More bad news for fans of Virgin Trains

This from the Milton Keynes Citizen...

A popular model railway group has been asked to leave its Bletchley Park home after 18 years.

The Milton Keynes Model Railway Society has been given notice because it can no longer be accommodated at the site which is making space made available for exhibition relating to the Park’s heroic codebreakers.

Dennis Lovett, chairman, said: “Unfortunately we have been told by the new organisation that despite all the empty buildings on site none can be made available to us and model railways are not part of their future requirements.”

Older industry hands may recollect that Dennis was VT's former PR supremo.

With their brand spanking new HQ just around the corner perhaps Network Rail can help?

Railway embraces willies and tools

This from the late Kenneth Williams...

Ere no! Stop messin' about!

On the day that First TPE posted on their Facebook page that large numbers of attendees at the Leeds festival would probably travel with "tents, bags and willies", this was the headline on an ATOC press release:

ATOC LAUNCHES NEW TOOL FOR OLDER AND DISABLED PASSENGERS

Ooh matron!

UPDATE: This, perhaps predictably, from J Peasemold Gruntfuttock...

I could do with one of those. 

Is a surgical intervention involved?

UPDATE: This from a Mr Dave Spartt...

Yet again the exploitative classes use a tired language, which draws deeply on a history of colonialism and exploitation, serving only to further separate the revered gray-hairs and differently-abled members of our community, errr... and  is totally typical of the exploitative nature of capitalism which does so much to disenfranchise so called 'passengers' forced aboard the tumbril of..

Cont' p94...

TSC letter calls for delay in West Coast signing

Letter from Louise Ellman MP, Chair,Transport Committee to Justine Greening:

Dear Justine,
 

The announcement by Theresa Villiers on 15 August to award the West Coast rail franchise to First West Coast Ltd has, as you will be aware, generated a great deal of public interest and some concern. It also raises important issues about the basis on which decisions on major rail franchises are made.
 

As this has taken place during the Parliamentary recess, the Transport Committee has not had an opportunity to consider the matter. I intend to raise it with Committee Members at our first meeting on 4 September and to propose that the Committee explore these issues as soon as possible, provisionally at a public oral evidence session to be arranged for Tuesday 11th September. I expect that some Members will want to ask you about the West Coast franchise when you give oral evidence to us on the work of your Department on the following day.
 

I understand that the final West Coast franchise documents are due to be signed by the Government on 28 August. I would ask you to consider delaying this for a short while to allow the Transport Committee to explore the matter first. I believe this would help to provide greater transparency and address the concerns that have been raised.
 

Louise Ellman MP
Chair of the Committee

cc Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, Tony Collins, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Rail Group, Tim O’Toole, Chief Executive, First Group

Read TSC press statement and associated documents here.

First for telling it like it is.

This from Ithuriel...

Speaking to analysts following the award of the Intercity West Coast franchise, first Group CEO Tim O'Toole said
 

"The opportunity is ripe because the capacity (on Intercity West Coast) has not been exploited with only a 35% seat occupancy rate and particularly low marketing spend in recent years. That fact, by the way, is understandable since the incumbent has been in revenue support - a condition that discourages any investment to stimulate growth since every pound must generate a return of at least five times."

 
Mr O'Toole knows whereof he speaks.  First Great Western has been in revenue support since April 2008 and First Capital Connect since April 2009.
 

Candour personified.

Railway Garden Competition - Lincoln

This from Dogboxdriver...

Lincoln has featured before in Eye's Garden Competition, back in 2009 (pictured below).

Having failed to win then, the Nature Garden Formerly Known As Platform 8 has been massively improved for this year's contest.

 

 

Much to the evident delight of local staff!

Railway Bothys - Manchester Victoria

This from a Mr Twelve-Dozen...

Eye readers might be interested to see the completion of the Manchester Victoria upgrade works. 

In particular the state of the art passenger facilities installed alongside platform 2.

Has Northern taken the McNulty recommendations too far...

Pointless signs - Dalmuir

This from Big Malc...

 

Presumably Gaelic speakers all use mobiles?

Griffiths to be Stagecoach CEO

This from Reuters...

Stagecoach also said its chief executive Brian Souter would stand down and become the company's chairman in May 2013, replacing George Mathewson who is retiring. Martin Griffiths, the company's finance director, will take over as chief executive, the company said.

Nothing yet on what Stagecoach thinks of Virgin Trains' campaign to get the InterCity West Coast franchise decision overturned.

Virgin Trains is 49% owned by Stagecoach.
 

An exciting Eye poll on VirginTrains' use of Twitter

As previously covered on Eye...

Beardie Rail has been using the @VirginTrains twitter account to encourage passengers and followers to sign an on-line Number 10 petition.

The petition asks the government to "reconsider" the award of the InterCity West Coast franchise to First Group.

Virgin Rail Group and Richard Branson have made clear that "a member of the public completely independent of Virgin has set up" this petition.

So. What is your view of this approach?

Sour grapes or listening to your customers.

You decide in Eye's exciting new survey (see right)!

Theresa May keen to make rail travel more unpleasant!

This from Public Sector Executive...

The Home Office is to consider introducing mass security screening at mainline rail stations and the Tube to scan for terrorist threats, as it launches a research brief for new technology.

The search would focus on emerging technology capable of rapidly screening huge numbers of passengers to detect explosives, guns and knives as well as chemical and biological materials.

The high volumes of passengers on the railway mean that traditional forms of screening are not possible.

Suitable screening points could be at ticket barriers, the top and bottom of escalators and platforms and the equipment could be either fixed into the station or portable for more flexible use.

Good to see that State continues to consider us all to be a threat.

No doubt this, alongside police with shooters at stations, will do much to improve the 'ambiance' and pleasure of rail travel.

No matter.

At least this will help justify the further encroachment of congestion causing 'ticket gates' across the network.

Eye wonders how on earth we managed to survive the 70s and 80s when the IRA was actually active on the UK mainland?

UPDATE: This from a Mr Malins...

No doubt this is why First won the West Coast - an "enhancement" promised by Mr O'Toole (see items below):

Fares and ticketing  Installation of automatic ticket gates at 21 stations, including the major terminals of London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime St and Glasgow Central.

A Conservative vision for the railways. Be afraid...

Oh dear!

In just 24 hours ConservativeHome has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Yesterday it reported on the growing pressure from Tory MPs to peg rail fare increases at RPI+1.

So far so good.

Today, alas, there is piece from Tim Leunig, Chief Economist of CentreForward. offering his thoughts on how to keep the cost of the railways and fares increases down.

Aside from usual suggestions from the Mad Vulcan School of Transportation Management (eg abandon electrification and HS2, close stations and lines, encourage more car use, stuff the North etc...) Leunig comes out with this particular gem:

"Create a third class on London commuter routes – standing room only. Taking seats out is much cheaper than lengthening trains and platforms. A £1 flat fare standing room only deal would make economic and political sense. Journey times are under 30 minutes, and many people are standing anyway."

Can anyone spot the abstractive nature of Loonie's proposal?

ICWC bid spat exposes industry's immaturity

The InterCity West Coast franchise excitement continues...

Both First and Virgin have continued trading blows on-line and through the media over the last couple of days.

Sir Richard Branson took to his blog on Friday to say:

The Government may as well have auctioned the West Coast Main Line on eBay: “Roll up, roll up for the Great Train Sale! Highest bidder wins. Doesn’t matter when you pay, 10 years or 15 years time will do.

“We don’t mind how much debt your company has. Deliverability not an issue. Quality not a factor. Redundancies not a problem. Roll up, roll up.”

It would have saved everyone a lot of time and effort and the taxpayer lots of money...

A member of the public completely independent of Virgin has set up an e-petition calling for the government to reconsider the West Coast Main Line franchise decision

If you want to join them and let the Government know your thoughts, we urge you to sign the independent e-petition.

A call to action that @VirginTrain's own twitter account took to heart:

Amusing to think that in December this renamed account will be tweeting on behalf of First Group! 

Such are the paradoxes of the franchising system.

Meanwhile Tim O'Toole in Saturday's Daily Mail accused Beardie of being a bad loser:

‘Branson has lost and he is off the field now,’ he said. ‘What he is saying is simply not true. We are not going to be cutting staff – staff levels will be about the same.

‘But there are two things which are particularly outrageous. Had he won, he was planning to cut twice as much as he said we would have cut. And if he had won with his bid, he would have made a huge amount of money. Maybe that explains his hysteria.’

Whilst the main protagonists continued playing Punch and Judy across the broadsheets on Sunday, it now looks as if the National Audit Office and Transport Select Committee will be scrutinizing the bids.

According to Alistair Osborne in today's Telegraph:

Margaret Hodge, PAC chairman, said she was concerned that, following bid fiascos on the East Coast line, the Department for Transport (DfT) had been “over-optimistic about passenger numbers and economic growth”.

“There is no evidence to us that the DfT has changed its spots on any of this,” she said. “It would probably be legitimate for us to look at the process they have engaged in on this bid.”

Whilst this all adds greatly to the general gaiety of the nation, is it anyway to run a railway?

Railway Garden Competition - Halifax

This from @noddingdonkeys...

Verdant!

Pointed signs! - Paisley Gilmour St

Nice!

Pointless sign - Peterborough

Railway Garden Competition - Llanberis Lake Rly

London to Birmingham? That'll be Scarboro Fair

This from a Mr Tony Miles...

In all yesterday's excitement Eye may have missed the press release from "James Bethell, Director of Westbourne Communications" commenting on "the awarding of the WCML franchise to FirstGroup."?

James, the release tells us, "worked in the U.S. Senate, the European Commission and as a Parliamentary candidate." and "as a development professional, James continuously advises organisations on their growth plans, including Ministry of Sound, Capital Radio, Portland Communications (where he was managing partner) and PoliticsHome."

Which may explain why Westbourne is the "communications consultancy brought in to run the Campaign for High Speed Rail 2"

So far so good.

But what's this?

The press release berates the railway for failing to "make the case for franchises"!

"Today is a day we should be very proud of Britain's train industry. It is frustrating that the morning news led on negative stories such as union fears about job losses and passenger fears about the possible impact on fairs. It is a shame that the case for Britain's train industry has not been won amongst the British public."

Quite so.

Although we refer to the 'railway industry' rather than the "train industry" and in the UK passengers pay 'fares' and not "fairs"…

Unless of course this is a feature of HS2's ticketing strategy of which we are unaware?

UPDATE: This from a rather annoyed Andy Roden...
 
I am delighted that Westbourne Communications are 'behind' the Campaign for High Speed Rail 2.

Sadly there is little evidence of this on Twitter.

At present it is left entirely to the voluntary efforts of supporters, regional business groups, railway journalists and photographers (!) to make the case for this new railway and counter some of the more hysterical claims of HS2 opponents.

I'm all for noise mitigation measures, but I thought this involved putting a railway underground rather than PR heads in the sand!

Pointless signs - King's Cross

Railway Garden Competition - Barking

Tony Collins video statement to Virgin staff

That is all.