Tuesday 1 June 2010

Potters Bar - in memoriam

The Potters Bar Inquest opened today.



Lest we forget.

And whilst we are about remembering things.

This from former transport minister Steven Norris, who was then a non-executive director of Jarvis and who told BBC News:

"There is real prima facie evidence of sabotage".

Indeed not.

Lest we forget.

Dr Mike named as Civil Service top earner

Telegrammed by our International Correspondent
The coalition, bless it, has published a list of the highest paid civil servants in the UK.

And Lo! it does say:

Dr Mike Mitchell - Head of National Networks - DfT - £200,000 - £204,999

Mere baubles against Sir Moir's £609,000 last year, but more than enough for a few meals in East Coast dining cars (if there are still any running).

And a full £40k more than DafT's Permanent Secretary trousered!

Clearly Dr Death's salary has also kept pace with inflation - why less than five years ago the Daily Telegraph said he earned a mere £150k a year.

No matter.

Eye salutes a wise and well respected figure, who leads the industry from the front with great pots of cash (shurely 'great charisma'? Ed).

Bankingballs - Financing the ugly sisters

Good to see that the state owned banking sector is not averse to a bit of historical airbrushing.

The latest issue of RAIL carries an ad celebrating the "solutions and expertise offered by Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets" in helping finance 20 Class 70 locos for Freightliner.


But what's this?

Eye's man in the red braces sneers:


"
The GE/Freightliner deal was done by HBOS and by people who left HBOS before Lloyds took over."

Please remember the value of your marketing can go down as well as up.

Lookalike - Flora and fauna

Eye sees that the soi disant 'veteran' observer has been spinning again (with a bowler tip to Mr Hind).

Nope. Eye neither!

UPDATE: This from our International Correspondent...

The wrong kind of seed?

Not a problem we usually associate with the soi-disant but prolific spokesman for Grand Central...

Railway Operations for Dummies...

Driver Potter appears to be offering a new course on Railway Operations over on his blog.

Does the IRO know?

First for getting out of freight

So. Farewell First GBRf!

And welcome Eurotunnel GBRf.

EGBRf sounds like a breakfast bap.

Although FGBRf sounded like indigestion.

UPDATE: Eye readers are invited to compare and contrast...

1st June 2010 - Financial Times

The head of the company that runs the Channel tunnel has criticised competitive conditions in the cross-Channel freight market, as he confirmed his company was buying the UK’s third-largest rail freight operator.

Mr Gounon criticised the record of the only established cross-Channel operator – a consortium of the UK arm of Germany’s DB Schenker and SNCF, the French state train operator.

19th August 2006 - Financial Times

EWS, the railfreight operator that jointly operates the only cross-channel railfreight service, has sought a radical change to the Channel tunnel charging regime in an effort to keep its services running.

However, the company fears that, after Eurotunnel, the tunnel's operator, rejected the proposed solution, it might have to end the services from November.


Just fancy that!

Belated birthday greetings Sir Moir!

This just in from Clarence Spad, Life President of the Young Railway Poets Society and ‘First’ with the news

LINES SLIGHTLY BELATEDLY WRITTEN ON SIR MOIR LOCKHEAD REACHING THE AGE OF 65 (25 APR)

Happy birthday Sir Moir
You are almost exactly
Four years younger
Than Kim Jong Il
The revered leader of North Korea

I hope you will not be thinking of retiring
Just as we know that Kim Jong Il
Has no plans to do so either

We are also hearing exciting rumours on Reading Station that First Great Western are organising a Son et Lumiere on the country end of Platform 5, Reading Station to commemorate the continuing outstanding leadership and 65th birthday of Sir Moir Lockhead.

We hope that the story we have been told is true that Mark Hopwood, dressed in a one piece body stocking in First Group colours and decorated with the First Group logo at key points of his anatomy, will give an incredible free style balletic mime of selected passages from that inspirational book, An Incredible Journey, the First Story.

Mark's backing dancers, known affectionately as the Hopettes, are, we are told, busily preparing their routines.

The lighting will be provided by two Mendip Rail Class 59s remaining stationary at Platforms 5 and 9 for the entire two hours of the show.

Brunel you should be living at this hour.