NR board appointment fires up reformers zeal

Yesterday's Independent on Sunday reported that there is disquiet amongst NR members about the proposed appointment of Janis Kong to the company's board.

The decision is due to be rubber stamped in July at NR's Annual General Meeting but with reform to Network Rail governance mentioned in both the Tory and newly resurgent LibDem manifestos this could become a cause celebre.

Kong was a non-Exec at RBS when Fred the Shrek ran the doomed banking group and she was also on the remuneration committee that boosted the failed banker's pension pot by £20m.

NR's members, it should be remembered, are supposed to be the equivalent of shareholders in the not-for-profit company. Their disquiet is expected to be given voice at a members meeting tomorrow.

Despite these concerns NR remains bullish about the proposed appointment:

"When the board decided to invite Janis Kong to join them they did so in full expectation that a number of members would object on point of principle."

Did what!?!

The board of which real private sector company would dare treat its shareholders in such a cavalier fashion?

Thank goodness Network Rail has moved on from being an "arrogant" company.

Ashballs - Noble Lord rewrites diagrams and TTs

Much hilarity in Rosco land.

As any fule kno Virgin has invested billions in new trains (omitting to mention of course that it was the Roscos what done it!).

Evidently sauce for the goose is jus for the gander.

On Friday ATOC claimed that Virgin had laid on an additional "2,000 extra seats", largely on Anglo-Scottish services.

Well done.

A triumph for market forces and common sense, what with NR cancelling planned engineering works and all.

But what's this?

Viewers of yesterday's Andrew Marr show heard no less a figure than Gordon Brown claim that Lord Adonis was responsible for laying on the extra trains (as well as more ferries and Eurostars)!

With the above spin in mind Eye can exclusively reveal that The Fact Compiler instructed The Thin Controller to suspend his electioneering Pilgrimage of Grice and return to London immediately to sort the crisis out.

Meanwhile aviation-head Captain Deltic is understood to be chairing COBRA at this very moment.

Further examples of blatent ashballs welcome.

UPDATE: This from Capt Clarence Oveur...

Kindly note that the term is Total Aviation Person (TAP) not "Aviation Head"!

UPDATE: This from Bulldog Drummond...

So with no aircraft flying what about getting on with high speed Paris to Peking (or is it London to Lhasa) that was floated by the Chinese earlier this year?

I'm sure if we even seemed half interested Chinese State Railways would be at the Calais before HS2 even gets to hybrid bill stage.

ATOC unsure who the party leaders are - Official

This from the Raver....

Good to see ATOC has its fingers well and truly on the political pulse!


For the politically illiterate, or those who have been asleep for the last year, Gordon leads Labour and Nick the LibDems.

Looks like it's not just railway knowledge that is missing from the TOC lobby group.

Southern in pornography shocker

This from Sussex Driver...

Is there something that I'm missing on Railway Eye?

Southern certainly seem to think so...


The Fact Compiler is perplexed by the suggestion that Eye is pornographic.

Although it is possible that Southern's ever vigilant net-police might have taken offence at some recent pictures we published.

In particular this one, of a highly unnatural lovefest containing some deeply suggestive glances and a pair of perfectly formed orange orbs...


Truly disgusting.

Election clock ticking for 1,300 new vehicles

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
Finger out Adonis!

Only 19 days in which to place orders for the outstanding 757 additional vehicles in the High Level Output Specification.

Your elected colleagues with constituencies in and around Derby expect you to hand a cheque over to Colin Walton soonest.

UPDATE: This from Leo Pink...

And since the delay to the Thameslink new trains order has deferred 200 of the vehicles in the HLOS 1300 to Control Period 5, why not ask Uncle Colin to make up the number with some Turbostars and revive the Diesel Multiple Unit Project.

No doubt Porterbrook would like to further boost their local MP's chances by providing the funding for these DMUs.

Such gratitude would be in order since we all remember how the Derby MPs stood up for brave little Porterbrook as it defied the jack-booted hordes of DfT Rail. (Errr... is this right? Ed.)

The Thin Controller secures Jarvis jobs?

This just in from the RMT...

HOPES ROSE today that a new jobs rescue plan could save jobs lost following the collapse of rail maintenance firm Jarvis.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has told the leaders of the two main rail unions that Network Rail has agreed to re-allocate Jarvis work in a matter of days, and that workers on the new contract would be directly employed.

Just fancy that!

Is there an election in the offing?

UPDATE: This from The Major...

I'm quite sure the redundant Jarvis staff will be re-employed not least because TUPE applies if the work they were doing goes to another company.

NR knows this.

The RMT knows this.

But hey, no harm in the RMT claiming victory in a hard-won class struggle against private sector 'fat cats' while knowing all along the result was a legal certainty.

Pointless cycle racks - Howwood

Pointless cycle racks - Paisley Canal

Ash cash

Not content with buggering up our financial system and selling cheap frozen vegetables Iceland has now screwed up our aviation industry.

Below Agincourt International last night - displaced aviation passengers queuing for unavailable Eurostar tickets.


Good effort!

Update: This from the Major...

Awfully nice of the CAA (prop Andrew Haines) to give his former rail industry colleagues such a lovely financial boost.

Update: This from Jumbo...

Let's hope that our politicians were too distracted by last nights beauty parade of their leaders to notice that a high-speed rail network is unnecessary to reduce the number of passengers making domestic flights in the UK.

An Icelandic volcano appears to be far more effective.

UPDATE: Network Rail speaks...

Network Rail's director of operations and customer services, Robin Gisby, said: "Network Rail is doing everything it can to help passengers whose journeys have been disrupted by the volcanic ash cloud.

"We have reviewed all engineering work we have planned for the next few days and where it will allow train operators to run existing or extra services, this work has been cancelled.

"This mainly applies to long-distance operators on the east and west coast mainlines and on routes to the Channel ports.

"I would like to take this opportunity to assure the public that the volcanic ash cloud is having no material impact on the safe and punctual running of passenger and freight trains.

UPDATE: Eurostar speaks...

This from the BBC News website:

Eurostar said its train services between London and Paris and Brussels were sold out on Friday, and urged people not to come to St Pancras station in London to look for tickets.

BBC Radio News at 13.00 reported "Eurostar's ticket office at St Pancras is closed".

But according to a Eurostar tweet at 15:07: We're adding additional #Eurostar trains over the weekend. Please see eurostar.com for availability & booking.

Anyone have a clue what's going on?

Pilgrimage of Grice protocol notice

Please note that under Prime Ministerial Decree 10/003 all members of the cabinet are to be greeted in the following style:


Train crew about their official duties may merely curtsy (this derogation does not extend to platform staff).

UPDATE: This from Driver Potter...

You just wait - if I see anyone get a camera out it's BTP all the way; the charge?

Failing to unveil extensions to the 3rd Rail Network.

The 3rd Rail Avenger will have his day, I tell you!

First but possibly not for freight

Industry and Twitter sources suggesting GBRf may be looking for a new home.

Freightliner GBRf anyone?

How the media works...

Eye yesterday...

Torygraph today (actually tomorrow if you still pay for it).

Nice to see the Telegraph using credible sources.

Chartered Institution irony

The following amusing email has just arrived from the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation

Reminder - cancellation of 14 April presentation

Dear Colleagues

Just a reminder to advise that unfortunately this event has been cancelled this evening, as notified below.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

And the title of the cancelled meeting?

The 'Advantage of Hindsight'!

White joins Stagecoach

This from TransportXtra...

Former National Express Group chief executive Phil White is to join Stagecoach's board as a non-executive director.

Souter circling NatEx?

Thin Controller's election Pilgrimage of Grice

The Thin Controller is out and about on the network this month.


To help voters keep tabs on the unelected Secretary of State the Labour party has created a special website covering this latest Pilgrimage of Grice.

As policy is evidently being formulated on the hoof - Adonis used Monday's visit to Sheffield to concede the Battle of the Barriers - this should make for some interesting announcements en-route.

Eye would welcome details of said as well as any pictures or observations that might not make it on to Labour's official site...

UPDATE: This just in from Only2misters...

Thanks for providing a link to Labour's 'Pilgrimage of Grice' mini-site.

However, you may be interested to see from the screen-grab below that NR sees this as 'potentially damaging' content and a possible 'security threat'.


Indeed!

UPDATE: This from Leo Pink...

Could not Eye itemise the miracles the Thin Micro-manager has wrought on his Pilgrimage of Grice?

Having had the casting out of the gates at Sheffield can we expect the miracle of the bodyshells and bogies which create 202 DMU vehicles?

Sadly the resurrection of IEP is probably beyond divine providence.

First for ruining the pleasure of rail travel

This from the BBC...

The first on-board TV service for train travellers in the UK has begun.

The service, which passengers have to pay for, has been introduced on some high-speed trains operated by the First Great Western (FGW) rail company

Presumably to ensure picture quality FGW will now dispense with cleaning train windows?

UPDATE: This from @cbuchanancubed, via Twitter...

On train entertainment - First Great Western fail to spot market moved on years ago eg laptops playing DVDs

UPDATE: This from a Mr Saltaire...

As reported on The Eye (and the BBC), I sampled the Volo equipment on a First HST today..... it’s rubbish!

The content is all repeats of old TV shows, and the equipment is in one coach (D) of Standard Class only.

Alas, our elected representatives (but not our brave boys) look set to be spared this indignity.

UPDATE: This from @tonyveitchUK, via Twitter..

GWR always different, eh?

GNER, GC, Amtrak, DB, Virgin, etc must have been barking up wrong tree.

LibDem Manifesto - Transport section

This from the LibDems manifesto launched today...

public transport you can rely on
Britain needs a well-run, efficient transport system.

Public transport is an important part of a fair society and the best way to cut carbon emissions from transport without trying to limit people’s opportunities to travel.

We want to improve the experience for the traveller and cut carbon emissions.

We will:

• Switch traffic from road to rail by investing in local rail improvements, such as opening closed rail lines and adding extra tracks, paid for by cutting the major roads budget.
• Cut rail fares, changing the contracts with Train Operating Companies so that regulated fares fall behind inflation by 1 per cent each year, meaning a real-terms cut.
• Make Network Rail refund a third of your ticket price if you have to take a rail replacement bus service.
• Overhaul Network Rail to put the interests of passengers first and bring it under the Freedom of Information Act to make it more open.
• Set up a UK Infrastructure Bank to invest in public transport like high speed rail.
• Give councils greater powers to regulate bus services according to community needs so that local people get a real say over routes and fares.
• Include the promotion of safer cycling and pedestrian routes in all local transport plans.

restricting aviation growth
The emissions from rising aviation are a serious problem in the fight against climate change. But in some more remote parts of the country, flights are a vital lifeline, and aviation is important for the economy as a whole.

Liberal Democrats believe that we should do all we can to ensure people use alternatives where that makes sense.

We will:

• Replace the per-passenger Air Passenger Duty with a per-plane duty (PPD), so capturing freight movements by air for the first time.
• Introduce an additional, higher rate of PPD on domestic flights for which alternative and less polluting travel is readily available.
• Cancel plans for the third runway at Heathrow and any expansion of other airports in the South East.

a fair deal for motorists
Our planned expansion of public transport will provide much-needed alternatives to private cars, and cut carbon emissions.

However, in many places there will always be a need for car travel, so we need to ensure that it is as environmentally friendly as possible.

We will:

• Work through the EU for a zero emissions target for all new cars by 2040 and extend targets to other vehicles.
• Undertake preparations for the introduction of a system of road pricing in a second parliament. Any such system would be revenue neutral for motorists, with revenue from cars used to abolish Vehicle Excise Duty and reduce fuel duty, helping those in rural areas who have no alternatives to road travel. Some of the revenue from lorries
• would be used to fund further extensions of high speed rail through the UK Infrastructure Bank.
• Introduce a rural fuel discount scheme which would allow a reduced rate of fuel duty to be paid in remote rural areas, as is allowed under EU law.

Still no mention of Thameslink or indeed Crossrail in this one...

Pointless signs - Baker Street

With a bowler tip to @swlines, via Twitter.

Merseyrail's grand Grand National

Unnoticed by most of the industry Merseyside operator Merseyrail pulled off quite a coup over the extended Grand National weekend.

This from PR man Rudi...

For us of course, it was our opportunity to show to the casual user what we are about.

Eye readers may be interested to know that we doubled services on the Aintree route to 8 trains an hour in each direction.

We also laid on all sorts of entertainment such as Juice FM broadcasting their programmes from the station and entertaining the waiting hordes, give-aways (remember the flipflops for ladies day?), extra toilets (with dedicated cleaners to keep them salubrious) etc etc.


Over the 3 days we had very little delays and even fewer trains failing PPM; in fact on Saturday, in spite of all the extra trains and the crowds, our network PPM was 93.95%...

And here is our MD Bart Schmeink's thank you to staff:

Hi all,

Thank you so much for another great Grand National performance by you all over the last three days.

We've had more passengers than ever before, even more then in our record year 2008.

First indication is that more than 100.000 passengers travelled with us over the three days.


The whole system worked as smoothly as a swiss watch with all our units in service and every station chipping in.

Our overall performance, including our showbiz X factor at Aintree, has pushed our reputation on Merseyside to new heights.

I know I shouldn't push it, by saying I'd like to have the Grand National every day but then again these 3 days seem to get the best out of everyone.

Thank you so much for a great performance, a great day and another truly remarkable grand national event.

All the best Bart

Good effort.

Don't mention the 'T' word

Telegrammed by Our Man at 222 Marylebone Road
Noticeably missing from both the Labour and Conservative manifesti is any commitment to Th*m*sl*nk.

This project is, of course, fully funded in Control Period 4 which ends on 31 March 2014.

But with London Bridge remodelling and the new train fleet deliveries running through to the end of 2016 - two years into CP5 (the Control Period of Doom) - Thameslink appears at serious risk of truncation.

And that's before the great experiment of resignalling with ETCS plus an ATO overlay for 24 trains/hour.

With CP5 promising massive cut-backs in railway funding is this mass aversion to the 'T' word an augury?