Martin Sixsmith?

Occasional users of the railway are confused by the superabundance of TLAs (three letter acronyms).

It is heartening, therefore, to see that much maligned First Great Western is doing its level best to communicate with passengers in a language they understand.

Pictured below is a note seen taped to the nappy changing facilities on FGW unit 158955 last weekend.

Clearly attempting to avoid the use of OOU an unknown FGW wag has helpfully clarified the problem by hand.


Nice to see the use of the bracketed expression, which not only explains the precise condition of the nappy changing facility but also of the mother who wished to use it.

Campaign for Plain English 'Crystal Marks' all round!

Airway Mag

The nation's oldest and biggest circulation specialist rail title, The Railway Magazine, looks to be planning a radical change to its editorial coverage, judging from a letter sent to those on their controlled circulation list.

Members of the list have been asked to make a choice between the following two options.

What does one do if you have an interest in railways AND the areas covered in the magazine?

Has The Railway Magazine taken the DafT shilling and gone "modally agnostic"?

Jaw dropping

Is there no limit to the talents of polymath Christian Wolmar?

Cyclists' champion, cricketing legend, journalist, commentator, author and bete noir of Network Rail - the man's skills know no bounds.

In his most recent incarnation, this morning, he was seen under the drill whilst being serenaded by North London's only singing dentist (we may thank God for small mercies).

View the BBC clip here

For those of tender sensibilities best to forward to about 1min 15secs through the clip.

Wolmar is seen on screen for the merest of seconds. The Fact Compiler understands that this was unconnected with the surprise appearence in the consultation room of an NR bance team, instructed to assist with any fillings that Wolmar required.

The magic bus

When is a bus not a bus?

When it's used on a dedicated rail link according to South West Trains.

Adam Carew, LibDem parliamentary candidate for East Hampshire, and a local councilor, is seeking clarification from SWT over whether or not the Government's newly issued free bus passes for over 60s can be used on the dedicated rail-bus link between Liphook and Borden.

Hampshire County Council says they can but SWT, who fund the link, say they can't - claiming that "for administrative purposes" the bus link is considered as part of the national rail network.

Whilst Mr Carew will no doubt make political hay whilst the sun shines he raises an interesting question as, no matter what your age, one bus is pretty much like another.

No doubt a public relations disaster in waiting as Gladys and Ernie are left to the not-so-tender ministrations of feral youths, the Rail-Bus link (or rail-replacement service) having left town without them.

Whilst on the subject what news of ACoRPs discussions with Daft about allowing free bus passes to be used on Community Rail lines? As the song goes "It's all gone quiet over there...".

New head of ACTU

Shaun Brady has been appointed acting General Secretary of the Associated Train Crew Union.

"We are not just about pay negotiations. We want to look at problems facing the industry and at ways to improve it." he said.

Shaun was previously General Secretary of ASLEF but after only 10 months in the role was dramatically suspended in May 2004, following an incident at the union's annual summer bash.

Railway Eye understands that there are no plans for an ACTU summer BBQ.

Robin Sisson RIP

Robin Sisson, Assistant Editor of Today' Railways, has died after being involved in a motor accident.

Robin, 50, began his career as a school master at Bradford Grammar School before joining Today's Railways (formerly known as Entrain magazine).

Robin, who had a life long love of the railways, previously worked for the North West Rail Passengers Council and also played a major role in reopening Frizinghall station between Bradford and Shipley.

Today's Railways Editor-in-chief Peter Fox said: “We are all devastated by what has happened. We are just stunned."

A 20-year-old man driving the Toyota involved in the collision is believed to have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and bailed until early August.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus story here

Unite unites

Unite - Britain's biggest union and well represented amongst railway engineering functions - is merging with the US-based United Steelworkers union (USW) to form Workers Uniting.

Unite was itself only formed last year when the Transport and General Workers Union merged with Amicus.

The new union will have three million members and will synchronise negotiations with multinational companies.

The merger agreement is to be signed in Las Vegas.

A choice of venue calculated to remind management that future negotiations will be played for much higher stakes.

Less is more

Today is the 70th anniversary of Mallard's record breaking run down Stoke Bank.

The special run saw the LNER locomotive achieve a top speed of 126mph - a world speed record for a steam locomotive that remains unbroken today.

Seventy years later the top line speed on the East Coast Mainline is 125mph (providing the wires aren't down, cables haven't been nicked, points haven't failed, etc...).

Progress schmogress

A small victory

In these politically correct times it is a brave organisation that has a go at the Disability Taliban or those they claim to represent.

Fortunately in the North East they have hearts of oak and are as brave as lions!

Thus Nexus, the operators of the Tyne and Wear Metro, is threatening to sue the driver of a mobility scooter which crashed onto the tracks at Byker station causing massive disruption to the network.

Nexus is considering the move after the scooter's driver, who was not seriously hurt, "broke regulations" by travelling alone on the transport network.

In April Nexus introduced new rules governing Mobility Scooters following a spate of incidents that disrupted passenger services. As a consequence Mobility Scooters are only allowed on the network when 'accompanied and assisted by an appropriate person on foot'.

Nexus director general Bernard Garner said: "This accident demonstrates the importance of the new rule that scooter users only travel with an appropriate companion who can assist with their safety, and that of other passengers, at all times.

"We're exploring the possibility of legal action to recover our own costs associated with the disruption. The point here is that we believe the person involved was in breach of our updated conditions of carriage because they did not have a companion, and that led to an accident.

"If we cannot establish this with all scooter users then the safety risks associated with these vehicles mean we will have no alternative but to ban them." he added.

Nexus is in the middle of a consultation on the future use of mobility scooters on the Metro, a process being carried out by its own advisory body Transport For All.

The Fact Compiler understands that there is no substance to rumours that Guide Dogs found worrying trains risk being shot.

Minister gagged!

At 10:00 this morning Rail Minister Tom Harris announced via his blog that he would be appearing on Thursday night's BBC1 Question Time.

But by mid-day the article had disappeared from view!

Just in case Tom's blog has malfunctioned here is the missing article in full:

Question Time
And another thing...Today at 10:00 AM

I’m to be a panel member on Question Time tomorrow, alongside Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP, David Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary, LibDem peer Baroness Emma Nicholson and David Mitchell of Peep Show fame.

It’s being broadcast from Musselburgh in East Lothian at 10.35pm on BBC1 on Thursday.

The Fact Compiler wonders whether he will still appear or whether his well earned reputation as a man who knows and speaks his own mind has caused panic amongst the Labour Party Thought Police, who are still reeling following the resignation of Wendy Alexander - Tom's friend and former Scottish Labour leader at Holyrood.

In the land of the blind

***Those who applied to become Network Rail public members should now know whether they have succeeded in getting through to the next stage of the process.***

Worth the wait?

***On Monday DafT revealed that the InterCity Express Programme has spent £9.4m on consultancy fees since 2005***

In case you're reading this whilst delayed by "rolling stock shortages" that figure would have bought two new three-car DMU or EMU trains.

Crank it up

Rail Minister Tom Harris has told a Select Committee hearing that he is holding regular meetings with 'amateur railway enthusiasts'.

The Daily Telegraph reported the Minister as saying "These gentlemen feel very strongly about the industry. They do not have any statutory authority for anything but they really appreciate having access to the minister for half an hour every few months".

What does this mean?

Perhaps the Minister refers to his regular meetings with Nigel Harris (no relation), editor of Rail magazine?

But surely the Minister doesn't really view Nigel as an 'amateur railway enthusiast'?

The alternative, of course, doesn't bear thinking about.

The Fact Compiler understands that Des Browne, Secretary of State for Defence, will now be discussing the worsening security situation in Afghanistan with members of The Sealed Knot.

Reid all about it

Telegrammed from our man in 222 Marylebone Road

Robert Wright, the transport correspondent of the Financial Times is at it again, relying for his print bites on the soi disant 'veteran observer' of the railway scene Rupert Brennan-Brown.

Presumably the FT eschews the usual rent-a-quotes because Wolmar follows up with an invoice, Roger Ford is too techy, Barry Doe only does fares and Nigel Harris is too busy taking the great and the good to lunch.

But calling RB-B a 'veteran' almost justifies a sharp note to the Press Complaints johnnies.

The man is a damn parvenu, one of the carpet baggers who came in to the industry on the coat tails of former Shell Chairman Sir Robert Reid.

As any fule kno "veteran status" can only be accorded to those who served in the industry under his predecessor, the late great, Sir Robert Reid.

An explanation for younger readers: In the Tory 1980s it was Government policy that new Chairmen of nationalised industries had to have the same name as their predecessor to save on stationary costs.

Plane crazy

The bids for the IEP were submitted to the DfT today.

Unfortunately Alstom weren't amongst the bidders having pulled the plug on their bid for the Frankenstein Train some months ago.

Which is a shame as Alstom is now looking at producing a freight version of the TGV that would offer companies like UPS and FedEx a rail alternative to their current carbon hungry fleet of planes.

Just as well they're not in the running. With Daft so in hock to the aviation lobby a real rail alternative to airfreight like this would never be allowed to take off.

Happy Mondays

Not a happy Monday for folk arriving on early morning trains into Euston today, many of whom were delayed into the capital (surprise, surprise).

Virgin first class customers will have been even less pleased, since their free at-seat copy of The Times had a lead letter from Network Rail boss Iain Coucher, extolling the wonders of the railway - particularly the punctuality record.

Coucher boasted that "now more than 90 per cent" of train services arrive on time.

As one exasperated passenger put it: "A bloody shame that the remaining 10% all serve Euston!"

Lookalike

The DafT official tasked with masterminding Government electrification policy (or lack there-of) has been discovered moon-lighting as an extra in the Peter Kay comedy series Phoenix Nights.


Spencer, much like DfT electrification policy, is hapless.

Make your mind up

In a shock horror splash across most of the Sundays the Campaign for Better Transport has revealed that walk on fares are err... more expensive than tickets bought in advance.

No shit Sherlock!

As pointed out by Railway Eye only two weeks ago the story could equally well have read "Buy early for best deals" - except that wouldn't have made quite such a good story.

CBT Director Stephen Joseph said "We have to have reasonable walk-on fares or people will walk on straight into their cars."

An interesting point Stephen. But can you suggest how else the railway manage demand for its scarce capacity?

Particularly when your organisation's website lists rail over-crowding as it's primary concern.

The Fact Compiler congratulates CBT for a slick piece of PR which adds precisely nothing to the debate but positions CBT as the master of "Cake and Eat it".

I should Coco

Beleaguered Network Rail boss Iain Coucher was in grim mood as he gave an address to the railway industry's Fourth Friday networking club.

The only time he broke into a smile was when it became apparent there would be no more questions from the floor at the end.

But at least no one called him "Mr Croucher" as the interviewer did on Monday's Today programme.

Coucher also took the opportunity to make clear that he is more than willing to see the ORR refer Network Rail to the Competition Commission over the level of funding the regulator believes the infrastructure owner needs in CP4.

Referral to the Competition Commission is becoming something of a badge of honour in the railway industry. First the ROSCOs, next NR...

Spot the Crank #4

This Gentleman was recently seen shopping for a lawn mower.

Despite the very large cheque in his hand (pictured) his local B&Q were unable to help as he refused to buy the machine, insisting that he would rather have it on wet lease terms.

Do you know who it is yet?

Answers on a postcard to

Anyone Left?
HSBC Rail (UK) Ltd
PO Box 29499
London
NW1 2ZF