Scotrail Franchise - Abellio

[Gadget88]

The new leather seats on these new trains, are they really an upgrade on the comfy 170 class seats? They remind me of the new bus seats First Bus has maybe they had a say in the design before the contract was up?

 

[ADRboy]

The new leather seats on these new trains, are they really an upgrade on the comfy 170 class seats? They remind me of the new bus seats First Bus has maybe they had a say in the design before the contract was up?

The ones on the buses are not too bad, but First haven't been anywhere near the AT200 procurement.

 

[Altnabreac]

I'm trying (as a layman) to interpret the clearance info in the franchise agreement. I take it the priority 1 routes are cleared for the new rolling stock and the priority 2 routes are not cleared but might be in future? If that's correct they wouldn't be able to run to Lanark from the outset as 'Lanark to Lanark Junction' is a priority 2 route.

Yep that doesn't really make sense.

If they can't operate Lanark, Airdrie or Ayrshire and the Carstairs services mainly run through to Ayr that doesn't leave much for them to operate in the West.

I've since heard hints that they will be rostered somewhat interchangeably with 380s so I suspect Ayrshire and Lanark will be cleared. Maybe not Inverclyde though?

Maybe Tier 1 was merely the routes that needed to be done for launch.

 

[Gadget88]

I read all the trains have the same branding under the new franchise..not quite

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-31923068

Interesting design though never seen this under Scotrail before when the Alloa line reopened ect..

 

[JaJaWa]

Other thing from the website is Hitachi now referring to the 395 as Javelin, previously they had never called it that just the Olympic Delivery Agency calling the service Javelin, so I guess the Javelin name is now 'official' after years of only being semi official.

Southeastern stuck it on the sides of the trains a couple of years ago.

 

[thealexweb]

I read all the trains have the same branding under the new franchise..not quite

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-31923068

Interesting design though never seen this under Scotrail before when the Alloa line reopened ect..

Will this unit actually run to the borders though? All the Newcraighall shuttles are run by 158s now.

 

[170401]

Will this unit actually run to the borders though? All the Newcraighall shuttles are run by 158s now.

No, it's simply an advertising livery promoting the new line across Scotland ahead of it's opening. The unit will be used on the same work as it always has.

 

[SkinnyDave]

Looks like they are going for consistency with their management team

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/business/business-news/dutch-rail-operator-abellio-unveils-5348749

 

[scotraildriver]

The first hammer blow of the new franchise. Almost everyone was hoping for change given the build up and apparent desire of Abellio to drive change and the optimism given to employees. Nothing will change. What a letdown.

 

[SkinnyDave]

The first hammer blow of the new franchise. Almost everyone was hoping for change given the build up and apparent desire of Abellio to drive change and the optimism given to employees. Nothing will change. What a letdown.

What changes were expected or what did staff want to see?
I think this DOO expansion maybe one area for a possible scrap

 

[380101]

What changes were expected or what did staff want to see?
I think this DOO expansion maybe one area for a possible scrap

I think most staff wanted to see a fresh senior management team in place as not many have faith in the current team.

DOO will only increase with Montgomery continuing in charge.

 

[scotraildriver]

He also has a poor relationship with the unions, staff in general particularly drivers who he has publicly stated get paid too much and is just not well regarded.

 

[SkinnyDave]

He also has a poor relationship with the unions, staff in general particularly drivers who he has publicly stated get paid too much and is just not well regarded.

He has a cheek, Scotrail has one of or lowest rate of pay for the driving grade in the UK as it stands!

 

[170401]

A terrible choice from Abellio, it's probably just undone all the good work they have done over the last few weeks in raising staff expectations and dare I say it, morale. I now fear for the future and more stand offs over DOO, more lost pay and more opportunities to demoralise good people just trying to earn a decent honest living. His feelings on traincrew have become well known amongst staff over the years. Who could forget his press releases over the RMTs DOO dispute a few years back.

 

[Altnabreac]

The alliancing proposal with Network Rail is very interesting.

It goes much further than anything done before since privatisation.

I understand the plan is a single Board for both organisations and one MD who will deal with Scottish Ministers on both Infrastructure and Operations fronts.

It's got the potential to really transform the way the railway works in Scotland.

 

[Sadsmileyface]

The first hammer blow of the new franchise. Almost everyone was hoping for change given the build up and apparent desire of Abellio to drive change and the optimism given to employees. Nothing will change. What a letdown.

Oh absolutely. Why on earth would you want to keep a management team with a proven track record who combined have decades worth of experience within the company? Clearly the front line staff know everything about running businesses and are totally qualified to be making these decisions. After all, the staff are all that matter in this business/company/industry/delete as appropriate and are frankly entitled by birthright to their jobs.

Oh, wait, no.

 

[380gk]

Steve has been fantastic as an MD and has turned the business around.
Great choice.

 

[Sadsmileyface]

Steve has been fantastic as an MD and has turned the business around.
Great choice.

I've always found him approachable, friendly and personable. He worked his way up from the bottom clearly knows the place.

I've never heard anyone say a bad word about him apart from drivers. Which isn't surprising as nobody has a good word to say about drivers.

 

[Clip]

The first hammer blow of the new franchise. Almost everyone was hoping for change given the build up and apparent desire of Abellio to drive change and the optimism given to employees. Nothing will change. What a letdown.

To be fair keeping the MD on and a few of his team is a great thing to do due to the knowledge they already have of the business to assist with a smooth transitional period.

I dare say there will be a few more new faces in and within a few months or maybe a year you will see some more changes. An instant change and 'new ideas' could well screw the business up in the first year.

 

[Bodiddly]

I've always found him approachable, friendly and personable. He worked his way up from the bottom clearly knows the place.

I've never heard anyone say a bad word about him apart from drivers. Which isn't surprising as nobody has a good word to say about drivers.

I've only met him once and he seemed ok to me. I think you need to either respect or fear someone who has made it to the top from the bottom.
We've never really had a problem with senior management at Inverness depot. Saying that, our own managers might not agree with me.

 

[170401]

He has a cheek, Scotrail has one of or lowest rate of pay for the driving grade in the UK as it stands!

It also has the lowest level of competition from other operators for qualified drivers, one of the biggest drivers of wage increases on the privatised railway.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Oh absolutely. Why on earth would you want to keep a management team with a proven track record who combined have decades worth of experience within the company? Clearly the front line staff know everything about running businesses and are totally qualified to be making these decisions. After all, the staff are all that matter in this business/company/industry/delete as appropriate and are frankly entitled by birthright to their jobs.

Oh, wait, no.

Pretty sure the travelling public aren't very enamoured with them either, especially when their train goes sailing through their station 2 minutes late without stopping so they can avoid late running penalties or when their train is cancelled because your 'management team with a proven track record' have failed to employ enough drivers to cover the daily output.

The staff at the company have long been wishing to see an end to such incompetence, and Abellio taking over was seen by many as a fresh start. Remains to be seen whether anything actually changes or not but I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[Altnabreac]

It also has the lowest level of competition from other operators for qualified drivers, one of the biggest drivers of wage increases on the privatised railway.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Pretty sure the travelling public aren't very enamoured with them either, especially when their train goes sailing through their station 2 minutes late without stopping so they can avoid late running penalties or when their train is cancelled because your 'management team with a proven track record' have failed to employ enough drivers to cover the daily output.

The staff at the company have long been wishing to see an end to such incompetence, and Abellio taking over was seen by many as a fresh start. Remains to be seen whether anything actually changes or not but I wouldn't hold my breath.

The Network Rail deep alliancing proposal can certainly help reduce the need to fixate on delay minutes.

I understand the intention is that changes to the delay regime are planned to allow things like delaying trains slightly to meet delayed ferries and rail connections.

Should also place more emphasis on long term improvements to the network without Scotrail demanding delay payments from Network Rail.

 

[SkinnyDave]

Oh absolutely. Why on earth would you want to keep a management team with a proven track record who combined have decades worth of experience within the company? Clearly the front line staff know everything about running businesses and are totally qualified to be making these decisions. After all, the staff are all that matter in this business/company/industry/delete as appropriate and are frankly entitled by birthright to their jobs.

Oh, wait, no.

Without your front line staff you don't have a business in the railway! and they know more about what goes on out on the ground than a room full of suits does so bit of a disingenuous argument..
Abellio have committed to have trade union representation at board meetings which will be interesting to see how that develops.

Back on topic I can see it making sense for keeping stability for the time being as they have promised a lot during this franchise and not all of it will be deliverable in timescales given; HSTs in 2018 for example! ( not the FGW ones anyway)

 

[Failed Unit]

It also has the lowest level of competition from other operators for qualified drivers, one of the biggest drivers of wage increases on the privatised railway.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Pretty sure the travelling public aren't very enamoured with them either, especially when their train goes sailing through their station 2 minutes late without stopping so they can avoid late running penalties or when their train is cancelled because your 'management team with a proven track record'.

That already seriously annoys this passenger, then they will stop a dangerously overcrowded train at Lenzie additionally. Which must also irritate the Lenzie passengers as they can't get onboard either. (Must be a senior manager lives there.)

The only positive is the end of Franchise cost cutting will have a direct impact on those that did it. Imagine if the management team at FCC had stayed on for Thameslink.

 

[jingsmonty]

Not very hopeful about the new franchise with the senior management news - can only hope that the culture will change with Abellio...I do like a lot of their plans, not the possible extension of DOO with the AT200's though. I can understand that Abellio are looking at consistency just now and the deep alliance with Network Rail is a good step - no more pointless back and forth delay minute fines, hopefully!

HST's a stroke of genius, mind...can't wait to see the back of 170's from long distance routes! Regarding availability, will Grand Central's small fleet be available sooner that 2018 (crew training, etc)? Read that they are planning to lease more class 180's to replace them, as they don't want to fit ERTMS to their HST's. Not nearly enough for the full Scotrail timetable, but a start.

By the way, does anybody know what the infrastructure improvements for the Highland Mainline will actually entail? They are supposed to be completed by end 2018 alongside the HST introduction..

 

[Kite159]

Not very hopeful about the new franchise with the senior management news - can only hope that the culture will change with Abellio...I do like a lot of their plans, not the possible extension of DOO with the AT200's though. I can understand that Abellio are looking at consistency just now and the deep alliance with Network Rail is a good step - no more pointless back and forth delay minute fines, hopefully!

HST's a stroke of genius, mind...can't wait to see the back of 170's from long distance routes! Regarding availability, will Grand Central's small fleet be available sooner that 2018 (crew training, etc)? Read that they are planning to lease more class 180's to replace them, as they don't want to fit ERTMS to their HST's. Not nearly enough for the full Scotrail timetable, but a start.

By the way, does anybody know what the infrastructure improvements for the Highland Mainline will actually entail? They are supposed to be completed by end 2018 alongside the HST introduction..

I believe the idea for Grand Central is they are taking the 5x 180s on lease by FGW once the new Brunels (IEP) are rolling out.

 

[Altnabreac]

Without your front line staff you don't have a business in the railway! and they know more about what goes on out on the ground than a room full of suits does so bit of a disingenuous argument..
Abellio have committed to have trade union representation at board meetings which will be interesting to see how that develops.

Back on topic I can see it making sense for keeping stability for the time being as they have promised a lot during this franchise and not all of it will be deliverable in timescales given; HSTs in 2018 for example! ( not the FGW ones anyway)

I understand Abellio will be signing the lease on the required FGW HSTs this week which means legally Scotrail can demand them in 2018 whether electrification is ready or not.

It's basically the reverse of the 170s going to Southern. Once the leases are signed they're Scotrail's trains.

 

[po8crg]

FGW should be OK. They can use the bi-mode Class 800s in diesel mode until the wires go up. Might mean that VTEC has to keep its HSTs a bit longer, as all the 800s will be in the west until electrification allows 801s to run.

 

[MidlandMainlie]

I understand Abellio will be signing the lease on the required FGW HSTs this week which means legally Scotrail can demand them in 2018 whether electrification is ready or not.

It's basically the reverse of the 170s going to Southern. Once the leases are signed they're Scotrail's trains.

If the worst happens then why not send the first batch of IEP's to Vigin East Coast, who can then send their HST's to First Great Western who can then release HST's to Abellio Scotrail.

 

[SkinnyDave]

If the worst happens then why not send the first batch of IEP's to Vigin East Coast, who can then send their HST's to First Great Western who can then release HST's to Abellio Scotrail.

In that scenario would it not be better for Scotrail to take East Coasts HSTs then wait on the rest when wires are up?