TOC of the Pops!

This from the Cloggies!


Snork!

But good effort.

Kim Wilde delights rail passengers...

Errrr....



Oh dear.

UPDATE: This from Fen Boy...

Kim Wilde must have had a very good evening if she thought that she was singing on the Underground as this was patently an FCC Class 365 speeding its weary load home to Hertfordshire.

The first giveaway was the guy in the distance sitting in the luggage stack opposite the toilet door and then, of course, towards the end with the relief that the torture was over when the train is seen arriving at FCC's Potters Bar station.

Latest exciting RDG news!

And here is the latest on the exciting developments at the Rail Delivery Group:

'Non.'

That is all.
 

Pointless signs - Gospel Oak

This, surprisingly, from Sir Barnes Wallis...

Come on London Overground, you can do better than this.

Desperate times: Man inserts ticket

This from Herr Bend o'Ver...

Is this the most desperate press release of the week?

According to FGW...

Newbury MP Richard Benyon will officially open Newbury Station’s ticket gates this Friday following £850,000 investment to improve the station environment...

The MP will tour the station, accompanied by First Great Western Managing Director Mark Hopwood, before opening the new gateline. 

'Benyon inserts valid ticket' - Hold the Front Page!

UPDATE: This from the Major...

I'm pleased to see that Richard Benyon is to officially open the ticket barriers at Newbury. 

If he could leave them open that would be most useful for all those passengers carrying bags, clutching cups of coffee, pushing prams, nursing arms in slings and everyone else for whom barriers are just that.

Pointless signs - Huddersfield

With apologies to all fans of Marcia...

Sadly, Eye fears that one day something similar may appear at Flinstock.

UPDATE: This from the Ghost of Sir Peter Parker...

The one-up-one-down halt on the Cotswold Line is Finstock, of course, not Flinstock.

Cameron's nearest station is actually here in Charlbury, but as it's a rare Lib Dem redoubt in West Oxfordshire, any statue here would be rapidly tarred and feathered by local militant Bromptoneers. 

But they have given me a memorial garden, for which I'm very grateful. It's even tended by a baronet and former paramour of Princess Margaret.

Possibly the best railway pub... in the world!

The Fact Compiler is in awe!

Go to the Alex', now!

UPDATE: This from Billy Arrows...

Mark Williamson's looking well but has Lord Adonis had a Chimay Blue too many? 

Hard Times - No 94

Good to see the train leasing market acting as a barometer for industry confidence.

So Eye wonders if readers can guess which ROSCO commercial director at yesterday's RfG Christmas Lunch didn't even bother bringing any business cards?

Hard times indeed.

Richard George to Interfleet

This from Interfleet...

International rail consultancy Interfleet Technology has announced the appointment of a new Managing Director, following the retirement of incumbent MD David Rollin after almost 20 years at the helm.

New MD Richard George will take up the position at the end of February 2013, fresh from his recent role as Director of Transport at the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOGOC), where he was responsible for the delivery of the hugely successful transport logistics.

In best Spandau Ballet voice... Gold!

Bakerballs: On punctuality...

This from Julian and Sandy...

Compare this from our Norm in the Daily Mail...

Mr Baker, who is fed up with the train companies’ sleight of hand told the Daily Mail afterwards: ‘It is totally dishonest to say trains are punctual when for short distance and journeys they can arrive within 4 minutes and 59 seconds and for long-distance they can be within 9 minutes and 59 seconds and still count as being officially on time. Taxpayers and passengers deserve better than this.

‘That is why we are putting pressure on the rail industry to publish proper real-time performance  figures.'

Taking his cue from two popular BBC Radio4  comedy series, Mr Baker said: ‘Punctuality should be measured by ‘Just a Minute’, not ‘I’m sorry I haven’t a Clue.’

With this from his own department:

"PPM is and will remain the government’s and industry’s key measure of rail punctuality and reliability"
 
So who is the dishonest one, eh Norm?

Pointless signs - Warwick Parkway

Pointless signs - King's Cross/St Pancras

Pointless signs - Rugby

Pointless signs - Finsbury Park

This from Lost in Space...

Classy!

A date for your diary...

Hope to see you there.

Now that's what I call a Santa Special!

This from Deutsche Bahn, with a bowler tip to @JohnMurray1960...


Ho ho ho!

Bid teams beefed up for franchising restart

This from Arriva's HR director...

Senior management changes within Arriva Trains Wales

We are pleased to announce that Arriva Trains Wales’ Managing Director Tim Bell has been appointed to a new role within the Trains Division of ‘Managing Director Franchise Bidding’.
Tim will assume this position from Monday 10 December 2012 and will be based in London.

The Bid Team face a challenging and exciting period over the next 12 months and Tim will give added focus to Arriva’s ambitious programme for growth.

This is initially a 12 month secondment for Tim from his role at Arriva Trains Wales.

In the immediate interim, Ian Bullock, Arriva Trains Wales’ Customer Services Director, will replace Tim as Managing Director while the secondment opportunity at Arriva Trains Wales is advertised within the Group.

I am sure you will offer your full support to Tim and Ian going forward.

- ENDS -

The case of the missing numbers

Telegrammed from 221b Baker Street
I say, Holmes,  this report by Mr Samuel Baker on the strange case of the Intercity West Coast franchise is a deuced three pipe read if ever I saw one.

Indeed so, Watson, but since I observe that you have reached page 29 I am sure you will have noted the significance of the different Subordinated Loan Facilities required of messrs Virgin and First Group.

But Holmes, all the figures for First Group have been redacted!

That, my dear old friend Watson, is the significance.
 

Not much blogging today...

Today I will mostly be burying my father, Passenger Transport of 30th November refers...

The next edition of Passenger Transport will be published on the 14th December.

DfT publishes Laidlaw Inquiry report

This from the DfT (includes links to the actual report)...

West Coast Main Line: Final report of the Laidlaw Inquiry

06 December 2012 11:40
 
The independent inquiry into the cancelled West Coast Main Line franchise competition has concluded that the project failed because of an accumulation of significant errors related to inadequate planning and preparation, complex organisational structure, and a weak governance framework.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin asked Sam Laidlaw, the chief executive of Centrica and a non-executive DfT board member, to conduct an urgent investigation following the discovery of unacceptable flaws in the procurement process that led to the competition being cancelled on October 3.

His final report, published today by the Department for Transport, finds that:

• The DfT used flawed and inconsistent methodology when guiding bidders on the amount of risk capital (known as the Subordinated Loan Facility) they would need to offer to guarantee their franchise against default (Inquiry report paragraph 4.31, p22);
• The Subordinated Loan Facility figures resulting from the flawed methodology were then varied in a way that contravened franchise competition rules (3.4, p11);
• Ministers made the original August 14 provisional contract award without being told about the critical flaws (2.12, p8) and having been given “inaccurate reports” (3.8, p12).
• But the Laidlaw Inquiry also concluded that:
• The report’s recommendations to strengthen accountability and governance structures “if acted upon quickly and effectively, will help to restore confidence in the DfT’s ability to conduct effective rail franchising and procurement” (paragraph 8.6, p79);
• While there were inconsistencies in the way First Group and Virgin Trains Ltd were treated during the franchise process, the report finds that there is no evidence of a culture of bias against Virgin at the DfT (paragraph 2.6, p7);
• There is nothing in the report to suggest that the flaws discovered in this franchise competition exist in any other DfT procurements (paragraph 8.3, p79).
• The DfT is today publishing its formal response to the report which commits the Department to implementing swiftly a series of actions that will enable it to resume the franchising programme, with the confidence of the rail industry, as soon as possible.

These include:

• Ensuring future franchise competitions are delivered at a good pace based on sound planning, a clear timeline, rigorous management, and the right quality assurance;
• Creating a simpler and clearer structure and governance process for rail franchise competitions, including the appointment of a single director general with responsibility for all rail policy and franchising;
• Ensuring we have the right mix of professional skills, in-house, and where necessary from professional external advisers.

Sam Laidlaw said:

“Building upon and confirming the conclusions from my initial findings, the final report provides an in-depth analysis of the events that led to the flaws whereby the InterCity West Coast competition was cancelled. Alongside this I have also made a series of recommendations for the future.

“I have explained in detail the technical nature of certain errors, specifically around modelling flaws and the Subordinated Loan Facility sizing process. In addition, the report outlines an accumulation of contributory causes including a lack of transparency, inadequate planning and preparation, as well as a complex and confusing organisational structure with weak quality assurance and insufficient governance oversight.

“While it is clear that a number of serious and regrettable errors have occurred, I believe that if acted upon quickly and effectively, my recommendations will help to restore confidence in the DfT’s ability to conduct effective rail franchising and procurement.”

Patrick McLoughlin said:

"The final report from the Laidlaw Inquiry makes extremely uncomfortable reading for the Department. It has identified precisely what went wrong, revealing serious failures, as well as offering us a number of sensible recommendations to put things right.

“We will not allow these mistakes to be made again and the Department is determined to ensure all future franchise competitions are conducted on the basis of sound planning, the rigorous identification and oversight of risk, and the right quality assurance.”

He added:

“Sam Laidlaw has delivered an uncompromising report that offers us a way to face up to a number of shortcomings and I would like to thank him and his team for producing these findings with such diligence and speed.”

DfT Permanent Secretary Philip Rutnam said:

“There is no question that this has been a serious blow for the Department and I am determined that we learn everything we can from this episode.

“We will implement all of Mr Laidlaw’s recommendations, and go further, to ensure we have the right set of skills, support and training to ensure failures like this do not happen again.”
 
Notes to Editors

1. The Laidlaw Inquiry final report to the Transport Secretary is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-of-the-laidlaw-inquiry

2. The Department’s response to the Laidlaw Inquiry’s final report, setting out the actions being taken immediately to resolve the report recommendations, is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/response-to-the-report-of-the-laidlaw-inquiry

3. The Transport Secretary’s oral statement to the House of Commons is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/laidlaw-inquiry-final-report

4. The Laidlaw Inquiry’s final report is only part of the work the Department is doing to review its rail franchising policy. It will also take into account the forthcoming NAO report into the lessons from the cancellation of the InterCity West Coast franchise and the conclusions of Richard Brown’s review of the future of the rail franchising programme, due to be submitted to the Secretary of State by the end of December.


- ENDS -