|
21 December 2008 - Lib Dem leader's pledge to re-open Lewes-Uckfield: Launching his party’s ‘Green Road Out of the Recession’ document, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg says his party would cancel the recent VAT cut and use the £12.5bn saved on a raft of real investment projects in the UK. Among £2bn of green transport projects which include railway electrification, more trains, more trams schemes and new railway lines is the reopening of Lewes-Uckfield. This eminently sensible approach is most welcome. “Investment that is environmentally responsible and good for the long term interest of the nation is the right approach and we need to start working now as these schemes take several years to deliver” said Brian Hart. “Rather than pouring money into failing car production for which there is plummeting demand, we should be building more trains and reopening rail links for which there is an urgent public need”. |
|
21 December 2008 - Brighton Line woes: The Department for Transport’s solution to providing more capacity on the Brighton Line has reportedly ended in mayhem following the introduction of the new timetable. Similarly vaunted by Network Rail as the answer to overcrowding, the extension of the Gatwick Express to Brighton has not been welcomed by commuters who complain of severe over-crowding, standing room only and fewer stops at key stations such as Haywards Heath and East Croydon. The first day of operation also saw numerous failures of signalling and trains, whilst passengers vented their wrath on Southern’s besieged staff who did their best in difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as though these problems might be just a temporary glitch. The DfT knows that the Balcombe bottleneck – where the line becomes just dual track all the way to Brighton – is the weakness of the route, but it won’t face up to the problem. This is compounded by the need to accommodate many West Coastway trains, as well as all services to Lewes, Eastbourne, Seaford, Bexhill etc. There are simply too many people chasing too few seats on a line that cannot satisfy demand, let alone operate faultlessly as Network Rail imagines is possible. It shows yet again that much-maligned Connex was quite right in its ‘20:20 Vision’ to propose introducing the Wealden Main Line – which would have been operational by now. Commenting on the news, Brian Hart said: “There is a growing consensus of opinion that we need this route as Connex envisaged eight years ago – double track throughout, electrified, upgraded and fulfilling its role once more as a major transport artery between London and the South Coast. It will cost a fraction of the sums needed to build new high-speed lines and we know this is easily achievable. This is one of the simplest schemes and its benefits go way beyond the myopic focus of this recent Study. I wish the DfT and Network Rail would get a grip”.
|
|
|
21 December 2008 - Funding row breaks out: An attempt is being made by East Sussex County Council to claw back more money than it contributed towards the Lewes-Uckfield rail study. ESCC was the very last of the local authorities to approve its contribution of £25,000 which only amounted to that of both Wealden and Lewes District councils, even though the County Council’s overall financial turnover is considerably higher. At the time, ESCC insisted this was because its Transport & Environment (T&E) Department was contributing officer time. Now, with the whole study amounting to £128,000 an under-spend of £32,000 has been revealed. This has prompted ESCC’s T&E Dept to attempt charging £28,000 for ‘officer time’ in managing the Lewes-Uckfield Rail Study. Adding insult to injury, the Director of its T&E Department, Rupert Clubb, suggests the small residue of £4,000 could then be distributed proportionately between the other contributors. Not surprisingly, the town councils of Lewes, Uckfield and Crowborough which between them contributed £50,000 are furious, not least because they were denied being full members of the Rail Board and having any real say or vote in the Study’s processes. Campaign Director Brian Hart said it appears ESCC is not only intent on retrieving its entire contribution, but aims to make a profit too. He added: “Like many other people, I consider this to be highly contemptible, but quite honestly I am not surprised in the slightest by their action. It’s entirely what I’ve come to expect from the County Council and in particular its officers. Indeed, this whole Rail Study would have benefited without any involvement whatsoever from East Sussex County Council”.
|
|
10 September : New calls for electrification and reopening |
 |
 |
 |
|
Passenger watchdog London TravelWatch has added its voice to calls for the Uckfield line to be electrified at the earliest opportunity.
In its submission to the South Central franchise consultation, it said the move was needed so that Uckfield services could be integrated with other Oxted line services to prevent people deserting the Uckfield line during the London Bridge reconstruction and causing overcrowding on the adjacent Brighton and Tunbridge Wells routes into the capital.
Meanwhile in RAILNEWS, Peter Rayner, a former BR London Midland region general manager, has called for the Uckfield line to be electrified and extended to Lewes, asserting: "The extension would give a much-needed diversionary route to Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings and Newhaven."
|
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 September 2008 17:16 )
|
|
