This from the good Captain (for it is he)...
Another railway research strategy consultation document has been published - this time by consultants TRL on behalf of DafT.
It is, if anything, even worse than the TSSB/TSAG document featured in the February Informed Sources.
Here is the link.
Consultation is open until April.
Here are the questions posed by TRL which consultees might care to consider:
Has David Quarmby woken up with somebody else's wallet?
This from his review on winter resilience published today...
With the experience of the third successive winter affecting the operation of these services, I believe the time has come to seriously investigate the costs and benefits of the replacement of the entire third rail top contact system with an alternative method of bringing traction power to the trains. Possible solutions include converting to side contact or underneath contact (like DLR and many metro systems in continental Europe), which still using DC traction would not involve replacement of trains or power supply. Or conversion to 25kV overhead lines, which would have wider ramifications for power distribution and for trains. No solution will be cheap, given the network mileage of the existing system.
Not cheap?
That has to be the understatement of the year and what about the disruption to passengers during the changeover?
Not forgetting the cost of modifying rolling stock.
No matter.
On the plus side this proposal should have Driver Potter frothing about the gills!
UPDATE: This from the Velopodist...
Of course, David Quarmby suggests converting the southern third rail system to underside or side contact in the same report where he notes that the Berlin S-Bahn was severely affected in the bout of bad weather on which he's reporting.
He doesn't mention how the Berlin S-Bahn is electrified. It uses a 750V DC third rail - with underside contact.
UPDATE: This from Dr Dionysius Lardne...
Surely replacing the third rail with on-board hydrogen fuel cells would cost less than replacing the third rail with OHLE south of the Thames.
According to the DfT's 2007 Rail Technical Strategy fuel cell power will make electrification obsolete by 2022 anyway.
And the electrical output from the fuel cells could power the existing traction equipment.
UPDATE: This, surprisingly, from the Rev Robert Stirling...
Awa' wi yon fancy gases.
My heat engine is the obvious solution.
Dinna forget, the automobile manufacturers in oor Amercian colonies built Stirling powered vehicles.
Noo's the time,th noo.
UPDATE: This, remarkably, from Mr Herbet Akroyd Stuart.
Happen tha could use my compression ignition engine, the most efficient prime mover, tha knows.
Imagine Waterloo in the rush hour echoing to a thousand exhausts.
Gradely. (Deltic! Is that you hiding beneath a very poor comedy Yorkshire accent? Ed)
UPDATE: This from a Mr Saltaire...
Quarmby seems to suggest that the top contact third rail system, as adopted by the Southern Railway, is a significant weak spot when exposed to the inclement winter weather.
Yet, what’s this? During the same period that South Eastern & Southern were providing PPM that languished in the 40 odd percentage points, Merseyrail managed to deliver 91%, operating 750 V dc third rail trains with top contact conductor rails.
The main difference of course is that the majority (though by no means all) of the Merseyrail network is underground.
So, since Mr Quarmby appears to have such deep pockets, perhaps he should suggest that the south of the river network should be encapsulated in tunnels, to mitigate the issue!
UPDATE: This from a Mr Hind...
Surely the 3rd Rail will last a 1000 Years ?
UPDATE: This from The Voyager...
A slightly cheaper option which would involve modification of the fleet and encapsulating the third rail is the system used on the line through Chamonis which uses a third rail similar to ours but the traction is picked up by a blade instead of a shoe.
The Third Rail is almost encased in wood except for a slot in the side to allow the blade to sit on top of the rail.
UPDATE: This from a Mr Cherry...
The only parts of Merseyrail that are underground are those under Liverpool City centre, under the Mersey itself, and under central Birkenhead.
Over 90% of it is above ground !!!
UPDATE: This SN Barnes...
As a keen member of Friends of Potter I feel I must speak out
Are your readers living in a belief that NOTHING happened North of the Thames in the recent winter wonderland session.
A fair share of wee and not so wee incidents seem to have affected the 25KV knitting, indeed unlike the Juice Rail system, and its 'winter season', knitting gets snagged at any time of the year in any weather.
The recent spell has delivered a pretty spectacular pull-down, which knocked out the East Coast for much of the day, and ice build-up at least when the Third Rail goes bang trains can keep running, and nothing falls off the insulators.
Friends of Potter can be spotted around the network, rather like a masonic band concealing our shoe paddles under our coats...
UPDATE: This from Driver Potter (for it is he)...
To answer Mr Quarmby in one sentence:
"Don't spend money on overhauling a system that doesn't need fiddling with; give us the resources we need to keep lines open - it will be a damn site cheaper."
Perhaps a new run of rolling stock is called for? No computers, no fiddly namby-pamby shoegear...? We could give them simple designations like 4VEP, 4CIG, 4EPB, HA or HB....?
To get Captain Deltic onside, motors and switchgear will be stamped "English Electric.
Telegrammed by our International Correspondent
The coalition, bless it, has published a list of the highest paid civil servants in the UK.
And Lo! it does say:
Dr Mike Mitchell - Head of National Networks - DfT - £200,000 - £204,999
Mere baubles against Sir Moir's £609,000 last year, but more than enough for a few meals in East Coast dining cars (if there are still any running).
And a full £40k more than DafT's Permanent Secretary trousered!
Clearly Dr Death's salary has also kept pace with inflation - why less than five years ago the Daily Telegraph said he earned a mere £150k a year.
No matter.
Eye salutes a wise and well respected figure, who leads the industry from the front with great pots of cash (shurely 'great charisma'? Ed).
Telegrammed by Ithuriel
Good to see RSSB making good use of its £15 million Research Budget and finding topics British Rail Research overlooked.
• T703 Facilitating shared expectations between passengers and front-line staff
That's got to be first for the chop in DafT's value for money review.
UPDATE: This, surprisingly, from the late Enid Blyton...
I was disappointed to to see that RSSB ignored my my extensive oeuvre in this latest research project.
I would have thought that naughty goblins not being able to read the safety notices and thus coming to a sticky end would have been a point worth making in these days of falling child literacy.
UPDATE: This just in from Herr Ernst Mach...
Liebe Fact Compiler just to show that we Austrians have a sense of humour can I say that I was blown over by this latest report from RSSB.
Guidance on protecting people from the aerodynamic effects of passing trains
Very funny, ja?
UPDATE: This from our International Correspondent...
I fear Herr Mach has not entirely understood the issues about aerodynamics of passing trains. Austria does not yet sport a station sign quite as promising as this one at Penrith.
In Britain the passenger comes first!
Telegrammed by Patience Strong
More profligacy from the men at the ministry...
Written Answers — Transport: Departmental Plants (10 Dec 2009)
Grant Shapps (Shadow Minister (Housing), Communities and Local Government; Welwyn Hatfield, Conservative)
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much has been spent by his Department on (a) cut flowers and (b) pot plants in each of the last three years.
Chris Mole (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Ipswich, Labour)
The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Department for Transport spent £87,401 on pot plants and £3,419 on cut flowers in 2008-09. This excludes spend incurred at the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency as the information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
No doubt that includes the cost of flying in chrysanthemums for IEP meetings.
An interesting Parliamentary Question from Blaydon MP David Anderson...
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2009, Official Report, column 1103W on railways; franchises, which franchise operator received a payment from his Department in October 2006; and how much that payment was.
To which Chris Mole (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Ipswich, Labour) gave the following answer on the 10th November
The Department for Transport does not publish details on compensation payments made to individual train operating companies for net losses arising from industrial action on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.
Hmmm... perhaps Eye can help.
Readers of the 11th November edition of Rail Business Intelligence will have noted an interesting table on p4, based on information given by Moley himself to the House on the 4th November.
It reveals that National Express East Anglia received a payment from DafT of £3.4m in 2006/07.
As Cap and Collar for NXEA didn't kick in till 2008 it seems reasonable to assume that the £3.4m was indeed given as compensation for Industrial Action, as suggested by Mr Anderson's pointed question.
Happily things are much improved today - for train operators.
One of the perversities of Cap and Collar is that it encourages TOCs not to run trains.
Consider this win - win situation.
An operator, for the sake of arguament let's call it First Capital Connect, is a beneficiary of Cap and Collar
Under Cap and Collar DafT pays for 80% of revenue shortfall.
Were FuCC to suffer industrial action with a consequent loss of revenue DafT picks up 80% of the tab, meanwhile the TOC makes a net saving on staff and operating costs by not running trains.
So don't expect First to be in any hurry to resolve its current IR difficulties whilst a supine DafT continues to shell out the readies.
Truly the economics of the madhouse.
Exciting news from Bombardier!
As the recession bites the rolling stock manufacturer is now getting passengers to design their own trains!
According to the HYVE Innovation Community in Munich...
We, the HYVE Innovation Community in collaboration with Bombardier Transportation, are hosting the “YouRail – Visions of modern transportation” - online design competition.
The contest which runs from 26th October to mid-December is all about visionary designs that help create a unique new interior of a future train and that satisfy the special needs of different types of passengers (e.g. leisure or business).
A highlight is an online configurator by which users can develop their custom-made train seat in 3-D.
The monetary prizes and gifts for the winners and most active participants amount to a total in excess of 10,000 Euros with the winning design being presented at InnoTrans 2010.
Eye hopes lots of readers will want to help Bombardier reduce costs design their own trains.
And don't worry if you know absolutely nothing about rolling stock design.
Nor does DafT but it specified the IEP - the contract for which still hasn't been signed...
UPDATE: This from Captain Deltic...
If Ian Walmsley finds out about this the web site will probably crash.
But perhaps they have filters to prevent people designing subversive seats that people might enjoy sitting in?
The Eye finally understands why Alan Titchmarsh is rolling in lolly.
This from the BBC with a bowler tip to AlanG...
Network Rail... says there are are 21,000 miles of track to keep clear and the cost of pruning and felling trees is between £20,000 and £50,000 per mile.
How much?!?
UPDATE: This, somewhat unbelievably, from Capability Brown...
Sir
As one who has supervised the felling of countless trees when improving country estates, may I comment on the costs of removing arboreal features alongside the rail-way?
Say 500 guineas to fell a tree. Then 20,000 guineas a mile represents 40 trees or one every 132 feet, which does not seem too high a frequency in my personal observations.
Might I crave your indulgence to add that nothing so pleases the eye of God and man as a well ordered estate and that Mr Coucher Esq would do well to restore his linesides to the pristine nature of yesteryear by razing embankments and cuttings within his way leave to grass.
I would hope to see, in particular, the elimination of that abomination the Buddleia.
I remain, Sir,
Your Humble and Obt Svt
Lancelot Brown
UPDATE: This just in from Captain Deltic...
Is Capability Brown related to the well known PR hack Incapability Brennan-Brown?
UPDATE: This just in from Rupert Brennan Brown...
No!
What bit of the current climate don't train operators get?
There is a recession on.
Everyone is feeling the squeeze.
So what in God's name made Worst Group think they could get away with this increase to First Class weekend upgrades, revealed in The Times...
On Sunday the cost of a one-way upgrade increased from £10 to £25 for journeys between stations in Cornwall and South Wales to London. On many other routes the price doubled to £20.
The public furore over troughing MPs with their tax payer funded clean moats, third homes and duck islands should have given them a clue.
The fact that Iain Coucher had the wit and gumption to sense the public mood and abandon a sizeable part of his annual bonus, should have shown them the way.
But no - in bus bandit land the mantra is 'screw the passenger for all we can get'.
Be of no doubt there is mounting fury over the avaraciousness of the 'service' sector.
The passengers (think voters, possibly as soon as October) will not put up with this cynical milking of their hard earned cash for long.
They will kick back and the railway will suffer, not that our short term TOC owner groups could care. After all they are merely "thinly capitalised equity profiteers of the worst kind".
No matter.
So what did Worst Group have to say for itself?
“We’ve changed the way Weekend First works to reflect the distance travelled rather than one, catch-all fare, which saw customers travelling from, for example, London to Reading paying the same price as someone going from London to Penzance."
So based on the fact that First have milked local passengers at the same rate as long-distance travellers over many years, does this mean that Weekend First prices between Reading and London have actually decreased.
Errr... no.
They of course remain the same.
Meanwhile those travelling to London from two of the most economically disadvantaged parts of our nation - Cornwall and South Wales - will be hit by the full 150% increase.
This complete disconnection between our industry and the world it is there to serve makes you weep.
This from an irate reader!
I received the following invitation to an event called "Railway Improvement: Rail services for the modern commuter".
"Rail travel has never been under the public spotlight as it is today," the blurb says.
But that's just not true.
It was more under the public spotlight after Hatfield, or when Railtrack collapsed.
It's much less under the spotlight now than then.
This is just nonsense verbiage, written without the slightest reference to the facts.
I also note Wolmar is a speaker, no doubt explaining how train lavatories should ditch paper and use his patent water-squirting device...
The Fact Compiler may attend just to hear this!
Posts
All Comments
