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New South Western franchise: Awarded to First/MTR

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bb21

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NR either bite the bullet and sort out some of the most urgent repair work on infrastructure, or they spend the money on Schedule 8 payments anyway. I know which road they would end up going down.

The timing of the points failure was most unfortunate today. Let me think, how many times have 1515 points failed recently? :roll:
 
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NR either bite the bullet and sort out some of the most urgent repair work on infrastructure, or they spend the money on Schedule 8 payments anyway. I know which road they would end up going down.

The timing of the points failure was most unfortunate today. Let me think, how many times have 1515 points failed recently? :roll:

Seems to me that NR are rapidly running out of sticking plaster and gaffer tape, all over Wessex the infrastructure is creaking and, I suspect, that 3-4 instances a day will become the norm especially as the timetable intensifies.
 

bb21

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Seems to me that NR are rapidly running out of sticking plaster and gaffer tape, all over Wessex the infrastructure is creaking and, I suspect, that 3-4 instances a day will become the norm especially as the timetable intensifies.

They ran out of sticky plaster a long time ago. It's been "fires everywhere - buckets - Argh, not enough water! - more fires" for a while.

If Wessex's Schedule 8 payments were replicated on every other route, NR would very quickly bankrupt itself.
 

Dr Hoo

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Isn't it good to know that the senior management still have time for the pointless corporate pomp that is the launch of the new brand, which I expect the majority of staff and passengers couldn't care less about, whilst the network is in complete meltdown. It was looked at opening Platforms 21 and 22 to help recover from the disruption, but it wasn't possible as the platforms were full of equipment for the launch. Definitely got their priorities straight.

One really does wonder where the private sector gets these pathetic 'launch' ideas from.

I mean; in good-ole BR's day, can you imagine Chris Green launching Network SouthEast at Waterloo in front of a government minister on a day when services were disrupted and blocking up a couple of platforms with rolling stock showcasing some garish re-tread livery effort back in 1986?

Oh, hang on a minute...:roll:
 
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Dr Hoo

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They ran out of sticky plaster a long time ago. It's been "fires everywhere - buckets - Argh, not enough water! - more fires" for a while.

If Wessex's Schedule 8 payments were replicated on every other route, NR would very quickly bankrupt itself.

The figures are not a secret. However, for those who have not yet reached page 953 of Network Rail's recently published 1,100-page Regulatory Financial Statement for 2016-17 (obviously not including the events of recent weeks), the Wessex Route paid out £35million under Schedule 8. This on a regime that is at least intended to be financially neutral if agreed targets are met.

(The national total paid out last year was £187million. This shows the sheer extent of industry revenue damage from excessive disruption, not even including costs such as overtime, taxis, refunds and Delay Repay.)
 

infobleep

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The figures are not a secret. However, for those who have not yet reached page 953 of Network Rail's recently published 1,100-page Regulatory Financial Statement for 2016-17 (obviously not including the events of recent weeks), the Wessex Route paid out £35million under Schedule 8. This on a regime that is at least intended to be financially neutral if agreed targets are met.

(The national total paid out last year was £187million. This shows the sheer extent of industry revenue damage from excessive disruption, not even including costs such as overtime, taxis, refunds and Delay Repay.)
Is the Wessex payment costs higher the average across TOCs and is this due to the amount of trains running?
 

embers25

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Not even 0530 and already Platforms 1-10 at Waterloo are closed, the 0500 to Pompey is diverted and delayed and there are delays on the West of England line with the first three empty stock workings westbound from Salisbury 10-30 minutes late and the 0510 form Exeter is really struggling with wheel slip...off to a good start!
 
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pompeyfan

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Incidentally the guard in the heavily delayed Basingstoke service mentioned that you can now claim delay repay for delays of over 30 minutes. On this service the apology has only been for the delay. This train is now 30 minutes late precisely according to National Rail Enquiries. I imagine it will take time for staff to remember all the new announcements.

I haven't been delayed by 30 minutes myself so won't be claiming. I wonder how many others will. It will certainly be a good test of the new claim system they have in place.

The brief states to only mention delay repay when arriving into the terminus station 30 minutes late, in reality I think a lot of guards will alter it slightly and say 'apologies we're xx minutes late, if you're over 30 minutes late arriving into your destination station, you could be entitled to a partial refund, for further information please ask myself, or search 'South Western railway delay repay'

Out of interest, does delay repay now include acts not within the railways control such as fatalities, trespass, extreme weather? I've read most things I've been given but not seen it mentioned.
 

infobleep

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I see the 8.02 Woking service has had all its stops after Weybridge cancelled, bar Waterloo. It left Woking 5 minutes late and it seems the 8.05 departed first from Woking. That waits at West Byfleet, departing at 8.16. I can only assume the 8.02 was stuck behind it outside the station. If it were possible, and I don't know of it were, they really should have held the 8.05 to allow the 8.02 to depart first.

As that didn't happen, could they have just run the 8.16 early from West Byfleet and then hold the 8.02 at West Byfleet instead? After all the 8.02 is going to be late whatever they do, as it stuck behind the waiting service.

The incoming stock for the 8.02 service arrived at 8am. I wonder if the passengers waiting were aware of what would happen. Be annoying if you boarded and wanted a station after Weybridge that wasn't Waterloo. Be a half hour delay as the train that should have been behind will have already left.
 
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CosherB

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One really does wonder where the private sector gets these pathetic 'launch' ideas from.

I mean; in good-ole BR's day, can you imagine Chris Green launching Network SouthEast at Waterloo in front of a government minister on a day when services were disrupted and blocking up a couple of platforms with rolling stock showcasing some garish re-tread livery effort back in 1986?

Oh, hang on a minute...:roll:

Spot on ..... post of the day! :lol:
 

Goldfish62

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My train has just run wrong line through Ashford, which we'd previously passed over an hour ago. Glad it's the first day of Delay Repay.

Probably the same train as I was on. It was an interesting experience!

When we got to Waterloo 122 min late a manager was there handing out comment forms. That wouldn't have happened under SWT!

Contrary to what a number of industry posters on here think of us passengers there was no moaning, no nastiness and a number of us thanked the guard for keeping us informed.
 

Goldfish62

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My train has just run wrong line through Ashford, which we'd previously passed over an hour ago. Glad it's the first day of Delay Repay.

Seems to me that NR are rapidly running out of sticking plaster and gaffer tape, all over Wessex the infrastructure is creaking and, I suspect, that 3-4 instances a day will become the norm especially as the timetable intensifies.

It's surely reached crisis point now. Neither passengers nor staff can continue to put up with this constant disruption.
 

infobleep

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They ran out of sticky plaster a long time ago. It's been "fires everywhere - buckets - Argh, not enough water! - more fires" for a while.

If Wessex's Schedule 8 payments were replicated on every other route, NR would very quickly bankrupt itself.
So woild replacing the aging equipment require another month long blockage like Waterloo and I'd that why they seem to be ignoring the potentially better solution?
 

infobleep

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Here's an example of the problems. There are only 4 trains an hour from Surbtion to places at Wimbledon and Clapham Junction in the morning. This is because the infrastructure cannot cope with any more than that. So when two out of the four trains at cancelled and you end up with a 44 minute gap between services, as happened today, it's not great.

I don't know if passemgers were advised to circulate via Waterloo today. South Western Railway will have to be very good with their customer services side or people might start to think they are worse than South West Trains. If more and more large gaps appear in places at Surbtion due to infrastructure faults, more passengers aren't going to be happy. It's not as if Surbtion and Wimbledon are out of the way country stations either! The problem is, when there is no service to Wimbledon then there is nothing expect non stop trains to Waterloo, which makes it a long double back.
 

Dr Hoo

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Is the Wessex payment costs higher the average across TOCs and is this due to the amount of trains running?

The amount paid under the peformance regime reflects the amount of revenue at risk so an operator with lots of long, well-filled trains carrying passengers travelling longish distances will have higher payment rates.

However, the real point is that Wessex have been doing relatively badly. The perforamce regime in Scotland, for example, was more or less in balance in 2016-17 as expected standards were delivered.
 

Wolfie

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One really does wonder where the private sector gets these pathetic 'launch' ideas from.

I mean; in good-ole BR's day, can you imagine Chris Green launching Network SouthEast at Waterloo in front of a government minister on a day when services were disrupted and blocking up a couple of platforms with rolling stock showcasing some garish re-tread livery effort back in 1986?

Oh, hang on a minute...:roll:

Network SouthEast offered genuine improvements and unified the somewhat rundown rail operations in a substantial part of the country....

First are a private, predominantly bus, operator with a pretty poor rail track record (Worst Late Western anyone) who are taking over from another private firm what many perceive as one of the best two (Chiltern being the other) managed rail franchises (said franchise being a small subset of the former NSE) over the last 15 years plus. Not exactly comparable...
 

Marklund

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AIUI LED 'light engines' can replace filament lamps in existing heads without any external changes, but here we have a whole installations worth of brand new fittings, and if a decision was taken to fit replacement light engines it would be premature, as the normal heads would still have their expected remaining life.

Light engines? When they finally iron out the problems, they will be a great thing...
They get changed more often than a SL35LL does :roll:

Haven't seen the mark 3 version of them yet. Wonder how long it will be until the mark 4 comes out :lol:
 

sjoh

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Quick question: can anyone tell me where the Basingstoke stopper switches between fasts and slows? Would I be right in thinking it's between Walton and Weybridge?
 

Juniper Driver

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Probably the same train as I was on. It was an interesting experience!

When we got to Waterloo 122 min late a manager was there handing out comment forms. That wouldn't have happened under SWT!

Contrary to what a number of industry posters on here think of us passengers there was no moaning, no nastiness and a number of us thanked the guard for keeping us informed.

TBH I can't really blame you if you (and others) were moaning.On my last trip I left Waterloo 77 minutes late for my trip to Reading.Terminated at Wokingham.(Yesterday)

(and I still couldn't make the blasted time up due to following slower trains)
 
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TEW

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Quick question: can anyone tell me where the Basingstoke stopper switches between fasts and slows? Would I be right in thinking it's between Walton and Weybridge?

The London side of Surbiton usually. Since they call at both Walton and Weybridge they have to be on the slows lines at both, as they only have platforms on the slow lines.
 

sjoh

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The London side of Surbiton usually. Since they call at both Walton and Weybridge they have to be on the slows lines at both, as they only have platforms on the slow lines.
Ah yes - at first I thought Walton had platforms on the Fasts but closer inspection shows not!
 

7031

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Ah yes - at first I thought Walton had platforms on the Fasts but closer inspection shows not!

Well, there's an island platform but it hasn't been in use in a very, very long time.
 
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