THE NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY NOTICE BOARD

Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru Bwrdd hysbyseb



'To Crewe, Parker!' - Llandudno Junction, April 19, and a clear morning at last - you can see the sun shining in the background of the photo. 57 311 Parker chauffers 390 040 Virgin Pathfinder. (Gwyn Williams)
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Edition of 25 April 2005

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Virgin's summer timetable - report by Phil Atack

The entire Virgin West Coast summer 2005 timetable is now available for download as a PDF file from the Rail Regulator's website, complete with traction details, headcodes, and indications of where 57s are to be attached to and detached from Pendolinos. Very interesting.

Looking at the North Wales line,  Monday - Friday we get two 57/390 combos: Holyhead departures 1R18 05:32 ('The Welsh Dragon'), 1A78 at 14:14. Holyhead arrivals are 1D22 12:58, 1D25 21:35. Summer Saturdays we look like getting three 57/390 drags each way: Holyhead departures 1A13 05:52, 1A24 09:14 & 1A41 14:15. Holyhead arrivals 1D22 12:57, 1D25 21:39, 1D26 23:49. - 20 April

Green Express

Thanks to Phil Atack for these timings for the Green Express charter train planned for 23 April.

Llandudno Junction  dep 06:35, Colwyn Bay 06:43, Abergele 06:52, Rhyl 07:00, Flint 07:19, Chester 07:37, Etruria 08:19. Arr Ely 11:58. Return dep Ely 16:23. Arr Etruria 19:44, Chester 20:32, Flint 20:54, Rhyl 21:18, Abergele 21:28, Colwyn Bay 21:41,  Llandudno Junction 21:53.

Interesting to see Etruria as a stopping place, as this station has been virtually closed to normal trains. - 20 April

Football specials 16 April - report by Richard Boyd



On Saturday 16 April I travelled behind 47 839 which was working the 07:07 Manchester-Cardiff additional train, see above at Crewe.  The story behind this service is quite interesting in that it was originally meant to be one of two additionals run by Arriva from Manchester to Cardiff in connection with the Blackburn v Arsenal football match at the Millennium Stadium. At the last minute, one of these trains, the 06.45 from Manchester, was cancelled leaving just the 07:07 additional and the 06:57 service train to cope with those fans travelling to the match. From what I overheard, Arriva's plan had been to ask Network Rail at Manchester to show the destination of the 06:57 as Newport, thereby ensuring all the football fans caught the additional. Unfortunately (or is that predictably nowadays?), this didn't happen meaning that about 250 fans caught the 06:57 service train which fortunately had been strengthened. Only the residue therefore caught the train which Arriva had intended they catch, and apparently there were only 153 people on board a ten coach train upon leaving Stockport.



This picture shows the train on arrival at Cardiff. The return journey was less of a shambles, but things still didn't go as had probably been intended. This was because most of the fans that I saw caught the slightly delayed 15:44 Cardiff-Manchester service train, a six-car Class 158, leaving the return ten-coach additional, the 16:20 departure from Cardiff, with a mighty 79 passengers on board leaving Newport. This might have been an organisational mistake but I cannot remember when I last travelled on a train and had two Mk II TSO's to myself!  Indeed, with the beautiful spring weather on that Saturday afternoon, the serene travelling environment, the lack of the aggravating manifestations of contemporary life such as mobile phones, and a cup of coffee from the trolley to sip, it was a journey that will linger in my memory for years to come. - 20 April

Sunday Special



Sunday 17 April also saw a loco-worked additional service from Manchester to Cardiff and back, again top-and-tailed by 47 815 and 47 839 from the Riviera Trains fleet. Dave Bramley's pictures show the return working at Chester. - 20 April



What we didn't get

An article by Rhodri Clark in the 19 April issue of the Western Mail rakes over some of the proposals made by Arriva and other companies for the Wales franchise before they were told to make it as cheap as possible.
 
According to the report, Arriva proposed to order from Bombardier a new fleet of  22 2-car Turbostar trains worth £45 million. The proposal was rejected by the Strategic Rail Authority, and yet now the Welsh Assembly Government has 'agreed to spend £50m leasing just seven old Sprinter trains discarded by Scotland.' Mike German, leader of the Liberal Democrats at the National Assembly, says the situation is "staggering" and has called for the Auditor General to investigate. Had the WAG's £50m been on the table when the franchise was arranged, Wales would now have a fleet of new trains, he claimed. Now we have to be careful with these figures:  the £50 million for the Sprinters seems very high, and it is, but it represents the leasing cost of the 150s over a ten-year period including the cost of an overhaul. The total cost of the 170s would be considerably more than this. Even so, these does seem to be a big discrepancy. We;be be interested to hear from anyone who knows more about this topic.

Other rail improvements said to have been refused by the Government include:
Each bidder produced a suggested list of upgrades which would not have increased subsidy by more than 10%. One bidder, Serco, said it could replace the entire Valley Lines rolling stock with new trains without exceeding "the 10% cost limitation". Could these have been the Chinese ones that Serco/Nedrail are now suggesting for Northern? But most of the suggested upgrades were dropped - and bidders were told to draw up plans for a 10% subsidy cut.

Simon Thomas MP, Plaid Cymru's transport spokesman in Westminster, said the Government should have provided the extra 10% subsidy for the improvements listed by Arriva and other bidders. "Not spending that small extra amount means a disaster in the end, because we won't have a rail system that answers the needs of Wales." A Welsh Labour spokesman said, "Labour has worked hard to deliver our commitment to a single rail franchise for Wales. Now we are reopening passenger rail services on the Ebbw Valley and Vale of Glamorgan routes for the first time since the Beeching cuts of 40 years ago. In addition we are investing in increased capacity on the Valley lines and have increased the number of direct north-south trains within Wales. The choice is between Labour's sustained investment in transport or a return to the failed policies of the Tories." Surely there are other choices?  - 20 April

The trip from Hooton



A charter train from Hooton to Minehead (on the West Somerset Railway) ran on 16 April: Colin Partington captured the early morning start from Hooton station with 67 014 as train engine (above) ...



... and 67 021 on the other end.



Here's the train arriving at Chester. (Tim J. Rogers) - 20 April

Regional Railways livery appears ... and disappears



One of the last few items of stock still in normal service with National Rail  wearing Regional Railways colours is 153 326, one of the two 153s recently transferred from East Anglia to Arriva Trains Wales. This made an appearance in North Wales on 18 April; Dave Bramley's picture above shows it at Chester on Crewe - Chester shuttle duty. These colours are, of course the basis of our website's colour scheme, and we have no intention of changing.



In the afternoon of 18 April it headed off down the Coast as the 16:40 Crewe - Llandudno, photographed near Abergele by Larry Goddard. Note that Anglia have removed both the Regional Railways name and the striped 'linking device' which used to be at the ends of the light blue line.



A variation on this scheme was introduced by North West Regional Railways in the early 90s (against considerable opposition from BR headquarters, it was rumoured at the time) with a green line in place of the light blue and known as their 'Express' livery. 156 464, by then in First North Western stock, is looking good in Ian Bowland's picture above, taken at Crewe in 2001. These units have been undergoing overhaul and repainting at Wabtec, Doncaster, and 156 461, the very last to carry this livery, recently entered the works, no doubt to re-emerge in Northern Rail's colours.



Although the North Wales services were considered part of the North West Express network, the locos and stock used stayed with the standard RR livery. Quite a few of the coaches have now passed to heritage railways, and some have been repainted in other liveries of varying tastefulness, but one Mk1 vehicle still in RR colours is seen behind 71000 Duke of Gloucester at Ramsbottom on the East Lancashire Railway on 16 April.



Here's the locomotive version on 37 425 Concrete Bob/Sir Robert McAlpine, pictured by Larry Goddard back in 1995. This engine is currently in the news, as it has now been repainted in a version of the original  large-logo blue of the Class 37/4 conversions - pictures please! - 20 April

A chance to meet...

The Shrewsbury to Chester Rail Users' Association next meeting in Wrexham is on Monday 25 April, starting at 19.30 hrs. Venue is St Marys' Social Club in Regent St, opposite Grosvenor St traffic lights.

The main speaker will be Mr Ben Davies, Arriva Trains Wales, Stakeholder Liaison Manager North, making a progress report on ATW operations and plans as a follow-up to the meeting held last November. Karen Kinder,  station manager at Chester will also be present. Time also for questions and answers.

Also attending and making short presentations will be Sheila Dee, Community Rail Officer for the Chester-Shrewsbury Rail Partnership, who will speak about the on going community rail project and Larry Davies who will comment on the forthcoming demise of the Rail Passengers Committee Wales (and others) and what follows thereafter for rail passenger representations.
 
The meeting is open to members of the public, as well as SCRUA members who wish to hear about and comment on modern day rail services in North Wales and the Borders. Private bar facilities are available, there is car parking on site and the venue is just a short walk down the road from Wrexham General station. - 20 April

Holyhead Sunday



Normality returned to the Coast line on Sunday 17 April after two Sundays of disruption to Arriva Trains Wales services. In Corrie's picture above an ATW 158 unit sets out of the carriage sidings prior to forming the 10:35 to Cardiff Central.



57 311 Parker waits in Platform 1 for its run to Crewe later in the day. - 20 April

Cambrian nocturne



A striking view by 'Bushcutter'  showing 37 401 on a ballast train at Machynlleth on 15 April.  - 20 April


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