- depth look at this.
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