Recent content by thedbdiboy

It's one thing to object to anything vaguely unpopular from the safety of opposition, but the prospect of having to manage the economy in its current toxic state in the very near future means that Labour aren't going to commit to any marginal populist causes right now. Anyone remember Nick Clegg...

Here are a couple of pictures I took near Paddington

From a public perspective that's understandable, but for an overall operation point of view it's critical to properly understand where your costs are and where your revenue is being generated. The lack of effective cost accounting in the 1960s was one of the reasons for the wholesale closures of...

I can't help thinking that there's an ITV drama in the making over the Altnabreac station saga

The advantages would chime with the political commitment to devolution. The funding is devolved to the region, managed by an elected body responsible to local people. Things like through ticketing absolutely can be retained but too often the debate on this is all about some unaccountable 'other'...

It's not about whether its 'heavy' or 'light' rail, it is more that a whole range of customer standards designed for main line rail use are not necessarily appropriate for a self-contained urban network. It wouldn't leave a hole in the network because the lines and services would still be there...

I agree that it is a marginal case - but I have formed the view that in terms of that margin, it probably ought to sit on the transport authority metro side of the fence. At the time of privatisation the concept of National Rail did not exist - indeed the over-riding Government ethic was to...

Moderator note: split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/merseyrail-mandates-that-trainline-tickets-must-be-printed-out.264945/page-3#post-6698712 The underlying issue here is that Merseyrail is an operationally isolated metro system that through accident of history ended up as a...

Yes, but they can be kicked out with zero notice by the electorate every time there is an election

Benefits the GOVERNMENT. Delay Repay schemes are (and have always) effectively been taxpayer funded - either factored into the Franchise terms or now directly related to the DfT cost model. Instead of progressing the underlying issues of the industry, successive ministers were happy to sign...

Thank you, yes, that was exactly the point Which gets to the heart of the issue - despite all the Gatwick/Brighton line fares having been under the control of a single operator since 2007, in an arrangement where Government takes the revenue risk (long before that was the case for other DfT...

The bit about the legislation is a factual observation. The rest is indeed an opinion - it is quite normal to share different opinions of a public forum. There is no expectation that everyone will agree. I think we all await the court decision with interest.

The legislation says absolutely nothing about brand restrictions. The issue relates solely to the phrasing of the passenger contract in various iterations of the NRCoC/NRCoT. Even the argument about who can set dedicated permanent fares in the TSA is irrelevant as the TSA itself is a multi-party...

What you're suggesting isn't like-for-like. A Pacer can be used on most heritage railways as a cheap unit to operate on quiet days or to ferry volunteers. For all practical purposes, any EMU is just an ornament, albeit one that needs a lot of time and expense if it isn't going to rot away. A...

PMS is a contracted service. The big difference between TfL/Cubic and TOCs/PMS is that in the case of the former, Cubic are dealing with the fares for a single entity; whereas PMS is required to process and distribute fares input by multiple fare setting TOCs