Inverness' large Departure Board is now operational (04.03.08)
Network Rail's Strategic Business Plan is here. For HRP's note see Documents (01.11.07)
Fort William-Mallaig is closed
19 October-4 November; Lairg-Wick 27,28 October; Inverness-Perth 10-18
November; Crianlarich-Oban 9-16 November. Buses replace trains, as
usual. (25.10.07)
Scotland's track renewals
are now solely in the hands of First Engineering, following Network
Rail's decision to terminate Jarvis' switches and crossings
contract. (01.10.07)
The Scotland
RUS final version has backed Room for Growth's Highland
Main Line proposals for hourly Inverness-Central Belt services in a
shorter journey time. Invernet II now appears to have a greater chance
of success with the acceptance that frequency enhancements should be
focussed on either ends. Check Network Rail's website for full details. (02.03.07)
Two young men was killed and one injured when a
car hit the 0714 Inverness to Wick on the Delny Level Crossing near
Invergordon on Fri 2 February. (06.02.07)
Heavy rain caused
the railway to be closed at Dalguise on the Highland Main
Line, and Ardlui on the West Highland Line. Both reopned in time for
Christmas. (04.01.07)
West Highlands- Monessie Gorge on
13.12.06 pic G Rivett
Network Rail has posted a profit for the first time in its
interim results. Revenue has increased as Government grants have kicked
in, and track access income is higher. (01.12.06)
The Kyle line is fully open, and the Wick line as far as Thurso following the storms and
floods
two weeks ago. (16.11.06)
Flooding and high winds have caused disruption across the Highlands,
with landslips closing the Kyle and Wick lines. The 1612
Glasgow-Inverness hit a tree near Carrbridge, and the Fort William
sleeper had a similar encounter at Ardlui. Check before travel!
(27.10.06)
CCTV and CIS (Customer Information
Systems) are to be installed at Nairn, Forres, Elgin, Keith, Oban, Fort
William, Aviemore and Pitlochry. (26.09.06)
Perth station has another mural done by Perth
High School pupils. The new design on the ex Dundee
platform features a Turbostar. (11.09.06)
Network
Rail's Draft Scotland Route Utilisation Strategy is
out. Available on the
NR website, it has received press comment on the subject of little used
stations.
The document lists the 10 busiest stations, and then
lists the 10 least used, of which six are all in the HRP area.
Elsewhere it refers to 23 stations having fewer than 1000
passengers per year- a list was produced by the Herald. The document
merely states that, " a number
of these (23) are on corridors
that are capacity constrained although in some cases not many trains
stop."
It should be remembered that these figures do not necessarily
represent total station usage as rail pass holders do not get recorded.
Also Upper Tyndrum tickets are often sold as Tyndrum Stations,
Helensburgh Upper as Helensburgh Stations. Helensburgh Upper often has
25 passengers on the Arrochar commuter.
The Strategy refers to
questioning renewals at these stations, not maintenance which NR are
obliged to carry out. Carrbridge is an example of a station where the
renewal of the west platform at c.£500,000 might have prompted a
discussion of the service pattern. Dalwhinnie west platform is about to
follow suit. In neither case would the result have led to closure,
which is expensive to pursue and politically difficult to
achieve.
The Scottish Executive is the specifier and funder of the
Scottish
network. The Executive are responsible for strategy and policy.
The good news: Room for Growth gets very good press; Hilton
Jn-Ladybank gets a proposal to increase the linespeed from 55 to 65-90
mph, saving 4m30s.
The
consultation document is on the NR website. (28.08.06)
Room for Growth,
the Highland rail capacity
constraint study, and the Rail Demand Study were launched in Edinburgh.
£55m spent on the Highland Main Line would give hourly
Inverness-Edinburgh services in 2h45. The document is available at www.hie.co.uk/transport-rail.html
Network Rail has posted its best punctuality
figures for 6 years,
representing a 28% reduction in delays
since NR took over from Railtrack. Meanwhile, ORR's Network Rail
Monitor (Scotland) shows First ScotRail performance up to 85.8%
from 83.1%. For more detail see http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/nr-monitor-q4-scot.pdf
(31.05.06)
Banavie is the latest station
to receive a makeover.
HRP's Adopt a Station seminar in Inverness on 15
March received welcome publicity with a half page feature in the Herald. Pitlochry on 22 March and
Crianlarich on 29 March are the next stops. (20.03.06)
Winter continues West Coast snow patrol duties
Inverness 16.03.06
The Office of Rail Regulation has fined Network
Rail £250,000 for
failing to have up to date information on the capability of its
infrastructure. (06.03.06)
Winter ploughing duties- a rare outing on 28/02/06
The Office of Rail Regulation has criticised
Network Rail's Scottish performance, with improvements in delays
slower than on the GB network as a whole. See www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/nr-monitor-q3-scot.pdf.
for details. (23.02.06)
The signs they are a changing...Ardlui, Arrochar National Park
signage
The c. £150m Waverley upgrade project to deliver
more capacity has begun. (19.01.06)
Druimuachdar
and Corrour Summit now have a signs to match the one at Slochd.
There were funded
by GNER, Network Rail, First ScotRail, Railway Heritage Trust and HRP.
(31.01.06)
The 0648 Inverness-Edinburgh hit a landslide and
derailed near Moy on
Saturday 26 Nov. Some passengers and the driver were taken to hospital.
The line reopened the following day. (28.11.05)
The Kyle and
Mallaig lines
were closed today due to flooding. (13.09.05)
Network Rail's performance
in Scotland has slipped, with 83.5% of trains arriving on time in the
quarter to April, compared to 85.3% in the same period last year.
(01.09.05)
Scott Wilson have been appointed to carry out
the Room for Growth study into
the Highland rail network capacity constraints. (23.08.05)
Ron McAulay has been appointed Network Rail Director for Scotland,
reflecting the enhanced powers of the Scottish Executive under the
Railways Act 2005. (15.07.05)
European Traffic Management System - ERTMS is planned for Highland routes
as a replacement for RETB signalling in 2015, following trials on the
Cambrian in 2009, and implementation elsewhere afterwards.
NR's
Community man Jerry Swift visits Strathcarron
The Scottish Executive has awarded the
Aberdeen Crossrail project a further £400k
for feasibility work,
including new stations.
Highland Council have unveiled plans for a new
town of 10000 people at Castle Stuart, near Dalcross, the site of HRP's proposed
park and ride station.
Inverness-Wick/Thurso times are set to increase when the new timetable
comes in on 12 June. Train times will be lengthened by 20-23
minutes. The increase is due to OTMR/TPWS, level crossing speed
restrictions, greater use of request stops and a timetable that was
rarely achievable. There has been much criticism in the local press.
Network Rail's executives are to receive bonuses of 55% of salary following
improvements in delays, punctuality and safety. Most NR staff will
receive £1100.
The Forth
Bridge closes 24-31 July for maintenance work.
The railway is closed between Aberdeen and Keith on Sundays
22 and 29 May for bridge repairs at Insch. Buses replace trains.
The Gynack
Bridge at Kingussie is to receive urgent attention from NR
following operators concern about frequent flooding causing line
closures, such as happened on March 16-17. the shallow river bed
quickly rises to the top of the bridge and therefore requires
excavating.
Gynack Bridge Kingussie on 6 April
Network Rail has published its 2005 Business Plan which highlights
delay minutes reduced by 16% and train punctuality up.
Transport Minister Nicol Stephen has
announced £115m towards the total £150m funding
for the
Waverley route to Galashiels.
Mowlem is expected to be confirmed as the maintainer of NR Scotland's bridges
and structures in a 5 year, £150m deal.
A £30m development for Oudenarde/Bridge of Earn has been
proposed, which could feature a new station.
The Scottish Executive have made £750,000
available for feasibility work at Haymarket
to turn in into a major interchange.
Moy viaduct has
scooped another award. This time it is from the Railway Heritage Trust
in the engineering structures category.
Network Rail is to issue bonds
worth £20bn over 5 years in place of securitisation of access
income. The debt will be raised at interest rates close to those for
government debt, making clear NR's close relationship to the government.
