Can we run rural lines differently? ACoRP is working with the SRA and Network Rail on a short but fascinating study of ways in which the costs of running rural lines can be reduced.
Many Low-speed, lowfrequency lines are suffering from imposition of ever-more stringent standards. A simple example is barrow crossings. Station platforms like Evesham, Knighton and Llandrindod Wells were traditionally linked by stepped footbridges and a barrow crossing for people who couldn’t make it up and down the steps. Not any more. The crossings have been removed, and in the cases of Knighton and Llandrindod Wells, new footbridges, to full modern disability standards, have been provided at a cost of £300,000 each.
In the case of Evesham, disabled passengers have no such luck. They can now only use the platform in one direction. In the case of the Heart of Wales Line, just think what £600,000 could have given the service! Improved services, improved station facilities—we could develop a long shopping list.
Barrow crossings are only one of the most obvious issues.Take a trip on any modern tram system in the UK and you’ll see people crossing, perfectly safely, in front of trams. The tramlines are not hemmed in by high-security fencing. The trams are driven on sight, with just a driver on board (or, in the case of some systems, a conductor with purely commercial duties). It’s not surprising that the business case for developing tram systems to replace underinvested heavy rail routes in urban areas is strong. But why not look at some rural lines?
There’s a small number of rural lines in the country which are largely self-contained that could be operated by lightweight diesel light rail vehicles— or by the likes of the ‘Parry People Mover’. Think Liskeard - Looe, St Erth - St Ives, Stourbridge Junction-StourbridgeTown, even Esk Valley. If we can get the cost of running services down dramatically,the case for greater frequencies becomes stronger.
This is akin to the German model, where some DB rural lines were massively overstaffed, with just a handful of trains running each day. Under local authority ownership, their operation and management has been turned upside down.
Driver-only modern diesel railcars —like the Regiosprinter— run frequent services which dovetail with local buses. Can it happen here? Yes, it can, and indeed it must if rural lines are to prosper and play a much greater role in the community. Four trains a day on lines like EskValley and Heart of Wales is a joke. Modern, low-cost technology should help raise frequencies to a minimum hourly standard as a baseline. Let’s see what the study comes up with . . .
