Quote:
Do they suggest all doors are open and we let the passengers onto the track?

Why not? if people are stupid enough to do so then they deserve to be run over! Small children shoud be supervised.

I have a brain, I would appreciate it if the "heath and safety" talibans could acknowledge this fact!

If the energy and commitment  that went into complaining /moaning about FGW and Organising Fare strikes was channelled into Supporting Andrew Haines vision we might start getting somewhere.
Insted of sitting back and letting other areas put forward a case for more funding /better services

Can't understand what the fool is on about when he compairs the train company with the bus company. They have the same parent company and contribute to the profits to that same parent company but are run as complete seperate buinesses.

That I suppose is the trouble with the " FIRSTGROUP" bashers from around this part, they don't what their on about!

Passengers on First Great Western are used to hearing the word "sorry" from Andrew Haines. The boss of Britain's least popular rail franchise sometimes gets an earthier reply from the most disgruntled customers on the rail network, especially when he is stranded with them on the 6.30pm from Paddington to Weston-super-Mare.

"Last night on the train we were stuck for 30 minutes and I had to listen to another customer's language, which probably even the Guardian would not print. Plenty of use of the c word."

Oaths have been muttered up and down the London-to-Cardiff line over the past year as FGW struggles with overcrowding, passenger protests and endemic tardiness. Last month it was voted the UK's worst rail service, hence its inevitable rechristening as "Worst Late Western", and the situation must be bad when the man who presided over the first run on a high street bank in more than a century, chancellor Alistair Darling, urges managers to "get a grip".

Haines was drafted in as chief operating officer of FGW by its parent, FirstGroup, five months ago and is working a six-day week as he toils over the franchise, alongside executing his responsibilities for four other rail services as the head of FirstGroup's rail division. He is affable, but does not exude sunny optimism about the franchise. This is in contrast with his predecessor, Alison Forster, who told the Guardian last year that "it will be a very different place in a year's time", adding that "it will be seen as one of the best operations in the UK rather than one of the worst".

Sat in a boardroom at FGW's Paddington station office, the 43-year-old Welshman mutters about finding the most diplomatic response to an impossible pledge. He outlines a turnaround plan measured in inches rather than leaps, starting with a lowering of the sights.

"Alison was clearly setting out an aspiration that, with the benefit of hindsight, was probably too ambitious and not realistic. There are big issues to tackle and we are absolutely on the right ground to do that now. But I will not promise that it will be top of the league next year. It will not be. My experience of business transformation is that it does not happen overnight."

Haines insists that the cussing customer on the Weston-super-Mare service is not representative of most passengers. Rail users angered at being shoehorned on to trains have registered their concerns: two fare strikes in the past year have made their point and FGW allowed hundreds of passengers with protest tickets, most of whom were season ticket holders anyway, to board trains. Haines finds the abusive stuff harder to take.

"You feel physically sick. I didn't feel I could do anything for that customer," he says, referring to the fact that their train was being held up by a service from another franchise. But Haines is not expecting a consoling pat on the back. Perhaps a little less ripe language would be appreciated, but FGW will lose the franchise if excuses continue to outweigh improvements.

Haines has prostrated himself since taking over. Stations on the FGW routes have been adorned with posters carrying apologies from the FGW boss and his team and passenger compensation has been doubled - 10% off their season tickets. Some of the excuses are sounding tired, no matter how impressive the promises attached to them, particularly the repeated references to the ^200m investment in train and station refurbishments that are part of the 10-year franchise. The ^200m investment was announced when FirstGroup renewed the franchise two years ago and many passengers argue it has not worked.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of commuter watchdog Passenger Focus, says Haines, a lifelong railway man who joined British Rail as a graduate manager in 1985, has the pedigree to turn around FGW. "He is universally trusted and respected throughout the industry. There is relief that he has arrived but it is a pity he has not arrived earlier." Smith adds that the ^200m programme has been crushingly ambitious, combining the overhaul of 53 high-speed train sets with a ^1.1bn government payment schedule that imposes hefty fare increases on fed-up customers.

"The task is huge, absolutely huge," Smith says. "The scale of the ambition was correct, but given the size of the task it had to be done quickly in order to get a return. First Great Western did everything very quickly at once. The company came badly unstuck, doing things too quickly on top of very shaky infrastructure, old track and old signals."

So, has FGW committed a fatal misjudgment in promising a miraculous performance? "I fundamentally disagree with Anthony Smith," says Haines. "But I can understand why he says that because our delivery has not been strong. If we are not ambitious someone else will win the franchise."

Smith insists that the sums don't add up. FGW has charged the highest fare increases in the UK over the past decade, but the ^1.1bn contract with the Department for Transport, which defines timetables and carriage numbers as well as demanding a lofty premium, is constraining the company's ability to fix its problems.

"Everyone recognises that it was a bad deal," Smith says. "Is the investment enough or does more money need to go in from First Great Western, the government or a partnership? We are getting to halfway through the franchise and it's a question of who is going to blink first."

There is not much of a staring contest to be had when government railway policy states that annual public subsidy across the network will fall from ^4.5bn to ^3bn from 2009, while the farepayers' contribution will nearly double to ^9bn. Haines says FGW will put more money in over and above the ^200m, but won't say how much or where it will be invested, although FGW is hunting down more rolling stock. He adds that the "vast majority" of FGW's profits, which represent around a third of the rail division's ^109m annual surplus, is being reinvested in the franchise. Haines won't reveal explicit figures, but one financial certainty in all of this is that fares will continue to rise above inflation into the next decade.

"We are all big boys and we decided to bid for the franchise. The government wanted to rebalance the contribution by taxpayers and we accepted that. Will there be some passenger pain? Yes."

More Trains Less Strain, the passenger group that called the fare strikes, believes the service has improved since the dark days of 2007, when FGW fumbled the introduction of a new timetable and failed to put enough carriages on. But punctuality - more than a quarter of all peaktime FGW trains arrive late - and high fares still annoy.

"It is good that Andrew Haines is there," says More Trains Less Strain's Peter Andrews. "We are pleased that he is a railway man, but until we get a franchise that is punctual, affordable and reliable, we will keep on rebelling. At the moment we are seeing none of those things."

Haines is exasperated at the group's plucky appropriation of the dark arts: "I agree to meet them and they put out a press release saying I'm 'rattled'," he says, before admitting that the company has become disconnected from its customers.

Network Rail has also driven a considerable wedge between Haines and the farepayers. The owner of Britain's rail infrastructure is responsible for maintaining a great western route whose track dates from the 1970s and whose signalling systems are a decade older. Half the delays on the consistently shoddy Oxford-to-Paddington section are due to Network Rail problems. The replacement of Forster was accompanied by a new route manager at Network Rail, confirmation that both companies had got it wrong since 2006. Haines says the relationship is much better and incremental improvements are being made all over the route, which covers the West Country down to Penzance as well as the Cardiff and Oxford routes. However, he won't put the boot into Network Rail. "Would it make the customers feel any better?" And he accepts that FGW got a lot wrong .

"First Great Western underestimated the scale of the challenge. It underestimated the strength of passenger feeling ... be it timetable changes, be it fare rises, be it service levels. It was a complex task, integrating three franchises into one, re-engineering and refurbishing a high-speed train fleet in three years."

Government sources say FGW's performance is "under a microscope", which threatens the corporate and personal humiliation of FirstGroup being stripped of the franchise. Haines says he is a turnaround specialist who restored South West Trains from a much criticised business to an award-winning franchise within years. A former British Rail colleague, Virgin Trains' chief operating officer, Chris Gibbs, says: "Passengers should know that Andrew will be leaving no stone unturned in the quest for better performance on First Great Western, and should not doubt his sheer energy and personal commitment." That reputation faces its biggest test with this franchise.

"Is it a tough job? Yes," says Haines. "Do I have phenomenal support from the top of the group? Absolutely. Our customers can be mightily unhappy and I cannot say my wife is happy either with the time I have been spending on it. But I don't feel browbeaten."

[quote="Guardian.co.uk]
Smith insists that the sums don't add up. FGW has charged the highest fare increases in the UK over the past decade, but the ^1.1bn contract with the Department for Transport, which defines timetables and carriage numbers as well as demanding a lofty premium, is constraining the company's ability to fix its problems.

Similar article link.
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/02/boss_of_worst_rail_service_itl.html#more

Gosh thats quite a selection of articles from around the region that the RMT have put together from the last few days.

Finally, what has been the biggest thing you feel Andrew and his team have done...

From my perspective, when I ask a question, I get a prompt answer from the person responsible for the matter concerned.

That didnt use to be the case.

We finished the period with a PPM of 91.2%.

FGWs target PPM is 86.2%.

Things are improving day-by-day.

Although this weeks PPM will be shot (through no fault of FGW!!) because of yesterday evenings rush-hour Severn Tunnel farce.

I think Andrew Haines has done a marvellous job.. I've gone from arriving in Paddington late (sometimes very late) practically every single day, to arriving on time nearly all the time.. The timetable is also a lot better than it was when FGW first changed it..  Although there are still a couple of gaps in the timetable for Maidenhead, I'd much rather it is left as it is as we know that it works!! 

Jo, I agree with you over the vast majority of the area.

Just one service that he has NOT yet sorted out - the TransWilts - which connects the five largest towns in Wiltshire with a service that remains not fit for purpose (if you believe that the purpose is carrying passengers when they want to travel rather than meeting the DfT's daft specification).

2 years on, and a service that had been growing dramatically and where the trains were "nesting" (Nearly Every Seat Taken) in the peaks remains reduced to a "marginal time only" service - marginal time being the provision of trains when they're not needed on other lines (and, frankly, there's not much call for them in Wiltshire either).

Pilning too still remains 80% cut (a fifth of its former train service) but it's a small village compared to the TransWilts towns of Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster and Salisbury ... which are set to grow 50% in the next 20 years and goodness only knows how the roads will cope.  I flew back into Heathrow on Friday, and found myself using National Express (actually a First group coach with every seat taken, heaters jammed on, windows sealed, no aircon!) to Chippenham and a Taxi - pretty horrid after an 8 hour flight.  We know that in these parts at least, between 8 and 10 people will use the train for every ione who uses the bus.

So - congratulations so far Andrew.   You've shown us what you can do in so many places - now please do it for us in Wiltshire where we have the area that's projected to grow the fastest in the whole South West

Oops.. Yes sorry I did mean to write he'd done a marvellous job for Maidenhead to Paddington, as that is the only experience of FGW I have.. I do hope he'll improve the TransWilts service significantly too...

First ScotRail managing director Mary Grant has become acting MD of FirstGroup^s UK rail division due to the ill health of Andrew Haines.

Mr Haines is also chief executive officer of First Great Western, taking over from Alison Forster in September last year at a time when the franchise was beset by performance problems.

During the temporary situation the day-to-day running of FGW has been taken over by acting managing director Mark Hopwood, the performance director for FGW who joined the company after being MD of London Lines.

Steve Montgomery, director of operations and safety for ScotRail, has assumed the position of acting managing director.

Mary Grant has been MD of ScotRail for four years, during which she has won a number of major rail and Scottish business awards.

A spokeswoman for FGW said: ^Andrew is on sick leave at the moment so there have been some changes for the time being.^

if rumour is to be believed then mr haines has had a nervous breakdown and is not going to be returning to FGW,the same source also said his replacement is from scotrail although i cannot remember her name.

as i said just depot rumour so watch this space i suppose

Indeed. Huge improvements in the year or so he was in charge. Can't help but think he's left before fully completing the transformation though, and wonder whether his recent sickness has caused this decision as it does seem a bit odd?

Still, it was always the intention to hand over the reins to Mark Hopwood, who's no stranger to being top-dog having performed similar roles at c2c amongst others. Mark's a clever chap - having worked quite closely with him during his early career at Thames Trains in the mid-90's, I can certainly vouch for his determination and abilities. It will be a testing time for him though as filling Andrew's boots will be no mean feat.

Mr Haines said his departure was a personal decision.

"We have made real progress in service delivery at First Great Western and I am confident that the team in place there will continue to make further improvements," he said.

"Having effectively performed two parallel, demanding roles now for some time, I have decided to take some time away from work to consider the best direction for my future career.

"This is entirely my own decision and I am grateful for the support and encouragement of the First Group board during my time with the company."

Ollie doesn't like this kind of speculation about somebodies well being, I just don't think it's appropriate to put rumours on a public forum like this,

Though it kind of tells us what we all thought about the reasons for his departure having less to do with his health and more to do with whether his face still fitted.

...It's a shame the Evening Standard looks intent on making him look bad by saying he was in charge of FGW when it got the name Worst Great Western, despite the fact it was known as that before he came in...

As far as I am concerned Andrew Haines is a genuinely nice person, he did good things for First..

RAF Typhoon training halted as ash found in engines

Training flights on RAF Typhoons in Lincolnshire have been suspended after ash deposits were found in the engines of four aircraft.
The fleet is being checked at its base in Coningsby, Lincolnshire.
An RAF spokesman said the Typhoons were "very high performance jets" so staff were "just being extra cautious".
According to the BBC's Richard Scott, the Civil Aviation Authority has pointed out that military planes fly much faster and suck in far more air than their civilian counterparts.
It says the work done with manufacturers to clear the UK for flying again did not factor in military jets, which are "a whole different world".
The CAA also says conclusions should not be drawn from the RAF's statement about the air-worthiness of civilian aircraft.
It adds that the all-clear for civilian aircraft to return to the skies still stands and there have been no reports of any ash damage.
Almost all flights across Europe are expected to go ahead on Thursday.

As someone caught at the sharp end of this, I would have much rather endured what we did for 5 days than be put at risk (probably without even being told about the risk) if the aviation industry had kept on flying.

From the BBC:

Most civil engines are totally different to military types. Civil engines tend to be high-bypass ratio engines, this means that much of the air (and ash) doesn't actually go through the really hot bit of the engine.
So comparing military high performance jets with civil airliners is really a bit of a joke !!

So blame ice

Falling ice damages roof of Bristol house

A lump of ice has left a football-sized hole in the roof of a Bristol house after it fell from the sky.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it was likely the ice came from water leaking from an aircraft.
It is not the first time ice falling from the sky has damaged property in Bristol.
The roof and guttering of a house four miles away in Downend were damaged in July last year. And the same month a lump of falling ice fell just feet from a man sitting in Stoke Park, near the M32. Similar incidents have happened in Stoke Bishop and Staple Hill.
A spokesman for the CAA said: "We get 20 to 30 of these incidents reported to us a year in the whole of the UK. It's quite rare when you consider there are 3 million movements in UK airspace a year."
He said water leaking from an aircraft turns to ice at high altitudes which falls off as the plane descends into warmer air.
"If the person it happens to has an accurate time of when it happened we will check the air traffic control radar to see what aircraft were in the area, otherwise it's a wild goose chase," the spokesman said.
"There will probably be a handful of aircraft in an area at any time, but we can write to the operators asking them to check their aircraft."
Even if the aircraft is found, any damage caused by the ice will need to be paid for by the home owner's household insurance.