Eye understands that ATOC anticipates making significant savings in December.
Apparently both Rentokil (cnuts) and Brand2Life (cnuts) are no longer on the Chrizzie Card List!
However, any savings may be outweighed by the bloody good dinner owed by ATOC's media machine to uber-fisker Ben Goldacre.
This just in from a Leading Railway Periodical...
Eye salutes NXEA for managing to end Berney Arms millennia of isolation from the Queen's highway.
It would appear that The Fact Compiler's contribution to last night's Rail Debate was not universally welcomed.
Grin!
This from Railnews...
THE rebranding of East Coast last November cost £634,842, of which taxpayers had to find £339,190, according to official figures.
What a fabulous use of public funds!
Eye salutes The Thin Controller, DafT and Directly Operated Railways for enriching the vinyl makers.
This from Network Rail's Internet Rapid Rebuttal Unit...
Click to enlarge...
This just in from Barry Spotter...
Nice to see that South West Trains are taking the security of their passengers seriously.
Not only are cameras on the "verboten" list but so apparently is writing things down!
This from The News:
Musician Tom Shaw was stunned when he was kicked off a train - for writing a list of songs.
I suppose the gentleman in question must be thanking his stars that his musical taste is middle of the road.
Megadeath's "Symphony of Destruction" would probably have involved imprisonment...
Get a grip Souter!
This from Bushy...
It seems the printed copies of the HS2 report have already run out!
And at £26 a pop Adonis must be over half way towards paying for the new line already!
Eye is in awe of the Noble Lord's fiscal acumen!
This just in from 62700...
Another pointless sign for your ongoing series, snapped (very badly) on an East Coast IC225 yesterday. 
Not that I make a habit of taking snapshots in toilets, you understand.
Telegrammed by Lord Burleigh the Lord Chancellor of England
Whilst the nation rushes to embrace The Thin Controller's vision of a High Speed Jerusalem, it would appear that recusant Old Believers still exist.
Here for instance is a new blog dedicated to renouncing the so called 'High Speed Heresy'.
Eye calls upon the Noble Lord to protect the True Religion and declare Anathema on these false prophets.
Can we also burn a couple at the stake like in the good old days? (This can't be right? Ed)
UPDATE: This from the Major...
The Major wonders if my Lord Burleigh had any particular couple in mind for burning.
Or would any Sid and Doris Bonkers suffice?
Lord Burleigh suggests that there are one or two candidates in the Department who might benefit from an Auto de fe.
UPDATE: This from Ibilola1...
Does Captain Deltic's support for a 4 track electrified 125mph Chiltern Line (Modern Railways, March 2010) make him a recusant Old Believer?
This from the BBC...
The French railway operator, SNCF, has mistakenly put a dramatic statement on its website saying more than 100 people had died in a train explosion.
It was only when journalists began flooding the railway operator's phone lines that the company realised there had been an enormous error.
Non merde Sherlock!
UPDATE: This from Leo Pink...
Why the fuss?
It happens here too.
Didn't DfT put out a press release last year saying it had appointed the preferred bidder for IEP?
UPDATE: This from a Mr Fenton...
I think you'll find that "no shit" translates as "rien de merde".
Picky picky picky!
Humble apologies, as the Frenchies omitted to say in 1944.
UPDATE: This from a clearly very angry 5741 Duck...
That comment is completely out of order!
What happened at quarter to eight stays at quarter to eight.
This from @Andrew_Tinkler, CEO of Stobart Group, via Twitter...
Just starting using Twitter. I think it will be useful to let people know what's going on at Stobart Group.
Would that some railway CEOs and MDs did the same!
UPDATE: This from Steady Eddie...
Isn't it a bit 20th Century using his own name?
Why not two girls' names like the lorries?
Nothing yet...
...to this story on Guido's blog:
Transport Minister Sadiq Khan is in hot water this afternoon after it has been revealed that he lied to the press and to the Parliamentary authorities.
Ooops!
UPDATE: This from Steve Strong...
Will just one of these bent MPs do the honourable thing and resign?
Does anyone at Network Rail bother listening to their Chairman?
In November Rick Haythornthwaite admitted that he "heard the word 'arrogant' a lot" when listening to views of NR.
Indeed.
So what are we to make of the following?
NR's recently published Great Western RUS contains a suggestion that the former Cheltenham Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon route might be reopened.
Splendid news!
But what is this?
Alas!
Part of the route has already been reopened and is in regular use!
This from Gloucestshire.co.uk...
Volunteers from Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (GWR), which operates steam trains on a section of the Honeybourne Line between Cheltenham Racecourse and Toddington, say they were not consulted by Network Rail before the restoration proposals were included in its route utilisation strategy.
Of course NR is not alone in riding rough shod over heritage lines.
ATOC was guilty of the same offence back in June last year.
Surely basic good manners would have avoided NR falling into the same trap?
UPDATE: This from Richard...
I think you need to look who's asking for this reopening.
If you look through the submissions to the consultation, then the "demand" actually comes from one Rt Hon D. Cameron (MP for Witney, which of course encompasses the eastern end of the Cotswold Line). He appears to have written, at the behest of a constituent, a slightly confused letter suggesting that Honeybourne-Stratford should be considered for reopening.
Network Rail may not think this is a remotely plausible scheme, but I presume self-preservation dictates that when the probable next Prime Minister suggests something, you have to at least pay it lip service.
Eye has in the past been a little critical of The Thin Controller.
But this is as nothing to the fury that will be directed against the Noble Lord for having the temerity to criticise UNITE and its members for threatening industrial action over Easter.
On Sunday Lord Adonis opined:
"Let's be absolutely clear the stakes are incredibly high in this strike and I absolutely deplore the strike,"
"It's totally unjustified, this strike, on the merits of the issues at stake, and I do call on the union to engage constructively with the company."
See the 'forces of hell' muster here, here and here.
The next big question is will Adonis dare to open a second front against the brothers by laying into the RMT and TSSA, who are also threatening to paralyse Easter travel on the railways?
UPDATE: This from Lobby Fodder...
It looks as if Adonis is getting his retaliation in first.
The plans for a super new 10 platform HS2 station at Euston will see TSSA's HQ demolished!
UPDATE: This from Sir Humphrey Beeching...
As the Clunking Fist backed Lord Adonis on BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour today, it is pretty safe to assume that the 'forces of hell' have not yet been unleashed...
UPDATE: This from Biggles...
TSSA's head office gets reduced to rubble but ASLEF retains its Branch Office (The Exmouth Arms) which miraculously looks set to escape the bulldozers!
Yet further proof that ASLEF stands head and shoulders above the rest.
This from the Civil Aviation Authority...
CAA STATISTICS show last year’s fall in passenger numbers was biggest since the Second World War
This from the Commuter...
Last year Eye ran a piece about John McCririck helping XC promote their services to the Cheltenham Festival.
Well he's back again.
And this time there is a highly professional video making use of some top quality Powerpoint effects.
Poor old John - he looks as shaky as the franchise he is promoting.
UPDATE: This from Steve Strong...
Perhaps Arriva should would have been better spending McCririck's fee on installing WiFi across its fleets, as it promised when it won the franchise.
According to the shaky TOC this should have been completed by 11th November 2009 (two years into the franchise).
Good to see that Department for Transport is on the case with this clear breach of a franchise commitment.
Those nice people over at the Railway Herald organised a surprise Birthday Party for Brian Morrison yesterday. 
Although Brian reached the tender age of 80 last week, his big-do was held on Saturday at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.
Guests from the railway industry, press, photographic and ten-pin bowling worlds marked the occasion in some style.
Although absences, without due apologies, were duly noted.
Anyone remember that crap from Rentokil about cockroaches on trains?
Well Ben Goldacre has fisked the story.
As a consequence Rentokil snuck out the following half arsed apology last night:
All of which means that, in our experience, it is very rare to find heavily infested buses, trains or other forms of transport in the UK. Standards will vary around the world but UK standards are very high...
We’re really sorry that the numbers that appeared in the media were wrong and misleading and we’ve put in place a number of measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Cnuts.
UPDATE: This from Peezedtee...
So, I've left a message on the Rentokil blog, expressing my confidence that Rentokil will now be paying large compensation to train and bus companies for telling complete lies that will have damaged their businesses.
My comment is "awaiting moderation".
UPDATE: From Peezedtee on Sunday evening...
The Rentokil blog has now published my comment, along with 48 others, every single one extremely critical of their policy of putting our barefaced fibs.
This seems to have turned into a major PR disaster for Rentokil.
This from the Pink 'Un...
Tim O'Toole has held preliminary discussions with Tube Lines about the possibility of becoming its chief executive.
Gosh!
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