International & UK Railway News Saturday 16th November 2013

Christian Wolmar - Britain's Leading Transport Commentator

 

 

Fares review dodges the big issues

(First published in TSSA Journal.14th November 2013. Reproduced with permission)

 

It was never going to be easy sorting out the chaotic fares structure. Simplification, standardisation, information, clarity, smartcards  – all these are buzz words for what the long delayed fares review published in early October was going to solve e. Not surprisingly, the review did not manage to address all these problems comprehensively, a near impossible task. However, while undoubtedly the review did not go far enough in dealing with crucial fundamental issues or even sorting out some ridiculous anomalies, there are several aspects to cheer about, as witnessed by the Campaign for Better Transport’s comment that it ‘does contain some welcome initiatives’.

The review, which was announced 18 months ago and was originally supposed to have been completed in the spring , ducked out of the fundamental problems, such as trying to standardise the fares system to deal with complexities like two people sitting next to each other on a train having paid dramatically different amounts.

Nevertheless, tentatively, a few steps have been taken in the right direction. First, the government has finally recognised that there needs to be some sort of compromise arrangement between a full season ticket, which gives massive discounts of up to two thirds for commuters, and the one off ticket which works out very much more expensive for part time workers. More and more people now work part time – often of course unwillingly – and even those in full time work can now, with the use of technology, stay at home for a day or two every week. The great advantage for the industry as a whole, and indeed for the government which always ends up bankrolling railway investment, is that a more flexible ticketing system would reduce peak demand and therefore pressure for investment in new rolling stock or extended platforms.
Therefore, the announcement of a trial – with operators expected to bid to host it – for more flexible season tickets is to be welcomed. So is the other trial, for the removal of the daft anomaly whereby a return journey for long distance services often costs just £1 more than the single. This is a leftover from British Rail and makes no sense in a world where people often have occasion to travel one way by train and the return by car or even plane. Charging half the return fare for a single leg makes much more sense, but again the approach by the government is rather timid. Why not simply insist that the price of a single leg should be half the off-peak return?

The government too, went halfway on the scandal of ‘flex’ on fares rises. This is the flexibility given to operators to increase some fares by up to 5 per cent more than the overall inflation plus one per cent rise. There is a widespread perception that this has been abused by the operators. As Anthony Smith of Passenger Focus suggests,  ‘allowing so much flex meant that effectively the train operators were allocating public subsidy by imposing sharp rises on some commuters and lower ones on others.’ Moreover, he is convinced that ‘there is clearly an element of revenue generation in the flex arrangements. Otherwise, how come when Andrew Adonis got rid of it, he had to pay compensation to the train operators?’ The government has agreed to reduce this to 2 per cent, although organisations like the Campaign for Better Transport would like to see it abolished entirely.

One aspect that Passenger Focus has long battled on but lost out in the face of strong opposition from the train operators was over the issue of forcing passengers to pay a full fare if they have the wrong advance ticket for the train without the money already spent being taken into account. The operators argue that if they did not impose what amounts to a penalty fare many people would buy advance tickets but hop on any train and therefore cheat the system because they  would only risk paying what they should have done anyway. In fact, it is passengers who are being cheated. Some advance tickets cost as much as £120 on the London – Manchester route and someone taking a train 20 minutes late could be made to pay an extra £148 – this is clearly ridiculous. Most people are honest and not trying to cheat the system but the view of the operators seems to be that all their customers are dishonest. No wonder the companies are unpopular.

The worst aspect of the fares review is that there has been no commitment to move away from the inflation plus one per cent annual fares rises for regulated fares. There was a bit of good news tucked away in here. As Smith pointed out, ‘we have managed to save the Saver, although it is no longer called that, to ensure that off-peak fares remain regulated. We have been fighting this for years and it is now accepted, which guarantees that leisure users can continue to have access to relatively cheap journeys’.

As Smith says, however, it is very much relatively.  Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, was taking the proverbial when, in announcing the fares review, he said that the government had ‘reduced average rises from three per cent to one per cent in real terms’. That is bare faced cheek. It was only his government, not Labour, which suggested inflation plus 3 per cent, and only relented under huge public pressure. There has, in fact, now been 10 years of above inflation increases, something which is ultimately unsustainable and which means that the passengers’ contribution to the overall railways’ income has gone from one third to two third.

Smith, quite rightly, wanted to see a date to end these high increases, but the government has made no commitment. Yet, it seems the government is always prepared to stop fuel tax rises, and yet imposes these swingeing increases on rail travellers annually.

There remains, therefore, much to campaign on. The above inflation rises will have to end eventually and flex still gives too much opportunity for the operators to fleece passengers. The other big issue looming in the distance, which will have enormous effect on the question of ticket offices, is the introduction of smartcard technology. Given that this is seen as essential for the more flexible season ticket arrangements, and that the Oyster pay as you go system has proved so successful that is delivering continued 5 per cent annual growth on National Rail use in London, smartcard will inevitably become the norm, initially for commuters travelling short distances but quite possibly eventually across the whole network.  The introduction of smartcards should not be used as an excuse to dispense with staff who will still be needed to help many rail passengers, especially occasional users, and to make stations feel safer.

 

For Christian Wolmar books......Click Here....

 

 

 

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Saturday 23rd November 2013

The Capital Christmas Express (Railway Touring Company)

• 34067 Weymouth (pu) - Poole (pu) - Bournemouth (pu) - Southampton (pu) - Eastleigh (pu) - Basingstoke - Woking - Wimbledon - London Waterloo (break/rev) & return

The Tynesider (Railway Touring Company)

• 60009 Newcastle (pu) - Durham (pu) - Darlington (pu) - York (pu) -Doncaster - Grantham - Peterborough - London Kings Cross
• 60009 London Kings Cross - Peterborough - Grantham - Doncaster - York (sd)
• WCRC Class 47 York - Darlington (sd) - Durham (sd) - Newcastle

The Cathedrals Express (Steam Dreams)

• 60163 London Waterloo (pu) - Woking (pu) - Salisbury (pu) - Bath Spa (pu) - Hereford - Ludlow - Shrewsbury (break/rev) & return

The Elge Explorer (Vintage Trains)

• 4965 Tyseley Warwick Road (pu) - Coleshill Parkway (pu) - Nuneaton (pu) - Leicester (pu) - Peterborough - March - Ely (break/rev) & return

Thursday 28th November 2013

The Bath & Bristol Christmas Market (Railway Touring Company)

• 34067 Poole (pu) - Branksome (pu) - Bournemouth (pu) - Christchurch (pu) - Southampton (pu) - Eastleigh (pu) - Salisbury (pu) - Westbury - Bath Spa - Bristol Temple Meads (break/rev) & return

Saturday 30th November 2013

Christmas In The North Country (NENTA Traintours)

• WCRC Class 47 (Pair) North Walsham (pu) - Hoveton & Wroxham (pu) - Norwich (pu) - Diss (pu) - (Colchester by connecting service train) - Ipswich (pu) - Stowmarket (pu) - Bury St. Edmunds (pu) - (Cambridge & Wymondham by connecting service train) - Ely (pu) - March (pu) - Peterborough (pu) - York - Durham - Newcastle Central (break/rev) & return

The Festive Festival Express (Pathfinder Tours)

• DRS Class 37 Whitchurch (pu) - Shrewsbury (pu) - Craven Arms (pu) - Ludlow (pu) - Leominster (pu) - Hereford (pu) - Abergavenney (pu) - Cwmbran (pu) - Filton Abbey Wood (pu) - Salisbury - Portsmouth Harbour (break/rev) & return

Additional Tour Information

Pathfinder confirm that the traction for this train has been changed to DRS Class 37s, rather than the previously advertised DRS Class 47s.

Added 08:53 on Tuesday 29th October 2013

The Christmas White Rose (Railway Touring Company)

• 60009 Cambridge (pu) - Ely (pu) - March (pu) - Peterborough (pu) - Grantham - Doncaster - York (break/rev) & return

The Christmas Cheshireman (Railway Touring Company)

• 70013 Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Filton Abbey Woods (pu) - Cwmbran (pu) - Abergavenny (pu) - Hereford (pu) - Craven Arms - Shrewsbury - Gobowen - Ruabon - Wrexham - Chester (break/rev) & return

The Cathedrals Express (Steam Dreams)

• 70000 London Euston (pu) - Milton Keynes Central (pu) - Northampton (pu) - Lichfield Trent Valley (pu) - Chester (break/rev) & return

St. Nicholas Fayre In York 125 Special (UK Railtours)

• East Midlands Trains HST London St. Pancras (pu) - Luton Airport Parkway (pu) - Bedford (pu) - Kettering (pu) - Leicester - Loughborough - York (break/rev) & return

Sunday 1st December 2013

Melton Mowbray Christmas Fayre (Vintage Trains)

• 9600 and L94 (7752) Tyseley Warwick Road (pu) - Coleshill Parkway (pu) - Nuneaton (pu) -Leicester - Melton Mowbray (break/rev) & return

 

 

Network Rail


Could IT be you? - Network Rail to pay first year's university fee in new competition to encourage more .. women into IT

Network Rail's chief information officer is so concerned about the rapid slide in the number of women entering the UK's IT sector, she has launched a new competition for girls where the company will pay for the winner's first year of university fees.

The competition – Could IT Be You – has been designed by six women in the 500-strong IT team led by Group CIO Susan Cooklin and aims to show girls what working in IT is really about and the career opportunities open to them.

The latest figures from e-skills UK shows the proportion of women working in technology roles in the UK has more than halved since the 1980s* despite technology becoming an increasingly integral part of our every-day lives.

 

A new survey for Network Rail of 16-24 year old women in the Midlands revealed:

- 65% of women have not considered a career in IT

- 28% had but were not currently working in the industry

- Negative stereotypes put 8% off pursuing a career with 43% saying it was a lack of technical skill. A further 39% said it was inadequate career advice or little insight into the industry.

- 60% believe that a high level of technical expertise in computer programming or code is the most important skill for a successful career in IT. 22% thought a degree or college qualification in a technology subject was most important.

- Only 3% thought good project management skills were the most important with only 10% citing good communication skills as the most valuable.

 

From 2008-12 the percentage of women in IT roles at Network Rail has grown from 26 to 28% but only 20% of those applying for the company’s information management graduate scheme were female.

 

Ms Cooklin said: "Popular culture has helped create a perception amongst young women that a career in IT is all about writing code in basement offices – the reality couldn't be further from the truth.

"Could IT Be You aims to break down those myths and help young women realise how the skills and behaviours they already have – such as good communications, problem solving and working creatively are exactly what business leaders are after. While there are people in my team who are technical experts with IT-related qualifications, there are just as many whose skills lie in other important areas and do a critical job delivering the IT projects that make our railway run better."

The six women who devised the competition all work in IT project management roles at Network Rail. Only one has a technical subject undergraduate degree - the others studied History, English, Psychology and Philosophy, and Biochemistry and Pharmacology. Three of the women went on to study for the MSc in Project Management, devised by Network Rail in partnership with the University of Warwick and University College London.

 

Ruth Stevens, a 26 year-old Network Rail IT project manager from Redditch who studied at Birmingham and Warwick universities and who helped develop the competition said: "It's not always easy to know at 16 what you want to do for a job when you're in your twenties, or even what you might be good at. It can all seem so daunting. By sharing my experience through the competition, I want to help open this exciting world up to others, especially young women, who may not realise all the great things they could do. I did English at university and now I'm an IT project manager. It's not what you would traditionally expect but technology is central to all our lives, so I really feel as if I'm making a difference."

Ruth Stevens explains how she got into IT

To enter the competition, girls aged 16-18 years are asked to visit a new website www.couldITbu.co.uk to answer five simple questions and provide a short essay. The website includes inspiring video diaries from the six women who devised the competition who talk about their career path, skills and interests.

Fifty entrants will be invited to a networking day at Network Rail's national centre in Milton Keynes in February. Here they will have the opportunity to meet influential business women from various industries, learn valuable skills such as CV writing and interview techniques. They will be asked to record a minute-long film about their experience of the day. Those who record the top four films will win two weeks work experience at Network Rail during the summer of 2014 and continued mentoring with the best winning all this as well as the first prize of having their first year of university fees paid.

Notes: 

*Women working in IT roles statistics from the E-Skills Technology Insights 2012 report

*Universities in Scotland do not charge fees but the prize is for study sponsorship of up to £9,000 and a paid work experience placement. For anyone attending a university in Scotland, the living expenses equivalent (eg: rent/bills/books etc) will be paid.

Visit www.couldITbu.co.uk to enter the competition. The competition is open for female UK residents aged 16-18. Closing date is 7^th December 2013. You can follow us on Twitter @coulditbu13
The survey for Network Rail was conducted in October 2013 by OnePoll.com with a survey sample of 1000 16-24 year old women across Great Britain.

New bridge coming to Gravesend station

 

This weekend, Gravesend station will get its first new footbridge since the 1800s.

It’s part of a £19m development for Gravesend, which will see a new platform constructed to allow 12 car trains to call and make the station fully accessible.

The new footbridge, being installed by contractors C Spencer, is designed to be accessible and will be provided with lifts, which will come into use in the New Year.

Network Rail’s route managing director for Kent, Fiona Taylor, said: “This is the first major step in the development at Gravesend, a development which will make a real difference to passengers.

“It’s a difficult job to get something so large into the station and, as a result, we will need to stop trains from running through Gravesend on Sunday, as well as making some minor changes to road traffic in the area.

“We’re sorry for any disruption this may cause. We are confident that passengers will really benefit from the works planned for the station.”

The original footbridge will remain in place for two weeks, before being lifted out on Sunday, 1^st December. It will be stored and donated to a heritage railway.

Southeastern’s Customer Relations Manager, Alison Nolan said: “The benefit of this project will enable us to run longer trains through Gravesend and the station will be made fully accessible. However in order for Network Rail to carry out this major work, we won’t be able to run services through the station over the next three Sundays and for 15 days over the Christmas and New Year period.

"We realise this will be an inconvenience to our customers so we’re providing a range of alternative travel options. Detailed station-by-station travel advice is available on our website and timetables will be delivered to stations shortly.”

As a result of the work at the station, including to the track, there will be no trains between Northfleet and Higham the next three Sundays – November 17, 24 and December 1. Replacement buses will be in place to connecting services at Ebbsfleet, Strood, Greenhithe (for Bluewater) and Meopham. For full details and to plan your journey, visit the Southeastern website (southeasternrailway.co.uk).

The overall project, which is being delivered by partners C Spencer Ltd, is due for completion in March next year. However the major work over the Christmas period will require 15 days of major construction at the station as the track layout is redesigned and the new platform installed. Because of this, there will be no trains from Gravesend station from December 22 to January 6. Network Rail is working with train operator Southeastern to minimise the impact this work will have on passengers’ journeys.


Major investment in Manchester’s railway this Christmas

Major improvements will be getting underway at Manchester Victoria this Christmas as Network Rail delivers the next stage of its plan to electrify the railway throughout Manchester and the North West.

To allow the project to be completed safely, there will be no Northern Rail trains serving Manchester Victoria after the last service on Christmas Eve until Thursday 2 January 2014 when services resume. Customers are being advised to check travel details thoroughly when booking tickets and before they travel.

Martin Frobisher, area director for Network Rail said: “With more passengers and more journeys being made than ever before, demand for rail is booming. The work happening at Manchester Victoria is a key part of our plans to improve rail across Manchester and the north of England.

“This project represents a significant investment in the railway in Manchester and in conjunction with the Northern Hub will see more trains and faster journeys, improving travel between major towns and cities across the north.

“There is never a good time to carry out major work and on balance, completing the work over the holiday period was the best time to complete this essential project. Train services are quieter at this time of year and fewer people are expected to experience changes to their travel plans compared to the alternative, which would have been to stagger the work over dozens of weekends and bank holidays.”

Lee Wasnidge, Area Director for Northern Rail comments: “We’d like to thank our customers for their patience during this improvement work. The long awaited redevelopment of this station is transforming the city around Victoria. This nine day blockade over Christmas will see the new concourse developing on the station as well as structural work to support electrification as it evolves across the North West.”

Northern Rail services to Liverpool, Preston, Blackpool, Wigan, Southport and Blackburn will start/terminate at Manchester Oxford Road or Salford Central

• A shuttle bus will run between Salford Central – Manchester Victoria
• A limited train service will operate to Moston, serving Castleton and Mills Hill

• Services to/from Rochdale, Bradford and Leeds via Hebden Bridge will start/terminate at Rochdale with a rail replacement bus service to Manchester Victoria

Northern Rail services to/from Huddersfield via Stalybridge will start/terminate at Ashton-under-Lyne

• Buses will run between Manchester Victoria and Ashton-under-Lyne
• Additional TransPennine Express services will stop at Stalybridge providing more trains into Manchester Piccadilly

Metrolink services will continue to operate as normal from Manchester Victoria, and additional double trams will be running on the new Ashton line over the Christmas period while the improvements are delivered and the accompanying changes to Northern service are in place.

The project is part of the £400 million North West Electrification scheme that will allow electric train services to be introduced from the station in December 2014. During the closure, work will also continue to deliver the redevelopment of the station.

Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Deansgate stations will remain open and will not be affected by the closure.

Notes:

Full details of amended timetables, alternative travel options and walking routes will be available shortly from northernrail.org and tfgm.co.uk
Trains do not run on 25/26 December 2013 and this period is traditionally one of the quietest times of the year.
Work happening at Manchester Victoria over Christmas 2013 includes:

• On the east side of the station, the track under Cheetham Hill road bridge will be dug out and physically lowered to accommodate the over head line equipment for electric trains
• To the west of the station, engineers will prepare and install the foundations to allow the steel work to carry the overhead electric wires to allow electric trains to operate and connect into the newly electrified railway to Newton Le Willows.
• Work to redevelop the station concourse continues over the Christmas period
• Enabling work on the Metrolink track to allow a third platform to be installed at the station as part of the second city crossing.

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Adrian Vaughan

Historic railway scenes photographs

Broad gauge express engine ‘Warlock’ at Westbourne Park, Paddington, depot. c1890

My collection contains hundreds of negatives of railway scenes taken in UK and Republic of Ireland  between 1900 – or earlier – and the 1980s. I would be pleased to be able to sell dark room prints or scans sent down the wire in an e-mail or on a CD or memory stick. Many of the negatives are very pictorial and would make large size prints to frame and hang on a wall.  There are pictures of locomotives or of signalling interest of station scenes. I might just have the very picture you are looking for – or I might not. You could e-mail me and tell me what you are looking for. Or write me a letter: Adrian Vaughan, 13 The Street, Barney, Fakenham, Norfolk. NR21 0NB.

 

Adrian Vaughan: The Great Western’s Last Year. Efficiency in Adversity

Review by Peter S Lewis

This is the latest offering from Adrian Vaughan. And experienced readers of his previous books on Brunel , the Great Western Railway  and the history of Britain’s railways (Railwaymen, Politics and Money…an essential read!) will know and appreciate the meticulous research the author undertakes to tell the story as it is….or in this case….as it was.

“The Great Western’s Last Year” is something of a swansong for this most famous of railway companies. 112 years of service to the nation, through two debilitating world wars, and yet, at the end, a solvent company..a profitable dividend paying company without any government subsidies.

Having had its future “snatched from us” (W J Stevens p 223) it was still functioning as if it was going to go on serving the nation forever!

Adrian Vaughan sets out the last year (1947) month by month, and in each chapter recounts Board of Directors meetings and decisions, staff issues, rolling stock and locomotive updates, derailments, collisions, and a financial update month by month.

And what a year 1947 was! A ferocious winter strained the GWR’s resources to the full..and beyond....as well as coping with the demands of the  1946 Transport Bill heralding nationalization. Viscount Portal (Chairman of the GWR Board) observed that “Although it has long been recognized that the main transport problem is to be solved by a greater measure of co-ordination between the various forms of transport, the Bill contains no constructive plan for dealing with this problem”

(It was ever thus!)

Still, the GWR continued as before….”Pride in the Job” being one of its mottos…

This motto was well illustrated in the book, and the subtitle “Efficiency in Adversity” says it all.

Here are some of the events….a breakaway in the Severn Tunnel(p 67),  prompt actions preventing a serious mishap (p 69) , the sad case of Fireman Morgan (p97)  , the last GWR Royal Train (p 178),

the demonstrating of the GWR patented ATC system (p 181) and the Kings Sutton mishap (p 187)

Right up to the end, the GWR was busy renovating, refurbishing, renewing its rolling and locomotive

stock…indeed, 1947 saw the introduction of  the 9400 0-6-0 pannier tank class, 10 being built at Swindon and the other 190 built by contractors including Robert Stephenson and Co, who had built the first successful GWR locomotive “North Star” in 1837!

At the last General Meeting (5^th March 1948) Viscount Portal concluded by saying “..we shall always remember  with pride and affection the part we were privileged to play in dealing with the  administration of the company’s affairs….”

The reader will be left with the distinct feeling that this was not a business in decline, but had an ethos where public service came first, whatever the challenges may have been…weather, accident, staffing , derailments, government policy..

What a legacy to have left behind!

Gone with regret. Gone , but not forgotten.

 

 

Steam Tube has 3 copies left of this excellent book. First come, first served. Contact TFC at  

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