The Wider Picture

[whole diary]

[Lee]

Designs showing how Birmingham's New Street Station will look after a ^598m revamp have been unveiled (links below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7623039.stm

http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-transport-news/2008/09/18/whitby-hails-stunning-plans-for-new-street-station-65233-21850897/

http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-transport-news/2008/09/18/birmingham-new-street-station-s-new-look-is-unveiled-65233-21847922/

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2008/09/18-birmingham-new-st.html

The Department for Transport has announced the allocation of an additional ^15 million for a new strategic research programme to be managed by Rail Safety and Standards Board (link below.)
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=379126&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromDepartment=False

Fears that lives will be ^at risk^ when trains cross a main road at Porthmadog have been denied by the Welsh Highland Railway (link below.)
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2008/09/18/porthmadog-rail-track-putting-lives-at-risk-55578-21843724/

A Dance world premiere will turn Crewe Railway Station into a medium to make art (link below.)
http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-life-features/liverpool-arts/2008/09/18/crewe-station-to-stage-dance-show-64375-21844192/

An Inverness councillor has warned that by choosing a city-centre location for the proposed Highland gallery and museum, the last opportunity to build an integrated bus and rail passenger transport hub could be lost (link below.)
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/844692?UserKey=

Work has begun on an ^8.5 million two-month project to reconstruct Mill Lane Junction near Bradford Interchange to increase line speeds in the area (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2008/09/18-bradford-interchange.html

Merseyrail and Merseytravel are increasing morning and afternoon peak hours capacity between Liverpool Central and Southport by 30 per cent and to and from Hunts Cross by 25 per cent, providing an extra 1,200 seats a week (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/business/2008/09/18-merseyrail-seats.html

The Rail Safety and Standards Board has instigated a ^50,000 scientific research project to investigate the risks of deep vein thrombosis to rail passengers travelling in crowded conditions (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2008/09/18-rssb-dvt.html

Balfour Beatty Rail Projects, in association with Maunsell and Evans & Peck, has been awarded a ^4 million electrification contract by New Zealand Rail Authority ONTRACK for traction design, technical support and procurement for electrification of its Auckland suburban rail network (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/international/2008/09/18-nz-balfourbeatty.html

The Platform Blackridge group met on Tuesday and is urging the Scottish Government to make a formal commitment now to build Blackridge station (link below.)
http://icwestlothian.icnetwork.co.uk/courier/news/tm_headline=west-lothian-station-fight-now-on-track&method=full&objectid=21842950&siteid=92284-name_page.html

Hitachi has developed a battery system that it claims will allow designers to develop much faster self-propelled railway vehicles (link below.)
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/Article.aspx?liArticleID=308054

Response of the Department for Transport to the competition commissions provisional findings report into the rolling stock leasing market and notice to possible remedies (links below.)
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/strategyfinance/strategy/reponse.pdf

http://railwayeye.blogspot.com/2008/09/accessory-after-fact.html

http://railwayeye.blogspot.com/2008/09/savaged-by-dead-sheep.html

First ScotRail has been named train operator of the year following a 20% increase in passenger numbers and customer satisfaction since 2004 (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7625272.stm

The Ffestiniog Railway Company is set to cut nine full-time posts, and reduce the hours of three other workers (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7624070.stm

Forum link on the Channel Tunnel fire.
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=3418.msg26556#msg26556

[Lee]

Translink needs to work to improve value for money on its Metro bus service and its rail service, the Consumer Council has said (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7628327.stm

Police have said the actions of vandals who made repeated attempts to derail Leeds area trains could have been "catastrophic" (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7630305.stm

Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson has announced a programme of improvements to mark 25 years since the founding of the ScotRail network (links below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7629118.stm

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/09/22/new-look-design-for-scotland-s-rail-services-revealed-for-anniversary-86908-20748318/

Bombardier Inc has won orders from German leasing company Railpool for 58 locomotives in contracts worth about 192 million euros (link below.)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/tnBasicIndustries-SP/idUKN2228283820080922?feedType=RSS^▸ (Regional Spatial Strategy)&feedName=tnBasicIndustries-SP

The chairman of the judging panel appointed to recruit an architect to design Birmingham^s refurbished New Street Station has hit out at ^whingers^ who question whether the ^600 million project will be a success (links below.)
http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-transport-news/2008/09/22/new-street-judge-hits-back-at-gateway-whingers-65233-21874223/

http://railwayeye.blogspot.com/2008/09/600m-sticking-plaster.html

The Minister for the West Midlands has ruled out proposals for a brand new railway station in Birmingham, arguing that New Street Station will remain the heart of the rail network for up to 30 years (link below.)
http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-transport-news/2008/09/22/byrne-says-new-street-will-be-big-enough-for-birmingham-65233-21877544/

Middleton Railway in Leeds celebrated 250 years of railway history at the weekend (link below.)
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/VIDEO-Leeds-railway-celebrates-250.4514016.jp

After a fatal commuter train collision, the US Congress is hurrying to pass new laws that would limit hours engineers work, mandate technology to stop trains on a collision course and enact the rail industry's first other major reforms in 14 years (link below.)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26844219/

Rail services on three lines in the Highlands are to be temporarily suspended to allow for work to reduce the risk from rock falls (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7631567.stm

[Lee]

Rail Industry can drive down carbon footprint (link below.)
http://www.ballard.co.uk/press_releases/company_releases.aspx?lang=English(uk)&story=1267

Plans to build a huge rail freight terminal between Cumbernauld and Glasgow, creating 1,000 jobs and removing hundreds of HGVs from the roads, are to be considered by councillors shortly (link below.)
http://www.roadtransport.com/Articles/2008/09/23/131750/glasgow-rail-freight-terminal-plans-considered.html

After much debate and two false starts, the partial flotation of Deutsche Bahn is now moving ahead (link below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/09/deutschebahns_tentative_steps.html#more

New Zealand's rail operator and tracks will be overseen by one state-owned enterprise (link below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/09/new_zealand_reunites_rail_unde.html#more

Train services were suspended on the West Coast Main Line as police investigated a firearms incident near Rugby station (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/7634708.stm

A Eurostar train stopped unexpectedly in the middle of the Channel Tunnel for almost an hour this morning (link below.)
http://railwayeye.blogspot.com/2008/09/publish-and-be-damned.html

[Lee]

Network Rail has awarded a ^60m contract for the Airdrie to Bathgate rail link to Balfour Beatty Rail Projects (link below.)
http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=5214&PHPSESSID=52c313e2f38bfb8ea9d32a36146d8894

Richard Bowker has told the Government to back a high-speed link for the North (link below.)
http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2008/09/25/government-told-to-back-high-speed-rail-plans-61634-21896676/

Strahspey Railway moves closer to its aim of extending to Grantown (link below.)
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/853890?UserKey=

Bicycles abandoned at York Railway Station are to be given a new lease of life, refurbished and sold on to new owners ^ unless their owners claim them by the end of the month (link below.)
http://www.thepress.co.uk/news/3698173.Reclaim_your_bike_or_lose_it/

Plans to reopen a rail link between Fleetwood and Poulton have moved one step closer (link below.)
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Rail-link-dream-moves-forward.4520372.jp

Fining motorists who leave their cars running at level crossings or in town centres in the Adur area has been considered by the county council, it has been revealed (link below.)
http://www.westsussextoday.co.uk/ws/Waiting-times-at-level-crossings.4518540.jp

Russian Railways has said that it would submit a bid to buy up to 5 percent of Deutsche Bahn when the German state-owned railroad network is partly privatized this year (link below.)
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/24/business/rail.php

The first of 30 PowerHaul diesel-electric locomotives, ordered last year by Freightliner Group Ltd., has been displayed by builder GE Transportation at InnoTrans 2008 in Berlin (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/freight/2008/09/24-freightliner-new-loco.html

National Express is taking on new revenue management software worth millions of pounds to maximise the revenue it gets from its two biggest rail franchise operations (link below.)
http://www.itpro.co.uk/606459/national-express-to-optimise-rail-revenue

Residents who live along the London-Hertford rail line are upset with Network Rail's policy of chopping trees to prevent leaves on the tracks (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7636066.stm

Edit note: Further to Lee's post above, the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) have also added a video item to the subject of Network Rail cutting down trees:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7636141.stm
Chris.

[Lee]

Network Rail has unveiled its ten-year strategy for meeting the increasing demand for rail services between Scarborough, York, Leeds and Manchester (links below.)
http://www.thepress.co.uk/news/3708442.Firm_is_on_track_for_longer_trains/

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=3919&NewsAreaID=2

Police have carried out a controlled explosion on a suspect vehicle at London Victoria (link below.)
http://www.teletext.co.uk/news/national/fca6273c3f9fb29e8c6c1f46da2c641a/Rail+station+evacuated.aspx

At the InnoTrans exhibition in Berlin, H^bner announced the sale, with effect from January 1, 2009, of its rail vehicle door division to Knorr-Bremse's IFE automatic door systems division (link below.)
http://www.railway-technology.com/contractors/brakes/knorr_bremse/press12.html

Deutsche Bahn has said that its rail-operating unit DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about) Mobility and Logistics (DBML) will be floated on the stock market on October 27, a decision intended to show the group and the government will not be blown off course by global financial turmoil (link below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/09/_german_railway_starts_privati.html#more

Network Rail say they will be making a statement about East Midlands Parkway on Monday, amid fears that the new station wont open on time (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/7638744.stm

Proposed Revised Safeguarding of the Abbey Wood to Gravesend and Hoo Junction Route Consultation (link below.)
http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/abbeywoodtohoojunctsafeguarding/

[grahame]

At the InnoTrans exhibition in Berlin, H^bner announced the sale, with effect from January 1, 2009, of its rail vehicle door division to Knorr-Bremse's IFE automatic door systems division (link below.)
http://www.railway-technology.com/contractors/brakes/knorr_bremse/press12.html

In the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), Knorr-Bremse are based in our area ...

http://www.knorr-bremse.co.uk/frameset_templates/schiene/frm_schiene.php?language_code=uk&language_id=25

[Lee]

Part of the platform at Whitehead Railway Station in County Antrim has collapsed, public transport company Translink has said (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7638845.stm

A third runway at Heathrow airport would be scrapped by a Tory government that would instead build a ^20bn TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse)-style high speed rail link between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds (links below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7641094.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7642190.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7641688.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/sep/29/toryconference.transport

http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-transport-news/2008/09/28/tories-backing-high-speed-rail-link-from-birmingham-to-europe-65233-21918687/

http://railwayeye.blogspot.com/2008/09/jurys-out.html

The cost to the public purse of giving London^s police officers a free ride on the railways has risen to ^24 million a year (link below.)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4842434.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797084

Shepherd's Bush Overground station on the West London Line has opened to passengers after contractors completed finishing touches to the site over the weekend (link below.)
http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=5221

Reassurance sought about Network Rail^s future ^vegetation management^ (links below.)
http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/letters/display.var.2453602.0.Reassurance_sought_about_Network_Rails_future_vegetation_management.php

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/7641613.stm

National Express East Anglia has honoured its ^station adopters^ at Cantley, Yarmouth, Brundall and Reedham who work to improve the environment and appeal of the station (link below.)
http://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/content/yarmouthmercury/news/story.aspx?brand=GYMOnline&category=news&tBrand=GYMonline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED25%20Sep%202008%2014%3A43%3A48%3A703

The RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) has warned of "severe disruption" to Scotland's rail network after hundreds of signallers voted to stage two 24-hour strikes (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7642660.stm

[Lee]

Greengauge 21, the not-for-profit organisation established to promote the case for high speed rail in Britain, has appointed legal specialist Bircham Dyson Bell as its consultation advisers for its 2008/09 high speed rail development programme (link below.)
http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=5220

A chronic shortage of apprenticeships in building trades could make it difficult for a Conservative Government to fulfil a pledge to build a high speed rail link between Birmingham and London, the Shadow Secretary for Skills admitted. The Conservatives were also accused of snubbing the North East and Scotland by backing plans for a new high-speed rail link that excludes those areas (links below.)
http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-transport-news/2008/09/29/birmingham-london-rail-link-pledge-under-threat-from-skills-shortage-65233-21924963/

http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2008/09/29/region-will-miss-out-on-20bn-rail-link-plans-61634-21919073/

http://www.snp.org/node/14325

Extra train services between Edinburgh and Dunbar could be secured within a month following the results of a consultation study (link below.)
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Hopes-high-for-more-trains.4536976.jp

Travel specialist Amadeus has enabled travel agents to book Heathrow Express tickets via its selling platform as part of a wider strategy to bring all rail services onto a single booking system (link below.)
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2227121/amadeus-expands-rail-booking

East Midlands Parkway station will not be opening on time, Network Rail has confirmed (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/7645030.stm

US rail freight article link.
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/09/us_rail_freight_business_stays.html#more

Eurostar may be looking to procure new trains (links below.)
http://railwayeye.blogspot.com/2008/09/almost-new-trains.html

http://railwayeye.blogspot.com/2008/09/missing-point.html

[Lee]

Vernon Barker, boss of First TransPennine Express, whose passenger numbers have nearly doubled since 2004 has won a national customer service award (link below.)
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/business/s/1069672_fast_track_to_success?rss=yes

Train fails to stop at Cottingley station because it was "long for the platform" (link below.)
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/39Wrong-kind-of-train39-upset.4542371.jp

A Joint study by West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority, Centro and Network Rail into sharing the planned extension of the Midlands Metro tram system with freight trains is showing positive results (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/metro/2008/09/30-midlands-metro.html

Three senior Network Rail departmental heads have been elevated to full board status as executive directors in a move by the company to strengthen its top level team (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/business/2008/09/30-network-rail-appointments.html

Euston station is set to be transformed at an estimated cost of between ^400^500 million (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2008/09/30-euston-facelift.html

A fatality Hotline has been set up on which train drivers involved in non-suspicious fatality incidents can make a direct report, with a view to restoring rail services more quickly (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2008/09/30-fatality-hotline.html

As controversy continues over East Midlands Trains^ plan to install auto-gates at Sheffield, the station has won a prestigious Railway Heritage Trust award for its improvement and restoration (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2008/09/30-sheffield-station.html

Interview with First Capital Connect MD Elaine Holt (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/opinions/interviews/2008/09/30-elaine-holt.html

The dramatic arrival of an RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) Chinook helicopter at First GBRf^s Wellingborough freight depot in Northamptonshire signalled the naming of a Class 66 locomotive (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/freight/2008/09/30-chinook-gbrf.html

NXEA^▸ (National Express East Anglia) food review (link below.)
http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/content/EatingOut/story.aspx?brand=ENOnline&category=EatingReviews&tBrand=ENOnline&tCategory=EatingReviews&itemid=NOED29%20Sep%202008%2016%3A39%3A04%3A877

[Lee]

Cat Hobbs CANBER^▸ (Campaign Against the New Beeching Report) article link.
http://canber.co.uk/?q=node/41

[Lee]

Dozens of rail commuters were evacuated from Birmingham New Street after an escalator overheated setting off alarms (link below.)
http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-transport-news/2008/10/01/new-street-station-evacuated-after-escalator-overheats-65233-21944278/

The U.S. Congress has passed legislation to boost funds for Amtrak and expand passenger rail services at a time of record ridership (link below.)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122291010872896757.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy

[Lee]

The introduction of the first tram-trains in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) has moved a step closer as train operator Northern Rail issued an Invitation to Tender (ITT^▸ (Invitation to Tender)) to build and maintain the modern, lightweight vehicles (link below.)
http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=3937&NewsAreaID=2

Train companies are blocking moves to give Metropolitan police free travel on the railways (links below.)
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23562922-details/Rail+firms+say+no+free+travel+for+Met+police/article.do

http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/10/cutting_free_police_travel_wil.html#more

Second award for station master Daniel Opoku (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/people/2008/10/01-daniel-award.html

Network Rail and train companies are to introduce a ^lighter^ West Coast winter timetable lasting six weeks from 14 December to allow for the huge upgrade to bed down (link below.)
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2008/10/01-west-coast-mainline.html

ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) should continue to focus on core regulatory role says ATOC^» (Association of Train Operating Companies See - here) (link below.)
http://www.atoc-comms.org/dynamic/atocpress-story.php?atoc=997869

The chairman of Network Rail will step down next year (links below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7649957.stm

http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/10/top_network_rail_chiefs_to_go.html#more

Talks aimed at averting a rail signalling strike will resume on Monday (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7649275.stm

[Lee]

Network Rail has put up security fencing around renovation work to a York bridge after yobs used it as a platform to terrorise a quiet residential street (link below.)
http://www.thepress.co.uk/news/3728009.Bid_to_deter_rail_bridge_vandals/

Virgin Trains has appointed Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy to its ^6m integrated advertising account (link below.)
http://www.mad.co.uk/Main/News/Articlex/b005fe7cf0da4ec7863b9abe83571884/Virgin-Trains-appoints-MCBD-to-6m-account.html

Rail services were disrupted after a man fell onto the tracks at Seaforth and Litherland station (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7652641.stm

[Lee]

Eurostar services to and from Brussels and Lille will be cancelled on Monday because of a strike by Belgian workers (links below.)
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Strike_affecting_Eurostar_services&in_article_id=338924&in_page_id=34&in_a_source=

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7653551.stm

Talks aimed at resolving the dispute between Network Rail and some 450 RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) signallers and supervisors in Scotland will resume on Monday morning (links below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/10/talks_to_resume_on_monday_octo.html#more

http://news.scotsman.com/uk/Bitter-divisions-within-RMT-union.4559818.jp

[Lee]

Construction of Network Rail's new East Midlands Parkway station is running behind schedule requiring the planned opening this autumn to be deferred until next year (link below.)
http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=5233

The head of rail delivery at Transport Scotland will address a meeting of train campaigners in Edinburgh next week (link below.)
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Railway-chief-talking-transport.4559219.jp

East Midlands Trains says its punctuality stands at 90.9 per cent, the highest level since it took over from Midland Mainline in November last year (links below.)
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Trains-meeting-tight-timetables.4558929.jp

http://www.stagecoachgroup.com/scg/media/press/pr2008/2008-10-03/

Stagecoach has placed a ^3 million order for new state-of-the-art vehicles to operate on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway (built on the former St Ives railway line, link below.)
http://www.stagecoachgroup.com/scg/media/press/pr2008/2008-10-06/

Campaigners for disabled access at Wivenhoe railway station have received a massive boost for their cause (link below.)
http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/3724439.North_Essex__better_access_for_railway_station_is_made_a_top_priority/

Highways chiefs have snubbed suggestions that the Wensleydale Railway could help take some of the strain out of a multi-million project to upgrade a stretch of the A1 (link below.)
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/3728007.Road_builder_snubs_rail_chiefs_over_upgrade_work/

Talks aimed at averting strike action by Network Rail signalling workers have broken down without agreement (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7654853.stm