New Transit unveiled

Returning from the LEYTR Top 'n' Tail jaunt yesterday, I found a copy of the launch issue of New Transit awaiting my inspection. It's smaller, it's produced less frequently, it contains no news whatsoever and is now packed with full-page adverts. Perhaps in readiness for the change in format, the price was increased by 21% at the start of the year, too.

On paper, then, if you'll pardon the pun, things weren't looking in New Transit's favour.

New Transit issue 001 contains 74 pages; its predecessor contained anything between 24 and 28 pages. Therefore the amount printed has more than doubled now New Transit has reduced in frequency from fortnightly. But what exactly has "more than doubled"?

It's certainly not news stories since New Transit is a "different animal" now and chooses to bring its members up-to-date news stories through its exclusive online TransportXtra.com site. Looking at the penultimate [old] Transit, issue 361, published on 1 May 2009, there were 34 news items. This hasn't been "more than doubled" to, say, 75; there are now none. Issue 361 carried 25 adverts, excluding tenders and recruitment; New Transit carries 38 adverts so proportionately the amount of advertising appears to have actually reduced. The adverts that are carried now though generally take up a full page each, giving the appearance that New Transit is now heavily reliant upon advertising revenues.

What has bulked each edition up the most is pretty obvious. It is the inclusion of huge photos within articles; huge pie-charts; huge centre-spread shots of what a Crossrail building site looks like and a contents page that is more than double the size it used to be.

The only consolation is that a special introductory offer is being made at £80 for a year's subscription (12 issues now, remember, not 26) and unlimited access for one account-holder to the TransportXtra.com website. This is still more than a subscription to [old] Transit up to last December.

Now let's turn to TransportXtra.com. The exclusive website, run by Landor's main company, Local Transport Today, contains the "whole Transit archive of news stories". Does this extend back to when Transit was first formed, in the late-90s? Not quite. August 2005 is as far back as Transit's archive extends. What about 8 years prior to this? Why state that full access to your archive is possible through TransportXtra.com when your full archive is not what you'd ordinarily understand it to be?

And where is John Nelson and his infamous Nelson's Column? This used to be a great read.

New Transit has a per issue price tag now: £4.95. Incredibly, this gives the impression that a year's membership (12 issues) through individual payment is only £59.40 - not the massive £95 standard fee, and £20.60 less than the special introductory offer. New Transit will say that the extra pays for the upkeep of TransportXtra, but with around 2-3 posts per day by Transit staff (all the other news stories are links to external sites, i.e. nothing to do with New Transit) there are far better sources of information if you want links to other media sources; the best of which is almost certainly TransportInfo.org.uk.

New Transit has been sent out to 5,000 addresses throughout the UK. You could be forgiven for thinking that, if you take New Transit, you're one of 5,000 similar-minded people. You're not. I've read elsewhere that the old Transit's membership was nowhere near that amount, nowhere near indeed. Perhaps this was the catalyst to revamp the production and to make it a "different animal".

How about they offer a year's magazine-only subscription for £59.40? They must have thought it through, after agreeing on a cover price per issue, and chosen not to do so. New Transit's remit isn't as broad as their bus counterparts (routeone and CBW) and rail contemporaries (RAIL, Today's Railway UK, The Railway Magazine) and consequently they suffer in terms of revenue generated through adverts: generally only senior management positions are advertised, not the plethora of lower-ranking positions on offer in the other magazines (listed above). Taking the news section away has only alienated New Transit further. It's bold. It's a gamble. It's very risky. (GL)

LEYTR's Top 'n' Tail part 2

Click here to read Part 1.

Day 2 - Sunday 21 June 2009

Day 2 dawned for us somewhere along the M1, as we headed north to the temporary coach stop near Milton Keynes, at which all National Express coach services are calling while their dedicated Coachway undergoes refurbishment. Timings aboard Service 588 seemed a little tight: we left VCS punctually and didn't stop once until Milton Keynes and yet were 5 minutes late! From here we progressed north, leaving the M1 for the M6 and had our first break of the journey at Keele Services just after 2am.

30 minutes later we departed, and followed the M6 through Greater Manchester and Lancashire to our first official stop since Milkton Keynes: Penrith. We were a minute or two late here but it didn't seem to phase our drivers. We didn't stop then until Glasgow, where we were timed to arrive at 0715 and depart fifteen minutes later. In actual fact, we both arrived and departed at 0730. Megabus give a straight 8 hours travelling time on its direct, overnight London-Glasgow services; NX offer 30 minutes more and yet call via Golders Green, Penrith and Lockerbie.

11.33am at Inverness bus station. Our driver unloads everyone's luggage in glorious sunshine.

As we were leaving Glasgow, one of our driving duo alighted with his overnight bag; we presumed he lived nearby and would walk the rest of the way home. Our second driver took us about 10 miles up the road towards Stirling before pulling off the motorway and onto a bridge to swap drivers with a chap who'd come from the Bruce's depot by red van. We continued northbound, passing through Stirling and Perth and onto the picturesque section of the A9 towards Inverness.

By now there were only 10 people on the coach and we all reflected on what an enjoyable journey it had been. There had been no problems with any of the passengers, the drivers had been great, their announcements pretty good, the coach comfort very impressive and the spaciousness resultant in the additional leg room was terrific. Fares appear to start at £22 single if booked online and while Megabus offers some of its seats for £1, they're incredibly difficult to find on its equivalent services - plus a change of coach at Edinburgh is required, the leg room is worse and you never know what type of vehicle is going to transport you over 500 miles.

The additional leg room that passengers aboard NX's Anglo-Scottish Scania/Levantes have. Very nice.

We all agreed that National Express definitely still have the edge on Anglo-Scottish coach journeys, especially those taking place overnight. Would they operate them the way they now do had Megabus not come along as a wake-up call? That's another question!

We arrived in Inverness 2 minutes early at 1133 and after some nice shots of our home for the past 12.5 hours, we headed to the city's Wetherspoons. From within, we devoured three very large all-day breakfasts and quaffed a fair amount of liquid. It was soon time to let it all settle while we travelled for a relatively short 3:15 journey to Wick, curtest of Stagecoach' Service X99.

I've travelled aboard this new-ish service on three occasions now and have noted alterations to its operation since last November. Initially, brand-new Volvo B7Rs were used, though due to there being no toilets on board (an end-to-end Thurso-Inverness journey is around 4 hours), they were replaced with ageing Scottish Citylink-liveried Volvo B10Ms. Today's 1415 departure was formed by a Scottish Citylink-liveried Volvo B12B/Plaxton Paragon. Equipped with climate control, 53102 (SV08 GXN) was a much welcome sight. Very similar to our 2005 Railrover, the temperature was starting to rise and, despite heading to the Far North, there's nothing worse than sitting in your own juices aboard a badly ventilated coach.

Off we go again: time for a 3:15 journey to Wick aboard this Stagecoach in Caithness (Thurso depot) vehicle - not that you'd know it from the livery of another operator it displays.

Our service was the only one on a Sunday that extends to Scrabster, where passengers can catch a ferry to the Orkneys and Shetland. I was pretty sure that the 35 passengers on board weren't all going to the very end, with a few alighting en route, and around 25 remaining as we approached Wick. The X99 has been re-numbered since the summer timetable was introduced last month. Initially numbered 25X, this service now only operates 'shorts' to Tain; the extensions northbound are all numbered X99, probably to distinguish the journeys better. On a Sunday, the X99/25X timetable is a seven-vehicle working, with Thurso providing 3 coaches and Tain depot 4. Ours was a Thurso working.

The route between Inverness and Wick is completely different by road to that by rail. The road (A9) stays close to the coast, whereas the railway meanders inland for much for the furthest section north. We arrived in Wick punctually and made our way to our overnight accommodation.

We'd booked rooms in a Wick b+b and one in Penzance. We were to have two overnighters, thus keeping the b+b bill down. Our Wick establishment was a 10 minute walk from the town centre, during which we passed the shortest street in the world, Ebenezer Place. Despite a road sign pointing us in this direction, and naming the No. 1 Bistro that occupies the only property along said street, it wasn't immediately noticeable to us. See what you think:


By sheer fluke, we'd booked to be in the second-most northerly town on the mainland on the longest day of the year. Tonight's official lighting-up time, according to a local Wick paper, was 2223. In actual fact, we staggered home from the country's most northerly Wetherspoons (I've made many a visit to The Alexander Bain in the past couple of years) at 2300hrs and it wasn't what you'd call especially dark then!

Tomorrow though, Day 3, would see this merry prelude end and the main journey commence: John o' Groats to Land's End in 31 hours and 5 minutes, being undertaking as quickly and as cheaply as possible by public transport.

Following the final part being uploaded, the entire Top 'n' Tail jaunt will be published on the LEYTRavels blog.

Would you go this far?

Around 800 British Airways (BA) workers have chosen to work without being paid to help their employer save an estimated £10 million this year. Their altruistic actions have come about after BA claimed that it was "fighting for its survival" at the start of the month, when its Chief Executive Willie Walsh announced that it could have to make sweeping and wholesale redundancies in addition to making cut-backs to its services unless substantial savings could be made.


The airline has suffered a drastic decline in its financial fortunes in the past 12 months with a record £401m pre-tax loss in the year to the end of March from a record profit of £922m a year earlier in the worst slump in its history.

There's one school of thought that suggests BA has been very bold in approaching its workforce with a cards-on-the-table attitude. Their candidness over the financial hurdles the company faces was laid bare for all their employees to see - from pilots to terminal cleaners.

Leading from the top, Walsh and his directors said - prior to any agreement being reached by the workforce at large - that they would forgo their salaries for one month. In total, around 8,000 BA workers have chosen to not be paid in some form or other. The vast majority - around 7,000 - have opted for unpaid periods of leave or to reduce their full-time hours to part-time for a month.

Willie Walsh will be working for free during July, forgoing one-twelth of his £743,000 annual salary.

As you can imagine, BA bosses are overwhelmed at the prospect of making an estimated *temporary* saving of £10 million, though there is a fair amount of fall-out to consider!

First is the response from the trade union - Unite, who said that they "support [any] means to mitigate redundancy", but were critical about how workers had been approached about giving up their pay for a month: "Workers were sent intimidating e-mails from senior managers, which we believe put pressure on staff to volunteer for one of the changes BA proposed – otherwise they would get a meeting with a manager,” said Steve Turner, national officer for Unite.

Of those choosing to directly work for nothing (800), this represents - we understand - only 2% of the entire BA workforce. The issue was raised on last week's Question Time on BBC1. Esther Rantzen (for it was she!) quite rightly voiced concerns about those who've chosen to work for free being given favouritism over subsequent promotions. I'm not saying for one moment that BA would do this, but in our experiences, there are large organisations in the transport sector that would - most definitely! (Sad but true - Eds.)


The other point that needs raising is the gap between the amount Mr Walsh earns (£743,000 p/a) and that of a check-in desk worker (£21,000 p/a). Giving up one month's salary would affect Mr Walsh's standard of living not one jot, unlike virtually everyone who earns less than £30,000 p/a. Perhaps a better option would have been for BA's directors to work for free during July and August and for their employees to work for nothing for one week?

Despite the £10mil saving, BA has already forecast a second consecutive loss for the current financial year to next March and is still cutting hundreds of jobs.They are presently locked into discussions with cabin crew about permanent alterations to their pay and conditions. This can only anger their workforce. While 800 employees have chosen to work for nothing, perhaps referring to it in context as only 2% of BA workers gives a clearer perspective of exactly how many have chosen to assist their still incredibly wealth plc! (CW)

LEYTR's Top 'n' Tail part 1

It had been in the pipeline for some months; a trip linking the two extremities on mainland Britain: John o' Groats to Land's End. But how to do it in our own, special, inimitable way? What was to be the LEYTR crutch? Researching the possible journey options for the greatest dissection of our island possible soon presented the 'angle' we would take:

John o' Groats to Land's End in a manner befitting the current financial downturn, i.e. as cheaply as possible. Time away from our respective employers and offices meant that a caveat was additionally placed upon our strapline: speed. Consequently, the LEYTR Top 'n' Tail jaunt would be done as cheaply and as quickly as possible.

One thing that specifically struck me about other people's John o' Groats to Land's End trips is that virtually all that have been written up only tell half the story. The publicised 874 mile trip forms only one part of a round-robin journey from the valiant traveller's home. He, she or they need to first get to whichever extremity they're to commence from and to then return home from its counterpart location. Our trip aims to cover all of this - with the to/from journeys being made in the same spirit as the main leg, i.e. as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

Day 1 - Saturday 20 June 2009

And so it was that I found myself at a friend's house in Lincoln. I'd travelled there the evening before so that both he and I could be correctly positioned for the day's initial journey, a trip to Scunthorpe by bus: a brand-new Scania/Enviro400 operated by Stagecoach in Lincolnshire to be precise. Service 100 only commenced operation in May 2006 and yet last month the hourly frequency outgrew the Alexander ALX300-bodied MANs that had been operating the route, being replaced with these new Enviro400s. The route forms part of Lincolnshire County Council's InterConnect network of services, which incidentally celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Brand-new Scania/Enviro400 seen in Scunthorpe, having worked the second northbound journey of the day.

We boarded 15507 (FX09 CZW) in Lincoln's City bus station, which formed the 0835 journey to Scunthorpe via Gainsborough. The Enviro400 body, while looking stylish and progressive from the outside, does not have an interior that emulates the same in my opinion. There's far too much rattling and banging for my liking - to think the bus is merely weeks old, too!! The ride comfort is okay though and the special InterConnect livery Stagecoach is starting to apply to its vehicles operating InterConnect services looks very striking (even if it does resemble a Cadbury's Cream Egg wrapper)!

The route is operated by Stagecoach's Gainsborough depot. Unlike Scunthorpe and Lincoln depots, Gainsborough has a few services that conform to the EC Drivers' Hours Regulation and so it made operational sense to take-back all diagrams in readiness for the new vehicles arriving (Lincoln depot did operate one diagram on the service).

We kept to time throughout on this relatively quiet Saturday morning and despite the sunny weather at all times, alighted in Scunthorpe to a heavy downpour.

While Stagecoach may be the dominant operator in Scunthorpe, small independant Hornsby can still be seen in the town, now operating four main service, some of which jointly with Stagecoach.

Our next service was another operated by Stagecoach - their recently improved Service 350, linking Scunthorpe-Barton on Humber-Hull and re-branded FastCat. The service had been hourly with East Yorkshire operating one of the three diagrams. Now, Stagecoach believe that patronage was such that it would double the frequency to half-hourly, though East Yorkshire did not increase their diagram, continuing to operate one vehicle (of the 6 now deployed) to similar timings as before. Stagecoach purchased some new MAN/Enviro300s and an agreed brand and livery was adopted. At the end of March, the FastCat was born.

The Humber FastCat can easily be spotted here. There are many references to cats in the branding and advertising.

The livery is pretty awful - sentiments we understand that are shared by Les Warneford, Stagecoach Bus MD, but you certainly can't argue that the bright orange livery with grey claw marks is striking. East Yorkshire has offered a dedicated vehicle to the route, a Volvo B7RLE/Wrightbus Eclipse Urban, and it too is painted in the orange FastCat livery. Unlike the old 350 timetable, it is now impossible to know which journeys are operated by each operator. Stagecoach's Hull depot now also operates journeys on the service, being allocated two diagrams. This has never occurred before, with Service 350 historically being a RoadCar service.

Stagecoach, EYMS and North Lincolnshire Council have joined forces to ensure publicity is visible at all stops. Every single bus stop flag along the route (even those at far-flung rural outposts) have FastCat-branded flags.

The old departure time was xx10 from Scunthorpe, with the new half-hourly departures at xx15 and xx45. We caught the 1145 and were pleasantly surprised at how quiet it was. A Saturday in Scunthorpe bus station isn't always the most enjoyable place to be, and with Hull being such a pull for youngsters in the area, I had prepared myself for a chav-fest aboard the bus. It was not to be. I suspect, though, that the xx15 departures past each hour would be busier on account of people not liking change and preferring to catch the journey most similar to that which operated before.

We wound our way along the A1077, diverting via Winterton and Wintringham until Barton on Humber. After passing through the town's market place, we called at the rail interchange. A Class 153 operates two-hourly from here to Cleethorpes via the Barton Line and Service 350's timings in both directions coincided with the arrival and departure times of the train. Now they do not. We understand, though, that a much greater connection time has been welcomed by the Friends of the Barton Line who believe that the old connection time (5 minutes) was too tight.

From here it was over the world's one-time longest single-span suspension bridge into the East Riding of Yorkshire (but not for long) before entering Hull.

This is the 'view' passengers have as they cross the second longest single-span suspension bridge in the world - the underside of the FastCat's contravision claw all over the window.

Stagecoach successfully bent the Humber Bridge Board's (HBB) arm into offering a discount to PCVs operating stage-carriage services across the Bridge. They did so only by threatening to completely withdraw the only direct service linking Grimsby and Hull though. There was much uncertainty for regular passengers on both sides of the Humber for many months until, eventually, a breakthrough was made in 2007. Very few operators object to paying a fee to cross the Humber Bridge, but most are angered at the difference in price a bus is made to pay over a car. Currently cars pay £2.70 and PCVs pay £10.60. We understand numerous operators wouldn't regularly object to the toll increase (forcing a public inquiry each time - at great cost to the HBB) if the fee a PCV paid was, at most, double that paid by a car. On other bridges throughout the UK, this is very often the case.

From Hull we sampled our first-ever trip aboard a Megabus vehicle from the city. A full write-up of this journey will appear in another media sometime soon.

Once in London, we visited the Montagu Pike Wetherspoons pub in Soho (two 2-course meals and drinks for under £20 in zone 1!) before taking a steady walk to Victoria train station where we would meet the third and final member of our trio. Once convened, we headed to the coach station for the 2300 Service 588 to Inverness.

Both m'colleague and I are big fans of Wetherspoons - here's one of the cheapest places to eat in central London, the Montagu Pike. This hostelry also acted as my local for a couple of years.

National Express officially measure this route to be 581.4 miles in length and it therefore makes it their second-longest coach service in the UK. With the equivalent journey by train equating to more than double the on-the-day fare NX offer (ironically it's NX who also calculate the train fare, too!), it fitted well within our remit. Bruce's Coaches operate the service now, taking over from Rapsons not long after Stagecoach purchased the group. Rapsons used 04-reg Volvo B12Ms with Jonckheere bodies; Bruces prefer VDL/Bovas, though on our journey a tri-axle Scania/Levante was working, with its rear-end adorned in a contravision blue cross, signifying the Scottish flag.

Bruce's Coaches' tri-axle Scania/Levante C53Ft - very comfortable thanks to the additional leg room. The coach is seen here at Keele Services, the first of two short stops en route to Inverness.

Normally, NX's tri-axle Levantes have 61 seats (the twin-axle versions have the standard 49 seats), though we were very impressed to see that Bruce's versions have only 53 seats yet measure 14.2m in length. Consequently, the leg room was very good indeed. We all commented well into the journey just how much difference a little more space makes a lengthy journey like this. We had two drivers who would between them take us to just beyond Glasgow, by which time it would be Sunday morning. Both work part-time for Bruces and one was ex. Stagecoach, implying he'd driven the service before, to which we understood to mean during Rapsons days. One even though he recognised yours truly. We had a brief discussion about whether this was fame or infamy. We never did get an answer!

At precisely 2300, FJ58 AKK departed. We had no one to board at Golders Green so headed off up the A41, by-passing Brent Cross, to the M1. (GL)

To be continued....

Following the final part being uploaded, the entire Top 'n' Tail jaunt will be published on the LEYTRavels blog.

Not in Service

The LEYTR Blog will be taking a short break. We're undertaking one of our longest-ever jaunts, dissecting mainland Britain with a journey from John o' Groats to Land's End in a manner befitting the current economic downturn. A full write-up will be made upon our return. Please check back next Friday.

In the mean time, don't forget the new series of Top Gear this Sunday evening on BBC2. Fans of the world's newest steam engine, Tornado, will want to take particular interest, as she features in one of the trio's epic (so-called) races from London to Scotland - a route the steam engine's ancestors knew well. (GL)

Free Metro travel?

New Transport Secretary Lord Andrew Adonis has told residents in Tyne & Wear that he will look into whether or not the funds allocated to free bus travel in England could also cover the Tyne & Wear Metro.

It's quite clearly not a bus, but residents in London can travel on the Croydon Tramlink and residents in Manchester can travel on their Metrolink; even City of Nottingham concessions travel free for the most part on NET, so why can't residents of Tyne & Wear on their completely nationalised light rail network?

Having admitted in the Lords that the amount central government gives to local councils to fund free bus travel is "huge", coming in at about a billion pounds a year, it could be that the Treasury will block any such move.

But do T&W residents get a bad deal as it is? Currently, anyone resident therein can travel for free after 0930 on weekdays on the Metro for £12 a year, through the purchase of a Gold Card. Even residents in Northumberland and Durham have the option of a £25 Gold Card that covers the Metro post-0930.

It is the north-east peer Baroness Lady Quin who has been asking for free travel to extend to the Metro. She was one of the main exponents of the existing free scheme that covers local bus services across the nation.

In a statement she made in the Second Chamber recently, Lady Quin said: "It was designed so that buses and Metro trains would operate in a complementary way to create a proper, unified system. Sadly, bus deregulation undermined this very greatly but, despite that, people in the conurbation still use a mixture of train and bus in their regular travelling. However, concessionary bus passes, unlike in London or Greater Manchester, cannot be used by local residents to travel free on the Metro system. I would like Tyne and Wear residents to benefit in the same way as those in the much larger Greater London and Greater Manchester areas.”

Agreeing to "consider further" what she said, Lord Adonis also commented that the total amount of money spent on bus services is now £2.5 billion, as if to suggest that this figure was already a little too high and that any further request would be turned down by his colleagues at the Treasury.

As for the Metro's Gold Card, around 80,000 are sold each year now. Card sales go back into front-line Nexus (Tyne & Wear ITA) services, including subsidised bus and rail services. Metro is still completely nationalised - one of the few-remaining light rail systems to be so. It may not be for long as we reported last year. That is another story.... (GL)

14 new train links identified

Just over a baker's dozen of large towns in the UK that are not currently connected to the national rail network, could - theoretically - become joined-up in the future after the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) identified cases for all of them to receive rail services.

The first stage of the identifications, contained in ATOC's report named Connecting Communities, is to safeguard all possible land along the projected routes and from this basis further consulation between the affected local authorities and Network Rail can take place.

Does 14 potentially new stations on the network seem an impressive number? The report actually undertook detailed investigations into the possible opening of lines to a total of 75 communities on mainland Britain, and whittled this number down to 14. It's important to note that this does not mean 14 new rail lines will necessarily be built; for the most-part, towns that could gain new stations are either already by-passed by existing lines or would require short spurs off an existing or disused line.

The 'nu Transit' gives a detailed list of these potentially new stations:

• Aldridge, W Mids
• Ashington, Northumberland
• Blyth, Northumberland
  
• Bordon, Hants
• Brixham, Devon
• Brownhills, W Mids
• Cranleigh, Surrey
• Fleetwood, Lancs
• Hythe, Hants
• Rawtensall, Lancs
  
• Ringwood, Hants
• Skelmersdale, Lancs
• Washington, Tyne & Wear
• Wisbech, Cambs
  
• And a stretch passing through Derbyshire, linking Leicester with Burton on Trent.
  

ATOC has attempted to cost each suggestion, with the values being as low as £3 million, though as high as just £90 million. It is also suggested that theoretically a start on the contruction of these links could take place within the next decade.

In addition, the report identifies 7 towns which could be served by new park and ride stations that could be built on existing lines, providing services for people living in Rushden (Northants), Peterlee (Co. Durham), Kenilworth (Warwicks), Ilkeston & Clay Cross (Derbys), Ossett (W Yorks) and Wantage (Oxon).

ATOC's Chief Executive Michael Roberts said: "Record passenger numbers and rising demand require us to plan for the long term, while climate change and population growth make it vital that in doing so, we adapt the rail network to meet tomorrow's needs. We have established that there is a strong business case for investment to bring a number of towns back onto the rail network. Now we need to safeguard these routes and develop the detailed case for investment."

But the Treasury has the final say, and while the Rail industry especially has Lord Adonis on their side, it's well known that Marsham Street does not like spending money on new rail ventures, especially when it's having its ear constantly bent over the benefits of paying for High Speed 2. (GL)

Green light for Altrincham tram upgrade

A £3.5 million package of upgrades to the Metrolink tram line linking central Manchester with Altrincham was given the go-ahead by the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) yesterday. This upgrade will cover the renovation of all tram stops en route and the transport interchange in Altrincham town centre.


Just under half the money (£1.5 million) will go towards new cctv, improved disabled access and better lighting. The make-over will also coincide with the new-look livery and corporate image Metrolink is planning on introducing over the next year or so: the dour grey and light turquoise being replaced by a more easy-on-the-eye yellow and silver. The new design was commissioned to be applied to the new-look trams that are due later in the year. All existing trams will be treated to the new livery, too.

The major works, forming the backbone of the £3.5 million upgrade plan will take place in August, when service along the entire line will be suspended to allow the replacement of worn-out overhead lines and to see connections built into the track for the forthcoming Metrolink network extensions.

In a further piece of work scheduled for the August closure, the track layout at Cornbrook will be extensively remodelled to accommodate the new MediaCityUK service and to provide greater operational flexibility and service availability. Replacement bus services will be provided while the line is closed, and a major information campaign will be launched next month to keep passengers up to date.

The upgrade forms part of a £600 million expansion of the Metrolink network, overseen by GMITA, which will see new lines built to Chorlton in South Manchester, MediaCityUK in Salford, Oldham and Rochdale, and Droylsden in Tameside. A new depot is also being built on land next to Trafford Bar Metrolink stop. (GWB)

If you're visiting Manchester and have a spare hour or two on your hands, we heartily recommend the Manchester Transport Museum. It's within 5 minutes walking distance from the Woodlands Road tram stop or catch a Bury-bound First bus, alighting at Queens Road and follow signs to the museum, nestled behind the First bus depot.

A shock for the morning cleaner

Southwark Coronor's Court heard on Friday how a passenger on the top deck of a London Central Service 36 bus was left dead for 6 hours overnight.

The incident happened on 19 January when the bus returned to its depot and the driver attempted to wake the now dead passenger, Mr Modzelewski, 25, of no fixed abode, to (obviously) no avail. The driver told the court that he'd forgotten to check on the passenger after cashing in, and went home, leaving the body on the top deck until he was found the following morning.

Pawel Modzelewski was seen boarding the bus in Queen's Park at around 0030 on 19 January and could be seen slumped over the seat in front 12 minutes later. The Coroner's narrative verdict was death by drink and drugs.

London Central did not comment on whether or not anyone from their company had been subject to disciplinary action. (CW)

Govia retain South Central

Well, not all shrewd punts turn out to be a wise decision; certainly, anyone who put money on NedRail taking the new South Central rail franchise from the incumbent Govia would have lost money.

On Wednesday, new Transport Secretary Lord Adonis awarded the new South Central contract to the Govia who are ostensibly operating the franchise now, albeit it under another name and with very minor alterations in remit. Govia - a joint venture between the Go-Ahead Group and Keolis - announced that it will retain its 'Southern' name for the franchise, which commences on 20 September until July 2015 - one of the shortest franchises ever awarded.

If the franchise fails to achieve its performance benchmarks the DfT has the option to terminate a year early in July 2014. Alternatively, the contract may be extended by up to 2 years to run until July 2017, subject to the following requirements being instigated:

• trains with 10 cars for suburban journeys with delivery starting in 2011 and being completed by 2013
• trains every 15 mins until 11pm Monday to Saturday and new late night services in South London on Friday and Saturday nights with most routes running trains until 1am
• more trains operating through South London on Sundays, with frequencies generally every 15 mins
• a new service to Southampton Airport
• additional late trains between London-Uckfield
• Brighton-Southampton to see an hourly service on Sundays
• additional late night Brighton-Worthing journeys

We understand that failure to implement all these minimum requirements is likely to see the franchise curtailed to the minimum time-frame as stated above.

Additionally, new ticket gates will be installed at 22 stations (on top of the 14 South London stations being gated prior to the franchise commencement) and almost all South London stations will be staffed from the first to last service of the day. There will be major refurbishments at Brighton, Haywards Heath, Hove, Lewes, Redhill, Three Bridges and Worthing stations.

At a time of financial uncertainty, and the prospect of some train franchises having to be handed back, the DfT has gone for a safe pair of hands in allowing Govia to continue operating the franchise. And who can blame them? ('Banshee')

Updating the Tube

While TfL has been refurbishing its Undeground network over the past few years, with the disastrous Metronet debacle and the effective collapse of the Public-Private Partnership scheme, spearheaded personally by our now prime minister, the Oxford Tube 24/7 coach service is seeing a completely new fleet of coaches worth £9 million for complete operation by the end of the summer.


What's probably one of the bus industry's worst-kept secrets was finally let out of the bag officially on Monday, as Stagecoach finally announced that it had secured an order for 26 new double-deck coaches, to be built by Van Hool at their factory in Belgium.

An artist's impression of the new Van Hool integral Astromega in Tube livery

The Van Hool integral Astromega vehicles cost £350,000 each and are virtually identical to 'decker coaches Stagecoach's State-side Coach USA division has ordered for its Megabus routes. They feature 87 seats, two staircases, two toilets, reclining seats, air conditioning, 240V sockets and wireless Internet. The coaches are also fitted with GPS tracking and cctv.

The new Van Hool Astromega 'deckers replace the current fleet of Neoplan N122/3Ls with the integral Skyliner body that entered service during the summer of 2004. Prior to that, the first double-deck coaches to operate the Oxford Tube had MAN 24.350 chassis and Jonckheere bodies, which entered service in July 1999.

The double-deck option is something that the Tube's competitor, City of Oxford Motor Service's Espress X90, has chosen not to follow. The X90 does not offer a 24/7 service every night and operates to a slightly lesser maximum frequency; the latter is broadly inconsequential since the Tube's claim of "coaches up to every 10 mins" is actually the gap between two specific coach departures in either direction on Saturday mornings. The Tube does offer an hourly through-the-night frequency, every night, unlike the X90. All possible fare and fare types are idential between the two services.

The X90 took the lead with 240V sockets back in 2005, with Stagecoach hurriedly adding them to its Neoplan Skyliners, hence why they look rather obvious and do not sit flush with the interior trim. The X90's cctv actually audio sound as well as visual.

While the interiors of the existing fleet haven't 'had it' they could do with refreshing

With regards to specification of the new Astromega 'deckers, they feature DAF EEV (Enhanced Environmental Vehicles) engines that actually go beyond the Euro 5 engine rating that comes into force at the end of the year. They have (and now we quote directly) "a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SRC) system that uses a constant feed of urea solution to destroy the harmful Nox, delivering a more efficient operation of the engine, reduced diesel consumption and lower running costs". We'd be interested to know the predicted mpg of one of these vehicles.

Covering 3.4 million miles annually, the existing fleet of Neoplan 'deckers is looking a little worn; exterior body panels are not given the same attention they once were, windows that have contravision adverts on them that have subsequently been replaced no longer have their relevant section of advert on them, making the rear-ends look very odd, the interior trim is very faded in places and the 240V sockets do not always work.

The rear of this Skyliner shows the lack of attention to detail - the chap plastered to the rear, saying how he doesn't miss his Lexus, has no feet!

The Tube is reportedly the most frequency coach service in Europe and Stagecoach naturally want to ensure the prestigiousness that comes with operating such a route is maintained and hence have chosen to spend around a third of a million pounds on each vehicle. They will continue to conform to legislation and accept 1 wheelchair user on board.

We look forward to travelling on them very soon! (GL)

May Review

There be 33 blog entries for the month of May...

1st: We kick the month off with some news of new MAN single deckers for Stagecoach in Lincolnshire and also an exclusive peak at the new bus depot for Skegness.

2nd: It's not good news for travellers wanting information at Lincoln Central station but if anyone's able to fight the rail passenger's corner it's this man, with his no-nonsense editorials.

3rd: One of London's smaller bus operators announces a name change; inspired by Transport Minister Adonis' recent rail blog, we blow the cobwebs off the LEYTR archive and detail the first part of something similar that we undertook 5 years ago and we bring the further news of the re-birth of the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway.

4th: We take a quick look at some of Lincolnshire's oldest buses that see regular service; detail part two of our All-lines Railrover jaunt and welcome news of the resurrection of a seasonal service linking two Lincolnshire coastal resorts.

6th: Saw is produce our review of news items covering April.

7th: We detail plans the DfT hope to implement that would see an overhaul of the current Free Concessionary Travel Scheme in England, specifically the way in which it's administered looks set to alter.

8th: Today sees the third part of our All-lines Railrover jaunt from 2005 be published.

11th: It's fair to say the news covering May was overshadowed by MPs' expenses scandals, so we have a look at some transport-related news items that would normally feature more prominently and post a fascinating video of an overground journey in London that mirrors the route taken by some Northern line Underground trains.

13th: Motorists generally despise speed cameras for one reason or another, so today's post had a fair response, it has to be said.

17th: Both Editors moved respective houses in May and so the four-day gap in blogging was unfortunate but realistically unavoidable. Normal service resumed today with a very funny mock-up of the rear-end of a double decker in Peterborough.

18th: Residents of Frinton on Sea fought a fierce battle to save the wooden railway gates that it saw as the guardian to the town, but under the cover of darkness recently, they lost.

19th: A new contributor, who's connected with the bus industry, brought us a world exclusive about electronic destination manufacturer, Bright Tech Developments.

20th: The fourth part of our 2005 All-lines Railrover jaunt was uploaded today (one further part to go).

22nd: The end is nigh for South West Trains 'slam door' electric multiple units on the Lymington Branch; we look at the Jurassic Line in more detail.

23rd: In a bid to pay off its rising debts, National Express sells its London bus business to The Netherlands' state-owned railway company, NedRail.

24th: The fifth and final part of the LEYTR 2005 All-lines Railrover jaunt was uploaded today. Those who wish to read all five parts in their entirety can do so on the LEYTRavels blog.

25th: We'd heard a whisper last month that a new bus company was being set-up in Nottingham and reported that in four days' time, the service would operate for free in readiness for its official launch at the start of June. We were also the first to post an historic photo of the first-ever East Midlands Trains-liveried HST to reach Skegness as well as posting an exclusive photo of the first-ever working of a new bus service in the town.

26th: Rail research findings were released that stated a few blindingly obvious things about what rail passengers expect to receive from their 'travel experience'. It's worth noting that while we were rather critical of this data, others in the industry welcomed it, hoping it would spur on those under-performing operators to provide just what the passengers ordered.

27th: ATOC released data confirming that the National Rail Network is running at its most punctual since records began; of course, not all is quite what it first seems... now

28th: We hear a whisper that the forthcoming new South Central rail franchise is effectively a done deal, with the DfT reportedly only entering into dialogue with one operator. The favourite is for existing operator Govia to retain the franchise, but then NedRail is seen as a shrewd punt!

29th: The EC approved a draft piece of legislation earlier in the month that sees bus and coach passengers receive the same rights as air travellers. We look at the implications should this become law here in the UK and reveal what one LEYTR operator would consider doing should it ever reach the statute book!

30th: An often forgotten tram network in the UK is that linking central Birmingham with Wolverhampton town centre. We celebrate the Midland Metro's 10th anniversary.

31st: Freak bus/coach fires are very uncommon, so when they do strike - and to a well-regarded operator - they make for very shocking images.

All change!

The post-holder wields so much power that they have the prestigiousness of being given the title of 6th most powerful person in transport and yet there have been five 'position vacants' since the last election.

Lord Andrew Adonis (left) is to succeed Geoff Hoon (right) as Secretary of State for Transport

Saturday saw the resignation of Geoff Hoon, the Transport Secretary (with no sign of a badge claiming he was a boat rocker - Eds). His successor is to be Lord Andrew Adonis, who currently occupies the role as Transport Minister.

Adonis has shown that he is willing to listen and to then champion such causes as electrification of some of the main rail lines and High-Speed Rail, so there could be signs of some sort of stability at the DfT in the short-term at least. But the first Transport Minister to keep a blog also said categorically that he would not serve under another administration.

Can you honestly see him, then, continuing as Transport Secretary after next May?

There'll be yet another alteration with Ms Villiers eager to get her hands on all things transport at Westminster. (GWB)

Still value for £1?

"If it doesn't stop, it'll keep up with the Megabus times" is a wonderful response by a Stagecoach employee in answer to a query about the top speed of an Enviro400-bodied Scania 'decker that's been deployed very regularly on Megabus services.

It got us thinking: for your £1 single fare on a Megabus service, would you consider it good value for money if you were forced to travel from Newcastle to central London (or vice versa) aboard what is quite clearly a double-decker bus, designed and purchased with the sole intent for use in a stop-start urban environment?

This is how it all started - a handful of ex Hong Kong Leyland Olympians were shipped here between 2003 and 2005 and immediately deployed on Megabus services. They had no proper luggage provision, initially no toilets and were built for people with the smaller Oriental build, so had very poor legroom

My first-ever trip on board a Megabus vehicle was in the late-spring of 2004 when, recouping from a stomach operation, I'd chosen to visit friends in London by public transport. That's not to say I'd normally drive down. On this particular occasion, the Megabus brand had recently seen its first major expanse from its founding roots between London-Oxford, with new services radiating from central London to a fair few places in the UK.

I ensured that I paid only £1 (plus the 50p booking fee) to travel between Birmingham Snow Hill and London Greenline Coach Station. I knew that the vehicles likely to be used on this particular service were ex Hong Kong Leyland Olympians, recently shipped here from the former British colony on what is regarded as a 'Souter whim'. The vehicles had a very low top speed, they had no luggage provision, had seats built with Chinese people in mind and so offered very poor legroom and while technically being classed as having seat backs with integral headrests, only benefited people under 5 feet tall.

Manchester depot was one of the most northerly depots (also Newcastle) to have a respectable fleet of these Hong Kong deckers. Seen here is an example still wearing its HK registration plate.

None of this bothered me while sat at home booking the ticket online. The potential for slight discomfort was overshadowed by the new Megabus venture. I mean, one pound to go from Birmingham to London!! A Stagecoach director once told me that it was "a typical Brian [Souter] thing" and that the ex Hong Kong Olympians were simply going to be "put in the mix" and "let's see what happens". It's fair to say that no one knew how they'd cope up and down the M1 and M6 or M40, undertaking three or four return trips a day.

I think it's also fair to say that Megabus probably wouldn't have happened if what is currently the EC's accepted proposals to introduce passenger rights legislation was in the offing back in 2003. How Stagecoach chooses to handle this should it become law will be interesting to see. 21,000 Euros compensation for a £1 fare, should a passenger be seriously injured, even if it's not the fault of the operator, is likely to have the Perth-based company a little uneasy at the prospect, as indeed will other operators who charge, say £1 for a short hop in an urban environment.

However, I digress. I travelled to Birmingham by National Express coach, and from my notes it was a 53-reg Volvo B12M/Plaxton Paragon, operated by First Devon & Cornwall's Barnstaple depot. Having walked the mile from Digbeth to Megabus' departure point at Snow Hill, I almost missed the service to London as a bog-standard Leamington depot Volvo Olympian/Alexander 'decker was loading passengers.

This is how it all started for me - a bog-standard Volvo Olympian/Alexander 'decker whose stomping ground is urban Leamington Spa. Similar to the ex HK Olys, this has no luggage provision, toilet or seats that permit a snooze - should I complain since all I paid was £1?

There were some immediate pluses: the bus was newer than the ex Hong Kong Olympians, according to the driver it would do "over 60mph", so faster than its HK equivalent and it was no worse in terms of luggage provision as it had none, too. Over the subsequent years, Stagecoach got to grips with this latter point and instructed its drivers to insist on passenger luggage being placed at the back, downstairs, with virtually all passengers shepherded up the stairs. On this occasion, in June 2004 (the service started on 1 March 2004) the route could still be described as being in its infancy and so there was what I could only describe as a free-for-all, with passengers scaling the stairs with suitcases-in-hand.

When on the top deck, what did they do with their boot luggage? The placed in either in the aisle, contravening PCV regulations or placed it on the seat next to them, thus cutting the vehicle's seating capacity by 50%.

The Volvo 'decker had proper bus seats, so the 3.5 hour journey became very uncomfortable as it was impossible to put your head back for a sleep. I was not impressed and immediately formed the opinion that "for my £1 I expect more than this!"

Was I right? Old Father Time and all that has made the journey seem less barbaric today than it did back then, but I still maintain that for any fee paid, there are 3 absolute basic standards that any bus or coach operating long-distance travel should adhere to.

• The provision of luggage - I'd consider a designated area adequate, not necessarily a boot
• The provision of seats with headrests - a long-distance journey will see many on board want to sleep
• The provision of an on-board toilet - toilet stops at motorway services see increased journey times and often I (and most others) just want to get to our destination(s)

Stagecoach chose to purchase some new Neoplan Skyliner 'decker coaches for Megabus in 2005, with further expansion necessitating additional vehicles. With their climate control, reclining seats, boot space and toilet, they were quite an improvement!

Initially, the ex HK Olympians satisfied only the first two points; latterly toilets were fitted to them. They were replaced by age-expired coaches Stagecoach operated on its National Express contracts from the end of 2005, with Volvo B10Ms from Rugby, Preston and Peterborough depots being dispersed nation-wide to 'up' the standard further.

Very occasionally though I've seen Stagecoach repeat the practice of my journey in June 2004 in which they allocate a bog-standard bus to a Megabus service. Once last year Worthing depot supplied a Transbus Dart SLF to operate the Portsmouth-London service and more recently - and the whole point of this entry - Enviro400 'deckers are being seen operating the Newcastle/Leeds-London service.

Yes, Newcastle/Leeds-London! This isn't a walk-in-the-park at a comparatively short 3 hour journey, this is a journey of at least 5 hours each way from Leeds (around 6.5 hours to/from Newcastle). Aboard a bus. A bus that can only keep to the Megabus timings if "it doesn't stop". It has no toilet and I presume it will be fitted with seatbelts, but don't want to accidentally find out the hard way by travelling on it! Below is what a Megabus driver said about its recent performance:

The 12.00 M12 London service Ex Leeds, is running about 50 minutes late as it has a Newcastle Enviro on it today. It may have to stop for a toilet break somewhere on its travels, thus delaying it further. The 13.00 M12 London service Ex Leeds is currently on time, having been turned around promptly at Leeds after arriving at 12.55, due to traffic delays on the M1 due to road accidents, on its route north from London. **No doubt the 13.00 service will overtake the Enviro.**

Here's what we're talking about, an Enviro400-bodied Scania based at Newcastle. With delays of around an hour reported on occasions these have been sent to London, is Stagecoach turning back the clock with these toilet-free buses with no luggage provision or high-back seats? With fares still starting at £1, can we really complain when something like this turns up with "London" on the front?

It's bad enough, having accepted that you'll have to travel aboard a bus that normally traverses the streets of Byker, but to then be effectively lapped at Milton Keynes by an air-conditioned Neoplan decker or tri-axle Volvo B12BT just takes the biscuit.

I appreciate the work Stagecoach has done in attracting new patronage through its low-cost inter-city bus travel brand, but 5 hours on an Enviro400 'decker is enough to put even students off. I was a student once and with National Express offering fares of a similar ilk - and with no booking fee - these outings are sure to only deter travellers from what has otherwise been a successful "typically Brian thing". (GL)

Photos: Stagecoach Manchester fotopic, Chris Martin, Ayrshire & Glasgow buses, Peter Barclay.

Mind the gap!

The Rail Safety Standard Board has recently released data for the rail industry covering 2008. The first paragraph starts "Against a backdrop of increased passenger numbers and freight traffic using the railways...." as if to justify statistics that were merely 'so-so' and not astoundingly improved.

However, to give the rail industry credit, most forms of accidents and deaths have reduced. A summary is given below:

• No passenger or workforce fatalities for the third year in 4. Note how this is different to the "third consecutive year" on account of the derailment of a Virgin Trains Class 390 'Pendolino' at Grayrigg on 23 February 2007 in which a female passenger died
• 70 accidental fatalities
• 422 major injuries
• 12,308 minor injuries (including shock and trauma)
  
• 47 potential high-risk train accidents (including signals past at danger (red))
• 5 passengers died at stations and in separate incidents (lowest ever - 4 struck by trains and 1 died after a fall on an escalator)
• 3 workers were killed on the railway
• 134 major workforce injuries
• 12 pedestrians died at level crossings (highest number since 1997)
• 2 occupants of road vehicles were killed at level crossings
• 209 suicides on railway premises
• 47 deaths through trespass
• 9% drop in assault crimes on members of the public since 2007
• 5% increase in 'harm from assaults on railway staff' - first increase since 2004
• 10 incidents of major injury (6 in 2007)
• Minor injuries fell for the 16th successive year

The fact the rail industry can accurately record and collate all these incidents is a testament to its operation. Nothing along this vein exists in the bus and coach industries.

As gruesome as it sounds, for around the past 40 years around 100 annual suicides take place on railway property, generally from a bridge or tunnel portal into the path of an oncoming train, giving the driver little or no chance to react. This number has recently risen by an incredible percentage to the 209 registered for 2008. It's something that needs to be addressed, but how? By what means can you prevent a person from driving to a remote road bridge in the Cotswolds intent on jumping off in front of a passing First Great Western (FGW) train?

Generally those committing suicide only 'hurt' themselves (with the exception of the incident in 2004 at Ufton where a FGW train was derailed as a result). It's not nice for the driver or the emergency services who, in many cases, have to physically scrape the remains off the rails.

Another area in need of attention is that of level crossing misuse. 2008 saw 14 deaths (12 pedestrians and two in a car). This does not show the exponential increase in near-misses. Alone, 12 is the highest number of deaths for over a decade. Clearly, fitting full barriers to all automatic, privately-owned and half-barrier crossings will do the trick, but it all comes down to money! (GWB)

Topical

Konect Bus appears to be the first to cash-in (pardon the pun) on the furore encompassing Westminster right now. On the day Hazel Blears handed in her resignation, it was only fitting that the LEYTR electronic mail bag was sent this:


I wouldn't be so sure. The list of shameful items claimed back thus far contains a 29p box of matches! And the monthly £9 monthly ticket on offer is £4 more than the Remembrance Day donation that an MP from Stoke tried to claim back.

In fairness though, it would be nice to see more MPs regularly using buses - and I understand they're legitimately able to reclaim the cost of public transport when on business. Us tax payers save in the long-run. (GL)

The best just got worse

Last month, 'Banshee' brought us a world exclusive. This month he brings us news that sees what we consider to be the best transport industry publication make a very disappointing decision about its product.

There are quite a few bus industry magazines on offer to operators and enthusiasts; some are free, others carry an annual fee that equates to a little over a pound per issue. All are distributed weekly. The rail industry has a couple of its own, plus magazines that tick both enthusiast and industry boxes - such as RAIL, and finally those produced for the mass enthusiast markets alone, such as BUSES and Railways Illustrated, to name but two.

Transit, however, is an industry publication that - as this blog so eloquently put it last year - emulates a broadsheet newspaper in both its physical appearance and content. It covers both heavy and light rail industries and that of the bus and coach. It is produced less frequently than its bus/coach counterparts, being fortnightly. The price is also more expensive, too - £95 p/a.


For those of us who operate our own bus or coach business, it really is the best publication to take; indeed, if you had money for only one magazine, in my opinion put your £95 to good use and opt for Landor Publishing's Transit.

However, in my opinion, the balance has just altered in favour of the other industry magazines. Transit - 6 months after its £17 p/a price rise - has been reduced to one edition per month and been re-named New Transit. A piece was carried in its last fortnightly edition (15 May) on the front page that brought the news to readers, though categorically no mention was made that New Transit would replace the current Transit and that the number of editions produced annually would be cut in half, with no equivalent drop in annual fee.

The LEYTR - like numerous subscribers - pay for private copies, or 'home subs' as opposed to bus and train operators whose subscription comes from their respective company coffers. It seems a very poor show to cut back publications by 50% with no physically notification stating this and to then offer no refund. A bitter after-taste is left when those long-term subscribers saw the price rise last December - perhaps in readiness for this drop in production?

Landor say that from hereon in, New Transit subscribers will be granted un-metered access to their online news website and archive, TransportXtra.com, which is updated daily. They've not said this but I expect it to be the case that the monthly New Transit magazines will be larger in size and contain more news stories and articles; whether this will be a moral 50% more is another question - I suspect not.

Personally, I am the first to read my company's copy, and I do so on the train to work. Another colleague reads the copy second-hand during his half-hour away from his desk. Many people who take an industry magazine do so to enable them to catch up with industry news when they want it, i.e. not having to do so at their computer screen in between each monthly publication. It is a step in the wrong direction and I cringe every time I read the 'press release' on the front page of the most recent Transit magazine that promotes the new venture with gusto aplenty.

Imagine if your local bus service increased your return fare to town by 21% and 6 months later cut the frequency in half. If you felt strongly enough about it you'd travel to work by some other means. Landor Publishing, however, have our cash - some companies (including mine) pay three-yearly - and have chosen to do precisely the analogy above. I've complained to them on behalf of my company and have received an extension to my company's subscription by a year. The LEYTR Editors have successfully received a free subscription to Landor's sister publication Local Transport Today.

If you're a Transit subscriber, and either do not know that your subscription is now for 50% fewer copies or are thinking about the best option for you, I suggest contacting Landor, making them aware how dissatisfied you are with their enforced cut in publication and to ask what they plan on doing about it. ('Banshee')