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Newsletters to download and print |
Our biggest success this year has been to get Northern Rail to consider an improved peak
time timetable for December 2010. Whenever suggestions to improve the service on our line are made we are told two things: there is no capacity because of the freight services; and there are no additional trains. We were sure the first of these wasn't true, but couldn't prove it without a copy of the complete timetable (passenger and freight), known as the 'working timetable'. This isn't quite an Official Secret, but it is pretty difficult to obtain. After a fair amount of detective work and the calling in of a few favours, we managed to get hold of a copy, and our crack team of timetable analysts (Peter Fox!) took over, demonstrating that not only was it feasible to fit in extra trains, but that it could also be done WITHOUT using extra trains. The resulting proposals were tabled at a 'Timetable stakeholders' meeting between the various local authorities and Northern Rail on 30th July, and Northern Rail's timetablers are now looking at them. There are still a number of hurdles - not least being the cost, as Northern services are heavily subsidised - but we have support from all the local authorities and our local MPs, so will keep lobbying. The timetable we suggested is as follows: 16.45 Manchester Piccadilly - Sheffield 17.32 Manchester Piccadilly - Sheffield 18.45 Manchester Piccadilly - Sheffield 17.14 Sheffield - Manchester Piccadilly 18.14 Sheffield - Manchester Piccadilly 19.14 Sheffield - Manchester Piccadilly This would involve a few changes to services to New Mills and Marple, but we have the support of both the Goyt Valley Rail Users' Group and Greater Manchester PTE. It'll be a number of months before we hear the outcome of this, but will keep you informed! |
News |
Welcome to the first newsletter from the Hope Valley Railway Users' Group. It has been a busy year, and we feel that there is a real possibility of change, although there is still a long way to go. In this issue you'll find a brief summary of activities to date... |
HOPE VALLEY RAILWAY USERS' GROUP TIMETABLE PROPOSALS |
Minutes from the 2009 AGM held on the 22nd October 2009 |
MEETING WITH GREATER MANCHESTER TRANSPORT AUTHORITY |
On 19th November 2009, Hope Valley Railway Users Group chairperson Sarah Roberts
presented our 'timetable aspirations' (presentation available here) at the Greater
Manchester Integrated Transport Authority meeting and came away feeling that there is a
very real prospect that we may be able to get the peak time hole in the timetable filled in in
the next revision to the timetable that will come into force in December 2010. Everyone was full of praise for the work we had done in presenting a clear solution and there was clear support for the evening peak changes from GMPTE. They apparently think that the business case is there and it is one of the priorities that will be put to the Northern board to consider next week where they analyse the financial implications of all the proposals. Mark Barker who was also there confirmed that it was on their agenda. It is now imperative that we keep up the pressure on Northern via our MPs, Derbyshire County Council and the CRP so that there is no possibility that this is dropped. If Northern agree, they will put it forward as part of their final proposal in January 2010; it then goes to Network Rail who make a final decision on what changes are made in May 2010. So if Northern does put it forward, we then need to move the political pressure on to Network Rail so that they don't leave it out. Everyone agreed that Hope Valley deserves an hourly service, so if we only get the evening peak changes in 2010 we need to keep lobbying for the rest of it from January 2010 as this is when the planning for December 2011 starts. I also strongly lobbied for a East Midlands or Transpennine Express fast train stop at one point in the Hope Valley. While most people seemed to feel that this was unlikely to go through this year they did feel that it was worth pursuing so we should keep the pressure up there too. Most lines are aiming to get at least half-hourly services, and getting the fast trains to stop once is probably our best bet for getting more than hourly frequency along our route until there are line capacity improvements on the line. |
HOPE VALLEY RAILWAY USERS' GROUP AGM |
The 2009 AGM was held at Bamford in October and attended by around 25 members and
representatives. As well as presenting our achievements to date, a great number of
suggestions and ideas were discussed to further our aims. The full minutes are available. |
GOOD NEWS - NORTHERN TO RECOMMEND AN IMPROVED EVENING SERVICE FOR THE HOPE VALLEY LINE |
Northern have stated that they will be recommending improvements to the evening peak
service, which is fantastic news. The plan is for the current 17.18 service out of Manchester
to be replaced by a 16.46 and either a 17.32 or 17.48 service and crucially for a 18.14
service to run from Sheffield to Manchester, stopping along the Hope Valley. This will make
a tremendous difference to people who wish to use the train to commute to Sheffield. Northern specifically states that this 'meets the aspirations of the Hope Valley RUG', so our lobbying has clearly made a difference. The improvements will only come into effect in December 2010 (the next time that the timetable changes) but will be the first real improvement to the timetable for some years. There are still a number of other decision-making hurdles to pass and we will continue our efforts to make sure that this change is implemented. While this is great news, we have a lot of other aspirations for the line too, which we will continue to lobby for. This news demonstrates that we can make a difference and get the line working properly for those who live and travel through the Hope Valley. |
GOOD NEWS FOR DORE AND TOTLEY PASSENGERS |
From 14 December 2009, two more Eastbound Trans-Pennine Express services
will call at Dore & Totley on Mondays to Saturdays to give later services
for returning commuters. These are the 18.55 and 19.55 from Manchester
Airport, leaving Manchester Piccadilly at 19.18 and 20.20 and arriving Dore
& Totley at 20.01 and 21.03. |