Labour abandons previous transport pledges?

Like her namesake Eddie, Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary is going downhill fast!

This from Maria the Eagle, in the Evening Standard...

"The Tory-led government has delayed the completion of vital rail projects including Crossrail and Thameslink in London, cut new carriages planned by Labour and hit commuters with massive fare increases.

"At the same time they plan to only spend £750million of the £17.5billion cost of the proposed new high-speed line to Birmingham. Labour will next month launch a root and branch review of our transport policy with nothing ruled in or out.

"It would be irresponsible to make cast-iron spending commitments for beyond 2015 before we have listened to the public and come to conclusions about our future priorities."

Where is the Noble Lord when you need him?

UPDATE: This from Captain Deltic...

Could you avoid repeating Maria the Eagle's utterances on new train orders as it raises my blood pressure?

The 1300 HLOS vehicles promised in the 2007 White Paper shrank relentlessly under the last administration, to the point that the Coalition inherited live bids for only a handful of EMUs for London Midland and the putative Manchester Scotland Franchise which, come to think of it, sounds more like an Alliance Rail proposal than Government Policy.

Meanwhile 670 days and counting!

UPDATE: This from the Worlds Greatest Living Transport Correspondent...

Shameless bit of self-marketing...

I’m organising one of my Wolmar Transport Lunches on March 7th with Ms Eagle, where leading lights of the industry can try to influence her thinking!

Details from me at christian.wolmar@gmail.com

January visitors to Railway Eye

In January Railway Eye received 40,696 visits from 13,767 unique visitors.

According to Google Analytics you viewed 52,690 splenetic utterances in total.

Thank you.

NR - Open, transparent, accountable, responsive?

David Higgins starts as Network Rail's new CEO today.


This from the man himself...

“l also want people to associate these words with Network Rail: Open. Transparent. Accountable. Responsive."

Bless.

A big Eye welcome to Huggable Higgins!

More piccies of celebrity loco 70012 'Powerfall'

These fine images from Captain Ahab...




Freightliner has apparently denied that this is a design mod in preparation for returning traffic to the Cromford and High Peak Railway.

DB continues to view GB as second class market

This by way of a gratuitous dig at the WSMR closing, Class 66 exporting and WiFi avoiding Deutsche Reichsbahn...

In a major boost for rail passengers National Express East Anglia (NXEA) is to fully introduce wi-fi facilities on its Norwich to London intercity service from 1 February. The completed initiative will be formally launched by key representatives from the region’s business community on an NXEA intercity service on Tuesday 1 February.

Meanwhile, still nothing from Arriva Cross Country on when it might meet its franchise obligations...

Now Chinese lobby to supply trains to UK

As usual, Eye is bang on the nail!

This posted by our columnist, The Marsham Street Observer, on Wednesday the 19th January...

The place [Marsham Street] is awash with ministers, ambassadors and plenipotentiaries from France, Germany, Spain, China, and Korea all vying to lay their manufacturers plans for an HST successor before King Hammond.

This from yesterday's Sunday Times' Business Section...

China has launched a big charm offensive to win ministerial support for its plans to supply Britain with cut-price bullet trains to run on a second high-speed line.

Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese Ambassador to Britain, is understood to have met ministers to discuss the order for superfast trains

Where Eye leads, others follow!

Crow claims phone hacked

Exciting news from Crow Bar Bob!

Apparently the great man believes that his mobile phone may have been hacked, along with those of other really famous people.

This from the Evening Standard...

Lawyers acting for the general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union have written to the Metropolitan Police asking them to look into suspicions that Mr Crow's phone may have been hacked into between the year 2000 and the present day.

There may of course be another perfectly good explanation as to why nobody appears to have left a message for Bob over the last 10 years?

WSMRballs - Thought crime!

This from Steve Strong...

Does today's announcement mean that Adrian Shooter is the last BR Director to close an entire route?

Naughty!

Mary Grant to leave First Group

As predicted by Eye's slightly cryptic post yesterday Mary Grant is to depart First Group.

This from First's website:

Mary Grant, currently Managing Director Rail division and Interim Managing Director Bus division, has decided to leave the Company at the end of March 2011.

Mary has been with the Group since 2003 and was part of the rail refranchising team. She led the bid for, and subsequently became Managing Director of, the new ScotRail franchise. She was appointed Managing Director of the Group’s UK Rail division in May 2009 and given additional responsibility, on an interim basis, for UK Bus in June 2010.

So now you know.

DfT roads team drives freight off rail

This from Rose Hill...

After months of uncertainty, DFT has finally announced that the long running Freight Facilities Grant scheme has been axed.

Over the years, this scheme has helped to co-fund many rail freight developments, removing numerous lorries from the roads, reducing carbon, helping small businesses to grow and creating employment.

Sadly, these no longer appear to be Government priorities.

The budget for FFG was around £8m pa so this is hardly a major saving for a Department who has just announced £560m in the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, and is stumping up over a third of the £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund.

Perhaps the fact that rail freight grants are now part of Roads Directorate has some bearing on the matter.

Video nasty?

This from Widows Peak...

This surreal YouTube video has currently been viewed by nine people.



Would any Eye readers have a clue as to what on earth's going on?

UDATE: This from The Major...

Perhaps they are undercover policeman attempting to penetrate the Valenta Appreciation Society?

UPDATE: This from Leo Pink...

Or they might be publicising the pantomime that is Marsham Street?

WSMRballs - RMT

And this codswallop from Crow Bar Bob...

"This is a bitter blow to the UK rail industry and it is a scandal that a giant company like Deutsche Bahn can play fast and loose with our rail services in this way and then and cut run when they decide the profit margins aren't fat enough for their liking.

"The UK Government should now step in and nationalise the route to protect both the jobs and the popular Wrexham & Shropshire services and there should be a full inquiry into how this operation, set up with Welsh government and taxpayer support, has been ground into the dust by Deutsche Bahn. Public ownership would protect that public investment rather than allowing the private rail asset strippers to walk away from the wreckage."

Where to begin?

Knee-jerk Bob appears to confuse a thumping loss with a “fat profit margins”.

If the service was as “popular” as Bob believes then it wouldn’t be closing.

As for "nationalising" the route - Hellooooo. Earth to Bob. Come in Bob.

Do any of RMT's members actually believe any of this guff that is being spouted in their name?

WSMRballs - Beardie Rail

This tosh from Beardie Rail...

Virgin Trains to the rescue for stranded WSMR passengers

Virgin Trains has today confirmed that it will carry passengers who will be left stranded by the cancellation of all train services by open access train operator Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway (WSMR).

The announcement comes as German State Railway-backed WSMR said that it will cease operations at the end of this week. The last day of operations will be Friday 28 January 2011.

Would this be the same Virgin Trains that prevented WSMR calling at anywhere useful like Birmingham?

It surely is!

Wolmarballs - Wrexham and Shropshire

This from the Worlds Greatest Living Transport Correspondent, via the BBC...

ANALYSIS Rail expert and journalist Christian Wolmar

I'm afraid that it was always likely.

Originally this was set up by a rival company to Chiltern, which runs most of the services on that line, and eventually they both became owned by Deutsche Bahn, the German state railway.

So it was no longer really viable for Deutsche Bahn to be running services that were rival to its main franchise services.

So that's cleared that up then!

So. Farewell WSMR!

This from Chiltern chairman, Adrian Shooter...

It is with great regret that I am writing to tell you that we are intending to close the Wrexham & Shropshire railway company.

This has been a very difficult decision to take, but having thoroughly investigated all possible options, we feel there is no alternative but to cease operations

I am sure you are aware that the unprecedented economic environment has severely delayed the business’s move into profit. While we have worked extremely hard to increase passenger numbers, a loss of £2.8m was made in 2010 and it has been concluded that the potential for further changes to the company’s operations, including any synergy with Arriva Trains Wales, will not improve the financial position sufficiently, and there is no prospect of reaching profitability.

It is therefore intended that the service will cease on Friday 28th January 2011.

Any passengers who have already booked tickets for travel after this date will be offered alternative travel.

I must make it clear that Wrexham & Shropshire is not insolvent nor is it being placed in administration. The shareholders have ensured funding to ensure that all outstanding financial commitments can be met and all suppliers will be paid in full.

Alternative employment opportunities within the railway industry are being sought for employees, and all staff wages and full redundancy entitlements will be paid.

We are already seeking to find alternative employment within the railway industry for our staff.

We also intend to hold a recruitment fair at Wrexham on Tuesday 1st February.

Even though we are forced to close the business, we remain extremely proud of what we have achieved with Wrexham & Shropshire; with many stating that we set the standard for all other train companies to follow.

Our people are central to this and we believe they are some of the very best in the industry.

Their unfailing attention to detail and their sincere, personal interest in passengers has become the Wrexham & Shropshire way.

They are the reason we achieved 99% customer satisfaction in the National Passenger Survey of Autumn 2010, the highest ever recorded.

I would like to pay tribute to Andy Hamilton, Managing Director, and everyone in the Wrexham & Shropshire team.

UPDATE: This from today's Passenger Focus press release on the Autumn 2010 Passenger Satisfaction figures...

The highest ratings for overall satisfaction were achieved by Wrexham & Shropshire (96%) and Grand Central (95%). First Hull Trains, Heathrow Express and Merseyrail all had 93% of passengers satisfied.

Is this what is called 'going out with a bang'?

Slow news day - Official

Much noise amongst the railway chattering classes.

Apparently a number of key individuals are either very quiet or on the move!

The Fact Compiler particularly liked the suggestion from one wag that the new, improved, non-sexist Premier League has inspired a number of senior colleagues to apply for positions as 'linesmen'.

Eye thinks we should be told!

Byers and the riddle of the sands

Good news for rail passengers in the United Arab Emirates!

Former Transport Minister Stephen Byers is apparently providing his not inconsiderable skills to UAE's Union Railway, the company run by old mate Richard Bowker, which is tasked with building a 1,500 km network linking the seven Emirates.

Byers' role is unclear but Eye suspects that his experience will prove invaluable in keeping passengers on the move, should the project suffer any delays.

What could be more sensible than having 'a sort of cab for hire' close at hand?

Go-Ahead franchises to improve dramatically?

Good news for passengers on GoAhead's dire franchises.

This from StockMarketWire.com...

The bus and train company, Go-Ahead, has appointed Keith Down, formally Finance Director of pub group, JD Wetherspoon plc, as its new Group Finance Director.

He takes up his position in March.

At last!

Fall-Behind has finally managed to recruit a director with experience of running a piss-up in a brewery.

Network Rail spared FOI

This from the BBC's Martin Rosenbaum...

Lord McNally, the minister in charge of freedom of information policy, says he once tried to submit an FOI request himself. He submitted his application to Network Rail - only to be frustrated when informed that this government-created company falls outside the scope of the Freedom of Information Act.

Earlier this month his government announced plans to broaden the scope of FOI to additional bodies, including various private organisations with public functions.

But ironically this did not extend to Network Rail. Although both coalition parties pledged before the election that it should be covered, Lord McNally says they will now wait while the restructuring of the rail industry is under consideration.

Yet another broken promise from the ConDems.

No doubt the sighs of relief in King's Place will be audible all along York Way.

HS2 to be laid in record time through Yorkshire!

Dear Flabby Southerners

Apparently:

'Tony Beckwith at Ribblehead dines on cow pie and spinach and can do baton twirls with railway lines.

'Rumour has it he uses detonators to clear his sinuses' (but don't tell RSSB. Ed)

View this and weep!


And this


Slack renewals teams South of Watford (and in Lancashire) claim that these are mere fibreglass components of a display at the Ribblehead Visitor Centre - presently undergoing refurbishment.

We shall see, when it re-opens at Easter.