...is very important on, or about, the railway.
Hulleys’ Closure - My Thoughts
5 months ago
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Happy birthday to you
This tosh from Daft:
"50 years of motorways: special birthday celebrated with opening of £174 million M6 extension"
Presumably plans are well advanced to celebrate the 150th anniversary of car sickness in 2015?
Minister dibbed and dobbed
The railways green credentials were sadly lacking this afternoon when Transport Minister Geoff Hoon presented Cub Scouts with their new safety badge at St Pancras International.
The choice of an EMT HST as a backdrop was rather unfortunate as the VP185 engine produced a veritable smokescreen on departure which masked Hoon from the cameras and probably shortened the lives of the poor Scouts!
The Fact Compiler hopes that Hoon complied with the law and was CRB checked before he consorted with minors?
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Haines gone
This from First Group...
"Andrew Haines, currently Managing Director Rail Division and Chief Operating Officer at First Great Western is to leave the Company.
"Speaking of his departure, Andrew said: "This is entirely my own decision and I am grateful for the support and encouragement of the FirstGroup Board during my time with the company"."
The Fact Compiler has a suspicion that Haines and Lockjaw won't be trading Christmas cards - for environmental reasons obviously...
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Tail wags dog
Serious news: ORR paper pushers may have to do some work in the next two weeks!
Or so it would appear from a story bordering on the indiscreet in today's FT:
"The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) said neither Virgin Trains nor East Midlands Trains had yet signed track access agreements for their services under the new timetable, due to deliver a range of faster, more frequent services from December 14."
How annoying of EMT & Virgin to focus on running trains when it might inconvenience the ORR's very tight programme of vacillating and Christmas parties.
No special pleading please
This courtesy of Guido
The Fact Compiler is delighted that MPs now know what it's like for the rest of us.
After all they voted to enact such draconian "security" legislation.
Wooden you know!
An arboreal conundrum...
...from Driver Potter
Surely everyone knows that South Western men have hearts of Oak!
Centurian
This from Behind the Water Tower...
100 year old dream !
Can someone sort Bernard the Visionary a gong?
Shock? Horror!
The Fact Compiler is a great fan of HTML.
Especially when read on iPhones, Blackberries and the like.
Thus, it came as no surprise to receive a press release from Stagecoach which read as follows:
STAGECOACH RATED ONE OF BRITAIN?S TOP 10 ?MOST ADMIRED COMPANIES?
The question marks are understandable, but surely one exclamation mark would have covered it!
Johnston to investigate
*** British Transport Police chief constable Ian Johnston is to investigate police handling of the inquiry which led to the search of Damian Green's House of Commons office.***
Monday, 1 December 2008
November thank you
November site stats:
In November 2008 Railway Eye received 8,298 visits from 3,010 unique visitors.
Apparently you viewed 13,969 random scribblings in total.
Since the site launched on the 13th May 2008 (or there abouts) Railway Eye has received 31,301 visits from 9,241 unique visitors.
The Railway Eye team are humbled that their random and splenetic utterances merit such attention from industry colleagues. Thank you.
Bid to rejoin the network
Excitement on Sunday...
"At 1448 staff at the East Anglian Railway Museum, at Chapel & Wakes Colne, had used the Ground Frame telephone to report an incident on the museum line and that there maybe debris on Network Rail infrastructure. An emergency NRN message was sent to 2T17, EB, 1440 Sudbury – Marks Tey, after stopping the driver was contacted by the signaller at London Liverpool Street IECC and cautioned forward to examine the line. Network Rail Operations Staff attended. The driver of 2T17 reported that a train on the museum line had crashed through the buffer stops at the Marks Tey end of their line, and became derailed. However, there was no involvement of Network Rail infrastructure other than the large amount of spectators crowding around the incident. It was arranged for Network Rail staff to remain on site for safety reasons and to ensure that rerailing operations did not foul Network Rail infrastructure. Rerailing was completed at 2154 and cautioning ceased."
Poltrhoon?
Good news for the incredulous.
Geoff Hoon is again trying to shift the blame for above inflation fares increases onto TOCs
This from today's Times:
Mr Hoon said that he had urged the main train companies “to bear in mind the difficult economic circumstances when setting their fares”.
A source at the Department for Transport said Mr Hoon was disappointed that most companies had chosen to ignore him.
If only we could Buff, if only we could.
Let's be clear.
It is Government policy that regulated fares rise annually by RPI+1.
Unregulated fare increases are notionally at the discretion of TOC's.
But they are set in line with Government policy which seeks to reduce taxpayer support to the railway by increasing passenger contributions.
If Geoff Hoon were really serious about curtailing increases to unregulated fares he could instruct his Civil Servents to issue appropriate directions and guidance to TOCs; the same TOC's whose franchises are let and managed by his own Department.
In the meantime Hoon's continued pretence that this has nothing to do with him is beginning to look more and more craven.
Olden but golden
The Fact Compiler is delighted to receive an invite to a do being held tomorrow night by Bombardier and The Prince's Trust.
The blurb on the invite says the event will pilot a new initiative to provide young people with practical skills to get started in transport.
Is this the sort of thing "Get into Railways" has in mind?
Okay I know this has been around for ages but it's still great!
Gunboat diplomacy
Disturbing news from Liverpool.
Whilst the Met are busy locking up MPs it emerges that MerseyTravel have procured a U-boat!
This presumably to encourage Network Rail to surrender control of MerseyRail infrastructure.
Sunday, 30 November 2008
Christmas is a time for giving
Should Wolmar stick to the day job?
Friday night saw the Railway Children Annual Ball at which the great man acted as celebrity auctioneer.
Despite valiant efforts Wolmar was faced with an industry that mostly sat on its hands whilst the bids were called.
Fortunately NRM nemesis, Richard Bowker, manfully stepped up to the crease and shelled out a whopping £18k for a signed Banksy print (pictured).
The well known 'graffiti artist' (don't you mean 'vandal'? Ed) had donated the print especially and specified all monies raised should go directly into Railway Children funds.
Even so the catalogue had to describe the lot as a "blue tank engine with a face" - for copyright reasons. A situation not unknown to our Heritage Railway friends, despite their doing so much to promote and develop the Thomas the Tanks Engine brand.
Perhaps Railway Eye shouldn't be too hard on Wolmar, as he gave his time for free.
Unlike many of those at the bash, who seemed freer with expense accounts at the bar than their own cash at the auction.
The wrong trousers
Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
Railway Eye was delighted to receive the following in a press release from The Stonewood Group:
"Data Breeches A Thing Of The Past - Guaranteed
Stonewood Group, the World’s leading designer and manufacturer of accredited encrypted hard drives, has announced the launch of the first ever fully encrypted, fully portable family of products for today’s mobile workforce".
The Stonewood Group are to be congratulated for abolishing ITSO compliant keks before they've been invented.
Chapter of faults
The battle to be Terry Morgan's successor at Tube Lines has begun.
The Independent on Sunday is touting internal candidates Andrew Cleaves (commercial director ) and Steve Hurrell (finance chief).
Mind you the Sindie also touted Rob Holden for the Crossrail top job.
And yes, The Fact Compiler got it half wrong as well.
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