DfT to resurrect OPRAF?

This from a Mr Golding...

The Times today reports that DfT are considering creating an arms-length agency for managing rail franchises.

Those with long memories will remember OPRAF who did that very role in the late 90’s,

OPRAF’s ethical code for staff was based on a principle of ‘We Value Difference’.

In today’s angry social media age, that is something that we could do with resurrecting…

UPDATE: This from the former head of the British Rail Acronym Section...

Given the likely budget available, might I suggest that the new body is called the Strategic Franchising Authority...

TUC welcomes 'shot in arm' HS2 contracts

This from the Trades Union Congress...

Commenting on the awarding of £6.6 billion in HS2 contracts today, TUC Deputy General Secretary Paul Nowak said:

“This is a shot in the arm for Brexit Britain. It will provide thousands of decent jobs, billions in investment, and help close the north-south divide.

“HS2 is a real opportunity for British steel to shine. The next phase of HS2 should bring jobs and investment to the parts of Britain that need them most

“Government must play its part, working with unions and suppliers to ensure that HS2 and other key infrastructure projects deliver the maximum benefit to the UK.”

DfT written statement to Parliament on contract awards here.

Good news and welcome support from the TUC.

Railway Garden Competition - Bangor

This is the entrance to Bangor station car park.

Good to see that in Wales, the Railway Garden plays a part in delivering the total journey experience.

Railway Garden Competition - Watford DC Lines

This from Joe Dunckley...

Blud is thicker than water. Oil is thicker than Blud. Deams is also pretty thick. pic.twitter.com/VAvdm1K5p4

— Joe Dunckley (@steinsky) July 13, 2017

So many gifts in one image.

CAF - Newport wins!

This from the Railway Gazette...

UK: Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF has selected the Celtic Business Park at the Llanwern steelworks site near Newport in South Wales as the location of its future UK factory.

Indeed.

And a big #RailwayFamily welcome to CAF.

You got to be in it, to win it!

Election of Select Committee Chairs

Tonight the Speaker announced the results of the election for Select Committee Chairs.

Most importantly, for the Railway Industry, Lilian Greenwood was elected to succeed Louise Ellman as Chair of the Transport Select Committee.

Louise had served for two Parliaments and therefore, under parliamentary rules, was unable to stand again.

Eye welcomes Lilian Greenwood, the MP for Nottingham South, to this important committee that scrutinises government transport policy and decisions.

Industry will be pleased that Lilian specifically mentioned the Rail Supply Chain in her candidacy statement:

"Promises have been made that affect almost all our constituencies, and thousands of jobs (including in the supply chain) are in the balance. As Chair I would be a strong voice for rural and urban transport improvements, as well as a critic of bad schemes."

Old railway hands will remember Lilian as both Shadow Secretary of State for Transport and Shadow Rail Minister in the previous Parliament.

A number of other Select Committee chairs were also announced this evening, all of which are relevant to our industry:

Treasury Select Committee - Nicky Morgan (Loughborough);

BEIS Select Committee - Rachel Reeves (Leeds West);

Brexit Select Committee - Hilary Benn (Leeds Central);

International Trade Select Committee - Angus MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar)

Education Select Committee - Robert Halfon (Harlow)

Eye suggests engaging with all the above early and often - as they may not necessarily be aligned with the government policy of the day!

Maynard on RPI and fares: "policies under review"

This PQ from Lilian Greenwood was answered today...

"To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2017 to Question 1538, on railways: fares, what plans he has to increase the cost of regulated rail fares by RPI plus zero per cent in 2018?"

Paul Maynard Answered on: 12 July 2017
"The Government recognises that the cost of travelling for rail passengers can seem high – this is why since 2014 we have taken action and capped the regulated rail fares at RPI+0%. 

"Train fare revenue is crucial to funding day-to-day railway operations and delivering the investment and massive upgrade programme currently underway, all of which passengers demand and expect.

"We of course keep policies under review."

Eye hopes an open mind means happier passengers!

CAF secures UK footprint!

This from Nottingham headquartered BWB Consultancy...

BWB, one of the UK’s leading design engineering consultants, is set to embark on significant expansion in the UK and abroad after becoming part of the global transport engineering giant CAF Group.

A multi award-winning business which delivers advice and solutions to clients in the property, development and construction industries, BWB employs more than 300 people across seven offices covering England’s main cities and has an annual turnover of more than £23m.

CAF, which is headquartered in Spain and has annual revenues in excess of €1.3 billion, designs, manufactures, maintains and supplies equipment and components for rail systems across the globe.

In addition to rolling stock, CAF provides integrated rail solutions for all types of rail systems - feasibility studies, design of civil engineering, electrification and signaling works, maintenance and system operation services.

Good news indeed.

And with the King of Spain in the UK today, who knows what else may follow...

Railway Garden Competition - Brixton

This from Matthew...

I'd like to enter Brixton into the railway Garden competition.

It's nice to see that SouthEastern have resisted the encumbrance of gentrification and instead chosen to pay homage to Brixton's weed based past with a literal interpretation

Transport Select Committee - Production Values

This from SNP MP Stewart McDonald, via twitter...

I can't wait for these Select Committee Chair elections to be over... pic.twitter.com/BS5YgW110f

— Stewart McDonald MP (@StewartMcDonald) July 11, 2017

Winning!

Pointless signs - Pwllheli

This from Wheaty...

@TheFactCompiler
Pointless signs - A most unhelpful timetable at Pwllheli station. Who employs these people?🙄 pic.twitter.com/rc63uMyyU9

— Wheaty (@Holmesfeldian) July 11, 2017

Keep 'em coming!

Railway Garden Competition - Chester sabotaged!

Shocking scenes from an Eye correspondent in Chester on Friday!

This member of staff is wilfully clearing the platforms of weeds and other detritus, risking Chester's elimination from this year's Railway Garden Competition!

Good effort.

DfT opens the door to Room 101

This from The Times...

Transport secretary Chris Grayling is preparing to delay the electrification of huge swathes of the railway network amid a deepening funding crisis at Network Rail.

Plans to upgrade core stretches of track on the TransPennine, Midland Mainline and Great Western routes to run electric trains are set to be put back by years in favour of new “bi-mode” trains that run on both diesel and electricity.

Instead, the state-owned Network Rail will be told to focus on its day job of maintaining and repairing existing tracks, amid growing concern that this has been neglected in favour of “trophy” electrification projects.

Move along, nothing to see here.

Shaken and stirred - NR Silver Ghost off to Royces

This from Rolls-Royce...

Rolls-Royce today announces the appointment of Barney Wyld as Director, Corporate Affairs. Barney will join Rolls-Royce later this year in a new enhanced role.

Barney is currently Group Director, Corporate Communications at Network Rail. He is responsible for all internal and external communications, public affairs and community contact and relations. Barney joined Network Rail from Unilever where he was Global Vice President, Communications. He was initially responsible for global media relations and digital channels and, after that, global employee engagement and stakeholder campaigns. Barney began his career as a speechwriter for a frontbench MP in the UK parliament.

Barney will leave Network Rail in 'about five months time'.

Of course, as any ful kno, some of Royces most important engineering facilities are to be found in Derby - which just happens to be the city at the Heart of the Railway industry!

Yet further proof, should it be needed, that all roads ultimately lead to the Shire. That is all.

Railway Garden Competition - Finsbury Park

This from Adam the Gardner...

Just south of Finsbury Park:

What a splendid scene of neglect.

Railway Garden Competition - Vauxhall

This also from a Mr Greg Tingey...

Vauxhall – between the Windsor Lines.

More please.

Railway Garden Competition - Stratford

This from a Mr Greg Tingey...

Stratford – westbound Central line is at left of picture, which is taken looking East (ish) – the Buddleia is growing up a good couple of yards or so!

Keep 'em coming.

EXCLUSIVE: Vote for the new Chair of the Transport Select Committee!

Time for an exciting new Eye poll!

Using your skill and judgement, select who you think should be the new Chair of the Transport Select Committee.

These are the Labour runner and riders, in no particular order (I see what you did there. Ed):

• Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South); 
• Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South); 
• Geraint Davies (Swansea West) 
• Clive Efford (Eltham); 
• Gavin Shuker (Luton South)

Note: The honour of Chairing the Transport Select Committee falls to the Red team, in line with Parliamentary arithmetic and as agreed today (alternative colours can be found on different select committees).

The poll is on the right hand menu bar...

Remember: Vote early, vote often!

Rachael Maskell MP - new Shadow Rail Minister

A big Railway Eye welcome to the new Shadow Rail Minister Rachael Maskell!

Ms Maskell is the Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament for York Central and was first elected for the seat in 2015.

Biog details from Rachael's website:

Rachael graduated from the University of East Anglia with a degree in physiotherapy in 1994. On starting work, she rapidly became a trade union rep in the hospital, going on to becoming a Regional and then National Official for Unite, where she led many campaigns and was a strong voice in speaking out for those she represented.

On the national stage, Rachael led the union’s equality agenda, campaigning against discrimination and for equal pay. She then spent seven years representing the charity sector on improving voluntary organisations and the opportunities for those that work in the sector....

In September 2015, Rachael was appointed as a Shadow Defence Minister for Armed Forces Personnel and Veterans and served in this position for nine months before being appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2016.

Eye understands the portfolios for the rest of the Shadow Transport team are still being finalised.

RIA socks it to the man!

RIA supremo Darren Caplan has taken to Conservativehome in a push for more Treasury funding.

In the sponsored post Caplan argues:

An estimated shortfall of £500 million in Network Rail’s budget over the final 20 months of Control Period 5 is already translating into significant falls in renewals demand for contractors, primarily in the track, signalling and consultancy disciplines...

The problem we’re facing currently is particularly acute, because of high expenditure in the early years of the Control Period and partly because of increases in renewals unit rates. As a result, suppliers are reporting falls in demand of between 20 per cent and 45 per cent: this is already resulting in redundancies, short-time working, and reduced or frozen graduate and apprenticeship recruitment in the sector.

Furthermore, it is possible that some smaller or niche suppliers may not survive until Control Period 6 (which starts in April 2019) and some larger suppliers may choose to use resource in areas where there is a more stable workload – especially in the resurgent overseas railway market. This would reduce the supply chain available to Network Rail and potentially increase future costs....

So we hope the Treasury, and a supportive Chancellor, is willing and able find a way to address the current shortfall. Moving forward to a suitable funding mechanism needs to be found which avoids another repeat of the current situation again in five years’ time.

Indeed.

Although we might be in with more of a chance if NR hadn't already blown the CP5 budget...