ERTA London-wide Pamphlet now available.

The ERTA 8 page London pdf pamphlet is available on request to richard.erta@gmail.com - all welcome/open to all.

Please give it and us your support. 

Together we can make some progress! 

Cambridge Windows for More By Rail - plan to keep options open, not diminish them!

Dear Colleagues,

Please ask - where and how east-west rail's central section will integrate with the new station - see map - the old Bedford-Cambridge route can be seen to the left now Guided Busway which must go by road to Addenbrookes!

The point being the east-west rail could integrate with this station as well as having the old trackbed back for segregational capacity creation south of Cambridge which needs land for more tracks for approraches to the Cambridge main station anyway, given the desire to run more trains including some freight?

Please try and get along and take some flyers.

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/anglia/cambridge-south-station/?fbclid=IwAR3O_4vEH7USXnVEEcVabp4dgMYWxSevYD8nDvGBe8vdDQ-TAJ0hx0KxHkU  

I attach a copy of my paper. I have an insight on how to tackle Blunham and Sandy access - but does depend on whether Bedford Borough Council/Mayor Dave Hodgson wants the railway from the east to enter Bedford via St John's and link with Bedford Midland, reverse to extra baying capacity and out again for Oxford? Contrast more circuitous and expensive options. Only willing to share my insight if invited to a meeting, where views are able to be openly expressed by either the Consortium, the Company or Bedford Borough Council or similar and that in private.

See diagram for a clue of what we would prefer at design stage. Proper rail optional integration, not one north-south station and develop land to block out the rest and by default overload Shepreth Junction!

The consultation is 'open to all'. Please spread the word.

Key to remember is that getting this and east-west right now, affects us all pro and anti and so what is happening here at Cambridge has a knock on effect rippling across the arc to Oxford and vice versa, ditto Bedford, ditto Milton Keynes. 

Likewise, if we want to free up more capacity into, across and out of London or indeed between Ely and Peterborough, we must have a robust railway able to take a lion's share of passenger and freight, not just passenger. Until it is built and made robust, over-demand for what is available is locked-in. 

Yours sincerely,

Richard Pill

ERTA Chairman

richard.erta@gmail.com

London Woes as Strikes and Sluggish Systems Fail to deliver progressive improvements in a timely manner.

09 January 2017

Press Release

London Woes as Strikes and Sluggish Systems Fail to deliver progressive improvements in a timely manner.

Today’s and other recent strikes are no more ideological than those in Government who are passing the buck of calling in Franchises and questioning whether more train services should be handed to TfL to manage or not. The result is a paralysation and on the ground whilst routine maintenance is happening, the grand scale plans seem remiss as HS2 takes Government time and resource and the millions of ordinary transport users are treated appallingly at cost.

ERTA believes the following should be looked at:

1. Tolling the M25 every 15 miles would inform a pot of money which could be used to invest to get London moving.

2. Bringing to fruition an urban London tram system would help central London cope with ever more numbers of people and mobility issues. But cars need to be cleared from Central London like Euston/St Pancras Road to enable trams and buses to get through, currently the whole road network grinds to a halt.

3. Southern lines like the Brighton Line needs to be made into Continental Loading Gauge and Dutch double-decker trains need to be imported to cater for growing volume of usage to relatively static terminal and track/station access capacity. Dutch double-deck trains are decades long tried and tested technology and this would enable greater numbers in more comfort to access existing terminals. 

4. Crossrail will be east-west, Southern radial lines are north-south like the Brighton Main Line. Crossrail 2 or 3 will take decades to deliver; we need something done interim to ease the pain of high volume London commute dependency, so the quicker plans to compulsory purchase and deliver Continental Loading Gauge are put in place the better for all.

5. Our other London suggestions can be found on our website page: https://ertarail.com/london/

End Press Release

Further comment: Campaigns Coordinator Mr Richard Pill 01234 330090 erta.rails6@yahoo.co.uk

Note: Source images of double-decker trains: 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Dutch+Double+decker+trains&rlz=1C1AOHY_enGB708GB708&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3ubf__rTRAhXjAcAKHePfADoQsAQIJw&biw=1280&bih=869

The first day of the London Marylebone - Oxford City Station service.

Caption above: Class 168 Unit No. 168106 at Oxford City Station prior to departing for London Marylebone 12^th December 2016. Oxford now has 2 routes to London, Milton Keynes and Witney next?

The first day of the London Marylebone - Oxford City Station service - by Simon Barber.

On the first day of the new timetable for Chiltern Railways(and also for several other Train Operators), three of our members (David Ferguson, Tony Bush and myself) travelled on some of the first through train services running from London Marylebone to Oxford City. David and I travelled on one service, whilst Tony travelled on another. We all distributed recruitment flyers on the trains to some of the other first passengers, and after we arrived at Oxford City both David and I went on to another train to leaflet more passengers prior to that train departing for London Marylebone.

We travelled on a Class 168 unit, which now operate most of the London Marylebone - Oxford City services. However, when we all returned to London Marylebone we travelled on a push-pull set presumably hauled by a Class 68 locomotive. There are now two bay platforms at Oxford City which are now dedicated to the London Marylebone service and also for the future East -West services for whenever these come on stream, and new awnings are now in the process of construction for these platforms.  We then made our way to an Italian restaurant close to Oxford's main bus station where we had a superb meal which also marked ERTA's Xmas celebration.

Caption Above: The ERTA Celebrating Christmas bash and the new rail link on December 12^th 2016 at Gino’s Spaghetti House, adjacent Gloucester Bus Station, Oxford City Centre where the X5 coach to Bedford goes from conveniently!

Join ERTA and be part of the picture! Good progress is being made. Further contacts and details see: Membership Secretary, 20 Fitzherbert House, Kingsmead, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 6HT T. 0208 940 4399 E. simon4barber@gmail.com or website: https://ertarail.com/membership/ All supporters welcome.