Rail Express October 2021

WHEN Tubeway Army (see what I did there?) released its seminal electropop track back in 1979, the move to second generation EMUs (based on ‘PEP’ prototypes) on British Rail was well underway. Class 313s had taken over Great Northern Electrics suburban services out of King’s Cross and Moorgate from 1976, Class 314s were arriving in Scotland for North Clyde services and Class 315s were about to replace the venerable ‘306s’ (of Gresley ancestry, no less) on London Anglia suburban routes. Outrageously, not a single ‘PEP’ car survives (the last was scrapped as recently as 1990) and the survival of many ‘31X’ cars from the classes above is far from assured. The first Class 313 is destined for the NRM when the class finishes work on the South Coast (see our In the…

The timetable produced by LNER for the start of accelerated services on the East Coast main line from May 2022 has resulted in such a crescendo of criticism from stakeholders that the Government owned franchise is being forced to rework the proposals. Network Rail has identified that this is exactly the set of circumstances that preceded the start of the Thameslink timetable in May 2018, when changes were made that brought a delay in finalising the timetable, leaving insufficient time for traincrew diagrams and resultant route learning to take place. NR has realised that if a timetable rewrite is to take place it is likely that the system operator function responsible for the train planning and timetable production role will be unable to do the work in the time that remains to…

Didcot Railway Centre has concluded a legal agreement that will permit significant expansion on the western edge of its 25-acre triangular site, which is bounded on all three sides by operational rail lines. For this reason, expansion was always thought impossible, however the breakthrough came with the recent signing of a sublease with DB Cargo for former railway sidings, now disconnected from the network. The agreement gives the Great Western Society access to an additional 2.3 acres of land for 40 years at a peppercorn rent. The centre, which is celebrating 60 years of existence this year (see our sister publication The Railway Magazine for full details) expects to use the land, which requires fencing and extensive undergrowth clearance, to store rolling stock and other items awaiting restoration to free up…

WI-FI UPGRADE AVANTI West Coast is investing £45 million in a deal with BT to upgrade mobile and wi-fi infrastructure to improve connectivity for passengers travelling on the West Coast Main Line. Via its mobile arm EE, BT will increase capacity to nearly 200 cell masts on the West Coast route by June 2023, boosting 4G network coverage to enable faster, more reliable on board wi-fi. Investment by both organisations is designed to enhance and expand wi-fi coverage for customers travelling on board Avanti West Coast trains through technology upgrades, addressing wi-fi blackspots where the signal is weak or non-existent. TFGM SIX MINUTE TRAMS RETURN TRANSPORT for Greater Manchester has reintroduced more frequent trams on Metrolink’s busiest lines. Trams will now run every six minutes on the Bury and Altrincham lines at peak times as…

TRANSPORT Scotland, the public sector body which will take over responsibility for rail services within Scotland when the franchise with current holder Abellio ends next year, and will specify the timetable to be provided by ScotRail, has decided to make a permanent reduction in the number of trains operated in the May 2022 timetable, with the aim of saving up to £40 million every year. It is anticipated that 300 daily services will be withdrawn out of the 2400 provided prior to the pandemic, as Transport Scotland believes travel patterns will not return to those seen previously. FRANCHISE FAIL The proposed cuts come after the Scottish Government decided to terminate the ScotRail franchise held by Abellio at the end of March 2022, rather than continuing with an Emergency Recovery Measure Agreement. This style of…

Rail users are facing a rise of 4.8% in the cost of tickets from January 2022. This is in respect of controlled fares where prices are set by Department for Transport. The ticket types covered are standard class season tickets, ordinary and saver fares. The calculation is based on the level of inflation using the retail prices index recorded in July 2021, which amounted to 3.8%, plus a supplement of 1% that has been levied by the Government as a contribution to the cost of infrastructure enhancement to cater for rising passenger numbers. The increase follows a 2.6% rise in the level of controlled fares in March 2021, which reflected the RPI increase of 1.6% in July of the previous year plus the 1% add-on. TOC DISCRETION Train operators have discretion about fare increases…