London King's Cross.(C) P.S. Lewis
Better news for those living in the North of the UK.... a couple of Government announcements about extra carriages ...and some revised services.
It seems services have had to be revised through London Bridge given the chaotic scenes perhaps brought on by over optimistic planning .....hence the Network Rail apology....
Christian Wolmar takes a look at freight haulage from Felixstowe with John Smith and GBRf...
and makes a point about revenue protection on the WCML.
On a related matter, Eurotunnel reports an excellent year, with records broken..
In the USA, the much heralded Californian high speed railway gets started in a ground breaking ceremony...
India experiences a profitable railway... and potential sabotage ..
And Jessica Valenti's piece in the Guardian re women passengers being routinely harassed makes for sombre and thought provoking reading....
Click on the links for more details....
Headlines
UK
GOV.UK
New plan to secure rail services for the north
Existing rail services will be maintained and more seats will be offered in the north of England as part of a plan to secure rolling stock.
Rail services will be maintained and capacity on key routes will be increased as part of a plan to secure additional rolling stock for the north of England, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced today (8 January 2015).
The plan means that existing rail services will be maintained from May 2015. This follows a decision by rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook to move trains running on the TransPennine Express route to the Chiltern franchise.
In addition, the Department for Transport has agreed a plan with the operators of the Northern and TransPennine Express routes to offer more carriages and seats.
Patrick McLoughlin said:
Rail services across the north are vital for passengers and for the economy. By helping people access work and leisure more easily, we are securing long-term economic growth across the region.Over the coming months, the agreement will deliver a number of benefits to passengers.
That is why we have worked hard with Northern and TransPennine Express to ensure we expand services and enhance passenger journeys.
More carriages between Manchester and Blackpool
Capacity on selected services between Blackpool North and Manchester Airport / Manchester Oxford Road will be increased, providing extra seats for the benefit of passengers in destinations including Preston, Bolton and Salford.Additional capacity on Cumbrian Coast services
Longer trains will provide extra capacity to Carlisle, Maryport, Workington, Whitehaven, Sellafield and Barrow-in-Furness, with potential to create additional jobs. There will also be an enhanced early-morning service from Carlisle to Sellafield, arriving in time for the morning shift at the power station.Electric trains on Manchester Victoria to Liverpool and Liverpool to Preston routes
Refreshed electric trains, providing faster, smoother and greener journeys, will be rolled out on busy commuter routes between Liverpool and Manchester Victoria from May, at a faster rate than previously planned. In addition, refreshed electric trains will be rolled out on the Liverpool to Preston route in the autumn. This will free up existing diesel trains to create additional capacity elsewhere on the north’s network.Revised services for South Cumbria and Windermere
A new 10:53am service from Windermere to Manchester Airport will be introduced, while the existing 1:33pm service from Barrow-in-Furness to Manchester Airport will depart at 12:13pm to provide more balanced services throughout the day. The 6:18am Manchester Airport to Barrow-in-Furness service will no longer run, but a new, direct 5:14pm service from Manchester Oxford Road to Barrow-in-Furness will be introduced, with a connection for Windermere.Revised services on the South TransPennine route
An hourly service will be maintained between Manchester Airport, Sheffield, Doncaster and Cleethorpes. The vast majority of these will remain as direct services. Limited amends are planned, with customers for the 3:55pm between Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes and the 4:26pm Cleethorpes to Manchester Airport needing to change at Doncaster.Services between Manchester, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Yorkshire Coast, Humberside and the Northeast
All services will be operated with a minimum of 3 carriages or 181 seats, whereas at present some services on the route are operated by 2 carriage trains with 116 seats.Nick Donovan, Managing Director for First TransPennine Express (FTPE) said:
A great deal of background work has been undertaken by ourselves, Northern Rail and the Department for Transport that seeks to ensure capacity and frequency of FTPE services across our network is maintained for the timetable change in May 2015.Alex Hynes, Managing Director, Northern Rail said:
I am delighted that we have been able to work together and develop a plan that aims to protect rail services for the huge majority of customers in the north of England and, indeed, deliver some additional capacity at a time when demand across our network is higher than ever.
Rail travel is increasingly popular in the north of England placing capacity at a premium. That is why we have been working with First TransPennine Express and the Department for Transport to ensure customers would not be disadvantaged by the loss of some FTPE trains.
In doing so we are delighted to be able to provide more seats for customers on some of our busiest routes. Through deploying more electric trains to take advantage of newly electrified routes, we are able to help maintain capacity for FTPE and add more seats for customers in Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
Written statement to Parliament
Rail in the north: rolling stock
An agreement has been reached with with TransPennine Express and Northern Rail that will offer extra rolling stock for the north of England.My department has reached agreement with TransPennine Express and Northern Rail on plans to maintain and increase capacity on key routes and these plans will offer extra rolling stock for the north of England.
Rail services across the north are vital for passengers and for the economy. By helping people access work and leisure more easily, we are securing long-term economic growth across the region.
That is why my department has worked hard with Northern and Transpennine Express to reach an agreement which means that existing rail services will continue from May 2015. This follows a decision by rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook to move Class 170 diesel trains running on the Northern and Transpennine Express routes to the Chiltern franchise.
In addition, the Department for Transport has taken this opportunity to secure benefits for passengers and has reached agreement with the operators of the 2 franchises to offer more carriages and seats, increasing capacity on a number of routes in the north, including between Blackpool and Manchester and into and out of Sheffield in the peaks.
Northern Rail will also be increasing capacity on the Cumbrian Coast line and will be finalising details on this shortly. I will make a further statement on this in due course.
===============================================================
Network Rail
Network Rail announces £16m enhancement for Edinburgh-Fife line
Network Rail and Transport Minister Derek Mackay have announced that one of Scotland’s iconic rail routes will benefit from a £16m signalling enhancement.
A contract has been awarded to Siemens to upgrade signalling on the route between Edinburgh and Fife, over the Forth Bridge.
The works, part of the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme, will improve reliability on the route and create additional capacity on the lines serving key commuter routes into Fife and beyond.
Mr Mackay said: “Scotland’s railways are in the midst of a renewed golden age and these signalling upgrades will see sympathetic improvements to one of our most world-famous landmarks, which draws tourists from around the world as well as carrying daily commuters.
“The Scottish Government is currently investing £5billion in ensuring our railways and train services continue on this path of increased patronage, as this will support growth in our economy, as well as modal shift from roads use to increase our carbon efficiency.”
David Dickson, Network Rail route managing director for Scotland, added: “Rail travel is more popular now that ever before and we need to continually invest in our infrastructure to meet the needs of today’s businesses and commuters.
“The investment announced today will help to ensure we can continue to improve reliability on the network and also look to increase services on our railway in the future as we strive to meet the ever-rising demand for rail travel.”
The contract will see the existing 3-aspect signalling on the Fife lines between Haymarket and Dalmeny replaced by continuous 4-aspect signalling – decreasing signalling headways and increasing train speeds on this section of the route.
On the Forth Bridge, six new signals are to be installed while the project will also involve a range of associated works to interlockings, power systems and telecoms along the line between Haymarket and the bridge.
Work on the project has now started and will be completed by summer of this year. Once complete, the project will improve reliability; create more options for how trains use the network and the potential for new services to be introduced in the future.
EGIP is a Scottish Government-funded investment worth £742m which is delivering a rolling programme of electrification across the central belt – reducing journey times and boosting capacity on routes including the Edinburgh-Glasgow Queen Street (via Falkirk High) line.
The works, part of the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme, will improve reliability on the route and create additional capacity on the lines serving key commuter routes into Fife and beyond.
Mr Mackay said: “Scotland’s railways are in the midst of a renewed golden age and these signalling upgrades will see sympathetic improvements to one of our most world-famous landmarks, which draws tourists from around the world as well as carrying daily commuters.
“The Scottish Government is currently investing £5billion in ensuring our railways and train services continue on this path of increased patronage, as this will support growth in our economy, as well as modal shift from roads use to increase our carbon efficiency.”
David Dickson, Network Rail route managing director for Scotland, added: “Rail travel is more popular now that ever before and we need to continually invest in our infrastructure to meet the needs of today’s businesses and commuters.
“The investment announced today will help to ensure we can continue to improve reliability on the network and also look to increase services on our railway in the future as we strive to meet the ever-rising demand for rail travel.”
The contract will see the existing 3-aspect signalling on the Fife lines between Haymarket and Dalmeny replaced by continuous 4-aspect signalling – decreasing signalling headways and increasing train speeds on this section of the route.
On the Forth Bridge, six new signals are to be installed while the project will also involve a range of associated works to interlockings, power systems and telecoms along the line between Haymarket and the bridge.
Work on the project has now started and will be completed by summer of this year. Once complete, the project will improve reliability; create more options for how trains use the network and the potential for new services to be introduced in the future.
EGIP is a Scottish Government-funded investment worth £742m which is delivering a rolling programme of electrification across the central belt – reducing journey times and boosting capacity on routes including the Edinburgh-Glasgow Queen Street (via Falkirk High) line.
Network Rail Picture
London Bridge delays: Rail boss 'deeply regretful' about problems.(BBC News)
Network Rail Statement
Media statement on London Bridge
Network Rail and Southern apologise for the unacceptable disruption and delays to passengers at London Bridge this week resulting in severe overcrowding on the concourse. This is not the level of service that customers deserve, expect or that we want to deliver.
Over the festive break we undertook 16 days of work rebuilding two new platforms, removing and replacing 3km of track and installing new signalling into London Bridge. This work was completed on time.
However, the new timetable has proved challenging to manage. We have reviewed this and made some immediate changes to a small number of evening peak services which will reduce the pressure on the infrastructure and allow us to deliver a more punctual service that passengers deserve.
We will monitor the service this week and assess if any longer term changes are required.
We have reviewed the operation of the station concourse, placed more staff at London Bridge, and implemented additional crowd control measures to separate passengers entering and exiting trains. By the end of the week, we will have additional passenger information screens, so the concourse is used more evenly.
Passengers are asked to check with their train operator before they travel.
Ice on railway in Hampshire causes delays and cancellations.(BBC News)
Concerns raised over cuts to Stranraer-Glasgow rail service.(BBC News)
Teenager runs out of toilet paper on Virgin train before Twitter came to the rescue.(Birmingham Mail)
International
Europe
Eurotunnel
PRESS RELEASE
An exceptional year end for Eurotunnel Le Shuttle with several new traffic records
Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, which connects Folkestone in Kent to Calais in France, broke a series of traffic records during the year end period. Between Friday 19 December and Sunday 4 January 217,791 cars1, coaches and trucks were carried, making the highest number of vehicles ever transported in the Group’s history, representing almost 600,000 passengers using Le Shuttle services. 175,821 cars were carried, an increase of 8% over the previous all-time record. But, even more remarkably, more than 19,000 vehicles2 were carried, in both directions, in one day, on 19 December. This is the highest total ever recorded in one day in 20 years of operations.
The Truck Shuttle hit a new record high, with 25,253 trucks carried3 from Calais to Folkestone. This is the highest volume ever achieved in a comparable period.
And, finally, more than 20,0004 dogs and cats took Le Shuttle between 19 December 2014 and 4 January 2015, an increase of 16% compared to the same time last Christmas, proof again that Le Shuttle is the go-to transporter for our four legged friends and their owners, who appreciate spending the 35 minute crossing time together, in their own vehicle.
Eurotunnel Commercial Director, Jo Willacy stated: "These results show that Eurotunnel Le Shuttle really is the preferred choice for customers crossing the Channel and justifies our decision to undertake a number of major investment programmes that will increase our overall capacity and enable us to offer an even greater frequency of departures over the coming years."
UITP - Europe
PRESS RELEASE
MAJOR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATIONS DECLARE OPPOSITION TO POTENTIAL SPLITTING OF 4th RAILWAY PACKAGE
BRUSSELS, 8 JANUARY 2015
With discussions of the technical and market pillars of the Fourth Railway Package beginning again under the Latvian Presidency of the European Council, UITP (International Association of Public Transport), EMTA (European Metropolitan Transport Authorities) and EPTO (European Passenger Transport Operators) have declared their opposition to any potential splitting of the Package.
With the re-opening of discussions of the Package under the new Latvian Presidency, the three associations express their concern about potential priority given in Council discussions to the technical pillar to the detriment of the market pillar. The expected benefits from the future adoption of the technical pillar are only likely to be realised in a context of progressive market opening hence why the associations defend a ‘package approach’ whereby both pillars are taken forward jointly.
For the three associations, the key to finding an agreement on the market pillar is to stick to more limited ambitions. The associations have consistently called for the revision of regulation 1370/2007 to be strictly limited to the minimum changes necessary to open domestic passenger rail markets to competition without impacting urban and local public transport, for which the current regulation already provides a progressive and balanced market opening.
In order to facilitate an agreement on the market pillar in the Council certain modifications such as the introduction of compulsory public transport plans or the revision of the definition of a ‘competent local authority’ could be avoided.
For UITP, EPTO and EMTA the opening of the passenger rail market should be carried out within a reasonable timeframe. It should provide legal security as a number one priority but it must be effective if we want to stop further stagnation in the rail sector, attract the required investments, remove impediments for new entrants, meet the rapidly evolving needs of passengers and provide better value for the public money spent. This progressive market-opening process must establish a general principle of competitive award for public service contracts in rail and allow for the possibility of retaining direct awarding in certain limited and strictly defined cases.
The top 10 reasons to attend
| 1. Key trending topics Risk management, E-bus, Citizens and employees engagement, Master planning, Smart cities, Modal choice, Market growth, Health, Open data... More info |
| 2. Renowned speakers, experts in their domain It's the only (truly) global public transport gathering where speakers from all around the world, top-level professionals from authorities, operators and industry get together. More info |
| 3. All urban and regional transport modes worldwide It's the only worldwide event that covers all urban and regional transport modes and combines a full programme of congress sessions with an exhibition of all the latest industry innovations. More info |
| 4. Growth of the Exhibition We provide buyers despite the crisis and tough budget choices, executives keep coming back. Our sales-driven exhibition has grown every year between 8 and 12% since 2007. More info |
| 5. Expo Focus Sessions Our Expo Focus Sessions get you up close and personal to tomorrow's innovations and innovators. More info |
| 6. Peers from around the world You'll meet peers from around the world and make long-term professional relationships. Ever wondered how public transport runs in time zones other than your own? Don't just read about it, come face to face with it. More info |
| 7. Networking events You will take part in many social events, the Welcome Reception and the Networking Dinner among others, that are not-to-be missed get-togethers specially designed to offer you the opportunity to get to know your peers and potential partners. More info |
| 8. Stakes for urban mobility It's also the place where government officials, decision-makers and top-brass policy-makers come to find out the stakes for urban mobility. Not for yesterday, not for last year, but for today and tomorrow. More info |
| 9. Youth For Public Transport (Y4PT) new projects on the spot Since the Y4PT Group was founded in 2005, they've been encouraging young people of the world to come up with innovative and imaginative ideas for sustainable mobility. Discover the results of their projects and their new ideas for public transport in Milan and visit them at their stand. More info |
| 10. UITP Awards 2015 UITP will be rewarding our members' most ambitious and innovative projects. Let's reward the organisations that are contributing to a sustainable future for all of us. More info |
 |  |
India
Re-girdering work begins on Pamban rail bridge.(The Hindu)
Security of Railways means Security of millions of travelling People: Suresh Prabhu - See more at: http://www.indiainfoline.com/
Railways' earnings up by over 12%.(Economic Times)
CBTC trials begin in Hyderabad - Railway Gazette
Russia
Moscow Metro orders 768 cars - Railway Gazette
USA
Statement by APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy on California High-Speed Rail Groundbreaking.(American Public Transportation Association)
www.progressiverailroading.com
Other Railway Press
Women shouldn't need special train cars to avoid harassers. Men need to leave women in peace.(The Guardian)
Jessica Valenti asks..Why do we ask for gender-segregated transport for women if the problem is men behaving badly? Harassment doesn’t start and end on the commute
............................................................................................................................................
A Foreword from John Verity, Chief Advisor of ITSO Limited
Read..HERE
www.railway-technology.com
Alstom installs signalling system on West Island metro line in Hong Kong
French transport group Alstom has installed the signalling system on MTR-operated West Island metro line in Hong Kong.
Metrans commissions ninth intermodal terminal at Usti nad Labem in Czech Republic
Hamburger Hafen und Logistik's subsidiary Metrans has commissioned its ninth intermodal terminal at Usti nad Labem in North Bohemia, Czech Republic.
Hitachi begins shipment of Class 800 train for UK
Japan-based Hitachi has started shipment of the first completed pre-series Class 800 train built for the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) of UK's Department for Transport (DfT).
Network Rail completes £200m investment upgrade programme
The UK's Network Rail has completed a £200m investment upgrade programme at more than 2,000 locations around the country.
Christian Wolmar
Rail 762: On the freight train
‘We are like Millwall – the rest of the industry all hates us’, said John Smith, the managing director of GB Railfreight, as we head back to London after a tour of Felixstowe docks. Indeed freight is the Cinderella of the industry and the tremendous success of the passenger side ironically puts added pressure on the freight carriers.
Smith, a career railwayman, who clearly enjoys every minute of his job, is joking but is nevertheless also making a serious point. Both GB Railfreight and the port of Felixstowe are very much part of the transformation in the way that goods are moved around in the UK. GB Railfreight is a child of privatisation, one of the most successful companies to emerge from the upheavals of the mid 1990s. It was started in the aftermath of privatisation as an offshoot of Anglia which was one of the few start up companies to win one of the early franchises. ‘Let’s do freight’ one of the directors said and Smith found himself undertaking tasks such as ordering locomotives and dealing with shipping companies for which his previous career had not prepared him.
The first contract, which started operating in 2000, was with Railtrack, which was eager to break the monopoly of EWS, at the time owned by Wisconsin Central, which ran all the trains needed for maintenance and renewal of the track. Smith ordered seven Class 66 locomotives and soon the embryonic company was battling for the container market with Freightliner, at the time the only other significant player apart from EWS, in the rail freight market.
GB Railfreight has subsequently gone through several incarnations, being bought initially by FirstGroup and then sold onto Eurotunnel, which has invested heavily in its expansion. Turnover is around £130m this year and has risen steadily every year since the creation of the company except for a brief blip during the worst of the recession when it all but stagnated for a couple of years. The company now carries substantial amounts of coal and gypsum, and was also a supplier to Metronet, which was one of the London Underground infrastructure providers under the ill-fated Public Private Partnership.
Smith, who guzzles more Diet Coke than can be good for him, explains that to understand the rail freight market, each sector has to be viewed differently: ‘Apart from intermodal [containers], coal is the biggest market but it will not remain so. That will change and railfreight will have to adapt accordingly.
It is impossible not to be impressed when touring the Port of Felixstowe. There are the largest cranes in the world, needed to cope with both high and low tides, and one of the quays is 2.6 kilometres long, seemingly stretching out into infinity in the morning mist on the November day I visited. Whole new areas are being opened up, partly reclaimed from the sea, to cope with extra demand. The biggest ships can now carry 18,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units which means, as most boxes are now 40 foot, that means around 9,000) and the cranes have to cope with the up and down movement of the tides enabling them to reach the top of the highest stacks at high tide, and stretch deep into the holds at low tide’
A little friendly tiff between Deborah Coe, the port’s customer relations manager who is showing us around, and Smith highlights the delicate economics of railfreight. Smith complains that the Port charges £42 for every container put on the train, and yet does the same thing for free for trucks. However, Coe points out that the trucks move up to the stacks of boxes, whereas the Port has to supply vehicles and drivers to move the containers on to the trains: ‘We are a business, not a charity’ she says crisply, though, of course, the Port’s use of rail is an important part of its corporate social responsibility agenda and looks good as part of its PR.
Smith says that the industry’s high fixed costs, around 60 per cent, mean that much money can be lost quickly if for some reason demand falls. A train becomes profitable, highly profitable, when it is full, but that is quickly lost if 20 or 30 per cent of the capacity is empty, In some cases, shippers share in the risk, paying a set fee for the train, while in others it is the rail company that bears the risk. It is a fast moving industry where to remain profitable requires being fleet-footed in negotiations and an awareness of the changing markets.
Smith’s Millwall comment is a reference to the tension between freight and passenger operators on the network. At one point during the run up to the negotiations over Network Rail’s Control Period 5 (which started in April), the Office of Rail Regulation had threatened to greatly increase access charges for freight trains which currently only pay marginal costs. This would, at a stroke, have wrecked the industry. Smith told me: ‘basically, I said, do you want to pay us a billion quid or so and we will all just leave, and of course the answer was no.’
Nowhere is the tension between passenger and freight needs more in evidence than on the Felixstowe branch. The hourly passenger service operated by Abellio on the branch between Ipswich and Felixstowe eats up capacity that could easily be used by the freight trains. As we sit in the cab of a Class 66 at a signal waiting for the 10 58 from Ipswich, Smith and Kelvin, the driver, estimate how many passengers there are likely to be – and when the train flashes by, they argue about who is right: ‘I reckon it was just three’, Smith says ‘typical’. The low usage off peak in winter is hardly surprising given that the 11 mile trip takes 25 minutes but the local authority and rail groups have been adamant that reducing the frequency would kill off the line. Indeed, politically, rail passenger services, however ill-used, are sacrosanct these days and no politician would dare to advocate closure or cutbacks in service (except up North where Westminster politicians seem happy to be causing havoc, a story for another day).
Practically, it would make sense to free up those paths for trains that can take up to 50 ‘boxes’ off the roads, boosting the 28 per cent share of rail for domestic containers landing at Felixstowe. That proportion has doubled in the past ten years. There has been some improvement as the opening of the Bacon Factory chord means that trains no longer have to reverse at Ipswich. Doubling the track on the branch would, of course, be even better, but but as I have mentioned before (Rail 738) there has been a long dispute over who exactly should pay. The Port did not see why it should have to pay when its rivals such as Tilbury and the new London Gateway have had not had to pay for their rail connections. At last there are now firm plans for a dynamic loop which will add some capacity but doubling is seen as eventually inevitable. Currently the line can take 30 trains per day (six of which are Smith’s trains) in each direction but Smith reckons that any extra capacity would be taken up quickly by the Port. For now, it is clear that these are good times for both GB Railfreight and the Port but with such high levels of investment and big fixed costs, both industries are dependent on the economy remaining buoyant. Oh, and also that all those boxes keep on coming from China.
Memo to Mark Carne: I was astonished on the cab ride from Felixstowe to Camden Road at the amount of old rail on the tracks, far more than anywhere else I have been. Given its value and also the untidy look it creates, surely much of this could have been removed during the numerous possessions on the line over the past few years. Time to do at the next opportunity.
TOCs failing to bother with revenue
My little rant a couple of issues ago about Virgin’s failure to bother with revenue protection, particularly in its northern outposts, attracted quite a post bag (or inbox flurry) from people inside the industry
A train driver, John, wrote how ‘I am booked to call into several stations that are managed by Virgin Trains, and not one station has a permanent barrier to prevent fraudulent travel. Rugby has 2 entrances with open unhindered access to all 6 platforms. Wolverhampton rarely has a barrier in force at the main entry point to its 5 platforms. Same at Stafford and Stoke on Trent and Crewe.’
The reason, he explains, is that for the most part, Virgin passengers are not in a majority at these stations. Therefore Virgin is reluctant to try to protect the revenue of other operators. Some of the fare dodging is clearly systematic and planned. John cites Runcorn where passengers going to Liverpool will let a London Midland service go because they know there is more likely to be an active guard, and take the Virgin train because checks beyond Crewe are never made.
He makes a good suggestion to get round this nonsense. He suggests making all mainline principal station booking offices serving more than one operator independent of either, and get them run by a third party with incentives to maximise takings. Or else, of course, as he says, the whole could be renationalised, but we won’t go there for now.
I am though, left bemused (as I am by other responses which I will write about in the future) Why do these capitalist organisations with such claims to efficiency fail to gather in the money they are due?
Smith, a career railwayman, who clearly enjoys every minute of his job, is joking but is nevertheless also making a serious point. Both GB Railfreight and the port of Felixstowe are very much part of the transformation in the way that goods are moved around in the UK. GB Railfreight is a child of privatisation, one of the most successful companies to emerge from the upheavals of the mid 1990s. It was started in the aftermath of privatisation as an offshoot of Anglia which was one of the few start up companies to win one of the early franchises. ‘Let’s do freight’ one of the directors said and Smith found himself undertaking tasks such as ordering locomotives and dealing with shipping companies for which his previous career had not prepared him.
The first contract, which started operating in 2000, was with Railtrack, which was eager to break the monopoly of EWS, at the time owned by Wisconsin Central, which ran all the trains needed for maintenance and renewal of the track. Smith ordered seven Class 66 locomotives and soon the embryonic company was battling for the container market with Freightliner, at the time the only other significant player apart from EWS, in the rail freight market.
GB Railfreight has subsequently gone through several incarnations, being bought initially by FirstGroup and then sold onto Eurotunnel, which has invested heavily in its expansion. Turnover is around £130m this year and has risen steadily every year since the creation of the company except for a brief blip during the worst of the recession when it all but stagnated for a couple of years. The company now carries substantial amounts of coal and gypsum, and was also a supplier to Metronet, which was one of the London Underground infrastructure providers under the ill-fated Public Private Partnership.
Smith, who guzzles more Diet Coke than can be good for him, explains that to understand the rail freight market, each sector has to be viewed differently: ‘Apart from intermodal [containers], coal is the biggest market but it will not remain so. That will change and railfreight will have to adapt accordingly.
It is impossible not to be impressed when touring the Port of Felixstowe. There are the largest cranes in the world, needed to cope with both high and low tides, and one of the quays is 2.6 kilometres long, seemingly stretching out into infinity in the morning mist on the November day I visited. Whole new areas are being opened up, partly reclaimed from the sea, to cope with extra demand. The biggest ships can now carry 18,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units which means, as most boxes are now 40 foot, that means around 9,000) and the cranes have to cope with the up and down movement of the tides enabling them to reach the top of the highest stacks at high tide, and stretch deep into the holds at low tide’
A little friendly tiff between Deborah Coe, the port’s customer relations manager who is showing us around, and Smith highlights the delicate economics of railfreight. Smith complains that the Port charges £42 for every container put on the train, and yet does the same thing for free for trucks. However, Coe points out that the trucks move up to the stacks of boxes, whereas the Port has to supply vehicles and drivers to move the containers on to the trains: ‘We are a business, not a charity’ she says crisply, though, of course, the Port’s use of rail is an important part of its corporate social responsibility agenda and looks good as part of its PR.
Smith says that the industry’s high fixed costs, around 60 per cent, mean that much money can be lost quickly if for some reason demand falls. A train becomes profitable, highly profitable, when it is full, but that is quickly lost if 20 or 30 per cent of the capacity is empty, In some cases, shippers share in the risk, paying a set fee for the train, while in others it is the rail company that bears the risk. It is a fast moving industry where to remain profitable requires being fleet-footed in negotiations and an awareness of the changing markets.
Smith’s Millwall comment is a reference to the tension between freight and passenger operators on the network. At one point during the run up to the negotiations over Network Rail’s Control Period 5 (which started in April), the Office of Rail Regulation had threatened to greatly increase access charges for freight trains which currently only pay marginal costs. This would, at a stroke, have wrecked the industry. Smith told me: ‘basically, I said, do you want to pay us a billion quid or so and we will all just leave, and of course the answer was no.’
Nowhere is the tension between passenger and freight needs more in evidence than on the Felixstowe branch. The hourly passenger service operated by Abellio on the branch between Ipswich and Felixstowe eats up capacity that could easily be used by the freight trains. As we sit in the cab of a Class 66 at a signal waiting for the 10 58 from Ipswich, Smith and Kelvin, the driver, estimate how many passengers there are likely to be – and when the train flashes by, they argue about who is right: ‘I reckon it was just three’, Smith says ‘typical’. The low usage off peak in winter is hardly surprising given that the 11 mile trip takes 25 minutes but the local authority and rail groups have been adamant that reducing the frequency would kill off the line. Indeed, politically, rail passenger services, however ill-used, are sacrosanct these days and no politician would dare to advocate closure or cutbacks in service (except up North where Westminster politicians seem happy to be causing havoc, a story for another day).
Practically, it would make sense to free up those paths for trains that can take up to 50 ‘boxes’ off the roads, boosting the 28 per cent share of rail for domestic containers landing at Felixstowe. That proportion has doubled in the past ten years. There has been some improvement as the opening of the Bacon Factory chord means that trains no longer have to reverse at Ipswich. Doubling the track on the branch would, of course, be even better, but but as I have mentioned before (Rail 738) there has been a long dispute over who exactly should pay. The Port did not see why it should have to pay when its rivals such as Tilbury and the new London Gateway have had not had to pay for their rail connections. At last there are now firm plans for a dynamic loop which will add some capacity but doubling is seen as eventually inevitable. Currently the line can take 30 trains per day (six of which are Smith’s trains) in each direction but Smith reckons that any extra capacity would be taken up quickly by the Port. For now, it is clear that these are good times for both GB Railfreight and the Port but with such high levels of investment and big fixed costs, both industries are dependent on the economy remaining buoyant. Oh, and also that all those boxes keep on coming from China.
Memo to Mark Carne: I was astonished on the cab ride from Felixstowe to Camden Road at the amount of old rail on the tracks, far more than anywhere else I have been. Given its value and also the untidy look it creates, surely much of this could have been removed during the numerous possessions on the line over the past few years. Time to do at the next opportunity.
TOCs failing to bother with revenue
My little rant a couple of issues ago about Virgin’s failure to bother with revenue protection, particularly in its northern outposts, attracted quite a post bag (or inbox flurry) from people inside the industry
A train driver, John, wrote how ‘I am booked to call into several stations that are managed by Virgin Trains, and not one station has a permanent barrier to prevent fraudulent travel. Rugby has 2 entrances with open unhindered access to all 6 platforms. Wolverhampton rarely has a barrier in force at the main entry point to its 5 platforms. Same at Stafford and Stoke on Trent and Crewe.’
The reason, he explains, is that for the most part, Virgin passengers are not in a majority at these stations. Therefore Virgin is reluctant to try to protect the revenue of other operators. Some of the fare dodging is clearly systematic and planned. John cites Runcorn where passengers going to Liverpool will let a London Midland service go because they know there is more likely to be an active guard, and take the Virgin train because checks beyond Crewe are never made.
He makes a good suggestion to get round this nonsense. He suggests making all mainline principal station booking offices serving more than one operator independent of either, and get them run by a third party with incentives to maximise takings. Or else, of course, as he says, the whole could be renationalised, but we won’t go there for now.
I am though, left bemused (as I am by other responses which I will write about in the future) Why do these capitalist organisations with such claims to efficiency fail to gather in the money they are due?
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