Shaun McDonald (@smsm1)
26/03/2013 08:25
I hope they don't replace the trains on East Coast with less luggage space.
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CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
"East Coast rail franchise bidding process begins"
(114 posts)-
Posted 11 years ago #
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AdamRamsay (@AdamRamsay)
26/03/2013 08:25East Coast rail re-privatisation is a foolish mistake
by @george_woods
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Posted 11 years ago # -
madness. utter madness.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Tories in re-privatise rail shocker! Never saw that one coming...
The trains on the East Coast service are due to be slowly replaced from 2018 onwards with Hitachi Intercity Expresses. Luggage capacity looks okay - bike carrying capacity fairly poor. Details:
Posted 11 years ago # -
They've already privatised flipping search and rescue. :-(
Posted 11 years ago # -
I'm completely baffled by these claims that Canada's Search and Rescue has been privatised. That doesn't jibe at all with any of the recent media coverage /political debates.
More background to the issue here
Posted 11 years ago # -
Luggage capacity looks okay - bike carrying capacity fairly poor.
That's diplomatic. The bike spaces look totally crap. Look rather cramped, difficult to access. Worse than the current Virgin trains offering by the looks of it.
Only two bike/bulk rooms on the short trains, maybe 4 bikes maybe (hung up on hooks?), and you'll struggle to get a tandem in there given the layout. Four bike/bulk rooms on the medium length trains (8 bikes maybe), exactly the same capacity on the full length trains.
Better than nothing, but even Scotrail's Turbostars put this design to shame. Cyclists (and especially those with tandems) will regret the passing of the old rolling stock.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The trains on the East Coast service are due to be slowly replaced from 2018 onwards
I shall believe that when I am riding on one.
Also, I've only just read that the original plan for the diesel-engine variant to have the engines in the end vehicles has been replaced by underfloor engines. So ride quality and carriage noise and vibration levels should be as poor as the dreadful Voyagers, and carriage ambience should be every bit as bad if Richard Branson gets his hairy mits on the East Coast franchise.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Posted 11 years ago #
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Last week I used the East Coast service for a work meeting in London. Travelled first class, nice cooked breakfast and lots of tea/coffee on the way down, sandwiches, cooked meal and 3 visits from the drinks trolley on the way back. All for £92 return ! (ie including the food and drink !) Great for me but how on earth are they making any money from this ?
Posted 11 years ago # -
Because unless you manage to book the tickets you want far enough in advance, it costs an absolute fortune and you don't get a cooked breakfast or tea or coffee or even a seat in some cases.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I booked 2 weeks in advance. The 'Scottish Executive' package. Leaves Waverley at 05.40.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Great for me but how on earth are they making any money from this ?
I think the mugs paying full cattle-class price are subsidising the first class!
Actually the East Coast walk-up off-peak return is £121 London to Edinburgh. It's not cheap, but it's not the sort of £3-400 fares sometimes quoted for London to Birmingham or Manchester walk-up fares.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The mega bucks fares are the peak time (arrive before 0900 and leave between ~1600 - 1800) open returns into London from any of the "provincial" cities. The TOC's use them partly to control demand and partly to subsidise the rest of the day.
Posted 11 years ago # -
To be fair, the original Search and Rescue PFI competition was launched in 2006, so there would appear to be a "broad political consensus" on that one.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Can't find it now, but a few months back I read a blog that compared UK rail prices to those on the continent. The author susprised himself by concluding that the UK prices were not that dissimilar to the others.
The problem with comparisons is that every country has its own take on fare structures and saver tickets, so it's nigh-on impossible to compare like-for-like.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Posted 11 years ago #
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http://www.seat61.com/uk-europe-train-fares-comparison.html
is his actual comparison article. Quite interesting...Posted 11 years ago # -
Ian Bell in the Herald
The fag end of the John Major gov passed the rail privatisation as a scorched earth policy to scupper the in coming New Labour.
Why oh why do they want to do this to themselves now?
In brighter news David Millipede's new appointment confirms that International Rescue does in fact exist. FAB!
Posted 11 years ago # -
Never liked Lady P.
Just took a Brompton to see a Grahame Chapman animation. I'll now need to find out how much of it was true.
Posted 11 years ago # -
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Sheila Gilmore (@SheilaGilmoreMP)
07/05/2013 14:00
Labour should go beyond keeping East Coast in public hands:http://www.prog.rs/538 @CBTransport @railnews @pawoodman @christianwolmar
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Posted 10 years ago # -
"THE Government has published a shortlist of three bidders under plans to re-privatise the East Coast mainline - which runs from Edinburgh to London.
Some of the biggest transport firms, already running rail routes across the UK, including the First Group, Stagecoach, Virgin, Keolis and Eurostar, are on the list of preferred bidders for the 393-mile route.
That's not the clearest report. If there are three bidders, then it's First Group on its own, a Virgin and Stagecoach consortium, and a Keolis and Eurostar consortium.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Bidders;
First Group (First Capital Connect, First Great Western, First Hull Trains, First TransPennine Express (55%), Heathrow Connect, First ScotRail)
Stagecoach (South West Trains, Island Line Trains, East Midlands Trains, Virgin West Coast (49%)
Virgin (Virgin West Coast (51%))
Keolis - majority owned by French state SNCF (Southern Trains (35%), Southeastern Trains (35%), London Midland Trains (35%), First TransPennine Express (45%))
Eurostar runs the Eurostar service, owned by French State SNCF (55%) "London and Continental Railways" (40%) - owned 100% by British Department of Transport, Belgian state SNCB (5%)So, it's a toss-up between Timmy "there's nothing wrong with my bid" O' Toole, Brian "clause 28" Souter and his sister Anne "Gerrofmoiland" Gloag, the Bearded One, The French Government or the French and British Governments in cahoots.
It's slightly barking mad that the Government is determined to privatise East Coast yet a company it owns a significant minority share in is bidding for the franchise.
Posted 10 years ago # -
UK government is looking to "divest" its shares in Eurostar...
Posted 10 years ago # -
A few weeks ago on the Now Show they pointed out that the Chinese communist government are financing the French Socialist government to support the British Free Market economy...
Posted 10 years ago # -
From Railway Gazette;
East Coast Trains Ltd (FirstGroup plc)
Keolis/Eurostar East Coast Ltd (Keolis (UK) Ltd and Eurostar International Ltd)
Inter City Railways Ltd (90% Stagecoach Transport Holdings Ltd, 10% Virgin Holdings Ltd).DfT plans to issue invitations to tender at the end of February, with bidders having at least three months to develop their proposals. The new operator would take over the services linking London to Yorkshire, northeast England and Scotland in February 2015.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Not forgetting the spoiler of Arriva (DB) proposing an Open Access service to London using proven tilting trains which will be able to get down the line faster, especially the bendy bits - if the paths can be found.
Talk is of near to HS2's promised journey times, using trains available now, and track available now.
It would be nice in the new East Coast operating plan, to have a couple of trains going South via Carlisle and Leeds, just to keep the drivers available for the alternative route South (which is as fast, if not faster than going via Newcastle - last time I did this when 17.50 North Briton was diverted, we arrived at Kirkstall, Leeds, over 20 minutes early)
Posted 10 years ago #
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