Chunnel woes - but silver lining in sight

This from Judge Nutmeg...

The European Commission has today announced that it is taking proceedings against the UK and French Governments over their failure to comply with European railway law in the structure and regulation of the Channel Tunnel.  

In particular, the Commission is concerned that this non-compliance is causing prices for passengers and freight customers to be too high. 

No doubt this will be strongly opposed by the Governments, and long protracted court cases will follow.

Of course, if the European single market was working properly, one could rely on competitive powers to control prices; in this case competition from the alternative mode, cross channel ferries.

The same ferries in fact that the Competition Regulator has just banned Eurotunnel from buying, with multiple legal cases also heading to court.

The benefits of EU Membership for the Legal Profession can surely not be doubted even by Monsieur Farage and Co.

RDG parks tanks on Rosco lawns

This from Passenger Transport...

The Rail Delivery Group, the Department for Transport and franchise owning groups have begun initial discussions which could lead to train operating companies purchasing new trains directly rather than leasing them from the ROSCOs (rolling stock leasing companies).

Good news indeed.

Anything that emasculates those with a long term interest in the industry, whilst benefiting "thinly capitalised equity profiteers of the worst kind" has to be a good idea (Is this right? Ed).

Apparently First Group is already chomping at the bit to buy new rolling stock for its Great Western franchise.

According to Tim O'Toole, CEO of First Group:

“We need more trains, and we’ve made this plain to the government, and they have got to allow this to happen”.

Quite so Tim and with First Group finances in such robust health it seems such a shame that Dai Woodham is no longer in business.

UPDATE: This from Leo Pink...

Has DfT  Permanent Secretary Philip Rutnam taken a leaf from the General Galtieri Book of  Political Strategems?  

With his department's expensive in-house  procurement of IEP and Thameslink rolling stock under fire, how better to deflect criticism than attacking those nasty people in trade - the  'expensive' ROSCOs.

UPDATE: This from Ithuriel...
 
At a recent meeting of the Rail Delivery Group one topic rasied was:
Rolling stock – issues emerging on value for money.

Can it be that they have woken up to the ludicrous cost of the Great Western and East Coast Ninky Nonk train ?
 
Probably not. We suspect that the real concern is the blood-sucking rentals being charged by the Roscos for err.. Pacers.
 

ORR hopes for 25% uplift in satisfaction

Exciting news from those masters of railway finances - the ORR!

Here is the feedback form from yesterday's ORR industry periodic review 2013 bash in London.

Good to see those charged with the very big numbers can't get a grip on the, er, small numbers..!!

Perhaps option 5 is a reflection of ORR's very own Optimism Bias?

Smart ticket - dumb name!

This from Thomas Edmonson...

Manchester's new transport smart card is to be called 'My get me there'

Now I can understand the rationale behind LT's 'Oyster' - as Del Boy would say, with the card the world's your lobster.

Merseyside's 'Walrus' is an obvious homage to the Beatles - Hong Kong having got there first with the Octopus.

And I suppose Southern's 'Key' could imply that it is the key to simpler travel.

But  'My get me there' sounds more like a nursery euphemism.

Should the Manchester authorities decide to recant in the face of local protects can I suggest 'Itso'? (Why? Ed).
 
Because It's so easy to use! (Groan. Ed)

UPDATE: This from a Mr Paul Prentice...

They can't use 'Itso'.

It sounds far too much like a certain Japanese sushi bar chain (Itsu) in which one Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned…

Tortoise disrupts rail services - Official!

This just in from a Mr Fergy Lee... 

Services on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway came to a halt today due to the presence of two tortoises loose on the line near Wirksworth.

Eye salutes a heritage railway with members able to catch these monsters of the wild...

Mr Lergy Fee continues...

"There is no truth in the rumour that star of this weekend’s diesel gala 31414 (soon to re-emerge this weekend in green livery as D5528), was sent to apprehend them but failed to keep up".

Eye observes: Nothing wrong with Go-Anywhere Cl31s, as long as they are properly maintained of course...

UPDATE: This from a Mr Through the Glass, somewhat darkly...

Brilliant! You could name them Wirks and Worth! 

They will at least last much much longer than a 31.....and probably be able to pull far more weight.

Whitehall wanderings - a good thing!

The Fact Compiler's latest column in Passenger Transport published on the 7th June...

The next edition of Passenger Transport will be published on the 21st June.

Vaizey - No reason NRM should close!

This from ITV...

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has today confirmed that the threat of closure hanging over Bradford' National Media Museum and York's National Railway Museum has been lifted .

"They [the Science Museum Group] asserted if there was a certain level of cuts they would have to look at closing one……..They are not going to receive those level of cuts so there is no reason why any of these museums should close," said Mr Vaizey

Very good. Carry on.

Cross-hatch Madness - Templecombe

This with a bowler tip to a Mr Tingey...


 
Why?

Swiss show the path to Innovation

Good news for fans of cuckoo clocks!

The Engineering Innovation Team are looking for new ideas but this one from Switzerland shows what the UK is up against.

This from Global Rail News...

Clip-Air’ has been touted by its developers, Swiss university EPFL, as the future of intermodal travel. Passengers could board a train in London and arrive in New York without leaving their seat.

Train capsules would travel directly to the airport from city centre railway stations where they would then latch on to the underside of a specially-equipped plane.

The aircraft would be capable of supporting three of these capsules, each with around 150 passengers on board.

Good news indeed.

It looks as if there is already a prototype of this exciting Swiss innovation in operation!

And here it is coming in to land!



Hmmm... a bit more work to do perhaps? 

UPDATE: This from Trailer Second...

Is this from the same team that brought us the bi-mode IEP?

Railway Garden Competition - Manchester Piccadilly

This from 142013...

A very pleasant spot of growth alongside plaform 13.

Railway Khazi Watch - Jeremy Corbyn MP!

This from Richard Hebditch of the Campaign for Better Transport...

Given Eye's occasional interest in toilets on the network, thought you might be interested in this rather long series of PQs from Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn on toilets on the rail network from today’s order paper: 

403 Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with train operating companies in respect of the provision of adequate toilet facilities.

404 Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department collects on the provision of toilet facilities or working toilet facilities by rail franchise.

405 Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department collects on concerns raised on the adequacy of toilet facilities provided by train operators.

406 Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what sanctions are available to his Department against train operating companies who do not provide adequate toilet facilities; and what sanctions have been employed against train operating companies in the last five years.

407 Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is a requirement in franchise agreements for train operators to have working toilets on all of their services.

408 Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there is a requirement in franchise agreements for train operators for a minimum level of working toilet provision on train services before a train enters service.

409 Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there are different requirements for toilet provision in train franchises in respect of (a) commuter, (b) intercity and (c) regional services.

410 Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which body is responsible for monitoring whether train operators provide adequate and working toilet facilities; and what methodology is used for any such monitoring.

Slightly wonder if his interest stems from an unfortunate personal experience…

ORR Draft Determination - Word Cloud

The story of a pole - McNulty cost creep explained

This from Citizen Smith...

Once there was a mirror on a pole on a platform.

Then bits of it were painted yellow, then a small fence was put up round it. Bits of the fence were also painted yellow.

Then someone realised the fence meant that anyone passing the mirror might walk in an area behind a yellow line.

They put up signs so that people walked the other way. They made sure these signs were branded.

Great Western Route and FGW - delivering a Value for Money railway...

Railway Khazi Watch - Waterloo

This from the Hammer Man...

Seemingly the 'newly refurbished' cludgies at Waterloo (all puns intended) don't even offer you a lock when you spend your 30 pennies!

Dunstone on HS2

This from Cable.co.uk... 

Money from the HS2 scheme could be better spent on broadband, Sir Charles Dunstone has argued.

Sir Charles Dunstone, the Chairman of TalkTalk and Carphone Warehouse, has called for the government to spend a chunk of its huge budget for the High-Speed 2 (HS2) rail network on improving the UK's broadband infrastructure. 

Just fancy that. 

And in other news: Bears advocate defecating in woods and the Pope remains resolutely Catholic. 

John Knox alive and well at Scotrail

Good news for fans of the New Puritanism! 

The McKilljoys of Scotrail have banned e-fags!

According to The Herald...

SCOTRAIL has banned e-cigarettes from its trains and railway stations as concerns over their safety continue to grow.

The train company this week confirmed staff and passengers were no longer allowed to use the smoking devices on their services.

And they said there was concern other passengers might think they could smoke real cigarettes on the trains, if they saw someone using the alternative product.

FFS!

Where to start? 

Good to see First Group doing their level best to make rail travel that little less bearable.

Lookalike - In the Nightmare Garden

Shopping the NR way!

This from a Former NR Sleeper...

Thought readers might enjoy this handy Network Rail guide to shopping.

Simples!

ORR goes in for mystic accounting?

This from Alecto...

What a marvelous piece of fiddle factor in ORRs determination of Network Rail's net revenue requirement (p 29):

• "We then look at financial indicators and adjust the level of amortisation so that Network Rail‟s financial sustainability is not unduly affected by this approach (hence the term "financial sustainability adjustment")."

But "financial sustainability adjustment" sounds so much more professional. 

As in: "Here you go guv', including parts, labour and err... financial sustainability adjustment that'll cost you £37.9bn."

ORR back-tracks on Biomass charging

This from the Rail Freight Group...

Rail Freight Group (RFG) today welcomed the ORR’s decisions on freight charges announced as part of the Draft Determination of the Periodic Review 2013.

As part of a package of reforms, ORR have concluded that;

• Biomass will not be subject to a new freight specific charge in control period 5.
• Increases in the variable access charges for freight will be capped at an average 10% compared to the 23% previously announced.  This is likely to reduce charges for intermodal traffic, and limits the impact of rises in the bulk markets such as aggregates and steel.
• The proposed 400% increase to the capacity charge for freight will not be implemented and a revised approach will be developed.
• The previously announced caps on the freight specific charge for ESI coal, iron ore and spent nuclear fuel will be reduced.  For ESI Coal, for example, the cap will reduce from £4.04 to £1.04 per kgtm.

Maggie Simpson, RFG Executive Director said today "We are pleased that ORR has listened to the concerns of the industry and has taken a balanced decision that is affordable and fair.  This will be a great relief to rail freight operators, customers and those seeking to invest in the sector who can now develop their business plans with confidence."

A good result!

RfG showing how lobbying should be done.

UPDATE: This from Steve Strong...

Bit of an embarrassing climb down from ORR then?

Presumably no one bothered to salute this when they ran it up the flag pole?