Wealden newsline
2008
24 April - Villiers welcomes
Wealdenlink report
The Shadow Secretary of
State for Transport has described the Wealdenlink project as "an
issue of high importance". In a letter to Campaign Director
Brian Hart, Theresa Villiers described the Wealdenlink briefing
as "interesting and informative" and went on to say
that she would be keeping its points very much in mind when working
with her Conservative colleagues in planning "the best ways
to deal with Britain's current rail capacity problems".
Mrs Villiers also highlighted her party's commitment towards pressing
the Government to introducing a moratorium on building on any
disused rail line still in public ownership.
Brian Hart said he very much welcomed the fact that the two main
political parties have both acknowledged the value of the Wealdenlink
project in providing flexibility and extra track capacity in the
congested South East.
He added: "We have a commuter parking crisis in Uckfield,
rocketing train usage and a town of 15,000, but still no decent
station. Meanwhile, unbelievably, the DfT is still trying
to sell off the the town's former station site to developers. Where is the transport planning
vision?"
16 April - Uckfield line
capacity highlighted
Network Rail has admitted
that restricted capacity on the Uckfield line is preventing service
improvements. In its new South London Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS), the company pinpoints "three
sections of single line which are highly utilised in the morning
peak" that constrain capacity.
The document goes on to
speak of "strong growth on this route" also putting
pressure on track capacity northwards towards London. It suggests
that the best way to use scarce train pathways would be to join
and split Uckfield and East Grinstead trains at Oxted again, a
practice discontinued in 1987 when the East Grinstead line was
electrified.
Because the Uckfield line
remains diesel worked, the RUS proposes that East Grinstead to
London Bridge services should be temporarily worked by Turbostars
"for which some additional rolling stock would need to be
sourced".
In its "Longer Term
Opportunities" section, the RUS mentions "Potential
Infrastructure Schemes to alleviate Network Constraints"
and identifies "Tunbridge Wells - Eridge and Lewes - Uckfield
reopening schemes". Though no commitments are made, it is
clearly encouraging news to see these schemes gain official recognition.
Thameslink opportunity
Contrary to earlier announcements, the South London RUS has lopped off Eastbourne
and Lewes from the latest
Thameslink expansion plans.
It appears that timetable planners no longer believe there is
sufficient capacity on the Brighton line to accommodate the extra
trains.
However, it is noteworthy
that both Tunbridge Wells and East Grinstead are set to benefit
from a Thameslink service. Thus if the Lewes - Uckfield and Eridge
- Tunbridge Wells links were restored, it would be possible to
extend one or both of these services to Lewes and the South Coast.
Campaign Director Brian
Hart said: "Everyone knows the Uckfield Line should be re-doubled,
electrified and reconnected to Lewes and Tunbridge Wells. As such,
the Wealdenlink
project would provide this valuable extra capacity, as well as
enabling Thameslink to reach Eastbourne without adding to congestion
on the adjacent Brighton line."
"While it is encouraging
that Network Rail has finally recognised that Tunbridge Wells
- Eridge has an important role to play in alleviating constraints,
we are still waiting for the political vision and leadership to
see the project through."
2 April - New photos
Thanks to the generosity
of Mr P Gainsbury, a former relief signalman, we are delighted
to be able to add some excellent new photos of Grove Junction
to our "Destruction of a railway" gallery, which tells the story
of the closure of the Eridge - Tunbridge Wells link.
Why not take a look?
20 March 2008 - WLC on
radio
Campaign Director Brian
Hart will be talking about our new Wealdenlink presentation on
BBC Southern Counties Radio at 07.40 on Saturday 22 March.
Though it's an early slot
on a holiday weekend, we hope that it will give us a chance to
carry the Wealden Line message to a new audience which may not
be familiar with our campaign.
11 March: Wealdenlink presentation
goes live
The Wealden Line Campaign
today launches its new Wealdenlink presentation, a 28-page full
colour publication laying out the case for a revival of the Lewes-Uckfield
and Eridge-Tunbridge Wells lines as part of a regenerated route
from London to the South Coast.
21 February : Lib-Dems
make case for Lewes-Uckfield
Liberal Democrat Transport
Spokesman Lord Bradshaw has challenged the government to lay out
its plans to beat rail overcrowding and highlighted the need to
reopen Lewes - Uckfield.
Speaking in the House of
Lords, he blamed the current rail capacity crisis squarely on
the government's lack of vision, noting that, "the government
and their officials are very good at producing reports, studies
and procrastination. They are poor when it comes to vision, courage
and enterprise."
He submitted that the government
had the rail industry by the throat and blamed the lack of investment
on franchises being too short. In a pointed reference to the Lewes
- Uckfield route, he said: "The Southern franchise is about
to be specified and I suggest that this specification should include
the opening of the Uckfield to Lewes line."
"All of us who know
about railways know that that is the key to unlocking capacity
on the Brighton Main Line, which is one of the most congested
in the country. It would enable us to access the south coast by
one way or the other when, as frequently happens, engineering
work blocks the main line."
For the government, Lord
Bassam disputed that there was a lack of vision and outlined his
party's continuing commitment to investing in the railways. He
added that while the government had no immediate plans to re-open
disused rail lines, it should never be ruled out.
Referring to last year's
meeting between WLC representatives and Tom Harris (Under Secretary
of State for Transport) he recalled that the minister had, "made
the commitment that we would listen if a business case could be
demonstrated" and that it would be, "wise to look at
what contribution that line could make if reopened, with particular
reference to what it might add to capacity on southern routes."
Campaign Director Brian
Hart said that it was extremely encouraging to see the project
now being seriously debated and promoted at all levels of government.
"It has all-party support and a higher profile thanks to
Lord Bassam instigating the meeting last year with Tom Harris.
But I believe it is because the wider benefits of this worthwhile
scheme are now dawning on politicians and decision-makers in the
rail industry that we shall see real progress being made this
year."
"Restoring the Wealden
Line as a through route is a great project and with our forthcoming
Wealdenlink presentation, we will demonstrate how it will
transform rail travel and provide the additional capacity needed
on the network."
10 February - Villiers
backs Lewes - Uckfield
Shadow Transport Secretary
Theresa Villiers has pledged her support for reopening Lewes-Uckfield
to solve the increasing capacity crisis on the south's rail network.
On a visit to Lewes on 1 February she highlighted the need by
saying:
"The increase in passenger numbers since rail privatisation
means there is now a need for extra capacity on our rail network.
With rail passenger numbers continuing to increase, this problem
will only become worse."
Local Conservatives contacted the Wealden Line Campaign prior
to Mrs Villiers' visit in order that she might be escorted to
see the mothballed route for herself. Afterwards, Teresa Villiers
remarked: "In these changing circumstances, the case for
reinstating railway lines such as the Lewes to Uckfield route
is stronger than it has been in past years". She was quoted
in the Sussex Express as placing the route in the 'top five' of
rail reopening schemes most likely to go ahead.
Welcoming her comments, Campaign Director Brian Hart said: "There
is now a cross-party political concensus in Westminster as well
as the House of Lords in favour of re-opening this short link
as a means of introducing much-needed rail capacity. The current
Network Rail study will, I'm sure, come to the same conclusions
as the 2004 inspection by the private sector rail companies -
that it's a straightforward and simple engineering exercise. The
onus will then fall on the Rail Minister Tom Harris, who said
only six months ago that it was a "good project" which
he would "really like" to go ahead, to get the wheels
in motion."
In the meantime, the Department for Transport is canvassing opinion
prior to the renewal of the Southern franchise in 2009. Brian
Hart said the Campaign would make an uncomplicated submission
because there was one project which would do more than anything
else to increase capacity: "We would like the new franchise
to include an imaginative development of services to embrace the
huge opportunities resulting from this new main line to the South
Coast. Public and private sectors must now liaise to explore ways
of funding this re-opening".
11 January - Uckfield station on YouTube!
Popular video sharing site
YouTube now has a 1991 recording of Uckfield's old station, featuring some interior
shots of the signalbox and one of the old DEMU's heading off on
its way to Oxted. While few regular passengers will miss the old
trains, it's sad reminder that the town used to have a decent
station - with plenty of car parking space too!
Elsewhere on the site,
you can see more shots of the Uckfield line in a 1991 "Facing South" documentary looking at the former Network SouthEast.
Although the old slam door trains are now history, it's sad to
see how many of the old problems remain...
Meanwhile, rail industry
journal Rail Professional has been doing its best to move
reopening projects like Lewes - Uckfield up the political agenda,
with its January 2008 editorial
highlighting the current lack of any strategy for restoring key
closed routes to the national network.
Elsewhere in its January
issue, the magazine also features new research
showing the importance of adequate car parking at stations. Residents
of Uckfield and the surrounding area will certainly sympathise
with the conclusions drawn!