Reading remodelling steps-up?

This, apparently, taken yesterday...

Ouch!

Hutton, Kelly and 45 minutes

Much excitement across the airwaves!

The most recent edition of Radio 4's excellent programme 'The Reunion' brought together some of the key players involved in the Hutton Report.

Amongst the likes of Geoff 'Buff' Hoon, Andrew Gilligan and former BBC DG Greg Dyke was NR's very own media guru Tom Kelly - then the PM's official spokesman.

Fans of hard core verbal punch-ups can enjoy the prog courtesy of Listen Again.

Those with long memories may recall the questionable claim that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction that could be "ready within 45 minutes".

Unlike Gilligoon, whose eventual arrival at the studio exceeded even that generous time frame.

Brompton frenzy takes over rail industry?

This from Oratorian Brother Cletts...

Regularly seen nipping between Waterloo and Friarsgate House your snapping sleuths might try to catch Phil Dominey of SWT on an SWT branded Brompton folding bike.

Less certain is whether you'll see Andy Saunders FGW Integration & Partnership manager on an FGW version, or whether Arthur Leathley can be persuaded to swap his own machine for a Virgin branded Easy Rider type.

Charles Horton also has his own Brompton, but they are scheduled to go live with hire points at Ashford, Canterbury W, Maidstone E and Tonbridge by the end of May, so whether he gets snapped on a SouthEastern branded bike is up for grabs.

East Coast has also partly supported the bikes at Peterborough (but no jokes about on your bike and the refranchising). I did try to suggest that RAIL's brightest and best might find the 5-6 miles from PBO to their offices a suitably invigorating and time saving way to connect with the local rail service but no joy yet.

Other cyclists of the folding fraternity include Alistair Dormer MD of Hitachi Europe and Tony Berkeley chair of the Rail Freight Group (who used to have a most venerable machine, often seen outside the House of Lords).

Yet to convert Anthony Smith of Passenger Focus to the glories of folding, but he regularly rides in to the Passenger Focus offices from S London.

Surely Eye readers can supply photos of some the above great and good aboard their noble collapsible steeds?

UPDATE: This from a Mr Philip Haigh...
 
I rather enjoy my Brompton ride from PBO to RAIL Towers.

Although I must be honest and say the novelty of winter was beginning to wear off by April.

No matter.

Do I win a 'Brand Pride' award? 

UPDATE: This from SouthEastern's Sarah Boundy... 

Here is a picture of Charles Horton beside Friar's Bridge Court.

Good effort!

More please.

UPDATE: This from Iolanthe...

One of My Lord Berkeley upon a Brompton for Eye's collection.

DG Rail goes on tour!

Interesting news from the 'heart of the railway industry'.

According to the Derby & Derbyshire Rail Forum the new DG Rail, Clare Moriarty, has been out and about visiting rail businesses in the East Midlands:

Ms Moriarty met with the forum’s Chairman Colin Walton and Vice-Chair Michelle Craven-Faulkner together with the Managing Directors of forum member organisations Datum, ESG and Garrandale.

Ms Moriarty also spent time with DDRF member companies Porterbrook Leasing and Railway Vehicle Engineering Limited (RVEL), concluding her visit by touring RVEL’s extensive workshops on London Road...

Ms Moriarty said that she was keen to work with partners from across the rail industry to advance a shared agenda and promote the success of rail in the UK.

Could it be that Whitehall is finally waking up to the fact that the railway industry also consists of a massive supply chain, as well as Network Rail and the TOCs?

Hopefully next in-line to experience such a Damascene conversion will be the Rail Delivery Group! (In your dreams! Ed)

Pointless signs - Greenwich

Brand Pride - Porterbrook

This, allegedly, from a Mr Tudor Arrow...

Unbelievably some people in the railway industry still believe that we Roscos are populated by rather dry and humourless people.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

The image below had my colleagues in Accounts Payable rolling in the isles so hard that we had to move their comptometers out of reach for precisely 2.75 seconds! Can you imagine what that did for productivity!

How we laughed! Until the boss returned from lunch, obviously.

Just in case the office's new Oyster 25 million megapixel camera doesn't make the picture Cristal clear I should explain that my Jermyn Street shirt cleverly juxtaposes both the old and the new Porterbrook pantones, offset to very best effect by a solid Platignum set of cuff... (cont' p94).

Please tell me there are other entries to this. Ed.

26038 named Tom Clift

This from Northern Spirit...

On Saturday 27th April locomotive 26038 was named "Tom Clift 1954 - 2012" at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

Tom had close links with the KWVR, having held a party in March 2012 aboard a steam charter on the railway to celebrate his retirement from Open Access Operator Grand Central.

26038 was Tom's pride and joy and the loco is now owned by his family.

Good effort.

Time for NR to take power?

The Fact Compiler's latest column in Passenger Transport published on the 26th April...

The next edition of Passenger Transport will be published on the 10th of May.

UPDATE: This from a Mr Tony Miles...

May I add a response to your interesting (and timely?) column on electrification?

Why just Network Rail? 

I understand Siemens has an interest in power generation in another part of its empire and I’m sure others do too. Why not offer a “design, build, maintain and power” contract for new trains? The builder would be obliged to either construct a power plant of some sort itself or join a consortium that would include a power generation partner.

As you suggest with NR – there’s nothing to stop them creating additional capacity and selling it to other rail operators or the market at a good price….

Of course had IEP been let on this basis would the bidding consortium have been so happy to agree to build a load of trains which would consume additional electricity to carry round those heavy diesel engines or would they have come up with an alternative solution?

Virgin avoids wardrobe malfunction

This from the Daily Mirror...

Sir Richard Branson has been forced to buy his train staff new bras – because their latest uniforms are too skimpy.

Virgin Trains workers say their blouses are too short and so flimsy that passengers will see if they are wearing dark bras.

Virgin’s business support department is now offering them a £20 voucher for new underwear after delaying the uniform by three weeks.

Unlike Beardie Rail to get into a pickle over ladies' embonpoints, as this picture from 2009 shows...

No indeedy.

Brand Pride - South West Trains

Or should that read South Western Railway?

No matter.

This is the bespoke case that SWT's twitter supremo has had created for her iPhone.

Cool, no?

Anyone else done something similar?

Additional points in this game if it annoys the brand police!

East Coast introduces Dry Train on Fridays!

Bad news for thirsty North British passengers!

This from East Coast...

Train operator East Coast is to trial an alcohol ban on a morning train from North East Scotland to ensure comfortable travel for passengers.

The four-week trial will apply on Fridays only from 10 May to 31 May inclusive, and will only apply to the 09.52 service from Aberdeen, for journeys as far south as Newcastle. The train calls at several stations along Scotland’s North East coast, including Stonehaven, Montrose, Arbroath and Dundee.

The restriction means passengers will not be able to bring alcohol in any form onto this train, or to drink it on-board. No alcohol will be sold at the train’s cafe-bar, though other hot and cold refreshments will continue to be available as usual.

East Coast’s Commercial and Customer Service Director Peter Williams said: “We are trialling this for four weeks from next Friday, following discussions with the British Transport Police.

“The trial follows a number of recent instances of anti-social behaviour on this train between Aberdeen and Newcastle. Our aim is to ensure that all of our customers can enjoy a more pleasant and comfortable journey." 

Happily those travelling on 1E15 beyond Newcastle can break the fast at 13:59.

Britain's least friendly station?

This from the Mad Hatter... 

Passing through Gainsborough I thought I'd pay a visit to the town's Central station.

Alas!

I was unable to access the platforms or footbridge as station is open SATURDAYS ONLY, although there is nothing to say as much on the outside of the palisade fencing. 

Inside the locked and bolted gates are three notice boards, but because of the angle of the board and the small type size you cant see what time the trains run (on the Saturdays they do run), only a printed part of the timetable that says ‘Saturdays only’.  Even National Rail doesn’t list the station’s opening times.

A contender for one of the most unfriendly stations – with no payphone, no notice with opening times on the locked gate, no easy sight of the notice board for train times, etc...

Oddly, just a few miles up the line at Kirton Lindsay, where the service is the same (Sat only), you can walk on the platform with no restrictions. 

Daft, innit. 

Freighties diversifying?

This from the Hammer Man...

Genius!

Lookalike - Fastest in the West edition

Parry flees First for the Cut

This from the Canal and River Trust...

New chief executive appointed

Richard Parry is to swap trains for boats as he takes up the role of chief executive of the Canal & River Trust starting this summer.

Currently at FirstGroup, Richard headed up First's bid in 2012 for the InterCity West Coast line and more recently has been leading First's highly-regarded Hull Trains company as well as other wider development programmes across First's rail businesses 

Before that he spent 19 years at London Underground (LU) and Transport for London (TfL) where he had a range of senior roles, spending eight years as a director of LU, including a year as interim LU managing director (2009-10), and then a further 18 months as deputy managing director, TfL Rail and Underground (2010-11).
 
Interesting. Does this herald some further moves at First?

UPDATE: This from a Mr Tony Miles... 

Am I alone in wondering whether the role of MD at First Hull Trains is now timed to change with the same frequency as that of the Secretary of State for Transport? 

If so anyone offered the job may want to take this into account! (Which one, Parry's or McLoughlin's? Ed)

Exceptional customer service explained...

You may need to click on this to view it in all its glory...

 

Pure genius and thank you Twitter!

Pointless signs - Railtex edition

I counted them all out...

This from the Thin Controller 

Perhaps Eye readers can advise just how many of the industry's great and good (including one if not two ministers) made it to the Rail Delivery Group away-day at Westwood... before Freightliner's Felixstowe - Ditton sat down with a failed brake pipe, completely shafting the southern end of the WCML?


Just asking.

Kettle alert...

Railtex this week so mostly busy.

Here something to delight, or not...


 
Ooops!

Griffiths - two out of three ain't bad!

Much Sunday morning spluttering of cornflakes, courtesy of the Telegraph's business section.

In an interview Martin Griffiths, the soon to be Stagecoach supremo, offered the following terse observations on the railway:

HS2 - 'in the wrong place'.

Waterloo throat - 'knackered'

Railways - 'a middle class thing'.

Whilst items one and two will no doubt be causing palpitations in Whitehall, item three should at least endear Stagecoach to ministers.

After all it is only nineteen months since millionaire Philip Hammond, then Secretary of State for Transport, decreed that trains were 'a rich man's toy'!

Good to see that the Deep Alliance is at least delivering a marginally more inclusive railway...