SWT passenger petitions Pope

This with a bowler tip to the genius that is  @LeeMarkDavies...

To set the scene: Mr Davies experienced significant delay following the lightning strike at Wandsworth last month, which caused major disruption to Waterloo and Victoria services.

He approached SWT, requesting compensation, only to be told that the lightning strike was an 'act of God'.

Of course being a good Catholic he immediately appealed to higher powers and yesterday sent the following epistle to the Pope:

His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI
The Apostolic Palace
001 20 Vatican City

1st May 2012

Most Holy Father,

My sincere apologies for writing to you on this matter, but you will see that it causes me great concern. On the 19th April in the year of our Lord 2012, a lightning strike caused major power problems to Waterloo and Victoria stations in London.

There were significant disruptions to travel resulting in an almost six hour journey with several changes of train. My journey from London to my home station is scheduled to take just under 90 minutes, so you will appreciate the distress and discomfort I experienced.

On approaching South West Trains for compensation, I was informed that it was not their responsibility as this was an ‘act of God’.

Whilst I cannot for one moment accept that He would single out commuters for a single act of retribution in this way, it is clear that the train operating company believes the fault lies with our Lord and Master.

It is, therefore, with the deepest regret that I must ask Your Holiness, as His representative on Earth, for compensation. My monthly cost of travel is in the region of £550, so compensation of £30 would seem appropriate to cover travel and out of pocket expenses.

I am terribly apologetic for having to contact you on this matter. South West Trains is never to blame for any disruption to its services and as often these are the result of weather conditions it would seem that God is to blame most of the time. 

May I humbly suggest you establish a customer services department specifically for this purpose as I am sure you will receive many such compensation claims in the future.

Yours in reverence,

Lee Davies

PS If you wish to be warned in advance of South West Trains travel problems and other interesting matters you could do a lot worse that follow me on Twitter @LeeMarkDavies

No doubt Mr Davies will now be excommunicated, or made a Papal Knight!

Either way, Good effort!

Eye at InfraRail

Eye has been busy at InfraRail.

See what you're missing here:

Still two more days in which to come down and enjoy the fun.

Greening going?

This from Total Politics...

The word is that Cameron is contemplating reshuffling his senior team after the local elections and before next week's Queen's Speech

This Friday is apparently the favoured day.

Eye wonders if the Captain of Netball will be heading for an early shower?

Daily Mail does reverse ferret

This, unbelievably, from Daily Mail website This is Money...

So British Rail is now 'back to the future'!

There is more joy in heaven over one sinner...

Crow Bar Bob salutes the day!

This from the RMT...

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said; "On this May Day we have a golden opportunity to build up a head of steam behind the campaign against cuts and austerity which can drive this rotten, sleazy ConDem government out of office.

We have seen the figures which show that the rich are getting richer while the vast majority are being kicked from pillar to post and told to pay for a crisis they had no part in creating. 

May Day is our rallying point for international labour to harness the anger and to turn the tables on the political elite and the boss class that supports them." 

Earth to Bob, hellooooo!

Pointless signs - Bristol Temple Meads

This from a Mr Montgomery Burns...

Nanny State is alive and kicking in the West Country!

Pointless signs - Upper Holloway

This from a Mr Tony Miles...

Eye readers may note the lack of 3rd rail or overhead equipment as they peruse this sign at the western end of Upper Holloway station on the Gospel Oak - Barking line.

 I guess a 378 would certainly stop… would it ever start again?

Railway Garden Competition - Chester

The 'drought' appears in danger of ruining this year's Railway Garden Competition.

However, at Chester this tasteful arrangement has managed to keep its head above the flood.

More please...

Railway overmanning exposed - Shocker!

This seen at Immingham on Friday...

So how many people does it take to polish a nameplate?

NR & SWT Deep Alliance launched today

This from Stagecoach and Network Rail...

PASSENGERS  TO  BENEFIT  AS  SOUTH  WEST  TRAINS  AND NETWORK RAIL FORM NEW ALLIANCE · Single senior management team now responsible for trains and track · Focus on reduced delays, better customer service, more efficient working · “Deep alliance” is first for the UK rail industry

Train  company  South  West Trains and infrastructure operator Network Rail today  (30  April 2012) announced the launch of a new alliance with the aim of delivering better rail services in the south and south-west of England.

A  single  senior  joint  management  team  now has responsibility for both trains  and  track on the route operating out of London Waterloo in a first for the UK rail industry...

The  senior  management  team has more than 200 years’ experience in the UK rail   industry   covering  train  service  delivery,  rail  infrastructure management and train fleet manufacturing and includes:

• Managing Director – Tim Shoveller 
• Infrastructure Director – Jim Morgan
• Operations Director – Mark Steward
• Fleet Director - Christian Roth
• Safety & Assurance Director – Brian Cook
• Human Resources Director – Kelly Barlow
• Commercial Director – Sam McCarthy
• Customer Service Director – Jake Kelly
• Finance Director – Andy West

A governance board, with equal representation from both organisations, will oversee  the  operation  of the alliance and take major business decisions.

Arrangements  are  in place to ensure the interests of other passenger rail companies  and freight operators are protected. Both companies retain their own  identities and staff.  There are no changes to terms and conditions of employment or collective bargaining agreements with recognised trade unions

And about time too.

Welcome to a new world for the South Western Railway! 

The challenge of transparency

Some disturbing figures have emerged from the British Transport Police.

Released following an FOI request they reveal worryingly high incidents of 'Passengers Under Train' and 'Passengers Hit by Train' recorded in the period between 1st January 2012 and 2nd April 2012.

In this three month period 147 PUT and PHT incidents were recorded across both the London Underground and National Rail networks.

It goes without saying that each of these numbers represents a human tragedy, not just for the person directly involved, their friends and family but also for the drivers and other rail staff caught up both in the event and its aftermath.

And there are of course no easy answers to this problem. Network Rail and TOCs are to be congratulated for working closely with the Samaritans to try and make a difference, where possible, to these figures.

Shocking as these numbers are, without comparative figures for other years, it is difficult to know whether this reflects an upward, downward or static trend.

Certainly the emergence of social media means that these desperately sad events resonate far beyond the line or route where they take place. Users of twitter for instance become aware of events in real time that are taking place many miles away, where as in previous, less connected times, they might have remained blissfully unaware.

This produces a challenge for the industry and for all those in the industry on twitter.

Do we need to be careful about drawing attention to certain events or causes of delay (and I am aware of the irony of that statement) less we create a climate of fear or God forbid encourage repetition. After all broadcast media has to exercise extreme caution when handling suicides in drama as the risk of the Copycat Effect is increasingly understood (except it would appear by Jeremy Clarkson).

Or do we now live in a world of almost total transparency where the challenge is to collectively devise new means of communicating the consequences for all concerned of these devastating events?

Again there are no easy answers but perhaps these questions need asking?

UPDATE: This from Network Rail...

The Samaritans' guidelines to the media on the reporting of suicides can be found here.

UPDATE: This from Chionanthus VIrginicus...

RSSB report for 2010/11 here

Fatalities summarised as:

• 27 trespass
• 4 at crossings
• 208 suicides

Note - Not in the same format and only covers National Rail.

Pointless signs - Yesterday's up AngloScots sleeper

Depot pride returns to railway?

 More of this please.

Historic signs - The Ghost of Clarity Past

A reader writes to say...

Dear Fact Compiler

As a devoted reader of your... (Get on with it! Ed).

Perhaps Eye should have an 'Historic Signs' section to compliment Pointless signs.

Obviously the pictures must originate from the railway of today, but the 'useful' information they contain must spring from our past.

Perhaps I could start with this York offering.

And here the useful, but dated, information.

Eye is won over. Make it so!

UPDATE: This from an Eye reader in Upside Down Land...

Not only dated but wrong!

Surely the LNER became part of British Railways in 1948 and only much later part of British Rail. 

Nice sign though and amazing that passengers couldn’t work out that it was dated info without a helpful sign. 

Why rail travel beats the rest!

This from the Railway Public Relations Office...

Reasons to be cheerful! 

Spring evening rainbow above field of newborn lambs. 

Through Pendolino carrage window, near Tring tonight.

It's better by train!

HS2 un-news from DfT - Offical

This from the Department for Transport...

Alison Munro re-appointed as Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd

Alison Munro has been re-appointed as the Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, the independent company set up by the Government to deliver a high speed rail network between London and the North of England.

ENDS

Pointless signs - York cone shrine

This from @TonyVeitch...

One of my favourite signs. 

 I revisit this little shrine to signdom every so often.

Exciting new logo for Class 70 fleet

Pointless signs - High Wycombe

This from CU...

A rather fetching retro look to High Wycombe last night, attracting many admiring looks from commuters.

Sadly 40 years too late.

Villiers vignettes - another apology

This from Cruella, given in the House yesterday...

Theresa Villiers (Minister of State (Rail and Aviation), Transport; Chipping Barnet, Conservative)

I regret to inform the House that there was an inaccuracy in the answer I gave to parliamentary question 98207 on 5 March, Hansard, column 411W and subsequent comments made by the Secretary of State for Transport in debates held on 8 March, Hansard, column 1035 and 23 March, Hansard, column 1049 about how many miles of railway track were electrified between May 1997 and May 2010.

The correct answer is approximately nine route miles were electrified between May 1997 and May 2010, not 39 route miles as previously stated. This total does not include newly constructed railways.

How lucky we are to have a quality department of state like the DfT.

UPDATE: This from Captain Deltic...

How long, oh Lord, how long?

How many more times does Theresa Villiers have to apologise to the house  for errors in data provided by her officials before the light dawns that perhaps said officials are not exactly on top of the job?  

UPDATE: This from the Lancastrian...

Further to the debate on electrified mileage...

 

Readers in possession of the relevant Quail maps or sectional appendices might care to add up the route mileage of Kidsgrove-Crewe (electrified in 2003) and Pelaw-Sunderland (electrified in 2002).