Railfuture comments on Eurostar announcement. Planning new trains to Germany and Switzerland:

It looks as if Eurostar has finally decided to expand. The Eurostar 50 new trains order has been around for a while but without stated commitment to run from Britain.

The "concentrate in the core, high fares" strategy is fine in the short run if you have no wider economic objectives but it has opened up a plethora of open access proposals.

Perhaps the most significant result is for Eurostar to realise that they are best placed to expand with less barriers to entry than new entrants. The key is to do this fast enough to keep new entrants at bay. The announcement to add new routes from London to Germany and Switzerland is strategically significant in this respect.

Open access has, in this way, already served a purpose without even running a train. In strategic terms this is good. Railfuture welcomes this development but makes it clear that this still leaves scope for more services and more competition, particularly on the existing Paris route and to the largest air market from Britain, after Paris and Amsterdam, i.e. Spain.

Also, sooner or later, someone will realise that there are other cities in Britain that have a huge air market, More people travel from Manchester to Paris than from London to any city in Switzerland.

Railfuture contends that the timing and the economics are right for sustainable rail travel from Britain as is the market appetite.

Railfuture's suggested choice of preferred open access routes.

This is ambitious for obvious reasons against the present situation but far less so in market terms. It also makes the presumption that the current preoccupation with immigration and security will be eased, with new technology and EU technology.

This proposes two strategic stops en route here, Stratford in long haul fast services to take about 30% volume to ease St Pancras, and Ashford for the Kent catchment area with its propensity to travel to Continental Europe.

Stratford or in some case, Lille would largely replace St Pancras as the interchange point from NW England.

Draft list of contenders.

Eurostar's proposals plus;
Paris route competition

    London, Stratford - Paris (fast)
    London, Ashford - Calais, Lille, Paris
    London, Ashford - Charles de Gaulle Airport, Disneyland Paris, Lyon. Delete Lyon, add Tours, Bordeaux
    Manchester, Crewe (Merseyside and North West hub), Rugby(West Midlands hub), Stratford - Lille, Paris (all with long platforms)


South of France and Spain route competition

    London, Stratford- Barcelona, Madrid (fast)
    London, Ashford - Lyon, Avignon, Marseille
    London, Ashford - Lyon, Montpellier, Perpignan, Barcelona. Delete Barcelona, possibly combined to Avignon


Add

    London, Ashford, Charles de Gaulle Airport, Disneyland, LeMans, Nantes, with multiple service stops to provide frequency to CdG and Disneyland.


London, Ashford- Germany route competition

    London, Stratford - Hannover, Berlin (fast)
    London, Stratford - Brussels, Koln, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Zurich, Milan


Belgium, Netherlands route competition

    Manchester, Crewe, Rugby, Stratford - Lille, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam


Nord Pas de Calais shuttle in cooperation on fares with SE High Speed and domestic Ashford - Calais, Lille

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Notes to editors:

Railfuture is the UK's leading independent organisation campaigning for better rail services for both passengers and freight.

Railfuture's website can be found at: www.railfuture.org.uk

Veterans and members of the public have turned out to give a final farewell to a former Royal Navy flagship that played a "vital role" in the Falklands conflict.

HMS Bristol was towed out of Portsmouth Harbour on Wednesday, almost five years after it was decommissioned.

The warship, which was the last ship serving from the Falklands War, is being taken to a Turkish scrapyard.

Chris Howe, from the South Atlantic Medal Association 1982, said the vessel had a "remarkable and unique legacy".

The Type 82 destroyer was commissioned in March 1973 but having been designed to defend a class of aircraft carriers which was never built, it was the only warship of its class to enter service.

The vessel led a group of two destroyers, five frigates and an RFA supply ship providing reinforcements in the Falklands, and later joined the carrier battle task group as an air defence destroyer. In 1987 it became a training ship before an explosion in its boiler led to it being used as a harbour training vessel - until it was decommissioned in October 2020, after almost 48 years of service.

Members of the public and veterans congregated on Old Portsmouth's Round Tower to wave off HMS Bristol, which was visually rust-stained, as it left the Hampshire naval base.

"As HMS Bristol embarks on its final voyage to the scrapyard in Turkey, we pause to reflect on its remarkable and unique legacy," Mr Howe said. "For many veterans, Bristol was more than a vessel - it was a home, a place of camaraderie, and a symbol of resilience. Its departure marks the end of an era, but its contributions to our history and the memories of those who served aboard will endure. We honour all who sailed in her and bid HMS Bristol a respectful farewell."

Hmm. 

While I do fully support that 'commitment' to invest substantially in the railway infrastructure in South Wales, it's not all guaranteed.

Rachel Reeves has proposed spending that budget until 2030.  However, Parliaments are limited to five years - so, 5 years on from 4 July 2024, her Government could be out of office by 4 July 2029 (or possibly earlier, depending on developments).

Just saying.   

Is there room for both if the VLR is a single track shuttle service or with a passing loop?

Interesting indeed - what does this do for very light rail proposals from Kemble to Cirencester?

Two interesting current proposals for cycle routes/greenways on former GWR lines in Gloucestershire.

[snip]

The second is along the former branch line from Kemble to Cirencester. Designs are being taken forward in two stages, one from Kemble to a new estate on the edge of Cirencester, the other from there into the town centre.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her spending review on Wednesday to announce £445m over 10 years for new rail projects in north and south Wales.

The Treasury has backed plans for five new stations in Cardiff, Newport and Monmouthshire, as well as upgrades in north Wales, with £348m to be spent between 2026 and 2030.

It follows years of complaints of underinvestment in the Welsh railway network.

Not sure I would use one. Who is the responsible driver/person if the car malfunctions/crashes (perhaps owing to the fault of the other side too)? Who handles any claims etc?

Well, sort of, though they were if anything on the other side at this time ... though the politics of this period is insanely complicated.

The Bear was the scene of election riots in 1865. A gentleman throwing heated coins from a first floor window provoked the members of the crowd, who burnt their hands when picking up the coins. The military dispersed the crowd and the inciter made his escape on horseback, later falling off on the Shaw Road.

Think its because soldiers many years ago were based at Berwick,
due to events happening they re located to Coldstream and were part of Oliver Cromwells army.
Who then marched on London to remove the King.
How times have changed.
If any thing is in correct,please advise.

According to The Mirror, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will be announcing that the bus fare cap, currently at £3 for a single journey, will remain in place until March 2027.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/bus-users-protected-price-hikes-35368949

Transport, energy and environment

£15.6bn allocated between 2027 and 2031 for transport projects in English city regions outside London

Additional £11.5bn committed towards the cost of building the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk, which will also require private investment

£3 cap on single bus fares in England extended until March 2027

Rules used by Treasury officials to assess proposed infrastructure projects to be updated

... and Melksham has ... a host of other attractions.

Daredevils are set to "fly" as far as possible across a city's harbourside during a new event.

Bristol is hosting its first Birdman competition on Sunday. The contest involves participants creating home-made machines or costumes to help them travel the furthest, before landing in the water.

Birdman events have been staged across the world for 50 years.

Charley Peak-Payne, who is part of team from All-Aboard Watersports, has built a bird for the race. He said: 'We are expecting [it] to break as soon as it hits the water. It's a one-hit wonder - the test run is the final run. It will either work, or it won't'."

Participants must propel themselves off a 4.5-metre-high (14ft) platform into the harbour, with the aid of a flying contraption that must be made from recycled materials.

All the profit raised will go towards the Grassroots Communities programme of work. The charity aims to support young people in local communities by providing them with access to education, employment opportunities and mentoring.

Twelve teams - including businesses and charities to harbour masters and Sea Cadets - have entered.

The contest is running between 10:00 BST to12:00 at Bristol Harbour, between The Cottage Inn and Bristol Marina.

Edinburgh Airport has been fined £80,000 after a man died following a fall from a lift designed to help passengers with disabilities leave a plane.

James Young, 81, was travelling home from a holiday on the Greek island of Rhodes with his wife when he fell about 5ft while being transported on an airport ambulift.

Mr Young was said to have landed "on his hands and knees" and was rushed to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment following the fall on 28 November 2023.

Edinburgh Airport said it accepted the decision of the court and offered "sincere condolences" to Mr Young's family.

He suffered a punctured lung, spine fractures and a fractured pelvis as well as a flail chest, where multiple broken ribs cause the chest wall to become unstable and interfere with breathing.

Mr Young, from Edinburgh, suffered a heart attack two days later and clinicians concluded "the totality of his injuries and medical condition were not survivable". He died on 7 December 2023.

Edinburgh Airport Ltd, a private limited company, was prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

Sheriff Fiona Sharp said the "isolated incident" had been "a tragic accident" and noted the ambulift had previously been inspected twice by a third party with no defects found. Sheriff Sharp said this was the first time the company had faced prosecution and she had been persuaded that "the culpability is low". The fine was reduced from £120,000 due to an early guilty plea.

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: "We again offer our sincere condolences to the family of Mr Young following the tragic accident at Edinburgh Airport in November 2023. We have cooperated fully with the police and regulatory authorities throughout their investigations and we accept the decision of the court. The safety of our team and passengers continues to be a fundamental priority for the business."