Rail Rumblings

Peter Colley (pictured)November 2008

Bi-directional Benefits

Anyone who has had to travel on the West Coast main line while work has been taking place to upgrade it, particularly at weekends, will almost certainly have suffered from delays, cancellations or had to use a bus substitution service. However, when travelling by train on the continent I have not had similar experiences and notice that, in the Thomas Cook's Continental Rail Timetable, most long-distance trains run at the same time every day, seven days a week.

This raises the question - how and when do they undertake major engineering works without disrupting the trains? The answer to this question was given to me by a former BR engineer, following an incident that occurred while I was on a journey in Austria from Innsbruck to Jenbach. The express that my wife and I were intending to catch was delayed for some reason, but there was a local train due to leave shortly after our arrival at the station. Knowing how, in this country, if an express gets behind a stopping train, it has to travel at the speed of the train in front, we decided to catch the local train. Having travelled only part of the way, stopping at two intermediate stations, we were very surprised when the express train raced past us on the other track. An even greater surprise occurred a few moments later when a second train passed us on the same track, but going in the opposite direction! I was so amazed that I stood up so that I could look down and see the rails of the other track and, sure enough, after a short distance, there was a crossover linking the two tracks together, which the express had used.

The system used to control trains which makes it possible for them to be operated this way and enable engineering work to be carried out without closing both tracks is known as bi-directional signalling. This enables trains to run in both directions on both tracks. In addition to the lineside signals the train drivers are in radio contact with the signal box, so that they can be advised that they are being overtaken, can adjust their speed, and therefore do not always need to bring their train to a complete standstill at a signal. Clearly this system provides greater flexibility in the way that trains are operated, particularly when work is in progress on one of the tracks or in special circumstances like the incident that I experienced. Even when the West Coast Main Line upgrade is completed it will still not incorporate full bi-directional signalling and the rules governing the safety of track workers have to be followed, so be prepared for more disruptions when engineering work is taking place.

Carriages Call

The railway network in the UK has, until recently, suffered from significant under-investment. We are now in the situation where there are as many passengers using the system as there were 60 years ago, and the numbers are still growing. This is in spite of the growth in car ownership and the closure of many lines.

This growth is evident all over the network, and a recent survey by members of the Lakes Line Rail Users Group found that use of the branch line from Oxenholme to Windermere had increased by 7.6 % over the past year. However, the effects of such growth can be seen most clearly on trains operating into and out of central Manchester. Recently one train with only 3 carriages left Oxford Road for Glasgow with 100 people standing;, some of them having to wait until reaching Lancaster before they could get a seat. There is also a report of another similar train having 170 people standing, which is a totally unacceptable situation and potentially very dangerous.

The govenment has promised to provide 1,200 extra carriages, some of which will be allocated to Trans Pennine Express, so that they can add an extra one to their three car sets. They would like them now, but their purchase has not yet been authorized, even though they will be bought by a finance company and leased to T.P.E. This is a crazy situation which NorthWest Transport Activists Roundtable (T.A.R) wants to see resolved as soon as possible.