The Ghost Train

A seasonal tale to delight even the hardest heart.

It was Christmas Eve and nothing stirred not even a mouse.

And certainly not the 21:37 from Leeds to Manchester Victoria.

Which although advertised doesn't actually exist.

Which left over 70 disgruntled and stranded passengers at Leeds station besieging NR's reception demanding an explanation and a way home.

And they all didn't have a very merry Christmas. The End

UPDATE: This from Tim Scougall of West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive...

The 21.37 from Leeds to Manchester Victoria certainly does exist - look
in the timetable.

It didn't run on Christmas Eve, neither did the 22.37, but there was plenty of advance publicity concerning the fact.

Your piece is somewhat misleading to say the least- it wasn't NR's fault at all.

The Fact Compiler never said it was - he merely pointed out that NR took the brunt of stranded passengers anger.

UPDATE: An irate passenger writes...

"If it wasn't 'advertised' why was it up on the PIS, then shown as running late?

"And why were 70+ people waiting for it and platform staff expecting it?

"The train may have been a ghost but the pax weren't..."

UPDATE: Tim responds...

"I wasn't at Leeds Station on Christmas Eve so I cannot comment on the fact that the train was shown as running on the PIS and I am at a loss to understand why the platform staff were still apparently expecting it to appear.

"In common with the rest of the rail network several trains in West Yorkshire, after 20.00 on Christmas Eve, either stopped short of their usual destination or didn't run at all. The same will apply on New Year's Eve. This much was contained in Metro's publicity issued well in advance of the Christmas period.

"As far as the detail is concerned I knew that this particular train wasn't running on Christmas Eve (if it's any help to anyone it won't be running on New Years Eve either even though the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner still says that it is!) and since my information came from Northern Trains you can appreciate my comments above.

"Sadly, this appears to be yet another breakdown in communications between National Rail Enquiries, Train Operating Companies, their staff, and their "Customers".

"I would be grateful if you could point out that I don't speak for the WYPTE and my comments are very much those of an individual to whom The Railway Eye has brought hours of entertainment."

Happy to do so and thanks for the update.

UPDATE: It emerges that a data entry error saw the Ghost Train being left in TRUST so it was advertised on NRES (and the PIS).

Oops!

Screw the passenger

This just in from Gareth Marston, Chairman of SARPA

"Passengers hoping to catch the 16:24 Arriva Trains Wales service from Birmingham New St to Aberystwyth on Tuesday 23rd December discovered the truth of Tim Bells admission to the Welsh Select Committee that his franchise doesn't have enough trains

"Despite being a four car class 158 passengers struggled to board the train resulting in a departure 23 minutes late.

"NRES helpfully explained the cause of the late running as "an unusually large passenger flow"."

This obviously came as something of a surprise - what with Christmas coming round annually and all.

No matter.

Whilst the chaos at New Street unfolded a half empty Wrexham and Shropshire service from Marylebone to Wrexham meandered its way via Tame Bridge Parkway.

Of course to protect Beardie Rail profits WSMR services are barred from Birmingham New Street and so were unable to assist with the pre-Christmas "unusually large passsenger flow" to Shropshire & mid-Wales."

Thank goodness for moderation of competition which protects profits rather than the interests of pesky passengers.

String 'em up!

It's time for the annual round of recriminations over who is responsible for the Christmas shutdown.

This from the Independent:

"Train operating companies said yesterday that they would be ready to introduce services from next year but blamed the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) for not co-ordinating an agreement.

"Atoc, however, said it was prepared to take part in meetings with Network Rail and the Government to discuss a new Christmas timetable, but it blamed the Government for failing to co-ordinate talks.

"Meanwhile, the Government has laid the blame at the door of individual operators, which it says are the only ones who can act to introduce the services."

What a complete and utter shower.

Proof positive that the structure of the industry remains deeply dysfunctional (Tories please note).

ATOC & NR directors please get a grip and sort this - now.

It's not as if resolving this is above your over generous pay grades!

McMaglev

The Fact Compiler missed this story in the Sunday Times.

Fortunately it was picked up by Tom Harris.

On this issue Tom is spot on...

Write your own cheque

Wishing all readers a blessed and festive Christmas.



From the Railway Eye team: Barry Spotter, Brochet, Eboracum (50a), Jack Ketch, King Coal, Our International Correspondent, Our man at 222 Marylebone Road, The Archer, The Fact Compiler, The General Manager, The Independent Expert, The late Sir William Pollitt, The Major, The Master, The Raver and The RSM

Officially doomed

This just in from Gallery News, the parliamentary news service...

"The UK economy contracted between July and September faster than had previously been thought, according to the Office for National Statistics.

"ONS said it had contracted by 0.6% in the quarter - its previous estimate had been a contraction of 0.5%. The previous quarter was left unrevised at a figure of zero growth.

"The service sector was among those hit in the third quarter, shrinking by 0.5%, having grown by 0.2% in the previous three months.

"In the manufacturing sector, output shrank by 1.4% in the period."

Doomed but with knobs on.

Christmas Conundrum

Telegrammed by Tom over at Boriswatch...
How long before we see Transport Minister Lord Ford of Deltic announcing Government support for keeping the Derby production lines rolling whilst the electrification teams march out across the land?

Nice - fingers crossed for the New Years Honours List

Tips on how to score

Time for some festive cheer from the latest exciting Eye survey.

Readers were asked to answer a simple question by Tom Harris MP.

The results are truly shocking!

45% of you are "miserable now".

Whilst a massive 50% of you believe it is all "too much".

Fortunately, there is some good news.

Only 4% of Railway Eye readers say that there is "not enough".

Railway Eye - faster, longer, deeper.

Bombardier Stock Up !

Good news for UK train manufacturing!

DafT today published the list of prequalified bidders for the additional vehicles announced in the November Pre-Budget Report.

They are...

1. Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd

2. CAF - Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A.

3. CSRE LTD - Chinese Sourced Railway Equipment on behalf of CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Co., Ltd

4. Hyundai Rotem Company

Ever willing to provide a hostage to fortune DafT have also given an indication of when they expect to announce the preferred bidder: "Closing date for bids is 16th February and it is anticipated that an announcement on the preferred bidder will be made in April."

Better still My Lord Adonis has now gone hard on the numbers. Previously DafT said there would be "up to 200" new vehicles. My Lord Adonis now talks of the: "...delivery of these 200 new rail carriages."

In Notes to Editors DafT reminds us that "the 200 new DMUs (...are part of...) the £700m fiscal stimulus announced in last month's Pre-Budget Report".

Putting aside the fact that DafT's Buffoonettes have managed to convert 200 vehicles into 200 DMUs, this is extremely good news for Bombardier.

Of the four short listed bidders only one has previously built a train for the mainland British railways. And with the Class 172 currently in production for Loo-Roll and London Midland, either run-ons or parallel construction are an option - reducing delivery times.

But best of all for these new vehicles to deliver Darling's "fiscal stimulus" they'll need to be built in the UK.

Fill your boots Bombardier!

Quick spin in a Routemaster

Telegrammed by our Independent Expert
Lot's of press plaudits over the weekend for BoJo's new Routemaster designs.

In Saturday's Independent Michael Williams wrote that the retro vehicles dreamt up by Aston Martin and Lord Foster were 'just the ticket' for these troubled times.

Funny how BoJo's PR people failed to mention that the mayor has simultaneously canned two major rail-based schemes - the Camden - Brixton tram and the DLR extension to Dagenham.

It's the train wot takes the pain!

Chestnuts burning...

This just in from Driver Potter



Surprisingly no connection with a certain charter operator...

O Oriens

This from those naughty boys and girls at Train Sardine!

According to their website...

"Government minister Geoff Hoon, Sir Richard Branson, and Brian Souter are starring in a special Christmas video released by rail passenger group, TrainSardine.org.

"The video shows ‘fat controller’ rail bosses dressed as pixies dancing for Christmas joy at the millions they make, while overseeing chaos on the railways."

View the video here...

Can Railway Eye readers do better?

O Clavis David

As Railway Eye counts down towards Christmas The Fact Compiler welcome appropriate seasonal contributions.

First out of the advent calendar is this from Sim Harris (with thanks)

On the first day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
A cup of railway tea

On the second day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
Two expired tickets
And a cup of railway tea

On the third day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
Three frozen points
Two expired tickets
And a cup of railway tea

On the fourth day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
Four White Papers
Three frozen points
Two expired tickets
And a cup of railway tea

On the fifth day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
Five sacked staff!
Four White Papers
Three frozen points
Two expired tickets
And a cup of railway tea

On the sixth day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
Six Treasury cutbacks
Five sacked staff!
Four White Papers
Three frozen points
Two expired tickets
And a cup of railway tea

On the seventh day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
Seven reassessments
Six Treasury cutbacks
Five sacked staff!
Four White Papers
Three frozen points
Two expired tickets
And a cup of railway tea

On the eighth day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
Eight cloned smartcards
Seven reassessments
Six Treasury cutbacks
Five sacked staff!
Four White Papers
Three frozen points
Two expired tickets
And a cup of railway tea

On the ninth day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
Nine franchise payments
Eight cloned smartcards
Seven reassessments
Six Treasury cutbacks
Five sacked staff!
Four White Papers
Three frozen points
Two expired tickets
And a cup of railway tea

On the tenth day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
Ten increased fares
Nine franchise payments
Eight cloned smartcards
Seven reassessments
Six Treasury cutbacks
Five sacked staff!
Four White Papers
Three frozen points
Two expired tickets
And a cup of railway tea

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
Eleven DafT spokesmen
Ten increased fares
Nine franchise payments
Eight cloned smartcards
Seven reassessments
Six Treasury cutbacks
Five sacked staff!
Four White Papers
Three frozen points
Two expired tickets
And a cup of railway tea

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
Adonis sent to me
Twelve cancelled trains
Eleven DafT spokesmen
Ten increased fares
Nine franchise payments
Eight cloned smartcards
Seven reassessments
Six Treasury cutbacks
Five sacked staff!
Four White Papers
Three frozen points
Two expired tickets
And a cup of railway tea!

Additional contributions welcome at the usual address...

Police 5 Citizens 0

This just in from Sim Harris...

"Once again, DafT (like the rest of Government) is assuming limitless power.

From yesterday's DfT press release:
"The new penalties are being introduced as the Government extends its Penalty Notice for Disorder Scheme."

Minister: as Parliament must give its consent (and hasn't yet) don't you mean:
The new penalties are being proposed as the Government wishes to extend its Penalty Notice for Disorder Scheme?

It's called democratic process. Remember that?

Police 5

Telegrammed by the Archer
Given the on-going delay to the IEP programme...

...and the inevitable knock-on effect to the manufacturer’s cashflow, can DafT confirm that the extended ‘Penalty Notice for Disorder Scheme’ announced by the Department today will also apply to DafT itself?

On the grounds of ‘causing a nuisance on the railways’!

Fantasy funding

Telegrammed by the General Manager
NR piles on £1.1m of debt each day across CP4

As the bosses of Network Rail passed round the celebratory steaming mugs of Horlicks (avoided) on Monday when WCML got off to a reasonably good start their collective attention doubtless turned to fighting the CP 4 settlement and thinking who is going to lend them money over the next few years.

ORR's figures show that NR's position over the next few years is dire and getting worse.

Expenditure exceeds income in all but 2013/14 and interest payments just get bigger each year, in fact they almost exactly match the total TOC premium - assuming this can be sustained.

ORR Assumptions of Network Rail’s net debt in Control Period 4
(£M 2006/7 prices)	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	Total
Opening debt	21,267	23,841	26,638	28,585	30,230	21,267
Total income	-5,921	-6,138	-6,345	-6,491	-6,647	-31,542
Total expenditure	7,304	7,556	6,780	6,502	6,235	34,337
Net interest costs	1,188	1,379	1,512	1,619	1,711	7,410
Tax	2	0	0	14	10	26
Total movement in debt	2,574	2,797	1,947	1,645	1,309	10,271
Closing debt	23,841	26,638	28,585	30,230	31,538	31,538
Source: ORR Doc 329167.02 dated 4 November2008

Bold statements by NR that commercial lenders are gagging to pile cash onto this debt mountain without a government guarantee seems self-delusional.

There is no way, other than doubling fares, or even more improbably NR becoming a really efficient world-class business, that any inroads can be made into this ever-growing debt mountain.

Also the oft repeated statement that commercial lenders will be a lever for achieving better governance seems a little cart before the horse.

Any commercial lender will insist that NR changes its governance well before it antes up the cash and it may well be that the NR board won't like the messages they get told.

Meanwhile its back to bashing ORR in the hope they will hand out more dosh and postpone the need to take difficult decisions.

NatEx to sack 750

Telegrammed by the General Manager
Thousands of pissed off customers, 750 Christmases wrecked and one boss sitting pretty in a pear tree.

In this season of goodwill it will be a comfort to every Scrooge to see NatEx sustaining its unenviable reputation for customer care and people management (most recent critique Martin Vander Wyer's annual railway rant in this week's Speccie) in dumping 750 front line staff.

Selling the railway journey experience in the coming months is going to be hard work but there are much bigger issues at stake.

It clearly must not override the far higher priority of rewarding board-room excellence.

Bowker's package is equivalent to some 40 or 50 front line workers and boardroom hand-outs probably represent 250 plus workers who could really make a difference.

This is just the sort of tough management decision that has to be taken and does so much for a company's reputation.

OFFICIAL: IEP decision postponed till '09

The DfT Press Office has confirmed that it now hopes to make an announcement about the preferred bidder for the Inter-City Express Programme in the new year.

Note in "the new year" not "early in the new year".

Railway Eye statisticians are even now working out how to calibrate this measurement.

One piece of good news - the announcement is not "just around the corner"...

IEP derailed?

So it looks as if the IEP procurement fiasco has finally collapsed because Britain's broke.

Whilst we are still awaiting an announcement from Geoff Hoon here is a picture of the great man keeping his head down and drinking coffee (courtesy of The man on the Bernina Express).


Readers are invited to spot the mug.

1955 and all that

This just in from Captain Deltic...

"Rollout of the prototype Deltic - then the most powerful single unit locomotive in the world - was not the only noteworthy event of 1955.

"The Boeing B52 also entered service with Strategic air command.

"Today, the Deltic is in the National Railway Museum, but the United States Airforce is reinstating a fourth squadron of B52, known to airmen as the BUFF (Big Ugly Fat er... Feller).

"By comparison with the BUFF, our IC125 is a mere strippling at 30 years old.

It will easily maintain the highest standards of service until the MML and GWML are electrified."

Thinks, wasn't the Zombie train originally called HST2? Another reason for binning this expensive farrago.