National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers (RMT)

Xinhua: 30 June, 2007

THE world's highest rail route, the Qinghai-Tibet railway, has provided safe, fast and comfortable services with no serious accidents since it began operation a year ago, says a senior official.

You can follow the travels of Bristol Professor, Tom Troscianko from Temple Meads to Tibet on his travelblog here.

Zhu Huaxin, deputy general manager of Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company, denied an alleged cover-up of several accidents and casualties over the past year.

"Reports by some foreign media saying railway operators had hushed up more than 10 fatal accidents are totally groundless," said Zhu.

In May, a Chinese-language newspaper in Singapore called Zaobao reported that 16 accidents, resulting in some casualties, had occurred along the railway but had not been reported by the Chinese authorities.

Zhu conceded that a 77-year-old tourist from Hong Kong died on the railway last year, but insisted the railway operators were not to blame.

"It should not be blamed on our safety measures or services," he said.

Zhu explained that the man had arrived by bus in Lhasa on July 28 on a tour organized by a Hong Kong travel agency.

One dead

He fell ill on arrival and was taken to the People's Liberation Army General Hospital in Tibet on the same day and was diagnosed with pulmonary edema, a swelling or accumulation of fluid in his lungs, said Zhu.

He received four days of medical treatment at the hospital but insisted he should be discharged on the afternoon of July 31, ignoring doctors' repeated warnings that he had not fully recovered.

The man then rejoined the tour group and took passenger train N918 from Lhasa to Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, the next day. A train attendant found him coughing and sweating around 1:22pm and asked doctors on the train to give him first aid, Zhu said.

Seeing he was not responding to emergency treatment, railway authorities called for an ambulance that picked him up at the nearest station in Amdo. But he died on the way to hospital.

"It happened to our deepest regret, but he really should have listened to the doctors' advice," said Zhu.

Another much-criticized incident was reported on August 29, when a dining car of a passenger train from Chongqing Municipality to Lhasa derailed at 1pm at Co Nag Lake station in Tibet. Zhu blamed the derailment on equipment failure. "We immediately arranged emergency rescue.''

Posted on 9:58 PM | Permalink

Financial Times: June 29 2007
By William MacNamara

Arriva announced new operations in Poland and Italy on Thursday while confirming that trading was in line with its expectations for the first half.

The train and bus operator's entry into Poland, where it will operate a joint venture with Polish cargo carrier PCC Rail from December 2007, will mean it has operations in 10 European countries. The company expects the Polish contract to be worth £20m over its lifetime.

"The mainland European market continues to present excellent opportunities for growth and, as the largest UK-based operator in this market, we remain well placed to take advantage of the continuing shift toward liberalisation," the company said.

Arriva also announced yesterday its acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in SPT Linea, a government-owned Italian bus operator, for €6.8m (£4.7m). The bus company's operations are centred in the northern Italian region of Lombardy.

For a decade, Arriva has focused on the European market as a principal growth avenue as domestic competitors such as National Express, Stagecoach and Firstgroup jostle in the UK bus and rail market.

For 2007, Arriva has completed a string of deals in Europe, including its purchase of a majority stake in Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen, the German transport group, and its acquisition of two Czech bus businesses. Before the end of the year the company will also commence three rail franchises in Sweden and Germany.

Arriva said revenues from its mainland European operations had increased by £752.3m over the past four years.

In the UK market, Arriva and its rivals await the outcome of their bids for the Cross Country and Intercity East Coast rail franchises, the new operator of which is expected to be named this summer.

Shares in Arriva closed up 19½p at 676p.

Posted on 1:25 PM | Permalink

Deutsche Welle: 29.06.2007

German railway giant Deutsche Bahn AG has stepped up its global expansion by confirming the purchase of two key European freight companies.

DB is fast expanding its European network

This week saw the supervisory board of Europe's biggest rail company give the green light to buy Britain's biggest rail freight operator English Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS) and Spain's Transfesa, which specializes in transporting cars.

While the cost of the two purchases has not been released, the moves came in the wake of Deutsche Bahn's announcement last week that it had sold its stake in the Danish-German shipping firm Scandlines to a group of investors.

The sale of the Scandlines stake is expected to generate about 780 million euros ($1.05 billion) for Deutsche Bahn.

Allegedly, it is now setting its cap at further acquisitions in France and Hungary.

Building up the business

On track

The new purchases also follow last week's announcement by Deutsche Bahn that it had forged a deal with Russian rail company RZD as part of a push by the German rail group to build up its freight business in Asia and Eastern Europe.

The two companies will form a joint venture on logistics that will focus on transporting containers from Europe to Russia and CIS states, the company said in a statement.

Deutsche Bahn's international business drive comes as the company gears up for its part privatization.

While the German Parliament wants the rail operator to make its stock market debut by the end of 2009, Deutsche Bahn is hoping to list on the stock market by the middle of 2008.

Mehdorn to stay on

Hartmut Mehdorn is still in the driving seat

The Deutsche Bahn board also agreed Wednesday to extend the contract for chief executive Hartmut Mehdorn for three further years to May 2011.

64-year-old Mehdorn was appointed Deutsche Bahn chief in 1999.

With EWS having an annual turnover of 700 million euros and Transfesa chalking 290 million euros in revenue, the two purchases are likely to help to boost the Deutsche Bahn balance sheet as it prepares for privatization.

See also:

Deutsche Bahn 'sniffing around' Hungary's MÁV Cargo

German railways buys EWS

Freightliner and Deutsche Bahn enter Polish freight market

Deutsche Bahn not ready for privatisation

Conflicting signals over way ahead for Deutsche Bahn

DeutscheBahn boss resists EU rail privatisation model

Posted on 8:47 AM | Permalink

bbj.hu: 29 Jun 2007

The acquisition of the UK's largest rail freight operator and purchase of a stake in a Spanish logistics company have taken Deutsche Bahn (DB), Europe's biggest freight operator, closer to filling in the 'blank spots' in its pan-European network, Harmut Mehdorn, its chief executive has said.

However, speaking as he confirmed details of the purchase of the UK's EWS and a 55% stake in Spain's Transfesa, Hartmut Mehdorn said there remained further areas where Deutsche Bahn was not offering services and he wished to tackle them. He confirmed the company was 'sniffing around' the freight division of Hungary's MÁV, which is due to be privatized before the end of this year. The purchase of EWS will give DB, which remains state-owned, 70% of the UK's rail freight market, with activities ranging from hauling coal and shipping containers to pulling the Queen's royal train. The company turned over about €770 million ($1.04 billion) last year, according to DB.

MÁV Cargo, the spun-off freight division announced on Friday that it has received a new operating license from the Hungarian Railways Office that is valid throughout the European Economic Area.

The Railways Office granted MÁV Cargo the new type of license after conducting an examination in accordance with standard EU procedure of the personal and professional qualifications of MÁV Cargo management and of the company's financial standing and ability to cover possible damages, among other things, the company said.

Posted on 8:43 AM | Permalink

Logisticsmanager.com: 28 June 2007  
Malory Davies 

Deutsche Bahn, the German state-owned rail operator, is to buy EWS. It is also taking a majority stake in Spanish operator Transfesa.

The move will give DB Logistics direct links to the transport and logistics markets in Western and Southern Europe and will thus strengthen the south-west corridor. The integration is intended to lead to a noticeable boost in rail’s market share in Europe. Deutsche Bahn believes DB Logistics, EWS and Transfesa complement each other ideally, especially in the rail logistics, automotive, industrial and bulk goods segments.

Deutsche Bahn chief executive Hartmut Mehdorn (pictured) said the de facto liberalisation of the rail network was a crucial requirement for growth and economically efficient operations. Germany was a perfect example of how open access to the network, which is used by more than 330 rail companies, could lead to a substantial increase in rail traffic, and added that DB would continue to encourage European liberalisation in future, he said.

EWS is the largest rail freight operator in Britain, providing a range of freight, engineering support and hire services. It has sales of some £500m a year and operates more than 1,000 freight trains a day accounting for 70 per cent of all rail freight in Britain. It also operates services to mainland Europe through the Channel Tunnel, and recently expanded into France with a rail freight company called Euro Cargo Rail.

EWS, based in Doncaster, was formed in 1996, following the privatisation of British Rail’s rail freight divisions. Over the last eleven years, rail freight in Britain has grown by 60 per cent. It is currently owned by a consortium of investors from the UK, North America and New Zealand.

EWS chief executive Keith Heller said: “We can build on the platform we have created in the UK and France for rail freight growth, offering our customers a comprehensive European rail freight network. This agreement between DB and EWS will allow greater volumes to be moved by rail.”

France

DB Logistics hopes the EWS acquisition will improve its business position in France, where EWS is already represented by its subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail. At the same time, Deutsche Bahn says it aims is to continue its close cooperation with SNCF, which is already successful in the single wagonload segment, and win a higher volume of transport for rail by offering attractive products.

The Euro Cargo Rail business was launched in October 2005 becoming only the third rail freight operator in France. It targeted new services on a number of routes in northern France, particularly on routes to and from the French border, such as the Calais to Tourcoing, and Calais to Dunkerque rail routes.

Deutsche Bahn is a major player in the logistics market. Its logistics division has annual sales of some £11billion through brands such as Schenker, Railion and Intermodal. It is the European market leader in rail freight as well as being among the leaders in the road, air and sea freight markets.

Railion, Deutsche Bahn’s rail freight business, has sales of some £2.3bn. It has 25,000 employees serving 3,300 customer sidings in Germany alone.

The Railion Group consists of Railion Deutschland, Railion Nederland, Railion Danmark and Railion Italia focusing on block train, single freight car and combined transport segments, principally for bulk freight for the iron and steel, chemical, mineral oil, fertiliser, agricultural and forestry products, consumer goods, building materials and waste disposal sectors. 

The European rail freight market has been open to competition since 1 January 2007 and Railion has been looking to exploit the opportunities offered by a liberalised market.

It already provides cross-border rail freight services from a single source, operating 100 freight trains non stop across the European continent daily.

Norbert Bensel chairman of DB Logistics said: “The expansion of our Europe-wide network is our answer to the increasingly complex demands of our customers. EWS and Transfesa will enable us to close important gaps in the DB Logistics rail freight network. As a result, we shall be better equipped in future to offer our customers attractive products.”

Logistics

Deutsche Bahn’s land transport, air and ocean freight, contract logistics and supply chain management business units operate under the Schenker brand. The combined transport business is an independent business unit operating under the Intermodal brand with a clear focus on seaport hinterland transport services and the main continental transport corridors.

At the end of 2005, Deutsche Bahn bought Bax Global, the US-based freight forwarding and logistics business from The Brink’s Company for £623m in cash. This has now been merged into the Schenker business.

Madrid-based Transfesa has a fleet of 7,900 special wagons which are equipped with interchangeable axles enabling them to transit trough Europe's different rail widths eliminating the need of freight transhipment. It has sales of some £180m a year.

Over the past ten years, Transfesa has developed its intermodal transport services and built its own fleet of more than 2,000 swap-bodies. Its road-based transport services are increasing and it now has 250 trucks and 270 trailers of its own as well as sub-contracting work.

See also:

Europe's private freight operators under siege

Railway Gazette International: 01 July 2007

THE NEWS that Deutsche Bahn has been actively discussing acquisition of the UK's largest freight carrier, English Welsh & Scottish Railway, and is considering a partnership' with Fret SNCF, which lost €840m in 2006, has once again set alarm bells ringing among the fledgling private sector rail freight operators in Europe.

Monika Heiming, Secretary General of the European Rail Freight Association which represents them, told the Rail Freight 2007 conference in London on June 5 'I think in the long term what we will see is a closing down of the European market, meaning everything that can run will be German for me this move is no good'.

FirstGBRf director John Ellis told delegates 'I think we would feel some concern about the ability of DB if they're controlling EWS to be able to withdraw what is a liberalised, open and transparent market in the UK, and that would be a concern to us. In the UK currently we have a fully privatised rail freight operation and industry, and one that is pretty responsive to customer needs'.

Tom Jones of the UK's second largest operator said Freightliner shared the same concerns 'there is a very grave danger that a market which is really a beacon within Europe' and performing very well could be jeopardised. Jones urged DG TREN in Brussels 'to have to look at this very carefully'.

The tactics used by DB to acquire often unprofitable freight operations from its neighbouring state railways was criticised by Ed Burkhardt, who took a substantial commercial risk when he bought the majority of British Rail's freight businesses in 1996 to form EWS.

Referring to DB's acquisition of NS Cargo in 2000 and DSB Gods in 2001, Burkhardt would have been 'far more comfortable with an action like this if DB was a private company'. But 'there is concern when a state-owned company, presumably with the instrumentality of the state - they have the state finances and are considered a sovereign risk, gets involved in what ought to be private businesses. They are the big gorilla not having to get a rate of return which private industry does, they have unlimited funds'.

'Probably nobody in this room, other than I, knows that the shareholder group that controlled EWS at the time was very close to purchasing the Netherlands freight company', Burkhardt confided. 'We had had very productive negotiations we had been invited in by the management who were going to talk to us to get their company ready for bidding.

'Well, one morning I got a call from the Chairman of the Dutch railway saying he was embarrassed to tell me that overnight his company had been sold to the DB', Burkhardt revealed. 'He said it was a political deal, the ministry agreed to it, and when I said "what did they pay for it?" he replied "almost nothing". They got Railion shares in exchange, which is nothing. They are worthless, they don't make any money.'

'The Danish sale was very similar. I don't know the details of that one, but more recently there was an attempt to do the same thing for Green Cargo, and I will tell you right now that we were interested in Green Cargo and had a relationship with them for a long period of time. I got wind that this was coming from [the Swedish government] and that they were going to hive this company off to DB in a private deal.'

'We immediately went to work, generated a lot of resistance from shippers, and got them to call their MPs and people in the government to know what's going on. Immediately there was a denial that anything was going on, where we knew it was, but their calls and their pressure killed the deal'.

It is not just a question of state-owned operators being bought up. Bernhard Kunz, Managing Director of Hupac Intermodal - one of Europe's largest and most successful independent operators - said that at its 40th anniversary forum in Lugano his company had been 'very open against the danger of re-monopolisation of the railway systems in Europe'.

'As for Deutsche Bahn, which is increasing its activity, they are right', he admitted. But 'whether that is right in Europe - whether that creates or diminishes competition in the future - that's a very political issue'.

'What we need is competition between railways', Kunz insisted, citing the success of multiple operators competing for traffic between Germany and Italy through Switzerland. However, 'we need political support in Brussels, and should tell them Watch out! You are moving too slowly!"

'I am asking myself: Why are the incumbent railways fighting so much the liberalisation process? We help them. We are growing business. We are creating more jobs, and we feel the share that we have today in Europe is very little'. A bar chart displayed by Kunz (above) showed clearly that 'where we have the highest share of new railway undertakings we have the biggest growth, and where we don't have any alternative we diminish freight on railways'.

'Let it go. Let it slide. Let's keep the market, create demand, and the better operators will win'.

See also:

Deutsche Bahn plans takeover of EWS and Transfesa

Exec Digital: 28/06/2007
 
English Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS) says Germany's Deutsche Bahn is close to announcing plans to buy the British freight operator.

Deutsche Bahn AG plans to take over the entire shares in English Welsh & Scottish Railway Holding Ltd (EWS) and acquire a majority share in the Spanish company Transportes Ferroviarios Especiales (Transfesa).

The acquisition of these two companies will consolidate DB’s leading position as a global player in the transport market, especially in the rail freight sector in Europe. As a result of this move, DB Logistics will extend its central corridors in Western Europe and will be able to develop even better products for its customers as a one-stop shop.

“The transport and logistics industry is booming. Only companies which can offer their own network and consistently high quality standards will be able to succeed in that market. The climate-friendly rail mode still is and will remain our core business,” explained Hartmut Mehdorn, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Bahn AG.

DB Logistics Chairman Norbert Bensel stressed the growing business potential for the company resulting from this new constellation: “The expansion of our Europe-wide network is our answer to the increasingly complex demands of our customers. EWS and Transfesa will enable us to close important gaps in the DB Logistics rail freight network. As a result, we shall be better equipped in future to offer our customers attractive products.”

Following the takeover of the two companies, DB Logistics will have direct links to the transport and logistics markets in Western and Southern Europe and will thus strengthen the south-west corridor. The integration is intended to lead to a boost in rail’s market share in Europe and raise product quality.

DB Logistics hopes that this acquisition will improve its business position in France, where EWS is already represented by its subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail.

EWS is the largest British freight railway and one of the largest freight transport companies in Europe

“We can build on the platform we have created in the UK and France for rail freight growth, offering our customers a comprehensive European rail freight network”, said EWS Chief Executive Keith Heller.

The agreement between DB and EWS will allow greater volumes to be moved by rail. With a workforce of around 5000, the company generated revenues of approximately €770 million last year.

See also:

Aufwiedersehen Fret!

RailwayPeople: June 28th 2007

Deutsche Bahn AG is moving ahead with plans to acquire all shares in English Welsh & Scottish Railway Holding Limited(EWS) as well as buying up a majority shareholding in Spain’s Transportes Ferroviarios Especiales, Transfesa. The move places DB Logistics in a commanding position in Europe. Owning EWS International will enable DB to penetrate the lucrative French rail freight market through the EWS company, Euro Cargo Rail, already operating in France.   

’The transport and logistics industry is booming. Only companies which can offer their own network and consistently high quality standards will be able to succeed in that market. The climate-friendly rail mode still is and will remain our core business,’ explained Hartmut Mehdorn, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Bahn AG.  Looking at the stagnant, loss-ridden rail freight transport markets in many European countries, Mehdorn claimed that de facto liberalisation of the rail network was a crucial requirement for growth and economically efficient operations. He pointed out that Germany was a perfect example of how open access to the network, which is used by more than 330 rail companies, could lead to a substantial increase in rail traffic, and added that DB AG would continue to encourage European liberalisation in future.

See also:

Deutsche Bahn extends reach in west Europe

The Financial Times: June 28 2007
By Robert Wright in Frankfurt

The acquisition of the UK’s largest rail freight operator and purchase of a stake in a Spanish logistics company have taken Deutsche Bahn, Europe’s biggest freight operator, closer to filling in the “blank spots” in its pan-European network, its chief executive has said.

However, speaking as he confirmed details of the purchase of the UK’s EWS and a 55 per cent stake in Spain’s Transfesa, Hartmut Mehdorn said there remained further areas where DB was not offering services and he wished to tackle them.

He confirmed the company was “sniffing around” the freight division of Hungary’s Máv, which is due to be privatised before the end of this year.

The purchase of EWS will give DB, which remains state-owned, 70 per cent of the UK’s rail freight market, with activities ranging from hauling coal and shipping containers to pulling the Queen’s royal train. The company turned over about €770m ($1.04bn) last year, according to DB.

Transfesa operates some trains in Spain in competition with Renfe, the national train operator, but is also a logistics company. Its sales last year were €290m.

Mr Mehdorn said DB’s western European strategy had now taken a big step forward.

EWS will be in charge of DB’s freight operations in the UK and France, where its Euro Cargo Rail subsidiary started operation in late 2005 and runs 30 trains a day.

Keith Heller, EWS’s chief executive, said DB had reviewed the company’s business plan and intended to allow it to continue to operate on the same basis, with substantial autonomy. Mr Heller, who came to EWS from Canadian National Railway, which is selling its 31 per cent stake in EWS as part of the deal, plans to stay with EWS for several more years.

Mr Mehdorn rebuffed suggestions from private competitors that he was able to afford large purchases mainly because of German federal government funding for infrastructure development. He said such funding was carefully earmarked for new construction projects and the company did not receive any federal subsidy.

Mr Mehdorn declined to discuss the price DB had paid for the two investments. However, he said they had been paid for out of DB’s 50 per cent share of the €1.56bn sale of the Scandlines Baltic ferry business, announced last week.

See also:

German rail giant confirms £300m deal for EWS shares

Daily Telegraph: 29/06/2007
By Alistair Osborne, Business Editor

Deutsche Bahn has confirmed that it will buy Britain's biggest freight rail company English Welsh & Scottish Railway in a deal thought to value the business at around £300m.

The German rail giant, which will take charge of most goods transport by train in the UK, said it "plans to take over the entire shares in EWS" and also "acquire a majority share" in Spanish operator Transfesa as it builds a pan-European freight rail network.

EWS is owned by four key investors. Rail operator Canadian National owns 31.6 percent. Boston-based private equity company Berkshire Partners has 16.8 percent. Fay, Richwhite - the investment vehicle of two New Zealand merchant bankers - has 16.6 percent and Goldman Sachs 5.8 percent.

EWS operates 8,000 rail freight services a week across Britain and into Europe via the Channel Tunnel. One attraction for Deutsche Bahn is EWS subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail, which operates in France. Deutsche Bahn said it hoped the acquisition would "improve its business position in France".

Norbert Bensel, chairman of DB Logistics, said: "The expansion of our Europe-wide network is our answer to the increasingly complex demands of our customers. EWS and Transfesa will enable us to close important gaps in the DB Logistics rail freight network."

EWS, which has 70pc of the UK rail freight market, employs nearly 5,000 people and has an annual turnover of more than £500m.

Keith Heller, EWS chief executive, said the deal would enable the company to offer "our customers a comprehensive European rail freight network".

Posted on 1:22 AM | Permalink

The Times: June 28, 2007
Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

Train fares will rise by several times the rate of inflation under a series of deals between the Government and rail companies designed to take advantage of record growth in demand for rail travel.

AGE OF THE TRAIN: Record numbers of passengers have lifted profits to £162m at Stagecoach, led by Brian Souter

Stagecoach gave notice yesterday that it planned to follow its 20 per cent increase on its South West Trains franchise last month with a substantial increase on the new East Midlands franchise after it takes over in November.

The company plans to raise fares by at least 30 per cent above inflation during the seven-year franchise and indicated that it preferred one big increase early in the contract rather than spreading it over several years.

Go-Ahead plans to raise fares on the London-Northampton route by 25 per cent in real terms during its eight-year franchise.

Passengers on the East Coast Main Line and Cross Country franchises also face large increases under deals due to be announced in the next few months.

The Department for Transport has publicly distanced itself from the increases, claiming that they are a matter for the private train companies. The DfT says that it is only responsible for setting regulated fares, such as season tickets, which it expects to raise by 1 per cent a year above inflation.

The Times has learnt, however, that the DfT made clear to the companies, when they were bidding for the franchises, that they would have to raise unregulated fares to have any chance of winning.

The department now expects to make a profit from franchises that it had previously subsidised. Under the East Midlands deal Stagecoach must pay the DfT £374 million in the final four years of the franchise.

Chris Grayling, the Shadow Transport Secretary, said: “The Government is trying to pass the blame for these fare increases on to the train companies. But they seem to be another form of stealth tax.

“We need a guarantee that all the extra money raised from passengers will be spent on improving services.”

Passenger Focus, the official rail passenger watchdog, said that the increases were making rail travel unaffordable for people on low incomes.

A spokeswoman said that the watchdog was worried that the Government planned to abolish the price cap on saver fares, which are the only cheaper tickets available on the day of travel on many routes.

Brian Souter, chief executive of Stagecoach, said that it was unfair to place all the blame for the fare increases on the train companies.

“There have been some very high fare increases across the industry and that’s because of the way the [franchising] model is shaped. If you don’t bid on that basis you don’t win a franchise.”

Posted on 1:11 AM | Permalink

AFX News Limited: 06.28.07

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded senior secured unguaranteed debt ratings of Metronet Rail BCV Finance PLC and Metronet Rail SSL Finance PLC to 'Ba2' from 'Ba1'.

The downgrade reflects the materially higher default risk the debt of BCV Finco and SSL Finco, given that committed funding is not currently available, which is mitigated by the possibility of the banker of the two companies reinstating funding availability.

Moody's said it will continuing its review of the two entities' ratings for further possible downgrade.

The Ba2 rating symbolises high default probability, along with a low speculative-grade rating, negated by low loss severity in the event of a default by Metronet, the release said.

See also:

Operating costs soar as Metronet triggers £1bn review

Transport Briefing: 29/06/07  

The future of the public private partnership of the London Underground, forced through by Prime Minister Gordon Brown during his time as Chancellor, looks increasingly uncertain this morning (29 June) after Metronet Rail BCV, the infraco responsible for maintaining and upgrading the Bakerloo, Central, Victoria, and Waterloo & City Tube lines, submitted an application to recover more than £1bn from London Underground.

The consortium has provided a Reference Application Notice to PPP arbiter Chris Bolt, together with its Statement of Case and Initial Submission, to enable Bolt to conduct an Extraordinary Review of its operations. By triggering the Extraordinary Review process, a mechanism provided for in PPP contracts, Metronet hopes to recover £992m from London Underground associated with its work to renew the Tube.

In addition, Metronet has also asked the arbiter to conduct an immediate Interim Determination, which could have the effect of directing London Underground to increase its four-weekly Infrastructure Service Charge payments to the company within the next six weeks by a sum equivalent to £400m over the next 12 months. The company says this is necessary to allow it to meet increased financial obligations during the Extraordinary Review period.

Having completed the first phase of the Extraordinary Review process in line with the directions of the PPP Service contract, today's announcement follows the notice given to London Underground on 21 June 2007. Metronet Rail BCV is seeking to recover a total sum amounting to £992m from London Underground. Of this, approximately £550m has been incurred, or is committed over the next 12 months, with future projections of obligations beyond June 2008, amounting to approximately £440m.

As recently as November 2006, Chris Bolt, arbiter of the £30bn, 30-year Underground public private partnership contract, said he expected Metronet to overspend by only £750m on its two contract areas in the first seven-and-a-half years of its contract, to October 2010.

Graham Pimlott, Metronet's chairman, said: "Metronet entered into the public private partnership in good faith. Where we have made mistakes our shareholders have borne the cost. However, the PPP terms are clear – where additional spending is required to meet London Underground's demands, then we are entitled to be paid. It's disappointing that we have been unable to reach a mutually acceptable solution with London Underground, therefore we are now left with no option other than to begin this process of Extraordinary Review.

"We have advised London Underground over the past 18 months that their insistence on the present high specification for the stations upgrade programme is rendering the programme unaffordable and will result in a great deal of further overspend. About half of the £992m we are seeking relates to additional economic and efficient projected costs beyond the beginning of July 2008. London Underground can still save money through such measures as de-scoping. Metronet's shareholders remain fully supportive – and we are confident of a large recovery from London Underground."

Legally, Metronet's five shareholding companies - Atkins, Balfour Beatty, Bombardier Transportation, EDF Energy and Thames Water - are understood to be able to walk away from the BCV PPP contract if Bolt decides not to force LU to pay a large proportion of the £992m requested. This would leave Transport for London and the government with responsibility for the cost overruns and servicing an estimated £2bn debt.

During the first four years of the PPP contract, the costs of Metronet Rail BCV have been considerably higher than was anticipated by the company at the time the contract was awarded. The issue of additional costs is provided for in the PPP contracts and given the scale and complexity of the Tube's renewal programme, the contracts provided a proper process to deal with this question.

To assert the responsibility for additional costs, the arbiter will consider what it would cost a 'notional infraco' in delivering the PPP contractual obligations. The amount of any award will be the difference between the amount that a notional infraco would spend, and the amount contained in the original contract. Extraordinary Review is the contractual mechanism to recover unforeseen increases in costs and reductions in revenues and this has been enshrined in the PPP contract from the outset.

Metronet says it has sought to make London Underground aware of the financial impact of meeting their changing requirements and a notional infraco would have done the same. However, London Underground has not re-defined scope to keep the overall cost to that set out in the PPP contract. It says LU has continued to act as if the PPP contract were a fixed price contract, while at the same time seeking to secure more scope and increased specification. Metronet says this has had the consequence of increasing costs significantly.

To date, Metronet Rail BCV has funded approximately £350m of additional costs, and its shareholders are prepared to absorb 50% of this sum - £175m - to compensate for inefficiencies, particularly in the early stages of the stations upgrade programme.

Metronet Rail BCV is seeking an Interim Determination award of up to £400m over the next 12 months, payable through the four-weekly Infrastructure Service Charge from London Underground, to ensure that it can continue to deliver its obligations efficiently. This is because the projected notional infraco cash flows required to carry out the contractual obligations during the period of Extraordinary Review substantially exceed available cash flows as originally envisaged by the PPP contract.

Metronet is therefore seeking an Interim Determination in accordance with the PPP contract to enable performance of a notional infraco's existing obligations until the Extraordinary Review determination comes into effect, expected in early 2008.

Tim O'Toole, managing director of London Underground, said: "We believe Metronet has not performed in an economic and efficient manner and that their financial position is a result of its and its shareholders failure to properly plan, manage and execute its maintenance and renewal activities." He added: "It therefore remains our belief, and is our submission to the PPP arbiter, that Metronet's cost overruns should be largely or entirely borne by the company and its shareholders."

Today's announcement refers only to the interests of Metronet Rail BCV. Separate proceedings are expected to commence later in the year in respect of Metronet Rail SSL.

Posted on 1:02 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 28 June 2007

UK transport group Arriva has bolstered its position in Europe, by entering a joint venture in Poland's rail market.

Arriva is steadily growing its European interests

The firm, which now has a presence in ten European countries, has also taken a 49% stake in an Italian bus firm.

Sunderland-based Arriva added that it was seeing strong passenger growth in its UK bus business.

On Tuesday, rival Stagecoach unveiled a profits jump which it said was helped by people switching to buses and trains because of environmental concerns.

Progress

The three-year deal to run trains in north-west Poland with local operator PCC is expected to generate revenues of about £20m, Arriva said.

The firm's Italian business, SAB Autoservizi, is paying 6.8m euros (£4.6m; $9.1m) to buy into a joint venture with SPT Linea, running 317 buses in the Lombardy region.

"This strengthens our position as the largest private bus operator in the Italian transport market," said Arriva chief executive David Martin.

Deutsche Bank analysts said that although these two deals were "relatively small in the context of the group", they showed "progress to develop Europe is continuing".

See also:

Arriva Continues Its European Expansion

Arriva has bolstered its position in Italian buses and entered the Polish rail market for the first time. 

This takes the number of countries in which it operates to 10 as, along with other UK firms, it vies for position in mainland Europe.

Firm vying with UK competitors

Arriva's Italian business has formed a new joint venture to buy 49% of SPT Linea for £4.7m.

SPT runs 317 buses in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.

Chief Executive David Martin said the deal "...strengthens our position as the largest private bus operator in the Italian transport market."

Arriva also announced that it had jointly won a deal to run trains in northwest Poland.

That agreement is expected to generate total revenues of some £20m.

Analysts say the two moves, while small, show that Arriva's progress in Europe is continuing.

The group generated around £750m in revenues there last year - it typically buys up smaller companies before expanding them organically.

Arriva is valued at about £1.3bn, based on its current share price.

Its Brirish rivals in Europe include Northgate and National Express, which in April bought Spain's Continental Auto, giving it the country's top two bus operators ahead of liberalisation of the transport sector there.

See also:

Arriva expands in Polish rail, Italian buses

Reuters: Jun 28, 2007
By Pete Harrison

LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - British bus and train operator Arriva said on Thursday it was trading in line with expectations as it enters the Polish rail market and bolsters its position in Italian buses.

The moves take the number of countries in which it operates to ten as UK transport companies vie for position on mainland Europe.

"We... are evaluating investment and acquisition opportunities in our existing operating areas and in new territories," Arriva added.

Arriva said its Italian business, SAB Autoservizi, had formed a new joint venture to buy 49 percent of SPT Linea, which runs 317 buses in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. "The joint venture complements our existing operations in the Lombardy region and strengthens our position as the largest private bus operator in the Italian transport market," Chief Executive David Martin said of the 4.7 million pounds ($9.41 million) deal.

Arriva shares rose 1.9 percent to 669 pence by 0803 GMT, valuing the group at around 1.3 billion pounds.

The group, which first entered Italy in 2002, generated 752 million pounds of revenues last year from its businesses in mainland Europe, where it typically buys small companies before growing them organically.

The group is eyeing expansion into Europe's new member states, and on Thursday it also announced it had jointly won a 3-year contract to run trains in northwest Poland -- a deal that is expected to generate total revenues of around 20 million pounds.

"Although contract size of these two deals may be relatively small in the context of the group, we believe that it shows progress to develop Europe is continuing," said analysts at Deutsche Bank.

Other UK transport groups expanding in Europe include Northgate and National Express, which in April bought Spain's Continental Auto, giving it the country's top two bus operators ahead of liberalisation of the transport market.

Arriva said in its trading statement its first half 2007 results would be released on Sept. 6.

Posted on 9:16 PM | Permalink

MPs back campaign against closures.

ATTEMPTS TO close more than 40 London Underground ticket offices and reduce the opening times of dozens more will be resisted with industrial action, the annual meeting of the Tube’s biggest union has agreed unanimously.

Delegates at the Edinburgh conference endorsed an emergency call to campaign alongside passengers to resist the 240-plus threatened job cuts, and welcomed an early-day motion against the closures tabled in parliament by John McDonnell MP.

“These threatened closures represent a dangerous attack on station staffing and we are asking passengers to fight alongside Tube workers to ensure that they are not allowed to take place,” RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said today.

“No Tube booking office will be safe if LUL is allowed to get away with this round of cuts, and delegates at our conference have voted unanimously to support a campaign of industrial action against them.

“Our conference made it clear that Tube workers will not tolerate the increase in ticket disputes, assaults stress and lone working that these cuts would bring about.

“Like passengers, Tube and rail workers want to see more visible, trained staff on stations, not fewer, and if LUL presses ahead with its planned cuts it will have a fight on its hands,” Bob Crow said.

Early Day Motion 1706 and the full list of ticket offices under threat follow:

EDM 1706:

Ticket office closures on the London Underground (
Tabled by John McDonnell and signed by 30 others as at June 27

That this House is alarmed that London Underground intends to close 40 ticket offices and drastically to reduce the opening hours of dozens of more ticket offices; notes the concerns expressed by passenger groups and trade unions at the proposals; is further concerned that the closures will remove an essential service to passengers, make passengers feel more vulnerable and lead to increased assaults on staff; believes that the proposals are ill-thought out; and therefore urges Transport for London to withdraw these unnecessary and dangerous cuts."

The ticket offices threatened with closure are:
Barkingside, Becontree, Boston Manor, Buckhurst Hill, Cannon Street, Canons Park, Chesham, Chiswick Park, Chorleywood, Croxley, Debden, East Putney, Fairlop, Hornchurch, Goldhawk Road, Ickenham, Latimer Road, Mansion House, Mill Hill East, Moor Park, North Ealing, North Harrow, Northwood Hills, Park Royal, Perivale, Ravenscourt Park, Regents Park, Royal Oak, Ruislip, Ruislip Gardens, South Ruislip, Sudbury Hill, Temple, Totteridge & Wealdstone, Upney, West Acton, West Finchley, West Harrow, West Ruislip and Wimbledon Park.

In addition, LUL also proposes to shut Canary Wharf (East), Seven Sisters (B) Southwark (West) and Waterloo (International) ticket offices.

Further planned cuts include the following ticket offices:

Oxford Circus (Argyll Street) to close, Hainault to close weekends, Wanstead to close weekends, Waterloo (Shell) to close on Saturdays, Mornington Crescent to close weekends, Goodge Street to close weekends, Alperton to close on Sundays, South Harrow to close weekends, Sudbury Town to close weekends, Barbican to close Sundays, Moorgate (main) to close Saturdays, Shepherds Bush (H&C) to close Sundays, Westbourne Park to close weekends, Dagenham East to close weekends, Dagenham Heathway to close on Sundays, Elm Park to close weekends, Bow Road to close weekends, Bromley By Bow to close weekends, Baker Street (Met) to close Sundays, Euston Square to close Sundays, Great Portland Street to close Sundays, Eastcote to close Sundays, Hillingdon to close Sundays, Northwick Park to close Sundays, Ruislip Manor to close Sundays, Chalfont & Latimer to close Weekends, Northwood to close on Sundays, Pinner to close on Sundays, Rickmansworth to close on Sundays and Watford to close on Sundays.

Other major hours reductions include:

Lambeth North to lose window service between 1430-1630 Mon to Fri, Warwick Avenue 1400-1700 M-F, Epping 1600-1900 M-F, Loughton 1200-1500 M-F, South Woodford 1330-1630 M-F, Woodford 1330-1630 M-F, Waterloo( Shell) 1000-1400 M-F, Dollis Hill 1330-1600 M-F, Mornington Crescent 1100-1630 M-F, Tufnell Park 1400-1700 M-F, High Barnet 1330-1600 M-F, Kennington 1400-1630, Bow Road 1000-1600 M-F

In addition, LUL wants to remove the current afternoon peak window service from the following stations: Hainault, Redbridge, Snaresbrook Wanstead, Woodside Park, South Harrow, Cockfosters, Westbourne Park, Dagenham East, Hillingdon, Ruislip Manor, Northwood, Pinner, Rickmansworth, and Watford.

Posted on 3:39 PM | Permalink

RMT: June 26 2007

COMPLEX and fragmented arrangements for running the privatised ‘London Rail’ franchise will make it more difficult to manage operationally and safely, with potentially disastrous consequences, according to a leading rail-safety expert.

At least eight components will be involved in running 'London Rail' - two responsible for signalling, two for infrastructure maintenance, two for infrastructure renewals, one for train and station operations and another for train maintenance.

Many of the operational and safety problems identified in a study of the plans, by Peter Rayner, would not exist if the franchise was to be run directly by London Underground, says the former manager of British Rail's biggest region.

However, Transport for London intends that the ELL's operations are taken from London Underground and handed, along with the North and West London lines, to privateer MTR Laing.

Mr Rayner's study says that the unnecessarily complex relationships between the franchisee, TfL, Network Rail, private contractor Metronet and its own army of subcontractors, raise a catalogue of concerns.

"There is no doubt the fragmented nature of the arrangements does make it more difficult to manage operationally and importantly more difficult to manage safely," Mr Rayner concludes.

Mr Rayner, who has been an expert witness in 50 cases and gave evidence at the Southall and Ladbroke Grove inquiries, draws on lessons from the Tebay and Edge Hill accidents.

Proposals to remove guards on the North and West London lines also raise safety fears because driver-only operation is not able to deal with passenger interface issues, says Mr Rayner.

He cites examples of serious accidents and fatalities caused by passengers being trapped in doors and trains train moving off, and says that the considerable cost of making DOO safe probably outweigh any of its claimed advantages.

Commenting on the study at RMT's annual conference in Edinburgh, general secretary Bob Crow said today:

"Peter Rayner's report underlines the fears we have that privatisation of the East London Line will undermine safety.

"It seems that precious few lessons have been learned from the nightmare fragmentation of national rail privatisation or the disastrous part-privatisation of Tube infrastructure, because the same dangerous formula is being lined up for London Rail.

"It is still not too late to step back from this grave mistake and keep the East London Line's operations as a unified part of the Tube network."

ends

Notes to editors: Peter Rayner's study follows, and a biography of Peter Rayner is appended at the end.

EAST LONDON LINE - Report on the factors surrounding the operation of the proposed London Rail Concession.

By Peter Rayner, FCILT FIRO Associate of the IRSE MCIM

INTRODUCTION

I have completed my examination of the proposals for the East London Line (ELL) and there is no doubt the fragmented nature of the arrangements does make it more difficult to manage operationally and importantly more difficult to manage safely.

I have examined the London Rail Concession Invitation to Tender documentation and the Annexes thereto of which there are 16 plus an Appendix of Terms.

As is always the case that documentation provides a solution to all likely contingences and taken in conjunction with Safety Case provision, in a perfect world it would work.

All Safety Case and performance criteria works if there are sufficient staff, adequately trained, properly supervised and regularly audited. Sadly in the fragmented railway of today the system sometimes fails. Examples of where the fragmented system has failed include Tebay and Edge Hill - but one could also quote Southall, Hatfield, Potters Bar and of course Ladbroke Grove all of which from Expert Witness Reports for Criminal Court Proceedings and the Public Inquiries show fragmentation to be a contributory factor in the incidents.

FRAGMENTATION

Professor Uff QC who chaired the Southall accident Public Inquiry made reference to fragmentation being an issue. However, the most firm evidence came from Gerald Corbett, Chief Executive of Railtrack and was given before the House of Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee on 1 November 2000 and was subsequently reflected in their Report (106).

Mr Corbett said, "Managing safety on the railway is about managing a whole set of inter relationships; because on the one hand you have got growth, on the other hand you have got the requirements for better train performance, and you have got safety, and they are all in conflict and they need to be held in balance. And since Privatisation, when the railway was fragmented, it has, I believe, become harder to actually to manage that balance."

Despite that comment it is important to remember that over many years we have had services working together as BR/LUL, each with running over powers, running on each others infrastructure.

Two cases in point, Harrow on theHill to Amersham with LUL infrastructure and Chiltern Line trains working over andQueens Park to Harrow and Wealdstone, Network Rail infrastructure with LUL working over. A degree of cooperation has always been possible and only the failures of the last 10 years of privatisation and confusion have called that into question.

It needs to be realised that the arrangements that existed worked primarily because there were only two organisations (LUL/BR) which was a manageable overlap with experienced time serving directly employed staff.

I have reviewed a number of Services bearing the fragmentation and unclear organisational issues in mind, because any criticism that is levelled about this proposal will be met by examples like the Thameslink Services (now called First Capital Connect) which is demonstrably complicated. It operates over 3 different Regions and Regional Controls on Network Rail; it operates its own stations, uses LUL stations (Farringdon), Network Rail stations (egLondon Bridge), Southern stations (egEast Croydon) and even South West Trains stations (Wimbledon). It runs intermixed with Midland Main Line, South East Trains, Southern and Gatwick Express. It leases its trains from a ROSCO and has yet another contract with Southern to maintain those trains at Selhurst. Such an arrangement is a prime example of how not to run a railway. Add the infrastructure maintenance fragmentation to that matrix and it can be seen how foolish it is.

It can be demonstrated quite clearly the lack of control of safety by fragmentation, particularly where contractors and sub-contractors are concerned. The prevailing system appears to require the contractee to only ensure that the contractor next in the supply chain has the necessary competence and systems to carry out the work safely and so on down the chain of sub and sub-sub contractors.

In effect, the contracting entity only directly manages the contractor next below and requires that body to manage anything below that and so on down the line. It is for debate whether this issue has been addressed adequately by previous accidents, and alterations made to prevent a recurrence, and whether this shortcoming has been addressed in the proposed organisational structure and systems proposed for the ELL.

For ELL to have good safety and operational management there would be a need for one organisation to have primacy which is not clear from the proposals I have examined. A clear chain of command would be needed that works even with different levels belonging to different organisations. The roles, responsibilities and decision making powers must be clearly spelled out within the chain and the organisation involved must sign off acceptance. This is not easy with everyone looking to defend their own organisations and shifting blame.

DRIVER ONLY OPERATION (DOO)

I have noted Annex 14 in which it states:

Tfl anticipates the implementation of a system that will support DOO operation on the NLL and WLL by December 2011.

It states later:

Bidders can set out proposals to broaden the scope of DOO or bring forward its implementation.

I have reviewed the principle of DOO and list below some points for consideration.

* DOO Equipment is costly and depends upon the type of Unit, Driver position, Cab layout and curvature of platform.
* LUL (TfL) are developing Radio Contact system "Connect" which is being rolled out piecemeal.
* LUL (TfL) requirements are based upon the close proximity of stations and the full staffing of those stations. It is not clear what requirements will obtain on this Heavy Rail and Sub Surface line.
* DOO on NR if correctly staffed and equipped can deal with train operational safety but NOT with passenger interface issues.
* Examples exist on NR where Drivers sometimes open and shut doors in minimal time and without a proper examination of train side.
* Examples exist on NR of fatal accidents caused by persons being trapped in doors and train moving off.
* Examples exist on NR of parties of schoolchildren being separated by train departing DOO with only half of the party of thirty on board.

The DOO costs on the Surface railway as illustrated by Thameslink and the South Eastern are considerable and probably outweigh many of the claimed advantages. There is increased manning on curved platforms, high cost of maintenance of TV equipment. In the case of staff on platforms many are not PTS (Personal Track Safety) trained and therefore cannot go on to the track in an emergency which conflicts with present LUL practice

It cannot be argued that DOO itself is unsafe. However it can be examined as to how cost effective it is to make it safe. If the South Eastern application is looked at there are heavy staffing requirements at Waterloo East, London Bridge (SE) and other busy stations with curved platforms which CCTV cannot safely cope with.

Another problem with even straight surface level platforms is low sunlight (morning and evening) and lighting levels themselves. The quality of CCTV has improved dramatically but the equipment itself needs maintenance and cleaning which is another high cost.

The costs therefore of DOO on the ELL, a relatively small railway, are likely to be very high in equipment and Control Centre arrangements and it needs to be carefully considered what other advantages may be obtained with more on train staff or fully manned properly qualified station platform staff.

SUMMARY

From my examination of the proposal there are two major areas of concern with both Safety and Cost implications.

1. Fragmented Maintenance

The Edge Hill and Tebay examples illustrate the problems of the contractor, sub contractor and sub-sub contractor issues i.e. examples of where five of six organisations are involved in one worksite or the setting up of unauthorised worksites, the failure to plan and document the work.

Unless this sort of confusion is addressed the entire question of "in house" maintenance is questionable. Correct levels of staff, correct training, correct audit and correct supervision are essential. The present known problems with the PPP proposals makes continuing with it, in my view, an action that places TfL and Network Rail being at variance with their Safety Case.

2. Fragmented Operation exacerbated by DOO

From the list of examples it is my view that not only is DOO more costly but it also poses operational difficulties not questioned in today's railway simply because in strict operating terms it is safe. With the passenger interface however it is less safe.

If there is to be DOO it should be with directly operated LUL staff, fully manned stations and to LUL standards. To start to implement a bastardised form of DOO to suit the ELL is in my view unsafe and uneconomical.

The proposed method of working for the ELL is fragmented and a difficult way to run a railway. The opportunity to provide Vertical Integration and run where possible on TfL infrastructure and TfL Staff on stations and trains and with TfL ownership of those trains has been lost.

Many of the problems would not exist if LUL were given the Franchise to run directly.

CONCLUSION

The East London Line as proposed involving Network Rail, LUL, TfL, Metronet and the sub contractors of Metronet and the franchisee, MTR Laing I consider will be difficult to manage both operationally and safely and could result in incidents similar to those illustrated in this Report and its Appendices

P.G. RAYNER FCILT FIRO Associate of the IRSE MCIM

Peter Rayner - biography

Peter Rayner started as a junior on the railway in 1951 at Cambridge. After becoming a Station Master, he was accepted as a Traffic Apprentice in 1959 and went on to hold a range of key positions with British Rail - culminating in operating BR's biggest Region, the London Midland from 1986 until 1991.

After a further spell at BR HQ he retired in 1992. Since then he has run a Consultancy, giving advice on rail operations and safety, as well as lecturing, broadcasting and writing. He had a book published in 1997, "On and Off the Rails" and was one time Adviser to the Select Committee for Transport.

He has acted as an Expert Witness in over fifty cases including criminal cases at the Old Bailey, Luton, Liverpool and Newcastle Crown Courts and given evidence at the Southall Accident Inquiry and the three Ladbroke Grove Inquiries conducted by Lord Cullen.

Peter Rayner is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, a Fellow of the Institution of Railway Operators, an Associate of the Institution of Signal Engineers and Member of Institute of Management.

Posted on 10:44 AM | Permalink

RMT: June 26 2007

SOME 350 RMT members at the Wilts and Dorset bus company are to mount a series of 24-hour strikes over excessive driving hours and imposed rosters, after voting for action by a massive margin.

RMT members at Poole, Bournemouth, Blandford, Lymington, Ringwood and Swanage depots are set to strike from a minute after midnight on July 10, 16, 23 and 24 after returning a strike majority of more than ten to one.

The dispute centres on the company's refusal to accept that drivers should be rostered for no more than four-and-a-half hours' continuous driving, and on the imposition of duties and rosters without the agreement of union reps.

Delegates at the union's conference in Edinburgh yesterday voted to campaign to press the government to reduce the current legal maximums of ten hours' daily driving time and five hours' maximum without a break.

"This is a straightforward issue of the health and safety of our members and their passengers, and the company simply has no excuses," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said at the union's annual conference in Edinburgh today.

"It is breathtaking that Wilts and Dorset maintains that it is acceptable to expect drivers responsible for the safety of passengers drive for more than four-and-a-half hours without a break and continues to impose rosters without agreement

"I hope passengers will understand that we have tried for many months to get the company to shift on this vital issue and we can only hope that the company now recognises our members' anger and negotiates seriously.

"The company should take a sober look at the massive vote for action and recognise the growing anger over the company putting is profits before the safety of our members and their passengers," Bob Crow said.

ends

Note to editors: Wilts and Dorset RMT members voted by 206 to 20 for strike action.

Posted on 10:29 AM | Permalink

Swindon Advertiser: 26th June 2007
By Kevin Burchall

PEOPLE travelling to the south of Wiltshire could face disruption to their journeys after hundreds of bus workers announced a series of strikes.

The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said 350 of its members at the Wilts & Dorset bus company will stage walkouts on July 10, 16, 23 and 24 after voting by 10 to one in favour of industrial action.

The RMT said the dispute centred on the company's refusal to accept that drivers should be rostered for no more than four and a half hours' continuous driving, and on the imposition of duties and rosters without the agreement of union reps.
advertisement

RMT general secretary Bob Crow criticised Wilts & Dorset at his union's annual conference in Edinburgh yesterday, saying: "This is a straightforward issue of the health and safety of our members and their passengers, and the company simply has no excuses.

"It is breathtaking that Wilts & Dorset maintains that it is acceptable to expect drivers responsible for the safety of passengers to drive for more than four and a half hours without a break and continues to impose rosters without agreement.

"I hope passengers will understand that we have tried for many months to get the company to shift on this vital issue. The company should take a sober look at the massive vote for action and recognise the growing anger over the company putting its profits before the safety of our members and their passengers."

Wilts & Dorset runs five services to and from Swindon and Salisbury, but a spokesman for the company said the proposed strikes were expected to hit services harder in the Dorset region.

He said: "The proposed strike should have no effect because the Salisbury depot and its out stations are not involved, but there is a lot of time between now and July 10.

"We don't think the proposed strikes will adversely affect the Swindon area."

Posted on 10:22 AM | Permalink

Associated Press: 06.26.07

Unions on Tuesday rejected an offer from Germany's national railway of a 2 percent pay rise for its workers, increasing the possibility of strikes in the busy summer season.

The GDBA and Transnet union have called for raises of up to 7 percent for some 134,000 employees of Deutsche Bahn AG.

Deutsche Bahn offered a more modest 2 percent increase next January, followed by another 2 percent in July 2009, and one-time extra payments of 300 euros ($400) to cover the rest of this year.

The unions dismissed that offer in a joint statement as "mockery of the employees." They pointed to healthy earnings last year.

The two sides did not set a date for new talks. The unions noted that the current wage deal expires this weekend; after it ends, workers are no longer obliged to refrain from strike action.

Deutsche Bahn countered by pointing to a study which, it said, found that as many as 9,000 jobs would be endangered by an excessive wage increase.

Separately, a third union that represents many of Deutsche Bahn's train drivers, GDL, renewed a threat to stage strikes. The railway described that as "irresponsible."

GDL is seeking wage increases of up to 31 percent for some members.

The German government is currently preparing plans to sell up to half of Deutsche Bahn in what would be the country's last big privatization.

Posted on 9:19 AM | Permalink

BBC News: 26 June 2007

The "abysmal service" of a private rail company means it should lose its franchise, a passenger watchdog says.

Customer satisfaction for FGW has dropped to 53% from 66%

London TravelWatch is to write to the government after complaints about First Great Western's (FGW) late trains, overcrowding and poor customer care.

In January FGW apologised to rail users "for not meeting expectations" after a protest by hundreds of passengers.

The company said it was working hard to improve the service, but explained it was not breaching franchise conditions.

London TravelWatch's chairman Brian Cooke said: "Passengers have been telling us just how bad FGW's recent performance has been, and that the standards of customer care and information given to passengers have been appalling.

No excuse

"This franchise is only 15 months old, but First was running the service before that, so there is no excuse for the abysmal service FGW are giving their passengers."

Mr Cooke said the most recent peak-time performance of FGW trains in the London and the Thames Valley section showed the number of trains arriving on time had fallen to 68.4% and the average over the last year was 75.6%.

This was against FGW's London and Thames Valley target of 92%, he added.

He also claimed the train operator exceeds the target for carrying passengers in excess of capacity, the rail industry's measure of overcrowding.

The London TravelWatch board added that a recent national passenger survey, satisfaction with the service from FGW passengers in London and the Thames Valley, had dropped to 53% - from 66% a year ago.

'More reliable'

This compares with an against an average satisfaction rating in London and south-east England of 77%.

A spokesman for FGW said: "The Department for Transport reviews our performance every four weeks and we are not in breach of franchise conditions.

"However, we are aware that our performance has been poor and we have already apologised for this.

"We are working hard to improve our service and we are delivering a comprehensive service recovery plan that has already provided additional and more reliable trains, more staff, a range of timetable enhancements, and improved customer service."

Posted on 10:29 PM | Permalink

Thomson Financial: 26 June 2007

LONDON - UK rail watchdog London Travelwatch has asked the government to consider terminating FirstGroup's Great Western franchise.

London Travelwatch said the performance of the franchise was 'simply not good enough.'

Last month, FirstGroup apologised to passengers after a national passenger survey showed satisfaction with the Great Western franchise had fallen 6 pct points to 72 pct.

First has faced heavy criticism for the performance of Great Western, which runs services from London to Bristol, Wales and the West Country.

Passengers in the south west protested against sweeping service cuts and reductions in rolling stock that First imposed after taking over services formerly run by National Express' Wessex franchise. The outcry forced FGW to review the service reductions and to introduce more carriages and the company later said the situation had improved.

London Travelwatch held a public meeting today addressed by FGW's managing director Alison Forster and Network Rail's regional route director Robbie Burns.

The watchdog's chairman Brian Cooke said the most recent peak time performance of FGW trains in the London and the Thames Valley section shows that the percentage arriving on time had fallen to just 68.4 pct and the average over the last year was 75.6 pct.

'This is against First Great Western's London and Thames Valley target of 92 pct,' he said.

'FGW also significantly exceeds the target for carrying passengers in excess of capacity (the rail industrys measure of overcrowding). This is simply not good enough.'

The London TravelWatch board heard that, in the most recent National Passenger Survey, satisfaction with the service from FGW passengers in London and the Thames Valley, had dropped to only 53 pct from 66 pct a year ago, against an average satisfaction rating in London and the south east of 77 pct.

Cooke added: 'Passengers have been telling us just how bad FGWs recent performance has been and that the standards of customer care and information given to passengers have been appalling.

'This franchise is only 15 months old, but First was running the service before that, so there is no excuse for the abysmal service FGW are giving their passengers.

'Since before the franchise began, we have had numerous meetings with FGW and FirstGroup, but the situation has just got worse, and there is no sign of stabilising the decline.

'We believe now is possibly the time for the government to consider firm action on the future of the franchise, or the decline will continue. We believe they should examine all areas of the franchise agreement and look at potential breaches.'

Posted on 4:05 PM | Permalink

Somerset County Gazette: 26 June 2007
By Chris Alder

REGULAR through trains from Minehead to Bristol are to start next month, the first since the line was close more than 30 years ago.

The new service, scheduled to run three times a week, could see holidaymakers arriving at Minehead Station for the first time since the branch line between Taunton and Minehead was closed as part of the "Beeching Cuts" in January 1971.

But the news has been tempered with a warning that the service, which has attracted no subsidies, will have to stand on its own financially.

Paul Conibeare, general manager of the West Somerset Railway, said: "The service can only work if the trains are used by enough people to pay for their costs, which are considerable.

"No subsidy is being paid by Central or local government, so the trains have to stand on their own financially."

The trains are the outcome of several months of planning between The West Somerset Railway, Mainline Rail and Victa Westlink Rail, which will provide the train services, and Butlins, whose holidaymakers currently have to complete their journey from Taunton by bus.

Complex negotiations with Network Rail and the Office of the Rail Regulator have also taken place.

The trains will be worked by diesel locomotives and air-conditioned coaches provided by Mainline Rail, and will offer passengers from the Wales, the Midlands and North of England the opportunity to travel direct to West Somerset by changing at Bristol, while passengers from London and the South East, as well as those from the South West of England will be able to change at Taunton.

Mr Conibeare added: "Ever since the railway re-opened in 1976 it has been asserted that there is a strong local demand for trains to and from Taunton.

"This is an opportunity to assess the potential market and also to persuade visitors to the area the journey can be made by public transport."

Posted on 3:21 PM | Permalink

Financial Times: June 26 2007
By Toby Shelley

The Metronet venture to refurbish the London Underground continued to weigh on WS Atkins as the contractor wrote down the entire value of its investment.

Fellow contractor Balfour Beatty also said on Tuesday it was to write off £100m associated with its investment in Metronet, largely to be offset by gains on other ventures.

The exceptional costs on the project of £121.3m pulled WS Atkins into a full-year pre-tax loss of £39.6m although underlying profits of £81.7m showed 19 per cent growth as the other areas of the group’s business performed well.

Metronet is currently in limbo, unable to access lending facilities pending agreement between the shareholding companies and banks.

The company last week called in Chris Bolt, arbiter of the 30-year, £30bn Underground public-private partnership, to attribute responsibility for the overrun. The review will take up to nine months. The arbiter may all-o-cate additional costs to con-tractors, including Atkins.

Given those uncertainties, Atkins has taken an exceptional loss of £91.3m, comprising £70m of equity investment and £21.3m of earlier-year profits. There is also a £30m cash impact from losses from station refurbishment in the London Underground project.

In April the company said it expected the full-year exceptional loss in respect of Metronet to be £36m. 

Asked if he regretted entering the venture, Keith Clarke, chief executive, said: “We are where we are.”

Atkins also announced it would sell its UK-based property service operation Lambert Smith Hampton to a consortium of management and the Bank of Scotland. The deal is worth £40m in cash plus £6.5m in vendor loan notes. A further £10m could be payable later, depending on LSH’s performance this year.

Atkins’s revenue for the year increased 20 per cent to £1.26bn. Other rail activities benefited from a recovery in workload. The biggest division, design and engineering, saw revenues rise 18 per cent. The board recommended a final dividend of 14p, taking the total to 20p.

Balfour Beatty said its Metronet write-off would be largely offset by an exceptional gain of £50m on the sale of its 24.5 per cent interest in Devonport Dockyard and a £40m gain resulting from the crystallisation of tax losses in the US.

Shares in Atkins fell 33p to £10.97 while shares in Balfour Beatty closed up 31⁄2p at 4443⁄4p on Tuesday.

Posted on 12:17 PM | Permalink

RMT: June 25 2007

NETWORK RAIL workers being scapegoated over the Grayrigg accident in Cumbria and Scottish signallers denied bonus for striking to defend an agreement on working hours will strike for 24 hours from 00:01 on Friday July 6.

Delegates at the union's annual general meting in Edinburgh voted unanimously to endorse the action, and to ballot all 15,000 Network Rail members for strike action over the bonus issues.

"The unanimous vote by delegates at our annual general meeting should send the message to Network Rail that 75,000 RMT members are united behind their brothers and sisters in Scotland and Cumbria who are being victimised and scapegoated," general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"Network Rail have told us they will not negotiate and our choice is either to accept what the bosses say or fight, and our members have chosen to fight.

"Network Rail should take a serious look at the double standards that have resulted in this dispute and think again about its rash refusal to negotiate," Bob Crow said.

ends

Notes to editors: RMT members working for Network Rail in the area that includes the site of the Grayrigg crash voted by 184 (83 per cent) to 37 (17 per cent) to take action.

And signallers and supervisors in Scotland who were docked £300 bonus after striking over the company's failure to honour a 35-hour week deal have voted by 186 (62 per cent) to 116 (38 per cent) to strike.

See also:

Network Rail workers to strike in July

Reuters: Jun 25, 2007

LONDON - Network Rail workers in Scotland and Cumbria will hold a 24-hour strike on July 6 after voting to take action over two separate bonus rows, the RMT union said.

Members of Britain's biggest rail union working for Network Rail elected by 83 percent to strike in protest over a cut in 400 pound bonuses over February's Grayrigg accident in Cumbria.

In a separate dispute, RMT signallers and supervisors in Scotland voted by 62 percent to strike over a 300-pound bonus denied for striking over an agreement on a 35-hour week deal.
Photo

All of Network Rail's 15,000 members who belong to the RMT will be balloted it was decided at the union's annual general meeting in Edinburgh on Monday.

Rail infrastructure operator Network Rail cut bonuses after the Grayrigg derailment in which one elderly woman died and several other passengers were seriously injured.

A Virgin Pendolino tilting train, heading from London to Glasgow, derailed at 95 mph (150 kph) in the Feb 23 accident in a remote area of Cumbria, scattering carriages down the side of a steep embankment.

The company, which made a record 1 billion pounds profit last year, cut executive bonuses after the crash.

Chief Executive John Armitt's bonus was cut 63 percent to 88,740 pounds, with other senior executives' bonuses down by the same degree.

"Every single employee at Network Rail has paid a personal price for the Grayrigg derailment," Chairman Ian McAllister said at the time of the bonus cut announcement.

"This is as it should be in an organisation that has taken responsibility for such a tragedy."

Posted on 8:29 AM | Permalink

Newswire:

Bombardier and Siemens are joining forces with Angel Trains and international investment and advisory firm, Babcock & Brown, in a consortium, Express Rail Alliance, bidding to win the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) which will replace the existing High Speed Trains (HST) with a new generation of long distance trains by 2014

The Intercity Express Programme is the most significant rolling stock investment initiative in the UK for over 30 years.

(Media-Newswire.com) - Bombardier and Siemens are joining forces with Angel Trains and international investment and advisory firm, Babcock & Brown, in a consortium, Express Rail Alliance, bidding to win the Intercity Express Programme ( IEP ) which will replace the existing High Speed Trains ( HST ) with a new generation of long distance trains by 2014, the companies announced today. The Intercity Express Programme is the most significant rolling stock investment initiative in the UK for over 30 years.

A key consideration of the Intercity Express Programme highlighted by Express Rail Alliance is the significant engineering resource required to deliver large volumes of new trains within relatively short timescales. Three unique train sets – diesel, electric and hybrid – are needed to fulfil the requirements of the IEP and no rail manufacturer

currently has a suitable train design within an existing platform. For this reason, developing and supplying up to 2000 new cars to stringent delivery deadlines carries

less risk with two manufacturers involved and sharing the major engineering resources required.

Colin Walton, Chairman of Bombardier Transportation UK explained: “A new high speed train platform typically has up to 800,000 engineering hours behind it. In the case of the IEP, a family of three train types must be developed simultaneously with the bulk of the engineering to be completed within 18 months of contract award. The programme has a potential requirement of approaching 400 engineers committed full-time to one project. Combining our resources will enable us to collectively deliver the best possible engineering back up for the IEP.”

The Express Rail Alliance consortium includes onsortium partners Bombardier Transportation, Siemens Project Ventures, Angel Trains and Babcock & Brown. The financing of Express Rail Alliance will be procured on a competitive basis in line with HM Treasury’s guidance and offering best value for money.

Haydn Abbott, Managing Director of Angel Trains said: "Angel Trains brings to the table a wealth of expertise and financial ability. We have extensive experience in financing and procuring new trains and a strong engineering team and have invested a

total of €5.3 billion in new trains. Together with our partners at Express Rail Alliance, we believe we have the best players in the field and are delighted to be a part of this consortium."

Christian Roth, managing director of Siemens Transportation Systems said: “A rail contract of this magnitude within such tight timescales has never been placed with a single party before. The Department for Transport requested a consortium approach, so the formation of Express Rail Alliance is in line with this strategy. By working in this partnership with flexible engineering resources and adopting best practice, Siemens and Bombardier as part of Express Rail Alliance can deliver the 'whole system, whole life' approach needed for this important project.”

Posted on 10:21 PM | Permalink

Reuters: June 22, 2007

Italian rail workers staged a 24-hour strike on Friday over contract renewals and potential job cuts.

Italian rail workers staged a 24-hour strike on Friday over contract renewals and potential job cuts, cancelling trains and stranding thousands of travellers.

Long lines of commuters and tourists formed at Rome's central train station as rail platforms stood empty. The strike, which began late on Thursday, will end on Friday night.

"Everything is cancelled. I've got my ticket in my hand but I can't find out any information, absolutely nothing," said commuter Omar Bassoli at Rome's Termini station.

The strike is the latest in a series of stoppages that have disrupted daily activity in Italy in recent months. It comes on the heels of protests by cab drivers, employees at ailing national airline Alitalia and gas station workers, among others.

Posted on 10:19 PM | Permalink

RMT: June 22 2007

THE ECONOMY, the environment, rail passengers and rail workers will all be losers from the government’s failure to end the failed policy of rail franchising, Britain’s biggest rail union said today.

As the government announced that Stagecoach was to be handed the East Midlands franchise from November, RMT re-iterated its call for a moratorium on a policy that allows operators to siphon huge profits out of the railway industry without shouldering any risk.

"In the last five years Stagecoach has made more than £220 million from its rail operations, and today's announcement means that they have been handed another licence to take even more cash out of the industry," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"It's a case of another day, another gravy train.

"It is only a few months since the Transport Select Committee concluded that no amount of tinkering could resolve the fundamental flaws in the franchising system.

"The growing railway the economy and the environment need will not be delivered by franchising, which offers only fragmentation, confusion, ever-higher fares and a squeeze on passengers, services and rail workers alike.

"Private-sector investment in the railways is an illusion because every penny invested comes out of either fare-payers' or taxpayers pockets, and the time has come to recognise that franchising is a drain on resources," Bob Crow said.

Posted on 4:04 PM | Permalink

RMT: June 22 2007

THE DISCRETION of guards dealing with passengers who board trains without tickets ‘is paramount’, Britain’s biggest union reminded South West Trains today.

RMT said today that disciplinary action against guards who exercise their discretion was 'out of the question'.

"Operators like South West Trains are putting the squeeze on passengers because of the ridiculous franchising system, but they should not be putting our members at risk or under the threat of disciplinary action as a result," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"Putting in place proper revenue-protection measures is one thing, but we are utterly opposed to guards on the front line being put under greater pressure, into potentially confrontational situations and at greater risk of assault.

"The discretion of the guard must remain paramount at all times, for their own safety and because their primary role is the safety-critical duties they undertake as train guards.

"There are already far too many assaults on railway staff, and SWT knows that it has a duty of care towards its employees.

"Penalty fare targets for guards, or disciplinary action against those who exercise their discretion, are out of the question, and RMT will always do whatever is necessary to protect its members," Bob Crow said.

See also:

Rail firm’s secret plan for penalty fare cash

The Times: June 22, 2007
Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

Britain’s biggest train company has told its guards that they will be disciplined and possibly dismissed if they show discretion to passengers who are unable to buy tickets before boarding because of long queues at stations.

It is the latest example of the lengths to which operators are going in order to pay the billion-pound premiums demanded by the Government for rail franchises.

A confidential memo, obtained by The Times, reveals that South West Trains is introducing a system under which guards are judged according to the amount they collect in penalties. The memo, headed “commercially sensitive, please do not circulate”, instructs guards to treat passengers as fare dodgers even if they come up to the guard on the train and ask to buy a ticket.

The guards must sell the most expensive peak ticket and give no railcard discounts, meaning that passengers will usually pay more than double the normal price. Those travelling between London and Weymouth are being charged £82 on board for a ticket which would have cost £35 at the station.

Another company, First Group, has also made controversial changes to pay the high premiums, including withdrawing carriages in the West Country and doubling fares on some routes in London.

South West Trains is telling guards that they will be held accountable if they accept any explanations, even if passengers had to queue for more than 15 minutes to buy a ticket and were about to miss their train. The warning comes even though the company is obliged to make a “reasonable endeavour” to ensure no passenger waits more than five minutes at peak times to buy a ticket, or three minutes outside the peak.

Passenger groups have accused the company of profiting from its failure to provide enough ticket facilities. It has admitted that it does not have enough ticket machines and has said that it will install another 194 by September next year. But many passengers are confused by the growing variety of fares on offer and want to buy them from members of staff, who are obliged legally to sell the cheapest option.

The memo also says that children must be penalised in the same circumstances, even at weekends and on Bank Holidays, when cheaper fares are available but ticket offices are often closed because of staff shortages.

A child travelling between London and Poole would have to pay £37.70 for a journey that should have cost £22.70.
The memo adds: “Once on the train, even if they approach you, they are only entitled to buy a full fare ticket . . . do not use discretion just because it’s the easy option.”

Guards must also tell passengers that they could be liable for an additional £20 on-the-spot fine or penalty fare, and could be prosecuted for fare evasion. “From now, your commercial duties will be measured in three main areas: the amount of revenue that you collect; the type of tickets that you sell; and the number of penalty fare warnings issued.”

All 800 of the company’s guards have been sent on a training course to teach them the new policy and how to deal with angry passengers. One told The Times: “We are in the horrible position of having to enforce a policy we know to be unfair, or risk losing our jobs.”

Other companies are more understanding. Keith Ludeman, chief executive of Go-Ahead, which operates Southern and South Eastern and yesterday won the new West Midlands franchise, said: “I wouldn’t expect somebody to pay extra when they weren’t able to buy a ticket because the queues were too long.”

The Department for Transport said it was investigating queuing times at South West Trains’ stations and would take action if the company was breaching the regulation.

South West Trains, which agreed last year to pay the Government £1.2 billion over ten years, caused outrage last month by raising some off-peak fares by 20 per cent.

Brian Souter, chief executive of the parent company, Stagecoach, saw his family’s estimated wealth double to £770 million this year, partly because of profits of more than £1 million a week at South West Trains

Posted on 4:02 PM | Permalink

Barking and Dagenham Recorder: 21 June 2007
JOHN PHILLIPS

AN experienced rail worker was crushed to death between a locomotive and wagon at a Dagenham Dock depot, an inquest heard on Wednesday.

Steve McKay, 42, was shunting the train at the Freightliner rail yard when he became jammed, dying of severe chest injuries almost instantaneously.

A jury at Walthamstow Coroner's Court concluded he had tripped into the pathway of the slow moving train owing to hazardous conditions at the yard.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, the ruled: "He tripped due to a hazardous working environment, most likely a severely cracked and damaged pathway."

Mr McKay was probably walking alongside the train when he fell.

Railway inspector Donald Wilson said the cracks had appeared when the yard was used to load Ford cars on to trains.

He told the inquest the walkway was hazardous, but stressed pathways in other parts of the yard showed signs of repairs.

The jury raised questions about the proximity of a lamppost to the track, which could have caused Mr McKay to stumble into the path of the train.

Mr Wilson acknowledged the lamppost was a hazard and revealed that Freightliner, which takes household waste from several London boroughs, was considering removing it.

Mr McKay's team leader, Martin O'Grady, also suggested his colleague may have tripped and acknowledged the lamppost's location may have contributed to the untimely death.

The court heard the shunter had just attached the spare wagon to the locomotive when the accident happened at about 12.15pm on July 17.

Mr Wilson examined the possibility that Mr McKay, of Chatham, Kent, might have failed to move out of the way after coupling the wagon and the locomotive.

But in a radio message, the shunter indicated to train driver John Pretlove he could start moving the train, meaning he was most certainly off the track.

Mr McKay's widow, Carol, paid tribute to her husband - who had worked on the railways for 18 years.

She said: "We are very pleased with the verdict. We got what we wanted. We wanted his name cleared."

The McKays' barrister, Cheryl Drew, added the verdict reached by the jury may pave the way for legal action against Freightliner.

Posted on 4:17 PM | Permalink

RMT: June 21 2007

A NATIONAL strike by 15,000 Network Rail workers has moved a step closer after the company refused to negotiate settlements to disputes in Scotland and Cumbria over withheld and reduced bonuses, Britain’s biggest rail union says today.

Some 119 RMT members being scapegoated over the Grayrigg accident in Cumbria and more than 400 Scottish signallers whose bonus has been docked for striking to defend an agreement on working hours are already voting on strike action in a ballot that closes on Monday (June 25).

"The feedback we have is that both ballots will return overwhelming support for strike action," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"The RMT executive said from the start that we would look at balloting our entire Network Rail membership over the important principles involved.

"Emergency motions coming into our AGM, which opens in Edinburgh on Sunday, are calling for a national strike ballot, and it is clear that there is a head of steam rising over Network Rail's double standards and intransigence.

"I have been in contact with Network Rail seeking talks, but the company has told us flatly that the bonus issue is non-negotiable.

"As a result it is now looking likely that we are heading towards a national stoppage in the next four to five weeks," Bob Crow

ends

Notes to editors: Network Rail staff employed in the area that includes the site of the Grayrigg crash are being balloted for industrial action after their £400 bonus was withheld.

Signallers and supervisors in Scotland are being balloted after being docked £300 bonus after striking over the company's own failure to honour a 35-hour week deal.

Posted on 4:02 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 21 June 2007

The UK's biggest rail union is threatening a national strike because of pay rows in Cumbria and Scotland.

The Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) is accusing Network Rail of refusing to negotiate settlements in disputes involving 500 staff.

The disputes involve 400 signallers in Scotland as well as 100 RMT members in Cumbria, whose bonuses were withheld following a crash in Grayrigg.

Network Rail said the RMT's approach was "wholly unnecessary".

Both sets of workers are being balloted for industrial action, with the results due to be announced at the RMT's annual conference in Edinburgh next week.

'Double standards'

The Scottish workers had their bonuses withheld following strike action in March.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "Emergency motions coming into our AGM are calling for a national strike ballot, and it is clear that there is a head of steam rising over Network Rail's double standards and intransigence.

"I have been in contact with Network Rail seeking talks, but the company has told us flatly that the bonus issue is non-negotiable.

"As a result, it is now looking likely that we are heading towards a national stoppage in the next four to five weeks."

A spokeswoman from Network Rail said: "We are disappointed that the RMT is taking this approach, which is so wholly unnecessary and will only cause disruption to passengers.

"Those who took strike action in Scotland had a clear understanding at the time that their discretionary bonus would be at risk, so it can hardly be surprising that their bonuses were affected.

"It would also be inappropriate to pay a bonus to the maintenance workers in Lancashire and Cumbria before the investigation into what happened at Grayrigg has been completed."

Posted on 3:50 PM | Permalink

RMT: June 21 2007

THE GOVERNMENT has missed a golden opportunity call a halt to the farce of rail franchising and bring West Midlands rail services back into the public sector, Britain’s biggest rail union said today.

Commenting on the government’s announcement that Govia was to operate the West Midlands franchise from November 11, RMT general secretary Bob Crow today said:

“Rail franchising is a failed policy that delivers only fragmentation, short-term thinking and massive fares hikes.

“Govia are going to be handed over £1.1 billion of public money over the next eight years, and far too much of it will end up in shareholders’ bank accounts.

“Every penny the private sector allegedly invests in the railways comes ultimately from the pockets of passengers and taxpayers, and they have the right to expect that every penny is invested in better services, not siphoned off as profits.

“Rail privatisation has proved itself incapable of delivering the growing railway that our economy and environment need,” Bob Crow said.

Posted on 3:48 PM | Permalink

Thomson Financial: 21 June 2007

LONDON - Train builders Siemens AG and Bombardier Inc are to build 217 carriages, understood to be worth about 231 mln stg in total, for Go-Ahead Group's new UK West Midlands rail franchise.

Go-Ahead CEO Keith Ludeman said German manufacturer Siemens would make 37 electric Desiro trains for the new London Midland franchise, with deliveries starting in July 2009.

'We've not placed an order yet, but Siemens will have made plans to enable them to start (production) pretty soon,' he told Thomson Financial News.

Ludeman said Go-Ahead is also likely to place an order for 12 two-car and 15 three-car Turbostar trains with Canadian train builder Bombardier Inc, subject to terms.

The diesels, to be delivered from July 2010, will replace older trains running on the Snow Hill line services in Birmingham.

The diesel cars are worth about 1.2 mln stg each at list prices and the electric carriages about 1 mln apiece on the same basis.

The UK government earlier said Govia, a joint venture in which Go-Ahead has a 65 pct stake and French consortium Keolis has 35 pct, had won the right to run the West Midlands franchise from November this year until September 2015.

A Bombardier spokesman said: 'We are very pleased that Govia intends to buy new trains from us. We will be in discussions and negotiations with them and hope to sign a contract in due course.'

Posted on 3:45 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 21 June 2007

The new operating company which will run trains in the Midlands is to raise some fares above inflation.

The London and Birmingham Railway's franchise will begin in November and run until September 2015.

The service comprises some routes run by Silverlink and the major part of the current Central Trains franchise.

Regulated fares will rise by 1% above inflation a year but they are expected to raise fares on the Northampton - London route by 3% above inflation.

'Passenger benefits'

Average rises on all other routes within the franchise including those in the West Midlands conurbation were expected to be no higher than 1% above inflation, the Department for Transport said.

Promised passenger benefits from the new franchise include new services, with a new semi-fast journey between London and Crewe, serving the Trent Valley.

There will also be two trains an hour all day between Birmingham and Liverpool and Birmingham and Northampton from December 2008 on the completion of the West Coast Main Line modernisation.

Additionally there will be a fleet of 37 new electric Desiro trains by July 2009.

The new operator is also promising £11.5m investment in stations, 1,033 more car parking spaces and a forecast of 90.7% punctuality and reliability by the end of the franchise.

Joint venture

London and Birmingham Railway is a subsidiary of Go-Ahead's company Govia, which already runs the Southeastern and Southern franchises and will be taking over the Gatwick Express service next year.

The new franchise will be branded London Midland and includes Central Trains' West Midlands regional services, including the Snow Hill lines and the Birmingham to Liverpool route.

Go-Ahead beat off the challenge from a joint venture between Serco and NedRail - which already runs the Merseyrail and Northern franchises - to take the London Midland prize.

The Government will pay London and Birmingham Railway a subsidy of £1.12bn over the life of the franchise.

* The original London and Birmingham Railway ran from 1833 until 1846.

The line was engineered by Robert Stephenson.

It started at Euston Station in London, and travelled north-north-westward until reaching Rugby, where it turned west to Coventry and on to Birmingham.

Posted on 3:40 PM | Permalink

Financial Times: June 21 2007
By Robert Wright, Transport Correspondent

Go-Ahead Group, the bus and rail operator, has received a significant boost after GoVia, the train operator in which it holds a 65 per cent stake, was awarded the new West Midlands rail franchise.

The company said the new franchise – which covers the London to Northampton routes of the current Silverlink County franchise, much of the Central Trains franchise and will also include some new services – would generate revenue for GoVia of around £400m in its first full year.

However, the franchise terms are likely to provoke further controversy over the government’s fares policy after the government said the new operator would be allowed to increase fares between London and Northampton annually by three percentage points above inflation.

GoVia’s only other current franchise is SouthEastern Trains, which runs services around south-east London, Kent and East Sussex. The minority stake in the company is held by France’s Keolis, which is controlled by SNCF, the French state train operator. The services will run under the London Midland brand.

GoVia defeated a joint venture between Serco and the Netherlands’ NedRail to win the franchise. The only other qualified bidder, Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation, dropped out.

The franchise will run from November 11 this year until September 2015, with the last two years dependent on GoVia meeting set performance targets. The service will receive subsidy worth £1.13bn at present prices.

Keith Ludeman, Go-Ahead’s chief executive, said the company was delighted to have been chosen.

He said: “Our winning bid contains a range of high quality and value-for-money initiatives which will completely transform passengers’ travelling experience.”

The fare increase on the London to Northampton route marks the latest of several occasions when the government has allowed winning bidders of rail franchises to increase fares by more than the standard one percentage point above annual inflation.

The policy – which has never been formally spelt out – appears aimed at meeting the sharply rising cost of maintaining the railway infrastructure and has been implemented mostly on London orbital commuter routes, where demand is heaviest and price increases are least likely to drive passengers to use cars.

The West Midlands franchise will also see changes to refund arrangements for season ticket holders, with travellers receiving refunds only if the actual train they used was delayed, rather than for overall poor service punctuality. The move – which will be made possible by new smart card technology – looks set sharply to reduce the refunds season ticket holders receive.

Posted on 3:19 PM | Permalink

European Parliament: 21-06-2007

European Parliament agrees to fast-track EU Commission's third rail liberalisation package.

Parliament and the Council agreed a deal yesterday on the third rail package after Council accepted the EP's final demand for a review every five years of any exemptions Member States grant their domestic railway networks from the rules on passenger rights. This agreement also allows the other parts of the package - on liberalising the rail market and the certification of train drivers - to come into force.

Passenger rights

The regulation on the rights and obligations of rail passengers was originally intended to apply only to passengers on international journeys but MEPs fought hard to include passengers on domestic journeys.

Under the deal now reached between the two institutions, all rail passengers will enjoy a set of basic rights (covering, for example, companies' liability for passengers and their luggage, and the right to transport of people with reduced mobility) when the law enters into force in 2009. Member States may exempt long-distance rail services from the other provisions of the Regulation for an initial period of five years, which may subsequently be extended for two further periods of up to five years. With the exception of the basic rights which will apply universally, urban, suburban and regional services may be granted an indefinite exemption.

Parliament's rapporteur Dirk Sterckx (ALDE, BE) said "This agreement is the outcome of extremely arduous negotiations. The fact that it was so difficult to persuade all Member States to grant basic rights to rail passengers shows how poorly railway authorities treat their customers nowadays. By reaching this agreement we have done all rail passengers in the Union a service. In its original proposal the European Commission wanted to grant rights only to international passengers. Now all passengers will enjoy a range of basic rights. We had to make concessions, notably on transition periods. That is a pity but we had to get the new Member States on board."

The chairman of the Parliament negotiating team, Vice-President Alejo Vidal-Quadras (EPP-ED, ES) said: "This is a genuinely European law. It gets away from old-fashioned obsessions with national borders and gives basic rights to passengers on all railway journeys (not just to those on international services, as the Council wanted). In particular, passengers on all long-distance journeys will be treated the same, whether or not their journey crosses national borders."

Once the law enters into force, compensation in the event of delays on cross-border services will be 25% of the fare for a delay of 60 minutes or more and 50% for a delay of 120 minutes or more, but only if the operator can be held responsible for the delay. And eventually these arrangements will apply to all long-distance services.

Opening up the market

International passenger rail services will be opened up to competition from 1 January 2010. However, the Commission must make an assessment of the situation no more than two years after the directive enters into force, to see if further liberalisation, to include domestic services, should be envisaged. Parliament's rapporteur on this directive was Georg Jarzembowski (EPP-ED, DE).

A European licence for train drivers

Under this directive, for which the EP rapporteur was Gilles Savary (PES, FR), train drivers must hold a certificate stating that they meet minimum requirements relating to medical fitness, basic education and general professional skills. The European Railway Agency will draw-up a report 18 months after the entry into force of the directive identifying other train staff which perform safety-critical tasks and should be subject to a similar system of licences. Following pressure from the Parliament, no more than 12 months after this the Commission must present a report accompanied, if appropriate, by a proposal for a new law.

The conciliation agreement was confirmed by an exchange of letters between Council and Parliament this morning. The full Parliament must still ratify the deal and the vote will take place at the Strasbourg plenary session in September.

Posted on 2:10 PM | Permalink

RMT members can follow proceedings at the AGM live from Edinburgh via webcast next week.

The webcast will begin with the President’s address this Sunday at approximately 5pm.

It will continue through the week between the hours of 9.30am and 5.30pm (although it may begin earlier and/or run later on some days).

To access the webcast follow the link at www.rmt.org.uk or go direct to the microsite at www.rmt.org.uk/webcasts.

You will need to enter your user name (RMT membership number) and password (surname in capitals) to log on.

The entire webcast will be archived online for 6 months following the close of conference.

Delegate from Bristol Rail is Chris Davidson.

Posted on 6:28 PM | Permalink

Daily Telegraph: 20/06/2007
By Alistair Osborne, Business Editor

Britain's biggest freight rail company, English Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS), is in advanced talks to be sold to Deutsche Bahn (DB) for around £250m in a deal that would put the German rail giant in charge of most goods sent by train in the UK.

On the move: an EWS freight train crosses the Ribblehead viaduct on the Settle-to-Carlisle line

Britain's biggest freight rail company, English Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS), is in advanced talks to be sold to Deutsche Bahn (DB) for around £250m

EWS, which operates 8,000 rail freight services a week across Britain and into Europe, began serious talks with DB over a month ago.

The German company has completed most of its due diligence and is now thrashing out a potential deal to buy EWS, which has around 70pc of the freight rail market in Britain, carrying a variety of goods including coal, construction materials and waste. A source familiar with the talks said: "Negotiations are at an advanced stage but several details remain to be settled, including the price."

EWS, which said at the end of last month that the pair were "in discussions about plans to develop a stronger European rail freight network", is controlled by four key investors.

Rail operator Canadian National owns 31.6pc, while Boston-based private equity company Berkshire Partners holds 16.8pc. Fay, Richwhite - the investment vehicle of two New Zealand merchant bankers - owns 16.6pc, while Goldman Sachs has 5.8pc.

The four investors have periodically looked to sell EWS but the last attempt in 2003 foundered when the company lost its contract with the Royal Mail.

In its accounts for the year to March 31 2006, EWS had earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £19.1m on revenues of £510m, up 2.5pc. Profit before tax and exceptionals was £15.4m and shareholders' equity amounted to £193m.

One of the chief attractions of purchasing EWS for DB boss Hartmut Mehdorn is it enables the German operator to extend its Raillion freight rail business east-west into France and the UK. It already operates north-south, such as on routes linking Germany with Holland and Denmark.

The European Commission is pushing to create a fully liberalised "open access" freight railway in Europe in which EWS has an important strategic role.

EWS, which has 4,500 staff, already has a burgeoning rail business in France and is one of only three operators - with France's SNCF and Eurotunnel - which is licensed to run freight through the Channel Tunnel.

Keith Heller, EWS's chief executive, would be expected to remain with the business if a sale to DB is concluded, developing its three-pronged strategy of building its UK freight business, expanding in Europe and offering rolling stock maintenance and refurbishment via its Axiom Rail subsidiary.

DB is also exploring a deal with Spanish freight rail group Transfesa, to extend its presence in Iberia.

EWS declined to comment.

Posted on 11:00 AM | Permalink

TODAY’S announcement that the East London Line’s operations are to be handed to private operator MTR Laing after refurbishment in 2010 was condemned today by the Tube and rail network’s biggest union.

Commenting on the announcement, RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“However it is dressed up, today’s announcement means that the operations of London Underground are now being dragged down the same failed path of privatisation that has already so disastrously undermined the national railway network.

“Privatisation of the extended East London Line’s operations is completely unnecessary, and if we are really to have a new direction in government, a good start would be the reversal of this lamentable decision".

Posted on 7:51 PM | Permalink

The Times: June 19, 2007
Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

A new high-speed rail line carrying double-deck trains at 190mph between London and Birmingham could reduce the journey time to 45 minutes and allow direct services between the West Midlands and Paris, a rail industry plan published yesterday suggests.

The Government is considering the idea and is expected to announce next month that Britain may need a high-speed line to help to solve overcrowding on existing lines.

The new line, estimated to cost around £11 billion, would connect with the Channel Tunnel Rail Link just north of St Pancras station in London.

Passengers from Birmingham could catch Eurostar trains that bypass central London and arrive in Paris in three hours or Brussels in two hours and 45 minutes.

The plan was drawn up by Greengauge 21, a group of rail industry leaders, in response to the rapid growth in rail travel – up 50 per cent since privatisation a decade ago and up 10 per cent in the past year.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee gave warning last week that the West Coast Main Line would be full within eight years, despite an £8 billion upgrade.

The group said a new high-speed line would allow the existing route between London and Birmingham to take many more local and freight trains.

The line would have branches at either end: one towards Manchester and one to Heathrow, via a five-mile tunnel.

The line could eventually be extended all the way to Manchester but, to reduce early costs, would initially connect with the existing line about 20 miles north of Birmingham.

Even with part of the journey limited to 125mph on the existing line, the journey time between London and Manchester would fall from two hours and 10 minutes to 90 minutes.

Jim Steer, director of Greengauge 21 and former head of strategy at the Strategic Rail Authority, said the line would eliminate the need to continue the 30 flights a day between Heathrow and Manchester.

The line, which would take up to 15 years to plan and build, would be designed to take double-deck trains like those on French high-speed lines.

It would have a capacity of 16,000 seats an hour between London and Birmingham and a large proportion of the passengers would previously have driven between the two cities.

Mr Steer admitted that the new line would encourage some people to commute longer distances and to make extra journeys, undermining its environmental benefits.

He said the Government would have to fund part of the cost of the line but was unable to say what proportion.

The proposed route would largely use spare land beside existing tracks to reduce the cost and minimise the impact on the green belt and the amount of land needing to be compulsorily purchased.

Mr Steer said: “Piecemeal solutions are an addiction which we need to break free from because they end up being more costly than investing for the long term.

“High-speed rail is the critical step needed to support a growing economy in a sustainable way.”

Projects on and off track

— Thameslink 2000 upgrade of the north-south route across the Thames.

Cost £3.5 billion

Completion date 2015 (est)

Status has planning permission and the Government is likely soon to approve the funding

— Crossrail main line rail tunnels running east-west under London, linking Heathrow with Canary Wharf

Cost £16 billion

Completion date 2018 (est)

Status planning Bill going through Parliament. Treasury not yet convinced but may approve first stage this year

— East Coast Mainline upgrade remove bottlenecks on route between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh

Cost £3billion

Completion date uncertain

Status original plan diluted

Posted on 12:14 AM | Permalink

The Weston Mercury: 18th June 2007

The upper end of Alexandra Parade opposite the Victoria Hotel, recently much changed by the new traffic scheme, was for many years known as Old Station Square.

A broad gauge train approaching Uphill Junction.

It was the site of Weston's first railway station, into which horses drew carriages detached from trains at the main line junction.

Devil's Bridge, said to be the highest and widest single-span brick bridge in the country.
The coming of the railway in 1841 gave great impetus to the growth and prosperity of Weston as a seaside resort.

The Great Western Railway Act provided for laying down a line between London and Bristol, and this was completed in 1840. Bristol was then the terminus of the GWR so that Weston had no link at the time.

It was while the London to Bristol line was being laid that the Bristol and Exeter Railway came into being. It provided for a broad gauge line from Bristol to Exeter. The line from Bristol to Bridgwater was opened on June 14, 1841.

My grandfather, interviewed by the Mercury in 1912, told how he remembered being taken by his mother to the railway bridge at Worle to see the gaily decorated train pass under it on its maiden run. What impressed him was the lack of public interest shown by residents.

There was only a small knot of people on the bridge to raise a cheer. The extension of the line from Bridgwater to Taunton was opened in 1842, and Exeter was linked with Bristol in 1844. The Bristol and Exeter line was sold to the GWR in 1876.

When the Bristol to Bridgwater section of the line was opened in 1841 Weston was connected to the main line by a single-track branch line.

Originally the carriages were unroofed, with hard, toast rack seats, and they were hauled to and from the junction on Hutton Moor by horses. There was only a small waiting room and ticket office on the Moor - little more than a cowshed. It stood just about where the water tower stands, and the branch line followed the route of old Junction Road by the side of the Gas Works, now Winterstoke road.

The station buildings in Weston were equally primitive. They were in Alexandra Parade, adjoining the Railway Hotel, which, incidentally, was only renamed the Anchor Hotel two or three years ago, presumably because it was realised that a change was desirable as it had ceased to be anywhere near the railway station for many years.

It is said that the company's first intention was to carry the main line through Weston and Uphill, going round the hill with a bridge over the River Axe, but that local landowners were so obstructive and so money-grabbing in their terms that it was decided to lay the line across the open moor, and to cut through the hill. The old road to Bleadon and the south, which wound its way over Bleadon Hill, had to be preserved. This meant the construction of a bridge, which is said to be the highest and widest single span brick bridge in the country.

We know it as Devil's Bridge, and an amusing story is told of how it got its name. Years ago there lived at the Grange, the big house on the hill at Uphill, the family of Paynes. One of them, because of his cantankerous temperament, was known as 'Devil' Payne. He was a big landowner, and refused to let the company have the land over which the main and loop lines meet at Uphill.

He knew the company must have the land, and held out for a very high price, even managing to get them to include a station for his private use as part of the bargain.

The station was constructed and the trains began to run, but none ever stopped at 'Devil' Payne's station. It is said he was infuriated at being hoodwinked and took his case to the courts, but lost far more in legal fees than he got for the land.

Uphill's Devil's Bridge was designed by the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who was responsible for the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Box Tunnel, and many other notable feats of engineering.

During the building of Devil's Bridge he lived at Swiss Cottage, a large picturesque house in Locking Road, of which only the lodge survives today at the corner of Swiss Road. It was for many years the home of Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, one of the prime movers in the ill-fated Brean Down Harbour scheme.

An army of tough navvies descended on Weston to build the railway, and one day an ugly situation arose over wages. Brunel appealed to the men in vain. There were 200 or 300 of them, and as a riotous situation was developing, Brunel sent for the nearest magistrate, Thomas Tutton Knyfton, of Uphill.

An account says: "Without loss of time Mr Knyfton started for the scene of action, and taking the Riot Act in his hand, passed into the thick of the crowd, where he was greeted with menacing language and uplifted pick-axes.

With calmness he talked to the men, telling them the law was stronger than force, and that all would be well if they acted in the spirit of their contract; if otherwise, a troop of cavalry from Horfield Barracks would probably be marching on Uphill.

The navvies grew calmer, and by the tact, good temper, and resolution on the part of this ruler of the district, peace prevailed, and the frightened village shopkeepers were reassured.

Another story of Brunel's stay at Weston is that he was fond of performing amateurish conjuring tricks. One day, before his children at Uphill, he threw a half sovereign in the air and was in the act of making various passes, when he collapsed in a choking condition. The coin had slipped down the back of this throat. Fortunately help was at hand and the coin was freed as he was going black in the face.

There were many complaints about Weston's horse-drawn trains. The horses often succumbed en route, or were involved in accidents. There was, for instance, the paragraph that appeared in The Westonian, the forerunner of the Weston Mercury, in 1847: "On Wednesday evening last, as the last train was proceeding along the branch line from Weston to the junction of the Great Western Railway to meet the two o'clock down train and the halfpast five up train, at a quarter of a mile from the station one of the horses, suffering from a diseased heart, fell upon the rails and the carriages passed over it causing immediate death. The train was thrown off the line and the passengers finished the journey on foot."

When the horses had to pull against the wind the journey from the junction took fully half an hour, and many passengers preferred to walk down the line as it was quicker.

After a while a little asthmatic engine, which always seemed to be suffering from some internal complaint, replaced the horses.

On April 2, 1865 at the Weston junction the down country express ran into the short train from Weston, and several people were severely injured. The little shed that served as a waiting room was demolished in the crash.

In an interview with The Mercury many years ago William T Dominy, an ex-Mayor and a station-master at Chard, who lived to be 104, recalled this crash. He came to Weston in 1860 as a porter, and later served at Cheddar.

He said that in the main line collision between the express and the Weston train the roof of the last coach of the main line train was thrown on to the funnel of the other engine.

When news of the crash reached Weston there was a stampede to the spot, and a large crowd rushed on to a special train sent out, few of the passengers who crowded aboard paying fares.

The accident was chiefly due to the absence of telegraphic communication between Puxton Station and the Weston Junction. The short train to Weston had overstayed its time on the main line owing to a mechanical defect.

Mr Dominy described Weston's first station on Alexandra Parade as a small but neat stone-built structure, with a little clock-turret facing the Victoria Hotel. It had an excursion platform, but there was no waiting room or refreshment room facilities attached.

'Shilling excursions' from Bristol were very popular, and the town was sometimes packed with visitors from the city and the surrounding countryside.

Mr Dominy said the trippers were often noisy and disorderly, and free fights seemed essential to the day's enjoyment. For some reason or other the Weston cabmen were unpopular, and it seemed an accepted thing that visitors should come to blows with them while waiting for their trains.

Old time songs were sung or rather screeched by the waiting crowd, and some folk would take to dancing, especially when banjo, mouth-organ, or squeeze-box was brought into play.

This article, edited by Jill Bailey, was originally published on November 24, 1967.

Posted on 1:43 PM | Permalink

AFX News Limited: 06.18.07

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - British transport company FirstGroup PLC has hit back at press reports accusing the firm of using 'unusual' accounting practices.

In its annual results for 2007, the company reported regular business expenses, including train refurbishment and legal and professional fees for train franchise bids, as 'exceptional' or 'nonrecurring' items. A report in The Times claimed no other British rail firm follows the same practice and alleged such practices were 'highly aggressive'.

FirstGroup said it had used such accounting techniques before and added the practice was totally legitimate.

'Our accounts are prepared in line with international accounting standards, they have been audited, they are consistent with previous years and with generally accepted accounting principles and they represent appropriate and completely transparent disclosure to our shareholders and other users of the accounts,' FirstGroup said in a statement.

Full details of the firm's accounting methods were listed by its auditor, Deloitte & Touche, in the rail company's annual report, which was released last week.

FirstGroup listed 19.3 million sterling as 'nonrecurring bid costs' but said these related to the start of the First Capital Connect and First Great Western franchises.

'Rail franchise bid costs vary year to year and are not everyday business costs. In 2005/06 -- when we were bidding for First Capital Connect and First Great Western -- rail franchise bid costs were 28.5 million sterling. In 2006/07, franchise bid costs were just over half that at 14.5 million sterling. In 2007/08 it will be a fraction of that amount,' FirstGroup added.

FirstGroup also classified a further 22.3 million sterling as other 'nonrecurring items', excluding the amount from the firm's operating costs.

The Times report claimed the inclusion of both sets of costs as regular business expenses would have lowered FirstGroup's stated 259.2 million sterling operating profits by 16 percent to 217.6 million sterling.

See also:

Questions raised over FirstGroup’s ‘aggressive’ number-crunching

The Times: June 18, 2007
Robin Pagnamenta and Joe Bolger

FirstGroup, one of Britain’s biggest transport companies, has been accused of overstating its annual profits by millions of pounds by using unusual and “highly aggressive” accounting practices.

The company is reporting regular business expenses, including train refurbishment and legal and professional fees related to its bids for train franchises, as exceptional or “nonrecurring” items.

No other British rail company follows the same practice, which has aroused the interest of MPs on the Public Accounts Committee.

“It’s nonsense – these are not exceptional items at all, but everyday business costs,” Chris Cheek of TAS Partnership, a specialist public transport consultancy, said.

This year, the practice used by FirstGroup led to the exclusion of £19.3 million of “nonrecurring bid costs” and a further £22.3 million of other “nonrecurring items” – including rail refurbishment – from its operating costs.

FirstGroup describes these as “rail transition costs” related to the start of the First Capital Connect and First Great Western franchises. It says that they included one-off “refurbishment, redundancy and other mobilisation costs”. Including these costs as regular business expenses, in common with the rest of the industry, would effectively lower FirstGroup’s stated £259.2 million operating profits by 16 per cent to £217.6 million. The company also included £28.5 million of “nonrecurring bid costs” the previous year. Stripping out this figure would cut FirstGroup’s reported 2006 operating profits by 12 per cent from £229.7 million to £201.2 million.

Nick Hood, a partner at Begbies Traynor, the accountant, said that “while, clearly, no laws have been broken . . . this is highly aggressive accounting”.

Full details of the accounting technique are listed by Deloitte & Touche, FirstGroup’s auditor, in the annual report, published last week. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.

John Pugh, a member of the Public Accounts Committee, said that the practice “brought no credit on them or the industry”. He called for rail companies to adopt industry-wide reporting standards.

Mr Cheek said that TAS ignores FirstGroup’s nonrecurring items in a regular report that it publishes on UK rail industry finances. He said that other transport companies use different, but similarly aggressive accounting policies, particularly when reporting subsidies.

FirstGroup said in a statement that its results were reported in line with international accounting standards, which “represent appropriate and completely transparent disclosure”.

Posted on 1:15 PM | Permalink

BBC News: 18 June 2007

SWT said train guards could still use their discretion over fines

Train company bosses have denied ordering guards to charge the maximum fare if passengers are unable to buy tickets before boarding.

South West Trains (SWT) has denied reports it has been forcing thousands of passengers to pay penalties even if they were delayed by long queues.

A SWT spokeswoman said guards would still listen to people's explanations and make an on-the-spot decision.

She added that a pager system alerted train crews to queues at stations.

Guards' discretion

"There has been no change in our policy. Discretion is allowed where needed," she said.

"We do want people to purchase their ticket before they board their train, that is absolutely true.

"However there are occasions where discretion needs to be used."

Those occasions would include instances where long queues had built up because of a large number of passengers or because of staff illness.

Maximum peak fare

Currently, station managers alert crews by pager if there are long delays and guards can also phone them to check passengers' claims.

She also pointed out the company's network had 259 vending machines, with another 194 due to be in place by September 2008.

The Times newspaper claimed on Monday that the company had told its guards not to accept any explanation from passengers and to charge the maximum peak fare, which is often double the normal fare.

South West Trains has come in for criticism recently for increasing fares on some services by up to 20%.

See also:

Fare trap for passengers hit by queues

The Times: June 18, 2007
Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

Britain’s biggest train company has ordered its guards to stop showing any discretion to passengers who are unable to buy tickets before boarding because of long queues at stations.

South West Trains (SWT) is forcing thousands of passengers to pay penalties, even though it admits that it does not have enough ticket machines and regularly breaches its commitment to keep no one waiting more than five minutes to buy a ticket.

It has told its guards not to accept any explanation from passengers and to charge the maximum peak fare, which is often double the normal fare.

Passengers travelling from London to Weymouth in Dorset are being charged £82 on board for a ticket that would have cost £35 if they had bought it at the station. They could be liable for an additional £20 penalty, or prosecuted, for fare evasion.

SWT has angered passengers in the past month by raising off-peak fares by 20 per cent.

Denis Fryer, of the South Hampshire Rail Users Group, said that SWT was profiting from its own failure to provide enough facilities for buying tickets. He said: “Passengers are being treated like fare-dodgers even when they have made a genuine effort to buy a ticket in advance. SWT is being greedy and unreasonable, especially because the problem is often its own failure to staff ticket offices properly.”

One train guard told The Times that he had been reprimanded by his manager for showing leniency to passengers who had clearly attempted to buy a ticket before boarding. “Even when people are completely honest and come up to us on the train to buy a ticket, we have to charge them the maximum fare,” he said. SWT admitted that it had failed to keep pace with the growth in demand for rail travel. The company said that it had ordered another 194 ticket machines for its network, although a spokeswoman said that the machines would not all be installed until September next year.

Passengers who waited longer than five minutes and had to buy a more expensive ticket on board “would have the option of contacting our customer relations department, who will look at each case individually”.

Passenger Focus, the Government-funded rail passenger watchdog, said that it was investigating complaints about penalties imposed by SWT. It said that it had complained to the company about its failure to meet its commitment on queueing time.

The company signed a new franchise last year under which it agreed to pay the Government £1.2 billion over 10 years. The company said it was being forced to find new ways of raising revenue to pay that sum.

Posted on 12:46 PM | Permalink

Reuters: Jun 18, 2007

LONDON - British rail infrastructure operator Network Rail has set guidance on a sterling benchmark inflation-linked bond, due November 2027, one of the banks managing the sale said on Monday.

Guidance has been set at 2027 Gilts plus 25 to 27 basis points, the bank said.

"We could see this one worth about 1 billion pounds and an order book of 2 to 3 billion pounds. It's a persistent programme by Network Rail to issue and investors all want a piece of the action because corporate linkers are rare and this one offers liquidity," a trader in London said.

Barclays Capital, Dresdner Kleinwort, HSBC and Merrill Lynch are managing the sale.

Network Rail last month sold the largest-ever non-government inflation-linked bond, drawing nearly 2 billion pounds of demand for a 1 billion pound 30-year issue.

Network Rail is rated triple-A by Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.

See also:

Network Rail may give up emergency funds

Daily Telegraph: 19/06/2007
By Alistair Osborne

Network Rail is planning to give up its right to call upon a £4bn emergency funding package from the Government in a further sign that it believes it can stand on its own financial feet.

Network Rail logo: Network Rail may give up right to emergency funds

The company, which also hopes to raise its first loans next year without a Government guarantee, was provided with the standby facility as part of a £21bn funding package when it succeeded Railtrack in 2002.

The emergency fund was described as a "contingency buffer" to "withstand extraordinary cost overruns and shocks" and was to be made available for 50 years. It was considered necessary because, as a company limited by guarantee, Network Rail did not have a buffer of shareholders' equity to protect it from financial shocks.

Giving up the £4bn facility is dependent on the regulator's determination of Network Rail's funding for the next five-year control period from April 2009, and the Government's assessment of how much railway expansion it is prepared to pay for.

This will become clearer on July 17 when the Department for Transport issues its "high-level output specification".

Network Rail, which made its first post-tax profit last year of £1.04bn, would only give up the standby facility if the regulator left it soundly financed. The company has called for almost £8bn additional funding over five years, raising the total to £28.7bn, to permit expansion of the network via such schemes as the £3.5bn Thameslink project.

Such considerations will also influence Network Rail's plans to raise billions of pounds of loans, on top of its existing £18.4bn, without a taxpayer guarantee.

Thanks to the guarantee, Network Rail can borrow at just 0.15-0.25 of a percentage point above gilts. Raising debt without the guarantee will cost 0.5-0.6 of a percentage point more, but the Government believes the extra costs are outweighed by increased financial discipline.

The guarantee has proved controversial because Network Rail's debt does not appear on the public accounts. However only new debt will be raised without a guarantee.

There are no plans to refinance existing debts without taxpayer support.

Posted on 12:32 PM | Permalink

London Evening Standard: 17.06.07

Commuters were delighted when First Great Western issued a leaflet advertising a new service linking two towns in Cornwall.

First Great Western sent out the map showing a direct line between Falmouth and Redruth - a development that would help to ease travel problems in Cornwall.

There was only one problem - the line does not exist.

Now the firm - dubbed Worst Late Western by angry passengers - has been forced to apologise after it sent out thousands of the pamphlets as part of a cheap-fares promotion.

Bosses noticed the mistake only after customers began enquiring when the new service would start.

To add to their embarrassment, it was revealed that any passengers wanting to make the nine-mile trip via existing rail connections would have to change in Truro - a journey of 23 miles.

Julia Goldsworthy, Liberal Democrat MP for Falmouth and Camborne, said: "First Great Western does not have a good reputation and to issue misleading information about its services at the start of the summer is unhelpful. The only direct link between the two towns is by bus, so this is just rubbing salt in the wound."

The fictional rail connection is another embarrassment for Britain's worst-performing train operator, which carries 22million passengers a year.

Last year it topped the national league for overcrowding, fare rises and delays.

A First Great Western spokesman said: "We apologise for the error. A correct version is on our website."

Posted on 8:32 PM | Permalink

Transport Briefing: 11/06/07

European governments have thrown a lifeline to the Galileo satellite navigation project, promising £1.6bn of public money and abandoning plans that would have seen European businesses pay to deliver most of the project.

At a meeting in Luxembourg on Friday (8 June) European Commission delegates approved the money to supplement the £0.9bn already committed by European states. Ministers have asked the EU's executive commission to draft a detailed funding proposal that includes "all possible options of public funding" in time for a meeting in October.

Public funds were originally set aside to cover about one-third of the cost of Galileo, with the private sector expected to provide the rest and the total price tag estimated at £2.4bn. However, following a PPP delivery model would add an additional £1.3bn to construction costs, the meeting was told. "Ministers decided to abandon the public-private partnership and start again from scratch," said European Commission transport spokesman Michele Cercone.

Galileo would provide a rival to the US GPS system and could support a range of high-tech applications, included road pricing systems. However, in recent months the group of eight companies from the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy charged with developing the system have clashed, creating uncertainty about whether the project can be delivered at all.

The consortium - which includes European aerospace giant EADS; France's Thales and Alcatel-Lucent; Britain's Inmarsat; Italy's Finmeccanica; Spain's AENA and Hispasat; and a German group led by Deutsche Telekom - has so far proved unwilling to take on the economic risks of the project and missed the deadline to come forward with a single company structure to run Galileo. Under new proposals for the future development of Galileo, these companies will now be offered the opportunity to run the system - but only after the public sector has built it. It has yet to be decided whether the private sector will have any role in the construction phase of the project.

Germany's transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said after the meeting that Galileo was of "colossal importance" to Europe, adding: "We must prove our worth in this field of technology in competition with the US, Russia and Asia."

But Tiefensee said there was no agreement whether the money pledged should come from EU states or the Community's collective budget, and that ministers were still open to private funding, if any was offered. "We realised that the concession-based model was heading nowhere," Tiefensee said. "For that reason we want to try out all the possibilities of public sector financing including financing via the European Space Agency," he added, referring to the initiative's other major backer, which oversees Europe's space program.

Galileo would comprise a network of 30 satellites beaming radio signals to receiving devices on the ground, helping users pinpoint their locations. The first demonstrator spacecraft, Giove-A, is already in orbit. A second, Giove-B, which has experienced technical problems, should be in orbit by the end of this year. The contract for the first four commercial satellites in the final constellation was awarded at the end of 2004. Under the new arrangement, the public sector would order the remaining 26 and Galileo could be operational by 2012.

Last month, the European Commission urged member states to find extra funds after the consortium chosen to build and operate the satellite navigation system failed to agree terms. A spokesman said the project symbolises the political, economic and technological dimension of the EU and axing the project would waste 10 years' work and risk 150,000 jobs as well as making Europe more dependent on GPS and equivalent systems from Russia and China.

See also:

UK holds out for private sector Galileo involvement

Transport Briefing: 15/06/07

Private companies should play a key role in delivering the Galileo satellite navigation programme, according to Britain's representative at the latest transport session of the European Commission's Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council.

Reporting back on the meeting, held in Luxembourg from 7-8 June, minister of state for transport Dr Stephen Ladyman said the UK had submitted a joint statement with the Netherlands stressing the countries' commitment to the public private partnership principle for major infrastructure projects. The statement raised concerns about the potential increased costs of the public procurement of Galileo, the need for a reassessment of the business case, sound risk management, and ensuring that any extra funds are kept within the current EU financial agreement.

The move means Britain and Holland, with the support of Slovakia and Cyprus, are championing the PPP model for Galileo as other European countries increasingly look to the public sector to lead delivery.

During the session the Council adopted a Resolution on the Galileo satellite navigation programme, concluding that the current concession negotiations have failed and should be ended (Transport Briefing 11/06/07). The Resolution asks the Commission to prepare detailed alternative proposals for taking the project forward, to be presented to the October Transport Council. Council emphasised that these should be based on an additional thorough assessment of costs, risks, revenues and timetable. The Commission was also asked to submit financing options, a procurement strategy, concepts for the subsequent operation and exploitation phase, and proposals for a sound public sector governance structure. The Presidency made clear the possibility that, if suitable answers were not found, the project would be ended. It was also noted that the Council should not rule out the involvement of private finance.

In the ensuing debate, Ladyman accepted that Galileo had the potential to deliver significant benefits for Europe, but that it should not proceed unless the costs were justifiable. While it was clear that the current concession negotiations had failed, the risks in terms of costs and timetable would not be reduced, and might be increased by moving to a public procurement. The minister said public private partnership remained the UK’s preferred approach and open competition and open tendering was essential. He added that it was also essential that funding for Galileo, if the October Council agreed to proceed with it, had to be found within the limits of the current budget allocations, without reopening the EU financial perspective. Ladyman welcomed the Presidency's acceptance that the project could be ended if acceptable answers could not be found.

Posted on 8:24 PM | Permalink

Reuters: 15 Jun 2007
By Shapi Shacinda

LUSAKA - Zambia plans to revoke a 20-year concession awarded to the company which operates the national railways network, a key transport route for its vast copper and cobalt mines, President Levy Mwanawasa said on Friday.

Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ), a subsidiary of New Limpopo Bridge Investments (NLBI), will lose the concession to provide freight service -- one of the country's major privatizations -- because of its poor management, said Mwanawasa.

"We ask them to give (RSZ) back to us so that we can give it to another company that can run it better," he said on state radio on Friday.

RSZ operates a railway line linking South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, a crucial network for mining, the Southern African country's economic lifeblood.

Mwanawasa said RSZ had failed to overhaul the network stretching more than 900 km (559 miles) from the southern tourist city of Livingstone to the Copper Belt town of Chingola in the north since it was awarded the concession in 2003.

RSZ general manager Bebe Botana said company had not been notified of the government's decision. "We shall give more information when this matter is formally communicated to us with the appropriate details," Botana said in a statement.

Zambia needs to improve its railway system because its roads cannot handle heavy loads of copper and cobalt for export.

It has handed over 280 state-run firms to private investors in the last 15 years, including its copper mines, in what analysts have described as one of Africa's most successful privatization drives.

But some experts have criticized the government for what they call bungling privatization of some important firms.

Mwanawasa said the government and private investors were discussing construction of a railway link between the Copper Belt town of Chingola and the Lumwana copper mine.

Australia's Equinox Minerals plans to peak copper production to 165,000 tonnes per year at the Lunwana facility after starting commercial production there in 2008.

Posted on 7:42 PM | Permalink

The Northern Echo: 14th June 2007

TANTALISING reminders of the day nearly 200 years ago that Locomotion No 1 opened the world's first passenger steam railway have been unearthed by roadbuilders.

The original stone sleepers over which the engine ran, on the first day of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, have been found during excavations for the Darlington Eastern Transport Corridor near Lingfield Point.

The railway, which opened on September 27, 1825, used 64,000 of these stone sleepers which were quarried at Brusselton near Shildon. The rails were attached to the sleepers by fixings - called "chairs" - which used two bolts.

However, the sleepers, which weighed about 75lbs each so that one man could lift them, were soon found not to be strong enough and in 1831-32, the whole line was relaid. The new stone sleepers were much bigger and were attached to the rails by four bolts.

Most of the old, unwanted two bolthole stones were rolled to the side and smashed. Some were incorporated into a restraining wall to stop the cutting collapsing onto the track, and it is these stones that have been uncovered.

"We hope we can use them in a display or interpretation on the cycle path," said Councillor Nick Wallis, cabinet member for highways and transport.

More mysteriously, a 100- metre length of parallel lines of sandstone blocks has been also uncovered by diggers. The blocks - each 3ft by 2ft by 1ft - appear to be later than the stone sleepers, but are unmarked by boltholes or cart tracks.

"I wouldn't like to say what they are," said Ben Westwood, of Northern Archaeological Associates, who has been recording them this week. "It's very interesting and any information on what is a nationally important railway would be very welcome."

Most of the blocks and sleepers will be covered by three metres of soil when the road and cyclepath is complete, although their positions will be recorded should future generations wish to investigate further.

* If you have information about what the sandstone lines might have been used for, email chris.lloyd@nne.co.uk or call 01325-505062.

Posted on 8:05 PM | Permalink

Thomson Financial: 15 June 2007

LONDON - FirstGroup-owned rail freight company FirstGBRf said it has extended its contract with Royal Mail to transport post until 2010.

The deal will see the freight haulier move more than 1 mln items a day on two return services between Willesden in London, Warrington and Wishaw in Scotland.

FirstGBR started carrying post for Royal Mail at the end of 2004, marking a return to the railways for the postal service following the end of its contract with previous postal train operator English, Welsh & Scottish Railway due to a disagreement over costs.

FirstGBRf did not disclose the value of the contract

Posted on 7:58 PM | Permalink

Swissinfo: June 15, 2007

The Lötschberg rail tunnel – one of two high-speed links being built under the Alps – has been officially opened by Transport Minister Moritz Leuenberger.

Train and tunnel enthusiasts at the inauguration of the Lötschberg tunnel in Frutigen

The 34.6km tunnel, which is set to be fully operational in December, is the longest rail tunnel in Switzerland and the third-longest in the world – although it will be overtaken by the Gotthard base tunnel, due to open in 2017.

The Lötschberg, which runs from Frutigen in the Kander valley to Raron in canton Valais, and the Gotthard are part of an overall plan by the Swiss government to create a more efficient rail network and help ease the heavy burden of transalpine traffic. The policy was approved by Swiss voters in 1998.

In his opening speech on Friday, Leuenberger said the tunnel was proof that "the will of the Swiss people can move mountains".

The Lötschberg is estimated to have cost SFr4.3 billion ($3.59 billion), but Leuenberger said the New Railway Links through the Alps (NRLA) project was about more than just making profits.

"It's about inner cohesion – about all regions taking part in the new rail network and in investments for future generations."

High-speed link

Around 42 passenger trains – 30 between Bern and Valais and 12 to and from Milan – and up to 80 goods trains will use the new high-speed link on a daily basis, with 40 more continuing to take the old rail route via Kandersteg and Goppenstein.

The Lötschberg will bring cantons Bern and Valais closer together, shaving travel time by a third between the capital and Brig, and shortening the journey between Germany and Milan by an hour.

An intensive test phase began at the beginning of December 2006, with the first trains travelling at speeds of up to 280km/h.

Leuenberger was joined in the rain at Visp, at the southern end of the construction, by around 1,200 guests, including European Union Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot and German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee.

"It's an emotional day," Leuenberger said. "Even the sky is crying..."

They all then boarded a train and soon arrived at the tunnel's north entrance at Frutigen, bursting through a banner declaring "Lötschberg - connecting Europe" to the accompaniment of fireworks.

See also:

Europe lags in transfer of freight onto rail

Swissinfo: 16 June 2007
Simon Thönen in Brussels

The new Lötschberg rail tunnel under the Alps, which was officially opened on Friday, should have a huge impact on the transfer of freight from road to rail.

But while transalpine links are an integral part of European Union transport planning, the transfer of goods to the railways is meeting with greater resistance among EU states than in Switzerland.

The new 34.6km tunnel, which is set to be fully operational in December, is the longest in Switzerland and the third:longest in the world. The Lötschberg, together with the new Gotthard tunnel due to open in 2017, forms part the Swiss New Railway Links through the Alps (NRLA) project.

The NRLA has been long been part of EU rail plans. Under the bilateral agreements with the EU, Switzerland committed to build the NRLA links, while on its side the EU promised to improve rail connections to the north and to the south.

EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot is a huge fan of the Swiss project.

"The Lötschberg is a magnificent example for all those who think that sustainable mobility is just an empty slogan," said Barrot at Friday's official opening.

"Tomorrow, thanks to the Lötschberg tunnel, the competitiveness of the Rotterdam:Genova route will receive a boost."

Four alpine tunnels

In 2004 the EU named the NRLA a priority project, along with 30 other European transport routes.

In the future, the Lötschberg and the future Gotthard tunnels will compete with other new transalpine rail links such as the Brenner, between Austria and Italy, and the Mont:Cenis, between France and Italy.

But aren't four new tunnels under the Alps too much?

"No," replies Jacques Barrot's transport spokesman, "In fact the tunnels connect different transport corridors which will scarcely compete with each other. And as for the huge ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, the obvious route for freight travelling to Italy is via the Swiss tunnels."

Limited competence

One problem of the Rotterdam:Genova rail route is that Brussels only has a limited controlling influence. On the one hand, EU funding is too modest.

"And on the other, neither the EU nor the European Commission are able to take direct decisions concerning this or other axes," explains the spokesman.

In other words, Germany and Italy are the states directly responsible for the construction of the route. While the Basel:Karlsruhe four:track section has already been agreed upon, connections between the NRLA and southern Europe are still uncertain.

The main influence of EU policy on the Rotterdam:Genova rail link has been to quickly liberalise rail freight traffic. Competition has driven down prices and improved offers.

But an in:depth study in 2004 by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) gave a rather mixed picture. The volume of goods transported on the Rotterdam:Genova rail link has increased by five to ten per cent but the line only represented one:fifth of the market share for freight.

In Switzerland, the transfer from road to rail is also slower than expected. On the Swiss section of the Rotterdam:Genova rail route, the percentage of freight transported by rail increased from 63% in 2003 to 66% in 2006.

This is explained in particular by Switzerland's heavy-duty vehicle road taxes, which are much higher than in the EU.

But CER spokesman, Elke Schänzler claims the EU should follow the Swiss example:

"Until now, the community has placed more importance on the free movement of goods than on taxing heavy:duty vehicles for environmental reasons."

The climate debate should change things. If the EU really wants to meet its ambitious climate objectives, much greater efforts can be expected to transfer freight onto Europe's more environmentally friendly trains.

Posted on 3:19 PM | Permalink

Independent: 14 June 2007
By Cliff Feltham

The Government should take urgent steps to ensure mistakes that led to a massive increase in costs in modernising the West Coast railway line between London and Glasgow are never repeated, a watchdog committee of MPs has said.

The costs of the project have rocketted to £8.6 billion - £6bn more than forecast - but the line is already unable to cope with demand at peak times.

Edward Leigh, the chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts, which scrutinises government spending, said yesterday: "There must be no suggestion that, following the expenditure of billions of pounds on the line, railway passengers should simply have to resign themselves to the stress and inconvenience of chronic overcrowding. It is extraordinary that in only eight years' time the line once again may not be able to meet demand."

The South Norfolk MP, Richard Bacon, said: "Simply telling commuters who pay £5,000 a year for season tickets to accept that they may not get a seat is not good enough."

In its report, MPs urge the Department for Transport, Network Rail and train operators to see what can be done to make "greater use of existing tracks, increase train capacity and minimise disruption to services from work on the track and signalling."

MPs want a more "robust" approach in future to negotiations with contractors to drive the cost down. Track renewal work on the line was 14 per cent higher than the network average. Contractors should also be pressed to determine whether "delivery dates are achievable and realistic," the report said.

On some parts of the line, only one signalling contractor had tendered. MPs believe there might be scope to open up the market to other suppliers "so as to increase competition and drive down prices".

The upgrade was designed to provide new, faster trains on one of Europe's busiest lines and the main artery serving London, the Midlands, the North-west and Scotland. But Railtrack, which began the work in 1998, used untried signalling technology that caused project delays and triggered a financial crisis leading to the collapse of the company. The scheme passed to the Strategic Rail Authority and Network Rail, the non-profit organisation which took over from Railtrack.

MPs said that "assumptions made by Railtrack and its contractors in respect of signalling equipment technology proved overly optimistic".

Mr Leigh added: "The programme was collapsing under the weight of its own ambition, until the Strategic Rail Authority stepped in. Passenger numbers are up, journey times are down and trains are more likely to run on time. But the public are having to stump up a lot of money."

During the Committee of Public Accounts hearing, John Armitt, Network Rail's chief executive, who earns £1m a year, was asked whether he was worth four times what the Cabinet Secretary was earning. "In the markets within which we operate, myself and the Cabinet Secretary, I hope we are both getting the market rate for the job," he replied.

See also:

£8.5bn upgrade 'will not ease train crowding'

Daily Telegraph: 14/06/2007
By David Millward. Transport Correspondent

Overcrowding on one of Britain's major railway lines will not be cured, despite more than £8.5 billion being spent on the project, MPs warned today.

The all-party Public Accounts Committee also warned that passengers using the revamped London to Glasgow West Coast mainline face dearer tickets unless they have access to the internet, with discounted tickets hard to find away from a computer screen.

The committee, which acts as Westminster's public spending watchdog, said there was a risk of "developing an elite service with too few seats and high fares".

Spending on upgrading the West Coast mainline, running from London to Glasgow, is likely to go £300 million over the budget set by the Strategic Rail Authority, the MPs said.

The latest estimated bill for the project is £8.6 billion - £6 billion more than forecast in 1998. Network Rail took over responsibility for the scheme in October 2002 after the privatized infrastructure company, Railtrack, was wound up.

While Network Rail has brought the costs of the scheme down, Edward Leigh, chairman of the committee, said the public was still having to "stump up" a lot of money.

He added: "It is not as if spending on such a heroic scale is the end of the story.

"Demand for the services on the West Coast mainline has grown more quickly than expected and some parts of the route are already at or near capacity.

"It is extraordinary that in only eight years time the line once again may not be able to meet demand."

The not-for-dividend company defended its handling of the scheme today.

"Network Rail has rescued an out of control shambles, which was estimated to be a £13 billion project," a spokesman said. "The West Coast project is already delivering for passengers with frequent, fast services resulting from the successful completion of the majority of the project."

Virgin Trains is planning to increase services to major cities, including a half hour service to Manchester and Birmingham.

A spokesman said: "We are planning a 32 per cent increase in daily train services from January 2009, which will provide more than 10 million extra seats a year.

"Car parking is another issue and we are working with Network Rail. They will invest £90 million spread across 17 sites on the line.

"This will increase the number of spaces from 6,047 to 10,534 – a 74 per cent rise."

See also:

'Standing-room only' on west coast trains by 2015

The Scotsman: 14 Jun 2007
JAMES KIRKUP

THE west coast main train line will soon become entirely overcrowded, leaving many passengers without seats, MPs warn today.

Train firms should rearrange carriage layouts, use longer trains and run more services to make more seats available, the public accounts committee says in a report published today.

"Some parts of the route are at or near capacity and by 2015-20, the line may not have enough capacity to meet demand."

The projected overcrowding comes despite an £8.6 billion upgrade of the line. "It is extraordinary that in only eight years the line once again may not be able to meet demand," said Edward Leigh, the committee chairman, noting that Network Rail was spending on a "heroic scale" to improve the tracks.

Work on upgrading the line between London and Scotland via Carlisle finished in late-2005 after several years of delays.

Modernisation of the 400-mile route was intended to increase capacity over 20-30 years.

Posted on 2:49 PM | Permalink

The RMT has just agreed recognition with Norfolkline at Dover and Liverpool for ratings in the Catering, Deck and Engine Departments

This has been an extremely long and drawn out process but now the company have seen sense and recognise RMT members' clear and overwhelming desire to be represented by RMT, who have been campaigning long and hard for recognition with this company with substantial efforts being made both at a local and national level to achieve this.

Recently, for the three Dover ships, Maersk Dover, Maersk Dunkerque and Maersk Delft, RMT had been employing the services of ACAS to independently verify levels of membership, to prove the necessary level to trigger statutory recognition. RMT had taken this route as the preferred option to pursuing a formal CAC claim which can be extremely long and drawn out. Initially recognition was sought for the Deck and Engine room ,as the on board catering services are technically employed by a separate company which is owned by Maersk. Thanks to RMT pressure the company conceded recognition for all ratings, not just in Dover but also the two ships out of Birkenhead.

Substantial and determined efforts have been made over the last few years to get recognition at Norfolk line with many recruitment visits by Assistant National Secretary Peter Hall and local Dover representative Malcolm Dunning. In addition to this, National Secretary Steve Todd has been pursuing this matter at the highest level to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. Now that recognition has been won the process begins of drawing up a formal Collective Bargaining Agreement and organising representation on board and shore side.

RMT members must be congratulated for their patience in what was has been extremely long, frustrating process for all involved. Now RMT can get on with the business of representing members with the company and make a real difference to their pay and conditions.

Posted on 10:32 PM | Permalink

HUB4: 13th June 2007

Corus Northern Engineering Services (CNES) has unveiled its brand new range of British-designed and manufactured locomotives, the first of this type of locomotive to be manufactured in the UK for more than 15 years.

Corus has already commissioned the building of four of these new locomotives for its Port Talbot works. These four robust, 100-tonne, 1000hp, shunting locomotives will be used to transport liquid iron and steel products. The locomotives will be manufactured at Corus' Transport and Fabrication Workshops at Scunthorpe by CNES, its engineering division. The first locomotive will be delivered at the end of 2007.

Mark Jones, business development engineer at CNES, comments: "The new locomotives are modular in design so customers can choose from a range of engine, transmission and safety options. Corus has been repairing and rebuilding locomotives since the early days of steam and is now the largest private operator of industrial rail networks in the UK. This venture means that Corus is now the only operator in Europe to design and build its own locomotives, and to achieve this we have drawn on our extensive practical experience to design and develop the new range, which we believe ideally suits customers' requirements."

The locomotives are suitable for most industrial and heavy haul applications and pan-European orders are expected to come from a diverse range of industries, including mining and quarrying, petrochemicals, paper mills and medium-distance mainline transportation.

The locomotives are available in two, three, four or six-axle configurations, the latter two being bogie arrangements. The design currently caters for axle loads of up to 25 tonnes to suit track gauges from 610mm to 1,676mm. Frame and superstructure can be manufactured to suit a variety of loading gauges, with a choice of either single and twin cab models.

Customers can choose from a range of heavy-duty diesel engines up to 3000hp, with either electric or hydraulic transmissions. Diesel-hydraulic models are based on a range of purpose-built axle drive gearboxes. All models have a choice of the latest self-steering coil sprung, taper roller bearing axle boxes or a more traditional cast steel axle box with sliding axle guides.

Mark Jones continues: "We're offering customers a bespoke solution that minimises whole life costs of the vehicle and reduced maintenance costs. The locomotives have many safety features, including a low profile, low height canopy, offering the driver improved all-round visibility. Reduced noise and exhaust emissions from the latest engine and transmission systems are additional features along with an option to equip the vehicle with remote radio control. A central microprocessor and ‘drive-by-wire' technology manages the traction control and prevents wheel slip and slide."

The locomotives meet all current and pending Health & Safety legislation, Operational and Environmental standards. All major components on CNES locomotives carry a two-year warranty and the complete vehicle is designed for a service life of more than 30 years. The modular design of the vehicles also ensures that components are readily replaceable and interchangeable to facilitate the repair and maintenance of the fleet. This will be particularly beneficial for those customers who choose to operate several Corus locomotives, but in different configurations from across the range.

The locomotives were designed by UK-based design consultancy Railcraft Associates based in Doncaster, drawing heavily on Corus' extensive expertise as an operator of industrial railways. Railcraft has an excellent pedigree in industrial locomotive design and development.

CNES is an engineering support organisation, with bases in Teesside, Scunthorpe, Workington and Rotherham. CNES offers a wide range of asset management services and support to all types of companies with industrial processes, including those operating internal railways, and those operating mainline freight railways. CNES has an extensive Railway Workshop, with 112 tonne lifting capability, to maintain the Scunthorpe fleet of 32 locomotives and 400 items of rolling stock that work on the site's 100 miles of track. There is a machine shop for repairs to and the manufacture of railway components, as well as structural steel workshops that produce engineered fabrications of up to 90 tonnes. Corus' site rail operations have benefited from many other CNES innovations in recent years such as "Intelligent Points", retro fitting of one-man locomotive operation with remote control, traction control and anti wheel slip and slide.

Corus Northern Engineering Services
T: +44 (0) 1642 404698
M: +44 (0) 7770 822350

Posted on 4:55 PM | Permalink

Railway Gazette: 13 June 2007

ENGLISH WELSH & Scottish Railway could become Railion UK if DB's freight subsidiary acquires Britain's largest freight operating company.

The two organisations confirmed on May 25 that they were 'in discussions about plans to develop a stronger European rail freight network', and that 'the full range of co-operation options such as joint projects or the acquisition of EWS shares by DB AG' was on the table.

A statement noted that 'the companies plan to intensify their business relationship in the future', adding that they will have a key part to play in Europe's increasingly competitive and liberalised rail freight sector. EWS said a further announcement was likely 'in the next few weeks', with some reports suggesting that takeover negotiations were well advanced.

Since 2001 EWS has been owned by a consortium of North American, New Zealand and British investors plus Canadian National, which in 2002 sought to dispose of its 42 5% stake – now reduced to 31%.

Options for increasing the volume of freight moving by rail between the UK and Germany are one of the topics under discussion, but plans for expansion are hampered by the current problems surrounding transit through the Channel Tunnel.

Of particular interest to DB AG is Euro Cargo Rail, the EWS subsidiary which has a licence and safety certificate to operate in France. Acquisition of EWS would give DB a ready-made French operating company, opening up the prospect of competing with Fret SNCF on its home territory. On May 28 DB AG announced that it was in positive and 'wide-ranging' discussions with Spanish company Transfesa. This would offer Railion the opportunity to capture potentially-lucrative automotive traffic moving between Germany and Spain. ECR is already handling the French leg of automotive flows between Italy and Spain.

Posted on 4:51 PM | Permalink

The newly established RMT Regional Committee for Infrastructure Engineering Grades holds its first meeting on

MONDAY 18TH JUNE 07 at 7PM

GWRSA STAFF CLUB
BRISTOL TEMPLE MEADS

SPEAKERS

• BARRY WEST : Convenor, Network Rail Western Territory

• ALEX GORDON: RMT Council of Executives

The Engineering Grades Regional Committee was set up by the SW & West Regional Council at the end of 2006.

All Engineering Infrastructure Grades RMT members are welcome to attend

Details: Regional Council Secretary, Steven Skelly: stevenskelly1927@yahoo.co.uk

Tel: 01443 229709; Mobile 07766 020531

Posted on 11:41 AM | Permalink

AFX News Limited: 06.12.07

MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Italy's government tomorrow will seek approval for a compromise solution on the high-speed train link (TAV) between Turin in the Piedmont region in northern Italy and the French city of Lyon in a bid to come up with a joint government project to present by July 23 to the EU Commission in order not lose some 1.0 bln eur in EU aid, daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported.

The daily said that 10-30 pct of members within the ruling coalition are against the project.

If the TAV project is not approved the government would not fulfil its promises since the approval of the project was part of the government electoral platform, the daily cited infrastructure minister Antonio Di Pietro as saying yesterday.

The daily also quoted Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) member Marilde Provera member who is critical of the project as saying that her party 'will not accept any compromise' on the project.

The PRC represents one of the more leftist wings of the Prodi government.

Tomorrow's meeting is between Prodi, management of the Italian railway, the ministers in charge of the project and the mayors of the towns involved.

The project has been repeatedly blocked because of opposition of the local community that came to a head in Dec 2005 when the paramilitary Carabinieri had to intervene to remove protesters from the site near Venaus, 60 kilometers from Turin, where they were going to build a tunnel for the TAV line.

The government tomorrow will propose a compromise solution that includes moving more south of Venaus than initially expected the end of the tunnel for the link and a strengthening the Orbassano railway freights yard as well as changes to some of the routes of the line and its entry point into Turin.

The daily cited the president of the region of Piedmont, Mercedes Bresso, as saying that the new compromise solution has good chances of gaining everyone's approval.

Posted on 11:10 AM | Permalink

Financial Times: June 12 2007
By Toby Shelley

Jarvis cut full-year losses as benefits from recent efforts to restructure the support services contractor’s operations improved its financial performance.

Steven Norris, chairman, said: “Jarvis has been able to achieve some significant milestones in the business strategy ... despite an industry-wide downturn in rail and plant volumes in the period”.

That unforeseen downturn, which came just as Jarvis was focusing on rail and associated plant, was a major reason for a 13 per cent drop in turnover to £306.7m. Richard Entwistle, chief executive, said UK rail market expenditure had fallen because of the completion of the West Coast modernisation plus delays in contract awards. Since the end of the financial year, volumes have improved, he said.

The other factor in the revenue downturn was the exit from construction activities.

The refocusing on core areas has also seen Jarvis divest itself of its road markings operation and buy its way out of a clutch of unprofitable facilities management contracts. The latter move cost the company £7m, it said last week, but should stem losses of £3m a year.

Losses from continuing operations for the year ended April 2 narrowed to £12.1m from £53.7m. Overall, pre-tax losses were £14.1m, down from £59.1m the year before.

In April, Jarvis completed a placing to raise £25m. That money was earmarked for promised further reductions in the cost base of £10m a year; the exit from the management contracts; and investment in technology the board believes is important to gaining a competitive advantage in rail work.

Looking ahead, the company said it is striving to be one of the four contractors to be selected by rail infrastructure operator Network Rail for future track renewal work. Network Rail will announce the four in August.

There will also be an emphasis on winning work in overseas rail markets, providing a hedge against downturns in Britain. During the year, the company started a rail freight operation with three locomotives. It said there are opportunities for this business in the pipeline.

The board waived the dividend. The results were in line with expectations and Jarvis shares opened flat at 66p.

Posted on 9:03 AM | Permalink

Railfuture: 09 Jun, 2007

Rail Minister Tom Harris gave a new assurance on Thursday (7 June 2007) that the Government "does not have an agenda" for closure of any rail lines in Britain.

Tom Harris at Camden town hall

He was speaking at the Community Rail conference in London.

Mr Harris reiterated the Government’s support for the community rail movement and highlighted some of the successful projects delivered by Community Rail Partnerships around the country.

The theme of the conference at Camden town hall was Where next for Community Rail?

It was organised by the Association of Community Rail Partnerships and chaired by railway journalist Alan Williams.

The conference heard calls for more engagement with other community groups and with front-line railway staff.

The need for detailed research into marketing on community rail lines was highlighted by Anthony Smith, director of Passenger Focus, to provide a base for future marketing developments on lines.

Anthony also highlighted work being undertaken jointly by Passenger Focus and some train operators to develop the local railway station as a hub of public transport.

Chris Watson, community rail officer for the Poacher Line in Lincolnshire highlighted the need for longer term, secure funding for posts, and the need for officers’ work programmes to dovetail into local government agendas.

David Hibbs of the Department for Transport said it was not envisaged that the Community Rail Development Strategy should be limited to a five-year life.

Stephen Sears of ECT Group outlined ECT’s plans and their Small is Beautiful manifesto.

Two days earlier Mr Harris announced that the Government was providing £44million over the next three years to transfer freight from road to rail under the Rail Environmental Benefit Procurement Scheme.

Posted on 11:01 AM | Permalink

Transport Briefing: 07/06/07

Train operator First Great Western has begun work on a £400,000 refurbishment of Bath Spa railway station.

The station - originally modelled on an Elizabethan country house - will get an all-new interior with new floors, an open-access ticket desk without glass screens, a ticket counter for disabled customers, new lighting, colour schemes and counter areas. The external character of the station will remain unchanged.

Major works are scheduled to finish on 9 July and the phased programme of internal alterations to the Grade 2 listed building will allow the station to continue to operate as work progresses.

Adrian Clarke, transportation policy manager, Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: "We have been working closely with First Great Western to improve the environment for passengers arriving and leaving Bath Spa Station. The station is one of the busiest in the region and these improvements will help to further enhance Bath as an important visitor destination."

Andrew Griffiths, First Great Western’s regional manager, added: "This is an historic listed building that reflects Brunel’s legacy to the railway. The modernisation has been carefully designed and approved by the authorities to reflect the building and its surroundings in an historic city."

The station refurbishment work coincides with the £350m SouthGate city centre regeneration scheme, which includes new shops, open spaces, housing and a new bus station connected to the railway station. Property developer Multi Developer UK is in charge of the scheme, which is set for completion in 2010.

Posted on 1:16 PM | Permalink

Financial Times: June 8 2007
By Robert Wright, Transport Correspondent

Eurostar hopes to persuade far more Britons travelling abroad to switch to rail from November, by offering improved ticket deals for complex trips involving cross-Channel trains and other rail operators.

The operator hopes the new ticketing arrangements, combined with the opening of the second section of the UK’s first dedicated high-speed rail line, will make rail more attractive than air for journeys beyond its core routes from London to Paris and Brussels.

The new ticketing arrangements are part of a massive effort geared to the opening on November 14 of the new section of line. It will cut journey times by 20 minutes by allowing trains to run at up to 300kph (186mph) through tunnels into the heart of London.

The shortest London-Paris journey will be reduced to two hours 15 minutes and trains will arrive at London’s St Pancras station, rather than Waterloo International.

The first section of the dedicated high-speed line, allowing trains to run at high speed from the Channel Tunnel to near Ebbsfleet in Kent, opened in September 2003 but trains still use the conventional rail line from there to central London.

The opening will see Eurostar shift its entire London operation overnight between November 13 and 14 from Waterloo to St Pancras. Many Eurostar trains will have to be moved from their existing North Pole depot in West London to Temple Mills in East London.

The St Pancras terminus will connect easily with trains arriving from the north, offering the potential to tap into new markets, Eurostar believes. In continental Europe, this year is seeing a major expansion of high-speed trains which should speed up many onward journeys from Paris and Brussels.

Richard Brown, Eurostar’s chief executive, said rail could become particularly attractive for journeys such as London to the Netherlands and between destinations such as York and Paris or Brussels.

Eurostar was speaking to train operators on both sides of the Channel about ensuring that it was possible to buy joint rail tickets at appealing prices, Mr Brown added.

“If you just add together two separate fares, you’re not going to come up with something that’s attractive to passengers,” he said.

The process of offering integrated ticketing between Eurostar and some continental European rail systems is likely to prove especially challenging because few use the sophisticated, yield-management fares systems UK rail companies employ to try to encourage early booking.

In the UK, Eurostar has struck a deal with South-Eastern Trains, the train operator in the Kent area, to convey anyone with a Euro­star reservation free from their stations to either Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International station.

Posted on 1:23 AM | Permalink

RMT: June 6 2007

Centre to be dedicated to the memory of shipping activist Pauline Howe

THE REFURBISHED Dover offices of transport union RMT was opened on Thursday, June 7 by general secretary Bob Crow.

The upgraded centre is dedicated to the memory of Dover-based shipping-sector activist and RMT Women's Advisory Committee chair Pauline Howe, who died last October.

The opening took place at 12:30, at Maritime House, Snargate Street, Dover, DT17 9BZ, on Thursday June 7.

"Pauline Howe was a fearless and tireless RMT activist who gave her all for the trade-union movement, and it is fitting that the newly refurbished Dover office is dedicated to her," general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"Despite battling cancer, Pauline continued to organise as usual for the benefit of maritime workers in Dover, leading women's committee meetings and playing a full role in union life, right to the end.

"She would have been delighted that in the very week the Dover office re-opens with new facilities, we have been able to announce that Norfolkline has agreed to recognise RMT as the union representing ratings on its three vessels operating out of the port.

"The office now boasts space for reps' courses, as well as state-of-the-art communications technology which will be at the disposal of our growing membership.

"Dover is a key transport hub, and our aim will be to provide the best possible support to transport workers organised on rail, road and sea throughout Kent and beyond," Bob Crow said.

Posted on 11:54 AM | Permalink

Railway Market Magazine: 7 June 2007

The European Parliament Transport Committee (TRAN) has approved functional separation between railway operations and infrastructure management.

The committee on the 5th of June 2007 accepted important messages from the draft “Michael Cramer Report” on the implementation of the First Railway Package. However, it considered complete separation into two completely different institutions a step too far.

Read the draft of Cramer's Report here: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/documents/pr/650/650519/650519en.pdf
REPORT (pdf)

MEPs voted on 163 amendments, and finally accepted the amended report with a vote of 37 against 1.

The European Rail Infrastructure Managers organisation (EIM) fully endorsed a number of the recommendations made by the EP:

• Both the separation and the integration models are compatible with European community law, provided that the independence of the essential functions like for example access to fuelling points is safeguarded.
• Absolute priority must be given to the full implementation (including performance scheme) of the First Railway Package. Numerous complaints from new rail freight operators against “incumbents” show that this is not yet the case.
• Legal proceedings must be initiated by the EC without delay against those Member States that have not implemented the first and/or second railway package by the specified date.
• It is essential to create an independent and transparent regulating body with adequate funding.

EIM Secretary General, Michael Robson said, following the vote "EIM is continuously working to ensure open access to the railway network to increase rail market share and this is a step in the right direction.”

Furthermore, in the “Cramer Report” the EC is requested to undertake actions related to congestion and charging:

• Take legal steps to stop the practice of cross-subsidisation of passenger rail transport to the detriment of freight rail transport.
• Submit a Directive in 2008, in which the Eurovignette is adjusted in line with the rail route pricing system; tolls are to be made mandatory for all lorries over 3.5 tonnes on all roads in the EU without loopholes, and external costs are to be internalised.
• Examine the possibility of introducing better transparency and predictability of route prices, establishing the principle of a minimum harmonisation of prices on international corridors which are the subject of investment by railway undertakings to improve interoperability.

EIM believes these measures will be important factors in reducing congestion by a modal shift from road to rail. They will also in ensure fair competition for the railway sector and reduce the negative environmental impact from road transport.

Posted on 9:57 AM | Permalink

AFX News Limited: 06.07.07

(Thomson Financial) - Network Rail's 'triple-A' credit ratings rest on its status as a 'Company Limited by Guarantee' underwritten by letters of comfort from the UK Treasury a review by Standard & Poor's credit rating agency confirms.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'AAA' long-term ratings on Network Rail Infrastructure Finance PLC's (NRIF) 20 billion sterling debt program and Network Rail MTN Finance PLC's (NRMF) £10 billion sterling debt program, and the 'A-1+' short-term rating on NRIF's £4 billion sterling commercial paper (CP) program, following a review.

While NRIF's programs are supported by a financial indemnity provided by the Secretary of State for Transport, the NRMF program is supported by a £10 billion sterling standby term loan facility provided by the Secretary of State for Transport.

The 'A-1+' rating on NRIF's CP program reflects the entity's very strong liquidity based on the assured full coverage of all outstanding CP by sources of alternate liquidity through the financial indemnity provided by the Secretary of State for Transport, S&P cited.

See also:

Network Rail to sell stg benchmark 2027 bond-lead

Reuters: Jun 7, 2007

LONDON - British rail infrastructure operator Network Rail plans to sell a sterling benchmark inflation-linked bond, due November 2027, one of the banks managing the sale said on Thursday.

The bond will be launched in the week beginning June 18, subject to market conditions, the bank said.

Barclays Capital, Dresdner Kleinwort, HSBC and Merrill Lynch are managing the sale.

Network Rail is rated triple-A by Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.

Posted on 8:49 PM | Permalink

The Guardian: June 7, 2007
Mark Milner

· Firm lost plot after minor snowfall, says watchdog
· Operator faces fine over resignalling licence breach

Network Rail may be getting to grips with the problem of leaves on the line, but is struggling to cope with the weather.

Weather-related delays attributable to Network Rail rose by 500,000 minutes, the equivalent of almost a year, in the 12 months to the end of March, the Office of Rail Regulation said yesterday.

A fifth of the year's overall weather-related delays were due to the severe storms on one day, January 18, which forced Network Rail to impose speed restrictions across the network. Although ORR said yesterday that Network Rail had dealt with resulting problems of debris scattered across the tracks "in a proportionate manner", it was less than impressed by the network's response to other weather-related hazards from heat waves, lightning strikes and flooding.

It was particularly scathing about the impact of what it described as a minor snowfall in south-east England which caused "disproportionate problems". "They lost the plot when the snow fell," according to Michael Lee, the ORR's director of access planning and performance.

"Even discounting [January 18], delay due to a variety of weather increased by around two thirds," the ORR said.

Autumn delays - rail industry-speak for leaves on the line - fell by more than a quarter, but there was a 9% rise in the delays caused by "other factors", including the theft of copper cables; a growing problem because of rising copper prices.

The number of minutes lost through delays caused by Network Rail rose fractionally to 10.5m. However, with train operators cutting their delays by more than 1m minutes, about 18%, overall delays were down.

ORR's chief executive, Bill Emery, said that over the four years since it was set up Network Rail had made "enormous advances in tackling the problems it inherited, improving both its performance and the condition of its assets".

He warned there were "some worrying signs" with performance improvements coming from the train operating companies, rather than Network Rail and an increase in the number of asset failures during the year.

The ORR said Network Rail was finding it increasingly difficult to sustain rates of improvement in some areas.

Pointing to the 2% fall in passenger satisfaction in Tuesday's Passenger Focus survey the rail regulator said that "as with many providers of goods and services, the industry must accept that it has to keep improving in real terms just to stand still in terms of passenger satisfaction".

John Armitt, Network Rail's chief executive, said: "The important thing to remember is that train performance continues to improve, almost 90% of train services are now running on time and delays caused by the infrastructure continue to be reduced - 7% down on last year. We will not let up our drive for continuing improvements and we will maintain a close working relationship with train operators to help deliver a better service for passengers and freight users."

Network Rail is facing the prospect of a fine from the ORR for what the regulator described as weaknesses in the planning and execution of a resignalling project at Portsmouth which it said breached one of the conditions of its network licence.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "Network Rail recognises that the overrun of the massive £100m Portsmouth resignalling scheme has let passengers down.

"We are disappointed that the ORR has decided to take this unnecessary action, despite all the work we have done to fix the problem."

Posted on 11:53 AM | Permalink

European Parliament: 6 June 2007

European Parliament and Council delegations were unable to reach a conciliation agreement, early Wednesday morning, on the three third rail package proposals, on passengers' rights, train crew certification, and rail market access respectively.

They are still at odds over passenger rights, facilities for people with reduced mobility, crew certification and other issues including accident liability, compensation, insurance, information, ticketing and train quality.

On passenger rights, it became clear that Parliament was defending the rights of all passengers, whereas the Council would only protect passengers on cross-border connections. Passenger compensation in the event of delays remains a key issue in the negotiations.

On the certification of train crews, the parties could not agree whether crew members other than drivers should be included in the scope of the regulation.

On rail market access, the parties still disagree about a proposed levy on new international passenger services, to fund compensation for national service operators affected by the introduction of such services. Parliament believes that compensation should go only to national operators who are directly affected by the introduction of international services, whereas Council takes the view that the levy might be used to compensate any service operator providing a rail service in the Member State in which a new international passenger service is established.

The two delegations have now six to eight weeks to reach an agreement. Negotiations may resume during the June plenary session in Strasbourg.

Posted on 11:16 PM | Permalink

AFX News Limited: 06.06.07

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Bus and rail operators Arriva PLC, National Express Group PLC (NEG) and FirstGroup PLC said they have submitted bids for the UK's inter-city East Coast rail franchise.

None of the firms revealed details of their bids, which were due in today as part of the process to replace the incumbent operator, Sea Containers (nyse: SCRA - news - people )-owned Great North Eastern Railway.

Sunderland-based Arriva said it believed its growing involvement in the European transport market, where it holds contracts to run trains and buses in several countries, would help its bid.

NEG chief executive Richard Bowker said his group had consulted people in towns and cities along the route. A national passenger survey yesterday found NEG's Midland Mainline franchise to be the best-performing of all the long-distance operators.

'Throughout the consultation process, we have been impressed by the passion that the people and the communities served by the East Coast services have for their rail services,' Bowker said.

FirstGroup has faced criticism for the performance of its inter-city franchise First Great Western, which yesterday saw its passenger satisfaction rating in the survey by Passenger Focus slump by six pct points to 72 pct.

In a media statement accompanying the submission of its bid for the East Coast, First said it was looking forward 'to delivering a step change in improvements in quality and performance to its customers.'

The group also highlighted improved satisfaction levels with its First Transpennine Express franchise following the acquisition of a fleet of new trains.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has asked bidders to maintain the existing East Coast service apart from the addition of half-hourly services between London and Leeds.

It has also asked them to take account of the introduction later in the franchise of the first of a new fleet of trains being procured to replace the ageing diesel and electric trains currently used on the route.

The DfT is expected to announce which operator has won the seven year-and-four month franchise in the late summer. A joint venture between Virgin and Stagecoach Group PLC is also expected to submit a bid.

The East Coast route runs between London King's Cross and Yorkshire, north east England and Scotland.

Posted on 9:22 PM | Permalink

Reuters: Jun 6, 2007

TORONTO - Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO: Quote) and the union representing 3,200 maintenance workers said on Wednesday they reached a tentative three-year deal which could end a national strike that began in mid-May.

The two sides said workers could be back to work "over the next few days."

A memorandum of settlement will be sent to the union membership for ratification over the next few days and details of the agreement will be released following ratification, the two sides said in a statement.

The deal follows a strike that began on May 15 which has caused delays at major transportation terminals across the country.

Talks aimed at a new contract broke off in late April and union members started the strike last month.

The union had said it wanted bigger wage increases than the 3 percent agreed on by other units at CP Rail, arguing its members' pay has lagged behind that of the others.

But the railroad said it could offer the bigger increases only if the track workers gave up other concessions to generate savings and improve efficiency.

CP shares were down C$1.17 at C$76.33 on the Toronto Stock Exchange in early activity on Wednesday.

Posted on 8:13 PM | Permalink

AFX News Limited: 06.05.07

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Controversial train operator FirstGroup PLC has apologised to passengers after a national passenger survey showed satisfaction with two of its franchises had slumped.

FirstGroup said in a statement that it was sorry for failing to provide expected levels of service on First Great Western (FGW) and First Capital Connect (FCC), which run services in western England and on commuter routes north and south of the Thames respectively.

Overall satisfaction with FGW and FCC fell six pct and five pct to 72 pct and 71 pct respectively, according to the National Passenger Survey by Passenger Focus.

First has faced heavy criticism for the performance of the two franchises since it took them over last year.

Passengers in the south west protested against sweeping service cuts and reductions in rolling stock that First imposed after taking over services formerly run by National Express' Wessex franchise. The outcry forced FGW to review the service reductions and to introduce more carriages.

FCC provoked a storm of protest when it stopped passengers using cheap day returns on services out of London in the evening peak.

First said in its statement that the survey was undertaken in January and February, at a time when many passengers were experiencing delays due to infrastructure failures outside its control.

'Since that period, operations and services have improved considerably,' it said.

Managing director of the group's trains division, Andrew Haines, said the company is aware of the overcrowding problems on its services and is planning to increase capacity.

'The first thing we offer is an unreserved apology,' Haines told London's Evening Standard.

Overall passenger satisfaction with the UK railways has fallen for the first time in three years, by two percentage points to 79 pct, the survey showed.

Only 40 pct of passengers think they are getting good value for money and 26 pct are unhappy with the amount of room they have to sit or stand.

As well as those expressing dissatisfaction with FCC and FGW, passengers using another FirstGroup franchise, First Scotrail, and those travelling on Northern Rail, run by Serco Group PLC, said a number of their services had got worse.

However, the watchdog said 87 pct of passengers travelling on long-distance trains were satisfied with their journey overall.

National Express Group PLC franchise Midland Mainline climbed to the top of the satisfaction ratings in the long distance sector, satisfaction with train facilities at First Transpennine Express had improved by 25 pct due to new rolling stock and Arriva Trains Wales, John Laing's Chiltern Railways and National Express unit Central Trains had also improved in a number of areas.

National Express welcomed the findings of the survey, noting that its Gatwick Express franchise, which it is shortly to lose to Go-Ahead's Southern franchise, came top in 21 out of 32 performance measures for regional train operators.

The chief executive of National Express' trains division, David Franks, said: 'These results clearly demonstrate our passion and drive to improve the service we give our passengers.

'This applies not only to train performance, where we lead the industry, but also to the investment we have made in the training and development of our people.'

The survey was conducted at more than 650 stations between Jan 22 and Mar 25, 2007.

Posted on 9:33 PM | Permalink

Oxford Mail: 05 June 2007
By Chris Buratta

Rail passengers have dealt a damning verdict to train company First Great Western.

A survey conducted by watchdog body Passenger Focus revealed that just 72 per cent of FGW customers were satisfied with the service provided.

The score ranked FGW second bottom of all the train operators, and represents a 6 per cent drop on the company's 2006 satisfaction figure - the biggest slump of any train company.
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The survey was carried out between January and March this year and 3,030 FGW passengers were surveyed.

The verdict caps a troubled six months for FGW. The company was forced to issue a public apology to its customers in February after timetable cuts, introduced in December 2006, caused delays and over-crowding.

The company did reintroduce some services in January and in March.

Passenger Focus surveyed more than 25,000 rail users nationally.

The national satisfaction rating was 79 per cent.

The group's chief executive Anthony Smith said: "The train operators with the biggest drops in passenger satisfaction need to listen to passengers and take action."

See also:

Value of rail travel 'at new low'

BBC News: 5 June 2007

Standing room only is an everyday experience for many commuters

Only 40% of rail passengers feel they get good value for money from their train operator, according to a survey.

The figure is an all-time low, says watchdog Passenger Focus who questioned more than 25,000 train customers.

Of those asked, 79% were satisfied with their journey - down 2% from last year - and a quarter were unhappy about overcrowding and shortage of seats.

The director general of the Association of Train Operating Companies said the survey contained "serious warnings".

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, George Muir said: "We try to do everything we can to make their journey satisfactory and attractive.

"On the whole we have quite high levels of satisfaction, but the warning is in the detail."

Commuter routes

Rail value for money was felt to be at its lowest since the survey began in 1999.

Rail survey results

Other major gripes were with the standard of toilet facilities on trains and the way in which operators handled delays.

The worst results were on major commuter lines like First Great Western and First Capital Connect where satisfaction dropped by 6% and 5% respectively.

One Railway, which serves East Anglia, and Northern Rail were also criticised in the survey, carried out between January and March this year.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, said he hoped the slump in satisfaction was a "dip" and not the beginning of a trend.

"What's worrying is some of the very big train companies who are carrying millions of customers every day are said to be struggling," Mr Smith said.

"They're not really delivering the basics of what passengers want."

'Scary' predictions

The most successful were long distance services with 87% of passengers rating them as satisfactory.

Midland Mainline and TransPennine Express both saw improvements of 3%, and Arriva Trains Wales, Chiltern Railways and Central Trains were also praised.

But Mr Smith warned that all operators - and ministers - would have to do more, especially in London and the South East, to cope with "quite scary" passenger forecasts for the future.

Network Rail estimate that in 2004, 70,000 commuters (15% of the total) had to stand on their way into London during morning rush-hours. About 29,000 had to stand on the way home in the evening.

They predict those figures could rocket to 130,000 and 67,000 respectively by 2014.

"They're not really delivering the basics of what passengers want" - Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus

"It's going to get crowded out there and it needs some pretty dramatic government action to correct it," Mr Smith added.

Mr Muir insisted there had already been "new trains, more services, improved punctuality, better information and refurbished stations".

But he promised that operators would listen to passengers' concerns and take steps to improve their experience.

"There are some quite serious warnings within this report," Mr Muir said.

"We have to get the investment into the railway.

"The government has promised another thousand carriages. This is a very welcome promise, but we've got to get them on the railway quickly."

RAIL SATISFACTION

Aspects of rail travel that passengers say have got worse/better

Issue Satisfied/ good (%) Change (%)

How well company dealt with delays 32 -3

Toilet facilities on trains 36 -3

Value for money for the price of ticket 38 -1

Space for luggage 40 -2

Sufficient room for all passengers to sit/stand 47 -2

Helpfulness and attitude of train staff 62 -2

Frequency of trains on route 75 -1

Ease of getting on and off 75 -2

Punctuality/reliability (arriving/departing on time) 77 -2

Overall satisfaction 79 -2

Length of time journey was scheduled to take (speed) 81 -1

Aspects passengers say have got better

Ticket buying facilities 67 2

Source: Passenger Focus

Posted on 2:52 PM | Permalink

Express & Star: June 4th, 2007

A new cheap rail service linking the Black Country to London could be delayed amid concerns about the volume of trains running between Wolverhampton and Walsall.

The Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway Company has asked the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR) to approve a plan to launch a train service from North Wales to the capital, via Wolverhampton and Walsall, at £20 a ticket.

The company is set up to start operating by December providing it gets the green light by July. But fears have now emerged the decision will be delayed because of queries and objections raised by rival operators and transport bodies.

The company had planned to run five trains a day to Wolverhampton on the way to London but Virgin West Coast objected. Instead passengers can board at Tame Bridge Parkway in Walsall, giving the borough its first direct link to the capital.

Trains campaign group Rail Future is backing the scheme, but secretary Peter Hughes said the ORR had received complicated objections which could delay the operation until next year.

“The feeling is that it will happen but not as soon as we all hoped,” he added.

Public transport body Centro’s objection is one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the plan.

Spokesman Babs Coombes said the authority did not object to the proposals in principle but was concerned about the volume of trains between Wolverhampton and Walsall.

She said: “The proposals by WSMR clash with current local and long distance rail services in the West Midlands and the introduction of this service could have a negative impact on the performance of these services.

Arriva Trains Wales is also concerned about reliability on the line running between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

Posted on 2:47 PM | Permalink

Department for Transport: 5 June 2007

Rail Minister Tom Harris today announced the award of £44m in new rail freight grants at the Rail Freight 2007 conference.

The grants, for carrying freight by rail which would otherwise be carried on the roads, mean the equivalent of more than 2.1m lorry journeys and 631m lorry kilometres will be removed from Britain's roads over the next three years.

Speaking at Rail Freight 2007, Transport Minister Tom Harris said:

"I am pleased to announce today that we have awarded £44 million in funding over the next three years for the movement of freight on rail through the Rail Environmental Benefit Procurement Scheme (REPS).

"Our aim is to secure a major shift of goods from road onto rail. This will make a significant contribution towards reducing road congestion, accidents and carbon emissions.

"We will continue to provide financial support to rail freight where it is affordable and where it offers the greatest benefits when assessed alongside support for other modes. There is funding available and I would like to encourage the industry to get involved and make best use of it."

The next bid round for REPS closes on the 15th June. The details of these REPS contracts for the 2007/08 to 2009/10 period are:

Grant Recipient Scheme Traffic Details Contract Value (£)

Direct Rail Services REPS (B) WH Malcolm 136,339
EWS REPS (B) Cemex / British Sugar 214,840
EWS REPS (B) Cemex 266,625
EWS REPS (B) Cemex 199,584
EWS REPS (B) J Clubb 84,807
EWS REPS (B) Mendip Rail 165,240
EWS REPS (B) Mendip Rail 192,510
EWS REPS (B) Yeoman 13,996.80
Direct Rail Services REPS (I) Various 1,633,500
Eddie Stobart REPS (I) Tesco 707,620
EWS REPS (I) Various 2,914,480
Fastline REPS (I) Various 386,748
Freightliner REPS (I) Various 28,651,344
GB Railfreight REPS (I) Various 5,656,581
John G Russell REPS (I) Various 1,439,266
(Transport)
Kuehne + Nagel REPS (I) Felixstowe to Hams Hall 1,422,883

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The Department for Transport runs three schemes that facilitate the purchase of the environmental and social benefits that result from using rail or water transport instead of road. These are:

- Freight Facilities Grant (FFG): helps offset the capital cost of providing rail and water freight handling facilities.

- Rail Environmental Benefit Procurement (REPS (B) & REPS (I)): assists companies with the operating costs associated with running rail freight transport instead of road (where rail is more expensive than road).

- Waterborne Freight Grant scheme (WFG): assists companies with the operating costs, for up to three years, associated with running water freight transport instead of road (where water is more expensive than road).

Posted on 2:37 PM | Permalink

Daily Telegraph: 04/06/2007
By David Millward, Transport Correspondent

Rail passengers face years of overcrowding, disruption and delays as long-promised improvements to trains and stations are finally brought into place.

Many of the biggest stations are scheduled for multi-million pound facelifts while dozens of commuter stations need longer platforms to cope with the 1,000 extra carriages pledged by the Government.

With some of the projects not even predicted to start in the next five years, travellers will have to endure the endemic problems on the network for some time yet.

And, once the improvements do begin, the lengthy engineering works involved will mean longer journeys and replacement buses for many passengers.

The Government has promised that the first of the 1,000 extra carriages will be available from 2009, but doubts remain over where they will be delivered and the ability of the industry to cope with them.

Network Rail will hear within the next few months which of its proposed improvements will be backed by the Government.

The bulk are on the overcrowded lines into London Waterloo from the West and South West. Potentially the biggest disruption will be the rebuilding of track around Reading, which could lead to the closure of the station for weeks, possibly months.

Assuming it is approved, the £500 million scheme is due to start in early 2009 and take five years to complete.

In Scotland, the £300 million project to build a fast electrified line between Glasgow and Edinburgh will not be completed until 2010. The rebuilding of Birmingham New Street is due to finish in 2013.

In London, the King's Cross revamp is scheduled to finish in 2012 and Euston's passengers will have to wait until 2015 for improvements.

Posted on 7:19 AM | Permalink

Buenos Aires Herald: June 02, 2007

President Néstor Kirchner yesterday signed a bill to renationalize the country’s railway network. If Congress approves the proposal, the law would mean a radical modification to the way railway lines are operated throughout the country.

The renationalization decision follows repeated allegations of poor service, misspent subsidies and, most recently, rioting by commuters in the Roca line terminal at Constitución.

Argentina’s run-down state railways were privatized during the nineties, under president Carlos Menem’s programme to put failing state enterprise under private management.

"We want Argentine train services to be among the best in the world," said Federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido yesterday. The bill sent to Congress has been inspired by the RENFE railways administration in Spain, where they are operated by two state-owned companies. One of these administers the infrastructure, and another is in charge of operating train services, which could be state-owned or administered by mixed capital companies.

Private administrators will keep control of their concessions "but only if they effectively provide the required services," said De Vido, and the state will continue to subsidize the sector’s companies to "secure the popular (low price) fares."

Posted on 11:44 AM | Permalink

The Guardian: June 1, 2007
Dan Milmo, transport correspondent

The rail passenger watchdog has threatened to take a row over fare increases to the high court after the industry regulator refused to investigate double-digit rises.

Passenger Focus said it would consider taking the Office of Rail Regulation to a judicial review after it rejected calls to hold a competition inquiry into South West Trains and Arriva Trains Wales for raising the cost of off-peak tickets.

Anthony Smith, the chief executive of Passenger Focus, said the ruling meant commuters had no legal protection against huge fare increases and no choice but to pay them.

"If the ORR will not reopen the case, we may have to go for a judicial review," he said. "We have to protect passengers from being exploited by monopolies."

South West Trains was accused of behaving like a monopoly after increasing the price of off-peak tickets by 20%.

However, the ORR, which has the power to pursue anti-monopoly cases in the industry, rejected the complaints. It acknowledged that fare rises were "unwelcome to the travelling public" but said it had seen no evidence of an "excessive" ticket price regime.

"We have not had sufficient information ... to support opening an investigation," a statement said. "Just because a ticket price is raised significantly does not mean that it is excessive and an abuse under competition law."

Passenger Focus said the ORR had left commuters open to further fare increases. Mr Smith said the ruling seemed "to imply that off-peak passengers are left totally unprotected against unreasonable fare rises".

Last month, the rail minister, Tom Harris, backed the ORR, saying ticket price caps would not be extended to cut out SWT-style pricing tactics. "There is nothing that I can, or indeed want, to do on fares that are unregulated," he said.

See also:

Rail chiefs rule out fare hikes probe - Increases were 'not excessive'

Which?: 01 June 2007

Rail chiefs today ruled out an investigation into fare hikes of up to 20 per cent on some off-peak tickets.

The rises, brought in by South West Trains and Arriva Trains Wales, were ‘not excessive’ and it was ‘not appropriate to open an investigation’, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) said.

Customer group Passenger Focus and transport union TSSA had been among those who had complained to the ORR that the price rises amounted to an infringement of competition law.

The ORR said it understood fare rises were ‘unwelcome to the travelling public’ but added that just because a ticket price was raised significantly did not mean it was ‘excessive’

Ticket prices.

Passenger Focus Chief Executive Anthony Smith said: ‘What this ruling seems to imply is that off-peak passengers are left totally unprotected against unreasonable fare rises.

‘Unless you are using tickets that are protected by fares regulation, such as savers or season tickets, or happen to have a service provided by a competing train company, it seems that competition law will not protect you.’

Mr Smith went on: ‘We think substantial numbers of off peak passengers will have no choice but to pay the new fares. The assertion by the ORR that people have a choice simply does not ring true. We will challenge this ruling in an attempt to give off-peak passengers some protection against massive price rises.’

The Rail Maritime and Transport union expressed its dismay at the decision, describing it as ‘breathtaking’ and called for government action to stop operators pricing people off rail and on to roads.

Carbon emissions

General Secretary Bob Crow said: ‘Talk about the climate challenge and the importance of reducing carbon emissions will remain just talk if the government allows never-ending fares hikes that can only result in ever more polluting road traffic.

‘A fundamental shift in policy is needed that will use fares policy to encourage people out of cars and on to trains, and alongside that we need to recognise the need for substantial public investment in new rail capacity.

‘Britain's rail fares are already among the most expensive in Europe, and as long as the operators are allowed to continue hiking them the government will be unable to meet its commitment to reduce carbon emissions.’

Posted on 9:59 AM | Permalink

The Australian: May 31, 2007

A BOUT of "blue flu" claimed by disgruntled Queensland Rail workers three months ago led to an unprecedented spike in the cancellation of coal trains to the ports, resulting in losses of millions of dollars to producers.

The number of workers who called in sick in February soared to record levels after a new 12-hour roster was introduced by managers of the state-owned railway.

The absenteeism, which coal industry sources have described as illegal industrial action disguised as legitimate sick leave, was the single biggest contributor to the cancellation of 51 trains to the Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point ports in February.

In previous months, the number of trains cancelled due to train crew issues was between five and 10 a month.

In total, 133 services were cancelled out of a scheduled 900 services in February.

The cancellation rate has been cut since February, resulting in more coal being transported to the main port south of Mackay in March, April and May.

Coal producers are angry that the protest action by the crew of coal trains significantly slowed the delivery of coal to the ports, putting at risk hundreds of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars.

"It's an issue we dealt with back then, but it's not the substantive issue that we need to work on at the moment," a QR spokesman said last night. "We have moved forward."

QR, which refused to back down on the unpopular roster changes that were designed to increase coal tonnage, does not acknowledge the sick leave might have been an illegal industrial action. But sources said crews had made a concerted effort to disrupt coal delivery in February in an attempt to kill the roster change.

The state secretary of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen, Greg Smith, said QR's failure to repair locomotives had caused rolling stock shortages, not the lack of crews.

"Last February, QR introduced shifts ranging from eight to 12 hours at the Jilalan rail depot and as a result of them working longer hours, a lot of the crews decided to restrict the number of overtime hours they chose to work," he said.

"It did mean some trains were cancelled because the drivers were not doing as much overtime as they were previously doing. It was not a deliberate campaign. They weighed up their own family issues and realised that by doing all these longer shifts they were away from home longer, so they decided they would do less overtime."

Posted on 9:58 AM | Permalink

CNW: May 31

VANCOUVER - Labour leaders join Teamsters in condemning the company's actions and demand a public inquiry

The union representing striking railway maintenance workers at CP Rail is taking legal action against the company, after six Teamsters Canada members were confronted by CP's private police force and arrested for alleged "mischief" while walking a legal picket line in Coquitlam on Tuesday night.

Bill Brehl, the President of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, Maintenance of Way Employees Division, says the arrests were completely unprovoked and unnecessarily violent. "We have the whole thing on video. All the members were peacefully picketing between the lines of a public crosswalk in front of CPR property. The CPR police came in force and told them to move along or they would arrest them. Then they almost immediately began dragging them off the picket line and handcuffing them. The video has sound and none of the members were belligerent or offered resistance. However, there is one officer who forcibly wrenches a member's arm way up at an unnatural angle and then viciously kicks him to the ground. It is horrible to watch."

The graphic video footage, released at a news conference in Vancouver today, outraged BC Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair. Sinclair is calling for a public inquiry into the special powers granted to private police forces that are being used by an increasing number of companies across the country. "This is not just a labour issue. It's an attack on the rights and freedoms union members and all Canadian citizens have fought long and hard to achieve," says Sinclair.

International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada President Tom Dufresne expresses the same concern and calls the actions of CPR "appalling."

The Teamsters Union is filing a civil lawsuit against CPR on behalf of its members for false arrest, false imprisonment, assault and battery and unlawful interference with charter rights. The union will also be in BC Supreme Court next week (June 7th) for an injunction application against CP Rail and CP Police, and in front of the Canada Labour Relations Board tomorrow (Friday, June 1st) to make an unfair labour practices complaint. Both actions are aimed at preventing the company from further intimidation and harassment of picketing union members.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, Maintenance of Way Employees Division has been lawfully on strike against CP Rail since May 15, 2007.

See also:

Hoffa seeks unity with business

Detroit Free Press: May 31, 2007
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, in a rare appearance by a labor leader at the Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference, urged business leaders Wednesday not to outsource jobs and said business and labor must find common ground.

Hoffa's speech marked the first appearance by a leader of a major union at the event in 20 years.

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And from the looks on the faces of many of those on hand after finishing their dinners at the Grand Hotel and the tepid smattering of applause he received throughout his remarks, much of his message got an icy reaction.

Hoffa said Michigan's problems stem from the approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement and China's membership in the World Trade Organization.

He said business and labor must go together to Congress and the White House to argue for the opening of closed markets around the world, such as Japan's.

"Then you've got power," he said. "When we go together, congressmen and United States senators listen. Then the president of the United States will listen."

Anthony F. Earley Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of DTE Energy, said it was good to have Hoffa at the conference.

But he disagreed with Hoffa's statement that businesses are leaving the United States for "pennies."

"People don't move jobs to Mexico for nickels and dimes," he said. "They move for real dollars, and we need to ask ourselves why."

Posted on 9:21 AM | Permalink

The Times: June 1, 2007
Joe Bolger

A staggering two-day rally in Eurotunnel’s share price was brought to an abrupt halt yesterday after the French stock market regulator gave warning that the share price movement was “atypical”.

The Channel Tunnel operator’s London-listed shares lost more than 17 per cent of their value on the warning from the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).

The shares more than tripled in value this week after regulators lifted a suspension. Trading began on Tuesday morning, opening at 25.5p. They opened on Wednesday at 41.9p, breaching 100p during the day before closing at 77.5p.

The surge came after the group confirmed that shareholders had given their backing to a deal that will save the Anglo-French group from collapse.

Eurotunnel shareholders, including those who have not already accepted the rescue plan and those who bought shares this week, have until June 14 to surrender their holdings. In exchange they will receive a stake in the new group that will take control of Eurotunnel’s assets.

The sharp rise in the shares could, according to one analyst, be the result of hedge funds buying shares. They are thought to have built up significant “short” positions in the transport group, betting on a collapse in the price if the rescue deal failed. Such positions are closed by buying shares.

The AMF’s warning yesterday left the shares down 21½p in afternoon trading before they finished the day down 13½p at 64p.

The group’s Euronext-listed shares, which are traded in Paris, closed down 25c, or 18 per cent, at €1.10.

The regulator said it was necessary “to call the attention of investors and financial intermediaries to the atypical nature of the current situation”.

Eurotunnel’s shares were suspended early last week after the deadline had passed for shareholders to accept the terms of a rescue package that will see the group’s massive debts slashed.

They were suspended in London soon after the Monday deadline, pending the result. AMF revealed on Friday that shareholders holding some 87 per cent of the group’s equity had accepted the rescue package, which will see the group’s debt cut from £6.2 billion to £2.8 billion.

The debt-for-equity swap will see shareholders who tendered their holdings issued with shares in Groupe Eurotunnel, which will take on Eurotunnel’s concession to run the Channel Tunnel until 2086.

Shares in the new group will be listed on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext once formalities have been completed.

Some founder shareholders have opted to hold on to their existing Eurotunnel shares to preserve the perks that date from the group’s flotation 20 years ago.

Early shareholder privileges included unlimited £1atrip travel through the tunnel. More recent shareholders receive a less generous 30 per cent discount on up to three return trips a year. As part of the rescue package, all shareholders in Groupe Eurotunnel will qualify for the 30 per cent discount perks.

Eurotunnel has suffered from crippling interest payments on its debts, compounded by weaker than expected traffic figures in its early years.

The group’s early business plans assumed that the tunnel would take all cross-Channel business away from the ferry companies.

Posted on 9:10 AM | Permalink