2008-05-07 14:41:00      Green fingered volunteers spruce up Spalding station

A team of willing volunteers have recently been hard at work at East Midlands Trains station at Spalding. The team, made up of volunteers from the South Holland Churches Volunteers and the Spalding and Peterborough Transport Users Forum, with the co-operation of East Midlands Trains, have just completed phase one of a three phase approach to help the train company revitalise this Victorian railway station's appearance. This phase of the project entailed two months of hard work by the volunteers in clearing the two flower beds and planting over 300 plants and shrubs for the Tulip Festival and World Tulip Summit, which will take place later in May. An official launch of the new flower beds at Spalding will take place on Saturday 10 May at 1300 at Spalding Railway station. As well as representatives from the group of volunteers, there wil be a special guest appearance by Daphne Ledward, the author, radio and TV gardening presenter. Commenting, Nigel Carlisle, Route Manager Lincolnshire and Norfolk who will be attending the event to represent East Midlands Trains said: "The volunteers have done a great job of brightening up the station, and we would like to thank them for all their hard work. At East Midlands Trains, we are keen to get local communities involved with their local railway station and this is a perfect example of communities working together to bring about improvements". George Scott, Chairman of the Spalding and Peterborough Transport Users Forum said: There have been many favourable comments as we progressed with the work over the months. It has been said ‘what a difference it has made to the impression visitors get when they depart and arrive from the station.’ The long term project will continue with the installation of a ‘Sensory garden’ as the final aim. A station should be a pleasurable environment for the commuters and encourage them to travel by rail whenever possible.

2008-04-21 15:32:00      2008 BRINGS FRESH CHALLENGES

The AGM which took place on Saturday proved there are fresh horizons for the Forum. Werrington Community Centre will be linking up under the Forum in regards to Transport. The meeting was attended by the Vice Lord Lieutenant Mr Tony Worth & Mr Francis Biggadye Chairman of SHDC. They have both graciously become Patrons of the Forum along with Mr Nigel Carlisle of EMT. Highlighted at the meeting was the standard of the Bus Station with no signs from the railway station. The notices are faded and the signage on which shelter you can get your bus route from is non existant. Also the bus shelter at Morrisons at Pinchbeck is now not used for the bus to stop at so you have to find a place on Wardentree lane to catch a bus(there is no bus stop). We need to drum up more members and have more Committee members on board as this year we will be tackling the above items and others more intensively.

2008-03-14 20:14:00      Patrons/AGM

I am pleased to tell you that three people have accepted to become Patrons for the Forum: Lord Taylor of Holbeach;Stewart Jackson.MP for Peterborough and our own Daphne Ledward. Our AGM this year is on a Saturday, a change from our usual time because of two really top notch speakers. Dave Wetzel;Vice Chair of Transport for London & Steve Abbot; Secretary of Travelwatch East Midlands. Their presentations are very interesting and will open your eyes to certain things.

2008-03-14 19:51:00      STATION CLEAR UP

With the World Tulip Summit with the 50th Tulip Parade due in May we thought it was about time the station was cleared to give a positive impression to all those thousands of visitors. So two weeks ago a group of volunteers from the South Holland Churches,Bob & Dave from EMT set to work on Bed 1 of the station. Week 2 saw more 6 people from EMT with a wood shredder which saw off most of the overgrown bits on bed 2. The wooden planters were put in place and are ready for the tulips that Taylor's of Holbeach are growing off for us. These will be planted up after Easter. Daphne Ledward our resident gardening celebrity came down to look at the plots and give us some advice on what we can plant. This Sunday afternoon we hope to continue with the work and this morning Daphne & I did a piece on Radio Lincolnshire begging for plants.

2008-01-01 10:48:00      Happy New year

May we wish all our members and commuting public a very Happy New Year. We have a full programme in the making for 2008 including the World Tulip Summit in April/May. Our Website will take on a different look with New pages including a Members Section. Our first meeting will be on the 24th at the Council Chambers.

2007-12-12 19:04:27      RAIL COMPANY FARE RISES

RAIL COMPANY FARE RISES

Proposed changes from 2 Jan 2008

2007-12-12 18:55:06      Train companies have announced above inflation rate fare increases.

Season and saver ticket fares will rise by 4.8% on average, says the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc). Others such as cheap day returns will go up by 5.4%. The increases will come into effect in the New Year. Transport Salaried Staffs' Association general secretary Gerry Doherty said commuters travelling to London would be worst hit. He said continual rises meant the UK now has the most expensive fares in Europe. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We're 10 years down the line since privatisation and when you get above inflation increases for that length of time and it's continued then it exacerbates itself. "And the result is that we've got the dearest fares in Europe now.

2007-12-12 18:55:06      Axe hangs over rural bus routes

RURAL bus services are under threat because EU rules treat bus drivers as if they were long distance truckers. Recently introduced EU regulations mean bus drivers on routes longer than 31.6 miles must take more breaks and longer rest periods1. The rules were originally designed to prevent continental lorry drivers from travelling long distances without a rest. But they also mean many rural bus routes – which tend to be longer than urban routes – are now threatened with closure. The Rural Services Network2 (RSN), which campaigns for better public services, says the government could opt out from the new rules. But so far it has refused to do so. RSN chief officer Graham Biggs said: “The practical interpretation of the legislation is that it is more stressful and therefore potentially dangerous to drive a bus in the countryside than in the city. “Such an argument is plainly ridiculous and absurd. It discriminates against rural residents and is not backed up by research or evidence.” Tightening the rules governing local bus services was making it more expensive to operate rural routes – many of which are under threat. Buses serving rural through-routes have already been withdrawn in Norfolk, Suffolk and Somerset3. Rural routes in at least 13 further counties are considered to be at risk4. The regulations state that drivers on longer routes can drive no more than 90 hours every fortnight, compared to 130 hours under UK laws. Drivers must also take a continuous break of 45 hours every two weeks, compared to a continuous break of 24 hours for drivers on shorter routes. The result is that bus companies must employ more drivers if they wish to maintain the same level of service. Further routes are likely to come under threat as a January 2007 deadline approaches for the implementation of the next round of EU legislation. This will see vehicles fitted with tachographs so driving hours can be monitored – an expense many bus companies can ill afford. In a bid to keep below the 31.6-mile threshold, some bus operators have split longer routes into shorter ones. But more routes are likely to be abandoned. “Rural residents who need to travel to their local school or hospital may now find they are denied access to education and healthcare,” said Mr Biggs. “Other passengers will find they are required to change buses en route, or absurdly get off the bus and then re-board for the remainder of the journey. These recent changes have made rural bus services more expensive to run and many rural routes are already operating on a shoe-string budget.”

2007-12-12 18:53:16      Date of next meeting

There was an error in the published date of the Next Public Meeting. It will be held on the 24th of January 2008 not the 25th.

2007-12-12 18:53:16      So you think your station is safe??????

In 1972, at Wakefield Crown Court in Yorkshire, Reginald Sedgwick was prosecuted for stealing Cleckheaton railway station. The defendant, a demolition contractor, was alleged to have destroyed the disused stone building and cleared the site of 24 tons of track with dishonest intentions. He admitted the deed, explained that it was done for an untraced third party, and his lawyer demolished the prosecution’s case, securing an acquittal.

2007-12-12 18:52:14      Forum receives award

On the 6th November at an awards ceremony held at the Council Chambers in Spalding the Forum was awarded a certificate of recognition for services to the community. The South Lincs Community Voluntary Services certificates were presented by the Mayor of Boston and the Chairman, George Scott received it on behalf of the Forum.

2007-12-12 18:52:14      Network Rail to assemble first prefab station kit

Contractors are preparing to assemble the first of an off-the-shelf station design which is to be rolled out across the rail network in a bid to cut construction costs and speed up new station developments. Civil engineering firm Dean Dyball is close to completing preliminary works for the new Eastfields station near Mitcham in the London borough of Merton. The station kit - which includes platform and canopy modules - will then be assembled on site to allow the station to open early in the New Year. Network Rail has already approved the design, a trial version of which has been erected on an industrial estate in Ringwood near Southampton. The modular system can be put together in 36 days and is expected to be used for a new station at Cranbook in Devon and to upgrade existing stations at Greenhithe in Kent and Effingham Junction is Surrey. Network Rail's business plan, published last week, includes a commitment to spend around £150m on station improvements as well as plans to allow step-free access to trains across the entire rail network. The prefab station initiative follows criticism of the multi-million pound cost of opening new railway stations that has seen many schemes flounder due to funding difficulties. Of the successful recent projects Coleshill in Warwickshire, which opened to passengers earlier this year, cost £8.7m while Gartcosh in North Lanarkshire came in at £3.25m when it opened in 2005. Network Rail is under pressure to deliver more affordable new stations to meet the growing demand for rail travel and the infraco believes the prefab kits can also be used to upgrade existing neglected stations, which would otherwise require expensive renovations.

2007-12-12 18:51:06      Clickety-clack

Pros A simplified fare structure and an end to conflicting restrictions on different routes Greater frequency – a train every 15 minutes from most stations One brand, London Overground, ending the costly repainting of trains in new colours every seven years Oyster pay-as-you-go cards accepted on all routes Staff at all stations whenever they are open Cons Risk that passengers within the Greater London boundary may be given priority over those living beyond it Council tax and congestion charge may be increased to pay for improvements Private sector innovation could be lost A different Mayor of London may seek to make passengers pay more of the true cost of services

2007-12-12 18:51:06      London Mayor Plans to control trains terminating in London

The mayor accused train companies of operating “scams” to maximise profits. “It’s disgraceful the way train companies have stationed revenue staff at stations where there is an interchange with the London Underground so they can fine people using Oyster cards.” Mr Livingstone said that two directors would be appointed to the TfL board to represent the interests of passengers who began their journeys outside Greater London. London TravelWatch, the passenger watchdog, welcomed Mr Livingstone’s plan. Brian Cooke, its chairman, said: “The network would be much easier to use if it was run by one organisation under a single set of rules. If London Overground proves a success in the next year, it will provide a powerful argument for reintegrating the network.” Mr Cooke said that Mr Livingstone could choose to fund rail improvements by raising council tax, increasing the congestion charge or borrowing against future fare income. Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, the national passenger watchdog, said that safeguards would be needed to prevent Mr Livingstone from sacrificing fast services by making trains stop more often en route. “There needs to be a balance because the rail network serves both London and the South East,” he said. Under the plan, private companies would still operate the trains, but would have very little commercial freedom. They would receive a management fee and pay penalties or receive a bonus depending on their success in achieving standards set by TfL.

2007-12-12 18:47:47      The day in the life of a Commuter

As I normally travel to Peterborough by train but I thought I would experience the journey by car to see the differences. To my amazement the journey by car has got worse from when I used to travel in by car and started with a tailback at the Postland Road turnoff all the way to Mason’s bridge. By train it takes about 25 minutes, this day and a subsequent day by car it took me nearly an hour and on the second time I completed this route I actually left 15 minutes earlier, but was still confronted by delays with a tremendous amount of traffic. WE must strengthen the train services if do not want this congestion to increase and make it worse for commuters. It has become obvious at peak rates on the train there is an increase in passengers and we will need a requirement to add additional carriages. I am discussing this and other issues with EMT next week