This from The Times...
"The 'ghost bus' runs simply to allow the Government to escape the embarrassment of admitting that it has closed several sections of railway in West London to passenger trains."
Network Rail did a splendid job yesterday of closing the rest...
Thought for the day
As a 110 mile/h TSR is imposed on the WCML fast lines between Euston and Rugby, Iain (WCML Job Done) Coucher might recall these lines of Kipling:
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre.
This in today's FT...
Virgin demands rail reliability
A spot of prescient reporting by Mr Wright.
Telegrammed by 222 Marylebone Road
The current daily, or even twice daily, major failures of the overhead line electrification on the WCML are statistically so improbable that they cannot be attributed to normal maintenance errors.
Interestingly they are clustered at the southern end of the route.
Conspiracy theorists suggest that the cause may be sabotage!
Perhaps by a renegade group of DafT civil servants with the dual aim of discrediting electrification and justifying investment in the ludicrous dual powered IEP?
UPDATE: Tom from Blairwatch writes...
Nonsense.
It's Boris Johnson and his transport team campaigning to discredit those nasty bendy foreign trains preparatory to holding a competition to design a 21st century Britannia Pacific.
Perhaps the Tornado team need to clear their diaries...
Telegrammed by Barry Spotter
Worried about pulling down the wires?
Concerned that you might have to rebuild dozens of bridges and lower the floors of tunnels?
Well worry no more, for the Southern has the answer!
It's the all-old, all-tried, tested and almost-nearly-sometimes completely reliable in snow and ice Juice Rail!
Why spend silly money on dangling bits of 25Kv-fed wire across the scenery when you can keep drivers and track-workers nervous for longer with 750dc on the floor?
Contact the Southern Region General Offices, Waterloo Station, for further details.
Remember - it's sunnier down South!
A Happy New Year to National Express East Coast passengers as the company slashes the number of restaurant car services.
This from the Yorkshire Post:
"Just two morning southbound trains and a handful of evening services from London will continue to host restaurant cars. Otherwise first-class ticket holders will be able to buy fish pie or crayfish and chorizo risotto to eat at their seats."
This, of course, despite promises from Richard Bowker that traditional railway dining would be safe in his hands.
No matter.
If you're broke you've got to reduce costs and maximise revenue!
The Fact Compiler suspects the fury over the reduction in restaurant cars will be as nothing compared to that when NXEC starts charging for seat reservations!
It's good to see some old railway traditions continue to survive in the Age of Change.
Like surreptitiously demolishing stations to prevent their future use.
Nicely done NR!
Good news for Buffhoon and Co.
According to today's Standard the toothless Transport Select Committee is thinking about holding an inquiry into recent fares increases.
What a wonderful opportunity for the Government to show its continued contempt for Parliament.
Good news for anyone brave enough to bid when the East Coast Mainline franchise is re-let.
As National Express East Coast builds on the success of GNER (shurely heads to the same graveyard. Ed), the Eye understands that DafT policy wonks are already working up a new, improved, specification.
Welcome to the first seven year franchise with a break point after just two years.
Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
ATOC's mea culpa also sought to assuage the righteous wrath of its hard pressed passengers by referring to 2008 investment in:
"More frequent on major routes and improved facilities from free broadband to extra commuter parking".
Since this non sequitur appeared in both the original and corrected versions of the press release, we can only assume that 'frequent' has become a noun.
Suggestions for dictionary definitions welcomed.
UPDATE: A reader offers the following as a definition of "frequent" = delays
The Standard reports that for only the second time in history a child has been born on the Underground.
The birth took place at Kingsbury station on the Jubilee line.
Had it been on the Vic' both conception and birth could have taken place whilst waiting for the line's upgrade.
Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
In its press release seeking to justify its members' swingeing fares increases ATOC claimed:
"Investment is the key to better services and train companies are continuing to invest huge sums – like the £4.5 billion on new trains over ten years.
"In 2008 train companies invested in:
Things are not going well over at Go-Ahead franchise London Midland.
Serious train crew shortages are leading to daily cancellations - with up to a 100 services a day being caped.
So annoyed are passengers with LM management's piss-poor performance that they have started taking it out on staff, leading to a disturbing rise in assaults.
Even lacklustre DafT has started to make veiled threats about the franchise's future.
The situation is so bad that one regular contributor to an internet news group now signs off his posts with:
"London Midland does NOT have a staff morale problem.
Most of the staff have no morale - NO PROBLEM."
So farewell English, Welsh & Scottish.
From today you are known as DB Schenker.
Catchy - not.
Announced in HM the Queen's New Year Honours List:
CBE
Robert David Holden. Chief executive Officer, London and Continental Railways Ltd. For services to the Rail Industry. (Hertfordshire)
OBE
Michael John Glover. Arup Fellow and Technical director and Deputy Project director, Channel Tunnel Rail Link. For services to Engineering. (Sevenoaks, Kent)
Wayne Spence. Service Delivery assistant, Temple Meads Station, Bristol. For services to Passenger Transport. (Bristol)
MBE
Bernard Godfrey Rainbow. Chief Locomotive Inspector, Severn Valley Railway. For voluntary service to the Rail Industry. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
Robin Kingsley Prince. Operations Standards manager, Victa Railfreight. For service to the Rail Industry. (Maidstone, Kent)
The ATOC media machine cranked into life yesterday and issued a release headlined:
"TEN NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS FOR RAIL PASSENGERS IN 2009" (regrettably not yet posted on the ATOC comms website).
Aside from the fact that it's somewhat cheeky to impose resolutions on passengers (rather than making you own) there did appear to be something missing from the list.
Where is ATOC's New Year's resolution about allowing photos to be taken at stations without fear of harassment or intimidation?
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