All The Stations - worth a watch

A Pilgrimage of Grice undertaken by Geoff and Vicki, supported by RDG...

From the All The Stations website:

All The Stations is a project to travel to ALL the national railway stations in Britain in just three months, and to create an online documentary film about the journey.

Here is a vlog the team filmed yesterday:

Good effort!

Worth a watch. Worth a follow.

Meanwhile, Eye hopes that RDG will contact RFG and RSG so that freight and the supply chain can also offer to showcase their contribution to Britain's railway?

Three percent (3%) will take some nudging, so every channel counts.

If we are serious about 'One Railway', Eye would expect nothing less.

ATOC emasculates the All Line Rover

Good news from ATOC!

From January the All Line Rover, much used by the Noble Lord on his Pilgrimages of Grice, will have early morning restrictions placed on its use.

This from RailUK...

An ALR will not be valid on Mondays-Fridays for boarding or alighting train services operated by CrossCountry, East Coast, East Midlands Trains and Virgin Trains before 10.00 Mondays – Fridays at Birmingham New Street, Bedford, London Euston, London Kings Cross, London St Pancras, Luton, Luton Airport Parkway, Milton Keynes Central, Stevenage and Watford Junction.

Needless to say the price will not be reduced to reflect this loss of flexibility.

According to posts on Twitter these peak restrictions effectively increase the price of the ALR by around 10-15% - that on top of a 15% increase introduced last year.

Regular readers will be aware that ATOC tried to introduce similar restrictions earlier this year, but following an outcry Bernard Street quickly relented.

No such worries this time round.

These restrictions are hardly likely to inconvenience Petrol-head, as he speeds about the country in his Jag.

UPDATE: This from Billy Connections...

So on the Virgin Trains restrictions I can't BOARD at Birmingham New Street but I can at Wolverhampton or Coventry or Birmingham International…??

Same for CrossCountry…??

I hope the grippers are quick or there could be a lot of confusion!

London Midland - committed to 'Elf & Safety

This with a bowler tip to @Swlines, via twitter...

To celebrate successfully completing his A Levels @Swlines is undertaking a Pilgrimage of Grice with a 14 day All Line Rover.

You can follow his travels via Twitter or on his blog.

Pilgrimage of Grice protocol notice

Please note that under Prime Ministerial Decree 10/003 all members of the cabinet are to be greeted in the following style:


Train crew about their official duties may merely curtsy (this derogation does not extend to platform staff).

UPDATE: This from Driver Potter...

You just wait - if I see anyone get a camera out it's BTP all the way; the charge?

Failing to unveil extensions to the 3rd Rail Network.

The 3rd Rail Avenger will have his day, I tell you!

Thin Controller's election Pilgrimage of Grice

The Thin Controller is out and about on the network this month.


To help voters keep tabs on the unelected Secretary of State the Labour party has created a special website covering this latest Pilgrimage of Grice.

As policy is evidently being formulated on the hoof - Adonis used Monday's visit to Sheffield to concede the Battle of the Barriers - this should make for some interesting announcements en-route.

Eye would welcome details of said as well as any pictures or observations that might not make it on to Labour's official site...

UPDATE: This just in from Only2misters...

Thanks for providing a link to Labour's 'Pilgrimage of Grice' mini-site.

However, you may be interested to see from the screen-grab below that NR sees this as 'potentially damaging' content and a possible 'security threat'.


Indeed!

UPDATE: This from Leo Pink...

Could not Eye itemise the miracles the Thin Micro-manager has wrought on his Pilgrimage of Grice?

Having had the casting out of the gates at Sheffield can we expect the miracle of the bodyshells and bogies which create 202 DMU vehicles?

Sadly the resurrection of IEP is probably beyond divine providence.

Adonis hires special train for April railtour - Shocker

With a bowler tip to Wired via @tonyveitchUK.

Fears for the future of Bombardier's Derby works

What is happening at the UK's last train assembler (nee builder)?

The Eye has received a concerned missive from a reader calling himself Derby Insider which reads...

Since last summer there has been a team from Bombardier Berlin here on the Derby site investigating how the business is being run. They have been looking into margins on major contracts, late deliveries to customers and quality problems.

A couple of weeks ago the President of the site, Mark Wiliamson, left.

This week John Manning, the Engineering Director, also departed.

There are rumors that more of the management will go and we are all very worried about our jobs here.

Happily the announcement on who will build the new Thameslink fleet is due to take place on the 25th March.

No doubt April's pre-election Pilgrimage of Grice will afford the Noble Lord a perfect opportunity to visit Litchurch Lane and congratulate the winners in person!

Unless of course a pressing prior engagement means he cannot spare the time...

Election brought forward to 22nd April?

Benedict Brogan, over at the Telegraph, asks if Gordon might go to the country on the 22nd April.

This to avoid the doom contained in the next round of GDP figures.

Adonis had better buy singles for his new Pilgrimage of Grice, just in case.

Now Adonis confirms May 6th poll date!

Exciting news from Nigel Harris' blog.

The Noble Lord has disclosed that he will be spending "the entire MONTH of April travelling around the country by train".

Eye wonders what on earth this might be in preparation for?

UPDATE: This from Lobby Fodder...

If the opinion polls are to be be believed this will be Andrew's last Pilgrimage of Grice as Secretary of State.

Presumably he will be using it to say farewell to his friends on the railway?

UPDATE: This from Ithuriel...

Isn't he supposed to be Transport Secretary?

A whole month gricing is the equivalent of an aviation enthusiast Defence Secretary spending a week with the Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Rule one of politics, get the VIP treatment while you can!.

Adonis freezes price of All Line Rail Rover!

This just in from @swlines via Twitter...

All Line Rover prices unchanged according to latest NFM!

Eye congratulates Lord Adonis for promoting this excellent product and ATOC for ensuring it remains great value.

Eye recommends the special offer on the 14 Day Rover here!

(And first class for 14 days is still less than one return journey between Newquay and Kyle of Lochalsh with Arriva Cross Country. Ed)

Guido claims Pilgrimage of Pork

Telegrammed by Lobby Fodder
So Guido's not convinced about yesterday's Pilgrimage of Grice, detecting the sulpherous whiff of Porkbarrel politics.

This interesting list from Guido's blog:

• Manchester Victoria – Tony Lloyd LAB
• Clapham Junction – Martin Linton LAB
• Barking – Margaret Hodge LAB
• Warrington Bank Quay – Helen Southworth LAB
• Preston – Mark Hendrick LAB
• Wigan North Western – Neil Turner LAB
• Luton - Margaret Moran LAB
• Liverpool Central – Louise Ellman LAB
• Stockport – Ann Coffey LAB
• Crewe – Edward Timpson CON

Of course yesterday's jolly round the network had little to do with the top ten worst stations and rather more to do with what could be reached in a day's travel from London.

Which may explain why five of the 10 "worst" stations the Noble Lord visited actually belong to Virgin.

As the total number of Beardie Rail run stations is just 17 this means that roughly one third of them are substandard. Perhaps more deserving of a bollocking than a bung?

To be fair none of the stations selected were truly representative of Britain's worst.

Aides to the Noble Lord were seen imploring various strange deities to open the heavens as the media pack descended on Manchester Victoria - as apart from a leaky roof the station is more down at heel than truly grotty.

Meanwhile the magical figure of £50m to tart up the ten stations is already in question.

In his blog Adonis claimed the money would come from Network Rail, a suggestion that was quickly denied by the infrastructure controller.

So yesterday was a triumph of spin over substance (again). Eye salutes all involved.

UPDATE: This just in from Secret Squirrel...

I hear Stockport was added at the very last minute at the insistence of the Noble Lord.

Interesting to see whether, when HS2 reports, the route it proposes will scythe through Tory constituencies in the Chilterns (without stopping of course)...

Clear the line! - Priority given to the Noble Lord

Has Lord Adonis his own headcode?

Eye revealed yesterday that a spare train shadowed Adonis when he travelled to York on Saturday.

Now we hear that the Pendolino on which he is currently travelling to Stockport was routed past two local trains after a track circuit failure outside Crewe.

On the privatised railway all trains are equal but evidently some passengers are more equal than others!

UPDATE: This from Lobby Fodder...

Looks like Adonis will soon be doomed to having his oflactory system bombarded by the smell of fresh paint wherever on the network he goes.

Lord Adonis embarks on mini Pilgrimage of Grice

Lord Adonis is indeed a wag.

The Secretary of State is racing round the country, escorted by Captain Deltic no less, to highlight the 10 worst stations on the network - as identified by Messrs Hall & Green, official Stationers to Lord DafT Vader.

To celebrate this mini Pilgrimage of Grice the DafT website has some words, apparently crafted by the Noble Lord himself:

And yes, I am travelling around on another national Rover ticket to minimise the cost. I confess that this time it is First Class – at a cost of £650 for seven days – because it also had to get me to and from York on Saturday for the first day of the new nationalised East Coast service and it also needs to get me to and from the regional Cabinet meeting in Nottingham on Friday (with official papers intact.)

So not as good value as my last Standard Class Rover (then £375) – but not bad for a week of unlimited First Class travel across the rail network.

Last time I publicised these Rover tickets, the train companies put up the price immediately, so buy yours now to avoid disappointment.

Nice, with an appropriate dig at ATOC.

Speaking of which do we know whether ATOC's "1.1% average increase in rail fares" includes a further hike in the price of the All Line Rover?

UPDATE: This from Scotch Corner...

Interesting the number of Virgin West Coast stations in the top ten worst list (Crewe, Stockport, Preston, Wigan North Western & Warrington Bank Quay).

Especially as we could all mention worse ones.

But who authored the report?

Step forward Chris Green, former Chief Executive of errr... Virgin Trains!

UPDATE: The report by the Stationers to Lord DafT Vader can be downloaded here.

And the Government's response here.

UPDATE: This from Globetrotter..

I note that media reports about the worst stations emphasise the fact that none are in Scotland, where steps had apparently been taken to invest in station modernisation over many years.

Those of us with long memories may remember who started the ball rolling by installing Terazzo flooring at Inverness some 25 years ago ... a certain C**** G**** if I recall correctly...

Eye suspects that the silence on the state of Jockanese stations has more to do with transport North of the border being devolved to the Scottish Executive.

UPDATE: This from @swlines via Twitter...

RE: Price increases to the All Line Rover:

ATOC supposedly not releasing NFM 05 data until 30th Nov on FRPP/The Manual so we'll find out then!

Gordon's mini Pilgrimage of Grice

This just in from the Lobby...

The Prime Minister travelled to Lancashire today by train for a regional visit and will return to London by train, the Downing Street spokesman said.

Let's hope Network Rail and Virgin are behaving themselves.

Pendi' windows and hurled mobiles do not good bedfellows make!

Road to nowhere

Telegrammed by the Globetrotter...
At Thursday night's DafT press soiree Adonis confirmed that he is indeed looking to follow up the Pilgrimage of Grice with further explorations of Britain’s transport system.

As the Noble Lord hasn't yet joined the 82% of the Upper House that qualifies for free bus travel it seems unlikely that he will attempt the Lands End to John o’Groats record yet.

However, he is planning to mark the contract for the last stage of the M25 widening by driving all the way round – or perhaps being driven?

Asked how long he expected the trip to take, Adonis said he thought it could be done "in a couple of hours".

So clearly he isn’t planning to sample the joys of either Heathrow or Dartford in the rush hour.

UPDATE: This from Captain Deltic...

Perhaps The Noble Lord is planning to ride pillion behind Richard Hammond of BBC's Top Gear on a Vincent Black Shadow motor-cycle.

Level playing field?

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
Now that Lord Adonis is responsible for all transport, and not just railways, can we expect him to embark on a seven day coach tour of the British Isles?

No double Richard Bowker would sell him a pass to the National Express Coach network?

Or is the charabanc just too declasse?

Duck Soup

A question for My Lord Adonis.

Why is catering on trains a 'commercial decision for train operators' when, following the Pilgrimage of Grice, catering provision at stations is now to be determined by a government minister?

Particularly as station catering is nothing to do with the franchised operators, being mostly in the hands of Select Service Partners.

Would the minister care to clarify?

UPDATE: This from Sir Humphrey Beeching...

The Treasury is particularly pleased with this unfunded commitment.

Lookalike XVI

Adonis on fare increases

The latest issue of Rail has secured a nice quote from My Lord Adonis.

During the Pilgrimage of Grice the rail minister used an All Line Rail Rover, which he freely promoted in the media at just about every opportunity (something the train operators have singularly failed to do).

Alas.

As the Eye revealed two weeks ago ATOC are to increase the price of an All Line Rail Rover, from the 17th May, by a whopping 15%!

Indeed, so shocked was Adonis by the scale of the price increase he told Rail:

"With friends like that what enemies need the railways fear?"

With ATOC paying over a grand a day for PR consultants perhaps someone should have seen that coming?

Adonis multiple vote shocker!

Time to review the results of the latest exciting Eye survey.

Readers were invited to vote on whether InterCity stations should have barriers.

Everybody, with the exception of My Lord Adonis, will be unsurprised to discover that 75% of Eye readers believe that InterCity stations should remain ungated and open.

That said, 15% of you voted in favour of ticket barriers.

But what's this?

Some sort of skullduggery afoot?

Readers who voted for ticket barriers were clearly asked to confirm that they were also Lord Adonis.

Eye can only assume that Lord Adonis, or his advisors, took advantage of the tax payer funded Pilgrimage of Grice and voted from multiple IP addresses as he toured the country.

For this clear example of electoral malpractice the Eye's returning officer has decreed that only one vote can be recorded in favour of gates. Disappointing news for the department.

Perhaps the most interesting result was amongst those who confirmed that they were not listening.

This option was only visible to browsers accessing the Eye from DfT's high-level gsi domain servers.

As a consequence the Eye can exclusively reveal that a majority of civil servants, who expressed a preference, are just not listening.

No surprise there then.