08/08/2013 BBC Oxford News

from Oxford. In tonight's programme: Reducing delays and creating jobs -

how �33 million is being spent improving the rail network through

Swindon and the Thames Valley. Also tonight: East meets West - why

a delegation from China has been in the Cotswolds.

And later on: River safety - another warning to stay out of waterways in

A Wiltshire company has won the contract to make all the brakes on

the next generation of inter-city trains, securing hundreds of jobs

for years to come. Meanwhile, Network Rail is spending millions of

pounds on every structure, which is creating hundreds of jobs and should

reduce delays. This factory makes brakes. Soon it

will start making them for the new intercity express trains built by

Hitachi. For technicians like Mark Bullock, that means long-term job

security. It is basically a valve that communicates with the train,

tells the train what braking pressure to apply. This is not just

an order to hit the brakes on 600 carriages, more importantly, it is

about a contract to maintain those systems for the next three decades.

The trains will make their first appearance on the Great Western in

three years' time. This is a mainline train replacement, which is

very rare in the UK. This has been quite a long time coming, it is a

very large contract. Refurbishment of a bridge over the

Thames is getting under way at Bourne End. Effectively, we are

carrying out structural steel repairs. Network Rail says �1.3

billion are being spent this year in the Southeast to improve

infrastructure. There are 39 schemes in the Thames

Valley alone. Network Rail has 34,000 staff and reckons this keeps

another 90,000 people in work. But only last week it was told off by

the Rail Regulator for not doing enough maintenance and, in

particular, making the tracks more resilient to extreme weather.

bridge you can see behind me is one of several projects that has been

brought forward, it is a �33 million investment in the South and in the

Thames Valley. It is stimulus money, which means that it goes to the

local economy and to help local businesses.

Network Rail's point is this - spending on infrastructure does more

than make journeys better, it also puts money into the wider economy.

A driver who knocked down and killed a cyclist while he was eating at the

wheel has been cleared of causing death by dangerous driving. Joseph

Wilkins was cycling on a country road near Abingdon last May when he

was struck. Paul Brown, seen here arriving at court this morning,

admitted he'd been eating a sandwich between five to ten seconds before

he hit him. He says his eyes were on the road but Mr Wilkins had no

lights or reflectors. Paul Brown had already admitted causing death by

careless driving. He'll be sentenced in September. The jury in this case

decided that the facts amounted to a count of careless driving as opposed

to dangerous driving. I would urge all drivers to think about their

driving and the actions behind the wheel so that this kind of thing

does not happen. Fatal collisions are very often avoidable and this

case was no different at all. A motorcyclist has been injured in

the centre of Oxford after an accident involving a taxi. Ambulance

crews were called to St Giles shortly after 3pm. Paramedics

treated the man at the roadside before he was taken to hospital with

minor injuries. A delegation from China have been in

the Cotswolds to find out how the the UK tackles poverty in rural

areas. China has a growing gap between the rich and the poor and

the Government wants to address the problem urgently. The delegation met

with Action With Communities In Rural England, who are based in

Cirencester. Steve Knibbs reports. Chinese visitors to the Cotswolds

are not unusual but this group was more interested in aspects of rural

life, not on the tourist map. is a national voluntary network...

It would be interesting to know what those are in rural China. -- what

those issues are in rural China. But we have been told there are no

interviews. To give you some idea, this is southern China, the poorest

province. While in the major cities the economy is booming, like he

could not be more different. Lu Da Yi is a farmer, Yaz not earned any

money for a year. He is living below the poverty line along with millions

of other Chinese will stop transmission macro it is not fair,

-- TRANSLATION: It is not fair, I have been to the city, they live

better there. The Chinese governorate have made it

a priority to tackle rural poverty. While many difficulties we may face

in the UK do not apply to China, there are similarities. There are

issues around poor housing and poor sanitation. There are different

issues but they can look at where we are now to look at the voluntary

network to see how they can make changes. He was a coincidence. Qing

Lin looks after me was of the Chinese committee in the area. She

hopes that this will help back home. It is a time bomb waiting to

explode. I hope they learn from us to see how they can tackle the Asian

society problem, they are the same as everyone else. It will not be the

last visit from Chinese officials. The start of maybe a longer term

relationship between East and West countries.

Campaigners fighting plans for student flats next to Port Meadow in

Oxford have won the right for their case to be heard in front of a

judge. The Campaign to Protect Rural England has raised more than �20,000

to fight the case. If they're successful, a judge will review the

decision by City Council to grant planning permission for the Castle

Mill development. Oxford University intends to finish the buildings by

October. A hydroelectric power scheme is to

be built at Blenheim Palace. The project involves installing an

Archimedean screw, similar to this one on the River Thames in

Berkshire, on the River Glyme at Bladon Dam. It should reduce the

Palace's electricity bill and is part of plans to make Blenheim one

of Britain's greenest stately homes. The generator will produce around

60,000 kWh of energy every year. That is equivalent to about 18 homes

worth of energy. Piping that or conducting that into the estate and

being able to run all of their operation from this renewable

energy, it makes absolute sense. 50 years ago today, a gang of

robbers stopped an overnight train in Buckinghamshire and stole more

than �2.5 million pounds. The heist became known as The Great Train

Robbery. South Today viewer Jenny Mackie's husband, Ken, worked for

the police at the time. She sent us these pictures. Here's Ken holding

the loud-hailer as police carryied out investigations the day after the

robbery. And he's on the right in this photo with a member of the gang

as they left the magistrates' court. What amazing pictures to have. Thank

you, Jenny, for sending them in. Sadly, Ken has died but, 50 years

on, officers who investigated the Great Train Robbery have been

commended for their role in solving the case. Victoria Cook has been to

meet them. In Durham prison, there were three of the Great Train

Robbery 's. The news from 1963 - as keen to

discuss this infamous crime then as it is today. It was a raid like

no-one had seen before - amounts of money stolen that were unheard of.

And this is where it all happened. It was this bridge here in the quiet

village of Cheddington where the gang stopped the Royal Mail train.

They then attacked the driver and made off with over �2 million in

cash. The police officers involved 50 years ago faced a long

investigation without the aid of computers or modern forensics. Now

they've been awarded for their work. I could not have believed that

whilst I was listening to this and reading about it in my little police

station at Rhyl, the perpetrators were celebrating and counting the

money, no more than a mile, as the crow flies, from my little office.

Keith Milner was a detective constable at the time. He remembers

being told that a train had been stolen before the real truth

emerged. A reporter shouted up the embankment to me, is it true �1

million has gone? And I had no idea. �1 million was a huge amount. My

whole salary was �974, one shilling and 4p. Over the last five decades,

the gang have become famous - Ronnie Biggs' escape from prison and his 36

years on the run kept the story in the headlines. The Chief Constable

of Thames Valley believes it's time the attention turned to the police

who were involved. What has always struck me is the fact it the focus

is was on the offender is. I want to balance that by recognising the work

of the police staff 50 years ago who helped to solve the Great Train

Robbery. Many of these officers have now retired but they do so knowing