1.
West Midlands (region)
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The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area known as the Midlands. The city of Coventry is also located within the West Midlands county, the region is geographically diverse, from the urban central areas of the conurbation to the rural western counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire which border Wales. The region also encompasses five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Wye Valley, Shropshire hills, Cannock Chase, Malvern Hills, Warwickshire is home to the town of Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of the writer William Shakespeare. The highest point in the region is Black Mountain, at 703 metres in west Herefordshire on the border with Powys, Wales. The region contains five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including all of the Shropshire Hills, Malvern Hills and Cannock Chase, the Peak District national park also stretches into the northern corner of Staffordshire. Served by many lines in the areas such as the West Coast Main Line. The Welsh Marches Line and the Cotswold Line transect the region as well as the Cross Country Route, there are plans to reopen the Honeybourne Line. Numerous notable roads pass through the region, with most converging around the central conurbation, the M6 toll provides an alternative route to the M6 between Coleshill and Cannock, passing north of Sutton Coldfield and just south of Lichfield. The M40 connects the region through South East England to London, with its terminus at its junction with the M42, it passes close to Warwick. The M42 connects the M5 at Bromsgrove, passing around the south and east of Birmingham, joining the M40 and M6, passing Solihull and Castle Bromwich, to Tamworth, the M50 connects the M5 from near Tewkesbury to Ross-on-Wye in the southwest. The M54 connects Wellington in the west, passing Telford, to the M6 near Cannock, the A5 road traverses the region northwest-southeast, passing through Shrewsbury, Telford, Cannock, Tamworth and Nuneaton. As part of the planning system, the Regional Assembly is under statutory requirement to produce a Regional Transport Strategy to provide long term planning for transport in the region. This involves region wide transport schemes such as those carried out by the Highways Agency, within the region, the local transport authorities carry out transport planning through the use of a Local Transport Plan which outlines their strategies, policies and implementation programme. The most recent LTP is that for the period 2006-11, in the West Midlands region, the following transport authorities have published their LTP online, Herefordshire, Shropshire U. A. The transport authority of Stoke-on-Trent U. A, Major towns and cities in the West Midlands region include, Bold indicates city status. The region is based on the former region of Mercia. The Battle of Edgehill in October 1642 started the English Civil War, jane Bunford of Bartley Green until 1982 was the tallest woman ever in the world, and now the second tallest, and the tallest person ever in the UK, at 7 ft 11in
2.
Cotswolds
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The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates a type of grassland habitat rare in the UK and that is quarried for the golden coloured Cotswold stone. It contains unique features derived from the use of this mineral, the well-established boundaries of the Cotswolds have expanded considerably since moving out of the cities and into the countryside gained popularity. Now the Cotswolds boundaries are roughly 25 miles across and 90 miles long, stretching south-west from just south of Stratford-upon-Avon to just south of Bath. It lies across the boundaries of several English counties, mainly Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, the hills give their name to the Cotswold local-government district in Gloucestershire, which administers a large part of the area. The highest point of the region is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft, there is evidence of Neolithic settlement from burial chambers on Cotswold Edge, and there are remains of Bronze and Iron Age forts. Later the Romans built villas, such as at Chedworth, settlements such as Gloucester, the area still preserves numerous large, handsome Cotswold Stone wool churches. The affluent area in the 21st century has attracted wealthy Londoners and others who own homes there or have chosen to retire to the Cotswolds. The name Cotswold is popularly attributed the meaning sheep enclosure in rolling hillsides, incorporating the term, wold, compare also the Weald from the Saxon/German word Wald meaning wood. Cod was interpreted as an Old English personal name, which may be recognised in further names, Cutsdean, Codeswellan, the spine of the Cotswolds runs southwest to northeast through six counties, particularly Gloucestershire, west Oxfordshire and south western Warwickshire. The northern and western edges of the Cotswolds are marked by steep escarpments down to the Severn valley and this feature, known as the Cotswold escarpment, or sometimes the Cotswold Edge, is a result of the uplifting of the limestone layer, exposing its broken edge. This is a cuesta, in geological terms, the dip slope is to the southeast. On the eastern boundary lies the city of Oxford and on the west is Stroud, to the southeast, the upper reaches of the Thames Valley and towns such as Lechlade, Tetbury and Fairford are often considered to mark the limit of this region. To the south the Cotswolds, with the uplift of the Cotswold Edge, reach beyond Bath. The area is characterised by small towns and villages built of the underlying Cotswold stone. This limestone is rich in fossils, particularly of fossilised sea urchins, Cotswold towns include Bourton-on-the-Water, Broadway, Burford, Chipping Norton, Dursley, Moreton-in-Marsh, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold, Stroud and Winchcombe. Bath, Cheltenham, Cirencester, Gloucester and Stroud are larger urban centres that border on, or are surrounded by. The town of Chipping Campden is notable for being the home of the Arts and Crafts movement, founded by William Morris at the end of the 19th, William Morris lived occasionally in Broadway Tower, a folly, now part of a country park. Chipping Campden also is known for the annual Cotswold Olimpick Games, Cotswold stone is a yellow oolitic Jurassic limestone
3.
North Downs
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The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Westerham Heights, at the edge of the North Downs, near Bromley. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs, the North Downs Way National Trail runs along the North Downs from Farnham to Dover. Downs is from Old English dun meaning, amongst other things, the word acquired the sense of elevated rolling grassland around the fourteenth century. These hills are prefixed north to distinguish them from the morphologically similar range of hills - the South Downs - which run parallel to them. The narrow spine of the Hogs Back between Farnham and Guildford forms the western extremity of the North Downs, whilst the cliffs between Folkestone and Deal terminate the ridge in the east, there are two distinct aspects, the steep south-facing escarpment and the gentle north-facing dip slope. The southern boundary is defined by the foot of the escarpment which gives way to the flat, the northern boundary is less apparent but occurs where the chalk submerges below the more recent Paleocene deposits. The Downs are highest near the Kent-Surrey border, often reaching heights in excess of 200 m above sea level at the crest of the escarpment, the highest point is Botley Hill in Surrey at 269 metres. The County top of Kent at Betsoms Hill, with a height of 251 metres is located nearby, east of the Medway Valley the Downs become broader and flatter, extending as far as the Isle of Thanet. The ridge is intersected by the valleys of a series of rivers and these drain much of the Weald to the south, the western ones are tributaries of the Thames, they carve steep valleys through the chalk and provide natural corridor routes. Except for the valleys and wind gaps, the crest of the escarpment is almost continuous along its length. The dip slope is dissected by small dry valleys, and in the broad eastern part in Kent. Leith Hill is sometimes referred to as part of the North Downs but is located on the parallel Greensand Ridge. The Chalk Group, composed almost entirely of chalk, a kind of soft fine-grained limestone. It is formed of three parts, the Upper Chalk, which has many flints, the Middle Chalk, with flints. The chalk is most commonly exposed on slopes or as cliffs, the buried upper surface of the chalk beneath the acidic strata is often eroded into pipes, gulleys and pinnacles, sometimes visible in road cuttings and quarries. The Upper Greensand Formation, a whitish, limy sandstone, often used for building, the Upper Greensand of the North Downs is a thin bed of one or two metres thickness, and it is rarely visible at the surface. The Upper Greensand marks the edge of the Downs, being underlain by
4.
Go-Ahead Group
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The Go-Ahead Group plc is a provider of passenger transport in the UK, with over one billion journeys made on its bus and trains services each year. It is a FTSE250 Index group listed on the London Stock Exchange, early expansion saw the acquisition of certain smaller competing bus operators in North East England. Go-Ahead Northern Ltd also became a National Express sub-contractor operating services to the Midlands, North East, North West, at the same time, Go-Ahead Leisure purchased a number of pubs, which were sold in February 1996. In May 1997 the Brighton & Hove operation expanded with the acquisition of the municipal operator Brighton Transport. In September 1999 Metrobus, a large operator operating in London, Surrey, initially an unlisted public company owned 90% by management, in May 1994 Go-Ahead was floated on the London Stock Exchange. In October 1994 Go-Ahead purchased London Central during the privatisation of London Buses, in March 1995 OK Motor Services was purchased and integrated into the Go North East operation. In June 1996 a second London bus operation, London General was acquired from the management team that had purchased it when privatised, in October 1996 Go-Ahead entered the UK rail market when it commenced operating the Thames Trains franchise which it ran until March 2004. The Thames Trains franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising to Victory Rail Holdings, Go-Ahead owned 65% of the shares in Victory Rail Holdings with the remaining 35% held by some ex British Rail managers and employees. Go-Ahead bought the shares it did not own in June 1998. Go-Ahead entered into a joint venture with VIA-GTI, taking a 65% stake in Govia, Govia ran the Thameslink franchise from March 1997 until March 2006. In October 1998 Go-Ahead diversified into Airport Services with the acquisition of Gatwick Handling International, in 2000 French government owned C3D made an unsuccessful takeover bid for the company. In 2000 Go-Ahead entered two joint ventures with VIA-GTI and BK Tåg to operate services in Sweden. Go-Ahead had a 39% stake in City Pendeln AB which was to operate the Citypendeln commuter rail business in Stockholm, Go-Ahead had a 29% stake in Sydvasten AB which operated rail services between Gothenburg and Malmö. Due to problems, Go-Ahead exited both ventures, Wycombe Bus Company was sold to Arriva in December 2000. Go-Ahead acquired the ground handling operations of British Midland and Midland Airport Services in March 2001 followed by Reed Aviation in August 2001, along with Go-Aheads existing Gatwick Handling International operation, all were rebranded as Aviance. In August 2001 Govia started running the South Central rail franchise, in October 2000 the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority awarded Govia the South Central rail franchise with operations due to commence in May 2003 when the Connex South Central franchise expired. Govia negotiated a deal with Connex to buy out the remainder of its franchise, in May 2002 Go-Ahead diversified again, acquiring airport-focused Meteor Parking. In August 2003 the Wilts & Dorset bus business was purchased, included in the purchase of Gatwick Handling International in 1998 was a 50% shareholding in Plane Handling
5.
British Rail
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British Railways, which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies and lasted until the privatisation of British Rail. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, the period of nationalisation saw sweeping changes in the national railway network. A process of dieselisation and electrification took place, and by 1968 steam locomotion had been replaced by diesel and electric traction. Passengers replaced freight as the source of business, and one-third of the network was closed by the Beeching Axe of the 1960s in an effort to reduce rail subsidies. On privatisation, responsibility for track, signalling and stations was transferred to Railtrack, the British Rail double arrow logo is formed of two interlocked arrows showing the direction of travel on a double track railway and was nicknamed the arrow of indecision. The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century, during World War I the railways were under state control, which continued until 1921. Complete nationalisation had been considered, and the Railways Act 1921 is sometimes considered as a precursor to that, nationalisation was subsequently carried out after World War II, under the Transport Act 1947. This Act made provision for the nationalisation of the network, as part of a policy of nationalising public services by Clement Attlees Labour Government. British Railways came into existence as the name of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission on 1 January 1948 when it took over the assets of the Big Four. There were also joint railways between the Big Four and a few railways to consider. Excluded from nationalisation were industrial lines like the Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway, the London Underground – publicly owned since 1933 – was also nationalised, becoming the London Transport Executive of the British Transport Commission. The Bicester Military Railway was already run by the government, the electric Liverpool Overhead Railway was also excluded from nationalisation. The Railway Executive was conscious that some lines on the network were unprofitable and hard to justify socially, however, the general financial position of BR became gradually poorer, until an operating loss was recorded in 1955. The Executive itself had abolished in 1953 by the Conservative government. Other changes to the British Transport Commission at the time included the return of road haulage to the private sector. British Railways was divided into regions which were based on the areas the former Big Four operated in, later. Western Region of British Railways, former Great Western Railway lines, London Midland Region of British Railways, former London Midland and Scottish Railway lines in England
6.
London Paddington station
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Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of the Great Western Railway, much of the main-line station dates from 1854 and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It was first served by London Underground trains in 1863, as the western terminus of the Metropolitan Railway. Today, Paddington tube station is served by the Bakerloo, Circle, District and it is also the terminus for the Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect services to and from London Heathrow Airport. It is one of 19 stations in the United Kingdom managed directly by Network Rail and it is situated in fare zone 1. The station complex is bounded at the front by Praed Street and at the rear by Bishops Bridge Road, on the west side of the station is Eastbourne Terrace, while the east side is bounded by the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal. The station is in a cutting, a fact obscured at the front by a hotel building. The surrounding area is residential, and includes the major St Marys Hospital, restaurants. Until recently there was little office accommodation in the area, however, recent redevelopment of derelict railway and canal land, marketed as Paddington Waterside, has resulted in new office complexes nearby. In addition to the Underground stations at Paddington, Lancaster Gate tube station on the Central line is a walk away to the south. A little further to the south lie the conjoined parks of Hyde Park, the National Rail station is officially named London Paddington, a name commonly used outside London but rarely by Londoners, who call it just Paddington, as on the London Underground map. Parts of the station, including the train shed, date from 1854. It is one of 19 stations managed by Network Rail, the first station was a temporary terminus for the GWR on the west side of Bishops Bridge Road, opened on 4 June 1838. The first GWR service from London to Taplow, near Maidenhead, after the main station opened in 1854, this became the site of the goods depot. It opened on 29 May 1854, the glazed roof is supported by wrought iron arches in three spans, respectively spanning 68 feet,102 feet and 70 feet. The roof is 699 feet long, and the original roof spans had two transepts connecting the three spans and it is commonly believed that these were provided by Brunel to accommodate traversers to carry coaches between the tracks within the station. However recent research, using documents and photographs, does not seem to support this belief. The Great Western Hotel was built on Praed Street in front of the station in 1851–1854 by architect Philip Charles Hardwick, the station was substantially enlarged in 1906–1915 and a fourth span of 109 feet was added on the north side, parallel to the others
7.
Henley branch line
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The Henley Branch Line is a branch railway line between Twyford in Berkshire and Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. It was built by the Great Western Railway in 1857, train services are provided by the present day Great Western Railway train operating company. The railway provides access to the River Thames and the Thames Path and is used during the Henley Royal Regatta. It is sometimes referred to as the Regatta Line, and was branded as such by First Great Western, at periods other than the Regatta, many of the lines users are commuters to London, and students attending the nearby Henley College. From a junction with the Great Western Main Line at Twyford railway station, the line north and goes under the A4 main road. From there, the crosses the River Thames into Oxfordshire and proceeds to Shiplake. Finally it continues to the town of Henley-on-Thames, where the line terminates, the speed limit is 50 mph along most of line, except for the Shiplake bridge, which is 30 mph for multiple units, and the approach to Twyford, which is 25 mph. This line is 4 1⁄2 miles long and is not currently electrified and this is in conjunction with the electrification of the Great Western Main Line. It was announced on 8 November 2016 that the electrification of the branch was being delayed, the current passenger train service pattern on the line provides trains at about 45 minute intervals off peak, with two up and three down through trains to and from London. The best time is 45 minutes, the first train out from Henley is at 06,06 and the last train home at 00,15. The Saturday service is hourly, as is the Sunday service with a later start, additional services are provided during Henley Regatta at the beginning of July, with longer trains. All services are operated by, using Class 165/166 Turbo diesel multiple units, upon completion of electrification, Class 387 trains will be used, while the Turbos will be displaced to other parts of the GWR network. Henley had long flourished due to its location on the River Thames, by the seventeenth century it was an established coaching stop, and it was only in the railway age that the dominance of the town was brought into question. The Great Western Railway opened its line as far as a temporary wooden terminus at Twyford on 1 July 1839. Twyford was the nearest station to Henley, but customary transport routes using the River Thames continued in use for the time being. In 1852 the possibility of incursion by competing companies was again in evidence and this risked delay while the line was resurveyed, and time was already tight to achieve deposition of a Bill in the 1853 session. Accordingly it was agreed that the intended route should be held to. The Bill for time extension was presented to Parliament and it received the Royal Assent on 4 August 1853, the line was to be a single line, although bridges and earthworks were to be constructed for later doubling
8.
Reading railway station
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Reading railway station is a major transport hub in Reading, England. On the northern edge of the centre, near the main retail and commercial areas. Reading is the ninth-busiest station in the UK outside London, Reading is one of 19 stations managed by Network Rail. The station is served by three train operating companies, Great Western Railway, CrossCountry and South West Trains, the first Reading station was opened on 30 March 1840 as the temporary western terminus of the original line of the Great Western Railway. The time taken to travel from London to Reading was reduced to one hour and five minutes, the line was extended to its intended terminus at Bristol in 1841. In 1844, the Great Western Hotel, was opened across the Forbury Road for people visiting the town and it is thought to be the oldest surviving railway hotel in the world. New routes soon joined the London to Bristol line, with the line from Reading to Newbury and Hungerford opening in 1847, in 1860, a new station building, in Bath Stone and incorporating a tower and clock, was constructed for the Great Western Railway. In 1898 the single sided station was replaced by a design with up, down. Access to the station from Broad Street was not direct, until Queen Victoria Street was built in 1903 and this provided a route through to Friar Street and Station Road. The station was originally named Reading and became Reading General on 26 September 1949 to distinguish it from the ex-South Eastern Railway station nearby, the General suffix was dropped from British Rail timetables in 1973, but some of the station nameboards still stated Reading General in 1974. From 6 September 1965, services from the former Reading Southern station were diverted into a newly constructed terminal platform in the General station. At the same time a new station car park was built on the site of the former goods yard and signal works to the north of the station. The station facilities in the 1860 station building were converted into The Three Guineas public house, the Queen reopened the station on 4 April 1989. By 2007, the station had become a bottleneck on the railway network. This was caused by limited number of through-platforms, the flat junctions immediately east and west of the station, the Great Western Main Line at Reading has two pairs of tracks – the main lines on the southern side and the relief lines on the northern side. Passenger and freight trains transferring between the Reading to Taunton Line and Reading to Basingstoke Line and the lines had to cross the Main lines. On 10 September 2008 Network Rail unveiled a £400 million regeneration and reconfiguration of the station, the plans included an underpass to allow freight and passenger trains to transit from the to the Relief lines without blocking the Main lines. This was planned to alleviate current delays, due to slow moving freight trains passing through the station
9.
Oxford railway station
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Oxford railway station is a mainline railway station serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about 0.5 miles west of the city centre, north-west of Frideswide Square and it is on the line for trains between London Paddington and Hereford via Worcester Shrub Hill. It is a point for fast and local trains to London Paddington and London Marylebone, and for local trains to Reading, Worcester. It is also on the north/south Cross Country Route from Manchester Piccadilly and Newcastle via Birmingham New Street, the station is managed by Great Western Railway, and also served by CrossCountry and Chiltern Railways trains. Immediately to the north is Sheepwash Channel Railway Bridge over the Sheepwash Channel, the Great Western Railway opened to Oxford on 12 June 1844 with a terminus station in what is now Western Road, Grandpont. In 1845 the Oxford and Rugby Railway began to build its line, the junction was known as Millstream Junction, and was between the future sites of Hinksey Halt and Abingdon Road Halt, both of which were opened in 1908. The GWR took over the ORR while it was still being built, for just over two years, trains from Oxford to Banbury started at Grandpont, and had to reverse at Millstream Junction in order to continue their journey. The old station at Grandpont became a depot, but was closed completely on 26 November 1872. The site of the station was sold, as was the trackbed from Millstream Junction. Major subsequent changes were removal of the last 7 ft 0 1⁄4 in gauge tracks in 1872, the station has always been busy. In addition to current services, formerly there were others over the Wycombe Railway, Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway, through trains from the north to the Southern Railway also typically changed locomotives at Oxford. On 1 October 1951 British Railways closed Rewley Road station to passengers, south of the station immediately west of the railway tracks is Osney Cemetery, established in 1848 just before the current station site. Nearby is the site of the former Osney Abbey, in November 2009 it was announced that Oxford station would be expanded. A £10 million joint development between Network Rail and Oxfordshire County Council would create a new platform on part of the station’s long-stay car park. The new platform would allow trains to arrive and depart from the same track, currently, in busy periods trains can be kept waiting outside of the station for a platform to become available. A new covered footbridge would also be built over Botley Road to link the building with the new platform. Planning permission has been granted for the expansion to support the proposed Chiltern Railways service to London Marylebone with a launch date for the service of 12 December 2016. Meanwhile, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Network Rail have developed a masterplan for further development of the station, Chiltern Railways has raised the possibility of developing a service between Oxford and the Cowley branch line
10.
Cotswold Line
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The Cotswold Line is an 86 1⁄2-mile railway line between Oxford and Hereford in England. 1 mile or 1.6 kilometres west of Evesham and Norton Junction Worcester Shrub Hill through Worcester Foregate Street to Henwick, Malvern Wells, and Shelwick Junction with a crossing place at Ledbury. Significant civil engineering structures on the line include Campden Tunnel, the Colwall Tunnels, Ledbury Tunnel and viaducts at Worcester and Ledbury. Network Rail completed the redoubling of 20 miles of track from just east of Charlbury to Ascott-under-Wychwood and this should improve reliability, enable non-stop operations and allow an hourly off peak service to run on the line. The Office of Rail Regulation approved the work in June 2008, in December 2008 vegetation was cleared. A six-week closure of all or part of the line between Oxford and Worcester for preparatory works took place in July and August 2009, further weekend work planned for February 2010 was postponed by Network Rail. Initial work began in autumn of 2010, with the majority of the track being relaid between December 2010 and May 2011 when the line was closed at 21.30 from Monday to Thursday. Footbridges at Charlbury and Honeybourne as well as preparation for the upgrade of six Level Crossings, the new double track section between Charlbury and Ascott re-opened on 6 June 2011, the line between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh having been closed during the previous nine days. The section between Moreton and Evesham reopened as double track on 22 August 2011 with the line closed for the two weeks. There are proposals for new stations at Withington and Chipping Campden, a long-standing proposal for a new station at Worcestershire Parkway where the line crosses the Birmingham and Bristol Railway has now substantial funding. It is anticipated that the proposal will go to the Planning stage early 2015, the plans and proposals are now available on Worcestershire County Council website and the public consultation period has begun. As of 11 December 2011, the previous off peak weekday service continues, due to constraints of the former single track, there are some two-hour gaps. These services are extensions of the half-hourly Oxford fast trains, some of the former gaps have been partly filled by three additional trains as far as Moreton-in-Marsh. During peak hours, both Oxford fast trains are extended to Worcester, giving a half-hourly service, overall, about half the trains continue to/from Great Malvern and five trains a day continue to and from Hereford. There is also a commuter service to and from Oxford in the morning and evening. The historic problem of some trains having to wait at passing loops, extending journey times, has been eliminated by the redoubling, although some still have to wait at Charlbury or Evesham. Due to short platforms, passengers alighting at stations except Shrub Hill, normally this is from the 2–5 coaches at the country end of the train. The line between Oxford and Worcester was built under an 1845 Act of Parliament and opened in 1851 as part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
