ORR sees the light?

This from the Office of Rail Regulation...

Network Rail commits to plans for Britain’s railways 2014-19

Network Rail has committed to deliver plans for a safer, higher performing and more efficient railway between 2014 and 2019, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) confirmed today.

As part of the multi-billion pound plan for Britain’s railways, initially published in October 2013, Network Rail will bring down the costs of running the railways by 20%, while delivering nine out of ten trains on time on regional, London and South East and Scottish routes, and improved reliability for long distance passenger services. Network Rail will also improve standards of infrastructure management, network resilience, and safety for passengers and railway workers. Over the next five years Network Rail will spend more than £38bn on maintaining, renewing and improving the rail network, which includes the delivery of a programme of enhancements worth more than £12bn.

These are challenges for the whole rail industry, not just Network Rail. Stretching targets and new incentives will get the industry working closer together for the communities they serve. The plans will be delivered from April 2014.

ORR Chief Executive Richard Price said:

“Network Rail has committed to the challenge of delivering exciting plans for Britain’s railways between 2014 and 2019. This new phase will see Network Rail enhance safety, increase capacity, and improve the performance and resilience of the rail network. Service standards will get better, as stations up and down the country are modernised and lines are electrified. Alongside this work, the company will also deliver more, pound-for-pound, than ever before, as it utilises new technology and better ways of working.

“We welcome Network Rail’s recognition that it will need to do things differently to fully deliver. This is a fresh start for the company and an opportunity - supported by significant levels of funding by governments and passengers, and working with the rest of the industry - to learn lessons and build on successes from the past. Meeting these challenges will be tough, particularly in the early years for punctuality in England and Wales because of recent performance levels. We will focus on ensuring the company, working with governments and the rest of the sector, delivers its plans to achieve long-term and sustainable improvements for customers and taxpayers.”

ENDS

Encouraging signs of pragmatism at the ORR on performance.

Now if DfT could take up the same tune...

East Coast solves PPM problems

Good news from state owned East Coast!

Usually languishing at the bottom of the PPM table the nationalised operator has leapt straight to the top!

And this despite the leaf-fall season.

Here for example are the figures for the period covering Friday 12th November...


Surely other operators can do just as well?

Perhaps by also monitoring just eight trains...

UPDATE: This, surprisingly, from Barbara Dixon...

Personally, I am quite impressed at East Coasts performance on Friday 12th November.

As one of the patrons on a late afternoon service from Peterborough to Leeds on said date where the guard or train manager or whatever they call themselves nowadays was advertising delay repay at all stops.

Are we talking some dodgy wires or a Network Rail signaller spilling his coffee?

No, it was a brake pipe failure on the said train at Biggleswade.

Lord Adonis in PPM shocker

Lord Adonis has been much exercised over the accuracy of PPM recently.

Only last week Her Majesty's Daily Telegraph suggested he was keen to tighten up the measure used to calculate on time arrival, so as to make the figure a more accurate reflection of time in the real world.

Of course no such strictures apply to the Noble Lord himself.

Why only this morning the High Speed Evangelist kept a bevy of TOC MDs waiting 20 minutes before he finally arrived to open the Stations Summit.

Fortunately right time arrival was achieved, but only after career railwayman, Chris Green, had jettisoned the final section of his presentation.

Leadership by example - shome mishtake shurley.

UPDATE: This from Strawbricking...

Instead of seeking to re-define "On time", currently within 10 minutes (for InterCity TOCs, Ed) at the "Final Destination", would not Lord A's attention be better directed at looking at trains which are late during their journey but still arrive "On time" because of the slack built into the time-table?

And then there are the ways in which the figures are "massaged", such as:

• "stop-skipping" - leaving out stations on the way to claw back a delay (but not leaving a trace on the system as a cancelled train),
• "early termination" - stopping short and starting the return journey to claw back delay (again not leaving a trace as a cancelled train)
• or cancelling a severely delayed train - thereby wiping out the delay minutes.

UPDATE: This from AMonkster via Twitter...

Trains that 'skip stops' or are cancelled entirely/midway already fail PPM, they're not 'massaged' out

To make PPM train must serve all booked stations and arrive at destination within 5 minutes (or 10 for Long Distance).

PPM is at least an improvement on Charter!

First for pisspoor Thameslink performance

From the Velopodist
Does Railway Eye have any idea why so many FCC trains failed all of a sudden today?

The TOC is running a very restricted version of its already restricted insufficient-drivers timetable.

The press office say the problem is that the traction motors conked out after Wednesday's snow.

They say the Thameslink route imposes special strains on the trains.

Is this poor performance down to defective Class 319s...

Or defective management?

UPDATE: This from Charles Yerkes...

On the Thameslink route FuCC have been running a 2 train per hour service since Friday, it would normally be 12tph.

Of course an OHLE failure last night didn't help.

UPDATE: This from the Waterbaby

Can we officially confer the title of "the Misery Line" upon the Tooting - Wimbledon - Sutton route?

FCC gave up running trains this way on January 7 apparently due to the 'poor weather', effectively closing the line until further notice.

Somewhat inconveniently, Southern trains between Dorking and London through Sutton and SWT trains through Wimbledon seem to be running broadly normally.

Given the Sutton loop sits entirely within Zones 1-6, what price some TfL TLC?

The contrast with the new rolling stock and increased frequencies coming to both the dilapidated GOBLIN and North London Lines is all too stark...

UPDATE: This from Thameslink Tommy...

The high casualty rate amongst the Class 319 fleet strengthens the case for ordering a replacement Thameslink fleet and quickly.

No doubt the provinces will be delighted to receive these knackered hand-me-downs.

UPDATE: This from Flatcap and Whippet...

We're not complaining about getting the 319's tup North

They can join our queue of knackered 323's waiting to be fixed on shed.