Should these stations transfer to the correct TOC?

[swt class 450]

Just wondering does anyone else think it would be a good idea to transfer these stations to the correct TOC?

So far we have 10 stations which are all managed by a TOC which doesnt serve the station at all.

• Burton Upon Trent - Managed by EMT - Only served by XC
• Coleshill Parkway - Mangaged by LM - Only served by XC
• Dean - Managed by GWR - Only served by SWT
• Hinckley - Managed by EMT - Only served by XC
• Mottisfont & Dunbridge - Managed by GWR - Only served by SWT
• Narborough - Managed by EMT - Only served by XC
• South Wigston - Managed by EMT - Only served by XC
• Water Orton - Managed by LM - Only served by XC
• Willington - Manged by EMT - Only served by XC
• Wilnecote - Managed by LM - Only served by XC

I think that stations that are managed by TOCs that do not call there are more likely to be poorly maintained as the TOCs wont be as bothered to look after them. This is certainly the case for both Dean and Mottisfont & Dunbridge which are full of old out of date signage and timetables (but luckily they are in nice rural areas so are free from vandalism and rubbish etc). Im not sure about the EMT / LM / XC ones?

Is there a reason that none of these stations have transferred to the correct TOC? Surely it would be a fairly easy and simple process?

 

[Domh245]

As it stands, XC operate no stations themselves which is presumably why there are a number of stations where XC are the only trains but the stations are operated by others. I guess this means XC don't have to do any kind of station management, simplifying their operations.

 

[yorkie]

Is there a reason that none of these stations have transferred to the correct TOC? Surely it would be a fairly easy and simple process?

I don't know about the SWT ones, but XC currently do not manage any stations, so it would not be easy.

Perhaps it should happen, but if it did, XC would need to get a staffing structure in place for it. They do not have any ticket office staff in the entire organisation (as far as I know), for example. Due to economies of scale, it would be less economical than the current situation.

 

[swt_passenger]

XC not running any stations ought to be made a sticky, it gets asked about that often. As has been mentioned in the many previous discussions, DfT made the decision back when the ex Central trains routes transferred to XC that all stations would remain with the relevant 'regional' TOC, even if XC were the only caller.

The 2006 consultation includes:

Stations
Cross Country do not currently operate stations. Cross Country have successfully worked
with other train operators to ensure that passenger needs are well catered for at the
beginning and end of their journeys. It is proposed that this arrangement continues in the
New Cross Country franchise. Where there are no other operators serving a station, then it is
proposed that an adjacent operator is the Station Facility Owner (SFO).

and...

Minor Works Fund
The New Cross Country franchise will not be required to establish and manage a Minor
Works Fund for small scale physical alterations or additions to improve accessibility of
stations to disabled persons as they will not be a station operator.

In the case of the two proposed GWR - SWT station transfers on the Salisbury line, they (and Romsey) were explicitly down for transfer to SWT in the abandoned GW 2012 franchise spec, but the change seems to have disappeared from more recent specs, including the current SW one.

 

[David Andrews]

Lockerbie is used mainly by TransPennine Express and a few Virgin West Coast trains but managed by Scotrail.

 

[najaB]

Lockerbie is used mainly by TransPennine Express and a few Virgin West Coast trains but managed by Scotrail.

Transferring it to either would create the anomaly of a Scottish station operated by a TOC from south of the border. I can't see Transport Scotland going for that one.

 

[TheDavibob]

Transferring it to either would create the anomaly of a Scottish station operated by a TOC from south of the border. I can't see Transport Scotland going for that one.

Waverley and Glasgow Central are run by Network Rail (as you'd expect) despite far more cleanly slotting in as Scotrail stations than Lockerbie would be. It's an interesting one.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Lockerbie would have to be either Virgin or ScotRail. Whilst TPE provide the majority of services it is an astronomical distance from their next nearest managed station (even more so these days since the Cumbrian branches went to Northern), where the resources, station managers and cover staff would be.

It being with ScotRail ties in with the wider unified Scottish railway we've seen of late (see also Dunbar going from EC management to SR about 18 months ago), and is also close enough to the stations on the G&SW to fit into their management group, making it easier for station maintenance, checks and getting staff cover when necessary. Virgin I suppose could feasibly manage it, what with them operating Carlisle (and Penrith etc), I suppose it's just one of the oddities of the way everything was split on privatisation - I believe Lockerbie was an InterCity station way back when but has it ever been one of the WC franchise managed stations or has it always been with the Scottish operator?

 

[pdeaves]

I believe Lockerbie was an InterCity station way back when but has it ever been one of the WC franchise managed stations or has it always been with the Scottish operator?

Always Scotrail.

 

[HSTEd]

Could always transfer some of the only-called-at-by-XC stations to Network Rail.

Network Rail having some rural stations is probably less onerous than XC having them from scratch.

 

[LowLevel]

Why? All of these stations are looked after by station support teams from a larger hub (for example Leicester or Derby) and and some of them are staffed, which means booking office staff need line management and accountancy teams. Consequently transferring them to XC (whose only station operations staff are based at Birmingham New Street (passenger assistance) and Edinburgh Waverley (dispatch) as far as I know, except some caterers and train cleaners perhaps) seems daft.

Network Rail is also no better set up to look after these stations (unless you want Pway or S&T or the MOM to empty the bins) whereas their local operators, as far as I've ever seen, do (Burton for example has been refurbished despite EMT not serving it) look after it adequately and the only people who seem to want to continually question it and actually think it's a bad idea are some folk on these forums for whom I can only assume it disrupts some kind of mental order they need.

Even unmanned stations need looking after and the existing operators have people in place to do it.

 

[jopsuk]

If anything it would make more sense to make the Birmingham-Stansted service an EMT one and the Birmingham-Nottingham service an LM one... or possibly an EMT one too.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I'll be the one person who says this: but what about the traincrew? Half of New St and Leicester go between EMT and LM, and presumably Bristol becomes either LM or EMT, depending on who runs Cardiff-Nottingham? Or if you split that halfway, does New Street then get split into three new Toc depots?