News in brief


Transport sector praised by graduates The transport industry has been voted one of the best sectors to work for in Britain, according to a new poll of graduates by thejobcrowd.com website. The industry came second overall in the UK for both career progression and overall role enjoyment, as well as scoring highly for colleague interaction and company culture.


Shipping move for Eurotunnel Eurotunnel has moved a step further towards running its own ferry operations with clearance granted by the French competition watchdog. The Channel Tunnel owner bought three ferries from the defunct SeaFrance earlier this year. At the UK end, the Competition Commission has yet to come to a decision.


Dividends fall for First FirstGroup has had to decrease dividends it pays to shareholders in the wake of the hold-up on a decision on the West Coast franchise. The investigation into the franchising process has meant uncertainty for the transport group, which has seen share prices drop. It is currently shortlisted for three franchises, including the West Coast.


MP calls for safety re-think Greg Mulholland, MP for Leeds North West, has called on transport minister Norman Baker to look again at safety standards for light rail projects. Most light rail projects currently fail to get the go- ahead because of the high costs associated with safety concerns, which are far more stringent than on the Continent.


Train better than plane A new report is attempting to promote the benefits of train travel to Scottish businesses. Transform Scotland’s report On Track for Business, suggests that train travel represents better value for money than flying and provides a high-quality working environment.


PAGE 6 DECEMBER 2012


French vertical integration proposals alarm freight operators


by Katie Silvester


France is proposing to reunite its rail operations with its infrastructure management, effectively bringing an end to vertical separation.


The new structure, announced by


the French Government on 30 October, creates a holding company (GIE), which will control infrastructure management through a ‘Groupement d’Infrastructure Unique’ (single infrastructure group) that will manage the infrastructure, the timetable and maintenance/renewals of the network. GIE will have close links to SNCF. While countries such as Britain keep their infrastructure management entirely separate from its train operations, France always maintained a strong link between the two, despite the EU requiring that the two are kept separate. However, the ‘deep alliance’ experiment between South West Trains and Network Rail could see this principle eroded in the UK, too. The Rail Freight Group (RFG) has expressed concern over the proposals. France has long been seen as a frustrating


obstacle to freight operators, as French bureaucracy makes it difficult to run freight through the country.


RFG suggests that the plan will kill competition and ensure that SNCF retains an increasing monopoly position until it closes rail freight completely. It has already lost 50 per cent of its rail freight traffic in the last ten years. Tony Berkeley, RFG chairman said: ‘Rail freight has been shown to prosper in open, competitive markets, such as in the UK. These proposals move away from such a model, and are likely to be damaging to the prospects for rail freight growth between the UK and France, via the Channel Tunnel. ‘We are deeply concerned about the intentions of the French government, which are both anti-rail freight and anti- European. ‘We urge the European Commission to investigate these proposals and their compliance with the First Railway Package and the emerging proposals for the Fourth package. It is vital that any restructuring allows all operators to operate on a fair and equal basis between France and the UK.’


Young artists celebrate Pendolino in art competition


Brake manufacturer Knorr-Bremse hosted a glittering arts awards ceremony at its facility in Melksham, Wiltshire in November to celebrate the work of a local school.


Students of Melksham Oak School were presented with prizes as winners of a competition organised by Knorr-Bremse and the school and supported by the train builder Alstom and train operator, Virgin Trains. Students were asked to create a piece of art, either individually or in teams, to convey and represent the dynamic nature of the Pendolino train. There were to be no limits on the media that could be used and entries included paintings, drawings, ceramics and sculpture.


There were three age groups, (Years 7, 8 and 9) with a first, second and third place up for grabs in each category. The main prizes, provided by Knorr- Bremse, included a range of Apple media goodies such as iPads for the first prize winners in each category and ‘goodies’ that were also generously provided by both Alstom and Virgin Trains. The Alstom-built Pendolino train is equipped with a Knorr-Bremse braking system. Nick Brailey, Knorr-Bremse’s marketing and communication manager,


said: ‘We have a long association with our local school, Melksham Oak and we discussed doing something, working with the school’s art department, which would celebrate our association with and support for, the Pendolino train of which we are very proud.


‘The school enthusiastically took this up and the result has been some really impressive and innovative artwork produced by the students.’


Pictured left to right with their winning art competition entries from each of the age group categories: Katherine Satchell, Lauren Gerrish and Charlotte Hall


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