How much is this costing - Franchise bidding?

Time for an exciting new Eye feature!

A quick scan of of the following document reveals some helpful insights into the franchising process...

ESSEX THAMESIDE, GREATER WESTERN, AND THAMESLINK FRANCHISES APPLICANTS’ CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS: BULLETIN 1

Near the top of page two for instance we discover (click on the image to enjoy)...

Whilst near the bottom of the same page we find (ditto)...


So, in the Age of Austerity, Eye asks 'How much is this costing?'

ATOC levels the Euro playing field?

This from Ithuriel...


Is this a cunning plan by ATOC to apply the McNulty apporach to mainland European railways, inflating their costs to UK levels thus closing the efficiency gap?

Passenger information - keeping it up to date

This from Percy Kilometer...

ATOC's "Nationalrail" website appears unaware that Cambridge now has TWO more platforms - which opened a month ago at the timetable change in mid-December.

Perhaps Eye should remind ATOC that the franchise also changes hands at midnight on February the 4th?

Hopefully they will be ready to update their site accordingly?

UPDATE: This from a Mr Layt...

When NRES has done with Cambridge can you send their station plan makers in the direction of Reading which saw major changes including new platform numbers at Christmas?

IEP goes backwards at high speed

In a completely unexpected development it has emerged that the exciting new replacement for the HST fleet is subject to yet further delay (No shit Sherlock. Ed).

According to the December Structural Reform Plan published on the Number 10 website:


And the reason?

Happily it emerges that the delay is nothing to do with DfT as it is apparently 'for reasons outside of the Department's control'. A splendid explanation that all TOCs can now happily embrace to inform passengers when their own trains fail to turn up on time.

Meanwhile, does anyone have a clue what 'has resulted in a delay to commercial close of May 2012' actually means?