The British transport operator FirstGroup has applied for two more “open access” services outside the main train operating contracts as the government attempts to increase competition on the rail network and cut fares. Open access means the operator takes full commercial risk, running services on infrastructure owned by a third party, on a chosen route that is not subject to a rail franchise set by the Department for Transport.
Just what the railways need if they are to come into their own again!
FirstGroup began running an open access service through its Lumo business between London and Edinburgh in October 2021, which has carried more than 2.5 million passengers so far. It says train cancellations are among the lowest in the industry. Encouraged by the success of Lumo, FirstGroup said it had recently submitted applications to the Office of Rail and Road for a new Hull Trains service between London and Sheffield, which could start in 2026, and a new Lumo service between Rochdale and London, which could begin in 2027.
I've travelled to Edinburgh on Lumo, and yes, it's a very no-frills service. Take food with you, as the trolly service only does drinks and crisps - if you want a sandwich you need to have ordered it on their website before boarding. But when every train station is full of places to pick up a sandwich, is that such a hardship?
It has also applied for the extension of a number of Lumo’s daily services to and from Glasgow; for an additional, eighth return service on Hull Trains between London and Hull and for an extra sixth return Lumo service between London and Newcastle. If successful, these services will more than double its open access capacity over the next three to five years.
And this can only be a good thing, surely?
Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, said this strengthened the case for public ownership.
Oh. Of course. I was forgetting the rail unions.
She added: “FirstGroup is extracting colossal profits from our bus and rail networks at the expense of passengers and workers. It makes no sense to pour billions of pounds into subsidising public transport and then allow third-party operators to profiteer from them by running down jobs and services.”
How are they doing that, when they are giving passengers what they want - cheap, reliable service?
5 comments:
Was this in the Guar...
Oh never mind
Probably the worst 'non-job' at present in the UK is train driver. Compare the distance a driver can actually see down the line with the distance it takes to stop, especially at night, and you quickly discover that for large parts of any journey, he (or she) is essentially driving blind. Of course the driver follows the signals, but where is the signalman. If there is a track obstruction, the train is going to hit it. In the past, trackside workers filled in some of the missing information, but they have very largely gone, leaving only a legacy of decaying 'plate layers' huts'.
The drivers' union is a big part of the problem.
I was a member of the NUR many moons ago and can confirm that providing a service to paying customers was well down their list of priorities.
P & O hacked off many when they replaced their RMT members with foreigners. Any commuter who has suffered though rail strikes by NUR or RMT will agree whole-heartedly with P & O.
"Was this in the Guar...
Oh never mind"
😂
"Probably the worst 'non-job' at present in the UK is train driver."
I've tried the tran simulator games, found it very complicated, but also hard to stay awake while playing!
"I was a member of the NUR many moons ago and can confirm that providing a service to paying customers was well down their list of priorities."
Like all unions, I suspect.
"P & O hacked off many when they replaced their RMT members with foreigners. Any commuter who has suffered though rail strikes by NUR or RMT will agree whole-heartedly with P & O."
The Tubes seem to be minority-driven already, at least judging by the unintelligibility of the announcements.
Post a Comment