SEVERN TUNNEL CLOSED; ENGLAND CUT OFF

As a regular rail user the news that the Severn Tunnel is going to be closed for maintenance this weekend and next weekend has greeted me every morning (at Newport Station) for some weeks. I suspect that the First Minister is perhaps not a regular rail user, perhaps the government limo is too comfortable and too convenient, ideal perhaps for snoozing in whilst going to and from work.   

Severn Tunnel closed - England cut off!

The Welsh First minister’s criticism of Network Rail over the planned closure of the Severn Tunnel for maintenance, on the same weekend as the opening ceremony for the Rugby League World Cup, and the Womex music festival (both in Cardiff), might have a shred of validity if plans to upgrade the diversionary route via Kemble, in Gloucestershire to Swindon had not been dropped in November 2008, under the last Labour Westminster Government.

When the Severn Tunnel is closed for maintenance rail traffic from South Wales is diverted via a single-track 12-mile section of line between Swindon and Kemble (in Gloucestershire). Plans to upgrade this section to double track as it is the only diversionary route between Wales and London were conspicuous by their absence from Network Rail’s plans in 2008/2009. This is a vital link between Wales and London (and Europe) and the only alternative to using the Severn Tunnel.

The origins of the present problems date back to November 2008 (when Labour were in office at Westminster) when the Office of Rail Regulation’s settlement for Network Rail allocated £26 billion pounds - 2.4 billion less than requested; forcing Network Rail to drop a number of projects. Lost amidst the small print of this decision was the decision to drop a plan which would have restored of the 12 miles of single track to double from Kemble to Swindon.

In the event of a major accident or incident in the tunnel, perhaps a crash, a fire or even flooding, then we need a fully operational alternative so that passenger and freight services to London are not affected. Talk to anyone who works the rails (or anyone who has relatives who work on the rails) in the south and they will tell you that the aging Severn Tunnel is going to require more maintenance as time passes, it remains a vital transport link, but it ranks pretty low on Network Rails or Westminster’s list of priorities.

We badly need some original thinking to solve this potential block on our rail links; the construction of a railway bridge / tidal fence close to the Second Severn Crossing should be seriously considered as part of any plans to harness the enormous renewable energy potential of the Severn Estuary. This could carry the main rail link from South Wales, solving the problem of the Severn Tunnel, enhance rail services from Severn Tunnel Station and generate sustainable energy, which we will need in the near future.

THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER!

The three London based parties had a pretty poor record in the old parliament when it came to standing up for Wales. Things did not get off to a good start in this still relatively new parliament either - especially when the new Con Dem Government refused to either commit to or provide a timetable to develop a high speed rail link to Swansea - sorry make that Cardiff.

Originally New Labour only proposed to electrify and improve the rail line as far as Bristol, and only after the intervention of the Plaid driven One Wales Government and Ieuan Wyn Jones did they reluctantly agree to propose to electrify the line as far as Swansea.

In the long months that followed the emergence of the ConDem Government in Westminster, they were just a tad evasive when it comes to committing to the extending the electrification programme into Wales. And we are seriously expected to believe that Wales is a ConDem, let alone a Labour priority – I think not.

Now of course now it's not just the Swansea - London railway line that needs electrification, there are plenty of other more local lines including the North Wales Coast line and the Valley lines where the National Assembly can make a real difference to transport links and people’s lives. We should also not forget the Severn Tunnel diversionary line, which lies entirely outside of Wales, but, is particularly important.

So why is the Severn Tunnel diversion route important you may well ask? I mention it because, the proposed multi-million pound upgrade and electrification of the rail line between London and Cardiff, which if it goes ahead should be completed by 2017 and which should cut 20 minutes off the existing journey times, but this would only fix only part of the problem.

It's pretty simple really, when the Severn Tunnel is closed for maintenance rail traffic from South Wales is diverted via a single-track 12-mile section of line between Swindon and Kemble in Gloucestershire. Any plans to upgrade this section to double track as it is the only diversionary route between Wales and London were conspicuous by their absence from Network Rail’s plans in 2008/2009.

Talk to (or listen to) anyone who works the rails (or anyone who has relatives who work on the rails) in the south and they will tell you that the aging Severn Tunnel is going to require more maintenance as time passes, yet it remains a vital transport link, but it ranks pretty low on Network Rails list of priorities.

Interestingly enough back in November 2008 when Gordon Brown was running the shop, the Office of Rail Regulation’s settlement for Network Rail allocated some £26 billion pounds some 2.4 billion less than requested. This has forced Network Rail to drop a number of projects - if you think this was a short sighted decision just wait until the ConDem cuts really kick in!

Anyway, you may have worked out by now that one of the project that was dropped was a plan to restore the 12 miles of single track to double from Kemble to Swindon, at the moment the reduced capacity of this line adds an hour to passenger journeys as trains to and from Wales have to wait for services coming in the opposite direction, and lets not forget any impact on rail freight movements.

This is a vital link between Wales and London (and Europe) and is the only alternative to using the Severn Tunnel. In the event of a major accident or incident in the tunnel, perhaps a crash, a fire or even flooding, then we need a fully operational alternative so that passenger and freight services to London are not affected.

It is pretty essential that re-doubling work on the line, which would allow at least an hourly service, is carried out as quickly as possible. While the upgrade and electrification programme is under way on the mainline, its only common sense to electrify the line all the way from Severn Tunnel Junction through to Swindon as well.

So at the moment Wales is one of the few counties in Europe, save for Albania and Moldova to have no electrified rail-lines, this is one exclusive club we do not need to be a member of. While the Con Dems have finally committed to electrification of the railway lines from Cardiff to London, admittedly with about as much grace as someone having wisdom teeth extracted, they have finally done so.

Having got this far we now need a concrete commitment to a timetable as to when the job will get actually gets done. Personally I would also ask them to start the work from the Cardiff end of the line. When it comes to electrified railways it used to be a case of literally for Wales see England - and that was never acceptable! However, as was once said, things can only get better !

FOR WALES SEE ENGLAND

When it comes to standing up for Wales all three of the London based parties had a pretty poor record in the old Parliament. Things have not got off to a good start in the new one either - especially when it comes to rail they have refused to provide a timetable to develop a high speed rail link to Swansea, this effectively puts us out of sight and out of mind as far as High Speed rail.

Plaid’s Ieuan Wyn Jones successfully negotiated the multi-million pound the extension of the proposed upgrade and electrification of the rail line between Swansea and London. When the electrification scheme was originally proposed by New Labour it was to go only as far as Bristol, and only after the intervention of the Plaid driven One Wales Government did they agreed to electrify the line as far as Swansea.

The ConDem Government in Westminster, if one was being kind could be described as evasive when it comes to committing to the extending the electrification programme into Wales - so much for Wales being a ConDem priority. It's not just Swansea - London that needs electrification, there are plenty of other lines including the North Wales Coast line, the Valleys lines and the Severn Tunnel diversionary line.

I mention this because, the proposed multi-million pound upgrade and electrification of the rail line between London and Swansea, which if it goes ahead should be completed by 2017 and which should cut 20 minutes off the existing journey times, would only fix only part of the problem. So why is the Severn Tunnel diversion route important you may well ask?

It's pretty simple really, when the Severn Tunnel is closed for maintenance rail traffic from South Wales is diverted via a single-track 12-mile section of line between Swindon and Kemble (in Gloucestershire) any plans to upgrade this section to double track as it is the only diversionary route between Wales and London were conspicuous by their absence from Network Rail’s plans in 2008/2009.

Talk to anyone who works the rails (or anyone who has relatives who work on the rails) in the south and they will tell you that the aging Severn Tunnel is going to require more maintenance as time passes, yet it remains a vital transport link, but it ranks pretty low on Network Rails list of priorities. In November 2008, the Office of Rail Regulation's settlement for Network Rail allocated some £26 billion pounds some 2.4 billion less than requested; this has forced Network Rail to drop a number of projects (if you think this was bad just wait until the ConDem cuts kick in!).

Anyway, you may have guessed that, one of the project that was dropped was a plan to restore the 12 miles of single track to double from Kemble to Swindon, at the moment the reduced capacity of this line adds an hour to passenger journeys as trains to and from Wales have to wait for services coming in the opposite direction, and lets not forget any impact on rail freight movements.

This is a vital link between Wales and London (and Europe) and the only alternative to using the Severn Tunnel. In the event of a major accident or incident in the tunnel, perhaps a crash, a fire or even flooding, then we need a fully operational alternative so that passenger and freight services to London are not affected.

It is pretty essential that re-doubling work on the line, which would allow at least an hourly service, is carried out as quickly as possible. While the upgrade is under way, its only common sense to electrify the line all the way from Severn Tunnel Junction through to Swindon as well.

So there we are at the moment Wales, is one of the few counties in Europe, save for Albania and Moldova to have no electrified rail-lines, this is one exclusive club we could well do without being a member of. As has been pointed out elsewhere within the blog sphere, there is more to this than the electrification of the railway lines, though - Wales needs a public and concrete commitment to a timetable for High Speed Rail in Wales, otherwise what we are really talking about when it comes to high speed rail is for Wales see England - and that is not acceptable!