Tag: Network Rail

Final approval for Cambridge North Station

17:10 Wednesday 19th August 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: Plans by Network Rail for a new station in North Cambridge finally got the go-ahead. It means the new station will be built on land at Chesterton Sidings, and Network Rail say work will begin in the autumn. Let’s bring in councillor Aidan Van de Weyer, who sits on the Joint Development Control Committee. This involves the County Council, the City Council and his own South Cambs. Aidan, afternoon.
AIDAN VAN DE WEYER: Good afternoon.
CHRIS MANN: So you’ve approved Network Rail’s plans.
AIDAN VAN DE WEYER: We did indeed. Yes. I was very happy to do so. It’s excellent.
CHRIS MANN: Excellent because why?
AIDAN VAN DE WEYER: Because it’s a hugely significant bit of infrastructure that’s going to transform the whole of this part of Cambridge and beyond to be honest. Because it provides excellent links from North Cambridge to the villages, to London. It’s a key part of the Northstowe development, because the Guided Bus connects directly to the station, to the door of the station. And it’s just next to the Science Park, St John’s, the Business Park, with very good links to them.
CHRIS MANN: What some people are concerned about is OK, we need an extra train station and even more public transport for people. But it’s the parking. It’s the access, and what it’s going to do to the roads around it. Because you know what already happens at existing stations like both Peterborough and Cambridge. So what’s your answer to that?
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Improving connectivity across the rail network

07:42 Friday 16th January 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: A radical reform of Cambridgeshire’s railway lines could make faster and more reliable journeys. Network Rail has drawn up its Improving Connectivity report, and as the name suggests, it focuses on improving connections, also increasing train speeds and making journeys by train more attractive. Chris Burton is Vice Chairman of Rail Futures East Anglian branch. He’s also Editor of Rail East magazine. What do you make of this report then Chris?
CHRIS BURTON: Well good morning. It’s a very interesting one in the sense that it shows a vision for a way in the future, because I think what they want to do is to create timetables for the whole of East Anglia, which obviously Cambridge is part of, that mirrors what they do in Switzerland, which they call a Taktfahrplan. It means everything works on good clean connections. So the places like Cambridge and Ely, Norwich, Ipswich and Colchester, when you arrive at those stations, your onward journey to wherever will start within about ten minutes of you arriving at that place. So you won’t have to hang around for half a day waiting for a train forward to wherever you’re going on to.
DOTTY MCLEOD: So this would be quite radical actually, if they try and put this in place.
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London Stansted Cambridge Consortium – Network Rail underestimate demand

17:17 Thursday 6th November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: A business group claims Network Rail has missed an opportunity as they announced plans to upgrade the rail line between Cambridge, Stansted Airport and London. They say it doesn’t go far enough, and say the route needs major upgrading, not just modest improvements. Richard Schofield is the Route Managing Director at Network Rail. He says there isn’t the demand in the area for that level of growth.
(TAPE)
RICHARD SCHOFIELD: We welcome views of people that think we’ve got it wrong, but if you look at the needs over the next decade, there isn’t the volume of growth that would justify a business case to do that piece of work. But we welcome the input from Stansted Airport and the businesses and Transport for London around what they think we should be doing, so that we can create a business case that we can send to Government and say look, actually we think there is a greater need.
(LIVE)
CHRIS MANN: However he said if a Government report showed there’s going to be an increase in passenger numbers at Stansted, they would reconsider.
(TAPE)
RICHARD SCHOFIELD: So we would then work with stakeholders and Government to put together a plan that addresses the need to get passengers to Stansted in even greater numbers. But we can’t really second guess the outcome of that report, but we will of course take it into mind as we go through next year.
(LIVE)
CHRIS MANN: That was Network Rail’s Richard Schofield. Let’s bring in councillor Kevin Bentley, the Chair of Infrastructure at the London Stansted Cambridge Consortium. Hello Kevin.
KEVIN BENTLEY: Good evening.
CHRIS MANN: They say there’s not enough demand. What’s your evidence that it’s otherwise?
KEVIN BENTLEY: Well just look at it. Look at the fantastic growth that’s happening in Cambridgeshire, not just in the bio-tech industries, but all industries, plus the great science parks we have in Cambridge as well. Just down the road in Harlow, the Enterprise Zone, the Government’s own Enterprise Zone that we’re working so hard to make happen down there and it’s going to be fantastic. Then you go down the line further into London, plus of course Stansted Airport, which is set to grow in passenger numbers. All the evidence is there. We have presented this before. I just don’t understand what Network Rail’s doing. They’ve missed a golden opportunity. We’re going to prove them wrong.
CHRIS MANN: But they say quite categorically, you heard the man say that there’s no demand. Have you done a survey?
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Cambridgeshire MP calls for Network Rail to be opened up to scrutiny

09:20 Friday 5th September 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: The MP for North East Cambridgeshire Stephen Barclay wants David Cameron to confirm when Network Rail will be accountable to the public. At the moment it’s not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and according to the MP, with £34 billion added to the national debt this week from Network Rail at a stroke, that needs to change. So what do you think about giving a company billions of pounds, when there’s no way of finding out publicly how where or when the money is spent? Well Stephen Barclay is here. Stephen morning.
STEPHEN BARCLAY: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: It’s almost inconceivable that can be right.
STEPHEN BARCLAY: It is, and I think it’s a matter of time that those paying their rail fares will want to see this done quickly. It’s not just the Freedom of Information that we need opening Network Rail up to, it’s also to give the National Audit Office unfettered access. At the moment, the National Auditors have to go through the Rail Regulator, which creates a barrier in terms of the scrutiny that our public money is under. So I think we do need to let the public have access to information, and really open up the challenge that informed people in the community, particularly those with a knowledge of railways, or engineering, someone who perhaps has had a lifetime as an engineer, allow them to start looking at some of the infrastructure projects, and see whether we can deliver them in a more cost-effective way.
PAUL STAINTON: Yes. It’s almost like it’s been all done behind closed doors, with billions and billions of pounds of our money.
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Linda McCord from Passenger Focus comments on disruption on the East Coast rail line over the Bank Holiday weekend

17:18 Tuesday 26th August 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: A difficult twenty four hours for rail users across Cambridgeshire; that’s probably an understatement for many. Overhead wire problems between Peterborough and Stevenage caused huge problems on the East Coast MainLine overnight on Monday and into this morning, some delays two hours long. .. Linda McCord is from the campaign group Passenger Focus. She gave me her reaction a little earlier.
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The train stopping at Soham ..

17:11 Monday 21st July 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Work starts on Monday to build the new train station in the North of Cambridge. And in Soham they also hope to open a new station. James Palmer is the Leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, who is heavily involved in the project. I talked to him a little earlier, to find out just what the timetable is, and why it’s so important that Soham gets a train station again.
(TAPE)
JAMES PALMER: It’s of primary importance in my opinion. Soham has grown very quickly. People want to live in Soham. It’s a fantastic place. Of course they would want to live here. But anybody can put houses up. Any council can do that. It’s infrastructure that must come first. So if we are to grow the town the way the town wants and to get the facilities that people who live here expect now, in my view a railway station is an absolute imperative to the growth of a town.
CHRIS MANN: How difficult is it to make that happen?
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Martin Curtis Wisbech Rail Summit Progress Update

17:38 Tuesday 11th March 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Parliament has been hosting a summit today about the future of the Wisbech rail line. The MP for North East Cambridgeshire Steve Barclay organised the summit. It involved transport bigwigs, council leaders, train operators and most importantly of all perhaps, the Transport Minister Steven Hammond. Let’s find out what’s happened. The County Council Leader Martin Curtis was there, and he joins me on the line now. Hello Martin.
MARTIN CURTIS: Good evening Chris.
CHRIS MANN: Still down at Westminster. How did it go? What’s the news?
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Cambridgeshire Rail Links Improvement Campaigns

08:08 Friday 13th September 2013
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: We can’t afford not to invest in more rail links for Cambridgeshire. That’s the line from the head of a campaign group that’s pressing the authorities to get moving with plans for a new line between Cambridge and Bedford. That line could run parallel with the A428, and it will stop at places like St Neots and Alconbury, if it ever gets built. Peter Wakefield is from East Anglia Rail Futures. He says with growing populations and a growing economy, we need more infrastructure too. (TAPE)
PETER WAKEFIELD: Something’s got to be done. As our population of new townships is developed etcetera, the road simply will not be able to cope. We’re paying £1.5 billion for fifteen miles of new A14, which I suggest is a lot more expensive per mile than the infamous High Speed 2. If we can afford that kind of money we can afford smaller schemes, like a new railway between Bedford and Cambridge, or Wisbech and March. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well that line Peter mentioned just at the end is the much fought over Bramley Line between Wisbech and March of course. Earlier this year 4,000 people signed a petition in favour of it being reopened. So should we even be thinking of a line from Cambridge to Bedford before we sort out some transport for the Fens, poorly served Fens it has to be said. .. Patrick O’Sullivan is a consultant for the East West Rail Consortium. Patrick, morning.
PATRICK O’SULLIVAN: Morning.
PAUL STAINTON: Is that line going to happen, do you think?
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