Not a good few days for Network Rail in the press

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Network Rail was doomed to failure from the outset argues Ross Clarke
Daily Express: http://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/549276/Network-Rail-is-a-Tony-Blair-s-Labour-failure-argues-Ross-Clarke

Network Rail bosses let the plane take the strain
Daily Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/11316809/Network-Rail-bosses-let-the-plane-take-the-strain.html

'Are you still there?' BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) presenter confronts Network Rail boss after he falls silent when asked FIVE times if he will give up ^135,000 bonus over Christmas train chaos
Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2890089/Are-asks-exasperated-BBC-presenter-wriggling-Network-Rail-boss-refuses-speak-asked-FIVE-times-135-000-bonus-train-chaos.html

Railway works badly planned
Lancashire Telegraph - http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/opinion/11694071._/?

[Electric train]

The Daily Express got wrong again      Network Rail was set up as "Not for Dividend Company" there was never any restriction place on it not to make a profit, any profit is ploughed back into the infrastructure.

I do find it a bit laughable that the 3 National papers are berating NR^» (Network Rail - home page) bosses having a bonus yet defend to the hilt the right of city bankers have obscene bonuses, their defence the city needs to recruit and retain the best in the world, well the same applies to NR it has to recruit and retain the right people, there has been media focus on Kings Cross yes a project overran, no one was killed or injured as a result of the delay just inconvenienced what the press have totally failed to report are the vast majority of major project work Network Rail has and is undertaking over this Christmas; London Bridge over 800 people working on this rebuild which quick frankly makes the Reading rebuild look like a branch line halt, the Watford resignalling something that BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) and Railtrack avoided because of the complexity now complete, the Reading and Hayes viaducts countless other signalling structures on the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) and there are many many other projects Nationally 11,000 staff working over this "holiday" season

This country really    me off at times we moan that trains are over crowded, slow etc and why oh why cannot something be done about ...... well something is being done about it, its just sometimes you know what things don't quite go to plan

[Super Guard]

Oh the Daily Mail, how I loathe thee existence.."Third World trains for Concorde prices"... and "125mph trains controlled by flags"...

The standard one-way concorde/economy+ return price was ^4,350.  No-one paid that for a return rail ticket over the festive period.

Has any train ever been controlled at 125mph with a flag?  Of course not.  No-one has a problem with 600mph jumbo jets being controlled by those lollipop bat things on the ground, so why have the DM got a problem controlling train movements as necessary SAFELY with flags?  Do they want trains moving or not?

Thinking about it, no they don't... they can write more nonsense if trains aren't moving.

[tomL]

Oh the Daily Mail, how I loathe thee existence.."Third World trains for Concorde prices"... and "125mph trains controlled by flags"...

The standard one-way concorde/economy+ return price was ^4,350.  No-one paid that for a return rail ticket over the festive period.

Has any train ever been controlled at 125mph with a flag?  Of course not.  No-one has a problem with 600mph jumbo jets being controlled by those lollipop bat things on the ground, so why have the DM got a problem controlling train movements as necessary SAFELY with flags?  Do they want trains moving or not?

Thinking about it, no they don't... they can write more nonsense if trains aren't moving.

Would be amusing to see those lollipop bats used to get the trains stopping at the board/marks at Paddington... 

[bobm]

Use a couple of dispatch bats 

[chrisr_75]

The standard one-way concorde/economy+ return price was ^4,350.  No-one paid that for a return rail ticket over the festive period.

LHR to JFK distance roughly 3500 miles, price per mile works out at about ^1.25, if your airline ticket price is accurate (the price you quote is actually closer to the business class fare on BA^» (British Airways - about) at around ^5k return, I just checked for mid-January travel). Which isn't vastly different per mile to what I paid the last time I travelled BGN-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) and back (on advance tickets). When considering the immense difference in service quality between standard class rail & business class on most airlines, a business class ticket to New York looks pretty good value to me. You're also guaranteed a seat on a plane...

[phile]

The Daily Express got wrong again      Network Rail was set up as "Not for Dividend Company" there was never any restriction place on it not to make a profit, any profit is ploughed back into the infrastructure.

I do find it a bit laughable that the 3 National papers are berating NR^» (Network Rail - home page) bosses having a bonus yet defend to the hilt the right of city bankers have obscene bonuses, their defence the city needs to recruit and retain the best in the world, well the same applies to NR it has to recruit and retain the right people, there has been media focus on Kings Cross yes a project overran, no one was killed or injured as a result of the delay just inconvenienced what the press have totally failed to report are the vast majority of major project work Network Rail has and is undertaking over this Christmas; London Bridge over 800 people working on this rebuild which quick frankly makes the Reading rebuild look like a branch line halt, the Watford resignalling something that BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) and Railtrack avoided because of the complexity now complete, the Reading and Hayes viaducts countless other signalling structures on the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) and there are many many other projects Nationally 11,000 staff working over this "holiday" season

This country really    me off at times we moan that trains are over crowded, slow etc and why oh why cannot something be done about ...... well something is being done about it, its just sometimes you know what things don't quite go to plan

This excuse to recruit the best people is just a smokescreen to cover up these obscene payments.   If I was capable and had the qualifications I would be pleased to do the job at half the salary and expect a bonus only when it arrived and only if it was deserved and earned for going above the call of duty.

[Cynthia]

Electric train and Superguard, I share your distaste of the Mail and Express wholeheartedly, and the only reason they don't blether on about bankers' (and others') bonuses is that they're frightened of biting off the hands that feed them.  For the same reason they keep very quiet about tax avoidance by these same mega-earning bankers and industrialists.  It's much easier to make scapegoats of benefit fraudsters and immigrants, whose claim on the exchequer is miniscule compared to these same cheating oh-haven't-we-got-jolly-good-accountants super rich.  It's much better sport for the tabloid editors to slag off our railway system.

[TaplowGreen]

The Daily Express got wrong again      Network Rail was set up as "Not for Dividend Company" there was never any restriction place on it not to make a profit, any profit is ploughed back into the infrastructure.

I do find it a bit laughable that the 3 National papers are berating NR^» (Network Rail - home page) bosses having a bonus yet defend to the hilt the right of city bankers have obscene bonuses, their defence the city needs to recruit and retain the best in the world, well the same applies to NR it has to recruit and retain the right people, there has been media focus on Kings Cross yes a project overran, no one was killed or injured as a result of the delay just inconvenienced what the press have totally failed to report are the vast majority of major project work Network Rail has and is undertaking over this Christmas; London Bridge over 800 people working on this rebuild which quick frankly makes the Reading rebuild look like a branch line halt, the Watford resignalling something that BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) and Railtrack avoided because of the complexity now complete, the Reading and Hayes viaducts countless other signalling structures on the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) and there are many many other projects Nationally 11,000 staff working over this "holiday" season

This country really    me off at times we moan that trains are over crowded, slow etc and why oh why cannot something be done about ...... well something is being done about it, its just sometimes you know what things don't quite go to plan

........does leaving kit on the line potentially causing a fatal accident qualify as something not "going quite to plan"? Does the flaky signalling causing the service between Paddington and Reading to fall apart regularly since October fall into the same category???

Okay I take your point re: the Press, they will always exaggerate, but at this level and scale of regular failure in the real World it wouldn't just be bonuses NR Execs would be sacrificing, it'd be their jobs.

[eightf48544]

Re controlling trains with flags.

There was a phrase from the Rule Book which summed controlling the railway when the siganlling failed.

"Proceed at Caution and be prepared to stop short of any obstruction."

Which means no more than 15/20 mph keeping a good lookout.

You'd also know if there was a train in Section in front as hopefully  you'd hit some detonators laid by its guard.

What happened to detonators? Did they annoy the neighbours too much? If you were ever in a train that went over one you knew it!

[ellendune]

Okay I take your point re: the Press, they will always exaggerate, but at this level and scale of regular failure in the real World it wouldn't just be bonuses NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Execs would be sacrificing, it'd be their jobs.

I don't understand this obsession with sacking managers for the occasional failure. Does anyone remember how the heroically NR and their contractors responded to the huge challenges of the last 12 months? Or have we only got memories for the last few weeks?

And how long does an executive have to be in a job before they become responsible for all the problems left by their predecessors? The reliability of the signalling outside Paddington has been an issue for many years - yes it is far worse at the moment - but so far as the 1990's signalling is concerned, I suspect it will continue to be an issue. Of course the executive who was responsible at the time of its installation has moved on but until it can be replaced it will remain a weakness.

Other sections of the signalling are past life expired and yet NR still have to keep them going while trying to replace them in a live railway? That is always a reliability risk.  

At the same time NR is under pressure to carry out a lot of renewals on a railway that is more heavily used that ever before while at the same time undertaking unprecedented levels of and improvement work, moving towards a 24/7 railway and cutting costs.  

If you want someone to sign up to manage that without the possibility of the occasional failure then you will be disappointed.  

If you want to cut costs then you are going to have to allow NR to innovate and take risks (though not with safety) and the only way this can happen is if you allow people to occasionally make mistakes - and learn from them.  

If you want the perfect railway than either fares or grants from taxes will have to rise substantially.  

If we are to live in a world where managers are sacked with the frequency of football managers then we will make no progress and the country will get into a cycle of decline.  In terms of our manufacturing industry it could be argued that is where we have been for the last few years.  

[TaplowGreen]

Okay I take your point re: the Press, they will always exaggerate, but at this level and scale of regular failure in the real World it wouldn't just be bonuses NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Execs would be sacrificing, it'd be their jobs.

I don't understand this obsession with sacking managers for the occasional failure. Does anyone remember how the heroically NR and their contractors responded to the huge challenges of the last 12 months? Or have we only got memories for the last few weeks?

And how long does an executive have to be in a job before they become responsible for all the problems left by their predecessors? The reliability of the signalling outside Paddington has been an issue for many years - yes it is far worse at the moment - but so far as the 1990's signalling is concerned, I suspect it will continue to be an issue. Of course the executive who was responsible at the time of its installation has moved on but until it can be replaced it will remain a weakness.

Other sections of the signalling are past life expired and yet NR still have to keep them going while trying to replace them in a live railway? That is always a reliability risk.  

At the same time NR is under pressure to carry out a lot of renewals on a railway that is more heavily used that ever before while at the same time undertaking unprecedented levels of and improvement work, moving towards a 24/7 railway and cutting costs.  

If you want someone to sign up to manage that without the possibility of the occasional failure then you will be disappointed.  

If you want to cut costs then you are going to have to allow NR to innovate and take risks (though not with safety) and the only way this can happen is if you allow people to occasionally make mistakes - and learn from them.  

If you want the perfect railway than either fares or grants from taxes will have to rise substantially.  

If we are to live in a world where managers are sacked with the frequency of football managers then we will make no progress and the country will get into a cycle of decline.  In terms of our manufacturing industry it could be argued that is where we have been for the last few years.  

Customers don't expect perfection but they have every right to expect, in return for the high fares paid, a service which provides reliability, adequate capacity without levels of overcrowding which would be illegal for cattle, cleanliness, information, and not a situation where the slightest variable failing or "occasional failure" as you put it results in total collapse of the service.......the decline in British manufacturing cannot remotely be compared to the situation on the  railways and it is ridiculous of you to even suggest it.

[ChrisB]

Which is all down simply to under investment in the industry over the years.

That is down to the Governments of the day. You can't blame the workmen, however senior, if they don't have the necessary money to invest.

Even now, the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) reduces the sums NR^» (Network Rail - home page) need to spdnd, citing "value for money". If the NHS is money no object, that is effectively what we're wanting here too

[TaplowGreen]

...........so where is the ^7.5 billion of investment that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) regularly trumpet coming from?

[GBM]

Use a couple of dispatch bats 

Are bats not a protected species?