Peak Rail - dissent will not be tolerated

Good to see that freedom of speech is alive and well at Peak Rail.

As may be seen from this interesting email marking the demise of the Peak Rail discussion forum on Google Groups...

From:
To: Peak Group
Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 7:21 PM
Subject: {Peak Rail topic:551} Closure of this Discussion Group

Dear All,

Today, I mistakenly let a posting through the moderation process which would have normally been moderated out.

This was caused by me not reading to the end of the post when using my Blackberry. It was a human error. I have been instructed by Jackie and Roger to reframe from moderating any further emails to this group and to "shut it down until further notice".

I would like to take this opportunity to aploligise for allowing such an inaccurate post to be published. This is therefore the last post to the 'Google Group'. I hope you, like me, found the open and transparent debate both enjoyable and informative.

With Best Wishes,

What wickedness could the offending post have contained?

Merely this:

To return to the original topic, what is the state of completion of the various stages of the legal framework we will need to connect with NetworkRail and operate into Matlock? The December Bulletin Board firmly stated that preparation work would begin in January.

From an examination of the site it appears that a shoulder of rock on the old quarry site will need to be removed. Has the permission of the landowner been obtained?

I have obtained a copy of the letter sent by NetworkRail to our M.P. in December. He seems to have sent out a number of copies. This sets out the list of outstanding agreements which they require to have completed; it has the potential to be a complicated affair which will require a lot of hard detailed work to get through. It will not be solved by a meeting or a few letters.

NetworkRail make it plain that they will have costs which they expect to recover from us. Is there an estimate of these costs and is the money to hand?

How deeply shocking!

Surely the letter from Network Rail to Patrick McLoughlin MP is not that contentious?

NR to McLoughlin 14-12-09

Eye readers are invited to draw their own conclusions.

NRM news - Pridmore to Join A1 Trust

Eye hears that Jon Pridmore is to leave the National Railway Museum on the 11th of April 2010.

Jon will be joining the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust as their ‘Mobile Operations Manager’.

Eye wonders how you can be a MoM with a fleet of just one kettle?

Unless of course Tornado isn't the limit of the A1 Truss's operational aspirations.

Jon will be celebrating his new job over drinks in York on the preceding Thursday.

As a service to the citizens of York here is a photo of the man himself.


You may wish to lock up your daughters.

Adonis to strip FuCC of franchise in April?

Poor old FuCC.

Her Majesty's Daily Telegraph has now joined the legion calling for First to be stripped of the franchise:

The Government could do this as early as April because of a "break clause" allowing the Department for Transport to remove the company for poor performance after four years.

Eye thinks not.

Our resident legal expert, Hugh Fee, points out that the 10th April termination date referred to in the contract was dependent on performance between April 07 - April 08.

So whilst the Noble Lord might huff and puff he still can't bring FuCC's house down.

UPDATE: This from Thameslink Tommy...

Poor Neal Lawson don't you mean.

The guys only been in the job two weeks and he's already been roasted by the High Speed Evangelist.

Your readers might be interested to know that the shortfall in FuCC's driver establishment had its origins in the obsession with driving out costs championed by a previous MD.

Obviously the elimination of "spare drivers" was seen as an easy target.

Older hands knew that this wasn't wise but in the aggressive management climate that existed at the time no one felt brave enough to say so.

So as drivers left, no replacements were recruited and over time cancellations due to "driver shortages" became more and more frequent.

Hopefully driver spare ratios are being maintained over at East Coast?