CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

"East Coast rail franchise bidding process begins"

(114 posts)

No tags yet.


1234

  1. Morningsider
    Member

    Tulyar - The DB plan is an interesting proposition. Full details at (although I'm sure you will have seen this):

    http://www.alliancerail.co.uk/Edinburgh_Briefing_Document.pdf

    Really can't see the ORR letting it happen though. It would kill the East Coast franchise holder. That's the great thing about rail privatisation - it was created to allow competition - but not the "wrong sort" of competition, which seems to be the sort that might actually benefit passengers as opposed to the holders of rail franchises.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  2. chdot
    Admin

    Regular sub four hour trains would be nice, but I doubt if there would be as many cheap advance tickets as GNER/East Coast have provided in recent years.

    There are a couple of things in the document in M's link that all rail companies should just do now!

    "

    It is also planned that holders of GNER advance tickets for a different train will only be required to pay the difference, plus an administration fee, not the full cost of a new ticket, in recognition that sometimes people’s plans change.

    A further particular unique selling point will be the offer of a 50% refund to passengers with GNER tickets unable to get a seat during their journey, whether pre-booked or not.

    "

    Posted 10 years ago #

  3. SRD
    Moderator

    "It would be nice in the new East Coast operating plan, to have a couple of trains going South via Carlisle and Leeds, "

    but the whole reason I take the train on the east coast is for the view!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  4. chdot
    Admin

    "but the whole reason I take the train on the east coast is for the view!"

    Have you done Carlisle to Leeds?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  5. SRD
    Moderator

    hmmm, I've done cross-country in the other direction, and Birminham to Leeds but perhaps not Carlisle to Leeds. Is it nice?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  6. chdot
    Admin

    "

    The Settle-Carlisle Partnership. Information about the Settle-Carlisle Railway. Promoting England's most scenic railway

    "

    http://www.settle-carlisle.co.uk

    Posted 10 years ago #

  7. Tulyar
    Member

    As noted, with the right connection in Carlisle the actual journey times for Glasgow-Leeds are shorter than via East Coast despite having 75mph line speed. This was I think the last main line to Scotland, and took on board a few details that others missed - GNR was vs LNWR and Midland quitely got on with things, albeit with a few rather bad crashes around Ais Gill/Garsdale.

    Track is actually in very good condition, and I reckon could easily go to 90mph, if not faster, but paths with freight and long sections (signalling issues) keep it a low priority.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  8. cc
    Member

    Is it nice?

    My East Coast train went via Carlisle once. Yes, the line across the north of England has BEAUTIFUL scenery. Just lovely.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  9. chdot
    Admin

    "My East Coast train went via Carlisle once"

    Probably Carlisle to Newcastle rather than Leeds?

    Only ever done section that after dark.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  10. PS
    Member

    Settle-Carlisle is very picturesque, especially if you're a fan of moorland and viaducts.

    Loads of vids here

    Posted 10 years ago #

  11. chdot
    Admin

    http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/2014/01/bikerail-scotland-update

    Posted 10 years ago #

  12. chdot
    Admin

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/transport/rail-campaigners-in-east-coast-protest-at-waverley-1-3332046

    Posted 10 years ago #

  13. chdot
    Admin

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/french-in-line-for-east-coast-rail-franchise-1-3614991

    Posted 9 years ago #

  14. crowriver
    Member

    Why, oh why. oh why, did they not just keep East Coast as a publicly run railway?

    (That's a rhetorical question: we already know the answer. I just despair at the coalition's blinkered attitude).

    Posted 9 years ago #

  15. neddie
    Member

    Are you not pleased that we're investing in the French & Dutch railway networks?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  16. chdot
    Admin

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/transport/mp-and-union-fury-over-east-coast-line-future-1-3616098

    Posted 9 years ago #

  17. chdot
    Admin

    http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/faster-journeys-for-new-east-coast-rail-franchise-1-3616950

    Posted 9 years ago #

  18. SRD
    Moderator

    Crap. Virgin and stagecoach. How dire.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  19. ARobComp
    Member

    Yep. Heard on the radio this morning. That is pretty upsetting.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  20. chdot
    Admin

    So much for 'informed opinion', leaks and disinformation!

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30222458

    Posted 9 years ago #

  21. Min
    Member

    Oh for flips sake. An end to the only decent rail operator we had then.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  22. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Even our masters must marvel at our docility. Medieval peasants had real and spiritual violence to fear if they didn't pay their tithes. What's our excuse?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  23. Ed1
    Member

    Maybe they want to privatise east coast as don’t want an example of a publicly owned service working so well people may get ideas and consider other parts of the service could be publicly owned. Virgins extension on the west coast was not tendered.
    Last time I got virgin train from London I paid for a service that was not provided, ended up going on GNER for free after I explained to GNER how virgin screwed up. I bought the tickets of virgin web site and they gave me a connection that did left 10 minutes before the other train arrived.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  24. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Ed1

    You don't understand. Directly Operated Railways' tenure over the ECML was a catastrophe. A private franchise would have returned even more money to the exchequer than the public one and passengers would have been on the verge of orgasm between Dunbar and Stevenage. And this is true by definition. Any other view is tantamount to subversion, if not evidence of actual psychiatric imbalance.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  25. LaidBack
    Member

    Oh - you are all being so down on this.

    I'm sure the nice new graphics will cheer you all up. Good news is they will have to repaint existing trains while they wait for new ones. This all provides work you know ;-)

    But .... hang on... Does this not mean Virgin is competing with itself in another guise. Surely that is not right?

    Just double checked - latest is that Virgin will be doing West Coast till 2017 when there will be a re-bid.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  26. Arellcat
    Moderator

    Virgin and Stagecoach. How dire.

    The latter remember is headed by a man who poured millions of Pounds into his Clause 28/Section 2A campaign in 2000.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  27. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @Arellcat

    No matter how much we disagree with his views, can we dispute his right to hold and express them?

    Some of my views are not widely held in this country, but I maintain that I can hold them without prejudice to my employment or business prospects.

    The scandal is surely proper to those who allowed Souter and Branson to profit from us.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  28. Darkerside
    Member

    <OT thinking out loud>
    He's fully entitled to hold, express and campaign on behalf of his views. Similarly, we're fully entitled to think less of him because of a particularly view he might hold.

    People can clearly have opinions that prohibit them from certain jobs. Terrorism, a desire to share secret information, an acceptance of various things illegal within the UK.

    Could legal but "distateful" views do the same? Maybe. I'd argue against a science teacher who fervently believed in young Earth creationism. I'd probably also not be keen on a company being headed by someone proud to flaunt their discrimination against a particular group of people.
    </OT thinking out loud>

    Posted 9 years ago #

  29. DaveC
    Member

    Virgin and Stagecoach

    Yeh, when (not if) the service spirals down in service levels, Virgin will blame Stagecoach and Visa versa.

    Win win... no??

    Posted 9 years ago #

  30. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @Darkerside

    "People can clearly have opinions that prohibit them from certain jobs."

    Really? HR departments are going to need better mind probes.

    Posted 9 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

1234

Reply »

You must log in to post.


Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin