CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
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Following an extended fares freeze for season tickets and flexipasses in Scotland, from April all ScotRail fares will increase by 8.7%.
The ScotRail peak fares removal pilot will be extended by three months until June 2024.
Similarly, Caledonian Sleeper fares will increase on average by 8.7% from 1 January, excluding seated tickets.
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https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/rail-fares-increase-level-confirmed-2/
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New plans to resolve the rail capacity issues created by the cancellation of HS2’s northern legs are years away, the Observer has been told, amid claims that passengers will have to be priced off the railways to tackle congestion.
Experts said the decision to cancel phase two of the project, which took it north of Birmingham, would have knock-on effects for the rest of the century. One said Rishi Sunak’s decision to cancel was like “taking a body and ripping out the backbone – you’re left with a wobbly amoeba”.
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Update on WCRC's HIgh Court Challenge to the ORR regarding fitting central door locking to the Jacobite: https://news.stv.tv/scotland/hogwarts-express-operator-loses-high-court-challenge-over-door-safety
West Coast Railway Company Ltd (WCRCL) took legal action against the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) after it refused to exempt the company from rules banning the use of hinged doors without central locking earlier this year.The company, which runs the Jacobite service – known popularly as the Hogwarts Express – complained that the multimillion-pound cost of having to retrofit central locking could “destroy” its business and argued its door systems were just as safe.
But in a ruling on Friday, a judge dismissed the operator’s case and concluded that the ORR had taken a “justifiable” approach.
This is the curious Polar Express, seems to have ‘door minders’ (though presumably they don’t stand there throughout the journey).
Though with the price of PE tickets, presumably could afford to…
Actually I expect I’m wrong and these are newer coaches with locking mechanisms(?)
(Train is run by WCR).
The regulations banning the use of hinged doors on passenger rolling stock, unless fitted with central door locking, were laid before Parliament in August 1999. West Coast Railways has had the best part of quarter of a century to sort this issue out.
The "interim" solution of secondary door bolts operated by stewards was found lacking (as described by ejstubbs).
West Coast Railway Company made a profit of £1.6m in 2022 and has £5m cash in the bank (details from Companies House). This is just a greedy business, sitting on the golden goose of the Hogwarts Express, that doesn't want to make an investment in passenger safety.
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Shocking event that’s happened at #BroughtyFerry the outdated HST hit a tree. Driver reacted superbly and is shaken but not hurt. We continue dialogue with @scotrail over the future of these trains on the railway
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https://twitter.com/ASLEF_Scotland/status/1740076145838592235
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Greenhill is a critical location on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line near Falkirk. Over nine days, we're replacing the junction and upgrading the signalling system.
Eddie and Jeremy were on hand this morning to give us an update on progress so far. #ChristmasRailWorks
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https://twitter.com/NetworkRailSCOT/status/1740401096164626529?s=20
1 min video
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It said an electrified dual-track line from Edinburgh to Inverness should be considered so it did not eventually become quicker to travel from Edinburgh to London than to the Highland capital.
The report said Edinburgh-Inverness was three hours by car, but 30 minutes longer by train, although that is partly because the rail lines via Stirling or Kirkcaldy are less direct. It also highlighted Glasgow-Dunfermline took one hour by car, but an extra 30 minutes by train, as passengers have to change in Edinburgh.
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Northerners say they are now beginning to believe the rail service — which they'd relied on for 110 years before it was cut — will actually return.
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Happened to come across the most laughable transport claim I've seen in a while. This is from Network Rail consultants trying to get out of creating bus stops at Cameron Bridge station.
Another issue in winter is that passengers may not wish to walk in poor weather from the bus stop to the
station, instead opting to take their car which is in contradiction to encouraging people to use more
sustainable forms of transport.
"There is the potential for pedestrians to attempt to cross the road at the bus stop location, particularly if they are late for a train, increasing the risk of conflict with a vehicle and high potential for a fatal accident."
Huh. If only it were possible to provide a safe way for pedestrians to get from one side to the other.
Alas.
I also enjoyed the contradiction that the bus stop would never be used yet cause problems as a result of its use.
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London St Pancras International is in chaos.
All Eurostar and Southeastern trains this morning cancelled due to flooding in the tunnel beneath the Thames.
Many Thameslink services cancelled due to staff shortage.
Trying to find out what I can and will report as soon as possible.
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The madness of how public transport is governed in Scotland in a nut shell. A new railway station is built by Network Rail, specified and funded by the Scottish Government. The new station will have a bus stop.
The privately owned bus operator (50%+ of revenue from the Scottish Government) doesn't fancy using this bus stop, as it might slow its service down. It asks Fife Council, the planning authority, to attach a condition to the planning permission for the station requiring Network Rail to install another bus stop (using Scottish Government funding), which won't slow its service down. Fife Council obliges.
Network Rail doesn't fancy paying for this additional facility and commissions consultants (also paid from Scottish Government funds) to object to this condition.
In any rationally managed system the bus would simply use the facilities being provided at the railway station - no extra capital cost or duplication of facilities, and it is obviously the best option for multi-modal passengers.
Not in Scotland though - despite policies and rhetoric expounding the benefits of public transport and multi-modal travel.
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Many rail journeys between Edinburgh and London are expected to be cut to around four hours from next December in a long-awaited move that will accelerate the shift from plane to train, London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has told Scotland on Sunday.
A final decision to speed up the east coast main line is awaited from the UK Government, which would reduce some trips between Waverley and Kings Cross by nearly half an hour.
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Robert McCulloch
First Train to Leven
The first ScotRail test train to the new Leven station is seen on arrival.
158704 formed 3K50 06:03 from Haymarket Depot.
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/robert55012/53451451723/
(Yesterday)
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https://www.railengineer.co.uk/levenmouth-almost-reconnected/
A final decision to speed up the east coast main line
If approved, one of the two trains an hour between Edinburgh and London would take 4 hours 5 minutes northbound and 4 hours 8 minutes southbound, stopping only in Newcastle and York.
Of course. Just run as close as possible to the good old Elizabethan non-stop. At least we have the northern power upgrade in place now.
And here was me thinking that in 2024 we might have actually cracked the 140mph signalling issues and HS2 cancellation might have started to make more sense. This country is pathetic.
When I first came to Edinburgh in 1991, I was weekly commuting from London. Back then there were 2 trains a day taking just 3h59m (stopping only at York & Newcastle). What happened? Why did the service get worse?
@ColoniesChris - I used to get those. I seem to remember the 1500 'Flying Scotsman' (not that one) from Kings Cross was timetabled for 3hrs 59mins.
I think the problem was increasing congestion at the southern end of the East Coast Main Line. It doesn't matter how fast your intercity train can run, if it is having to thread through local stoppers and lumbering freight trains. There are also some significant bottlenecks, such as the Welwyn Viaduct.
I wonder whether the new digital in-cab signalling currently being rolled out will eventually allow faster Edinburgh-London trains - including possible 140mph running (which the old 1990's trains were perfectly capable of doing!)
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in 1962, the timetable was accelerated, with the journey time from London to Edinburgh cut by one hour, from seven hours to six; enabled by the Deltics' ability to rapidly accelerate and maintain high speed with a heavy train over long distances. This matched the timing of the pre-war A4-hauled Coronation service, but was achieved without priority over other traffic unlike the earlier LNER train, it was also now the timing of normal standard fare expresses throughout the day, and not just a once-a-day premium fare express. From 1966 the infrastructure on the ECML was progressively upgraded to allow higher speeds in order to take better advantage of the Deltics' capabilities; this included upgrading the track, and other improvements such as the easing of sharp curves and improving the alignments through various stations. By 1973, these upgrades had allowed another half-hour to be cut from the London–Edinburgh journey time, with the Deltic-hauled Flying Scotsman, timetabled to reach Edinburgh in 5 ½ hours, with one stop at Newcastle
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_55
And Edinburgh to Glasgow used to take 42 mins…
Level project sounds good and should be replicated elsewhere (St Andrews / Fraserburgh?)
Cost is £120 million for 10km of double track and couple of stations.
Active travel benefits too.
This programme aims to maximise opportunities for active travel in Levenmouth along a 5km stretch of the river from Cameron Bridge to Leven. It is part-funded by the Scottish Government’s Places for Everyone programme. In addition, Fife Council received £19.4 million from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund for the Leven Connectivity Project and Glenrothes Riverside Park.Though the Leven programme is outside the scope of the rail link project, Network Rail is working closely with it to minimise its cost and has submitted planning applications for three footbridges which will become part of this active travel network. With low land by the River Leven and disused coal mines in the area, these planning applications required flood and mining risk assessments.
10 years since Border Rail opened. Can't wait till 2034 for next one. ;-)
I think the 05:40 Flying Scotsman still exists, arriving at Kings Cross 09:40, making it in 4 hours. Presumably a return service too. Is there a second 4 hour service in the day?
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The @ScotRail £17 anywhere return in Scotland has just landed. Thinking about taking the bike to Golspie or Rogart area and cycling inland on the single track roads from there for a couple of days. Anyone cycled in that region?
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Significant disruption to ScotRail services across the central belt due to Network Rail engineering works - January 29 until February 2.
Customer advice is essential travel only.
Safety-critical engineering works by Network Rail on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow railway line from January 29 until February 2 will mean significant disruption to Scotland’s Central Belt. ScotRail is advising customers that essential travel only is recommended on the affected routes.
Network Rail will install a specialist netting system on a rock cutting above the railway, which will help prevent potential rockfall from a cutting on the line – improving safety for colleagues and customers.
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It is becoming a tale of two railways. There may be two lines crossing the Border, but the way the system is run on either side shows signs of an increasing divide – and I blame politics.
ScotRail, which runs the vast majority of trains within Scotland, has been part of the Scottish Government since 2022. But then LNER, the main east coast cross-Border operator, has been in UK Government hands for nearly six years.
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What's the word the younguns use these days, "delulu"? The tories don't *want* to boost rail, that's the difference between them and the SNP who at least claim they do want to(efficacy is another matter). There's no nice comfy middle ground for centrist dads to settle into there.
Well well well. Looks like the ORR finally ran out of patience.
https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2024/01/orr-revoke-west-coast-railways-exemption.html/amp
The comments are both manifold and interesting. About a third of them are from people missing the point, bleating about "'elf an' safety gone mad" and "no-one ever fell out of a train".
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One simple solution is that these doors have a key lock.Just give the stewards a key each and lock the doors when departing a station. Bring back common sense.
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Mmm
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