Hulleys’ Closure - My Thoughts
5 months ago
Monday, 7 December 2009
Southern abolishes 'Boxing Day' bank holiday - Official
This just in from Sussex Driver...
Southern are being a bit naughty and refusing to recognise the 28th Dec as a Bank Holiday and so the brothers aren't best pleased.
Cue a ballot for industrial action... and the results from ASLEF (633 Votes Cast)...
Yes 94.8%
No 5.2%
Big Bob is also balloting his members over the same issue.
Happy Christmas!
Perhaps cost conscious Capt Permatan is merely being careful, having just splashed out on a brand new Aston Martin and all?
Cheeky Merseyrail slips one in!
This from Rudi over at Merseyrail...
Our walk-on fares aren't quite the same level as those for "Newquay to Kyle of Lochalsh" but then your whole family can travel with us for a Fiver!
During December up to two adults and three children can travel anywhere on Merseyrail's Northern or Wirral lines for only £5 on any Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday after 15:00hrs.
This great offer will be valid until 30th December 2009. For more details, ring our customer relations team on 0151 702 2071 or ask a member of staff.
And there is free parking at our stations too...
If you're travelling to Merseyside over the Christmas period why not take up Rudi's seasonal suggestion.
Not only is the train fast, cheap and easy, it's also less likely to be jacked up on bricks when you want to go home.
Arriva brings together staff and passengers
Exciting news from Arriva Cross Country
Judging by traincrew announcements aboard an XC service to Edinburgh this morning the introduction of new catering rosters has not gone well.
Parched and starving passengers certainly shared this view.
DfT cancels talk on how to order new trains
Telegrammed by the Archer
Sad news from the Derby Railway Engineering Society.
A planned lecture on how to order new trains was threatened with cancellation when the booked DfT speaker unexpectedly withdrew.
Eye cannot imagine why.
However, good news.
Apparently some chap called Wormsley (subs - please chk spelling) from an outfit called Portaloo (ditto) has manfully stepped into the breach.
What a shame that DRES members will now have to listen to someone from an organisation with no experience of succesfully introducing new trains (shurley shome mishtake. Ed)
UPDATE: This from our man at 222 Marylebone Road...
I understand that this chap Malmsey works for a ROSCO, so he must be well placed to lecture on DfT Rail's procedures for not ordering trains while spending massive sums of money on consultants.
No doubt balance will be maintained by your friendly local rolling stock consultancy, which is receiving squillions for helping with the late running Thameslink trains procurement and will no doubt be there in force to defend its client?
UPDATE: This from a Mr Walmsley...
I think you maybe referring to a talk on DfT procurement that was due to take place in Derby tomorrow.
Unfortunately the advertised speaker has been called away on family business (so no jokes there).
The funny bit is who is standing in – me!
I will be talking about new DMUs but I can’t really imagine not referring to the previous subject just a tiny little bit...
Ian's talk on 'New DMUs – Class 172 Turbostars & Parry People Movers' will take place at 19:00 tomorrow (8th December) at the Derby Conference Centre, London Road, Derby.
Germans resolve National Train shortage
Whilst our beloved Department for Transport vacillates over new rolling stock orders, our Teutonic friends have solved the problem.
This from the Police Oracle...
The six-seater train - made out of garden furniture and salvaged train parts - was powered by an electric motor and even had its own refreshments car in the shape of a crate of beer.
Vorsprung durch technik as they used to say.
UPDATE: This from a Mr Fergy-Lee...
Here at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, we have been providing innovative transport solutions for over half a decade! Please see attached.
‘Muriel 2’ was our first piece of motive power and still exists somewhere in our extensive fleet. It is a 1-A petrol electric and is capable of several miles per hour.
Frankly, anything above a crawl and you feel very close to God…
Sunday, 6 December 2009
God bothering in Advent
This from The Railway Magazine...
A website promoting Christmas Carol services across the network can be found at railwaycarols.co.uk
Meanwhile Railnews invites railway staff to attend:
The Transport Benevolent Fund rail staff carol service at 12:30 on Wednesday 16th December at St Mary's Somers Town, Eversholt Street, near Euston Station (NW1 IBN).
Carols will be lead by the London Transport Choir and the readers are Len Porter, Arthur Leathley, Roger Ford, Tom Pulford, Sim Harris and Kevin Groves (if that isn't enough there are mince pies and refreshments after the service).
No tickets required, just turn up.
This for those unable to make it...
The Fact Compiler looks forward to meeting one or two Eye readers on the 16th...
Saturday, 5 December 2009
Royal visit to Workington North at speed
Forget London to Brighton in two minutes!
Here, courtesy of Network Rail, is the building of the emergency station at Workington North in just one minute and 43 seconds.
Apparently you can also see the visit of our future Sovereign at around the 49th second.
A very good effort!
And Eye congratulates all involved.
But can it be long before Messrs Hall and Green complain about the lack of a coffee shop?
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Nexus update - DB uber Nexus...
This from the Railway Gazette...
Nexus named Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Regio (Tyne and Wear) Ltd as preferred bidder for a contract to operate the Tyne & Wear Metro on December 3.
Willkommen!
Chiltern rejects "streamlined fares"
This just in from Hymnody...
As Eye has already noticed, NFM05 content has been uploaded to "The Manual" earlier in the week.
One you may have missed, however, is a fare with a massive 46% increase!
The 1st Anytime Day Single from London Terminals to Banbury (and vv), priced by Chiltern, is increasing from £44.50 to £65.00.
Similarly, the 1st Anytime Day Return is increasing from £89.00 to a whopping £130.00!
At present, the only way to make use of 1st Class is to travel from Paddington via Reading.
But from the December timetable change it will also, of course, be valid on Wrexham and Shropshire services from London Marylebone, which will be making "full calls" at Banbury and Leamington Spa.
Probably best not to tell Lord Adonis, who used Tuesday's Grauniad to praise Open Access "steamlined fares".
UPDATE: This from Central User...
I wonder whether the justification for this is that 1st includes a sit-down cooked meal?
Will DafT's updated Rolling Stock Plan ever appear
This written answer given on the 2nd December by Moley...
David Ruffley (- Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Bury St Edmunds, Conservative)
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the average age of rolling stock used on the Norwich to London railway line was during (a) 2007, (b) 2008 and (c) to date in 2009.
Chris Mole (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Ipswich, Labour)
The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested in relation to the average age of rolling stock used on the Norwich to London railway line.
The Eye is still struggling to understand how the Department can produce a meaningful Rolling Stock Plan if they don't have access to such basic data.
As regular Eye readers will be aware Ministers have been assuring Parliament that such a thing will be published in the "Autumn".
As it is now winter perhaps Marsham Street has finally admitted it's just not up to the task?
UPDATE:
Just thought I'd pause from welding up a Pacer underframe to point out the DfT Rail doesn't need to know the age of rolling stock because it is assumed that all ex-BR stock will run forever.
UPDATE: This from J Alfred Prufrock...
The Autumn ends with the winter Equinox, which falls on 21 December.
Mr Mole has also said that the Plan is proving to be a major challenge and he hopes to get it out by Christmas, which this year falls on 25th December...
But note that he did not say Autumn of which year.
UPDATE: This from Trailer Second...
Captain Deltic welding a Pacer underframe?
Their underframes will outlast us all.
In fact the MOD want them for the next version of the AFV, expected to be built by a "British led Consortium" of Krupp, Mitsubishi and Fiat...
UPDATE: This via North Pole depot...
Every year my delivery Plan is a challenge, but I usually manage to achieve it on the night.
However this year I have had to find a new piece of "sliding stock" myself.
Despite promises of a re-worked underframe from a "surplus" Oldham Loop unit (thanks for trying Captain D!), I have had to resort to a short term lease arrangement on a flatrol from a Heritage Line in return for some guest appearances before the big night itself... as if I didn't have enough to do.
So tell DafT they'll be very lucky to get any Plan in their stockings from me!
Père Noel
Gare du Pôle Nord
Lord Adonis plays the Fat Controller with SLC2
Good news for all those upset by the proposed SCL2 timetable due to be introduced on the East Coast Main Line in December 2010.
The new timetable was due to be signed off by the ORR in the next couple of weeks.
Alas.
Word reaches the Eye that no less a figure than Lord Adonis is now taking a close personal interest in its provisions.
Indeed, he has shredded the latest version saying it was "not good enough" and told all involved to go back to the drawing board and deliver a timetable with a sub 4hr Edinburgh to London journey time.
Presumably the Office of Rail Regulation will wish to prove its independence by standing firm against such blatant political interference?
UPDATE: This from Ithuriel...
Lord Adonis does indeed want a sub-4hr London-Edinburgh headline journey time.
| Current journey times | |||
| Journey times | Fastest | Slowest | Average |
| | | | |
| Edinburgh-Aberdeen | | | |
| London-Aberdeen | | | |
| Indicative future Super Express journey times | |||
| Journey times | Fastest | Slowest | Average |
| London-Edinburgh | | | |
| Edinburgh-Aberdeen | | | |
| London-Aberdeen | | | |
So the above table, released in a written answer by Moley won't go down well.
ATOC - photography not a security concern - Official
Exciting news from ATOC!
According to Railnews...
A new online guide to National Rail has been launched by the Association of Train Operating Companies to help passengers, especially those with disabilities, to find their way round more than 2500 stations. The innovation, including 14,000 web pages and interactive maps as well as 700,000 photographs, is said to be a world first.
Indeed.
And what a wonderful on-line resource for passengers... or indeed those with less benign intentions.
With this in mind Eye expects an immediate end to stories of TOC jobsworths preventing photography on stations for spurious 'security' reasons!
UPDATE: This from Simon...
While reluctant to knock what is a brilliant idea and an incredibly useful resource, I was rather amused to note that the guide to Southampton Airport Parkway makes no mention of the brand new covered footbridge complete with lifts, forming the only means of access between the platforms for those with mobility problems.
A little embarrassing as these facilities were opened to great fanfare by Minister Chris Mole only today.
This emphasises the point that ATOC will have to keep the new site bang up to date if it is to be more of a help than a hindrance.
UPDATE: This from consultancy the mhdpartnership via Twitter...
That ATOC site is shocking and just proves how archaic our rail industry is!
There is a critique on our blog.
Nexus concession to be announced today
***Winner of the Nexus concession expected to be announced at 17:00 today***
Lookalike - We can rebrand him, we have the technology...
With a bowler tip to the RMT whose cheeky flyers were distributed outside the NR Board meeting yesterday...
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Only the best for NR's well padded directors!
Much excitement amongst the brothers.
The RMT has discovered that Network Rail is holding tomorrow's board meeting at the tres-piss-elegant Langham Hotel.
Obviously the "arrogant" infrastructure owner's brand new King's Place headquarters doesn't have a room large enough to squeeze in all those inflated egos and their wallets.
Meanwhile, back on planet earth, 1500 essential safety maintenance staff are facing redundancy as NR makes swinging cuts to maintenance budgets.
No matter.
NR's well padded board members have standards to maintain (if not infrastructure) as can be seen from the picture below, taken just before their last meeting.
However, mindful of the need to make economies, Eye wonders if NR's Chief Executive might like to pick up the tab for tomorrow's Langham jolly from his own £1,244,000 annual package?
UPDATE: This from Network Rail's Internet Rapid Rebuttal Unit...
This is not just a board meeting but a meeting for which over 100 of our members have been invited. And, no, our office at King's Place cannot accommodate a meeting of that size. Nobody from Network Rail is actually staying overnight at the hotel, we simply are using for a meeting.
We regularly have meetings with our members at locations all over the country and often use hotels. Mr Crow, before he allowed to let his membership lapse, used to be invited to these meetings.
Network Rail is not going to take any lessons from the RMT in hotel booking policy - recent RMT conferences have been held in Douglas, Isle of Man and Dublin.
Perhaps Mr Crow should stick to his comedy act. Viewers of HIGNFY will agree it needs some work.
The politics of thefactcompiler continue to puzzle this reader - one minute minor public school right-wing reactionary and the next a sort of anarcho-Poujadism!!!
UPDATE: This from 5741 Duck...
Is the Fact Compiler into some form of strange deviancy?
At best "swinging cuts" sound delightfully random and temporary.
We must be happy for the people affected that the cuts aren't also swingeing.
UPDATE: This just in from our man at 222 Marylebone Road...
Clearly new Chairman Rick Haythornthwaite is working on a shock and awe approach to his Public Members.
The Langham describes itself as "a veritable icon among London hotels, offering impeccably luxurious surroundings on Regent Street".
The ancien regime policy of schmoozing the public members to death amidst awe-inspiring luxury is now combined with the shock of a rolling information barrage include two meetings a year with Mr Angry.
UPDATE: This from a Mr Saltaire...
So Network Rail claims there was insufficient space at King's Place to host 100 Public Members and attendant NR schmoozers.
Could this be the same King's Place where Steer Davies Gleave recently held its High Speed Rail Summit, attended by over 200 enthusiastic railway industry people and one Secretary of State?
I think we should be told!
UPDATE: This, unbelievably, from former Prime Minister Tony Blair (allegedly Cherie, allegedly...)
Is that my old pardner President Bush sitting one away from the former head of the No 10 Policy Unit?
It was nice of Dubya to keep a seat for me. Shoulder to shoulder 'n' all that.
(Right. Stop this! It's now getting silly. Ed)
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