Concessionary U-turn

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that, following its investigation into the English concessionary free travel scheme, it believes National Express and Megabus should not have to carry eligable passengers for free along sections of route registered as local-stopping bus services so that Bus Service Operators' Grant (BSOG) can be claimed.

NX are understood to be implementing the DfT's ruling from 1 April and so we infer that the last day for free concessionary travel on its services in England will be this Tuesday. NX claim that 22,500 free journeys have been made in the past year - journeys that they've received reimbursement for, but not as much as if a ticket had been purchased.

Curiously, the DfT has not said whether or not NX et al, who will continue to legitimately register these sections as local-stopping services, will be able to continue to claim BSOG. (GL)

Airport queue jump

It was the subject of discussion at one of our thrice yearly LEYTR Committee Meetings today in Skegness, that Luton Airport has decided to introduce a charge of £3 per passenger wishing to jump the queue for security checks.

Luton's queue-jump fare is the first to be adopted in one of the UK's larger airports, following on from a similar scheme at Leeds Bradford, Liverpool and Bristol airports, which have been charging a fee to do the same for a while now and charging up to £5. The UK's largest airport owner, BAA, has said that it is considering introducing a similar scheme at some of the airports under its ownership.

The potential for controversy at Luton arises from the fact that passengers paying a fiver will simply be authorised to jump the main security queue; these fast-tracked people will not have a separate security queue of their own, something other fast-tracked services at airports have. Those at the front of the queue who're made to hang-fire for a few minutes while the fast-trackers push in is not going to go down well.

How many will pay a fiver? On the recent occasions I've flown from UK airports - Gatwick once, Stansted once, Luton once and Heathrow once - in the past year or so, I've always done the responsible thing and ensured my arrival is sufficient to ensure there is no mad-dash through security for fear of missing final boarding. On the occasion when we flew from Heathrow T4 to New York last September, the security queue was a welcome distraction from the ridiculous 3-hour international check-in that's imposed.

I guess that for as long as people are in a rush, mis-timing their arrival through their own negligence, or being delayed due to traffic congestion, there will be a market for this type of initiative. Some are worried that airports will abuse the system by choosing to open dedicated lanes for the fast-tracked passengers only to have an adverse effect on standard queues, lengthening the time taken to pass through security here. Crucially, additional staff are not being deployed in this area. This has not happened at Luton yet.

eastJet says it does not agree with this principle of paying to queue-jump as its fares contain an element that covers airport security, though it is willing to permit queue-jumping when boarding takes place, allowing those who've paid for the privilege to board first; the following 34 consisting of those who have hand-luggage only or the first to check-in; and finally everyone else. easyJet is the main flyer from Liverpool and the John Lennon Airport was the first to indroduce this fee back in 2007! (GL)

Stagecoach need to proof-read

It's not just Megabusplus' strapline that's missing a much-needed hyphen!

Stagecoach has been 'Best Impressionised' like so many of the UK's largest bus companies (and a fair few smaller ones, too). Their corporate livery for the new century is a product of Mr Stenning, as are some of the named networks, such as 'citi'.

Here is a shot of the back-end of one of their buses in East Anglia. Reversing off its stand in Peterborough, excellent use of the third-party, advert-free rear-end (plenty of hyphens here!) space with a Best Impressions-designed advert for their weekly ticket.


Yet it makes me cringe as it's clearly missing an apostrophe, a hyphen and a comma. (There has been the occasional 'gem' on this blog, too - Eds.)

Ignoring the obvious lack of capitalisation, 7 days' unlimited travel. It's a no-brainer, really is how it should be written. I wonder how many others have spotted this? (CW)

FastCat Launch

It's the newest service in the LEYTR area and its launch took place on Monday. The two photos below show the Humber FastCat launch taking place at The Parishes shopping centre in Scunthorpe. Full details of the fleet etc can be found in the March/April LEYTR, due to be delivered in just under a fortnight.

The branding and livery is very striking and unusual, with no signs of Stagecoach's corporate livery.

(l-r) The Humber FastCat, Gary Nolan (Stagecoach East Midlands MD & LEYTR member), Elliot Morely MP, Councillor Alan Smith (North Lincs Bus Partnership).

Imagine there's no timetable...

...It's easy if you try!

Imagine a coach company whose market dominance is unrivalled here in the UK; who, despite mild competition, is still very much the leader in its domain; who carries millions and millions of passengers each year; who serves over 1,500 places in the UK; and who has around 800 ticket outlets nation-wide.

Imagine that company - who's superbrand name is ranked 179th in the world - deciding it no longer wants the public, i.e. its passengers, to be able to purchase the large guide that contains details of all its timetables, services and fares. This guide had always had a cover price of around £10 and those purchasing it generally had to pay postage costs, too.

Imagine then, the following year, this same superbrand company choosing to prevent its own workforce from having access to its guide. In fact, the company has stopped producing the guide altogether.

They're the world's 179th superbrand and yet they act in a very unusual way.

I am referring to National Express and their Coach Guide. What other company would, in difficult times when people are turning to public transport as an economic alternative to the train, car and plane, choose to stop the people they want to attract from purchasing its definitive publication that showcases all its services and fares?

It's almost inconceivable, yet a year ago the National Express Coach Guide was no longer to be distributed to the general public; it was only to be given to its coach drivers and travel clerks. Roll on a year to 2 March 2009 and the Coach Guide was then no longer available to any employee.

Sure, the pages are available online and yes, NX are willing to pay its third-party operators £3 per full printed guide they print-off, but the fact that it can no longer be bothered to produce its Coach Guide in full and for sale to the public is yet further evidence of the company's divergence from its core values and unwritten obligations that have put it where it is today.

All these places served and yet we're not allowed to purchase a guide containing all the timetables.

NX also don't want you to know that holders of the English free concessionary travel pass can travel on sections of most of their services for free after 0930 on weekdays and at all times at weekends. There are conditions, but as we mentioned last year, many passengers can benefit from this, yet NX choose to make no reference to it of any kind anywhere.

The rail industry produces no publication promoting its All-Lines Railrover ticket, which is amazing when you consider a first-class weekly version of this costs in excess of £500. How many other companies in the UK choose not to produce a publication for one of its most expensive (and profitable) tickets?

This kind of very strange behaviour first reared its head in 2002 when NX withdrew their Tourist Trail Pass (TTP), which was the coach equivalent to the All-Lines Railrover. In 2004 they replaced it with the Brit Xplorer (BX) but for reasons known only to NX, chose to only make it available to foreign tourists, who had to present their passport upon purchase. British coach travellers are still technically unable to purchase an unlimited pass for any NX coach service in Britain, yet there currently poses no problem for them to do so online. While the TTP enabled holders to visit NX agents in order to be guaranteed seats for the journeys they planned to make, the BX is a "whole new exciting product" which does not!! (GL)

Station Usage Figures 2007-8

It was our most popular post from last year and we have pleasure in bringing you the very latest data for the UK's rail stations and how busy they were for the financial year ending 31 March 2008.


The Office of Rail Regulation has released the latest data for all of mainland Britain's rail stations on the National Rail network. The data can be viewed by clicking here. There are two files to consider: an Excel file that details all the stations and the "0708 Entries & Exits" column (Q) is what we're interested in and also a pdf file that reports on how the data was compiled.

Ranking the stations into the top-ten busiest and least busy provides the following:

Top-ten busiest rail stations in mainland Britain

1. London Waterloo - 100,306,690
   
2. London Victoria - 77,462,118
   
3. London Liverpool Street - 57,789,977
   
4. London Bridge - 54,124,745
   
5. London Charing Cross - 39,063,680
   
6. London Euston - 29,341,182
   
7. London Paddington - 29,224,722
   
8. London King's Cross - 24,629,269
   
9. East Croydon - 22,583,906
   
10. London Cannon Street - 22,177,065
    

Top-ten least busy rail stations in mainland Britain

1. Crosskeys (Wales) - 8
   
2. Llanhilleth (Wales) - 10
   
3. Helensburgh Upper (Scotland) - 47
   
4. Reddish South (Greater Manchester) - 47
   
5. Dorking West (Surrey) - 52
   
6. Tees-Side Airport (Darlington) - 52
   
7. Denton (Greater Manchester) - 53
   
8. Coombe Halt (Cornwall) - 54
   
9. Doleham (East Sussex) - 56
   
10. Buckenham (Norfolk) - 97

While all the top-ten busiest stations saw growth from the financial year ending 31 March 2007, only two of the top-ten least busy stations saw growth, being Coombe Halt and Buckenahm. You have to go to 2,504th position to find the least busy station in the LEYTR area - Kirton Lindsey; hitherto the quietest station had been Gainsborough Central for the past two consecutive years. Hull remains the busiest station in the LEYTR area. A full round-up of all LEYTR-area stations will be published in the May/June edition.


Last year's data had obvious errors and rail commentators were convinced that many of the least busy stations were simply not that quiet. The way in which data has been collected for the latest figures has been amended to reduce many of the "up to 99% wrong" results from last year.

The two quietest stations (Crosskeys & Llanhilleth) are both new stations on the Ebbw Vale line and so their data is likely to be very different next year!

We end with two further lists, being of the top-ten most used stations for interchange between trains and those at the other end of the scale:

Top-ten most used interchange stations

1. Clapham Junction - 16,513,166
   
2. London Bridge - 7,229,819
   
3. East Croydon - 5,901,974
   
4. London Waterloo - 4,810,307
   
5. London Victoria - 3,411,911
   
6. Birmingham New Street - 3,388,807
   
7. London King's Cross - 2,694,392
   
8. Lewisham - 2,653,293
   
9. Reading - 2,499,613
   
10. Finsbury Park - 2,437,577

Top-ten least used interchange stations**

1. Bracknell (Bracknell Forest) - 1
   
2. Kent House (London) - 1
   
3. Stroud (Gloucestershire) - 1
   
4. Burnley Manchester Road (Lancashire) - 2
   
5. Clapton (London) - 2
   
6. Beverley (East Yorkshire) - 4
   
7. Upper Warlingham (Surrey) - 4
   
8. Rose Grove (Lancashire) - 8
   
9. St. Helen's Junction (Merseyside) - 8
   
10. Penge East (London) - 9
    

** - the following stations have the possibiliy of being used for interchange between trains but no passengers purchased tickets necessitating this: Altringham, Bootle New Stand, Gainsborough Central, Rugeley Town, Runcorn East, Thetford & Yarm.

Only 523 of the 2,518 stations were used to interchange between trains.

Barrier checks at Edinburgh Waverley - mainland Britain's 16th busiest station.

Finally, for us non-Londoners, here are the top-ten busiest non-London stations:

1. Glasgow Central - 21,552,903
   
2. Manchester Piccadilly - 20,655,641
   
3. Leeds - 18,121,570
   
4. Birmingham New Street - 17,114,740
   
5. Edinburgh Waverley - 16,169,291
   
6. Glasgow Queen Street - 14,764,650
   
7. Reading - 14,562,507
   
8. Brighton - 13,474,552
   
9. Gatwick Airport - 12,729,627
   
10. Cardiff Central - 9,875,269

Rail station photography (C) The GL Collection

End in sight to painting the Forth Bridge

It's often a trick question in pub quizzes:

How many years does it take to paint the Forth (rail) Bridge?

After much umming and arring a collective groan can be heard from the audience when the correct answer is read out at the end:

The painting of the Forth Bridge is perpetual: it never ends.

Reputedly the Eighth Wonder of the World - the magnificent, if unusual, Forth Bridge.

And why is this? Such is the task to place a layer of paint over the structure that by the time the painters reach the end it's time to start over again. In actual fact, the painting of the Forth Bridge has never been done systematically; different sections of the structure corrode faster than others and so require more attention. The quiz-master's question is actually based on myth. See if that gets you a point added-on!

Eagle-eyed viewers to BBC's educational comedy show QI last month will have picked up on the possibility of pub quiz-masters now having to amend their question on the subject. Thanks to advances in technology the current Forth Bridge re-paint will be completed in just under 10 years.

The red paint currently being used is a form of epoxy resin expected to last for between 20-30 years. A re-paint takes approximately 10 years so there will be a further decade at least where painting will not be required.

This is a shot I took as I crossed the Bridge on board a First ScotRail Class 170 'Turbostar' bound for Inverness. The red paint is made from a special epoxy resin that is expected to last between 20-30 years, almost three-times as long as now.

Sure enough, the Forth Bridge is a magnificent structure. We crossed it on our most recent Scottish jaunt last month. Opened in March 1890, it was the world's first steel, long-span, cantilever bridge, taking 7 years to build and injuring 450 of its construction workers with 98 actually being killed.

Taken in 1889, this photo shows the Bridge's construction.

Spanning the Firth of Forth, the 1.5 mile structure was designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker, following work initially undertaken by Sir Thoman Bouch - responsible for the Tay Bridge near Dundee - who died before the final design was agreed. The bridge comprises three girder bridges within the overall structure and boasts two main spans measuring 1,710 feet across and was built with 55,000 tonnes of steel - the very first rivet was drilled in by the then Prince of Wales, Edward VII.

Balfour Beatty maintain the Bridge on behalf of Network Rail. Their employees certainly need a head for heights!

National Express East Coast, CrossCountry, First ScotRail, DB Schenker and First GBRf run across the structure, which is owned by Network Rail and maintained by Balfour Beatty. (GL)

Mandatory Customer Service?

Two opposing opinions towards whether or not including some form of minimum standard of customer service in rail franchises or the d-d-dreaded Quality Bus Partnerships should occur was highlighted in a recent edition of Transit.

In the No Camp is Brighton & Hove md Roger French who overwhelmingly believes that a private company looking after their own passengers in their own way is the right balance. Of course, he would think this being at the top of a private bus company who currently enjoys looking after its own customers in its company's own way.

Brighton & Hove wish to see no minimum benchmark for customer service. They're happy doing things the way they are.

Unsurprisingly First UK Bus' business director Alex Warner agreed and used the rail industry as evidence: Chiltern Trains, who has an acknowledged customer service record with its passenger does so along the lines Roger French mentioned. There is no requirement for a minimum level of customer service in any rail franchise yet Chiltern and Midland Main Line under National Express ownership choose to do this as they believe it makes good business sense.

Perhaps one of the strongest points made against the introduction of any guaranteed customer service benchmark was by French, who felt that ".. you can't set a standard. How are you going to do it? What degree of rudeness are you going to tolerate? It's a no-no. You're either pleasant and happy and give a good service or you don't."

Sheena Pickersgill of West Yorkshire PTE Metro spoke up for those in the Yes Camp, believing that there ought to be a minimum standard of customer service. As with the directors of Brighton & Hove and First, working for a local authority she was very likely to hold this position. PTEs are great exponents of Quality Bus Partnerships (QBPs) - bus companies are not as they fear, amongst other things, that their autonomy to run privatised bus services in the way they were intended is being compromised. This hasn't stopped a few of them signalling their intention to sigh-up to QBPs though!

Pickersgill commented that in the Metro area, they have an average of 1.1 bidders for each tender that arises periodically. She believes that this shows competition in the bus industry is not working; if it was the number of bidders would be significantly higher. "It should be a case that if a bus operator is failing in its customer service obligations we can go to the market and find a new operator, but with just 1.1 bidders per tender it's just not possible."

First Class Partnerships' Neil Atkins believes that increased regulation in London has been a direct result of the increases in customer service in TfL's 'pond' and therefore infers it to be a good example for some kind of mandatory customer service to be built into other regulated bus services.

First's customer service/comms director Leon Daniels made perhaps the most salient point about customer service in the bus industry. Having spent a day vising a Sansbury's superstore it suddenly dawned on him that the staff there had 'back stage' and 'on stage' attitudes. While they were on the shop floor, stacking shelves or working the tills, they were friendliness and helpfulness personified, yet 'back stage' the training DVD didn't work, printed training material was poorly produced and customer service training was drowned out by the sound of the adjacent canteen.

From pushing trolleys in the car parks to working on the tills, Sainsbury's was noted as employing people who knew how to 'turn it on' in front of passengers and First wishes to improve its customer service in this vain.

Yet Sainsbury's employees' ability to switch from 'back stage' to 'on stage' the second they entered the public areas of the store was what needs to be addressed in the bus industry, he feels. I agree totally that sometimes bus drivers are always in 'back stage' mode with passengers when they should be in 'on stage' mode. It's not always easy with road users cutting bus drivers up and the appalling attitudes of many teenagers, but certainly First are willing to go down this particular avenue to see if it produces an improvement. They plan to give every single member of their UK Bus workforce a half-day training session to this effect. (CW)

They just don't get it, do they?

Someone is telling lies in the rail industry at the moment!

While reading a copy of the London Evening Standard today, I felt my blood start to boil. The subject matter was, yet again, the perceived nuisance posed by rail hobbyists at train stations here in the UK.

Read on: shots like this could soon be banned

Why is it that National Express East Coast (NXEC) seems to inextricably put its foot in it at the worst possible moment? They spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on customer relations and yet permit one of their middle managers with a loose tongue to speak with the Unions who then, so outraged, go to the media. This is then denied by NXEC and confusion reigns supreme.

Could NXEC not want this type of shot to be taken in the future?

There have been comparisons between what the TSSA Union claims NXEC said it plans to do to rail hobbyists "without exception", to that which occurred in East Germany before the Iron Curtain came down: essentially, NXEC sees people taking photos and noting down train numbers as a "security risk" and will ban them from its stations once they're fitted with automatic ticket barriers.

Quite obviously this shot poses a risk to national security

While NXEC has denied that it has any intention of barring hobbyists from its stations, the firm was quoted in the Evening Standard implying that a mix-up had occurred over discussions at York station - one of its first mainline stations to be equipped with ticket barriers. NXEC says that, obviously, free entry to the station will not be possible with the gates' installation though they do plan to permit to issue "station passes for anyone wanting to say goodbye". You'll notice they chose not to include "...or spend time on the platforms spotting and taking photos".

As does this one....

As we've mentioned on numerous occasions, thanks to the efforts RAIL magazine has taken over the past year, the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police (BTP) said:

I can confirm that there is no power to stop members of the public taking photographs on railway premises for personal or legitimate purposes. Whilst officers are encouraged to actively engage with the public it is important that their actions are not seen as restricting people from enjoying a lawful activity.

....and this one - all those colours - quite obviously the catalyst to committing a terrorist act on British soil!

And we are happy to link to the BTP's own web page detailing guidance for rail hobbyists.

It's also worth pointing out the other 'biggy' with NXEC's planned ticket barrier-installation at York: when complete it will prevent access to the National Rail Museum via the footbridge that was built specifically for this purpose; also open-access operator Grand Central has lodged a formal complaint that the barriers will prevent its passengers from purchasing tickets on its trains - a policy it, along with other open-access operator Hull Trains, welcomes - and should be congratulated for doing so as their on-board fares are no more expensive to those purchased in advance.

We hope you've enjoyed our short pictorial of London King's Cross. Long may it - and the possibility of doing something similar at other NXEC-controlled stations - continue!

So, there you are. At a time when NXEC is in the news almost daily with commenters wondering if it will financially cope in the recession, to stories about how it is considering "anything" - including the withdrawal of its entire on-train catering business to save £20mil - it never fails to slump to new depths.

Who's not telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? The Unions or NXEC? If I was a betting man I know where my money would go! (GL)

Cobham Rally - 5 April

In just under three weeks one of the largest bus rallies of the year takes place at Cobham. Interest is especially high - not least as it's a great day out, but it's also one of the first of the season.

The Cobham Bus Museum Spring Gathering at the Wisely Airfield, just off the A3, will the taking place on Sunday 5 April from 10am. This year, as an added bonus, the Brain Child - the lead singer of which used to play with Screaming Lord Sutch - will be offering live music.


As with previous years, around 300 vehicles will be on display, with a 'southern' feel to the majority. For the entrance fee of £10, unlimited free bus rides between the airfield and the museum site can be enjoyed and a miniature bus for children will also be available.

This year's rally theme will the the infamous London Transport RT decker and RF single-decker and it is these vehicles that will offer the majority of free rides throughout the day.

Further details can be found by clicking here. (GL)

The 'Poo Train'

Last July we brought you the Graffiti Train, this year we can go one better and bring you the Poo Train. While the Graffiti Train was miniature and a toy for wanna-be daubers, regrettably the Poo Train is very much was you'd first think.

Residents waiting for First Capital Connect trains at Hatfield station have complained at being sprayed with 'liquefied sewage' as passing high-speed National Express East Coast (NXEC) trains thunder through the station. Their shock claim has been confirmed as being true by workers at the station.

Many old carriages operating throughout Britain's rail network have toilets that empty their contents directly onto the tracks. This has, quite rightly, been phased out over the past years, with newer carriages having retention tanks where effluent is stored before being emptied at their respective operator's maintenance depots. However, NXEC has been cutting back on more than just on-board services and on-line discounts! They've not been emptying their retention tanks as regularly as they should be and this has caused them to overflow, especially when turning corners at speed.

Hatfield is specifically affected as its station is located on a curve in the line.

Adam Edwards of the Hatfield Association of Rail Travellers said, "I have been on platform one on a couple of occasions when it has happened... We would be curious to know if there is a specific danger. It would be interesting to hear what National Express has to say."

A NXEC spokesman said, "We have been aware of isolated instances of a small amount of effluent escaping from some of our electric trains at speed and are taking steps to resolve this. We are fitting more accurate measurement equipment at our train depots to ensure waste tanks are fully emptied before each train enters service. We are also replacing toilet flush valves with a more efficient and reliable design to prevent leakage of water from toilets to the flush valves."

Until then, LEYTR is proud to bring you our first-ever Top Gear-style Top Tip: Stand well back if you find yourself stood on Hatfield station platforms 1 or 3 and a fast-approaching Class 91 (electric) train is in view!! (GL)

Megabusplus

As yesterday's post mentioned, Stagecoach in Yorkshire moved its National Express contract away from Barnsley during February. This was so that it could operate a new Megabus+ service from there, as well as LEYTR-based Stagecoach in Hull.

The strapline has been updated to include the term 'connections' and yet is still crying out for two hypens and a comma!

Connecting numerous Yorkshire towns and cities with East Midlands Trains' (EMT) services at the new East Midlands Parkway station, the new Megabus+ launches at the end of the month, offering coach+train travel to/from London with inclusive fares. It seems a fascinating new concept (perhaps until EMT passes to another operator!), though the company employed to design the map of the UK need a lesson in geography - Hull is not by the coast, nor is Scunthorpe north of the Humber! (GL)

Megabus+ website can be accessed by clicking here.

Driver's unusual announcement

A couple of days ago I travelled to Sheffield by National Express coach Service 350 from Nottingham. I've read on this blog, which I very much enjoy contributing to, about humerous coach driver announcements, though have not encountered any such examples myself. "If only the coach drivers would use their microphone more!" is usually my opinion!!

(By popular demand, here they are again: click here for the original post containing a 5-star driver announcement so long it needs to be cut in two parts! - Eds)

However, my trip aboard a Stagecoach in Mansfield Volvo B12M recently, Liverpool-bound, was my first introduction to a driver that I'd describe as a "right character". I don't want any of his superiors to read this and him to get into trouble, so I won't mention his name or the date I was travelling, but his opening gambit to a half-full coach was to stand in the centre of the aisle and exclaim "Now, we don't permit you to defaecate in the toilet, solids are for bus stations!"

He then went through a load of legislation about seat belt-wearing, which simply was not true. He physically forced the people sat in the front two seats to wear theirs as apparently he was responsible as those seats were in his line of vision and "if a Policeman gets on and sees you're not wearing them, I get an £80 fine and so do you!"

Quite what he'd make of Stagecoach in Bedford's new Volvo B9Rs for use on Service X5 (Cambridge-Oxford) that do not have seat belts fitted to any seats except the front one on each side, is anyone's guess.

45 of the 49 seats on this coach have no seatbelts fitted and the coach was only built in January!

We were then all treated to a personal story of his about how he knows the law and wasn't happy with the attitude of an employee of BT who was doing work at his house and so escorted him off the premises and is in consultation with his Uncle Alan, who's a barrister, hoping to seek some sort of financial compensation. Knowing the dubious rights that strangers have in our own homes, I remember chuckling to myself that the BT employee probably had more of a case for action to be taken - but I wonder if British Telecom has an Uncle Alan??

The coach was spotlessly clean and driven well in both directions but all four drivers that I came into contact with during my return trip (drivers changed over in both directions at Mansfield). There was a fairly negative article in March's BUSES magazine about the recent journeys the article writer had undertaken on board NX coaches, and my journey represented excellent value for money and it also introduced me to the wonderful world of driver announcements.

It's worth pointing out that the expected transfer of Stagecoach in Mansfield's National Express contract to neighbouring Chesterfield depot has not taken place. Initially, when Stagecoach in Yorkshire moved its NX diagrams from Barnsley to Chesterfield, those at Mansfield were also to move there, too. This hasn't happened to date, though I saw a couple of former Barnsley-based NX vehicles baring Chesterfield Transport legals, so I presume this move has occurred. (CW)

Felix NOT the cat

It's a sad day for one of the Midlands' longest-established independent bus and coach operators, Felix of Ilkeston, who has been forced to remove the black cat image from the sides of its vehicles following the threat of legal action.

Founded in 1922, the family-owned business has been using the black cat figure in tandem with its fleet name for the last decade; in fact, it was as a result of the company's name that the erstwhile Ilkeston-Derby service was renamed from Service 12 to the Black Cat. Not being one to shy away from a unique bus route name like this, Trent Buses came on board, happily re-branding all its buses with the same name.


Two years ago, Felix received notification from USA-based Felix the Cat Creations Inc. stating that they were using a cat design identical to that which they have copyright of. This saw the black cat figure be modified so that it bore little resemblance to the original, but it was quite obviously still a black cat. It is this modified black cat figure that can be seen on the sides of the model of one company's Iveco/Plaxton coaches.

During January, the company revealed that it was contacted again by Felix the Cat Creations Inc., this time threatening legal action if they did not remove the cat emblem from all its vehicles and publicity. The US multi-national asserted that it owns the world copyright and trade mark for *any* feline image used with the name Felix.


In a small piece featured in this month's BUSES, Felix's manager Ian Middupp explained that while Felix Inc. has not provided any information to back-up its claim, the company does not have the resources to fight the case in court, so has - begrudgingly - removed all signs of the black cat figure from all its fleet and publicity.

This seems to have extended to its website, where a gold letter F seems to be the replacement emblem for the black cat.

The new-style Felix fleet name, using the 'F' rather than a black cat

As for the Black Cat bus route, Felix continue to use same figure as that used by Trent Barton, though with the Felix fleet name at the very front of the bus, nowhere near the figure itself.

Both Felix & Trent Barton use this black cat figure on their jointly-operated Black Cat service, though Felix face legal action if they place it next to their fleet name as it constitutes a 'feline figure'.

In an interesting move, Felix has recently painted their low-floor Scania L94/Wright bus allocated to their other joint service with Trent Barton, the Ilkeston Flyer, in the same livery as the latter - something Trent Barton have done with other operators in the past; most intriguingly though, Felix has allowed the Trent Barton bow emblem to be recreated on its vehicles.

Trent Barton's bow emblem - resembling that of something Robin Hood would have used, had he not been a mythical being - is clearly on display here, stuck to the side of the Scania Felix allocate to their joint Ilkeston Flyer service.

It seems a little ironic that, presumably as a result of the terms of Trent Barton's Ilkeston Flyer livery, any copy needs to be identical - including a trade mark bow emblem of another company, and yet woe betide anyone who places *any* feline image used alongside the word Felix. (GL)

£3mil a year to get rid of Bendies

Transport for London (TfL) last week finally revealed the annual cost to Londoners for the replacement of the capital's articulated bus fleet with that of the new generation Routemaster and standard low-floor deckers - a cool £3 million.

And remember, this is £3 million a year, every year - a sum in excess of many local authorities' annual transport budgets! The figure has been based on the costings for replacing the first three bendy-bus routes with conventional low-floor double-deck operation and the increase in buses and drivers needed to plug the capacity shortfall that a like-for-like swap of vehicles would create.

Taking one of London's most frequent bus services, and also one of the initial trio for conversion, Service 38 (Victoria-Clapton Pond) as an example, the current peak vehicle requirement (PVR) for the service is 47 artics, while from the first day of 'normal' bus operation, it will increase by a whopping 25 deckers to 72. Had the bendies been retained on that route, Arriva - the route's operator - would have been paid around £13 million per year, but with the new requirement, TfL is to pay £15.8 million to Arriva - an increase of £2.8 million for that route alone.


Two other routes are to be converted from articulated to rigid operation: Go-Ahead's London General-operated Red Arrow Services 507 & 521 within central London Zone 1. Taking each route separately, Service 507 is to be awarded £3.2 million p/a for its new deckers - a £1.2 million increased had the route continued to be operated using the existing bendies; Service 521 is to be awarded £3.2 million or £2.9 million with existing vehicles. Both Red Arrow routes' PVR is combined, rising by 19 from 28 to 47 vehicles.


The other concern is the negative impact on the environment these additional vehicles will have - 44 additional buses on London's streets for three routes alone as a result of Mayor Boris Johnson's controversial manifesto pledge. TfL has admitted that it doesn't know precisely how detrimental the increase of vehicles will be to the environment, though claim that with the modern Euro 4-rated engine fitted to a rigid decker the impact would be 'small' compared to that of a Euro 3-rated engine fitted to a bendy-bus. That would also assume a like-for-life replication, which quite clearly isn't the case at all. (GL)

An unexpected investigation

Last Thursday saw a shock announcement by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) that astonished the bus industry: it plans to undertake a full investigation into local bus services.

The catalyst for the investigation, says the OFT, is the recent spate of take-overs and mergers that have involved the 'big five' operators in the UK and details of whether or not this has been detrimental to the public will be examined and reported on.

Bullocks sold to Stagecoach last year, ending competition along Manchester's Wilmslow Road Corridor - a route regarded as a flagship example of privatisation, but have passengers lost out?

Many of those within the industry feel that such an investigation at a time when the UK's economy is facing a recession that looks likely to be the worst in a generation is incredibly bad timing and that had it not been for the 'big five' to make the moves they did in the current climate, the operations they purchased would have folded, leaving passengers in those areas of the UK with potentially no bus service whatsoever.

They said they'd never sell, but they did, and to their competitor, too. But will passengers benefit from Stagecoach's advance into the city of Preston now that it owns PrestonBus?

The OFT - never shy at making unpopular decisions - says that right now, March 2009, around 66% of the bus industry is operated by the 'big five' - Stagecoach, National Express, First, Go-Ahead & Arriva - and that the industry has not been so monopolised since privatisation in the mid-to-late 80s.

Working with local authorities, bus operators and the government, the OFT inquiry will look at:

• Whether or not there is competition between operators bidding for contracts
• If the concentration of the market has had a positive impact on passengers and the prices they pay to travel and the level of service they receive

Rather awkwardly for one of the 'big five', Arriva, the report was announced at the same time it revealed a 30% increase in pre-tax profits, to £150 million - though slightly less than had been expected.

Arriva paid KMP to end its competing service in North Wales, but did passengers benefit by their actions?

The OFT's Chief Executive, John Fingleton, said "The OFT receives regular complaints about bus prices, service levels and a perceived lack of competition between companies bidding for tenders. At the same time many claim that even where there is competition it has failed to deliver improvements in local bus services. The study will test these issues against the available evidence.

Perhaps the most controversial acquisition of the past year was that of Cavendish Renown by Stagecoach, only for them to signal their intention to close the business down, allowing their neighbouring operator, and recent purchase Eastbourne Buses, room to expand - but will passengers benefit?

I suspect that, so long at the industry's house is in order and that they really are weathering the recession while acting honorably, professionally and legally, they have nothing to worry about. If the OFT, like many companies up and down the land, can see the possibility of a cut in its workforce, the announcement of such a study will certainly alleviate it from happening for now... (GL)

The West Highland Line

Last month, during my short stay in the northern Scotland, not only did I venture to the Far North but to the Western Coast, using the West Highland Line to travel between Fort William to the line's terminus at the Scottish fishing port of Mallaig.


The day had not got off to a particularly spectacular start, when a generic un-branded, Stagecoach-liveried Volvo B10M/Jonckheere pulled up to the stance in Inverness bus station, working Scottish Citylink Service 919 to Fort William. With no toilet, air conditioning or reclining seats, the premium fare paid (as opposed to the fares Stagecoach would normally charge on routes where this vehicle would normally be deployed) left a bitter after-taste in my mouth.

And of course in Fort William, upon our arrival, it was raining. I've been to Fort Bill on three occasions, and on each the heavens have opened and I've found myself dodging rain drops to take photos. That said, the sky was looking fairly bright in the distance and the mist was starting to lift a little. I was hoping for a reasonably good day, weather-wise, as I'd read an online report by the BBC claiming that the line on which I was about to travel could be described as one of the 'Top 10 Railway Journeys in the World". M'colleague, who's travelled on the line numerous times, said that the BBC's labelling of the route was a little far-fetched, but that the journey was very impressive indeed.

The highlight of the trip is the stunning Glenfinnan Viaduct, a 100ft-high stricture, built between 1897-1901, which tightly curves as it passes over the head of Loch Shiel and the monument to Bonnie Prince Charlie, who landed here. The viaduct was used in the second Harry Potter movie (the Chamber of Secrets) and is the first of its kind to be build using purely concrete, featuring 21 arches and built by Sir Robert McAlpine.

A second shot of the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Both shots turned out well considering the 'light monsoon' conditions

The route sees Class 156 operation by First ScotRail, though in the summer a daily steam-hauled service operated between Fort William and Mallaig called 'The Jacobite'. Operated by the West Coast Railway Company, 'The Jacobite' is the only scheduled steam-operated service on the National Rail network. The fare was very cheap indeed, costing a mere £11.60 return.

156457 was our train in both directions. First ScotRail use Class 156s on the West Highland Line

I've seen reports claiming that Mallaig is a "bustling fishing port"; it most certainly was not when we visited. As the train came to a halt, the thirty-or-so passengers alighted and seemingly disappeared into the scenery. The train crew secured the unit and they disappeared, too. Within 5 minutes of the train coming to a halt, there was complete silence everywhere. No pubs were open, the local Co-operative was deserted, there was no one working in the harbour. It was quite an eerie feeling!

So quiet was our stay in Mallaig, that the most newsworthy event was when I went to withdraw some cash from the hole-in-the-wall only to find that the ten-pound notes depicted the Glenfinnan Viaduct on them.

Mallaig is very much the end of the line, well, on a cold, wet February day!

As we had a little over two hours before our train left to return us the the relative metropolis of Fort William, we made the decision to have a wander around the harbour. The rain was steadily becoming heavier, making the use of my camera a little tricky to say the least. From the vantage point to the north, where we climbed, you can - on a good day, apparently - see the nearest islands to the mainland, Eigg & Rum.

On a clear day, where the sea meets the mirk, you can see the small islands of Eigg and Muck from here

A curiously-named station along the route is Lock Eil Outward Bound. It's quite a new station, too, opening in 1985. I later learned that it was named after the nearby Outward Bound (outdoor educational) centre that it was built to serve. Trains stop here in both directions, not only the one, as its name could lead you to believe.

On a good day then undoubtedly the line could prove far more picturesque than it did when we visited. It's certainly one of, if not the best line in the British Isles for spectacular scenery - something pretty evident even on a wet, dark day in February. On a personal note, this was the last stretch of line in the Highlands that I needed to cover before ticking the 'done' box. In many ways it formed the highlight of my rail travels in this part of the country. (GL)

A novel way to sell your business

Actually, 'novel' could well be the wrong term! If Lothian Buses, the UK's largest council-owned bus company, chooses to sell some of its old buses over the Internet, it's a move that's surely to catch on!

A total of 20 buses have been sold using 'tinterweb', with selling prices ranging between £7,500 - £19,000, netting the company a total of £273,891, with the vehicles all being sold in working condition to other bus operators around the country.

Receiving over a quarter of a million pounds for twenty old vehicles is certainly an impressive amount. The use of the Internet and the way in which bus operators weild its potential differ massively from company to company.


The image-savvy such as Trent Barton and Southern Vectis (both having relatively recently been 'Best Impressionised') have started to use sections of the Internet that have previously been no-go areas for operators. Trent Barton commenced a Facebook group for its Red Arrow coach service, while Southern Vectis keep a blog of developments there.


Most sizeable operators, and a fair few smaller ones, offer and maintain a website, with details of timetables, fares, fleet news etc, but not a lot more. Could the currently novel antics of very few operators become the norm in a few years' time? (GWB)