Chaos As Train Passengers Locked In At Lake District Station
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Cumbria Crack.
These two paragraphs outline the story.
Passengers on a delayed train had to climb over spiked fences after they discovered they were locked in at Oxenholme station.
People on a delayed Avanti West Coast service from London arrived at the Lake District station to find that staff had gone home for the evening, locking up behind them.
I have arrived late at several stations in London after they have closed and there is always a signed route out, when the staff have locked up and gone home.
These pictures show Crofton Park station.
Note.
- The exits out of the station are always open.
- The exits have contactless readers.
- The exits also allow a step-free route from one platform to another.
- There is CCTV on the exits.
Exits like these can surely be provided at Oxenholme station.
Extending The Elizabeth Line – Improving The Route To Windsor & Eton Central Station
This post is now complete.
I took the Elizabeth Line to Slough station, for onward travel to Windsor & Eton Central station today and took these pictures along the route.
Note.
- I joined the Elizabeth Line at Moorgate station and took a train all the way to Paddington station.
- As a Freedom Pass holder, I use the Elizabeth Line for nothing.
- I changed between the Central and Western sections of the Elizabeth Line at Paddington.
- I also bought my Slough and Windsor & Eton Central ticket at Paddington from a machine, for the princely sum of £2.10. It was with a Senior Railcard.
- There is a lot of building going on along the route.
- The diesel train on the Slough-Windsor & Eton Line was a three-car Class 165 train.
I have some thoughts on how to improve the train service to Windsor.
What Do I Mean By Improving?
I don’t mean direct trains, as that would be impossible for various reasons.
- Platform length at Windsor & Eton Central station would be a problem.
- Flat crossing across the fast lines would slow the expresses.
- To make the running efficient, a flyover would need to be built. The disruption of building it and the cost would be immense.
What is needed, is a system, which means that getting from Central Elizabeth Line stations to Windsor & Eton Central station is as easily as possible.
Windsor Is One Of Our Premier Tourism Destinations
I suspect that on passenger numbers; Bicester Village, Cambridge, Oxford and Windsor are the four most visited tourist sites by rail from London.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to provide some of the services to these destinations, with the exception of Cambridge, with British Rail-era diesel multiple units.
Could A Four-Car Train Be Run On the Slough-Windsor & Eton Line?
I took this picture of the Slough end of the three-car Class 165 train in Windsor & Eton Central station.
It does appear that say a four-car Class 387 train could be fitted into the platform, with perhaps some adjustment to the platform and the track.
Would The Train Be Electric Or Battery-Electric Powered?
Consider.
- The Slough-Windsor & Eton Line is only 2.5 miles long.
- It is single-track.
- Trains take six minutes to do the trip.
- Modern electric trains with better acceleration could probably do the trip in four minutes.
- A battery-electric train will need charging.
This OpenRailMap map shows the electrification at Slough station.
Note.
- 25 KVAC overhead electrification is shown in red.
- The Slough-Windsor & Eton Line leaves the map in the South-West corner of the map and runs into the electrified Bay Platform 1.
- The electrification in Platform 1 could be used to charge a battery-electric train.
- The Slough-Windsor & Eton Line appears to be partially electrified at the Slough end.
I wonder, if the simplest, most-affordable, least risky approach is to electrify the 2.5 miles with 25 KVAC overhead electrification, as it would allow a standard Class 387 train to work the route.
Operation Of The Shuttle
Currently, the Class 165 trains take six minutes between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central stations, which means that with turning the train at each end of the route, where the driver must walk seventy metres or so to change ends only a three trains per hour (tph) schedule is possible.
If I look at some of the station-to-station stops on the Elizabeth Line, I suspect that a well driven electric train could go between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central stations in perhaps four minutes. With a well-marshalled stop at either end of the route in perhaps two minutes, it could be possible to do a round trip in twelve minutes, which would allow a four tph service.
Capacity would go up from nine cars per hour to sixteen. or an over seventy percent increase in capacity.
There are several ways that, this shuttle could operate.
- As now, where the drivers have to be fit to change ends in the time.
- Two drivers are used with one in each cab.
- Drivers walk back on arrival at the terminal and then step-up into the next train. This is standard London Underground practice at stations like Brixton and Walthamstow Central.
- The train is fully-automated and the driver sits in either cab with an override, that allows him to take control, if say protestors or criminals get on the track.
As a Control Engineer, I certainly feel the fourth option is possible.
Intriguingly, I suspect the concept could be proved with two drivers in an existing three-car Class 165 train, to see if four tph are possible.
Ticketing
Ticketing is less of a problem now, than it was before March 28th 2022, as from that date Windsor & Eton Central station is now in the contactless area, so you could touch in with your bank card at any station in the London contactless area and touch out at that station.
It’s all explained on this page on the Great Western Railway web site.
I am a Freedom Pass holder, which gives me the ability to get free travel to and from anywhere on the Elizabeth line for free, so getting to and from Slough for nothing, is no problem, if I use the Elizabeth Line.
But I would need a ticket for the section between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central stations.
Before I got on the Elizabeth Line at Moorgate, I tried to buy an extension ticket between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central stations, from the ticket machines at Moorgate, but it was not possible, so in the end, I made a detour to the ticket office at Paddington and bought the ticket there. But when the Elizabeth Line is fully connected, there will have to be a rethink, as Freedom Pass holders from say Ilford would want a day out in Windsor.
Perhaps the Slough-Windsor & Eton Central line should become a fixed-fare line, where a bank card would be charged say a pound for each journey.
Note that I only paid £2.10 for a return ticket at Paddington with my Senior Railcard.
A Better Interchange At Slough
Currently, the Off Peak frequency of trains at Slough is as follows.
- Slough and Windsor & Eton Central – 3 tph
- Slough and Paddington – Elizabeth Line – 2 tph
- Slough and Paddington – Great Western Railway – 2 tph – Non-stop
- Slough and Paddington – Great Western Railway – 2 tph – Stopping
In TfL Confirms Details Of Reading Services, I wrote that the Elizabeth Line will have 4 tph to London in the Off Peak, with two extra services in the Peak.
This indicates to me, that the Slough and Windsor & Eton Central service needs four tph.
Brighton Buses – 30th March 2022
I had a short ride up from the sea-front back to Brighton station on a bus, as the climb is a bit much for me on some days.
Note.
- The bus I travelled on had two doors like London’s, which makes entry and exit so much more efficient.
- Brighton seems to have contactless ticketing, where you touch-in and touch-out, as you do on the London Underground.
- The two buses in the pictures have the route on the side.
I was very surprised that there were no stops on the sea-front, where you can get a bus to the station, as not all visitors to the city, are in the first flush of youth.
There wasn’t even any instructions about how to find a bus.
Manchester Arena Attack: Families ‘Disgusted’ By Memorial Trespassing
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the introductory paragraphs,
Families of people killed in the Manchester Arena attack have said they were “disgusted” after a memorial site for the 22 victims was trespassed on.
The Glade of Light memorial in the city centre remains a building site and does not officially open until the new year.
Two bereaved families said they were appalled to find the security fences pulled down on Sunday.
The article also said this.
Ms Curry said she found hundreds of people were walking through the area, which is supposed to be closed to the public.
She said one man stood on a memorial stone and was abusive when challenged, another woman vomited all over the area, and groups of youths were openly smoking drugs.
I can’t understand what led to this aggressive trespass.
When, I am in certain cities, there does seem to be more low life on the streets than you habitually see in London.
I do wonder, if it is partly because of London’s transport regulations and actions as laid down by the Mayor and Transport for London.
London has an extensive CCTV network and after the London bombings of July the seventh and the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, I’m sure it was improved.
Did the improved CCTV and the police action in the shooting the unfortunate Brazilian, deter a lot of low life from going to the centre?
Ken Livingstone or was it Boris, introduced a policy of banning alcohol on London’s transport system.
The precise details are given in this recent article on the Sun.
I have a feeling it had a positive effect, but did it mean that less drunks found their way to the centre?
In 2011, I sat next to a guy on a Manchester bus going from Piccadilly Gardens to Bury. I noticed that about a dozen youths were harassing the driver, trying to get his fare money and remarked on this to my companion.
My companion on hearing my London accent, said you don’t get that in London because of the contactless ticketing, as there is no fare money on the bus.
I was surprised at his reply and asked him to explain. It turned out he was a Trade Union Official, who looked after bus workers in Manchester. He told me his Union wanted a London-style contactless ticketing system, as it had drastically cut the number of attacks on staff in London.
Having worked with the Metropolitan Police on the analysis of data, they have also found that contactless ticketing helps in the tracing of people through London’s transport network and has solved several serious crimes.
Conclusion
I feel that terrorism and London’s reaction to it, banning of alcohol on public transport, contactless ticketing and other measures have helped keep drunks and those up to no good out of the centre.
Could Services To The North On High Speed Two Reverse At Birmingham Curzon Street?
When I first went to Nice by TGV, which I wrote about in Cambridge to Nice by Train, the train reversed in Marseille. They still do!
So would it be possible to run services between London and the North of England and Scotland via Birmingham Curzon Street?
- Birmingham Curzon Street can handle trains to and from London Euston, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland.
- It could offer timetabling advantages.
- It might be possible to use London Euston station more efficiently.
- There will be plenty of capacity between Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester and Leeds, if the Eastern Leg is built.
Drivers would probably step-up to perform a fast stop at Birmingham Curzon Street.
I could envisage a service, that went between London Euston and Hull.
- It would call at Birmingham Curzon Street, Manchester, Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds.
- There might be a stop at Crewe for interchange to other services on the West Coast Main Line.
- The train would reverse in Birmingham Curzon Street.
- The service could be an extension of the core London and Birmingham Curzon Street service.
- It could have a frequency of two trains per hour (tph)
Note.
- If Northern Powerhouse Rail were to be upgraded to handle High Speed Two’s Full-Size trains, these could be used on the route.
- The service would make better use of the underused section of High Speed Two between Birmingham and Manchester.
- This service would reduce the urgency to build the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
- Hull gets a High Speed Two service from London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street.
Scottish and other services could also reverse at Birmingham Curzon Street.
How Long Would A Reverse At Birmingham Curzon Street Take?
Consider
- CrossCountry services take about ten minutes to reverse at Reading.
- Typical stops of Southeastern Highspeed services at Ebbsfleet take less than two minutes.
- Most stops with Hitachi 80x trains appear to take about a minute.
- Better operating procedures and automation could make the reverse faster.
- It looks like High Speed Two trains are designed for speedy boarding.
I suspect that the reverse can be achieved in perhaps two or three minutes.
Update – In Dwell Time On High Speed Two Trains, I found out the dwell time is two minutes.
London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly With A Reverse At Birmingham Curzon Street
If I look at London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly, I get the following times.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – Forty-five minutes
- Reverse at Birmingham Curzon Street – two minutes,
- Birmingham Curzon Street Could See Six tph – Forty-one minutes
That would be eighty-eight minutes, which compares with seventy-one minutes by going direct.
Current proposals give the following frequencies between the three stations.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 3 tph
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly – 2 tph
- London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly – 3 tph
There would be six tph running to and from London Euston.
But the pattern could be.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 2 tph
- London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly – 2 tph
- London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Birmingham Curzon Street – 2 tph
in addition one of each pair of services would call at Birmingham Interchange.
Note.
- There would still be six tph running to and from London Euston.
- Birmingham Curzon Street, Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly get four tph to and from London Euston.
- Birmingham Interchange still has two tph to and from Birmingham Curzon Street.
- Birmingham Interchange now has two tph to and from Manchester.Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.
It could be a worthwhile improvement for passengers and train operators.
Reversing in Birmingham Curzon Street Could Increase Frequency To And From London Euston
I showed in the previous section, that with a reverse in Birmingham Curzon Street, it is possible to increase services between London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street, Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly from three to four tph.
Suppose, one of each of the two Liverpool and Glasgow/Edinburgh services were to reverse in Birmingham Curzon Street, this would increase the frequency of trains between London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street to six tph or a train every ten minutes.
Now that would be a Turn-Up-And-Go service. Especially, if customer-friendly contactless ticketing were to be used.
Conclusion
Reversing services at Birmingham Curzon Street has possibilities.
RENFE Ticket Offices Go Cashless
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the introductory paragraph.
National operator RENFE stopped accepting cash payments for tickets at booking offices with effect from March 27, citing hygiene reasons. The measure will last as long as the duration of coronavirus lockdown, now prolonged at least until mid-April.
Should we have done the same thing as Spain?
Put Thameslink On The Tube Map Says London Assembly
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
This is the introductory paragraph.
A report on improving accessibility on London’s Transport services has called for the fully accessible Thameslink line to be on the Tube map as a matter of some urgency.
I’m all for this happening.
I use Thameslink quite a bit, as if I’m in some places South of the River and am coming home, taking Thameslink to West Hampstead Thameslink and then using the Overground to Canonbury, from where I walk home, is a convenient route.
- It is step-free.
- There is a Marks and Spencer at West Hampstead, where I can do a bit of food shopping.
- Walking from Canonbury station to my house is gently downhill.
These are some other thoughts about Thameslink,
The Underground Train With A Toilet
Sometimes, I also find it doubly-convenient, as I need to spent a penny or more. Often, the toilets on Thameslink trains are free in the tunnels under London!
How many other Underground trains have toilets?
Obviously, Eurostar does, but does anybody know of any other trains that run deep under the surface, that have toilets?
Do Thameslink Want The Extra Passengers That Being On The Map Would Bring?
This may seem a dumb question, but sometimes, I do wonder, if the answer is that they don’t!
Thameslink Would Surely Make A Good Travel Partner For Eurostar
Increasing, many visitors from the Continent to London and the South East are travelling across the Channel using the excellent Eurostar.
As the Thameslink and Eurostar platforms at St. Pancras International, there could be mutual advantages to both companies to be partners.
Suppose you were travelling on these routes.
- Paris and Gatwick
- Brussels and Greenwich
- Amsterdam and Brighton
- Rotterdam and Luton Airport
And for one reason or other you didn’t want to fly; climate change, you like trains, awkward baggage or just plain fear of flying.
Surely, using Eurostar and Thameslink would be the obvious travel companies.
Note that Thameslink have posters, saying that they are the ideal way to get to Luton Airport.
Do they have posters, saying they are the ideal way to get to Eurostar at St. Pancras?
If I was running Thameslink, I’d do the following.
- Make sure, that all Thameslink stations accepted contactless ticketing using bank or credit cards.
- Put information and advertising on Eurostar trains and stations, telling passengers how to get to and from any Thameslink station without buying a physical ticket.
- Devise a simple add on ticket, that would be printed on your Eurostar boarding pass or held in Eurostar’s app.
- Market Thameslink to the French as the UK’s answer to the RER.
- Put travel information in at least Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish, at St. Pancras station.
I would think, that a properly thought-out plan, could be a nice little earner for Thameslink.
Could Suffolk Have It’s Own Version Of London’s Freedom Pass?
London has a travel pass for certain groups of passengers, like the elderly and the disabled called a Freedom Pass.
This is the introduction forthe Freedom Pass from Wikipedia.
Freedom Pass is a concessionary travel scheme, which began in 1973, to provide free travel to residents of Greater London, England, who are aged 60 and over (eligibility age increasing by phases to 66 by 2020) or who have a disability. The scheme is funded by local authorities and coordinated by London Councils. Originally the pass was a paper ticket, but since 2004 it has been encoded on to a contactless smartcard compatible with Oyster card readers.
I have a Freedom Pass, as I am seventy-two and it really gives me freedom, as my eyesight isn’t good enough for me to drive.
Other parts of the UK like Manchester and Newcastle have similar schemes that allow a degree of free travel on local trains, trams and light rail systems.
But generally English counties like Suffolk don’t have such a scheme.
East Anglia’s Rail Revolution
All of Greater Anglia’s trains are being replaced with new Stadler Class 745 and Class 755 trains.
In InterCity Quality For Rural Routes, I said this.
Greater Anglia are purchasing a fleet of 38 trains with a total of 138 carriages to replace 27 trains with a total of 58 carriages.
- This is a forty percent increase in the number of trains.
- This is nearly two and a half times as many carriages.
- The average number of carriages per train is raised from 2.1 to 3.6.
That is a massive increase in train capacity.
I don’t believe that Greater Anglia will park these trains in a siding, but use them to increase frequencies.
Greater Anglia are having signalling problems introducing the new trains, but we have already seen the following in Suffolk.
Four-car Class 755 trains running from Ipswich to Cambridge, Felixstowe and Lowestoft.
As the frequency is still the same and train length has increased from one, two and three cars, this is almost a doubling of capacity.
The UK’s Contactless Ticketing Revolution
London started wide-scale contactless tickerting and in places, it is applied to rural routes like Iver and Reading on TfL Rail’s new Western branch, where frequencies are more Suffolk, than Central London.
I believe in the next few years, the average passenger going between say Newmarket and Ipswich in Suffolk, will touch-in at Newmarket with their credit card and touch-out at Ipswich, just as passengers do now, millions of times all over London, every day of the year.
London’s Freedom Pass looks to the readers in London, as just a different credit card, so it is able to allow passengers through.
I believe that once Suffolk goes contactless with ticketing, then it will be possible to overlay a Suffolk Free Travel Pass on the system.
What Lines Would Be Allowed To Be Used By Passengers With A Suffolk Free Travel Pass?
These are routes that are wholly or partly in Suffolk.
Ipswich And Cambridge
The Ipswich and Cambridge Line currently has one train per hour (tph) and is wholly in Suffolk, except for a short section at the Cambridge end of the route.
Would a Suffolk Travel Pass allow travel to Cambridge?
I suspect that both Cambridgeshire and Suffolk would have reasons for a compromise , as both counties could benefit from visiting Travel Pass holders.
I would include Ipswich and Cambridge in a Suffolk Free Travel Pass.
Ipswich And Diss
The section of the Great Eastern Main Line, between Ipswich and Diss, currently has two tph and is wholly in Suffolk, except for a short stretch at Diss, which is just over the border in Norfolk.
I would include Ipswich and Diss in a Suffolk Free Travel Pass.
Ipswich And Felixstowe
The Felixstowe Branch Line currently has one tph and is wholly in Suffolk.
But this route is planned to be upgraded as I wrote in Could There Be A Tram-Train Between Ipswich And Felixstowe?.
- Tram-trains would start at Ipswich station and run to \felixstowe.
- Tram-trains could start on the forecourt of Ipswich station and could run through the streets of Ipswich, via Portman Road, the Town Centre, Christchurch Park, Ipswich Hospital, the proposed new housing at Westerfield and Ransome’s Retail Park before joining the Felixstowe Branch, in the area, where it crosses the A14.
- It could even do more street running in Felixstowe to connect to the Town Centre and the Sea Front.
- Frequency would be four tph.
Removing the passenger service from the rail lines between Derby Road and Ipswich stations, would allow more freight trains to run through the area.
I would include Ipswich and Felixstowe in a Suffolk Free Travel Pass.
Ipswich and Lowestoft
The East Suffolk Line currently has one tph and is wholly in Suffolk.
I believe that this line could be developed by adding a second hourly service to Aldeburgh.
I would include Ipswich and Lowestoft in a Suffolk Free Travel Pass.
Colchester And Peterborough
The current service runs between Ipswich and Peterborough, and is a service of one train per two hours.
Greater Anglia plan to do the folloeing.
- Increase the frequency to one tph.
- Extend the route to run between Colchester and Peterborough.
- It will terminate in a bay platform at Colchester.
The route will be mainly in Suffolk, with thends in Cambridgeshire and Essex.
- Passengers for the North and Scotland will change at Peterborough.
- Passengers for London will change at Colchester, Ipswich, Cambridge and Peterborough.
- Passengers for Stansted Airport, Hertfordshire and West Essex will change at Cambridge.
- Passengers for Sudbury will change at Colchester.
This route will become a very important connecting service.
Because of this connectivity, I would include Colchester and Peterborough in a Suffolk Free Travel Pass.
Colchester Town And Sudbury
The Gainsborough Line currently has one tph and is an isolated line that is half in Suffolk and half in Essex.
I would include Colchester Town and Sudbury in a Suffolk Free Travel Pass.
How Would It Be Funded?
Wikipedia says this sabot the funding of London’s Freedom Pass.
The cost of providing the travel concession is negotiated between London Councils and the local transport operator Transport for London. It is funded through a mixture of national grant and council tax.
Although a similar process could be used for a county like Suffolk, other elements are present, that have effects on use and revenue.
Only One Train Operator
There is only one train operator involved; Greater Anglia.
This must make planning and operation easier.
Greater Anglia Should Benefit From Passengers Travelling Further
Will passengers use their passes to get to Ipswich and Peterborough to travel further?
If they do, then Greater vAnglia won’t be bothering.
Greater Anglia may be able to fill the twelve-car Clsass 745 trains in the Peaks, but filling them in the Off Peak will be more difficult.
Would a Suffolk Free Travel Pass attract passengers to the trains?
Modal Change
This is a big imponderable in any calculation.
If you live near a station, would you be more likely to use the train to go to work, shopping or a meal in Ipswich, Bury St. Edmunds or Cambridge, if the train was free?
Only partly, but if the car parking was expensive or always full, that would be a deterrent.
People plan travel against a large range of parameters and cost is one of them.
Would a Suffolk Free Travel Pass take pressure off the roads.
Trips To The Coast
There are only two rail-connected coastal towns in Suffolk; Felixstowe and Lowestoft.
Travel on a sunny day between Ipswich and Felixstowe and the train can be packed with passengers going for a stroll along the sea front.
With more capacity, this usev will increase and especially amongst those who would be eligible for a Suffolk Free Travel Pass.
Carbon Emissions
People are starting to take notice of carbon emissions.
But they’re not buying electric cars, as they worry about the range.
So taking the train is a sop to the pressure of their conscience or that of their children.
Stansted Airport
There are two tph between Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
Travelling from say East Suffolk to the sun, could start with a train to the nearest airport using a train at Cambridge.
East-West Suffolk Travel
Suffolk is not the largest county in England, but East West travel by road can take longer than the train.
Greater Anglia are planning two East-West services at a frequency of one tph.
- Colchester and Peterborough via Ipswich, Needham Market, Stowmarket, Bury St. Edmunds and Ely.
- Ipswich and Cambridge viaNeedham Market, Stowmarket, Bury St. Edmunds and Newmarket.
Note that Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds stations will have a frequency of two tph.
The East-West Railway, currently being built between Oxford and Cambridge is proposing more improvements for Suffolk.
- A new hourly Manningtree and Oxford service, via Ipswich, Needham Market, Stowmarket, Bury St. Edmunds, Newmarket and Cambridge.
- A new A14 Parkway station, where the Cambridge and Peterborough routes divide to the North of Newmarket.
- Tram-trains at a frequency of four tph between Ipswich and Felixstowe.
Note that Ipswich and A14 Parkway stations willl have a frequency of three tph.
I also think that operationally, there could be another improvement.
Ipswich station has a limited number of platforms and expanding it will be difficult.
But I believe that operations could be eased, if the Ipswich and Cambridge and Ipswich and Lowestoft services were to be combined into a single cross-Suffolk Cambridge and Lowestoft service, with a reverse at Ipswich.
These routes between Cambridge and Suffolk will spread the Cambridge effect across the county and in return Suffolk will provide the housing and other resources that Cambridge needs.
People Will Be Working Longer
We are going through an employment revolution for those past retirement age for various reasons.
- Economic necessity.
- Some people l;Ike and/or need the camaraderie of working.
- Some people have much-needed skills.
- Some business owners and self-employed prefer working to retirement.
- Flexible and part-time working is expanding.
A Suffolk Free Travel Pass would be used by a lot of those who are still working and paying Income Tax.
Healthcare
I have no figures, but I suspect in London, Freedom Pass holders are bigger users of the NHS and hospitals.
Healthcare in East Anglia is changing, with increasing dependence on the three largest hospitals at Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich.
This means that going to hospital for a check-up often means a fifty mile drive and a long hassle over the limited parking.
Published plans mean that Cambridge and Ipswich hospitals will be rail-connected at each end of Suffolk.
Would it be easier to use the train from many parts of Suffolk?
It should also be noted, that those with health problems, that need regular hospital visits in London, are issued with a Freedom Pass for travel, as it’s cheaper than sending a car.
Any county bringing in a free travel scheme would surely use it to help those needing to go to hospital regularly.
Greater Anglia’s new trains are all step-free, as this picture shows.
I believe that good rail-connected hospitals can improve the efficiency of the NHS.
Summing Up Funding
All of these developments across Suffolk will see a large increase in Suffolk’s economic activity and the consequent tax take from Council Tax and Business Rates.
I believe that Suffolk could probably afford to fund their share of a Suffolk Free Travel Pass.
Given the reduction in carbon emissions, that would probably occur, surely Government would contribute a share.
As Greater Anglia would surely benefit from onward journeys to and from London, they can probably afford to do a good deal for free travel in Suffolk. After all, they’ve already built in the capacity to their business model.
Restrictions On Use
There may need to be restrictions on use, like some routes apply in London.
For instance, using trains to and from London to perhaps travel between Ipswich and Stowmarket, may be restricted in the Peak.
It will all depend on Greater Anglia’s capacity.
Would It Work For A Group Of Counties?
I don’t see why not!
Perhaps instead of Cambridgeshire, orfolk and Suffolk, all having their own Free Travel Passes, would an East Anglian one work better?
Conclusion
If London can have a Freedom Pass, then why not Suffolk? Or other English and Welsh counties for that matter?
I have rambled through several ideas and possibilities.
But I believe that Suffolk with the powerhouse of Cambridge in the |West can see an improvement in economic activity, can go a long way to funding a Suffolk Free Travel Pass.
This in turn could generate further economic activity and the tax revenue that would be generated to pay for the scheme.
Suffolk though is lucky in that it aslready has the rail network and Greater Anglia have purchased enough trains. Only a hanful of extra stations and some branch line reopenings would be needed.
I shall return regularly to this post.
Reading For Lunch On TfL Rail
On Sunday, TfL Rail took over the services between Paddington and Reading via Maidenhead.
The pictures show that there is still a lot of work to do to get a complete step-free Western Branch of Crossrail.
I walked to Carluccio’s at Reading, which is about a kilometre. It would be closer, if Reading had decent maps like other civilised towns or cities.
These are my comments about the new TfL Rail service.
Competitive Ticketing On TfL Rail
I would expect services on TfL Rail will be competitively priced and some details are given on this page on the TfL web site, which is entitled TfL Rail Will Operate Services To Reading From 15 December.
Freedom Passes
I can use my Freedom Pass all the way to Reading for a cost of precisely nothing.
- There are lots of places along the line, where holders might go to enjoy themselves.
- Freedom Pass holders can take children with them on some rail services in London. Will they be able to do this on TfL Rail?
- Freedom Pass holders like to extract maximum benefit from their passes.
But it won’t be long before canny holders, realise that other places like these are just an extension ticket away.
- Basingstoke – £4.50
- Henley-on-Thames – £2.65
- Marlow – £3.10
- Newbury or Newbury Racecourse – £4.50
- Oxford – £6.65
- Winchester – £11.55
- Windsor – £1.90
- Woking – £9.75
I included Winchester, as that is where my granddaughter lives.
Will Freedom Pass holders take advantage?
- This is not a rip-off offer, but a chasm in the fare regulations.
- There are some good pubs and restaurants by the Thames.
They will take advantage in hoards.
Reverse Commuters
On my trip to Harrogate, I met a guy, who told me, that Reading has difficulty attracting workers for high-tech businesses.
I suspect that the new service might encourage some reverse commuting.
Will some Freedom Pass holders take advantage?
- I know a lot of people still working, who commute within London on a Freedom Pass.
- Not all Freedom Pass holders are pensioners. For instance, I would have been eligible because I lost my Driving Licence, when my eyesight was ruined by a stroke.
As the pictures show, there is a lot of offices going up around the station in Reading.
Access To The Thames
The route between Paddington and Reading gives access to the River Thames at the following places.
- Windsor from Slough
- Marlow from Maidenhead
- Henley from Twyford.
- Reading
- Oxford from Reading
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the route being used extensively by leisure travellers to explore and visit London’s principle river.
Connection To Central London
When Crossrail opens to Central London, this must surely result in a large increase in cummuter, leisure and tourist traffic.
Indian Sub-Continent Families
There are a lot of people with roots in the Indian sub-continent living along the route between Paddington and Reading.
Note that Southall station is one of a small group of English stations with bilingual signage. At Southall the signs are in both English and Punjabi.
I feel, that strong family, cultural and religious ties will mean, that this large group will use the trains of TfL extensively in their daily lives.
Train Frequency
It was a Sunday, and the train had perhaps sixty percent of the seats taken.
I have this feeling that this route could suffer from London Overground Syndrome and that passenger numbers will rise much higher than the most optimistic forecasts, because of the factors I outlined in previous sections.
- Competitive Ticketing On TfL Rail
- Freedom Passes
- Reverse Commuters
- Indian Sub-Continent Families
- Access To The Thames
- Connection To Central London
This leads me to predict that this line will need a full four trains per hour (tph) service as far as Reading before the end of 2021 and not just in the Peak Hours.
Connections To The Branches
On my journey to and from Reading,, I didn’t see any trains on the four branches, that have the following frequencies.
- Greenford – Two tph
- Windsor – Three tph
- Marlow – One tph
- Henley – Two tph
Surely, as the current TfL Rail service has a frequency of two tph to Reading, it should interface better with the Greenford and Henley branches.
It appears to me, that there is scope for a better timetable and increased frequency on some of the branches.
Or is the current timetable geared to making profits in the cafes and coffee stalls at the interchange stations?
My timetable would be as follows.
- Greenford – Four tph
- Windsor – Four tph
- Marlow – Two tph – Timed to be convenient for Reading services.
- Henley – Two tph – Timed to be convenient for Reading services.
If the Crossrail and branch service are both four tph or better and there are reasonable facilities, I suspect that will work reasonably well.
But the higher the frequency the better!
Train Performance
On my trip, the Class 345 train was stretching its legs to the West of West Drayton and I recorded a speed of 90 mph.
Their performance doesn’t seem to be much slower than Great Western Railways 110 mph Class 387 trains.
Ticketing
From what I’ve seen, ticketing on this line needs to be augmented.
What is currently, in place will work for Londoners and those that live close to the line.
But would it work for tourists and especially those for whom English is not their first language, who want to visit Oxford and Windsor?
There would appear to be a need for a ticket which allowed the following.
- Use of TfL Rail between West Drayton and Reading.
- Slough and Windsor
- Maidenhead and Marlow
- Twyford and Henley
- Reading and Oxford
Could it be called a Thames Valley Ranger?
The alternative would be to bring all the routes into London’s contactless payments system.
But would this mean complicated wrangling over ticket revenue between TfL Rail and Great Western Railway?
There certainly needs to be a simple ticketing system at Slough, so that passengers can purchase a return to Windsor.
The only ways at present are.
- Buy a ticket at Paddington to Windsor.
- Leave Slough station and buy a return ticket to Windsor.
Something much better is needed.
Crossrail To Oxford
Because of Network Rail’s l;ate delivery of the electrification West of Reading, the services have ended up as less than optimal.
I think eventually, services to Oxford, will be reorganised something along these lines.
- Crossrail will be extended to Oxford.
- Fast services to and from London would be the responsibility of Great Western Railway. The frequency would be at least two tph.
- CrossCountry fast services would continue as now.
- Stopping services to and from London would be the responsibility of Crossrail
- Stations between Reading and Oxford, with the exception of Didcot Parkway would only be served by Crossrail.
The Crossrail service to Oxford would have the following characteristics.
- Four tph
- The service would terminate in a South-facing bay platform at Oxford station.
- Pssible battery operation between Didcot Parkway and Oxford.
- The service would have a dedicated pair of platforms at Reading.
There would possibly be a ticketing problem, but as there would be separation of fast and stopping services, I feel that a good solution can be created, which would allow changing between the fast and stopping services at Reading. So commuters from somewhere like Cholsey could either go Crossrail all the way to and from London or change to a faster train at Reading.
Conclusion
I am led to the conclusion, that this service will be overwhelming popular.
But the ticketing leaves much to be desired.
Williams Lifts The Veil On Forthcoming Rail Review
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railnews.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Keith Williams has confirmed that the creation of a new national railway body is to be recommended in his forthcoming Review, and that he is looking at removing the profit motive from passenger train operating contracts, which could become ‘passenger service contracts’ instead.
These are my comments.
Passenger Service Contracts
These are used on some parts of the UK rail network.
Such a type of contract seems to work well on the train operating company I use most; the London Overground, where it is operated by Arriva Rail London.
I also think, that although the London Overground is a large network in terms of stations and passengers, it is quite geographically compact, so management of the strengths and problems is easier.
I remember when the Lea Valley Lines were run by Greater Anglia from Norwich, using an out of sight out of mind attitude. Since, the takeover, these stations have improved to a high degree.
The Profit Motive
In some instances the profit motive can be bad, as where a train operating company reduces staff at a little-used station, which may result in more crime or incidents.
On the other hand, the profit motive may lead to extra train or customer services.
For instance in LNER To Put Lincoln On The Rail Map, I talked about how LNER are increasing services between Kings Cross and Lincoln and about rumours that say the service could be extended to Grimsby and Cleethorpes.
Because there is stabling at Cleethorpes, but no facility at Lincoln, in this instance, there could be cost advantages to turning the last train at Cleethorpes, rather than sending it overnight to Doncaster or Leeds.
Using the stabling at Cleethorpes might make it easier to run the following trains.
- A n early morning direct train from Cleethorpes to Kings Cross via Grimsby and Lincoln.
- A n evening direct train from Kings Cross to Cleethorpes via Lincoln and Grimsby.
There must be a robust partnership between all stakeholders, so that everybody gets the most out of the operation.
Political Interests
I am also wary of politicians, who are peddling their constituency’s or their own interests, or have long held views, that certain places don’t need a train service. For many years,
Hackney was considered a sink borough and wouldn’t know how to use a train service, by Silverlink and politicians of all colours. But this all changed, when the Silverlink Metro routes were placed under the control of Transport for London (TfL)
Wikipedia says this.
TfL decided to let this franchise as a management contract, with TfL taking the revenue risk.
It certainly proved very successful for passengers, but lately because of funding shortages at TfL, expanding and improving the Overground seems to have slowed.
In my view, transport is too important a factor in everybody’s lives to be left to politicians of one flavour.
The Transport for London Model
This is an extract from the article.
He is in favour of the Transport for London model, and praised the large amount of innovation which TfL has achieved. He believes one of the new-style National Rail contracts could also include specific bonuses for innovation. He added: ‘TfL is still run like a network, so we need to take account of the national network as well. To some degree, TfL could form a model for the new guiding mind.’
My comments are.
Does The Transport for London Model Work?
Speaking as a Londoner, I think it does and I can’t understand why other large cities and metropolitan areas, don’t have similar transport networks with.
- Local trains, trams, light railways and buses under the same overall guidance.
- Unified contactless ticketing.
- Comprehensive information for all transport users, including pedestrians and those who are less mobile.
- Buses and trams with smooth wheelchair access.
- A policy to increase step-free access towards hundred percent.
Some cities are making a good fist of it, but some are downright terrible and very difficult for those with no local knowledge.
Compare Liverpool and Edinburgh!
Innovation
Williams mentions innovation and he is right.
But sometimes the innovation is an expensive idea, that is out of step with what is being done in other parts of the UK and the rest of the world.
- To my mind, the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway was an out-of-step development, which if it had been developed a few years later would have been a tram-train working on the Karlsruhe model.
- If Manchester had started to develop the Metrolink a few years later, it would probably use similar low-floor trams to Birmingham, Blackpool, Croydon, Edinburgh and Nottingham, which would surely ease the acquisition of new trams.
- Rhe Edinburgh tram system doesn’t use battery operation in the City Centre, as Birmingham and Cardiff will be doing soon and some European cities have done for years.
Partly, this is design by hindsight, but it does appear that the lessons have been learned by the designers of the South Wales Metro.
Contactless Ticketing
The biggest innovation by TfL has been the development of contactless ticketing across all modes of transport, using ordinary bank cards.
But why has it not been implemented in a similar comprehensive manner in other cities or areas of the UK?
I suspect it’s just a multiple case of NIH!
Conclusion
I await the full Williams review with interest.
The Anonymous Widower 