Whilst I do respect your point of view, could it be that you do not perceive that there is anything to report because you are "on the inside", i.e., you do receive all the emails etc which keep staff informed of the plan and you do have the discussions with managers etc where these are elaborated and explained, if necessary. I'm just suggesting that perhaps, if you had access to the same information as people "on the outside", you might think differently?
Believe me, I'm not suggesting a cover-up, more a distinct laziness at transparent updates (for whatever reason).
yeah, me bad for not managing to keep up with all the changes. What i was getting at is ScotRail isn't the only TOC to have their stock refurbs and door fits delayed at Wabtec, not because one operator's work has been prioritised over another.
Glad to see one or two people “get it”.
I fundamentally disagree that this is a "normal" business; this is quite an unusual position of a franchise which operates on quite special terms. I can think of many examples of similar situations which are commercially sensitive (this is not!) where far more information is provided, ironically. Whilst Wabtec may not wish their delay to be public, it is, by definition - the lack of trains is a give-away. What does Scotrail have to lose?
I think you are significantly under-estimating the number of people who are actively interested in this (remembering that this is a public forum, so membership alone is not reflective of how many times comments have been indexed and viewed via search engines etc) as well as how many people have no choice. I'm disappointed that Scotrail just doesn't understand that it has a stakeholder, contractual and even ethical obligation to keep the public informed.
Hmm, so now I must be an "enthusiast"? I thought I was contributing to this forum as a passenger, but if contributing as an enthusiast will help get some answers about whether my journey will improve soon, then, yes, I'm an enthusiast.
I'd disagree. By definition if one party is failing to deliver according to the terms of the contract then it almost certainly is commercially sensitive. That's for the two parties to judge, not an enthusiast or passenger. Not of course that we have a copy of said contract between Scotrail and Wabtec, which I guess you'll be asking for next, along with details of any discussions between the two, and any commercial settlement. As to what does Scotrail have to lose - it's normally better when managing commercial relationships to try and work through issues in a constructive manner, not air your dirty linen in public.
I agree entirely, but ignoring the terminology, the two are not mutually exclusive. Providing an honest update regarding work progress does not preclude Scotrail from supporting and working with Wabtec to complete the contract; the "dirty linen", so to speak, has already been aired through channels which Scotrail and/or Wabtec clearly cannot control, as well as the basic fact that the trains simply have not been delivered!
I wonder if one or more aspects of the refurb, of both GWR and Scotrail sets, are awaiting feedback from the GWR trial set? I should imagine the toughest test of new finishes and equipment would be letting Joe Public on board, with dirty shoes, sticky fingers, misbehaving children, drunks etc. If there are any frailties exposed by the GWR set, it would be better to fix them on the production line now, rather than have to bring the sets back to Wabtec for updates when passengers have become used to them. That would probably cause far more complaint than delaying their introduction does.
ScotRail provided an update in May to the Scottish Parliament and the media by the looks of things, just because you've not been spoon fed the information doesn't mean it doesn't exist. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-44054334
These comments were made to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee, not the media. That specific committee's role is to scrutinise Scottish Government policy and is not a means for Scotrail/Abellio to report to the Scottish ministers nor the accepted or recognised channels for Scotrail/Abellio to engage with the public. In this context it is, quite frankly, the last resort for activities of the Scottish Ministers (of which the Scotrail franchise is one) to be held accountable to MSPs. The very fact that you are citing it as a source of updates (and scolding me in the process for not being able to find it; incidentally, I read that news article when it was published, in May) is itself testament to the fact that Scotrail themselves have failed to provide material updates to the press. For your information, here is Scotrail's media releases page, in case you were looking for it.
Like this, with a comment from the Chief Operating Officer, you mean? Google is great.
I presume you're referring to this (which, yes, I've read as well, as have most of the readers of this forum, I would argue):-
This is a material update? Whilst I genuinely acknowledge what you are trying to point out, I would argue that this does not constitute a material update. Firstly, it merely points out the obvious (the trains are delayed) and states that everyone is doing their best to deliver them (we assume that). The "carpet" comment does not come from Scotrail and there is no indication of timescales, or explanation of the nature of the issues experienced. Again, I am not suggesting a blow-by-blow account of the issues but surely Scotrail could be a little more forthcoming?
No information to deliver is itself information.
I googled Alex Hynes. More posts from him about fancy ticket punch designs and kids going to see trains than any information on why the HSTs aren't here.
@DackandBlecker Exactly! I kept trying to think what was bugging me about this - it's the complete mismatch in volume of updates; if it's something Scotrail are happy to talk about there's plenty of updates but none when it's something like the HSTs - that completely undermines the argument about what constitutes "normal" updates. Last comment, I promise... haha
That's standard practice everywhere. Businesses of any kind are always much more forthright in trumpeting good news, and keeping publicity about adverse things to a minimum. It's hardly surprising really is it?
It's not about a 'culture of secrecy'. It's about organisations having a single official mouthpiece so that the correct info is presented. While I have no doubt that @Highlandspring is referring to the most recent and up-to-date info he's seen, unless he's on the board he has no way to know if that's actually the plan or simply a plan. Allowing employees to share info is a recipe for confusion 'I saw this posted on a forum, now you're saying that.' and so on.
So, if you think he has information that he's going to share, why not ask him directly? You've clearly found his social media feed going by the content described. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't get the comprehensive reply some people are looking for though - because (a) it's commercially sensitive, (b) and it'll be a moving target based on works at Wabtec and their internal programmes (e.g. guard and driver training - do they have enough to run service?)
And for those who are tempted to post "It's not commercially sensitive, Scotrail is a monopoly franchise let by the Government." - keep in mind that Scotrail isn't Wabtec's only customer, so the details of any compensation/change of terms with Scotrail will be commercially sensitive with respect to their contract with other lessors.
Getting that number of sets into service in around 8 months was always going to be undeliverable. Abellio are clowns for signing up to it.
They probably expected to miss the target, but not by this big a margin. If, for example, three quarters of the units were in service the conversation would be a lot easier to have than it looks like it's going to be.
I don't think Abellio would have signed up to it if Wabtec had said they couldn't do it.
