2019 in Rail - Your Hopes, Fears and Predictions

Hopes:
- Something happens to improve Northern & resolve all the current issues
- Grayling gets the boot
- (more of a local one for me) M-Cards start doing Day tickets for the trains,as like you can get Bus Daysavers & Weekly train M-Cards on the smartcard
- Transpennine improve with the introduction of the Nova fleets

Fears:
- No Northern Saturday service for most of the year
- Grayling stays
- Overcrowding on Transpennine routes gets worst & Nova fleets get delayed

Great topic again.

Hopes
I can get hold of doc Brown's time machine and go back to the year 1985 when the railway was real lol.

In all seriousness tho.
Fear
Gaurd job losses almost certain if the unions let the TOC's talk them into it.
Which I totally disagree with btw.
10 carriages or one.
EVERY TRAIN SHOULD HAVE A GAURD.

Hopes
More loco hauled traditional trains.
More Freight.
Massive failure of 717s so the 313s have a stay of execution lol.
Further uses for some of the Pacers as freight units or similar when they are retired.
All guard and driver related disputes resolved.
No more job loss threats and no more strikes.

In a perfect world eh?

Hopes
More freight especially up the ECML round the Edinburgh Suburban Loop
More re-openings/routes
New locomotives (Electric/Diesel and multipower)
Keep the Fife circle 68's!

Fears
Cuts
No re-openings/Routes
No increase in Freight
More franchising problems

My tuppence worth!

Hopes
The DOO dispute gets settled with BOTH sides talking properly and with the government NOT pulling the strings
Morale improves and I actually start enjoying my job again
Passengers over crowding issues get sorted
The New Trains Enter service
The Tories get kicked out of Government

Fears
The Dispute will just continue and continue with Government interference
More of my friends that I have worked with for years will leave to work for other TOC's
Over Crowding Gets Worse
The New Trains have problem after problem
The Tories Stay in Government

Hopes
End to the DOO dispute
The various new fleets enter service, passengers actually like them and they solve the overcrowding issues
The news will contain some positive stories about the railway / rail industry
Transpennine Route Upgrade stops being de-scoped / delayed
Ditto for other electrification projects
May 19 timetable introduction goes smoothly

Fears
Public opinion of the railway sinks to such a low that it all gets ripped up and replaced with buses (ok, I exaggerate, but the constant negative press gets me down sometimes)
Burnham gets ARN's franchise taken off them before they get the new trains into service
The new trains are an unmitigated disaster
The Enhancements Delivery Plan for CP6 doesn't contain any big or exciting projects or infrastructure upgrades, just minor tweaks here and there
Grayling continues to make ridiculous statements and people take what he says on face value
The DOO dispute spreads to other TOCs and the strikes expand in scope and frequency
I won't list any specific Brexit fears, as my main coping method is to pretend it's not happening

In terms of the railway, I have no hope for the new year.

Sleeperwaking said:

The Enhancements Delivery Plan for CP6 doesn't contain any big or exciting projects or infrastructure upgrades, just minor tweaks here and there

Click to expand...

The EDP "Shopping List" isn't a thing any more, AIUI. Each project is developed through the stages in isolation, with funding committed once development has reached the right stage of maturity and better cost certainty has been established.

Hopes:
The DOO dispute ends
The introduction of IETs on the ECML is either a success or scrapped completely in favour of something fit for purpose.
The May and December timetable changes are a success
A lower fare increase next year
The conservatives are booted out of government, or if that doesn't happen Grayling gets sacked.

Fears:
None of the above happen.

Hopes:

Government stops using TOCs as proxy organisations to smash the power of the unions
Unions stop using strike action as the first resort
DfT is stopped from micro-managing the railway and specifying what trains should be built & how uncomfortable they should be for passengers
Thameslink is separated from GN and the Wimbledon Loop is reallocated to London Overground - EMT services return to serving Bedford & Luton in peak hours
Before the May 2019 timetable change, a PROPER assessment is made of passenger needs and peak hour flows so that the timetable can be created to serve the passengers rather than the other way round
All new rolling stock to be specified as having the same coupling and control systems (with existing ones being retrofitted) to enhance the rescue of failed trains
Statutory time limits for passengers being held on failed trains - each TOC to adhere to a published rescue and recovery plan with the cost of such plans being funded by the cancellation of HS2
HS2 to be cancelled and a criminal investigation held into the commissioning of all work associated with the project
MML electrification to be re-started - funded by cancellation of HS2
Civil servants who specified the seating on Desiro Cities, IEPs and other recent stock and relevant Ministers who signed them off to be made to spend 48 hours riding on them BEFORE they're allowed near the specification of any future seating
Stop wasting money/resources on battery/hybrid rehashes of life-expired rolling stock
NR to be allowed to cut down lineside trees and vegetation without interference from eco-busybodies
Skip-stopping to be abolished across all TOCs
Introduction of part-week season tickets to encourage flexible working

Fears

Chris Grayling will stay in post
Tories will hang onto power and re-privatise LNER
HST will be scrapped because of insurmountable corrosion problems and incompatibility with accessibility regulations
There'll be no stock to replace HSTs on MML services
Thameslink services will be extended to Corby, thus making them even more overcrowded
GoVia will be awarded more franchises
Virgin will lose the WCML franchise to Worst Group and then throw their toys out of the pram resulting in more money wasted in the Courts
Cross Country will continue to use 2 and 3 car units
Someone will find a way of re-using Class 315s instead of turning them into razor blades
A proposal for a multi-mode locomotive will be put forward using diesel/electric/hybrid/clockwork power
Lineside trespass by Muggles trying to get a blurry shot of Flying Scotsman on their iPhone will result in a fatality and bring steam on the network to an end
RPI will be 10% during the month used to establish next year's fare increase
The new Northern Rail, Anglia Rail and TransPennine stock will be shoddy & unreliable

I hope i'm right about one list and wrong about the other.