Top man at Greater Anglia has precisely zero experience of UK rail operation. Along with one or two of the directors.
Just saying....
What was he doing at Northern for all those years then?
Top man at Greater Anglia has precisely zero experience of UK rail operation. Along with one or two of the directors.
Just saying....
If Arriva or Renfe are the successful bidders for the FGW franchise what percentage of rail operations in this country will then be in the hands of the state railways of other countries? Am I the only one to think that it's strange that the profits made by British TOCs mostly go to foreign railways? Is our government indirectly funding the national rail networks of France, Belgium and Germany?
As our own government will not be re-nationalising the railways, perhaps one of our continental neighbours would like to do the job instead. After all, making the trains run on time is allegedly a speciality of the Germans, Italians and Spanish.
When the British rail industry has been completely taken over by Deutsche Bahn or whatever, we'll probably look back nostalgically to the days of privatised railways, remembering how every few years the same tired rolling stock was rebranded and repainted, fooling us into thinking the service had improved.
Arriva had a massive share of the continental bus market in the same way National Express dominates the US, thats partly why the Germans bought it so they could hit the ground running with expansion into France.
They also run the link between Denmark and Sweden (and quite a distance in both countries) but for some reason, which I couldn't figure out why, First were kicked out of the operation in Sweden so it switches to another operator (Veolia?).
It's also a service where First doesn't have its logo/font in the name.
I believe the elevator call button at Reading sets off an alarm where people can see with CCTV if you really need to use the elevator and then call it for you. If there is a possiblity of fare evasion then while you are waiting they could send staff over to ask for your ticket.
What was he doing at Northern for all those years then?
Given the changes on the GE you'd have to wonder....
However, I understand the Ops Director is new to the UK.
IIRC Cap and Collar basically means that the TOCs profits and losses are limited. If revenue is less then expected then the government will share the losses, conversely if revenue is higher then expected the government will take a cut of the TOCs profit.
But the franchise is only up for renewal because First walked away from the extension as they had backloaded all the franchise payments so don't have to pay the DfT the £1b or so that would be due with it!
They took the subsidy when it suited them and now do not want to give anything back that will lessen their profits.
Blood Suckers.
Not First
As Private Eye will have told you they are giving up their existing FGW franchise early (as they are entitled to under the weak way it was drawn up) to avoid having to give money back to the UK - us taxpayers -now things are running well.
They took the subsidy when it suited them and now do not want to give anything back that will lessen their profits.
Blood Suckers.
Many mentioned the desire for old stations to be brought back into use. These included Grampound Road, Scorrier, Carn Brea and Probus. Some new stations were also suggested, such as Hugus, Denas Water and Trescobeas Road, Falmouth.
A common theme was lamenting the loss of branch lines under Dr. Beeching’s axe; and North Cornwall, in particular, feels isolated as a result; wishing to see rail services brought back to Launceston and Bude. Helston and Perranporth were also mentioned in this respect.
There were also requests for faster, more direct services to Plymouth
Please explain why any private company would behave differently. For bonus points please identify which of the other potential bidders would happily sacrifice millions of pounds for the benefit of the treasury.
As Private Eye will have told you they are giving up their existing FGW franchise early (as they are entitled to under the weak way it was drawn up) to avoid having to give money back to the UK - us taxpayers -now things are running well.
They took the subsidy when it suited them and now do not want to give anything back that will lessen their profits.
Altruism is a dirty word for business, the bottom line is always gain of a sort.:-x
Deep Breath. Rant over this is rail forum.
Apologies.
Just let me just say, again, I rather the franchise not be given to First.
Something that was brought up by Cornwall Councils rail survey. Was:
and
Wonder how liekly these are?
First would lose huge amounts of money by taking it up.
I refer you to my original post when I acknowledge they they could do as they have done
I do not have to like it. It being the way that First negotiated terms with a with weak or naive government agency.
St Germans hardly has a token service any more, it has a fair number of London services stopping and is now well used. Menheniot on the other hand is very poorly used, but it is effectively in the middle of nowhere.Realistically these stations are remote from large centres of populations and IF built would have nothing more than a token service along the lines of St Germans or Menheniot.
I do think that restablishing rail to the North Cornwall is important. Its a Large area cut off from the network.
Renfe are very much the outsiders on this one - Apart from Spanish High Speed services, Do they offer any local branch services too? Do they offer such a mixed bag of Local, Commuter and High Speed services?