Further Complaints About Parking Charges

Lawford Parish Council is pushing for the parking charges at Manningtree Station to be cut to encourage people to park at the underused station car park rather than nearby streets.  The Daily Gazette is reporting that NCP have stated they would be willing to work with National Express East Anglia to change the tariff, which is set by the train operator.

The MRUA has been campaigning for some considerable time for parking charges to be reduced as they are a significant factor in discouraging rail use - especially for journeys to places such as Ipswich, Colchester, Witham and Chelmsford.  Sadly the government has cited car parking as a significant revenue stream to be used to counter the contribution made by the tax payer in rail subsidies.  The MRUA will however continue to press for reduced parking charges at Manningtree.

NXEA Successor To Be Dutch?

There are reports in the media that the successor to NXEA will be the Dutch company, Abellio. The Department for Transport has declined to comment but an announcement is due this month.  A short 29 month franchise running from next February is being bid for the Greater Anglian area and a permanent 15 year contract could follow if the line is well managed.  As well as Abellio, Stagecoach and Go-Ahead are bidding for the franchise.

Leaf Fall Timetable Commences

Today sees the commencement of the Leaf Fall Timetable.  Certain train times will be altered to take into account the possible effect of fallen leaves on the line. Passengers are advised to check train times before traveling

Halloween Train

The Essex & South Suffolk Rail Partnership has organised a special Halloween Train to run on 30th October.  The train leaves Manningtree at 4:26pm and tickets costing £3 for adults and £1 for children can be purchased from:

Mark J Morsley & Associates Ltd
Independent Financial Advisers
Mortgage & Insurance Brokers
14-16 South Street
Manningtree
Essex
CO11 1BB
Tel. 01206 392255 

Increase In The Number Of "SPADS" By NXEA

It is being reported that NXEA has brought in industry experts to review safety measures after an increase in the number of trains that passed red signals.  The number of Signals Passed At Danger (SPADS) had been running at about one per million train miles in 2005 - 2009 but this number dropped to only nine in 2010.  However the number is creeping up again this year prompting the safety review.

The vast majority of incidents happened as trains passed the signals by only a few feet, often because of slippery rail conditions.  However, every incident is logged and investigated fully.

The Halcrow Group, commissioned by NXEA to carry out a review of procedures, found that "NXEA is implementing a number of initiatives and Halcrow considers these to be setting the benchmark against which industry good practice is measured."

Fare Increases - Will You Be Reviewing Your Transport Plans?

The MRUA is keen to hear from anybody who will be switching to other forms of transport as a consequence of the proposed 8% fare increase in the new year.  Will you be taking to the car instead?

There is a growing consensus that the hefty increase is a conscious effort to drive people off the railways in an attempt to relieve overcrowding - one of the biggest complaints from rail passengers.  Do you agree?

Contact us at info@mrua.org

Harwich International Ticket Office To Close?

Harwich International is included in a list of stations publicized by the TSSA union that they claim will be closed.  The list appears in a report drawn up by Sir Roy McNulty on how to achieve savings in the railway industry but is 'buried' in the small print and does not appear in the Executive Summary.

The service provided to boat passengers at Harwich is currently embarrassingly poor with ferries and cruise ships being met by scruffy trains with insufficient luggage space for passengers.  To further downgrade the service by removing the ticket office surely sends out the wrong impression to visitors to the UK.