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I am not surprised, while the First reputation is increasing it would be sensible to leave the name out of rail franchises in my opinion. First are usually pictured, at least in my mind, by buses carrying lots of people and I don't think that image would be ideal for someone wanting to...

How dare you suggest that there is civilisation north of the Watford Gap!! In all seriousness, anywhere can be north relative to the area, London Undergrounds Northern Line is in the north of London whilst Northern Rail covers a larger distances and refers to the Northern parts of England...

The expense of transporting buses to the other side of the country must be expensive, especially when the vehicle age gaps are not huge. Isn't First Devon & Cornwall highly unprofitable as well?

Ok can someone clarify something for me? Why are only First TP Express diverted? Is it because the electrification will begin at the Preston end first? If so wouldn't First TPE have issues routing via Wigan? Then there are the NR Blackpool trains as well. Can't diesel trains be used on the...

The stereotypes are exaggerated, but I feel it has some truth, I like the atmosphere even in the big cities. No elbows in your ribs, because you are not walking fast enough, unlike London.

How long is the train journey expected to take from Burnley to Victoria? 35 mins-ish? I feel that will be the significant factor when competing with the bus? Will a Rochdale terminating train be extended to Burnley or will extra trains be run on the line? Bearing in mind it is a busy line...

Scotland won't be a single party state unless the system is un-democratic, but that would be unlikely. On the same token the UK won't be Tory dominated. The following link shows that since 1945 only three general elections would have had a different outcome had Scotland not been part of the UK...

Why should Scotland get any say what so ever on the railways if they secede? They would be the ones who want to leave the rest of the UK leaving 3 Home Nations left, not the other way around.

Thanks for your reply Watcherzero. Who is in charge of prices? Are high profile services like TPexpress more profitable so therefore can justify newer trains? Has NR asked the government for newer trains yet?

So who is in charge of altering the rail network? The TOC or the government? For example if Northern Rail wanted to operate Stockport more than once a week. In the franchise is there a requirement to serve rural and less profitable services? Why would a private company want to get involved...

In these troubled times I would not be happy footing the bill for it. Is the location in an undeniable location? The pictures look like it is in industrial wasteland.

Its not often a FirstGroup company expands, good to see progress being made. Have they registered any new services or increased frequencies yet?

Who paid for this white elephant? I certainly hope it was not the taxpayers.

I am shocked they did not have it years before, every other company does.

This doesn't happen in the retail industry due to high competition, but many bus routes and areas are monopolies. Any new competition is often met with 'bus wars'. But saying that First and Arriva operate in competitive areas and still have a poor service, although for the former that is...

I do not understand who is responsible for purchasing new rolling stock and expanding services. Is it the operator or the government? Won't it be risky for an operator to buy/lease new trains and then if they loose the franchise they will be stuck with them? Or do they stay in the franchise? Why...

The Manchester to Liverpool route deserves newer stock than this. If such a high profile route as this is getting scrap then what is the hope for the commuter lines? I think the bias should be South East vs everyone else. The South East always get preferential treatment because that is where...

Are the trams 'on testing' or in service at Rochdale town centre now? In regards to it taking a long time, I think the tram is mainly for commuters in the suburbs of Rochdale and the Oldham area going between Rochdale, Oldham or Manchester. The train is more convenient for Rochdale town...

Hasn't Glasgow had a sizeable re-fleeting programme and a network review and its still challenging? Hopefully its just taking a bit more time and the whole initiative hasn't failed.

I thought First Manchester had some sheds in its fleet until I went to Devon and was shocked at the state of their vehicles. I consider any bus that is R reg or older as an old bus, but it depends where you live. People in more rural areas may be used to having older buses.