East Coast could return to public sector, Chris Grayling admits

[mercalia]

"East Coast could return to public sector, Chris Grayling admits "

wow so Virgin east Coast will lose their franchise. I am glad I visited Scotland this time last year on a special 50% off advance tickets deal from them. Wont be happening again I think

I dont know what the govt is letting Virgin off the hook -

"The East Coast franchise was to be terminated three years early in 2020 under a controversial rail strategy announced by Grayling in November, potentially letting Virgin-Stagecoach off the hook for more than £1bn in promised payments to government. "


any consequences for us?

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/05/east-coast-could-return-to-public-sector-chris-grayling-admits?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=263011&subid=23601318&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2

seems like east and west coast are left and right hand and the left hand dont want the right hand to know how much cash it is making?

[pjclinch]

I dont know what the govt is letting Virgin off the hook

The same reason they let the banks off after the 2008 crash. Their mates stand to lose out otherwise.

any consequences for us?

I doubt it. Back in the GNER day you could get bikes on trains and bargain tickets. Post GNR it was East Coast (not a private company) and you could get bikes on trains and bargain tickets. Then it was Virgin East Coast, and you could get bikes on trains and bargain tickets. Someone will be next and I suspect that you'll be able to get your bikes on and get bargain tickets.

Over all that time I didn't actually encounter much difference at the sharp end of using them, whoever had their name painted on the side. I certainly didn't get the impression that East Coast, not being a private company, was any less efficient or capable (same trains, largely the same staff, running the same routes, Big Surprise then...)

Pete.

[NUKe]

Bit of misinformation chaps the East coast line is in fact only 10% Virgin owned and 90% Stage Coach, it is stage coach which is having the problems.

[The utility cyclist]

The problem as always is getting your bike booked onto the the train on the East Coast in the first instance, yet again I couldn't get the booking done even at my local train station despite being told by the person at the VEC ticket office 6 miles away they are the same system
The only other alternate is to ring virgin and go through a convoluted process whilst speaking to someone from the Indian subcontinent with not a great command of the English language, this usually takes anywhere between 30-40 minutes depending on how long you are on hold for before the call even gets through.
I decided to give up my car last October to see how I would get on, it's a struggle, particularly going to the hospital for checks and tests when I really don't feel up to cycling the 6 miles, the bus is nearly £6 return and it's cold waiting for a bus at both ends of the journey, in car it'd be about £1.35.

Getting the train up North is okay, the door to door time is similar though in car it's far more predictable IME, IF you can get on a train with cheap tickets and be able to book well in advance yes it is cheaper, it costs about £13 less at best compared to fuel and tolls only IF I cycle the 6 miles to the mainline station as my local station (2 stops away from mainline) it's an extra £8 each way.

However one does not have to go through the whole rigmarole of getting the tickets and the jumping through hoops to get your bike on/off the train plus now having to walk half a mile and go through 4 lifts to get to the new platform at Doncaster that goes to Hull, this is such a bind.

You can of course try to lift your loaded bike up and down 4 flights of stair, the latter two are particularly long but why they didn't just put in a spiral ramp which would have been far easier for all concerned and negate having the lifts completely I'll never know! Before it was just a 20m walk across without having to go down and stairs or lift. Oh and I can go and leave as I please in car, aren't going to freeze my nads off waiting for a late train at the end of Doncaster station in the winter, don't have to be told you can't put your bike in that cavernous coach luggage hold when the trains are fubar'd, don't have to hop off a train and wait an hour because someone made a massive mistake and then see said train be used to reeplace another train going in the opposite direction, don't have to put up with station staff being unhelpful, don't have to put my bike into a cruddy 'rack' that has no proper securing system. For £13 extra without all the hassle it's worth the cost, no more effort to drive 3 hours and I can pop the bike and luggage in the car to get about when I arrive at my folks and be stress free.

Yeah trains are going to be exactly the same as before, same old crap, different name.

[pjclinch]

Yeah trains are going to be exactly the same as before, same old crap, different name.

It has to be quite a lot of faff to be worse than driving ~500 miles each way to see my folks down in The Smoke, mind...

[thirdcrank]

My understanding is that the operators are in a financial mess because their bid was based on increasing profitability by running more trains on the improved infrastructure promised, which never materialised.

Basing your business plan on politicians' promises is always rather naïve.

[The utility cyclist]

Yeah trains are going to be exactly the same as before, same old crap, different name.

It has to be quite a lot of faff to be worse than driving ~500 miles each way to see my folks down in The Smoke, mind...

500 miles is a heck of a lot of difference driving wise to 155, I'm literally just off the A1, straight up to A46 turn right, turn left onto A15, another right onto M180, left to rejoin A15 then a right after I get over the bridge. 3 hours easy driving door to door. It's around 30 minutes including getting up the steps at the train station plus hanging around time and then another 15-20mins cycling at the back end through a busy city with crappy roads/horrible drivers.
I've had numerically more delays on the trains than in car and for longer despite having made at least 15 times more journeys by car over 25 years

[mjr]

My understanding is that the operators are in a financial mess because their bid was based on increasing profitability by running more trains on the improved infrastructure promised, which never materialised.

Basing your business plan on politicians' promises is always rather naïve.

Are you sure that's Virgin/Stagecoach you're thinking of and not the previous National Express or GNER which both went bust? I think this lot blamed primarily Brexit and terrorism but also low fuel prices... they probably blamed the infrastructure and rolling stock too, though. Any straw's worth clutching at in a whirlwind!

Anyway, it's quite impressive to have had three failed private operators in eleven years and even more so when there's been one profitable public operator for about half of that.

And in case anyone's forgotten, just over two months ago, Grayling said "Stagecoach will meet in full their commitments made to the government as part of this contract." Failing Grayling?

[thirdcrank]

... Are you sure that's Virgin/Stagecoach you're thinking of and not the previous National Express or GNER which both went bust?

And in case anyone's forgotten, just over two months ago, Grayling said "Stagecoach will meet in full their commitments made to the government as part of this contract." Failing Grayling?

As sure as I can be without digging out the last few days papers from the wheelie bin. I'm not suggesting for a moment that this isn't a replay of what's occurred before. As for the Transport Secretary's announcement I've not doubt that it's correct, but open to a more detailed explanation.

[RickH]

The problem as always is getting your bike booked onto the the train on the East Coast in the first instance, yet again I couldn't get the booking done even at my local train station despite being told by the person at the VEC ticket office 6 miles away they are the same system

The only reasons for not being able to get your bike booked on by staff at a main rail network station (i.e not TfL run if you're in London, not sure if there are any other exceptions) are ignorance/lack of training, incompetence or they just don't care.

I've only once had a problem at our nearest station & the member of staff admitted they didn't know how to do it &, as it is a small station, they were the only one on duty. I got it sorted elsewhere (or possibly on a return visit, I can't remember which now).

Other times I've booked a bike on Virgin West Coast trains with no problem even though it is a Northern run station & I don't think any Virgin trains run through it.

[Sweep]

Recent reply of virgin east coast to a member of an lcc cycling group.

@@@

Thank you for contacting us here at Virgin Trains East Coast.

I have spoken to our web support team who have confirmed that there is no longer any plans to implement online booking of bike spaces. You can however, as stated in our previous email you can call our contact centre on 03457225333 to book your bike on our services subject to availability.


Thank you for getting in touch with us.

Yours sincerely

Edward Gregg
Customer Solutions Representative
Virgin Trains East Coast

@@@

So virgin's only contribution to the previously nationalised (after an earlier private sector runaway) was to ruin a perfectly good booking system.

And even to demonstrate its illiteracy.

And dig the "customer solutions"

Solutions being the liquids you use to dissolve/flush away legitimate passenger concerns I presume.

[Cyril Haearn]

Yeah trains are going to be exactly the same as before, same old crap, different name.

It has to be quite a lot of faff to be worse than driving ~500 miles each way to see my folks down in The Smoke, mind...

500 miles is a heck of a lot of difference driving wise to 155, I'm literally just off the A1, straight up to A46 turn right, turn left onto A15, another right onto M180, left to rejoin A15 then a right after I get over the bridge. 3 hours easy driving door to door. It's around 30 minutes including getting up the steps at the train station plus hanging around time and then another 15-20mins cycling at the back end through a busy city with crappy roads/horrible drivers.
I've had numerically more delays on the trains than in car and for longer despite having made at least 15 times more journeys by car over 25 years

I used to enjoy carrying my bike up the steps at the station but it is a bit 'dangerous' (me+bike+luggage 120 kg) so I always use the lift now

[mercalia]

Recent reply of virgin east coast to a member of an lcc cycling group.

@@@

Thank you for contacting us here at Virgin Trains East Coast.

I have spoken to our web support team who have confirmed that there is no longer any plans to implement online booking of bike spaces. You can however, as stated in our previous email you can call our contact centre on 03457225333 to book your bike on our services subject to availability.


Thank you for getting in touch with us.

Yours sincerely

Edward Gregg
Customer Solutions Representative
Virgin Trains East Coast

@@@

So virgin's only contribution to the previously nationalised (after an earlier private sector runaway) was to ruin a perfectly good booking system.

And even to demonstrate its illiteracy.

And dig the "customer solutions"

Solutions being the liquids you use to dissolve/flush away legitimate passenger concerns I presume.

wow what an insult. i wonder send the email to national newspaper? the guardian maybe? an article on the arrogance of railway operators against the interest of consumers?

[PH]

Andrew Adonis take on it in the Guardian, the gist of which is that it's Grayling's ideology that sees costing the taxpayer billions is better than admitting the current private sector isn't working.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... WEML6619I2

[mercalia]

Andrew Adonis take on it in the Guardian, the gist of which is that it's Grayling's ideology that sees costing the taxpayer billions is better than admitting the current private sector isn't working.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... WEML6619I2

re cycle reservation on East Coast
well Sweep send the email to Andrew Adonis of the above article?
I bet he would be glad of this arrogant detail from the company that isnt operating in the publics interest?

it is very strange Sweep that a company allows its policy to be determined by the people setting up the website? I was taught that you drew up a specification that you then handed to the people who implemented it?