Dearsubscriber
I waswaiting to do the March newsletter for the government’s paper on the railwaysto come out and, some three months late, it has finally been published. It is,inevitably, somewhat underwhelming and I will be writing a full analysis in mynext Rail column.
Howeverthere is a short comment piece in today’s Independent at http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/christian-wolmar-no-more-inflationbusting-fare-rises-they-must-be-off-the-rails-7546213.html
Interestingly,there is precious little on franchise reform in the paper and Departmentsources confirmed to me that nothing further would be forthcoming. I suspectthey have never been able to answer the Wolmar question of ‘what are franchisesfor?’. Certainly there is no clue in the Command Paper.
The hustingsfor the mayoral election are beginning but it is difficult to get too excited.Even though this is one election where transport issues are to the fore,neither candidate offers an exciting vision. While Boris Johnson concentrateson a few pet projects – cable car anyone? – without any real strategy, KenLivingstone focusses on reducing fares – a laudable aim – but fails to inspireconfidence that he understands how central London could be freed from theshackles of the private motor car. Oh, please, a candidate who wants to closeOxford Street – other than the dear old Greens.
February wasmuch quieter than January and therefore there’s only the regulars added to thesite. The two new Rail columns cover firstthe role of the rail delivery group, topical given the importance placed on itby Justine Greening in the briefing on the Command Paper: http://www.christianwolmar.co.uk/2012/02/rail-689-can-rail-delivery-group-deliver/The other new Rail column is on thebonus culture which I argue is incompatible with the railway business
My column inSurveyor highlights the parking scamsrun by dodgy – near criminal – contractors often employed by public agencies http://www.christianwolmar.co.uk/2012/02/parking-scam-is-real-war-on-motorist/while my TSSA comment is on the alliances which Network Rail is becominginvolved in
Remember, ifyou want a copy of Down the Tube, my sadlyprescient view of the PPP on the London Underground published in 2003, it isavailable on Kindle now via Amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Down-Tube-Londons-Underground-ebook/dp/B005ENTAG8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331225143&sr=8-2
And comingsoon, I will be putting my book on rail privatisation, On the Wrong Line on Amazon Kindle, too, which is pretty timelygiven that there are concerns that the industry will be subject to moreprivatisation attempt. Frankly, I doubt that any private businesses will wantto take on much asset risk, but given the intellectual weakness underpinningthe Command Paper, who knows what crazy decisions will ensue.
On thatcheery thought, enjoy the Spring. My nextnewsletter will have details of how to get early copies of my book on Americanrailways, The Great Railway Revolution. Meanwhile,I have just got a few copies of my two DVDs on The Subterranean Railway, andFire and Steam, both 90 minute films produced by my friends at 1stTake Video to offload. They normally cost £15 each but you can have both forthat price, and £2 p & p by emailing me via the site.
I have keptthe full links in this time because last month they did not work – and at leastyou can copy and paste if they misbehave. Andplease keep on clicking on the ads – it pays for the site!
"an excellent history of the usage of railway lines in conflict" - The Telegraph- Order yours today
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