Mole shuts gate! Horse bolted.

Extra-ordinary.

The Department meddles in rolling stock specification and allocation (which it clearly isn't competent to do) whilst letting Worst get away with rewriting regulated ticket validity.

This from Politics.co.uk...

First Great Western used a loophole in the current legislation which allows them to change the time restrictions on certain regulated fares but not the prices to effectively increase the price of tickets. They re-named the ‘Off Peak Ticket’ as a ‘Super Off Peak’ ticket – meaning it was the same price but only available on a much more restricted timetable, whilst making some former ‘off peak’ prices 20% higher.

DafT - less meddling please and more focus on the day job.

Eye salutes our brave and clever firemen!

This just in from 'Is 1A03 out of Chester yet, Bert?'...

Apologies if you've seen this before but it is definitely worthy of a wider showing.



Good effort!

Another 'C' word the Government can't say.

Not 'Cuts' this time.

Nor indeed Lord Mandy's reported use of the word 'Chump' (sic) to a News International executive

This emasculated written response from the Noble Lord, given on the 5th October:

Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat)

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 29 June (WA 22), when the procurement process for 202 new diesel train carriages will be advanced sufficiently for an order to be placed.

Lord Adonis (Secretary of State, Department for Transport; Labour)

On 23 July the Government announced a major £1.1 billion programme of rail electrification on the Great Western Main Line and the line between Liverpool and Manchester. This radically affects the requirements for rolling stock over the next decade.

There will be far less need for diesel trains and a greater requirement for electric trains, as a result of which the procurement of 202 new diesel train carriages has now been superseded. The Government will publish a. new rolling stock plan in the autumn, taking account of the changed circumstances.

So why can't Lord Adonis use the word 'Cancelled'?

UPDATE: This from a Mr Saltaire...

I seem to recollect that the DfT started this procurement farce under the premise of “urgent operational need”.

Since the Great Western electrification won’t be sufficiently complete to allow existing EMUs and DMUs to be cascaded until 2016 at the earliest, the “urgent operational need” is likely to remain for quite some time.

Unless…. the word superseded is taken literally (it means replaced, NOT cancelled), in which case perhaps the Government will use the existing procurement process (which has been superseded, but not cancelled remember… keep up!!) to provide the good people of the Thames Valley and Northern England with some nice shiny new trains so that they can sit down on their way to and from work each day.

First for tact

No doubt regular Eye readers will have fond memories of Sir Moir's lovely book.

No matter.

Today is a great occasion!

And one that First's PR and Puffery machine marked with this wonderfully 'icky making nonsense:

Chief Executive of FirstGroup, Sir Moir Lockhead, paid tribute to his wife... as he visited a national photography exhibition that features a portrait of (errr....) himself!


Meanwhile the rest of the industry quietly observed a more solemn anniversary...

Network Rail greenwash?

Telegrammed by Leo Pink
Much greenwash from Network Rail over the long awaited works to the 'Poacher line':

Passengers on the Boston to Skegness line are set to benefit from a £21m injection of new track on the route. The overall project will see 32 miles of track replaced using recycled materials making the railways even greener.

How much greener it would be if the rails and sleepers had been recycled, as used to be the case, instead of reusable rail being sliced up into 10m lengths for removal by road..

Green?

Perhaps a pale tint of eau de nil!

NXEC has outstanding bill to pay

Alas - things appear to be going from bad to worse at National Express East Coast.

'A Conductor' writes in to say:

Thought you might be interested in the state of NXEC's new Information columns at York station, pictured on Saturday.


Installed a few months ago, they seem to be undergoing some sort of technical difficulty...


Presumably DafT will be using exactly the same form of words within a matter of weeks?

Just fancy that!

Telegrammed by our International Correspondent
Rail Professional's October issue is just out.

And two exciting articles catch the Eye's eye.

On page 10 NR unveils plans for future capacity needs in the North and Midlands:

Dyan Crowther, route director for Network Rail, said: "Demand for rail travel has grown significantly over the last decade, and while this success is to be welcomed, it brings with it the challenge of meeting this demand..."

Whilst on page 37, beneath the headline Great Western: Changes afoot?, we discover:

Route director Chris Rayner says: "Demand for rail travel has grown significantly over the last decade and, while this success is welcomed, it brings with it the challenges of meeting this demand."

Has NR's communications team been to the Labour Party school of (fill in name here) constituency press release writing?

Had beer been taken?

EVENTS
Date	Time	Co	Description
14/09	1255	NR	Port Talbot Panel advise that driver of 1B20 has reported members of a stag party jumping out of the train (via the vestibule windows) whilst it was stood at PT3029 signal (due to the Pyle "body" incident which turned out to be a cardboard cut out of Bart Simpson) and walking back towards Bridgend station. BTP advised (ref. 217). MOM and LOM ETA 15 minutes. All trains on stop. Train Manager pulled the comm. cord and gave the descriptions of the stag party as 3 Incredible Hulks, 2 Spiderman, 2 Supermen, 1 Fred Flintstone and a 118 Man.
14/09	1312	NR	Normal working resumed after BTP have rounded up the stag party and escorted them off railway property.

Nexus concession

***Announcement on the Nexus Concession due out at 16:30 today***

UPDATE: Shortlist announced:

DB Regio Tyne and Wear Limited and Metro (In House Bid)

The two bidders will now be asked to revise and confirm their detailed tenders.

A single preferred bidder is expected to be named by Nexus in January 2010 ahead of the concession start date.
.

Standard to be freesheet

***The Evening Standard is to be given away free from October 12***

Pamphlet of ill omen

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
Lord knows how long it took for the Agglomeration of Totally Obstreperous Cats (ATOC) to agree the text for its 'Passenger Rail the way forward' pamphlet.

So a tip of the bowler to Michael Roberts for his cat-herding skills - but it really is industrial strength tosh, not least in confusing subsidies and grants with investment.

And is it really a good idea to boast about operating from more places than 'Tesco or McDonalds' and then claiming that 'over 80% of you are satisfied with our services'?

If 20% of Tesco or McDonalds' customers were dissatisfied with their services managerial heads would roll.

And guess what?

The £5.4bn 'invested' annually by the public sector in the railways represents only 1% of total public spending and 'must remain a priority to maintain service levels'.

Well no shit Sherlock!

UPDATE: This just in from J Alfred Prufrock...

And this egregious lobbying document has the nerve to call for non-executive directors and members of Network Rail to play a 'stronger role' in challenging the organisation's senior management.

If the TOCs were industry members they could have been calling the Network Rail board to account with informed rigour for the last five years.

Reform is long overdue.

(Shome mishtake shurley! Aren't TOC's already NR Public Members? Ed)

UPDATE: This from Chionanthus virginicus

Come on FC

Shurley even your Ed knows that several TOC's ARE "Industry Members" of NR.

No bonus for him this year then?

UPDATE: This from J Alfred Prufrock

Apologies to the FC for not asking him to set my comment in Heavy Irony Bold type face.

Still, to the virginicus all things are pure.

UPDATE: This from NR's Internet Rapid Rebuttal Unit...

There appears seems to be some confusion about the difference between 'public' and 'industry' members:

Network Rail has two general classes of membership:

Public Members are drawn from the public.

Industry Members are made up of certain rail industry companies (principally the passenger and freight train operating companies and some rail contractor companies), who are automatically eligible to be Members of Network Rail upon meeting certain criteria.

More info here.

UPDATE: This also from NR's Internet Rapid Rebuttal Unit...

PS Here is the current list of Network Rail members

UPDATE: This from our International Correspondent...

Under the cover of “promoting rail” ATOC seems determined to prod the Treasury with a pointed stick....

To quote...

• Those who seek renationalisation are trying to recall a golden age of British Rail that never existed.
• Last year, 1.27 billion journeys were made on Britain’s railways, up by 59.2% since 1996
• You pay an average of just £4.71 each time you use us
• 80% of passengers travel on discounted tickets
• The £5.4bn invested annually by the public sector on rail represents less than 1% of total public spending

Er, that’ll be about £60 billion since 1996.

More in 13 years than BR got in the years 1947 – 1996 – the “golden age that never existed”.

According to my back of the fag packet calculation, growth since 1996 amounts to 0.5 billion journeys.

The current level of investment (subsidy) amounts to £4 billion per annum more than the mythical golden age, so that’s an extra £8 from the taxpayer per journey to generate growth revenue of £4.71 per head and 80% of those sales had to be discounted...

Nice work if you can get it. Trebles all round?

Advenza news

Anything running today?

Thought not.

Harris - Normal service to resume shortly

RAIL head honcho Nigel Harris assures Eye that normal blogging will resume shortly.

Recent disruption, we are told, has been due to annual leave, National Rail Awards, staff holidays and sorting out The Scottish Question!

Eye can't wait for the latest issue of the magazine!

There was an Angel, an Abbott and a Nomad...

This from nebusiness.co.uk...


LEADING rail industry operator Haydn Abbott has joined the board of Newcastle vehicle communications specialist Nomad Digital.

There has to be a joke in this somewhere...

Adonis "I will not serve in a Tory Government"

Lord Adonis appeared on the BBC's Daily Politics show yesterday.

To view Andrew Neil enjoying the sound of his own voice click here.

When the Noble Lord managed to get a word in edge-ways there were two salient quotes:

1. “Given that life expectancy is increasing, many people will get the chance to travel on the new high speed line”. Note to rolling stock manufacturers - lots of Priority Seating required.

2. "I will not serve in a Conservative Government."

Does being Chairman of HS2 count as a political appointment?

If it does then Rowlands has well and truly nailed his colours to the mast.

Captain Deltic - looking for a way out! Shocker

Via the wonders of MMS this from Captain Deltic...


Help! shouts Captain D.

I'm trapped on the refurbished Platform 6 at Derby and someone has forgotten the Way Out signs.

UPDATE: This from a Mr Malins...

Here it is, but there's a pesky ticket barrier in the way!


All part of the Stagecoach plan to make travel difficult.

Lee stars in Return of the Dragon?

Good news for media in the South East!

Uber-PR, Jane Lee, is to return to the industry as Southern's PR supremo.

Eye hopes Ms Lee will forgive the use of her namesake's movie title...

UPDATE: Captain Deltic shares his favourite Jane Lee story.

A few years ago a car''s steering failed and it ran into Jane.

Surprisingly the car didn't come off worse and Jane was taken to hospital with a broken arm.

In casualty the doctor was about to cut away Jane's fashionable leather jacket to assess the damage.

'Cut this coat and you're a dead man' growled the patient. The jacket remained intact.

Welcome back!

RMT voices safety concerns

This from the RMT...

RAIL UNION RMT today launched a confidential email hotline for members amid growing concerns over planned maintenance cuts by Network Rail which have put over 2500 – nearly 20% of the total workforce – at risk.

Today, all RMT Network Rail maintenance members have been sent by text and email details of a confidential email address where they can feed through local details of the impact of the cuts the length and breadth of the UK.

Get ready for a Winter of Discontent.

UPDATE: This just in from Network Rail...

May I gently remind the RMT that there is already an independent safety body (CIRAS) that maintains a confidential hotline for anyone who has rail safety concerns:

They can be contacted online, by Freephone (0800 4 101 101), by text (07507 285887 - standard text rates apply) or in writing at Freepost CIRAS.

Spot the Operator #5

This one with a bowler tip to Bushy...

Using your skill and judgment can you identify this well known musical Railway Operator?


And for a bonus point can you suggest what she is singing?

Answers please on a postcard to Northern Rail...

2009 Railway Garden Competition #XXVIII

This just in from a Mr Fergie-Lee...

Pictured is Malton, in the delightful district of Ryedale in North Yorkshire (of Calendar Girls fame); a station with just one platform face, a signalbox that looks like it was built by King John and a café that serves the best vegetarian quiche this side of Didsbury.

However, it is a shame that passengers to such a fine market town have to contemplate this screen of crappy vegetation whilst waiting for their train to York or Scarborough.


While the station buildings have been sensitively modernised, only the coming of Autumn will damp down the usual collection of weeds in the six foot, while the screen of scrubby silver birch trees just serves to show that if it isn't covered by a franchise commitment, nobody gives a monkey's.

What would Helen Mirren say?

UPDATE: This from a Mr Rodgers...

I suspect that Helen Mirren would have very little to say!

Yes, Malton is in Ryedale (District Council) but this is not the same place as where 'Calendar Girls' was set which was filmed in and around Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales, a mere 60+ miles away albeit in Yorkshire.

Mind you at least your contributor has also been caught without his clothes on (so to speak).