Northern plays its part in reconnecting Workington

Network Rail played a blinder in providing flood stricken town Workington with a temporary new station to help reconnect the two halves of the divided town.

Now Northern have managed to magic up some 'spare' resources to strengthen existing and provide additional morning and evening services:

This from the News and Star...

It has doubled capacity on its normal services and the extra services begin today and continue tomorrow.

They are:

0845 Workington - Maryport
0900 Maryport –Workington
1645 Workington - Maryport
1700 Maryport - Workington
1730 Workington - Maryport
1750 Maryport - Workington

Good effort. Eye congratulates all involved - makes you proud to be a railwayman.

UPDATE: This from Bendolino via Twitter...

Wonder if Eye knew that NR allowed BT to run temp. cables over viaduct to back up dodgy links over road bridge?

Thameslink 4000 - fleet update - doomed

Alstom may be counting its blessings, now that it is out of the running for the new Thameslink fleet.

This response from Moley to a question by Stephen Hammond MP given in the House on the 24th November:

Stephen Hammond (Shadow Minister, Transport; Wimbledon, Conservative)

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 12 November 2009, Official Report, column 639W, on Thameslink: Rolling Stock, when he expects to (a) announce the preferred bidder and (b) place the final order for the Thameslink rolling stock programme.

Chris Mole (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Ipswich, Labour)

The identification of a preferred bidder prior to final award will depend on the progress of the evaluation and negotiations with the remaining bidders. As set in out in my answer of 12 November 2009, Hansard, column 639W, the Department for Transport is currently planning to award the order around autumn 2010.

So the order for these new trains will not be placed until Autumn 2010.

Which is of course after the date of the General Election (presumed to be the 6th May 2010).

And the Tories have promised an austerity budget within 50 days of taking power.

Is the Eye alone in thinking that this order is now doomed?

Of course it's a nice poison chalice to pass on to the Tories who will get the blame for cancelling the order.

NatEx counts its blessings as East Anglia franchise ends 'early'.

Much excitement from the Chatterati over the 'news' that National Express is to lose its remaining rail franchises.

This, for instance, from The Times...

National Express is to be stripped of its remaining rail franchise three years early, leaving the troubled transport company with just its bus business.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said today that it was terminating National Express’s East Anglia franchise after a decision to nationalise its East Coast main line rail service this year.

First point to make - this is not the application of Cross Default as promised by the Noble Lord during his slightly excitable interview with the Today Programme on the 1st July.

As pointed out by The Archer on Tuesday...

Sources suggest that the late change in the handback date of NXEC, from December 09 to November 09, means that NXEA will now fail the good behavior test so DfT can appoint a new franchised operator on this route in 2011 rather than 2014, so a sort of cross default half-way house.

However, as the franchise payments agreed between NXEA and SRA were very back-end loaded, what the lack of extension of the franchise could actually mean is upwards of £200m that NX won’t now have to pay to DfT so I can’t image NX would be too disappointed to lose the extension.

And to further complicate matters, there’s the small matter of 120 new EMU vehicles that are due to be delivered to the Greater Anglia franchise “between March and May 2011”.

So we have a manufacturer (Bombardier) that has developed something of a reputation for late delivery, a ROSCO - Lloyds TSB General Leasing (No. 8) Limited - that has never procured new trains before and a TOC (National Express) that is about to lose its franchise and be expelled from the railway industry.

A recipe for success this does not make.

Eye wonders if DafT has really thought this out?

UPDATE: This from our man at 222 Marylebone Road...

Send in the clowns!

The theme of this year's Railway Children Ball is Circus Acts.

Should be a walk over for DfT Rail then.

Yoghurt Rail goes multimodal?

First there was Yoghurt Rail...

Now there's Yoghurt Air!

Coming to an aerodrome near you soon.

Bluebell asks for Eye's help!

Eye understands that there is some form of competition on the Devil's Lantern tonight.

Apparently it has the potential to help the Bluebell Railway convert a coach so that the mobility impaired can enjoy the railway.

This from Poser 500...

Any chance of a plug on your blog?

Later this evening, the ITV Meridian East region (essentially Kent & Sussex) local television news programme at 6pm will include a film detailing the Bluebell's prospective project.

Four other projects have already gone two-by-two on Monday and Tuesday. The runner up over the three days with the most votes will also receive a grant.

And this from the Bluebell Railway's website...

The People's Millions - Bluebell Railway project - Please vote for us today

Our project to restore London Chatham & Dover Railway carriage No.51 as our wheel-chair accessible Victorian carriage project needs your support today.

Please ring: 0871 626 88 51 between 9am and Midnight today, Wednesday 25th November

Calls cost 10p each from land-lines; calls via other operators may cost more. Only UK originated calls are counted.

See The People's Millions web site for more details.

Vote early...

Tories can't take support of the railways for granted

This from railway peer Lord Bradshaw in yesterday's debate on the Queen's speech...

I should say to the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, that this is also a challenge to the Conservatives. We do not buy very easily into the idea that they were first in the field with high-speed rail. I remember working for the railway when a Conservative Government sent a member to the British Railways Board with a remit to preside over the orderly running-down of the railway, so I will take no lessons from them on that.

Indeed.

IEP - Money down the drain

Telegrammed by Ithuriel
According to this written answer from Chris Mole MP on March 24

From 2005 to October 2009, the Department for Transport has spent £21 million on the Intercity Express Programme. This resource has included financial, procurement, programme management, technical, legal, industry, business case and other specialist advice required to ensure the successful delivery of a project of the scale of the Intercity Express Programme. This figure should be considered in the context of the Intercity Express Programme contract value of £7.5 billion.

Now, since the preferred bidder Agility Trains is struggling to raise £500 million in funding to get the project off the ground...

And since this will only buy around 170 vehicles...

And since DfT Rail is still talking about starting on the East Coast Main Line...

And since this would mean replacing the IC225 fleet prematurely and result in a substantially higher train leasing cost...

And since Great Western Electrification is still at an early stage and is unlikely to be completed before 2017...

And since the cautious civil servants at DfT Rail who aren't 'cranks' are discussing with the ROSCOs life extension of IC125 to 2035...

That £21 million is a scandalous waste of money and the project should be cancelled forthwith!

And before putting his name to answers like this Moley should ask for a breakdown of where that spurious £7.5 billion figure comes from.

Mystic Griffiths improves RAIB's performance

This from William Dargan...

After years of playing catchup it now appears that the Rail Accident and Investigation Branch are able to investigate and publish reports into events before they even happen!


How very reassuring.

Virgin's Social Media guru quits!

Twitter is abuzz with the news that Richard Baker, Virgin's social media guru, has quit.

Richard made the shock announcement via Twitter early this evening.

His 1,264 followers were directed to a statement on his website which said:

I just couldn’t get away from the niggling feeling that I wasn’t meant to be there. I was meant to be doing 'Something Else'.

I have a wealth of experience in service, communications, human resources, leadership and influencing at board level - and am studying for my MBA. I have a real passion for internal and external engagement.

Richard has spent almost ten years at the InterCity West Coast operator, most recently as General Manager for Liverpool and the North Wales Coast.

He also played a key role in giving the TOC a well respected presence in Social Media forums.

Eye commends him to any railway company seriously thinking about using Social Media to build both the brand and relationships.

Richard's blog post explaining why he is leaving, and with links to his CV, can be found here.

Hire him now!

Easyjet gets it oh so very wrong!

This from the Gruaniad...

The budget airline EasyJet has been forced to withdraw almost 300,000 copies of its in-flight magazine because of protests over its use of Holocaust memorial sites as a backdrop for a fashion feature.

Eye salutes the marketing genius (sic) behind this and wishes them all the very best in their new career - with fries please.

Arriva Trains Wales premier service on film

Nice bit of video - but what an extraordinary piece of demode music...



With a bowler tip to @andylaird25 via Twitter

UPDATE: This from PZT over at errr.. Peezedtee...

What do you mean, "an extraordinary piece of demode music"?

It's very nice music - PROPER music, for a change.

Presumably to chime with the fact that the chef is talking about it being an old-fashioned service.

Nothing extraodinary about it at all!

No Cross Default - Official... almost

Nothing yet on the DfT website but according to the RMT...

The government have also failed to trigger the cross-default clauses on National Express’s C2C service with that franchise being allowed to run its course until retendering and re-letting in November 2011.

No shit Sherlock.

UPDATE: This from The Archer...

RMT’s comments about c2c are more interesting for what they don’t say than for what they do.

The c2c franchise is due to expire in 2011 so an early termination now wouldn’t see a new franchised operator in place before then anyway, as per the current East Coast re-letting timetable.

RMT don’t however mention NXEA and here the franchise is due to run until at least 2011, with a potential extension to 2014 for good behavior.

Sources suggest that the late change in the handback date of NXEC, from December 09 to November 09, means that NXEA will now fail the good behavior test so DfT can appoint a new franchised operator on this route in 2011 rather than 2014, so a sort of cross default half-way house.

However, as the franchise payments agreed between NXEA and SRA were very back-end loaded, what the lack of extension of the franchise could actually mean is upwards of £200m that NX won’t now have to pay to DfT so I can’t image NX would be too disappointed to lose the extension.

Daft funds industrial action on the railways!

An interesting Parliamentary Question from Blaydon MP David Anderson...

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2009, Official Report, column 1103W on railways; franchises, which franchise operator received a payment from his Department in October 2006; and how much that payment was.

To which Chris Mole (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Ipswich, Labour) gave the following answer on the 10th November

The Department for Transport does not publish details on compensation payments made to individual train operating companies for net losses arising from industrial action on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.

Hmmm... perhaps Eye can help.

Readers of the 11th November edition of Rail Business Intelligence will have noted an interesting table on p4, based on information given by Moley himself to the House on the 4th November.

It reveals that National Express East Anglia received a payment from DafT of £3.4m in 2006/07.

As Cap and Collar for NXEA didn't kick in till 2008 it seems reasonable to assume that the £3.4m was indeed given as compensation for Industrial Action, as suggested by Mr Anderson's pointed question.

Happily things are much improved today - for train operators.

One of the perversities of Cap and Collar is that it encourages TOCs not to run trains.

Consider this win - win situation.

An operator, for the sake of arguament let's call it First Capital Connect, is a beneficiary of Cap and Collar

Under Cap and Collar DafT pays for 80% of revenue shortfall.

Were FuCC to suffer industrial action with a consequent loss of revenue DafT picks up 80% of the tab, meanwhile the TOC makes a net saving on staff and operating costs by not running trains.

So don't expect First to be in any hurry to resolve its current IR difficulties whilst a supine DafT continues to shell out the readies.

Truly the economics of the madhouse.

IEP - 12,000 jobs missing

This from then Secretary of State for Transport, Geoff Hoon, in February this year:

"This announcement demonstrates that this Government is prepared to invest, even in difficult economic times, by improving our national infrastructure. It is good news for the British Economy that over 12,500 jobs will be created and safeguarded; good news for the regions that the Government is supporting significant inward investment; and good news for passengers that we are taking the steps necessary to improve their rail journeys."

Good news indeed.

But what's this?

According to Hitachi yesterday, as reported by Yahoo:

The deal, expected to be inked by March 2010, is worth one trillion yen (11.36 billion dollars) and will create up to 500 jobs, the official said, adding that the location of the assembly plant remained undecided.

So where are the rest coming from?

UPDATE: This from J Alfred Prufrock...

Since the Agility Trains consortium is struggling to raise £500 million of funding for IEP, Hitachi must be wondering whether under 200 vehicles are worth building in Japan, let alone in a new factory in the UK.

No wonder DfT Rail is actively discussing life extension of the FGW IC125 fleet to beyond 2030.

And that's before the austerity measures cut in after the election.

Workington - Railway to the Rescue!

This from Network Rail...

In the last 24hrs the company has identified a site for a new temporary station that could help alleviate some of the problems being experienced by the residents of Workington and the surrounding villages.

The new station will be built on waste-land just over ½ mile to the north of the existing station, reconnecting the two halves of the town that have been cut off following flood damage to the footbridges and road bridges in the area.

Good effort.

UPDATE: This from a Mr Saltaire...

Anyone know why Cumbria's road bridges have proven so susceptible to the deluge whilst railway bridges appear to be holding up (no pun intended).

Perhaps the Highway's Agency and County Council have something to learn from Network Rail?

UPDATE: This from Nigel Harris...

I made the same point in my blog re Cumbrian bridges.

It’s a tribute to the job done by our Victorian railway forebears that they built these structures to last such that they shrugged-off the 1,000 year flood which closed, weakened or swept away the county’s road bridges.

Let’s hear it for the navvies and 19th century bridge designers!

UPDATE: This from Chionanthus virginicus...

Railway Civil Engineers have been particularly diligent after the disaster at Glanrhyd Bridge in October 1987, when the bridge was washed away by exceptional water levels in the River Towy. These under-scoured the piers and unfortunately in the darkness a DMU went into the water with loss of 4 lives.

Battle of the Barriers - Sheffield rejects gates

So the people of Sheffield have spoken!

Yesterday the City Council unanimously rejected East Midlands Trains' bid to gate Sheffield station.

There were strong words at yesterday's planning and highways area board and after the meeting local councillors were keen to air their views to both the BBC and the Yorkshire Post.

Kerpow! - Council leader Paul Scriven said: "People are justifiably outraged at the idea that our footbridge, paid for with £15m of taxpayers' money, could be shut off by a private company for the purposes of profit."

Blam! - Cllr Brian Holmes said he was "disgusted" by the application.

Splat! - Cllr Alan Law slammed EMT's "pretty appalling consultation process".

Zap! - Cllr Tim Rippon said: "I think it beggars belief that an organisation like Stagecoach, which is delivering a public service, continues to pursue this application in the face of such opposition. I can only hope that Stagecoach go away and stick to running trains, and that this subject does not come before this area board again."

Oh dear.

However, every cloud has a silver lining.

Regular Eye readers will recollect that only last week Lord Adonis instructed nationalised East Coast Main Line not to pursue gating plans for York station so that through access for non-passengers could be maintained.

As the principle of through access has now been established presumably the Noble Lord will will take the same view on the situation at Sheffield and relieve EMT of its gating obligations.

If there is to be a level playing field between state-owned and private sector operators he can do no less.

UPDATE: This from the Major...

While York has indeed created the principle of through access, I sense the Noble Lord remains unwilling to violate his other principle (perhaps even his prime directive) and that is not to renegotiate franchises.

I wait with baited breath to see how Tim Shoveller can dig himself out from this hole.

Freightliner to name the Ugly sisters

***Driver Potter has the full list of names to be applied to Freightliner Cl70s***

UPDATE: This from TonyVeitchUK via Twitter...

Tell Potter Debbie Harry doesn't qualify... American interloper... oh, I get it.

Number crunching - What £10bn buys you

This from The Vice Marshall...

I have just travelled from Crewe to Euston, arriving 12 minutes late on a non-tilting Pendolino, running at conventional speeds through all the curves, but which was able to go up to 125 mph where permitted.

The train originated at Manchester Piccadilly (departing on time according to NRES) and called at Stockport, Wilmslow and Crewe.

Its overall journey time, with these three stops, was therefore 2hr 21min.

Twenty years ago there was a Manchester Pullman routed via Crewe, with stops at Stockport, Wilmslow and Crewe.

The train comprised load 13 (450 tons) and was hauled by a class 87 or 90 loco, maximum speed 110 mph.

The PSRs on the curves were much the same as today’s, but the permitted speed over ‘the brine, between Wilmslow and Crewe, was lower then than it is today, and all trains were limited to 80 mph through Rugby (cf 125 mph today).

Despite its heavier weight, lower traction power and lower PSRs, I recall that the Pullman via Crewe was timed to complete the journey in 2hr 23min!

Just two minutes more than that achieved today by a nine-car non-tilting Pendolino with a top speed on the straight and level of 125mph.

Plus ça change.

And all at a cost of West Coast Route Modernisation of just under £10 billion*!

*equivalent to 99,800 return journeys between Newquay and Kyle of Lochalsh with Arriva Cross Country. Ed

RMT has got news for you!

This will be a real treat!

According to the Evening Standard...

The general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union will be a guest panellist on the popular BBC programme (HIGNFY) this Friday.

Canny Bob's no fool.

His appearance on the show will take place when most of his regular sparring partners will be attending the industry's annual do in support of charity the Railway Children!

iPlayer will take a hammering on Saturday.

FuCC service shambles overlooked?

This just in from Bacon Butty...

Is the Fact Compiler now in the pay of First Group?

Only we saw a lot of interesting snippets about NXEC but at least they ran a full service until their final hour (100% PPM on the last day, Ed).

FCC "Thameslink" on the other hand have been half a timetable short of a full service for well over a week now (since Thurs 12th), blaming lack of Drivers.

DafT has also been very quiet about the shambles.

The Fact Compiler can only apologise for his lack of invective about FuCC.

Truth be told he had been somewhat busy re-reading Sir Moir's lovely book:


Perhaps Dr Mike Mitchell, Director of National Networks at the DfT and a former First Group Business Development Director, has been similarly engaged?

UPDATE: This from Billy Connections...

I think you're being a little unfair on Dr Mike.

It is well known that he takes a close personal interest in the performance of First franchises.

Why only a week or so ago he was overheard using the first person plural when referring to First Great Western.

Obviously old habits die hard.