A Marketing Success For UK Railways
This article on the Modern Railways web site reviews the first year of the Two Together Railcard. This is said.
The RDG says that the average cardholder has saved £127.48 on rail travel over the course of the year, including the £30 cost of the Railcard, a total saving of over £20 million.
Success is an overworked word, but this simple marketing promotion, seems to have been a big one.
I wonder how many other countries will copy this idea.
Could Tram-Trains Jump The Gap In Hertford?
One of the problems in the UK’s network is towns with two stations, that are badly connected. Often this is because two companies built competing rail lines to the town.
I went to Hertford to see how the town was laid out with respect to the stations.
These pictures were taken as I arrived in Hertford North station and walked through the town centre to Hertford East station.
Apart from a nice walk, there was a serious point to my visit in that as part of the East-West Rail Link, the two stations could be connected. This section on the Hertford East station Wikipedia entry explains.
Some options of the proposed East West Rail Link involve reopening a route between Hertford East railway station and Hertford North railway station; however a 2009 discussion paper noted that while “the new connection appears technically feasible, doubts must be cast over its public acceptability and deliverability.
I don’t think it will happen, as it will stop all the development of expensive flats and houses at Hertford East station.
It is worthwhile looking at the Google Earth image of the town.
Hertford And Its Two Stations
The town centre is indicated by the red arrow and the rail icons can be seen at Hertford North on the Hertford Loop Line going north-south at the left of the image, and Hertford East at the right.
To answer my original question, I can’t imagine tram-trains ever be given permission to either run through the town-centre or across Hartham Common, but surely creating a connection to go north at Hertford North station, would need a rail engineer, with all the skills of Harry Potter, to lift the trains onto the viaduct.
At the east of the town, the train travelled under the A10 road as it crossed the Lea Valley on the Kingsmead Viaduct, which had to be built due to the nature of the terrain in the area. Any new rail line would have the same problem of both turning north and getting up the escarpment, which is heavily populated.
There used to be an extension of the Hertford East Branch, that appears to have left the branch before Hertford East station and then went across country to join the Hertford Loop Line north of Hertford. The line has been so built on, that Google Earth shows no trace. This is the Google Earth image of the land to the north of Hertford.
Across Hertford
You can see the Hertford Loop at the left of the image and you can also see the Hertford East Branch crossing under the A10 road at the right.
As the report says it would appear to be technically feasible to thread a railway between the two railways, but you can see why doubts on public acceptibility and deliverability have been raised. The only thing in the enginers’ favour is that you already have the ugly Kingsmead Viaduct across the Lea Valley, so perhaps you might be able to create a better solution.
Probably the only other way a connection could be made, would be to have a tunnel under Hartham Common, which then turned north underground before surfacing along the Hertford Loop Line north of the town. Even with advances in tunnelling technology and affordability, it would still be a very expensive project.
Investigating Warrington
Warrington with its two stations at Warrington Bank Quay and Warrington Central was flagged up as possible place for turning back Merseyrail trains on the Northern Line.
So on my way back from Leeds via Liverpool, I decided to visit for the first time.
If you trace these images on a map you’ll see that I walked from Central to Bank Quay and back again.
I was very pleasantly surprised.
Instead of the rather second-rate Lancashire town I’d expected, I found a town that had been enlivened by lots of shops and quite a few restaurants including an Ask and a Nando’s.
It’s also a good idea to look at the two stations with Google Earth images, to see what possibilities exist for turning trains back to Liverpool.
Warrington Central And Bus Stations
This image shows how the bus station is close to Warrington Central station, but as the station is close to the A57,which crosses the town, I doubt there’s any way a tram-train could access the Liverpool to Manchester Line on the viaduct.
Warrington Bank Quay Station
You can clearly see the freight line passing under the West Coast Main Line in this image of Warrington Bank Quay station. A tram stop or low-level station on the freight line could easily be connected into the current high-level station and with lifts it could easily be a step-free interchange.
As I walked through Warrington town centre, I thought that an innovative tramway engineer could probably find a way to turn the tramway northward after Bank Quay station to perhaps finish its journey by Warrington Central station and the bus station. The route would probably be not more complicated than some of those in Manchester that I saw today.
But you could also go for a simple solution. There is probably space at the low-level Bank Quay station for a bay platform, where trains from Liverpool would turn back. That would not solve the problem of transfer passengers between the two rail stations and the bus station. They use a shuttle bus at present, so why not increase the frequency, perhaps power it by batteries and make it more visible!
Warrington got a boost today in that in this report on the Modern Railways web site, it was said that Liverpool to Manchester via Warrington is in the top group of lines that will be electrified.
That will also add to the possibilities of railway and tram-train layout in the Warrington area.
Will Manchester Victoria Station Be Promoted To The Premier League?
When I arrived at Manchester Victoria station, I expected the usual mess and a walk to pick up the tram to Piccadilly.
But I was greeted by a dry station, where the trams were now sheltering under an almost complete, but spectacular roof!
Victoria may date from the 1840s, but look at her now!
There was also today’s news on the Modern Railway’s web site, that the Class 319 trains had started working from Liverpool to Manchester Airport.
As my train went past Liverpool South Parkway later, I got several glimpses of smartly refurbished trains cascaded from Thameslink.
Soon, they will be running between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria stations via Wigan.
Are one sprightly Victorian lady and a set of reliable British Rail-era electric trains finally going to give Manchester and Liverpool, the first class train connection they need and deserve?
The Scenic Route From Leeds To Manchester
As I had plenty of time to travel across the Pennines to get from Leeds to Manchester Victoria, I took the scenic route on the Calder Valley Line.
The line is slower than a direct train to Piccadilly, taking probably twenty minutes longer, but I sat in a comfortable Class 156 train across the table from several friendly;y passengers, watching the countryside go by.
By coincidence today this article on Modern Railways web site, entitled Calder Valley Tops Wires Wishlist was published.
It says that full electrification of the line is the top priority after the current electrification is completed.
After all, they’ve got to create some high-quality electric railways on which to run all those shiny refurbished Class 319 trains. Thirty years old they may be, but they have the heart and soul of someone at least ten years younger. And there are a battalion of eight-six of the trains, should the powers-that-be send them all to the North to dispatch a lot of Pacers to menial duties or the scrapyard.
The electrification will mean that four-car electric trains will be able to run from Leeds via Halifax, Hebden Bridge and the Todmorden Curve all the way to Manchester Victoria, Liverpool and Blackpool.
A Fully-Reliveried Virgin East Coast Train
This train was waiting at Leeds.
I hope that the gluten-free offering gets better than East Coast’s non-existent one!
Kirkstall Forge – A New Station For Leeds
Kirkstall Forge station is currently being built on the line between Leeds and Bradford. I took this ratrher bad picture from a crowded train, as my train took me into Leeds.
Kirkstall Forge – A New Station For Leeds
The station is being built to serve the large residential and business development at Kirkstall Forge.
Surely, every large development needs to be connected properly to the local public transport system. This would appear to be a good example, which is good for everyone. The property developers must have a big selling point to their properties, as frequent electric trains will take people to nearby city centres and business districts. We must not commit the mistakes of the 1960s, where we built large new towns or estates, like Skelmersdale and Thamesmead without a rail or rapid transit connection
Match Thirty-Four – Norwich 2 – Ipswich 0
This was a dreadful day as we lost to Norwich.
Match Thirty-Four – Norwich 2 – Ipswich 0
But what made it worse was the tediously long journey both ways due to the work on the Great vEastern Main Line.
I evetually got back into London at nine o’clock, after a match that finished at four, to find that all my normal routes home were suffering from engineering works.
The Site Of Cambridge Sience Park Station
I passed this new station site on the way to Norwich.
Progress does not seem to have got past site clerance.
Will We See A Station At Addenbrooke’s?
Addenbrooke’s is the major hospital in Cambridge and it is starting to be surrounded by the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and a cluster of innovative medical companies.
Will We See A Station At Addenbrooke’s?
The picture shows the hospital sitting like a medical Ship of the Fens in the Cambridgeshire countryside.
Public transport between the hospital and the centre of Cambridge and the Science Park relies on the Guided Bus, but as a station is being developed at the latter, it was no surprise that David Cameron suggested that there should be a station at Addenbrooke’s.
If Cambridge continues to develop, then the rail lines that fan out from the city will need to be developed, if only to allow more commuting into a crowded city. Cambridge may have a very good Park and Ride System, but getting from Cambridge Science Park station station to Bury St. Edmunds or Ipswich would mean a change of train at either Cambridge or Ely.
As all the lines in the area are either electrified or are being studied for possible electrification, I suspect we’ll see some extra lines, junctions and curves around Cambridge to improve transport routes, especially to improve links to the East West Rail Link.
The only certainty is that in a dozen years the Cambridge rail system will be unrecognisable from that we have today.
The Anonymous Widower 