Wednesday 7 September 2011

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."

Monday 5 September 2011

Ticket Office Closures

It is being reported that one in four tickets offices in England and Wales are facing closure.  The TSSA union said 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 stations in Essex that face losing their ticket offices are as follows:

  • Alresford
  • Chafford Hundred
  • Dovercourt
  • East Tilbury
  • Elsenham
  • Frinton-on-Sea
  • Great Bentley
  • Harlow Mill
  • Harwich International
  • Newport (Essex)
  • Ockendon
  • Prittlewell
  • Roydon
  • Rye House
  • Sawbridgeworth
  • Shoeburyness
  • St Margarets (Hertfordshire)
  • Stansted Mountfitchet
  • Thorpe-Le-Soken
  • Waltham Cross
  • Walton-On-Naze
  • West Horndon
  • Wivenhoe

ERUF is of the opinion that such a strategy would probably cost the railways more in fare evasion and people not being able to find the information/ticket they need and therefore making alternative travel arrangements, than this measure would save