November 2009 Archives

Feltham scouts raised £110 for Children in Need by playing bingo and baking buns.

The 7th Feltham Sea Scout Group Cub Scouts played games of bingo, held a raffle and sold buns and refreshments to raise money on Monday November 16.

Pay-as-you-go Oyster cards will be valid on South West Trains between Waterloo and Feltham from January 2 2010.

Boris Johnson confirmed last week that commuters will be able to use the Transport for London cards on trains from Feltham, Whitton, Hounslow, Isleworth, Syon Lane, Kew Bridge, Brentford and Chiswick.

A single fare from Feltham will cost £4.90 at peak times and £3.20 off peak, while travellers from Brentford will pay £3.10 at peak teams and £2.30 off peak.

Brian May unveiled a memorial to Freddie Mercury in front of 2,000 screaming fans in Feltham on Tuesday.

The big-haired rocker and Freddie's mother, Jer Bulsara, visited the town to open the 2m by 2m Hollywood-style star outside the library.

Trains through Feltham returned to a normal timetable this week following last week's bridge collapse.

Engineers built a temporary track around the damaged River Crane bridge over the weekend and South West Trains is hoping to operate a full service until the bridge is repaired.

All trains on the London Waterloo line were cancelled last week after a bridge over the River Crane on the southern edge of Hounslow Heath was damaged when heavy rainfall caused the river to swell.

The small, temporary loop around the damaged area of track runs through the former Feltham marshalling yard and over a culvert that already existed.

Richard O'Brien, Network Rail's route director for Wessex, said: "Once we had established the level of damage the flood water had caused, we put all our effort into getting train services running as quickly as possible. The solution we've developed will allow passengers to make their journeys safely and with minimal disruption while we carry out the full repairs."

Commuters faces delays of up to two hours last week and a poll on the Chronicle website found that 82% of passengers thought the authorities were not handling the crisis well.

However, while there were delays and cancellations on Monday as the new route bedded in, many have been impressed with the speed at which Network Rail managed to reroute the track and get trains running again.

Luke Burke, who commutes to Waterloo from Feltham daily, said: "I couldn't believe they got trains going again so quickly again having seen the damage to the bridge.

"I noticed the route took a slight diversion yesterday and slowed down a bit but I'm really impressed - I couldn't have taken much more of last week's misery."

Managing director of South West Trains, Andy Pitt, said: "We apologise for any disruption passengers experienced last week and would like to thank customers for their patience during what has been a challenging time.

"While there is still extensive repair work to be carried out on the bridge, the solution we have in place will ensure our customers can get back to normal and complete their journeys with minimal disruption."

Age Concern will be holding a Christmas bazaar at Feltham Lodge on Saturday November 28.

The charity will be holding the annual event at its home in Harlington Road West between 12.30pm and 2.30pm.

Anyone wishing to donate goods for sale can drop them in at Feltham Lodge or call 020 87515829.

A Feltham company has won a business award from the Queen.

Integrated Design Ltd, which has new headquarters at Feltham Point in Browell's Lane, was recognised for it's achievement in international trading.

Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea visited the company's offices on Friday November 13 to present the 2009 Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade to Margaret Lauder, IDL's longest serving employee.

A Christmas bazaar will be held at Christ Church in Feltham on Saturday November 28.

The event at the Hanworth Road church will take place between 10.30am and 2pm and will feature stalls, a tombola, raffle and refreshments. Admission costs 30p.

Feltham rugby club are appealing for help to replace memorabilia lost when their clubhouse was burnt down by vandals in August.

Old photos, plaques, trophies and ties were destroyed in the fire at the Hanworth Air Park pavilion and the club are asking for financial contributions or replacement memorabilia to decorate the building once it is refurbished.

Anyone interested in helping should contact club president Frank Parslow by emailing frank.parslow@onetel.net.

MP Alan Keen visited Tesco in Feltham to celebrate the supermarket's contribution to local schools.

Representatives from five Hounslow schools were also at the High Street store to thank staff for the equipment they received as part of the Tesco for Schools & Clubs campaign.

Trains through Feltham returned to a normal timetable today following last week's bridge collapse but services were severely disrupted due to signalling problems.

Engineers built a temporary track around the damaged River Crane bridge over the weekend and South West Trains is hoping to operate a full service until the bridge is repaired.