Tag Archives: Railways

Rolling blog: Here we go again…

28 Thursday Jun 2018

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Another day, another train! This morning I’m off to Shrewsbury to do a job for RAIL magazine. We’re visiting the largest mechanical signalbox on the UK, which I’m rather looking forward to!

Right now I’m heading across the Pennines via the Colne valley from Huddersfield rather than my usual route. I’ve not been this way since the timetable change, so it seems odd being on a TPE 185 that’s stopping at Marsden and Greenfield! One thing I did notice was how Network Rail have been busy clearing trees and bushes from the lineside. The work’s opened up new vistas on this scenic line.

As is often the case the Standedge tunnel doesn’t just seperate Yorkshire from Lancashire, it was the border between weather patterns too. High cloud and haze that was a feature in white rose territory gave way to clear blue sky in red rose land!

Shrewsbury. 10:57.

My time in Manchester was brief. I was there long enough to swap trains and head off again, this time with Arriva Trains Wales on one of their Alstom built Class 175s. For passenger comfort they’re hard to beat. The service was busy at first but only as far as Wilmslow, which was a bit of a surprise. I’d bagged a bay of 4 seats with a table so that I could catch up on editing some of the pictures I’ve taken over the past few days (expect a load to appear on my website over the weekend). In fact I was so engrossed Shrewsbury arrived in a blur! Now I’m swilling coffee in the station’s Starbucks, waiting for Paul Stephen from RAIL to arrive.

Shrewsbury’s a stunning station…

Now, if you’ve never been to Shrewsbury and you’re unfamiliar with Severn Bridge Junction signalbox, here it is in the background.

DG275706. 158824. Shrewsbury. 1.7.17

18:47. Recrossing the Pennines.

I’ve had a fasinating day thanks to Network Rail staff who gave Paul and I a brilliant tour of the largest mechanical signalbox left in the UK. You’ll be able to read all about it in a future edition of RAIL. Today was an ideal time to visit as the weather was perfect. It’s a heck of a vantage point being that high above the station triangle.

Was was less than ideal was the weather’s impact on my journey home. Speed restrictions were placed on several lines to to the danger of excessive heat buckling rails, so I had several nail-bitingly tight connections which left me missing my final one by a couple of minutes. Luckily, there’s more services in the new timetable so I’ll only be 17 mins adrift by the time I get home. I’m heading back on an old friend, 150120. This unit used to be one of the Silverlink fleet which worked my local line in London – the Gospel Oak to Barking. When the Class 172s arrived it transferred to First Great Western. Now it’s been cascaded to Northern!

Home. 22.14

It’s been a long day and I’ve got to start wearing another hat as an ACoRP awards judge tomorrow, so I thought I’d leave you with this picture. Ever wondered what the view might be like from Severn Bridge Junction signalbox? Here it is! Thanks to Paul Stephen for taking the picture.

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Rolling blog: Let’s do the time-warp again!

27 Wednesday Jun 2018

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Staying in ‘Skeggy’ feels very much like a time-warp! I’ve just nipped down for breakfast before heading out. My attendance lowered the overall age of the rooms occupants by a couple of years at least! Whilst folk ate breakfast a medley of 1940-50s tunes played softly in the background. Two elderly couples sat opposite me were obviously regulars here. They were discussing how the hotel’s previous owners had gone bankrupt and stripped the place before they went “there wasn’t a lightbulb left” said one woman. I can imagine profit margins aren’t high here in Skegness, which makes the areas decision to vote Leave in the Brexit vote even more suicidal. It’s increased costs and made the place less attractive to foreign workers who’re the lifeblood of the hospitality trade. Last night the young English woman serving behind the bar was also changing barrels, sorting out the tech for the bingo caller and acting as receptionist. Talk about multi-tasking! Add in the fact that the majority of the folk staying in this hotel won’t be around in another 10 years and you don’t need to be a rocket-scientist to do the maths. This town is going to be in trouble…

Right now I’m off to have a quick look around before heading off to photograph the local rail line. I’ll update this blog as I go. As this will be done via my mobile phone, please forgive any typo’s – it’s not always easy to spot them when I’m on the move!

9:24.

As you can see the town’s a hive of activity…

Wandering around and looking at all the tourist tat shops, cheap clothing stores and vaping shops I’m struck by how much the town’s reliant on cheap imports. How will they survive (never mind thrive) in a post Brexit tarriff barrier world? One other thing that strikes me as I wonder round is the fact most visitors are elderly. It reminds me of the old Colin Compton joke about Morecambe. “They don’t bury the dead, they just stand ’em up in the bus shelters”. You don’t need cycle parking here, you need spaces reserved for these.

As I had an hour to kill before catching my train I went and had a (much needed) haircut in a unisex hairdressers. The pkace was festooned with England flags in celebration of the world cup. On the TV Jeremy Kyle was interviewing a heavily tattooed young woman. Mercifully, the sound was turned so low I couldn’t hear proceedings. The young lady who cut my hair was lovely. She chatted about the forthcoming England match but what struck me was she was barely articulate, filling much of her sentences with so many ‘you knows’, ‘likes’ and other superflous and meaningless words that she often lost herself – never mind me!

Boston. 11:33.

I’ve move on to get a few pictures around the town of Bostonwhere I’ve found a lovely metaphor for Brexit. Boston had the highest leave vote of any town in the UK at 75%. I’ve just spotted this pub by the Grand Sluice…

This is the first time I’ve visited Boston and (despite it voting the way it did) I found it an attractive little town with a huge marketplace in the shadow of its magnificent church.

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DG301020. Boston. 27.6.18

If I was to come this way again I’d far rather stay here then Skeggy as the historic buildings and narrow streets are great for photography. The market was in full swing when I passed through. One thing I did notice was the number of folk speaking the Slavic languages, plus the number of small shops selling food from Eastern Europe. I’ve little doubt this is what will have propelled the Brexit vote here, but the thought also occurred that – OK, if all these people left overnight, there’d be a huge amount of empty shops, rented flats and a very large hole in the economy. Who’d step into the breach – all those folks on mobility scooters in Skeggy?

Hubberts Bridge. 14.52.

I’m writing this from a little place called Hubberts Bridge. I came here to get scenic rail shots (as you’ll see later). The only problem is that the station only sees four trains a day, so I walked here from Boston! It’s only 3.5 miles, which is great exercise when you’re carrying a 13kg camera bag. The walk was lovely because once you’re out of Boston the route’s along a footpath on the side of the South forty foot drain, which is effectively a river teeming with birdlife. The railway runs aalong the opposite bank which makes it an ideal photographic location. I’ve certainly worked in worse places!

As you can see, it’s another red hot day – and I’m beginning to wonder if having a No1 haircut before I set off this morning was such a clever idea! At least Hubberts Bridge has a pub with shade. Handily enough it’s the other side of the river from the railway station and the next train’s not until 15:50. I may have to indulge…

Hubberts Bridge. 15:32.

Well I did have chance for a pint at the Wheatsheaf, but only one as they closed after lunch but as I was sat outside they never bothered telling me! It was only when I went to use the loo I found the door locked and all the lights out! Now I’m waiting on the station for my train. I can see why the service is so sparse, Apart from the pub, the bridge and a few scattered homes, there’s bugger all here!

The signalbox survives as the old wooden gates are hand operated and this is where the line becomes double track as far as Heckington to the West.

16:24.

I’m now homeward bound on an “all shacks” EMT service to Nottingham after escaping the clutches of East Lincolnshire. The weather’s still absolutely stunning and I’ve a feeling this will prove to be the hottest day of the year so far. I’m certainly glad of the chance to give my skin some respite!

17:43.

I’m taking the ‘scenic’ route home in an effort to make the most of the great weather. After a brief stop in Nottingham (where the light wasn’t really right) I’m now on a Cross-Country service heading for Derby. I rather like their Class 170s. They’re getting a little tired inside now but they’re comfortable units and the air-conditioning is welcome change from the forced air ventilation and hopper windows of the EMT 156 that brought me from Hubberts Bridge. So much so that I’ve had to put my jacket on. There’s also such luxuries as wifi – and a trolley service. My fellow passengers are a little different too. There’s far fewer folk competing to see who can get onset diabetes first. Oh, and the crap tattoo quotient’s taken a tumble too…

18:23.

On the move again after a quick mooch around Derby station where the new island platform’s really taking shape. There’s also a massive new signal gantry straddling all the tracks at the South end. Network Rail have obviously designed it so that it can cope with overhead wires, the question is – will it ever see them?

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I’m now on a 4-car Cross-Country Voyager heading for Sheffield, taking advantage of the power sockets to keep my mobile charger topped up. Voyagers come in for a lot of stick from some railway enthusiasts but I don’t mind them at all. My only comolaint would be the 4-cars are far too small for today’s growing railway. Whilst removing the shop has helped a little I’d love to see a re-let XC franchise get bigger trains & see Voyagers cascaded to other routes.

19:27

Fortuitously, my XC service deposited me on platform 1B at Sheffield – right outside one of the finest station bars in the country – the Sheffield Tap. It would have been rude not to, so as I had 35 mins to wait for my connection (off the same platform) I decided to spend some ‘dwell time’ in the tap and enjoy one of Thornbridge’s excellent beers. If you’ve never visited, you really should!

Now I’m on another XC Voyager heading for Leeds and the final leg home…

Rolling blog: Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside!

26 Tuesday Jun 2018

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– That’s probably because I grew up in a seaside town. Today I’m heading to the opposite coast and a rail line that’s one of only a handful I’ve never travelled on, the section of the ‘Poacher Line’ from Sleaford to Skegness. The weather’s ideal for scenic pictures so I’m hoping to have a productive day.

Right now I’m on a busy 2-car Northern service from Halifax to Leeds. Most of my fellow travellers are commuters, but a handful are dressed for leisure, not work and look far too happy to be heading to the office! I’m assuming they’re like me and taking full advantage of the brilliant weather…

My little train seems to be suffering. At every stop the Driver’s revving the engines making the whole carriage vibrate under the load. I can’t help wondering if it’s because he’s having problems maintaining air pressure. I’m hoping we’ll make it to Leeds without problems as I’ve suffered enough delays recently and I’ve a fair way to travel…

09:15

Well, we did make it to Leeds and a quick word with the driver confirmed falling air pressure was the cause of the engine revving. We still arrived in just enough time for me to catch LNER’s 09:16 to London which will carry me as far as Grantham. Outwardly there was nothing to herald the change from VTEC to LNER. The loco still carries Virgin branding and the sets in VTEC livery, but on the inside the route maps, cctv warnings and other signs have changed.

The train’s actually very busy leaving Leeds but I did manage to bag an airline seat in coach F. I suspect there’ll be none left at all by the time we’ve stopped at Wakefield and Doncaster.

Grantham. 10.57.

As predicted, the train did indeed fill up on its way South. Even so it was an enjoyable journey only slightly marred by the fact the power sockets were u/s. The countryside that flashed by looked its absolute best in this weather. England is truly a green and pleasant land when seen from a train window.

Now I’m at Grantham. A peculiar two hour gap in the timetable means I’ve more than an hour to wait although I’ve put it to good use by doing some shopping in the centre named after Isaac Newton (was he from here, really?). Back at the station I’m now doing my best ‘reptile basking in the sun’ impression whilst grabbing a few photos.

The station’s a fairly middle of the road, 4 platform affair. It’s not unattractive but it’s nothing special. At least most of the original buildings survived BR – which is more than can be said for many. There’s a ticket office and Starbucks in the main building (plus a Costa kiosk), a couple of commercial tenants too – but still plenty of unoccupied space, which is a shame – but I suspect the station’s just that little bit too far removed from the town centre to make it attractive. Still if you want the opportunity to add the station to the growing list of those with bars…

Non-stop services certainly thunder through here. The Up line is clear for 115 off the platform and it wouldn’t surprise me if the down lines not far behind.

11:45.

My 11:27’s running late. It’s now arrived in the shape of an East Mids 2 car Class 158 with all the hopper windows open (indicating the A/c has failed). Surprisingly, It’s not as rammed as I feared and I’ve managed to get a seat. We’re now on our way 20 mins late. The Conductor’s just announced it was late due to a set swap at Nottingham as the original unit failed!

Skegness. 21:01.

Well, I didn’t expect to still be here, but it’s been a really interesting day for a whole host of reasons. I’m going to round this blog off but I could write volumes…

The weather’s been so good and the opportunities to explore new track and territory so tempting that I’ve booked a B&B for the night. To be honest, at £32 it was a steal. The room is fine, the staff are good and I’ve finally found out what everybody does after 6.30pm when the town shuts down – they all bugger off back to their hotel and sit in the bar. Admittedly, mine is a bit more like God’s waiting room on tap, but there you go…

Earlier on I mentioned that I grew up in a seaside town on the opposite coast. What I wasn’t prepared for were the similarities. Both are flat, rich agricultural land. So much so that I felt totally at home traversing the tracks across Lincolnshire. The only major difference is the massive drainage ditches here compare to the West Lancashire plains. Oh, and the fact Skegness is a little bit different to Southport. In its day, the seaside town I grew up in was habituated by the middle classes who left their legacy in the facilities that that had been built to cater for them. The working classes went to nearby Blackpool. Skegness is the East coast Blackpool. I’ve not seen so many fish and chip shops per acre for ages. I’d be curious to see which of the two resorts would win on that count. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some lovely old hangovers from the past on the promenade, although I feel it’s fair game for me to look at what passes for a pier here and say ‘is that it’? The fact most of the town puts the shutters up early I find odd too. I wandered down to the promenade to take pictures of the offshore windfarm and bumped into a group of young Asian lads who were here on holiday. After they asked (and I explained) ‘yes, it does all seem to shut early’ we got into conversation & found we were all from Yorkshire (them Bradford, me Halifax). Small world eh?

Whilst I’ve been here I’ve indulged in a life-long hobby. People-watching. In some ways I feel rather like David Attenborough! What can I say, other than the UK’s obesity epidemic is alive and well in Skegness. It may be down to all the chip-shops but to be honest, if you opened a branch of Weightwatchers here, you’d need to be open 24/7 just to make an impression. Oh, and let’s not even get into the ‘Death Race 2000’ with mobility scooters…

OK, enough impressions. I’ve a busy day tomorrow as I’ve reconnoitred several photo locations – all of which I’ll be walking to. I’ve covered 14 miles today, so it’s time to relax a bit.

Watch out for pictures appearing soon…

 

Rolling blog: Sunny days and Mondays…

25 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by in Community rail, Northern Rail, Pacers, Rail electrification, Rail Investment, Railways, Travel

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I’m taking advantage of the glorious sunshine to get some rail pictures for a client today – I had planned to visit a line I’ve not been on for some time – the South Fylde line to Blackpool South. It’s a shadow of its former self compared to the glory days of the Edwardian era when tens of thousands would travel to the seaside town by train. Then mills across the North would shut down for the annual Wakes week with people travelling en-masse on excusion trains dispatched from stations across Lancashire and Yorkshire. Now it’s a glorified siding that branches off the main line to Blackpool North at Kirkham and Wesham, but it’s still a useful line used by a Pacer train shuttle service from Colne (another much truncated line). Sadly, due to problems with delayed electrification and a shortage of rolling stock, the service isn’t operated by trains today – only buses. So I’ve opted for plan B. I’m heading for the Windermere branch!

Right now I’m on a Northern service from Halifax to Preston. The Blackpool lines only recently reopened after being electrified. My train would normally run through to Blackpool but a combination of factors mean many services are replaced by buses from Preston, including this one.

Plan B meant changing to a Virgin Trains Pendolino to Lancaster. Then picking up a Trans-Pennine service to Oxenholme. Icould have caught the TPE srvice at Preston but those 4 car trains are always rammed, whilst the VT service was a 9 car Pendolino, giving me a bit more space. Here it is pulling in. A repainted 390047…

True enough, when I caught the TPE at Lancaster,I ended up sitting on the vestibule floor!

20:19.

I’m retracing my steps towards Halifax after an enjoyable day exploring a railway I’ve rarely visited. It’s been a trip made even more fun by fab weather and old-fashioned loco-hauled trains.

My first surprise was when the TPE guard annouced “change at Oxenholme for the West Coast Railways service to Windermere”. I wadn’t expecting that, but good on them for recognising it was something unusual. As we were late I had to sprint across the platform to make the train, which was made up of 3 old Mk2 coaches in WCR livery topped and tailed by a pair of ex-Virgin Trains “Thunderbirds” (57314 and 57316 for the number crunchers). The train was packed so I ended up stood in a vestibule -right next to someone I knew from the rail industry who was having a ‘jolly’!

We had a real catch-up about mutual friends and what they were all up to nowadays as we made our way to Staveley where I decamped to look for a suitable lineside location to get pictures. Sadly, like many lines, vegetation has encroached to choke off many opportunities. This is the problem when you don’t know a line well and haven’t had time to do much research!

In the end I decided to spend more time exploring than photographing and headed back as far as Burneside where I found the remains of a freight branch that used to serve 3 local paper mills. Only a short section of track is intact but it’s a suprising survivor in this day and age. I never even knew it existed, but a few minutes on the internet threw up this Wikipedia page.

The track is still in situ at this point but it’s gradually disappearing beneath the gravel. The old BRB sign’s a bit of a giveaway! The old goods yard is in front of the camera. Behind me the line crosses a yard then ends in a stone wall.

Looking towards the old goods yard. The road here leads to Burnside railway station on the left.

After an amble around the area & noting locations for a future visit I had a run down to Windermere before heading back to Kendal to get a few more pictures like this one.

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57316 (with 57314 on the rear) pulls away from Kendal station as it heads towards Windermere. I took this picture from a lattice footbridge which crosses the line at this point. The land to the right was once a large goods yard which is long gone.

 

 

Best laid plans…

19 Tuesday Jun 2018

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So much for my quiet week at home! I’m currently sat on Grand Central’s 10:35 Halifax-Kings cross service en-route to the capital thanks to a very short-notice press call (all will be revealed tomorrow). I’ll get back home Wednesday but it’s certainly altered my workload.

It doesn’t look like I’ll be at home much in July either. Yesterday was the final day for entries to the 2018 ACoRP awards. I’m a judge of the ‘It’s your station’ category (along with Paul Cook of the Royal Horticultural Society) and l’ve just seen how many entries there are this year. 29! These are dotted around the country, from Scotland to Devon and East Anglia to Merseyside. ‘All’ I have to do now is work out how we get to visit them all!

At least I’ve got a few hours on the train to get some picture editing done. Watch out for some appearing later…

Quieter times

18 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by in GNRP, Rail electrification, Rail Investment, Railways, Travel

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After the madness of the last 7-10 days this week looks positively relaxed by comparison! Most of my time will be spent working from home, writing several articles and editing the enormous collection of pictures I’ve taken recently. My commute to work is a lot easier too – all I have to do is make my way from the front bedroom to the back office, with occasional forays to the kitchen!

First up in the editing list are pictures I took in the Manchester and Bolton areas when I went to have a look at progress on electrification of the line from Manchester to Preston. Here’s a sample.

DG298223

Masts have appeared around Bolton West Junction and the line to Blackburn. The route isn’t being electrified but the station area is in order to allow operational flexibility during engineering work or emergencies when trains may need to be turned round.

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The bay platforms (1 and 2) at Manchester Victoria also have masts in place now.

Once I’ve all the NW pictures done later the morning I’ll be sorting out the ‘3 peaks by Rail’ pictures, so expect a few links to galleries later. After that, I’ve pictures to add from the High Speed Rail Industry Leaders conference in Leeds, plus a large amount of pictures from the press trip to see Siemens in Germany. Expect lots of pictures of brand new trains (like this one)!

 

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A pair of brand new Siemens Desiro HC 4-car EMUs, No’s 462004 and 462007 on the test track at Wildenrath, Germany on the 14th June. 

 

(Rolling blog). Another mad day…

14 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by in Germany, Railways, Siemens, Travel, Uncategorized

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Morning folks, it’s 06.51 here in Dusseldorf and I’m getting ready for another busy day with Siemens. I’ll try and blog through the day as the pace should be a little slower than yesterdays whirlwind. First, here’s a link to my Zenfolio website where I’ve managed to add some of the first pictures. Today we’re off to the Wildenrath test track to ‘play’ with some trains.

The first tough decision has come early, what to have dor breakfast here in the Radisson Blue. Talk about being spoiled for choice…

Oooh! OK, the fish it is…

S’cuse me whilst I tuck in…

14:00 (German time).

We’re now on a coach headingfor the airport after an interesting morning whizzing around the Wildenrath test track aboard one of Siemens new r-car Desiro HC (high capacity) EMUs which will run Rhine-Ruhr Express services from December 2018. The two centre cars of each set are double-deck vehicles. Here’s what they look like from the inside.

16:05

Now the fun starts! I’m about to board my flight from Dussledorf to Heathrow, then hot-foot it to Euston to meet Dawn to swap my brogues for walking boots and waterproofs before heading up the WCML to catch up with the team heading iff to do “3peaksbyrail”. It’s unlikely i’ll make it to Crewe in time to meet them at the start, so I’ll have to chase them as far as Bangor (or even Holyhead, where the train will be serviced whilst the walkers ascend Snowdon). Wish me luck…

16:32. Bugger, not a good start. Our plane’s been delayed by air traffic control. We won’t be pushing back for another 20 mins and it’ll take at least another 15 after that before we’re in the air…

16:50 (UK time)

Landed! In the end we were allowed to leave a bit earlier. The flight’s taken an hour so i’ve literally landed at the same time as taking off thanks to the time difference…

17:22.

I sped through passport control here at terminal 5. There’s plenty of biometric gates & few passengers! Now I’m kicking my heels by the baggage carousel, waiting for my suitcase. There’s no chance of making the Crewe connection now so the pressure’s off. Now all I’ve got to do is get to Bangor before the train collects the weary climbers after they’ve come down from Snowdon.

At least I get to have a more than a few fleeting moments with my other half now!

17:37

Still kicking my heels in baggage reclaim. An “incident” has delayed them apparently..

18:29

My bag finally arrived at 17:52. I’ve opted for Heathrow Express as I want to make up time.

Catching the Express wasn’t cheap but it was a good move as I got to meet Dawn at Euston with an hour to spare before her train back to Yorkshire. I have to admit, I couldn’t have done this without her love and support. We swapped all my conference gear for outdoor clothing, a sleeping bag and (vitally) midge spray! The hour passed in a flash. I left Dawn at Kings Cross, then made my way to Euston.

21.10.

I’m now speeding towards North Wales aboard a Virgin Pendolino, working the 21:10 Euston-Preston. I’ll be leaping off at Crewe but right now I have a table seat in the unreserved coach U which is giving me chance to charge up some of my batteries ready for the trip. The 3 Peaks stock is old mark 2 stock so charging stuff up is a challenge to say the least!

00:55

Phew! This is the final leg now. I’m on Arriva Trains Wales 00:15 from Crewe to Holyhead as far as Bangor. It’s a 2-car 158 fitted with power sockets and wifi. Unfortunately (tonight) it’s also been fitted with a group of loud and obnoxious young drunks. Yep, they’re the one’s who noticed I was taking a picture!

Thankfully, they got off at Chester so I’m enjoying the fact there’s only four of us left in the coach, allowing me to hog power sockets & suck up enough juice that I’m amazed this 158s keeping time!

Whilst I was waiting at Crewe the ‘Caledonian Sleeper’ called on its way to Fort William. As that’s where I’m headed it was rather tempting, but it would have been a cheat on a grand scale!

Dusseldorf bound…

13 Wednesday Jun 2018

Posted by in Air Travel, Railways, Siemens, Travel

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Here we go again for my second trip of the year to Dusseldorf and visit to Siemens. I suspect I’m going to be Arabica powered over the next few days, it’s only 06.36 and I’m already on my second cup here at terminal 5!

The next couple of days are going to be very busy but I hope to have time to post an update – a process made much easier now that the expensive mobile phone roaming charges have been removed thanks to EU legislation. Talking of the EU, i’m going to resist the temptation to comment on the Brexitshambles right now because if I get started on that I’ll probably miss my flight.

After being bussed around what seemed the entire perimeter of Heathrow i’m now occupying seat 27A on BA936.

The weather’s looking good too, let’s hope it’s the same in Germany. Here’s the view from my plane.

See you on the other side…

12.24 (UK time).

Phew! It’s already been a busy day. We wasted on time on arrival as Siemens whisked us straight to their press preview at Krefeld. The morning was spent getting a briefing on Siemens products, including their new high-speed train, the Velaro Novo.

Capable of 250 to 360 km/h, the Novo is an update to the Velaro platform, which uses 30 percent less energy than previous Velaro models, it’s reckoned this translates to average savings of 1,375 tons of CO2 a year. Thanks to its lightweight construction, the train’s weight has been reduced by 15 percent. At the same time, available space for passengers has been increased by ten percent.

I’ll have more details later,

(Rolling blog). Ready, steady, go!

12 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by in Hs2, Transport, Travel

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The marathon’s started. Right now i’m wedged in the vestibule of a 2-car Class 158 making its way to Leeds from Halifax. I’m an infrequent user of these services so it wasn’t until the Conductor apologised for the short-formed set that I realised this wasn’t the norm. There’s 14 people in this vestibule and we’ve had to leave people behind at Bramley because we’re so full. Good job I wasn’t planning to try and do any work on the train!

Despite everything, it wasn’t a bad journey and I arrived in plenty of time to make my way to the High Speed Rail Industry Leaders conference which was being held at Leeds Music College.

20.38.

Time for an update on the day. I’ve been to a lot of conferences but this was one of the better ones. Over 250 people attended and the line up of speakers was excellent. One of the highlights of the morning was Lord Andrew Adonis who was on scintillating form! He gave an absolute barnstormer of a talk covering everything from Hs2 to Brexit (which he happily slipped a knife between its ribs)! He was funny and informative in equal measure. As he’s been a Transport Minister and Chair of the Infrastructure Commission he knows his subject and isn’t afraid to offer opinions – if you agree with them or not!

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Lord Adonis with Daisy McAndrews, ITV’s former Economics Editor, who chaired the conference.

The day passed very quickly despite the crowded programme and it really deserves a blog in its own right (although I’m not sure that I’m going to find time to write one right now). What I will say is that – unlike many conferences, it didn’t tail off after lunch as the first person up was Hs2 Ltd’s Chief Executive Mark Thurston, who came across very well when it came to the Q and A session.

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The final section of the day was given over to a panel debate and Q & A session with Tim Wood (Northern Powerhouse Rail Director, TfN). Susan Hinchcliffe (West Yorkshire Combined Authority Chair and Leader of Bradford Council), Paul Griffiths ( Phase 2b Director, Hs2 Ltd), Angela Barnicle (Head of Asset Management, Leeds City Council) and John Downer (Director of HSRIL). This was a genuinely informative and inspiring session where the groups really laid out what Hs2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail mean to the North and the synergy between the two projects that could see TfN building parts of the shared route before Hs2 do. Tim also laid bare TfN’s ambition to build entirely new rail lines between Leeds-York and Manchester-Liverpool.

After leaving the conference I made my way back to Leeds station with some colleagues before getting a few photos. Whilst having a mooch around, one thing struck me. Despite the impact Northern’s timetable problems are having, there’s not a single poster anywhere offering an apology or explanation. Nothing. You wouldn’t even know there’s a temporary timetable in operation. It’s bizarre. In the days of MD Heidi Mottram and (later) Alex Hynes, you can guarantee there would have been profuse apologies (not to mention regular updates) – even a presence on the front line. This is no way to run a public service…

Now I’m speeding to London on a late running VTEC service. Apparently, a Northbound working ‘sat down’ near Peterborough leading to delays, but as I’ve plenty of time I’m not too bothered and VTEC have done what Northern haven’t – kept me informed and apologised!

22.56

I’m now back in London and emailing pictures to RAIL mag in readiness for press day tomorrow before heading off to Germany and a couple of days with the press pack at the Siemens Innotrans preview. Expect pictures and details when I can post them…

Rolling blog: Back on the rails…

07 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by in Railways, Transport, Travel

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I’m currently heading South once more as I have another commission on the South coast tomorrow. Sadly, this means I’m stuck in a train when the sun’s blazing and I’d rather be out and about with the camera. Hopefully I’ll have chance to grab a few shots later.

I’ll also have the chance to sample Southern and GTR train services again. To say it’s been a torrid time for the industry following the May timetable change would be an understatement. I’m not going to go over the reasons why as they’ve already explained in detail by my colleagues on RAIL magazine. My observations would be that as well as the managerial and political failures there’s also been a huge PR failure. The fact is that Northern did themselves no favours at all with a bunker mentality that meant they refused to put up any Directors for media interviews to explain the problems until it was too late and the narrative had been set.

Whilst I have sympathy for rail staff caught up in the problems, I also have huge sympathy for passengers. My nephew tells me that he lost his job due to the impact of delays. Clearly, the railways failed in their primary duty, to get people (reliably) from A to B so I hope the lessons are learned. I believe the railways will, but I’m not so sure about their masters in Parliament and the DfT…

One of the ironies of the situation is people complaining that what happened shows our railways are badly managed and run-run down when the truth is – the root of many of the problems was delays in commissioning new investment in both infrastructure and trains!

I hope when the dust finally settles, people will start to appreciate the major investment the railways are enjoying.

Update. 19:13.

Due to the VTEC service in front of us being cancelled my Grand Central train had a fast clear run into London and arrived 15 minutes early. This allowed me to make a dash across London by tube to Victoria in time to catch an earlier service to the South coast in the shape of the 18:24 to Littlehampton. Needless to say, this 8 car trains rammed! It was wedged departing Victoria and positively sardine-like after leaving Clapham Junction! Our call at East Crodon eased matters slightly but I was interested to see that nearly as many suits got on as off, which says something about the way the towns changing nowadays.

As we head for Gatwick I cast an eye over my fellow passengers and – sure enough – of the 16 people in this section of the coach 12 are staring at screens on smartphones, laptops or ipads! One’s on the phone and another female passenger’s reading a book. One chap’s sleeping, but i’ve no idea about the last guy as all I can see is the back of his balding head!

Unfortunately, the stunning weather I’d enjoyed through Yorkshire and into Cambridgeshire has given way to unappealing heavy grey cloud by Gatwick Airport. There’s still no seats available, but the squash has eased to leave just six passengers standing in the adjacent vestibule.

19.13.

Finally, after pulling away from Haywards Heath a handful of seats became available and the vestibule was bereft of standees. By the time we called at Burgess Hill the light was so bad that the station lights had come on automatically. At 19:18! In June!

19:26

We’re leaving Preston Park on the outskirts of Brighton and space has eased considerably. The train’s still busy (and still profitable) with a seat occupancy of around 60% – although this is about to reduce as we’re pulling ino Hove as I type! After swapping a few commuters for leisure travellers it’s down to 50%. As we’re coach 2 of 8 there’s a fair few folk moving forward as stations here have short platforms.

19:42.

I’m now at Lancing. It’s hard to believe this place once had a railway carriage and wagon works that employed over 1,500 people! It closed in 1965 and i’m hard put to guess where it stood.

22:22

I’m now esconced in my room in the Burlington, a Victorian seafront hotel after arriving in Worthing, checking in and setting off to explore the town. Well, at least t3he beach was attractive!

To be fair, so’s the pier that you can see behind me, but after that it all goes downhill…

I headed back to the main comnercial street to look for a bite to eat and see what the place had to offer. The answer is – not much! OK, there’s a few restaurants and plenty of fast-food joints, but what the place is lacking in is any life. Here’s tbe main shopping area.

Not exactly buzzing, is it? Worthing suffers the same malaise that many small towns do, the main street is nothing but shops it’s not mixed-use. So once the shops close it’s deserted. The other thing I noticed was the lack of pubs and bars. I only saw one ‘proper’ pub (which didn’t look very inviting) and a shop converted into a bar. I’ve never known anything quite like it. Even the promenade is free of pubs or cafe’s. The only one is in my hotel – and half of that’s sheeted off because they’ve got the decorators in (in June?).

What I can’t figure out is why (when you see what the town has to offer) so many hotels were booked up. People can’t be coming here for the nightlife!

There’s an underlying air of poverty about the place too, with a fair few street-drinkers and rough sleepers, but then this part of the world has long had a reputation for DSS hotels. The South coast isn’t always as affluent as some people think. I must admit that what I’ve seen so far won’t have me rushing back. Still, at least I’m being paid to be here! So on that note I’ll bid you goodnight.