Head of East Coast Main Line on the wireless today

You and Yours on BBC Radio 4 today promises an interview with "the woman who has taken over the East Coast Main Line".

As Eye is unsure whether this refers to Elaine Holt or Karen Boswell he will be listening in.

Tune in at 12:00.

UPDATE: Elaine Holt confirms on-air that there are "no plans to take on any more franchises".

Looks like the Noble Lord's Cross Default threat has been relegated to the pi$$ and wind department.

UPDATE: This from a pedantic Chionanthus virginicus...

I don't wish to be pedantic but Ms Holt actually said

"...there are no plans from my perspective to take in any more train companies..." .

Perhaps there may be others who do have plans...???

It's jolly easy to be clever with Listen Again! Eye stands corrected.

A co-operative open access operator?

This from Rail-news.com...

Go! Co-operative www.go-now.coop, is gathering momentum in its aim to become the UK’s first co-operatively-owned Train Operating Company (TOC), and has appointed three new board members to take the organisation forward to operational stage.

Apparently the first route proposed "will enhance cross country connections in Somerset and Wiltshire".

Alas, as yet, there is no record of a track access application from the company on the ORR website.

Very strange.

UPDATE: This from Alex Lawrie, a Director of Go! Co-op...

Thanks for taking an interest - but as I'm sure you know, there is a lot of work to do before we are able to put in a track access application.

We need to get some credible demand forecasts, check the capacity on the the route, and form innumerable partnerships in order to satisfy the necessary requirements for railway operations.

I wouldn't want to raise expectations too high - but we have now cut our shortlist of possible routes to two, and the support of our founder members is enabling us to commission the detailed work they require.

We also have other public transport projects that we are pursuing in parallel.

Watch this space...

Sadiq says...

Via Twitter...

On 815, St Pancras- Nottingham. Cabinet is meeting there, 2pm. Using time before to continue my Bus tour (once off the train, smart alecs!)

At least Sadiq has a sense of humour.

Waverail promises the return of the slip-coach?

Exciting news from Upside-down Land

This courtesy of Cocky in the Colonies...

I thought you may be amused by this proposal that has been suggested to relieve Sydney's public transport problems.

Called Waverail it seems to operate on the following principles (click on the image to see the animated version)...


Some obvious questions appear to have been overlooked:

If you get on at one station and want to get off at the next, how are you supposed to get from one end of the train to the other in time?

How are you supposed to read your free newspaper in the morning when you have to keep moving forward to avoid being left behind?

A splendid effort none the less and one that will no doubt attract the interest of transport planners in our own dear DfT.

UPDATE: This from @sharpsharp via Twitter...

Walking down the train to get off is one thing. Walking up the train to stay on will be more of a problem. #WaveRail

Nobody elected Eurocrat

Lady Who-wot appointed to post of High Representative


She rose without trace.

Grand Central - you don't have to be md to work here...

The Fact Compiler has received a piece of PR puffery from Grand Central.

Their PR, the soi disant 'veteran observer', witters...

Charles Belcher joins Grand Central... he has been Managing Director of a number of Train Operating Companies...

Indeed.

So now there's three former TOC MD's at the open access operator (Messrs Clift, Worrell and now Belcher).

If they get a couple more they could have a train each!

Is there a collective noun for such a proliferation?

Beardie Rail aims to sweep the board

Telegrammed by the Archer
Not content with a top ten hit in Tuesday’s mini pilgrimage, Virgin ticketing staff at Preston station will join colleagues from another four stations tomorrow and go on strike.

Preston clearly has the #1 spot in mind and the other four stations are presumably keen to take a slice of the (as yet un-funded) £50m pie.

At this rate Virgin will end up with nine of the top ten worst stations, a remarkable achievement, well worthy of the £45m investment prize.

And not before time, given the chronic under investment on WCML infrastructure over the last few years. (shome mishtake shurley. Ed)

UPDATE: This from BBCbusiness via Twitter...

A planned strike by Virgin Trains booking office staff at five mainline stations on Friday is called off after a legal challenge by the company.

Sadiq says...

Via Twitter...

At Kings Cross about to catch train to Darlington as part of my Bus tour. Please do visit DfT website if you have ideas where I should go..

Eye hopes Sadiq makes it to Darlington safely for the next stage of his Pilgrimage of Grimace.

It might make up for the no show at the recent UK Bus Awards...

Pilgrimage of Grice sets ministerial precedent

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
Exciting news from Labour Party HQ in Victoria Street!

Eye understands that following the success of Transport secretary Lord Adonis' whirlwind one-day whistle stop tour of England's 10 worst stations in Labour constituencies, the party's Election 'Grid' now includes the following:

Andy Burnam, Secretary of State for Health to visit the top 10 hospitals in Labour constituencies with the worst post operation fatality rate (Mode: Air Ambulance).

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families to visit the top 10 schools in Labour constituencies with the worst GCSE results (Mode: First Yellow school buses).

Baron Mandelson of Foy in the county of Herefordshire and Hartlepool in the county of Durham, First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills, Minister of Information, Lord President of the Council (cont. p94) to visit the top 10 car factories in Labour constituencies making the most unreliable/any cars (Mode: Ministerial Jag)

With friends like these...

Aslef gives Lilley a good kicking

Oh dear!

Peter Lilley, the MP for Harpenden, has upset the brothers by criticising FCC ‘militants taking coordinated action to prevent trains running’.

Arkwright Road's finest don't pull any punches!

The union is pleased that Peter Lilley is not having to suffer like his constituents. This is because in 2007/08 he claimed the full Parliamentary £23,083 ‘second homes’ allowance – which is understandable as otherwise the train journey from his constituency is either a whopping 27 minutes from Harpenden to London or a massive 34 minutes from Hitchen. A rail season ticket would have cost the taxpayer £3,640.

There's more...

Or maybe (Lilley)... just doesn’t like trains. Last year he claimed £2,353 in car mileage. But at least we know Peter drove on sensible routes, as he claimed £109.94 for a Tom-Tom sat nav - with western Europe included.

Ouch!

But you know, they sort of have a point...

St Pancras Oecumenical

Guido claims Pilgrimage of Pork

Telegrammed by Lobby Fodder
So Guido's not convinced about yesterday's Pilgrimage of Grice, detecting the sulpherous whiff of Porkbarrel politics.

This interesting list from Guido's blog:

• Manchester Victoria – Tony Lloyd LAB
• Clapham Junction – Martin Linton LAB
• Barking – Margaret Hodge LAB
• Warrington Bank Quay – Helen Southworth LAB
• Preston – Mark Hendrick LAB
• Wigan North Western – Neil Turner LAB
• Luton - Margaret Moran LAB
• Liverpool Central – Louise Ellman LAB
• Stockport – Ann Coffey LAB
• Crewe – Edward Timpson CON

Of course yesterday's jolly round the network had little to do with the top ten worst stations and rather more to do with what could be reached in a day's travel from London.

Which may explain why five of the 10 "worst" stations the Noble Lord visited actually belong to Virgin.

As the total number of Beardie Rail run stations is just 17 this means that roughly one third of them are substandard. Perhaps more deserving of a bollocking than a bung?

To be fair none of the stations selected were truly representative of Britain's worst.

Aides to the Noble Lord were seen imploring various strange deities to open the heavens as the media pack descended on Manchester Victoria - as apart from a leaky roof the station is more down at heel than truly grotty.

Meanwhile the magical figure of £50m to tart up the ten stations is already in question.

In his blog Adonis claimed the money would come from Network Rail, a suggestion that was quickly denied by the infrastructure controller.

So yesterday was a triumph of spin over substance (again). Eye salutes all involved.

UPDATE: This just in from Secret Squirrel...

I hear Stockport was added at the very last minute at the insistence of the Noble Lord.

Interesting to see whether, when HS2 reports, the route it proposes will scythe through Tory constituencies in the Chilterns (without stopping of course)...

Adonis leaves Marsham Street standing

Poor old DafT really haven't got their heads round Social Media yet.

The following two twitter posts have just emerged from slumbering Marsham Street.


Almost 12 hours after Lord Adonis started blogging his Pilgrimage of Grice.

Hacks set agenda on Pilgrimage of Grice - Official

The Noble Lord reveals the following on his blog...

I've just been speaking on the train to rail journalists Roger Ford and Phil Haig - who know the rail industry backwards.

Can it be long before Captain Deltic's 'InterCity Manifesto' receives the Adonis Imprimatur?

First class travel for third class education?

Lord Adonis must be rejoicing that he is no longer in the Department for Education and Skills.

The LibDems are claiming that civil servants in the education sector have spent £10 million on first class rail fares over the last three years.

According to the website of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, shameless Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Diana Johnson MP claimed that education officials needed to travel first class to ensure they have enough peace and quiet to work during their journey.

Indeed.

Eye is uncertain if the peace and quiet is achieved by travelling first class or by not having to teach in the four schools that the £10m would have built.

Clear the line! - Priority given to the Noble Lord

Has Lord Adonis his own headcode?

Eye revealed yesterday that a spare train shadowed Adonis when he travelled to York on Saturday.

Now we hear that the Pendolino on which he is currently travelling to Stockport was routed past two local trains after a track circuit failure outside Crewe.

On the privatised railway all trains are equal but evidently some passengers are more equal than others!

UPDATE: This from Lobby Fodder...

Looks like Adonis will soon be doomed to having his oflactory system bombarded by the smell of fresh paint wherever on the network he goes.

Adonis blogs on latest Pilgrimage of Grice

Lord Adonis is blogging as he inspects shabby stations.

Updates are being posted here.

Whilst not quite up to the standard of Tom Harris MP or the twitterings of Sadiq Khan it's a noble effort (geddit!).

Number crunching - Ministerial cars and station investment

Amount to be spent by the Government "in the near future"on the 10 worst stations identified by the Stationers to Lord DafT Vader - £50 million.

Amount spent by Ministers in the last four years on ministerial cars and chauffeurs: £24 million.

Oyster to be valid on National Rail someday soon - Official

This from the BBC...

London commuters will be able to use pay-as-you-go Oyster cards on the city's suburban overland rail network by early next year, officials said.

The devil's in the detail - still no start date.

UPDATE: This from John Bull over at London Reconnections...

Official announcement is likely to happen next week - which is conveniently AFTER Mayor's Question time (tomorrow).

Means Boris doesn't have to answer awkward questions from his betters (Shawcross, Pidgeon etc.) on why he completely bottled it in the negotiations and allowed the TOCs to force Oyster Extension Permits on him.

Anyone lost a shunter?

This strange tale from Kris Ward over at the Middleton Railway...

Volunteers turning up at the Middleton Railway on Saturday morning were surprised to find an English Electric shunter in the car park.


We're not sure where it should have been delivered (possibly Hunslet Engine Co in the Midlands) but the shunter certainly had nothing to do with us (I gather putting your headboard on it isn't a legally binding claim).

It has been mentioned on various websites now and we are hoping someone will collect it before Wednesday otherwise it will really get in the way of a big shunt of workshop projects.

Have you misplaced a shunter. Alternatively can you give one a good home? If so contact the Middleton Railway...

UPDATE: This from Kris Ward...

The shunter was on its way to Hunslet Engine Co as we had guessed.

We have our shed in Hunslet, where as theirs is near Tamworth, hence the mistake.

I am sure we would gladly take in strays again, though ideally working ones on gala weekends :-)