Despite many promises over the years, drivers and cyclists in the Central Bedfordshire area will be fully aware of the continuing very poor condition of our roads. Road markings seem to be regarded as an optional extra from a bygone age, and when road defects are reported by the public, via the potentially brilliant but … Continue reading (Pot)holes in the CBC Budget?
In what is the 16th update I have posted regarding the provision of step-free access at Biggleswade railway station, I'm cautiously optimistic that at long last the town will have a station accessible to all, perhaps by the end of this year. In my last update, posted on 25th November, I mentioned there were two … Continue reading Biggleswade Lifts Update – 14.01.25.
This afternoon we met with Network Rail to discuss the latest news on the scheme to install lifts at Biggleswade station. This project, awarded funding in 2019, has been subject to many frustrating delays, with costs escalating and the completion date slipping ever backward. My last update on 7th September was unable to provide any … Continue reading Biggleswade Lifts Update – 25.11.24
As Chair of the 'Bedfordshire Rail Access Network', I was recently contacted by Network Rail as part of a public consultation into replacing the (inaccessible) station footbridge at Harlington station in Bedfordshire. Harlington station has four platforms, only two of these are scheduled for use by passenger trains and both of these are inaccessible due … Continue reading Step-free and ‘Appendix B’
This is a blog covering the status of the UK railway stations provided with 'Access for All' (AfA) funding to provide step-free access. The 'Access for All' funding programme aims to provide an accessible route onto and between railway station platforms and was launched in 2006. Since its launch, step-free routes have been provided at … Continue reading UK railways ‘Access for All’ audit
On Wednesday 4th September we had the latest meeting with Network Rail regarding progress (or lack of it) towards a step-free Biggleswade station. The last meeting took place on 24th July and you can read a full update from that meeting here: https://julianvaughan.blog/2024/07/24/access-for-all-biggleswade-july-2024-update/ In brief at the previous meeting we were told that the new … Continue reading Biggleswade step-free update – 7th Sep 2024
In 2015, Sir Peter Hendy, now Lord Hendy and currently Minister of State for Rail, was appointed as Chair of Network Rail and tasked to conduct a review of the enhancement programme for Control Period 5, which ran from 2014-2019. From the resulting 'Hendy Report' this programme was "prioritised to reflect the government's commitments to … Continue reading A decade of step-free delay
Farage talks about “something going wrong in our once beautiful country”. Yes, something is going wrong with this country, it is grifters like him, aided and abetted by the hard right media, who for years have sown the seeds of hate and division for personal and political gain. However, it is vital that ALL politicians … Continue reading Taking on the far right
After standing as a Labour candidate in the last two General Elections, when you are offered a candidacy in one of the safest Tory seats in the UK, it dawns on you rather quickly that your face just doesn’t fit and it is time to move on. So, after politely declining the opportunity to stand … Continue reading Down, but not out
Biggleswade station, located on the East Coast Mainline in Bedfordshire, and a growing commuter town, was awarded 'Access for All' funding in April 2019. Since then the project, now on its fifth Network Rail project lead, has faced several delays and we have moved from a completion date of Summer 2022, to a provisional date … Continue reading Lifts at Biggleswade delayed until Summer 2025
Julian Vaughan 