DeltaRail puts the boot in!

This from the Daily Mail...

Anna Matthews has sparked a ‘British jobs for British workers’ row between her firm DeltaRail and the rail infrastructure company on which it relies for 70 per cent of its business.

Matthews says three foreign consortia have been short-listed by Network Rail for a major multi-billion pound Traffic Management signalling contract in the UK.

Anna Matthews is infuriated Network Rail has allocated £70m to help the foreign contenders develop their bids

Yet she claims her own cutting-edge business, which has developed an advanced real-time computer-controlled train signalling system, has been shunted into the sidings and dropped from the bidding.

Ouch!

The ability to speak truth unto power is yet another reason why we need more Women in Rail!

Deltic throws a leg out of bed!

Oh Lordy!

What has Captain Deltic got his pistons in a twist about now?

@ClareMoriarty. @ philiprutnam @holdmch @eastcoastuk When a Transport Minister gets it totally wrong on access charges who fed him duff gen?
— Roger Ford (@Captain_Deltic) February 4, 2014

Eye thinks we should be told!

UPDATE: This from the latest edition of Rail Business Intelligence, in in-boxes across the industry this very afternoon...

The minister later appeared to suggest that the publicly-operated ICEC franchise had been made to look more successful than it actually was.

"We all know that despite a lot of talk about DOR, frankly their punctuality was the worst of the long-distance operators, we can talk about the access charge costs where they got a considerable benefit when they took over, so we’ve got to be careful about comparison from line to line’, he said.

"Once one starts to examine certain figures that people are quoting they don’t always bear up in quite the same way".

And

When RBI pointed out that East Coast was currently meeting its punctuality targets unlike NR on the ECML (RBI454 p4), Hammond replied

"although East Coast’s satisfaction rating has gone up in terms of sheer punctuality numbers against the other long-distance operators, it is a simple matter of fact that it’s the worst-performing at the moment.

"There may be all sorts of reasons for that but it is also true that their access charges, for one reason and another, are lower than others.’

"All I’m saying is that you’ve got to be very careful about comparisons and you’ve got to remember that when it was set up it was deliberately set up to stabilise the railway, to provide a service and to make sure that we did our statutory duty. It was never intended to be a long-term operation".

Oh dear!

Does the ORR know that it has been gifting the nationalised operator preferential track access charges?

Or is the minister perhaps talking through his hat?
 

Crossrail fleet announce this week...

Eye presumes that the Spanish Armada has not quite berthed yet? 

But who knows?

Eye's partial observation on the Crossrail fleet announce below...

Meanwhile, for all you procurement teams around the world: the East Midlands has everything you want, obviously.

McLoughlin goes!

No, not that one!

This from Insider Media...

Hull-based Spencer Group has appointed an experienced industry figure as chief executive of its Spencer Rail business.

With more than 30 years' experience in the rail industry, David McLoughlin is currently the finance and commercial director for the infrastructure projects division within Network Rail.

McLoughlin, who will report to the Spencer Group board, has held this position for three years with a remit to develop and implement new commercial arrangements for its national and major capital projects.

A high profile departure none-the-less.

Dark night of the soul for BoJo?

This from Lord Lampost...

Platform 5 at Woking on Thursday.

Boris' joy must be complete!

If you want a job doing well...

Amidst all the glitz of the new Thameslink train unveiling on Tuesday was a small faux pas.

This from the St Albans and Harpenden Review:

Roger Perkins for First Capital Connect said: "The passenger information screen is just a mock-up of the real thing and its manufacturers were unable to correct the typo in time for the grand unveiling."

That bodes well. 

UPDATE: This from the Flan...

But they seem to have got away with the bigger faux pas in that there is no station called Luton Airport.

Hammond Eggs - Crossrail goes to the wire!

This from the Grauniad...

"There is a process we are legally bound to follow and we will follow that process. I'm not saying there won't be [a UK supplier] but we are honour bound by the process. Everybody in the UK would like a UK supplier to win that contract. It would be a huge fillip for UK industry. That decision will be taken by the Crossrail board."

Hammond said that though the Thameslink network's 1,140 new carriages would be built in Germany there was a big benefit from the project for Britain's wider supply chain.

Quite so.

Let's hope it's not a maiden over on the 5th February...

UPDATE: This from Boadicea...

According to Global Rail News:

Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the German Railway Industry Association (VDB) have agreed to work more closely together to encourage greater collaboration with the domestic supply chain.

The partnership will strengthen ties between DB and the rail industry and involve German suppliers earlier in the development of new vehicles for the network.

A formal agreement was signed between DB chief executive Rüdiger Grube, DB’s rail technology lead Heike Hanagarth and the president and vice president of VDB Michael Claus Ecker and Jürgen Wilder in Berlin earlier this week.
 
No shit Sherlock!

No doubt RIA and the DfT are already on the case?
 

FGW and HEx launch Rail-fly

This from First Great Western...

An international airline and two UK train companies are making it possible for their customers to travel from Bristol to Brisbane under just one booking.

Until now this trip, without a car, would have required at least three separate bookings and three separate transactions with three different transport providers.

Soon travellers from 11 Southwest destinations, including Bath, Bristol and Cardiff, can arrange their international flights and rail fares under one booking, thanks to a partnership between Singapore Airlines, Heathrow Express and First Great Western.

If only changing advanced tickets for use on a different service could be made as simple...

Railway repurposing - Diss

A nice use for the former platform light diffusers at Diss station.

Good effort.

Victoria line musings...

This from @13milepost...

In light of this afternoon's news from the Victoria line I thought this might amuse:

Must. Not. Laugh.

Network Rail 'twee' - Official!

This from the Grauniad...

"Network Rail has invested funds into the project is a great sign for the solar industry," she said. "They're an old English institution and they're looking to the future to make investments into non-core technologies for the business, and that's a great statement that other large corporations in the country can start realising."

Who knew? 

UPDATE: This from Howard Wade... 

Yes indeed, one of the oldest English institutions, with a proud history going back in to the mists of time to er, October 2002. 
 
In fact not that long after the the railway came to Derby... (that's quite enough gratuitous Derby175 plugs! Ed)

 

The past points towards a glorious future!

The Fact Compiler reflects on history in the 10th January edition of Passenger Transport...
 

 

The next edition of Passenger Transport is published on the 24th January.

A message to the anti-HS2 brigade...

Another appeal overturned today.

Perhaps time for Buckinghamshire County Council and friends to realise that when you're in a hole it's best to stop digging?

Or at least stop digging with rate-payers money?

Yet another high profile convert to HS2!

Fans of Wolmayor will recollect his original implacable opposition to Crossrail.

Therefore, Eye is confident in saying that as night follows day, Wolmar will embrace HS2!
 

Indeed, judging by his website he already has.

An Ozymandias moment?

This from Leo Rubine-Redd...

It looks as though time is already withering the legacy of Rail Barbie. 

Apparently the famous Barbie Pink - more properly known as Rubine Red, has been dropped from the colour palette for the refurbished First Capital Connect Class 365 EMUs.

Yet another example of private sector entrepreneurial flair submerged under the grey tide of Whitehall conformity?

NR - the temptation to tinker is irresistable...

As ever, politics abhors a vacuum!

With the Shadow Transport team adopting an almost Trappist-like silence on NR nationalisation, an erstwhile rail minister has stepped in to fill the policy void.

This EDM from Tom Harris MP:

That this House notes that the Office for National Statistics is to reclassify Network Rail as a central government body from 1 September 2014, adding Network Rail's £30 billion debt to the national debt; recognises that since Network Rail's creation, Ministers have respected the company's status as a private company by not exercising executive authority over Network Rail's management or operational activity; further recognises that the reclassification of Network Rail as a central government body offers the opportunity for a new relationship between the company and ministers; and believes this new relationship should begin with an instruction from the Secretary of State for Transport to Network Rail's directors that any future proposal for executive bonuses must be approved by Ministers.

And so it begins...

East Coast bidders announced

This from the Department for Transport...

The shortlist of bidders that will be invited to deliver proposals for improved services for passengers on the InterCity East Coast rail franchise was announced by the government today (17 January).

The companies that have successfully passed the Pre-Qualification Evaluation stage and can now start working on developing their plans for the franchise, before they receive the government’s Invitation to Tender are:

• East Coast Trains Ltd (First Group plc);
• Keolis/Eurostar East Coast Limited (Keolis (UK) Limited and Eurostar International Limited);
• Inter City Railways Limited (Stagecoach Transport Holdings Limited and Virgin Holdings Limited).

These potential operators will need to consider how they intend to use the latest high-tech trains, built in the UK by Agility, to deliver more passengers to more of the UK's biggest cities faster and in greater comfort.

The government is expecting to see how the future operators will capitalise on the significant government investment along this route, including £240 million in infrastructure projects over the next five years to improve capacity and reduce journey times.  

Rail Minister Stephen Hammond said:

“Giving passengers more will be at the heart of the new East Coast franchise. That means new services and journeys that are faster, more punctual and more comfortable. When these companies are developing their proposals they should be looking at ways to innovate and grow the service.

“We have embarked on one of the biggest programmes of rail investment ever, with over £35 billion being spent to enhance and run our rail network over the next five years. But for our railways to continue to grow we need strong private sector partners who can invest and innovate in ways that deliver a world class service.”

Since rail services were privatised in 1993, the close cooperation between government and the train companies has heralded an unprecedented growth in the number of passengers.

While the East Coast franchise has been stabilised under government ownership since 2009, the route now needs a long term private sector operator to plan for the future and meet the increasing demands for more trains serving even more destinations.

When it started the franchise competition in October 2013 the government published the InterCity East Coast prospectus which set out the areas prospective bidders will need to consider when they start developing their proposals.  These include:

• developing innovative timetables which build on the core train service requirement published by the Department for Transport (DfT); 
• investment in innovative ways to transform the customer experience on trains and at stations;
  identifying further opportunities for investment along the route, particularly at stations; 
• making the route and train operations more considerate of the environment;
  involving communities along the route in local decision making; and 
• demonstrating how their proposals will support economic growth along the route.

To pass the rigorous Pre-Qualification Evaluation each of the bidders were asked to demonstrate that they have the financial strength, legal, operational and safety experience to run the franchise. 

The DfT is planning to issue the Invitation to Tender at the end of February and the potential operators will then have at least three months to develop their bids, before the new services start in February 2015. 

ENDS

Travers Cosgrove MC RIP

This from the Daily Telegraph...

Travers Cosgrove , who has died aged 93, was awarded an MC in Germany in 1945; he subsequently worked for LNER and British Rail and was responsible for the design and introduction of innovatory equipment and safety measures...

After LNER was nationalised in 1948, he worked for British Railways Scottish Region until 1955 and then for the Western Region. He was the Materials Handling Officer on the British Railways Board from 1962 to 1976. Cosgrove introduced a number of innovations which became familiar sights to railway travellers in Britain. Among these were the luggage trolleys at main-line stations and the multifunctional cages (known as BRUTES) for the parcel service, which he researched and designed. 

Who knew?

Good effort.

TSC - Suggestions for future inquiries

This from the Transport Select Committee... 

Transport Committee invites ideas for future inquiries 

The Transport Committee today invites the public to suggest subjects for inquiries to take place later in the year.

Topics should relate to the work of the Department for Transport or one of its related bodies, such as the Highways Agency, Maritime and Coastguard Agency or Network Rail.

The Committee Chair, Louise Ellman MP, has said:

“If you have an issue which you think we should look at we would like to hear from you. Please write to us, email, or submit your suggestion using our website or Twitter.

“Your suggestions will be important in shaping our future work programme. Once we have decided on which inquiries to hold we will publish all of the suggestions we received and what we decided in relation to each of them”.

“That said, I must also emphasise that the Committee does not take up individual cases and will not look at local transport issues or specific transport projects unless they raise issues of national significance.”

The Committee last invited the public to suggest inquiry ideas in March 2013. The suggestions received and the Committee’s decisions about its programme were published in June 2013. 

Future programme: 2013-14 

Further information 

Submissions should be 250 words or less and sent by e-mail to transcom@parliament.uk or via Twitter using @CommonsTrans 

Nothing to see here, move along.

Hammond Eggs - Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides...

This from Leo Pink... 

As these written answers show, DfT continues to play the 'nothing to do with us, Guv' card when asked questions relating to Network Rail.

They should make the most of it because NR becomes a Departmental responsibility from 1st September 2014. 

Railways: Cumbria 

Mr Jamie Reed asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what steps he plans to take to ensure that the Cumbrian Coast railway line is protected from severe storm damage; (2) what steps he is taking to ensure that rail services in West Cumbria will be less affected by adverse weather conditions in future.

Stephen Hammond replied that Network Rail own and operate Britain's rail infrastructure. Included in their plans for Control Period 5 (2014-19) is a weather mitigation strategy, to help reduce the impact of severe weather on the network.

Mr Jamie Reed asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many Network Rail delay minutes have been caused by adverse weather in Cumbria in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond replied that the Department does not hold the data at this level of disaggregation. This is a matter for Network Rail. 

Tick, tick, tick...