An arrest on the Ale Trail

Posted on September 29, 2014 by admin

At last, an arrest on the ale trail and not before time. Now please can the police get the message out that misbehaving on the ale trail can land you with a criminal record, which we’re told really makes a mess of your CV.

[posted by West Yorkshire Police on Saturday 27th September]

We have had Officers on the Ale Trail this afternoon. A female was arrested on the train station by a Rural Officer this evening after she was seen having a wee on the platform by several members of the public. The female was being spoken to by the Officer about her behaviour when she became abusive and violent. She was arrested for being Drunk & Disorderly and will be receiving a fine.

If you do go on the Ale Trail – please make use of the toilets in the pubs you visit, not platforms, trains tracks, bushes, residents gardens, pavements or bus shelters…..

Posted in Marsden, Real Ale Trail | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“RMT launches new wave of rail protests across the North”

Posted on September 3, 2014 by admin

[Press release from the RMT union, 2 September 2014]

As part of the on-going RMT campaign against cuts to jobs and services, bound up in the Government’s proposals for the future of the Northern and Trans-Pennine Express franchises, the union is launching a new phase of the fightback on Monday 8th September, the day that Northern axes a whole range of off-peak fares. RMT is pointing out to passengers that the shock fare increases are a taste of what’s to come under the new Northern and Trans-Pennine Express franchises. The union has slammed the Government and Northern Rail for secretly colluding to axe the off-peak fares from Monday purely in the name of private profit. RMT has blasted the moves as “a kick in the teeth for the travelling public and a taste of what’s around the corner under the new Northern and Trans-Pennine Express franchises if the community don’t stand alongside rail workers in the fight to stop the destruction of rail services right across the North”.

A new postcard, following on from the 10,000 cards collected in opposition to the plans under the franchise consultation, will be distributed from Monday with the public urged to pressure MP’s to sign EDM 174, opposing the Northern and Trans-Pennine Express proposals, and calling for Councillors and Local Authorities to register their opposition.

The cards will be distributed at the following locations:

  • STOCKPORT MONDAY 8th September 2014 – 7.30am – 9.30am – Meet outside Stockport Station
  • WIGAN WALLGATE MONDAY 8th September 2014 – 7.30am -9.30am – Meet outside Wigan Wallgate Station
  • MANCHESTER VICTORIA MONDAY 8th September 2014 – 7.30am – 9.30am – Meet outside Manchester Victoria Station
  • LIVERPOOL LIME STREET MONDAY 8th September 2014 – 7.30am – 9.30am – Meet Outside Liverpool Lime Street Station
  • STEETON & SILSDEN MONDAY 8th September 2014 – 9.15am – 11am – Meet outside Steeton and Silsden Station
  • MANCHESTER PICCADILLY MONDAY 8th September 2014 – 10am – 12noon – Meet at the bottom of the approach entrance to Manchester Piccadilly Station – Nr Cafe Nero.
  • LEEDS CITY STATION MONDAY 8th September 2014 – 4pm – 6pm – Meet Outside Leeds City Station (***WELLINGTON STREET, ENTRANCE)
  • SHEFFIELD MONDAY 8th September 2014 – 4pm – 6pm – Meet outside Sheffield Station
  • LANCASTER MONDAY 8th September 2014 – 4pm – 6pm – Meet outside Lancaster Station
  • DONCASTER TUESDAY 9th September 2014 – 7am – 9am – Meet outside Doncaster Station
  • PRESTON TUESDAY 9th September 2014 – 7am – 9am – Meet Outside Preston Station (Butler Street Entrance)

Further events will be added in the coming weeks and follow nearly 50 events organised by RMT during the formal consultation period compared to a pitiful 5 organised by the Department for Transport and their cheerleaders in the shadowy “Rail North” organisation. Under the fares plans, from the 8th September off-peak tickets can no longer be used during key times on weekday evenings. The abolition of the off-peak evening fares will apply to the following areas:

  • Travel South Yorkshire
  • Transport for Greater Manchester
  • Metro West Yorkshire
  • Routes radiating out of the above areas
  • The Hexham-Newcastle line

Northern Rail have confirmed that the axing of the off-peak fares is simply about money:

“The changes are being made after the Department of Transport asked Northern to look at several options to generate additional revenue as part of its new franchise agreement.”

– Northern Rail internal circular.

RMT Acting General Secretary Mick Cash said:

“The axing of off-peak fares is a savage kick in the teeth for people already struggling with the burden of low pay and austerity and the fact that it has been cooked up by the Department for Transport in collusion with the privatisation pirates from Northern Rail is a warning of what’s to come. RMT is giving the people who use the rail services an opportunity to have their say.

 

“Let’s not forget that the core of the Government’s future plans for Northern and TPE is to axe jobs, throw the guards off the trains and jack up fares while capacity to meet surging rail demand in the area is left to stagnate. That attack on the fare-paying public has already begun and only an all-out and coordinated fight can stop the savage assault on rail in the North.

 

“RMT is now launching the next phase of the fight to both inform the public and fight the savage cuts being lined up for these Northern rail franchises and to get MP’s signed up to EDM 174 opposing this carve-up. It is absolutely essential now that we keep up the pressure.”

 

ENDS

http://www.rmt.org.uk/news/rmt-launches-new-wave-of-rail-protests-across-the-north/

 

Posted in fares, Northern Rail | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“Campaigners condemn rail fare rise of 3.5 per cent”

Posted on August 19, 2014 by admin

Campaigners condemn rail fare rise of 3.5 per cent

Campaign for Better Transport has condemned rail fare rises of 3.5 per cent, which will come into effect in January next year.

Martin Abrams, Public Transport Campaigner, Campaign for Better Transport said

“By deliberately ramping up rail fares, Government is hitting the living standards of everyone who relies on the train to get to work. There are the large numbers of rail commuters living in marginal constituencies. They will be looking to Government to bring a permanent end to this annual fiasco.”

“The challenge for Government is to invest in our railways without making them too expensive to use. Unless they end above inflation fares increases, it’s a challenge they risk losing.”

Posted in fares | Tagged | Leave a comment

Shortlisted bidders for the new Northern franchises

Posted on August 19, 2014 by admin

The Department for Transport have now announced the list of shortlisted bidders for the Northern and TransPennine franchises.

Anyone who advocates a return to a state-run, state-owned railway will be pleased, as all three of the bidders for the Northern franchise and one of the bidders for the TransPennine franchise are either fully or partially state-owned. The states in question are The Netherlands (Abellio), Germany (Arriva), France (Keolis and Govia).

Department for Transport press release follows:

Three companies have been shortlisted to run the Northern franchise and 3 are being considered for the TransPennine Express franchise.

Train companies that are in the running to transform rail services across the north have been announced by the government today (19 August 2014).

Three companies have been shortlisted to run the Northern franchise, while 3 companies are being considered for the TransPennine Express franchise. All of these companies have successfully passed the pre-qualification stage, and will now be asked to develop their plans for the franchises before they receive the government’s invitation to tender in December.

Bidders will be expected to show how they will make the most of the government’s £1 billion investment programme for the rail network in the north of England, which will provide faster and more reliable journeys, more capacity, better trains and improved connections for passengers across the region.

The shortlisted bidders to run the 2 franchises are:

  • Northern:
    • Abellio Northern Ltd
    • Arriva Rail North Limited
    • Govia Northern Limited
  • TransPennine Express:
    • First Trans Pennine Express Limited
    • Keolis Go-Ahead Limited
    • Stagecoach Trans Pennine Express Trains Limited

Rail Minister Claire Perry said:

The north is undergoing a real rail renaissance, and we will be asking these companies to come up with innovative and ambitious proposals that will ensure a truly world-class rail network for the region.

Building a railway that is fit for the 21st century is a vital part of our long term economic plan, connecting businesses and communities, generating jobs and boosting growth, and we need strong private sector partners to help us achieve this ambition.

The new operator will also be expected to work closely with Rail North, which represents the region’s local authorities, to ensure local rail users will have more influence in how their train services are run.

Sir Richard Leese, for Rail North, said:

The companies on the shortlists demonstrate the interest there is in meeting Rail North’s desire to see the railway acting as an economic driver in the north of England.

We look forward to working with the bidders to deliver strong franchises for passengers, which reflect the aims and objectives of our long term rail strategy and the predicted growth in patronage.

Both franchises are due to be awarded by October 2015 and as they develop their bids each of the bidders will need to set out how they will capitalise on the biggest programme of rail modernisation ever.

Over the next 5 years, thanks to government investment, more than £1 billion will be spent on the rail network in the north. This includes the £600 million for the Northern Hub project, and the electrification projects in the north-west and across the Trans-Pennine routes.

The potential operators will need to demonstrate how they will use these projects to increase capacity in order to tackle crowding and meet future passenger demand; provide faster and more frequent services; and upgrade rolling stock, including proposals to replace Pacer trains on the Northern franchise. Bidders will also need to improve customer service and passenger satisfaction.

The new franchises will lay the foundations for a transformation of rail travel in the north, including the Chancellor’s plans for a high-speed network linking some of the region’s biggest cities, which he unveiled earlier this year.

The Northern and TransPennine Express franchises carried more than 110 million passengers last year, covering inter-urban, commuter and rural routes. The franchises connect passengers travelling into and between the key strategic cities of Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Manchester and Newcastle, and onwards to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

A public consultation into the future of rail services in the north closed yesterday (18 August 2014) and responses will be taken into account as the franchise proposals are developed further ahead of the invitations to tender in December.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/shortlist-for-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-operators-revealed

Posted in franchising, Northern Rail, Transpennine Express | Tagged , , | Leave a comment