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World views and developments in the rail industry with some focus on retailing and training. Compiled by Railskills. Link: www.railskills.co.uk
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Tuesday, June 11, 2002
News The latest rail industry National Passenger Satisfaction survey results are published today(6 June), and yet again they show that the percentage of Thames Trains customers that are satisfied with the service continues to grow. 82% (more than eight-out-of-ten) Thames Trains customers say that they are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the overall level of service provided (during Autumn 2001, 79% of Thames Trains customers were satisfied). When compared with all ten London and South East based Train Operating Companies, Thames Trains has repeatedly been rated number two in the league table of comparable train operators. Over a thousand people were questioned about their opinions of the service provided by Thames Trains, whilst they were waiting at Stations or travelling by train. The detailed figures also show that Thames Trains is getting better at satisfying its customers when it comes a whole range of factors, including running trains reliably and punctually, with 76% satisfaction (compared to 61% satisfaction the same time last year). News 10/06/2002 Enjoy a Summer of Fun with Thames Trains This week Thames Trains publishes its ‘Summer Events Guide’ for 2002. The leaflet lists 40 activities, festivals, shows and other exciting events that are taking place between June and the end of September 2002 at venues on the Thames Trains network. A wide range of events for individuals, families and adult groups are included in the leaflet, such as the Blenheim Palace Flower Show, Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, Paddington Performance Festival, Henley Royal Regatta, Farnborough International Airshow, the Great British Beer Festival, Warwick Castle Jousting Tournaments and Moreton-in-Marsh Agricultural show. The events are all located on the Thames Trains network, within easy reach of railway stations, by foot or a short taxi, tube or bus ride. 150,000 copies of the leaflet have been printed and are available at 55 staffed railway stations served by Thames Trains. A PDF of the leaflet is also available on the Thames Trains website at: .www.thamestrains.co.uk The Summer Events Guide includes details of how to contact event organisers in order to buy tickets (where necessary) or obtain further information about events. South West Trains The UK’s biggest train order for £1 billion - the first South West Trains’ Desiro - is being rolled out at Siemens’ test track at Wildenrath in Germany - the first of 785 new carriages that will replace South West Trains’ Mark I ‘slam-door’ fleet. The new trains will bring significant benefits to the travelling public including: air conditioning, automatic sliding doors, audio and visual passenger information displays and dedicated facilities for disabled passengers. They will also be safer, with the addition of a ‘crumple-zone’ similar to that found on motor cars - a first for the UK. Andrew Haines, managing director of South West Trains, said: “I am really excited to see the first new Desiro UK train on the test track. The 785 carriages will not only replace our slam door fleet but eventually, in conjunction with lengthening platforms to introduce 10-car trains, will bring vital extra seats for our passengers. This is the country’s biggest train order and we will be using it as a foundation stone for the investment and improvements contained in our 20-year franchise which is currently being negotiated with the Strategic Rail Authority.” South West Trains PEAK DAY TRAVELCARDS – AVAILABLE FROM ALL SOUTH WEST TRAINS STATIONS The new Peak Day Travelcard introduced earlier this year has been such a success that South West Trains has decided to make them available from all its stations – not just those in the London area - from 2 June. Passengers will be able to buy Standard - and in many cases, First Class - Peak Day Travelcards which are valid throughout Zones 1 to 6 from all stations outside the London Travelcard Area. People using their Peak Day Travelcard can set off as early as they like and still enjoy the flexibility of a Travelcard once they arrive in London. These All Zones Travelcards are valid for unlimited travel on train services in the London Travelcard area, as well as on London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, Croydon Tramlink and across the London bus network (including Night Buses until 0430 the next morning). There is also the option of the Off-Peak Day Travelcard. These offer similar availability in the Travelcard area, but there are restrictions on the time you may start your journey. Day Travelcards may be purchased up to four days in advance of travel, but please note that the Off-Peak Day Travelcard cannot be purchased at peak times on the day of travel. South Central South Central is making life easier for visitors from abroad by accepting Euros and US dollars at 13 of its stations The two currencies will be accepted at South Central sales points in Brighton, London Victoria, East Croydon, Barnham, Three Bridges, Bexhill, Chichester, Gatwick, Horsham, Eastbourne, Worthing, Redhill and Norwood Junction. South Central staff will accept notes or travellers cheques Press Release - January 2002 Hull Trains has commissioned an independent survey into customer satisfaction and the results have proved to be even better than they expected. Passengers travelling on Hull Trains were asked whether the service met their expectations, were less than expected, or more than expected. No passengers said the service failed to meet expectations, with 100% of customers saying expectations were met and 87% saying expectations were exceeded. May 1 2002 North East passengers are set to benefit from a major shake-up of the GNER summer timetable, which will see a number of extra services introduced from 2nd June. GNER, which provides intercity services linking the region’s key cities of Newcastle, Durham and Darlington with London and Scotland is describing the new timetable as “the biggest change it has ever made.” The new timetable will include a total of 6 extra services during the weekday linking the North East and London with 3 extra trains provided on a Sunday. The additional services have been planned to expand the timetable at both peak and off-peak periods. It will lead to a total of 32 services from Newcastle to London during the week, 27 on a Saturday and 26 on a Sunday. DRAFT 7 June 2002 GNER AND SCOTRAIL JOIN FORCES TO LAUNCH ‘SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE’ TICKET FOR BUSINESS TRAVELLERS GNER and ScotRail have joined forces to launch a new ‘Scottish Executive’ First Class rail ticket for business travellers between Scotland and London from 10 June. The ‘Scottish Executive’ ticket package offers business travellers the option of one-way travel on any daytime GNER service and one-way overnight travel on the ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper. The ticket package also includes meal and refreshment vouchers for use on board the GNER and Caledonian Sleeper services respectively, seven day car-parking at selected stations and a Zone 1 and 2 Underground ticket, all for £259. Moray Shutt, GNER Senior Business Product Manager said: “The ‘Scottish Executive’ First Class ticket is designed to make the maximum use of time for business travellers when travelling between Scotland and London. By teaming up with ScotRail, we are now able to offer a flexible ticket that gives passengers the option to travel overnight for an early morning meeting in London and return when it suits them during the day.” First - North Western First North Western has trained Lancashire County Council staff to help them to run and operate the ticket office at Carnforth rail station in a scheme called Carnforth Connect. The staff are able to sell train and bus tickets, offer timetable information and control the integrated service so that the buses and trains run in harmony. They will also provide information on local amenities and tourist attractions. I will be retiring as Managing Director of First Great Western later this month and I am pleased to announce that my successor will be Chris Kinchin-Smith who was latterly Executive Director at the Strategic Rail Authority (Strategic Routes and Operational Performance). Although I have decided to retire from First Great Western I will be remaining with the parent company First to work on a part-time basis on refranchising plans for the Great Western franchise. I am delighted that this will continue my long involvement with the rail industry. Like me, Chris is a career railwayman. He was Managing Director of LTS Rail Ltd in the run up to privatisation where he turned what was the London Tilbury and Southend misery line into a pioneering and respected service. Before joining the SRA Chris was a senior associate with Booz Allen and Hamilton working on a range of rail projects across the UK and Europe. Chris will obviously talk about his plans and aims for First Great Western when he fully takes over the position. Mike Carroll Managing Director First Great Western Meanwhile, our summer timetable came into operation on June 2. Overall there are a number of extra and extended services with the timetable designed with the needs of both leisure and business customers in mind. Crucially it also sees the introduction of the first of our new Adelante fleet into service. A number of services which previously terminated in Bristol Temple Meads are extended into the First Great Eastern • Company Information Investing in the future. As owner of the railway infrastructure, Railtrack makes most of the capital investment in the system. Great Eastern is investing more than £9 million in customer services and its trains. The investment is in: Upgrading facilities at stations Information systems Security at stations and in car parks Upgrading trains Within this is a host of smaller items with at one end, the provision of cycle storage facilities at every station, improvements to disabled access and provision for facilities for the hard of hearing and many more and at the other end of the scale, some major projects are underway with the provision of an information system at every Great Eastern station, no matter how small or little used, accounting for a large slice of the investment budget First Great Eastern • Latest News Cruise Ship Boat Trains Until Sunday 8th September Cruise Ship Boat Trains Boat Trains will operate in connection with the larger cruise ships calling at Harwich International Port. First Great Eastern • Latest News V2002 Hylands Park Chelmsford Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 August 2002 Additional trains will run for the V2002 concerts at Chelmsford. Late night services will run from Chelmsford to London and Colchester until 01.30 in the morning. First Great Eastern • Latest News Southend Bike Ride Sunday 14 July 2002 Additional trains will run from Southend Victoria to London. First Great Eastern • Latest News Bures Jazz Festival Saturday 13 July 2002 Additional trains will run between Marks Tey and Sudbury. Eurostar - Service Updates Eurostar is extending its minimum check-in times by 10 minutes to allow for enhanced security screening. Eurostar passengers must now check-in a minimum of 30 minutes prior to departure. Premium First, Business First, Standard Flexi ticket holders and Eurostar Frequent Travellers members may check in up to 20 minutes before departure. Dance “sur le pont d’Avignon” with direct Eurostar! An exciting expansion of the Eurostar network will take place this summer with the introduction of direct services from London and Ashford (Kent) to Avignon in the heart of Provence. Eurostar’s decision to run through services is based on the growth in the number of passengers using TGV Med, the new high speed rail service to the south of France which opened in June 2001. The direct service will be of great benefit to UK holidaymakers wishing to visit the historic walled city of Avignon, famous for its ruined bridge and its medieval “Palace of the Popes”, which is also an ideal base for exploring this perennially popular area of France. But it is the journey itself which is truly one to savour and which will add to the enjoyment of the holiday, taking the traveller at speed and in comfort through the beautiful scenery of Burgundy and the Rhône valley. Most of the route is on the French high speed rail network, and the end to end time for the 715-mile run will be 6 hours and 15 minutes - an average speed of no less than 114 miles per hour! Trains will run each Saturday from 20 July to 7 September inclusive. Fares start at a very attractive £115 return for a standard class ticket booked at least fourteen days in advance (“Leisure 14”). First class service, which will include one full meal and one light snack on board in each direction, prov Eurostar - Servic Disney Product Initiatives With the launch of the new Walt Disney Studios at DLPR, Eurostar and Disney have joined forces to give a better service to their customers. From 17th May 2002 onwards, passengers travelling in Castle Class will not only benefit from better leg room and a larger seat, they will also now receive a complimentary cold snack served at their seat on both legs of the journey. The snack will consist of 2 luxury (1 meat & 1 vegetarian) filled bread rolls, 1 snack bar, 1 piece of fruit, 1 fruit juice drink, a Disney cup & napkin and all packaged in a jointly branded Disney / Eurostar box. The initiative comes as a result of extensive research into the joint product and will ensure a better service and value for money for those passengers both in Castle Class and also Standard, as it will mean a reduction in waiting time at the ever popular bar buffet. In Standard, there will be new fast serving ‘Combo Snacks’ for sale from the bar buffet & trolley. In addition to this, there will be an exciting new kid’s pack, which will be handed out by the Disney cast members at the Disney Express Counter. The pack consists of a re-useable drawstring bag, 2 magazines (1 puzzle book & 1 ‘My Big Adventure’), a pack of coloured felt-tip pens and a game. Eurostar goes Dutch, from just £85 return Eurostar – the international high-speed passenger train service linking London with Paris, Brussels and Lille - today announced it had reached an agreement with Thalys International to offer onward rail travel to The Netherlands. Passengers are now able to purchase tickets through Rail Europe for as little as £85 Standard Class return and £145 First Class return for travel from London Waterloo or Ashford International, to Rotterdam, The Hague, Schipol Airport and Amsterdam. Like existing Eurostar Plus destinations, passengers will have the benefit of a quick change at Brussels-Midi before travelling onwards to Holland. “This new agreement with Thalys makes rail travel to The Netherlands even easier and more convenient,” says Schera Zekri, Director of Distribution for Eurostar. “It means a weekend break in Amsterdam or a business meeting in The Hague without first the hassle of airports and transfers.” Thalys is the high speed link between Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne. Like Eurostar, not only does Thalys embody the most advanced railway technology with services from centre to centre in unbeatable times, but it also offers three major strengths: service, fares and frequency. “This agreement with Eurostar combines the best in European rail travel – speed, convenience, reliability and style,” says Rita Moosen, Manager of Distribution and Systems for Thalys International. “Thalys and The company responsible for maintaining the line where the Potters Bar rail crash happened has announced a sharp increase in profits. Jarvis has changed its accounting methods, but either way its profits are substantially higher. The new method shows a profit of £45.8m for the financial year, compared with £24.8m in the previous 12 months. Under the old system it made a profit of £50.8m compared with £30.1m. Safety The results cover the financial year to the end of March, before the Potters Bar rail crash in which seven people died. In a statement, chief executive Paris Moayedi said: "These results are released only a little more than a month after the tragic events at Potters Bar. "Everyone at Jarvis has been shocked and saddened by the terrible train derailment. "Public safety and the safety of our employees are our highest priorities, and the impact of this tragic event is felt throughout the company." Mr Moayedi said that because the police and the Health and Safety Executive were still investigating the derailment, it was not appropriate for the company to make any comment. City reaction In the City, while the results temporarily helped revive Jarvis's flagging shares, the stock closed down 8p at 315.5p on Tuesday. Before the Potters Bar crash, Jarvis shares were trading at 520p. Monday, June 10, 2002
Transport row spins out of control Jun 9 2002 The political ghost of Stephen Byers was continuing to haunt the Government today two weeks after his resignation as allegations of Labour Party spin and dirty tricks refused to go away. In the wake of claims that Mr Byers' spin doctors tried to smear members of the Paddington Survivors' Group, his former press chief Martin Sixsmith believes he is also the subject of a Government whispering campaign. Mr Sixsmith, a former BBC journalist, claims officials are contacting his ex-colleagues to find out if he ever tried to undermine the then BBC Director-General John - now Lord - Birt, a source said. Lord Birt is now in charge of "blue skies" transport policy on behalf of the Prime Minister. Mr Sixsmith is also claiming he is being pressurised by the Government into signing a "gagging clause" to prevent him discussing his time in Whitehall before he can get his severance money - reported to be £180,000. In a further development, Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, who chairs the powerful Commons transport select committee, has accused the Government of orchestrating a whispering campaign against her in a bid to remove her from the post. Under Ms Dunwoody's chairmanship the committee last month published a damning report on the Government's 10-year transport plan which was widely seen as contributing to Mr Byers' downfall. An attempt to replace Ms Dunwoody as chairman of the transport committee last y icBirmingham - Using rail contractors 'is not unsafe' Using rail contractors 'is not unsafe' Jun 10 2002 There is nothing inherently unsafe about the process of contracting out in the railway industry, according to a new report. The comments come in a report by the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) which has been handed to Transport Secretary Alistair Darling. Requested by Stephen Byers before he left office, it examines whether the process of contracting out is unsafe in the railway industry. Darling to seal Railtrack deal (Filed: 09/06/2002) Alistair Darling, the new Secretary of State for Transport, will attempt to draw a line under the disastrous Railtrack debacle this week by announcing an agreement to buy the rail network operator out of administration. Lawyers and Treasury officials are working around the clock to finalise the agreement. They hope to distance Darling from the row over railways started by his predecessor, Stephen Byers, who plunged the industry into chaos last October by forcing Railtrack into administration. Under the terms of the acquisition Network Rail, the not-for-profit company set up by the Government, will pay the parent Railtrack Group (which is not in administration) £500m for the railway network. Network Rail will also take on £6.5bn of debt. The deal requires clearance from Brussels as £300m of the £500m will be provided directly by the Government. In a separate deal, Railtrack Group will receive a further £375m for phase one of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The bulk of the payment will come from London & Continental Railways, which will own the link, with Network Rail paying £80m for the right to operate and maintain it. Railtrack Group will also receive £350m in cash which will be released from the network business. Together with development property, which stays with Railtrack Group, and which is valued at between £50m and £100m, shareholders in the group could Bus company chief gets £1m pay-off By Adam Jay (Filed: 10/06/2002) Tony Osbaldiston, the former deputy chief executive of FirstGroup, received a severance package of £1m when he left the company last November. The bus and train operator's annual report reveals that Mr Osbaldiston, who ran the company's American operations, was given a payment of £680,384 "in respect of accrued and prospective salary and bonus entitlement", as well as £101,400 in lieu of pension contributions. He received a further £205,000 in salary and benefits for the year, making a total of £986,784. Last year, he and his wife also made £990,000 by selling shares, mainly options, in the company. Mr Osbaldiston, who worked for FirstGroup for seven years, was finance director for five years before assuming the additional role of deputy chief executive. He took over responsibility for FirstGroup America following its £600m acquisition of Ryder in 1999, making it the second-largest school-bus operator in the US. A company spokesman said yesterday that Mr Osbaldiston, who is 47 and has a young family, had no longer wanted to split his time between the US and the UK. He refused to comment on Mr Osbaldiston's compensation, other than to say: "It's what was agreed by the remuneration board and what Tony was entitled to under his contract." Mr Osbaldiston was on a 12-month rolling contract. FirstGroup, which is Britain's biggest bus operator and runs thre Joined-up transport policy ON AN island with finite land resources, the maximum use should be made of land already committed to transport. There are many miles of underutilised rail routes which could be converted into roads. The tragedy of the Beeching cuts was that British Rail was given the job of disposal of former rail routes which it did in a piecemeal fashion, thereby destroying their route integrity. The old Great Central Line could have provided an M1 relief road at no cost to green fields. If Britain is to have joined-up transport then the needs of the community as a whole must be taken into consideration before any sale or investment on railway land is permitted. Roger M. Bale, Jersey The unpalatable truth WE NEED to start by admitting to three unpalatable truths about transport: 1. Railways are inherently uneconomic. They should be granted a reasonable operating subsidy as a strategic resource and the level of that subsidy should be voted on in Parliament. 2. The idea that “traffic volume expands to fill all new roads built” is a nonsense. This is exposed both if taken to its logical extreme, and if travellers’ reasons for their journey are surveyed. Traffic queues have a cost that impoverishes the whole economy. 3. The urban ends of improved motorways also need increased capacity. A solution to this problem is in evidence in Bangkok, once famous for its traffic jams. Bangkok has double-deck motorways which avoid the need to June 07, 2002 France Train could put you on track By Ben West THE UK rail system may be in a sorry state, but the French network has never been better. And unprecedented bargains on air and ferry routes mean that it has never been easier for foreign owners to visit their properties in France. Rapid expansion of super-fast TGV routes throughout France is increasingly shortening journey times. For example, from July 20 you take a train at Waterloo International Station in London and emerge at Avignon in the South of France six hours and 20 minutes later. Last year’s improved line from Valence to Marseilles cut times from Paris to just three hours. Because certain areas of France are better served by express services than others, some routes are surprisingly quick and some lines slow. For example, both Charlesville-Mezieres, northeast of Paris, and Grenoble in the far South East, take about seven hours to reach from London. John Evans, of Eclipse Overseas, says: “The improving rail routes awaken people’s interest in an area. Interest starts with the no-frills airlines and then they realise that by the time you’ve travelled to the airport, waited to fly and the rest of it, going by train is often as quick and cheaper.” The fast trains go to some of the parts of France most popular with British buyers, such as the Charente (via Angoulême), Aquitaine (via Bordeaux), and the Vendée (via Nantes Gray paves way for airport and Borders rail links HOPES have risen that the Scottish executive may support demands for rail links to the country’s main airports and through the Borders, writes Terry Murden. Iain Gray, the enterprise and transport minister, wants the next holder of the ScotRail franchise to agree to run these services if the infrastructure is in place and the executive decides it wants them. While there are clearly conditions, the executive appears to be opening the door to services which have been demanded by commuters and business lobby groups for years. The executive will award a 15-year contract to run Scottish rail services from April 2004 and Gray says that through an “enhanceable franchise” the executive will be able to negotiate new services if required. He says: “We will not specify these services (in the bidding process), but the franchise will be such that if, two years into it, we know we want a Borders link and we know how and when the infrastructure will be in place there is a process for going to the franchise holder and saying we require you to run it as of this date.” It is possible there will be foreign bids for the franchise, currently a seven-year contract held by National Express, as well as a bid from Stagecoach, which last week enhanced its prospects after being named in a joint venture with Wellington council, New Zealand, to run the city’s commuter-train network.2 EU will enforce late-train refunds Robert Winnett, Consumer Affairs Correspondent THE European commission is drawing up plans for a rail charter that would give passengers generous compensation when trains are delayed or cancelled. The charter is expected to be introduced over the next two years and could eventually cover all public urban transport including buses, the Tube and other city metro systems. The exact details of the scheme — a key part of the commission’s four-year consumer action plan to be presented to MEPs this week — will be drawn up following a series of meetings with train companies and consumer groups. However, it is expected to work in the same way as a forthcoming air passengers’ charter, which gives travellers the legal right to compensation up to a full refund if flights are cancelled or delayed. A source at the commission said the rail charter would probably provide for a full refund if trains are more than an hour late. This could cost British train operators tens of millions of pounds a year. “Initially the idea was to cover international routes but we now expect it to apply to all routes,” said the source. “At first we will be asking train companies to abide by the charter voluntarily, but formal regulations or a European directive are likely to be necessary.” At the moment, rail passengers are entitled to a refund of at least 20% if a train is delayed by more than an hou |