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Railwatch 075 - April 1998

Yorkshire

By James Towler

Bouquets and brickbats Yorkshire Rail Review 1997, the annual report of RDS Yorkshire, records a year of mixed fortunes for the county's rail users. On the credit side Railtrack started spending on its infrastructure while several of the train operating companies, especially GNER and Midland Main Line plus Ed Burkhardt's EWS, have made a positive impact. Unfortunately, this was completely overshadowed by Regional Railways North East (RRNE) whose performance - as measured by the vast increase in cancellations of local services - can be summarised in one word: pathetic!

Staff shortages? Tannoy announcements of cancellations due to 'staff shortages' cut little ice with passengers aware that these were self-inflicted by RRNE's 'driver restructuring' package. It would have been even worse but for the efforts of front-line managers and staff. Little wonder that MTL, Liverpool-based owners of RRNE, took a semi-detached attitude; passing the buck to the management it had inherited from BR at York. The irony is that this was the team which had improved performance in 1995 and 1996 and, indeed, during the first two months of 1997 under BR.

Get your act together RRNE must act quickly if it is to restore passenger confidence in its local rail services, as the statutory bodies appear unwilling to act. The RUCC for NE England's non-confrontational approach to the Train Operating Companies appears to preclude it from rebuking RRNE on cancellations. As for the Franchise Office, it usually comes down on the side of TOCs rather than the passengers.

Timekeeping Punctuality on RRNE local services plummeted last year. Elsewhere, GNER, MML, Virgin and RRNE Express showed little change from the previous year, although performance was markedly down during the final quarter.

Second thoughts Apropos my comments on the withdrawal of restaurant facilities from several West Yorkshire services (Railwatch 74), I am happy to report an about-turn by GNER who inform me that "the decision to remove the restaurant services from certain services has been reversed." Well done!

Hit the bridge bashers! My journey from New Pudsey to Edinburgh started well. I had taken the precaution of catching an earlier service to York to connect into the GNER in case my usual train was cancelled - it was! - but to no avail. After half-a-mile the train came to an abrupt stop for a signal check due to a lorry getting jammed under the low bridge at Bramley. A 45-minute delay aborted my York connection. Several days later Virgin XC services were in turmoil following a similar incident at Burton on Trent. "Bridge bashing" is an act of vandalism which causes untold inconvenience to passengers. It should be stamped out by really hefty fines on the lorry driver and even larger penalties on the owners of the vehicle; a point we have put to the British Transport Police.

Return of the Barnsley Executive? The reinstatement of Barnsley's short-lived through service to St Pancras is one of several options being considered by Midland Main Line as it seeks to expand its market north of Sheffield.

Swan song This is my last report on the local scene as I am standing down after over 10 years as chairman of the Yorkshire branch. I would like to thank readers for their patience, encouragement and support. Looking to the future, my wish is that all your trains run smoothly and on time!

Next branch meeting: 16 May, Saltaire Methodist Church Hall (five-minute walk from Saltaire station), near Bradford at 14.00.

Note: contact details (postal and email addresses, along with telephone numbers) in old editions of Railwatch out of date. Click CONTACT US for latest contact details.


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