Tell Network Rail what you think about Northern Hub plans

[pemma]

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/Northern-consultation-survey.aspx

The topics asked relate to the Ordsall Chord, redevelopment of Victoria station, electrification and Northern Hub in general.

If anyone's short of ideas, the points I made relate to:
* Extra capacity and more frequent service on North TPE being good
* Electrification helping to bring down running costs
* 4 car 319s only providing limited additional capacity over existing doubled up Sprinters and unable to run in multiple due to platform lengths and 319s not having SDO. I suggested something like a 377, with enough to run doubled up services at peak time would be better suited to the North West routes.
* More capacity needed through Stockport, in particular for more frequent Chester and Buxton services at peak times.

 

[142094]

They were at Leeds yesterday with flyers and a nice big notice board - style but no substance?

 

[ukrob]

Call me cynical, but this only a publicity exercise and 'going through the motions'. What will telling them what you think change? Unless tens of thousands say the thing, anything you say will fall of deaf ears.

 

[Nym]

No substance at all, when I spoke to them they didn't have a clue...

 

[142094]

Call me cynical, but this only a publicity exercise and 'going through the motions'. What will telling them what you think change? Unless tens of thousands say the thing, anything you say will fall of deaf ears.

You're very right - plus Villiers herself said the other day that not everything that is planned may actually be done. I also fail to see how this will help anywhere not in the Manchester to Leeds belt, apart from supposedly improving journey times of trains going through that area going further north.

 

[WatcherZero]

Indeed early days

Ordsall Chord
1 Autumn / Winter 2011 Consultation on outline scheme
2 Spring / Summer 2012 Consultation on detailed designs
3 Winter 2012/2013 Consultation on draft application
4 Spring 2013 Submission of final scheme to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC)
5 Spring 2014 Application to be determined by the IPC
6 Winter 2016/2017 New Ordsall Chord to be operational

Northern Hub
1 Q4 2009 Network Rail makes case for first new high speed line
2 Q1 2010 Network Rail launches Northern Hub report
3 Q2 2010 Network Rail publishes findings on possible second and third high speed lines
4 Q3 2010 Network Rail launches further consultation on proposals for northern rail routes (Northern RUS)
5 Q3 2012 Government sets out national rail service requirements for five year period (2014 – 2019) and confirms whether it agrees need for Northern Hub improvements
6 Q4 2012 Network Rail sets out detailed plan to meet government target services
7 Q3 2013 Office of Rail Regulation decides on funding available to meet Network Rail’s plans, including Northern Hub proposals
8 Q4 2013 Manchester to Liverpool line electrified, increasing speed and reliability of services
9 Q4 2014 Potential start of work proposed by Northern Hub report

 

[142094]

No substance at all, when I spoke to them they didn't have a clue...

In any other country a small bit of line being reopened would be an irrelevance.

Too much red tape and not enough work on the ground.

 

[Nym]

It isn't being re-opened it's a whole new bit of line.

Somone remind me to tell them to grade seperate it when the detailed stuff comes through.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

If you refer back to the exhibitions that were held recently in Manchester, when everything was answered in the most generalised terms by non-technical staff, it would appear that the only matter that National Rail want to achieve is to make the general public "vaguely aware" that "something is being done".

I think that ukrob and 142094 have already covered points that I might also have made.

 

[142094]

It isn't being re-opened it's a whole new bit of line.

My mistake - however the point still stands - lots of coverage about a very small bit of line, probably more appropriate for something like HS2.