BLOGS
Our daily rail blogger blends irreverence with a much-needed dose of reality – here is a selection of her recent output.
September 1 How much is time worth?
The news that Witham station’s new entrance and footbridge has opened will be positive for all the commuters using it, as it saves them three whole minutes when walking from the car park to the platform.
Of course every bit of time saved is valuable, and if any commuter were asked if they would prefer an extra few minutes in the morning, they would resoundingly say yes.
In today’s fast-paced society, time is becoming more precious and we are frequently reminded about the benefit of making the most of ev- ery minute.
Yet, £2.2m for just three minutes? That seems a very high price to pay. Of course, the benefits are cumulative, but passengers will never be able to ‘collect’ together all of those seconds saved over the course of a year to do anything useful with.
No doubt the improvements will also deliver extra benefits, such as improved access for the disabled, and a community that can take pride in its shiny new station en- trance.
It’s just that, with all the possible projects that could significantly improve people’s lives, this may not be a desperately necessary use of funding.
August 24 Image isn’t everything
The controversy continues over the Thameslink contract as a leaked letter from the Business Secretary Vince Cable exposes fears of damaging the Govern- ment’s reputation if the decision was reversed.
18 | rail technology magazine Aug/Sep 11
While campaigners rush to assure politicians that they will not think any less of them for changing their minds, Cable has a point, albeit a cowardly one.
Major changes in policy do re- flect badly on those who made the original decisions. A Government must be consistent, with firm re- solve; otherwise they will lose es- sential public trust and respect.
Yet it is also true that allowing for flexibility and admitting mistakes requires a great deal of strength. While reliability and reputation are undoubtedly important, good policy decisions must surely take precedence over these.
August 17 Take a chance
Another open access operator is proposing to run additional ser- vices on the rail network – this time between West Yorkshire and London. In the past, many have tried, and most have failed to win approval from the ORR, which seems to make special use of its regulatory powers in this area.
Privatisation without competition has led to a virtual monopoly on many of our train lines – leaving too many operators free of real pressure to provide better services for the public.
Allowing smaller companies to en- ter the equation could improve the industry; forcing the large opera- tors to work harder to deserve the contracts they are currently hand- ed by the Government. We are not alone in thinking that more open access operators would be a posi- tive for passengers.
August 15
Deterred passengers deal with it
must
The latest news that 70% of people believe they already pay enough for rail travel is not entirely shock- ing. The consumer will always fight for the lowest possible price, and oppose any increases.
The survey also showed that pas- sengers are not willing to pay any more than the current prices. Yet, with petrol prices equally extor- tionate, added to the hassle of traffic jams and parking problems, it is not clear that they have any al- ternative options.
People must travel – especially to work – somehow. As everything gets more and more expensive, it seems the public will have no choice but to adapt.
August 5 Dotted line
Who will benefit most from chang-
ing the rules on franchising – pas- sengers or taxpayers? Or will it be operators who come out on top?
Philip Hammond hopes not. The Transport Secretary has said the new franchising arrangements, including the new programme of re-franchising announced today, represent a major culture shift, both for the Government and for prospective bidders. He has in the past stated that awarding longer franchises, as desired by opera- tors, will have to be matched by real investment by them in ser- vices, quality and customer focus.
It’s also true that the future fran- chise situation is likely to see Britain even more dominated by foreign-owned (and foreign state- owned) operators: something which hasn’t really entered the public consciousness yet, unlike of course the disputes over where trains are made.
The Government has promised effective monitoring of franchises (which will still, counter-intui- tively, be more flexible) to ensure that operators don’t take the lon- ger contract periods as an excuse to rake in profits at the expense of customer satisfaction.
What was not discussed in today’s announcement was making the whole system of subsidy payments more transparent, as demanded by the McNulty value-for-money study. Such a move would prob- ably show starkly the money that regional operators depend on, compared to those who run inter- city and commuter routes – but it would also make it far easier for passengers to make real judg- ments about the companies they choose to travel with.
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
opinion@railtechnologymagazine.com
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