Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
Lord knows how long it took for the Agglomeration of Totally Obstreperous Cats (ATOC) to agree the text for its 'Passenger Rail the way forward' pamphlet.
So a tip of the bowler to Michael Roberts for his cat-herding skills - but it really is industrial strength tosh, not least in confusing subsidies and grants with investment.
And is it really a good idea to boast about operating from more places than 'Tesco or McDonalds' and then claiming that 'over 80% of you are satisfied with our services'?
If 20% of Tesco or McDonalds' customers were dissatisfied with their services managerial heads would roll.
And guess what?
The £5.4bn 'invested' annually by the public sector in the railways represents only 1% of total public spending and 'must remain a priority to maintain service levels'.
Well no shit Sherlock!
UPDATE: This just in from J Alfred Prufrock...
And this egregious lobbying document has the nerve to call for non-executive directors and members of Network Rail to play a 'stronger role' in challenging the organisation's senior management.
If the TOCs were industry members they could have been calling the Network Rail board to account with informed rigour for the last five years.
Reform is long overdue.
(Shome mishtake shurley! Aren't TOC's already NR Public Members? Ed)
UPDATE: This from Chionanthus virginicus
Come on FC
Shurley even your Ed knows that several TOC's ARE "Industry Members" of NR.
No bonus for him this year then?
UPDATE: This from J Alfred Prufrock
Apologies to the FC for not asking him to set my comment in Heavy Irony Bold type face.
Still, to the virginicus all things are pure.
UPDATE: This from NR's Internet Rapid Rebuttal Unit...
There appears seems to be some confusion about the difference between 'public' and 'industry' members:
Network Rail has two general classes of membership:
Public Members are drawn from the public.
Industry Members are made up of certain rail industry companies (principally the passenger and freight train operating companies and some rail contractor companies), who are automatically eligible to be Members of Network Rail upon meeting certain criteria.
More info here.
UPDATE: This also from NR's Internet Rapid Rebuttal Unit...
PS Here is the current list of Network Rail members
UPDATE: This from our International Correspondent...
Under the cover of “promoting rail” ATOC seems determined to prod the Treasury with a pointed stick....
To quote...
- Those who seek renationalisation are trying to recall a golden age of British Rail that never existed.
- Last year, 1.27 billion journeys were made on Britain’s railways, up by 59.2% since 1996
- You pay an average of just £4.71 each time you use us
- 80% of passengers travel on discounted tickets
- The £5.4bn invested annually by the public sector on rail represents less than 1% of total public spending
More in 13 years than BR got in the years 1947 – 1996 – the “golden age that never existed”.
According to my back of the fag packet calculation, growth since 1996 amounts to 0.5 billion journeys.
The current level of investment (subsidy) amounts to £4 billion per annum more than the mythical golden age, so that’s an extra £8 from the taxpayer per journey to generate growth revenue of £4.71 per head and 80% of those sales had to be discounted...
Nice work if you can get it. Trebles all round?
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