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Author Topic: The New Age Of The Train?  (Read 8263 times)
Lee
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« on: April 11, 2008, 09:26:21 »

More than a thousand miles of high-speed railway line and new rail tunnels under the Irish Sea and the English Channel will be needed to cope with the continuing rapid growth in rail travel, according to the industry^s vision for the future network (link below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/04/explosion_in_rail_use_means_gr.html#more

Three new 200mph lines would fan out from London, halving journey times to all the big regional cities and to Scotland. A fourth new high-speed line would cross the Pennines, linking Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds.

Tracks could also be laid on top of tidal barrages being considered for the Severn, Solway and Morecambe estuaries. A dedicated freight train network would take millions of lorries off the roads and would remove a cause of huge delay for passenger trains.

The Association of Train Operating Companies has published a vision for the network in 2057, by which time, if the post-privatisation growth trend continues, the number of passengers will have more than trebled.

Rail passengers clocked up 30.1 billion miles (49 billion km) last year, the greatest distance travelled by train in peacetime and 10 billion more miles than a decade ago. The annual passenger growth rate is running at 7.8 per cent, with 1.2 billion journeys made last year.

The only years when the railways were busier were during the Second World War, when millions of troops were moved around the country. This is despite the network being a third smaller today than in 1945.

The association believes that the growth rate will decline slightly, but still forecasts that the network will be carrying 2.4 billion passengers by 2028.

It commissioned Jim Steer, the former strategy director of the Strategic Rail Authority, to consider how the network would need to expand to accommodate predicted demand.

Mr Steer^s report says that the first new high-speed line should run from London, via Heathrow, to Birmingham and Manchester. The second should run up the East Coast to Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh, and the third to Bristol and Cardiff.

New and reopened lines operating at the conventional speed (about 100mph) would be needed to avoid bottlenecks on the existing network. Trains would run between Oxford and Cambridge, via Bedford, for the first time since 1967.

The disused line between Okehampton and Plymouth in Devon would be reopened to provide an alternative to Brunel^s route via the seawall at Dawlish, which faces an uncertain future because of rising sea levels.

Mr Steer said that the forecast by the Office for National Statistics of an 18 million increase in the population during the next 50 years, and environmental constraints on expanding roads and airports, meant that demand for rail travel would continue to grow even during an economic downturn.

He said:

Quote from: Jim Steer
^We need to think big and we need to start planning for expansion right now if we are to have any hope of coping with demand. Other countries, such as Japan, have had a long-term vision for their railways but we have tended only to think about the next five years.

^At some stage, Government will have to recognise the sheer implausibility of the [population] increase being predominantly accommodated in the wider South East, as it has been for the last 50 years.

^It is therefore likely to see high-speed rail as one of a number of key instruments to achieve this economic shift, while also reducing dependence on aviation for short-haul flights.^

The Government published what it claimed was a 30-year rail strategy last July, but the only commitments given were for modest expansion up to 2014.

Passenger groups voiced concerns that the cost of expanding the overstretched rail network will be paid for by yet more above-inflation ticket price rises. The most recent, which came into effect in January, saw some rail operators put up the cost of fares on some routes up by as much as 15 per cent.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers), the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, said:

Quote from: Bob Crow
"We need a fares policy that encourages rail and bus use, and that means cheaper tickets, not more expensive ones. If just 5 per cent of people travelling by car turn to rail it would require a 50 per cent increase in rail capacity, so the task is huge and it needs dramatic action."

Environmental groups also warned that rising ticket prices could remove the incentive to travel by train at a time when car use and short-haul flights are also at record highs.

Quote from: Cat Hobbs, Campaign for Better Transport
"We're delighted that the demand for rail travel is increasing and that more and more people are choosing to use this greener form of transport but we do have concerns about the rising costs of using our railways,"

"We're also not convinced that the Government has adequate long-term plans to expand and fund a railway network that will meet future demand."

Concern was also expressed yesterday that, as demand for rail travel grows, the already chronic overcrowding on some sections of the network will only get worse. Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, the independent national rail consumer watchdog, said:

Quote from: Anthony Smith
"These figures graphically underline the urgent need for more and longer trains. Passengers left standing on a crowded peak service will find this announcement hard to believe."

A Department for Transport spokesperson rejected any suggestion that the Government would fail to meet future demand :

"We are ahead of the curve and planning for growth,"

On top of the opening of the UK (United Kingdom)'s first high-speed line and securing funding for Crossrail last year we announced ^10bn investment focused on increasing capacity.

"We are planning a rail network which can carry 180 million more passengers over the next six years, growth of 22 per cent."
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Tinminer
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« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2008, 19:00:57 »

Fascinating stuff, but why does the Government support and allow regional airport expansion for inter-nation and inter -regional air travel (e.g. Birmingham to Glasgow; Cardiff to Manchester), which is far from environmentally friendly.
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John R
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« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2008, 20:50:50 »

Does the Govt actually support it, or is it just happening? But I agree, I have work colleagues who assume that you can only get from Bristol to Manchester by air, and look at me as though I have two heads when I point out that there is a frequent rail service that is probably faster door to door.
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #3 on: April 11, 2008, 21:21:50 »

I'm in full agreement with you on that one, John!

A colleague and I used to fly to Manchester from Bristol, but after Air South West let us down monumentally on three successive return journeys, we now go by train!

Hourly Cross Country, BTM (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) to Manchester Piccadilly via Birmingham New Street, and without all the faffing about having to check in early for flights, waiting to collect baggage, etc., it is indeed probably quicker, door to door!
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« Reply #4 on: April 11, 2008, 21:25:32 »

I like what the article says and agree with it. Wink

But it is yet another one! I have read articles saying that new 200 mph lines are needed for ages! FGW (First Great Western) published one in 2002.

Hopefully the gov will start to listen to these people, resulting in an article saying "we are going to build x by 20yy." Grin Grin
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Lee
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« Reply #5 on: April 12, 2008, 10:19:41 »

More from Cat Hobbs of Campaign for Better Transport (link below) :
http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/campaigns/public_transport/rail/blog

Quote from: Cat Hobbs
We are quoted in the Independent today which reports that rail use is at a record-breaking high, with passengers now travelling 30 billion miles a year.

Industry figures show that demand for rail travel is rising year after year and is at its highest level since the Second World War.

However, passengers are paying for the investment needed in our railways with above-inflation fare increases. We're campaigning for lower fares that reward passengers for travelling in this low carbon way.

We're also campaigning for Government to safeguard key railway lines for the future. We can't double the capacity of our railways by 2030 without new stations and lines.
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Lee
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« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2008, 00:38:40 »

Related BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) article with its focus on the possible need for reopening the line between Okehampton-Plymouth because of the Dawlish issue (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7344204.stm

Interesting quote :

Quote from: Jim Steer
"I think it's important not to get too romantic about reinstating the railway lines that Dr Beeching closed in the 1960s.

"Instead we should looking at the real transport needs and in this case it is a faster route into Cornwall and a route that avoids the risk factor around the coastal route that are the motivations."
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Lee
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« Reply #7 on: April 14, 2008, 12:36:57 »

More in the link below.
http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=141507&command=displayContent&sourceNode=257390&home=yes&more_nodeId1=257393&contentPK=20389452

Quote from: Jim Steer
"This is all notional stuff, but it is worth posing the question. The easiest proposition would be to fashion a new route out of the old line out of Tavistock and Okehampton.

"But then you might have to build some new railway. For instance, as I remember it, the line at Tavistock is blocked.

"You have to look at it from a contemporary perspective, not as competing railways as it was historically. You need a proper route from Plymouth and Cornwall to Exeter and to the rest of the world. The risks are rising sea levels, and it's pretty clear that at Dawlish this will be no less of a problem in 50 years time than now."

Quote from: Roger Creagh-Osborne, Saltash Rail Users Group/Campaign for Better Transport
"We absolutely welcome this. We are increasingly concerned about the security of the Dawlish link, particularly with future predictions over the climate.

"It's very encouraging that people are proposing 50-year visions for the future of the rail. These are exactly the kind of issues that need to be addressed."

Quote from: FGW (First Great Western) (First Great Western)
"It would help with rail services to and from West Devon and Cornwall. But there is a social and environmental impact that has to be considered."

Network Rail said it was undertaking a study, likely to be published by the end of the year, which would look at the viability of the Dawlish line until 2050 :

Quote from: Network Rail
"As for an inland route, it's still up for discussion. We welcome new ideas, but until we complete the study we can't say what's the better option."
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eightf48544
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« Reply #8 on: April 14, 2008, 13:59:18 »

What about Exeter St. Thomas to Heathfield?

Re engineering this as a double track mainline would probably cause far less environmental impact than the dualling of the A30 /A38 across the same area.

It's very funny "they" seem quite happy to bulldoze 700 houses for a third runway at Heathrow or  countless others for a new road.  However,  if you  suggest knocking down a couple of houses to put in a rail link it is considered totally unacceptable.
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Andy
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« Reply #9 on: April 14, 2008, 17:01:46 »

What about Exeter St. Thomas to Heathfield?

Re engineering this as a double track mainline would probably cause far less environmental impact than the dualling of the A30 /A38 across the same area.

It's very funny "they" seem quite happy to bulldoze 700 houses for a third runway at Heathrow or  countless others for a new road.  However,  if you  suggest knocking down a couple of houses to put in a rail link it is considered totally unacceptable.

Quite agree 8F485144. Maybe both the Tavistock-Okehampton and Heathfield-St Thomas links should be considered. Using the Heathfield route would preserve a direct link between London, Exeter and the South Devon/English Riviera region and thus avoid adding to congestion levels on the Plymouth-Exeter A38 route. Even when the seawall finally succombs, Teignmouth could be the new terminus for Newton Abbot-Paignton local services.
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woody
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« Reply #10 on: April 20, 2008, 00:52:18 »

Regarding the former Plymouth to Exeter via Tavistock/Okhampton route does anyone know what line speeds would be possible if it ever re-opened as a main line again.Would it be faster than the existing route via Dawlish.
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devon_metro
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« Reply #11 on: April 20, 2008, 08:43:52 »

Definitely not. It goes over Dartmoor, which for obvious reasons would be slower than the flat route via dawlish
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« Reply #12 on: April 20, 2008, 10:25:21 »

Newton Abbot to Plymouth is FAR from flat and very slow, I dont think there would be much in it time wise, Okehampton to Coleford Jn at least has a fairly high linespeed at present and no doubt could be upgraded??
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devonian
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« Reply #13 on: April 20, 2008, 11:50:28 »

St Thomas to Heathfield - is Alphington Sainsbury's not in the way? The line stops just after the bridge at Marsh Barton I think. Not sure about the Heathfield end.
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« Reply #14 on: April 20, 2008, 22:03:13 »

Line exsists into Marsh Barton although is disused. Scrap metal trains were the last use of the current stub but these finished years ago. Sainsburys is in the way and large parts of the route are taken up by the A38, especially just after Heathfield.
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