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LETTERS TRAIN OF THOUGHT READERS HAVE THEIR SAY ABOUT THE RAIL INDUSTRY Email your letters to: editor@railpro.co.uk fax them to: 01223 327356 Or post them to: The Editor, Rail Professional, 275 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8JE. Letters may be edited for length. Gate line debate Ticket barriers were installed at Newcastle Central station, despite objections that they would spoil the appearance of this listed building and be an obstacle to the travelling public. They were justified on the grounds that fare evasions and anti-social behaviour would be reduced. These claims were always questionable, even if the gates were to operate as intended. Unfortunately, the operation of the gates has been nothing short of farcical. There are three rows of gates. I use the station several times a week and I have yet to see all of them operational. I understand that this is because there are insufficient staff. When not in use, the gates are blocked off using unsightly temporary galvanised barriers, thus negating any arguments about sensitive design. At 5pm on 21 January, only one set of barriers were in use and this caused long queues. One man, trying to hold onto his bags while navigating the barriers, dropped a bottle of red wine which smashed all over the floor. At 11am on 1 February, only two rows of barriers were open. One of these barriers had three gates closed – out of order – including the two ‘accessible’ wide gates. Barriers closed, queues and people struggling with luggage are all too common sights. Passengers who have boarded a local train to Newcastle normally pay the conductor. If the train is busy, then sometimes not all fares are collected on the train. On only one occasion have I seen anyone collecting unpaid or excess fares at the barriers. Passengers are let through by staff without paying because there is no one to issue tickets. Travellers wishing to access left luggage and the cycle racks have to hunt for a member of staff to let them in and out. The station’s cash machines are accessible only to those with a train ticket. One of the most damning features of the operation is the routine opening of the gates after 9pm because there are not enough staff. What was once a public service is now motivated by profit and operational convenience. Customer service and the convenience of the travelling public is the least consideration. The ticket barriers farce would be laughable if it were not so sad. What was once a vibrant and welcoming place, blessed by stunning architecture, is now a hurdle that has to be overcome to get on a train. The contentious decision to award planning permission must now be in question. Ernest Dobson Northumberland Mixed messages Your report on the use of National Rail Enquiries and the Atoc website during the inclement weather in January (News, February 2010 issue) refers to a new service announcing how many trains were running across the network. Statisticians may find this interesting, but its relevance to potential users of the service is nil; it doesn’t matter if 99 per cent of services are running – if yours isn’t, you are stuck. I suggest any spare resources would be better spent in improving accuracy of information for potential travellers. Following a derailment at Dingwall in January, a friend of mine was advised of a bus service that ran from Inverness to Dingwall, but that the same site showed all four afternoon services between Dingwall and Kyle of Lochalsh cancelled. However, another friend of mine staffed two of the allegedly cancelled services! NC Walker Kyle of Lochalsh As sure as night follows day… With reference to the article on Spanish railways (January 2010 issue), both the Catalan Talgo and the Mare Nostrum are day trains, not overnight services as stated by Ron Smith. I have just checked the timetable on the Spanish Rail website to make sure of my facts. Terry Hackett You forgot about Evolvi I read with interest your feature on online ticketing (February 2010 issue) and was surprised by your assertion that there are only two rail ticketing websites. Evolvi has for many years been providing online ticketing and 14 RAIL PROFESSIONAL : MARCH 2010
LETTERS fulfilment services exclusive to the corporate sector via travel management companies – including eight of the top 10 travel management companies. This growth is in line with increasing enthusiasm for rail among corporate travellers – as evidenced by a recent survey by the Guild of Travel Management Companies, which showed that 70 per cent of business travellers would rather see investment in high-speed rail links than in the expansion of airport terminals. The message we are receiving from procurement professionals is that the experience for business travellers on trains has improved significantly in recent years. Rail travel is seen to be less disjointed than air – travel time is no longer wasted time, particularly with the availability of quiet carriages and at-seat internet connectivity. This is a key reason why there has been a modal shift away from air on a number of key trunk domestic routes. Booking systems have made access to best fares easy and efficient – indeed rail is increasingly incorporated within managed travel plans, which not only drives down cost through adherence to organisational policy, but also provides value-adding data such as GHG emissions comparisons. Ken Cameron MD, Evolvi Rail Systems Thatcher was no friend to the railways Correspondent Roger Ford (alias ‘Captain Deltic’) seems to have a highly selective memory (Train of thought, February 2010 issue). My recollection of the 1981- 82 Serpell report era was that it coincided with the 1981 ‘recession’, which can mask all kinds of hidden agendas dressed in words like ‘economic’ and ‘social’ to which most members of the public are not party to all the information on to make any real judgments on or challenges to. At least five lines, which had survived both previous Beeching and Castle eras of mass closures, closed, including March–Spalding, Northampton–Market Harborough, Tunbridge Wells–Eridge, Barnstaple– NORTH KENT’S CROSSING FALLS FLAT The ongoing problems that the recently published Kent RUS highlights, but fails to overcome, are that of the existence of the flat crossings at North Kent Junction, and the capacity of Tonbridge–Orpington–Charing Cross Main Line. Is it too late to suggest a relatively small modification to the soon-to-be re-opened East London Line as part of the Overground network One of the four aims of the revamped ELL will be to serve New Cross and, I suspect, it will prove to be the least patronised of the four. It would be a simple exercise to build a short rising chord from a point north of the New Capacity on the Tonbridge Main Line could be enhanced.. Bideford and of course the Woodhead TransPennine route. That is a substantive sum of rail miles of key relief and strategic rail links for passenger and freight, which arguably helped underpin the next recession, coinciding with Mrs Thatcher’s departure. Rationalisation – singling lines and junctions – Waterloo–Exeter, Syston Junction and the problems of getting freight through Leicester, due to factors such as Midland Main Line slow singling, north of Bedford – all added huge costs, which have slowed other rail ‘investments’ being carried forward today. Although hindsight is a wonderful thing, our railways were in Serpell land in the 1960s and, again, are having to spend twice, once to dismantle, then to catch up once again. We may also reflect, that the mid-1980s saw the ‘mothballing’ of the Claydon to Bletchley line… and the rest is history. Not so much ‘blood and custard’ as too much spilt milk! Richard Pill Bedfordshire www.railimages.co.uk Cross depot where the line changes from passing under the Tonbridge Main Line just north of New Cross station, to a point on the North Kent Line viaduct to the west of Deptford station, a chord a couple of hundred yards in length. This would, by diverting all Greenwich line trains on to the ELL, allow the infamous North Kent Junction to be removed in its entirety. Passengers from the Greenwich line would have excellent interchange facilities at Whitechapel, Shadwell, Canada Water, Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal offering, to the majority of passengers, more convenient journeys, which will be further enhanced when Crossrail commences. Without the North Kent Junction to consider, the capacity on the Tonbridge Main Line north of Orpington could be enhanced by, probably, six trains per hour, and permit the continuation of main line trains to Cannon Street, whereas the overwhelming majority, apart from those servicing the Thameslink ‘2000’ route will, in future, serve only Charing Cross. A win-win situation, methinks. Rodney Wolfe Coe Ashford Kent MARCH 2010 : RAIL PROFESSIONAL 15
Page 1 and 2: PROFESSIONAL THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Contents MARCH 2010 ISSUE
Page 5 and 6: NEWS Tories scotch rumours that the
Page 7 and 8: NEWS www.railimages.co.uk Governmen
Page 9 and 10: NEWS Network Rail JACOBS TO WORK ON
Page 11 and 12: NEWS Tyne and Wear Metro contract g
Page 13: NEWS £530m boost detailed for nort
Page 17 and 18: NEWS ANALYSIS ‘The overcrowding h
Page 19 and 20: LIGHT RAIL TRAVELLING LIGHT Dave Ho
Page 21 and 22: LIGHT RAIL Community Rail Partnersh
Page 23 and 24: COMMENT Could direct services one d
Page 25 and 26: INTERVIEW RAIL PROFESSIONAL : MARCH
Page 27 and 28: INTERVIEW form or another, so it mi
Page 29 and 30: NEWS FROM THE IRO ENROLLING NOW: IR
Page 31 and 32: PEOPLE Heller’s replacement annou
Page 33 and 34: RECRUITMENT Rail Professional Recru
Page 35 and 36: RECRUITMENT RAIL PASSENGER DATA ANA

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