National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers (RMT)

RMT: August 31 2006

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST rail union renewed its call for the GNER franchise to be brought back in-house today, as news emerged that there had been a major cull of senior executives in the company.

RMT, which represents more than 1,500 of GNER's 3,000 staff, has said that it will resist wholesale attacks on jobs and conditions as the company's Bermuda-registererd parent, SeaContainers, attempts to squeeze the franchise to ease its financial crisis.

"It's all very well culling senior executives, but it is imperative that the slaughter is not extended to the hard-working front-line people who operate GNER's services," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"RMT will not sit back and watch jobs destroyed by people who are capable of seeing only the bottom line.

"The only sensible solution remains for the government to bring the franchise back in-house to secure the long-term future of GNER services and jobs," Bob Crow said.

Posted on 06:27 PM | Permalink

Edinburgh Evening News: 31 Aug 2006

EAST coast rail operator GNER today named Jonathan Metcalfe as its new chief executive.

The appointment of Mr Metcalfe, who takes up the post tomorrow, follows the surprise departure of Christopher Garnett after ten years with the company.

Although Mr Garnett announced he was leaving GNER in July, he agreed to stay on until the end of this month.

Mr Metcalfe has been with the rail firm since 1996 and is currently its chief operating officer. He will report directly to Bob MacKenzie, head of GNER's parent company, Sea Containers.

Meanwhile, GNER said directors Shaun Mills, Mike Gooddie and Clare Field would be leaving the group.

Mr MacKenzie said: "I believe this new organisational structure will serve us well to address the significant commercial challenges we have to face going forward.

"I would like to thank Shaun, Mike and Clare for their significant contribution in building GNER into the high-quality train operator that it is today."

Posted on 06:20 PM | Permalink

The Scotsman: 29 Aug 2006
ALASTAIR DALTON TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT

TROUBLED train operator GNER has cut the price of rail fares between Scotland and London to their lowest in decades in an attempt to boost income.

The cheapest tickets bought online are being permanently reduced by 11 per cent, bringing London return fares down to £22.30 from Edinburgh, £24 from Glasgow, and £25.80 from Aberdeen and Inverness. Virgin's cheapest Glasgow-London return is £35.

The move comes only weeks after GNER admitted passenger revenue was growing at one third the rate it planned. The operator said it had been hit by last year's London bombings, soaring electricity costs and higher-than-expected payments to Network Rail for track use.

GNER is also seeking to renegotiate its contract because it claims a rival firm that will operate on part of the east coast main line threatens its ability to pay back £1.3 billion for its ten-year franchise.

GNER said its new lowest fares were six times cheaper than in 1975, when an Edinburgh-London single was £11.89 - equal to £69.20 today.

A spokesman said: "We have challenging targets that have to be met, and this is one of the ways we can stimulate passengers to switch from other modes of transport."

He said improvements to the firm's website had been made since Chris Garnett, GNER's then chief executive, admitted to MPs in November it was losing business to airlines because passengers were "fed up" trying to find its cheapest fares online.

Posted on 06:05 PM | Permalink

The Times: August 29, 2006
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

A PLAN to build a 200mph North-South rail line is expected to be abandoned because the Government’s chief transport adviser has concluded that it would be too expensive and deliver too few benefits.

Sir Rod Eddington has spent more than year studying the long-term needs of Britain’s transport system and has decided that investment in rail should be focused on more modest schemes linking cities such as Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds. He also wants more road tolls.

Sir Rod is a former chief executive of British Airways, and his conclusion will prompt accusations that he is favouring airlines, which would be the main losers if a new rail line halved the London to Edinburgh journey time to just over two hours.

However, Sir Rod promised to conduct his review with an open mind after Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, appointed him in March last year. He has conducted painstaking research into every mode of transport in every region, travelling the length and breadth of the country and interviewing dozens of transport experts.

A previous study, commissioned by the Strategic Rail Authority in 2001, found that a 400-mile-high speed line would cost £33 billion but would reduce Britain’s North-South economic divide by boosting the economies of Scotland, Yorkshire and Humber, the North East, the West Midlands and the North West.

Sir Rod believes that with a limited budget for transport investment, there are better ways of attracting businesses to northern cities. He supports improvements to rail lines between key cities to allow them to compete together as a well-linked economic zone. Under his plan there would be a fast and frequent train service between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds. Employers could establish themselves in one city but have easy access to others for business and recruitment.

Sir Rod also doubts whether investing heavily in rail will arrest worsening congestion, which the CBI says is undermining the economy. Half the Department for Transport’s budget is already spent on rail even though trains account for 6 per cent of the total distance travelled by the population.

Sir Rod, whose report is due to be published in November, believes that the key to preventing gridlock on the roads is to ration use with a nationwide system of road tolls. The Government will use his support for road charging to press ahead with trials, which may include some motorways.

But ministers will struggle to reconcile the rejection of the high-speed line with their repeated statements supporting the idea. Labour’s manifesto for last year’s election mentioned the line as a promising solution to transport problems.

Passenger Focus, the rail passenger watchdog, supported Sir Rod. Anthony Smith, the chief executive, said: “We are wary of big projects because they suck up all the resources for years to come. We want a series of smaller improvements.”

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “What Rod Eddington has to say on the North-South rail link will be considered very carefully.”

THE TIMETABLE

January 2001 Strategic Rail Authority announces feasibility study into new North-South line

Spring 2003 the study, which cost £1.3 million, recommends that the London to West Midlands section should open by 2016

February 2005 Tony Blair writes to a Labour MP that high-speed rail is being seriously considered, including magnetic levitation technology

April 2005 Labour’s election manifesto promises: “We will look at the feasibility and affordability of a new North-South high-speed link”

May 2006 Network Rail supports high-speed line, which it says could be built for £11 billion

Posted on 04:53 PM | Permalink

Zee News: August 30, 2006

Beijing: One of China's new trains to Tibet, the world's highest railway, derailed on Tuesday, disrupting the line for five hours and delaying thousands of passengers, state media said.

The 16-carriage train from the southwestern city of Chongqing derailed near Co Nag Lake, some 400 km northeast of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, the Beijing News said, adding that only the dining carriage came off the tracks.

China opened the 1,140-km railway linking Golmud in Qinghai province to Lhasa on July 1, saying it would help modernise the isolated Himalayan region.

"Six trains were delayed along the line, affecting more than 4,000 passengers," Hong Kong's Beijing-backed Ta Kung Pao newspaper said.

Trains were running normally five hours later and no one was injured, it said, adding that an equipment failure involved switches and signals.

China, which has ruled Tibet since its Communist troops invaded the region in 1950, extols the railway as an engineering feat that will bring economic prosperity to the underdeveloped area.

But critics argue the line could endanger the region's fragile environment and Tibetans' unique cultural identity.

More than 960 km of the railway was built at 4,000 metres (13,120 feet) above sea level and 550 km in areas of frozen earth, which researchers fear could melt as winter temperatures rise in coming decades and affect operations.

Three passenger lines are carrying tourists in pressurised cabins to Tibet from Beijing and the cities of Chongqing, Chengdu, Xining, Lanzhou. Oxygen is on tap if needed.

Posted on 04:46 PM | Permalink

Libcom: 29/08/2006

900 workers at South West Trains walk out in a row over management scabbing.

The workers at South West Trains (SWT) walked out at midnight for a 24 hour strike over management scabbing during previous industrial action, when managers drove trains. The striking workers are mostly members of Aslef, with some RMT drivers also involved.

SWT, which operates across the South from London's Waterloo station, said only 10% of its services would run. Drivers on the Heathrow Express from Paddington in London to Heathrow Airport are also striking on Tuesday in a separate dispute.

The SWT action will be followed by two further strikes on the 8th and 11th of September unless the deadlock is broken, the union has said. SWT Managing director Stewart Palmer said: "The unions claim we have breached an agreement only to use managers to drive trains in exceptional circumstances. We believe that a strike is an exceptional circumstance”.

Rail services crippled by strike

BBC News: 29 August 2006

A strike by train drivers has crippled services on some of the busiest routes into London.

Two more strikes are planned for 8 and 11 September

South West Trains (SWT) warned passengers not to travel as services were not running on many routes and just 10% were operating on others.

Many people drove into work as others took the day off to avoid the chaos.

About 900 SWT staff, who are members of Aslef, walked out at midnight for 24 hours, in a row relating to a previous strike when managers drove trains.

SWT said one in four drivers scheduled to work on Tuesday had reported for duty and that many trains were being driven by drivers rather than managers.

On many routes into London's Waterloo station there were no trains while buses were laid on to replace trains in some parts of the South East.

The company said stations where trains were running were quieter than normal, suggesting people had listened to the advice not to travel unless necessary.

Drivers on the Heathrow Express from Paddington in London to Heathrow Airport were also on striking in a separate dispute. The company maintained that services would still run.

Aslef said further strikes planned for 8 and 11 September would go ahead unless the deadlock was broken.

The dispute started earlier this year when there was a disagreement involving Waterloo-based drivers over the use of taxis to and from work.

Managers were used to drive trains but Aslef said SWT contravened an agreement they would only drive trains in cases of health and safety or the possibility of civil unrest.

"I am only sorry that the public will suffer, rather than this appalling management" - Aslef general secretary Keith Norman

The union also raised concerns over safety, claiming that one manager had not driven a train for 10 years.

The company denied the unions claims and insisted that only fully-qualified managers had driven trains.

Managing director Stewart Palmer said: "The unions claim we have breached an agreement only to use managers to drive trains in exceptional circumstances.

"We believe that a strike is an exceptional circumstance and that the prospect of leaving thousands of you stranded at stations and the subsequent overcrowding could have led to very real safety concerns."

Aslef general secretary Keith Norman said: "I believe the company is using its passengers to try to score points over the union.

"I am only sorry that the public will suffer, rather than this appalling management."

SWT FACTS:

SWT operates services to places including Windsor, Reading, Guilford, Plymouth, Weymouth, Portsmouth and Brighton
Operates 1,700 services a day
Carries a total of 400,000 passengers a day
Takes 350,000 passengers into and out of Waterloo
More than 80,000 commuters travel to Waterloo in the morning rush hour

Posted on 07:57 PM | Permalink

ABC Online: August 29, 2006

Hundreds of protesters at a rally in Perth have been urged to unite against the Federal Government's industrial relations laws. Act Now!

The protest is being held to support construction workers facing charges in the Federal Court today.

Earlier this year, 107 workers walked off the Perth to Mandurah rail line to protest against the sacking of their union representative.

Today, 60 of those workers face fines of up to $28,000 each in the Federal Court for breaching a lifetime strike ban imposed by the Industrial Relation Commission.

The president of the ACTU, Sharon Burrow, says the charges are unjust and has urged all workers to fight against them.

"This Government will be content when Australian workers are intimated and cowered and frightened to stand up," she said.

"But guess what, we've got a message for the Government: that day will never come."

The case is the first in Australia to test the new industrial relations laws.

See also:

Rail strikers disrupt Perth court

AAP: August 29, 2006
Adam Gartrell

WEST Australian construction workers fighting unprecedented fines for striking jeered and chanted in a packed Perth courtroom today, provoking warnings from the judge.

The 107 workers on the Perth to Mandurah railway project are fighting fines of up to $28,000 each for going on strike, in February and March, in protest against the sacking of a shop steward.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) issued writs against the workers last month under the federal government's tough building industry laws, introduced last year in response to recommendations of the building industry royal commission.

It is the first time individual workers, rather than unions, have faced such fines.

About 100 of the workers and their families today crammed into the Federal Court in Perth today after a union rally through the city streets.

The workers raised union banners and chanted their familiar slogan "The workers united will never be defeated!'' before the proceedings began, drawing warnings from court officials.

Judge Robert Nicholson entered the courtroom soon afterwards but proceedings were disrupted when the workers began chanting and hurling abuse at ABCC representatives, including barrister Richard Hooker.

"You have to understand that the processes of the law require every side to be heard and the law to be considered rationally,'' Justice Nicholson told the workers.

"They're unjust laws!'' one worker called back.

Justice Nicholson threatened to close the court when the workers ignored repeated instructions to quieten down.

The matter was later adjourned until October 18 to give the workers'  lawyers enough time to take instructions from each of them.

They are expected to file defences to the fines by November 1.

The solicitor representing most of the workers, Jeremy Noble, said the matter was likely to become complicated and protracted.

"There are many of these people who have defences and they will be vigorously fighting (the fines),'' Mr Noble told reporters outside the court.

Earlier today, workers around the country rallied in support of the 107 workers.

In Melbourne about 200 union officials and workers rallied outside the Federal Court in Melbourne to support the WA workers who face legal action.

Speaking at the Melbourne rally, ACTU secretary Greg Combet said the union movement had launched a fighting fund to defend workers prosecuted under the new regime.

"We'll fight for them wherever we need to and anyone else who faces the same treatment,'' Mr Combet said.

In Adelaide, SA Unions secretary Janet Giles said up to 300 workers, mainly from the state's construction industry, attended a rally in the city to support the Mandurah rail project workers.

See also:

Unionists rally in solidarity with striking comrades

The Age: August 30, 2006
Meaghan Shaw

ABOUT 2000 unionists rallied yesterday in support of 107 West Australian construction workers who each face fines of up to $28,000 for taking strike action.

The workers are the first rank-and-file union members to be individually targeted under building industry laws that were introduced last year. They appeared at a rowdy Federal Court directions hearing in Perth yesterday, with about 1000 supporters gathered outside. Rallies were also held in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Wollongong and Newcastle.

The members were working on the strife-plagued Perth-to-Mandurah railway project and went on strike in February and March to support shop steward Peter Ballard, who they claimed had been unfairly sacked.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission, set up last year following the royal commission on the building industry, issued writs against the workers last month, claiming they had engaged in unlawful industrial action.

One of the workers, Mal Peters, said the longer the case dragged on, the harder his and his workmates' lives would be. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union claims Mr Peters was sacked because he spoke out against the fines he and his colleagues were facing.

"I've just got to get on with it and pick up some more work, which is going to be hard, especially with all the attention," Mr Peters told the ABC.

ACTU secretary Greg Combet yesterday told about 300 unionists outside Melbourne's Federal Court that more union delegates were being victimised under new workplace laws.

He said delegates had been targeted at Amcor and Boeing in Melbourne, while three metalworker delegates in Adelaide had also been sacked.

"The Australian people will not stand for the Government suing individual workers and putting people's homes and their assets in jeopardy, and this will be a focus of our campaign in months to come," he said.

Mr Combet said the workers had resolved the issue months ago through arbitration with the project's joint contractors, Leighton-Kumagai, and accused the Government of trying to intimidate the union movement. The ACTU has set up a fighting fund to support the workers.

But Workplace Minister Kevin Andrews denied the Government was involved.

He said the building commission was an independent statutory body that was simply doing its job.

He said the workers had refused to follow an order of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to return to work and the building commission had sought to prosecute them.

"Now that's simply saying that the rule of law ought to apply equally to all Australians," he said.

Mr Andrews rejected a suggestion that the 107 workers could be turned into martyrs and denied that unionists were being targeted. He said the strike had cost the contractor $200,000 a day and delayed the project by four months.

Leighton-Kumagai spokesman Ashley Mason said the contractor was not a party to the building commission action, but said it was suing the CFMEU for damages of up to $15 million for delays to the project.

See also:

Rail worker supporters rally in Perth

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: 29/08/2006
David Harrison

Perth unionists face massive fines for staging an illegal strike.

TONY JONES: Thousands of protestors have marched through Perth in support of a group of rail workers who are facing massive fines over an illegal strike. The unionists walked off the job in February because of the sacking of a colleague. As a result, they've become the first people to be prosecuted under the Federal Government's construction industry laws. If convicted, they could be fined up to $28,000 each. David Harrison reports.

DAVID HARRISON: Thousands of unionists marched through the Perth CBD this morning in support of their colleagues. 107 workers on the Perth to Mandurah railway project are facing fines of up to $28,000 each for walking off the job in defiance of a lifetime strike ban imposed on the project. They voted to take industrial action in support of a sacked union representative.

PROTEST SPEAKER: Touch one, touch all!

DAVID HARRISON: Mal Peters is one of the workers who's been charged.

MAL PETERS, RAIL WORKER: Yeah, it's getting pretty stressful but you just can't do much about it. We've got to keep hanging in there.

SHARAN BURROW, ACTU PRESIDENT: This is a terrible day in Australia's history. This is the day that a government takes working men and their families to court.

DAVID HARRISON: The workers and their supporters then marched to the Federal Court to face the charges - the first of their kind under the new industrial relations laws. The unionists continued their protest inside the court, chanting slogans and heckling the lawyer representing the building industry watchdog which is prosecuting the workers.

JOHN BOWLER, WA EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION MINISTER: This may be a black day, but there's a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel. And the light at the end of the tunnel is the bloody end of John Howard, that's what it is.

DAVID HARRISON: Unions across the country have established a fighting fund and hope to raise over a million dollars. The Government denies the unionists are being unfairly treated, saying the charges have been laid by an independent watchdog.

KEVIN ANDREWS, FEDERAL WORKPLACE RELATIONS MINISTER: If these people have broken the law, well then surely consequences should flow from breaking the law.

DAVID HARRISON: Similar protests were held in Sydney and Melbourne. Thousands of workers marched through the city streets in solidarity with their WA colleagues. David Harrison, Lateline.

See also:

Construction Workers Nervous Ahead Of First Court Appearance Today

ACTU News: 29 August 2006

Families and supporters of 107 Western Australian workers being prosecuted under the new IR laws will hold rallies in support of the first appearance by the workers before the Federal Court today, Tuesday, 29 August 2006.

The construction workers from the Perth to Mandurah rail project are the first Australian workers to face prosecution under the Howard Government's new IR laws and face fines of up to $28,000 each.

"The workers are nervous ahead of their first court appearance and are worried that the case could run for many months before they know the outcome," said Sharan Burrow, ACTU President.

MEDIA ALERT

Support rallies take place today in major centres today - Tuesday 29 August 2006

* PERTH: ACTU President Sharan Burrow will address Perth rally. 8.30am - Assemble on The Esplanade, march to 9.30am rally at Perth Concert Hall. Media contact: Elizabeth Lukin ph 0414 295 693
* MELBOURNE: ACTU Secretary Greg Combet will address Melbourne rally. 12 noon-12.30 - Lunchtime Rally outside Federal Court, cnr of Latrobe and William Streets. Media contact: George Wright ph 0419 556 616
* Canberra: from 12 noon. Garema Place, under trees between DEWR and ampitheatre. Organised by ACT Union Solidarity Network - Phone Paul 0417 048 217
* Sydney: 10.00am Solidarity Rally, Trades Hall, 377 Sussex Street. Contact Tim Vollmer ph 0404 273 313
* Wollongong: 12noon, Corner Kembla and Crown Streets, Wollongong - details ph: (02) 4229 2888
* Newcastle: 1pm, Civic Park, King Street, Newcastle - details ph: (02) 4929 1162
* Adelaide: 12 noon Rally in Victoria Square - media contact Janet Giles, Unions SA ph 0419 825 845

More information: CFMEU Website

Posted on 06:59 PM | Permalink

Expatica: 29 August 2006

AMSTERDAM - A thousand of the 5,000 train journeys made by Dutch rail company NS daily are carried out by trains that are too short.

Of these 1,000 trains, there is a 'serious shortage' in 400 and another 50 are considered to be 'crisis trains', Head of Planning Léon Jansen wrote to production director Nol Groot in an internal memo.

The document, which was leaked to the media, stated that the NS is particularly stretched at peak times because "everything is deployed". Dealing with one bottleneck during peak hours means enlarging the shortage elsewhere, Jansen wrote.

Apart from the shortage of rolling stock, NS also anticipates a greater personnel shortage that was earlier forecast. Jansen said the staffing problems have been exacerbated by the agreement with the consumers group Locov to have more train services at the beginning and end of the timetable.

NS has been looking for some time to buy or lease more carriages to deal with the shortage in material. It is also working to deploy its rolling stock more effectively. "We constantly vary [the make-up of] our trains to achieve the optimal occupancy rate," a spokesperson for the company said.

It has 2,700 carriages with a total of 240,000 seats. Approximately 1.1 million people travel by train on an average working day, giving an average occupancy rate of 30 percent.

Roel Berghuis of trade union FNV Bondgenoten said the internal memo is a warning to the management that something has to be done to ensure NS can implement its new timetable.

Posted on 06:50 PM | Permalink

Engineer Live ! Rail Industry International: August 28, 2006  

Due to historic developments rail networks throughout Europe use different track gauges. here, Matthias Schwartze reports on the construction of the DBAG/Rafil Type V gauge change wheel set which is design to provide an automatic transfer from one gauge to another.

In most of the European countries the gauge of 1435mm is used, which is also called normal gauge. In the countries of the former Soviet Union, in the Baltic countries and in Finland, the broad gauge of 1520mm is used. On the Iberian peninsula, a broad gauge with a gauge of 1668mm (Spain) or of 1665mm (Portugal) is used. Moreover, in Ireland a broad gauge of 1600mm is applied.

Due to an increased exchange of goods and public transport these limited systems represent an essential hindrance. The technologies of transferring from one gauge to the other one, which are normally practised at present, are that the passengers have to change the trains or that the goods have to be loaded on other trains or that the bogies or wheel sets are changed.

An alternative to this technology is represented by gauge changing systems, which provide for an automatic transfer from one gauge to another one. Gauge changing systems require special technical solutions both at the vehicle as well as at the permanent way at the intersection of the gauges. The so-called gauge change wheelset forms the centrepiece in the vehicle. A stationary gauge changing equipment forms the connection between the gauges.

Based upon the results of studies on economic efficiency and need performed by the German Railway (DBAG) and the UIC study group of gauge change wheel sets, the development of such wheel sets has been taken up again in 1995. The German Railway and the wheel set factory Radsatzfabrik Ilsenburg GmbH (RAFIL)concluded a contract on the further development of the DRIV gauge change wheel set including the construction of prototypes for the gauges of 1435/1520mm and 1435/1668mm. The prepared technical specifications contains the essential criteria, which should be considered during the development.

The DBAG/Rafil TypeV change gauge wheel set consists of a wheel set shaft and two axially displaceable solid wheels, which are joint to the shaft by a locking system. The solid wheel has been derived from the well-proved solid wheel of the 004 type of DBAG. It has got an adequately long wheel hub to guarantee the functions of locking and unlocking and the transmission of power and moment. A special plastic bush is pressed into the wheel hub.

The axle has been derived from the well-tried constructions for goods wagons. It has been equipped with prolonged wheel seats and seats for taking up the coupling star. If necessary, there are seats for brake discs realised, too.

Torque transmission

The torque transmission is performed by a clutch coupling between wheel and wheel set shaft, which does not hinder the axial displacement. The axial securing is done by a locking mechanism, which consists of unlocking disc, locking sleeve, locking levers and compression springs. Hereby, the locking levers are pressed into the respective grooves of the cams, which, on the other hand, are firmly connected with the wheel. The basic technical data can be summarised as shown in Fig. 1.

The changeover is done while the wheel sets are driving over a special gauge changeover equipment with a low speed of about 5 to 10km/h. The process of gauge changeover is done under full load of the wheel sets and uninterruptedly from normal gauge to broad gauge and vice versa. Depending on the gauges a respective stationary gauge changeover equipment is needed having a length of 16m or 28m.

After the gauge has been changed the position of the locking sleeve is checked by an appliance that is installed at the plant. This guarantees that only those gauge change wheel sets leave the plant the wheels of which are safely connected to the wheel set shaft.

Equipment of the vehicles

So that a vehicle can change the gauge without any obstacles there are some more components needed at the vehicle in addition to the wheel set. General for the transition from normal gauge to both the broad gauge a brake block changeover arrangement is necessary for vehicles with block brakes. For the transition from normal gauge of 1435mm to broad gauge of 1520mm the components KE-Matrossow 483 triple valve combination and Composite coupling SA 3/Screw coupling have been additionally developed. These vehicle components can be applied to all types of vehicles.

It is fixed in the UIC leaflet no. 510-4 and the specification for the development and testing of undercarriages for goods wagons for the gauge 1435mm/1668mm which calculations and tests have to be performed for getting an admission.

On the basis of the results of the investigations according to these leaflet existing so far we can assess that:

* The calculations and tests at the test stand have showed a sufficient strength of the wheels, of the wheel set shaft and the components of the locking mechanism.

* From the point of view of travelling and braking technology an application of the wagons that are equipped with gauge change wheel sets is possible for empty and loaded wagons with 22.5t of wheel set load and 120km/h.

* The functional safety has been proved under all climatic conditions of application.

* The proper locking of the wheels has been always guaranteed during over-running tests, driving over track torsions and under the influence of high longitudinal pressing forces.

* There is no impairment of the locking mechanism caused by a high thermal strain on the wheels due to permanent braking.

* The reasons of the irregularities, which have been sometimes stated during the operational tests (inner and outer sealing system, once an irregular locking), could be determined and the respective amendments were realised.

* The determination of limits as to the admissible wear of the components could be done after the completion of the entire operational tests only.

After completing the current tests in service the admission will be probably reached by the end of this year. The manufacturers of vehicles and their operators have already showed their interest in applying the gauge change technology for the traffic to Spain and in Scandinavia.

Dipl-Ing Matthias Schwartze is with Radsatzfabrik Ilsenburg GmbH, Ilsenburg, Germany.

Posted on 06:35 PM | Permalink

AP: 28 August 2006

PARIS (AP)--More than 200 families plan to press the French state rail network for compensation for its role in helping transport their relatives to Nazi death camps during World War II, a lawyer said Monday.

The families - French, Israeli, American, Belgian and Canadian - plan to send a letter this week to the SNCF rail network urging compensation of several million euros, said lawyer Avi Bitton. He didn't say when the letter would be sent. If that tactic fails, they plan to sue, he said.

The families were encouraged by a June ruling by an administrative court in Toulouse, southern France, which ordered the state and the rail authority to pay damages of EUR62,000 for its role in World War II deportations. The SNCF has appealed the decision.

In that case, European Green Party lawmaker Alain Lipietz, his sister, Helene, and other family members had brought a suit on behalf of four of their relatives taken to a Nazi transit camp at Drancy near Paris in May 1944.

The four were transported in cattle cars by the SNCF from southwest France to Drancy and remained there for several months until the camp was freed in July 1944, according to the lawsuit. Drancy was a stopover point for Jews deported to Nazi death camps including Auschwitz.

The June decision was the first of its kind. A similar 2003 case against the SNCF in a civil court failed because a 30-year statute of limitations period had passed. Such a time delay was not applicable in the administrative court.

See also:

New French lawsuits for WWII 'transport'

Ninemsn: Aug 28

The French state and railway operator SNCF face at least 200 new lawsuits for their role in the deportation of Jews during World War II, a lawyer handling the petitions said.

SNCF has already appealed against a French court ruling in June which ordered it and the state to pay total fines of euros60,000 ($A101,291) for transporting Jews to a wartime transit camp from where they were sent to Nazi concentration camps.

However, more lawsuits are pouring in before a deadline on September 1 which marks the statutory limitation for filing petitions against the SNCF, the lawyer said.

"We have about 200 petitions ... (and) we are expecting more," Matthieu Delmas, the lawyer dealing with these petitions said, adding that his clients included nationals of France, Israel, the United States, Canada and Belgium.

SNCF said it had no immediate comment. Its lawyer had said in June the railway could not be held responsible for the transportation because it had been forced to co-operate with German occupying forces during the war.

The court ruling in June came after a similar suit in 2003 failed when a Paris court ruled it could not establish that the SNCF was responsible for transporting Jews.

Of the 330,000 Jews living in France in 1940, 75,721 were deported to death camps and only about 2,500 returned alive.

Posted on 06:27 PM | Permalink

Xinhua: August 28, 2006

China's newly-built railway to Tibet will be extended to the border between China and Nepal, a local official said on Sunday.

Meeting with visiting Nepali Deputy Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region, said Tibet is a remote place that is looking forward to being connected to south Asia. The railway extension will promote business exchanges, he said.

Oli said Nepal hopes China can extend the railway to the border.

China and Nepal have more than 1400 km of border and five open border crossings. Nyalam, in Xigaze prefecture, is the only border crossing that boasts a highway. The Xigaze prefecture borders India, Nepal and Bhutan in the south.

According to current plans, a branch line will be built next year from Lhasa to Xigaze, the region's second largest city located at an altitude of about 3,800 meters and some 270 km from Lhasa. The project is expected to take three years.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which stretches 1,956 kilometers from Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, was completed in July.

The city of Xigaze is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, and the prefecture is also an important production base for Tibetan agriculture and animal husbandry.

Oli, who is also minister of foreign affairs, arrived in Lhasa Saturday for a eight-day official visit to China.

Posted on 04:50 PM | Permalink

Trend: 28.08.2006

China has joined the Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki railway project, Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim announced in his interview with “Zaman” Newspaper, Trend reports.

The Minister noted that Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki Railway Project had been drawn up at the beginning of 1960, adding that together with China, Kazakhstan also participates in the project. “In case of realization of the project, each person moving from Kars with railway may reach Shanghai,” the Minister emphasized, saying that on completion of the Marmaray Project, each Chinese citizen may travel to Great Britain.   

“The Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki railway will be ready within two years, and approximately 20 million tons of cargo will be transported through the railway annually,” the Minister stressed, spelling out that today the cargo transportation through all rail links of Turkey forms less than 18 million tons annually.

“The Project will change the face of all regions and help its prosperity,” Turkish Minister pointed out. 

In addition, the Turkish Transport Minister stressed that in relation to the problems with Armenia, the Eastern regions of the Country have shared closeness for many years. “Because of this, Caucasus and Asian countries were united for the railway transportations to Europe,” Yildirim said, mentioning that from a strategic point of view, the Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki railway is very optimistic. The Minister once again mentioned the figure of $250 million that is needed for the completion of the project. “The stretch of 79 km up to the border with Georgia will be constructed at the expense of Turkey, but the 25 km stretch in the territory of Georgia at the expense of allocations by the Georgian Government. At the same time, works will be carried out for the modernization of all stretches from Tbilisi to Baku,” Yildirim stated. 

It was further stated that the engineering works for the project started in 2001, and for the first stage, it was necessary to spend $463 million on the construction of the rail link. “Even China offered low rate credits for the commencement of works. Peking Government particularly voiced its readiness to allocate credit for 13 years, with 5.5% annual rate. However, Turkish government refused to receive the credit, as it did not wish to provide State guarantee for the credit,” Turkish Transport Minister concluded.

Posted on 04:35 PM | Permalink

NDTV: August 28, 2006
Anant Dwivedi (Jodhpur)

A mechanic in the 1960s developed a railway track safety system that can avert a collision when two trains get on the same track.

Its inventor is late Poonamchand Lakhaji Mistry of Takhatgarh village, 100 kilometers from Jodhpur.

The innovation in 1961 covered a wide range of security aspects including protection against derailment or sabotage.

Mistry's nephew Mohan Mistry says, the innovations were put before the railway board.

"Meetings were held where engineers asked him about the idea. He gave them a month to understand the concept, after which, he gave up".

"After making some changes to the innovation he got it patented from the Government of India," Mistry said.
Mistry's inventions began in 1941 with the one anna platform ticket machine.

He came up with his own variant of the machine, which would reject worn out coins. Six of his machines were installed at Bombay Central and Dadar railway stations.

Museum

His house today is a kind of museum, which displays his innovations.

He did not get past Class 4 but never lacked in ideas. His inventions range from an apparatus for trapping thieves when they opening a safe, to a tea maker and a water pump operated by an animal.

His nephew also followed the footsteps of his uncle. Keeping him company, on his new journey, are memories of his uncle, in the form of these innovations.

Impressed with a cycle pump innovation, the Maharaja of Jodhpur gifted Mistry a pistol.
Now with the research centre on its way, Mistry's nephew hopes to improve on his uncle's innovations and also encourage new ideas.

Posted on 04:27 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 26 August 2006

The family of a safety inspector who died in an industrial accident on a steam railway tourist attraction in Cornwall have paid tribute to him.

The family of 51-year-old John Betchley say they are "devastated" by his death.

Emergency services were called to the Bodmin and Wenford Steam Railway after the accident on Friday morning.

Police said Mr Betchley, from Weston-super-Mare, was crushed by a steam crane and died at the scene. The Railway Inspectorate has been informed.

'Family man'

In a statement on Saturday his family said: "We are absolutely devastated by what has happened.

"He was a great family man who had been married for over 30 years.

"His life was centred around his family and love of trains, he died doing a job he loved".

The site is a well-known local tourist attraction, operating steam trains on short trips.

Most of the staff are volunteers and enthusiasts and all repairs and servicing of the locomotives and rolling stock are conducted on the premises.

Crushed to death

The railway operates a steam-powered rail crane, which is used for track laying and other lifting.

It is annually inspected by an accredited inspector on behalf of the railway's insurers.

During the course of its annual inspection Mr Bletchely was between a jib and a cable drum winch while the crane was being operated.

He became trapped and crushed to death between the two items of apparatus.

Mr Betchley leaves his wife of 30 years, four daughters and five grandchildren.

Posted on 11:38 PM | Permalink

Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Aug 27, 2006

Harare - At least five people were killed Sunday in Zimbabwe when a passenger train collided head-on with a goods train near the resort town of Victoria Falls, state radio reported.

Bodies were charred beyond recognition in the accident that occurred early Sunday, 30 kilometres outside Victoria Falls, the radio said.

At least five people died at the scene of the accident and property belonging to passengers was lost in the inferno, which claimed at least eight coaches and two train engines, the radio said.

The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) passenger train was on its way to Victoria Falls from the city of Bulawayo. The driver of the passenger train ignored warnings by the oncoming freight train, the radio said citing unnamed sources.

The rail link between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, which marks the border between Zimbabwe and its northern neighbour Zambia, has proven treacherous in recent years.

In 2003, a head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train killed 50 people. In May, a passenger train derailed on the same stretch of railway, injuring 34 people.

Rescue teams reportedly took a long time to reach the scene of Sunday's accident due to the poor state of the roads, the report added.

The injured were taken to Victoria Falls hospital.

Posted on 11:35 PM | Permalink

The Hindu: August 26, 2006

Kuala Lumpu - Southeast Asian nations hope a proposed major railway project linking Singapore to southern China will be ready by 2015 to facilitate the flow of goods and people across the region, officials said on Saturday.

The Asian Development Bank has provided Cambodia soft loans of US$40 million (euro33 million) to build missing links and another US$5.4 million (euro4.5 million) has been secured as grants for the project, said Ong Keng Yong, secretary-general of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

But overall progress for the rail line spanning 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) from Singapore to the Chinese city of Kunming has been hindered by a lack of funds and other technical issues relating to building connecting rails to link it to major towns across the region, he said.

"The work is being done on a national level to join up with the rail link but we need more funding,'' Ong told reporters after a meeting of the ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation.

Senior officials will meet in November in Kunming to review the project and identify new sources of funds, he said. The group did not set any target date for completion but ``we must have some connection'' by the time the bloc fuse into an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015, he added.

Ong didn't say how much the project is worth but trade officials previously estimated it will cost at least 1.8 billion dollars (euro1.5 billion). Officials said construction has also been hindered by difficult terrain in some countries, clearing land mines in Cambodia and Laos, and harmonizing customs and immigration.

The railway project is expected to better bind the economies of the region and provide southern China with easier access to ASEAN markets.

ASEAN trade ministers earlier this week agreed to bring forward plans to turn the region into a single market and production base by 2015, five years earlier than originally planned. The bloc also aims to create a free trade zone with China by 2010.

Apart from the rail project, the group also needs funds worth US$44 million (euro37 million) for 15 projects involving capacity building, training and other projects to develop the Mekong Basin, said Myanmar Minister for National Planning and Economic Development, U Soe Tha.

To woo new funds, he said membership of the ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation - currently involving only ASEAN and China - will be opened to interested parties such as the Asian Development Bank and the region's trading partners.

See also:

ASEAN hopes to revitalize rail project

Taipei Times: Aug 27, 2006

KUALA LUMPUR - Southeast Asian nations hope a proposed US$15 billion major railway project linking Singapore to southern China will be ready by 2015 to facilitate the flow of goods and people across the region, officials said yesterday.

The Asian Development Bank recently provided Cambodia soft loans of US$40 million to build missing links and another US$5.4 million has been secured as grants for the project, said Ong Keng Yong, secretary-general of the 10-member ASEAN.

China, which last month launched a rail track from Beijing to Tibet, has also shown renewed interest in ASEAN's plan for a rail line spanning 5,000km from Singapore to Kunming in China, he said.

However, overall progress of the project has been hindered by a lack of funds and other technical issues in connecting the rail to major towns across the region, he said.

"We want to revitalize the railway project which will be good for the region. With the rah-rah after the opening of the Tibetan line, I believe we can move faster," Ong said after a meeting of the ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation.

"Work is being done on a national level to join up with the rail link, but we need more funding," he said.

A rail line already runs from Singapore to Bangkok. From Bangkok, Ong said there are plans for two separate rail lines to Kunming. One rail track will snake across Cambodia and Vietnam, with a connecting track to Laos, while the other line will cut west through Myanmar.

Posted on 11:24 PM | Permalink

The Times: August 26, 2006
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

THE buffet car, one of the few remaining civilised pleasures of travelling on Britain’s overcrowded railways, is to be axed on several routes between London and the West Country.

First Great Western, the country’s least punctual train company, claims that doing without a buffet will reduce delays by allowing its services to run faster. But the news has been greeted with outrage by many of its well-heeled passengers who do not relish the prospect of an aisle trolley as a replacement for the more generously stocked buffet.

The train company says that the removal of a 35-tonne carriage, not to mention a few dozen bacon sandwiches, will shave eight minutes off the trip from London to Bristol by making the train lighter.

The company is also removing many of the tables from the remaining carriages to pack in more seats.

Seats at tables take up more room than airline-style seating but many passengers prefer tables because they can work on laptops, do paperwork and stretch their legs.

The routes affected by the removal of 22 buffet cars are London to Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Hereford.

Some longer-distance trains will keep their buffet cars and will stop at those stations. But most services will have only trolleys from December.

The loss of the buffet cars and tables has outraged frequent travellers, especially those living in Bath.

Karl Jaeger, the director of the International School of America, based in Bath, said: “Eliminating the buffet car will detract from the whole experience of travelling by train.

“It is deceitful of First to claim that the trolley will be a good substitute. It cannot carry anything like the range of products and passengers will have to wait while it is hauled all the way down the train.

“Trolleys also have an annoying tendency to be off-duty when you want them.”

Mr Jaeger said that the loss of a buffet would make train travel less attractive to visitors, who were more likely to drive to Bath and clog its Georgian streets with more cars. He added: “But First knows that people who rely on the train will have no choice but to put up with an increasingly rotten service.”

Chris Irwin, the chairman of Travelwatch Southwest, the region’s passenger watchdog, said that it was absurd to try to reduce delays by making the service less comfortable.

First Great Western has the worst punctuality record of the 25 train companies by a considerable margin, with just over a quarter of trains at least ten minutes late in the year to the end of March. It was one of only four companies to show an increase in delays over the previous year.

The company said that the eight-minute saving from running with seven carriages instead of eight would be used only to reduce delays, not to cut the published journey times. The company hopes that the move will result in lower penalties for running late.

Removing the buffet cars will also bring savings on fuel and train-leasing costs. The company is under pressure to reduce costs because it agreed to pay the Government £1.1 billion to run the franchise for the next ten years.

A spokesman said that only one in eight passengers used the buffet. He said that most people would prefer to be served at their seats rather then leave luggage unattended.

Passengers on First Great Western will, however, be better off than those on the King’s Cross to King’s Lynn route, operated by the same company. It lost its buffet car long ago, and the company recently cancelled the trolley service.

REFUELLING

* The first dining car on Britain’s railways was introduced in 1879 on the service from Leeds to King’s Cross. Known as the Pullman car, it had a primitive stove at one end, six tables, ten armchairs, a smoking room and a ladies’ dressing room. Access to it cost an extra half crown

* In 1949, British Rail introduced “tavern cars”, modelled on traditional pubs with signs painted on the outside, including the Jolly Tar, the White Horse and the Green Man

* In the 1990s, a McDonald’s burger bar operated on a carriage in Switzerland

* Britain has more train restaurant cars than any other country except Germany

* GNER offers the best existing restaurant service, according to Brian Perren, food critic for Modern Railways magazine. Three courses cost about £30

* Buffet cars are a film-makers’ favourite, having countless key cameos in, famously, North by Northwest, Murder on the Orient Express and White Christmas

Posted on 08:56 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 25 August 2006

An investigation has begun into how a train carrying hundreds of passengers split in two on Thursday night while travelling at 145km/h (90mph).

First Capital Connect runs the service out of King's Cross

About 700 people are thought to have been on the 1707 from King's Cross to Peterborough when it came to a sudden halt eight minutes into its journey.

The First Capital Connect train, made up of two four-car units, "decoupled" and both halves came to a halt.

A train company spokeswoman said passengers were never in danger.

She said: "It was travelling at 90mph but the trains are designed for such things to happen at those speeds and to stop safely."

She said the carriages had ended up stopping less than a carriage-length apart.

'Communication cut off'

Passenger Roslyn Magen, 57, said it was "the strangest" problem to affect the line so far.

Mrs Magen works for Lloyds TSB at London Bridge but lives near St Neots in Cambridgeshire.

She was in the second unit, to which communication with the driver was cut off.

"Everybody was getting agitated because nobody was telling us what was going on" - Roslyn Magen

"We sat there and sat there and there was no announcement or anything. Everybody was getting agitated because nobody was telling us what was going on."

Customer services first told her there was a "technical problem" at New Southgate, but as trains continued to pass them on the slow track, she phoned back 20 minutes later.

She was told the train had "decoupled".

'Nobody there'

"At first they (the passengers) were annoyed because there was no announcement, but once they realised what it was they saw the funny side of it," she told BBC News.

"There was no announcement because there was nobody there."

About 45 minutes later a replacement driver arrived to get the units moving again.

Larry Heyman, from First Capital Connect, said it was investigating why the coupling mechanism had failed, as the units were new stock, adding that it was very rare.

"Our number one concern is customer safety" - Larry Heyman, First Capital Connect

He said there was no danger of another train running into the carriages as safety systems would show they were on the track.

Both units came to an immediate halt when the carriages split, he said.

But he added: "We really would like to apologise for this, it's something that concerns us immensely - these particular units are quite new.

"Our number one concern is customer safety and the safety of everybody using the line."

The results of the company's investigation are expected to be revealed next week.

Posted on 08:13 PM | Permalink

The Scotsman: 25 Aug 2006
ALASTAIR DALTON TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT

It could be the end of the line for some Scottish stations - Picture: Alastair Jamieson
* Network Rail believe reducing needless stops will streamline journeys
* £300m package aims to improve services as passenger numbers rise
* Commuting workers could be hit with peak-hour car park charges

"For one [station] that is very lightly used, you have to question whether it should stay open. Some could be replaced with stations that are closer to communities and more integrated with buses." - Iain Coucher, Network Rail's deputy chief executive

SCOTLAND'S least-used railway stations could be closed or relocated nearer to centres of population under a new ten-year plan to develop the network.

Network Rail, which owns and operates the rail infrastructure, believes removing needless station-stops would reduce journey times for most passengers.

The company has proposed the moves as part of a new £300 million package on top of £1.1 billion of previously announced new lines, such as links to Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.

The package includes proposals to speed up services on some routes to help cope with a forecast 30 per cent increase in passengers over the next decade.

Iain Coucher, Network Rail's deputy chief executive, said closure of some stations would be considered.

"For one that is very lightly used, you have to question whether it should stay open. Some could be replaced with stations that are closer to communities and more integrated with buses."

Barry Links in Angus, for example, which is served by two trains a day, is used by only 26 passengers a year.

Network Rail's consultation blueprint, launched yesterday, also recommended ending the award-winning Edinburgh CrossRail service to cut delays. The link, launched in 2002, connects Newcraighall in the east with Dunblane and Bathgate. Network Rail recommended that passengers should have to change at Waverley, as preferable to improving the congested sections of line that cause the delays.

Peak-hour charges could also be introduced at station car parks to encourage off-peak travel. Parking is currently free at many stations.

The document also proposed faster Perth-Edinburgh services, longer Stirling-Glasgow trains, which are Scotland's most overcrowded, and more commuter trains between Fife and Edinburgh. These would be achieved by improved signalling and timetables.

Platforms could be lengthened to take six-carriage trains, including some at Waverley and Queen Street in Glasgow. Network Rail said running more frequent or longer trains on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line was not feasible, but journey times could be cut by reducing station stops.

Crowding on the route is expected to be eased by reopening the Airdrie-Bathgate line to create a new link between the cities in 2010 with four trains an hour. Journeys would also be cut on a third link via Shotts from 90 to 65 minutes, with services doubled to half-hourly.

New trains with eight carriages compared to the current six could be put on the Glasgow-Ayr line, which serves fast-growing Prestwick airport.

However, through trains between Glasgow and Stranraer after the ferry terminal moves to Cairnryan would be replaced, with passengers having to change at Kilmarnock or Ayr. But Glasgow-Kilmarnock trains would be more frequent and the Glasgow-Whifflet line would be electrified.

Network Rail said some improvements would be possible within the next three years, with others by 2014.

Its route utilisation strategy will be finalised in the spring and sent to ministers for them to decide which proposals to adopt. The firm said it was confident the £300 million cost could be found from both its own funds and the Scottish Executive.

However, doubts were cast over its plans last night. A spokeswoman for Tavish Scott, the transport minister, said: "There are no plans to close existing stations, because we are in a process of expansion." And Robert Samson, of the rail consumer watchdog Passenger Focus, said he would oppose station closures.

Posted on 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Herald: August 25 2006
MARTIN WILLIAMS

HOW to squeeze more journeys out of Scotland's rail network and get more passengers on to trains? The answer: boost services connecting people with the larger centres, while pruning back on less well-used routes.
Stations at risk

Such is the task that is facing Scotland's rail authorities and now tackled in a new document which sets out a vision of the future for rail passengers and the country's thousands of miles of track and railway stations.

Network Rail's route utilisation strategy is a £1.4bn plan setting out a ten-year range of options for improving the nation's rail links, concentrating on preventing overcrowding and log jams on routes into and within Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The rub, however, is that this may be at the expense of rural stations.

Network Rail, which owns and operates Britain's rail infrastructure, has confirmed that up to 23 little-used train stations could be closed as part of the shake-up.

The Glasgow Crossrail scheme, which would connect lines serving Glasgow's Central and Queen Street stations, and for the first time allow travel from Ayr to Edinburgh and Paisley to Dundee without changing train, is a surprise omission.

Network Rail has included it amongst a list of "potential enhancement schemes" which have not yet reached the feasibility study stage.

But many other schemes are set out to alleviate congestion and improve services, including more frequent and longer trains, better stations with longer platforms, and extra track and signal improvements.

There were more than two million rail passenger journeys a year between the Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2004/05 making it the most heavily used inter-urban route in Scotland.

Overcrowding of services between the two cities, particularly during the rush hours, has become a cause for concern and Network Rail is predicting it will get worse by 2016 when services are expected to have to deal with 30% more passengers than at present.

Network Rail is also expecting a steady increase in the number of rail commuters as people try to sidestep increasing road congestion and the rising costs of motoring.

"Track capacity is heavily utilised on many key sections of the Scotland Route Utilisation Strategy area," says Network Rail in its report supporting the strategy.

"This constrains the extent to which additional services can be accommodated and has a significant impact on the performance of the existing services, especially those out of Glasgow Central and Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley."

Network Rail has also been concerned about the growth in freight traffic over the next ten years.

In 2004/05 rail freight carried within Scotland totalled 5546 million tonne miles, a 17% increase on the previous year.The carriage of coal was the biggest element of the increase, and now accounts for 75% of freight traffic. Network Rail predicts this will rise by a further 10% by 2016.

"Freight demand is primarily focussed around the flows to and from Glasgow and Ayrshire," the report states.

"Freight traffic, particularly coal, has grown consistently in Scotland over the past five years.

"This demand is currently adequately accommodated by the existing network but further growth in certain areas would be constrained and there is a lack of diversionary routes which are able to accommodate 9ft 6in-high containers."

Options for improving the network include four projects worth £1.1bn which already have the support of ministers.

They include the provision of the Glasgow Airport rail link in 2010 as passenger numbers at Glasgow Airport are forecast to increase from 8.1m per year currently to 15m by 2030. It involves creating a double track branch from Paisley St James, on the Paisley Gilmour Street to Gourock line, to a new station at the airport.

The Edinburgh Airport rail link is expected to be completed a year later as airport passenger numbers are expected to treble between now and 2030 when 20m are expected annually.

The Airdrie to Bathgate line is planned for 2010 and Network Rail has lodged a parliamentary bill seeking powers to begin construction.

The main works involve the reopening of the central Drumgelloch to Bathgate part of the route and expanding the existing Airdrie to Drumgelloch and Bathgate to Uphall sections.

The reinstatement of 25 miles of the former Waverley route – from Newcraighall east of Edinburgh to Galashiels and Tweedbank – has already received royal assent and is expected to be finished for 2011.

The weighty 100-page strategy is not a fait accompli, Network Rail stresses.

Many of the options for improvement formulated with the input of key transport partners in Scotland, including Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, First ScotRail and GNER, can be funded by Network Rail.

Other funding can be obtained from Transport Scotland, one of the key consultees, and the agency that is responsible for helping to deliver the Scottish Executive's £3bn capital investment programme over the next decade.

The document will become the focus of consultation until November 16 before a strategy is finalised next spring.

Ian Coucher, Network Rail's deputy chief executive said: "This consultation looks at the challenges facing the rail industry in Scotland. It presents a series of ambitious but realistic options for getting the best out of the network."

The strategy recognises that there are gaps between what Scotland's railway system currently provides and the demands expected of it over the next ten years.

Posted on 07:53 PM | Permalink

The Herald: August 25 2006
Editorial Comment

Nothing stays the same, even on the permanent way. A 10-year plan to make the best use of Scotland's rail network was put out for consultation yesterday.

Depending on the response, the final document will show how the train will take the strain through to 2016. The pressures the network is under helped prompt the consultation. More passengers are using the busy inter-urban routes, causing overcrowding on services and, potentially, the track. The strain on infrastructure has been exacerbated by the increasing demands of freight traffic, especially on the Glasgow-Ayrshire routes.

A political will to encourage people to travel by rail rather than road or air merits endorsement and makes compelling the case for looking afresh at the network and how it can best respond. Such exercises invariably throw up losers as well as winners. The Route Utilisation Strategy envisages that perhaps 23 stations could be closed. This will rightly sound alarm bells in rural areas where the train is a lifeline keeping communities going and maintaining livelihoods. Much of the past decade has been spent undoing the harm of the Beeching cuts in the 1960s.

The reopening of the £155m Edinburgh-Tweedbank link, potentially shifting some of the prosperity of our overheating capital city to the Borders, is a case in point. The case for closing a line has to be irresistible, because the damage caused to areas blighted by a wrong decision can take many years to repair, if it can be repaired at all. If, on the other side, the case for keeping a line open does not add up on economic and social grounds, closure is very difficult to resist; particularly if pain somewhere means gain for a much greater number elsewhere.

The strategy sets out options for improving the network, and the lot of the passenger, from Inverness through Glasgow, Edinburgh and the central belt, to Ayrshire, at a cost of £1.4bn. However, £1.1bn has already been earmarked for four major projects, suggesting that every penny will have to be squeezed out of the remainder to reach the destinations identified. Even if this can be achieved (and it is a big ask) it will not mean the strategy has all the answers for Scotland's rail network.

The biggest loser is the largely-ignored Crossrail scheme which would link suburban networks north and south of the River Clyde in Glasgow with the rest of Scotland and, potentially, Glasgow Airport through Queen Street station. If the Scottish Executive is genuinely committed to developing an integrated, national rail network, the scheme, first mooted nearly 40 years ago, should be at the core of the document. Instead, it has been shunted into the sidings alongside other "potential enhancement schemes". This is a major disappointment. If Ministers are serious about reducing the alarming growth in road traffic volume, with all the misery and environmental damage that entails, linking the north and south of Scotland's biggest city by rail is exactly the type of imaginative project that should be embraced. Responses, please.

See also:
 

Network Rail’s omission of Glasgow Crossrail is staggering

Letters: August 28 2006

YOUR Friday leader, Future of our railways, forms an excellent, balanced assessment of Network Rail's outline of development submissions to the Scottish Executive; I invite readers to peruse further details from Network Rail directly.

Network Rail's omission of the Glasgow Crossrail proposal in an otherwise well-grounded survey is staggering, as, of all outstanding schemes, this is the one of cardinal importance, and its urgency rating highest. Various other solutions to the faultline running through the heart of Scotland's rail network have been suggested, such as reopening the Finnieston tunnel, or, at massive expense, excavating a direct underground line between Central and Queen Street high-level stations, whereas adopting the Crossrail proposals achieves all the benefits and more at a fraction of the cost. That imperative includes not only valuable new commuter services, but also efficient routes between south-west, central and north-east Scotland.

Failure to complete the link also effectively sabotages Glasgow Airport's hub status by denying it convenient through journeys to anywhere but the southern suburban rail network. Network Rail cannot simply feign blindness to these well-known issues.

The onus and final decisions lie, of course, with the Scottish Executive, and it remains to be seen whether it studies the interests of the whole country when ordering precisely how the railways are developed. The resources available should be more than adequate for all the other planned action if the preposterous proposal to build a mainline station under Edinburgh Airport terminal is categorically rejected as baleful, rather than beneficial, to the economy of the nation as a whole. Or is this to be another "reserved powers" issue, upon which, conveniently, Westminster will know better than we do?
Andrew W Heatlie, 109 Hyndland Road, Glasgow.
 
YOUR editorial, Future of our railways (August 25), quite rightly points out the untold damage, especially to rural communities, done by the Beeching rail cuts in the 1960s. RMT would also agree that Crossrail has been on the back-burner for far too long already. Never has the need for joined-up thinking on transport been clearer. The environment and the economy are crying out for massive reductions in emissions and road congestion, and yet once more the shadow of the axe has appeared over rural railway services.

Scotland's rail network should be viewed as an integrated national whole, with every part playing a growing role in getting people out of their cars and on to public transport.

Isolating individual rail services on the basis of profitability misses this essential point and underlines the need to reclaim public transport as a public service in the public sector.

Those motivated by the blunt instrument of profit-making shudder at the thought of using revenues from heavily used inter-city and commuter services to maintain and promote lifeline services. If rail lines, stations or services are under-used the question should not be whether to close them, but how to get people on to them. The downward spiral must be broken.
Bob Crow, General Secretary, RMT, 39 Chalton Street, London.
 
I WRITE in response to your article, £1.4bn rail plan to boost commuters, and your supporting leader. You rightly say that the review of Scotland's railway, being led by Network Rail, sets out options for improving the network and the lot of the passenger – station closures, however, are not on the agenda.

The Route Utilisation Strategy that is being co-ordinated by Network Rail has no plans or powers to close stations; it is a factual review of the railway – including station use. Many stations in Scotland are lightly used; this does not imply a threat of closure; on the contrary, it often underlines the important role played by the railway in connecting rural communities, especially in Highlands.

Far from advocating closure of stations, the trend in Scotland is for growing the railway. Since 1978, 64 stations have opened in Scotland – 13 of these in the past 10 years – while four have closed, the last one at Errol in 1985. More than 90% of Scotland's trains have run on time for the past seven months, our railway is enjoying record levels of investment by Network Rail and third parties and this cross-industry review presents more than 40 options for accommodating forecast growth of 30% in the next 10 years.
David Simpson, Network Rail Route Director, 58 Port Dundas Road, Glasgow.
 
Network Rail's threat to 23 rural railway stations overlooks the importance of maintaining public transport for residents and tourists in the Highlands. The proposed rail developments in the central belt are very welcome. But closure of local stations on rural routes such as the West Highland, Kyle and Far North lines would save very little time or money, particularly as some of the stations are request stops, and at others the signalling system requires trains to stop in the passing loop even if no passengers are waiting.

West Highland trains go through Scotland's first national park, and pass mountains and lochs of world- renowned beauty. Oban and Fort William are among the most popular tourist destinations in Scotland, and important economic centres for the west Highlands. The Fort William-Mallaig line has gained worldwide publicity through the Harry Potter films and Jacobite steam train.

Based on a rail economic assessment, rural railways do not perform well. But a wider view of the economic importance to the tourist industry as Scotland's biggest employer shows these railways are valuable tourist attractions with worldwide appeal. Network Rail, Transport Scotland and First ScotRail should recognise the opportunity to develop the West Highland lines as an important part of the local transport infrastructure. There is a large market for day trips and short breaks from the central belt which could be more fully exploited.
Dr John McCormick, Friends of the West Highland Lines, Doonerak, Glenfinnan, Invernessshire.

Posted on 07:38 PM | Permalink

The Herald: August 25 2006
MARTIN WILLIAMS and DAVID ROSS

The biggest shake-up of Scotland's rail network in a generation would see up to 23 rural stations closing as the £1.4bn strategy focuses on improving services on commuter routes, it was revealed yesterday.

Network Rail, which owns and operates Britain's rail infrastructure including the 335 stations in Scotland, confirmed it was reviewing the future of stations which generate fewer than 1000 journeys each year and that closure was an option.

Proposed improvements worth £300m over the next ten years include extending platforms at Glasgow Queen Street, Edinburgh Haymarket and Waverley to allow for more six-car trains, while creating larger concourse areas for passengers at the three stations.

On some routes trains would be extended and run more frequently. The plans also propose new track and timetable enhancements.

The proposals contained in the blueprint launched yesterday received an angry reaction from communities in the Highlands that would be affected if station closures went ahead.

Network Rail's 10-year strategy, which has now gone out to consultation, aims to tackle the challenges posed by a predicted growth in the number of passengers of 3% a year and a 10% rise in freight traffic over the decade.

It says there is already overcrowding on suburban routes into Glasgow and Edinburgh during rush hours and it is expected to get worse by 2016.

The strategy, which is expected to be finalised next spring, concentrates on infrastructure improvements on the busier sections of Scotland's rail network, focusing on routes in the central belt, Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Glasgow and the South-west.

The Glasgow Crossrail scheme to connect routes north and south of the Clyde failed to become one of more than 40 options to improve reliability for passengers because it was felt there needed to be a further investigation into its benefits.

But the strategy does include a proposal to move Hyndland station in Glasgow's west end and improve the junction as part of a multi-million pound upgrade that would make it easier for people to visit nearby Gartnavel Hospital.

The work, which would also involve installing an extra track, would allow more trains to use the line and improve punctuality.

Transport Scotland, the Scottish Executive agency responsible for road and rail strategy, is expected to resist any station closures.

"In view of the current expansion of the rail network in Scotland, station closures do not fit with our strategic aims ," said a spokesman.

Alistair Watson, a former train driver and chairman of Strathclyde Passenger Transport, said: "Some rural stations are lifelines to communities and let's be careful we are not throwing the baby out with the bath water. What we cannot have is journey times speeded up and better performance at the expense of any town losing its rail service."

James King, Scotland's representative on the Rail Passengers Council, said he would be concerned about any large-scale closures. He added: "If there is a case for closure, and it is a big if, it has to be carefully thought out."

David Simpson, Network Rail's route director in Scotland, said closing stations would be examined as part of the review but in some cases it may lead to a reduction in the number of trains stopping.

"They won't necessarily be closed," he said.

See also:

No plan to fill in the ‘missing link’ in network

The Herald: August 25 2006
MARTIN WILLIAMS

THE Glasgow Crossrail scheme to connect services north and south of the Clyde failed to become part of the Network Rail's options for action for the next 10 years because the case for it had not been proven.

Network Rail, which owns and operates Britain's rail infrastructure, said the scheme that would connect Glasgow's Central and Queen Street stations, required further investigation.

The project, seen by those who have championed it as "the missing link in Scotland's rail network" would use a line between High Street and Shields Junction, and would resurrect the Strathbungo link between Larkfield and Gorbals Cross to link Queen Street and Central.

It was included in a list of "potential enhancement schemes" which were said to be still under discussion with project promoters.

Alistair Watson, chairman of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport which is promoting the £187m project said he would be pushing to get the proposal included in the strategy when it is finalised in the spring of next year.

"My opinion is that Network Rail should see the proposal for Crossrail as a unique opportunity to provide additional capacity within the network," he said.

"This is a project for minimal capital cost that actually provides substantial additional capacity and also provides the opportunity to meet the huge demand for cross conurbation traffic from Inverclyde, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire.

"I can assure you that what I will be doing is indicating to Network Rail that they have a unique opportunity to embrace the merits and the arguments that Crossrail present and will be pushing for the Crossrail scheme to be a committed project by the Scottish Executive."

Transport Scotland, the agency that is responsible for helping to deliver the Scottish Executive's £3bn capital investment programme over the next decade, said that Glasgow Crossrail "requires further feasibility work to establish the demand for services".

"It is crucial a robust design is brought forward to ensure potential Crossrail services fit successfully and reliably within the network as a whole. Transport Scotland will continue to engage with SPT on this," said spokesman Campbell Docherty.

It is thought the implementation of Crossrail would boost Glasgow's bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Posted on 07:28 PM | Permalink

Daily Trust: (Abuja) August 24, 2006
By Is'haq Modibbo Kawu

On Wednesday, the 9th of August, 2006, President Olusegun Obasanjo made a nationwide broadcast to announce that the Federal Government would commit the sum of $8.3 billion to the rehabilitation of the country's railway system.

According to the plan, Phase I of the project will run from Lagos to Kano, while the Phase II will run from Port Harcourt to Jos, with the same criteria as Phase I.

Obasanjo talked about talked about "a new vi