Scotrail Franchise - Abellio

[380101]

I can agree that there is a potential problem with clearance for the plug doors, but they will have to send one up to check; I'm not aware that has been done, although another poster may know better.

The inadequate radiators have been identified as an issue during the long drags on the Borders line, and their replacement is part of the refurbishment.

As far as struggling with the gradients​, the climb out of QS is the steepest section of any length, certainly steeper any part of the Borders,yet I am not aware that they struggle. I can only assume that they have been trying to climb up to Fala on half throttle to avoid overheating.

Do the refurbished 156s have aircon WiFi etc?

380102: I take it from your confidence that you have links to whoever would authorise such a change of plan. I suggest that you tell them to think again.

No links...Im just a mere driver - the least listened to or consulted staff members in Scotrail!

 

[NotATrainspott]

Would a 156 Renatus programme be worthwhile at this stage? The WHL is arguably the key focus of the scenic trains programme and a more intensive refurb would seem more practical than any other option if the 158s can't be made to work. A refurb on this scale would involve fitting air conditioning and replacing the windows with sealed units among other more structural changes.

 

[InOban]

We who live in god's own country have a continual struggle with those who see the west Highland lines as a state-run tourist/heritage line,while we see it as an essential component in supporting our growing economy and population, which is not entirely dependent on summer tourism.

 

[route101]

Having used 156s on EK line and 318s/314s and 320s on other lines , while 156s may not be suited for standing the seating layout is far better on 156s . The EMUs feel cramped and have awful window alignment

 

[GrimShady]

We who live in god's own country have a continual struggle with those who see the west Highland lines as a state-run tourist/heritage line,while we see it as an essential component in supporting our growing economy and population, which is not entirely dependent on summer tourism.

Coming from the same neck of the woods old chap I agree however tourism can be used as the justification for better stock otherwise our lines will just be seen as an unimportant rural line where anything will suffice. The amount of times I hear "the 156 is fine" makes my blood boil as clearly they never use the line.

I firmly believe that better stock and a better service can only be good for the area.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I agree with you both that in its current form they are not fine!
Also on the tourists thing but it would seam these are the only type of pax TS/Govd/scotrail care about.

Out of interest isnt the coach quicker than rail? Its sure more cumfy just now!

 

[68000]

Slightly off topic - does anybody have details of all the stages of engineering works and what improvements are being done across the weekends Lanarkshire blockade

Motherwell North Signalling Renewals - closing Motherwell Signalling Centre Panel 1 and transferring to WSSC Newton Workstation - resignalling in the Hamilton and Uddingston interlocking area

Polmadie S&C renewals - 4 no. being renewed

Polmadie & Rutherglen Renewals - piling work for OLE and UTX work

 

[fairliered]

I travelled on the 1549 Edinburgh-Glasgow via Carstairs service today. Four carriage class 380, loads of spare seats, very pleasant 1hr 10m journey to Central where I caught my connection to the south side.

I'm puzzled as to why this line doesn't attract more end to end passengers.

When she had to attend meetings in Edinburgh, Mrs Fairliered chose this train to get home, as it formed the 17.23 to Largs, and it is the only through train from Edinburgh (although not advertised as such).

 

[InOban]

I agree with you both that in its current form they are not fine!
Also on the tourists thing but it would seam these are the only type of pax TS/Govd/scotrail care about.

Out of interest isnt the coach quicker than rail? Its sure more cumfy just now!

It's slightly quicker from Oban, although subject to road delays. It's much quicker from fort William, and much more frequent. Remember that in Scotland, your bus pass includes coach travel, so most of the passengers out of season travel free.

 

[GrimShady]

I agree with you both that in its current form they are not fine!
Also on the tourists thing but it would seam these are the only type of pax TS/Govd/scotrail care about.

Out of interest isnt the coach quicker than rail? Its sure more cumfy just now!

I'm not convinced they do see the full value of a concentrated tourist campaign for the WHL. Refurbished 158s seemed like a half arsed plan to start with! Just look at what the return of Steam did for the Mallaig Extension which was the brain child of ScotRail in its original (and better) BR form.

Something akin to the Kyle excursion Mk2s would be fitting as a REAL tourist train which could also deputise as a normal day service!

 

[Blindtraveler]

You have a point there. The one I was making was more to do with the fact that accept for lines that are classiffied as commuter I sometimes feel that normal long or mid distance business or leisure travelers are overlooked by the Marketing bodds in favour of trying to attract visiters which of course still need catering for but there are other kinds of traveler too.

Thanks to the earlier poster for the info on the Easter Engineering, v interesting and good progress, thanks.

 

[GrimShady]

You have a point there. The one I was making was more to do with the fact that accept for lines that are classiffied as commuter I sometimes feel that normal long or mid distance business or leisure travelers are overlooked by the Marketing bodds in favour of trying to attract visiters which of course still need catering for but there are other kinds of traveler too.
.

I agree entirely!

 

[47271]

Good heavens, this won't suit a couple of political agendas.

ScotRail ‘one of the best train providers in Britain and among top in Europe’

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/...iders_in_Britain_and_among_top_in_Europe____/

The ScotRail Alliance has said it is “one of the best performing railways in Britain” and is also “on a par with the big operators across Europe.”

The announcement comes at the train prover confirmed it has achieved a sixth consecutive period of year-on-year train service performance improvement.

In the four weeks to March 31, 93.3% of ScotRail trains met the industry punctuality target measures.

This is 0.7% better than the same four-week period last year - and 0.1% better than the previous four weeks.

During the same period, equivalent performance in England and Wales was 90.7%.

This means ScotRail’s annual average performance figure is 90.3% against 87.4% in England and Wales.

ScotRail Alliance operations director Perry Ramsey said: “This was another period where our people delivered a great service for our customers.

“We are now consistently delivering one of the best performing railways in Britain. In fact, the levels we are now operating at are on a par with the big operators across Europe.

“We are entering into an exciting time for our railway. In a matter of weeks, the electrification of the line between Edinburgh and Glasgow will be finished.

“This will allow us to bring into service the brand new faster, longer, greener trains that will deliver more seats and shorter journey times.

“Following that, our fully refurbished fleet of inter-city trains will give customers a better, more comfortable and faster way to travel between the seven cities of Scotland, better connecting Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee and the Central Belt.

“Alongside the continued roll out of our queue-busting smart tickets, we are transforming the way people travel.”

The surprising announcement comes after months of issues for the troubled network.

Just last month, ministers signalled a further push for full control of Scotland's railways, claiming "an honest conversation" was needed with the trains' operator over the causes for delays and disruption.

 

[Altnabreac]

Good heavens, this won't suit a couple of political agendas.



http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/...iders_in_Britain_and_among_top_in_Europe____/

Hmm.

Shows the political danger of trying to blame ministers for something which A: wasn't that bad and B: they had only partial blame for.

When things inevitably get better the same ministers get to take the credit despite having done very little.

Political lesson for Mr Bibby there.

 

[clc]

Hmm.

Shows the political danger of trying to blame ministers for something which A: wasn't that bad and B: they had only partial blame for.

When things inevitably get better the same ministers get to take the credit despite having done very little.

Political lesson for Mr Bibby there.

He'll learn from it I'm sure. (cough).

 

[Blindtraveler]

Whilst the numbers are there to prove it I as a passenger dont feel it has improved. That being said it is good the jurnos are finding something positive to say about it if only for the sake of staff moralle/motivation.

 

[GrimShady]

I honestly dont think Abelio are anyway worse than First or NatEx. Im convinced there is something politcal regarding the SNPs recent interest in them, possibly something to do wih the rumours of corruption during the awarding of the franchise which also surrounds the shameful awarding of Northlink to Serco.

What does annoy me however as I said many times is the treatment of the rural lines, two years into the franchise and STILL waiting improvements.

 

[ld0595]

I honestly dont think Abelio are anyway worse than First or NatEx. Im convinced there is something politcal regarding the SNPs recent interest in them, possibly something to do wih the rumours of corruption during the awarding of the franchise which also surrounds the shameful awarding of Northlink to Serco.

What does annoy me however as I said many times is the treatment of the rural lines, two years into the franchise and STILL waiting improvements.

The rumours of corruption are new to me - have you got a source for that?

Regarding the rural lines, the biggest problem is the lack of spare rolling stock due to Scotrail losing 4 Turbostars whilst having to cover for the Borders line and the large refurbishment programme. However, the Inverness 158s which run the northern rural lines (Kyle, Far North) are mostly(?) refurbished to quite a high standard and the 156s will follow soon. I've been on a few of them and I think they're quite an improvement.

You could say it's been two years into the franchise and we're STILL waiting for improvements to Intercity services, but these improvements take time - especially since we're waiting for HSTs to be cascaded from GWR. The lack of rolling stock is main issue here which should be given some slack in May once some E-G services are electric and the refurbishment programme can speed up.

I'd say Abellio are doing a fine job.

 

[GrimShady]

The rumours of corruption are new to me - have you got a source for that?

Regarding the rural lines, the biggest problem is the lack of spare rolling stock due to Scotrail losing 4 Turbostars whilst having to cover for the Borders line and the large refurbishment programme. However, the Inverness 158s which run the northern rural lines (Kyle, Far North) are mostly(?) refurbished to quite a high standard and the 156s will follow soon. I've been on a few of them and I think they're quite an improvement.

You could say it's been two years into the franchise and we're STILL waiting for improvements to Intercity services, but these improvements take time - especially since we're waiting for HSTs to be cascaded from GWR. The lack of rolling stock is main issue here which should be given some slack in May once some E-G services are electric and the refurbishment programme can speed up.

I'd say Abellio are doing a fine job.

No sources apart from chat originating from a few contacts working for Transport Scotland, The Serco/Northlink scandal has been published many times. Was there ever a reason given for the sudden departure of Abellios CEO, fraud was rumored?

The Intercity services specifically the Intercity EC service already have very comfortable and good trains due to be replaced with (looks like) fairly uncomfortable ones. One could say there's no improvement here to what is already a very good service. The WHL for example has seen nothing since the 156s were forced upon the line, IC EC has only seen improvements since roughly the same time period.

 

[47271]

As I recall, I think this is where the ideas of corruption came from, the Evening Times piece was the first one I came across when I searched.

The usual suspects line up to have a go, but Neil Bibby had yet to be invented at the time.

I'd forgotten about Mary Grant's complaint about bid scoring...

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/...c_inquiry_into_Scotland_s_new_rail_franchise/

Demands for a public inquiry into Scotland's new rail franchise

10 Jun 2015 / Linzi Watson, Senior reporter


MINISTERS are facing demands for a public inquiry into Scotland's new rail franchise following the dismissal of the chief executive of ScotRail's parent company over "irregularities".

Just two months after the franchise was awarded, the RMT union said the Government now had to reassure the public the contract with Abellio was all above board after the departure of Jeff Hoogesteger for his role in a scandal engulfing the Dutch firm.

Mr Hoogesteger was dismissed last Friday without severance pay following dawn raids at the State-owned Dutch Railways Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) and the subsequent resignation of its boss Timo Huges.

Mr Hoogesteger was a co-signatory of the contract which awarded the franchise to Abellio, had moved to Edinburgh and was based at Abellio UK's new headquarters in Glasgow.

Both men are reported to have been involved in a scandal relating to a new contract to provide trains in the southern Dutch province of Limburg. It was reported in the Netherlands that the raids were carried out as part of the investigation into possible abuse of dominance and other potential violations of the Dutch Railway Act.

In a letter to Scotland's transport minister Derek MacKay, the RMT's general secretary Mick Cash, said: "RMT believes it is vital to re-assure the public by holding a full inquiry into the letting of the Scotrail contract.

"With the press reporting an investigation into Jeff Hoogesteger, the CEO of GB-based Abellio Transport Holdings Ltd, has seen him also removed from office without any compensation, I am sure you will agree this has to be of major concern to everyone involved.

"If the Dutch Finance Minister believes the whole culture in NS/Abellio is wrong and needs to change RMT believes the Scottish Government needs to clearly show that nothing was irregular with the tendering for the Scotrail franchise. Only a full public inquiry can do that.

"I believe our members and most of all the Scottish people need that re-assurance."

Abellio won the franchise last October from previous operator FirstGroup and fellow bidders National Express, Arriva, and MTR of Hong Kong.

Following the award, the National Express managing director Mary Grant conveyed her concerns to former First Minister Alex Salmond and the rest of the Scottish cabinet.

She said the closeness of the bid scoring, which Abellio won by just 0.24%, should have been the catalyst for further final offers to be submitted to Transport Scotland, the quango running the competition for the Government, to secure further benefits.

She also told Mr Salmond the National Express bid required "the lowest taxpayer subsidy" and asked for a detailed explanation as to why their attempt failed.

Abellio also runs train operator Abellio Greater Anglia, and Northern Rail and Merseyrail in joint ventures with Serco, and buses in London and Surrey.

As well as Mr MacKay, the RMT has written to the UK Government over Abellio's bidding for rail contracts on the Anglia and Northern franchises.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We have received assurances that appropriate steps are being taken by Abellio UK to continue to manage its separate UK franchises by putting customers first.

"There is absolutely no suggestion of any conduct that puts the ScotRail franchise procurement process in doubt. "Reviews by Audit Scotland and independent auditors have supported and indeed praised that process."

The franchise has been let for ten years with a break option exercise-able before the fifth anniversary, when performance will be assessed.

No-one from NS/Abellio was available for comment. Last week Abellio UK managing director Dominic Booth said: "This does not directly affect the leadership of the franchises we run in the UK, which operate under distinct local management."

 

[GrimShady]

Also http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/...or_Abellio_axed_over_Dutch_franchise_scandal/

TWO senior executives at the Dutch company in charge of Scotland's railways have been dismissed amid a scandal over how a 15-year train and bus franchise was awarded.



Abellio chief executive Jeff Hoogesteger is to leave without compensation over his involvement in the row which has embroiled Abellio's parent company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen.

The operator was plunged into crisis on Friday when Timo Huges, the chief executive of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), stood down after investigators accused him of trying to mislead them with "inaccurate and incomplete" statements over how NS awarded a contract to an Abellio subsidiary.

The NS boss has resigned with immediate effect and will not receive any severance pay.

It comes barely two months after Abellio took over the running of the ScotRail franchise on a minimum seven-year term, with the option to extend it to 2025.

Mr Hoogesteger visited Scotland in April to deliver a speech at the Scottish Transport Conference in Edinburgh, a major industry event attended by Transport Minister Derek Mackay.

Abellio also operates the Greater Anglia rail franchise in England and has been shortlisted in a joint bid with Scottish transport giant Stagecoach to continue running the service when the new franchise terms begins in October 2016.

However, it faces competition from Aberdeen-based First Group and National Express, which previously operated the East Coast Main Line from 2007 to 2009.

Both men have been replaced on an interim a basis by NS's chief financial officer Engelhardt Robbe.

The probe centred on apparent irregularities in the awarding of a major contract in the Netherlands.

In February, the Dutch province of Limburg selected Qbuzz subsidiary Abellio Limburg as the winner of a 15-year contract to operate local rail and bus services.

However, on April 28 NS announced that an internal investigation had discovered that a former employee of incumbent franchise-holder Veolia had been hired through an intermediary and provided confidential information which gave QBuzz, the Abellio-owned company, a competitive advantage.

The contract award was cancelled, with second-ranked bidder Arriva awarded the contract on June 2.

In a statement, NS said: "Following ongoing investigations, Mr Hoogesteger has been released from duty and dismissed from his position without any form of severance compensation".

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "We are aware of the outcome of investigations of the franchise competition for regional passenger services in Limburg.

"However we have today (Fri) received assurances that appropriate steps are being taken by Abellio UK to continue to manage its separate UK franchises by putting customers first.

"There is absolutely no suggestion of any conduct that puts the ScotRail franchise procurement process in doubt. Reviews by Audit Scotland and independent auditors have supported and indeed praised the process and the outcome."

Abellio UK managing director Dominic Booth said:"The news from the Supervisory Board of NS the Dutch owner of Abellio is very serious for the Group.

"However this does not directly affect the leadership of the franchises we run in the UK which operate under distinct local management.

"Matters in the Netherlands will run their course but our focus here must and will remain entirely on continuing to serve our customers well".

 

[GrimShady]

With regard to Northlink. There are many like this.

http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2015/05/04/fresh-pressure-applied-over-north-boats-contract

The Scottish government has come under renewed pressure over its handling of the 2012 North Boats contract, with Holyrood politicians and union bosses demanding answers following the latest row.

Labour’s shadow transport and islands minister, David Stewart, has backed calls from local MSP Tavish Scott for

Audit Scotland to investigate the deal. The then publicly-owned incumbent operator NorthLink Ferries was controversially gazumped by major private operator, Serco. The Shetland Times last week revealed that NorthLink’s bid, said to be cheaper than Serco’s, was returned unopened.

The news prompted the RMT Union to raise fears the SNP government was heading down the “Blairite” route of privatising public services.

Mr Stewart last week accused the Scottish government of failing to answer questions over its decision.

“It seems to me procedures haven’t been followed correctly here and I’m very concerned that a well-respected public-sector company has lost a contract in which they were the incumbent,” he said.

The MSP also raised concerns about the renewal of the Hebridean contract next year, insisting he did not wish to see “history repeat itself”.

Tavish Scott will represent the Liberal Democrats in talks over post-referendum devolution.
Tavish Scott.
“Effectively what we’ve seen is a privatisation of the service.

“It seems bizarre to me that the incumbent contract was not opened and was being treated as non-compatible.

“If there is any evidence that this has not been followed to the letter of the law, then we need to get to the bottom of this. It seems totally bizarre that a contract that was the lowest bid from an incumbent in the public sector is not accepted for some bureaucratic reason which is not totally explained.”

Mr Scott said it was important Audit Scotland investigated the decision. He said he wanted his Orkney counterpart, Liam McArthur, to raise the matter in Holyrood tomorrow.

“The logical and correct body to investigate what did happen with the awarding of the contract for the North Boats is Audit Scotland. They are the nation’s book-keepers, they can have access to any information that they ask for including submissions made on tenders.

“Therefore the government who would not tell parliament about a commercially sensitive decision based on information that would not be released have to tell Audit Scotland.”

Mr Scott recalled the announcement of the contract going to Serco as being on the Friday when local election results were announced.

“If ever that was burying bad news,” he said. “You just don’t pick a big political day if you want to get a good news story out.”

Mr Scott’s comments came as the RMT union demanded a public inquiry into the matter.

National secretary, Steve Todd, said union members would be “very concerned” to learn of the Scottish government’s “instinctive contempt” for public sector bids – particularly now in the run-up to the invitation to tender for the 2016-24 Clyde and Hebrides ferries contract.

“There is a growing feeling that Transport Scotland and the Scottish government are heading, full steam to privatising Clyde and Hebrides ferries services, with the winning bid being announced after the Scottish parliamentary elections in May 2016.

“We hope the Scottish government does not continue to head down the Blairite route of privatising public services but the revelations over their treatment of CalMac’s NorthLink bid does not bode well for Scottish ferry workers and the lifeline services they provide remote communities and passengers.”

The Scottish government has insisted proper procedures were carried out, adding NorthLink’s quality submission failed to meet the minimum requirement laid out in the invitation to tender, which led to the financial submission being returned in accordance with normal practice.

 

[Clansman]

Why do I get the feeling that a number of those who complain about Abellio and the Scottish Government are doing so simply because the Scotrail franchise was awarded to a Dutch entity?

It's always been an argument against the Scottish Government and Scotrail where folk always wanted British companies to run the railways and then jump on the band wagon of "foreign" companies being used to fund other railways, and that's fair enough. But when the franchising system is so limited to only private organisations, what more can you do at the time other than choosing the best deal - British or not? What else could the Scottish Government have done other than this? One may say they could've extended First's contract until the allowance of public sector bodies was devolved to the Scottish Parliament - but doing so would've no doubt delayed the investment in new trains so badly needed.

It was always going to be hard for the then next operator of Scotrail anyway, regardless who they are. And given their shaky start, I can't really fault Abellio on the whole for how they are currently performing given what resources they currently have at their disposal until their plans properly kick into action, nor the Scottish Government.

No idea where this corruption talk is coming from. Going to have a bit of research on that as it's intriguing to hear.

 

[GrimShady]

I would have liked the franchise to have been awarded to a British company or better yet Nationalised. If a foreign operator can bring in some sorely needed change and inspiration then why not. What I cant understand is why the current powers that be are suddenly out to get ScotRail en masse when they are no better or worse than the previous franchise holders.

 

[47271]

What I cant understand is why the current powers that be are suddenly out to get ScotRail en masse when they are no better or worse than the previous franchise holders.

The Transport Minister wasn't particularly out to get Scotrail until last autumn as he started to come under pressure from, as usual, Labour, the unions, and the press. The original basis of their opportunist campaign was the aftermath of last year's Queen Street disruption and the period of industrial action. The full on 'crisis' was caused by the breakdown of one train in Princes Street Gardens, and then we heard of nothing else for about two months after that.

My reading of history is that he overreacted to this artificial crisis and helped build the story with far too much chat of his own, to be fair to him probably partly motivated by the ghost of Stewart Stevenson's political career tapping on his shoulder.

That aside, it's no secret that the SNP would rather that Scotrail is in public ownership, so there may have been opportunism of a different kind going on there too.

 

[Clansman]

That aside, it's no secret that the SNP would rather that Scotrail is in public ownership

This is why I can't see a motive for any sort of corruption when it comes to rail franchising up here. For a party full of working class offsprings, I imagine they'd keep their morals at heart of every decision they make - people like Mhairi Black are proof of this.

Politics aside though, the whole argument of corruption sounds to me like a moan about the fact that a public bid wasn't chosen for Northlink, and a British company chosen for Scotrail. It's the best bid that wins (one which benefits the passengers), not bids where the private company's geographical location is close to home.

 

[GrimShady]

This is why I can't see a motive for any sort of corruption when it comes to rail franchising up here. For a party full of working class offsprings, I imagine they'd keep their morals at heart of every decision they make - people like Mhairi Black are proof of this.

Politics aside though, the whole argument of corruption sounds to me like a moan about the fact that a public bid wasn't chosen for Northlink, and a British company chosen for Scotrail. It's the best bid that wins (one which benefits the passengers), not bids where the private company's geographical location is close to home.

I cant say I share your views on the SNPs morals Clansman or think they are any different from the political norm. The issue with Northlink was that the bid supposedly wasn't even entertained by the Government. Northlink at that time was actually CalMac, anyway this isn't really the topic of conversation.

 

[Clansman]

I can't say I share your views on the SNPs morals Clansman or think they are any different from the political norm.

Can't win em all.

Knowing modern day politics, I'm inclined to take a cautious approach to it until there's clear cut evidence.
At least we can agree and disagree in a decent manner - other folk just resort to political bickering half the time. :roll:

Anyway, back to Scotrail related stuff...

It's probably been posted on one of the pages in this thread, but when is the power to allow public sector bodies to bid for Scotrail being devolved to the Scottish Parliament? Or has it already been devolved? Would've been interesting to view the other franchising 2015 franchising bids also, if there's a place for doing so, to see how they compare with Abellio.

 

[GrimShady]

Nothing is gained by useless bickering plus I think we're singing from the same page when it comes to our hopes for ScotRails future.

As for the devolved powers I'm not sure.

 

[gsnedders]

It's probably been posted on one of the pages in this thread, but when is the power to allow public sector bodies to bid for Scotrail being devolved to the Scottish Parliament? Or has it already been devolved? Would've been interesting to view the other franchising 2015 franchising bids also, if there's a place for doing so, to see how they compare with Abellio.

23 June 2016, two months following the passing of the Scotland Act 2016.