Eye understands that the Ian Allan stable of magazines, which includes Modern Railways and Railways Illustrated, has been sold.
The new owner is Key Publishing of Stamford, better known for its aviation titles.
As Captain Deltic is no doubt saying, as he jumps up and down with excitement... Chocks Away!
Eye salutes the crew of 1V50 (or possibly 1Z50).
Clear, concise and relevant information displayed.
And the technology did not get the better.
Good effort!
This from the Office of Rail Regulation...
Grayrigg statement
Please find below Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) statement issued following today’s first hearing of the ORR prosecution against Network Rail for breaches of health and safety law which caused a train to derail near Grayrigg in February 2007, killing one person and injuring 86 people.
A spokesperson for the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) said:
"The Office of Rail Regulation's prosecution of Network Rail for breaches of health and safety law which caused a train to derail near Grayrigg in February 2007, killing one person and injuring 86 people, had its first hearing today at Lancaster Magistrates’ Court.
"Network Rail pleaded guilty to one charge under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The court has committed Network Rail to Preston Crown Court where a sentencing hearing will take place on 2 April 2012.
"Our thoughts are with the family of Mrs Margaret Masson and all those involved in this incident. ORR will do everything it can to ensure that the prosecution proceeds as quickly as possible."
For further information on the prosecution, please see the press notice issued at the start of the criminal proceedings against Network Rail on 13 January 2012.
ENDS
The normally camera shy Captain Deltic was out and about yesterday contributing to a BBC 4 programme.
"Off to record a BBC programme about HST this morning. Don't usually do TV but make an exception for getting HST creators their due credit." he tweeted.
So let Eye add its own birthday congratulations to the High Speed Train, the prototype of which rolled off the production line in June 1972.
A mere 22 months, and £800,000, after it was authorised by the British Railways Board.
HST - 40 years and still going strong!
Where as IEP - over £70 million* and just plain wrong!
*Based on DfT consultants fees, plus bidding costs.
There's a nice time-lapse video over on Southern's website showing the refurbishment of a class 377 vehicle in 3 minutes.
Sadly it isn't embeddable so no chance of it going viral (railway PRs please note for future reference!).
No matter.
Eye's man in Croydon with the green ink writes:
"It's a really good vfm project (in-house, no long trips extending the non-availability of the unit etc etc)."
Good effort.
This from a Mr Tony Miles...
I see that the Captain of Netball has issued a written ministerial statement today on Crossrail procurement.
In it Ms Greening says:My department has been working with colleagues across Whitehall, and suppliers and delivery bodies to implement these recommendations. Across the transport sector we want to improve dialogue with suppliers and increase the long-term visibility of forthcoming contracts in order to strengthen the capability of the UK supply chain....
And quite right too!
The Invitation to Negotiate includes requirements for ‘responsible procurement’. This means that bidders are required to set out how they will engage with the wider supply chain and provide opportunities for training, apprenticeships, and small and medium size businesses within their procurement strategy. Bidders are also required to establish an appropriate local presence to manage the delivery of the contract.
But what's this?
Rail Business Intelligence revealed last week that Bombardier is looking to source the electrical components for its Project Thor/eVoyager proposal from Sweden rather than Alstom in Preston!
The pleas for support for "The UK's last train builder" and all the stuff about supporting the local economy no doubt now seem rather hollow to the people of Preston and the Alstom workforce there.
I trust that MPs and union members who joined business leaders to campaign for the allocation of work to the Derby facility will bear this in mind should Crossrail not go Bombardier's way?
UPDATE: This from Captain Deltic...
Since the value added, high tech expensive stuff in a train is under the floor, the choice of traction package could have a big influence under the new Greening Doctirne of Responsible Procurement.
Might be worth running down the list of pre-qualified bidders for Crossrail to see if any of the train manufacturers hasn't got an in-house traction package supplier.
Olé!
This from The Herald...
The UK Treasury had offered a £50m contribution to upgrading the sleeper contingent on this being matched by the Scottish Government. The revelation in The Herald today that the Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has rerouted this £50m to enable Scottish water to accelerate capital expenditure must raise questions about the future of the sleeper service.
As Gideon's £50m bung to keep the Deerstalker Express on the rails was dependent on match funding from the Scottish Executive this may get interesting.
This from the Independent...
Juergen Maier, head of Siemens' UK arm, told The Independent that media coverage had been "biased", that 2,000 British jobs would be created, and that rival Bombardier should accept that this is "a competitive world".
Ah!
The old '2,000 British jobs' ploy.
Would it be churlish to point out that these 2,000 maintenance and depot jobs would have been created by whomsoever had won the Thameslink contract?
Meanwhile, only Bombardier offered to manufacture the new trains in Britain, whilst Siemens plan to build the Thameslink fleet in Germany.
Perhaps Herr Maier can tell us precisely how many British jobs that will create?
UPDATE: This from Captain Deltic, who raises a quizzical eyebrow....
2000 maintenance and depot jobs? for 1200 vehicles?
Perhaps 200?
This from the Grim Reaper...
Perhaps this is here to warn against any attempt to recover wandering bog brushes?
This from Storm Force...
The PIS was completely blank throughout the station yesterday except for the dot matrix message screens showing this helpful message.
This from Eye's Man 'Neath the Streets of London...
Sarah Siddons and Beattie well tank pictured at Baker Street this morning.
Exciting business bashing news from the Captain of Netball!
This exchange in the House yesterday:
Hugh Bayley (York Central) (Lab): What steps she plans to take to limit the bonuses and overall remuneration of executive directors of privately owned but publicly subsidised railway companies.
The Secretary of State for Transport (Justine Greening): Bonuses at shareholder-owned private sector companies are a matter for their remuneration committees and shareholders. In respect of Network Rail, I very much welcome the decision by the company’s executive directors to forgo this year’s annual bonuses.
Hugh Bayley: I ask the Secretary of State to think further on that. Of the six private companies that receive enormous subsidies from the taxpayer for running rail franchises, only one publishes information on the remuneration of its directors—the highest paid director receives £344,000 a year. Will she consider publishing, in an anonymised form if necessary, the salaries of all directors and staff of companies that receive money from the taxpayer when those salaries are higher, say, than her own?
Justine Greening: The hon. Gentleman makes an interesting suggestion. The Government are looking across the board at how we can introduce corporate governance rules that lead to a more responsible approach by companies, and that give shareholders the ability to hold their executive to account more effectively. Transparency is a key part of the Government’s agenda too, so I shall reflect on what he says.
So is La Greening about to abandon the pretence that we have a 'privatised railway'?
UPDATE: This from a clearly concerned Captain Deltic...
Where will it all end?
Some of that subsidy goes to the ROSCOs. Let's have their directors salaries.
Then there are the suppliers who profit from NR's subsidy.
To paraphrase Pastor Niemoller, first they came for the Network Rail Board and I didn't speak out, then they came for the TOC Chief Executives and so on.
Hmm, I make my living from writing about this industry. How long before this reaches as far as the jackals of the railway press?
Bothy...
Pointless sign...
Good to see the Welsh Assembly Government offering such splendid two for one value, when the hugely expensive AM Express (four coaches and a class 57) sits in the platform opposite.
This from a Mr Marsh...
Taken at Tottenham Hale on the first Tuesday of Abellio's new franchise.
!!!
This from The Mirror...
It's ABC time again...
As Eye points out each year most industry titles don't submit their circulations to ABC audit, so a bowler tip to those who do.
Here the 2011 circulation figures for industry titles (with 2010 figures in brackets):
Railway Magazine 36,523 (34,168)
Steam Railway 32,266 (32,441)
RAIL magazine 19,801 (20,006)
Railway Gazette International 10,548 (10,258)
Eye's man in the Dead Tree Media comments:
Whilst the general trend in the print market is one of declining sales, railway titles are holding up well. Railway Magazine, sold by IPC in 2010 to Mortons, is the market leader for the 5th successive year and has recorded an impressive growth in sales of 6.85%! But with the chill winds of recession blowing across all sectors of the economy it’s going to be tough in 2012.
Eye wonders if the new owners of Ian Allan's railway titles will submit to ABC audit?
UPDATE: This from Citizen Kane...
Eye readers may be interested to see the circulation of some other titles.
The Beano manages 38,333, whilst Bob The Builder pulls in a mere 37,505.
On the plus side their circulations are down 4.4% and 16.9% respectively.
So today the Prime Minister is in Paris signing an agreement with the Frenchies to rescue the beleaguered UK nuclear power industry.
iDave is to be praised for ensuring that the lights will remain on and electric trains can continue running for a good few years yet.
Meanwhile, in unrelated news, Eye would like to congratulate Keolis SA and SNCF on winning the West Coast franchise.
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