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james73 · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:46 pm Post subject:

Travel chaos as 5 city rail stations shut (Evening Times)

HUNDREDS of frustrated commuters were left fuming today as a major
programme of rail works caused massive disruption.

Five stations in Glasgow's South Side were closed for a month after the
collapse of mine works under the Cathcart Circle line.

Travellers were late for work as busy bus routes struggled to cope with a
flood of extra passengers forced off the rails.

The work is scheduled to continue until August 17 to allow engineers to
carry out £2million of safety work.

The closed stations are Pollokshields East, Queen's Park, Crosshill, Mount
Florida and Cathcart. First ScotRail promised replacement buses would
operate to cut down on disruption.

However, angry passengers today hit out at First for not laying on enough
buses, with many left stranded at crowded stops when overloaded buses
drove past.

One Queen's Park commuter said: "It's been absolute chaos. The normal
service buses are so full they are having to pass bus stops - and there's
no sign of the promised replacement buses.

"I ended up having to take a taxi - and I won't be the only person late for
work this morning."

But First ScotRail insisted there were no major problems.

A spokesman said: "We have put in place as comprehensive a timetable
as possible to minimise the impact on our customers. It is all going to
plan. Where a rail service cannot be operated, alternative transport has
been provided and staff are on hand to help."

The rail company posted customer service advisers at the entrances to
affected stations today and train passengers were allowed to use their
season tickets on buses.

The company was running shuttle services but only between Pollokshields
East and King's Park.

James H
_________________
Happiness ain't at the end of the road - Happiness *IS* the road...

james73 · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:42 pm Post subject:

Bus firm steps in to ease rail chaos (Evening Times)

A GLASGOW bus firm put on extra services today to bail out rail operators
after engineering works left passengers stranded.

Yesterday hundreds of commuters faced delays when five stations in
Glasgow's South Side were closed for urgent repairs, forcing more
travellers on to buses that could not cope.

And today First in Glasgow added extra services to ease pressure to get
commuters in to work on time.

Services were pushed past breaking point by the closure of Cathcart,
Mount Florida, Crosshill, Queens Park and Pollokshields East stations.

No trains will run at these points until the middle of next month to allow a
£2million repair scheme, filling in collapsed mine works.

And yesterday tempers flared as workers returned from the Fair
Weekend to find that their normally busy rush-hour buses were full to
overflowing.

The bus operator, a sister company to the rail firm, is introducing
additional services after complaints from passengers yesterday, many of
whom were stranded as crammed vehicles were forced to pass stops on
the way into the city centre.

At one stop, a frustrated crowd of about 50 had to wait until almost 9am
before space was available, with the 44 service via Hope Street worst hit.

Today a First in Glasgow spokeswoman said it would be running extra
buses.

She said: "Where we become aware of capacity problems we'll endeavour
to provide additional buses within the constraints of running our full
normal service."

She added that First in Glasgow will accept rail season tickets during the
period of the closures.

Arriva which operates a 33 service from Barrhead to Glasgow, was also
contracted by the train operators before this week's closures and agreed
to accept rail season tickets for travel.

The operator said it had no problems with its service, which passes two of
the closed stations.

James H
_________________
Happiness ain't at the end of the road - Happiness *IS* the road...

james73 · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:33 pm Post subject:

Railway crime 'hotspots' revealed (BBC)

The 10 areas worst affected by rail crime in Scotland have been identified,
with figures showing about 2,000 offences were committed last year.

Newton in South Lanarkshire, Edinburgh's Waverley Station and Stepps in
North Lanarkshire were named as the worst three areas for rail crime.

Network Rail said trespass, vandalism and theft of track material was
among the most common crimes committed.

The list was released as part of Network Rail's No Messin' campaign.

The summer-long initiative aims to raise awareness among youngsters
about the dangers of playing near railways and is being launched in Alloa,
the location of Scotland's newest stretch of track.

According to the latest figures, 56 people were killed in accidents on
Britain's railway network in 2007, with 256 deaths in the last five years.

Of those killed, one in four were aged between eight and 18.

Scotlands Top Ten Railway Crime Hotspots

James H
_________________
Happiness ain't at the end of the road - Happiness *IS* the road...

Alex Glass · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:47 pm Post subject:

The problem at Priesthill/Darnley is the lack of a decent bridge from one side to the other.

Passengers have to walk up a hill to cross the old footbridge. Unfortunately when the station was being built they didn't have enough money to put in a new footbridge. Although it is very dangerous crossing the railway line people feel that it is easier to do this rather than walk to the footbridge.

I was approached by Railtrack a few years ago to help draw attention to the dangers crossing the tracks.
_________________
I had a dream today

ALEX G @ flickr

james73 · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:55 pm Post subject:

I think I know the bridge you mean. It's a fair distance from the station and it's the
sort of bridge that makes you feel you're about to get mugged...

James H
_________________
Happiness ain't at the end of the road - Happiness *IS* the road...

Alex Glass · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:01 pm Post subject:

Spot on James

You can see the bridge in the distance. I have received a lot of complaints about the condition of the bridge. Last year I tried to get better lighting across the bridge. I also have to regularly get it cleared of rubbish. Some people would rather walk the other way and cross through the underpass which is even further than the footbridge.

I upset some local residents last year by having a path closed due to some anti social youths invading the area. Had to get it opened again quickly when it was pointed out that this was the preferred route for some residents to get to a the schools in Darnley

_________________
I had a dream today

ALEX G @ flickr

james73 · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:40 pm Post subject:

100 in travel terror after power cable falls on train (Evening Times)

A ROUTINE trip home turned to terror for 100 Glasgow commuters when a
25,000-volt power cable collapsed on to their train.

Shocked passengers were trapped in carriages just outside Easterhouse
in Glasgow after the train suddenly jarred to a halt.

And today witness Thomas O'Donnell said passengers were left waiting in
fear for half-an-hour before rescuers arrived to arrange a precarious
transfer to another train.

The Evening Times vendor praised fellow passengers for staying calm
when their journey on Tuesday was violently interrupted.

Mr O'Donnell was on the train relaxing after a shift at his city centre pitch
when he heard a loud bang "like a giant elastic band snapping".

And he soon realised there was a real problem with the overhead cable
which powers the electric train service.

He said: "The driver hit the emergency brakes and we stopped really
hard. All of the lights on the train went out and I heard something hit the
roof. Then a cable fell down by the side of the train and hit the window
next to me."

The accident hit the 5.23pm Balloch to Airdrie service, which goes through
Queen Street, just as it was leaving Easterhouse station.

Engineers had to clear traffic from another train line and then take a
rescue train to the scene, before laying a gangplank between the
carriages to let passengers escape.

James H
_________________
Happiness ain't at the end of the road - Happiness *IS* the road...

Stuball · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:01 pm Post subject:

I sense a little embelishment of the story there
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FLICKR GALLERY

james73 · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:09 pm Post subject: