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Panorama ignored
problem of short
franchises
I am sure many Rail Professional
readers watched Panorama’s Bad
Deal on Fares, but, in general,
it revealed nothing that we did
not already know. The Atoc
boss was as bland as ever and
the lady from the ORR looked
absolutely petrified at being
asked questions.
The one point that did
agitate me was at the end of the
programme when the Network
Rail chief executive was
challenged for more information
about costs of major projects,
especially those that overrun
their timescale.
He said that these would be
made available and that people
had been hired to work on
this – yet more increased hiring
costs for information that they
already have to hand but do not
want anyone to know!
Another area which
the investigator did not,
unfortunately, venture into is
HS2 is nothing to cheer about
The real case against HS2 is that for what it
will cost, it does little to satisfy most people’s
real transport needs One wonders if those
who have put their support behind the project
understand the geography of the country.
More than 80 per cent of the population
of Great Britain live and work south of Leeds
and east of the Welsh border, in the London,
Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool
conurbations, the major cities of Leeds and
Bristol, or the many towns with populations
of between 100,000 and 250,000, spaced
approximately 20 miles apart.
The transport needs that arise from this
pattern of settlement will not be well served by
a single spine route, but by a comprehensive
network providing the maximum number
of journey opportunities. Such a network
can best be developed by a combination of
improvements to existing routes and a few
entirely new connecting links.
Henry Law
Brighton
the enormous waste of money
by the Department of Transport,
which is costing the taxpayer/
farepayer a fortune.
The recent awarding of
the Anglia franchise to a new
company for just over two years
is a perfect example. After a very
short time, the whole costly
franchise pantomime will have
to be gone through again.
Why on earth the existing
franchise couldn’t have been
extended for that period is
beyond belief, especially as
other companies have had
their franchises extended
for short periods, without
question, despite some very poor
performances.
John Cherry
(Retired Atoc member)
We’re way better than
Connex!
In your February issue you
published a letter suggesting
that levels of dissatisfaction of
Southeastern passengers are
‘now at such a high level as
previously reached in the days of
the dreaded Connex’.
While we recognise each
individual’s experience is
unique, it is not reflective of the
majority.
The latest NPS survey
showed an 83 per cent level of
satisfaction, the highest ever
achieved on this network. The
current MAA punctuality of
91.6 per cent is again the highest
this network has experienced
since PPM was introduced in
the BR days.
We are not complacent and
will continue to improve things
but know that we are heading in
the right direction.
Jon Hay-Campbell
Media relations manager
Southeastern
International bookings
are historic problem
I was interested to read the
article on European travel
Page 12 March 2012