30/05/2009 by admin.

We caught the 10.31 TPE train from Manchester Airport to Windermere at Staveley - quaintly still a “request stop” - to  walk back along the DalesWay (about 6 miles…highly recommended).

We expected it to be empty but there was standing room only. In fact, said a fellow passenger who had travelled to Manchester Picadilly to catch the train, it had been full there.

Just a reminder, really, how important Manchester Airport is to the North of England. These were Cumbrians returning from a holiday abroad, foreigners arriving for a holiday, British tourists….all proving the need for longer - or more -trains!

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18/05/2009 by admin.

So Richard Branson is urging ministers to hyandnthe private sector a greater role in the railways…i.e. longer francises.

Whereas his thoughts make the papers my own point to anyone who will listen: “Is it beyond the wit of man to devise a system whereby the franchise winner buys his own trains and subsequent winners are required to take them over?” is usually met with tumbleweed blowing across the room.

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17/05/2009 by admin.

In 1997 boxer Barry McGuigan’s aughter Danika was diagnosed with Leukemia. He was so overwhelmed by the support and help his family received from the CLIC nurses (Cancer and Leukemia in Childhood) that he now commits a lot of his time to the CLIC nurses fund.

He named a has Virgin Train “Clic Sargeant”. Full details in June’s TransportMatters but watch him at:

http://www.transportmatters.co.uk/6.html

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17/05/2009 by admin.

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon made a surprise visit to Manchester to announce a £1.4bn transport package to replace the Transport Innovation Fund plans which were killed off by last year’s resounding congestion charge No vote.

It will mean that all but one of the stalled Metrolink extensions - to Chorlton, Manchester Airport, and Rochdale and Oldham town centres - will now go ahead. Only the line through Trafford Park will remain on the drawing board.

There will also be a Stockport bypass linking the airport and the A6; a redesigned version of the Mottram by-pass; a guided busway between Leigh and Manchester; a Wigan inner-relief road; park-and-ride across Greater Manchester; and more frequent bus routes in the city centre.

Full details in next month’s TransportMatters magazine but take a peep at some video at http://www.transportmatters.co.uk/6.html

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14/05/2009 by admin.

Here’s a man who could teach our MPs a thing or two… 

Network Rail’s chief executive, Iain Coucher, today announced that he would be forgoing any annual bonus this year. Mr Coucher has informed the company’s remuneration committee that he has taken a personal decision to withdraw from the annual bonus scheme for the year, 2008/9. The incentive scheme focuses achievement on delivering a safe, reliable and efficient rail network over the short- and long-term. The Network Rail bonus scheme comprises two parts; the short term, annual bonus element and the long term element designed to replicate share options within a plc. It is the first part which Mr Coucher is withdrawing from. Iain Coucher said, “Today I want to be able to talk freely about Network Rail’s story of success and how it has delivered for passengers not just last year but over the last five years without this story being clouded by controversy. In the last 12 months we met or exceeded almost all of the tough targets set for us by our independent regulator.”

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13/05/2009 by admin.

Remember there being no Plan B? 

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon made a surprise visit to Manchester to announce a £1.4bn plan B to replace the Transport Innovation Fund plans which were killed off by last year’s resounding congestion charge No vote.

It will mean that all but one of the stalled Metrolink extensions - to Chorlton, Manchester Airport, and Rochdale and Oldham town centres - will now go ahead. Only the line through Trafford Park will remain on the drawing board.

There will also be a Stockport bypass linking the airport and the A6; a redesigned version of the Mottram by-pass; a guided busway between Leigh and Manchester; a Wigan inner-relief road; park-and-ride across Greater Manchester; and more frequent bus routes in the city centre.

The package, which could create 21,000 jobs, will be financed by borrowing against small increases in council tax – Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority’s levy will go up by three per cent for the next six years raising the council tax by about £2 a year – and the government bringing forward the Regional Fund Allocation.

And Greater Manchester’s 10 councils have agreed to hand over 40 per cent of the government money they receive individually for transport.

Manchester Airport will contribute to the costs of building the line there and revenue from Metrolink operations will also be used. The government will provide around £165m for the Stockport by-pass.
Mr Hoon said:  “I’m grateful for all the work that Association of Greater Manchester Authorities have done to develop these plans and I welcome these proposals to bring forward £195m of government funding to improve local transport in Greater Manchester.

“The Ashton and East Didsbury tram extensions, bus improvements around Oxford Road and park and ride schemes will make a real difference to the residents and economy of this great City.”

Lord Peter Smith leader of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities which brokered the deal, said: “We have agreed unanimously a priority programme of public transport and highway schemes with funding from national, regional and local sources which will deliver not only £1.5bn of transport improvements but will also generate the maximum impact on the economy.  The package will also generate social inclusion and environmental benefits.
“Coming up with the proposals involved some hard choices, they provide clear evidence of what strong City leadership can achieve and represent a real step towards ensuring that Greater Manchester has the transport system it needs to support its role as a world class City Region.  We particularly welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement today of the accelerated transport package.

“This will ensure we can continue the momentum of the tram extensions to new areas, deliver important bus improvements in the Regional Centre and more park and ride facilities.”

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11/05/2009 by admin.

Just after listening to Lee Wasnidge and Paul Salveson tell people attending Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority’s public transport seminar at Manchester Town Hall how well they are doing, I found that my afternoon train to Littleborough was cancelled. I caught a train to Rochdale where I waited half an hour for a train home.

During that time the new “fast” (i.e. doesn’t stop at Littleborough) train called and the conductor was asked by a fellow passenger if it was now going to stop at Littleborough to address the problem of he cancelled train. Nope, came the answer.

WHY NOT?

Manchester to Littleborough: 1 hour 10 minutes. What a disgrace!! 

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06/05/2009 by admin.

From Hold the Front Page:

“A Scottish weekly newspaper publisher has launched a new online only lifestyle ‘e-zine’.

DNG Media’s new monthly ‘SW Living’ will be features-based and offer a broader perspective on life in Dumfries and Galloway.

The first cover star is Lord Seb Coe who toured the area by bicycle during a visit to discuss fitness with local children and promote the 2012 Olympics.

The e-zine will be written and produced by journalists, photographers and sub-editors on the company’s four newspapers: Annandale Herald, Moffat News, Annandale Observer and Dumfries Courier.

Chief reporter Fiona Reid told HTFP: “We launched our websites last year so this is the next step in extending our multimedia platforms.

“We only have limited space for features in our newspapers so this is a chance to broaden things and publish more features and photos that don’t make it into the papers.

“It’s a mix of lifestyle, health, beauty and fashion as well as anything we would want to expand on which has been in the papers and has got more potential.”

Each edition of the e-zine will be online during the first week of the month.”

TransportMatterss “e-zine” is a year old today!

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05/05/2009 by admin.

TransportMatters magazine is a year old. The May edition is now online at www.transportmatters.co.uk. We have a new columnist, Paul Rowen, MP for Rochdale and chairman of the all-party Parliamentary Light Rail Group.

There is a full report on the Northern Way’s report on the economic benefits of the “Manchester  Hub” to the whole of the North of England …and an invitation to help find a new name for it in preparation for a campaign for the next general election.

In Motors, we look at the pros and cons of “scrappage”…and there is a full round-up of recent transport conferences. Plus much more!

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01/05/2009 by admin.

Congratulations to Communique for picking up a nomination for Best Campaign over £10k   for the Stop the Charge campaign.

How wrong I was to think that Connectpoint and SKV were doing the clever stuff! I guess Communique knew it was never going to happen and pitched the tone of the campaign accordingly.

And I guess that I was identified as a sucker and that’s why there were times when I was largely ignored. But when I blogged one Sunday about an AGMA report, Rachel was on the phone within an hour.

Sorry Rachel for ever doubting you.                   

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