NO SERVICE
A new train service, which runs through
the East Midlands to Manchester suffered
difficulties after only two weeks. Work on the
railway lines meant a third of the services -
which should go to Manchester - were terminating
at Derby. Midland Mainline, which runs the
service, said the changes were beyond its
control. Their spokeswoman, Emma Knight, said the
engineering works should not stop people using
the service. |
ADVANCEMENT
Trains now take longer to travel between Derby
and Manchester than steam trains did 40 years
ago. The locomotives on the old Midland main line
through the Peak District took less than 90
minutes to cover the 61 miles between the two
cities, according to the Railway Development
Society North Midlands. But, today, the fastest
train takes 96 minutes with a good connection and
most take close to two hours. Passengers have to
go via Sheffield because the line from Matlock to
Buxton and Chinley was closed in 1968. |
TOO HEAVY
Midland Mainline said the new Meridian
trains are too heavy for the bridges on the
Matlock to Derby route. The company cancelled one
of its morning services which means that there
are now only two trains on this route at peak
time before 9am. |
NO DEMAND
Midland Mainline has taken delivery of a
brand new fleet of trains, part of a £220m
order, for use on an enhanced Leeds to London
service. But the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA)
has ruled there is not enough demand for the
service, leaving the new fleet standing idle.
Midland Mainline and the lease company HSBC Rail
are now trying to find a solution to the problem.
A spokesperson for Midland Mainline said,
"As a result of the SRA's decision we do not
need the capacity that the nine-car Meridians
would provide. We are considering several
different options with regards to their future
and, as yet, no decision has been made." |
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TRANSPORT - TRAINS
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New trains
which have been introduced on several southern England
routes have experienced track problems and rail delays
because of their heavier weight. The trains have been
brought in by Southern, South West Trains, and
Southeastern companies. The Office of Rail Regulation
(ORR) said the heavier trains were "causing a
different sort of wear to the track". Network Rail
has blamed more track faults in part on "heavier
trains with stiffer suspension". The trains have
been brought in over the past two years.
A spokesperson from Network Rail said, "As part of
the programme to allow new trains on the railway south of
the Thames, Network Rail invested £440m on the Southern
Power Upgrade scheme. The new trains are heavier and have
stiffer suspensions than their predecessors so Network
Rail is working to deliver a maintenance regime that is
appropriate to the conditions." He said Network
Rail's new role in participating in the design of future
trains would ensure that new trains would be even better
designed, safer and lighter.
Although the number of temporary speed restrictions due
to the condition of the track had fallen by the period
prior to June this year, there was no decrease in South
East England. An ORR spokesperson said, "Train
companies will have to work out a different maintenance
regime. The heavier trains are causing a different sort
of wear to the track." In its report, the ORR said
it was concerned that the delays attributed to Network
Rail had increased and that it was especially concerned
about one route in particular.
ORR chief executive Bill Emery said, "We are
seriously concerned about Great Western and we have met
with Network Rail to make sure they are fully aware of
our concerns." He said too many trains are being
delayed and cancelled because of infrastructure problems.
Gerry Doherty, of the TSSA rail union, said, "This
could only happen in Britain where we have such a
fragmented rail network." Michael Lee, of the ORR,
said, "It was predictable only up to a point. I
don't think you could call this a mistake." (Source:
BBC News, Aug/07)
I decided
to go by train from Derby recently and was amused by the
way the train station was run. I went on to platform
three, where there were a lot of people waiting for the
Bournemouth train. There was about a dozen seats on the
platform and obviously some building work going on.
All the seats were taken. I commented to a member of the
staff that there were too few seats and was this the
result of the building work? She said no and added,
"We've never needed any more." She ignored the
fact that there were quite a few people sitting on the
ground and on ledges because there weren't enough seats,
and appeared to be most irritated by my question.
Not only that, an announcement was made that said the
Skegness train would be the next train to arrive at our
platform, so those wanting to go to Skegness came on to
the platform. However, it didn't come to platform three
at all, it came to platform two. No announcement was
made. It seems that the idea of service and customer care
does not exist at the railway station in Derby.
A member of the public asked an attendant how to get on
to the train as all the doors were locked. Obviously he
had the good sense not to have travelled by train very
much. She looked at him contemptuously, and said,
"Press the button", then shook her head in
bewilderment. I think I will stick to my car or the bus
in future. Sandra Hill
MidlandMainline
spokeswoman Debbie Mather said:
"We
are sorry to hear that this customer was unable to find a
seat when waiting for a delayed train. In addition to
seating on the platforms, we do provide a large waiting
room next to the concourse area and also on platform
four. However, we appreciate that during the busier times
there may not be seating available on the platform,
especially during the improvement work.
When we design platforms we need to ensure good access.
This does limit room available to provide seating. We
know how frustrating it is to be given the wrong details,
so we always aim to give our customers the most accurate
information. If a train is delayed the departure platform
may change, sometimes at the last minute. An announcement
should be made. We're sorry if this was not the case.
We were surprised and really sorry to hear that this
customer found a member of our staff to be unhelpful. Our
customer service record is very important to us."
Midland
Mainline is trying to work out what to do with seven new
Meridian trains. The company ordered the nine-car units
when considering extending its London-Sheffield service
to Leeds. They formed part of a £160m order for 23 new
trains, 16 of which are four-car units, to provide enough
capacity to serve the extended route.
But, in June 2003, the Strategic Rail Authority issued a
draft route utilisation strategy, a blueprint for future
rail services, which suggested that the route would be
better served by another operator. Without the route
extension, the four-car trains will provide adequate
capacity for most of the time.
Rumours about what will happen to the nine-car trains
include the possibility that they could be
"given" to another train operator. An insider
said, "What a surprise to learn that the vehicles
will be utilised by Virgin on the Euston to Holyhead
route. I wonder which company will perhaps inherit the
time-expired Virgin high-speed trains displaced by the
Meridian trains. I wouldn't be surprised if it was
Midland Mainline."
Midland Mainline has confirmed that there is some doubt
about how the nine-car trains will be deployed in light
of the SRA's strategy, but it denied that plans existed
to give them away.
A Midland
Mainline train from London St Pancras to Nottingham
ground to a halt south of Leicester when an exterior air
pipe came loose. The driver tried to fix it himself and
asked passengers for sticky tape to help him carry out
repairs. A spokeswoman confirmed, "The driver made
an attempt to refit the pipe so he could get the train
moved, but he was unable to do that. He had been liaising
with our control department and we had a fitter on the
way to the train. To make it to the next station he
thought it might be a good idea to see if any passengers
had anything which could seal the pipe." However,
there was no response from passengers and a fitter had to
go to the site to carry out work. The train was delayed
for 90 minutes before it finally terminated its journey
early in Leicester.
Passengers
who use trains between Derby and Birmingham will see a
reduction in the number of services operated from now on.
It was announced in January that the Strategic Rail
Authority (SRA) was looking to cut more than 100 rail
services a day in the UK as part of a nationwide effort
to improve the punctuality of trains. The SRA has said
the plan is aimed at easing congestion to help trains run
on time.
Among services that have been cut are those operated
between Derby and Birmingham by Central Trains and
Virgin. Central Trains is keeping its Matlock to
Birmingham via Derby service at peak times in the
mornings and evenings but some services during the day
will terminate in Derby. Virgin CrossCountry will
maintain its current service of two trains every hour
between Derby and Birmingham but some trains will no
longer stop at Burton. Midland Mainline, which operates
services to London, Derby and the north, is not affected.
Passengers also face a double whammy as the cuts to
services coincide with fare increases. Virgin and Central
are yet to announce their fare increases but train
companies have stressed that the fare rises are a normal
feature of the new summer timetable. A spokesman for the
Association of Train Operating Companies said,
"Let's wait and see whether or not the changes lead
to improved performances."
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