Rail retailing and training

2003-01-10T00:14:00.000Z

Cow crash chaos Jan 9 2003

By Staff Reporter, Birmingham Post

Passengers on a high-speed, inter-city train in the Midlands had a lucky escape after it hit a cow on the tracks.

The 15.45 service from Euston in London to Wolverhampton had to be towed back to Rugby after being severely damaged in the incident in Brandon, south of Coventry.

The line between London and Birmingham was blocked by the broken Virgin West Coast train, causing delays to following services.

A Virgin spokesman said: “There was a collision with a cow on the line and it damaged the locomotive quite severely.

“The train has now been recovered and services are returning to normal.”

He added that the cow had been killed in the accident. No passengers were injured although the driver, who slammed on the brakes at while travelling at over 100mph is said to be suffering from shock.

The spokesman said: “Network Rail has been upgrading the fencing on the West Coast Main Line but have been prioritising in urban areas where people might try to get on the line.

“It remains to be seen how this cow got on the the line but my guess is it must be a recent breech in the fence or we would have seen more than one by now.

“It is a matter for the Transport Police but it is possible that someone cut the fence although that is purely speculation at this point.”

The passengers on the broken train were transferred to another service on arrival in Rugby.

The Virgin spokesman said there had been “extensive disruption” and diversions on services out of Euston due to the incident, which happened around 5pm. The line was eventually cleared at around 8pm.

Trains between London and Wolverhampton were diverted via Stafford, adding an hour to their journey and two services - the

17.45 and the 18.45 London to Coventry trains - were cancelled.

2002-11-17T19:45:00.000Z

Rail to have own investigation branch
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

A SPECIALIST rail crash investigation body will be set up to ensure swift action to improve safety after collisions.
People injured or bereaved by accidents will get regular briefings on the progress of the crash investigation.

The Railway Accident Investigation Branch, which will be created by a Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech, was recommended by Lord Cullen in his report following the 1999 Paddington rail disaster.

Setting up the body would put rail on a par with aviation, which has its Air Accidents Investigation Branch, and shipping, which has its Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

At present, rail accidents are investigated by the Health and Safety Executive, which, in effect, investigates itself because it is the industry’s safety regulator. The HSE was criticised at the Paddington inquiry for failing to take tougher action against obscured signals.

The new body’s sole purpose will be to investigate accidents on the railways. Investigators will have wide-ranging powers to gather evidence, with unfettered access to crash scenes. It will be an offence not to cooperate with their investigations. The rail industry will also have a duty to preserve evidence. However, the Queen’s Speech did not include any reform of the corporate manslaughter laws. Victims of rail crashes had been keen to see measures to make company directors personally responsible. The Government has repeatedly promised to introduce such measures but there is little chance of any change in the law before the next election.

2002-10-23T20:15:00.001Z

German rail engineers on trial for manslaughter over crash German rail engineers on trial for manslaughter over crash

Andreas Moeser In Celle

THREE railway engineers went on trial for manslaughter yesterday, four years after a train crash that killed 101 people.

In June 1998, in Germany’s worst post-war rail disaster, a high-speed Inter-City Express (ICE) jumped the rails near Eschede at a speed of 120mph, sending the train ploughing into a road bridge, which collapsed and crushed several carriages.

The men on trial are Volker Fischer, 56, and Joachim Thilo von Madeyski, 67, from Germany’s rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, and Franz Murawa, 55, from the steel and engineering group, ThyssenKrupp. They face 101 counts of manslaughter and complicity in the injury of another 105 people. They deny the charges.

2002-10-23T20:15:00.000Z

German rail engineers on trial for manslaughter over crash

Andreas Moeser In Celle

THREE railway engineers went on trial for manslaughter yesterday, four years after a train crash that killed 101 people.

In June 1998, in Germany’s worst post-war rail disaster, a high-speed Inter-City Express (ICE) jumped the rails near Eschede at a speed of 120mph, sending the train ploughing into a road bridge, which collapsed and crushed several carriages.

The men on trial are Volker Fischer, 56, and Joachim Thilo von Madeyski, 67, from Germany’s rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, and Franz Murawa, 55, from the steel and engineering group, ThyssenKrupp. They face 101 counts of manslaughter and complicity in the injury of another 105 people. They deny the charges.

The American lawyer Ed Fagan, famed for his efforts to get compensation from foreign investors for victims of South African apartheid, said that he would bring charges against Deutsche Bahn and ThyssenKrupp in New York for a client involved in the accident.

There was silence in the courtroom in Celle, the nearest main town to Eschede, as the list of dead and injured was read out. Several dozen survivors among the 105 injured in the crash sat alongside relatives of the victims, many with their heads bowed.

The public prosecutor’s office said that the accused were responsible for the accident because of their carelessness in introducing a new type of wheel. The three engineers, who were involved in the manufacture and licensing of the wheel, which is believed to have caused the train to jump the rails, listened to the charges, but declined to comment.

A broken ring from inside the wheel was displayed in the courtroom alongside models of the stretch of track in Eschede. "Without indispensable evidence of its resistance to fatigue, the new type of wheel should not have been allowed to have been fitted to the ICE, or at least only with a sufficient safety margin," the prosecutor, Hans Probst, said. The possibility of the wheel’s ring tearing open should have become evident before it was brought into service in the spring of 1992.

A defence lawyer, Walther Graf, said that the charges were based on incorrect expert opinions. He said that evidence from other experts would show that the wheel’s ring was suitable for use at high speeds.

Heinrich Loewen, who lost his wife and daughter in the crash and is a spokesman for relatives, said the trial was about making sure financial concerns were never again put ahead of safety.

2002-10-11T20:50:00.000Z

washingtonpost.com
D.C. Assesses Self-Propelled Train
Inexpensive Locomotive-Free Rail Car Runs on Existing Track

By Lindsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 6, 2002; Page C12

The train idling on Track 11 at Union Station last week stood out among the Amtrak Metroliners, not because of its gleaming maroon-and-gold body or glass dome windows. What set it apart was what it lacked: a locomotive.

The $2.9 million train is a new type of transit vehicle, a cross between a bus and a commuter rail car, and a top District official says it holds great promise for improving transportation in the city.

"We're looking for simple, inexpensive solutions like this one, that we can use to jump-start new service," said Dan Tangherlini, the District's acting director of transportation, who inspected the train as part of a four-day "Railvolution" conference that began Thursday and drew hundreds of transit officials and planners to Washington.

The train, manufactured by Colorado Railcar Manufacturing LLC, is self-propelled, that is, it runs without a locomotive because its engines are built into the body of rail cars. Inside, the train has the appearance of a luxurious Metro car -- the operator sits in the cab, and the rest of the vehicle is filled with seats on either side of an aisle.

The system, known as diesel multiple units, is the first of its kind to be built in the United States and approved by the Federal Railroad Administration.

The new rail car is less expensive than traditional commuter rail, which consists of a locomotive that costs an average of $4 million and rail cars that cost about $1 million each. The diesel units can run on existing track, unlike a light rail system, which requires construction of electrified track. And it can run on the same track used by freight railroads, a flexibility that is becoming increasingly important as commuter railroads seek to use freight track.

In the District, Tangherlini said the self-propelled train would be a perfect way to launch the "Anacostia Starter Line," a 7.2-mile transit line that would begin in the District's poorest neighborhoods in Southeast, cross the Anacostia River and connect with the burgeoning jobs and residences along the Southwest waterfront.

District officials envision the Starter Line using light rail, the modern equivalent of streetcars.

Until the $310 million Anacostia light rail system is built, the District could run self-propelled trains as an interim step, operating them on an existing freight railroad between the Minnesota Avenue and Anacostia Metro stations, Tangherlini said. "This would jump-start the Starter Line by tapping into the existing infrastructure," he said.

Manufacturers can provide the District with the diesel units in 18 months -- a fast turnaround, Tangherlini said. Each rail car has 90 seats and can carry a maximum load of 254, including standing passengers.

Diesel multiple units can be found in Europe but aren't operating commercially in the United States because they had not passed federal safety tests until recently. Colorado Railcar is the first manufacturer to produce a unit that meets federal standards.

Thomas Janaky, vice president for sales at Colorado Railcar, said the company is targeting emerging commuter rail systems that share track with freight trains. He said the diesel-fueled trains are significantly cheaper to operate than a standard locomotive and passenger cars because they burn less fuel. Each train has two 600-horsepower engines, compared with the 4,000-horsepower engine of a typical locomotive.

Commuter rail systems in California, Oregon and North Carolina have indicated they plan to purchase the diesel units.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company

2002-10-11T16:08:00.000Z

2002-09-03T22:44:00.000Z

Nationalised rail network a step closer
By Ben Webster

THE Strategic Rail Authority took another step yesterday towards renationalising the railways by stripping train companies of the responsibility for leading the modernisation of the rail network.
The SRA abandoned plans to award a 20-year franchise to run trains over busy commuter lines in southeast England. GoVia, the company which replaced Connex on the South Central franchise last year, is instead being offered a seven-year deal which could be terminated after five years.

GoVia had been planning to secure £1.5billion of investment in the franchise to relieve overcrowding and make journeys faster and more reliable. But yesterday, almost exactly a year after the SRA said it favoured the GoVia plan, the authority said that it did not represent value for money for the taxpayer. GoVia will be relegated simply to operating a short contract.

The SRA will now be masterminding the investment, including major track upgrades on the main line to Brighton and the Arun Valley line in Sussex.

Two projects planned by GoVia, the electrification of the Ashford-to-Hastings line and the Uckfield line in Sussex, will not be going ahead. The SRA said the £150million cost could not be justified and the lines will be served instead by new diesel trains.

Richard Bowker, the SRA chairman, said: “Instead of being a train operator-led infrastructure scheme, it will be an SRA-led infrastructure scheme.” Mr Bowker admitted that the practice since privatisation of making train operators take the risk on expanding the network was being reconsidered.

“In this instance we believe the train operator taking the risk was actually very expensive. They are not necessarily the best people to take the risk.”

Under the SRA’s new policy, it will specify exactly what it wants in each franchise area and will then organise the fundraising. The work will still be carried out by private- sector companies but the reality is that the taxpayer will shoulder much more of the risk.

Mr Bowker said that train operators should concentrate on improving services rather than playing a major part in modernising the network. We want train operators to deliver the basic services. I still find it incredibly frustrating to travel on trains with dirty toilets, where they can’t keep the buffet stocked and they don’t make proper announcements. The public sector is pumping a very substantial amount of money into this network and it’s absolutely right that the taxpayer asks ‘what am I getting for that money?’ It is right that the role of specifying the work should be in the public sector, but the delivery will be by the private sector.”

Other train operators, including Stagecoach, also now face losing the long franchises that they are currently negotiating. Mr Bowker refused to confirm that Stagecoach would still be awarded a 20-year franchise for South West Trains. “We are looking at the policy on franchises and issues around what they are best at delivering,” he said.

The SRA’s decision to take control of upgrades comes as the Government prepares to replace Railtrack with Network Rail, a non-profit public-interest company.

In little more than a year the major private rail companies, Railtrack and the train operators, have either been abolished or seen their role vastly reduced.

Wendy Toms, chairman of the Rail Passengers’ Committee for Southern England, said: “Perhaps a positive outcome of having the SRA take the lead in upgrades to the infrastructure will be that the silly figures now being quoted for the cost of such work will become more realistic. We wonder whether train companies, Railtrack and engineering contractors have in the past believed that the taxpayer would pick up the bill, no matter how huge that bill was.”

2002-08-19T20:14:00.000Z

Fresh strike by train drivers looms Aug 19 2002

A fresh strike by train drivers at a leading regional rail company is set to go ahead after an attempt to resolve a pay dispute ended in failure.

The drivers' union Aslef claims First North Western did not turn up for scheduled talks at the Manchester offices of the conciliation service Acas.

The union's assistant general secretary Mick Blackburn travelled to Manchester from London to attend the talks.

© Copyright Ananova Ltd 2002, all rights reserved.

2002-08-19T20:11:00.000Z

NATIONAL NEWS: Rail upgrade dropped
By Juliette Jowit, Transport Correspondent
FT.com site; Aug 17, 2002

Plans to upgrade one of the main intercity routes from London to the Midlands have been dropped because Railtrack said it would cost ý60m to take one minute off journey times.

National Express, which runs the Midland Mainline franchise, said Railtrack's estimate doubled from ý60m to ý120m - and the work would have shaved only three to four minutes off journeys from London to Sheffield, instead of the promised 10 minutes.

The government's Strategic Rail Authority, which has approved National Express's plan to use the money for other improvements, said spending ý60m would only have shaved one minute off the journey.

The claims come as the SRA and other rail industry leaders are increasingly concerned about the rapid rise in the cost of projects.

Senior figures have warned that many expected improvements will not be possible within the current budget because fewer projects are using up the available money and skills.

Railtrack yesterday confirmed the cost was ý120m, but denied that was an increase because it never committed itself to the original figure. That was only meant to be a guideline and the project had changed, said an official. "We said we weren't going to commit to anything until we had a full feasibility study," he said.

National Express said it believed the infrastructure work - which was part of a two-year franchise extension announced last year - was not worth doing at the higher cost.

The company has since said it will spend the money on other passenger benefits, such as customer information systems. "What we found, and others have found, is their estimate doesn't follow on," said a company official.

The SRA, which agreed the franchise extension, also denied Railtrack's claim and the implication that it had made promises based on poor quality preparation.

"We can only go with what we have got [from Railtrack]," said an official. "Obviously an aspect of what Midland Mainline committed to was to do further feasibility work."

He added: "It was one of the commitments of the franchise extension that if they didn't deliver it, we had an option of withdrawing the franchise extension. But what we have chosen to do instead is have them spend that ý60m on something else that will bring benefits to the route."

The SRA said spending more money on preparation work for major projects was one of several plans to cut costs in the industry.

Other proposals include spending more money on training.

2002-08-10T14:20:00.000Z

Resilient Amtrak?

On October 30, 1970, the Rail Passenger Service Act was signed by President Nixon. The legislation authorized the National Railroad Passenger Corporation to manage the basic national rail network and operate trains under contracts with the railroads.

Seven months later, Amtrak was formed because Congress wanted to revive the use of passenger rail services and to relieve private freight railroads that were headed toward bankruptcy from the burden of passenger service.

For years, Amtrak would defer maintenance on equipment until it's cars and locomotives had deteriorated, touchinf off even more breakdowns and late trains. Then Amtrak would buy new equipment, often through long-term loans and occasionally with congressional appropriations.

Today, Amtrak equipment is in reasonably good shape, compared with past years, but the old cycles again have surfaced. As losses and debts grew, Amtrak cut back on maintenance and budgeted nothing to fix wreck-damaged cars. More than 50 badly needed cars, damaged in wrecks, are now sitting in Indianapolis and are slowly being returned to service.

The Debate Over Cutting Routes

There have always been two Amtraks -- the Northeast Corridor and the long-distance trains. No one has disputed that the Boston-Washington corridor is needed; Amtrak carries more New York-Washington passengers than both airline shuttles combined.

Long-distance trains are another matter, however. Proponents describe long-distance trains as necessary transportation for rural America. Opponents call them money pits, land cruises or rolling national parks.

Year after year, Amtrak has threaten to eliminate long-distance routes that happened to go through states served by key House and Senate committee chairmen unless the railroad got more money. Congress complied -- and kept adding more trains. A famous target -- a train from Washington to Parkersburg, W.Va., the home town of then-House Commerce Committee Chairman Harley O. Staggers (D). The train gained the irreverent nickname, "Harley's Hornet."

2002-08-10T14:11:00.000Z

Chiltern on track to ease disruption Aug 8 2002

By Campbell Docherty, Birmingham Post

A Midland train operator is set to take advantage of its rivals' misfortune as vital engineering work begins on the West Coast Main Line.

Chiltern Railways will provide the only direct weekend Birmingham to London services until the end of the year, while Virgin Trains and Silverlink will be forced to transfer passengers on to buses for part of their route to the capital.

Chiltern has announced it will double its trains and provide extra coaches to meet an expected increase in passenger demand for trains from Birmingham Snow Hill to London Marylebone, rather than use the disrupted New Street to London Euston services.

Last month, Railtrack announced the closure of sections of track on the approach to Euston every weekend from this Saturday until December 8.

All the affected parties admitted the closure of the WCML will have a huge effect on passengers normally reliant on the route.

A spokesman for Chiltern said it had worked closely with Virgin and Silverlink to offer an alternative service and keep passenger inconvenience to a minimum.

The spokesman said seven new carriages would be drafted into service and extra staff would be available at both Birmingham New Street and Snow Hill, as well as the two London stations, to assist passengers.

He added Chiltern information leaflets, with maps detailing recommended alternative routes and stations, would be available from New Street and other stations operated by Virgin and Silverlink.

Steve Murphy, general manager of Chiltern Railways, said he wanted to get the message across to passengers affected by the WCML upgrade that there is an alternative.

"This is a fantastic example of the national rail industry working together to ensure that passengers are as well looked after as possible during engineering works," he said.

"Many of the stations on Chiltern Railways' route from Birmingham Snow Hill or Aylesbury to London Marylebone are a short distance from stations normally used by Virgin or Silver-link passengers so they provide a good alternative.

"Our major track and signal upgrade was designed to be completed before the WCML closure, ensuring that we are not only able to improve the service we already provide for our existing passengers, but also offer a regular and reliable service for those affected by the WCML disruption."

2002-08-10T14:08:00.000Z

Electric rail plan axed after U-turn over costs
By Paul Marston, Transport Correspondent
(Filed: 05/08/2002)

A railway upgrade identified as a national "major project" by the Government's Strategic Rail Authority seven months ago has been abandoned because it is thought too expensive.

Electrification of two "missing link" sections of the South Central network in Kent and East Sussex was highlighted in the authority's strategic plan as one of only eight large-scale schemes scheduled for completion by 2006.

Its sudden withdrawal has raised fears that a general rise in infrastructure costs will lead to the loss of further projects from the 10-year plan.

The South Central plan would have permitted a huge rise in through-trains between Uckfield and London, currently restricted to two a day, and opened the possibility of a critical diversionary route between London and Brighton when the main line was disrupted.

Originally mooted by British Rail in the 1980s, the project would have allowed direct services between Ashford International, Brighton and other towns on the South Coast for the first time.

The Ashford-Hastings and Uckfield-Hurst Green lines are the only parts of the South Central region still relying on diesel power.

Because of the importance of removing this obstacle to faster, direct services, the SRA had insisted on a commitment to electrification by Govia, the new South Central operator, before it was chosen to replace Connex last year.

But the SRA has told passenger groups that the £154 million scheme "would not be possible to justify" in terms of value for money.

The decision, endorsed by ministers, is a second blow to hopes for transport improvements along the South Coast after the rejection last year of the A259 Hastings bypass by Stephen Byers, former Transport Secretary.

Wendy Toms, chairman of the Rail Passengers' Committee for Southern England, said local people were bitterly disappointed by the SRA's sudden U-turn. "It is very hard to understand how something listed as a priority in the national strategic plan in January is now seen as poor value for money."

The SRA said a recent reassessment of the scheme had suggested that the value of the passenger benefits would be nine times smaller than the expenditure required. Also the cost of remedying power supply problems across the whole region had to be taken into account.

2002-08-08T18:30:00.000Z

The derailment of the Amtrak train in Kensington [front page, July 30] was apparently caused by buckled tracks due to the excessively hot day.

It is known that steel has a high coefficient of expansion. For example, every 100 feet of track rails expands 0.39 inches when the temperature of the metal rises to 120 degrees. If an allowance for this expansion is not made, the steel will continue to buckle, and derailments will be a threat.

In my observation of the segments of track being replaced at the accident site, each length of track was bolted tightly to the next without any allowance for expansion. The solution to this hazardous situation should be obvious to the board that is being convened to determine the cause of this accident.

In my practice as a consulting engineer for steam piping, this is a normal procedure in the design of steel pipe for elevated operating steam temperatures.

2002-07-15T21:11:00.001Z

2002-07-15T21:11:00.000Z

DOT Proposes Another Loan to Amtrak
By John Crawley
Reuters
Saturday, July 13, 2002; Page E01

The Bush administration has proposed lending Amtrak up to $170 million to keep the national passenger railroad running through September, Transportation Department officials said yesterday.

The loan would be the second stage of a bailout plan approved two weeks ago by the White House. The bailout averted a threatened shutdown this month of all Amtrak trains and several heavily traveled commuter services in the Northeast and California.

The first stage of that agreement was a $100 million loan that Amtrak received from the government a week ago to keep all its service intact into August.

The second stage, as proposed in a letter Thursday from Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta to congressional leaders, would involve another direct federal loan of up to $170 million.

House and Senate negotiators had included a $205 million appropriation for Amtrak -- the amount of money it said it needed to keep trains running through Sept. 30 -- in an emergency spending bill for homeland security and other government programs. But that bill is stalled in Congress by a veto threat from the administration, and the White House Office of Management and Budget yesterday rejected the notion of a direct grant.

"A direct loan is really the way to go here," Transportation Department spokesman Len Alcivar said. "A direct loan is the more fiscally responsible of all options. An appropriation would be a continuation of the broken pattern of the last 30 years."

Amtrak's banks have denied it access to its credit line because of its horrendous finances and an incomplete audit report for 2001. Amtrak has never made money in its 31-year history and lost $1.2 billion last year.

The administration is seeking congressional approval of its most recent loan plan. But some lawmakers believe it would be a mistake to extend new credit to Amtrak because that would add to its debt, which is now almost $4 billion.

"Congress should provide the funding needed to maintain passenger rail service," said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the transportation subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "And that is the deal that the House and Senate had agreed to, until the White House stepped in to scuttle the deal."

The proposed loan would have to be paid back no later than Jan. 1, and Amtrak would have to adhere to conditions that require the railroad to cut costs and get better control of its finances. The loan agreement also would require management reforms and bookkeeping changes. The administration had pledged not to push for larger-scale reforms it wants, such as contracting out of some routes and jobs, as part of the short-term financing.

2002-07-15T21:07:00.000Z

The Wrong Track for Amtrak

Thursday, July 4, 2002; Page A22
Robert J. Samuelson calls for the dismantling of Amtrak [op-ed, June 26], citing mismanagement, inefficiencies and low ridership as reasons to, at the least, end its subsidies. On the same day, The Post's Business section carried a "demand" by United Airlines for a $1.8 billion loan guarantee and another article that discussed the recovery of America West Airlines through a $380 million loan guarantee by the federal government.
Have people forgotten that the airlines bellied up to the bar for huge subsidies after Sept. 11? And what have the airlines exactly done with that money?
• Stop or curtail meal services.
• Overbook flights.
• Continue to lose luggage.
• Cancel or delay flights for no discernible reason.
• Generally inconvenience passengers under the guise of increased "security."
Granted, Amtrak is government-run and, therefore, not likely to excel. But is its management worse than that of the privately run airlines?
Does Amtrak need reform? Undoubtedly. But we need a rail system because many people no longer fly. Then again, "pigs will fly" before Congress quits doling out subsidies based on contributions and considers the greater good of the American people.
LAURA MAGNER
Sylvia de Leon sets a dangerous precedent for American businesses by suggesting that the excise tax on diesel fuel paid by freight railroads be turned over to Amtrak ["No Way to Run a Railroad," op-ed, June 24]. Trucking companies are not required to subsidize bus lines; freight railroads should not be required to subsidize passenger railroads.
North America's privately owned freight railroads pay the entire cost of maintaining and improving our nation's rail infrastructure and rights of way. They also pay property taxes. No other mode of transportation bears this burden. It makes sense to eliminate the diesel fuel tax so that freight railroads can compete on a more level playing field and increase investment in the infrastructure and equipment that has made our nation's freight rail system the best in the world.
Amtrak was created more than 30 years ago because unprofitable rail passenger service was placing a devastating burden on freight railroads. I hope we don't have to relearn that history lesson. Privately owned and operated freight rail carriers cannot and should not be expected to subsidize passenger rail.
EDWARD R. HAMBERGER
President and CEO
Association of American Railroads
Washington
French reassure UK workers on the futureBY ANGELA JAMESON

TENS of thousands of UK employees of Vivendi Universal were yesterday offered reassurance over their future with the French media and utilities company. Vivendi Environnement, the utilities business that is 44 per cent owned by Vivendi Universal, last night said that it was business as usual for its 18,000 workers, who work mainly in areas of transport, water and waste management. These assurances failed to dampen speculation among rival transport and utilities companies that Vivendi Environnement might be split up, triggering an auction of the company’s UK assets. However, analysts said that the crisis in Vivendi Environnement’s parent company, which last night ushered in a new chief executive, was likely to strengthen the hand of Henri Proglio, chief executive of Vivendi Environnement. Vivendi Universal last month agreed to reduce its controlling stake in Vivendi Environnement to 40 per cent, reducing the influence of the Vivendi Universal board on MProglio’s team. Robert Miller-Bakewell, water analyst for Merrill Lynch, said: “In April, Messier tried to oust Proglio, but he saw him off. With Messier gone, Henri Proglio is in a much stronger position. I expect Vivendi Universal will leave Vivendi Environnement alone.” Analysts also played down speculation that another utility might end up buying Vivendi Universal’s share of the Environnement company. Competition issues would rule out either RWE or E.ON, the large German utilities. In the transport sector, UK groups such as Stagecoach and National Express would be keen to acquire parts of Connex’s bus and rail operations. Both companies compete at home and abroad with Connex. However, the continuing upheaval in the UK’s rail industry means it is unclear whether that could happen. “It’s a question we ask, but the assumption is that the French Government will want to keep the whole business,” said one transport industry insider. Vivendi Environnement is the holding company for several businesses that have become familiar to the British public in the past ten years as the French group has strengthened its grip on many aspects of public services. It has bought three small water companies, culminating in a deal to be completed in October to buy Southern Water. Connex runs trains out of Victoria, Waterloo and Charing Cross stations in London. Onyx, the waste management business, has 40 waste management contracts with local authorities across Britain.British assets of Vivendi Universal Connex: Train operator in Kent, South London and parts of East Sussex 6,000 employees Onyx:UK-wide waste management business, including contracts with 40 local authorities 7,000 employees Vivendi Water Services: includes Tendring Hundred, Folkestone & Dover and Three Valleys3,500 employees Southern Water:due to be acquired from Royal Bank of Scotland in October 2,100 employees ChambersHarrap: the Edinburgh-based dictionary publisher 50 employees Vizzavi: mobile internet portal. A joint venture with Vodafone 317 employees

2002-07-02T23:20:00.000Z

Washingtonpost
On Track to . . . Where?
Amtrak got bailed out -- again -- after harried negotiations sparked by new president David Gunn's threat to shut down the long-ailing national passenger railroad (and commuter lines that use its tracks or crews) this week if it didn't get $205 million in short-term financial help. But Amtrak's long-term fate is still idling at the station. Next up: a political scrap over administration proposals to end federal operating subsidies and open up parts of the system to competition

2002-07-02T23:16:00.000Z

Train firms neglectful, says Darling
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

ALISTAIR DARLING accused train companies yesterday of neglecting their passengers and failing to fulfil their commitments to improve services.
The Transport Secretary, in his first speech about the railways, told the companies that the Government would not write any blank cheques and he wanted to see better performance with existing resources. “Train operating companies account for over half the network’s delays,” Mr Darling told the Railway Forum.

The 25 passenger companies should run services that suited the travelling public rather than attempting to “shoehorn customers into operational convenience”, he said. “They need to bring in the flair and efficiency they promised. And they can point to some successes, new rolling stock for example, but there are still problems to be overcome.”

A fifth of trains were still running late 18 months after the Hatfield train crash, according to punctuality figures published last month. Only 81 per cent of trains were on time in the first three months of this year compared with 90 per cent in the three months before the Hatfield crash in October 2000.

Figures from the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) show that train companies have continued to push up fares above inflation despite the poor performance.

Long-distance train operators like Virgin and GNER force passengers to book in advance for cheap tickets and penalise those who try to change their journey times. Mr Darling said operators should give customers proper choice by offering easy-to-book tickets that are easily changed.

His attack on the train operators was interpreted by senior industry figures as an attempt to shift the focus away from Network Rail, the company set up by the Government to replace Railtrack. Brian Souter, chairman of Stagecoach, which operates South West Trains, said he had seen little sign of how Network Rail was going to improve on Railtrack’s performance. “Our main concern is how fundamental the change is to the industry,” he told the Transport Secretary.

Mr Darling ruled out any further structural change, however, saying that a period of stability was needed. He rejected suggestions by his predecessor, Stephen Byers, that the Government might choose one area, possibly Scotland, in which to experiment with allowing a train company to run its own tracks. “The public want trains to run on time and I don’t think another examination of the structure would benefit that,” he said.

He also rejected calls from rail unions for renationalisation, which he said would result in “three to four years of uncertainty during which nothing would happen”.

Richard Bowker, chairman of the SRA, said the railways would be unable to expand unless Network Rail reduced the rising costs of operating and maintaining the railway. Railtrack’s original budget for the West Coast Main Line upgrade was £2 billion, but the latest estimate puts the cost at £13 billion. Mr Bowker blamed this mainly on Railtrack’s failure to manage its contractors.

Mr Darling confirmed plans to establish a new independent rail accident investigation branch, as recommended by Lord Cullen’s inquiry into the Paddington train crash. He will give further details later this month in a consultation document.

2002-06-30T15:51:00.000Z

Railway network overspending by £1.5bn
By Juliette Jowit, Transport Correspondent
Financial Times; Jun 29, 2002

The Strategic Rail Authority is to appeal to the rail industry to get a grip on spiralling costs as new figures show the network is overspending allocated funds by ý1.5bn a year.

Network Rail, which is bidding to buy Railtrack out of administration, has found that the company is spending ý1.5bn a year more than allowed by the rail regulator in order to maintain the infrastructure.

The figures follow mounting evidence about the rising cost of large projects and demands by train operators for more subsidy.

The most high profile case is the upgrade of the west coast mainline from London to Scotland, which experts believe has risen in cost to ý13bn - or ý30m a mile.

Industry and government concern has prompted Richard Bowker, chairman of the SRA, to warn that it could eat into much-needed investment funds.

"The whole cost of running the railway is in danger of running ahead and I believe it has to be curbed," Mr Bowker told a meeting of transport leaders this week.

"Over the next few months and years we have to address the rising cost base of the industry. If we don't do that we crowd out the investment we desperately need."

Network Rail said it planned to spend 18 months assessing what the money was being spent on and completing a full register of Railtrack's assets.

Using the information, the not-for-dividend company plans to apply to the rail regulator in 2004 for more income for the current period and future years. The government will make up any difference and has set aside ý8bn to cover it.

Iain Coucher, Network Rail managing director, said: "At this stage we're unsure what this money is being spent on, whether value for money is being achieved, and whether it's improving the network."

Mr Coucher refuted claims that Network Rail would not have proper incentives to cut costs because it was underwritten by government.

Managers will be incentivised according to a basket of measures to provide "a safe, efficient and reliable network", he said.

The National Audit Office said yesterday it would investigate the up-to-ý21bn of grants and guarantees provided by government through the SRA to help Network Rail buy Railtrack out of administration.

The inquiry into the package of support, announced on Thursday, was a matter of course, said an NAO spokesman.

The NAO confirmed it wanted Network Rail to be a subsidiary of the SRA, an independent government agency.

However the Office of National Statistics has ruled that the company's debts will not be included in the public sector borrowing requirement - a key Treasury demand.

Following the offer for Railtrack plc, Railtrack Group has said it hopes to return 245-255p per share to investors. Last night the shares closed 1?p down at 222?p.

2002-06-30T15:49:00.000Z

Journey of discovery sees rail network fail all points
By Juliette Jowit
Jun 28, 2002

York station at midday is busy with travellers waiting for late trains. The delays allow Professor Roderick Smith time to start totting up the first signs of the problems that lie ahead.

The head of mechanical engineering at Imperial College can see from the platform at least eight temporary braces holding damaged rail tracks together; joints are worn; the track is thick with black grease used to reduce the wear on curves; and clip pads and clips left by maintenance workers are lying about on the tracks. The gravel-like ballast is clearly not "tamped" properly so that the rails and sleepers have a stable cushion to lie on, says Prof Smith.

The 12:07 to Sheffield leaves more than 20 minutes late.

It is an ignominious start to a trip past some of the most significant landmarks of railway history: from York, one-time centre of Britain's pre-eminence in rail design and home to the National Railway Museum with its model of Stephenson's original Rocket steam engine, via Sheffield where track that was revolutionary in its day was once forged, through Derby and on towards St Pancras, one of the capital's majestic stations. It is a journey that throws up shocking evidence of just how badly the national railway has deteriorated.

Defenders of the rail industry point to strong passenger growth, increased services and thousands of new trains in use and in production since privatisation in the mid-1990s. But experts such as Prof Smith - an acknowledged authority on the British and Japanese rail systems - say that growth has highlighted the underlying weakness of the infrastructure, which undermines the whole railway. Fast, modern trains cannot disguise the inadequacy of the tracks on which they run.

Sheffield once stood at the forefront of railway innovation. The city's mills produced the world's first steel rails to replace the original iron ones. But today any signs of the great railway age are long gone. As the train draws into the station there is a trail of stone slabs, car hubcaps, tyres, bottles, skateboard parts and exposed wires - all handy for the trespassers who account for over 27m incidents of vandalism a year, warns Prof Smith.

In the station it is, if anything, worse. Litter is piled up and tracks are strewn with waste from the many trains that still use open lavatories.

Ballast is piled up over sleepers and clips, meaning maintenance workers cannot see if anything is missing or cracked, says the professor.

Patches of sleepers and ballast are frequently a pale coffee colour, and dried up like a river bed in drought. This is pumping, explains Prof Smith, where gaps under the ballast allow the sleeper to move up and down, throwing up mud and dust.

"This is just incredible. That's as bad as I've seen it in a long time," he says.

Every metre or two there are pock marks on top of the rail. Nuts lie loose beside the line - they are not necessarily needed, but as missing nuts were blamed for the fatal Potters Bar crash last month they catch the eye.

These problems may not be a high safety priority in stations where trains are crawling - although they would be at higher speeds. But they reflect the wider state of the network and the industry, claims Prof Smith.

"How can there be an engineer in charge of this?" he demands. "In the old times somebody would be going beserk. I wonder how drivers can react with professional pride when what they see from their cab is dereliction. What message is it giving to drivers? Nobody gives a damn about the system."

At least the train south from Sheffield leaves on time.

Just outside the station four tracks narrow to two, one of the many bottlenecks that cause frequent delays. These congestion spots and lack of electrification are big constraints on the ability of the network to recover from problems and grow, says the professor.

A waitress serves tea as the train gathers speed. She carefully fills the cups only halfway as, again, the train sways and jolts.

Even by British standards this line seems bad. "The ride quality has become much, much more patchy," says Prof Smith, who uses the service regularly to commute between London and his family home on the edge of the Peak District.

"There are stretches where it's okay, but there are a lot where it's not."

After Derby, home of British Rail's old research laboratory and training college, Professor Smith points out plants growing through the ballast, sometimes even between the rails. They look innocuous, but they create voids in the ballast, again weakening the support of the track.

As the train nears London, more plants - often buddleia - are growing out of the walls of embankments and bridges. Again, these weaken the structures and can cause them to collapse, says Prof Smith.

Fifty years ago experts called the railway "a poor bag of assets". Generations of underinvestment by government and then Railtrack made it worse, says Prof Smith.

"If one phrase epitomises our problems it was sweating the assets," he says. "This is a culmination of railway managers given a defective set of tracks and told to work them into the ground under a notional efficiency system.

"You can do it for a while, but like any other maintenance problems it all comes back to haunt you when the railway starts running out."

These problems are more subtle than the dramatic images of cracked rails and broken points after recent accidents, but they cause regular failures that damage performance and inhibit capacity. Indirectly, there is also an impact on safety because "if trains are in the right place at the right time they can't collide", says Prof Smith.

"We're running the system at the margin of crisis management."

2002-06-26T21:42:00.000Z

By Robert J. Samuelson
Wednesday, June 26, 2002; Page A25

It is time to let Amtrak die.

Actually, Congress should never have created Amtrak and, having done so, should have long ago killed it. The Amtrak problem is not mainly about transportation, because passenger trains move so few travelers. It's about politics, which is to say Washington's inability to control spending.

Since its start in 1971, Amtrak has required $39 billion in federal subsidies (in "constant" 2000 dollars), says the General Accounting Office. Its annual cash needs are now running at $1 billion or more. Because Congress hasn't yet provided quite that much, it's running out of money. In the future, these amounts can only grow. Amtrak is a capital- and labor-intensive business that never could -- and never will -- be able to cover its costs. What's the justification for subsidizing it?

The national government has two basic purposes: to solve national problems and to provide nationwide public services -- services that can't be supplied by the private market. Amtrak doesn't qualify on either ground. Its services aren't truly national. About two-thirds of its ridership is in the Northeast Corridor between Boston, New York and Washington. Nor does Amtrak represent an essential public service. If Amtrak didn't exist, most people would still get where they want to go.

Amtrak provides only 0.3 percent of intercity transportation -- a proportion that has steadily declined. Cars, planes and buses supply the rest. Now, that's not 30 percent or 3 percent; it's three-tenths of 1 percent. Even if Amtrak's ridership tripled (which no one thinks will happen), its share would be less than 1 percent. In fiscal 2001, says the GAO, Amtrak carried an average of 64,000 intercity passengers a day. By contrast, airlines carried 1.8 million and buses 984,000. Amtrak operated in 45 states in 2001, but in 34 of those, it carried fewer than 1,000 passengers a day.

Because Amtrak does so little, it can't contribute significantly to solving any conceivable national problem: alleviating congestion; reducing air pollution; saving energy. One 1995 study of trains between Los Angeles and San Diego estimated that they kept 2,240 cars off the road a day. Surely, no one noticed in a corridor where millions of cars move daily.

The lesson of Amtrak is that Congress does not demand that federal programs serve true national needs. If it did, Amtrak -- and many other programs -- would disappear. Once a program exists, it becomes virtually immortal. To eliminate it would deprive the supervising congressional committees of power, and members of Congress rarely surrender power. Nor do they willingly invite bad publicity.

If Amtrak shut down, its closing would be greeted on TV and in papers as a small national tragedy that was, somehow, a blow against sensible transportation and the environment. People have a romantic attachment to passenger trains. Amtrak is a subsidy for nostalgia.

To disguise this, Amtrak's advocates construct artful arguments. It's said, for example, that because the government has subsidized highways and airways, passenger trains also deserve subsidies. But most airline and highway subsidies are covered by user fees, and the scale of the subsidies -- measured per passenger -- are much smaller. On Amtrak's long-distance trains, most passengers are subsidized at least $100 per trip. On some routes, the subsidy exceeds $300. The highways and airways don't get anything like that.

Congress also periodically pretends that Amtrak can become self-supporting. In the original legislation, subsidies were supposed to be temporary. A few years ago, Congress again decreed that Amtrak become self-sufficient -- a goal so unrealistic that it's hard to see how anyone with a shred of intelligence or integrity could have endorsed it.

Passenger trains made sense when Americans crowded into cities. But post-World War II suburbanization, interstate highways and jet travel (beginning in 1958) made trains economically unviable and socially irrelevant. By and large, people no longer moved from central city to central city but from one scattered suburban location to another. Trains couldn't compete with cars on cost and convenience. They couldn't compete with planes on time and cost.

Because mounting losses were weakening private railroads, Congress created Amtrak to assume responsibility for deficit-ridden passenger trains. Congress dared not let passenger trains disappear. But neither could it allow railroads to slip progressively into bankruptcy, impairing their main economic function: moving freight. Railroads still carry about 40 percent of all freight.

In some places -- mainly the Northeast Corridor and perhaps a few others -- passenger trains may make sense. According to the GAO, Amtrak's only route with an operating profit in 2001 was the New York-to-Washington Metroliner, which made $51 million. But that profit excludes the cost of buying trains and improving track.

In an ideal world, Congress would set a termination date for Amtrak, say a year or 18 months from now. During that time, states and localities that wanted to continue passenger service (including many commuter trains) could make arrangements to assume Amtrak's trains and costs. Because the benefits are mainly local, subsidies should be local too.

Given Amtrak's dreary history, the chances of anything so sensible happening seem slight. Probably Congress will muddle through the present "crisis," throwing more money at Amtrak and proving once again that no federal program -- no matter how unjustified -- is ever a candidate for the ax.

2002-06-26T21:38:00.000Z

Subsidized Nostalgia (washingtonpost.com)

2002-06-26T21:29:00.000Z

Rail safety improves but assaults on staff soar Jun 26 2002

The rail industry achieved its best ever safety figures last year, it has been revealed.

But the figures had to be seen against the backdrop of last month's Potters Bar crash, said the Railway Safety group, which released the statistics.

The latest figures covered the period April 2001 to March 2002 and so did not include the seven people who died and the 71 others who were injured in the tragedy.

2002-06-26T21:27:00.000Z

Rail union switches backing for Labour MPs Jun 25 2002

Britain's biggest rail union has decided to sack a number of Labour MPs including Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

It is switching financial support to a new group of leading left wingers.

The Rail Maritime and Transport Union voted to adopt a new group of Labour MPs including Jeremy Corbyn, Ann Cryer and Diane Abbott.

2002-06-26T21:22:00.000Z

Network Rail to get access to billions
By Alistair Osborne, City Correspondent (Filed: 24/06/2002)

Network Rail's bid to buy Railtrack plc is expected to be backed by three separate Government support packages, which are likely to be kept off the public books, it emerged yesterday.

Alongside a £9 billion bridging loan backed by the taxpayer-funded Strategic Rail Authority, Network Rail is also expected to have access to billions of pounds of extra funding.

This will be in the form of a long-term contingency fund and further mid-term resources, which one source said would ensure that Network Rail "is not punished for the mistakes of Railtrack".

The contingency fund could only be used in the event of major problems on the railways under Network Rail's stewardship, such as a crisis similar to that in the industry after the Hatfield crash. For Network Rail to have access to this fund, the Government would probably demand management changes.

The other mid-term funding will become available to help Network Rail deal with Railtrack's legacy projects, such as the West Coast main line upgrade where costs have soared from the initial £2 billion to as much as £13 billion.

Information on the Government support packages is expected to be revealed by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling once Network Rail makes its formal £500m offer to take Railtrack plc out of administration.

The deal could be announced as early as today, prompting a relisting of the shares in Railtrack Group, which are expected to start trading at a discount to the 240p-250p per share it hopes to return.

While Network Rail and Railtrack Group were very close to signing last night, the relisting also depends on London & Continental Railways completing a £375m deal to buy Railtrack Group's option over the first phase of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Delays over this deal could postpone the announcement.

Once announced, Mr Darling is expected to make a statement to Parliament and reveal details of the government support packages in a note probably lodged in the House of Commons library. The note is said to be "very complex".

Government support is expected to be via the SRA but, like the £9 billion bridging loan, off the public accounts.

The size of the mid-term support could be in the region of £10 billion. The CBI will today call for another £15 billion injection into the Government's 10-year transport plan, arguing that rail alone needs £12 billion more. Network Rail might also request more cash via an interim review with regulator Tom Winsor.

The accounting for Network Rail has already sparked a political storm. Shadow chancellor Michael Howard has written to Gordon Brown asking: "Why should the £9 billion be regarded as a potential debt on an agency of the Government, but not on the Government itself?

"People are rightly concerned with the declining performance of the railways since the Government decided to renationalise them. There is now a danger of Enron-style accounting being added to the charge sheet." National Statistics is yet to rule formally on the accounting for the £9 billion loan.

Yesterday a spokesman for Mr Darling said: "It is a decision for the ONS [National Statistics] and they are independent of government."

2002-06-26T21:14:00.000Z

Virgin wins with West Coast deal
Dominic O’Connell

VIRGIN RAIL is to be given an extension to its controversial West Coast Main Line franchise in return for scrapping claims against Railtrack.
The deal is likely to be finalised in September, and may also include a reduction in track- access payments by Virgin, as well as a scaling-back of the amount of ticket revenue it was to have paid to the government.

The deal will resolve a row between Virgin and Railtrack over the troubled West Coast Main Line upgrade. Virgin has a 15-year franchise to run trains on the line.

Virgin has invested in a £1.2 billion fleet of tilting trains that were to have run at 125mph from last month, and at 140mph from May 2005. They would have cut journey times from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow by at least half an hour.

But Railtrack has been unable to deliver the necessary track improvements specified in the contract with Virgin — leaving it open to compensation claims. The cost of the upgrade has soared — from £2.1 billion when work began in earnest in 1998, to a final official estimate last year of £6.3 billion.

Bechtel, the US construction manager famous for saving troubled construction projects, including the Channel tunnel, has concluded that a 140mph railway would cost £13 billion.

“We thought it might be close to £10 billion, but this is unbelievable,” said one source.

Bechtel was asked to study progress on the project by John Armitt, Railtrack’s chief executive. The main task was to determine whether a revised September 2003 timetable for 125mph running could be met.

It is understood that Bechtel concluded that the deadline is challenging but can be met. “The figure for 140mph is really a red herring,” said one source close to the talks. “We are focused on how to achieve 125mph.”

Bechtel is also understood to have concluded that the West Coast line was in a much worse state than thought when the railways were privatised in 1996.

2002-06-26T21:09:00.000Z

Directions: Book of the Week: Great railway journeys of Europe
Anthony Sattin

Great Railway Journeys of Europe
edited by Tom Le Bas
(Insight Guides £16.99)

Unlike Britain, continental Europe is seeing a renaissance in train travel, thanks to the spread of the high-speed rail network, and Insight’s new guide to the best of Europe’s railway journeys celebrates this. The Orient Express is the first of 70 journeys described and lavishly illustrated. Most routes are confined to single countries; some, such as Spain’s Al Andalus and Switzerland’s Glacier Express, are obvious, but many are not, including the Middlesbrough to Whitby route, the train that runs through the Causses region of southern France, and the line that crosses the Corinth Canal into the Peloponnese. This latest Insight Guide will help you choose your route and sort out the practicalities along the way.

To buy Great Railway Journeys for the reduced price of £13.59, excluding p&p, or any travel guides, call The Sunday Times Books Direct on 0870 165 8585

2002-06-26T21:07:00.000Z

2002-06-26T21:01:00.000Z

SWT it may lose new franchise

by Dick Murray Transport Editor
South West Trains, which serves some of the busiest commuter routes in the country, could lose its proposed 15-year franchise because of continuing poor services.

Passengers have complained of late, overcrowded and cancelled services.

The Transport Secretary said SWT is "not being operated as well as anybody would like. Its performance levels are not acceptable."

He said if the Strategic Rail Authority cannot negotiate a franchise renewal that puts the interests of the public first, it will be prepared to seek a new franchise operator.

His condemnation sent a shock wave through Stagecoach-owned SWT, which believed it had the franchise sewn up. SWT recently announced the completion of a £1 billion order for new trains.

2002-06-23T14:24:00.000Z

Scottish News: Scotland is top of rail danger list
Mark Macaskill

SCOTLAND'S railways are the most dangerous in Britain with more acts of vandalism and sabotage than any other part of the country, official figures have revealed.

Statistics released by Railtrack, the track owner, show that three out of the top five most hazardous stretches of track are north of the border. Scotland also has among the highest numbers of track trespassers.

The company has warned that it is "only a matter of time" before there is a fatal disaster on Scotland's railways. The warning comes a month after the derailment of a train at Potters Bar, in Hertfordshire, which left seven people dead and 76 injured.

Jarvis, the company responsible for track maintenance, claims the accident was a result of sabotage although investigators have found no evidence to support their claims. According to Railtrack, the most dangerous rail journey in Britain is between Whifflet, in Coatbridge, and Glasgow. Last year there were 63 separate acts of vandalism on the 12-mile stretch of track.

The line at Kirkwood Station is identified as Britain's most dangerous with 38 individual attacks. They included an incident last year when 20 youths threw bricks at a train emerging from the station, smashing all the windows in the drivers' cab.

Other stations under siege include Wishaw which recorded 34 attacks, Shieldmuir where there were 25 and Whifflet, which recorded 25. There were a further 30 reports of vandalism on routes into the high level at Glasgow Central.

Items including shopping trolleys, wheelchairs, washing machines, mattresses and, in one case, a moped, have been dumped on the rails in the path of trains often travelling faster than 100mph.

Last year, a driver was shot at by two youths brandishing an air rifle as the train passed through the Avonhill area in Cumbernauld and another was seriously injured when he was hit in the face by a stone in Holytowm, Lanarkshire.

On several occasions, drivers who have stopped to remove obstacles have been ambushed by thugs and beaten up.

The problem is so serious that, in some cases, drivers require counselling and time off to recover.

Rail companies, including Scotrail and freight operator EWS, have also introduced toughened glass, used in aircraft cockpits, to reduce the risk of injury to drivers.

"In the past, this problem has been dismissed as harmless youths up to mischief," said Janette Anderson, director of Railtrack Scotland. "However, these vandals are real criminals who endanger the lives of thousands of passengers.

"We do have a serious problem in Scotland and it's only a matter of time before another person is killed.

"We are currently in talks with the executive and it is crucial that we also engage the judiciary in Scotland. There needs to be much stiffer penalties."

According to the police, route crime on Scotland's 2,500 miles of rail network has risen by 26% from 2,565 in 1999 to 3,238 in 2001 and costs the country about £26m in delays, repairs and counselling for traumatised staff.

The rise in vandalism is despite ongoing efforts to battle the problem including undercover police officers travelling on the worst routes and the use of CCTV cameras.Last week, Railtrack ran a national campaign to raise awareness of vandalism on the network.

ScotRail says the true scale of vandalism is much larger than official figures suggest.Last year, it recorded 645 stone-throwing incidents which damaged 451 train windows and injured 14 passengers and staff.

It also noted 303 incidents of obstructions deliberately placed on the line. Yet official figures compiled by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) — which only include incidents if a train is damaged — recorded 54.

Superintendent Stuart Buchanan, area commander of the British Transport police in Scotland, said: "It's very serious,. The scale is much higher than government figures show."

The official inquiry into the Potters Bar rail crash, in which seven people died and 76 were injured, has rejected evidence from maintenance contractors that sabotage was to blame. Investigators have established that at the time of the crash the track points were incorrectly installed. They believe this was caused by "maintenance failure".

xecutives from Jarvis, the contractor responsible for the section of track at Potters Bar, claimed after the accident that they had uncovered evidence of sabotage.

However, investigators have found no evidence of sabotage in the dossier of photographs compiled by Jarvis to support its theory.

2002-06-23T14:20:00.000Z

Eurostar smartens up its act ...
By Jeremy Skidmore

THE EUROSTAR Group is to spend £35 million over the next three years on a fashion makeover for its cross-Channel train service aimed at winning back high-spending business and corporate customers.
Ticket sales fell 7 per cent to 1.77 million in the first quarter of this year, and the three months to June are unlikely to see an improvement.

Much of the fall is attributed to factors outside the group’s control and is in the leisure market. It has suffered from a slump in demand following September 11, foot-and-mouth and now the World Cup.

But David Azema, Eurostar chairman, admits that sales have been levelling off in business travel as well and wholesale changes are needed to encourage people to switch from flights to Paris and Brussels.

While Eurostar has about half the business travel market to the two cities, it is facing increasing competition, with easyJet the latest operator to launch services to the French capital this week.

“Our punctuality has improved and now 80 per cent to 85 per cent of trains are on time. But you cannot just be on time and clean. We need to bring something more. We carried out a comprehensive review, we listened to people and we took recommendations to the board,” Azema said. Among some of the complaints from disgruntled passengers were the garish yellow colours on the trains and the quality of the food.

About £10 million is being invested in new business class lounges. The first of these opened in London this week, Paris opens on June 24 and Brussels is due for completion at the end of the year.

Eurostar has 31 train sets, each with 770 seats, and the rest of the money will be spent on refurbishing them — which will help justify Paris return prices of £405 for First Class and £500 for Premium First. Philippe Starck, the designer, has been brought in to oversee the refurbishments. Azema promises a change of lighting and colours in standard class and a completely different atmosphere in First, with more comfortable seats and improved dining. Premium First will be better still, he claims, with just 14 seats instead of 24.

“We have discovered that there is an upper class market that wants something special,” Azema said.

“It may be a footballer or just someone who wants their own private space. It will be like being on a private jet. It will also give us something to reward our frequent travellers with. In the same way that British Airways can upgrade people to Concorde, we can upgrade people to Premium First.”

Azema will leave before the work is completed. After three years as chairman, he is returning to France to head a subsidiary of Vinci, the French conglomerate. But before he goes he will also oversee the implementation of a new corporate structure, which he claims will also benefit passengers.

Eurostar is operated by Eurostar UK, SNCF in France and SNCB in Belgium, a situation that has led to administrative nightmares. “If someone complained in Dijon about an incident in Waterloo, then they would shrug their shoulders and say it was a different company,” said Azema.

“When we wanted to get train announcements turned off in First Class, we fitted switches to the trains. But in some countries the announcements would actually be switched on in some trains when they should have been switched off. We couldn’t fit standard mirrors in cabins because the standards were different in the three countries. But this is changing. We now have a unified marketing department

2002-06-23T14:07:00.000Z

Bahn bremst Metrorapid aus

Nordrhein-Westfalen gerät mit seinen Planungen für den Metrorapid in Verzug. Auf Antrag der Deutschen Bahn hat die Vergabekammer der Bezirksregierung Düsseldorf dem Land vor wenigen Tagen untersagt, Ingenieurleistungen für das Großprojekt zu vergeben.

DPA

Der Metrorapid auf dem Bahnhof, freilich nur in einer Computersimulation

Der Grund: Die Bahn will unbedingt an der Trassenplanung für die Schnellstrecke zwischen Dortmund und Düsseldorf beteiligt werden, obwohl ihre Tochter DE Consult im Wettbewerb von sechs Bietern nicht zu den drei Favoriten des Landes zählte. In ihrem Nachprüfungsantrag bemängelt die DB-Kanzlei Fritze Paul Schmitt einen "wettbewerbsverzerrenden Wissensvorsprung" der favorisierten Bieter; ferner seien "Auswahl und Anwendung der Wertungskriterien fehlerhaft".
Da ein langer Rechtsstreit die von NRW erstrebte Fertigstellung der Strecke zur Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 2006 unmöglich machen würde, bietet die DB listig einen Ausweg an: Die drei ausgewählten Konsortien sollten die unterlegenen Konkurrenten, darunter natürlich DE Consult, durch Unteraufträge an dem Projekt beteiligen. "Bei einem derartigen Verfahren", heißt es in einem Brief des DB-Vorstands an NRW-Verkehrsminister Ernst Schwanhold, könnten die entstandenen "Irritationen geheilt werden", auch wäre "die Gefahr der Projektverzögerung durch einen vermeidbaren Rechtsstreit gebannt". Wie das Großvorhaben finanziert werden soll, bleibt derweil unverändert offen.

2002-06-23T13:55:00.000Z

Mineta to Push Amtrak to Stay Open

By Don Phillips
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 23, 2002; Page A12

Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said yesterday that the Bush administration "is not interested in allowing Amtrak to shut down," and he arranged to meet with the railroad's board tomorrow afternoon to determine what the administration can do to prevent it.

The administration also no longer insists on wholesale "reforms" of Amtrak as part of a rescue, but wants assurances that the passenger-train corporation will impose fiscal discipline and increase the flow of information to the government, administration sources said.

Amtrak President David Gunn has said Amtrak is so low on cash that it will have to begin an "orderly shutdown" and declare bankruptcy when Congress goes into recess, probably Wednesday or Thursday, unless the administration gives it a loan guarantee or Congress grants it $200 million. Amtrak has never made money in its 31-year history and lost about $1.2 billion last year.

A shutdown would end all the country's intercity passenger train service, and would stop or seriously affect most of the country's commuter trains. That includes Virginia Railway Express and most Maryland commuter trains.

Federal Railroad Administration staff members are working to determine whether the government can legally guarantee a loan under a law intended for long-term capital needs, the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program. Deliberations so far indicate there may be a way to do it, a source said.

Administration sources said Mineta's meeting with the Amtrak board is partly intended to assure the nation that a shutdown almost certainly would not occur, and particularly to reassure commuter railroads that are livid about possibly being caught up in the shutdown.

The sources also said administration officials do not think they received adequate financial information from Amtrak, and want to determine if there are alternatives to loan guarantees or appropriations, including the release of unobligated funds or transferring money from other parts of the budget.

"I think people [in the administration] are focusing on the problem," Gunn said in an interview, adding that Mineta's request for a meeting "sounds positive to me."

Mineta said that even though the administration does not want Amtrak to shut down, "Amtrak must face the reality that difficult decisions need to be made and fundamental management changes need to take place to keep the company alive."

"We want Amtrak to succeed, not merely survive from crisis to crisis," he said.

In a speech last week, Mineta proposed that states pay more of passenger-train costs, that Amtrak's Boston-Washington Northeast Corridor be spun off to an unspecified "public partnership," and that some Amtrak routes and jobs be contracted out.

Some congressional sources viewed yesterday's Transportation Department press release as a dig at Gunn, who is known to have angered some administration officials with his outspokenness and independence in only five weeks on the job.

The press release noted that only the Amtrak board can shut down operations and declare bankruptcy. The release also seemed to criticize Gunn's testimony Thursday to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on transportation, in which he said the orderly shutdown would have to start sooner than some had expected and that Mineta's proposals were misguided and unworkable.

"DOT officials and others found Gunn's testimony alarming since it described a significant acceleration of deadlines reported to the board of directors as recently as three weeks ago," the Transportation Department statement said.

Gunn said, however, that he thought the department was stating the obvious because legally, only the board can declare bankruptcy. "I always intended I'd go the board," he said. "You have to go through the bankruptcy process."

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairman of the appropriations subcommittee, cautioned Mineta not to use the meeting to punish Gunn.

"The goal of Amtrak's board meeting on Monday should be to ensure the continuation of rail service in this country by insisting that the Bush administration either issue a loan guarantee or request a supplemental appropriation from Congress," Murray said in a statement. "The goal should not be to chastise a CEO for sharing his frank and experienced views on a set of policy proposals on which he was never consulted."

2002-06-23T13:51:00.000Z

Amtrak Shutdown Could Stall Travel
MostAmtrak Shutdown Could Stall Travel
Most Commuter Service Would Be Halted
_____Related Articles_____

• Amtrak May Begin Shutdown in Days (The Washington Post, Jun 21, 2002)
• Bush Warned to Be Speedy on Amtrak Funding (The Washington Post, Jun 20, 2002)
• U.S. to Offer Amtrak Plan (The Washington Post, Jun 20, 2002)

By Don Phillips
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 22, 2002; Page E01

An Amtrak shutdown, threatened for the middle of next week, would ripple far beyond intercity passenger train service to halt or severely curtail rail commuter service along the East Coast and California, officials said yesterday.

Any commuter trains that use the national passenger railroad's tracks -- basically the Northeast Corridor from Washington to Boston -- or are operated by Amtrak under contract or use Amtrak stations, would be affected.

In the Washington area, Virginia Railway Express said it would shut down all service. Maryland Rail Commuter Services (MARC) said its Washington-Baltimore Penn Line would shut down, and it is still reviewing options for the Camden and Brunswick lines. No MARC trains could enter Union Station, however.

An intercity and commuter rail shutdown could create havoc along the East Coast, where hundreds of thousands of people would be forced onto highways, subways and airports. Amtrak, for instance, now hauls more passengers between Washington and New York than the airline shuttles combined.

"This is no way to treat the traveling public," said Pete Sklannik Jr., VRE's chief operating officer. "It's a bad time to play brinksmanship, it really is."

Congress and the Bush administration are arguing over how to save Amtrak from a cash crisis that could shut down all the country's intercity passenger service before the July 4 holiday period. Amtrak President David L. Gunn said that unless the Bush administration comes through with a $200 million loan guarantee or Congress is close to appropriating the money, he will begin an orderly shutdown by Wednesday or Thursday. Amtrak also would be placed into bankruptcy under a court-appointed trustee.

Federal Railroad Administration staff members said they would work through the weekend to try to make a loan guarantee work, and members of Congress continued to protest what they called the administration's inaction.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) said yesterday he would attempt to add $200 million for Amtrak to a Senate appropriations bill for homeland security that is now under negotiation between the Senate and House. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill, saying it is too expensive.

Administration officials have said they would insist that any additional direct aid to Amtrak be linked to major reforms including eliminating or contracting out some routes.

Gunn said a shutdown would take four days or so, enough time to avoid stranding any passengers and to get Amtrak equipment to storage areas where it could be guarded from vandalism until Amtrak's creditors could assume custody in bankruptcy.

"We're trying to be as optimistic as we can," Gunn said yesterday. "I really can't believe that wisdom isn't going to prevail in this case."

VRE's Sklannik said that he had hoped to be able to operate trains into the L'Enfant Plaza station, but Amtrak informed him yesterday morning that the necessary collective bargaining agreements could not be worked out for VRE to hire the Amtrak engineers that run his trains. The only Amtrak track used by VRE is through the tunnel into Union Station.

In addition to the Washington area shutdowns, Philadelphia's Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority would be largely shut down, as would New Jersey Transit.

"The operational chaos that will result from this is incalculable at this point. It's a disaster," New Jersey Transportation Commissioner James P. Fox told the Associated Press.

In New York, Metro North would be largely unaffected since it owns and operates its own trains and tracks from the north and east and uses New York Grand Central Station instead of Amtrak's Penn Station. The Long Island Rail Road could operate as usual with one major exception -- it couldn't get into Manhattan because its trains use Penn Station.

Boston's commuter system would be mostly shut down because its trains are operated by Amtrak and use many stretches of Amtrak track and stations.

Chicago's Metra would be inconvenienced because many of its trains use Amtrak's Union Station, but other trains into other stations could continue to operate as long as they do not use Amtrak tracks.

In California, all commuter service would apparently be shut down, including major systems in Los Angeles and San Francisco, because they are either operated by Amtrak or use Amtrak facilities.

In some ways, the Amtrak crisis is a carbon copy of many incidents during the corporation's 31-year existence. Amtrak was formed as a "profit-making" corporation on May 1, 1971, a description long acknowledged as a fabrication by many of the federal staff members who helped form the company. For three decades, Congress gave Amtrak barely enough money to maintain service while ordering it to run trains that passed through the states or districts of key members of the Senate or House.

Often, Amtrak management has threatened to shut down certain routes as a way of forcing Congress to come up with more money. Many observers apparently believed that was happening again -- until last week.

This crisis is different in two major ways:

• Over the last few years, Amtrak has papered over its crises by borrowing against its assets. Amtrak also ran out of cash last year, then mortgaged New York Penn Station for $300 million to keep operating. But Penn Station was the last major asset that Amtrak had to mortgage.

• Gunn, on the job only five weeks, is no-nonsense, politically independent and decisive. When he said Amtrak would shut down, people who knew him believed him.

The Bush administration has acknowledged that it has no contingency plans if there is a shutdown. FRA Administrator Alan Rutter appeared a little surprised by a question Thursday before a Senate subcommittee as to whether the FRA had a contingency plan. He said he would prefer to spend his time working on a way to keep Amtrak running.

Meanwhile, Standard and Poor's downgraded Amtrak's credit rating yesterday to the lowest investment grade, and Moody's placed Amtrak on a a watch list for a possible downgrade.

By Don Phillips
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 22, 2002; Page E01
An Amtrak shutdown, threatened for the middle of next week, would ripple far beyond intercity passenger train service to halt or severely curtail rail commuter service along the East Coast and California, officials said yesterday.
Any commuter trains that use the national passenger railroad's tracks -- basically the Northeast Corridor from Washington to Boston -- or are operated by Amtrak under contract or use Amtrak stations, would be affected.
In the Washington area, Virginia Railway Express said it would shut down all service. Maryland Rail Commuter Services (MARC) said its Washington-Baltimore Penn Line would shut down, and it is still reviewing options fo

2002-06-23T13:41:00.000Z

2002-06-19T21:46:00.000Z

RecheLa SNCF sur les rails de l'avenir, par Louis Gallois
La SNCF, entreprise publique : il y a un consensus large sur ce sujet. Cela ne veut pas dire que le périmètre de l'entreprise soit en tous points intangible.

Au moment où la SNCF prépare son projet pour 2003-2005, j'ai ressenti le besoin que les cheminots puissent intervenir directement à travers un très large débat. Plus de 100 forums vont avoir lieu, réunissant plus de 20 000 cheminots ; des questionnaires écrits seront disponibles pour les 160 000 autres afin de leur permettre d'exprimer leurs préoccupations et surtout de proposer leurs contributions.
La SNCF est à un tournant de sa longue et forte histoire. Depuis quelques années, elle s'est engagée à nouveau sur le chemin de la croissance - 30 % de voyageurs en plus en six ans - en menant résolument une politique de volume. Elle exprime une vraie ambition de développement ; le doublement du fret en dix ans en est un exemple. Elle concrétise cette ambition par une forte progression de ses investissements. Elle a su mettre en service, avec succès, le TGV Méditerranée.

Partiellement désendettée en 1997, elle a retrouvé ses repères économiques et les bénéfices en 2000 - même si, en 2001, pour des raisons conjoncturelles, elle est retombée dans le rouge. Les embauches ont repris : 40 000 jeunes recrutés depuis 1997. Parallèlement, la SNCF s'est ouverte aux clients, aux régions, mais aussi, plus qu'elle ne le croit elle-même, à l'Europe. Bref, elle a retrouvé une dynamique qu'elle n'avait plus connue depuis longtemps.

En même temps, les cheminots sentent que le monde dans lequel ils évoluent change vite. Ils se posent des questions lourdes. L'Europe - et la concurrence - ouvre de nouveaux espaces de développement, mais suscite aussi de vraies craintes.

L'avenir du service public est en débat. L'exigence économique et la compétitivité apparaissent dans la vie quotidienne des personnels. Une révolution démographique sans précédent s'engage : plus de la moitié des agents seront renouvelés dans les dix ans à venir. Le management suscite débat : centralisation et cloisonnement excessifs, difficulté d'écoute et de reconnaissance des agents. Enfin, les grèves trop fréquentes minent la confiance des clients ; elles sont de plus en plus mal acceptées par une partie des personnels eux-mêmes, en même temps qu'elles freinent le développement de l'entreprise.

Les cheminots vivent mal l'incertitude d'un monde en mouvement ; ils savent que la SNCF est un "lourd paquebot" qui ne change pas de cap facilement. Ils veulent donc des repères. Notre démarche peut les aider à dessiner leur avenir : je sais, par expérience, que lorsqu'on leur demande comment faire progresser une entreprise à laquelle ils sont viscéralement attachés, ils fourmillent d'idées, de propositions et n'hésitent pas à interpeller, parfois avec une certaine rudesse - j'en ai aussi l'expérience - , une hiérarchie et une direction qui doivent savoir les écouter.

Cette démarche inédite sera ouverte, sans a priori. Je garantis à tous ceux qui y participeront qu'ils ne le feront pas en vain.

Le débat qui s'ouvre ne part pas de nulle part. Des fondations solides existent : ce sont les valeurs communes qui réunissent les cheminots. La première est celle du service public : c'est une part essentielle de la légitimité de la SNCF ; c'est la raison majeure des financements publics que reçoit l'entreprise ; c'est aussi un sujet de très large consensus en France. A travers la régionalisation en province, effective depuis le début 2002, à travers la contractualisation en Ile-de-France, l'entreprise s'engage - c'est un de mes sujets de fierté - dans un renouveau sans précédent de ses missions de service public, avec l'aide et sous l'autorité des régions : nouvelles dessertes, nouveaux matériels, gares rénovées, croissance des trafics - c'est ça qui est désormais l'actualité.

Mais le service public n'est plus celui de 1946 : le niveau de vie a changé, des moyens de transports alternatifs sont apparus, de nouveaux besoins aussi ; la France s'est urbanisée. Il faut faire vivre, adapter le service public pour qu'il ne s'étiole pas.

La sécurité des circulations est une deuxième référence commune. Que les voyageurs arrivent, sans accident, à bon port, c'est un combat de tous les jours sur lequel tous les cheminots sont mobilisés ; c'est notre honneur et notre premier devoir vis-à-vis de ceux qui se confient à nous. Neuf cents millions de voyageurs ont pris le TGV depuis 1982 sans aucun accident mortel. Derrière cela, il y a des efforts humains et budgétaires considérables, de rudes disciplines et une exceptionnelle compétence professionnelle.

La solidarité des cheminots est une troisième valeur fondatrice ; elle peut "déplacer des montagnes". Un seul exemple : lorsque le poste de commandement de la gare Saint-Lazare a brûlé, en quatre heures, les circulations ont été rétablies, en toute sécurité, par des agents de tous grades venus, pour une large part, spontanément, un samedi.

Cette solidarité s'exprime aussi dans les conflits. Nous travaillons sur ce sujet actuellement au sein de la SNCF avec les syndicats et les personnels pour que nous passions, ensemble, d'une culture du conflit à une culture du compromis. La solidarité se concrétise, enfin, dans le statut des cheminots. Il n'empêche pas la SNCF de vivre et de progresser. Il est plus souple qu'on ne le croit. Il est la contrepartie du service public et de sa continuité. Cela dit, il doit vivre avec son temps et, pour cela, évoluer : il l'a fait dans le passé ; il aura à le faire dans l'avenir.

L'histoire de la SNCF est une référence irremplaçable : c'est un motif de grande fierté pour les personnels ; elle se confond avec l'histoire de la République et explique la relation très affective qui lie l'entreprise et les Français. Il faut la transmettre aux jeunes qui nous rejoignent, car elle leur parle du patrimoine le plus précieux de l'entreprise : dévouement, savoir-faire et compétence des cheminots. Ils y lisent les raisons de nos succès... et de nos échecs. Car cette histoire n'est pas un roman rose. Elle a ses versants ensoleillés et ses côtés plus sombres, mais c'est une grande histoire dont nous avons, à notre tour, la charge.

Depuis quelques années, une nouvelle référence rassemble les cheminots : le service des clients. Bien sûr, il y a encore beaucoup de progrès à faire, mais l'objectif est désormais partagé : le service des clients fait partie de l'identité de l'entreprise.

La SNCF est une entreprise publique. Il appartient à la collectivité nationale et à ses représentants élus de décider si elle doit le demeurer. Président de la SNCF, je ne peux m'exprimer sur cette question qu'avec réserve, même si j'ai, bien sûr, un point de vue. Dans la récente campagne présidentielle, le caractère public de la SNCF n'a pas fait débat. Il y a donc un consensus large sur ce sujet. Les craintes entretenues sur ce thème sont donc assez vaines. Cela ne veut pas dire que le périmètre de l'entreprise soit en tout point intangible. Là aussi, il faut savoir s'adapter et être pragmatique. Nous l'avons fait dans les années récentes.

L'Europe est la nouvelle dimension du chemin de fer. Les frontières disparaissent pour tous les modes de transports, y compris le rail : tout le monde s'en réjouit. Je suis convaincu que la SNCF peut y trouver un formidable espace de développement. Elle a commencé avec Thalys ou Eurostar. Elle ne peut donc être frileuse. Elle doit jouer l'Europe à 100 %, sans complexe. Elle a toutes les armes pour y prendre sa place, au premier rang. Cela me paraît conforme à l'intérêt de notre pays : la SNCF peut être un atout majeur pour la France en Europe.

Le 16 mars 2003, le fret ferroviaire international sera ouvert à la concurrence. On ne s'arrêtera pas là. La concurrence intermodale et la concurrence entre entreprises ferroviaires montent. Elles sont liées au marché unique qui se construit au niveau européen. Nous pouvons bien sûr débattre - et nous battre - sur son ampleur, ses modalités, son rythme. Nous devons aussi indiquer ce qu'un monopole exigeant peut apporter au service public en termes de cohérence ou de mobilisation. Mais on ne peut pas jouer l'autruche : le renforcement de notre compétitivité est désormais un objectif incontournable ; le fret notamment doit retrouver l'équilibre d'ici 2005. Une de mes responsabilités est clairement de préparer la SNCF à la concurrence. Nous le faisons et nous continuerons à le faire.

Enfin - même si ce n'est pas évident pour tout le monde -, la SNCF doit faire des bénéfices. C'est elle qui finance, sur ses ressources propres, les rames TGV, les rénovations de voitures corail, les gares, les locomotives fret, les ateliers de maintenance de son matériel. Tous ses investissements sont en croissance, parce qu'ils accompagnent le développement de l'entreprise. L'Etat et maintenant les régions font à l'égard du ferroviaire un effort important qui confère des devoirs à la SNCF et ne peut être indéfiniment accru, même si la question de la dette du ferroviaire reste posée.

Les financements que la SNCF peut mobiliser pour ses investissements dépendent donc de ses résultats : lorsqu'elle est en perte, comme en 2001, sa capacité de financement se réduit. Seuls des bénéfices ou des ventes d'actifs lui permettront de financer les investissements dont elle a besoin. Faire des bénéfices pour renforcer et améliorer le service que nous rendons, c'est aussi un plus pour le service public.

Les débats qui vont se dérouler au sein de la SNCF jusqu'à l'automne n'intéressent pas que les cheminots. La vie d'une grande entreprise aussi essentielle à la vie des Français, aussi ancrée dans l'histoire de notre pays, ne peut laisser personne indifférent. C'est en mesurant cette responsabilité, et en se mettant à l'écoute de leurs concitoyens et de leurs clients, que les cheminots vont, ensemble, préparer l'avenir de leur entreprise. Je souhaite qu'ils le fassent avec un double sentiment : la fierté et la confiance.

Louis Gallois est président de la SNCF.

2002-06-19T21:40:00.000Z

Le Figaro.fr : L'humeur des marchés néfaste aux privatisations L'humeur des marchés néfaste aux privatisations

Muriel Motte
[juin 2002]

Bercy va devoir faire preuve de patience. Depuis 10 ans, la Bourse a constitué une généreuse source de financement pour les gouvernements successifs toujours en quête de fonds. Très souvent, les débuts de législature ont constitué les périodes propices aux privatisations. Mais « il est impossible aujourd'hui d'aller contre un marché aussi déprimé », commente un banquier spécialisé de ce genre d'opérations.
Il y a quelques semaines seulement, 900 000 actionnaires individuels se sont bousculés pour souscrire des titres ASF, et les investisseurs institutionnels ont souscrit 19 fois la tranche qui leur était réservée. Les actions TMM offertes par l'État ont, elles, été souscrites 4 fois. Mais depuis, les marchés mondiaux se sont enfoncés dans la déprime. Le CAC 40, qui affiche aujourd'hui une chute de 14,5 % depuis janvier, est même retombé hier à son plus bas niveau depuis le 25 septembre dernier.

La rentrée de septembre verra-t-elle enfin les marchés émerger de leur dépression ? C'est que l'État détient quelques pépites en réserve : des participations dans sept sociétés du CAC 40, sans oublier Bull, ASF et Air France (voir tableau). Et aussi, une petite vingtaine d'actifs non cotés allant d'EDF à la SNCF en passant par GDF, la Française des Jeux, La Poste, Snecma, la SNPE... Potentiellement, l'État dispose de dizaines de milliards d'euros d'actifs réalisables. Mais, « tout est affaire de choix politique d'abord, de conjoncture générale des marchés ensuite, de positionnement de chaque entreprise dans son secteur enfin », résume un banquier.

Seule certitude : bien que matraqué en Bourse, France Télécom demeure le joyau coté de l'État. Sur la base des cours en séance hier, sa participation dans l'opérateur pesait une dizaine de milliards d'euros. Et pourtant le cours de France Télécom s'est effondré de 62 % en 5 mois. A son apogée, il y a deux ans, l'opérateur français cotait même 219 euros (17 euros hier).

La conjoncture est probablement meilleure pour Air France, puisque le secteur aérien sort d'un creux de cycle ; même chose pour Thalès, car l'armement a la cote. En ce qui concerne la Snecma, la mauvaise conjoncture avait obligé le gouvernement Jospin a faire marche arrière, mais le retrait de l'État est évoqué depuis longtemps. C'est aussi le cas du Crédit Lyonnais, dont le cours a gagné 15 % depuis janvier.

Sans atteindre la valeur de la participation dans France Telecom, Bercy peut tout de même empocher quelques milliards de ces actifs (voir tableau). En rendant au passage service à ces entreprises : à l'exception du CAC 40, les grands indices européens pondèrent les valeurs en fonction de leur flottant, c'est-à-dire des titres effectivement négociables dans le public. Plus il est important, mieux les titres sont représentés, et plus leur cours en profite.

C'est aussi de ses actifs non cotés que Bercy espère tirer quelques subsides. La libéralisation des marchés européens de l'énergie met régulièrement les noms d'EDF et de GDF sur le devant de la scène. La valorisation du premier oscille entre 40 et 70 milliards d'euros selon les formules retenues pour le traitement des retraites et le coût du démantèlement des centrales nucléaires qui vont arriver peu à peu au terme de leur cycle. Mais il faut encore modifier les statuts du personnel, ce qui est une opération beaucoup plus sensible chez EDF que chez GDF.

Pour les actionnaires, les privatisations se sont dans la grande majorité des cas révélées des opérations gagnantes. Mais les marchés doivent aujourd'hui retrouver le goût du risque. Les privatisations avaient rapporté plus de 12 milliards d'euros au gouvernement Balladur de 1993 à 1995, puis 5,5 milliards à Alain Juppé entre 1995 et 1997, et enfin plus de 27 milliards lors du quinquennat de Lionel Jospin. Record à battre.

2002-06-19T21:33:00.000Z

Hearing on Amtrak Funds Called
New Chief Says Shutdown Likely if No Loan Is Offered

By Don Phillips
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 15, 2002; Page E03

The Senate Appropriations subcommittee on surface transportation yesterday scheduled a hearing for next week to examine Amtrak's precarious financial condition and to grill Bush administration witnesses on what they want to do about it.

New Amtrak President David L. Gunn said last week that if the passenger railroad corporation does not get a loan of at least $200 million by the end of the month, he will be forced to begin an orderly shutdown of all Amtrak passenger service in July -- the middle of the summer tourist season. However, Amtrak's auditors have so far failed to certify Amtrak as a "going concern," which makes obtaining a bank loan extremely difficult.

The administration and members of Congress are trying to decide whether to guarantee a loan to get Amtrak to Oct. 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year. Congress is considering an appropriation of $1.2 billion to keep Amtrak going through fiscal 2003 while the government debates what to do about passenger trains in the long run.

Administration and congressional sources said the government is coming to the realization that Gunn's statement reflects reality and is not just a ploy to squeeze more money from the government. In just a month on the job, Gunn has gained a reputation as a man who does not grandstand and who probably would do exactly what he says if no money is forthcoming.

Administration political aides are said to have grown nervous about the possibility that Amtrak might shut down on President Bush's watch -- even if only briefly until emergency funding is found.

The subcommittee's chair, Patty Murray (D-Wash.), said the panel will hear Thursday from Gunn and several administration officials, including Federal Railroad Administrator Alan Rutter and Transportation Department Inspector General Kenneth Mead.

Senate sources said the committee wants to pin down the administration's position on a loan or a loan guarantee. "We need something from the administration," the source said. "The administration must take this trip with us."

The administration has been mulling a longer-range plan for passenger trains for months but so far has not announced it.

2002-06-19T21:12:00.000Z

Times OnlineBusiness Letters

BRUSSELS BLAME: We should not be surprised that plans for new rail investment in Britain are being held up by the European commission (Business, last week).
The entire disaster story that is Railtrack is ultimately down to the commission, as it was EU directive 91/440 — requiring tracks and signalling to be separated from train operations — that forced John Major’s hand and led directly to the break-up of Britain’s railways and the formation of Railtrack.

Thanks again, Brussels.

Andy Smith
Epsom, Surrey

2002-06-19T21:09:00.000Z

Angola rebuilds Benguela railway
By Michael Dynes

ANGOLA, which has newly emerged from three decades of civil war, has announced plans to rebuild its 1,000-mile Benguela railway, part of a line which in its colonial heyday linked the east and west coasts of southern Africa.
The move has led to hopes that the entire route that ran from the Angolan port of Lobito the Mozambican port city of Beira via Zaire, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, may one day be revived.

The civil war, which left almost 500,000 people dead, four million homeless, and destroyed the entire national economy, was officially declared at an end in April after Angola’s Marxist Government and rebels of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita) signed a ceasefire in Luanda.

Long stretches of the Benguela railway were blown up or wrecked during the conflict. Unita guerrillas regularly destroyed sections of the route and there has been no maintenance or investment for 30 years. But the Government, flush with revenue from Angola’s vast diamond and oil reserves, is now eager to rebuild it as part of an attempt to revive the country’s war-shattered economy. Construction of the 1,000-mile line began in 1902 after Robert Williams, an Englishman, succeeded in winning a 99-year lease from the Portuguese colonial authorities. The railway was built almost entirely with British capital and was completed in 1928.

Built primarily to take large quantities of copper and cobalt from landlocked Zambia and Zaire to world markets, the line was also used extensively by Europeans travelling to such places as Bulawayo and Salisbury, now Harare, because it sliced three days’ travelling time off the alternative route from Cape Town.

Almost unique among colonial-era railways, Benguela’s Beyer-Garratt articulated steam locomotives used wood rather than coal and eucalyptus forests had to be planted at regular intervals along the line to provide fuel for the engines.

Like most long-distance railways built for hauling minerals, the line was highly profitable until closed by the eruption of the Angolan civil war in 1975. Many of the railway’s steam locomotives and freight and passenger coaches, which included some of the last built in England, were in mint condition when hostilities broke out. Most of the engines have been kept in mothballs since the fighting began.

Earlier this year, President dos Santos’s former Marxist Government nationalised the railway after the lease granted to Mr Williams a century ago expired.

Rail experts are considering whether the reconstruction and operation of the revived railway should be given to a public-private sector partnership, handed over to the private sector or kept as a state-run service, government officials have confirmed.

Regional observers are expressing optimism that the railway’s revival could be the first step in an effort to reconstruct the transcontinental rail network that once linked the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. But it could be many years before the railway is restored to its former colonial-era glory.

2002-06-19T21:08:00.000Z

Winsor's post to be abolished
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

THE post of Rail Regulator, held by Tom Winsor, is to be abolished and replaced by a regulatory board...Ministers hope the decision will end the adversarial relationship Mr Winsor had with Railtrack in his negotiations over its income and performance. Network Rail, the public interest company created by the Government to replace Railtrack, will welcome the prospect of being regulated by a committee rather than a single-minded individual.

The Department for Transport said the board was unlikely to be created before Mr Winsor’s contract ended in July 2004. Mr Winsor said he would expect to be appointed as chairman of the regulatory board if it was established before he left office.

Mr Winsor claimed the decision represented a victory for his campaign to keep some form of independent economic regulation of the industry.

Last October Stephen Byers, then Transport Secretary, announced that the Rail Regulator would merge with the Strategic Rail Authority. Mr Winsor, backed by the train companies, had said the absence of an independent regulator would leave Railtrack’s successor too much power over the rest of the industry and would deter private investment.

Alistair Darling, the Transport Secretary, said the decision to set up a board followed the practice with other regulators covering services such as gas, electricity and post. But Mr Darling indicated further reform could be needed if the board failed to establish a constructive relationship with Network Rail. “Having reviewed the current regulatory regime, the Government proposes to build on the existing board structure of the ORR (Office of the Rail Regulator) by establishing a statutory regulatory board. This is in line with general practice following a Better Regulation Task Force recommendation,” he said.

The board is likely to comprise five to seven people and will require primary legislation to be established. Mr Winsor rejected talk last night that his post was being neutered. “This is an acceptance by the Government of the necessity of continued independent economic regulation because if they do not have that then it may prevent private investment in the railway industry,” he said.

Mr Winsor accepted he had acquired the highest profile among regulators after a series of public outbursts last year, including a speech accusing Railtrack of carrying round “a begging bowl”. He said: “I am only the best known regulator because I have had the worst performing company.” He said he wanted to stay in the post until his contract ended in 2004 but would not seek a new term.

“There is a great deal of work to be done and I want to get on with it. Network Rail is being created, most of the franchises are being renegotiated in the next 18 months and then there is the West Coast Main Line and the issue of vertical integration,” he said.

2002-06-19T21:06:00.000Z

Times Banks line up to back rail deal
Dominic O’Connell

TAXPAYERS will underwrite Network Rail’s £9 billion takeover of Railtrack through a government pledge to buy back the company’s loans.
The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) will this week disclose that it has granted a three-year put option to the nine banks backing Network Rail. It gives the banks the right to sell their loans to the SRA after three years if they have not been paid back by Network Rail. The option will also be triggered if the company goes bust.

The SRA guarantee will be revealed when Network Rail, a not-for-profit company, unveils details of its offer to buy Railtrack Group. It will pay £500m to shareholders — £300m of it a separate grant from the SRA. The £9 billion loan will be used to pay off Railtrack debts and provide working capital.

On top of the £500m, Railtrack Group will be able to call on the £370m in cash in limbo since administration, on £375m for its Channel tunnel rail link rights, and £50m to £100m in property assets. This should allow shareholders to recoup about 240p a share. Railtrack’s board is expected to recommend the offer to shareholders immediately, and ask for its share to be relisted. Investors vote on the offer in mid-July.

The banks backing Network Power are: UBS Warburg, Barclays Capital, WestLB, Royal Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Scotland, Merrill Lynch, HSBC, Citigroup and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. Each will lend £1 billion. WestLB had promoted a rival bid for Railtrack under the leadership of company doctor David James. It will formally ditch its plans when the identity of the banking syndicate is confirmed.

The nine banks will share an upfront fee of £4m. The loan is “extremely keenly priced”, said sources. The three-year deal is understood to have been done at Libor (the benchmark interbank rate) plus 10 basis points — roughly 5% a year.

Online

2002-06-19T21:02:00.000Z

"Throwing stones or other objects can lead to broken trains windows and wind-screens, potentially injuring train staff and passengers."

Industry watchdogs want anyone who sees anything suspicious on railway property to report it to the free, 24-hour hotline number on 0800 40 50 40.

46&method=full">icBirmingham - Rail yob crackdown

2002-06-19T21:01:00.000Z

icBirmingham - Sorry, standing room onlySorry, standing room only Jun 18 2002

By Steve Swingler, Evening Mail

Fed up passengers today accused rail chiefs of scrapping carriages on one of the city's busiest commuter services, forcing them to stand crushed together on the daily trek home.

Conditions on the 5.30pm Central Trains service from Snow Hill to Kidderminster are said to be so bad that regulars have branded it the Sardine Express.

Commuter Paul Rubbins, from Kidderminster, said: "It's dreadful. People are crammed in and forced to stand like that for the whole 40 minute journey.

"It's very uncomfortable, especially on a hot day. It's just a matter of time before an elderly person or someone of a nervous disposition has a funny turn. I don't know what the train company is playing at. It's a disgrace and everyone is complaining."

Phone operator Mr Rubbins said problems started two weeks ago when the summer timetable came into operation.

"We always had at least four carriages on the 5.30pm service. But over the last two weeks it's been just three. It's totally inadequate. They're treating us like sardines," he said.

But a spokesman for Central Trains denied that any carriages had been cut.

"It was booked as a three car service for the winter and that has not changed for the summer.

"But obviously we are concerned if people think there is a problem with overcrowding and we will investigate further."

Last year public transport co-ordinator Centro criticised Central Trains for not providing enough carriages on some services.

A Centro report said commuters being left stranded on station platforms had become an almost daily occurrence because there was no space for them to get on.

The report said the lack of carriages had been due to severe problems with the reliability of rolling stock.

2002-06-19T20:59:00.000Z

icBirmingham - Survey boost for rail firmsSurvey boost for rail firms Jun 18 2002

Evening Mail

The five rail operators in the Midlands have received a major boost from a new passenger survey which shows a growing confidence among train users.

The National Passenger Survey, carried out for the Strategic Rail Authority, quizzed hundreds of travellers at stations across the country on 15 factors that most matter to the public.

Passengers were asked to rate aspects of the service as: satisfactory/good, dissatisfied/poor or neither/nor, which included overall satisfaction of journey, value for money and punctuality.

Rail operators said the survey underlined that improvements were still needed in the aftermath of the Hatfield rail crash, but the findings were encouraging to the industry.

Ged Burgess, spokesman for Central Trains, said: "It has been a dreadful 18 months for the industry but customer satisfaction has remained positive throughout that difficult time and that is encouraging."

Pupils from Heartlands High School in Nechells were boarding a train today to highlight rail safety.

The journey to Liverpool, which was setting off from Birmingham New Street at 12.48pm, is intended to form part of National Route Crime Week.

2002-06-19T20:57:00.000Z

GB Railways halt takeover talks Jun 18 2002

Train operator GB Railways today said it had terminated all takeover talks as it revealed it was on track to move into profit.

GB, which runs the Anglia Railways franchise, has spent several months locked in talks with a number of suitors.

Negotiations have centred on either investing in GB, which was rocked by last year's derailment at Hatfield, or buying the group altogether.

But today GB said it had called off the talks.

Chairman Allen Sheppard explained: "We have terminated discussions with all parties regarding a bid for or investment in the group because, in the view of all directors, the present market price gives a misleadingly low base from which to progress any such talks."

GB was rocked by Hatfield, and attributed first-half losses to lost passenger growth on Anglia Railways. Its London to Hull service - Hull Trains - also reported a small loss.

The group was then further hit by September 11, as customers postponed trips to London.

But today the AIM-listed group reported a reduction in final losses for the year to March 31, from £3.3 million to £1.2 million.

The losses were again attributed to Anglia's below par performance but GB said the final figure was better-than-expected because of amendments to its franchise agreement near the year-end.

The group received a £3.8 million subsidy from the Strategic Rail Authority and said the franchise would now trade at break even for the rest of the contract.

GB also received a £1.9 million settlement from Railtrack during the year.

Stripping out subsidiary and premium payments, revenues for the year increased from £68.3 million to £81.4 million.

"With the expectation of profits in the current year, continued growth in our two non-franchised businesses and the potential of securing additional franchises, we remain optimistic for the future," Mr Sheppard said.

2002-06-18T21:32:00.000Z

Trains minutes from disaster Jun 18 2002

A Birmingham passenger train came within minutes of a head-on crash with another locomotive hurtling towards it on the same track because of a signalling blunder, it emerged yesterday.
Virgin's Cross Country Birmingham to Glasgow 0800 Sunday service, which was carrying hundreds of passengers, found itself on the same stretch of track as a regional service from Barrow-in-Furness to Manchester Airport.
Due to engineering work about five miles south of Lancaster, only one track was open at the time.
Railtrack said a signaller made an error allowing both trains to pass at 1pm on Sunday along the single track, near Bay Horse, Lancashire, at about 50mph but had immediately alerted staff to the problem.
As soon as the error was noticed, a stop message was sent out by radio to all trains in the area and the two were never closer than three miles apart, said a Virgin spokesman.
An investigation has been launched into what Railtrack yesterday described as a "rare" incident caused by "human error".
The company said the problem had been caused by a "signalling irregularity" and action would be taken against anybody found to be responsible for the error if necessary.
The Rail Passengers Committee for the West Midlands expressed its concern last night and said it demonstrated total safety could not be guaranteed on the railways.
Deputy chairman John Balmforth said: "Obviously

2002-06-18T21:13:00.000Z

June 16, 2002

Firing is easy but hiring will be hard
Redundancies offer immediate savings but skimping on training the ‘survivors’ will be costly in the future. Roger Eglin reports

JOBSEEKERS can be forgiven for feeling bemused. Late last month the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said recruitment was still one of the biggest challenges facing companies.
This conclusion came after the CIPD had surveyed 747 organisations, three-quarters of which said they were having difficulty in finding the right people, a situation that had become worse since last year. More than half the companies also said they were struggling to keep staff.
There is nothing odd about this, one might think, except that 10 days later another CIPD survey showed that many companies were planning redundancies. This time, researchers from IRS Research interviewed 563 organisations and nearly half of those that had made redundancies in the past 18 months planned more job cuts. Typical of these is IBM’s decision to cut its workforce by 5%, eliminating 1,000 British jobs.
The two surveys, however, are not as contradictory as they seem. The constant state of flux in the economy and the end of the old jobs-for-life culture means that redundancy has become a fact of business life.
John Philpott, the CIPD’s chief economist, believes organisations will go on making redundancies, spurred by continuing restructuring (see following

2002-06-18T21:07:00.000Z

Dinner off the menu on Virgin
The tradition of fine dining on board trains appears to be slipping away, reports Adrian Quine

VIRGIN Trains has scrapped its restaurant cars on the busy West Coast Main Line linking London with Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. Instead, the rail operator’s trains will offer “Hot Stuff”, the on-board shop menu of fast-food meals such as cheeseburgers and paninnis, heated in a microwave.
Now the only surviving remnant of the 100-year-old restaurant-car tradition is a cooked breakfast brought to the seats of full-fare first-class passengers on a few peak Monday to Friday morning trains.
The dining cars provided three-course meals, with items such as grilled rib steak with wasabi butter, fillet of salmon with nori seaweed and carrot and ginger strudel, accompanied by vintage claret or white burgundy. Meals were freshly cooked and served on china plates, with cutlery laid on starched white linen tablecloths, an institution that survived the Beeching era and the subsequent austere regime of the 1970s.
Lee West, a Virgin Trains spokesman, said: “People just don’t require full meals any more. We did provide restaurant cars on some trains but customers weren’t using them. Because we give free snacks to our first-class customers, demand dropped significantly.”
A first-class, open return fare from London to Manchester, for example, costs £265, so it is perhaps not surprising that those custom

2002-06-18T21:06:00.000Z

2002-06-11T23:27:00.000Z

News The latest rail industry National Passenger Satisfaction survey results are published today(6 June), and yet again they show that the percentage of Thames Trains customers that are satisfied with the service continues to grow. 82% (more than eight-out-of-ten) Thames Trains customers say that they are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the overall level of service provided (during Autumn 2001, 79% of Thames Trains customers were satisfied).
When compared with all ten London and South East based Train Operating Companies, Thames Trains has repeatedly been rated number two in the league table of comparable train operators.
Over a thousand people were questioned about their opinions of the service provided by Thames Trains, whilst they were waiting at Stations or travelling by train. The detailed figures also show that Thames Trains is getting better at satisfying its customers when it comes a whole range of factors, including running trains reliably and punctually, with 76% satisfaction (compared to 61% satisfaction the same time last year).

2002-06-11T23:26:00.000Z

News 10/06/2002
Enjoy a Summer of Fun with Thames Trains
This week Thames Trains publishes its ‘Summer Events Guide’ for 2002. The leaflet lists 40 activities, festivals, shows and other exciting events that are taking place between June and the end of September 2002 at venues on the Thames Trains network.
A wide range of events for individuals, families and adult groups are included in the leaflet, such as the Blenheim Palace Flower Show, Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, Paddington Performance Festival, Henley Royal Regatta, Farnborough International Airshow, the Great British Beer Festival, Warwick Castle Jousting Tournaments and Moreton-in-Marsh Agricultural show. The events are all located on the Thames Trains network, within easy reach of railway stations, by foot or a short taxi, tube or bus ride.
150,000 copies of the leaflet have been printed and are available at 55 staffed railway stations served by Thames Trains. A PDF of the leaflet is also available on the Thames Trains website at: .www.thamestrains.co.uk The Summer Events Guide includes details of how to contact event organisers in order to buy tickets (where necessary) or obtain further information about events.

2002-06-11T23:24:00.000Z

South West Trains The UK’s biggest train order for £1 billion - the first South West Trains’ Desiro - is being rolled out at Siemens’ test track at Wildenrath in Germany - the first of 785 new carriages that will replace South West Trains’ Mark I ‘slam-door’ fleet.
The new trains will bring significant benefits to the travelling public including: air conditioning, automatic sliding doors, audio and visual passenger information displays and dedicated facilities for disabled passengers. They will also be safer, with the addition of a ‘crumple-zone’ similar to that found on motor cars - a first for the UK.
Andrew Haines, managing director of South West Trains, said: “I am really excited to see the first new Desiro UK train on the test track. The 785 carriages will not only replace our slam door fleet but eventually, in conjunction with lengthening platforms to introduce 10-car trains, will bring vital extra seats for our passengers. This is the country’s biggest train order and we will be using it as a foundation stone for the investment and improvements contained in our 20-year franchise which is currently being negotiated with the Strategic Rail Authority.”

2002-06-11T23:21:00.000Z

South West Trains PEAK DAY TRAVELCARDS – AVAILABLE FROM ALL SOUTH WEST TRAINS STATIONS
The new Peak Day Travelcard introduced earlier this year has been such a success that South West Trains has decided to make them available from all its stations – not just those in the London area - from 2 June.
Passengers will be able to buy Standard - and in many cases, First Class - Peak Day Travelcards which are valid throughout Zones 1 to 6 from all stations outside the London Travelcard Area.
People using their Peak Day Travelcard can set off as early as they like and still enjoy the flexibility of a Travelcard once they arrive in London. These All Zones Travelcards are valid for unlimited travel on train services in the London Travelcard area, as well as on London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, Croydon Tramlink and across the London bus network (including Night Buses until 0430 the next morning).
There is also the option of the Off-Peak Day Travelcard. These offer similar availability in the Travelcard area, but there are restrictions on the time you may start your journey.
Day Travelcards may be purchased up to four days in advance of travel, but please note that the Off-Peak Day Travelcard cannot be purchased at peak times on the day of travel.

2002-06-11T23:14:00.000Z

South Central South Central is making life easier for visitors from abroad by accepting Euros and US dollars at 13 of its stations The two currencies will be accepted at South Central sales points in Brighton, London Victoria, East Croydon, Barnham, Three Bridges, Bexhill, Chichester, Gatwick, Horsham, Eastbourne, Worthing, Redhill and Norwood Junction. South Central staff will accept notes or travellers cheques

2002-06-11T23:11:00.000Z

Press Release - January 2002 Hull Trains has commissioned an independent survey into customer satisfaction and the results have proved to be even better than they expected.
Passengers travelling on Hull Trains were asked whether the service met their expectations, were less than expected, or more than expected.
No passengers said the service failed to meet expectations, with 100% of customers saying expectations were met and 87% saying expectations were exceeded.

2002-06-11T23:09:00.000Z

May 1 2002 North East passengers are set to benefit from a major shake-up of the GNER summer timetable, which will see a number of extra services introduced from 2nd June.
GNER, which provides intercity services linking the region’s key cities of Newcastle, Durham and Darlington with London and Scotland is describing the new timetable as “the biggest change it has ever made.”
The new timetable will include a total of 6 extra services during the weekday linking the North East and London with 3 extra trains provided on a Sunday.
The additional services have been planned to expand the timetable at both peak and off-peak periods. It will lead to a total of 32 services from Newcastle to London during the week, 27 on a Saturday and 26 on a Sunday.

2002-06-11T23:08:00.000Z

DRAFT 7 June 2002
GNER AND SCOTRAIL JOIN FORCES TO LAUNCH
‘SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE’ TICKET FOR BUSINESS TRAVELLERS
GNER and ScotRail have joined forces to launch a new ‘Scottish Executive’ First Class rail ticket for business travellers between Scotland and London from 10 June.

The ‘Scottish Executive’ ticket package offers business travellers the option of one-way travel on any daytime GNER service and one-way overnight travel on the ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper.

The ticket package also includes meal and refreshment vouchers for use on board the GNER and Caledonian Sleeper services respectively, seven day car-parking at selected stations and a Zone 1 and 2 Underground ticket, all for £259.

Moray Shutt, GNER Senior Business Product Manager said: “The ‘Scottish Executive’ First Class ticket is designed to make the maximum use of time for business travellers when travelling between Scotland and London. By teaming up with ScotRail, we are now able to offer a flexible ticket that gives passengers the option to travel overnight for an early morning meeting in London and return when it suits them during the day.”

2002-06-11T22:47:00.000Z

First - North Western First North Western has trained Lancashire County Council staff to help them to run and operate the ticket office at Carnforth rail station in a scheme called Carnforth Connect.
The staff are able to sell train and bus tickets, offer timetable information and control the integrated service so that the buses and trains run in harmony.
They will also provide information on local amenities and tourist attractions.

2002-06-11T22:45:00.000Z

I will be retiring as Managing Director of First Great Western later this month and I am pleased to announce that my successor will be Chris Kinchin-Smith who was latterly Executive Director at the Strategic Rail Authority (Strategic Routes and Operational Performance).
Although I have decided to retire from First Great Western I will be remaining with the parent company First to work on a part-time basis on refranchising plans for the Great Western franchise. I am delighted that this will continue my long involvement with the rail industry.
Like me, Chris is a career railwayman. He was Managing Director of LTS Rail Ltd in the run up to privatisation where he turned what was the London Tilbury and Southend misery line into a pioneering and respected service. Before joining the SRA Chris was a senior associate with Booz Allen and Hamilton working on a range of rail projects across the UK and Europe.
Chris will obviously talk about his plans and aims for First Great Western when he fully takes over the position.

Mike Carroll
Managing Director
First Great Western
Meanwhile, our summer timetable came into operation on June 2. Overall there are a number of extra and extended services with the timetable designed with the needs of both leisure and business customers in mind. Crucially it also sees the introduction of the first of our new Adelante fleet into service.
A number of services which previously terminated in Bristol Temple Meads are extended into the

2002-06-11T22:41:00.000Z

First Great Eastern • Company Information Investing in the future.
As owner of the railway infrastructure, Railtrack makes most of the capital investment in the system. Great Eastern is investing more than £9 million in customer services and its trains. The investment is in:

Upgrading facilities at stations
Information systems
Security at stations and in car parks
Upgrading trains

Within this is a host of smaller items with at one end, the provision of cycle storage facilities at every station, improvements to disabled access and provision for facilities for the hard of hearing and many more and at the other end of the scale, some major projects are underway with the provision of an information system at every Great Eastern station, no matter how small or little used, accounting for a large slice of the investment budget

2002-06-11T22:40:00.002Z

First Great Eastern • Latest News Cruise Ship Boat Trains
Until Sunday 8th September

Cruise Ship Boat Trains
Boat Trains will operate in connection with the larger cruise ships calling at Harwich International Port.

2002-06-11T22:40:00.001Z

First Great Eastern • Latest News V2002 Hylands Park Chelmsford
Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 August 2002

Additional trains will run for the V2002 concerts at Chelmsford. Late night services will run from Chelmsford to London and Colchester until 01.30 in the morning.

2002-06-11T22:40:00.000Z

First Great Eastern • Latest News Southend Bike Ride
Sunday 14 July 2002

Additional trains will run from Southend Victoria to London.

2002-06-11T22:39:00.000Z

First Great Eastern • Latest News Bures Jazz Festival
Saturday 13 July 2002

Additional trains will run between Marks Tey and Sudbury.

2002-06-11T22:38:00.000Z

Eurostar - Service Updates Eurostar is extending its minimum check-in times by 10 minutes to allow for enhanced security screening.

Eurostar passengers must now check-in a minimum of 30 minutes prior to departure. Premium First, Business First, Standard Flexi ticket holders and Eurostar Frequent Travellers members may check in up to 20 minutes before departure.

2002-06-11T22:37:00.000Z

Dance “sur le pont d’Avignon” with direct Eurostar!
An exciting expansion of the Eurostar network will take place this summer with the introduction of direct services from London and Ashford (Kent) to Avignon in the heart of Provence. Eurostar’s decision to run through services is based on the growth in the number of passengers using TGV Med, the new high speed rail service to the south of France which opened in June 2001.

The direct service will be of great benefit to UK holidaymakers wishing to visit the historic walled city of Avignon, famous for its ruined bridge and its medieval “Palace of the Popes”, which is also an ideal base for exploring this perennially popular area of France.

But it is the journey itself which is truly one to savour and which will add to the enjoyment of the holiday, taking the traveller at speed and in comfort through the beautiful scenery of Burgundy and the Rhône valley. Most of the route is on the French high speed rail network, and the end to end time for the 715-mile run will be 6 hours and 15 minutes - an average speed of no less than 114 miles per hour! Trains will run each Saturday from 20 July to 7 September inclusive.

Fares start at a very attractive £115 return for a standard class ticket booked at least fourteen days in advance (“Leisure 14”). First class service, which will include one full meal and one light snack on board in each direction, prov

2002-06-11T22:36:00.000Z

Eurostar - Servic Disney Product Initiatives
With the launch of the new Walt Disney Studios at DLPR, Eurostar and Disney have joined forces to give a better service to their customers.

From 17th May 2002 onwards, passengers travelling in Castle Class will not only benefit from better leg room and a larger seat, they will also now receive a complimentary cold snack served at their seat on both legs of the journey. The snack will consist of 2 luxury (1 meat & 1 vegetarian) filled bread rolls, 1 snack bar, 1 piece of fruit, 1 fruit juice drink, a Disney cup & napkin and all packaged in a jointly branded Disney / Eurostar box.

The initiative comes as a result of extensive research into the joint product and will ensure a better service and value for money for those passengers both in Castle Class and also Standard, as it will mean a reduction in waiting time at the ever popular bar buffet. In Standard, there will be new fast serving ‘Combo Snacks’ for sale from the bar buffet & trolley.

In addition to this, there will be an exciting new kid’s pack, which will be handed out by the Disney cast members at the Disney Express Counter. The pack consists of a re-useable drawstring bag, 2 magazines (1 puzzle book & 1 ‘My Big Adventure’), a pack of coloured felt-tip pens and a game.

2002-06-11T22:35:00.000Z

Eurostar goes Dutch, from just £85 return
Eurostar – the international high-speed passenger train service linking London with Paris, Brussels and Lille - today announced it had reached an agreement with Thalys International to offer onward rail travel to The Netherlands.

Passengers are now able to purchase tickets through Rail Europe for as little as £85 Standard Class return and £145 First Class return for travel from London Waterloo or Ashford International, to Rotterdam, The Hague, Schipol Airport and Amsterdam. Like existing Eurostar Plus destinations, passengers will have the benefit of a quick change at Brussels-Midi before travelling onwards to Holland.

“This new agreement with Thalys makes rail travel to The Netherlands even easier and more convenient,” says Schera Zekri, Director of Distribution for Eurostar. “It means a weekend break in Amsterdam or a business meeting in The Hague without first the hassle of airports and transfers.”

Thalys is the high speed link between Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne. Like Eurostar, not only does Thalys embody the most advanced railway technology with services from centre to centre in unbeatable times, but it also offers three major strengths: service, fares and frequency.

“This agreement with Eurostar combines the best in European rail travel – speed, convenience, reliability and style,” says Rita Moosen, Manager of Distribution and Systems for Thalys International. “Thalys and

2002-06-11T22:22:00.000Z

The company responsible for maintaining the line where the Potters Bar rail crash happened has announced a sharp increase in profits.
Jarvis has changed its accounting methods, but either way its profits are substantially higher.

The new method shows a profit of £45.8m for the financial year, compared with £24.8m in the previous 12 months.

Under the old system it made a profit of £50.8m compared with £30.1m.

Safety

The results cover the financial year to the end of March, before the Potters Bar rail crash in which seven people died.

In a statement, chief executive Paris Moayedi said: "These results are released only a little more than a month after the tragic events at Potters Bar.

"Everyone at Jarvis has been shocked and saddened by the terrible train derailment.

"Public safety and the safety of our employees are our highest priorities, and the impact of this tragic event is felt throughout the company."

Mr Moayedi said that because the police and the Health and Safety Executive were still investigating the derailment, it was not appropriate for the company to make any comment.

City reaction

In the City, while the results temporarily helped revive Jarvis's flagging shares, the stock closed down 8p at 315.5p on Tuesday.

Before the Potters Bar crash, Jarvis shares were trading at 520p.

2002-06-10T21:44:00.000Z

Transport row spins out of control Jun 9 2002

The political ghost of Stephen Byers was continuing to haunt the Government today two weeks after his resignation as allegations of Labour Party spin and dirty tricks refused to go away.
In the wake of claims that Mr Byers' spin doctors tried to smear members of the Paddington Survivors' Group, his former press chief Martin Sixsmith believes he is also the subject of a Government whispering campaign.
Mr Sixsmith, a former BBC journalist, claims officials are contacting his ex-colleagues to find out if he ever tried to undermine the then BBC Director-General John - now Lord - Birt, a source said.
Lord Birt is now in charge of "blue skies" transport policy on behalf of the Prime Minister.
Mr Sixsmith is also claiming he is being pressurised by the Government into signing a "gagging clause" to prevent him discussing his time in Whitehall before he can get his severance money - reported to be £180,000.
In a further development, Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, who chairs the powerful Commons transport select committee, has accused the Government of orchestrating a whispering campaign against her in a bid to remove her from the post.
Under Ms Dunwoody's chairmanship the committee last month published a damning report on the Government's 10-year transport plan which was widely seen as contributing to Mr Byers' downfall.
An attempt to replace Ms Dunwoody as chairman of the transport committee last y

2002-06-10T21:42:00.000Z

icBirmingham - Using rail contractors 'is not unsafe' Using rail contractors 'is not unsafe' Jun 10 2002

There is nothing inherently unsafe about the process of contracting out in the railway industry, according to a new report.
The comments come in a report by the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) which has been handed to Transport Secretary Alistair Darling.
Requested by Stephen Byers before he left office, it examines whether the process of contracting out is unsafe in the railway industry.

2002-06-10T21:31:00.000Z

Darling to seal Railtrack deal
(Filed: 09/06/2002)

Alistair Darling, the new Secretary of State for Transport, will attempt to draw a line under the disastrous Railtrack debacle this week by announcing an agreement to buy the rail network operator out of administration.
Lawyers and Treasury officials are working around the clock to finalise the agreement. They hope to distance Darling from the row over railways started by his predecessor, Stephen Byers, who plunged the industry into chaos last October by forcing Railtrack into administration.
Under the terms of the acquisition Network Rail, the not-for-profit company set up by the Government, will pay the parent Railtrack Group (which is not in administration) £500m for the railway network. Network Rail will also take on £6.5bn of debt. The deal requires clearance from Brussels as £300m of the £500m will be provided directly by the Government.
In a separate deal, Railtrack Group will receive a further £375m for phase one of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The bulk of the payment will come from London & Continental Railways, which will own the link, with Network Rail paying £80m for the right to operate and maintain it.
Railtrack Group will also receive £350m in cash which will be released from the network business. Together with development property, which stays with Railtrack Group, and which is valued at between £50m and £100m, shareholders in the group could

2002-06-10T21:27:00.000Z

Bus company chief gets £1m pay-off
By Adam Jay (Filed: 10/06/2002)

Tony Osbaldiston, the former deputy chief executive of FirstGroup, received a severance package of £1m when he left the company last November.
The bus and train operator's annual report reveals that Mr Osbaldiston, who ran the company's American operations, was given a payment of £680,384 "in respect of accrued and prospective salary and bonus entitlement", as well as £101,400 in lieu of pension contributions.
He received a further £205,000 in salary and benefits for the year, making a total of £986,784. Last year, he and his wife also made £990,000 by selling shares, mainly options, in the company.
Mr Osbaldiston, who worked for FirstGroup for seven years, was finance director for five years before assuming the additional role of deputy chief executive. He took over responsibility for FirstGroup America following its £600m acquisition of Ryder in 1999, making it the second-largest school-bus operator in the US.
A company spokesman said yesterday that Mr Osbaldiston, who is 47 and has a young family, had no longer wanted to split his time between the US and the UK.
He refused to comment on Mr Osbaldiston's compensation, other than to say: "It's what was agreed by the remuneration board and what Tony was entitled to under his contract." Mr Osbaldiston was on a 12-month rolling contract.
FirstGroup, which is Britain's biggest bus operator and runs thre

2002-06-10T21:17:00.000Z

Joined-up transport policy
ON AN island with finite land resources, the maximum use should be made of land already committed to transport. There are many miles of underutilised rail routes which could be converted into roads. The tragedy of the Beeching cuts was that British Rail was given the job of disposal of former rail routes which it did in a piecemeal fashion, thereby destroying their route integrity. The old Great Central Line could have provided an M1 relief road at no cost to green fields.
If Britain is to have joined-up transport then the needs of the community as a whole must be taken into consideration before any sale or investment on railway land is permitted.
Roger M. Bale, Jersey
The unpalatable truth
WE NEED to start by admitting to three unpalatable truths about transport:
1. Railways are inherently uneconomic. They should be granted a reasonable operating subsidy as a strategic resource and the level of that subsidy should be voted on in Parliament.
2. The idea that “traffic volume expands to fill all new roads built” is a nonsense. This is exposed both if taken to its logical extreme, and if travellers’ reasons for their journey are surveyed. Traffic queues have a cost that impoverishes the whole economy.
3. The urban ends of improved motorways also need increased capacity. A solution to this problem is in evidence in Bangkok, once famous for its traffic jams. Bangkok has double-deck motorways which avoid the need to

2002-06-10T21:15:00.000Z

June 07, 2002

France

Train could put you on track
By Ben West

THE UK rail system may be in a sorry state, but the French network has never been better. And unprecedented bargains on air and ferry routes mean that it has never been easier for foreign owners to visit their properties in France.
Rapid expansion of super-fast TGV routes throughout France is increasingly shortening journey times. For example, from July 20 you take a train at Waterloo International Station in London and emerge at Avignon in the South of France six hours and 20 minutes later. Last year’s improved line from Valence to Marseilles cut times from Paris to just three hours.
Because certain areas of France are better served by express services than others, some routes are surprisingly quick and some lines slow. For example, both Charlesville-Mezieres, northeast of Paris, and Grenoble in the far South East, take about seven hours to reach from London.
John Evans, of Eclipse Overseas, says: “The improving rail routes awaken people’s interest in an area. Interest starts with the no-frills airlines and then they realise that by the time you’ve travelled to the airport, waited to fly and the rest of it, going by train is often as quick and cheaper.”
The fast trains go to some of the parts of France most popular with British buyers, such as the Charente (via Angoulême), Aquitaine (via Bordeaux), and the Vendée (via Nantes

2002-06-10T21:13:00.000Z

Gray paves way for airport and Borders rail links

HOPES have risen that the Scottish executive may support demands for rail links to the country’s main airports and through the Borders, writes Terry Murden.
Iain Gray, the enterprise and transport minister, wants the next holder of the ScotRail franchise to agree to run these services if the infrastructure is in place and the executive decides it wants them.
While there are clearly conditions, the executive appears to be opening the door to services which have been demanded by commuters and business lobby groups for years.
The executive will award a 15-year contract to run Scottish rail services from April 2004 and Gray says that through an “enhanceable franchise” the executive will be able to negotiate new services if required.
He says: “We will not specify these services (in the bidding process), but the franchise will be such that if, two years into it, we know we want a Borders link and we know how and when the infrastructure will be in place there is a process for going to the franchise holder and saying we require you to run it as of this date.”
It is possible there will be foreign bids for the franchise, currently a seven-year contract held by National Express, as well as a bid from Stagecoach, which last week enhanced its prospects after being named in a joint venture with Wellington council, New Zealand, to run the city’s commuter-train network.2

2002-06-10T21:11:00.000Z

EU will enforce late-train refunds
Robert Winnett, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

THE European commission is drawing up plans for a rail charter that would give passengers generous compensation when trains are delayed or cancelled.
The charter is expected to be introduced over the next two years and could eventually cover all public urban transport including buses, the Tube and other city metro systems.
The exact details of the scheme — a key part of the commission’s four-year consumer action plan to be presented to MEPs this week — will be drawn up following a series of meetings with train companies and consumer groups.
However, it is expected to work in the same way as a forthcoming air passengers’ charter, which gives travellers the legal right to compensation up to a full refund if flights are cancelled or delayed.
A source at the commission said the rail charter would probably provide for a full refund if trains are more than an hour late. This could cost British train operators tens of millions of pounds a year.
“Initially the idea was to cover international routes but we now expect it to apply to all routes,” said the source. “At first we will be asking train companies to abide by the charter voluntarily, but formal regulations or a European directive are likely to be necessary.”
At the moment, rail passengers are entitled to a refund of at least 20% if a train is delayed by more than an hou

2002-06-06T22:43:00.000Z

Rough ride for fare dodgers

By Staff Reporter, Birmingham Post

Fare dodgers who cost the Midlands rail industry at least £130,000 a month are in for a rough ride as barrier checks are tightened at major stations this spring.
In April and May, Central Trains staff will police the exits of Birmingham New Street, as well as other notorious blackspots such as Shrewsbury, Worcester, Nuneaton and Tamworth.
It was also confirmed by Central Trains that permanent barriers will be in place at New Street within the next 12 to 15 months.
At a meeting in Birmingham yesterday of the rail watchdog, the Midlands Rail Passengers Committee, RPC chairman Coun Phil Davies challenged Central Trains to take immediate action to clamp down on fare dodgers.
He said he had unwittingly travelled for free last Saturday from Telford to Shrewsbury, due to the booking office being closed and no ticket collector being present.
"Anyone could ride on that train and avoid paying, yet Central Trains is in such deep financial problems that it has just received £50 million from the Government to stop it going bust," said Coun Davies, the Labour leader of Telford and Wrekin Council.
"Shouldn't they be doing more to collect fares from passengers?
"In the end, honest passengers are paying more if tickets aren't checked and others ride free. We shall be asking Central Trains to once again look at its policies."
Central Trains' commercial director Mik

2002-06-06T22:41:00.000Z

Rail link to hugely benefit region Apr 6 2002

By Sarah Probert, Birmingham Post

A high-speed line linking London with the North through the Midlands will have huge benefits for the region, rail passenger groups said yesterday.
The multi-billion pound plan, to be completed by 2015, has been proposed as a solution to the increasing congestion on Britain's roads.
The Strategic Rail Authority, which is responsible for the long-term plans for the country's rail network, said the route would carry trains reaching speeds of 190mph.
It would be Britain's first attempt to emulate France's domestic TGV network and cut journey time from London to Scotland from nearly five hours to three.
The scheme has been put forward in a feasibility study commissioned by the SRA to entice drivers off congested roads and on to public transport. It will also generate stiff competition for the airline industry.
A detailed route has been kept confidential by WS Atkins, the consultants commissioning the research, but it is expected the main spine would run between the heavily congested West Coast Main Line and the East Coast Main Line, with spurs to cities including Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.
John Balmforth, deputy chairman of the Midland Rail Passenger Committee, said he was certain the project would go ahead, bringing massive benefits to the region.
He added: "It is something that is very necessary.
"It is something that is really being looked at in depth2

2002-06-06T22:39:00.000Z

Attacks on train staff rise Apr 11 2002

By Staff Reporter, Evening Mail

Railway staff are running a growing gauntlet of violence and hostility since tragedy has dogged the train network.
Verbal and physical attacks on staff have soared by 20 per cent since the Hatfield disaster which claimed the lives of four people.
But a new action group launched today will try to get to the root of the causes of the rising tide of violence.
The RMT union and Central Trains are to look at how to stop people getting attacked through the working party.
The RMT says that rail workers are facing increasing violence and hostility from passengers in the wake of disasters such as the Hatfield crash.
Birmingham union spokesman David Jones said: "Overall there has been an increase in assaults of about 20 per cent.
"The public seem to hold people working on the railways in low esteem and staff have become in some ways an open target."
The RMT wants operators such as Central Trains to champion the cause of workers who have been assaulted and prosecute those responsible, through the civil courts if necessary.
Mr Jones added: "We want to see what security measures can be brought into effect."
In the last 12 months 33 staff were subjected to assaults serious enough to be recorded, according to Central Trains.
Spokesman Ged Burgess said: "We have to make sure we do the best we can to protect our staff. They are coming in to do a job and they

2002-06-06T22:37:00.000Z

More trains mean more hassle May 8 2002

By Staff Reporter, Birmingham Post

New trains to be introduced by Virgin CrossCountry later this year are going to further stretch capacity at two Midland stations, according to a new survey by a rail passengers group.
A report by the Rail Passengers Committee for the Midlands and North West, has investigated changes to the Virgin timetable, which includes four extra high speed trains an hour from Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton.
It said the introduction of more Voyager and Super Voyager Trains running would inevitably mean more and more passengers using New Street and Wolverhampton stations.
Also, it said a number of trains would be unable to go straight through the Midlands without stops, forcing platform changes and putting people off travelling. The passenger survey suggests that 22 per cent of people would choose alternative means of travel rather than change trains, with most using cars.
John Balmforth, deputy chairman of the RPC, said: "The increase in the number of destinations being served is particularly welcome but passengers have serious concerns as to how the changes will affect those who will need to change trains en route."
The survey looks at both stations' ability to cope with extra passengers and, in particular, those seeking to change trains.
It said: "The ability to maintain intended cross platform connections at New Street must also be considered doubtful, particularly in view of2

2002-06-06T22:36:00.000Z

£150m boost for New Street Station May 8 2002

By Campbell Docherty, Birmingham Post

Railtrack is planning a £150 million revamp of Birmingham New Street Station to combat a looming capacity crisis at the hub of Britain's rail network.
The company's Major Stations division has put forward proposals which will more than double the size of the current concourse to accommodate all passenger waiting rooms and other facilities.
Meanwhile, in a separate move to ease the crippling train congestion in Birmingham, a group of private developers are hoping to get the green light to build a brand new station at Proof House Junction, one mile out of the city centre from New Street.
The 17-platform station, called Birmingham Grand Central Station (BGCS), would operate in conjunction with New Street.
Businessman Murray Rayner, who is heading the BGCS team, said: "This exciting project is still in the early stages. We are of the opinion that this could bring considerable benefits to Birmingham.
"But before taking the project further we are keen to continue discussions with the railway authorities and the train operating companies."
Mr Rayner was the concept designer for the new Bullring before the project was taken over by Birmingham Alliance.
However, BGCS would be in direct competition for government money - through the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) - with plans to create a tunnel underneath New Street to separate local and express services. That proposal

2002-06-06T22:33:00.000Z

Rail hope for town May 28 2002

By Neil Elkes, Evening Mail

A Midland town hopes to revitalise itself with a £3 million rail link to Birmingham.
Coleshill, in north Warwickshire, would eventually have a half-hourly train service to Birmingham and Nuneaton if a new station is given the go ahead.
The plan is for a two-platform rail station, bridge, small bus station, taxi rank and car park at the end of Station Road.
The bridge will also offer a direct link between the town and the nearby Hams Hall industrial park, but a barrier will allow only buses, cyclists and pedestrians to use it, preventing "rat-running" by local traffic.
It is hoped the link will offer commuters a better alternative to car transport and give the town's population easier access to jobs in Birmingham and other towns.
It will also offer a park and ride facility for people going to the airport and NEC.
North Warwickshire Borough Council's head of planning, Coun Ray Sweet said: "I fully support the development of this scheme as it will bring significant benefits to people in north Warwickshire.
"I hope this will be the first in a series of new stations in the area, including Kingsbury."
Most of the funding will come from money set aside for public transport links for the Hams Hall development.
MP Mike O'Brien, council officials and Hams Hall representatives will meet tomorrow to discuss submitting bids for funding from the Strategic Rail Authority2

2002-06-06T22:30:00.000Z

Line may get Bard on board Jun 4 2002

By Paul Dale, Birmingham Post

The railway line between Birmingham's Snow Hill station and Stratford-upon-Avon could be upgraded and renamed The Shakespeare Line as part of a major rebranding exercise.
A marketing plan by local authorities and train companies says the track - officially known as the North Warwicks Line - must change its identity, become more attractive to the public, operate later into the night and tap into a booming tourism market.
Frequent and faster commuter services are also proposed along with tourist steam trains in the summer to link with the reopening of Birmingham Moor Street Station.
A report into the 19-mile line by consultants Steer Davies Gleave found that services between Birmingham and Stratford do not enjoy a good reputation and are perceived by the public to be slow and few and far between.
"The all-stopping nature of the service emphasised the perception of lengthy journey times. It is clear that the service on the North Warwicks Line needs to be more frequent, faster and offered over a longer day," the consultants said.
The fastest train journey between Stratford and Birmingham takes 56 minutes and a standard adult day return costs £5.10. A car trip takes 45 minutes, according to the report, which means that four adults can travel more quickly and more cheaply by taking the road.
The report concluded that the tourism and leisure market in Stratford and Birmingham offers hug

2002-06-06T22:28:00.000Z

icBirmingham - Eight injured in train crash Eight injured in train crash Jun 5 2002

Rail investigators have launched an inquiry into a train derailment at a seaside area in Northern Ireland in which several people were injured.
Three carriages of the Londonderry to Belfast service were shunted off after colliding with a boulder that plummeted down a cliff on to the track at Castlerock strand in the north-west of the province.
Eight people were taken to hospital following the crash which left one coach embedded in the beach and the others perched precariously on the line.

2002-06-06T22:26:00.000Z

Trains still running late Jun 6 2002

Almost a quarter of Midland trains are still running late, according to a report released today.
The Strategic Rail Authority's latest punctuality figures show that generally, companies were improving, but they were still falling well short of providing reliable services.
Virgin Cross Country, which has its main operating hub through Birmingham's New Street Station, ran 72.4 per cent of trains on time in the first three months of the year.
This represents a big improvement on the previous quarter which saw 58.3 per cent on time. One year ago - after the Hatfield crash - punctuality was just 28.5 per cent.
Central Trains managed to run 77.2 per cent of trains on time, compared to 67.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2001, and 76.7 per cent 12 months ago.
Chris Green, Virgin Trains chief executive, said the introduction of new Voyager trains had meant much more punctual services in the two months since the latest figures.
He said: "We have continued to see dramatic improvements in the past two months with both the West Coast and Cross Country hitting 90 per cent on good days."
Virgin says 58 out of 78 of the £1.2 billion Voyager fleet are now in service.
Ged Burgess, of Central Trains said: "We are delighted that the performance figures have made such a recovery.
"It has taken a lot of hard work, and Railtrack have been a lot better, because a lot of the delays are dow

2002-06-06T22:21:00.000Z

Potters Bar crash not sabotage, say inspectors
By David Harrison, Transport Correspondent
(Filed: 19/05/2002)

The first scientific tests carried out by the official investigation into the Potters Bar crash have found "no evidence" of sabotage, The Telegraph can reveal.
The examinations carried out by "international experts" employed by the Health and Safety Executive strongly suggest that the crash was instead caused by negligence, according to investigators.
The results contradict the claim by Jarvis, the firm responsible for maintaining the track at Potters Bar, that the points were tampered with by someone with inside knowledge of the railways.
A senior HSE investigator said yesterday: "We will carry out more tests over the next two weeks, but the first indications are that sabotage played no role in the Potters Bar disaster."
He was unable to say exactly what tests had been carried out or what their findings were, but added: "The work is being done by highly-qualified scientists who are subjecting the points and other hardware from the test site to intense scrutiny."
The points were removed from the crash site last week and taken to the Health and Safety Laboratories in Buxton, Derbyshire, for scientific analysis.
Jarvis said on Friday that it had "evidence from metallurgists" to suggest that nuts on the points had been removed deliberately.
The company admitted, however, that its investigators had examined only photographs of the points

2002-06-06T22:20:00.000Z

Release regarding Potters Bar incident.
DescriptionThis announcement incorporates the text of three separate press releases made over the weekend of 11/12 May 2002 by both Railtrack plc (in Railway Administration) and Jarvis plc. These press releases relate to the rail accident which occurred at Potters Bar on Friday 10 May 2002 and are released for the purpose of information.
ContentRAILTRACK
Railtrack PLC (in Railway Administration)

Alan Bloom, Chris Hill, Scott Martin and Mike Rollings were appointed
Joint Special Railway Administrators of Railtrack PLC on 7th October 2001

The Joint Special Railway Administrators act as agents of the company and without personal liability

PR020323
11 May 2002
6 pm

RAILTRACK SAY POINTS ARE THE FOCUS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO POTTERS BAR ACCIDENT

Railtrack today said that the investigation into the set of points just prior to Potters Bar station show significant damage and lead to a likely conclusion that there was a fracture in one of the supports (front stretcher bar) as the train passed over them which caused the points to move and derail the train.

How this came about is being investigated but initial evidence suggests that nuts that held two other supports in place were detached from the points which resulted in the front stretcher bar bearing all the stress and finally breaking under the pressure. Why the nuts were detached is not known. All inspection reports show that as recently as Thursday2

2002-06-06T22:03:00.000Z

The road out of traffic congestion
From Mr James R. Davies

Sir, Sir Richard Branson and Sir Christopher Foster (letters, June 1) made some interesting and quite pragmatic points about the nation’s transport infrastructure. However, the solutions, though making short-term political sense, do not tackle the longer-term implications.
Surely we need to ask the question: why are we travelling further to work than ever before? Also, why do we as a nation work longer on average than our continental friends? Are we indeed working smarter and harder or just longer?
Financial investment is rightfully needed to put us on a par with the Continent. However, the scale of the investment required to implement these improvements (whether through the public or private sector) will still take many years to come to fruition. In the meantime the nation is becoming more frustrated and I believe we will, socially, pay a high price.
Employers should take more advantage of the age of the internet. Maybe the solution to reducing congestion is to travel only when absolutely necessary. I’m not suggesting that we all work from home, but we need to work smarter and only employers can make this happen.

2002-06-06T21:57:00.000Z

By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

London Underground recorded a record peak-time performance last month largely because of the impact of new women drivers such as Carrie Simpson

THEY have endured taunts from male colleagues and abuse from passengers, but the army of women drivers recruited by the London Underground have proved that they are better than men at making Tube trains run on time.
The number of women driving Tube trains has almost doubled in the past year, and managers believe that their influence has helped to end a culture of absenteeism and militancy in the workforce.

For the first time last month, London Underground recorded a week in which none of its 5,000 peak trains were cancelled because a driver had failed to turn up for work.

Until recently, dozens of trains were left sitting in sidings each day because drivers had called in sick or simply never arrived. Cancellations lead to long gaps in service, resulting in overcrowding and increased journey times.

The improved performance follows an 18-month recruitment drive that has concentrated on attracting female drivers with half-page advertisements in Cosmopolitan. The Underground has also ended the practice of recruiting only among station staff for the well-paid driver positions.

An Underground spokeswoman said that much of the improvement could be attributed to the female recruits. “They have come from all walks of life and are keen and motivated. There is evidence that suggests that women are very reliable employees and they do tend to have a very good work ethic,” she said.

There are now 176 female Tube drivers, compared with less than 100 in April last year.

Carrie Simpson gave up her job as a primary school teaching assistant 18 months ago and said she has tripled her salary as a driver on the Jubilee Line: “I was earning £10,000 and had no pension and now I get £29,000 plus a pension and about £1,000 in overtime.”

She and seven female colleagues were quickly accepted by the men at Wembley Park depot but some passengers are taking time to adjust. “I told one man running past me at North Greenwich that there was no need to rush because I was his driver and the train couldn’t leave without me. He said, ‘It’s all right, I’ll wait for the next one’.”

Ms Simpson, 41, said some passengers would step further back behind the yellow line when they saw her at the controls of a train. “They seemed to think they might be in danger because a woman was driving,” she said.

Ms Simpson has also noticed that her male colleagues were much more likely to challenge the rules, often on small matters such as the uniform.

“I don’t know whether it’s the male ego or whether they feel they need to assert themselves,’ she said. “If you give a woman something to do they just get on with it. Women are less likely to call in sick and are more punctual.”

Kerry Hamilton, Professor of Transport at the University of East London, said: “The transport industry has a very male culture that feeds on itself. But as happened with the legal profession, more women lead to a more congenial and productive culture in which people have more compassion for their colleagues.”

The first female Tube driver, Hannah Dadds, began working on the District Line 24 years ago, but few followed her lead until recently because of the macho culture among drivers. In 1998, the Underground was forced to pay £25,000 in damages to two women, a manager and a driver, who were hounded from their jobs on the Bakerloo Line. The pair were subjected to offensive innuendo in an unofficial magazine, Scum, that was produced by male staff. Managers admitted that tougher action should have been taken to stop the harassment.

The Tube, however, is well ahead of the mainline railway. Less than 2 per cent of the 12,000 mainline train drivers are women, compared with 6 per cent of Tube drivers.

Tests from the Underground

Aspiring Tube drivers must sit the following tests:

1. English language: tests ability to understand instructions. 2. Communications exercise: candidates interpret information and have to make an intelligible public address announcement for travellers.
3. Hand-eye coordination: tests reaction times.
4. Computer exercises: test concentration levels.
5. Fault diagnosis: candidates pick likely faults from diagrams.

Those who pass the five tests then go forward to be interviewed.

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2002-06-06T17:44:00.000Z

No arrival

Bus and rail operator Arriva is keen to rent out its fleet. Lucky, then, that the sides of its own vehicles provide a ready-made advertising hoarding. Then again ...

On Shaftesbury Avenue the other day, Observer spotted one of its buses bearing a "Hire Me" plea - along with a contact number (prefixed with an antediluvian 0181 code).

The good news? It was stationary, giving passers-by plenty of time to note down the number. The bad news? It had broken down.

2002-06-05T21:20:00.000Z

Times OnlineRail fare discounts
From Dr G. W. Bernard

Sir, I hope the new Transport Secretary will use his influence to persuade the rail operating companies to abandon their unwelcome jubilee present to rail passengers in London and the South East rail region (which stretches as far as Oxford, Salisbury and Cambridge).
Since June 2, when current holders of Network Railcards (which for a £20 annual fee offer a 33 per cent discount on off-peak travel) have come to renew them, they have found that they face a minimum fare of £10 for any journey made on Mondays to Fridays. The 33 per cent discount will apply only to journeys for which the full fare is £15 or more. Passengers wishing to make journeys which cost £10-£15 will have to pay £10, so receiving much smaller discounts. Those wishing to make a journey the full cost of which is £10 or less will in future receive no discount at all.

In other words, an off-peak rail journey that previously cost £4 will now cost £6, one that cost £6 will now cost £9.

There have been no discernible improvements in the quality of service that could conceivably justify raising fares by as much as 50 per cent. It is hard to understand how reducing so drastically the concession can possibly encourage travel by rail rather than by car.

Yours faithfully,
GEORGE BERNARD,
92 Bassett Green Village,
Southampton SO16 3NB.
June 3.

2002-06-05T21:18:00.000Z

Times OnlineRail firms criticised for big fare rises
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

THE Strategic Rail Authority has condemned train companies for imposing 50 per cent price increases on many off-peak fares from next week.
Richard Bowker, the authority’s chairman, said he could not understand why companies had decided to abolish most of the benefits of the Network Card, which gives a one-third discount on trains after 10am across the South East. From tomorrow, anyone purchasing a Network Card will no longer obtain any discount on weekday fares under £10. The full discount will apply only to fares above £15.

The Association of Train Operating Companies said its members would gain up to £10 million a year by forcing people to pay the full fare. The companies argue that the 30 per cent growth in off-peak travel in the past five years proves they can attract enough passengers without offering a discount.

The Rail Passengers’ Council said the rule change would mean huge increases for some passengers. Transport 2000, the environmental group, said that the railcard would be invalid on 90 per cent of journeys in the South East.

2002-06-05T21:12:00.000Z

FT.com | Search | ArticleNATIONAL NEWS: Northern passengers 'could face months of rail strikes'
By Christopher Adams
Financial Times; Jun 01, 2002

Rail travellers in the north of England could suffer sporadic strikes until February, a rail operator has warned, as unions launched fresh strike action today in a pay dispute.

Arriva Trains Northern said last night it was "disappointed and frustrated" that travellers were to suffer in another one-day stoppage called by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union.

Ray Price, managing director, said the 4 per cent pay rise it had offered rail workers 10 days ago was fair and a "genuine attempt" to resolve the dispute.

"[The union] rejected our offer, despite giving strong indications that it would be acceptable, and did not take the opportunity to put it to a vote by its members."

The stoppage comes on the first day of the jubilee weekend.

Arriva, which runs a trans-Pennine network, said it hoped to provide more than 55 per cent of its services today, ensuring that three-quarters of the network was covered.

The company warned that, if there was no resolution, it would be faced with the "intolerable" prospect of strike action continuing until its franchise ran out in February.

The row centres on union demands that the company close the pay gap between conductors and train drivers.

* Local government unions yesterday revealed plans to ballot members on a 24-hour strike on July 17 as part of their pay dispute.

2002-06-05T21:10:00.000Z

FT.com | Search | ArticleOBSERVER: Train in vain

Financial Times; Jun 03, 2002

Train in vain

It is just days since Alistair Darling impaled himself on the bed of nails known as the transport secretary's job. But his in-tray seems to get fuller by the hour.

Take South West Trains, (or Short Wonky Trains, if you are a had-it-up-to-here passenger). Even the government's enforcement agency, the Strategic Rail Authority, has now noticed that service is "consistently poor".

Great news. So what action is the SRA taking? Rumours that Stagecoach, which runs the SWT franchise, could be stripped of its new 20-year contract were unfounded, said an SRA official. But he assured Observer that the authority was taking the issue "very seriously".

Yes, yes, but what are you doing about it? Finally comes the answer: "a couple of taskforces" have been set up to examine the problem.

How reassuring to know they are all going to have a jolly good talk about it.

2002-06-05T21:08:00.000Z

FT.com | Search | ArticleStagecoach preferred partner for NZ rail service
By Toby Shelley
FT.com site; Jun 05, 2002

Stagecoach Group, the transport company, announced its first move into rail services outside of the UK as it was named joint venture partner with Wellington Regional Council to buy and operate the New Zealand capital's passenger rail service.

Heads of agreement on the public-private partnership will be signed later this month with national rail company Tranz Rail. A conditional sales agreement is expected in the Autumn and the purchase going through next spring.

The company was selected as joint venture partner against competition from Connex of the UK and Transdev of France.

For Stagecoach, which has eyed rail operations in the US in the past, the move is of strategic importance, demonstrating it can develop from bus operator to bus and rail operator outside of the UK. It is New Zealand's biggest bus operator and already runs services in Wellington.

No figure for the rail acquisition was given ahead of the heads of agreement being signed but it is not likely to be financially significant for Stagecoach.

The joint venture will probably operate a vertically integrated rail system, controlling track and trains. Brian Souter, Stagecoach chairman, is an enthusiast of vertical integration for rail. The company already runs an integrated rail system on the Isle of Wight, Britains smallest rail franchise.

The venture will come under Stagecoach's rail division, headed by executive director Graham Eccles.

2002-06-05T21:02:00.000Z

Travel

Fujitsu Services provides focused service offerings that demonstrably enable the UK rail industry to meet its real business priorities: improving the service to passengers, growing passenger volumes, and reducing costs.
Fujitsu managed services provide the primary infrastructure supporting Ticket Retailing and Information Distribution for the National Rail network in the UK.

Fujitsu's Rail Journey Information Services (RJIS):

7 x 24hr operation for over 4000 terminals in Stations, Booking Offices and Call Centres
The primary reference source for Rail Industry data, including details of over 55 millions fare and routing combinations
The journey planning system for the Rail Industry's new web based retailing services, such as www.qjump.co.uk

Fujitsu's Travel Trade and Warrants Service (TTWS):

Back Office processing for £450m of ticket sales per annum
Processes 1.8 million paper transaction per year, plus 7m electronic transactions
Supports over 1200 travel agents and warrant account holders

The Transys consortium was set up to provide new revenue collection and ticketing systems for Transport for London. Fujitsu is a founding member and supplies new ticketing machines, electronic point of sale terminals, central computing, smart card management and station accounting software. The project will introduce contact less smart cards as the principal ticket medium on 500 underground trains and 600 buses.

2002-06-05T21:01:00.000Z

Rail Safety ATE and Station Staff Security

At the invitation of a major rail operator we reviewed retail safety/security issues in an urban transport setting, including typical issues such as school children, major sports events, political rallies, drug and alcohol abuse, social problems and verbal and physical assault, and their effect on retail staff morale and performance. We concluded that much of the problem related to retail staff interpersonal skills development and management communication failings, particularly in feedback on reported incidents.

2002-06-05T20:59:00.000Z

Staff training and information
What the consultation document said
4.1 The consultation document sought views on how retail and enquiry staff could be better supported to achieve accurate and impartial retailing, in particular through training and the provision of better information.
What respondents said
4.2 Respondents had no shortage of ideas. TOCs gave the greatest emphasis to improved staff training and discipline. A distinction was made between general retailing skills - which many considered could be helped through applying national standards, particularly National Vocation Qualifications (NVQs) - and product knowledge, which TOCs considered could best be done locally.
4.3 Another dominant theme was the need to improve the quality of information provision on a national, centrally co-ordinated basis. The need for guidance and training in the use of existing systems and manuals was frequently mentioned. A number of respondents suggested that prioritising key competitive flows for training purposes would have more than proportional benefits. Some also supported the proposition that TOCs should provide staff with a simple list of the fares types available and mentioned that TOCs needed to give greater product support to their retailing 'agents'.
4.4 There was a significant measure of agreement on the need to improve the quality of information available to staff. Since the consultation document was published, ATOC and Railtrack have established a joint working group whose remit includes co-ordinated action