TM Travel sells its preserved fleet

Hopes had been high that, following TM Travel's sale to the Wellglade Group, its extensive preserved fleet of buses and coaches would be privately retained. We've learned that the company now plans to dispose of all-but-one of the collection.

The company's operations manager said: "We have decided to offer the whole of the former preserved fleet for sale with the exception of the [1948 Leyland] PS1. If anyone needs further details, please contact me on 0114 263 3893."

One of the company's preserved fleet is this unique rear-engined Leyland Tiger with ECW body. New to OK Motor Services, this is the only preserved bus to have been purchased from TM Travel, by a former director of OKs.

The vehicles not included in the sale have to be removed from the site from today (31 January) and while localities are believed to have been sought for the 'runners', the long-term future of those non-operational vehicles looks very shaky. The former owners of TM Travel will accept scrap value for the coaches.

PRESERVED FLEET

The unique reg rear-engined Leyland Tiger/ECW, Q723 GHG, has already been sold to Charles Marshall, Nuneaton (a former director of OK Motor Services, to whom the bus was new). This vehicle latterly operated with LEYTR operator Amvale Coaches of Grimsby. Leyland Tiger/East Lancs rebodies KSP 329X and BSG 550W were ex RoadCar/Stagecoach in Lincolnshire vehicles until 2008.

Preston's other bus story

Amidst the controversy surrounding the Competition Commission's decision to force Stagecoach to divest its recently acquired Preston Bus business, you may be forgiven for overlooking a news story that's been doing the rounds long before Stagecoach's 'citi' network came to town: that of the demise of Preston's bus station.


M'colleague and I have visited and called via Preston's very striking and simply humongous bus and coach station on countless occasions. The last time I personally paid a visit was during the wee small hours while some associates and I made a little trip from Scotland to Cornwall.

Yesterday, the government gave the green light to the destruction of the station in favour of a John Lewis departmental store. On one hand you have council officials claiming the station is too large and costly to maintain and on the other bus users and operators are of the opinion that the station's sprawl makes vehicle manoeuvres and lay-overs simple, easy and straightforward. There is, however, an overall desire to and acceptance for change.

Built in 1968 and opened the following year, Preston's Keith Ingham-designed eighty-stand bus station has the claim of being the second largest bus station in Western Europe. 'Back in the day', Preston Bus departures would generally take place from the western side and Stagecoach's from the eastern, along with coach departures. Above the eighty bus bays is a five-floor multi-storey car park, able to accommodate 1,100 cars. The 'brutalist' structure looks unique due to its distinctive curved layers - a feature actually designed in due to cost restraints.


We understand that Stagecoach is now in overall control of the bus station, receiving it by default from Preston City Council after purchasing the local authority's arms-length bus operation.

The station's demise has been on-the-cards for over a decade, with those in favour of retaining this special site forcing English Heritage to apply for Listed Building status in 2000 - an application that didn't bare fruit. Plans to redevelop this area of the city centre were now well advanced. The £700 million Tithebarn Redevelopment, its official title, planned a new, smaller bus station as well as a brand new shopping complex, with a John Lewis store planned for the current bus station site.


The non-central location of the station and claims by local councillors that a reduction in the number of people using the car park above was being seen were strong factors in the government's recent decision to not grant the station Listed Building status, thus giving the go-ahead to its demolition.

The interior does look more tired than the outside and numerous bus bays are not used as the city's contracting bus network simply isn't large enough to occupy all eighty bays.

On the side of progress, Preston City Council's leader Ken Hudson said: "The building is an eyesore and is simply not worthy of being listed. It is too big, expensive to maintain and does not meet the needs of modern day bus passengers. At least now we can focus on securing planning permission for the Tithebarn development, which includes proposals for a brand new, state-of-the-art bus station that is fitting for the city of Preston."

Arriva to merge with Keolis?

Yesterday, confirmation came of a meeting that had taken place between Arriva and SociétéNationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF), the French state railway umbrella organisation, about a possible merger with the latter's Keolis transport operation.

Arriva is certainly the most European of our home-grown passenger transport companies, and the company has enviable experience in the operation of bus and train networks within the European Community - and outside of it - so the fact they've approached SNCF about a potential merger with Keolis is less surprising than if it were another one of the 'big five'.

Arriva operates trams in Denmark, with their attractive turquoise and white livery immediately recognisable.

As you'd expect, Arriva's share price rose by 6.3% to 430.30p each, valuing the company at around £930 million. The company employs 44,000 people across Europe, operating in 12 different European countries. Keolis employs 40,000 people, so the scale of Arriva's possible gain is clear.

Arriva also operates long distance coach services in the Czech Republic.

Arriva doesn't operate at all in France and with businesses in most neighbouring countries, Keolis could be a neat fit - not that Keolis operates exclusively in France! They company has a minority shareholding in the GoVia business with the Go-Ahead Group, who between them operates three UK rail franchises (Southern, Southeastern and London Midland) and are partners with FirstGroup in the Transpennine Express franchise. Elsewhere, Keolis has a presence in a further 5 European countries and unlike Arriva, they are virtually State-side, with two large Canadian coach companies in their fold: Orléans Express and Acadian Lines.

Acadian Lines of Quebec is owned and operated by Paris-based Keolis. The operation could come under Arriva control if the deal goes ahead.

Arriva said of the deal that they confirmed "it has held very preliminary discussions with SNCF regarding a possible contribution of all or part of Keolis' transportation business to Arriva to create a significantly enhanced and leading European transportation business. The board affirms that discussions are at a preliminary exploratory stage and there is no certainty that any agreement will be reached."

The French transport sector is incredibly difficult to get into, mainly due to the anti-British stance many of the nationalised industries there have. A few have tried, but all have failed. Could Arriva be any different? They stand the best chance we think: they have a strong European portfolio already.

Keolis website

Oyster PAYG on all London trains

From the start of the year, Transport for London's (TfL) Oyster card's pay-as-you-go (PAYG) variant became valid on all rail services within Greater London. This represents years of wrangling between TfL and the train operating companies (TOCs), initially instigated by former London Mayor, Ken Livingstone.

Oyster PAYG is what the casual traveller on TfL's surface transport network typically uses. Generally, the Oyster card is loaded with a pre-determined sum of money which then permits travel on virtually all buses, Tubes and trams within Greater London. Over the past couple of years, Oyster card holders who load on weekly, monthly or annual ticket types have been able to use their cards on a selection of TOCs train services radiating from central London termini.

Pre-2010, these sections were only: Amersham-Marylebone, Finsbury Park-King's Cross/Moorgate, Greenford-West Drayton-London Paddington, Stratford-Liverpool Street, Tottenham Hale/Seven Sisters-Stratford, Upminster/Rainham-Fenchurch Street/Liverpool Street via Barking, Walthamstow Central/Tottenham Hale/Seven Sisters-Liverpool Street, Watford Junction-Euston (London Midland), Watford Junction-Clapham Junction (Southern), West Hampstead Thameslink-Moorgate/Elephant & Castle/London Bridge and West Ruislip-Marylebone/Paddington. London Overground also accepted Oyster PAYG across its entire network and journeys between Watford Junction-Euston/Clapham Junction on trains provided by London Midland or Southern were also included.

With the introduction of the Oyster PAYG on all TOC's services, most Off-Peak Return fares have been discontinued; Anytime ('peak') fares are in operation, though as you can imagine, cost considerably more than their Oyster PAYG counterparts, which will simply reflect standard TravelCard zonal prices - click here for all the different TravelCard prices that can be loaded onto an Oyster PAYG.

Virtually all TOC's services on the National Rail network can now be accessed by those in possession of an Oyster PAYG. Just 'touch in' at the ticket gates.

Oyster PAYG comes into its own during the off-peak periods, which TfL define as all times except on weekdays between 0630-0930 and 1600-1900. However, TfL's rigidity on these times has enabled passengers to take full advantage around the start/cut-off times. For example, if you 'touch in' using your Oyster PAYG at 1559, your journey will be classed as 'off-peak', despite your train departing post-1600 (i.e. during TfL's designated 'peak' period).

However, the peak restrictions cover all trains at all times in all directions, so an inbound journey from Elstree & Borehamwood, for example, at 1610, will incur a peak payment and the amount debited from your Oyster PAYG will reflect this.

If you first 'touch in' by Tube at, say 1530 and remain in-the-system beyond 1600, boarding a 'peak' train service, your journey will be classed wholly off-peak, provided you remember to 'touch out' wherever it is you end your leg.


Both TfL and the TOCs should be congratulated for the agreement, planning and relatively swift instigation of this boon to travel in the Capital. Can there be a city elsewhere in the world, with some many different transport modes that offers an integrated swipe card ticketing system as straightforward as Oyster? We think not.

Click here to see a definitive map of all National Rail and Underground lines within Greater London and details of which different zones they fall within. You might also remember a post The LEYTR Stig brought us last year, in which he stated that an Oyster PAYG can, on some occasions, be beaten in value by those able to purchase One Day TravelCards as part of their train ticket to London.

Oyster PAYG is not valid on the Heathrow Express, Heathrow Connect services between Hayes & Harlington-Heathrow or on Southeatern's 'Javelin' trains between St. Pancras-Stratford.

Transit's 2010 Power 50

It's that time again. New Transit has published its Power 50, a list that aims to provide a definitive list of the most influential people in public transport here in the UK.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, remains static in 4th place.

Below is the top 10:

1. Sir Moir Lockhead, FirstGroup
2. Brian Souter, Stagecoach Group
3. Lord Adonis, Secretary of State for Transport
4. Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
5. Keith Ludeman, Go-Ahead Group
6. Iain Coucher, Network Rail
7. Peter Hendy, Transport for London
8. David Martin, Arriva
9. Theresa Villiers, Shadow Transport Secretary
10 Dr. Mike Mitchel, DfT's National Network Group

Go-Ahead Group's chief executive Keith Ludeman is a non-mover at 5.

Newcomers to the top 10 include Lord Adonis, Theresa Villiers and Dr. Mike Mitchell. Those who've gone from 2009's high-flyers include the former Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon, NEG's chairman Richard Bowker and Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling. What is a shock is that of the three fallers, none feature anywhere in Transit's 2010 Power 50, which isn't surprising for Hoon and Bowker, but for Alistair Darling to have been removed completely - being top of the financial food chain - must surely be a massive oversight?

Dr. Mike Mitchell and his team sets the strategy for the DfT's rail agenda and manages TOCs rail franchises. He snuck into 10th place.

Last year's judges were George Muir (former ATOC director general), Brian Cox (former exec director of Stagecoach), Transit's editor Robert Jack, Transit's contributing editor James Dark and First Class Partnerships' John Nelson. No mention presents itself of who comprises this year's judging panel.

As Transport Secretary, Lord Andrew Adonis' knowledge and passion have seen him catapulted into 3rd place.

Sir Moir Lockhead and Brian Souter retained their respective first and second positions on account of the might both weild within their respective companies. Lord Adonis, a relative newcomer to the DfT, shoots into third place on account of his personal interest, knowledge and understanding of the transport industry and the interventions and sanctions he's made; his previous post-holder only managed 6th position. Adonis effectively ensured that his position swapped places with that of Network Rail's Iain Coucher, who was knocked down into 6th.

Brian Souter of Stagecoach fame retains his second position in the Power 50.

Boris Johnson, Keith Ludeman and Peter Hendy retained their respective fourth, fifth and seventh positions. Arriva's David Martin climbed two places to 8th, which last year was occupied by the now disgraced Richard Bowker. The Tories' Theresa Villiers now occupies Alistair Darling's position and a newcomer at 10 is Dr. Mike Mitchell, an individual of whom I must confess to have never heard.

Transport for London's Commissioner Peter Hendy is a non-mover at 7.

Each entrant received details written about them including why they're on the list, the kind of year they've had and what is coming up for them during 2010. Some had their annual earnings listed, too. Within these comments were some absolute gems. None more so than 14th-placed Mary Grant, the MD of FirstGroup's UK rail business: "Is there no end to her talents? At November's circus-themed Railway Ball she wowed hundreds of her rail industry colleagues by performing a trapeze act to raise money for the Railway Children charity!"

Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers is the least-paid of the top 10. Expect that to change should the Tories come to office in June; both her pay and ranking will jump in next year's Power 50.

The judges were clearly struggling to suggest ways in which some entrants' 2010 could be shaped, citing Stagecoach's Les Warneford (ranked 23rd) as being the person to perhaps be tasked with turning around NEG's National Express West Midlands business, should his company be successful in acquiring it from them.

The most influential person in public transport is Sir Moir Lockhead, according to New Transit's judging panel.

With an annual salary of £90,000, RMT General Secretary Bob Crow (43rd) is paid more than
Theresa Villiers (£64,766), Jorge Cosmen (22nd, £44,000) and SMP Stewart Stevenson (41st, £81.449).

David Martin is Arriva's chief executive and is up 2 places to 8.

Of the top 10, the line up is as follows when ranked according to annual pay:

1. Iain Coucher, £1.2m
2. Brian Souter,£1.1m
3. Sir Moir Lockhead, £1m
4. David Martin, £869,360
5. Keith Ludeman, £818k
6. Peter Hendy, £409k
7. Boris Johnson, £390k
8. Dr. Mike Mitchell, £250k
9. Lord Adonis, £108,253
10. Theresa Villiers, £64,766

Number 1 in terms of salary is Iain Coucher, Network Rail's chief exec. Times are a-changing for the infraco, who faces a funding reduction for Control Period 4, while battling to improve its image as slow, laborious and uncooperative.

Boris Johnson's salary as London Mayor is £140k, but 'supplemented' by a quarter of a million pounds a year as a freelance journalist. Even with this addition, TfL Commissioner Peter Hendy is paid more than him.

Our Transit's 2009 Power 50 article can be seen here.

Car scrappage SV-style

Forget that their vehicle livery curves in the same manner as the 'really good bus company's' and that they have a virtual monopoly in their hinterland, Isle of Wight (IoW)-based Southern Vectis (SV) has come up with what must truly be the most innovative scheme to both generate new patronage and remove cars from its road network.

The idea is simple: scrap your old car and receive a free bus pass for unlimited SV bus travel on the IoW for one year, equating to a saving of £720.

To ensure the person being liberated from their car holds up their side of the bargain, SV will scrap their motor vehicle on their behalf. The scheme's brain-child Marc Morgan Huws presumably allowed Best Impressions to come up with the scheme's name: The Really Green Car Scrappage Scheme - sure to anger those at Langley Mill should they choose to do something similar!

Joshing aside, the scheme is superb. Unlike the government's short-lived car scrappage scheme, which merely replaced old for new, SV's sees cars removed from the road while at the same time the company assures itself increased ridership by people who would perhaps not have considered the switch. SV scrap the car and net themselves the nominal fee paid, while losing the cost of an annual bus pass in their system. Issuing a £720 annual ticket is simply a piece of paper that merely needs noting on the balance sheet; importantly it is not a reduction of £720 from last year's net profit.

The Really Green Car Scrappage Scheme kicked off on 15 October and through high-profile adverts throughout the IoW those with a second car appear to be taking the bait, beating SV's own expectations. Did they need much persuasion though, since a recession tends to see families reduce their car ownership? Could it be the scheme acknowledges this and was there to ensure that once the car is crushed, its owner is thrust a free travel pass for SV's services before they have chance to think about alternative travel options?

The company's 'amazingly audacious scheme' was recognised recently at the Neues Transit
Green Transport Awards, winning The Innovation Award.

I've been attempting to identify ways in which the scheme could be used for the wrong reasons and can only think of on:

1. If someone's second car is an old banger and worth - at best - £150, they could offer it to SV for the scheme and receive a £720 annual bus pass. They could then sell the bus pass on to someone for £500, making £220 profit, which they would put toward their newer second car, gaining since it is £70 more than they would have otherwise offered up. In so doing, the number of cars on the IoW wouldn't reduce and no patronage would be gained since the person paying £500 would be a regular passenger in any case.

SV insist that the car has a MOT and that the bus pass is issued to the registered owner of the vehicle. While the latter can be gotten round through simply notifying the DVLA of a change of ownership, how many would bother? The car needs to be driveable, which would stop an illegal banger from the mainland being brought onto the Island to qualify. The car also needs to have been in its owner's possession for at least six months. Further details here.

An excellent scheme and one that other operators will surely follow.

Chiltern's Evergreen projects

In a recent post detailing news that Transport Secretary Lord Adonis announced he was willing to offer substantially longer franchises - possibly as long as 22 years - train operating company (TOC) Chiltern Railways got a few mentions, not least because it has a franchise of 21 years.

Seen as a test bed by the now defunct Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) in 2002, a franchise of just over two decades was awarded to the then John Laing-owned Chiltern Railway Company of Aylesbury. At that time, the operator had successfully retained its franchise, being first awarded on 21 July 1996 following privatisation of the rail network, though then John Laing was joined by two partners: 3i and the management team, but took control of the business (84%) in 1999.

The franchise was awarded to Chiltern following an ambitious investment programme submitted at the time of invitations to tender, which saw what was to become known as Chiltern's Evergreen Project. Due to Chiltern's modern, self-contained network (they were the only TOC at the time to run into London Marylebone), such an ambitious project - in partnership with Railtrack - was possible. Within 3 years of first being awarded the franchise at privatisation, 18 miles of single track between Princes Risborough-Bicester North had been doubled. In 2000 a brand-new £4.2 million Warwick Parkway station opened and by 2002 - the time of the first franchise's end, advanced plans were made to double the single track section between Bicester North-Aynho Junction at a cost of £53 million.

Chiltern operates 54 trains: 35 Class 165s, 18 Class 168s and the only Class 121 'Bubble Car' used in passenger service, 55020.

Such immediate investment was very rare immediately post-privatisation, yet Chiltern, in partnership with Railtrack (the latter was recompensed for their work with a revenue-sharing deal), threw themselves into their operation in a way no other TOC did. Another factor that went in Chiltern's favour was that their infrastructure was particularly modern - this section of line having been renewed by British Rail (BR) in the company's twilight years.

The whopping 19-year franchise awarded to the incumbent in 2002 did so with the promise of Evergreen 2, which was completed in 2007. Plans included the expansion of Marylebone station with two additional platforms constructed - the first at any London station to be added since BR days - extra signals were introduced between Bicester-London and an increase in line speed at Beaconsfield. Evergreen 2 was procured by Chiltern Trains using the 'design, build, finance, transfer' (BDFT) model, which we believe to be the first time this has been applied to the rail industry.


No other operator was undertaking infrastructure renewals to this extent, though not for the want of trying. With the collapse of Raitrack and removal of Connex and the administrative changes made by the DfT that saw the SRA be replaced with the Office of Rail Regulation, the government tended to air on the side of caution when franchises were invited for tenders, choosing to offer durations around the eight-year mark. Clearly, for the level of investment needed to undertake comparative work to Chiltern's (Evergreen 2 cost £70m, the initial Evergreen cost £66m), more than 8 years would be needed - much more.

In 2008 Chiltern's interest in new open-access operator Wrexham Shropshire & Marylebone Railway (WSMR) came to fruition, as the country's newest TOC commenced services on 28 April that year, primarily plugging a gap in the marked identified when Virgin Trains ended its direct London-Shropshire trains in 2000. Also in 2008 John Laing sold out to the German State Railway company, Deutsch Bahn (DB). During 2009, DB announced it plans to transfer the operation of WSMR to Chiltern Trains at some point this year.

At some point during 2010 the operational responsibility for WSMR will pass to Chiltern.

2010 started with the much-trumpeted £250m Evergreen 3 project, with Chiltern's Chairman Adrian Shooter and Lord Adonis detailing what is to be undertaken. The headline is a new, direct Oxford-London Marylebone service, utilising a stretch of route first upgraded by Chiltern and Railtrack in 1998: Princes Risborough-Bicester North. Chiltern described this ambitious project as 'the largest domestic passenger infrastructure project to be funded without recourse to taxpayer funding since before the Second World War'.

Chiltern is to pay its contractor to effectively build a new line between Bicester Town-Haddenham & Thame Parkway and to upgrade the existing stretch of line between Bicester Town-Islip-Oxford. A new station was Water Eaton Parkway is also planned, between Oxford and Islip. Network Rail will reimburse Chiltern in stages and will eventually take ownership of the line. Completion is planned by 2013, *crucially* giving Chiltern at least 9 years to reap the benefits of their investment before worrying about having to bid to retain the franchise.

London Marylebone is a small affair, literally tucked away behind residential housing; you could easily miss it!

Evergreen 3 is to take place in two stages, the first being to upgrade the Marylebone-Birmingham Moor Street main line, with alterations to journey patterns which Chiltern believes will improve peak-hour journey times by an average of 22% by 2011. Stage 2 will see a junction upgrade take place at Bicester and the existing Oxford-Bicester Town line upgraded to see the new Oxford-London trains run by 2013.

Crucially, the £250 million Evergreen 3 project is funded without public subsidy and is a massive showcase for what can be achieved with lengthier franchises. This is not to say that offering, say, Transpennine Express a 20-year franchise would reap similar benefits; Chiltern, as mentioned earlier, benefits through a modern, virtually self-contained operation and simple London terminal station. Upgrading existing infrastructure is one thing, reconnecting towns, cities and villages and providing brand new journey opportunities is another. Extended franchises should surely look at the latter point and the innovations that can be had here than by a TOC promising to scrub its platforms until they shine.

Compensation culture

Said RAIL's managing editor Nigel Harris recently:

"If an American airline had stranded a Eurostar load of passengers (a couple of '747s' - say 700 people) for more than 3 hours on US soil [contrasting against Eurostar's five sub-Channel failures on 18 December] then each and every passenger could be entitled to $27,500. That's £16,916 per passenger... or £19.25 million per train. For the five failed Eurostars that could have meant compensation payments of just short of £100m - ten times what Eurostar has actually paid out."

LEYTR Comment: The rules 'across the Pond' were introduced by the Obama administration before Christmas and aim to force US airlines to treat all their passengers fairly. The European Union plans to introduce similar compensation legislation within her member states and would encompass most modes of passenger transport - buses, coaches and trains. While the latter offers more in the way of financial recompense than buses and coaches, delays and failed last workings could see the operator pay for overnight accommodation; loss of life - even when this can be later determined in a court of law to be misadventure on the part of the deceased - would still require an immediate cash payment running into thousands of pounds.

One LEYTR operator told us last year that, if introduced, his insurance company would refuse to insure his business; no doubt other, small bus and coach companies face the same plight. It is completely unworkable in a rigid framework. We understand the British government opposes the legislation but may not opt to veto its introduction.

This legislation is in early consultation stage and hopefully common sense will prevail - if only for Eurostar's sake: £100m rather than £10m could have had serious consequences on the company's continued operation!

Fact of the week

Certain bus routes in London carry more passengers that the whole of the Manchester Metrolink system, according to Transport for London's managing director: surface transport, David Brown. The man at the top also revealed that the average number of passengers on any one of his 9,000 iconic red buses is 17, which apparently is better utilisation than the Underground and every other bus network in the UK.

Rail franchises extended

The duration of all rail franchises is specified by the Department for Transport (DfT) before invitations to tender are offered. These vary significantly, though not massively, from as little as two years to 19. Generally, though, most fall at around the 8 year period, with extensions granted provided minimum targets on operational performance and other efficiencies are met.

Chiltern Trains is one of only two train operating companies (TOC) to have been awarded a lengthy franchise in recent times: 19 years, from 3 March 2002 to 31 December 2021; by contrast the shortest has been awarded, by default, to the government's in-house TOC, Directly Operated Railways: East Coast, lasting around 2 years - though crucially this TOC chooses its end date!!

Yesterday, the DfT announced that in future it plans to award rail franchises for a minimum period of 10 years, with possible extensions for a further 12 years, assuming satisfactory operation and meeting pre-determined targets. TOCs will also face tougher performance criteria than at present and much larger financial penalties will be applied to any TOC who 'does a NX' and walks away from a particular franchise. Prospective TOCs would need to put up much larger initial deposits, which will be regarded as performance bonds.

The Association of TOCs (ATOC) has long called for increases in franchise length, and so too have industry watchers. The main frustration felt by the TOCs is that the time they're guaranteed isn't long enough for them to invest properly for an equally proper return. Save Chiltern, who has been afforded a 19 year franchise, virtually all other TOCs have reported that they would very much like to make major improvements to their infrastructure, not least the stations they control, which would in turn enable them to operate in a more efficient and passenger-pleasing manner, which would in turn increase their standing in the punctuality and passenger satisfaction tables.

Chiltern is investing in its network with the renovation of various stations along its franchise route and last year Network Rail conceded that TOCs would, in many cases, be better placed to undertake their own low-level maintenance as they were likely to do so more efficiently than the government's own rail infraco.

"Ten year franchises, with the possibility of longer contracts should bidders make sensible and affordable proposals, will allow operators to invest and suggest new innovations," said Transport Secretary, Andrew Adonis. He continued: "However, having longer franchises means that we will need to introduce tougher performance measures and more potential contract break points to ensure bad operators can be removed."

The most significant change, so far as we've spotted, is the likelihood for there to be a link between new franchises and the economy. Presently, the DfT offers financial assistance to TOCs after a qualifying period, which sees their falling revenues topped up in economic downturns and the profits made by TOCs above a pre-agreed level shared with the DfT in the times of plenty. These are known as 'cap and collar payments'. This will cease with franchises directly linked to the state of the economy: franchise payments from TOCs to the DfT will be higher when the economy is 'up' and reduce when it's 'down'.

The unions feel that the increase in franchise length is unleashing 'profiteering multi-nationals' to 'do what they've done in the bus industry and only consider their shareholders'. Clearly, the benefits for TOCs are plenty with increased franchises, though this comes with Adonis-inflicted catches: tougher minimum standards and increased fines shoud a TOC default.

Forgetting the TOCs and unions though, it is the downtrodden passenger that needs considering. Chiltern is usually at the top of the performance tables (though its relatively insular operation sees delays minimised as interaction with other routes and TOCs is vastly reduced), though by 2019 it will be interesting to see if this is the case; we suspect it will. Long term investment - still closely scrutinised and examined by the DfT - is just what the rail industry needs. It is an excellent piece of legislation, no doubt thrust to the fore by Lord Adonis himself.

TOC Franchise End Dates (duration in parenthesis)

2011 NX c2c (15)
2011 NX East Anglia (7)
2012 First Transpennine Express (8)
2012 Virgin Trains (15)
2013 Northern Rail (9)
2014 First ScotRail (10)
2014 London Overground (7)
2014 Southeastern (8)
2015 CrossCountry (8)
2015 East Midlands Trains (8)
2015 First Capital Connect (9)
2015 London Midland (8)
2015 Southern (6)
2016 First Great Western (10)
2017 South West Trains (10)
2018 Arriva Trains Wales (15)
2019 Chiltern Trains (19)
2023 Merseyrail (25)

Only Virgin Trains still operates its franchise as awarded at privatisation. GoVia's Southern TOC was awarded the shortest franchise last year (ending in 2015). Merseyrail and London Overground are concessions, rather than franchises.

A big pay-out

Imagine you're a butcher and it's just under a week before Christmas Day. You've taken a whopping number of orders for hams, joints and other assorted carcasses and are looking set to enjoy a bumper Festive Period despite the recession. Then, with just two days to go your delivery van breaks down; your shop's electrical system fails, causing your fridges and freezers to defrost and all this amidst people clambering to your shop for their pre-ordered goods.

What do you do? Apologise and give them their money back and then try and recoup costs from your local mechanic or electricity supplier? Would be people be happy to receive a full refund with your heartfelt apologies? A few weeks ago they'd have been able to go elsewhere, that is another butcher, and order their Christmas meat from him, but at the eleventh hour, a refund will provide diddly-squat.

Now apply this scenario to Eurostar. They were looking set to enjoy a bumper Christmas period with thousands using their London-Paris/Brussels trains to return home or visit friends and family over the Festive Period. The summer 2008 lorry fire beneath the Channel and the initial impact of the recession had taken their respective tolls on the company, but Christmas was 'in the bag' until the events of 18 December took place.

Their 'delivery van' broke down - initially five of their fleet, though with an endemic problem having been identified, their 'local dealer' suggested they all be withdrawn pending strategic modifications. Their 'pre-ordered goods' were therefore unable to transport their customers despite the company receiving payment beforehand. They offered refunds, but in the case of the butcher, at such short notice, alternatives - certainly of the same price - were incredibly limited.

In both cases, the problems were unforeseen, though Eurostar seems to have received a pasting like no other in the national press. Proportionately, the company deals with more customers than one butcher and while not being able to return to your native country for Christmas is far more of an issue than going without turkey, perhaps it is only fitting that the total paid out in refunds and compensation should reflect this.

Eurostar has revealed that the total compensation payment made to its inconvenienced passengers will be in the region of £10 million. We estimate this to represent 1/67th of the company's annual ticket sales. It's a sizable proportion for a such a large company. If a butcher's annual turnover is £70k, the refunds and compensation paid to his disgruntled Christmas customers would total £1,044. We'd need to ask a butcher whether this is a sum likely to be taken in the week before Christmas - though we suspect it would be higher.

Therefore, is £10 million really such an eye-watering sum of money for a company of Eurostar's standing? The way in which Eurostar handled themselves during the period of non-operation is what could be their undoing; you're more likely to forgive your friendly local butcher and return to him next year - that is unless Stellios Haji-Ioannou's been spotted in your area with a new venture in mind: easyMeat!!

Headcodes

Those working in the railway industry will know all about them, but for those outside of it, many will be unsure of what a Headcode actually is. Some may never heard of a Headcode at all. We've had a rough idea of the basics surrounding what Headcodes are and how they're applied to train services on mainland Britain, but delved the online depths further following a short piece in the forthcoming LEYTR Magazine, published at the end of this month.

Traditionally, Headcodes or Train Reporting Numbers, were displayed on the front of all train services until the start of 1976. Today, a small number of train services in Britain continue to display a Headcode, though not as prominently as they once might have. London Underground's network displays Headcodes of sorts, though these represent specific vehicle diagrams. Headcodes are unique to particular journeys, not an individual train's day's worth of traversing the country's rail network.

Headcodes are still a part of the modern railway network as they provide everyone therein with an immediate four-digit reference that identifies each and every train; its type; its priority; its destination; and often the time of day the service is operating. The specific route the train is taking is less known through the use of a Headcode, but for a four-digit reference it conveys a great deal.

The four digits can be broken down as follows: the first identifies the type of train service and its priority; the second broadly details the train's destination; and the remaining two being a unique reference to that train, generally the lower this number, the earlier in the day the service will operate.

An example being 1S15. This shows that the train is an express passenger service and accordingly priority will be given; that it is heading to Scotland and, broadly, the service is operating during the first part of the day. The Headcode usually refers to East Coast's Highland Chieftain service between London King's Cross and Inverness, departing the Capital at 1200 and arriving in Inverness at 2040. Clearly the service is regarded as express; that its destination is Scotland; and that for express departures from King's Cross, is likely to be the fifteenth of the day.

The first digit can show a number from 0 to 9, each referring to the train service operated:

0. Light locomotive(s)
1. Express passenger service or Parcels Train
2. Ordinary passenger service
3. Freight service operating in excess of 75mph
4. Freight service limited to 75mph
5. Empty coaching stock train
6. Freight service limited to 60mph
7. Freight service limited to 45mph
8. Freight service limited to/timed to run at 35mph
9. Eurostar service

The second digit - the only letter in the Headcode formation - covers the destination region to which the train is headed. These have changed over time and Scotland has its own versions (see later). For England, there are seven regions, each with its own headcode. These apply for train services travelling between these old British Rail regions and are as follows:

E - Eastern Region
L - Anglia Region
M - London Midland Region
N - North East Region
O - Southern Region
S - Scotland
V - South Western Region

It is claimed that the North East Region was disbanded when Headcodes were no longer displayed on trains (1967) and while this might have been the case, the letter N still very much exists to refer to said region. Trains within these seven regions were at liberty to use the remaining letters of the alphabet to identify places within their region. For example, within the London Midland Region, A is used to refer to London; G for Birmingham; and H for Manchester.

Q is used to denote Network Rail's Measurement Train; X refers the Royal Train and has to be manually routed by signallers; and Z denotes trains not operating normal services, such as charters and railtours.

The Class 40 seen here has a Headcode displaying 1Z99 - an express charter train.

The remaining digits show a number between 00 and 99 that are unique to that working at that time. Taking an example from the LEYTR area, the East Midlands Trains service from Newark North Gate at 1924 to Cleethorpes for 2102 had a Headcode of 2T59. Clearly the 2 refers to this train as an ordinary passenger service; T is the letter given to the Newark-Grimsby/Cleethorpes service; and 59 is the unique number applied to that train. Interestingly though, 2T59 is used more than once in the same day: within England it refers to an earlier Chingford-London Liverpool service, then a later Bedford-Brighton Thameslink train; followed by a Heathrow Airport T123 to T4 train and finally a Paddock Wood-Strood service. At no point do two trains with the same Headcode run at the same time.

Within the LEYTR area, Headcode letters appear to refer to the following:

A: ECML services to London (E if from Scotland)
B: Cleethorpes - Manchester Airport trains
C: Lincoln - Sheffield - Doncaster - Hull trains
C: Scarborough - Hull - Goole - Doncaster trains
D: ECML services to West Yorkshire
F: Cleethorpes - Barton-on-Humber trains
H: ECML services to Hull
J: Bridlington - Sheffield trains
K: Hull - Manchester Piccadilly trains
K: Lincoln - Sleaford - Spalding - Peterborough trains
L: Birmingham - Stamford - Stansted Airport trains
L: Sleaford - Lincoln - Nottingham - Leicester trains
L: Liverpool - Grantham - Norwich trains
L: Nottingham - Stamford - Norwich trains
N: ECML services to the North East
N: Stansted Airport - Stamford - Birmingham trains
P: Scunthorpe - Sheffield - Lincoln trains
R: Beverley - Hull - York trains
R: Norwich - Grantham - Nottingham - Liverpool trains
R: Scunthorpe/Lincoln - Doncaster - Adwick trains
S: Skegness - Boston - Lincoln/Nottingham trains
T: Newark - Lincoln - Grimsby/Cleethorpes trains
W: Scarborough - Hull - Sheffield trains

For Scotland's Headcodes and their subtle variations, we suggest clicking here to be taken to the excellent Scot-Rail website. All London trains, for example, are allocated the letter E in Scottish Headcodes.

Photos: Mech-Eng

Those pesky unions

An industry source has been quoted saying: "There really is no appetite to address Union power [in the rail industry]. The [pay] settlements continue to be well above inflation and the compound effect will be considerable. You have to ask whether fare payers or tax payers will pay for that in the future. Has the government thought about it?"

The quote formed part of an article that looked at the way in which the government and the big transport groups control each other and that while procedures are set in stone to ensure neither beast strays too far, nothing is done to 'control' the Unions' power.

National Express East Anglia ultimately offered its workforce a 3.5% pay rise recently, which was accepted, and it has been argued that in a recession, with the RPI being negative and the CPI being 1.9%, such 'inflation-busting' pay rises are a bad thing.

I showed the quote, and indeed the whole article, to a Union Chairman friend of mine whose response is worth quoting:

"The law surrounding Unions and any possible strike action is more punitive here in the UK than any other European country. As for NXEA employees being offered a pay rise 1.1% higher than the CPI recently, my response is clear: during the 'times of plenty', transport operators chose to generally offer below-inflation pay rises to their workforce, or offer rises linked to the CPI rather than the higher RPI, but now choose to disregard this by imposing pay freezes or cuts, opting to link the negative RPI. For every company like NXEA, who've seen a 1.1% above-CPI rise, there are at least 10 who saw a 1.1% below-inflation pay rise during the 'times of plenty."

Top-ranking Derby

Issue 006 of Nyoo Transit had a 'green' theme. Analysed on page 21 was a fascinating tale of two bus networks, those of Slough and Derby. More on the data in a moment, but first a poser by the magazine's editor Robert Jack: "If you were to ask senior managers in the bus industry... where the most successful bus networks are located, the answers are likely to include Brighton, Oxford and Cambridge. A follow-up question - 'How do you know?' - is more difficult to answer."

The article goes on to detail how Isle of Wight transport consultancy Reseaulutions has attempted to answer the follow-up question. I've always long-held the view that towns and cities with successful bus networks are located in places where excellent support and foresight from the local authority is offered. Being slightly more scientific, Reseaulutions chose to compile an English non-metropolitan area database, which would rate the number of bus operators, number of daytime buses, buses per 10,000 inhabitants, scheduled bus speeds at peak and off-peak periods and finally a rating of the percentage of inhabitants served by bus routes that operates to a frequency of at least every 10 minutes.

The latter criterion comprises a five-tier hierarchy from 1* through to 4 that ranks bus route frequency. As mentioned above, 1* means buses at least every 10 minutes and 4 means buses less than hourly.

The application of the above criteria to the English non-metropolitan areas provides some very interesting outcomes indeed. Along with Oxford, Cambridge and Brighton are Hartlepool, Derby, Harlow, Leicester and Colchester. At the opposing end of the scale are Bracknell, Guildford and Slough. In the specific category of buses per 10,000 inhabitants, high-fliers were Bath, Exeter, Nottingham and Oxford; Hastings had a particularly slow average off-peak bus speed of 14kmh with Weston-super-Mare recording a positively giddy 19kmh.

Back to the main comparison: Derby and Slough, two conurbations chosen due to their similar population, and what a difference! Derby, with its 245,000 residents, sees 109 daytime buses, compared with Slough's 47; has 4.45 buses per 10,000 inhabitants, compared with Slough's 1.72; sees 81.1% of its population served by bus routes rated as either 1* or 1, compared with Slough's 22.1%; and in the speed tables, has an average 17kph ranking at both peak and off-peak periods, compared with Slough's 15kph off-peak and 13% peak. This despite both areas being served by 2 main bus companies.

Fitting with my theory is the excellent Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council, who between them offer an especially pro-active attitude towards public transport provision (not that all residents are likely to agree with this!). Clearly, good road schemes - often found in newer towns and cities - and effective bus priority schemes will aid average bus speeds at peak times, but this is certainly not the full story.

Reseaulutions believes the main focus henceforth should be the try and improve those areas currently under-performing in contrast to conurbations of equal size.

Quote of the Week

Anglia Man 'CW' reports on an unfortunate Quote of the Week:

It was in the latest CBW magazine that a Stagecoach response to a complaint from a councillor about punctuality of its citi1 service in Walton, Peterborough made me smile. Complaining that the wait many of his constituents have to endure is 'more than half an hour for buses which are meant to come every 10 minutes', Stagecoach's response is:

"The delays are due to traffic hold-ups, caused by the city's lack of bus lanes."

So, does this mean that Stagecoach timed its citi1 with theoretical and aspirational bus lanes in mind? "Shorely shome mishtake"!

Portillo and Settle to Carlisle

The BBC is currently airing a new series of programmes that see journeys by train around Great Britain. The programme, Great British Railway Journeys, is shown on weekdays at 6.30pm on BBC2 (and also BBC HD if you're so persuaded) and last night's episode struck a particular chord with me. Former Conservative cabinet member Michael Portillo is the 'celebrity' undertaking the current journeys and he visited the Settle to Carlisle (S-C) line, which was faced with closure in the early-1980s.

He's not everyone's cup of tea, but Michael Portillo did a good job presenting this evening's pretty easy-going show.

Portillo's journey is from the North West to Scotland, using the first-ever Bradshaw's Railway Guide, published in 1940. His aim is to traverse the many railways in this section of Britain and compare how different things are in 2009 to 159 years ago when Bradshaw's first Guide was produced. You may consider it a little strange, then, for Portillo to visit the S-C, since this wasn't opened until 1876.

In 1983, word had reached residents, commuters and business leaders in Settle that British Railway (BR) had plans to ask for permission from the government to close the S-C line. They believed that the line had fallen into such a poor state, that repairing it would cost too much. Peter Shaw and Mark Rand were two local residents who started the battle against BR to save the line. BR also claimed that annual passenger numbers had declined to around 300,000 and that virtually all the viaducts and tunnels along the route needed work carrying out. Michael Portillo MP was the Transport Minister at that time, and is the person credited with saving the line from closure.


Portillo claimed he pandered to Margaret Thatcher's desire to retain British history and that this ultimately secured him the funds to save the line, news of which was written in an official letter from the Minister's office on 11 April 1989, when he signed off a letter confirming BR had not been given consent to close the line.

Today, the line - built by the Midland Railway to provide a high-speed north-south line in competition with its rivals - has seen impressive growth, with around 750,000 passengers travelling annually and an increase is trains. Local community plays a massive part in the line's continued success, with many local people volunteering to maintain the small stations along the line - one of which being Dent, the highest station in England, which has seen its station building and adjacent snow hut converted into holiday accommodation.

S-C topography

One of the line's least impressive statistics is the number of people who died during its construction. 6,000 navvies were needed to build the 72 mile route, taking in 14 tunnels and 20 viaducts. In one parish of St. Leonard, near Ribblehead, a total of 201 deaths were recorded between 1870-1875, 110 of which were children. This occurred because of the labour-intensive way the route was built, in particular the viaducts. Shanty towns could be found along the line's route, housing - in very cramped conditions - the navvies and their wives. Disease, particularly Smallpox, and overcrowding was rife, leading to many problems associated with the Thirld World today.

I was staggered to learn that it's nothing for around 40 freight trains to use the S-C line in a 24-hour period. The route is particularly quiet, thought with single-track sections, not as immediately 'freed up' as you'd expect, though I'd imagine it is a train scheduler's dream when compared to the Midland Main Line, which is reputedly full to date.

The glorious Ribblehead Viaduct, which is used occasionally as a diversionary route for trains that'd normally run along the West Coast Main Line - seen here is a loco-hauled Virgin Pendolino.

Last month, Merseyrail made the press, annoyed that its request to undertake engineering work on its own network of rail lines was refused, because it falls under Network Rail's (NR) remit and NR's costings for the exact same work was almost double that quoted by Merseyrail. How can the much bigger organisation's price be so much higher, when NR must surely benefit from economies of scale like any virtual monopoly? Things were the same in the early-80s, with BR claiming work to prevent the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct from collapse would be £8 million. One of its enterprising engineers requested permission to look at a small section, and completed a trial repair, which showed that the actual overall cost for the viaduct's repair was £3 million.

This was one aspect which the Friends of the Settle to Carlisle Line had to their advantage when lobbying the government. Talking of the Ribblehead Viaduct, the 24-arched structure took four years to build and was erected in sections of six arches together, which aids the structure's stability. Around 2,000 men were needed to build it, with the highest arch measuring 100 feet.

I'm particularly fascinated with the line as I've not travelled along it since I was a small boy - quite some time ago! It's one stretch of line I'd love to do again sometime and I've no excuse for not doing so since it's hardly cut-off from civilisation, with up to 5 daily departures between Leeds and Carlisle travelling the route.

Portillo said that "My greatest achievement in politics was saving the Settle to Carlisle line from closure" not once but twice during the programme. He also confirmed that he'd been quoted as saying that many years ago. The 30-minute show was very 'feel good' in nature, though not sycophantic and didn't pander to the ego some say Mr Portillo has. It wasn't a 'bow down and thank me that your livelihood is still here and thriving' episode, more a positive look at one small but incredibly important railway line here in Britain. Such programmes with this feel are missing from television right now, in my humble opinion, and most definitely concerning the railways.

A total of 20 programmes have been made and are being shown on weekdays throughout January.