Transport Central

There is a lot of understanding and knowledge about the United Kingdom’s railway system out there with some very dedicated people and committed individuals who do their research and speak with a good sound basis of intelligence.

There are, of course, many who are not and cast assertions about a wide range of issues affecting the railway companies today.

We sometimes find commentary in response to articles in various corners of the internet so way off the mark that it just has to be amusing – otherwise you’d cry. Here’s our take on some of the more wild comments.

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Today’s network issues facing passengers and other customers today:

• Signalling problems in the Hayes & Harlington area affecting routes in and out of London Paddington (TOC: First Great Western, Heathrow Connect, Heathrow Express)
• Signalling problems at Tamworth (TOC: Virgin Trains)
• There was a bridge struck by a road vehicle at Reigate situated between Guildford and Redhill (TOC: First Great Western, Southern)

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Today’s shock news is that Network Rail has received a record fine of £14 million in respect of the issues surrounding the engineering overruns over the New Year period. Critics have circled on the authority responsible for issuing the fine, the Office of Rail Regulation, which they say has no point.

The money levied against Network Rail means the organisation now has £14 million less to spend on railway improvements as the money transfers direct to the Treasury. It is a not-for-dividend company and all of the profits that the company makes are re-invested into the railway network for improvments.

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A round-up of today’s railway issues affecting your journeys:

• A problem with a level crossing at Kents Bank situated between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster (TOC: First Transpennine Express, Northern Rail)
• Signalling problems at Hunts Cross (TOC: First Transpennine Express, Merseyrail, Northern Rail)
• Trepass incident at Durham situated between Newcastle and Darlington (TOC: CrossCountry, First Transpennine Express, National Express East Coast, Northern Rail)
• Broken down train in the Slateford area (TOC: CrossCountry, First ScotRail, National Express East Coast, Virgin Trains)

A round-up of the issues that blighted our railway network today:

• Problem with a level crossing at Hungerford situated between Reading and Westbury (TOC: First Great Western)
• Broken down train between Birmingham Snow Hill and Birmingham Moor Street (TOC: Chiltern Railways, London Midland)
•  Safety checks in the Seven Sisters area (TOC: National Express East Anglia)

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Train operator First Great Western (FGW) received a formal notice from the government that the company is in breach of its franchise agreement as to the number of train cancellations.

The DfT served FGW with a remedial plan notice to improve services. First Great Western was regularly at the very bottom in the punctuality statistics.

Only last month FGW doubled the compensation paid to season ticket holders and apologised for delivering a poor service over the previous 12 months.

Passenger group “More Train Less Strain” staged another fare strike in the Bristol area in protest of First Great Western’s fare increases on 2 January 2008 which saw the cost of some of the most overcrowded routes increase by up to as much as 10%.

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There were a number of issues on the national rail network today:

• Fatality at Hilsea situated between Havant and Portsmouth Habour (TOC: First Great Western, South West Trains, Southern)
• Person hit by a train at Southall situated between London Paddington and Reading (TOC: First Great Western, Heathrow Connect, Heathrow Express)
• Fatality at Swaythling situated between Eastleigh and Southampton Central (TOC: CrossCountry, South West Trains)

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UPDATE: The strike action has been called off for the present time so a normal service will run on the 28th and 29th of February.

National Rail reports of proposed industrial action by ASLEF on London Midland services on 28 and 29 February 2008. Read more »

I was lying awake during this night pondering things while my insomnia took hold as usual. I started browsing the web and came across a number of articles in today’s news about the Spanish development of high speed railways. It hasn’t all gone rosy but I have to say I am beyond gobsmacked. Three things emerged:

• Spain has the second best network punctuality rate in the entire world – 98.5%;
• It is aiming to have 10,000km of high speed track by 2020, the biggest network in the world;
• Renfe, the railway operator, is entirely stated owned.

One thing to note:

• Britain has 80 miles of high speed track.

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A quick roundup of the issues facing the railway network today:

• Signalling problems between Lancaster and Carlisle (TOC: First Transpennine Express, Virgin Trains)
• Signalling problems between Cardiff Central and Newport (TOC: Arriva Trains Wales, CrossCountry, First Great Western)
• Emergency engineering works between Preston and Lancaster (TOC: First Transpennine Express, Northern Rail, Virgin Trains)
• Emergency engineering works between Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh (TOC: First Great Western) Read more »

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