Villiers vignettes - Operational Transport Use

Proof positive, were it needed, that Civil Serpents have no understanding of the operational railway.

The soon to be abolished British Railways Board (Residuary) is rushing to flog off the family silver before the quango is consigned to oblivion.

One of the biggest pieces of land that remains in its portfolio is the former Derby Railway Technical Centre site which extends over 11 acres and which BRB(R) has put on the market for £16m.

But what's this?

Although most of the site is used for offices about a third is rail connected and is in operational transport use.

As well as a number of rolling stock engineering businesses dependent on the rail connected site the RTC is also home to Network Rail's Infrastructure Monitoring Fleet, which is so critical to the railways assurance regime that if the monitoring trains failed to run the network would be shut down.

So concerned about the sale is local lobby group the Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum that is has issued the following statement:

"We are concerned that the sale of the RTC Business Park contains no protection for the rail-connected facilities at this important site.

"Were these facilities to be lost it would have an enormous impact on the skills base offered, particularly in the field of specialist rolling stock engineering."

Of course in the Age of Austerity nothing must stand in the way of balancing the books - not even clearly issued Ministerial Directions and Guidance.

This from the Saviour of the Jammy Dodger only last week:

Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, Plaid Cymru)
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the land in the ownership of BRB (Residuary) Ltd when that body is abolished.

Theresa Villiers (Minister of State (Rail and Aviation), Transport; Chipping Barnet, Conservative)
BRB (Residuary) Ltd will continue its agreed programme to dispose of land that has been determined to have no further operational transport use on terms that deliver the best value for money to the taxpayer.

Any land still held by BRB (Residuary) Ltd when it is abolished will transfer to the direct ownership of the Secretary of State for Transport.

So if the RTC is viewed as having 'no further operational transport use' then what rail connected site does?

Eye is confident that Waterloo International, also a part of BRB(R)'s property portfolio, will make a truly splendid hotel!

Death of BRB(R) somewhat premature?

This from The Shunter...

Quite ironic that the BRB(R) is being wound up, just as the McNulty review is likely to conclude that we need a small, non-governmental, body to lead the industry.

Something that can guide a devolved, regionally focused, Network Rail and at the same time develop a franchising policy that compliments the new one-size-doesn't-fit-all industry structure

Mystic Shunter predicts that in March we will see the announcement of this new body.

Called the 'Railway Executive' it will sound both modern and exciting, and for students of railway history strangely familiar...

Spot the difference - BRB(R) land disposal

Using your skill and judgement can you spot the difference between the following two events which occurred today:

1. Railway land for possible station pulled from auction

2. Railway land with station car park sold for £360k

Evidently a station on the never never is more important to rail users than a overspill car park in the here and now.

What a perfect example of the government's transport policy - announce endless new schemes for the future but ignore the problems of today.

Eye salutes all involved.

Lord Adonis flogs off Kings Lynn station car park

Not many outside the industry know that the British Railways Board still exists, albeit in a residuary capacity.

Known, surprisingly enough, as British Railways Board (Residuary), it is the repository for much of the former nationalised industry's liabilities, in particular claims relating to industrial disease - asbestosis, emphysema and other unpleasantness suffered as a consequence of working on the railway.

It is also tasked with the management and disposal of the industry's remaining land and buildings, which are surplus to the needs of the operational railway.

In most cases this relates to disused tunnels, bridges and viaducts, old track formations, abandoned goods yards and the like - which today's railway has no interest in.

Where possible BRB(R) tries to sell these disused assets off - raising a couple of bob in the process for HMG and getting shot of the liability at the same time.

The BRB(R) is chaired by Doug Sutherland, the former SRA's finance director, and he reports directly to the Secretary of State.

So far so good.

And mostly the BRB(R) does indeed do a pretty good job.

But there are exceptions.

Take the overspill car park at Kings Lynn for example.

Almost four years ago a 96-space overspill car park was built on a plot of land owned by BRB(R).

The BRB(R) has now decided to sell that land, complete with overspill car park, and it has been entered into a Residential Auction to be held by Allsops next Tuesday the 15th December (Lot 83)

The sale could raise as much as £400,000 for the Treasury, which in these fiscally challenging times is not be sniffed at.

After all the BRB(R) is merely fulfilling its remit.

However, according to the BRB(R)'s website:

Land is only disposed of when it has been agreed with the Department for Transport that there is no need for it to be retained for future railway purposes.

Surely a well used overspill car park serving a busy station like Kings Lynn is very much a railway purpose and it ought to be retained for use today, let alone in the future?

Therefore, it is unimaginable that the Department for Transport (prop. Lord Adonis) could have sanctioned the sale of the land to a developer who will not have the interest of rail passengers in mind.

So Eye wonders whether the Noble Lord is paying lip-service to modal shift or whether he continues to be badly advised?

The buck stops with you My Lord - what will you do?

UPDATE: This from the saintly Driver Joseph Locke...

After reading your item on the Kings Lynn car park, I turned to the alliteratively titled section 6.46 ("Prioritising projects and programmes") of the Pre-Budget Report.

The section where it promises to save £170 million by (among other things) increasing the capacity of station car parks.

I wonder if the BRB(Residuary) has read it yet?

UPDATE: This from Charles Yerkes...

Forget whether BRB(R) has read it.

Has the Department for Transport, they approve land sales.

We apologise for the error

This beautiful piece from the Cornish Guardian....

In an article last week ‘Residents call for eyesore red wall to be demolished’ we said that the BRB (Residuary) Ltd was a subsidiary of Network Rail this was incorrect BRB (Residuary) Ltd is owned by the government's Department for Transport and has no connection with Network Rail.

We apologise for the error.

As indeed they ought!

Obviously there is no connection between the private sector company Network Rail and BRB (Residuary) owned by the Department for Transport.

But what's this?

Could this be the same Department of Transport that lobbied the Treasury to allow Network Rail to add the electrification bill to the company's Regulatory Asset Base?

Obviously no connection at all then.

Who's paying for this?

Doomed

Recession.

This from RailwayPeople.com...

Birse Rail has won a contract from British Rail to keep an eye on closed branch lines, disused building and bridges.

The value of the contract is £275,000!