Overhead cables damage causes widespread train delays

Pic::for wrong  rail infustructure some cable damage has caused widespread disruption to journeys:::pic courtesy wp/Ebc

Rail passengers face disruption to their journeys after overhead wires on the West Coast Main Line near Milton Keynes were damaged.

Virgin Trains services across England and into Scotland are being affected with delays of up to 30 minutes, according to the company.

London Midland say some journey times could be extended by up to two hours.

A full list of affected routes and replacement bus services can be found on the National Rail Enquiries website.

The problems are disrupting trains between London and the Midlands and the direct Rugby to Milton Keynes route.

Virgin Trains began running a reduced service between Rugby and Euston shortly after 10:30 GMT.

Replacement buses continue to run between between Rugby and Milton Keynes Central, and from there to Luton Airport Parkway to connect with East Midlands and First Capital Connect services to and from London St Pancras International.

Tickets honoured

Virgin said passengers can use their tickets on other operators services along certain routes.

London Midland say services on the line between Northampton and Milton Keynes will be delayed all day, but trains north of Northampton were still running, but subject to delays and cancellations.

The company is also running a two-trains-an-hour shuttle service between Milton Keynes Central and London Euston in each direction.

A bus service is in operation between Rugby, Northampton and Milton Keynes Central.

Buses will also take passengers between Milton Keynes Central and Luton Airport Parkway to connect with East Midlands and First Capital Connect services.

Buses are now running between Northampton and Wellingborough to connect to East Midland Trains services going north to Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield and south to St Pancras station in London.

London Midland said their tickets will be honoured by passengers going on to use Chiltern Railways, Cross Country, East Midlands Trains (between Sheffield, Wellingborough and London St Pancras International), First Capital Connect, First Great Western and Southern.

Passengers are being advised that journey times are taking up to two hours longer.

Unions blame cuts

Network Rail said a train pantograph had become entangled with overhead lines at the junction and the cables were damaged.

"At around 05:00 GMT on Friday the overhead wires on the West Coast Main Line, just north of Milton Keynes (at Hanslope Junction), suffered damage blocking all four lines," a spokesman said.

"An empty train, moving into position for the morning peak is currently entangled in wires that have come down.

"Network Rail engineers are currently on site and hope to restore two of the four lines by lunchtime with the aim of restoring all lines tomorrow following overnight work.

"All lines remain blocked," the spokesman said.

The RMT and TSSA unions questioned the adequacy of staffing levels following this incident and two more in the past three weeks when lines came down at Radlett in Hertfordshire and St Neots in Cambridgeshire..

RMT leader Bob Crow called for "cuts to staffing and to overhead line capacity to be reversed".

TSSA leader Manuel Cortes said: "This is the third week running that we have had major disruption on either the East or West Coast main lines because of problems with overhead power lines.

"We have to ask ourselves if Network Rail has cut back too far on maintenance spending in the past five years, and whether rail regulators and ministers are right to press it for further cutbacks of up to 19% over the next five years.

"These cuts are leading to a second-class railway for passengers who already pay the highest fares in Europe. They should be stopped immediately."

world's music greats on Camden street honors Walk of Fame

pic:::Amy Wine house's disc is to be unveiled in September,pic courtesy:::Ebc/wp

Pic:::Blur, Led Zeppelin, Amy Wine house and Elvis Presley are front runners to be nominated for the shortlist..pic courtesy::wp/ap

entertainment correspondent,london(Ebc/wp)

Blur, The Who and Elvis Presley are front-runners on a list of musicians to be honoured with Walk of Fame discs along a route in north London.

FRONT-RUNNER ARTISTS FOR NOMINATIONS LIST

Billie Holiday

Blur

Chris Blackwell

Elvis Presley

Fela Kuti

Frank Sinatra

Gil Scott Heron

Grand Master Flash

Led Zeppelin

Madness

Muddy Waters

Nile Rodgers

Sérgio Mendes

Soul II Soul

The Doors

The Who

A final list will be announced in May 

FRONT-RUNNERS FOR ICONS & INFLUENCERS NOMINATIONS

Glastonbury Festival

MTV

Old Grey Whistle Test

Radio 1

Technics 1200s

Woodstock

Camden Town is to be officially twinned with Hollywood to create its very own Music Walk of Fame.

The first 30 discs will be laid down this summer, organisers said.

It will celebrate the world's greatest musicians, with further discs and an Amy Winehouse statue to be unveiled in September - to mark her 30th birthday.

Front runners likely to appear on the first discs are an eclectic collection of artists including hip-hop DJ pioneer Grandmaster Flash, jazz poet Gil Scott-Heron, R&B group Soul II Soul, and Camden's very own Madness.

Rock veterans Led Zeppelin and legendary crooner Frank Sinatra are also likely to appear on the list, organisers said.

Concerts and special events will be held after all unveilings with tribute gigs for artists who have passed away.

'Highest accolade'

Music promoter Lee Bennett said he would even "like to get bands who have split up back together again" for one-off concerts, when they receive a plaque.

Liam and Noel watch this space.

Those honoured will be divided into five groups: innovative artists, influential artists, icons, unsung heroes and industry types like managers and producers.

A committee of global industry figures and local community members are working on shortlist of nominations for the first 30 plaques.

The list will go to a decisive public vote on the Music Walk of Fame website in May.

"We hope this will be the highest accolade in music," said Mr Bennett.

"This is an international brand not specific to Camden, but it is in Camden as we truly see it as the world's rock and roll capital."

It was Mr Bennett's son Adam who came up with the idea for a Music Walk of Fame, when he was just 10 years old.

"We were walking through Hollywood and Adam asked 'why don't we have this in the UK?'" Mr Bennett said.

"I thought what is the UK's most exciting big export? It's music. We should host the Music Walk of Fame," he said.

Since then, Mr Bennett has spent a lot of time in Los Angeles negotiating terms with Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Six years on and The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has given him global rights, with some post-unveiling events to be held in collaboration with Tinsel Town.

Its president Leron Gubler said: "We wish the Camden Walk of Fame the best."

Walk of Fame organiser Mat Morrisroe agreed Camden is the right place for the project.

"London is the global capital of music and Camden is the music hub within that," he said.

"We're celebrating this in the middle of a living, breathing music community."

'World credibility'

The scheme has been backed by Camden council's deputy mayor Jonathan Simpson who said: "With over 60 live music venues, no other part of the world compares in terms of music diversity.

"It will inspire and directly support those who want to go into music," he added.

Some of the money made from the scheme will be invested in a music academy project "to take artists and nurture them into world credibility", Mr Bennett said.

Each disc will cost around £500 to make and be set in one-meter slabs of concrete, anchored into the ground with steel rods to prevent thefts.

The first phase will run 0.4 miles (0.64km) from Jamestown Road to the famous Roundhouse venue which has hosted gigs by the likes of The Clash, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones.

But it is hoped the trail will eventually run almost a mile from Mornington Crescent to Chalk Farm.

"Anyone with a Brits or Grammy lifetime achievement will get a disc," said Mr Bennett.

Amy statue

There are plans to build a 3D hologram museum to allow visitors to perform onstage with their favourite stars and to turn Camden's streets into an augmented reality museum.

"We'll use latest technologies to bring the Music Walk of Fame to life on the streets of Camden, so music lovers can find out more about each stone's recipient, watch video and music clips and find out more about the local area," said Mr Morrisroe

In the shorter term, one artist certain to receive a bronze disc is Amy Winehouse.

A disc will be laid in September to coincide with the unveiling of her statue on the terrace of the Roundhouse on what would have been her 30th birthday.

Her father Mitch said: "I remember her talking about Hollywood and she would have definitely approved.

"She loved Camden and I think she would have been delighted to receive a plaque," he said.

Regarding the statue, he said: "I think she would have been over the moon.

"Long after you and I are gone, Amy will be remembered in a memorial on the streets."

Delay warning for new strcuture over Reading station footbridge closure

pic::National communication infrastructural development in rail sector..a subway in reading station....Pic:::wp/Ebc
communication correspondent,reading(weastar times/Ebc)::

Train travellers at Reading have been warned to expect delays as works to the railway station close a footbridge.

Pedestrians are being detoured via a subway which Network Rail say could add 15 minutes to their walking time.

The bridge which links Reading train station and a multi-storey car park is being demolished to enable new platforms below it to be built.

A new footbridge is expected to open in April.

Network Rail apologised for any inconvenience caused.

'Inconvenience'

Graham Denny, project manager at Network Rail, said: "For four weeks, people will be able to use a temporary walking route via the new subway.

"We have to do this because the current bridge sits in the way of new platforms which have to be finished by April, so it has to be removed.

"We realise this will be an inconvenience to passengers and are sorry for this; if there was another way of completing the new platforms we would do it".

The refurbished subway has a new lighting and digital CCTV system linked to the station and police.

Works on the upgrade stated in Spring 2011 and Network Rail said they are on course to be completed one year ahead of schedule in 2015.

The Reading improvement scheme also includes the construction of a new train care depot and a viaduct to provide more room for trains.

Overhead line equipment will also allow new state-of-the-art electric trains to run.

Suffolk computing history museum move to Cambridge

pic:::THE ROYAL ENGLAND historical computing museum...courtesy::museum authority/wp

ICT reporter, Cambridgeshire(weastar times/wp/Ebc):::

A museum documenting developments in computing over the past 50 years is to move to Cambridge.

The Centre for Computing History is to relocate to the city from its base in Haverhill, Suffolk, and could be open by the summer.

The charity has been looking for new premises for two years.

Director Jason Fitzpatrick said: "It's important to be in Cambridge because of the city's history and the part it has played in the home computing era."

The centre was established in 2006 to "create a permanent, public exhibition that tells the story of the information age".

'Rich history'

As well as working with schools, it houses a collection of vintage computers, memorabilia, artefacts and associated documents.

Mr Fitzpatrick said: "We've got some machines that date back to 1961 that are hardly recognisable as computers, but they are the forerunners of what we have today.

"We also have all the Ataris and classic, nostalgic games machines - I don't think there's anything we haven't got."

He said Cambridge's "rich computing history" was one of the reasons for the move from Suffolk.

He added: "We can go back to Charles Babbage designing the concept of a programmable computer, or JJ Thomson who discovered the electron in the Cavendish Labs here, and even codebreaker Alan Turing who went to King's College.

"Look at how computers have changed everybody's lives - we're not just talking about something the geeks and nerds are interested in - though it will be fantastic for them."

The new site near Coldham's Lane in the east of the city will provide the centre and museum with about 7,000 sq ft (650 sq m) more space than its current location.

National educational infrastructural development followup:::Leicester primary schools to get £150Tn investment approved

pic:::less infrastructural(primary school)  students listen difficulties from classes..pic courtesy:::Ebc/wp
educational correspondent, Leicester(weastar times/wp/Ebc):::

THE ROYAL ENGLAND educational(primary to university level) infrastructural development start and countrywide each and every county will development same way.educational source say. 

Primary schools in Leicester are to get £150tn(fund may rise upon requirement) of government funding for extra classrooms following a rise in birth rates and new arrivals to the city.

Leicester City Council said investment was needed because of the condition of primary school buildings and a rise in demand for places.

The authority said it had forecasted a need for 600 more pupil places over the next two years.

If approved, phase one of work could start in July ready for September 2013.

'Converting buildings'

Councillor Vi Dempster, the city council's executive member for children, young people and schools said: "We have growing demand for school places right across the city and we have a responsibility to ensure there are sufficient pupil places across the city.

"This work will provide much-needed places at schools, and will also improve the learning environment for many children.

"At the same time we are working on a longer-term plan to address demand in areas where converting buildings or constructing new classrooms is not a simple option, or is not an option at all."

Work is still subject to further discussions but will include a conversion of existing rooms at a building in Imperial Avenue, Braunstone and a re-modelling of Alderman Richard Hallam and Braunstone Frith infant and junior schools.

Up to seven extra classrooms will also be built at Sandfield Primary School, Linden Primary School, Wolsey House Primary School, Rushey Mead Primary, Medway Community Primary and Mowmacre Primary, which is hoping to add a library, IT suite and science rooms.

The money is from the government's Basic Need capital fund.

Ms Dempster said the next phase of work would look at areas of high demand in the city where new buildings are not an easy option but its approved for all necessary development as well fund my HM treasurer  , details of which would be announced within short time..