'THE GOVERNMENT'S ABSOLUTELY AWARE ... - Rail Professional

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NEWS Extending peak fares will drive passengers back to their cars With the media outrage at the New Year fare increases not far behind us, South West Trains have unexpectedly sold their passengers down the river by launching a tier of ‘just off-peak’fares – which actually span most of the day (see page 6). The strategy appears to be aimed at spreading the rush that happens straight after the peak, by retaining the old fares as ‘super off peak’ and introducing a higher band to bridge the gap. But it will almost certainly drive some passengers off trains altogether, as it will now only be possible to get the cheapest fares in the afternoon and evening. For most people within driving distance of London, it’s a toss up whether to drive to a Tube station on the outskirts of the city and catch the underground or get the train straight to the centre, particularly when it comes to leisure travel. For some SWT passengers, the price increase will make that decision a lot easier. The timing of SWT’s announcement about its fare increases is also bad planning.The national PROFESSIONAL place and that private companies have no business making fat profits out of public press has picked up on the transport. increased dividends which COMMENT Stagecoach – the franchise holder – is paying out to its shareholders, with Brian Souter and his sister getting the lion’s share (see page 10). If the new fares are about spreading out the peak and Stagecoach appears to have money to throw around, passengers are bound to wonder why off-peak fares were not reduced and the new tier brought in at the old level, which would have had a similar effect of spreading the rush, but without penalising passengers. Rather like First Capital Connect’s extending of peak fares last year, these increases simply play into the hands of those who believe the railway never should have been privatised in the first ON A lighter note, Clive James spoke for many passengers, and a fair few railway professionals, when he parodied the confusion caused by the more ill-thought-out of the franchise names on Radio 4’s A Point of View. He is particularly irked by the name First Great Western, which, as he pointed out, wrongly implies that there must be a Second Great Western too. He relates how he cursed the brand when he found it difficult to locate a second-class carriage on a train that was about to pull off, where every carriage bears the word ‘First’. One railway was also ripe for his jibes and he is not alone in finding the name perplexing. Early on in the days of the East Anglian franchise, passengers found it difficult to tell whether the station announcer was talking about ‘the 10.31 train’ or the ’10.30 One train’. It begs the question as to how much companies think through their brand names.While ‘First’ and ‘One’ might sound trendy and quirky when presented to the board of a newly formed company, in an environment like a train station – which can be confusing and chaotic at the best of times – adding further ambiguities to the mix does little to curry favour with passengers. Clive James sums up:‘If the first One train leaves at 20 to one it’s the 20 to one One train and if the other one leaves at 10 to one it's 10 to one on that it's the one One train one actually wanted but one couldn't understand the announcement.’ Train fuel emissions are falling faster than cars’ Carbon dioxide emissions from trains have fallen by 22 per cent per passenger kilometre over the past 10 years, according to the Association of Train Operators. But average emissions from cars have fallen just 8 per cent, while carbon dioxide from domestic air travel has dropped by 5 per cent. Atoc director General George Muir said: ‘Obviously the railway can’t replace the car but to the extent reasonably possible, Britain will meet its environmental objectives more readily if rail carries a greater share of the national traffic. Notwithstanding technical advances within the car industry, rail is likely to retain its environmental advantage.’ Atoc has put together a Baseline Energy Statement setting out the diesel and electric traction energy used by the passenger railway in 2006-6, estimating the carbon dioxide emissions arising from it. The figures show that, on average, rail travel generates just over half the emissions per passenger kilometre of car and approximately one quarter that of domestic air. The EU aims to reduce carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2020. A spokesman for Friends of the Earth said: ‘These figures demonstrate again that rail has significantly lower carbon emissions compared to both air and car travel. But the rail industry mustn’t rest on its laurels. We need technology improvements on all fronts if we are to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, and that includes the development of more efficient rail vehicles.’ London Underground to trial mobile phone coverage The tube may not be a sanctuary from other people’s mobile phones for much longer. London Underground is to begin a sixmonth trial of mobile phone and new technology services on the Waterloo & City line. If the trials are successful, they could pave the way for DAB and wi-fi access even in the deepest parts of the tube network. During the trial, passengers will be able to make calls on platforms at Bank and Waterloo stations and in tunnels between the two stations. It is hoped the experiment will begin in April 2008 – contractors are currently being sought. Richard Parry, LU strategy and service development director, said: ‘The below-ground sections of the Underground are one of the few places in London where you are unable to use a mobile phone. We recognise there is a growing demand for coverage to be extended to deep-level sections of the Tube. He added: ‘If the trial is not a success then London Underground will not proceed with plans to extend mobile phone coverage to the Tube.’ A passenger survey found 56 per cent of people would support the idea of being able to use mobile phones at stations and on Tubes. Aside from making personal calls, passengers could potentially receive up-to-the-minute travel information via a mobile phone or other device while on the Tube. Passengers can and do use mobile phones on the sections of the tube network that are above ground, which represents 55 per cent of the Tube network. 4 RAIL PROFESSIONAL : APRIL 2007
NEWS Freight RUS is ‘positive step’ Network Rail has published its Freight Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS), which forecasts growth of 30 per cent in freight traffic over the next 10 years. The RUS sets out options for the Government, and other stakeholders, as to where investment could be made. The main recommendations are: •Developing the east coast ports coal route to the Aire and Trent Valley power stations, plus enhancements on the Anglo- Scottish coal route; •Gauge enhancement; and •Capacity enhancements on parts of the West Coast Main Line, plus Haven ports and Southampton. Paul Plummer, director of Planning and Regulation at Network Rail, said: ‘Rail freight has grown rapidly over the last 10 years, and the forecasts are for further growth of up to 30 per cent – an extra 240 freight trains a day, over the next 10 years. The RUS will help inform the High Level Output Specifications produced by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport Scotland, which sets out the rail projects likely to get funding in the next quartile. The document has been welcomed by rail freight groups. The Freight Transport Association’s rail freight manager Chris MacRae called the strategy ‘a positive step’.' Rail Freight Group chairman, Tony Berkeley said: ‘The Freight RUS is a great example of industry co-operation and provides a clear strategy for the growth of rail freight. The detailed analysis of the rail freight market is to be commended.’ Freight carrier EWS0 said it ‘strongly’ supported the RUS, calling it a ‘robust and well developed strategy’. 10-day closure will stop all trains into Basingstoke Network Rail is preparing for a 10- day closure of all lines through Basingstoke. The blockade will affect tens of thousands of passengers a day from 6 April (Good Friday). It is the key element of a £130m resignalling project to replace equipment fitted in the 1960s. ‘There are 270 new signals, 100 km of new track and 81 sets of points,’ says David Pape, route director for Network Rail. A new signalling centre at Basingstoke is already nearing completion. South West Trains is hiring more than 90 buses to get travellers around the blockade. Some passengers face 40-mile bus journeys each day, adding at least an hour to their commuting time into London, with the same again on the way home. The train operator expects one in three passengers to stay at home and not attempt to get to work. Passengers will be taken by road from Andover to Woking, and from Winchester to Reading or Farnborough. Virgin Cross Country, First Great Western and freight services from Southampton docks will also be affected. Network Rail hopes the project will go more smoothly than the neighbouring re-signalling scheme in Portsmouth, which is also overseen by Pape. With its contractor, Siemens, it failed to complete the work during a sixweek blockade from December to February, and commissioning of the signals is being delayed indefinitely. ‘Basingstoke is a completely different project with different contractors,’ said Pape. ‘And it is on a far bigger scale. We have been planning this for four years and we expect it to finish on time.’ Any over-run would have a wide impact. The closure affects all services on the routes from Waterloo to Salisbury and Exeter, and from Waterloo to Winchester, Southampton and Bournemouth. It also closes the busy link between Basingstoke and Reading. Tom Smith and Leila Frances, Govia’s managing director of rail development and bid director, deliver Govia’s bid for the West Midlands franchise to the Department for Transport – all 14 boxes of it.Atoc estimates that it costs each contender £3-5m to bid for a franchise. Rows continue over New Street station development Plans to redevelop New Street Station in Birmingham have reached another key milestone. The city council has approved plans to demolish a nearby tower block to make way for the revamped station complex, writes Peter Plisner. The site, currently occupied by Stephenson Tower, is earmarked for a public square which will provide a new entrance to the modernised station. Two new 30 storey office blocks will also be built on the same piece of land. The redevelopment of New Street Station, called ‘Birmingham Gateway’, is expected to cost £550m and will provide much needed additional capacity for passengers using the station. The Department for Transport is studying the scheme’s business case. Its promoters want the Government to provide £378m. Meanwhile, claims that the Gateway project will be unable to cope with a predicted increase in passengers have again been rejected. Promoters of an alternative scheme insists that a new station in the city’s Eastside would provide better access for trains. APRIL 2007 : RAIL PROFESSIONAL 5
Page 1: PROFESSIONAL THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Page 6 and 7: NEWS FARES RISE BY 20% AS SWT BRING
Page 8 and 9: NEWS LAMBRIGG SPARKS VERTICAL INTEG
Page 10 and 11: NEWS/LETTERS NEWS IN BRIEF EDINBURG
Page 12 and 13: FEATURE NEWS ANALYSIS THE PRICE OF
Page 14 and 15: INTERVIEW THE RAIL PROFESSIONAL INT
Page 16 and 17: INTERVIEW Tom Harris with the paint
Page 18 and 19: FRANCHISING GNER EASTERN PHILOSOPHY
Page 20: FEATURE ROLLING STOCK CONDITIONS OF
Page 24 and 25: TRAINING Network Rail’s Westwood
Page 27 and 28: HSBC Rail Business Awards 2006 Revi
Page 29 and 30: HSBC Rail Business Awards 2006 Revi
Page 31 and 32: Richard Talbot, general manager of
Page 34: HSBC Rail Business Awards 2006 Revi
Page 38 and 39: INFRASTRUCTURE BRIDGE OF SIGHS Netw
Page 40 and 41: COMMENT MAKING A STAND FOR SAFETY I
Page 42 and 43: IRO NEWS P O Box 128, Burgess Hill
Page 44 and 45: LEGAL OPINION ON YOUR MARKS… Matt
Page 46 and 47: BUSINESS NEWS Train operators look
Page 48 and 49: PEOPLE SIEMENS GETS NEW PR OFFICER
Page 50 and 51: PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 3M Currently
Page 52 and 53: RECRUITMENT Rail Professional Recru
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RECRUITMENT Optimise our revenue an
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'THE GOVERNMENT'S ABSOLUTELY AWARE ... - Rail Professional

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