FCC reminds passengers that manners do matter

A rare plaudit for First Capital Connect!

This from the Beeb... 

First Capital Connect issues passenger etiquette guide

 

A rail firm has issued a cartoon guide to "train etiquette", asking passengers not to assume fellow travellers share their food and music tastes.

First Capital Connect (FCC) said its campaign encourages people to be more careful on the railway and more considerate of one other.

Its adverts include slogans such as "don't assume they share your taste for kebabs and dubstep".

Advertising experts claim humour is a good way to "cut through" to people.

Good effort!

But one, small, tiny, almost infinitesimal, but none the less significant, niggle...

Sigh... what precisely is wrong with the correct term 'railway etiquette'?

Piling drill burst onto Moorgate line

This unbelievable image was tweeted by @FirstCC this afternoon...

According to FCC the driver of the train in the picture, which was not in passenger service, 'did them proud' by managing to stop short of the obstruction on the line. 

Not half!

According to @NetworkRail: 

At 10:09, a train driver reported that water was flowing from the roof of the Moorgate Tunnel - between Old Street and Essex Road stations. Lines were immediately blocked and our response teams were sent to site.

At 11.05 our staff boarded a special empty train from Moorgate to investigate the problem. As the train approached the area at low speed, two large piling drills - which were being used above ground by a building contractor - penetrated the skin of the tunnel.

Repairs to the tunnel are ongoing but the line - which is normally closed at weekends - is expected to reopen in time for services on Monday morning.

FCC also confirmed by Twitter that the piling drills are 'not railway related'. 

It is believed that ground level drilling works at 'a private construction site' resulted in the breach to the tunnel wall.

Hopefully someone at said construction site will soon be helping the BTP with their inquiries...

UPDATE: Oh dear All Foundations, what have you done!

FCC and FGW to carry on but share price drops

Good news for Tim O'Toole and First Group following today's announcement on the Thameslink and Great Western Franchises.

This from the DfT:

• The Great Western franchise competition will be terminated. The current franchise will now run until October after the Department exercised its contractual right to extend the current contract with First Great Western by 28 weeks. Negotiations for an additional two-year contract will commence with the operator, while longer-term proposals will be set out in the spring. 

• The Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise competition will be resumed with the Department working towards awarding a seven-year contract. The current Thameslink/Great Northern franchise operated by First Capital Connect ends in September but allows for a 28-week extension, which the Department intends to exercise. Negotiations will commence for a further contract of up to two years as part of the finalisation of the wider franchise programme.

Alas on opening trading the markets appear somewhat underwhelmed...

Eye can't imagine why.

Kim Wilde delights rail passengers...

Errrr....



Oh dear.

UPDATE: This from Fen Boy...

Kim Wilde must have had a very good evening if she thought that she was singing on the Underground as this was patently an FCC Class 365 speeding its weary load home to Hertfordshire.

The first giveaway was the guy in the distance sitting in the luggage stack opposite the toilet door and then, of course, towards the end with the relief that the torture was over when the train is seen arriving at FCC's Potters Bar station.

First for telling it like it is.

This from Ithuriel...

Speaking to analysts following the award of the Intercity West Coast franchise, first Group CEO Tim O'Toole said
 

"The opportunity is ripe because the capacity (on Intercity West Coast) has not been exploited with only a 35% seat occupancy rate and particularly low marketing spend in recent years. That fact, by the way, is understandable since the incumbent has been in revenue support - a condition that discourages any investment to stimulate growth since every pound must generate a return of at least five times."

 
Mr O'Toole knows whereof he speaks.  First Great Western has been in revenue support since April 2008 and First Capital Connect since April 2009.
 

Candour personified.

FCC Great Northern dispute - it's getting messy!

Fancy a job as a train driver?

Well Jobcentre plus is the place for you!.

Realise your dreams in six easy steps!

Step 1 Visit here - probably best to copy the link and post in a new browser:

Well done. You should now see this:


Step 2. Now tick 'Transport/Vehicle' and press next.

Well done, you should now see this:


Step 3 - Now tick 'Driver' and press next.

Well done. You should now see this:


Step 4. Now tick 'Train Driver' and press next.

Well done, you should now see this:


Step 5. Just press next.


Step 6. Just press next.


Well done!

Now select from any of the locations along FuCC's Great Northern route and bingo...


Here's your job! (click on the image in case its now been removed)

Someone's got to be having a larf - haven't they? (with a bowler tip to railforums.co.uk)

UPDATE: This from Charles Yerkes...

I note that the recruitment agency does work for Birse Civils - perhaps they're recruiting?

FuCC news

***So who is to be the new MD of First Capital Connect?***

First for not running trains

Eye wonders if Elaine Holt might have any spare time between now and the 13th November to fix a small problem.

Apparently her old TOC isn't running any trains on the Great Northern route this Sunday.

Something to do with driver shortages.

Surely they haven't all been recruited by DOR as well?

UPDATE: This from The Sussex Driver...

FCC are indeed short of drivers at the moment, both on the GN and Thameslink routes.

This is being compounded by First Group awarding the driving grade a 0% pay rise, backdated to April!

As I'm sure you'll appreciate, the brothers aren't exactly best pleased, and have told them to shove rest day working up their siding, hence no GN services this Sunday.

Last Saturday evening it was buses between Bedford and London because of the shortage, and so far there have been over 100 services cancelled on the Thameslink route in the last two weeks.

First for winter travel

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
Travellers who battled their way to Stevenage station early this morning found the ticket office shut and the usual range of intensely annoying and totally useless messages on the Public Address.

This included recommending passengers to use the Bus Replacement Services, which weren't going anywhere, the promise of a train soon and, best of all, the recommendation that passengers should check train times on the internet.

A total FCC-up in fact.

FCC by name, don't give a FCC by nature

Telegrammed by the Master
Another piss-poor show from FCC staff at Finsbury Park this morning.

Despite the platform screens being out of order staff still couldn't drag their sorry backsides from their offices to actually inform people of platform changes - or even bother to use the PA except to announce that the PIS wasn't working (no shit Sherlock! Ed)

The result being that all the passengers waiting for the 11:06 to Cambridge were left stranded on platform 5 whilst their train came and went from platform 3.

Come back WAGN - all is forgiven!