EasyBus expansion planned

What has been described as a 'virtual operator' by its chairman now looks set to become a more tangible operation following the acquisition of a small disused factory site in north London. Purchased at a cost of £2.27 million, easyBus chairman Stelios Haji-Ioannou announced that his company was now "big enough and old enough to do its own work.... We have applied for our own licence and need our own premises for that."

The first easyBus service launched on 13 September 2004, linking Baker Street in central London with Luton Airport using a fleet of minibuses and operated by Arriva The Shires. This was disbanded when cross-ticketing arrangements were secured with Arriva's Greenline Service 757, operating betwixt the same localities. A fleet of Mercedes-Benz Sprinters provided the second new easyBus service between London Victoria and Stansted Airport on 7 June 2007, and on 18 March 2008 the third new route commenced operation linking London Victoria with Gatwick Airport, operated by Arriva subsidiary New Enterprise Coaches of Tonbridge, utilising Optate Sorocos to a twenty-minute frequency.

Seen at their central London terminus on Buckingham Palace Road is a Greenline Service 757 wearing an overall livery/advert for easybus arriving from Luton Airport and an Optare Soroco minibus operated by New Enterprise Coaches loads, bound for Gatwick Airport.

Arriva operates all three services on easyBus' behalf. There are many advantages of this to an operator dipping its toe in the water. But profit return is limited. How Arriva secures payment from easyBus isn't fully known, though we've been told it is done on a franchise basis. With the downturn in the economy forcing people still able to holiday away from Britain to do so by low-cost airlines, easyBus' sights are now firmly set on Heathrow.

New Service EB4 could be running by Christmas, under the steam of parent company easyGroup, as opposed to Arriva. While the 'easy' brand covers all manner of items now from pizzas to hotels and men's products, aviation - easyJet - is still by far and away their most identifiable brand. Operating to/from airports is therefore a no-brainer for the company.

As a now very senior bus MD told me back in 1997, when he'd been awarded the 'top job' for a firm in Manchester, "there's no brass to be made from industrial estates and airports." If that were true, then why do coach operators run services from all over the UK to places like Luton and Stansted, not to mention Heathrow?

The mainstay of Service EB2 linking London Victoria with Stansted Airport are Mercedes-Benz Sprinters. Seen here is one such example, operated by Arriva The Shires.

National Express (NX) coaches do not offer their dirt-cheap Funfares to airports; they do not extend their winter special offers (£9 anywhere single) to/from airports; Megabus do not operate to any airports; and First's forthcoming Greyhound services choose to deliberately omit Heathrow. No, running buses and coaches to airports is a premium business. Services also have to operate well outside the 7am-7pm window. For Gatwick's first flights at 0600, international check-in needs to be by 0300 at the latest and operators need to timetable their coach arrivals by 0200 to allow sufficient leeway for delays.

How about economies of scale such as timetabling a service to call at two airports on the same journey, such as NX Service 230 (Mansfield-Heathrow-Gatwick)? Very good in principle, but it doesn't work to Luton and Stansted. You also need to be careful not to price your coach fare too high - passengers will ridicule you for charging more to travel from Bristol to Gatwick than from Gatwick to Prague! This is something the aviation lobby believe is in their favour and why high-speed rail won't properly take off (if you'll pardon the pun): some short-haul/internal flights cost from £10 single, inclusive of taxes; can HS2 compete knowing how expensive rail fares can be?

On the face of it though, the easyBus brand puts some of these issues to bed - they operate up to every 15 mins, 24/7 to/from Luton, thanks to the Greenline 757; but their Stansted and Gatwick services aren't 24/7 operation. They overcome the 'coach to airport cost more than the flight to Europe' situation by using a form of yield management, issuing fares from £2 single. But with no peaks and troughs associated with commuter services, they cannot be guaranteed of full vehicles, except perhaps around one or two popular flight departure times each day. Yield management does not offer the type of profit a set-in-stone fare table does with guranteed passenger numbers. Their Merc' Sprinters and Optare Sorocos cannot seat as many as a Veolia-operated Volvo B12B/Plaxton Panther that rules the NX 230.

Two brand-new Optare Soroco-bodied Mercedes minibuses pose for a shot. They were purchased new by Arriva's New Enterprise Coaches subsidiary to operate Service EB3 to Gatwick.

I've seen for myself the situation where people have been turned away at easyBus' Colonnades stop in Victoria; it's a frantic time as one half of the party travels and the other half anxiously awaits the next service - hoping there'll be room and that they don't arrive at Stansted too late!

Operating the services themselves though will give easyBus the ability to meet the demand required and to change various aspects if and when necessary. It must be a step in the right direction to this relative newcomer. Their main advantage over NX is that their airport services from central London only operate to that specific airport; NX's services all continue beyond Heathrow to the West Country or beyond Gatwick to Brighton - economies of scale again, yet still NX Funfares are not offed - which can cause problems with punctuality for passengers travelling into central London from these airports. A delay on the M5 in Cornwall can make the 2155 Heathrow-London Victoria run very late indeed!

We wish easyBus every success though. They made a steal on the north London property, purchasing it in a cash deal that was 35% below the asking price. Their brand is striking and fresh (no Best Impressions swirls you'll notice) and they offer a warts-and-all attitude to their public relations.

Ironically, the planned bus expansion has seen a revised livery applied to their fleet that indirectly promotes other airlines: now the message "whoever you fly with" has been added, to ensure travellers know that they don't have to catch the easyBus to catch the easyJet! (GL)

Both sides

Another reason why New Transit doesn't cut the mustard is the way in which it only publishes positive feedback for its transition from 'Old' Transit. Issue 002 had numerous letters - one in particular was a gushing example - all saying how wonderful it now is. Issue 003 carries as many 'feedbacks' at the foot of the letters page. Why don't they publish letters from those who aren't as enamoured by the changes? Unless every single letter received was in support of the move, offering praise aplenty? Hmmm.

P.S. Where's John Nelson and his infamous 'Nelson's Column'?

Network Rail's vision for HS2

On Wednesday, Network Rail (NR) announced its plan for the UK's second high-speed railway line (HS2). Following on from the growth of HS1 that links London with Paris and Brussels (and also Dover and Folkstone from next month), a line wholly within the confines of England and Scotland has been on the cards for some time.

NR's plan is more a long-term vision. It will cost £34 billion to build and will permit trains to travel at 200mph (faster than those running along HS1) and will see journey times between London and Scotland fall to a very impressive 2:09.

This is one of Network Rail's concept images. Similar to concept cars, there's a good chance it may never see the light of day. Could building a high-speed railway line suspended on stilts be the best way to enter Birmingham, Manchester, London, Glasgow and Edinburgh?

The route taken is that which NR sees as the 'best option'. The route is a new line between central London and Manchester, with a spur to/from Birmingham. North of Manchester the new line continues to Preston, with a spur to/from Warrington and Liverpool and then bifurcate to Glasgow and Edinburgh. The line is estimated, by NR, to generate value of £55 billion, i.e. considerably more than its construction cost.



Remember: the whole ethos of HS2 is that it will be a completely new railway, standalone from any other rail line that exists. The entire London-Manchester-Edinburgh/Glasgow line would be built from scratch.

"It's absolute bloody madness!" said a fairly well-known rail insider. We've delayed uploading news of NR's plan to get responses from out well-placed sources. Candidly this eminent individual continued: "If you thought - as you do - that Crossrail was a logistical nightmare, linking the eight new central London subterranean stations with the outside world, then imagine the complete and utter hell building an Anglo-Scottish high-speed line from scratch! Where would it go? How many court appeals over land purchases would there be? How many activists tying themselves to trees on the edge of the Peak District is there likely to be?"

"It's akin to building both the M6 and M8 from scratch without gradients and bends."

NR's chief executive Iain Coucher was naturally more upbeat: "High-speed rail can transform Britain. It can promote economic growth, regeneration and social inclusion. It is a low carbon option – cutting domestic flights and taking cars and lorries off the road. It will release capacity on the existing rail network and revolutionise passenger journeys. Demand for rail travel is growing and our main lines from the north to London are nearly full. By 2020 we will be turning away passengers – that’s not what we want. We need to start the planning now to meet future demand and the solution is a new high-speed railway to the Midlands, the North West and Scotland. The line has a sound business case that will pay for itself."



But passengers *will* be turned away though because the likelihood of the first sod being cut by 2020 is very unlikely. Are we being too hasty though? Nothing like this has ever been valued before. Lord Adonis set up the HS2 Company in the spring to report to him its favoured routeing and costings by the end of the year. NR have pre-empted this with their report. It is after all only their opinion. We should actually be grateful that a company has finally ut a price on the cost of HS2 to build at 1.8 times less than the projected revenue potential and benefits it will generate.

Journey times are as follows (projected/current):

London to:
Birmingham = 0:46/1:22 (115 miles)
Manchester = 1:06/2:07 (180 miles)
Liverpool = 1:23/2:08 (200 miles)
Edinburgh = 2:09/4:13 (375 miles)
Glasgow = 2:16/4:31 (380 miles)

There would be 4 trains per hour between London and Birmingham and Manchester (compared to 3 today along the West Coast Main Line); and 2 per hour between London and stations north of Manchester (compared to generally 1 per hour, with occasional gaps to Glasgow, now). Edinburgh sees an additional hourly service along the East Coast Main Line.

Let's roll the clocks forwards to 2040, the year HS2 could conceivably be up and running. Let's assume Network Rail still exists and that the plan they've outlined was adopted. What's to stop train operators doing precisely what Southeastern has done and to put punctuality (or more specifically, the fines associated with poor punctuality) ahead of the headline-grabbing figures for the line? Running trains at 140mph rather than 200mph from London to Glasgow really will increase the journey time. The mindset needs to change.

If we're going to build a new railway at a cost of around £34 billion, we need to ensure the way trains operate along its length are done so in keeping with the self-same ethos. (GL)

NR's Summary Brochure

NR's Strategic Business Report (140 pages pdf)

Bitter-sweet

The great news is that Southeastern's final Class 395 'Javelin' was delivered to the UK from Japan on 17 August. 395029 came as part of the final trio, with sisters 395027/8 in the same shipment. They all joined the full 29-strong fleet of Javelins at their new depot in Ashford, owned by Hitachi.

They're scheduled to all enter service to a full timetable on 11 December this year, though a preview timetable has been in operation since 29 June, recording punctuality figures of 99.1%! This is an absolute doddle though, since they only share their line with Eurostar trains, and even then have no cross-overs or interaction with other rail lines.

The bad news is that once in regular service, Southeastern has announced that it's instructing its drivers not to operate them to their 140mph maximum speed unless the train is running late. Virgin's Pendolinos were built to attain a similar top-speed, but are limited to 125mph on the West Coast Main Line due to this being the maximum speed permitted by Network Rail. Southeastern's Javelins are running along High Speed 1 - a line that has a permitted maximum line speed of 186mph (300kph), and has trains frequently running at this speed along it.

So why is Southeastern choosing to limit its would-be headline-grabbling high-speed trains to the traditional 125mph? A spokesman said that this is to give a reserve in case of late-running and that this is common practice on high-speed lines in other European countries.

The preview timetable is extended to see trains operate on the traditional Kent rail lines to Dover and Folkstone from September and with this comes the possibility of late-running, hence the 140mph being kept in reserve, in order to help maintain the excellent 99.1% punctuality figure.

Southeastern are playing this all a little too 'safe' for our liking. Crank them up to 140mph on every occasion and bring the journey times down, attract more business passengers, make more money and invest in more trains! That's what the rail industry should be doing. We don't want to put all our eggs into one basket with the proposed High Speed 2! It may never happen! (GL)

Retrenchment - NX style

"Am I dreaming?" I thought to myself during an ad break on tv last night. I stopped drying the pots and took more notice! No, I wasn't dreaming! National Express have actually paid for a second tv advert. They produced a fair few over the past couple of years on behalf of their arms-length rail franchises, though only ever had one make it to tv for their coach division.


This is the second in the latter's vein and it showed a family approaching a line of NX coaches parked up, each displaying a different destination. As the family grew ever-closer to the coaches, they all diverged, each boarding a different vehicle. The voice-over went along the lines of "There are so many great destinations to choose from that you wont know which one is best for the family."

The sooner October comes, and NX has its name removed from the East Coast franchise, the sooner the group can put its disastrous foray into this type of rail franchise behind it and concentrate on its two smaller operations - c2c, incidentally, is, for the first time since being operated by NX in September 2000, after it purchased Prism Rail, now being branded as National Express c2c. I'm sure NX are only all too aware that they ought to go back to basics for the next few years, subject to their all-out purchase, and put all their energies into what they do well.

Soon to go - the c2c logo that was developed in 2002, while continually owned by NX, is finally being removed in favour of corporatism.

With a cross-country Megabus expansion timetabled to commence at the start of October and First's Greyhound brand in direct competition along two London-South Coast corridors that Megabus doesn't seem too bothered about, there is a lot for NX to ponder; a lot for it to get its teeth into. I'm sure the end of the year can't come soon enough for the stricken group, when it can wipe the slate clean of its very much arms-length NXEC - and also wipe off just over £102 million in the process.

When NX do it well, they knock the spots off their coach competitors. They're the 179th world superbrand; they rely on tried and tested methods and techniques; are more than happy to stick to tradition, which in turn ensures loyalty from those of a certain age - and they don't deputise their scheduled coaches with Enviro400-bodied Scania 'deckers!

Yes, retrenchment is needed to gather their thoughts, take stock and to re-establish themselves. Choosing to get right out there in the coach business again, with what must be an incredibly expensive tv advert, is an excellent move. (CW)

Operation Smash Hit

RAIL's managing editor Nigel Harris managed to fill five pages recently with his memories of a day 25 years ago when, on 17 June 1984, when a Class 46 'Peak' was propelled at almost 100mph into a nuclear flask in a staged experiment by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CERB), to show just how secure the flask was and that the transportation of this highly-toxic substance by rail was safe.

As ever, Nigel's writing style is very fluid and passionate and it is a fascinating read. Reference is made at the end of the article to online links for video footage and conspiracy theories (yes, they existed back then, too!). We thought we'd have a snoop and see what is of interest.

First is the BBC's Six o' Clock news report on the evening of the crash. It is typically BBC - well-written and completely impartial.



Second is a more atmospheric version, which shows the crash in slow motion. Almost at the end, look at how spectators were permitted amongst the carnage - and none of them wore a hi-vis jacket!



Stills from the day can be viewed by clicking here.

More photos of the wreckage can be viewed by clicking here.

A 9 minute mini documentary, giving full details of why the crash took place is below:



Finally, what of the Peak involved? Well, 46009 was scrapped on site by Vic Berry's scrap merchant. It was to be scrapped anyway, and apparently broke down not long before she undertook her final voyage. A stand-by loco was on hand, though not needed in the event. 46009 was delivered as D146 during December 1961, built at Derby Works - delivered new to the nearby Derby depot. She was purchased by the Railway Technical Centre in 1984. Only 56 Class 46s were built. (GL)

EC Drivers' Hours Regulations

Even now, over 2 years after the amendments to the EC Drivers' Hours Regulations were implemented some drivers are still unaware of their obligations. Do you blame them though? The regulations are written in typical Sir Humphrey English, containing terms such as 'en bloc' and 'predisposed'.

Sure, there are organisations out there such as the Freight Transport Association and the Confederation of Passenger Transport who produce their own easy-read equivalents, which undoubtedly aid those in the industry get to grips with the technicalities of weekly rest periods etc, but more often than not, those gleaning the most from such publications are those based behind desks at the depot.


I found myself in an argument with a coach driver recently regarding the minimum driving breaks required during a maximum 4:30 driving stint. He believed wrongly that driving from 0740-0800 (0:20) and again from 0830-1240 (4:10) was illegal. The discussion ensured centred on what he believed to be 'continuous driving'. 0:20+4:10 = the maximum 4:30. The driver was of the opinion that he must cease driving at 1210 as this was 4:30 after he first started driving, at 0740, despite having only undertaken 4:10 driving. In which case, why take a 0:30 break at all? Explain as I might in the most basic of terms, he would not have it.

This is the exact opposite of a recently well-publicised case in which Welsh-based Ferris Holidays was fined £51,000 and seventeen of its drivers received fines totalling £8,325 for tachograph offences. A total of 50 tachograph offences were recorded, resulted in criminal charges being brought against the company in October last year.

Quite clearly, those in charge at Ferris have not taken the wrap for their drivers' tacho offences. Whether they were prepared to do so but not allowed to by the investigation authority, VOSA, is not known, though I suspect not. The buck stops firmly with the driver and it was this case to which my driver quoted while 'in dispute' over the driving period mentioned above.

However, this employee was mis-understanding the Regulations through excessive caution on his part; Ferris' drivers were doing so through either ignorance or malpractice, or both. Striking the common ground is not easy. Getting a straightforward 'yes' or 'no' from someone in authority is also increasingly difficult. I was offering a resounding 'yes' to a query, though the
driver wanted a 'no'. In my experience those in positions to offer definitive answers to the minutiae flagged up by drivers are not willing to do so because they themselves struggle to understand the Regulations.

Sure, the basics are known to all (max daily driving, min daily and weekly rest etc), but if a driver takes the time and effort to query some of the finer detail, how many people are able to do him justice by offering on-the-spot responses? I ended up with the bizarre situation of offering a categorical response only for the driver to question me.

One of the most complex situations to describe to drivers is the effect the Working Time Directive (WTD) has on EC Drivers' Hours Regulations. A timetabled driving spell from 1600-2030 (i.e. the maximum 4:30 permitted) is one thing, informing the employee that he may start to load passengers at 1545 is another. "No, it's illegal as I'm working!" That statement is half-right: he/she is working. Another response is "Well I'll do it under duress, but the tachograph mode switch will point to rest!" Now this is an offence under the Regulations. VOSA take a very dim view of drivers working while officially recording a rest period.


Add the WTD's 6 hours continuous working stint rule and, contained within, driving time totalling 4:30 easily fits. Upon arrival at the terminus of the route at 2030 it is perfectly legal to ask your driver to work until 2145, (provided he started 'work' (loading passengers) at 1545) though not drive until a 0:45 break has been taken (so additional driving is possible from 2115).

There are a growing number of operators in my area who I know full-well are losing touch with the Regulations and the way in which they monitor their drivers and their understanding of them. Driver CPC training is therefore an excellent move for smaller operators to consider. From next month you only have four years remaining to ensure all your drivers have passed 35 hours' worth of tuition else their vocational licenses are terminated. Very few operators local to me have chosen to start training their drivers in this way - the recession is overwhelmingly to blame.

An alternative, should a VOSA spot-check prove detrimental, is a £51k fine, a reduction in your O Licenses by 30% and drivers being fined by over £8k. Corporate Manslaughter is also a consideration should a fatal accident occur. I was never in favour of the Driver CPC, but as an employer it demonstrates that you are doing as much as you can to ensure your employees are as well-informed of the law as possible. ('Banshee')

Official EC Drivers' Hours Regulations (30 pages)

Thameslink upgrade - in Crossrail's shadow

Amidst the hoypoloi involved in the forthcoming Crossrail project, the largest peacetime railway infrastructure task ever undertaken, London is currently witnessing the transformation of its existing north-south railway, Thameslink in what is now the single-biggest enhancement programme on Network Rail's books.

First opened on 25 April 1988, the 140-mile railway line linked Bedford in the north with Brighton on the south coast. Thameslink effectively bridged the void across the Thames and thus Bedford services no longer terminated at Moorgate and Holborn Viaduct was no longer the start point for trains bound for the south coast. The long-distance Snow Hill tunnel (between Farringdon and Blackfriars) was re-opened, following its closure in the early 1970s, thus offering a link between the southern-most tip of the Midland Main Line and the northern-most point of the Brighton Main Line. Running services end-to-end took in 50 stations and offered many people direct trains to Gatwick Airport.

Class 317s and 319s are the mainstay of Thameslink services. Some were to be relieved from duty from March, but a delay by train manufacturer Bombardier in supplying new Class 377s meant these trains live on. All should disappear from 2015 when the Thameslink Project is complete.

By 1990, patronage had risen by a staggering 300%, making it the fastest-growing route in the country. This though caused the problem that has been the line's Achilles heel for the past decade: overcrowding.

Initially, eight-car Class 319s operated through the central London section at 8 per hour, with some additional services terminating in central London at either Blackfriars or Moorgate. A 'fundamental upgrade' was seen as the only way out of the problem. Complex cross-overs with other rail lines hindered this being a straightforward process and it wasn't really until 24 July 2007 when then Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly sealed the deal with a £5.5 billion upgrade package.

A Class 319 crosses Blackfriars Bridge; this is to be widened to the west (right) of the photos. Platforms will completely straddle the Thames by 2015.

This is being phased - first to be complete for the 2012 London Olympics, aiming to have 12-car trains operating 16 per hour through the central London section by 2011; and the second by 2015, which aims to increase trains to up to 24 per hour. All trains will operate using Level 2 European Train Control System.

Back in 1988, British Rail operated all the trains. In 1997 Govia won the Thameslink franchise but following the end of this nine-year deal, First was successful in winning Thameslink and the Great Northern franchise, amalgamating the two under the First Capital Connect name from 1 April 2006. However, no sooner had Govia won Thameslink at privatisation, the then named Department of Transport commissioned its Thameslink 2000 project, which sought to end the overcrowding problems by extending Thameslink to take in additional existing lines both north and south of the Thames. Effectively, nothing was done and by 1999 the cost of the Thameslink 2000 project stood at £800 million.

Seen here at Farringdon is a Class 319 in First Capital Connect's multi-colour Thameslink livery. This has been replaced with the corporate First livery now. Class 319s have operated Thameslink services since it was completed in 1988.

John Prescott tried to push matters forward, though wasn't as successful as he was with High Speed 1. Thameslink 2000 wouldn't now be completed until 2006! Ken Livingstone, London's first mayor, even tried his hardest to push the scheme through, saying in 2004 that Transport for London could handle Thameslink alone, being fully operational by 2012/3. London winning the 2012 Olympic Games is what ultimately spurred ministers on to sort something out, and Thameslink 2000 was re-named the Thameslink Project by Network Rail to avoid any embarrassment of its obvious overrun through procrastination.

But what exactly is being done in this new Thameslink Project? Well, from 2015 all stations north of St. Pancras to Peterborough, including the line to King's Lynn via Cambridge will come under the Thameslink name; so too will services from London Bridge to New Cross and Dartford or Ashford via Tonbridge via Orpington as well as lines off the Brighton Main Line to Horsham, Littlehampton, Eastbourne, East Grinstead and Guildford via Sutton. By 2015 Thameslink will encompass one hell of an area!

Initially delayed, 23 Class 377s are being delivered, though by 2011 an additional 1,300 coaches will enter services, enabling up to 24 trains per hour to pass through the central section, operating as 12-car units. London Bridge station is to be completely rebuilt, though in phases to enable the station to remain open; Blackfriars station has seen its bay platforms (for terminating services) closed while the abandoned bridge that once stood to the west of the existing Blackfriars Bridge (closed in 1985) will be re-built to act as an extension of the existing one. Platforms here will spill the full length of the bridges - the first examples to do so in London. Farringdon is to be re-modelled and have its platforms extended to enable it and 50 other Thameslink stations to handle 12-car trains and invitation to tenders have been sent out for additional trains to enable all Class 317s, 319s, 321s and 365s to be completely removed from operation, with the deal being signed in 2010.

The red pillars that supported a parallel bridge at Blackfriars until 1985 can still be seen. They're to be utilised so that once again they are able to carry trains across. The original bridge was removed after it became too week and the pillars were left in situ so that they didn't affect the new, existing bridge - just as well, really!

It's a mammoth task, though unlike Crossrail, signs that these improvements are being made are visible right now. It's an upgrade that arguably has been needed since 1990 and yet one that could possibly be the victim of its own success: doubling 'through' frequencies from 12tph to 24 by 2015, and extending the length of trains from 8 to 12-car sets is one thing; extending the Thameslink route to take in numerous other areas of large populations could immediately fill all this additional capacity being made available. Direct services such as Cambridge-Gatwick are on the cards; Peterborough-Ashford and Stevenage-Brighton could all be possible.

It takes us longer to build railways now than ever before, but for those who commute using Thameslink, the complexity of what is involved is almost as staggering as the whole Crossrail project. (GL)

The SVBM Rally 2009 - part 2 of 2

Read Part 1 here.

There are a number of ways those basing themselves at the Heriot-Watt University at Riccarton can travel to Dunfermline, though on a Sunday the options are much-reduced! Stagecoach in Fife operate a very handy hourly service from Riccarton to Inverkeithing via the Ferrytoll and Edinburgh Airport, though annoyingly not on Sundays. It would mean a trip into central Edinburgh then.

Lothian offer two services into the city centre at weekends: Services 25 and 34, which both operate along the arterial Calder Road, with Service 25 continuing to the city centre via Gorgie and Service 34 heading southwest to Slateford before bearing northeast to the city centre via Shandon and Fountainbridge. We caught the 0900 departure on Service 25 with a view to catching First ScotRail's 0955 to Dunfermline Town for 1030. This was duly caught and was formed of a Class 170 'Turbostar', namely 170459.

We made haste northwest towards the Forth Bridge, which we crossed on the 'up' line with a speed restriction imposed. This caused us a few minutes' delay by the time we'd arrived at Dunfermline Town. From here, it's a steady walk uphill to the town centre. The Scottish Vintage Bus Museum's (SVBM) free shuttle service operated half-hourly at 00 and 30 from outside the town centre fire station. Our vehicle arrived just as the heavens opened. We were to travel aboard WG 9180, a Leyland Titan TD7 in W Alexander's livery. A ride aboard this vehicle is one of the main reasons I make a religious pilgrimage to the SVBM at least bi-annually: where else could you ride on a vehicle like this? It doesn't visit Showbus, Cobham, Fleetwood or North Weald. Many of its historic sisters that were operating the shuttle services likewise do not travel very far afield.

This lowbridge Leyland Titan TD7 was the vehicle in which m'colleague travelled to the rally two years ago.

The other reason why I enjoy the SVBM open weekend so much is the location of the site. Sure enough, its address - the M90 Commerce Park - conjures up images of a dodgy-looking industrial estate with e-coli vans serving what purports to be red meat at the road side, but up here in Bonnie Scotland, things are a little different. If there was an award for the most picturesque setting for an industrial estate, that of the M90 Commerce Park at Lathalmond would surely win.

The bus ride from central Dunfermline to the site takes about 10 minutes and necessitates a fairly steady climb, during which the Rennies depot is passed on the left. With the exception of some old-looking deckers in Stagecoach livery in the yard, there are no other openly noticeably signs that one of the 'big five' is in charge. One of the timetables Rennies produces is identical to that Stagecoach provide throughout the UK, although its colours are different and nowhere is the 'S-word' mentioned.

Plenty of modern vehicles attend, including this patriotic Volvo B9TL/Wright Eclipse Gemini, operated by First.

The entrance for the rally today was £6. Money very well-spent in my opinion. Once in the grounds, it was as it is at any other bus rally really, everyone disperses into the crowd and you 'do your own thing' (caravanners say this a lot!). As with 2007, so many vehicles turned up, some were double-parked meaning a photo was impossible. Owing to the nature of the site and where the vehicles are parked, some are always in shadow, or your photo is always taken directly into the sunlight. The trade stalls are held within the large building at the top of a mound to the north of the site, named the Bus Station. A large number of stalls were in attendance this year and it was nice to see a few same faces manning them. I made a good contact at one of the stalls as I handed over £17.25!

One of the SVBM's collection is this Alexander M-type-bodied Seddon Pennine, which has links to the LEYTR area as it used to operate Anglo-Scottish services calling at Stamford and Grantham! Back in 1976 the SBG was removing seats for additional legroom - this is C42Ft

There are tours running to nearby localities throughout the day, plus the half-hourly shuttle service to Dunfermline and the internal service, which is provided by a plethora of vehicles. Despite the large number of vehicles attending, and the relatively few tours operating, the organisation leads a lot to be desired. A bus would pull up and no announcement would be made of its destination. The internal services would carry a board in their windscreens, but no other route would. Was it the tour as scheduled or was it a Dunfermline? The cry of its destination was only heard after a few minutes. To complicate matters further, some of the Dunfermlines had duplicates, too, which when added to the mix caused further uncertainties.

As ever, the Lothian collection was present and turned out in a manner befitting the current operation.

Perhaps those in charge of dispatch should visit the twice-yearly Lincolnshire Vintage Vehicle Society bus rally, which is a model of how departures should be run.

As ever the day lived up to my expectations and I made a couple of not-so-cheap purchases and added a further three to my tie collection.

We caught the 1515 shuttle back to Dunfermline and then went in search of its bus station. A relatively new one has been built near Queen Anne Street, replacing that which backed onto Carnegie Drive, under the shopping centre. It seemed very impressive. Timetable information was most forthcoming for an un-manned site (on Sundays). Rather than wander back to the train station, we opted to catch the 1555 Service 80C, which would drop us off outside. It was our first Stagecoach journey of the jaunt and the vehicle's interior was equally as clean as can be found within the confines of Lothian's fleet; the only difference was that the saloon heaters were stuck on hot and we started to bake.

A livery I've not seen before is worn here - a kind of Scottish Citylink-style but with Strathtay lettering.

Four minutes later and we were outside cooling down. Trains back to Edinburgh operate not as you'd expect and are sufficient to ensure numerous passengers (tourists) stand on the wrong platform. The frequency is roughly hourly and yet alternate journey times take almost three-times as long as the others. Why? Well as I've coined it, the 'Fife Loop' is the culprit. Trains operating the clockwise loops travel as directly as possible between Edinburgh and Dunfermline, then north to Kirkcaldy on the coast and back south to Edinburgh, crossing the Forth. In this direction, travel from Dunfermline to Edinburgh takes 1:30. Trains operating the anti-clockwise loop manage a 37 minute journey time. The 1626 First ScotRail service is a clockwise loop, so more 'metals' for your money!

Having arrived in Edinburgh at 1756 we went for a spot of lunch before visiting the Vue cinema within the Omni complex to watch the re-make of The Taking of Pelham 123. A write-up will appear in due course.

We returned aboard Lothian's Service 34 at 2255, being used was a Volvo B9TL/Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini, though the least said about this journey the better!

Our chariot for the 0908 Riccarton-Ferrytoll service, provided by Stagecoach's Dunfermline depot. It's a shame this service doesn't operate on Sundays.

The following morning, by way of a change, we utilised Stagecoach in Fife's handy link from Riccarton to the Ferrytoll and caught the 0908 Service 747. Again, the saloon heat was stuck on hot as we awaited our departure time. The heavens had opened, too, which didn't cause us alarm until the windscreen wipers ceased operating. The driver tried everything and with only us on the bus I was wondering what the drill would be. Dunfermline depot (who operate the service) isn't exactly just down the road. During a phone conversation with the depot, the driver was presumably told to pummel the dashboard with his fist! As he was smacking the dashboard for all his worth, I remember turning my head in disbelief! The things people will try. Astonishingly, it worked and the wipers of 34729 (SP05 ELH), an ADL Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer resumed operation! It really was a miracle - and something for those who drive this type of vehicle to bare in mind!

Stagecoach operate four buses an hour into Edinburgh using these extended Scania tri-axle, 56-seat buses. They're generally allocated to Services 53 & 55 during the day.

We carried on, passing the Royal Bank of Scotland's HQ at South Gyle and diverting into Edinburgh Airport where a fair number boarded. These vehicles have diddly-squat luggage provision, which needs addressing if the amount brought on by three Japanese tourists is anything to go by. We appeared lucky, too, as we passed some vehicles working Service 747 that were Optare Solos!

My favourite sign of the past month: a question mark is missing after 'gear'; 'remembered' is underlined to the left; 'its' is missing an apostrophe; and 'the' is missing between 'and' and 'handbrake'. Car drivers not sure of the concept of leaving a car in gear as a fail-safe should the handbrake faulter need to be told in which gear they need to leave their car - no point selecting 1st if pointing downhill!

The bus heads north to Queensferry and then over the Forth Road Bridge to the Ferrytoll Park & Ride site. Here we alighted with a view to catching the 1025 Stagecoach in Fife Service 55 to Edinburgh, hoping it to be formed of one of the 57-reg, tri-axle integral Scania K270UB6 commuter buses, seating 56 people with high-back leather seats. This duly arrived, formed of 24009 (SP57 CNX). It was a very enjoyable ride, though the advertised free WiFi wasn't working.

24009 approaching the turnaround point at the Ferrytoll Park & Ride site. Over 3,800 departures a week call here.

Having ticked another box, we alighted a few minutes late at Edinburgh bus station. Today's journey, in for 1105, was the first that saw a decent volume of traffic and associated congestion. We had plenty of time though as our coach back to Hull didn't leave until 1230 and when it arrived it did so in Park's of Hamilton livery. We were treated to LSK 495, a Volvo B12M/Jonckheere with sunken central toilet and continental door. Unfortunately, the driver was what I describe as 'a minimalist', doing the absolute bare minimum for his passengers.

A clue to the company who covers Service 534 is given in this photo, taken at Newcastle during our mid-journey refreshment break.

The southbound trip is virtually identical to the north but in reverse. We had a break at Newcastle where we were turfed off, and again sauntered to the city centre but opted for Greggs this time over the train station. It was a quieter run back than coming in terms of passenger volume. We were bang on time though at all stages, actually pulling into Hull's Paragon Interchange a few minutes ahead of our 1955 scheduled arrival.

We didn't manage to answer our opening question (thanks, Al Murray), though we did consider purchasing a deep-fried Mars Bar while away. Interestingly, its saturated fat content is seven-times one of one of those eggs, draped in tartan just because of sausage meat and breadcrumbs! (GL)

Legging it up the M3

It was the bus industry's worst-kept secret of the summer: First has decided to force its presence in the coach market with the introduction of a new brand of coach service, Greyhound.

"Legroom like you've never seen before" is what Alex Warner, Greyhound UK's MD said about the space inside the new Greyhound coaches. It certainly sounds good.

Launched on Wednesday in central London with Tower Bridge in the background, First's Chief Executive Sir Moir Lockhead smashed the ceremonial bottle of plonk against the side of one of his Scania/Irizar PB coaches now adorned in the new Greyhound livery and wished the venture every success.

"Oh hell, not another low-cost, inter-city operator!" I hear you cry. No, not quite. For First has gone all-out to attract a different clientele from that National Express (NX) and Stagecoach's Megabus currently convey between London and Greyhound's first locations - Southampton and Portsmouth.


Using their ex-NX coaches, aged roughly four years old, additional space has been offered inside, with the removal of 8 seats, offering generous leg-room. Complimentary newspapers and WiFi is offered, too. NX had a go at offering something similar from Milton Keynes to Canary Wharf last year, though their Commuter Express was quietly dropped before Christmas due to poor loadings and cost-cutting measures.

NX continue to provide more journeys to both new Greyhound destinations, however their journey times are longer as Services 030 and 032 both take in Heathrow Airport.

Sir Moir just happened to be doing the dog run at the time....

First's ownership of the Greyhound brand is very useful to them! Around the world, it's a global brand. The Greyhound name pre-dates all of the 'big five' here in the UK - in fact add the number of years First, Arriva, Stagecoach, NEG and Go-Ahead have been trading as their current names/brands/identities and they won't add up to 95 - the length of time Greyhound has been around!

This week's CBW editorial came up with 1 song about National Express that had been released in the charts and 4 about Greyhound. It's by no means a scientific test about a brand's popularity, but I suspect you'd be hard-pressed to find many people who regularly travel by coach here in the UK who've never, ever heard of Greyhound.

Megabus take note: correct hyphen usage!

Last month we said that it has been suggested that the bus industry could do with a People's Champion - a bus equivalent of Jeremy Clarkson was put forward. Such an individual is needed to help reinvigorate the bus/coach industry's fortunes in these recessed times. Greyhound, in its own way, helps to do this.

Services commence on Monday 14 September and at the time of writing virtually all departures were offering fares from £1. The coaches - which bore very little evidence of operating NX services even when they did, have been 'attended to' by Plaxton's Anston base; they came with leather trim and toilets fitted and had operated our of First's Bristol depot, principally on NX Services 040 (London) and 201 (Heathrow & Gatwick).

A Greyhound driver from the US was flown over to assist with the launch.

Departures from London to Portsmouth are at 0900 and then hourly at xx00 until 1300 then 1445 and 1600 hourly through to 1900 and 2100. From Portsmouth to London departures are at 0600 and hourly at xx00 to 1000 then 1200 and hourly to 1600 with 1800 being the last. Journey time in both directions is 1:59.

Departures from London to Southampton are at 0845 0945 1045 1245 1415 1530 1730 1930 2130. From Southampton to London departures are at 0510 0610 0710 0910 1110 1210 1410 1610 1810. Journey time is 2:14 in both directions.

It is expected that new destinations will be added next year, with London-Oxford appearing very likely indeed. We were told at the launch that virtually any city within about 2-2.5 hours from London is being considered. Additionally, we understand that tickets will also be available from the Greyhound drivers, for immediate travel (space permitting) and that all the coaches will be given women's names from popular American songs (Peggy Sue etc).

Greyhound's UK website navigates like that offered by NXEC - easy to mix 'n' match each leg.

It does appear that a concerted effort by First is being made to genuinely attract a new passenger base, rather than tussle with NX and Megabus for patronage. So long as they don't 'do a Megabus' and deputise their coaches with double-decker buses when the going gets tough, I'm sure they'll do well. If faced with all three operators offering fares at £1, I'd not hesitate in choosing Greyhound on account of its additional legroom, WiFi and complimentary papers. Come 14 September we'll see if others do the same. (GL)

Greyhound's website (which appears to be produced by the excellent Flow Interactive)
How Greyhound evolved over the past 95 years
A short video of the launch

The SVBM Rally 2009 - part 1 of 2

"What is it about wrapping a hard-boiled egg in sausage meat and breadcrumbs that suddenly makes it Scottish?"

With the answer to this and a couple of less important posers at the forefront of our minds, the LEYTR did sally forth to Scotland, during which time we'd attend the annual Scottish Vintage Bus Museum (SVBM) rally on the second of its two open days.

We chose to travel to Edinburgh from Hull. Being fairly stingy when it comes to travel, we'd been downhearted back in June when we booked our overnight accommodation in Scotland's capital city, that the most obvious modes of transport were either not forthcoming with suitable journey options that best-fitted our three days away, or those that purport to offer fares from £1 were in effect offering single fares 2,500% greater!

So good old dependable National Express it was. If we were going to be stung for a few quid, it might as well be for travel in a coach and not a Scania/Enviro400! The route linking Hull with Edinburgh is one of the best I've travelled on to date. I enjoy Service 534 for a few reasons: the loadings are not as heavy as, say, London-Bristol; the service is operated by 'Scotland's Driving Force' - Park's of Hamilton, who provide at least modern, air-conditioned (if not very clean!) coaches; and the route takes in areas of England that other NX services do not frequently call. Beverley, for example, only has this solitary coach service since March, when NX curtailed all its Service 562 journeys at Hull.

Hull really has come on leaps and bounds over the past few years. Its Paragon Interchange - despite recent reports of errors in Braille signage - really is excellent, with the initial teething problems reported over its forthcoming departures screens seemingly fixed now. Stagecoach has ensured a decent number of cascaded vehicles now operate here to reduce its fleet's average age - especially apt in this, its historic year.

Some Braille signage translated this sign as Bay One Deft!

From Hull, our coach travels direct to Beverley, calling at the minster-town's bus station. You can't cover this section of route by any other scheduled coach service, nor the section hereafter to York. One of the previous occasions I'd travelled aboard Service 534, a short-cut was utilised just north of York station, that saw the driver lower the vehicle's suspension in order for us to squeeze under a very low bridge. No such excitement today, with our Glaswegian driver opting to stick to the more traditional trunk route.

As I'd expected, Park's of Hamilton had provided us with a fairly new vehicle - a Volvo B12B with Plaxton's Panther C49Ft body, registered LSK 506, being new to them in September 2006. While the climate control was excellent and the leather trim a welcome sight, the vehicle interior's cleanliness lead a lot to be desired! The dirt wasn't a case of the driver choosing not to thoroughly clean the coach out last night while overnighting at the hotel in Hull, more a case of a very long-overdue deep clean needed!

As predicted we were very lightly loaded throughout, travelling to Thirsk thence to Middlesborough, Sunderland and Newcastle. Here a mid-journey refreshment break is taken and for security reasons, through passengers are turfed out into the elements while the coach is locked. We wandered to the nearby train station for a nosey, but there was nothing out of the ordinary therein, so meandered back having a game of 'spot as many Go North East liveries in 2 minutes as you can!'

Seen here during the mid-journey refreshment break in Newcastle.

The most popular section of Service 534 is between Newcastle and Edinburgh and from here we were our busiest with about thirty soles aboard. I dozed off at this point and awoke in the Restalrig suburb of Edinburgh, en route to the city's bus station, just off Princes Street. The last time I travelled aboard Service 534 it was double-manned throughout and additionally operated via Hull Docks. It would appear the service is now wholly one-manned and the Hull Docks extension was removed in 2008 due to low patronage and increased security.

As with all occasions we visit Edinburgh, we'd booked into the Heriot-Watt University at Riccarton, to the far-west of the city, which necessitates a trip aboard one of Lothian's excellent bus services. We generally catch Service 25, which is Plaxton President/ADL Trident-operated, running to a ten-minute frequency. Today was no different and having tendered the exact fare for a day ticket (a very reasonable £3), we took a seat in readiness for the 35-minute journey.

Absolutely spotless - Lothian Buses once again surpassed our expectations.

In my opinion, Lothian Buses is the last-remaining large bus fleet that operates in a manner that is both traditional and yet adaptive to the current market trends. Their extensive network of radiating bus services, operating to high frequencies are typical of today's way of doing things, yet their vehicles are absolutely spotless inside. Each bus is mopped out each night (even Trent Barton do not do this), the interior fluorescent casings are removed each month and cleaned and all evidence of graffiti is removed. Our bus - an 04-reg - actually smelt new inside. Quite phenomenal.

Having dumped our things in our rooms forming part of the Heriot-Watt University, set in the opulent surroundings of well-landscaped grounds with the northern tip of the Southern Uplands clearly visible, we returned to the city centre to have a nosy around. It's fair to say that Princes Street is a right old mess at the moment, being closed for some months while work is underway to build the city's new tram network. Having said this, and considering the Edinburgh Festival and its Fringe were in full-swing, congestion was minimal, it has to be said. Our journey times throughout our long weekend were typical to those stated in Lothian's publicity and not once did we find ourselves in excessive congestion.

Somewhere amongst the JCBs and traffic bollards is Princes Street.

Sunday saw is travel into the city centre again in order to catch the 0955 First ScotRail train service to Dunfermline Town, where we would ascend the hill into the town centre and catch one of the free buses laid on by the SVBM to transport us to their premises, within the M90 Commerce Park at Lathalmond. (GL)


Part 2 to follow.

Two years ago we visited the SVBM open weekend, and the account of this can be viewed by clicking here.

The Arrow of Indecision

A friend recently asked me why, in this age of privatisation, was the symbol of a nationalised railway still evident at all stations on the National Rail network. The answer is one of straightforward copyright and common sense.

The current logo that many still refer to that of British Railways (BR) was officially introduced on 1 January 1965 and described as 'two-way traffic arrows on parallel lines representing tracks'. It's been around ever since, lasting well beyond BR itself.


The logo was itself a re-vamp of one that was first unveiled in 1949, the year after BR was formed, having purchased the four main railway companies of the time: Great Western Railway, London, Midland & Scottish Railway, London & North Eastern Railway and Southern Railway. Nationalisation took place on 1 January 1948, following the Transport Act of the year previous. The railways would be operated by the State until 1994, some 46 years (though privatisation wasn't completed until 1997).

This first logo was applied to all-things BR, including the steam locomotives themselves, from 1948-1956 and the second from 1956-1965 (by this time, diesel and DC electric locos were in operation and wore this logo).

This was the first logo to represent British Railways, applied to steam locos from 1948. It was nicknamed 'the unicycling lion'.

The 'unicycling lion' was replaced by the 'ferret and dart board' in 1956. This logo would remain until 1965 when BR introduced the current 'arrow of indecision' logo that is visible at your nearest train station today.

Back to the current logo and the top arrow always points right and the bottom arrow to the left, to simulate the direction of two trains passing. An example of the logo with the arrows pointing in the opposite direction could be seen on ships that BR operated during the heyday of its operation, with the top arrow pointing left, towards the mast from which it was attached.

British Railways also owned and operated ships. This white-on-blue logo is a deliberate reflection of the standard logo to represent the railways.

The 'modern day' logo has been dubbed 'the barbed wire' and my personal favourite, 'the arrow of indecision'. Not everyone was a fan of BR and its nationalised railway. By default, upon privatisation in 1994, the copyright of the logo passed to the Department for Transport (DfT), who continue to preside over the rail industry, having far more involvement in its day-to-day operation that they do the bus industry. Many train operating companies (TOCs) do not like what they refer to as 'micro-management', though the DfT happily refers to the millions upon millions of pounds TOCs receive from the Treasury, to quell such outbursts of interference.

Thousands of South West Trains (SWT) commuters have the DfT's so-called 'micro-management' attitude to thank recently, when the then Transport Minister Lord Adonis refused to permit SWT to close many of its ticket offices at the times of day it described as less busy. If a bus operator wants to close its ticket office, as Stagecoach did in Peterborough city centre in 2006, the DfT has absolutely no say in this whatsoever and it's down to the local authority to step in and ensure a point of contact in the city centre continues (a council-run office there now exists).

It's just as well the DfT is willing to keep the BR logo in use - its own department doesn't have a logo at all - and having the above visible at every station in the land would certainly have a ring of nationalisation.

With such a hold on the rail industry, the DfT insisted from-the-off that this well-known, simplistic logo should continue to represent the National Rail network of train services and in many ways the collection of TOCs who provide the services. It is not the official logo of any operation, however. Its removal from all stations nation-wide would have been costly, so too would the equally exuberant outgoings in commissioning a PR consultancy to design a new one for the privatised era, and to then affix to all station buildings etc.

Its use today has been downgraded to that of only public street signs, road signs and on the tickets themselves. It is ironic that it was produced to better reflect Britain's nationalised railway industry and yet now is by far the strongest railway brand in this country - possibly the world - despite being over a decade into that of a privatised operation, with 23 different TOCs merrily accepting its continued use. (CW)