News and Views
Fare Strikes. Jan 2008. Following poor service (largely First Great Western) and an above inflation fare hike OxRail Action (Oxford Group) and More Trains Less Strain (West Country) are proposing a fare strike on Monday Jan 28th 2008. OxRail have postponed their part in the action following talks with FGW who have announced they will double the compensation to passenger. Rail for Herefordshire emails and writes to the Directors of FGW mainly about dumping people before the completion of their journey when trains are running late, the poor replacement service - if buses are laid on at all, and poor connections at Newport. FGW are aware of the problems and are going to take action to correct them. We are also concerned that journey time gets longer and longer.
December 2007; London Midland, a company of Go Via take over the Central Trains franchise
November 2007; Go via awarded the Central Trains franchise, begins operating the Birmingham-Hereford service
Chief Executive of Network Rail proposes closing Paddington-Hereford Line; Dec 12 2006. Subsequently denied
September 2006: West Midlands Franchise
The D for Transport have announced that the three pre-qualified bidders for this new franchise are - (in no particular order)
a. Govia (trading as London and Birmingham Railway Ltd)
b. MTR Corporation (run Hong Kong metro amongst other things). MTR have written to us (1/11/2006) and said they have withdrawn
c. Serco/NedRail (trading as Serco NedRailways West Midlands Ltd -Serco/Ned also run MerseyRail, and are a joint venture between the Serco Group and Netherlands Railways)
DfT will issued formal Invitations To Tender (ITT's) September 2006, to which these pre-qualified bidders will have until Feb.07 to respond, with DfT announcing the winner in Summer 2007.
Similar processes are ongoing for the Cross Country francise and the East Midlands area.
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August 2006: Owen Morgan scans the New Civil Engineer and local Welsh papers to keep us up to date with rail news. Only a fraction of his cutting are included here.
Of relevance for our campaign to re-instate the twin track between Hereford and Ledbury (only taken out in 1982 to save the wages of one signal man), is the up grade of the 29km Ebbw Vale railway, due for completion in summer 2007. This line goes NW from Cardiff through Crosskeys, Newbridge to Ebbw Vale, finishing just south of Brecon Beacon National Park. It is being run by local authorities, not Network Rail, one of only two of this type in the country (the other is Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine). Passenger services last ran on the line in 1962 but continued to carry freight until 2002. Amey the contractors can work without impediment of trains which has kept the costs down. The work includes relaying 20% of the line (6km), 6 new stations and a 4.8km passing loop and will cost £27m, £20m coming from the Welsh Assembly and £7m from the EU. The Hereford line is 18km and contractors would have to work with trains. The track was recently re-laid (about 4 years ago) and now runs in the centre of the track bed (how short sighted was this, how much did it cost, who was consulted???). No new stations would be required though one at Withington could provide a useful facility and has somehow got into the Unitary Development Plan. The £4.8km of passing loop could be a direct comparison with the Hereford situation and a possible alternative to twin tracking.
Plaid Cymru assembly candidate for Monmouth is calling for improvements to stations at Severn Tunnel Junction, Chepstow and Abergavenny, so they can become nodes in a local and regional transport network, connecting to local buses and park and ride. He is asking for re-opening railways as for example Little Mill to Usk (which Owen remarks is mostly intact) and the Wye Valley Railway to Monmouth (which Owen remarks has been built over), and new stations in an attempt to remove road traffic. He says that since the 1990s almost no effort has been made to ensure local services connect with main lines. He emphasises that we could do this, what is needed is political will. (Monmouthshire Beacon 27 July 2006). The Shadow transport secretary for the Conservatives Chris Grayling, gearing up for office, does not mention rail expansion. He does admit privatisation had not worked and is proposing a rail review, though seems to have decided already that what is need is fewer franchises, maybe seven, and putting rail and track together within these franchises.