DfT issues West Coast franchise Super Injunction

Amidst yesterday's McNulty excitement Petrol-head also confirmed that re-franchising of InterCity West Coast has been delayed.

"Because relaxation of full prescription of train services in line with Sir Roy's recommendations was not signalled in the consultation document that we published on 19 January, I have decided that it is right and proper to consult on these proposals again, starting today, and ending on 17 August.

"As a consequence of this decision, Mr Speaker, I can inform the House that the new franchise on the Intercity West Coast will now be awarded in August 2012, after a competitive process involving the four shortlisted train operators, and will commence operations on 9th December 2012.

"The Department will seek to agree acceptable terms with the existing franchisee for a contract extension to 9th December 2012, but Directly Operated Railways Ltd, the Government-owned company that runs East Coast, will be ready to operate the franchise between April and December 2012 if necessary."

Good news indeed.

And comforting to see that the ICWC ITT contains its very own Super Injunction:


Here's to transparent bid processes and Open Government!

UPDATE: This from Steve Strong...

As the British Transport Police are soon to be armed presumably any bidders who transgress this injunction will be shot?

Villiers vignettes - Customer focused franchises

This from Cruella...

Written answers and statements, 18 May 2011

Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, Plaid Cymru)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the Great Western franchise beyond 2013.

Theresa Villiers (Minister of State (Rail and Aviation), Transport; Chipping Barnet, Conservative)

The specification for the new franchise, to commence in 2013, will be developed over the next year in consultation with the railway industry and stakeholders.

No mention of listening to actual passengers then?

IEP's first test run - Exclusive Video

This from Barry Spotter...

The video below shows the benefit of the bi-mode design to full advantage, as the prototype unit makes headway by making best use of its available traction packages.

Captain Deltic will be delighted to see that the suspected weight-versus-performance issues have clearly been recognised and remedied through lightweight body construction.



So let us hear no more criticism of DfT's excellent HST replacement programme!

Rail Delivery Group membership analysed

This from John...

I read with interest your recent piece on the new Railway Delivery Group.

What an interesting selection of people who have been chosen to deliver our new-and-improved railway.

They are:

• The head of one owner group who publicly referred to DfT as 'dysfunctional and deceitful'
  

• The head of a nationalised TOC that replaced two failed private sector operators
  

• A representative of the group that last ran the failed franchise above and which is in the process of losing its remaining two franchises

• A formerly successful British transport company which has since been bought by German State Railways and has had its assets sold off to the Italians

• A nominee of the Dutch State Railways

• A major British franchise operator whose only franchise may be nationalised next year as the government can’t decide what to do with it when it expires
  

• The transport group that is handing a major franchise back early to save money

• An executive from one owner group who will shortly join Network Rail's board

• A successful British freight operator, which is now owned by the Baharainis
  

• A nominee of German State Railways

• Two representatives from the Infrastructure controller

• And all records to be kept by a member of the Railway Heritage Committee

All bodes well for a bright new future!!

UPDATE: This from Bacon Butty...

Interestingly there is no financier representation on the new Rail Delivery Group.

Perhaps private sector investment in our railways is no longer required?

UPDATE: This from Leo Pink...

One unintended consequence of nationalisation is that the new Rail Delivery Group will not fall foul of Harriet Harperson's Equality Act...

UPDATE: This from the Globetrotter...

Whoops, I see no French freight operator amongst the forward-looking membership of this dynamic new industry leadership group.

Like all of the new entrants and open access competitors, the blue team appears to have been passed over in favour of the usual suspects from the ex-incumbents and/or state-owned nominees.

The green team, which I think is the organisation in question, is in fact owned by a Bahrain investment group, so the boys in red braces are not entirely overlooked.

Of course, the German-owned red team is represented by a French-Canadian, so at least the linguistic pot-pourri remains intact.

With the Scots supplying an American and the thin controller hailing from Brisbane, we have a truly British line-up going forward.

The Fact Compiler stands corrected - post amended.

McNulty - Transform Scotland gets it!

Exciting news for ScotRail passengers!

This press release from Transform Scotland...

Not so much a request as a dead certainty.

Membership of Rail Delivery Group unveiled

This from the new Rail Delivery Group...

RAIL INDUSTRY SETS UP POWERFUL NEW GROUP IN RESPONSE TO CHALLENGE FROM McNULTY

Rail industry leaders today set-up a powerful new group to lead the industry forward in delivering a higher performing, more cost effective and sustainable railway network for Britain's rail users and taxpayers.

The new Rail Delivery Group (RDG) will be made up of the most senior figures in the rail industry - the chief executives of the passenger and freight train operating owning groups and Network Rail - and will be chaired by Tim O'Toole, the chief executive of FirstGroup.

Mr O'Toole said: "This important group will form the nucleus of a new rail industry order that will provide leadership on cross-industry issues to enable delivery improvements for rail users and for the taxpayer. The train operating companies and devolved Network Rail teams will remain accountable for delivery at a local level."

Sir Roy McNulty highlighted the need for such a group in his final report: "The study is strongly of the view that the rail industry needs to be given, and needs to accept, greater responsibility for its own future. The study therefore recommends the establishment of a Rail Delivery Group (RDG) with responsibility for cross-industry leadership of a substantial programme of change."
The RDG will normally meet bi-monthly, but for the rest of the year, it will meet monthly and be joined by Sir Roy McNulty, to help the group, and the railway as a whole, take forward his recommendations.

The group will focus on industry-wide issues, including the strategy and long-term vision for the railway. It will seek to inform key choices facing governments and the development of plans in response to governments' output specifications. It will consider and implement change in response to key recommendations from McNulty, including the proposal for a rail systems agency.

The group will also steer and take ownership of the vitally important Initial Industry Plans (IIP), due to be published in September as part of the regulatory review process. The plans will detail the rail industry's view of the scope for improved efficiency and the key choices relating to the next five year funding period (CP5) from 2014 to 2019.

Note to editors

• The owning groups will be represented on the RDG by the chief executives of Abellio, Arriva, DB Schenker, Directly Operated Railways, FirstGroup, Freightliner, Go-Ahead, National Express, Stagecoach and Virgin
• The vice-chairman of the group will be David Higgins, chief executive, Network Rail
• The secretary of the group will be Graham Smith who has been a key member of Sir Roy McNulty's study team
• Paul Plummer, Network Rail's director of planning and development, has also been invited to join the group
• Government and the ORR will not be members, but will be invited to provide input to the group on key issues as will other industry bodies (such as ATOC and the Rail Freight Operators Association), suppliers (such as the Rail Industry Association) and trades unions
• The IIPs produced by the industry are intended to inform choices about the outputs which governments in England, Wales and Scotland specify as part of the periodic regulatory review process
• The full membership of the RDG is:

COMPANY NAME Abellio Anton Valk Arriva David Martin D B Schenker Alain Thauvette Directly Operated Railways Elaine Holt First Group Tim O’Toole (chair) Freightliner Peter Maybury Go-Ahead Keith Ludeman National Express Dean Finch Network Rail David Higgins (vice-chair), Paul Plummer Stagecoach Brian Souter Virgin Patrick McCall Graham Smith (secretary)

- ENDS -

First IEP arrives in UK - Exclusive Picture!

And entirely under its own power...


Eye wonders if Mr Kipling regularly holidays in Malaysia?

Man hoofs it on to train...

Exciting news from the BBC...

Apparently a man tried to board a train at Wrexham with a pony!


Makes a change from the usual sheep...

UPDATE: This, surprisingly, from Kendo Nagasaki...

Honourable Fact Compiler.

I believe that is Baker San with the latest motive power for the IEP Donkey Engine, which has been upgraded to Pony Propulsion.

Waterfront declares war on railway industry!

This from Captain James Bigglesworth, DFC and Bar...

Can someone at Waterfront can explain the significance of this Ilyushin Il 76 strategic transport aircraft to a conference on 'Connecting the UK.'


The Il-76, NATO code name 'Candid', first flew in 1971. It was designed to operate from short rough airfields and carry up to 40 tonnes of tanks and guns.

Do Waterboard know something about McNulty that we don't?

Sleepy Derbyshire wakes up!

Telegrammed by Ithuriel
Good grief, Margaret Becket has finally realised that there is a train factory in her constituency under threat from the Axis.

This written answer given by Cruella on the 16 May 2011...

Margaret Beckett (Derby South, Labour):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce the successful bidder for the Thameslink rolling stock order.

Theresa Villiers (Minister of State (Rail and Aviation), Transport; Chipping Barnet, Conservative)
My officials are continuing to evaluate the bids from the two remaining bidders in the competition to build the new trains for Thameslink. We are planning to announce the preferred bidder shortly.

Perhaps all will all become clear on Friday?

Silver Fox plans to take railway by storm?

Telegrammed by Our Man at 222 Marylebone Road
Tally Ho!

The Silver Fox has broken cover, with quotes on vertical integration post McNulty, in today's Pink 'un.

But given that our Graham is now a Network Rail non-exec his utterances must have greater significance than just another old-railway man venting his atavistic two penn'orth worth on John Major's fragmentation of his railway..

Could this be the early stages of an old-railway putsch, with Mr Eccles emphasising the importance of having a single guiding mind for the Network in future? Who could this guiding mind be?

We'd vote for the Silver Fox like a shot, but we suspect he could be acting as Richelieu to Robin Gisby's Louis XIII .

Barbielino confirmed!

This from the FT...

Britain’s most profitable train franchise could be taken back into state hands following a government decision to delay the auction of the West Coast service amid an overhaul of the rail system...

Virgin may have its franchise extended for the intervening nine months but, with a deal yet to be resolved, the government is considering handing the management of the service to Directly Operated Railways, the taxpayer-funded organisation that runs the East Coast line.

Eye presumes that the Competition Commission will take a close interest in one operator running both East and West Coast franchises...

UPDATE: This from Leo Pink...

Good to see the Pink 'un catching up with the story in Sunday's Observer by Dan Milmo confirming the suspension of the Intercity West Coast Franchise bidding (actually a story Eye broke last Thursday! Ed).

And even better to see that the FT stylebook still mandates the adjective 'lucrative' in the first reference to any franchise.

Sooo 1990s.

Pointless signs - Glasgow Central

This from the Rover...

This pointless sign pictured at Glasgow Central station on Sunday

Good to see the word 'passengers' in there, as well as a stray apostrophe for amusement.


In the spirit of the new Scottish politics presumably the entrances have already voted for independence?

Pointless signs - Leeds station

This from Steve...

Taken at Leeds on Sunday prior to the departure of the 09:44 EMT service to St. Pancras. You may notice that whilst Loughborough and Wellingborough get full listing Market Harborough doesn't.

The stops for East Midlands Parkway and Luton Airport Parkway seem to have been processed through an Enigma coding machine before being listed in text speak SHOUTING fashion.


One hopes that this trend isn't extended across the system - Penis for Penistone, WANCOM for Wandsworth Common?

PRballs - Level Crossings & Pelham Bell Pottinger

This exciting news from Pelham Bell Pottinger...

Network Rail - Level Crossing Tragedies

On the back of today’s reports of failures by Network Rail to respond to warnings of tragedies at level crossings, IndigoVision wishes blah, blah, blah...

IndigoVision’s CCTV systems are based on digital IP technology. They are thus blah, blah, blah...

IndigoVision believes that:

a) The installation of proper CCTV equipment blah, blah, blah...

b) If combined with stringent financial penalties, this will act as a blah, blah. blah...

c) It is surely incumbent on Railtrack and other operators to install blah, blah...

Wait a minute!

Railtrack?

Eye salutes IndigoVision's PR agency.

Clearly they have their fingers on the railway industry pulse!

Railway Gardens - Bethnal Green

Railway Gardens - Freightliner at Peterborough

This from the Albatross...

No measurable rain in the Eastern half of the UK for several months has eased the workload of those responsible for vegetation control.

And yet, in spite of this, the bountiful Buddleia is fighting back!

At Freightliner's Nene Valley Depot on platform 3 at Peterborough station it looks like the vegetation has already won!


Rumour has it that two drivers entered the 'depot' a few weeks ago and have not been since...

Moonlighting at Network Rail shocker!

Let's hear it for that doughty fighter after truth and defender of middle England, the loveable Daily Mail!

It would appear that Dacre's minions have discovered that our hard pressed judiciary is having to take up second jobs on the railway to make ends meet!


Eye congratulates the Mail's picture desk on this particular journalistic triumph!

Eye's latest list of Twittering TOCs

This for those not on Twitter.

Eye is maintaining a list of Twittering TOCs.

Remember, to be in the list you must be interactive. Not just broadcast.

Be there or be square!

New submissions always welcome (via Twitter of course - @TheFactCompiler)

That includes you Freighties, Network Rail and Heritage Railways!

Petrol-head declares war on staff costs

Philip Hammond has declared war on industry staff costs!

And quite right too!

At a conference today he said:

"A 21st century rail network needs 21st century employment practices, from the boardroom to the shop floor."

"With fares and levels of taxpayer support already so high, it would be simply irresponsible for us to ignore this issue any longer.

"Addressing inefficient working practices and excessive wage demands will form a key part of the strategy for building a sustainable and affordable railway" added the multi-millionaire Secretary of State.

'Nuff said.