Record number of rail customers

The Association of Train Operating Companies have announced that Britain’s rail network carried 1.213 billion rail passengers in 2007 – an increase of 7.8 per cent over the 2006 figure of 1.125 billion. The number of passenger miles (30.1 billion) in 2007 was the highest recorded since the end of the Second World War!

Network Rail optional enhancements 2009-2014

The Office of Rail Regulation continues to negotiate with Network Rail about the company’s spending levels for the next five year control period commencing in April 2009. The outcome of these negotiations are expected to determine whether three major rail infrastructure upgrade schemes in the South West will proceed – the three ‘affected schemes’ are:-

• North Cotswold Line - doubling of certain sections of single track between Oxford and Worcester (estimated cost £51 million)
• Swindon – Kemble – doubling (estimated cost f32 million)
• Westerleigh Junction – Barnt Green – higher line speed (estimated cost £32 million)

Bristol City Council funds improved Severn Beach service

Bristol City Council has agreed to spend £395k per year for the next three years to provide fifty-four additional trains per week between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth/Severn Beach from 18 May 2008. The funding will provide an additional two-carriage train and crews for the line. Three trains will operate every two hours on Monday to Saturday between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth – there will be a through train every two hours between Bristol Temple Meads and Severn Beach on Monday to Saturday. There will also be an hourly service of eight return trips between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth on Sunday.

Wilts and Dorset service changes will lead to ‘customer confusion’

Wilts and Dorset have announced service changes for the Bournemouth – Christchurch – Burton/Highcliffe corridor from Sunday 25 May. Route m2 will no longer operate east of Boscombe, to enable increased frequencies to be introduced on services m1 (Poole – Bournemouth – Castlepoint) and m2 (Poole – Bournemouth – Boscombe). A new route X12 will be introduced operating every fifteen minutes on Monday to Saturday daytime between Bournemouth and Christchurch routed via the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, and then continuing every thirty minutes to either Burton or to Lymington via Highcliffe. Local bus users have criticised the proposed use of a single service number X12 to cover three different routings – the introduction of a single service number 3 for all buses between Poole and Wimborne, irrespective of the different routings via Corfe Mullen or Merley has caused considerable customer confusion, particularly for less frequent users.

More TIF cash for West of England

The Department for Transport has awarded the West of England Partnership of the four unitary councils in the Greater Bristol area an additional five hundred thousand pounds of Transport Innovation Fund cash to pay for development work on a transport investment package for the sub-region that would include some road pricing.

New Eco-town for Cornwall?

The Government has announced a shortlist of fifteen potential sites for new ‘Eco-towns’ – ‘Eco-towns’ will be new settlements with a minimum of five thousand new homes and will be designed to maximise the use of sustainable transport and minimise car usage. Ten of the fifteen short-listed sites will be taken forward for development.

One of the short-listed locations is the former china clay sites in Cornwall close to the Eden Project and St Austell. Another short-listed site is at Middle Quinton in Warwickshire (the location of the former Ministry of Defence depot at Long Marston), which is very close to the regional boundary.

New transport study for Swindon

Swindon Borough Council has appointed consultants to undertake a new transport study of the town – the study to be funded by the national regeneration agency, English Partnerships, will be undertaken jointly by Tribal Urban Studio and WSP.

South West Trains offers Door-to-Door luggage

South West Trains has joined with ‘Carry My Luggage’, an independent collection and distribution company, to offer a door-to-door luggage delivery service to and from any address in Great Britain.

And finally

Network Rail is to spend £500k on installing a new bridge over the freight branch at Hamworthy, which is currently used by just two trains per week – the existing ‘level crossing’ has been deemed ‘unsafe’.