Railways around Coventry

Council doesn't know when Coventry Arena station will open

Plans for Rugby Parkway Station approved

Hi all Whilst the waiting continues, I was listening to Shane on the breakfast (you know that sausage thingy that we have not had for a while) show, as he was talking with folks, including our council representative, who stated that our council (the project manager) were waiting for the "Rail Regulator" to sign off paper work. What she did not say, but which Shane skilfully put to her, was that CCC was late in submitting the completion paperwork. The Rail office that is involved is just that, a small team of folk, with a full in-tray of completion modification applications, covering the whole country. So, if a junction is modified, signalling scheme changed, or anything else, before it can be enacted, this body pull together every aspect, including safety & so as to deem it a pass or fail. CCC do have issues that make their job not as easy as it should be, like European funding deadlines & so on, but they should be used to that by now.

The delays in opening the Arena station will be discussed by the Council's Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday 21st October. The Council report goes into the background of the project and the reason for the delays. They are currently saying "before the end of the year". Peter.

Thanks PeterB for the link to the Council report ref Coventry Arena station. I'm not normally scathing of Coventry City Council but I'm going to be, proving that you should not always take information put out by CCC at face value... From the report 'Delays to station opening 3.8 NUCKLE 1.1 new stations are now physically complete and will enter into service by the end of the year. The physical works were substantially complete in July as per programme. However the opening date has been delayed for the following reasons:' and 'Entry into service documentation is currently being compiled, this needs to be submitted to various bodies (including Network Rail, London Midland and ORR) for acceptance, and is taking longer than planned, but all need to be satisfied that the assets are built correctly and safe to operate before the stations can open. The wording 'physical works were substantially complete in July as per programme' is confusing to say the least. Is this saying that the actual construction was programmed to be completed in July, or that the construction itself [per the plans] had been substantially completed in July. Neither are correct.... The original opening date for both Coventry Arena and Bermuda Park stations was planned for May 2015. This is clearly stated on the information boards installed at both locations. The one at the Ricoh can be seen earlier in this thread. It is known that problems arose during the construction that was going to delay the opening, yet at NO TIME did CCC choose to release this information to the public. Questions were being asked but total silence was the reply from CCC. Bermuda Park was always running weeks behind Coventry Arena. It was always known that Knuckle1 was a single project and any delay to one part of Knuckle1 would delay the whole. Whilst Coventry Arena appeared to be 'substantially complete' during July, just what does 'substantially complete' mean? There was still a lot of finishing off to do, indeed the last of the signage was only installed a little over a week ago. With projects such as these, either they are COMPLETED or they are not, and that word 'completed' is crucial. Bermuda was a totally different situation and at the end of September the footpath and roadway still had to be completed, let alone all the standard finishings that are required in projects such as these. The last sentence copied from the report is the key to everything here 'but all need to be satisfied that the assets are built correctly and safe to operate before the stations can open' This point has been made a number of times on this forum - that ALL of the work had to be completed BEFORE the two new stations could be inspected and all being well, approved for public use. CCC has made itself look incompetent over the situation with the station at the Ricoh, especially after making statements to the press to the effect that it didn't know why the opening was being delayed. Yes they did, they always did, the situation really was quite simple.... The project [as a whole] was running late (for whatever reason[s]).... Once ALL of the work had been completed at ALL three locations, the paperwork could be submitted to the relevant authorities.. The construction works would be inspected and if all was okay and fit for purpose, the project could be signed off. Once signed off, a realistic, official opening date for the opening of the two new stations could be set - and made known to all and sundry via the normal channels. If CCC had taken the trouble to explain what was happening as the situation started to unfold during LAST WINTER, they could have all but avoided the TOTALLY negative press that has surrounded this project, especially over the last 6 weeks or so. Or is this another case - as with the proposed West Midlands Combined Authority - of CCC choosing not to tell its citizens the real situation, as they think it is far too complicated for us to understand??? Personally, my money is on the stations officially opening on the next passenger timetable change, Sunday 13th December, give or take, although there is an extremely slight possibility of a few charters using Coventry Arena station before then. Watch this space....

Now, ticket price fiasco for Ricoh match days

I know our friend Ron doesn't always agree with comments on the particular railway forum I tend to favour, but this was posted yesterday: There appears to be a planning hiccup with Bermuda Park Station - an application has been put in for amendments to the planning permission - link

Midland Red / all The reason I have a bit of an issue with that forum is simply that the MAJORITY of people that post on it are enthusiasts. Clearly being an enthusiast is not a problem in any way whatsoever, however an enthusiast is simply that - a person who is enthusiastic about a subject in which they have an interest. A lot of enthusiasts believe that because they have that interest, they know everything about that industry and the fine line between reality and what isn't reality becomes very easily blurred. Many postings are taken as being 'gospel' and because a statement has been made on the internet it very quickly becomes fact. Consequently 'information' makes it's way around various forums and internet sites, growing as it goes. Just like Chinese whispers. It is amazing how many people knew something definitely was happening [with the benefit of hindsight] as they had read it 'somewhere' a couple of years ago, when the actual decision on which a statement had been made had only been taken in the last few months. There is nothing wrong with being an enthusiast and I regard myself as being one too, but I am very fortunate in that two subjects in which I had an avid interest when growing up - railways and aviation - eventually became the basis for my professional life. I could go into detail regarding the views of many in senior positions within such industries towards the enthusiast sector but this forum is not the place for such views... The link you provided from UK Rail is clearly different in that this is factual - and unfortunately this is just one issue regarding Bermuda Park. As I have mentioned a number of times on this forum, Bermuda was delayed by 'design issues' and construction was running well behind the Ricoh, which itself had been delayed by 'design issues'. Despite statements made previously on UK Rail by enthusiastic persons (not meant to be sarcastic in any way), the station at Bermuda is STILL not completed. It is not a question of 'finishing off', a station is not complete until it has been fully completed, and fully completed means that it meets the approved design and planning approvals 100% - nothing less. Until it does just that, the project cannot be signed off by the managing contractor and application made for inspection, which should result in approval for public use. Again, despite statements made on UK Rail, as much as I dislike CCC's handling of this entire project, CCC are not to blame for delays in the opening of the stations. CCC have not built the the 'Coventry Arena' station, Buckingham have, and they are a company very experienced in such projects. Further CCC are not involved with Bermuda Park, that is Warwickshire County Council together with Nuneaton & Bedworth. However, all three stations (the platform extensions at Bedworth being the third) are joined at the hip and are run as part of the same project. Any delay with one station would delay the other two...and this is exactly what has happened. This was known by ALL nine parties involved with the project right from the very outset. SO, what the heck has gone wrong here??? Just where has the overall project management been to ensure that all parties have done their bit to ensure the completion of the entire project in a timely matter? A planning approval change at such a late stage? CCC's active involvement with the project and reporting thereof? 'Good for a quote' Ann Lucas was there at the beginning to get her name and picture in the Telegraph but as usual fades into the background and only resurfaces for the next photocall..... I for one am not impressed.... I alluded to charter trains in my previous message. These were being investigated as a way of providing the required train capacity until such time as the franchise holder - currently London Midland - were able to provide sufficient stock for a shuttle, although it should also be remembered that the current track and signalling layout at the Ricoh does not allow such trains to operate efficiently and economically. Consequently trains were costed and timed on the basis of running through to Nuneaton to turn rather than the Ricoh. Operating trains these days is an expensive business, and with no charter train companies based in the Midlands with sufficient stock and locos to operate such a service, they have to be bought in from elsewhere. The empty legs have to be paid for, and they unfortunately make up [say for arguments sake] three quarters of the 'shuttle' costs between Coventry and Nuneaton. Add to that the ecs legs (Empty Carriage Stock ie the positioning moves from wherever the stock is based) to and from Coventry, that is how you finish up with a £15 plus fare to cover its costs. Roll on 2017.

Just a heads up that Tornado's transfer from the Severn Valley Railway to London (Stewarts Lane) through Coventry tomorrow morning is showing as cancelled on RealTimeTrains. It is working a special out of London Victoria on Friday 6th November so the move should be re-arranged quite soon. Peter.

I'm not really a rail enthusiast as I've too many other interests to fill my time. But, I was out and about this morning and noticed this just to the west of the bypass bridge at Canley. Thought it may be of interest to others.

Hi Pixrobin & thank you Even that piece of railway furniture is becoming obsolete. Modern technology using diode lighting, means that all colours can be shown from one lens. Experiments are taking place now so as to either introduce a new colour, or a flashing amber, which will replace the current double amber.

60163 'Tornado' being hauled through Coventry today at 17:03 from Kidderminster S.V.R. to Stewarts Lane. It will be towed by diesel 56303 so not in steam. Timings - Real Time Trains

Philip, The signal in the photo is one of the new LED signal heads installed in 2007 as part of the closure of Coventry Power Box and the transfer to the West Midlands Signalling Centre. The bottom head can display the red/green/yellow aspects. The top head is required for the double yellow aspect. Flashing yellows are already used as a warning to the driver that he has a diverging route set a junction which requires a (slight) reduction in speed and are used for trains from Birmingham signalled into platform 1 at Coventry. The junction to Leamington has a lower speed restriction and this signal is held at read until trains have passed the previous signal at yellow. Flashing greens were trialled on the East Coast Main Line near Grantham as a fifth aspect, but were not taken any further. Ultimately signalling will move to being cab based with line side marker boards like French TGV lines and the Cambrian. Peter.

Hi Peter & thank you for that good info I did read an article about modern in-cab signalling, which with the huge cost of copper cable thefts at present, may move that on quicker than might otherwise. After all, imagine an aeroplane at high altitude, queuing up to land, but held up by a red signal in the sky. Decades ago, I enjoyed a ride behind a Black five, north of Dingwall in Scotland, where signalling was via radio, into the cab, which as well as talking & push-button response, also operated the AWS system on the loco, that was from over half a century ago. I do like the nostalgia of past railway furniture, as is obvious from our model railway, but I hope that I will never stand in the way of real progress.