Going for a song

Telegrammed by our Independent Expert
Mysteriouser and mysteriouser.

Could the case of the missing Victorian ironwork from Primrose Hill station be one for Inspector Knacker?

The heritage lobby are furious about Network Rail's razing of the historic North London Line station in December, a day after campaigners handed out leaflets urging the case for its reopening.

The vandalism was compounded as a photo was published of the ornate Victorian spandrels piled ignominiously on the demolition site.

Now the local paper, the Camden New Journal is reporting that they might "end up in Gloucestershire".

How? Why? Who at NR made the decision?

It is a re-run of what happened in 1988, when Wolverton residents were shocked to find their famous station, also on the former LNWR, with its historic refreshment rooms, was smashed to a pile of rubble overnight by BR.

The Wolverton spandrels found their way to BR's junkyard, "Collectors Corner" where they were bought for a few quid and saved for posterity by a north London collector who recognised them for their significance.

So where are the Primrose Hill spandrels now?

Locals have asked Network Rail to prove they're not in a skip, or haven't been flogged down the pub for a fiver.

Herod opens kindergarten

Dear God!

This from Transit...

The DfT’s former permanent secretary Sir David Rowlands is to chair a new company to take forward plans for a high-speed rail line from London to Scotland.

For pity's sake is there no one else available?

UPDATE: Captain Deltic asks...

'Where is Sir David Serpell when we need him?'

You lucky people!

Telegrammed by the Archer
Heathrow gets a third runway

The roads get another £6bn

The railway gets….

...a new company to help consider the case for HS2 and further work to consider the case for further electrification

Is there no end to the bounteousness of this government?

It's off, it's on, it's off, it's on...

***The Conservatives will cancel the expansion of Heathrow if they win the next General Election, Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers said today.***

Meanwhile, on the real railway...

Telegrammed by our Independent Expert
Transport Secretary Geoff "Doom" today announced grandiose plans for a new "HS2" from Heathrow to Birmingham in his Commons statement giving the OK to Heathrow's third runway – and global warming meltdown.

Back in the real world of travelling to the West Midlands, Beardie's lieutenants are counting their blessings, as trains to and from Euston this week have been merely "late" rather than running as "buses" or not running at all.

But as a precaution, Virgin's canny PR people are givng away Chiltern Railways' Birmingham timetables in prominent displays alongside the Euston booking office.

Always hedge your bets, as Bernie Madoff used to say!

Feint praise

Good news for SWT passengers

Whilst DfT has prevented the TOC closing many ticket offices there may be no one left to staff them.

This just in from SWT...

...a reduction of 480 roles... 200 to leave the company

Nice touch SWT, slip this out whilst the media are busy with the Heathrow announcement!

DafT surrenders!

Good news for the Roscos.

Following the embarrassment of the Competition Commission pointing out that it was DafT's own franchising policy that made rolling stock expensive rather than monopolistic Roscos, the Department appears to have retreated into its Marsham Street bunker.

This defeatist written answer on the 18 Dec last year

Adrian Sanders (Deputy Chief Whips, Torbay, Liberal Democrat) Hansard source
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the economic downturn on rolling stock operating companies; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Gillingham, Labour)
This is a business issue for the rolling stock leasing companies and is not for the Department for Transport to determine.

Perhaps if DafT had adopted this approach in the first place it wouldn't have jizzed several million quid of our money up the wall in initiating a pointless Coco investigation.

UPDATE: Captain Deltic snorts...

Several million??

More like £25 million minimum!

Heathrow Terminal 3

The interesting bits from DafT's announcement:

• The creation of a new company - High Speed 2 - to help consider the case for new high speed rail services between London and Scotland and tasked initially with developing a proposal for an entirely new line between London and the West Midlands which could link to Heathrow and Crossrail through a new international interchange station.

• Further work to consider the case for electrifying two of Britain busiest railway lines - Great Western and Midland Mainline - with decisions to be announced later in the year.

More to follow...

Greater Reichs Bahn

Despite earlier denials Deutsche Bahn have now confirmed that they are interested in Eurostsar.

This from Reuters...

'LCR, whose principal stakeholder is Britain's Department for Transport, is open to selling Eurostar UK Ltd. "We are aware of Deutsche Bahn's interests and would be interested in hearing their proposal," said a government spokesman.'

DB it will be remembered is still owned by the German government

Meanwhile the Labour government continues to oppose state ownership of the railways... unless of course the state doing the owning is German, or French, or indeed anyone as long as it isn't British.

Better Housekeeping

As SWT evidently need to save money The Fact Compiler has a suggestion.

Why not fire your media agency?

After all there is not much point in placing an ad on the Hamilton Advertiser website offering £8 SWT tickets to London.


That's probably kept one booking office open an extra hour.

UPDATE: Telegrammed by a geek...

Was that screen shot sent in by someone in Hamilton, or from someone living/working in the SWT area?

A lot of advertising is triggered not by the site but by where the user is located.

Your IP can be used to determine your location, and then appropriate advertising served.

It might not be a phuk-up at all.

Clever chaps these IT johnnies!

Train formation changes

Good house keeping or signs of a deepening recession?

You decide.

This from the BBC...

Brings back happy memories of NSE in the 1980s...

New Rosco

The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Corporation (BTMUCC) has launched a new rolling stock leasing company.

The new entity already has 27 locomotives and 50 freight cars on lease to lessees in the UK and Belgium.

As railway wags will quickly transform BTMUCC into 'Butt Muck' it comes as no surprise that the new ROSCO will be known as Beacon Rail.

Toot, toot

Good news from our caring, sharing, modally-agnostic Government:

According to Downing Street "The 450 Jaguar-Land Rover staff who have been told today that they are to lose their jobs, will be given Government help to find work".

Presumably railway workers, who have been losing their jobs hand over fist, can go stuff themselves?

Not guilty!

Charming!

'Zeppelin raid fatalities blamed on railway'.

Presumably Prince Harry's nick-name faux pax means we can no longer finger the Hun for this one!

UPDATE: Our man with a wind turbine on his chimney writes...

"The Zeppelin attack on Nottingham completely explodes rail's so called 'green' credentials.

"At a time of national emergency, when every ton of coal counted, the direct ancestor of East Midlands Trains was wasting precious energy, and increasing global warming, by leaving gas lights burning all night.

"Who will hold Tim Shoveller to account?!?"

UPDATE: Biggles writes...

"Maybe Chiltern or LOROL could bring back the Schienenzeppelin (pictured below)?"

Right. Stop this. it is getting silly!

I'd like to thank my accountant...

Telegrammed by 222 Marylebone Road
With the credit crunch tightening and even Eurostar revenue flat, industry black tie bun-fights - sorry - awards ceremonies, are looking to be ever more relevant and quantifiable.

So instead of 'Railway manager of the year' and 'Prettiest station' expect 'Most profitable TOC', 'Largest reduction in head count' and, if DafT can find enough change down the back of Dr Death's office sofa 'ROSCO with the lowest profit margin on its ex-BR fleet'.

Other possible categories include 'Network Rail territory with the lowest spend per mile on OHLE maintenance' and 'Operator with shortest booking office hours' and 'Most protracted rolling stock procurement exercise'.

Eye has already offered to sponsor the 'fleet with the longest unchanged livery' category.

Chester upon Hamlyn

Something to delight those who know Chester station.

This from the Chester Chronicle ...

Dozens of pet rats dumped at Chester Railway Station

How did they know?

Cancelled due to lack of interest?

How fairs the new, improved, DafT specified, Arriva CrossCountry network?

All is much the same except that it is nigh on impossible to travel North to South with ease.

No matter - Marsham Street knows best!

In the matter of timetables however, Arriva certainly doesn't.

Awaiting a train at York a reader was shocked to see a CrossCountry train departing at 18:24 for Guildford!

Believing these to be extinct he quickly consulted the lurid orange CrossCountry pocket timetable to see if this was indeed the case.

Alas.

Despite a pretty map showing Guildford as a destination on the cover, not one mention of that station could be found on any of the timetable pages within.

Courtesy of NRES it emerges that this is the only train of the day that links the North East with Guildford.

But with potential passengers unable to find this solitary train in CrossCountry's own timetable how long can this rump service survive?

UPDATE: An 'Anonymous' reader writes...

"There are a number of calls missing from the main parts of this timetable, but shown as notes in the back, it was always done this way by XC previously. For instance look up some of the minor stations in Cornwall or Scotland.

"However the Green SE/NE/NW timetable, with less stations to show, clearly shows the Guildford times in the main timetable."

The Fact Compiler still can't understand why Guildford is shown on the timetable's cover map, but the station isn't listed inside.

Mind you, if it was good enough for BeardieRail...

Poll pot

The latest Trainsadrine survey sounds nearly as scientific as those of Railway Eye.

According to their latest press release...

"The results of the first rail passenger poll of 2009... revealed that over 78 % of passenger travelling on the Liverpool to Norwich train line said they were unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with the service.

"This is the worst customer satisfaction results in the UK .

In a second poll, over 65% of passengers also called for east Midlands train company MD, Tim Shoveller, to resign."

The Fact Compiler tried to follow the link to the rest of the story, alas, Trainsardine still can't type their own web address correctly (hint: one dot too many before the org).

No matter.

From the sublime to the ridiculous.

The results of the latest exciting Eye poll shows that more than three quarters of you believe that Iain Coucher is in the sh1t.

Whatever that may mean.

Less froth please Trainsadrine and a little more substance.

Police evidence

They can't mean this can they?

This from the BBC...

Acting Sgt Sarah Price, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "There has been an unfortunate accident involving a male in collision with a train."

Some collision!

Wessex was brilliant!

All appears not to be well in Devon & Cornwall judging by a naughty video that has appeared on Photobucket.

Not for the feint hearted, or those easily offended, it explores the difficulty of booking a day's annual leave.

As there are bound to be loads of complaints please direct them to FGW Rosters Section in Swindon.

UPDATE: This from Fidothedog over at The Lone Voice...

"Although having never worked on the railways, that video could apply to many a company I have worked for."

And this from a Teutonic reader...

"Die Bahn ist die Bahn...Heil Bahn!"