| MARLOW - MAIDENHEAD PASSENGERS' ASSOCIATION |  |
|---|
|
NewsIf you find any railway terms or abbreviations that you don't understand please have a look at our Jargon Buster Page. If they're not there let us know! Bus Service Changes from 29th MayFollowing retendering by the council, Thames Travel will be taking over some routes in the Bracknell/Wokingham area including route 53 to Maidenhead.
There will new buses and some route and timetable changes. See the Thames Travel web site for details.
Arriva Agreees Takeover by Deutsche BahnSee report on BBC News. Arriva operates the 37 bus route
between High Wycombe and Maidenhead as well as Cross Country, Arriva Trains Wales and other bus services.
Demolition of A404(M) Road BridgeIt will be necessary for train services to be suspended whilst the demolition work is underway and when the new bridge section is installed.
Following consultation between the Highways Agency and Network Rail, this work will take place over Saturday nights and Sunday, with the exception
of 26th, 27th and 28th June, when the closure will extend to 0500 on Monday 28th June. This will affect weekend services west of Maidenhead.
Earlier Train on SundaysThe good news announced by FGW at our AGM is that from the May timetable change the Marlow branch trains will start an hour earlier on Sundays with the 0835 from Maidenhead and 0901 return from Marlow. This service will be trialled for one year and reviewed before the May 2011 timetable change, so please use it. There will be a number of other changes affecting the morning and afternoon peak services, with some accelerations and
better connections. One train has been deleted because of the turbo refresh programme.
The main changes are listed here.
Emergency Restriction LiftedThe 20mph Emergency Restriction of Speed (EROS) between Furze Platt and Cookham has now been lifted. This was causing a 4 minute delay
to trains on the branch, causing some connections at Maidenhead to be missed.
Strike DeferredThe strike by Network Rail signallers scheduled for April 6th to 9th has been deferred following a High Court injunction against the unions
on the grounds of polling irregularities. The unions (RMT and TSSA) are expected to reballot their members.
Permanent Way problems at Furze PlattNetwork Rail is working to replace sleepers at Furze Platt station following an emergency on Tuesday morning.
A temporary speed restriction was in operation and some delays to services have been reported.
Great Western RUSNetwork Rail has published its Route Utilisation Strategy. We are pleased to note that Heathrow Western Access (via the Colnbrook branch and a new chord towards Iver) is now included in the CP5 requirements (up to 2019). Chiltern to Oxford DelayedWe understand that objections have been raised to Chiltern's proposals, necessitating a public enquiry this Autumn. We hope to get more information at the AGM. Turbo Refresh PhotosFirst Great Western has released photos of its refreshed first and standard class carriages of the Class 165/1 and 166 units.
Postscript: the new seat covers have been used on at least one other unit which is otherwise unrefreshed. Celebrate the 175th Anniversary of the Great Western RailwayFGW is celebrating the 175th anniversary of the incorporation of the Great Western Railway by running a steam special non-stop from Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington on Saturday 17th April in conjunction with Vintage Trains Ltd. Tickets costing £125 standard class or £200 premier dining include return travel from London and Thames Valley FGW stations to Paddington and by a non-stop HST to Bristol. The return journey will feature GW Castle Class 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe. Turbo Refurbishment Causes OvercrowdingThe Class 165/166 refresh programme is causing serious overcrowding in the morning peak. FGW has “destrengthened” a number of trains
while units are udergoing the refresh (and also one unit is under repair following a fire at West Drayton last year). Some changes came in with the
December timetable change (see below), but it would appear that the 0744 from Henley-on-Thames to Paddington is also shortened from 5 cars to 3.
Update: The overcrowding was exacerbated by a number of compressor failures on HSTs in the bad weather, which resulted in some turbo sets deputising for the failed HSTs. December 2009 TimetableThe new timetable started on Sunday 13th December 2009. It is similar to the current one but has a few minor changes to reflect patronage on certain services and to encorporate some additions made in September 2009. Trains from Maidenhead to London in the morning have the following notable changes:
Trains from London Paddington in the evening have the following notable changes:
The evening changes reflect the number of passengers switching to the HST from the other two trains. The branch line services are mostly the same but some connecting times have changed. The 1746 Mon-Fri Maidenhead to Marlow now runs one minute later. Didcot NewsThe Great Western Society has been offered a 35-year lease on its 23 acre site by Network Rail, which will enable it to start restoring the 1932 engine shed. Previously the GWS was living hand-to-mouth on a 6-month rolling lease, making it difficult to obtain grants. Also at Didcot, Network Rail is replacing two overbridges to increase the celarance for 9'6" containers. The bridge at Sands Road, South Moreton will be closed to traffic until April 2010. Stocks Farm bridge to the north of Sands Road which carries a bridle way is also expected to reopen in April. New £500M Rail Link Proposed Between Heathrow and Windsor“Proposals for a £500 million rail link between Windsor and Heathrow Airport have been published by Windsor Link Railway Company.
The scheme, which is to be privately financed, would link Heathrow Terminal 5 to Windsor, via Wraysbury and Datchet, before running on to Slough
via Chalvey. The proposals include a new station in Windsor, replacing both the existing ones. Another station would be built at Chalvey as part
of a redevelopment project and a third at Horton.The scheme is set to reuse existing lines and would require 16km of new track.The company said
it is in talks with architects and is likely to submit plans for the project within 12 months. Outlining its timetable, the company said that it
aims to secure approval for the scheme from the Secretary of State for Transport next year. It intends to have train services running throughWindsor
by 2013 and to complete the Heathrow Airport to Slough section by 2016. Future enhancements could include a Gatwick Airport link and a connection
between High Wycombe and Bletchley, via Aylesbury to Oxford and Cambridge.A new station in Bray is also a possibility.”
Free Bus Pass Age of QualificationIn his prebudget statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the qualifying age for a free bus pass will rise in step with
the retirement age for women, at which it was originally set. This will increase from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020 at a rate of one month every two
months. The qualifying age for men had to be the same because of sex equality laws. Current bus pass holders will not be affected.
Body on LineTrains were delayed on Wednesday 2nd December when a body was noticed by the tracks near Highfield Lane bridge. British Transport Police are treating
death as "unexplained". Enquiries are continuing to establish the person’s identity and the circumstances leading up to the death. Two tracks were
closed temporarily.
Bourne End Bridge UpdateAlthough a cosmetic repaint of the bridge had been budgetted for in Control Period 3 (CP3), for various administrative and organisational reasons this was not undertaken by the end of the allowable carry-over period and was therefore cancelled. There is no budget available for the bridge in CP4 (April 2009 - March 2014). Network Rail has advised us that they believe that the bridge is structurally sound, but that when any remedial work is carried out then repainting will be done at the same time. This is unlikely before CP5 (from April 2014). The Association is concerned that there is severe corrosion on parts of the ironwork and the lack of protection will only allow the structure to deteriorate further. Car Parking Charges IncreasedIn addition to the fare rises reported earlier, members tell us that car park charges at stations have been increased by over 40% in some cases. FGW has told us that the two rises this year were the first for three years, and they have no plans to increase charges next year. Even allowing for this the increases seem to be well above the compounded inflation rate. FGW Raises Fares in SeptemberNew peak shoulder fares 20% higherFirst Great Western has announced fare rises of 20% on some fares from 6th September. There is a new peak shoulder fare for longer distance journeys called "off-peak" and the surviving off-peak tickets are somewhat disingenuously being labelled "super off-peak". Advance tickets purchased by phone or on web sites other than FGW’s own will be subject to an 11% surcharge. An FGW spokesman said “we want to make sure we are generating enough income”. Local fares on the Thames Valley routes are unaffected, and regulated fares are expected to fall by 0.4% on 10th January as a result of a 1.4% fall in the RPI to July 2009. The government has now removed the option for operators to vary selected fares by up to 5% as long as the overall basket of fares didn't increase by more than RPI+1%. Light Rail Proposal for Maidenhead-High WycombeThe Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is reported to be considering a light rail system to link Maidenhead with High Wycombe. The line would be built on the abandoned railway between Bourne End and High Wycombe, which closed in 1970. The plans for the project are at a very early Contents Page stage, however, but also include improvements to the existing Marlow line. Councillor John Stretton from the Royal Borough, said: “This is very exciting and we are pushing as hard as we can to get it moved forward. It has so many advantages, if there was a dedicated service all the way to High Wycombe with a service every 10 minutes or so, the traffic would be taken off the road. You would have a high frequency, which would service a lot of people. It would be very simple, easy and straightforward”. It is believed that ultra light rail would be favoured, such as the Parry People Mover on the Stourbridge Town line. [Railway Herald] Government Announces GW ElectrificationThe Department for Transport has announced the Great Western main line will be electrified from Airport Junction to Oxford,
Newbury, Bristol (both ways) and Swansea in that order, over the next eight years. This could allow Crossrail to operate into Reading
from the outset. The Thames Turbo Class 165/6 fleet would be cascaded onto other routes, while Thames Valley local survices would
be operated by refurbished Class 319 electric units displaced from the upgraded Thameslink route. This project would dovetail with the
Crossrail, Reading, GW resignalling and Intercity Express projects to minimise costs.
Cotswold Line DoublingWork has started on restoring double track to the single track sections of the Cotswold line between Oxford and Worcester. This will necesitate some blockades while the existing track is relocated and the trackbed made fit for reinstatement of the second track, during which Worcester trains will run via Swindon. There will also be some rail replacement bus services around the blockades. The work will last until September. DfT Safeguards Crossrail RouteThe Department for Transport (DfT) has issued Safeguarding Directions to protect a potential extension of Crossrail from Maidenhead Station to
Reading West Junction. This follows a consultation on the draft Directions which closed on 25 July 2008. The aim is to ensure that developments along
this rail corridor do not impact on the ability to extend Crossrail in the future. The Crossrail project currently terminates at Maidenhead.
No decision or commitment to extend it further west to Reading has been made. However, the DfT believes it sensible to safeguard this corridor for a
potential extension of Crossrail to Reading. Safeguarding will also facilitate alternative works, such as electrification.
FGW Scraps Timetable BookletsFirst Great Western will not be issuing local timetable booklets this May. Instead there will be a collection of mini-leaflets covering small areas and a network-wide timetable costing £2.50. MMPA thinks this is a retrograde move and will seriously inconvenience passengers. We can't think why someone would want to spend £.2.50 on a timetable that covers the First Greater Western franchise rather than a national timetable which would be a lot more useful.
The mini-timetables have severe drawbacks. Foe example if you wished to travel from Bourne End to Hethrow Airport you would need four mini-timetables: one for the branch, one showing Maidenhead to Paddington Trains (which doesn't show Hayes), one for Slough to Paddington (which does show Hayes, but you have to match up the trains with the Maidenhead timetable) and one for Heathrow which has been bundled with the Greenford branch and West Drayton. Bus Route 6 ChangesFollowing protests from many users in the North Town area, Borough Bus 6 will be re-routed with effect from 27th April. The bus will run from Windsor to Bray, A4 (Sainsbury's), Frascati Way, High Street, Bridge Avenue, Cookham Road, Gardner Road, Courthouse Road, St. Mark's Road, Castle Hill, Frascati Way, High Street, Bridge Avenue, Bray and back to Windsor. There is no proposed service in the reverse direction from St Mark's Hospital to North Town. Bridge Work DeferredWe understand that Network Rail has deferred work on refurbishing Bourne End bridge indefinitely. MMPA is continuing to press for action. However the two open level crossings near Bourne End Marina are to be converted to automatic half barrier following a number of accidents and near misses. Alison Forster to leave First Group[20090305] Alison Forster, currently FirstGroup's Safety and Performance Director for the Rail division and formerly Managing Director of First Great Western is to leave the company. FGW Announces Selected Off-Peak Fare ReductionsFirst Great Western has announced a number of price cuts on off-peak fares (e.g. 20p off Burnham to Maidenhead). More information can be found here. Government Announces IEP Preferred BidderThe government today announced the Hitachi-John Laing-Barclays consortium as the preferred bidder for the Intercity Express Programme
to replace the HST fleet. The new trains are to be introduced on the East Coast Main Line from 2013, which is curious because the IC225 and IC125 fleets
are considerably newer than the former Western Region HSTs. The press release still refers to a "bi-mode" (i.e. electric and diesel) version of the
trains, which commentators see as increasingly unlikely given renewed interest in electrification of the Midland and Great Western main lines.
Government Supports Heathrow Runway 3 and Terminal 6Proposals include examining possibilities for a high speed rail link from the West Midlands to London via Heathrow linking up to High Speed 1 to the Channel Tunnel. The air share of the London-West Midlands travel market is 0%. Also under consideration is a rail hub served by the Great Western main line, and electrification of the Great Western and Midland main lines. This will not necessarily be in place by the time runway opens, if it does. [20090115] Fares UpFare increases come into effect on Friday 2nd January. Regulated fares will rise by 6% and unregulated fares by an average of 6.6% on First Great Western and 7% on Chiltern Railways. Happy New Year! Full Speed Ahead for CrossrailA deal worth up to £350m that will help deliver Crossrail on time and on budget has been finalised with
the City of London Corporation. The agreement was announced today by Andrew Adonis, Transport Minister, Boris Johnson,
Mayor of London and Sir Michael Snyder of the City of London Corporation.
FGW Boss ResignsAndrew Haines has resigned as boss of First Great Western for 'personal reasons'.
Mr Haines is replaced by Performance Director and former MMPA committee member Mark Hopwood, to whom we send our
sincere congratulations (BBC News).
Government to Speed up Delivery of New TrainsAs part of a £1bn investment plan for next year, the DfT has promised “the delivery of 200 new carriages earlier than originally expected for rail passengers in the Thames Valley, around Bristol and on longer distance inter-urban services in Northern England”. It is not stated how many of these are for Thames Valley. Much of the package had already been announced (the carriages are part of the infamous 1300 which turns out not to be 1300) and it is not made clear how much earlier than originally planned they will be delivered. December Timetable Brings Slower JourneysThe new timetable starting on December 14th will mean slower journeys from Maidenhead to Paddington. The number of journeys between 30 and 39 minutes drops from 33 to 9 while the number of 40 minutes and over rises from 44 to 69. The number of journeys under 30 minutes remains the same at 9. In the down direction the only change is one additional service under 30 minutes. On the positive side, connections to and from the Marlow branch have improved, apart from a couple of near misses and long waits to and from Reading at both ends of the day. The Henley branch goes to 45 minute interval off-peak, and the Windsor branch goes to a 20 minute interval (again). Maidenhead Station Official OpeningMaidenhead Station was due to be offically opened for the first time in its history on Thursday 25th September at 10:00. Unfortunately the ceremony had to be abandoned because of a fatality at Taplow that morning. Crossrail ExhibitionCrossrail will be holding another exhibition of its plans in the Nicholson Centre, Maidenhead on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th September. Reading RedevelopemntNetwork Rail recently staged an exhibition in Reading Town Hall to show its plans for the Reading Area redevelopment. The plans have changed since originally announced. A new viaduct will be built to carry the main lines so that the two chords from the Berks & Hants and Basingstoke lines can pass underneath to join the relief lines in an easterly and westerly direction. The Cow Lane road bridges will be rebuilt to accommodate two lanes of traffic and double deck buses. During construction of the viaduct the relief lines will be diverted onto tracks to the north, and the mail lines will be diverted onto the current relief lines. To make space for the new chords the DMU depot will be relocated to the north side of the railway, where provision is also made for an IEP (HST replacement) depot. Space is also safeguarded for a Crossrail depot on the north side to the east of the station and two scissors crossings will be provided in anticipation of Crossrail requirements. The redevelopment is being planned so that overhead line equipment can be added with the minimum of disturbance when the time comes. The station itself will gain three platforms. In fact there will be five new platforms on the north side and one on the south-eastern (Waterloo) side but the three bay platforms currently numbered 6, 7 and 10 will disappear. The centre road between current platforms 4 and 5 will be removed and it is possible that the new platform 7 could be widened in the future. All the platforms will be renumbered 1 to 15, with only 1, 2 and 3 remaining unchanged. During construction the bay platofrms currently 6 and 7 will be numbered 16 and 17, but will subsequently be filled in. The underpass from the SWT lines to the north side of the station will be reinstated. It is envisaged that this will be used by Oxford-Gatwick Airport trains in order to provide more capacity on the south-east side for “Airtrack” services to Heathrow T5. The existing subway will become an open link between the north and south of the station and will not have access to the platforms, although it will serve as an emergency exit. The subway will be closed at night when the station is closed. A new footbridge with escalators on both sides as well as lifts will be built towards the centre of the station, with new entrances on the north and south sides. Royal Mail will leave its present site on the north side of the station, which will then be redeveloped. A 5m strip will be taken over by NR for the new entrance and the remainder of the site will be leased for five years as a construction site. The existing footbridge will be demolished because it is not high enough for overhead line equipment to pass underneath. The remodelling is scheduled to be completed in 2015. |
Old News | Newsletters
Last updated 6th June, 2010