Railwatch

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Railwatch 084 - June 2000

Railwatch - The Sidings

Railroad Earth

Former railwayman Alan Mumford is now editing a quarterly poetry-short story magazine called Railroad Earth, written by and for international rail workers. It is always seeking submissions.

The magazine can be contacted at Alanmumford@hotmail.com or via its community website: http://communities.msn.co.uk/RailroadEarth or via P Craggs, 4 College Terrace, London N3 1DT.

Trip to Lille

If you are interested in joining RDS members on a day trip to Lille on Saturday 8 July for a public transport conference, please contact John Barfield on 020 7474 5722.

RDS annual draw

Would members please return counterfoils and money to the promoter no later than 4 October 2000. Further supplies of tickets to sell can be obtained from Lewis Buckingham, 25 Drury Road, Colchester, Essex CO2 7UY.

Short-sighted

Workmen renovating ironwork at Loughborough station have erected barriers making it impossible for passengers to read the timetable posters. Information at the ticket office is also inadequate, reports RDS member Colin Vickers.

Scottish coal

Moving coal by rail will be quicker, cleaner and quieter and save us £3 a tonne," said Ian Liddell, chairman of the LAW Group which is building a £2.5million terminal to despatch coal from Garleffan, Scotland to English power stations. Output is expected to double to 500,000 tonnes a year. Currently it is delivered by road.

Welsh coal

A new 15-year contract has been signed by EWS to carry coal from Celtic Energy's Parc Slip and Onllwyn to Fifoots powerstation. To move the annual 750,000 tonnes needed would require a minimum of 240 lorry journeys every day.

Hello minister

An RDS delegation including Michael Caton, Peter Lawerence and Alix Stredwick met Transport Minister Keith Hill and five of his civil servants in February. We called for more funding, more action to protect rail lands, progress on developing a strategic view of the railways as well as raising specific schemes like the Ivanhoe line, and Cambridge-St Ives.

Rail and environment

A four-page RDS briefing paper on Rail and the Environment is available. One of the many pertinent points it makes: An electric locomotive can deliver 2.5 times more tractive effort than a diesel.

It also points out that the average car is scrapped before its seventh birthday. Class 86 locos meanwhile will be 40 years old before they retire.

Channel Tunnel link

Work is expected to start next year on phase two of the Channel Tunnel raillink from north Kent, under the RiverThames and via Stratford to St Pancras station.

RDS LOTTERY

Winners for February: Richard Clarke, Hornsea £63, Edward Stansfield, Reading £39.37, Peter Morgan, Lingfield £23.63, Mrs J Powell, Leeds £15.74, Joan Rustick, Whitehaven £7.88, Alan Everitt, London N16 £7.88.

March: Michael Bedford, Fareham £62, J D Shemilt, Ashbourne £38.75, P J Lugg, Bourne End, Bucks £23.25, A J MacBeath, Grange-over-Sands £15.50, Alan Everett, London N16 £7.75, C Skinner, Warley, West Midlands £7.75.

April: D K Fleming, Bolton £61.80, N Perkins, London N3 £38.63, Derek English, Poole £23.17, F R Strutt, Billesley, Birmingham £15.46, M J Woollan, Felixstowe £7.72, J E Wilson, Timperley £7.72

Note: contact details (postal and email addresses, along with telephone numbers) in old editions of Railwatch out of date. Click CONTACT US for latest contact details.


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