Better the devil you know...

Outgoing Tube Lines boss, Terry Morgan, has let rip at TfL in the FT today.

Terry Morgan... said the comments of senior figures at Transport for London, the London mayor’s transport organisation, were sometimes based “on emotion, not fact”.

“I think people have to think through the consequences of some of the things they are talking about,” Mr Morgan said.

Comments surely designed to delight senior figures in TfL, for whom Mr Morgan will be working when he joins the transport organisation's Crossrail subsidiary as CEO.

Mind you.

No doubt all will be forgiven the moment Dean Finch takes over at Tube Lines.

Euston Arch to be raised

This from the BBC...

Stones believed to be part of a giant arch that used to stand at Euston railway station are being retrieved from an east London waterway.

The stones are being lifted from the Prescott Channel, where they were used to fill a hole in the riverbed.

Aside from the implausible name of the channel this is all good news.

Hopefully Network Rail will now see fit to dredge up the Primrose Hill spandrels?

Aslef, EMT & My Learned Friends

A busy weekend for the search engines.

Several of which have directed traffic to the Eye after the following keyword searches:

• "emt and aslef in court"
• "aslef high court emt"
• "court action aslef and emt".
• etc...
  

What can this mean?

I've done nothing wrong...

You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!

Metro Max

Following today's gala launch it would appear that Crossrail is to have a maximum operating speed of almost 187mph (300kph).

This from the RMT...

RMT said the project should be a public one in every sense, and should be the first step in the creation of a new-generation high-speed network that should also include a new spinal mainline linking London and Scotland.

At least overcrowding won't be a problem.

Passengers in the tunnelled section could just be sucked to their destinations.

Sparks RUS shows what we've lost

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
Congratulations Network Rail on a truly excellent electrification RUS.

Perhaps one small quibble:

"Work is underway to improve knowledge of the dynamic interface between the pantograph and the contact wire. Simulation models will be used to better predict the pantograph to catenary dynamics in normal and perturbed states. The understanding can then be applied during the design stage to design out failure modes and also subsequently once OLE systems are in use to understand any performance issues. It will aid understanding about the use of multiple pantographs on a train which enable more flexibility in the use of the system. The developments will continue to be benchmarked against emerging evidence from elsewhere."

Question: What's the difference between Railway Privatisation and the Dark Ages?

Answer: Knowledge was retained during the Dark Ages.

Sadly this is basic stuff which British Rail Research had bottomed by the 1980s.

Now, thanks to John Major and Railtrack we are having to reinvent the wheel - or, at least, pantograph/OHLE dynamics.

What else has been lost? We don't know because we can't find it.

UPDATE: Dyspozytor over at Behind the Water Tower takes up the theme...

One little known Derby project that was killed in its infancy was the remote controlled self-propelled freight car. The idea was to make freight trains more truck-like, i.e. replacing ‘dumb’ goods wagons by motorised intelligent units.

Are there any pictures or footage of this is operation?

First Great Boo-Boo

Telegrammed by our Independent Expert
Radio4's 'You and Yours' consumer show ran an item today about FGW cutting back on restaurant cars.

Breathless reporter comes on 'live from the train'. (starts about 11:30 in)

But the station announcement, presumably dubbed in by an over excited editor, proclaims "Reading-Bramley-Basingstoke".

A travelling chef sausage-burger to the first Eyer who can recall the last time a restaurant car stopped at Bramley (pop. 3393).

UPDATE: This just in from an 'Anonymous' reader...

Travelling yesterday on one of our (formerly) great main lines I was told the only food left available to standard was ham or bacon.

Vegetarians are not protected by law but surely Jewish and Muslim passengers also have a right to eat on the move?

Duck Soup

A question for My Lord Adonis.

Why is catering on trains a 'commercial decision for train operators' when, following the Pilgrimage of Grice, catering provision at stations is now to be determined by a government minister?

Particularly as station catering is nothing to do with the franchised operators, being mostly in the hands of Select Service Partners.

Would the minister care to clarify?

UPDATE: This from Sir Humphrey Beeching...

The Treasury is particularly pleased with this unfunded commitment.

Pound Force

And in the interests of political balance...

A bowler tip to Don't Panic for this, via Guido...



Disgraceful obviously, but not nearly as disgraceful as hoovering up all that cash.

Justice Minister steps down

***Shahid Malik, hoon and justice minister, has resigned his ministerial position***

Brotherly love lost

The RMT is running an exciting new ad campaign in Railnews.

See how the glorious banners fly: Deepest red, martyred dead, stiff and cold, every fold...

But what's this?

"We are not a general union trying to dupe rail workers into joining us."

At whom could this be directed?

Surely not the union whose own recruitment ad is printed two whole pages before the RMTs?

Perhaps time for Bob to change his media buyer.

Stationers to Lord Daft Vader offered a role

More common sense from Tom Harris MP:

"Will the new Stations Champion be responsible for defending the legitimate rights of trainspotters? There is a serious civil rights issue here, with station staff obstructing rail enthusiasts in their activities which, at worst, are harmless and which, at best, provide extra security at some stations."

When the Old Bill have finished with all the hoons we can but hope that there will be a vacancy in your old department...

Natural selection in action - Southern style

Herring Gulls have taken up residence in the 4 foot near Dover.

View the Kent on-line video here...

Needless to day the muesli munchers are already whinging that the shiite hawks are protected.

Not from 750v they're not.

UPDATE: Oh dear. The Fact Compiler is in trouble with Driver Potter...

Our southern man is much upset that this post has been tagged "God's wonderful railway".

Duly corrected.

Stop digging Hammond

NCE claiming Crossrail at risk if Tories win the general election:

“We believe that Crossrail is a good project. It fits very well with our agenda of improving rail infrastructure,” said Hammond.

“But do the government have no conception of the scale of the hole that they have dug? Every single programme and project will have to be reassessed and re-evaluated."

If only they had dug a hole then the bloody thing might be operating by now!

Leadership by example

Iain Coucher has announced he will give up his annual bonus.

"I am mindful of current sentiment, so I have taken a personal decision to forego any annual bonus this year. The success of our company and its hard-working people must have the opportunity to be seen and heard.

“Our people have secured this success and every one – from signal box to boardroom – will deserve any bonus which may be awarded to recognise this. Incentivising our people makes sure that the company is focused on what it needs to do. Our people have delivered what has been asked of them and more. I believe we must honour the deal to reward their collective success."

Nice touch.

UPDATE: But is it enough?

Nigel Harris over at Rail has already issued a challenge to Coucher's board room colleagues...

Iain has set the route, will others follow?

UPDATE: The FT predicts growing pressure on other directors to do the same.

UPDATE: Industry rent-a-quote Gerry Doherty says in The Gruaniad:

"There is never any justification in paying bonuses for running a state monopoly".

That should please NR frontline staff (and TSSA members) who are still in line for their annual bonuses.

UPDATE: Captain Deltic muses.

In the armed forces, Leadership is defined as 'follow me'.

Is Iain going over the top on his own?

UPDATE: Railnews names those who have some hard thinking to do:

"Other members of Network Rail’s executive committee are still being considered for payments, which could total hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"Group infrastructure director Peter Henderson, operations director Robin Gisby, infrastructure investment director Simon Kirby, and planning director Paul Plummer."

UPDATE: This just in from The Raver:

One must ask whether Coucher thinks that earning a bonus gives him any incentive to work harder - and if so why?

Isn't £12,000 per week enough to get him to set his alarm early?

His interview with John Humphries on the Today programme this morning clearly shows he does not get it.

Surely trying to do the best and squeezing out efficiencies in a company that has no risks apart from a regulatory one is part of the day job!

BBQ season again

Looks like EMT's Aslef members will be having another barbecue this Sunday, the second in as many weeks.

This from the Nottingham Evening Post...

Tim Shoveller, managing director of East Midlands Trains, said: "For the second week running, it appears that the majority of our drivers have made themselves unavailable for work on Sunday. As we have had no indication otherwise, we can only assume that this is linked to the on-going drivers' pay negotiations."

Presumably the first one wasn't fighty enough?

First for getting DafT to bail out franchises

Good news for First Group.

Although profits from its rail operations fell by a whopping 20% last year, The Evening Standard today reveled that First Great Western has received "a secret £50 million bailout from the taxpayer".


Should be just enough to buy back all those remaindered copies of Moir's lovely book.

Public fury at Euston station

Who would be a DafT press officer?

At this morning's press junket to celebrate the opening of the West Coast Main line an irate member of the public raced up to the assembled hacks and accused one of them of being Geoff Hoon.

Witnessing the commotion a brave PR thrust himself into the line of fire, assuring the agitated lady that the hack was neither Hoon, nor indeed any other member of the political class.

Alas.

For this selfless act of bravery the poor PR received both barrels from the disgruntled voter, who had a word or two to say on the wickedness of our beloved Secretary of State.

Geoff, if you can take your nose out the trough for long enough, perhaps a word of thanks to this bruised PR.

Can DafT deliver anything on time?

Are DafT undertakings worth the paper they are written on?

In the South Central Franchise consultation document Daft glibly asserts that:

In London, the Oyster smartcard is already accepted for season tickets, and from 2009 Oyster pay as you go (PAYG) will be valid on all national rail services in London.

Alas.

The delivery deficient department has now made it clear that this won't happen till 2010.

Provoking predictable fury from London's TravelWatch:

“Passengers at railway stations around the capital are walking past covered up, unused Oyster machines every day, and have been for months. The lack of an integrated system and any joined-up thinking is ridiculous in a modern city like London. Another delay is simply unacceptable, and it is time for the Department for Transport to hold the transport providers to account.”

To paraphrase Reginald Perrin: "Why don't you re-time all your announcements to arrive a year late? - then they will all be on time."

Angel to cut staff?

***18 jobs 'at risk' at Angel Trains***