Nationalised rail is BACK

[Man of Harveys]

Well, in part anyway - great news, I reckon. "It is simply unacceptable to reap the benefits of contracts when times are good, only to walk away from them when times become more challenging." Quite right - typical of the spivs.

BBC NEWS | Business | National Express loses rail route


National Express loses rail route

The East Coast rail service has suffered falling passenger numbers
The government is to take the East Coast rail service, run by National Express, into public ownership.

The troubled rail franchise, which is expected to have lost £20m in the first half of the year, is suffering from slumping passenger numbers.

Ministers have refused the company's requests for its contract with the government to be renegotiated.

The Department for Transport said that all East Coast services would continue and that tickets would be honoured.

Existing operational staff will transfer to the new state company which will be set up to operate the route.

The government added it intended to put the franchise out for tender from late next year.

'No bail-out'

National Express won the franchise from GNER in 2007.

It agreed to pay the government £1.4bn to run the East Coast main line, which runs between Edinburgh and London, until 2015.

At the time, many rail analysts said it had paid too much for the franchise.


FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME


More from Today programme
Now National Express has said it will walk away from the loss-making route after failing to alter the terms of its agreement - a step which prompted the government to intervene.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said: "The government is not prepared to renegotiate rail franchises, because I'm simply not prepared to bail out companies that are unable to meet their commitments.

"It is simply unacceptable to reap the benefits of contracts when times are good, only to walk away from them when times become more challenging."

In a statement, the government added that it believed it had also had grounds to end National Express's two other rail franchises - East Anglia and c2c.

But the company said it felt the government had "no grounds" to do this and would challenge any such attempt in court.

It added that it did not expect the any losses from the East Coast franchise could be recouped from National Express.

Debt pile

Richard Bowker, the chief executive of National Express, has confirmed he is to leave the firm, to become chief executive of Union Railway in the United Arab Emirates.

In a trading statement, National Express said that the "challenging economic environment" meant it was seeing fewer passengers on the East Coast Mainline and "significant" levels of people downgrading from first-class and full fares.


It doesn't seem to me right that the taxpayer should pick up the loss from one [franchise] and leave the profits from the other two with National Express,

Norman Baker
Liberal Democrat transport spokesman
The firm is trying to reduce a debt pile of about £1.2bn. Earlier this week, rival transport company FirstGroup said a takeover approach made for National Express had been rejected.

Cuts have been made in dividend payouts to shareholders, while 750 jobs have also been lost.

Last month, the company started charging passengers for reserving a seat on its East Coast and East Anglia franchises.

'Not right'

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker said that National Express should not be allowed to run any other train services.

"It doesn't seem to me right that the taxpayer should pick up the loss from one and leave the profits from the other two with National Express," he told the BBC.

He added that by leaving the East Coast line in public hands would provide a comparator which would be "useful in driving up standards across the whole industry."

The transport union, the RMT, welcomed the development and also called for the franchise to remain in government hands permanently.

"It should be a long-term solution to the chaos that privatisation has brought to the UK's most lucrative rail franchise," said RMT General Secretary Bob Crow.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

it's strange that they mention 'falling passenger numbers'

it always seems to be PACKED when i'm on it

 

[Beach Hut]

Expect NXEA and c2c to be handed back as well shortly I reckon it is end game time for National Express and train running

 

[clapham_gull]

Expect NXEA and c2c to be handed back as well shortly I reckon it is end game time for National Express and train running

Oh dear, a rightie complaining about a profit making organisation.

Standards are slipping.................

 

[Norman Potting]

....Excellent News!










.....For all the consultants, accountants and lawyers who will be able to stick their noses in the trough to sort everything out.

 

[adrian29uk]

This is another thing the tories did, that I hope people have not forgotten about.

Has rail travel really improved since the bloody tories sold off our railways?

 

[clapham_gull]

This is another thing the tories did, that I hope people have not forgotten about.

Has rail travel really improved since the bloody tories sold off our railways?

I think it has improved in terms of service, but it is ridiculously expensive.

Won't the franchise simply be put out to tender again ? I'm not aware of any government having plans to re-nationalise anything.

 

[house your seagull]

Epic!

 

[The Large One]

I think it has improved in terms of service, but it is ridiculously expensive.

Won't the franchise simply be put out to tender again ? I'm not aware of any government having plans to re-nationalise anything.

End of next year, they say.

 

[Arthur]

Has rail travel really improved since the bloody tories sold off our railways?

Errrrmmmmm yes!

 

[Ernest]

It's only the same thing that happened when Connex lost the South Eastern franchise, a few months of state ownership and then flogged back off. But that was in the 'good' times but it might be a bit harder this time to interest people without massive subsidies.

 

[Southover Street Seagull]

This is another thing the tories did, that I hope people have not forgotten about.

Has rail travel really improved since the bloody tories sold off our railways?

I think it has with better trains, but it is still expensive and with the huge subsidies the private firms got and still get from us the taxpayer, could it still have been as good if not better if it was left nationalised?

IMHO I think that it would have been better off nationalised, with increased subsidies, strict targets on punctuality and some decent management who were paid a good rate of pay to get the best managers in.
I can never understand the dogma that only in privatised businesses you can pay better rates of pay so that you can supposedly get the best staff in?

 

[The Large One]

Not every train service has improved.

While the Southern trains are decent, the FCC ones to London are still vile.

 

[Beach Hut]

Oh dear, a rightie complaining about a profit making organisation.

Standards are slipping.................

Listen here Red Wedge - not moaning at all just commenting

 

[GT49er]

This is another thing the tories did, that I hope people have not forgotten about.

Has rail travel really improved since the bloody tories sold off our railways?

No, it hasn't. Just a lot of new trains where passengers are crammed in airline style (and with luggage it van take nearly as long getting on and getting off!) - oh yes, and you now have to pay three or four times as much as your fellow passengers if you've got the brass neck to turn up at a station and ask for a ticket for the next train, just because a month ago you didn't know you were going to have to make this journey so you haven't booked in advance.

 

[Dover]

As others have mentioned, it appears to depend on which train company run the line to which services have improved. I personally feel the line I use regularly has improved beyond recognition, which is the Brighton to Ashford service, and I then travel onto Dover.

Anyhow, the service in Brighton, and on the Southern part of the line is top drawer. From Ashford down however, that is a different matter. They are still very much in the "British Rail" mode of customer service and are to the point of rude. A classic example of this was at Ashford two months ago, and went something like this.

Tannoy announcement : The next train to arrive at platform 5 will divide here. The front 6 coaches are for Ramsgate, calling at......The rear 3 coaches are for Dover Priory calling at......

Train pulls up, little middle aged French woman who is taking charge of a group of similar aged people asks a member of the platform staff, in broken English.

"Is ziss the train pour Douvre sir, mister, thanken you."

To which the helpful member of the platform staff then waves his arms in a frantic manner and shouts.

"Right! Now listen you twats! You lot want the rear part of the train! Got that, good! No, no, no, no! The last bit of the train! Right, give us your bags you silly cow, i'll put them on. Follow me, come on you silly Froggies!

He has then pretty much thrown her baggage on the train, and understandably she is very distraught, and crying. Her fellow travellers are also upset and bewildered. Other people who are already on the train, or are boarding, have been witnesses. We are either trying to get his name to make a complaint, or attempting to find them some coffee etc to calm the situation.

One of the travellers already on the train then stated that, "That attitude on this station is quite normal. I see it all the time, and complained bout it with other passengers but nothing has happened."

Since this incident, and before I have seen various little acts like this, on the Southeastern region, and it just seems ingrained in the system.

 

[Albion Dan]

oh yes, and you now have to pay three or four times as much as your fellow passengers if you've got the brass neck to turn up at a station and ask for a ticket for the next train, just because a month ago you didn't know you were going to have to make this journey so you haven't booked in advance.

I just dont agree, you wouldnt expect to turn up at an airport and pay the same fare as someone who bought a month ago. You can still save money up to the day before travel if you buy online and are flexible with travel time. Its called quota control and is used in aalmost every form of long distance transport in the western world.

The government caused the mess with NX by being greedy and always going for the bidder who promised the most cash even if unrealistic. Virgin bid for the franchise in a sensible way based on financial reality and lost as a result.

 

[Man of Harveys]

The government caused the mess with NX by being greedy and always going for the bidder who promised the most cash even if unrealistic.

And I'm sure that the government would of course in no way have been castigated for not ensuring it got the most amount of money for these franchises...If these spivs wanted to overreach themselves, that's their problem: the twat's lost his job as a result and we ALL own a vital national asset again. Win/win, IMHO.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

It's only the same thing that happened when Connex lost the South Eastern franchise, a few months of state ownership and then flogged back off. But that was in the 'good' times but it might be a bit harder this time to interest people without massive subsidies.

The irony is that the outgoing Chief Executive of National Express, Richard Bowker, is the same Richard Bowker who was Chief Honcho at the Strategic Rail Authority when the SRA stripped Connex of the South Eastern franchise.

I knew him when he was still a young lad living in Eastbourne and his dad, Roger Bowker, was manager of Eastbourne Buses.

 

[Milton Keynes Seagull]

And I'm sure that the government would of course in no way have been castigated for not ensuring it got the most amount of money for these franchises...If these spivs wanted to overreach themselves, that's their problem: the twat's lost his job as a result and we ALL own a vital national asset again. Win/win, IMHO.

Back to the wonderful days of British Rail is it? Filthy trains, cancellations, surly staff, appalling catering and strikes led by commie trade union leaders every few days.
The "people" owned everything in those wonderful countries in the Soviet bloc as well. Funny how the "people" kicked the reds out of Russia, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Rumania, Yugoslavia etc etc.

Goodnight left side!