Telegrammed by our Independent Expert
The historic wishing well on the southbound platform of Dunbar marks the point where Britain's railways first crossed the border.
It is pictured from one of the few daily NXEC trains that stops here.
Exciting news from the East Riding!
The Hull Mail reports on a local lobby group's meeting with My Lord Adonis to discuss "reopening" a railway route:
Minister hears Beverley-to-Hull rail case
Perhaps they could extend the scheme to include Bridlington and Scarborough as well.
Telegrammed by our Independent Expert
The goths and vandals of Network Rail continue on their course of pillage through the nation's Victorian rail heritage.
This from a powerful Leader in The Herald....
"Should ScotRail be trusted with the £2.5bn franchise to run 95% of Scotland's train services?"
Gosh!
Telegrammed by our man in the 4 foot
The Fact Compiler would pay good money to see this on load 12 at Peterborough!
Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
You have to hand it to DafT when it comes to long term thinking.
Over a particularly dry Amontillado, Sir Humphrey Beeching - the Eye's source at the Department, whispered that the next HLOS will form part of a Transport white paper, rather than the dedicated Railway white paper approach used in 2007.
The next High Level Output Specification is due to be published in July 2012.
What's the betting that it's sneaked out during the week of the London Olympics (or Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee. Ed) so that massive cut backs are lost in a rush of golden euphoria?
Eye raises a collective bowler to the DafT spin doctors.
From last night's Evening Standard City spy column...
BOBBLE hats off to trainspotter-in-chief Nigel Harris, editor of Rail magazine, who says the Budget will provoke a financial — and geometric — calamity for industry investment. “
"The railway,” warns Harris, “would do well to get its wagons in a circle to fight its corner”.
Err...
UPDATE: You're a bitchy lot!
This from John B at Here be dragons...
"Let's all go to Barrow Hill Roundhouse!"
Home of the 'screaming dog'!
Telegrammed by Ithuriel
Today's announcement by Network Rail of £2.3bn worth of Crossrail work includes:
According to the latest NR press release:
Network Rail today gave passengers and the people of London a boost by taking a big step forward in the delivery of the Crossrail and Reading projects. It has announced the intention to appoint Bechtel as its delivery partner for these vital congestion busting projects.
This move heralds the biggest investment in improving the railway for passengers using services between London, Bristol and Wales since it was built.
The Eye's resident Consultant Psychologist Dr Heinz Kiosk* writes:
"Readers will note this further example of Network Rail's corporate Brunel complex.
"This Freudian desire to outstrip the achievements of the dominant ur-father figure is of course an early sign of penis envy and reflects Network Rail Board's suppressed feeling of under achievement, compounded by a deep neurosis that they receive inadequate recognition.
"I would prescribe either the adoption, across the network, of an 8 ft track gauge or a doubling of bonuses..."
*With apologies to the late, great, Michael Wharton.
As the recession bites ever deeper the latest TOC to consider thinning its ranks is Beardie Rail.
They are already short one Fleet Director having err... 'misplaced' him on Wednesday.
Sources indicate that an announcement on headcount is due imminently...
Has SWT renounced the dark arts?
Stagecoach has announced that its popular Comms Director Jane Lee is to leave her post at the end of April.
As she leaves Jane will turn out the lights at SWT's press and public affairs department for the last time.
In a move destined to delight hard working hacks in London and Surrey all future media enquiries will be handled by either EMT's Derby press office or Stagecoach's head office in Perth!
Souter's no fool so the Eye suspects that he's twigged to the fact that the Dead Tree Media is finished in London and the South East and that bloggers are too lazy to verify their stories before posting them.
So no need for a press office.
The Fact Compiler thought about calling Stagecoach to check his theory but couldn't be arsed.
The Transport Select Committee will hold a pre-appointment hearing with Anna Walker, the Government's preferred candidate for Chairwoman of the Office of Rail Regulation.
The hearing will take place on Wednesday, 29th April at 2.45 pm in Committee Room 6, Palace of Westminster.
Doomed, recession, doomed, budget, God help us all, Darling disaster and it's all the fault of that maniacal son of the manse the OESI!
Enough!
Steady the buffs!
As Darling confirmed today that it really has all gone terribly wrong The Evening Standard picked up the following (with a Bowler tip to Sri Carmichael):
The cuts include £538 million from Network Rail by reducing its grant and cutting the amount spent on operation, maintenance and renewal of infrastructure.
Interesting.
If this is money generously gifted by DafT then of course it is free to slash and burn at will.
BUT if it is part of ORRs regulatory settlement then there may be a small, but intractable problem.
Would the ORR care to clarify?
UPDATE: This just in from the ORR...
With the Chancellor's Red Book clocking in at a whopping 268 pages, some could be excused for not picking up the following roughly half-way through:
'Saving... £538 million from Network Rail as a result of the Office of Rail Regulation setting strict efficiency targets, reducing the grant which the department pays Network Rail, delivering greater value for money from public investment in the operation, maintenance and renewal of rail infrastructure'
We at ORR however know that the devil is in the detail; and reference to our 447-page Periodic Review 2008 determinations will show just how we expect Network Rail to spend less of the UK's cash, while delivering more capacity, greater reliability and an all-round safer railway for your buck.
Goodness me. Surely the Treasury hasn't been caught out recycling old news, yet again!
UPDATE: This from Ithuriel...
But Network Rail's CP4 Delivery Plan, in a scanty 76 pages, makes it equally clear that Iain Coucher and chums are still wondering how they are going to close the whopping gap between what Chris Bolt says the railway ought to cost and what Network Rail's engineers say it is going to cost to provide the railway specified in the HLOS.
The general theme appears to be that something will probably turn up in the form of a big yellow deus ex machina!
After all, bonuses depend on it and ORR believes that bonuses work...
This from Humber Business...
Rail union leaders are to hold a "crisis summit" with the Government to discuss a wave of job cuts as well as fare rises, it has been revealed.
Unions have been embroiled in increasing rows with rail firms over job cuts, ticket office closures and fares and will urge Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon to intervene during next Tuesday's meeting.
Massive national debt, taxes up and the Unions calling the shots. It's just like the old days!
And here a homily from his Grace, Archbishop Cranmer...
Despite depressing headlines about greedy TOCs increasing fares by 11% it's good to know that the All Line Rail Rover still offers good value for money.
Indeed, on his recent rail odyssey Lord Adonis felt moved to write:
"As for cost, I am expecting to do the whole trip, standard class, for £375... using a seven-day 'all-line rail rover'. This is a ticket no one seems to have heard of, perhaps because it is so poorly advertised."
Poorly advertised it may have been, but after all the media coverage surrounding Adonis' trip the All Line Rail Rover is better known now than ever.
So what better time for ATOC to increase the Rovers price by a massive 14.5% !
From 17th May the 7 day version of the All Line Rover will increase from £375 to an eye-watering £430.00!
And you can forget taking Adonis up on his idea of buying one so the kids can "get to know their own country". The childrens version goes up by whopping £39, from £245 to £284!
What a splendid way to take the wind straight out of the Transport Minister's sails!
Let the Eye be first to congratulate ATOC's new team for mastering their brief so quickly.
London's travel watchdog has accused TfL and DafT of conniving in a shadowy 'backroom' deal.
In a badly written press release Sharon Grant, Chairwoman of London TravelWatch, said:
“We are appalled that when the go-ahead for the second phase of the East London Line extension was announced, no mention was made that passengers would be losing out in this way and that undertakings previously given were being abandoned. It is nothing short of deceitful: deliberately not telling the public is 'spin’ at its worst.”
At this point The Fact Compiler lost the will to live.
But if you travel to Victoria from Denmark Hill, Camberwell, Clapham, Wandsworth Road and East Dulwich you may still be interested so have a look yourself.
Meanwhile the Eye recommends that London TravelWatch invests in a course on press release writing.
UPDATE: Transport Briefing explains
Old Mother Damnable has spoken!
"This Synod urges Her Majesty's Government ... to sustain employment opportunities, further environmental targets and strengthen future economic and social development by implementing the planning and development of a high-speed rail line from London to the North-West and Scotland".
The Fact Compiler cannot put it better than Lord Adonis himself:
"Now that the high-speed line has Divine sanction, nothing can stand in its way."
Telegrammed by Ithuriel
Specify in haste, procure at leisure...
...is the lesson for today!
Apparently all three bidders for the DMU contract 'brought forward' under the Chancellor's fiscal stimulus programme had different ideas of what ranked as compliance.
So they have all been given a chance to have another go in response to a blizzard of clarification questions from those wonderful folk who brought you the IEP.
At this rate we'll be lucky to have them delivered in time for CP5.
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