Shaken and stirred: Paul Francis

This from the Rail Forum...

Announcement from Rail Forum chair, Paul Francis:

"Some of you may be aware that I have announced my forthcoming retirement as CEO of Porterbrook Leasing.

“This will not take place immediately and therefore it is my intention, subject to the agreement of the RFEM executive, to continue as Rail Forum Chairman until our 2018 AGM.

“These are exciting times for our industry and especially the rail supply chain in the East Midlands, I want to continue as your Chairman so that we can work with government and regional stakeholders to capitalise on the huge investment that is being poured into both Classic and High Speed Rail, as well as the opportunities created through Brexit...

“I have no immediate date for leaving Porterbrook as I will be working very closely with Porterbrook’s Chairman and shareholders in the coming months as we appoint a successor as CEO. I will of course provide a further update once the name of my successor at Porterbrook has been announced.”

Interesting.

What is that sound?

That is the sound of industry CVs being polished.

Right Time Departure Please!

This from Thebel Tolzforze...

A small reminder, for anyone who might be interested?

Under the terms of the Railways Act 2005: the DfT has until midnight Thursday to let the Office of Rail and Road have the High Level Output Specification and Statement of Funds Available for Network Rail, covering Control Period 6, which starts on 1 April 2019.

Thought we'd mention it, just in case it had slipped anyone's mind?

What with all that HS2 excitement an' all.

HS2 - Midlands and North flex their muscles

This from Snapper...

Chris Grayling's late night HS2 statement to the House was interesting.

East Midlands and South Yorkshire MPs asked whether the lack of a firm date for MML electrification meant that the soon to be tendered HS2 fleet would need to be specified as bi-modes, to operate on the as yet unjuiced Chesterfield - Sheffield classic section of the new railway?

Meanwhile, those curious about the change in priorities around Sheffield & the ditching of Meadowhall in favour of Sheffield Midland may wish to ponder on the growing stature of Transport for the North (TfN).

TfN's strategy, to ensure that major Northern cities are within 30 minutes of Manchester Airport, is clearly being taken seriously within Government.

Not only was this stressed in the documents released yesterday - it was also confirmed in by Chris Grayling during his late night appearance before the House last night.

So is this just window-dressing or are we seeing a genuine shift in power and policy from Westminster to the North?