Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The railway network also has its gaps and discontinuities though these have arisen
for different reasons. The present national network comprises a series of lines originally
built by separate railway companies, sometimes in competition with one another.
A process of company amalgamation and then nationalisation allowed for more
consistent development of trunk routes but the rationalisation which was initiated in
the 1960s was never completed as intended. As a result the present 'network' contains
lines and stations which have survived against all the odds, rather like prehistoric life-
forms from another age. Meanwhile others which would have had a much better claim
to be operating today have disappeared.
Even in the heyday of railways topographical features meant that stations were
often located at some distance from the settlements they served. In rural areas the
combination of line and station closures reduced accessibility to stations still further
whilst in urban areas (except in London and a few other cities where suburban services
were developed) the outward spread of development reduced accessibility to stations
originally built to serve their Victorian core.
In the last quarter of the 20th century there were some reversals of these trends.
British Rail developed a number of inter-city 'Parkway' Stations on the edge of cities
designed to attract motorists living in outer areas - Bristol Parkway being probably
the most successful. In the provincial conurbations Passenger Transport Authorities
opened or re-opened more than a hundred stations serving housing areas and small
towns, boosting patronage on the local services for which they were responsible. In
addition there are now 34 stations on the Docklands Light Railway in this redeveloped
area of East London and over 220 stations or stops on new metro or tram systems in
provincial cities. Nevertheless in built-up metropolitan areas and other large urban
areas today 80% of the population live more than 1 km - a convenient walking
distance - from a railway station (Table 1.2).
The proportion of the rail network which has been electrified has increased steadily
during the last 80 years and now represents about a third of the total. However much
Table 1.2
Proportion of households within specified walking times of nearest railway station and bus
stop by area type (source: National Travel Survey)
Area type
Time to railway station (1996/98)
Time to bus stop* (2006)
< 7 mins
7-13
mins
14+
mins
< 7 mins
7-13
mins
14+
mins
London
26%
34%
40%
88%
10%
1%
Metropolitan built-up
areas
7%
10%
82%
91%
7%
1%
Large urban areas (over
250k pop'n)
7%
12%
81%
90%
8%
1%
Medium urban areas
(25-250k)
6%
12%
82%
90%
9%
2%
{
}
Small/medium urban
(10-25k)
85%
12%
3%
4%
8%
87%
Small urban (3-10k)
82%
13%
3%
Rural (less than 3k)
3%
4%
93%
72%
12%
15%
All
8%
13%
80%
86%
10%
4%
* with daytime service at least once an hour
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