International Railway Journal - August 2007 - (Page 6)

News Third Rail Package deal A The strategy allocates £128 million for the £500 million Birmingham New Street redevelopment. No high-speed, and spending cuts in British rail strategy B RITAIN’s railways are to have no further highspeed lines, little electrification, and a £1.5 billion cut in subsidy per year, according to the government, which presented its 30-year rail strategy last month. Despite passenger numbers rising by an average 7% per year, and growing concerns about the network’s ability to absorb further growth, the only major capacity increases announced were the £5.5 billion Thameslink 2000 project in London, a £425 million remodelling of Reading station, and support of £128 million for an upgrade of Birmingham’s congested New Street station. All of these projects have been in development for many years. Furthermore, passengers will be expected to pay more towards the costs of running the railway - from around 50% now to 75% in 2014. This is tied to a fall in annual subsidy from the present £4.5 billion or so to just £3 billion. Despite this, the government claims network capacity will double by 2037 through other incremental improvements. European Train Control System (ETCS) signalling is expected to be introduced between 2014 and 2020, probably on the Great Western and East Coast main lines, both of which are due to be upgraded for the 200km/h HST replacement trains. Other measures in the strategy include £150 million investment at 150 stations, a simplified ticketing system, and 1300 extra coaches. Freight routes will receive £200 million to upgrade them for higher axleloads and increased loading gauge. FTER years of negotiation, the European Parliament and Council finally agreed a deal on the Third Rail Package in late-June. The package contains measures aimed at improving passenger rights, competition, and interoperability. The law, which applies in all European Union (EU) countries with railways, comes into effect in 2009, and guarantees passengers agreed compensation levels for delays on international services. Other measures include opening international passenger services to competition from 2010, and a pan-EU licence for train drivers, which would allow them to drive trains in more than one country. However, a number of exemptions could limit the effect of some passenger rights, with member states able to exclude long-distance domestic services from the law for an initial period of five years, and urban and regional services may be granted an indefinite exemption. G&W quits Mexico All change for passenger franchises G services currently operated by Silverlink, as well as commuter services in the West Midlands which are presently part of the Central Trains franchise. London Midland is expected to generate annual revenue of £400 million from the outset, with subsidy payments reducing year-on-year. Govia will acquire 37 fourcar Siemens emus, and 27 Bombardier dmus. Stagecoach will have to generate £133 million in premium payments to DfT over the seven years and four months of its East Midlands franchise. It plans to provide more capacity on London Nottingham/Sheffield services, introduce London Lincoln trains and increase Liverpool - Norwich services. B RITAIN’s franchise map is set to change dramatically in November after three major passenger franchises were awarded to new operators. Arriva will run the revised Cross Country franchise from November 11, while Govia, a partnership of Go-Ahead, Britain, and Keolis, France, has been awarded a sevenyear franchise to operate passenger services in the West Midlands. Stagecoach, meanwhile, will take over services in the East Midlands from Central Trains and Midland Mainline. The Cross Country franchise covers services from the southwest of England to Birmingham, the North East and Edinburgh, as well as Birmingham - London Stansted Airport and Cardiff Nottingham services previously operated by Central Trains. Department for Transport (DfT) will pay Arriva a subsidy of just over £1 billion over the eight year four month period of the franchise. Revenue is expected to exceed £600 million in the first full year of the new franchise. Arriva will supplement its existing fleet of Voyager dmus with five refurbished eight-car HSTs. The West Midlands franchise, which will be branded by Govia as London Midland, runs from November 11 2007 to September 19 2015. It will cover London Euston Birmingham commuter ENESSEE & Wyoming, United States, is to terminate its 30-year concession to operate in Mexico after delays in the reconstruction of a hurricanedamaged line. The Chiapas-Mayab (FCCM) operation was hit hard by Hurricane Stan two years ago, which destroyed or damaged 70 bridges and rendered around 280km of line inoperable. Although G&W has been working for almost two years with the Mexican government to rehabilitate the line, no agreement has been reached, and freight volumes have continued to fall. G&W CEO Mr John C Hellman says the company can no longer justify absorbing financial losses or making incremental investments. Liquidation of FCCM is due to be completed by the end of the year. 6 IRJ August 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of International Railway Journal - August 2007

Contents This month News Market News Transit News News Analysis Voith Goes For Maxima Impact First Gauge-Changeable Loco Under Test Power Surge China Feels the Need For Speed A Firm Foundation For Chinese High-Speed Testing Times on the Betuwe Route Tough Tests For Mass Transit Software A Measure of Success Rendezvous Full Contact List Advertisers Index The Last Word

International Railway Journal - August 2007

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