Not withstanding the Treasury...
More to follow...
This from Eye's friends in the Emerald Isle…
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to let you know after five enjoyable, exciting and challenging years, I will be leaving Iarnród Éireann in the coming months to take up a position in the public transport sector in Australia.
Since I joined Iarnród Éireann at the beginning of 2013, we have worked together through a most challenging financial era. However it is an era of which all Iarnród Éireann colleagues can be proud, as we ensured a safe, progressive and customer-focused service was delivered. Your support, commitment and professionalism have been invaluable both to me personally and to the organisation during that time.
There will be plenty of time to reflect further on, and thank you for, what we have achieved. However, opportunities and challenges remain which we must face together, and my focus until I leave will remain on working with the entire Iarnród Éireann team in delivering our service to our customers and preparing Iarnród Éireann for a secure and sustainable future.
David Franks,
Chief Executive
Eye wonders whether IE will once again seek a replacement from mother railway?
This from Michael Port and Stilton-illo...
The festive season is of course the perfect time for opening up the Quality Street and unwinding in front of the TV. So Eye has selected the very best of the seasonal schedules from the Radio Times-table, perfect for all the #railwayfamily.
15:00 Queen’s Christmas Message
Please stand for Her Majesty. Unless you’re on the 7.16am train from East Grinstead to London Bridge, in which case you’re already standing.
15:15 Sector Deal or No Sector Deal
Open the boxes to see whether the railways get a sector deal. And who is the mysterious banker who is leading the project? This week’s contestants include RSG, RDG, RIA, Rail Alliance, RFEM, DfT, BEIS... (That’s enough acronyms – Ed)
16:00 Gardening Leave World
How to prune orchard fruit trees. With special guest RDG presenter (to be announced.)
16:30 Pointless
Rail freight experts try to explain to Lord Adonis why platooned lorries will not solve world hunger.
17:00 Film - Titanic
The East Coast franchise is sinking, and shareholders are in peril. DfT have launched the lifeboats but can they rescue it before everyone’s reputation is damaged? (Repeat)
19:00 Penn and Teller – Fool Us
Illusionists Penn & Teller sit in the audience whilst Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell describe their plans for the UK railways, including nationalisation, buying back the ROSCOs and national pay bargaining. There’ll even be enough money left over to cut fares! Can they fool the magic duo? Can they fool you?
19:45 East-West Enders
Chris and Rob throw a Christmas party to celebrate the start of works, but joy turns to horror as something nasty is discovered in the structural surveys and Peggy realises that half the outputs have vanished!
20:15 DIY SOS
The village wants a new railway station, but Network Rail’s costs are just too high! Can the community come together to deliver it more efficiently? Presented by Rob Mackintosh with help from a team of friendly Canadian pensioners..
21:00 Antiques RailShow
In this special rail edition, ROSCOs ask the experts to assess whether there is any residual value left in their fleets. A rare PRM TSI compliant HST causes excitement for Fiona!
22:00 News at Ten
Presented by Nigel Harris
22:15 Regional News
Presented by Chris Grayling (All regions, except Scotland)
22:30 Weather
Network Rail’s new video explains why they can’t run trains when it’s too windy, wet, hot, cold, snowy or leafy.
23:00 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special
Our annual reminder that everything was better in the past. Guest stars include Val Doonican, Christian Wolmar and the British Railways Board.
Wishing all Eye readers. and contributors, a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2018.
This from a Mr Ed Starr…
I see that Greater Anglia are encouraging existing customers to stop commuting…
This from Network Rail's increasingly impressive LNW Route.
Lest it be forgot, LNW is opening Euston Station for the homeless on Christmas Day.
Here Birmingham New Street staff outline the work of the #RailwayFamily over Christmas.
Words and more information here.
Terrible! But good effort.
This from Civil Service World...
First ever Whitehall gender pay gap survey reveals Department for Transport has biggest differentialhttps://t.co/PJzzZwEJsn pic.twitter.com/rNDW8Brj2i— Civil Service World (@CSWnews) December 19, 2017
Exciting news in the world of recruitment!
This from the Grauniad's job section:
Exciting news from the DfT…
A direct rail link between the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge took a step closer today (14 December 2017), as Transport Secretary Chris Grayling officially launched the East West Railway Company.
The Transport Secretary launched the new company, which will oversee the restoration of the link between the two academic powerhouses, nearly 50 years to the day since the closure of the old Varsity Line at the historic Second World War site of Bletchley Park.
Mr Grayling met with Rob Brighouse, interim chair of the East West Railway Company, regional council leaders and Milton Keynes South MP Iain Stewart for the launch.
He also met with Cyril Bleasdale who worked on the original Varsity Line construction in the 1960s and helped to build the Bletchley Viaduct.
Errr...
Cyril Bleasdale! From when?
The Bletchley Viaduct! Is it still fit for purpose?
What happened to the quote from the increasingly excitable Twitter persona and roving VoxPop that is Lord Andrew Adonis?
Lest it be forgot, Admiral Scrumptious is the Chair of the railfreight hating National Infrastructure Commission.
The NIC has championed the re-opening of the Oxbridge Line from Oxford to Cambridge but also suggested that platooned lorries will sort all your housebuilding, shopping and road-safety needs.
The NIC also includes an NR board member amongst its illuminati.
Eye can only wonder why such seers of the railway age, might have been overlooked.
It's that time of year again!
The annual Rail Staff Carol Service will be held at 12:30 on Thursday 21st December at St Mary's Somers Town near Euston Station.
This from Network Rail is great!
Thanks to a partnership between Streets Kitchen, St Mungo's and Network Rail, London Euston station will welcome 200 specially invited homeless guests on Christmas Day.
As colleagues enjoy time off with their families during the festive season, around 30 volunteers from Network Rail will give up their Christmas Day to work alongside volunteers from homelessness charity St Mungo’s and Streets Kitchen. St Mungo’s provides a bed and support to more than 2,700 people a night across England, and Streets Kitchen is a grassroots organisation which feeds 1,000 people on the streets every week.
The 200 guests, invited by St Mungo’s and Streets Kitchen, will be arriving at London Euston station from 1100 on Christmas Day, Monday 25 December. The station concourse will be filled with decorations and tables will be laid for dinner so that the guests can enjoy a full Christmas dinner and some company.
More here…
Good effort!
What are we to make of this response?
East Coast Rail Franchise
Good news for fans of diminished Air Quality!
This image graces the cover of the Great Western Rail Franchise consultation, published yesterday.
Granted Penzance was not an electrification priority, but surely showing one of these expensive new trains under the wires might have shown that DfT still takes the benefits of electrification seriously?
This from Hazel Grove...
Today’s exciting announcement from Government is the Transport Infrastructure Efficiency Strategy, in which Highways England, Network Rail, HS2, TfL and DfT outline their new plans for making everything cheaper, if not better.
But what is this in the small print?
Surely not a suggestion that Network Rail’s efficiency, or lack thereof, is hindered by the quest for passenger franchise revenues?
Exciting news - the Government has finally published the Rail Strategy!
Just shy of a year after it was originally announced.
No matter.
Meanwhile, Integrated Partnerships tailored to the franchise de jour have been announced.
Good news indeed.
Especially for operators of passenger trains on both the East Coast and across the East Midlands!
So Eye wonders who will claim ownership of this key junction between the two routes?
Oh dear!
What are we to make of this, from the increasingly excitable twitter feed of Admiral Scrumptious?
15 mins late into Liverpool, stuck behind freight train. Freight on rail during day is hugely disruptive of passenger traffic and also eats up passenger capacity. Big issue!— Andrew Adonis (@Andrew_Adonis) November 22, 2017
@Andrew_Adonis just checked TRUST root cause of delay into Lime Street - signal failure at Runcorn not a late running freight train— Christopher D Wilson (@chrisdwilson006) November 22, 2017
This written answer from Rail Minister Paul Maynard…
Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Rail Delivery Group; and if he will make a statement.
Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys): The Government is supportive of the Rail Delivery Group’s role of providing industry leadership in the railway to achieve better outcomes for rail users. We continue to work closely with them to ensure they are well placed to provide the strategic leadership needed to deliver key reforms in the railway.
There's lovely.
This from Rob Roy…
Good to see that VT East Coast has their finger on the pulse in this information age.
One would have thought that someone might have noticed that the warning about Cross Country industrial action on Sunday the 19th is no longer current today?
A big Eye welcome to Caroline Murdoch, NR's Group Communications Director designate.
Caroline steps into the shoes vacated by Barney Wyld who left NR's top comms role for Rolls Royce last month.
Caroline currently works for the National Crime Agency, heading up the Corporate Affairs function. She has previously worked at the Met and TfL and brings over 20 years’ experience to Network Rail from national communications, public affairs, crisis communication management, marketing and internal communications within both public and private sectors.
Scot Marchbank continues as interim, until Caroline joins NR in late February/early March 2018.
Today the government announced that the YP's railcard would be extended to 26 - 30 year olds.
.@Conservatives have set out plans for a new discounted rail card for 26 - 30 year olds - helping to keep the cost of living down for around 4.5 million more people pic.twitter.com/wKmZgIuIQb— CCHQ Press Office (@CCHQPress) November 21, 2017
So The Treasury is now determining rail marketing approaches. More evidence of govt micro management (extending the YP Railcard not a bad idea, mind) https://t.co/GGgXNRcTKm— Michael Holden (@holdmch) November 21, 2017
Declaring an interest. But rail card policy seems to be going down like a cup of sick with 31-35 year olds. Hammered for a decade by fees, rent and graduated into the crashed job market.. What is in it for them, Chancellor?— Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) November 21, 2017
26-30 railcard is a good policy (and maybe good politics: cheap and popular, tho doubt it'll move many votes).— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) November 21, 2017
But it *will* piss off a good few people our age for the reasons Harry lists. https://t.co/DnX9PqrlVi
Maybe we should just cut rail fares by a third for everyone instead of giving increasingly large groups railcards— Ned Donovan (@Ned_Donovan) November 21, 2017
Fine. Won't help with their commuter fares, but fine. However, needs to be alongside a British equivalent of German BahnCard, or Swiss Halbtax: a bit more expensive (or smaller discount), but universally available. https://t.co/qoWw4fhKwL— [Restricted] Animal (@politic_animal) November 21, 2017
You worry about the scale and breadth of a Budget when the drop two days out is extending the young person's Railcard— steve hawkes (@steve_hawkes) November 21, 2017
"Young people aren't voting for us". "Chuck them a new railcard. That'll do the trick". British politics, 2017. We're all screwed, aren't we.— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) November 21, 2017
This from the Archer…
I thought BMRFC members might like to see what the Mids Div would be sporting on the field this season (Is there an English version of this? Ed)