Hammond Eggs - I've got a little secret

As Leonard Cohen used to sing: I've got a little secret!

A tune evidently close to the heart of Eye favourite Stephen 'Gone-native' Hammond, as evidenced by this written answer given on the 26th November: 

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2013, Official Report, column 45W, on railways: south west, for what reasons lease costs for rolling stock are considered to be commercially sensitive. 

Stephen Hammond: The leasing costs for rolling stock are the result of negotiations between two private sector commercial entities, the train operating company and the rolling stock leasing company. Putting such information in the public sphere would give advantage to each party's competitors and hinder future negotiations between such commercial entities throughout the industry. 

Hmm... Advantage and Hinder?

Surely the name of an act in this year's DfT Christmas panto?

No matter!

Of course the real hindrance 'to future negotiations' on allocation of scarce trains is done by DfT's random-rolling-stock-cascade-generator, which inhibits the effective operation of the entire train leasing market.

A point made transparently clear from section 25 on page 9 of the summary section of the Competition Commission's 2007 'Rolling Stock Leasing market investigation'. 

Go figure!

DfT bashes the ROSCOs and adds to industry cost

Someone evidently has a sense of humour at Rail Business Intelligence!

The latest issue contains a report of a talk given to the Railway Study Association by DfT's Director Franchising, Pete Wilkinson.

He is recorded as bewailing lease costs for ex BR rolling stock:

"How come the ROSCOs get away with the price of second hand trains? It's got to stop."

Quite so Pete, quite so.

Rather elegantly RBI juxtaposed the whinings of DfT's very own Doctor Evil with a story about Eversholt refinancing £600m of senior debt; which according to CEO Mary Kenny, will allow the ROSCO "to respond to future investment opportunities."

As our American friends might say - do the math!

Such apparent naivety in understanding market value from the official charged with franchising will no doubt do much to gladden the hearts of thinly capitalised equity profiteers everywhere!

No matter.

Meanwhile, as DfT clearly has it in for the ROSCOs (again), expect fleet refurbishment to become more difficult as nervous finance houses price in political risk.

McLoughlin makes extra-ordinary confession!

Good news for fans of Openness and Transparency!

At last night's ATOC sponsored wake for franchising Patrick McLoughlin made the following confession...

As a junior transport minister in the 1980s, I remember British Rail.
Underinvestment in tracks and trains.
Poor reliability.
Managers whose good ideas were too often stifled by a lack of cash…

Guilty as charged. Send him down! 

UPDATE: This from Captain Deltic... 

So when was Patrick McLoughlin a junior transport minister?

From 1989 to 1992.

Gosh they were grim times for investment. 

All we had was more electrification than under any government, including the East Coast Main Line with a brand new fleet of 140 mile/h IC225s that delivered a London - Edinburgh run in just 3hr 29 min. 

Plus total route modernisation of Chiltern, the re-equipment of Regional Railways with new trains - frequent DMUs replacing infrequent loco hauled services. Oh, and a new fleet of freight locos.

And what about the upgrading of the Kent lines to take the new state of the art Networkers, not to mention... (con't p94)

Oi Deltic, that's quite enough moaning about the bad old days! Ed

How to negotiate with the Private Sector, No 94

Exciting news on Ministers' determination to get value for money from franchises!

Eye understands that the latest model, a five point plan known as the Pentangle, is both simple and effective and has even been signed off by the Devil .

New Ministerial Five Point Plan as follows:

1. Start off with at least two bidders, or one and a public sector comparator.

2. Stand down all bidders bar one, and immobilise the public sector comparator.

3. Confirm that only one private sector company is in the running. No, really!

4. React in a surprised fashion when the sole bidder bends your department over a table and rogers it senseless.

5. Thank the sole bidder manfully, then stick telephone directory down what is left of trousers before inevitable meeting with Treasury, PAC, NAO, TSC, etc...

Eye kids you not.

DfT economises with others IPR

This from Our Man by the Photocopier...

I have been reading the Great Western ITT, which finally limped into the platform on Friday having been delayed at Didcot by the late running gold-plated IEP.

It includes these words: "This document is subject to copyright. Neither this document, nor any part of it, nor any other information supplied in connection with it, may be published, reproduced, copied or distributed in any way except with the prior written consent of the Department." 

But the last page suggests that intellectual property rights are not always at the top of the agenda in Marsham Street:

 Just fancy that!

Olympics - DafT celebrates the sound of silence

Good news from Great Minster House.

Apparently the High Panjandrum of Marsham Street has banned the use of Social Media!

Good news indeed, especially as one particular member of the First Division had planned to use Facebook to address his troops.

No matter!

As an additional plus, without access to twittter, Rutman and co will have no idea how Olympic transport is performing.

As Homer might have said: Doh!

DfT - hoisted by own petard!

Eye salutes Philip Hammond for wresting the chair of the Department for Transport Board from Permanent Secretary Robert Devreaux.

As any fule kno the DfT Board has the following remit:

The role of the Department’s Board is to:

• ensure effective governance of the Department and its Agencies, so we made the right decisions, at the right time, and properly manage risks
• shape and direct a shared agenda for the Department as a whole, both to deliver Ministers’ priorities and to build our capability as a Department
• monitor performance and risk, making choices (or recommendations to ministers) on priorities/risk appetite
• oversee the health of our relations with our stakeholders and commercial partners.

With yesterday's announcement of a 25% cut to his department's budget it is good to see Petrol-head has already started getting to grips with the detail.

Industry colleague will also welcome this change.

Having dished it out now let's see how the Marsham Street mandarins take to a bit of micro-management!