This from Our Man at 222 Marylebone Road...
It is of course quite understandable that the ORR's new publication 'GB rail industry financial information 2010-11' doesn't provide figures for individual TOCs on grounds of commercial sensitivity.
However...
Photoshopping out the painted numbers of the DMU on the publication's cover is perhaps going a little bit far?
This from Billy Connections...
I note that Railnews is reporting the following:
A REQUIREMENT that Network Rail staff must not live more than a certain distance from the company's new HQ in Milton Keynes has angered the white collar rail union TSSA, which is accusing the company of acting 'illegally'.
Hmmm...
It's all very well Network Rail mandating a maximum of 75 minutes commuting time for employees at the new Milton Keynes headquarters, but has management thought through the details of the rule.
For a start does it apply to home-front-door to office-front-door? Is it station to station, is it wheels rolling to wheels stationary?
Is it based on the Working Timetable or the GB Public Timetable? The WTT, produced by NR's timetablers has shorter journey times than the GBPTT which includes allowances determined by the TOCs.
Will the timetablers at MK suddenly become very popular when a minute cut from a schedule means that you can continue to live in your agreeable six bedroom detached house rather than a three bed semi in MK's concrete city?
Will the civil engineers suddenly become everyone's best mates, when lifting a PSR that has the same effect?
Will the HR department face claims for constructive dismissal backed by Timetabling Consultancies?
And, finally, who is to head up the new, 20 strong, Commuting Range Analsysis Group?
This from Aslef...
ASLEF has welcomed initial plans for the construction of two major new underground lines announced by Ken Livingstone.
Labour’s candidate for London Mayor has said that, if elected, he will introduce Crossrail 2 which would connect Wimbledon and Epping via Chelsea and Hackney and also bring in Crossrail 3 which would allow passengers on high speed trains from Scotland and the north of England to reach the south via London on the same train.
Interesting.
Full marks to Ken for at least attempting to address 'The Euston Problem', which HS2 apparently hopes will just go away.
UPDATE: This from, a rather cynical, Fairydust...
Can I have some of what Ken is clearly on, please?
Exciting news from the febrile land of Bowtie, Bow-tie and Glasses!
According to The Drum...
Angel Trains is launching a new marketing campaign as it looks to raise its profile in the rail industry.
The train leasing company is working with Leeds agency Brass on a campaign which includes press advertising, PR and internal communications.
A series of ads featuring real Angel Trains employees are now running in rail industry titles.
Kevin Tribley, chief operating officer at Angel Trains, said: "The unique campaign features Angel Trains people and examples of their excellence."
Good to see that on-line retailer Red Spotted Hanky is on top of their game!
This taken today:
And NXEA is still listed on the menu at the bottom of each page, but alas no mention of Southeastern, Merseyrail, London Midland, Hull Trains, Grand Central or Northern.
One or two holes in this particular ATOS hanky.
Telegrammed by 221b Baker Street
'I say, Holmes, what do you make of the strange case of Network Rail's abandoned Management Incentive Plan?
'Watson, you will of course have noted the significance of the strongly worded statement on this matter from the Chair and CEO of the Office of Rail Regulation?'
'But Holmes, they have said nothing!'
'That, Watson, is the significance.'
This with a bowler tip to Eye's campanologist friend @SteadmanSlowSix...
As nobody pronounces the 'p' in Southampton, @SouthernRailUK have removed it from their on train maps!
UPDATE: This from a Mr Weaver (no not that one, another one)...
You should see how they've spelt Moulsecomb (with an e on the end - Moulsecoombe), and Hilsea (with two 'l' - Hillsea).
No doubt Eye's proof reading service will enable these to be corrected as well?
These courtesy of the The Wheeled Avenger...
...who is currently languishing at the bottom of the above Marks Tey stairs!
This from Network Rail...
| NETWORK RAIL GENERAL MEETING ADJOURNED |
| Network Rail's general meeting to discuss directors' remuneration was adjourned today. Rick Haythornthwaite, chairman, said: "Today's meeting is the latest leg in an 18-month search to find the answer to a crucial question - how can we retain and attract talent to meet the very significant challenges that Network Rail takes on daily - while at the same time, make our remuneration approach better aligned with taxpayer needs, tougher in its demands and less lucrative in its potential reward. This dilemma remains unresolved." |
This from a Mr Saltaire
I thought Eye readers might be interested in this 8th February contribution from Keith Vaz to a debate on the Police:
I hope that the Minister will look again at pay and conditions and will try to bring Mr Winsor under a little bit of control. We are dealing not with railways—I know Mr Winsor was the rail regulator—but with real people in real jobs who protect our constituents. They are the people we lionise in times of crisis, and we should reward them properly for the work they do.
Better men have tried Keith, and failed!
UPDATE: This from Captain Deltic...
In fact it took the Railways Act 2005 and the change of ORR from 'Office of the Rail Regulator' to Office of Rail Regulation' to do it.
But was it an improvement?
At least with Tom the Regulatory prose was clear and to the point.
According to the Docklands and East London Advertiser...
The ‘rapid response’ teams called out to tackle emergencies on the London Underground are getting ‘blue light’ priority and police drivers to get them through traffic.
A trial is being carried out with British Transport Police to halve response times, with TfL emergency vehicles being fitted with the same flashing blue lights used by police, fire and ambulance services.
About time too!
LUL's Emergency Repsonse Unit really is London's 4th Emergency Service.
This from the Transport Select Committee...
NETWORK RAIL – ORAL EVIDENCE SESSION
Tuesday 13 March 2012
The Transport Committee will be taking oral evidence from Network Rail’s Chief Executive, David Higgins on Tuesday 13 March at 10.05 am, followed by witnesses from the Office of Rail Regulation.
Announcing the session Louise Ellman, Transport Committee Chair, said:
“Network Rail must be accountable to Parliament for the performance of the railway, safety, information for passengers, planning for new projects, and costs. We will pursue these issues and also find out what the rail regulator has done to improve Network Rail’s performance.”
Please check our website nearer the time for the location and full witness details.
Perhaps the TSC might also like to invite Ms Greening to this session, so that she can explain what convinced her to oppose NR's Management Incentive Plan at such a late stage in the process?
UPDATE: This from Sir Humphrey Beeching...
I am sure no one would dream of asking the First Division to provide a sacrificial lamb, so as to spare ministerial blushes.
Why, the very thought is preposterous.
Eye is unsure if this is a spoof...
...if not perhaps a reader can explain its point?
UPDATE: This from a Mr Peters...
You asked if 'Culham ?' was a spoof.
I expect it was found near the Turbo stop mark on the platform.
If so it is a 'cheap and cheerful' way to remind drivers to check if they should be calling at Culham (the next station towards Oxford), as most trains do not and this can help to reduce the risk of an erroneous 'fail to stop'.
I have seen something similar (but more permanent) at Bache on Merseyrail, reminding drivers to check if they call at Capenhurst as only half of the trains on that route do.
UPDATE: This from Chionanthus Virginicus, evidently in playful mood...
Can we hope for a similar poster (below) to be displayed outside Marsham Street?
Eye can exclusively reveal why the Department has been so effective this week!
Half of them aren't there.
Under Operation Step Change, 50% of staff have been asked to stay at home, travel at different times or 're-mode' (yes, really) as a practice run for the Olympics.
Apparently so many have risen to the challenge of staying at home, there's no one left to make all those tricky decisions, silence Greenhorn ministers, etc...
Heaven help us in August.
Eye is delighted to hear that the Carry On team are about to release a new film - Carry On up the Railway
Plot summary: Sir David Ruff-Digger looks after the British railway network. Protected by Col Richard Right-Pryce and the members of the Third Foot and Mouth regiment (ORR Division), you would think they were safe.
But the treacherous Khazi of Greening has other ideas. Having signed off the Baksheesh necessary to keep the network running she is ambushed in a TV studio and completely rewrites government policy!
Fun and japes ensue as the Khazi of Greening tries to justify her volte-face as hoards of senior managers desert the railway and trains grind to a halt.
Cast:
Sir David Ruff-Digger - Sid James
The Khazi of Greening - Hattie Jacques
Crawford Rani of SpAds - Joan Sims
Col Richard Right-Pryce - Charles Hawtrey
Maria the Eagle - Fenella Fielding
Tom Harris MP - Bernard Bresslaw
George Osborne - Kenneth Williams
The Passenger - Terry Scott
"This one will run and run, unlike the trains." Conservative Party Central Office
Rated PG (contains scenes of mild violence and institutional incompetence).
This from the Office of Rail Regulation...
Securing better passenger information
Train operators have asked for more time to prepare for new obligations aimed at ensuring passengers receive appropriate, accurate and timely information, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) confirmed today.
Oh the irony!
This from First Great Western's Fastline...
InterCity Express Programme (IEP) update
On 23 September 2011 I updated you on progress about the InterCity Express Programme (IEP) and undertook to keep you informed of further developments.
Agility Trains recently let us know that Planning Permission has now been granted for their three IEP traincare depots on the Great Western network – North Pole, London; Stoke Gifford, Bristol; and Swansea.
I can also confirm, contrary to recent media reports stating a contract has been agreed, that negotiations continue between the Department for Transport and Agility Trains to finalise the IEP contract details. I understand this will now be agreed by May 2012 at the earliest.
It is anticipated that the first IEP train will enter service in early 2017, with the full IEP timetable implementation not until May 2018, more than six years from now.
We await further developments and will continue to keep you informed as we learn more about this important Department for Transport project.
A triumph of public sector procurement.
Captain Deltic asks "Who said this and when?"...
But Network Rail's remuneration committee still allowed substantial bonuses this year despite a formal letter warning that performance had been mixed. All the regulator could do was to say that he was "surprised and disappointed".
Under a Conservative Government, if the regulator is disappointed, the senior management will feel it. We will give the regulator the power to inflict real financial pain on Network Rail via the confiscation of reduction of bonuses in cases of serious under-performance.
At present, Network Rail's senior management is theoretically accountable to "members" who are supposed to function like the shareholders of a public limited company. In reality they do no such thing. The senior management can get away with scooping the bonus pool because an amorphous grouping of 100 members, the appointment of which can be vetoed by the very management team they are supposed to scrutinise, simply aren't strong enough to stop them.
So a further measure a Conservative Government would adopt to give Network Rail much stronger incentives to respond to their customers is reform of the company's governance.
We will streamline and shrink the membership to turn it into a supervisory board. We will ensure that members will be appointed independently of Network Rail's management.
And we will make sure we have people on it who will provide a strong voice for passengers and for train and freight operators, in setting the overall direction of the company and holding its management to account.
And, in addition, we will inject more contestability into areas of Network Rail's remit. At present, the company has an almost complete monopoly over publicly funded rail improvements.
Clue: It's not just promises that get broken.
UPDATE: This from The Archer...
I’m feeling pedantic so I’ll point out that no promises were broken as we don’t have a Conservative Government.
As I'm sure members of the 1922 Committee will be only too pleased to confirm...
Is uber-blogger Paul Staines a member of the Institution of Railway Operators?
In a post on his order-order blog about the the move of Labour's HQ, Guido uses the following map which rather gives the game away.
Eye thinks we should be told!
This from Network Rail...
| NETWORK RAIL ADJOURNS MEMBERS' MEETING |
|
|
|
|
| The board of Network Rail has decided to recommend to its members that this Friday's meeting be adjourned. The board will take the opportunity to reflect further on how to incentivise performance in the company against the backdrop of the current context. It will continue to consult the Secretary of State on wider issues of governance in advance of the government's command paper. Chairman, Rick Haythornthwaite, said: "Friday's meeting was not to approve a specific annual bonus payment for Executive Directors, but rather to amend a previously approved long term incentive scheme to ensure additional external scrutiny of performance. "The issue of annual performance payments would only arise if Network Rail surpassed stretching performance thresholds and would only be decided in May after the end of the financial year. Chief executive, David Higgins, said: "Even if this situation does arise this year, I and my directors decided last week that we would forego any entitlement and instead allocate the money to the safety improvement fund for level crossings. I can confirm that remains our intention." The Secretary of State was informed of the decision to recommend adjournment this morning. |
Posts
