Fresh strike by train drivers looms Aug 19 2002
A fresh strike by train drivers at a leading regional rail company is set to go ahead after an attempt to resolve a pay dispute ended in failure.
The drivers' union Aslef claims First North Western did not turn up for scheduled talks at the Manchester offices of the conciliation service Acas.
The union's assistant general secretary Mick Blackburn travelled to Manchester from London to attend the talks.
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posted by Charles at Monday, August 19, 2002
NATIONAL NEWS: Rail upgrade dropped
By Juliette Jowit, Transport Correspondent
FT.com site; Aug 17, 2002
Plans to upgrade one of the main intercity routes from London to the Midlands have been dropped because Railtrack said it would cost ý60m to take one minute off journey times.
National Express, which runs the Midland Mainline franchise, said Railtrack's estimate doubled from ý60m to ý120m - and the work would have shaved only three to four minutes off journeys from London to Sheffield, instead of the promised 10 minutes.
The government's Strategic Rail Authority, which has approved National Express's plan to use the money for other improvements, said spending ý60m would only have shaved one minute off the journey.
The claims come as the SRA and other rail industry leaders are increasingly concerned about the rapid rise in the cost of projects.
Senior figures have warned that many expected improvements will not be possible within the current budget because fewer projects are using up the available money and skills.
Railtrack yesterday confirmed the cost was ý120m, but denied that was an increase because it never committed itself to the original figure. That was only meant to be a guideline and the project had changed, said an official. "We said we weren't going to commit to anything until we had a full feasibility study," he said.
National Express said it believed the infrastructure work - which was part of a two-year franchise extension announced last year - was not worth doing at the higher cost.
The company has since said it will spend the money on other passenger benefits, such as customer information systems. "What we found, and others have found, is their estimate doesn't follow on," said a company official.
The SRA, which agreed the franchise extension, also denied Railtrack's claim and the implication that it had made promises based on poor quality preparation.
"We can only go with what we have got [from Railtrack]," said an official. "Obviously an aspect of what Midland Mainline committed to was to do further feasibility work."
He added: "It was one of the commitments of the franchise extension that if they didn't deliver it, we had an option of withdrawing the franchise extension. But what we have chosen to do instead is have them spend that ý60m on something else that will bring benefits to the route."
The SRA said spending more money on preparation work for major projects was one of several plans to cut costs in the industry.
Other proposals include spending more money on training.
posted by Charles at Monday, August 19, 2002
