This with a bowler tip to the Going Underground Blog...
Perhaps the Camclegg twins can add over use of on-train announcements to the Great Repeal Act?
UPDATE: This from @StephenRees, via Twitter...
That London Overground video certainly takes the PIS!
Good to see that BBC Radio 4's World Tonight elected to interview Ken Livingstone on the National Express East Coast Story.
Out of thirsty Ken flowed the usual late night tosh about the evils of privatisation and the failings of Metronet - an infrastructure company.
Could that be the same Ken Livingstone who when Mayor decided to privatise the operations of the formerly publicly operated London Underground East London line?
Perhaps we should be told?
But not by the lame editors of the World Tonight.
The TranSys' summer BBQ was an unusually subdued affair last Wednesday (23rd July) .
In previous years the Smartcard PFI Contractor has been besieged by TfL staff begging to attend the annual shindig.
However, this year even those with much sought after tickets pleaded prior engagements of the 'underwater knitting' variety.
Regular visitors to Railway Eye may recollect that there have been a number of issues in recent weeks with Oyster card readers.
Surely TfL bosses weren't small minded enough to suggest that staff attending the do might find it "career limiting"?
PPPs are not exactly flavour of the month in London following the high profile collapse of Metronet .
Recent failures of TfL's Oyster Card ticketing system may see PFIs going the same way.
Twice in the last two weeks London Underground has had to open the 'gateline' owing to large numbers of valid Oyster cards being rejected by the system.
The expensive glitches have driven TfL to distraction, so in true "Partnership" style they have named and shamed the PFI contractors responsible for the system.
"We believe that (the latest) problem, resulted from incorrect data being sent out by our contractor, Transys," TfL said.
Voice of London and TfL mouth-piece Tony Travers was more forthright in the Guardian: "Transys just need to get a grip, sort it out and make sure that it doesn't happen again" he said.
However, TfL's continued insistence on publically shafting its contractors at every opportunity is likely to cost London dear. Private sector bids for Infracos BCV & SSL, the soon to be disaggregated former Metronet companies, will no doubt reflect the reputational risks of working for TfL.
***Oyster Card readers are on the blink again this morning meaning that Pay as You Go customers are travelling for free...***
Second failure in two weeks - see here
***There was a significant failure of TfL's Oyster ticketing system this morning with readers on both buses and Tube stations unable to read the cards.
As a consequence a significant number of Oyster cards have been corrupted...
UPDATE: Cards used in the last 24 hours are most likely to be affected, with the system unable to recognise them
UPDATE 2: Understood to be over 100,000 Oyster cards affected***
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