Mixed Reviews!
It would be wrong for fbb to claim that he has read every word of this lengthy report because his enthusiasm quickly waned. Generally the press have focussed on:-
Getting rid of the old franchise system
No, franchising remains but with a different name
Cheaper fares
No, making fares easier to buy is the dubious promise
No mention of cheaper fares
No suggestion that the current mess will be sorted
Trains to run on time
An aspiration but no ideas as to how to achieve it
Certainly calling it all Great British Railways will make little difference
More comfortable seats
Unlikely - the costs would be horrendous
Co-ordination with buses
The ONLY way to achieve this is to nationalise the buses
Unlikely
Many opinions (often, fbb suspects, those who have NOT read the report!) are enthusiastic and many of the headlines express things which are obvious and the sort of consequences that would apply to
ANY change in the structure.
Obviously!
But no change in the fares syetm?
All of the above could be done today without a reorganisation. The crunch question is how does "one controlling mind" (GBR) make innovation easier. The report cites Transport for London where innovation of "the offer" has been limited to an over-complex fares structure hidden cunningly in the unfathomable mysteries of the Oyster Card.
Most European cities have just one fare structure for bus, Underground, tram and train. London needs four!
Yeah, right!
Yeah, right!
It will - if the Treasury allows it to happen.
Again, IF it happens it will be a good thing. Indeed the new British Railways (whether Great or not!) is the best bit of the Williams-Shapps plan. But the No 10 headline (above) is also very aspirational and
actually achieving these benefits is a very different matter.
Here are some thoughts from recent press articles.
UNION MAN : Mr Cortes said in response: “Great British Railways is nothing but a Great British Con, delivering cosmetic changes and threatening staff cuts whilst delivering nothing of real benefit to our long-suffering passengers.
UNION MAN : If the government were serious about recognising the impact of failed rail policy down nearly three decades, they would cut out the middleman, strip away the dead weight of the private companies and work with their staff on building a transport system fit for the future where investment in the workforce and infrastructure comes first,” Lynch said.
CONSTRUCTION MAN : “Moving to a new simplified organisational structure will enable better strategic decision-making which balances financial considerations, ambitions for us to build back better post-pandemic, and Net Zero goals,” said ACE director of policy Matthew Farrow. !With much of the detail still to be revealed and two years before the new system is in place, we will need clarity on how the industry transitions to these new arrangements,” Farrow added.
NORTHERN MAN : “The commitment to growing and investing in the railway over the next 30 years only emphasises the real need for the Government to publish the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands without delay, to give us much-needed certainty on delivery of major schemes like Northern Powerhouse Rail, HS2 and the TransPennine Route upgrade,” Wood said.
PASSENGER MAN : I’m sure it’ll all work out better though. I’m certainly looking forward to all the trains I catch running on time and paying those much simpler fares and it all being branded Great British Railways.
Hmmm?Does fbb detect just a tiny hint of cynicism in the "Passenger Man" quote. It is a cynicism which, like the Build Back Better Buses report, is based on a profound distrust of such documents which are unsupported by any indication of the practicalities that will be needed.
How about ...
This is what we would like to happen. This is what should happen. This is what is unlikely to happen.
Here is why. (click on the panel to enlarge it)
The merging of Notwork Rail into GBR will, indeed, reduce complexity; but the above sketch misses out some links.
We know that the "Secretary of State" box has always been filled with a rapidly changing slew of Ministers not quite good enough to have a real department - so there is Problem 1.
Then some arrows are missing. Above Young Grant's box should be two more.
One up is the Treasury which rules the political world (Problem 2) ...
... And one up from the Treasury is a fuzzy out-of-focus grey box labelled "Political Expediency". Problem 3 and the biggest problem of all.
IF GBR were given a 30 year rolling programme of Grant Money, and IF GBR were able to establish a 30 year plan which would not change at the whim of the colour of the party in "power" and IF the Treasury could be banned from interfering with GBR's remit then things could soon (well, from 2023 - a fine example of streamlining the system?) change.
fbb is not holding his breath!
Now For Something More Realistric ...
Selecting A Suitable Signal Box (2)
Assuming your model railway is not so large that it might need a box the size of the famous Shrewsbury edifice, you might be looking for a "typical" small cabin that used to be seen all over Britian's Railways.
If you model is N gauge (2 mm to the foot, track gauge 9 mm - N for Nine millimetres) the Peco group of companies have no less than four models on offer.
The Peco brand itself offers a bog-standard fit anywhere model ...
... in coloured plastic. Additionally, the Ratio "division" has THREE in its section of the listing. A Great Western ...
... a Midland ...... and, in the development stage, a so-called wartime ARP signal box.
This is a model of a range of real boxes installed during WW2 in "sensitive locations" where extra protection from air raids was deemed necessary.
They did come in various shapes and sizes of which the Ratio model is typical.
Both Bachmann (under the Graham Farish label) ...
... and Hornby (Lyddle End) ...... have produced N gauge resin cast models in the past, but neither is currently in production. Pre-owned options are usually available on-line.
Next "Come Hither" blog : Tuesday 25th May
Just A Thought!
When your elderly author was just a lad in his teens, the idea of the disciples of Jesus sitting around with their heads on fire was laughable - barely credible. Then he read what Luke actually wrote in his Part 2 of the Jesus story, the book of Acts.
Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there.
We know that under certain controlled circumstances (do NOT try this at home!) we can make huge sparks emanate from human extremities ...... so it is not beyond the bounds of the disciples' lack of scientific experience that some form of Divine outpouring might be sensed, seen and experienced as a physical event, "what looked like, felt like, sounded like, a mighty wind and tongues of fire".
But if that is still too much to accept, we need to look at the consequences of what was reported on the day of Pentecost.
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