Showing posts with label Gloucester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gloucester. Show all posts

Thursday, 4 August 2011

An invitation . . . . . . .

If you share the Group's view that a new mainline station should be built within the railway triangle, we would appreciate your support by writing to your local M.P. or councillor (see 'Contacts' list given at the foot of the letter). 
Thank you.

Wednesday, 3 August 2011

Letter sent to The Citizen dated 28th July 2011


Dear Mr Mean,

The Gloucester Railway Triangle – the pressing need for a new station

Gloucester’s railway triangle has an area of nearly 27 acres and is located within surrounding land to give a total area of about 90 acres. Within the triangle there were once railway workshops, sidings, etc..  The regeneration of this land presents the city and its neighbours with a once in a lifetime chance of changing this brown field site for the better, so it is important to have the widest consultation in this matter and above all make the right decisions. 

Two of the authors of this article have worked for a total of eighteen years in the railway industry in and around Gloucester.  

We believe that the railways are a national strategic asset and should remain and be developed as such.    What is required with this development is a leap of intelligent imagination on the one hand and a firm and enquiring mind on the other.

A new main line railway station is required principally because Gloucester is currently off the main Birmingham – Bristol line, which means that trains which call at Gloucester usually have to reverse. Only trains that continue on the Gloucester - Newport route do not have to reverse.   This situation means that Gloucester is bypassed by most long distance trains travelling north/south.  For example, even the Cheltenham – Gloucester – Paddington trains would be quicker and more convenient with a new station, since the trains entering (or leaving) Gloucester would not waste time and effort reversing direction to continue onwards.  

During 2009/10 Gloucester’s railway station was used by over 1.1 million passengers compared with the figure of nearly 7.9 million for Bristol Temple Meads and over 25 million for Birmingham New Street.  Cheltenham had almost 1.6 million passengers in the same period, despite having a slightly smaller population. These figures are worth keeping in mind because the recently published McNulty report identifies the potential of rail traffic to double in the UK by 2030 – now less than 20 years away.  



The Gloucester Heritage and Regeneration Company (GHURC) and Gloucester city councillors have been informed by Network Rail that cost is one of the main factors in rejecting proposals for a new station construction.  We believe that Gloucester city councillors, our Gloucester MP and the GHURC should have been far more robust in not taking ‘no’ for an answer from Network Rail.  Our reasons are easy to find and not too far away, as a web search of Network Rail’s own and other sites reveal recent and future expenditure.  For example, Reading station has an ongoing upgrade programme costing £850 million, Newport has had a £22 million revamp, with monies from Network Rail, the Welsh Assembly and Arriva Trains Wales, and Birmingham New Street Station and environs are undergoing a £600 million transformation.  Even these sums pale into insignificance compared with the proposed new national high speed rail link HSR2, estimated to cost in the region of £15.8 - £17.4 billion.   A new station at Gloucester costing say, £30 million, would be less than 0.2% of the proposed HSR2 link, and certainly much less than the error margins for the HSR2 proposal. These figures are given to indicate what levels of expenditures are being made elsewhere, and we do not suggest that funds are solely from Network Rail’s budget.


 As part of the city centre regeneration,  the railway triangle could not only accommodate a new railway station, but also a new bus station, hotel, tourist office, cafĂ©, car and coach parks, a new fire station, and last but not least, a small park with flower beds and trees to welcome visitors to Gloucester. A frequent shuttle service from the triangle to the city centre could be easily incorporated. In our view a ‘railway parkway’ solution is not a realistic option for the city’s needs.

If we as a city are to encourage tourism, business and commerce, we must first have the infrastructure in place such as transport, parking, public toilets, hotels and welcoming open areas with seating places, otherwise visitors will come once, never to return.  As a yardstick, Gloucester Cathedral usually has about 300,000 visitors annually, but last year this number rose to 426,000 due to the 2010 Three Choirs Festival and the critically acclaimed Crucible (sculpture) exhibition, the latter attracting around 57,000 visitors during its 9½ week duration. It has been estimated that in 2009 Gloucester attracted about 2 million visitors bringing around £108 million into the local economy. It is therefore imperative that we have the infrastructure in place to transport and make visitors welcome. 

We believe the best location of a new railway station would be within and adjacent to the north-east apex of the triangle. A triangular shaped station with four platforms could be dovetailed between existing railway tracks. Objections have been given by Network Rail that they would have to purchase land on the east side of the main north-south line in order to facilitate passengers. We disagree with this argument, and would suggest that only a width of land not much wider than a passenger platform is required on the east side of this track. 

Another objection raised by Network Rail against additional trains stopping at Gloucester is the impact they would have upon the existing timetable.  In one sense this argument is valid -  any new station no matter where it is in the country will have an impact, but on the other hand when one recalls that most trains waiting at large stations such as Bristol Temple Meads and Birmingham New Street are standing stationary typically for ten or more minutes, a small reduction in these standing times at these stations could be re-allocated to permit trains to stop at Gloucester with little effect upon the national timetable.   Some trains are timetabled to stand in Bristol and Birmingham for 30 minutes.  A moment’s thought will also make one realise that any train which is late has an impact upon the timetable, no matter where the train is!   

Now let us turn to what advantages from the rail commuter’s view a mainline station in Gloucester would have. The table below shows the number of trains from Gloucester and Cheltenham respectively with direct links to the stations listed.  (Monday 25 July 2011 was chosen as a typical weekday).  Note that Cheltenham station is on the main north-south line, unlike Gloucester’s current station.


Number of direct trains from (on Monday 25/07/2011)
To
Cheltenham
Gloucester
Birmingham New Street
47
18
Bristol Temple Meads
41
19
Cardiff Central
29
28
Derby
27
13
Exeter St David’s
19
0
Edinburgh
11
0
Glasgow Central
5
0
Leeds
14
0
Liverpool Lime Street
0
0
London Paddington
9
9
Manchester Piccadilly
13
0
Newcastle
11
0
Sheffield
14
0
Worcester Shrub Hill
10
10

Source: National Rail Enquiries 

It is seen that Gloucester has far fewer direct trains than Cheltenham to Manchester, Leeds, Derby and Exeter. This represents a huge inconvenience for travellers from Gloucester: it also means that there will be far fewer tourist and commercial business travellers than there could be coming into our county.     The loss of this potential business will grow as UK rail traffic, economic growth and populations rise. 
In conclusion, we urge that our elected representatives take the request to build a new railway station within the railway triangle back to Network Rail and simultaneously ask the Department of Transport if they would consider contributing to the funding of this project which we believe would be of great benefit to all of the south west of England.

Yours sincerely

Ray Armishaw
Horton Cameron Ex Railway Worker
Brian Cowell, C.Eng.; M.I.Mech.E.; M.A.Cost E.
Gordon Doyle
Nick Edwards  MSc, PhD, M Inst. P.
Marion Pingriff
Ken Pingriff Ex Railway Worker





Copies to:-
Councillor Paul James, Leader, Gloucester City Council, Herbert Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester GL1 2EQ
Councillor Mark Damian Hawthorne, Leader, Gloucestershire County Council, Shire Hall, Westgate Street, Gloucester GL1 2TG
Mr Chris Oldershaw, Chief Executive, Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company Ltd., 15 Ladybellegate Street, Gloucester GL1 2HN
The Right Reverend Michael Perham, Bishop of Gloucester, The Chapter Office,
2 College Green, Gloucester GL1 2LR
The Very Reverend Stephen Lake, Dean of Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral, The Chapter Office,
2 College Green, Gloucester GL1 2LR
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP (Cotswolds), House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA 
Mr Richard Graham, MP (Gloucester), House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
Mr Martin Horwood, MP (Cheltenham), House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
Mr Mark Harper, MP, (Forest of Dean), House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
Mr Laurence Robertson, MP, (Tewkesbury), House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
Mr Neil Carmichael, MP (Stroud), House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, Minister of State (Rail and Aviation), House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, Secretary of State for Transport, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
The Managing Director, LXB Retail Properties Plc,  2nd Floor, Grafton House, 2-3 Golden Square, London W1F 9HR
Mr Mark Hopwood, Managing Director, First Great Western, Milford House, 1 Milford Street, Swindon SN1 1HL
Mr Andy Cooper, Managing Director, CrossCountry, Cannon House, 18 The Priory, Queensway, Birmingham B4 6BS

Mr Tim Bell, Managing Director, Arriva Trains Wales, St Mary's House, 47 Penarth Road, Cardiff CF10 5DJ 
Mr Mike Hodson, Managing Director, London Midland, 102 New Street, Birmingham B2 4JB
The Association of Train Operating Companies Ltd., 3rd Floor, 40 Bernard Street, London WC1N 1BY
Passenger Focus, FREEPOST (RRRE-ETTC-LEET), PO BOX 4257, Manchester, M60 3AR
The Office of Rail Regulation, One Kemble Street, London WC2B 4AN
BBC Radio Gloucestershire, London Road, Gloucester GL1 1SW

References
[2] Reading station costs   “ . . . for Network Rail’s £850 million project to upgrade the railway throughout the Reading Station area by 2016.” 
Jo Kaye, Network Rail's route director, said: "It's an exciting time for the millions of users of New Street station as the £600m transformation of the station begins to move from a vision to a reality.”
“As part of the regeneration of Newport, the station has undergone a £22m development funded by Network Rail and the Welsh Assembly Government with support from Arriva Trains Wales.”
“Total infrastructure cost is estimated at £15.8 to £17.4bn.”
Gloucester Cathedral visitor numbers : Gloucester Cathedral Annual Report, July 2011.

Tuesday, 11 January 2011

Contacts

RepresentativeConstituencyContact details
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, M.P.The CotswoldsWestminster 
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 5147
Fax: 020 7219 2550
cliftonbrowng@parliament.uk
Constituency 
Unit 1143, Regent Court, Gloucester Business Park, Hucclecote, GL3 4AD
Tel: 01452 371630
Fax: 0845 009 0109
gloucestershireconservatives@gmail.com
Mr Neil Carmichael, M.P.StroudHouse of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 3000
neil.carmichael.mp@parliament.uk
Constituency 
38-39 Palace Chambers, London Road, Stroud, GL5 2AJ
Tel: 01453 751572
Mr Richard Graham, M.P.GloucesterWestminster 
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 7077
Fax: 020 7219 2299
richard.graham.mp@parliament.uk
Constituency 
Second Floor, St Peters House, 2 College Street, Gloucester, GL1 2NE
Tel: 01452 501167
richard@richardgraham.org
Mr Mark Harper, M.P.Forest of DeanWestminster 
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 5056
Fax: 020 7219 0937
mark.harper.mp@parliament.uk
Constituency 
53 High Street, Cinderford, GL14 2SU
Tel: 01594 823482
Fax: 01594 823623
mcmillanh@parliament.uk
Mr Martin Horwood, M.P.CheltenhamWestminster 
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 4784
Fax: 020 7219 1185
martin.horwood.mp@parliament.uk
Constituency 
16 Hewlett Road, Cheltenham, GL52 6AA
Tel: 01242 224889
Fax: 01242 256658
martin@martinhorwood.net
Mr Laurence Robertson, M.P.TewkesburyWestminster 
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 4196
Fax: 020 7219 2325
robertsonl@parliament.uk
Constituency 
22 High Street, Tewkesbury, GL20 5AL
Tel: 01684 291640
Fax: 01684 291759
Rt Hon Theresa Villiers,  M.P.Minister of State (Rail and Aviation)House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
Rt Hon Philip Hammond, M.P.Secretary of State for TransportHouse of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
Cllr. Paul JamesLeader, Gloucester City CouncilHome Address: 
6 Mainard Square
Longlevens
Gloucester
GL2 0EU 
Phone:  01452 384051 
Bus. Email:  paul.james@gloucester.gov.uk 
Cllr. Mark Damian HawthorneLeader, Gloucester County CouncilHome Address: 
3 Pitch View
46 Kingsholm Road
Gloucester
GL1 3AU 
Phone:  01452 540307 
Email:  mark.hawthorne@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Mr Ian MeanEditor, 6 – 8 The Oxebode,
The CitizenGloucester GL1 1RZ.
(Gloucester)Email:   citizen.letters@glosmedia.co.uk
Gloucester City Council, Herbert Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester GL1 2EQ
Telephone 01452 396 396
City councillorWardemail
Cllr Andrew GravellsAbbeyandrew.gravells@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Norman RavenhillAbbeynorman.ravenhill@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Gordon TaylorAbbeygordon.taylor@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Philip McLellanBarnwoodphilip.mclellan@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Lise NoakesBarnwoodlise.noakes@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Tarren RandleBarnwoodtarren.randle@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Usman BhaimiaBarton and Tredworthusman.bhaimia@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Ahmed HansdotBarton and Tredworthahmed.hansdot@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Sajid PatelBarton and Tredworthsajid.patel@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Chris WittsElmbridgechris.witts@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Susan WittsElmbridgesusan.witts@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Nigel HanmanGrangenigel.hanman@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Stephen MorganGrangestephen.morgan@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr James BeeleyHucclecotejames.beeley@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr David BrownHucclecotedavid.brown@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Declan WilsonHucclecotedeclan.wilson@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Sebastian FieldKingsholm and Wottonsebastian.field@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Jeremy HiltonKingsholm and Wottonjeremy.hilton@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Paul JamesLonglevenspaul.james@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Jim PorterLonglevensjim.porter@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Kathy WilliamsLonglevenskathy.williams@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Kate HaighMatson and Robinswoodkate.haigh@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Janet LuggMatson and Robinswoodjanet.lugg@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Mary SmithMatson and Robinswoodmary.smith@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Nicholas DurrantMorelandnicholas.durrant@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Matthew GilsonMorelandmatthew.gilson@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Mark HobbsMorelandmark.hobbs@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Jennie DallimorePodsmeadjennie.dallimore@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Debbie LlewellynQuedgeley Fieldcourtdebbie.llewellyn@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Frederick WoodQuedgeley Fieldcourtfrederick.wood@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Andrew LewisQuedgeley Severn Valeandrew.lewis@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Anna MozolQuedgeley Severn Valeanna.mozol@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Gerald DeeTuffleygerald.dee@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Colin OrganTuffleycolin.organ@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Paul TolemanWestgatepaul.toleman@gloucester.gov.uk
Cllr Pam TraceyWestgatepam.tracey@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Gloucestershire County Council, Shire Hall, Westgate Street, Gloucester GL1 2TG.
Telephone:  01452 425000
County councillorConstituencyemail
Cllr Andrew GravellsAbbeyandrew.gravells@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Duncan John SmithAll Saintsduncan.smith@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Klara Victoria SudburyAll Saintsklara.sudbury@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Gordon Keith ShurmerAshchurch, Cleeve and Oxenton Hillgordon.shurmer@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Philip McLellanBarnwoodphilip.mclellan@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Sonia FriendBarton and Tredworthsonia.friend@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Basil BoothBerekley Valebasil.booth@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr David Allan ThorpeBourtondavid.thorpe@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Mike CollinsBrockworthmichael.collins2@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Brian Richard RobinsonBrooksdeanbrian.robinson@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Dennis Alan AndrewarthaCam and Dursleydennis.andrewartha@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Brian TipperCam and Dursleybrian.tipper@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Charles FellowsChalfontchas.fellows@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Paul Dermot McLainCharlton Kingspaul.mclain@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Robert John Edward VinesChurchdown Brookfieldrobert.vines@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Bill John WhelanChurchdown St John'sbill.whelan@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Graham Leslie MorganCinderfordgraham.morgan@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Peter A BraidwoodCirencesterpeter.braidwood@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr John Vincent BurgessCirencesterjohn.burgess@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Ceri David JonesCleeveceri.jones@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Terry HaleColefordterry.hale@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Raymond TheodoulouEast Cotswoldraymond.theodoulou@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Christopher James PalletHesters Way and Up Hatherleychristopher.pallet@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Simon Albert WheelerHesters Way and Up Hatherleysimon.wheeler@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Bill CrowtherHucclecotebill.crowther@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Rob GarnhamLansdown, Park and Warden Hillrob.garnham@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Antonia NobleLansdown, Park and Warden Hillantonia.noble@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Kathy Brown WilliamsLonglevenskathy.williams@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr David CooksleyLydneydavid.cooksley@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Stephen Robin McMillanMid Deanstephen.mcmillan@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Mark Damian HawthorneMorelandmark.hawthorne@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Barry DareMoreton-Stowbarry.dare@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr John Stanley WaddingtonNailsworth and Minchinhamptonjohn.waddington@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr William Windsor-CliveNewentwill.windsor-clive@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Lynden Oliver StoweNorth Cotswoldlynden.stowe@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Anthony James BlackburnNorth Stroudanthony.blackburn@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Fiona Janine McKenzieNorthleachfiona.mckenzie@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Diane Lynne HibbertOakley, Pittville and Prestburydiane.hibbert@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr David John PrinceOakley, Pittville and Prestburydavid.prince@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Martin Edward QuailePillowell and Littledeanmartin.quaile@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Gerald Charles DeePodsmeadgerald.dee@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Jackie HallQuedgeleyjackie.hall@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Vic RiceQuedgeleyvic.rice@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Stephen Thomas McHaleRobinswoodsteve.mchale@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Brian OosthuysenRodboroughbrian.oosthuysen@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Phillip William AwfordSevern Valephillip.awford@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Shaun David ParsonsSouth Cotswoldshaun.parsons@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Suzanne Theresa WilliamsSpringbanksuzanne.williams@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Charmian Ruth SheppardSt Marks, St Pauls and St Peterscharmian.sheppard@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Francis Michael SkinnerSt Marks, St Pauls and St Petersmike.skinner@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Lesley WilliamsStonehouselesley.williams@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Sarah LunnonStroud Eastsarah.lunnon@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Mike WilliamsStroud Westmike.williams2@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Anthony Ewen HicksTetburytony.hicks@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Vernon Dennis SmithTewkesburyvernon.smith@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Mike SztymiakTewkesburymike.sztymiak@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Brian Maurice ThorntonTidenhambrian.thornton@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Joan Isabel NashUpton St Leonards, Bisley and Painswickjoan.nash@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Terry GlastonburyWest Deanterry.glastonbury@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Jeremy Eric HiltonWestgatejeremy.hilton@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Pamela TraceyWestgatepam.tracey@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Ronald Edward AllenWinchcomberon.allen@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr John CordwellWotton-under-Edgejohn.cordwell@gloucestershire.gov.uk