TRANSPORT - TRAINS

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Managers at the railway station say building work will not be completed until 2009, meaning major scaffolding and hoardings will remain in place. Passengers have complained the station looks very unwelcoming to visitors to the city and want the work, which began a year ago, to end as soon as possible. Network Rail, which leases the station to Midland Mainline, said work was needed to replace the site's canopy.

Improvements such as new buildings and better lighting will also go ahead. In a statement Midland Mainline said, "We've been working closely with Network Rail to resolve the situation as quickly as possible for the benefit of all our passengers and staff and will continue to do everything we can to move this project along."

Ben Herbert from Network Rail said, "When we replaced the footbridge at the station, we found there was extensive corrosion to the canopy over the station and the best solution is to replace the whole thing. What you're seeing now is a pretty major rebuilding project at one of East Midlands' busiest stations and what we didn't want to do was close the station. There's a delicate balance between rebuilding a really high-class station and keeping the service running in the meantime." (Source: BBC News, Oct/06)

Train drivers are to be taught to accelerate less quickly and coast where possible in order to conserve energy. The Office of Rail Regulation has instructed train companies to introduce training sessions for drivers to teach them how to reduce fuel consumption. The techniques include learning the precise point where it is possible to cut the power and coast to the next station.

The companies will inspect data recorders in the cab of each train to check how well drivers have performed. Those who drive in a fuel-inefficient way, accelerating too quickly or for too long and then braking hard, will be sent for remedial training. Regulators also want electricity meters to be installed in each train to show which routes use the most power.

The cost of supplying electricity to the rail network has risen by 67% to £154 million in two years and is due to rise to £205 million in 2007. The cost of running diesel trains has also risen sharply because of global increases in the price of oil. Modern trains consume more energy because safety and disability regulations have made them heavier. They also have air-conditioning and electric doors.

Michael Lee, the regulator’s director of industry analysis, said that it may be necessary to adjust the timetable to lengthen journey times if there was shown to be a significant fuel saving. Mr Lee said there may be a trade-off between punctuality and fuel consumption, with companies accepting a small delay if it allowed them to conserve energy. Modern trains can accelerate much faster and are often able to make up lost time if they are running behind schedule.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, the rail consumer watchdog, said, “Speed is the greatest advantage of the railways and that should not be eroded by elongating journeys. People are realistic about rising energy prices and may be willing to pay more for tickets as the price of maintaining journey speeds.” (Source: Times Online, Aug/06)

Philip Harris, of Shardlow, was a passenger on the 8.49pm Central Train from Birmingham to Derby on Monday when a man, who he claimed was drunk and aggressive, sat with him. When the female ticket collector asked the man for the £4.10 fare, Mr Harris claimed that the passenger refused to pay and became confrontational with the woman, who said that she would have to call the police if he persisted.

As the train arrived at Derby, Mr Harris said an announcement was made over the public address system that the passengers would have to wait until British Transport Police arrived before they could get off. After 10 minutes, the man finally agreed to pay and the passengers were let off the train, which by then was 30 minutes behind schedule as it had arrived late into Derby. Mr Harris has questioned Central Trains' decision to keep passengers on the train with a man, who he claimed was, "drunk, loud, aggressive and unstable."

A spokeswoman for Central Trains said, "Our staff receive intensive training to deal with difficult passengers and they would have assessed the situation and made sure that the safety of the passengers was not at risk. It's a criminal offence if passengers don't pay for tickets and some passengers feel that it's unfair if others get away without paying. We apologise for the delay." Central Trains believe keeping fare paying passengers imprisoned is fair play.

Midland Mainline has been ordered to change the toilet seats in its new trains. Department for Transport inspectors told the company that the seats do not meet exacting new standards aimed at helping the visually-impaired. The company has been told that its "dark purple, almost dark blue" toilet seats are not up to scratch, even though the toilet cubicles are off-white and the carpet is red.

Also, the red carpets, which run throughout the trains, are not adequately different in colour from the passenger seats. The faults were found despite extensive consultation with disabled groups during the design and building of the new trains, which are being produced in Belgium by Bombardier. Robin Wood, Derby spokesman for the Rail Passengers' Committee, said, "I wonder if the same mistakes would have been made if the trains had been built in Derby, instead of Belgium."

Pat Taylor, chief executive of the Derbyshire Association for the Blind said, "The red and purple colours in the bathroom would present a problem as they are both at the same end of the colour spectrum." Is Pat Taylor seriously expecting us to believe that visually-impaired people cannot tell the difference between a toilet seat and the floor?

Passengers on a Southern service from East Croydon were told that their stopping train would skip six stations and go direct to the end of the line in Caterham, Surrey. When they got there the driver said the reason was that the train had lost its satellite link. Because some stations have shorter platforms than others it meant that he could not open the right doors at every station on the route.

The loss of the satellite link meant that passengers who had wanted stations in between had to wait half an hour for another train. A spokesman for Southern said, “A lot of our trains have GPS which recognises where the train is and allows it to open the doors at the station, depending on the length of the train and the length of the platform. Doors can be opened manually in an emergency but we would not recommend it at other times.” (Source: Daily Express, Jan/09)

A university professor who got off his train one stop before his final destination was asked to pay £155 to leave the station. Martyn Evans was told he would have to pay up after leaving the train at Darlington, near his home, rather than wait until Durham where he works at the university’s philosophy department. Prof Evans had bought three advanced first-class singles from train firm, East Coast, to cover his journey from Durham to London, on to Birmingham and back to Durham. As it was approaching 8pm as he arrived in the North-East, he decided to disembark one stop early to go home to Hurworth near Darlington.

However, when he tried to leave the station, the automatic barrier would not let him through. Station staff said his ticket was invalid because he had left the train too early, and was told he would have to pay some £155, the price of the same ticket from Birmingham to Darlington. Instead, he signed an invoice and asked to pay the ticket later. Alexandra Woodsworth, Public Transport Campaigner at Campaign for Better Transport, said, "The Government has promised us fair rail fares, but being charged excessively for getting off a stop early doesn’t seem like a fair deal."

Train company East Coast have now cancelled the fee as a 'goodwill gesture', though defended its stance by saying that the policy was standard across the industry. A spokesman for East Coast said, "The terms and conditions of the Advanced Purchase First Class ticket, the ticket which Professor Evans had used for his journey, clearly state that breaking a journey en route, or starting from an intermediate station is not permitted. We have contacted Professor Evans to discuss this with him and, as we accept this was a genuine mistake on his behalf, we have cancelled the excess fare he was charged on this occasion as a gesture of goodwill." (Source: Daily Mail, Sep/10)