Railways ..Doh!!

[AutoStick]

What on earth does 1st Great Western think they can do better than Virgin on the west coast mainline ??? They have paid £5bil . for the franchise , but have debts of 1.8 million . They also need to expand this routs revenue & usage by 15% per year for 15 yrs ( Doh ) .

I dint blame Sir R Branson if he tells rail to " Shove It " alltogether .Passengers will soon be priced out rail travel with fares about to rise by 6% .

Open ended return London ---Blackpool £364.00

Return Stanstead ..Ibiza £94 00.

Some train drivers also earn a lot more than airline pilots ....


Does any body in the Rail Transport industry actually have half a brain ( Including the goverment )

[paul178]

My theory always has been if you cut prices you get more customers whatever it is you are selling especially in hard times. I cite the increase in the number of "pound" shops as one example.

Six of my friends went on a "stag do" to Blackpool from Bristol. It worked out at £220 less to hire a stretch Limo with booze thrown in than going by train. That also covered the drivers overnight accomodation! That also guaranteed you a very comfy seat. Yes the railways need investment but how many people want to pay spiraling fares to knock 30 minutes off a 3 hour journey not your average passenger I am sure.

[Creaking Door]

My theory always has been if you cut prices you get more customers whatever it is you are selling especially in hard times...

Fine as a theory but what do you do when the trains are full to capacity, the rail infrastructure cannot take any more trains and the rail companies are in debt (and susidised by the government)?

[hampden98]

The government and rail companies have no incentive to do anything.
I travel to reading every day for work. I travel by train. Not because I want to but because I have to. Parking is restricted and expensive as is petrol. So I have the choice, expensive car or not so expensive train. Either way still expensive.

[silver fox]

Fine as a theory but what do you do when the trains are full to capacity, the rail infrastructure cannot take any more trains and the rail companies are in debt (and susidised by the government)?

Let's not forget government subsidy means you and me and all taxpayers, we are all paying fat salaries to overpaid bosses and dividends to the robber barons in the finance world.

We finish up with in most cases the most expensive rail charges in Europe and still shelling out our hard earned to subsidise "private" companies, latest annual count £3.96 billion.

Just to cheer everyone up we are still stuck with repaying the £20billion debt racked up by Network Rail and Railtrack, this of course after the bosses realised they couldn't keep drawing inflated salaries and hide the true financial position, action, hand the keys back and walk away with their fortunes intact.

[Moggy C]

Concrete the whole lot over and extend the road network. Far better solution.

Moggy

[Lincoln 7]

And then make it strictly for use by Porsche owners only?.

Jim
Lincoln .7

[TonyT]

Call me old fashioned but when the likes of Virgin are running XYZ trains and charging pax XYZ pounds which is what their profit comes off the top of, having another Company saying we will spend an additional XYZ means only one thing, that extra money has to be recouped and it won't be coming out of their profit margin.

[Lincoln 7]

Tony, Didn't we help to make Indias rail service?. They don't worry about room, standing room, etc, they just put those that have no seat on the roof or the sides of the carridges, problem solved.
Seriously, I served my time on B.R. at New England, mainly on steam, until we trained for diesels.then steam engines were scrapped in their hundreds.
It took 55 mins from Peterborough North Stn by steam,to get to Kings Cross, London, and still after over 50 yrs, the time remains just about the same.
We hardly ever had trains running late, and hardly ever break down, which is more than they can say about todays rail network.Todays rail networks are a complete shambles, I cannot remember such phrazes as "Leafs on the line, or it's the wrong sort of snow" with steam, perhaps because they were fitted with sand boxes next to each wheel, which shot out sand in front of the wheels to give better grip, in adverse conditions.
It's just a total shambles, then the youth of today laughs when we say, "Bring back the good old days" Not all were good, and again, not all were bad.Today it's just any excuse to extract as much money out of the folks who use them.
Engine drivers were in 1956, when I started my apprentiship, Gods, and they earned top whack of £20.00 per week, an absolute fortune in those days, so what do they earn now?.
Jim.
Lincoln .7

[Garyw]

Fine as a theory but what do you do when the trains are full to capacity, the rail infrastructure cannot take any more trains and the rail companies are in debt (and susidised by the government)?

Rail companies are not in debt, they are making record profits.

Did you know that the rolling stock is owned by the banks? The infrastructure is owned by Network rail? All the train companies do is ticket administration.

[bazv]

I vaguely know one train driver and I believe he is on approx £55,000 as a basic...I have never asked him,but some of his friends were talking about his salary !!

[bazv]

I thought that Virgin might own the Pendolinos (but would not like to argue it)...I must admit that I found them fast and comfy on the few occasions I have been able to use them.

Quote from R Branson

“These achievements have counted for little – as this is the fourth time that we have been out-bid in a rail tender. On the past three occasions, the winning operator has come nowhere close to delivering their promised plans and revenue, and has let the public and country down dramatically. In the case of the East Coast Main line, both winners – GNER and National Express - over promised in order to win the franchise and spectacularly ran into financial difficulties in trying to deliver their plans. The East Coast is still in Government ownership and its service is outdated and underinvested, costing passengers and the country dearly as a result.

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. When will the Department for Transport learn?

Quite

[bazv]

After a few moments thought...I decided it was unlikely that the railway companies actually own the rolling stock,so a little googling later...

About Angel Trains
Angel Trains owns and maintains more than 4,400 passenger and freight rail vehicles in the UK, about 37% of the nation’s rolling stock. Its customers include 18 of the 19 franchised train operating companies (TOCs) and two open access operators. Since 1996 it has invested over £3 billion in new trains and the refurbishment of existing trains, and is one of the largest private investors in UK rail.


About Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group (VRG), which is owned 51 percent by Virgin Group and 49 percent by Stagecoach. We have operated the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997. The current franchise runs to March 2012 and the Secretary of State for Transport announced on 19 May 2011 that the Department for Transport will seek to agree acceptable terms with VRG for an extension to the current contract to December 2012. Virgin Trains has been short-listed for the new franchise that will start in December 2012.

rgds baz

[bazv]

And my last post on the subject this morning gents LOL
Some approx driver salaries by region (basic)

Salary Region
£39,755 London
£50,517 Scotland
£40,060 South East
£35,459 Wales
£41,443 Midlands
£37,417 Yorkshire and North East
£32,038 North West
£33,159 South West
£36,500 East of England

[Lincoln 7]

bazv.

Just a further bit on wages,as an apprentice, my Princely sum was in todays money, £1.50, for a 40 hr week, not only that, but I had to buy my own tools, or get the Blacksmith or Coppersmith to make them, if they were special tools I needed, like a corkscrew tool, that was used to remove the asbestos piston gland packing, Asbestos, there was more asbestos in a steam engine than anything else I have ever worked on, all hot water pipes, and lagging were all made of the stuff, and if working outside, and the sun was shining, one could see the asbestos dust particles floating in the air.
Today, you have to be Certified asbestos removers, and it has to be disposed of in a certain way.
Where was Elf and safety in those days?. they would have had a Hay day, and there would have been no engines on the tracks.
Jim.
Lincoln .7

[Lincoln 7]

And my last post on the subject this morning gents LOL
Some approx driver salaries by region (basic)

Salary Region
£39,755 London
£50,517 Scotland
£40,060 South East
£35,459 Wales
£41,443 Midlands
£37,417 Yorkshire and North East
£32,038 North West
£33,159 South West
£36,500 East of England

Baz, Your on a roll today, is there more to come?.
Jim.
Lincoln .7