Election clock ticking for 1,300 new vehicles

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
Finger out Adonis!

Only 19 days in which to place orders for the outstanding 757 additional vehicles in the High Level Output Specification.

Your elected colleagues with constituencies in and around Derby expect you to hand a cheque over to Colin Walton soonest.

UPDATE: This from Leo Pink...

And since the delay to the Thameslink new trains order has deferred 200 of the vehicles in the HLOS 1300 to Control Period 5, why not ask Uncle Colin to make up the number with some Turbostars and revive the Diesel Multiple Unit Project.

No doubt Porterbrook would like to further boost their local MP's chances by providing the funding for these DMUs.

Such gratitude would be in order since we all remember how the Derby MPs stood up for brave little Porterbrook as it defied the jack-booted hordes of DfT Rail. (Errr... is this right? Ed.)

Another 'C' word the Government can't say.

Not 'Cuts' this time.

Nor indeed Lord Mandy's reported use of the word 'Chump' (sic) to a News International executive

This emasculated written response from the Noble Lord, given on the 5th October:

Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat)

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 29 June (WA 22), when the procurement process for 202 new diesel train carriages will be advanced sufficiently for an order to be placed.

Lord Adonis (Secretary of State, Department for Transport; Labour)

On 23 July the Government announced a major £1.1 billion programme of rail electrification on the Great Western Main Line and the line between Liverpool and Manchester. This radically affects the requirements for rolling stock over the next decade.

There will be far less need for diesel trains and a greater requirement for electric trains, as a result of which the procurement of 202 new diesel train carriages has now been superseded. The Government will publish a. new rolling stock plan in the autumn, taking account of the changed circumstances.

So why can't Lord Adonis use the word 'Cancelled'?

UPDATE: This from a Mr Saltaire...

I seem to recollect that the DfT started this procurement farce under the premise of “urgent operational need”.

Since the Great Western electrification won’t be sufficiently complete to allow existing EMUs and DMUs to be cascaded until 2016 at the earliest, the “urgent operational need” is likely to remain for quite some time.

Unless…. the word superseded is taken literally (it means replaced, NOT cancelled), in which case perhaps the Government will use the existing procurement process (which has been superseded, but not cancelled remember… keep up!!) to provide the good people of the Thames Valley and Northern England with some nice shiny new trains so that they can sit down on their way to and from work each day.

Modally antagonistic

This from New Civil Engineer...

Transport minister Chris Mole officially started work to widen the busy A46 in Nottinghamshire after the project was accelerated as part of the Department for Transport’s £700M fiscal stimulus package.

Still no news on the 200 DMU vehicles "accelerated" in the Pre-Budget Report 2008...

Do as I say but not as I do

Today Passenger Focus published the results of its Spring 2009 Passenger Satisfaction Survey.

One of the questions the watchdog asked passengers was "How well the train company dealt with delays?".

Perhaps a question that Passenger Focus could profitably put to it's DafT paymaster, judging by this lacklustre response given in the Upper House yesterday by Lord Adonis:

Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat)
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 14 May (WA 239), when the announcement will be made on the placing of the order for the 202 new diesel train carriages.

Lord Adonis (Secretary of State, Department for Transport; Labour)
The procurement process for new diesel multiple unit vehicles is still underway and an announcement will be made later this year.

Indeed - according to DafT's own timetable the announcement on the preferred bidder should have been made in April this year.

No matter, the noble Lord now glibly assures Parliament that the announcement will be made "later this year."

Small comfort to overcrowded passengers but emblematic of the Department's sorry approach to dealing with delays, especially when they are entirely of its own making.

UPDATE: This from an anonymous reader...

You might as well add lying to the charge-sheet.

Originally DafT promised Northern that they would get 180 additional vehicles now it's down to just 106.

It's caused fury here in the North West and makes page two of tonight's Manchester Evening News.

Sir Humphrey on Pacers

Our man in Marsham Street, top civil servant Sir Humphrey Beeching, tells Eye over an after work G&T that the on-going delay to the announcement of the preferred bidder for the 202 DMU vehicles is due to the dramatic improvement in the reliability of the Pacer fleets.

With three fleets over 6000 miles per casualty and only one under 4000, the operating and engineering chappies reckon they can now get by with fewer new, and expensive, DMUs which, in any event are generally used by provincial people for whom Pacers are more than sufficient.

Suggestions that DfT Rail can't raise the funding, or find an independent expert willing to undercut Porterbrook on lease rentals are officially deprecated.

Gordon's Chinese take-away?

So Gordon Brown is meeting the Chinese Vice Premier today.

Is this a sign of movement on the 200 new DMU vehicles?

Probably not.

In the current climate it's more likely he's seeking political asylum...

DfT fails to apologise for delays

Ministers regularly excoriate TOCs and NR for late running so how is DafTs own record at delivering to passengers?

This from a distinctly optimistic DafT press release issued on the 21st December last year:

Invitation to tender issued for 200 new diesel train carriages... Closing date for bids is 16th February and it is anticipated that an announcement on the preferred bidder will be made in April.

It is now May.

When can we expect DafT to apologise for the delay, explain the reason and hand out passenger compensation forms?

DMUs 'r' Us delayed?

Telegrammed by Ithuriel
Specify in haste, procure at leisure...

...is the lesson for today!

Apparently all three bidders for the DMU contract 'brought forward' under the Chancellor's fiscal stimulus programme had different ideas of what ranked as compliance.

So they have all been given a chance to have another go in response to a blizzard of clarification questions from those wonderful folk who brought you the IEP.

At this rate we'll be lucky to have them delivered in time for CP5.

DafT number krunching

Telegrammed by J Alfred Prufrock
Exciting news for the Competition Commission.

So DMUs 'r' Us are going to buy the 202 DMU vehicles and lease them onto the TOCs.

So when DafT sets the rentals the true scale of the rip-offs perpetrated the evil and rapacious Roscos will finally be exposed!

Simply subtract the monthly rental per vehicle charged by DMUs 'r' Us from that being charged by Porterbrook on its Class 172s.

Of course they will have to be be financially viable rentals because DafT intends to sell the contracts and leases on once the deal is in place.

And the money the taxpayer receives will be a function of the NPV of the rentals expressed as a return on the cost of DMUs 'r' Us.

Adjusted, naturally, for the Residual Value Risk on a number of DMUs with a book life of 30 years.

Gone to the dogs?

Captain Deltic reporting that Rotem has not submitted a bid for the 200+ DMU vehicles brought forward by the Pre Budget Statement:

"With Hyundai Rotem of Korea having pulled out for the time being, the bidders, in alphabetical order, are Bombardier Transportation, CAF of Spain and CSR Nanjing Puzhen of China."

DafT is still claiming it's an open race, despite strange words from my Lord Adonis at the IEP press conference...

New trains shocker!

This just in from yesterday's Anglo-sino trade bilateral.

UK Government signals unconditional acceptance of terms for Chinese trains.

A quick flutter

Railway Eye's new tipster 'Depot Lad' reports the latest betting in the Adonis £300 million DMU stakes:

Tasty dog 5-2 (Fav)
Medina Sidonia's Revenge 4-1
Flag Wagger 5-1
Extra fried rice 10-1

Reverse forecasts not available

Bombardier Stock Up !

Good news for UK train manufacturing!

DafT today published the list of prequalified bidders for the additional vehicles announced in the November Pre-Budget Report.

They are...

1. Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd

2. CAF - Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A.

3. CSRE LTD - Chinese Sourced Railway Equipment on behalf of CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Co., Ltd

4. Hyundai Rotem Company

Ever willing to provide a hostage to fortune DafT have also given an indication of when they expect to announce the preferred bidder: "Closing date for bids is 16th February and it is anticipated that an announcement on the preferred bidder will be made in April."

Better still My Lord Adonis has now gone hard on the numbers. Previously DafT said there would be "up to 200" new vehicles. My Lord Adonis now talks of the: "...delivery of these 200 new rail carriages."

In Notes to Editors DafT reminds us that "the 200 new DMUs (...are part of...) the £700m fiscal stimulus announced in last month's Pre-Budget Report".

Putting aside the fact that DafT's Buffoonettes have managed to convert 200 vehicles into 200 DMUs, this is extremely good news for Bombardier.

Of the four short listed bidders only one has previously built a train for the mainland British railways. And with the Class 172 currently in production for Loo-Roll and London Midland, either run-ons or parallel construction are an option - reducing delivery times.

But best of all for these new vehicles to deliver Darling's "fiscal stimulus" they'll need to be built in the UK.

Fill your boots Bombardier!

Buffhoonettes

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
A friendly call to the DafT press office to see if there were any further details on the up to 200 vehicles being brought forward from a never specified delivery date, brought the following reply:

"We don't have details on how they will be allocated to the TOCs".

According to their Master's statement:

"...an additional 200 train carriages to relieve congestion on the Great Western, Northern and Transpennine rail franchises."

And the press release says:

"The delivery of 200 new carriages earlier than originally expected for rail passengers in the Thames Valley, around Bristol and on longer distance inter-urban services in Northern England."

What sort of press office is it that claims not to have information that has been published in the House earlier that day?

Come back Miriam the railways need you more than aviation.

Clarification or more spin?

***Westminster sources saying Geoff Hoon statement at lunchtime today on the "up to 200 new rail carriages"***

UPDATE: Ministerial statement now expected at 15:00

Pre-Budget Report and the railway

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
According to Alastair Darling's 2008 Pre-Budget Report today: "Up to 200 new rail carriages will be delivered earlier."

Since the egregious 'Rolling Stock Puzzle' does not contain a timetable for the delivery of any the 1300 (sic) new vehicles in the High Level Output Specification, how can vehicles be delivered earlier?

Elsewhere in the Report it says that there will be '£300 million to accelerate the delivery of up to 200 new carriages to expand capacity on the rail network'.

How can DafT accelerate delivery?

Only by placing orders in its own right before negotiations to changes in Franchise Agreements are concluded.

Which means telling TOCs, 'You're going to have these Electrostars we've bought as a job lot when they are delivered'.

This is an admirably sensible approach - which is why we don't think it is what the Pre-Budget Report means.

And that 'up-to 200' sounds distinctly fishy.

The only additional vehicles remotely capable of being 'accelerated ' are the 30 four car EMUs for NXEA and the 42 - oops 24 - extra DMU vehicles for TransPennine.

Predictably the running dog lackeys at ATOC welcomed this meaningless commitment.

UPDATE: Tom from Blairwatch writes:

"It did occur to me that since there's only one place you can build trains in the country, and it's full of people building trains, what was the point? If you ordered 200 Electrostar vehicles the delivery date would pattern-match 201x anyway - they've got those South African Electrostars, the Class 378s for Boris, the 2009TS for Boris and the 'S' stock for Boris to build first. My goodness, Boris is getting a big new trainset, isn't he?

"What might be fun is to engage in stimulus trading with the Germans. For instance, we could start by buying a job lot of off-the-peg Desiros (beefing up the Class 450 fleet would be favourite, guys), in return for the German police buying an equal cost in Jaguars, or something.

"Alternatively put some cash into refurbishing and life-extending the Class 150 fleet."

UPDATE: Sim Harris writes...

"That makes Bombardier sound too busy to take on any more, but not so.

"There is capacity for 8 lines at Litchurch Lane and only 5 are in use (not at all bad, but that still leaves 3). Gautrain is nearly complete, too.

"Bring the work on!"

Pre-Budget Report and the environment

Wolmar also gives a thumbs down to the Pre-Budget Report, on environmental grounds.

Read Christian's piece here.

It looks like the Chancellor is struggling to win support.

As Ali D might say: "Is it because I is in the black?".