Pointless sign - Waterloo

This from a Mr Lost the Will to Live...

So where else might a balcony be then?

Veitch off to Upsidedown-land!

So farewell Jon Veitch, the latest loss to the Dominions!

After more than 26 years working on Britain's Railways Jon will be leaving these hallowed shores to take up the role of General Manager, Freight, for the Downer Group in Australia.

Jon, currently Fleet Manager at East Midlands Trains, is due to become a 'Ten Pound Pom' at the end of August.

Fans of esoteric traction will recall that Jon has played a key role in restoring prototype HST power car 41001, as well as naming all four 08's at Neville Hill.

Amidst other claims to fame he oversaw the return to service of  a 'bubble car' to Wales, the introduction of the WAG Express, the transition of the West Coast from classic locomotives to the Pendolinos and played a leading role in the infamous Intercity Express Programme.

Eye wonders how we will survive without him!

Wishing you all the best Jon. Oh, and any chance you can take the IEPs with you?

Pendocycle200 from Manchester to Euston

This from the Pendocycle200 Team...

 

Virgin Trains staff at Manchester Piccadilly are organising a charity event in support of The Christie, a specialist cancer centre based in Manchester.

The Christie charity raises money to fund projects which are outside the scope of the NHS. This includes cancer research, new facilities and extra patient services. Howard Newhall, community fund raising officer at The Christie charity, will join Virgin Trains in the activity.

The event, which takes place on 28th June 2013, involves cycling 220miles between Manchester Piccadilly and London Euston railway stations. Participants must leave Manchester at 0505 (with the first train to London) and finish their journey in time to catch the last train back to Manchester, at 2200 – giving cyclists a pedalling time of 16 hours 55 minutes to cover the distance. Not easy!

In the run up to the event, the organising team will arrange for items to be auctioned on a dedicated eBay account and all money raised there will go towards the final amount. 
 
For more information on Pendocyle visit: www.pendocycle200.com. To contribute visit: www.justgiving.com/pendocycle200

Railway Garden Competition - Norwich

This via @NoddingDonkey...

Lawn mower required for recovery of these 158's at Norwich!

What's 'hundreds of millions of pounds' between friends?

Good to see partnership is alive and well on the LNW Route!

Apparently Beardie Rail is threatening to take NR to court over poor performance.

According to Virgin Rail's CEO, Tony Collins, in the FT...

“We have been trying to work with Network Rail to sort things out but this has been going on for 15 years and we have been left with no alternative,” he said, adding that it was damaging the Virgin brand.

Errr...

No matter.

Meanwhile in the Birmingham Mail Collins is quoted as saying
 
“We have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on a fleet of reliable trains and we pay NR nearly £200 million a year to maintain the West Coast line for us. We feel that we are not getting value for money in this respect and our customers have been let down and deserve more consistency.”

Virgin has spent 'hundreds of millions of pounds' on its train fleet, eh?

Who knew?

Pity the poor old Rolling Stock Leasing Companies!

In Beardie World they now assume the mantle of Trotsky - suitable only for being air-brushed out of history.

UPDATE: This from Steve Strong...

Virgin obviously shares the same view of Roscos as the DfT.

Perhaps this explains the recent rapprochement?

A threat to the NRM - time for an industry response?

"A nation that forgets its past has no future."

Wise words from Winston Churchill!

So what are we to make of threats to the National Railway Museum?

According to the Beeb... 

One of three museums in the north of England will close if further cuts to budgets are made, their owner has said.

The Science Museum Group (SMG) said it was in a "weak" financial position.

As well as the Science Museum in London, SMG runs the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, the National Railway Museum in York and the National Media Museum in Bradford.

Director Ian Blatchford said as well as the closure, "big cuts" may also be made to the museum in London.

He said the prospect of a further 10% cut in funding in the next round of government spending proposals meant "almost certainly" one museum would shut.

Meanwhile York's The Press is mounting a campaign to Save the NRM.

Who is leading the industry response to this threat and how can Eye readers support?

National Express in vote rigging shocker!

This from NatEx owned C2C...

National Express train company c2c is backing Leanne Jarvis, daughter of train driver Dave, in the live finals of the BBC One show ‘The Voice’.

Dave, who has been driving c2c passengers for the past 10 years, has been making tannoy announcements each time he drives a train urging passengers to vote for his daughter, who is one of the final 12 contestants in the television programme.

And now c2c is putting posters up at its stations urging the 90,000 passengers who use c2c every day to support Leanne in this weekend’s live programme, in the hope she makes it through to next week’s semi-finals of the competition.

Disgraceful! And good effort.

Harnessing the power of new media and the web

They're a cheeky lot in Derby!

This from RVEL - a nice little video package about a visit from Patrick McLoughlin on Monday.



Whilst 'RVEL-vision' is a little bit corny (a little bit!?! Ed), this is a great example of disintermediation!

Why go broadcast to get your message out, when Narrowcast is the future!

New Rail Supply Chain Forum!

This from George Ramshaw Curry...

Given that one remit of the new and exciting DfT and BIS backed 'Rail Supply Chain Forum' is to:

• Promote the UK rail industry, improving export coordination and exploring other opportunities for UK companies to successfully engage in both the UK and International rail sector and supply chains

you might have expected that the Director General of the Railway Industry Association would have been present at the meeting on June 4 where Messrs McLoughlin and Cable opened the proceedings.

Unfortunately said DG had something more important to do that day.

He was leading an overseas trade mission to Taiwan!

Happily none of the speakers introducing the various topics were actually from the manufacturing industry either.

So that's all right then!

UPDATE: This from the Railway Industry Association...

Perhaps churlish to suggest actually selling things overseas might meet our remit quite well...

Nonetheless, it should be noted that RIA was well represented at this meeting by its Chairman, Policy Director, and several Council members.
 
UPDATE: George Ramshaw Curry replies...
 
But what is this fantastic new body actually for?

What will it do that RIA doesn't already do, and why was nobody from the supply chain asked to be a speaker at the event?

Is this yet another industry talking shop?

UPDATE: This allegedly, and perhaps surprisingly, from Henry Kissinger...

 Getting DfT and BIS in the same room is no mean achievement!

Pointless signs - Victoria

This with a bowler tip to @sinminkles via twitter...

QR Codes - a solution in search of a problem?

Why uniform standards need to be standard...

The Fact Compiler's latest column in Passenger Transport published on the 24th May...

The next edition of Passenger Transport will be published on the 7th June.

Highland Main Line 150 - properly celebrated!

This from Anon...

As the Highland Main Line celebrates its 150th anniversary, I thought Eye readers might enjoy this image of three dubious characters propping up an Inverness bar at the weekend.

Can you work out who they are yet?

Pointless signs - Maidenhead

A picture of competence...

This from Payroll No 1144...

I note with interest that the Soi Disant Veteran Observer has posted a new photo of himself on linked-in today.

Unfortunately in this one he now seems to be lacking the sage advice of the dog!

As this is at least the second, if not third picture, of the Soi Disant with the same Minister perhaps he is hoping to create some sort of record?

Either way, rather than running vanity pics on Social Media sites perhaps he should update his own website, which still features a twice failed Mayoral candidate and a now very dead chair of the TSC.

Perhaps he has lost the password?

UPDATE: This from the Soi Disant Veteran Observer himself...

***NOT FOR PUBLICATION***

This is really beginning to p**s me off!

Stop referring to me as the "soi disant veteran observer"!

Mr Fact Contorter - it isn't actually very amusing anymore and I don't know anyone who finds this funny. (We do. Ed).

And by the way there is nothing wrong with my website, it is merely on 'deferred maintenance' and will soon by relaunched with even better...  (sadly, owing to pressure of space, Eye is unable to publish the rest of this email from the soi disant 'veteran observer'. Ed).

Railway Garden Competition - Tunbridge Wells

This from Cardinal Allen...

Is Kent Route trialing an Eco-wall?

A message to Odgers from the Railway

Dear Odgers

Thank you for all your calls today asking us to help Network Rail find a successor to Graham Eccles.

Yes, he or she should be an 'operator'.

And no, recent experience in a front line operating role is not essential but is certainly desirable.

However, we wonder why NR has asked you to call us? 

As they work alongside us and know us all much, much better than you do, surely NR's own people could have made exactly the same calls for a fraction of the cost?

Still in the Age of Austerity every penny counts.

Love, The Railway.

Silver Fox to TXM Group!

Eye understands that the Silver Fox is abandoning Network Rail!

Graham Eccles, for it is he, has apparently decided to take up the role of chairman at the TXM Group.

He will step down from the NR board in July.

Interesting...

UPDATE: This from the Silver Fox himself...

Nothing odd about my moving on.  I'm getting on a bit and the time commitment at Network Rail, especially since becoming Chair of Remuneration Committee, is just more than I want to put in and there are other things I'd like to do with my life. TXM is something new for me and much more suited to an elderly gentleman.

Earlier this year David Wilson (ex Siemens) and I, along with another friend, bought a vineyard in the High Beaujolais.  I'd like to start spending more time there which I can't do with the time commitment at Network Rail.  David is an ideal partner, if he can flog £1.4 billion worth of trains to a Yorkshireman, he can certainly flog a few bottles of wine to our Gallic cousins.

Writing to you allows me to shamelessly plug the vineyard (see www.vatre.com), but it would also be nice to see old railway chums call in if they are out that way.

Regards G

 

The Bilderberg Group meets at The Grove!

Good news for fans of secretive and exclusive societies!

According to the Daily Telegraph: 

The annual gathering of royalty, statesmen and business leaders, will this week take place at the Grove Hotel, a golf resort in Watford, Hertfordshire.

Older hands will of course remember that this venue was once BR's Management and Training Centre, where Organising for Quality courses were offered to all railway managers.

Perhaps there is a message in this for this for iDave and Gideot?

OfQ? Indeed.

London Bridge to Aberystwyth? Sort of...

Good to see that all this modernisation malarkey doesn't necessarily mean that our history gets scrapped.

This from the Beeb... 

Part of London's oldest railway station is set to be rebuilt in Aberystwyth as part of a £10m plan for a narrow gauge railway museum.

Sections of London Bridge station's roof have been given to Vale of Rheidol Railway which operates small steam trains for tourists in mid Wales.

London Bridge station, which opened in 1836 and is used by 55 million people, is undergoing a £6bn redevelopment. 

Network Rail has saved 16 columns, 14 beams and other elements of the roof.

Good effort NR. And well done Vale of Rheidol Railway for offering a home.

Somnambulism aboard the Civil Service Express

This from Battersea Bertie...

The 87 bus that runs from Westminster to SW London is not called the "civil service express" for nothing. 

Last night I espied a young female "bureaucrat" falling asleep in front of her very own copy of the TSC "Lessons from the Intercity West Coast rail franchise competition" report!

At least this shows a degree of consistency.

Officials asleep both before and after the event.