It is the end of 2005 and, apart from some administrational efforts, the end of LiRa-2. We are looking back on a very successful year, in which we presented the results of our studies during the conference in Manchester in September and the workshop on the assessment tool in Utrecht in November. This was only possible by the fruitful cooperation between all partners and our consultants, Buck Consultants International and AGV-advies. All results, including background reports, are available on our website www.lira-2.com.
Haaglanden and other partners are looking for opportunities to form new partnerships, depending on the way Europe will structure the new financial programmes in the future. The LiRa-2 newsletter will appear four times in 2006, the website will stay 'on the air' at least until early 2007. So, everyone can learn from our findings or download the assessment tool.
We thank all persons and institutions that made help LiRa-2 to be a success and wish you a Happy 2006.
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The Hague
Opening station Den Haag - Ypenburg | Back to top |
12|12|05
On Sunday December 11 2005 the new railway station Den Haag Ypenburg was opened. This station on the main line between The Hague and Utrecht offers inhabitants of the new The Hague suburbs Leidschenveen and Ypenburg with some 18.000 new dwellings the opportunity to travel directly to The Hague Central station and to all stations, including Zoetermeer, on the line between The Hague and Gouda. From December 2006 the new 'Stedenbaan' operational model will offer four trains per hour in both directions.
In a few years, new light train vehicles will be operated by NS on this line. Near the station the Nootdorpboog connection was built, to accommodate trains running to the maintenance facilities at Leidschendam. The frequency of RandstadRail and the safety regulations made the original connection unfit for combined use of RandstadRail light rail vehicles and heavy trains.
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At 4 November 2005, a workshop was organised in Utrecht to demonstrate the LiRa-2 Assessment Tool. Some 15 participants from Belgium and The Netherlands had the opportunity to work with the tool themselves after an introduction by the developers, Mr. Alex Muller and Mr. Henk Bakkenes from AGV- Consultants on mobility issues.
With the tool it is possible to assess a new public transport line very fast. In one day you have the answer to the question what mode is attainable in the given situation, ranging from a standard bus to light train. The tool can be downloaded from the LiRa-2 website, button LiRa-2. The parameters of the tool are different for different countries. For Germany, Great-Britain, Belgium and The Netherlands sets of parameters are available. Among the downloaded files is an extensive manual. We consider to start an e-group of people who have worked with the tool.
Up till the end of 2005, the tool has been downloaded by fifteen people from transport companies, consultants and public transport authorities.
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Wolverhampton
Park and ride for stress free Christmas shopping | Back to top |
Released: Wednesday, December 21, 2005
A Park and Ride scheme is operating in Wolverhampton to help people pick up their last minute festive shopping and hit the post-Christmas sales.
Wolverhampton City Council's Christmas Park and Ride is operating between 10am and 5pm today, tomorrow, Friday and Saturday (December 21, 22, 23 and 24).
There will be no service on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or Tuesday, December 27, but the scheme will be back in operation from Wednesday, December 28 to Saturday, December 31.
All people need to do is drive into one of the designated free car parks and hop onto a bus into the city centre.
The buses are also free and run regularly to and from the car parks, taking shoppers right into the centre of Wolverhampton's shopping area. The Park and Ride car parks are illuminated and patrolled by security personnel.
The car parks are located at Dunstall Racecourse, the Science Park (off Showell Road), Corser Street and Sutherland Place. A free leaflet giving full information on the scheme is available from the Civic Centre and the Tourist Information Centre in Queen Square.
Free parking is also be available at Priestfield Metro Station, Bilston Road - use Midland Metro. Tettenhall Pool, off Stockwell Road - use bus service 501. Plascom Road (off Willenhall Road) - use bus service 529.
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Wolverhampton
Public transport users to discuss interchange plans | Back to top |
Released: Thursday, December 15, 2005
Exciting plans for a transport hub bringing together road, rail, bus and tram routes in Wolverhampton will be discussed at a meeting between the city council and a group representing public transport users in the West Midlands.
Members of the West Midlands Passenger Transport User Forum will be guests at the Council Chamber in the Civic Centre on Friday (December 16) to hear more about the plans, which are centred on the main rail and bus stations.
The Wolverhampton Interchange will be the city's transport hub - a showcase facility where road, rail bus and Metro services come together at a single city centre location.
As part of a comprehensive redevelopment of the surrounding area, the council is also working hard to ensure that the project includes the construction of a prestigious new rail station passenger terminal building.
Councillor Milkinder Jaspal, Wolverhampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Transportation, said: "The Interchange is an imaginative and vitally important project which I believe will bring major benefits to Wolverhampton and particularly for public transport users.
"If we are successful in our efforts to add the redevelopment of the rail station to the project then we will have a facility that Wolverhampton can be really proud of."
Phil Davies, chairman of the Forum said: "We welcome the city council's plans for more joined-up journeys between different types of transport.
"The station plans are very welcome. As passengers we need to back the city in seeking cash for local improvements from Government. With major train operator changes due, we are also grateful to the Council for helping us debate region-wide travel issues."
Note: The development of the plans was partly effected within the LiRa-2 programme.
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Manchester
Christmas Park & Ride proves a success | Back to top |
Published on Thursday, 17 November 2005
The first weekend of Manchester's Christmas Park & Ride has proved so successful that people from as far as Brussels have even been using it.
Nearly 300 people took advantage of the shuttle bus service running from the Siemens car park in South Manchester into the heart of Manchester city centre compared to just under 250 people during the same weekend last year.
As well as Brussels, visitors from Bournemouth, Blackpool and Cheshire used the service in addition to those travelling from inside Greater Manchester.
The Christmas Park & Ride is being jointly funded by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, Manchester City Council and Manchester City Centre Management Company for the third year running. GMPTE manages the operation of the service and the shuttle buses are run by Stagecoach Manchester.
GMPTE's Service Delivery Director, Denise Lennox, said: "It's fantastic news that people from across the country, and even some from abroad, have been encouraged to leave their cars behind and use public transport to reach Manchester city centre.
"I'm sure that the service will become even more popular as we get nearer to Christmas as it's a great way of avoiding the congestion that builds up over the festive period."
The Park & Ride will operate every weekend before Christmas and costs £2 for adults. Accompanied children can use the service for free. Shuttle buses run every ten minutes to and from the city centre from 8.30am to 6.50pm on Saturdays and from 10am to 5.50pm on Sundays.
The Siemens car park, off Barlow Moor Road, has 500 spaces, is well lit, staffed throughout the day and secure. The site is easy to reach from the motorway and is close to junction 5 of the M60, helping shoppers avoid traffic jams.
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Manchester
£1.25 million for Greater Manchester to tackle congestion | Back to top |
Published on Monday, 28 November 2005
Greater Manchester authorities today welcomed the announcement of £1.25 million government funding for a major new study aimed at boosting public transport and cutting congestion.
The money has been awarded from an £18 million fund set up to help local authorities investigate "smarter, innovative transport packages" that will help to manage demand for car travel.
Leader of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, Lord Peter Smith, said: "I am delighted that Greater Manchester has been awarded this funding, which will enable us to develop a wider range of measures to tackle the growing traffic on our roads.
"Manchester and the wider region has a long established policy on congestion charging and road pricing and this has not changed. Our public transport-led approach is proving successful in persuading people to leave their cars at home. Securing improvements to public transport infrastructure, particularly Metrolink, remains our priority.
"The bid we made to the Department for Transport reflects this position. It will further enable us to examine the impact of any future congestion on the Greater Manchester economy and to develop, over time, a toolkit of measures to support the use of public transport and ensure that our economy continues to flourish."
Councillor Roger Jones, Chair of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, added: "We will now undertake detailed planning work to identify measures which could be rolled out on four priority transport corridors - covering the three new Metrolink routes and a Guided Busway. These routes are at the heart of Greater Manchester's five year integrated transport strategy which we submitted to government in April this year.
"We will, of course, work in close partnership with local communities and businesses as well as transport operators to ensure the measures take into account the needs of everyone using these corridors."
A study is already underway to identify current and potential future congestion hotspots in Greater Manchester, aimed at providing a better understanding of the economic impact of both congestion and possible demand management measures.
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