NEWS
Snow disruption cost millions T
he scale of the financial impact on train operating companies caused by the snow disruption has been vividly highlighted.
ScotRail said it expects to pay out at least £500,000 in ticket refunds due to severe disruption and cancellation for the late November and early December disruption alone – the second period of major disruption in the weeks leading up to Christmas could be even more. Nationally, train operating companies will have to fork out millions to inconvenienced passengers.
Steve Montgomery, managing director of ScotRail, said: “We fully appreciate the inconvenience caused by the worst weather conditions in Scotland for decades.
“Difficult decisions had to be taken following the impact on infrastructure and weather- related damage to our trains. This included the introduction
Benefit fund
A former railwayman has raised more than £25,000 selling memorabilia on eBay. Harold Wainwright, who started fundraising online for the Railway Benefit Fund in 2006, has sold more than 5,000 items. He said: “When I started I had
no idea that I would end up raising this much. I’m just happy to have helped the RBF.”The RBF’s Midland chairman, Alan Marshall, called Harold a “complete inspiration”. If you have memorabilia to donate, call 01270 251316 or email MSkerratt@
railwaybenefitfund.org
of temporary timetables or suspending services on a number of routes.
“Given the circumstances, we have introduced refund arrangements as a gesture of goodwill on a route by route basis depending on the level of service we were able to provide.”
Transport minister Keith Brown Looking good
Staff at Gatwick Express are starting the new year with a snazzy new uniform.
It is being worn by the company’s drivers, conductors, station staff, welcome hosts and onboard catering staff. It includes a red
welcomed the refunds, which go beyond the requirements of ScotRail’s Passengers’ Charter, saying: “We encourage people to use public transport where possible and recognise the problems people faced in trying to use the rail services.
“This offer will at least minimise the impact on passengers’ pockets.”
Robert Samson, Scottish Passenger Manager of Passenger Focus, said: “We welcome this gesture of goodwill by ScotRail and it should also be welcomed by passengers.”
suit jacket, charcoal trousers, a champagne shirt or blouse and a tie or cravat.
Customer service manager Caroline Jarvis said:
“Our staff are our ambassadors and it is crucial for them to look their best.”
Workhorse locos make their stamp on Britain
R
oyal Mail has issued a set of commemorative stamps to pay tribute to the “unsung heroes” that were the workhorses of the railways.
The first of four miniature sheets of stamps, called Classic Locomotives of England, is available from February 1, with stamps commemorating the trains of the other three home nations to follow.
Locomotives on show include
the Thor, which is the Peckett 1689 locomotive featured on the 60p stamp. It was built in 1925 for the Tunnel Cement Company of Purfleet, Essex, and spent its entire life there before being scrapped in 1965.
The 1st class stamp shows a Newbury-bound British Railways Dean Goods Class locomotive at East Garton in 1951, while the 88p stamp shows a Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway locomotive at Liverpool Exchange Station in
8 | rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 11
1909, pulling the 2.10 to Hull.
The 97p stamp shows a Second World War-era heavy-freight ‘Austerity’ locomotive, built for military service but which ended up in domestic use in Britain and France.
Philip Parker, of Royal Mail Stamps, said: “For many people the age of steam meant bright- liveried passenger locomotives, but in the background was a huge number of other ‘steam
machines’ playing a massive role during the industrial revolution and beyond.
“The Classic Locomotives series takes a look at the fascinating working lives of some of the less glamorous locomotives which powered their way around UK’s railways.”
The stamps and miniature sheets are available in a variety of formats. Visit
www.royalmail. com/stamps
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