Pointless signs - East Midlands Parkway

Not so much a Pointless Sign…

…as a sign that missed its own point.

Wolmarried!

Wolmar wed today!

Any suggestions that this is a publicity stunt prior to the publication of his new book 'Railways and the Raj' have been strongly denied.

'Railways and the Raj: How the Age of Steam Transformed India', is being launched at Daunt Books on the 30th October. Priced at a very reasonable £25, it is available… (That's quite enough gratuitous puffery, Ed).

Many congratulations to the happy couple: Deborah and Christian!

Railway Pride - Hampton Court

This from a Mr Penson...

What a reassuring sight to greet you on arrival at Hampton Court's platform 2.

As Henry Francis Lyte observed: 'Change and decay in all around I see'.

The Case of the Silent Krankie

The scene: A room at 221b Baker Street...

I am sure Watson, that you will have noted the significance of the Scottish Statement of Funds Available

But Holmes, the Scottish SoFA has yet to be published

That, Watson, is the significance!

Railway Pride Restored - Belper

This from the Weaver…

'Railway pride restored in Belper - thank you to all involved'.

Older Eye hands may remember this image from Belper in September.

Great joy!

Pictures from today!

Railway Pride is restored in Belper.

A reminder, as the late great Noel Coward might have said…

Railway Pride has been handed down to us.
Railway Pride is a flower that's free.
Railway Pride means our own dear town to us,
And our pride it for ever will be.

Good effort!

Money behind SoFA bigger than expected!

Much rejoicing over the size of the Statement of Funds Available!

A cool £48bn for CP6, and apparently almost all of it on OMR.

Plaudits to RIA, RSG, RDG, RFG, RFEM, NR etc… for a job well done.

The devil of course will be in the detail!

Meanwhile, supply chain colleagues, SHARPEN YOUR PENCILS!

And then sharpen them again. And possibly still further!

Alas, there is a dark cloud…

Cynical Eye readers have been asking whether the disclaimer found on the government website this morning, announcing the SoFA allows DfT wriggle room?

Worrying if true!

Pointless signs - Emergency Electrification!

A welcome return for Eye's occasional series of Pointless Signs!

This from Steady as She Goes…

Emergency electrification?

Has someone just discovered 'the Reading area' needs to be juiced?

Steve Marshall RIP

Captain Deltic writes...

I was saddened to learn of the death of Steve Marshall at the early age of 60.

Steve took over as Chief Executive of Railtrack when Gerald Corbett resigned, under pressure from a pusillanimous board, a month after the Hatfield derailment in October 2000.

As Railtrack's Finance Director he had been in the thick of the Company's battles with Rail Regulator Tom Winsor over the settlement for its second Control Period, against a background of the cost of the West Coast Route Modernisation spiralling out of control and performance  reacheing new lows after Hatfield. To cap it all a new Chairman with zero railway experience was appointed.

Then, in October 2001, transport Secretary Stephen Byers forced Railtrack into Administration. While his Chairman prevaricated Marshall resigned immediately, agreeing to stay on until a replacement was appointed in March 2002.

His immediate concern was to obtain compensation for his shareholders, which eventually came to pass. During this second drawn out battle  he continued as a non-executive director of the residual Railtrack company.

Most of my contact with Steve was during this turbulent period. It could not have been easy for a reserved  finance man to be pushed into a high profile public position.

To me he was the only player to emerge with dignity from the enforced collapse of Railtrack, which was reflected in his subsequentlly successful career.

Rail and Air Quality crawls up the agenda

This written answer from the Rail Minister…

Andy McDonald(Middlesbrough) Asked on: 12 September 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the announcement of 26 July 2017 on the end of sales of all new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040, what his policy is on the use of diesel trains after that date.

Paul Maynard Answered on: 09 October 2017
We are encouraging the railway industry to improve air quality by proposing solutions that reduce emissions from trains and also to develop innovative solutions around future fuel technologies such as hydrogen and battery power. In the nearer term, there are currently a number of new bi-mode trains being delivered or on order. The rail industry expects rolling stock to typically have an expected life in the range of 30 to 35 years. There is no policy at present on the use of diesel trains post 2040.

The key words appear to be 'no policy at present'. Developing...

World's longest serving TOC MD speaks!

This from Arriva CrossCountry…

"An innovative partnership has been launched in the North East to coincide with the start of ‘Rail Week’, where the rail industry and educational establishments come together to promote careers in the rail sector.

"Embracing the regions proud legacy of rail engineering and operational history, Britain’s largest train operator, CrossCountry, and the Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership (Cont p94…)

"CrossCountry’s Managing Director, Andy Cooper, said: “This partnership is a great opportunity for us all to work together to help the Academy’s students gain some real-life railway experience, which will add true value to their knowledge of the rail sector. The North East was the birthplace (Also cont page 94…)

Longevity is evidently the father of loquaciousness!

None the less. Good effort!

Wales joins Scotland in rejecting DOO

Eye hears, lots of Welsh voices in Marsham Street today.

No matter.

Meanwhile this from Andy McDonald, the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport:

Excellent news from Wales! Keeping guards means passengers will be safe & have the assurance and service they need. https://t.co/LwnNeHwEh3

— Andy McDonald MP (@AndyMcDonaldMP) September 29, 2017

That sound? That is the sound of the DfT and every TOC management team in England sobbing.

Railway Garden Competition - Norwich

This from a Mr Ed Starr…

Perhaps a special award could be made to Network Rail for their rather splendid water garden feature in platforms 2/3 at Norwich station?

What an unbelievable disgrace!

Railway Pride - Beeston

This from a Mr Ed Starr…

My entry to your exciting competition comes from Beeston in Nottinghamshire.

Which apparently also has a Sealink terminal!

Grayling to face Transport Committee on 16th October

This from the Transport Select Committee…

Planned electrification on railway lines scrapped

In the first public evidence session for the Committee, MPs will unpick the thinking behind policy changes by the Department for Transport, including the scrapping of planned electrification on railway lines in Wales, the Midlands and the North of England.

Chair of the Committee, Lilian Greenwood MP, commented:

"The new Transport Committee wants to get to grips with the rationale for Department for Transport decisions. We want to understand the Department's thinking – get into the nuts and bolts of why they have made recent changes to policy. 

"For example, the Government announced it would scrap electrification of several high profile routes including projects between Kettering and Sheffield, Cardiff Central and Swansea and Oxenholme and Windermere. Transpennine electrification is also likely to be 'discontinuous'. Members of the Committee will want to know how the Department reached that decision, and why.

"The Secretary of State should expect to be asked how the public is served by current transport policy, whether the passenger is a disabled person seeking wheelchair spaces on buses, a regular user of the railways, or seeking updates on investment in transport in their region. 

"The Transport Committee intends to scrutinise Department for Transport decisions which impact lives across the UK, every day."

Eye notes that Lilian Greenwood is the MP for the Midland Main Line, whoops, sorry… Nottingham South.

Captain Deltic calls Andy McDonald to order!

This from report on a Labour Party conference fringe meeting...

While Labour didn’t want to “recreate British Rail”, Mr McDonald asked the audience not to decry the old days too much, arguing BR did an excellent job despite declining passenger numbers and low investment in its latter years.

Captain Deltic snorts, "the man's a crypto privatiser parroting the well-worn line of a declining industry!

"Ridership in 1983 stood at 18.3 billion passenger miles, Ridership in 1988/89 was 21.3 billion passenger miles. The ridership graph clearly declining rapidly upwards.

"As for low investment. East Coast main line electrification, new freight locos and wagons, 4500 new passenger vehicles ordered in the 10 years before privatisation etc etc.

"However, on reflection this resurgence did happen under Margaret Thatcher so I can see a certain sensitivity."

Details of Alstom Siemens merger

Headlines from today's Alstom/Siemens merger announce.

• Signed Memorandum of Understanding grants exclusivity to combine mobility businesses in a merger of equals
• Listing in France and group headquarters in Paris area; led by Alstom CEO with 50 percent shares of the new entity owned by Siemens
• Business headquarter for Mobility Solutions in Germany and for Rolling Stock in France
• Comprehensive offering and global presence will offer best value to customers all over the world
• Combined company’s revenue €15.3 billion, adjusted EBIT of €1.2 billion
• Annual synergies of €470 million expected latest four years after closing

Details here.

All eyes now on Bombardier…

UPDATE: Reuters has a good video primer on today's announcement here

What does the Siemens/Alstom merger mean

Exclusive insight from Eye's man at today's press conference!

Ties abolished.

(You're fired! Ed)

Railway Pride - Pewsey

This from Pewsey Snapper…

Might I enter Pewsey into Eye's exciting new contest?

All the criteria are met including:

Faded sign

New pole

As an added bonus there are some ancient yellow stars stencilled on the sign.

Can anyone remember what they commemorate?

UPDATE: This, unbelievably, from the late World of Sports star Dicky Davies…

Perhaps these stars are the relics of a long lost people from Wiltshire and the Salisbury Plain.

Ones that transported boxes (reliably!) unbelievably long distances using what are now ancient technologies.

I think they were called diesel-electrics!

UPDATE: This from Strawbrick…

It might help jog a few more memories if you referred to the as being red, rather than yellow, as in "Red Star" (Picky, picky! Ed)

For your London centric readers, I believe that similar emblems may still be seen on at high level at Euston station.

Benefits of bi-modes over electrification illustrated

This from Reginald Trumpet…

The likely first public diagrams for GWR's new IEP trains have appeared on the RAIL website:

I wonder if the 09:54 ECS trip to Stoke Gifford is get more fuel to see it through the rest of the day?

Railway Pride - Manningtree

This from a Mr T…

The column itself still bears the First Great Eastern scars and has been painted at least twice since, the latest colour palette being Greater Anglia's lovely grey.

Sadly, it appears they didn't have the appropriate ladder, scaffold tower or sponge to enable them to reach 3 feet higher...