More News On Ricoh Train Station (5 Viewers)

[Sick Boy]

The lack of an increase from one train an hour was farcical to start off with but the ban on matchday use seems more to do with our old friends the Safety Advisory Group than the train operator, those sensible chaps that make away fans sit about 5 blocks away from home fans.



Have a guess who leads the Safety Advisory Group.

Its a farce, where else could you have a train station built next to a stadium and trains not be allowed to stop on matchday. There was even a crowd control queuing system install for use on matchday, what a waste of time and money.

Do the council lead them?

 

---

[hill83]

From the original proposal, which was the basis for funding being awarded:

'up to'
'could'

'we understand'

 

[Ian1779]

Wonder if Lucas will be as keen to take credit now as she was when work started on the station.

View attachment 4559

From the Telegraph report at the time the work started:

Wearing sandals on a construction site?? If ever there had been an opportunity to fire the useless wench that was it.

 

[fernandopartridge]

British Rail weren't the best tho were they!

At least they owned everything so if a new station opened they'd be able to get hold of actual trains to run it.

The train operating companies can't do that, they only lease trains from bank and investment fund owned companies who the Major government gave all the rolling stock away too. Those companies make enough margin over charging on leases, there is little incentive to invest in new ones.

 

[Covstu]

Wearing sandals on a construction site?? If ever there had been an opportunity to fire the useless wench that was it.

Safety committee were not picking this one up were they!

 

[hill83]

Looks like everyone has been given a NUCKLE sandwich.

Sorry.

 

[Covstu]

Agree it's shite but let's face it, it's another excuse for stay away fans

 

[fernandopartridge]

Wonder if Lucas will be as keen to take credit now as she was when work started on the station.

View attachment 4559

From the Telegraph report at the time the work started:

She's very naive and shows again that she's out of her depth. It still isn't her (or their) fault.

 

[chiefdave]

'up to'
'could'
'we understand'

True but I would suggest if you read that document you would have the impression that services would be increased not that the station would be closed on match days.

 

[Wyken Sky Blue]

Few questions:

1) Who funded this project? CCC or Network Rail?
2) If it was for CCC why wasn't the contract negotiated to allow for extra trains to be deployed on match days?
3) Did ACL promise Wasps that a station with extra services would happen?

 

[Covstu]

She's very naive and shows again that she's out of her depth. It still isn't her (or their) fault.

But isn't this like building a massive stadium with no one to attend? Surely scoped this our prior to building!

 

[hill83]

True but I would suggest if you read that document you would have the impression that services would be increased not that the station would be closed on match days.

Maybe so, but it turns out it was false. Massive shame.

 

[M&B Stand]

Looks like everyone has been given a NUCKLE sandwich.

Sorry.

The project has hit the buffers.

 

[hill83]

The project has hit the buffers.

It's gone off the rails

 

[Captain Dart]

£13m well spent.

It's like something out of 'on the hour':
"Council builds train station to , Council tells people who want to go to not to use it."

What a farce.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

How many passenger journeys a week will this line normally carry, I estimate 10,000 at £5 a pop, that will take something like 10 years to pay back the capital cost.

The running costs will probably take another 10 years. Economic madness innit!

I found this report, reads like someone wrote it with no intention of proving anything, just justifying expenditure.
http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse...ltation responses/c/coventry city council.pdf

 

[CJ_covblaze]

The lack of an increase from one train an hour was farcical to start off with but the ban on matchday use seems more to do with our old friends the Safety Advisory Group than the train operator, those sensible chaps that make away fans sit about 5 blocks away from home fans.

Have a guess who leads the Safety Advisory Group.

Its a farce, where else could you have a train station built next to a stadium and trains not be allowed to stop on matchday. There was even a crowd control queuing system install for use on matchday, what a waste of time and money.

It's Barry Butterworth at CCC. Given the timetable and the train being used it's probably the correct decision. May as well not bother at all on a matchday if you can only take 75 people from the ground after FT. SAG have got things badly wrong in the past but what else could they do on this? It'd end up being like a train to Central Bombay.

Wonder if Lucas will be as keen to take credit now as she was when work started on the station.

View attachment 4559

From the Telegraph report at the time the work started:

Clearly it was either wrongly reported in the first place (unlikely as there was never a retraction) or those responsible for providing the stock and timetables have not delivered.

Something we have to ask of CCC is when did they find this out? Was it a case of being told one thing at the start but now it's opening this news has dropped in their laps or have they known for some time and not bothered to try to challenge the decision? If it's the first one fair enough. If it's the second then they to are at fault. Especially as they own it!

One explanation that would be half acceptable would be that those responsible were basing matchday use on 20k+ crowds in the Championship. However that doesn't quite work as Wasps could potentially average somewhere close to that (and did last season).

 

[Kingokings204]

Am I reading this correctly? Millions has been spent to put a train station at the Ricoh arena and to not use it on match days and 1 carriage an hour? And waiting times 1-2 hours after a match has finished?

 

[M&B Stand]

It's gone off the rails

Looks like the end of the line

 

[hill83]

Looks like the end of the line

Looks like it's ran out of steam

 

[chiefdave]

Who funded this project? CCC or Network Rail?

Not entirely sure but found this:

The new Coventry Arena station should be complete in spring next year.
It will form part of a seven-figure upgrade programme which will also see a new station built at Bermuda Park and improvements at Coventry and Bedworth stations.

Grant funding of up to £4.75million has been received from The Department for Transport towards the scheme.
Further European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant funding has a been secured in addition to strengthen the viability of the NUCKLE rail project.

 

[Kingokings204]

Looks like it's ran out of steam

Don't lose track from the debate.

 

[armybike]

The train providers are at fault here for not getting the logistics in place for the services required/promised.



The funding has been put in place for the necessary structure to be built and the line has also been upgraded as part of the NUCKLE.

 

[SonofErnie]

This is an absolute scandal and should result in heads rolling. At best incompetence, at worst corruption. This actually makes me want SISU to win their case against the council!

 

[malkitccfc]

Don't lose track from the debate.

That was First Class.

 

[chiefdave]

It's Barry Butterworth at CCC. Given the timetable and the train being used it's probably the correct decision. May as well not bother at all on a matchday if you can only take 75 people from the ground after FT. SAG have got things badly wrong in the past but what else could they do on this? It'd end up being like a train to Central Bombay.

For events at Coventry Arena, a shuttle service between Coventry and Coventry Arena stations will be provided, with up to 6-car services operating at a half-hourly frequency to supplement the base half-hourly service (which could also be strengthened to operate with 3-car trains).

On the basis of this you're looking at close to 2.5K an hour capacity, admittedly that would be commuter level crowding with the carriages bursting at the seams but for a short trip that would be acceptable. Thats not too far short of 25% of our average attendance at present, I would suggest if we had 25% of the crowd arriving by train that would be a pretty high level so what we were promised should be able to cope with events at the Ricoh without any safety concerns.

The train providers are at fault here for not getting the logistics in place for the services required/promised.

The funding has been put in place for the necessary structure to be built and the line has also been upgraded as part of the NUCKLE.

I don't think its unreasonable to expect that if seven figure grants are being given there is some security that what has been promised is delivered. Surely if you get a grant for something and don't deliver you should have to repay the grant.

 

[Kingokings204]

That was First Class.

Al these jokes are making me catch a cold.

Talk about the green line!

 

[SonofErnie]

http://www.londonmidland.com/contact-us/contact-us/customer-relations /

We should flood their Customer Relations department with objections to this. An absolute disgrace and farce!

 

[skybluetony176]

Seems to me that this is more about rolling stock specification and availability than anything else. The station has clearly been built to cope with the capacity but they don't have either the right train's and/or enough trains available to cope with the capacity of the station during major events at the Ricoh.

 

[shmmeee]

Love how the council run the rail network now. The delusion grows.

Hey lads! Maddison was diagnosed in a hospital! Councils part fund some hospitals! Sack Ann Lucas for hobbling Maddison!

 

[gruffskyblue]

Far too much time on my hands!!

 

[chiefdave]

Love how the council run the rail network now. The delusion grows.

Nobody has said the council run the rail network. What has been said is that public money has been given to this scheme on the basis of a level of service which will now not be provided. Would you not expect there to be some sort of safeguard where public money is involved?

Also if you actually read the article the closure of the station on matchdays is nothing to do with Network Rail or London Midland, it is down to the SAG which is led by the council.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Seems to me that this is more about rolling stock specification and availability than anything else. The station has clearly been built to cope with the capacity but they don't have either the right train's and/or enough trains available to cope with the capacity of the station during major events at the Ricoh.

You're right. I think most of the network that London Midland use is electrified and therefore they don't have much diesel stock. The NUCKLE line is supposed to electrified at some point but can't see it happening under the current government.

Perhaps a few of the Nuneaton based posters can write to their local Tory MP. Mind, the same could be done for anybody based in Cov too who can write to the Labour ones.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Nobody has said the council run the rail network. What has been said is that public money has been given to this scheme on the basis of a level of service which will now not be provided. Would you not expect there to be some sort of safeguard where public money is involved?

Also if you actually read the article the closure of the station on matchdays is nothing to do with Network Rail or London Midland, it is down to the SAG which is led by the council.

In fairness I don't blame the SAG, huge crowds building up for a maximum of 75 (150 in either direction) spaces on a train is potentially unsafe.

 

[wingy]

Let's give Pete Waterman a call.
Sure he could find us something.talking of him I wonder If he was st Walsall on Saturday.

 

[Captain Dart]

Sound familiar, isn't it a bit like building an aircraft carrier and not ordering the planes to fly off it.. joined up thinking from government & private contractors both.

Cock ups abound!