This from Trailer Second...
When they finally do-up the front of Derby station will they use the same radical space saving parking arrangements used in the staff car park?
Eye congratulates EMT on this novel proposal for generating additional unregulated income.
Using your skill and judgement can you spot the difference between the following two events which occurred today:
1. Railway land for possible station pulled from auction
2. Railway land with station car park sold for £360k
Evidently a station on the never never is more important to rail users than a overspill car park in the here and now.
What a perfect example of the government's transport policy - announce endless new schemes for the future but ignore the problems of today.
Eye salutes all involved.
Not many outside the industry know that the British Railways Board still exists, albeit in a residuary capacity.
Known, surprisingly enough, as British Railways Board (Residuary), it is the repository for much of the former nationalised industry's liabilities, in particular claims relating to industrial disease - asbestosis, emphysema and other unpleasantness suffered as a consequence of working on the railway.
It is also tasked with the management and disposal of the industry's remaining land and buildings, which are surplus to the needs of the operational railway.
In most cases this relates to disused tunnels, bridges and viaducts, old track formations, abandoned goods yards and the like - which today's railway has no interest in.
Where possible BRB(R) tries to sell these disused assets off - raising a couple of bob in the process for HMG and getting shot of the liability at the same time.
The BRB(R) is chaired by Doug Sutherland, the former SRA's finance director, and he reports directly to the Secretary of State.
So far so good.
And mostly the BRB(R) does indeed do a pretty good job.
But there are exceptions.
Take the overspill car park at Kings Lynn for example.
Almost four years ago a 96-space overspill car park was built on a plot of land owned by BRB(R).
The BRB(R) has now decided to sell that land, complete with overspill car park, and it has been entered into a Residential Auction to be held by Allsops next Tuesday the 15th December (Lot 83)
The sale could raise as much as £400,000 for the Treasury, which in these fiscally challenging times is not be sniffed at.
After all the BRB(R) is merely fulfilling its remit.
However, according to the BRB(R)'s website:
Land is only disposed of when it has been agreed with the Department for Transport that there is no need for it to be retained for future railway purposes.
Surely a well used overspill car park serving a busy station like Kings Lynn is very much a railway purpose and it ought to be retained for use today, let alone in the future?
Therefore, it is unimaginable that the Department for Transport (prop. Lord Adonis) could have sanctioned the sale of the land to a developer who will not have the interest of rail passengers in mind.
So Eye wonders whether the Noble Lord is paying lip-service to modal shift or whether he continues to be badly advised?
The buck stops with you My Lord - what will you do?
UPDATE: This from the saintly Driver Joseph Locke...
After reading your item on the Kings Lynn car park, I turned to the alliteratively titled section 6.46 ("Prioritising projects and programmes") of the Pre-Budget Report.
The section where it promises to save £170 million by (among other things) increasing the capacity of station car parks.
I wonder if the BRB(Residuary) has read it yet?
UPDATE: This from Charles Yerkes...
Forget whether BRB(R) has read it.
Has the Department for Transport, they approve land sales.
Eye welcomes the new South Central franchise which began operation yesterday
The franchise was awarded to current operator Govia (a Go-Ahead and Keolis joint venture) and will see the continuation of the Southern brand.
But what's this?
The winning bid was based on 4% revenue growth over the first two years of the franchises life.
Alas.
What looked a 'toppy' bid may now turn into a Herculean challenge.
This from the BBC...
London Underground (LU) has been hit by a fall of 190,000 journeys a day, with the recession and job losses blamed... August journey figures were 6.4% lower than the same month last year, Transport for London (TfL) said.
With loadings down on LU no doubt similar pain is being felt by NSE TOCs as well.
Watch out for eye-watering increases in unregulated ticket prices and car park charges as Govia struggles to balance the books.
Good news for Beardie Rail profits.
Car parking charges at Crewe Station are being increased today from £6 to £8.
As car parking charges are not regulated Virgin is of course free to charge whatever it feels the market will stomach.
However, chairman Sir Richard Branson may not have had rail passengers' stomachs in mind... judging by this photo from today's Mail on Sunday...
Any additional comment would be pure sour grapes!
UPDATE: This from David at Railtalk:
I think that you will find that the charges are only going up by £2.00 to £8.00, they have been £6.00 for quite some time.
Whilst any increase is unwelcome, pity the poor souls on the East Coast, who have to pay considerably more.
York for example is £12.00 per day. Rip off GNER prices, and National Express has carried them on.
Duly corrected, thank you David. The Fact Compiler's mind may have been on other things at the time of posting...
Station car parking charges are unregulated and therefore provide a highly lucrative revenue stream for increasingly cash strapped TOCs.
Normally station users have to bend over and assume the position, whilst avaracious TOCs hoover cash from their glove boxes.
But what's this?
The plucky residents of Liskeard are challenging greedy First Great Western, convinced that free usage of the station car park was guarenteed in perpatuity!
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the case expect DafT to impose the charges, or threaten a reduction in the stopping pattern, if Liskeard council doesn't kowtow.
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