EAST COAST MAIN LINE - OH, NOT AGAIN !!

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Tue 26 Mar, 2013 11:43 pm

After running the ECML quite successfully for around four years the Government are to seek yet another profit hungry private firm to bid for the franchise, the last two of course having jacked it in before the expiry of the franchise. So the trains will be quite un-necessarily painted yet again at ggodness knows what cost, and there'll be yet another set of Harvey Amies style uniforms, and more fresh signage, stationary, printing etc etc.. The present dignified livery is, IMHO, excellent - its grey/silver colours and lilac stripe being just right - and practically 100% has just about been achieved.Almost all the delays and cancellations are due to signalling faults, overhead line problems and other reasons beyond the control of any train operator and the ECML network operates as well as we can expect - I speak as a generally satisfied passenger. However some infernal "design consultant" will now be eagerly preparing his paper and crayons ready to inflict another expensive mobile eyesore upon us.

Cardiarms · Post by **Cardiarms** » Wed 27 Mar, 2013 8:29 am

Don't you want an enhanced customer experience?

Si · Post by Si » Wed 27 Mar, 2013 9:23 am

BLAKEY wrote: However some infernal "design consultant" will now be eagerly preparing his paper and crayons It's not entirely the bloke with the crayons fault, Blakey. Don't forget the dozens of focus-groups.I remember, years ago when I had to create an ad campaign for a well-known bed company, the focus-group results suggested that the public were fascinated by the interior of a bed. "Really?" I thought, so I was invited to the next sitting.We sat behind a two-way mirror, as several potential bed purchasers were subjected to about an hour of boring flip-chartery, when eventually a page featuring a full-colour illustration of the interior of a bed was shown. The focus-group sat forward and appeared more interested. "See?" said the researcher, "The public are fascinated by the interior of our beds, so that's what you have to base your adverts on."Jeez...

tilly · Post by **tilly** » Wed 27 Mar, 2013 9:33 am

Si wrote: BLAKEY wrote: However some infernal "design consultant" will now be eagerly preparing his paper and crayons It's not entirely the bloke with the crayons fault, Blakey. Don't forget the dozens of focus-groups.I remember, years ago when I had to create an ad campaign for a well-known bed company, the focus-group results suggested that the public were fascinated by the interior of a bed. "Really?" I thought, so I was invited to the next sitting.We sat behind a two-way mirror, as several potential bed purchasers were subjected to about an hour of boring flip-chartery, when eventually a page featuring a full-colour illustration of the interior of a bed was shown. The focus-group sat forward and appeared more interested. "See?" said the researcher, "The public are fascinated by the interior of our beds, so that's what you have to base your adverts on."Jeez... Hi Si Did anything spring to mind.lol

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Wed 27 Mar, 2013 10:21 am

Cardiarms wrote: Don't you want an enhanced customer experience? Cardiarms - Yes indeed, if one was significantly needed and achievable in practice but IMHO that's not the case here. I've had journeys of varying lengths on Virgin/Cross Country and many have been abominable ordeals. The trains are not of sufficient carriages, although there's been some improvement there of late, and luggage accommodation for such busy long and important routes from Scotland to the South West is woefully inadequate. Also on one occasion I had an important appointment in Taunton and booked for a train an hour earlier than necessary to find it shown as 32 minutes late, 36 minutes late, 42 minutes late, then Cancelled. As that Company appear to have no accessible staff at Leeds station I asked in desperation at the ECML kiosk where a helpful lady let me into the secret that "Oh its not REALLY cancelled, its just going the short way from York and not calling here. She then kindly let me into another trade secret "Hurry up love, and catch the 1202 Nottingham train and change at Sheffield and you should catch it there OK." Panting my way to platform 17 (I think it was) I found others also "in the know" and the Northern conductor complaining (good naturedly I must stress) to his driver "Ruddy Plymouth's missed again, look at this lot." Well, we arrived at Sheffield just in time, only to be told on board that due to the delay the train would not be stopping at Taunton and other stations and that we should bale out at Birmingham. Just as we bemused folks were getting ready to do so another announcement told us to stay put as it WOULD now be stopping at Taunton and one or two others.Well, if that's an enhanced passenger experience (I'm a customer in a shop not on a train) of a private franchise operator then I'm afraid I don't wany many more like it. Si - No, I wasn't in any way blaming design artists - its their profession and business to provide what their customers request, and I can quite understand that the "cut away" feature showing the construction of the mattress was a brilliant sales pitch. I was blaming transport operators in general for going down the path of transforming nicely designed "horizontal travel" vehicles into zany mobile graffiti exhibitions. The gorgeous GNER dark blue livery with simple broad blue band and classic gold "GNER" lettering was a most creditable exception and I greatly miss it still.Sorry to veer off the main issue here, but I still think personally that State owned and operated key services like railways are the way to go.

Riponian · Post by **Riponian** » Wed 27 Mar, 2013 1:16 pm

Since Sea Containers (GNER) went bust and National Express bottled out, there's not many other outfits likely to want to take it over other than Virgin and F*rst.As for Cross-Country missing Leeds off, seem to be a regular thing. I've been caught out by that and had a change at Sheffield, Derby and New Street job for what should have been a direct train, on which I had a seat booked. At least I got a free coffee, I mentioned they'd done their train evacuation training on the Wensleydale Railway at Leeming.

Post by **cnosni** » Wed 27 Mar, 2013 8:53 pm

Riponian wrote: Since Sea Containers (GNER) went bust and National Express bottled out, there's not many other outfits likely to want to take it over other than Virgin and F*rst.As for Cross-Country missing Leeds off, seem to be a regular thing. I've been caught out by that and had a change at Sheffield, Derby and New Street job for what should have been a direct train, on which I had a seat booked. At least I got a free coffee, I mentioned they'd done their train evacuation training on the Wensleydale Railway at Leeming. Virgin used to do the skipping of Leeds/Wakefield when they had the cross country franchise as well,in fact they did it so much that it was getting attention in the papers.It usually occurs when there is late running due to a number of reasons and happened only a week last Monday IIRC.Fortunateley there has been some sense seen with regards rebranding for future rail operators of a franchise.The station signs along the route have now been changed to generic and non specific,just as they used to be.Unfortunateley i would imagine that the trains and everything else will be rebranded (though i can assure you all that the uniforms arent sourced from Hardy Amis!!) but that is at the expense of the incoming franchisee rather thhan the government (though im sure the rail user themselves will pay in the long run).Its a shame really because at the moment we do have some good old railway management who have settled in and have "Gone NAtive" so to speak.I just hop ethat whoever does get teh franchise does not have the National Express approach,which was shall we say,confrontational and arrogant.They put up posters welcoming us to National Express,whereas,in reality,it was the other way round.They brought a short distance franchise attitude to a long distance railway,and we see what happened dont we.

Loiner1960 · Post by **Loiner1960** » Thu 28 Mar, 2013 8:21 am

How many colour schemes can the Class 91 and Mark IV rolling stock take? 1. BR Inter-City..2. BR Blue/White3. GNER Royal Blue and Crimson4. Interim East Coast5. East Coast Lilac and purple......The Class 373 Eurostars were leased and not painted but vinyl covered, yes it was vinyl. This was removed when the rolling stock was returned to Eurostar...And what has happened to the named Class 91's? I suspect that Queen Elizabeth II and DVT Duke of Edinburgh are still there.So politics dictate a private company runs the franchise. Even Brunel couldn't make railways pay.. This on the anniversary of The Beeching report, irony isn't in it.

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Thu 28 Mar, 2013 10:01 am

Was there an interim East Coast, or are you thinking of the part of the fleet that had been transformed by National Excuse before they realised they couldn't make it pay?Correct me if I am wrong but isn't east coast one of the few or maybe only franchise that is being run profitably? This is why the government think they can make even more from it by privatisation. The problem is that even in public hands east coast has been run commercially. I suspect there is very little more profit to be squeezed from it. Any franchise taking over would need to match current profits just to keep the government happy and then make additional profit for its investors.What can the new franchise do to achieve higher profits?They will have the same trainsThe same routesPretty much the same staffThe only things that can/may change are the senior management and the fares. Can a franchise put in better management? Can they put up fares without reducing volume and therefore turnover? I have serious doubts about both!

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Thu 28 Mar, 2013 7:04 pm

In moving servers a couple of posts on this thread disappeared. Majorhoudini was looking for a route back to Leeds from Salisbury without going to Bristol (he also pointed out lack of dining car on the Penzance- Edinburgh train)My ReplyI can only think, if avoiding London, you could do it by adding at least one other change. Having been there and back last year I know there are at least two direct trains each weekday to/from Reading but Salisbury to Reading appears to require at least one change which is presumably Basingstoke. Intrestingly when I went to Reading I was expecting having to avoid London for price reasons as previously it was much more expensive. However this time work had to pay slightly more because I would have been crossing London each way in the rush hour.