The un-masked unmasked again

I didnt think it would be long before this story came back..

“Man fuming as 'students ignore mask rules' on Plymouth Citybus”

“"I caught the 16:17 42C headed to the city centre. Almost all the other passengers, whom were clearly students, had followed the rules that came into place that very day. A group of students, all young men, stood at the stop laughing and joking.

"They were not wearing masks. I boarded the bus ahead of them, sat in the disabled seats and watched them proceed to get on, not one of them being asked or challenged about not having a mask on. I can only assume they're either immune from the rules, or from Covid-19."

He added: "I contacted both Marjon and Citybus, and Citybus responded to say that it was not their job to enforce mask wearing, yet others have commented saying Stagecoach have a no mask, no travel, no exemption rule.

"Why Citybus think they have no standing, legally, to enforce this mask wearing is beyond me.

"My family and I have no choice but to get around the city on the buses. Myself and my partner are both disabled and rely on buses to get out to shops, nursery, appointments and so on”

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/man-fuming-students-ignore-mask-6313349

Bus drivers and the operators cant win – if they did stop their buses and insist on mask wearing then the paper would be full of people complaining about that and insisting they are exempt – without having, or needing any proof of such exemption – making it impossible for drivers to police even if they had to. I share the passenger’s concerns about those who are not wearing masks but without clear direction from the Govt – and official enforcement then that's just not going to happen. I'm just glad I have to option of working from home!

Are more passengers wearing masks now or is it like in supermarkets where it seems there are plenty of people who still dont bother?

Meanwhile in Dawlish today…

I must admit to having the live cam on my pc for a while this morning while I worked – it was pretty rough, but it seems that the new wall being constructed did its job – its just that maybe the trains are not up to it? I thought it was just the Virgin trains that had problems in weather like this?

Rail News

Its been a while since I covered any railway news but we have had a major news announcement today:

South Western Franchise

The Department for Transport has today (4 February 2016) announced the 2 train companies that have been shortlisted for the South Western franchise competition, after submitting an expression of interest.

The shortlisted bidders are:

• First South Western Trains Limited
• Stagecoach South West Limited

Rail Minister Claire Perry said:

The South Western franchise has some of the busiest routes in the country, serving a diverse range of passengers and places. It is vital that we have the best partner to help us meet the challenge of delivering better journeys for all customers using these services.

We are investing in additional capacity, and have ambitious plans for smart ticketing, customer service and improved connectivity across the South Western network, to give passengers real benefits across the region and beyond.

The current franchise is operated by South West Trains, and covers urban, suburban, regional, and long-distance routes between London Waterloo, Reading, Bristol, Exeter, Weymouth, and Portsmouth. It also includes the Island Line on the Isle of Wight.

Gov.uk

© Thomas Guppy (cc) 16 April 2015

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Golden Whistle

The operating team at Great Western Railway (GWR) has taken the Golden Whistle in a national awards ceremony.

The train operating company, formerly First Great Western, scooped the Golden Whistle for Major Possessions, Projects and Central Station Team award - the highest honour within the 'outstanding operating team' category - at the Institute of Railway Operators Golden Whistle Awards.

The company was also handed two silver awards for regional and intercity operational performance. Customer services training manager Ashley Bray was also highly commended in the 'outstanding individual' category.

Oxford Mail

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Great Western Satisfaction

GREAT Western Railway (GWR), has achieved its highest ever score for customer satisfaction, according to an independent transport user watchdog, Transport Focus. Increasing its year-on-year measure for overall satisfaction by 3 percent from 81 percent to 84 percent, GWR has posted its highest score since the National Rail Passenger Survey began in 1999.

Mark Hopwood, GWR managing director, said recent investment to improve capacity and punctuality are having the biggest impact on customers. He said: “These results clearly show our commitment to building a greater west and investing in what we know our customers want to see, and reflect the hard work of thousands of GWR colleagues.

Of the five key drivers of customer satisfaction, GWR improved scores in four main areas, with punctuality improving by five percent, train comfort and length of journey by three percent and ticket purchasing up by one percent.

Wilts & Glos Standard

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© Chris Warman (cc) 43188 in the new colours November 2015

© EastleighBusman 166212 Jan 2016

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I will be trying to include more Railway and other non-bus news from the area this coming year although it not an area I know that much about. As always I welcome any contributions - if you see or hear of anything which you feel may be of interest please let me know, Photos are especially welcome!

Time to put the Great back in to Great Western?

The current contract to operate the Great Western rail franchise is about to enter its last year. First Group are not taking up the option to extend the franchise will will now come to an end in March 2013. First are almost certainly among those operators who will have registered their interest in taking the new 15 year franchise. The deadline to register an interest has now expired so I am sure it wont be too long before we hear exactly who wants to run our trains for the next 15 years.

There was what first appeared to be an interesting development when the BBC claimed that “Passenger levels on railway branch lines are being grossly underestimated in documents given to firms bidding for a franchise” Reading into the story it appears to be one station (Lelant Saltings) on one branch line (St Ives) so isn't quite the scandal that the headline promises.

 

Another railway news headline that caught my eye recently was equally disingenuous:

Plymouth MP almost missed launch of £100million train campaign - because there was no train

She didn't almost miss the meeting because there was no train. She checked the timetables and realised there was no suitable train available so she made alternative arrangements to get there. This is no different to checking your local bus timetable and discovering there is no direct bus to where you are going. You look to see what other options are available and then make plans accordingly. That's life.

Many will agree that “It is ridiculous that I am unable to travel to Plymouth in time for a meeting starting at 10:30am.” Sadly her government when it was in power did little to make such a journey possible. The current government are spending a lot less on transport so are unlikely to achieve that much. This is not me trying to make a political point as neither party seems to have a clue when it comes to public transport. Transport is one of the very few areas that Labour have actually agreed with most of the current government spending cuts.

Apart from the sensational headline the rest of the story is straightforward enough explaining that "Leading rail industry consultants Steer Davis Gleave were jointly commissioned by the Chamber and the Council to look into the economic case for better rail connectivity and found that for an additional operating cost of £10 million a year, the economy stands to gain £94 million” This may well be the case but someone has to find that additional £10 million and Plymouth wont be the only area that will try and make such claims.

I am sure we will be hearing a lot more about the Great Western franchise over the coming months. The start of the new franchise in April 2013 is indeed a great opportunity to do something different and actually gain an improved railway service. I just wish I had the confidence in those in charge to actually take the opportunity…

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Recommended Links

Remember: an innocent fbb has asked the Metrolpolitan Transportation Authority's journey planner for a trip from Central Park Zoo to The Statue of Liberty Public Transport Experience

I read every single comment that comes through the Blogger comments system. The odd bit of spam creeps in (and I delete it as soon as possible) but generally Blogger is good at trapping spam Omnibuses

At least we now know one thing for certain. The UK is not alone in providing enquirers with duff electronic information. Good Ole' U S of A can be just as daft! ? Public Transport Experience

So this Sunday Lost Scenes - of a Plymouth B6 in Bude - will very soon be repeated. Many thanks to a commenter on this post which tipped me off - this has now been confirmed. Interesting times ahead from April 1st. Southern England Bus Scene

Simply, once a zonal fares structure is introduced, it is a nightmare to remove - I'd go so far as to say commercial suicide. I don't envy any operator who has introduced one - usually during the Times of Plenty. A Transport of Delight

in a bit of a hurry

A train has broken the record for the fastest time from Plymouth to London Paddington, First Great Western (FGW) has claimed. The non-stop train reached Paddington in 2 hours 43 minutes, 17 minutes faster than the previous record. FGW said fast journey times between the South West and London were very important to the company. The company said timetables had been developed to best meet the needs of the region within the constraints of available resources and the existing rail infrastructure. As an example, FGW cited a new high-speed morning service from December which will leave London Paddington at 0706 to provide an earlier morning business arrival into Exeter, with connections to Plymouth. In July the company announced it was adding more carriages on its Night Riviera service because of the increase in demand for the sleeper from Penzance to Paddington. BBC News

There was more on the excellent Transport of Delight blog last week:
The journey was made in 2:43, though booked for 2:41. Official figures show the train departed Plymouth five seconds early at 12:49:55 and that it arrived in Paddington two minutes and 18 seconds late at 15:33:18, which (to the second) as a recorded journey time of 2:43:23. The specific record-breaking attempt was undertaken by FGW to promote its new morning service between London and Exeter, connecting there for Plymouth.
Finally there is a nice little, if somewhat pedantic discussion on how the official timing of the record was conducted over at Railway Eye

From the Plymothian Transit Store...


Source page on BBC News

 

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The big purchase news of 2010 finally came out yesterday, after speculation on this very blog since Tuesday: the East London Bus Group has at last been sold, to the Boston Red Socks. Or something equally as surprising and remarkable. Omnibuses

So I had a walk round up to Whitsands before cutting across farmland towards Fourlanesend along footpaths to get some more interesting shots. PTOTPA

What’s the point of a bus company’s bespoke London bus website, then? What use are they? Omnibuses

Here's a lovely old photo of Hoskin's newsagent and general store at Atherton Place Plymouth Local History

Not First Class

" passengers decided that the luxury of large leather seats was not worth the increase in price ” dbg Elsewhere... Numberzz 28 Others... JZjr on Flickr Omnibuses2.0 Lost in Translation TGP Squeeze Timeless North Devon It wasnt always like this...

HST Power Car by JZjr (Creative commons) From The Times 21st May we have this: First Great Western has increased the cost of upgrades by up to 150 per cent, with the result that first class carriages are running almost empty on Saturdays and Sundays while there is standing room only in standard class. On Sunday 18th May the cost of a one-way upgrade increased from £10 to £25 for journeys between stations in Cornwall and South Wales to London. On many other routes the price doubled to £20.   More than 90 per cent of first class seats remained empty on some First Great Western trains on Sunday as passengers decided that the luxury of large leather seats was not worth the increase in price. Cheap weekend upgrades were introduced by British Rail as a way of raising extra revenue at the same time as making use of carriages that would otherwise remain empty. A First Great Western spokesman said: “We’ve changed the way Weekend First works to reflect the distance travelled rather than one, catch-all fare, which saw customers travelling from, for example, London to Reading paying the same price as someone going from London to Penzance. Railway Eye are not impressed… So based on the fact that First have milked local passengers at the same rate as long-distance travellers over many years, does this mean that Weekend First prices between Reading and London have actually decreased. Errr... no. They of course remain the same.

No longer eating in style

" it will only allow first-class passengers to sit down in the restaurant car ”

From next month, First Great Western services between Penzance and Paddington will offer a sit-down dining car place only to first-class passengers, except on two journeys a day. Meanwhile, Arriva Cross Country, which runs the longest haul rail route in Britain between Penzance and Aberdeen, is getting rid of its buffet car and installing seats instead to ease overcrowding . A spokesman for First Great Western said the new dining car arrangements had been forced on the company by the recession. From May 18, it will only allow first-class passengers to sit down in the restaurant car on most services into Paddington. The exceptions will be the 6.03pm and 7.03pm trains out of the capital when anyone will be allowed to eat in the dining car. Image - Train Breakfast by Grumbler (cc)

Ugo by bus not the train

A couple of news items from the local press tonight:
CITY rail passengers will face disruption over the next couple of weeks as a £2million upgrade is carried on the tracks at Plymouth Station. This is Plymouth
Work on the track near Plymouth Station is part of a larger £10million works program on the Plymouth to Exeter section of track. Passengers are advised to check before starting their journeys as buses will be used on replacement services from time to time.

Also on This is Plymouth tonight we have 

ONE of Plymouth's biggest public transport operators, FirstGroup, has said it has achieved 'further good growth' in the period from October to December – but, despite this, shares in the firm fell by almost 19 per cent in the week.
The Greyhound division in the USA has had a difficult Christmas period and UK growth rates have been hit by the current economic climate but the UK Bus division is still performing well.
A spokesman also said the new network of 'ugobuses' in Plymouth have been a success. First's ugobus service – a re-branding of its former vehicles – is a bid to 'make bus travel in Plymouth as simple as possible'.

New Improved Service

This week sees the start of the new timetable for the Tamar Valley Line which runs between Plymouth, Bere Alston and Gunnislake. An extra daily train has been provided giving a service almost every two hours without the gaps that existed before. Apparently this is the best ever service provided on this line since May 1968 when the Tavistock section was closed.

BBC NEWS | England | First Great Western boss resigns

 

The boss of rail franchise First Great Western (FGW) has unexpectedly resigned from his post citing personal reasons. Andrew Haines is widely credited with turning around the worst performing rail company in the UK since taking up the post in September 2007.

BBC NEWS | England | First Great Western boss resigns

Local Lines

Back on 21st February I posted a report:

Refurbished FGW Class 150 No 150261 in "Local lines" livery made it's debut into Cornwall today making 2 return trips from Plymouth to Penzance.

Well thanks to Kevin Browett I can now bring you his photo of this train...

©Kevin Browett

More photos on his Fotopic account

Local Lines

Refurbished FGW Class 150 No 150261 in "Local lines" livery made it's debut into Cornwall today making 2 return trips from Plymouth to Penzance. Last seen heading east this afternoon on 2P94 1450 Penzance to Plymouth. Diagram finishes at Laira tonight so may be around again tomorrow.

Reported by David King (SWRG Yahoo Group) a couple of days ago.

Click on the link above to see a fotopic page with 150261 in all its glory, or you could just make do with this great shot of a 158 class train in the same livery

©Onewayticket (Flickr Blog this)

Your carriage awaits - or rather it doesnt

©Stevec77

The government have long promised extra carriages for trains as being the answer to over crowding. This week they announced where those extra carriages were going to be allocated. It wont come as a surprise to many that we wont be seeing many down here.

It has emerged that just 52 of the 1,300 extra carriages announced by Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly will go to the embattled train operator First Great Western, which runs services between the city and London. Most of the new rolling stock, 900, will go to London and the South East, while more than 300 of the new carriages will be used to meet the growth in demand in cities such as Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.

On my last train trip just before Christmas our journey from Exeter to Plymouth on a Virgin train was not too bad. The train was crowded and we couldn't all sit together - but there were seats. On arrival at Plymouth though things changed. The Virgin train ended at Plymouth and anyone wanting to go into Cornwall had to change trains. You had to feel sorry for the hundreds of passengers getting off the Virgin train and walking towards the two carriage train sitting on the platform which was already full to standing.

Even these extra carriages wont be around for some time yet:

A spokeswoman said that the first trains will enter service between 2009 and 2014, as set out in the White Paper.

Its going to be a long wait...

Unfair with fares?

Rail passengers in the Westcountry are paying the highest train fares in Europe. According to a new report, train users in the region, as well as in the rest of the country, pay up to 14 times more than their counterparts on the continent.

This means that £10 in Cornwall and Devon will only get you as far as 27 miles, compared with 58 miles in France and 383 miles (14 times more) in Latvia.

This is from This is Plymouth

As one other reader has already pointed out - the article is being a bit unfair. They are obviously using the highest fares available to make this comparison. As the reader points out so well...

Why do journalists insist on quoting the open return prices when talking about rail fares? Just because (using the same analogy) Harrods sells wine for £120 quid a bottle doesn't mean that we in the UK pay over the top prices for wine does it?

I am not a big train traveller. Before last year it had been twenty years since I last undertook a long distance train journey. In October I went to London and back and it cost just £34 for the return trip. My wife had earlier managed the same trip for even less. A day return to Exeter cost us just £7 each a few weeks ago. Considerably more than 27 miles for £10 as quoted in this article.

The trains down here do have their problems and the companies can be criticised for poor service at times and poor punctuality. First Great Western themselves recognise they are not providing a brilliant service. It has announced it will double the amount of compensation it is giving to passengers affected by delays and disruption. FGW said in a statement:

“This move recognises customers have not received the service they deserve, and means that most regular passengers will effectively pay the previous year’s prices for their 2008 season tickets on renewal.

FGW has a long way to go before it can shake off its poor image. It is making an effort and the increase in compensation will help in that direction. A lot of the factors that are leading to poor punctuality are down to Rail Track and the government has a lot to answer for in the whole provision of rail services in the region. FGW certainly have to take their share of the blame and the compensation scheme announced is part of that process. Totally biased and misleading fare comparisons with different countries does not help anyone!

Snippets

Local news snippets from the last few days or so...

Five people were rushed to hospital after a bus collided head on with a car near Yelverton. Three adults and two children were taken to Derriford Hospital after the 35-seater First bus was involved in the accident on Saturday evening.
The number 86 Plymouth to Tavistock bus was on its way back to the city shortly before 5pm when it was in collision with a red Ford Focus on the A386 near Yelverton Golf Course. The road had to be closed for three hours. The bus was one of the standard Barbie Darts used on this service.

Bus company First has reduced fares on its X80 routes between South Brent, Ivybridge and Plymouth. Between Ivybridge and Plymouth, adult returns have gone down from £3.90 to £3.50 and singles from £3.50 to £3.15. Always good news!

Plans to scrap the Milehouse park-and-ride scheme have been dropped from the Central Park area action plan, which will be published this week. The action plan must be verified by the full Plymouth City Council on December 10, and approved by a Government inspector. During the public consultation process in 2006, the council said that the Milehouse park and-ride site could close once a replacement was opened in Saltash. But on Friday, council leader Vivien Pengelly said the park-and-ride would now stay.

Youngsters at Hyde Park Junior School have 60 new reasons to keep their reading on track. The Year 5 pupils have been given more than 60 books by the First Great Western Community Project. Mark Dellow, deputy Head at Hyde Park Junior School, said: "The new books feature a range of topics that are of interest to this age group, making reading a much more enjoyable experience for our pupils. We are grateful to First Great Western for this kind donation." Another nice little news item concerning First Group!

Bus company First Devon and Cornwall has teamed up with driver quality monitoring organisation Tangerine to keep a closer eye on its drivers. Steve Grigg, the bus operator's general manager for Devon, said: "At First we pride ourselves on our relentless pursuit of improving safety and comfort for our customers.

"The introduction of specialist driving and service quality assessments by qualified Tangerine assessors will assist us in identifying how we can continue to improve in these two areas.

Change at the top

© Olton (Flickr blog this)

The managing director of rail franchise First Great Western (FGW), Alison Forster, has been moved to a new post after the company's poor performance. She will now become Rail Safety and Performance Director at First Group. Andrew Haines, the group's UK Rail managing director, will take over daily operations at First Great Western. Moir Lockhead, FirstGroup's Chief Executive, said: "In recent months Alison and her team have been addressing the challenges faced by the new franchise and their efforts have resulted in improvements in our performance." He also said that Mr Haines had helped deliver "sustained improvements" at First TransPennine Express, First ScotRail and First Capital Connect, the group's newest franchise. BBC

FGW have certainly taken a battering recently and do seem to among the worst performing franchise. We were promised so much by First, but so far we have seen very little delivered.

We have seen First Devon and Cornwall turned around in spectacular fashion by the arrival of a new man at the top (Marc Reddy) lets just hope that a similar turn around can be performed by Mr Haines.

HST power car repaint

© Richard and Gill (Flickr Blog this)
First Great Western are currently refurbishing their HST fleet which sees them repainted into this blue livery. It does seem a bit dull compared to the previous version, but it is smart.

More of Richard and Gills First Great Western Photos here

125 Engine on a Lorry

Photo by Jason Nolan, Plymouth -through Flickr 'Blog this'.

I came across this picture of a First Great Western 125 on its way passed Sainsburys, only this time by road. Click the photo itself to go straigh to the image on the photographers Flickr account for some of the comments - priceless!

This is just one of a great collection of photos of Plymouth which is well worth a visit - there are some really unusual views - he even makes the much criticised Drake Circus complex look good. (I actually like it - but I think I am outnumbered!)

Click here to visit his Plymouth Set - and then click the View as Slideshow link top right and sit back and enjoy!

New Ticket for Cornwall

Staying with Railways...
First Devon and Cornwall working in partnership with Truronian, Western Greyhound, Virgin Trains and First Great Western to introduce a new and exciting ticket 'Ride Cornwall'
From 31st December 2006 the First Devon and Cornwall Bus and Rail Card is being withdrawn and replaced by a new multi operator ticket. First Devon and Cornwall is working in partnership with Truronian, Western Greyhound, Virgin Trains and First Great Western to bring a new ticket called Ride Cornwall. From Monday 8th January 2007 you will be able to buy this new ticket, simply buy one from the bus driver, at railway stations or from the train conductor where the station is unstaffed.
Ride Cornwall tickets can be brought and used on all services of the operators above within Cornwall at any time on weekends or public holidays and also after 09.00hrs on Mondays to Fridays. They can also be brought and used on journeys between Cornwall and Plymouth. With over 50 miles of heritage coastline, stone circles, castles and maritime heritage, you are guaranteed a great day out.The price of the Ride Cornwall tickets are:£12 Adult£7.50 Child£24 family (up to 2 adults and 3 children)

This is a case of swings and roundabouts though as the previous bus/rail ticket was quite a bit cheaper and valid all day and allowed travel as fas as Totnes. Having said that the big advantage of the new ticket is being able to use it on Western Greyhound and Truronian, and of course the other train operators. This opens up much more of Cornwall than was possible before. I know I will certainly be making use of the offer during this next year.
Now all we need is a similar ticket to cover Devon and maybe even more of the west country...

First Great Western Competition

According to This is Plymouth tonight:
First Great Western National is giving away a chance for the public to taste a bit of non-virtual reality in a state-of-the-art simulator. The simulator is a life-size, virtual reality cab used to train new and existing drivers, providing them with experience handling poor weather conditions, infrastructure problems, vandalism and mechanical failures.
Ignoring the wonderful error in the name of the company this does look like a fun idea.
To be in with the chance of driving the simulator, First Great Western is asking people in 100 words or less why they want to be a train driver.Send completed entries to: First Great Western Simulator Competition, c/o Equinox PR, 9 Earslwood Road, Ty Glas Business Park, Llanishen, Cardiff, CF14 5GH. Alternatively, email kirsten@equinox-pr.co.uk .

Gods Wonderful Railway

From Tha Guardian today
The average commuter probably doesn't particularly notice the tunnels, cuttings, bridges and stations on the London to Bristol railway line as they whizz by on the journey to the office.
But English Heritage yesterday put its weight behind a campaign to have the Great Western Railway recognised as a world heritage site, alongside the likes of the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and Stonehenge.
At a conference in Bristol, Sir Neil Cossons, chairman of English Heritage, said that the line, one of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's greatest achievements, was a "breathtaking" monument to British endeavour.
He argued that it was not far-fetched to put "God's Wonderful Railway", as it is nicknamed, on the same level as the Taj Mahal. The railway was one of the unique contributions Britain had made to world culture, society and economy.
The backing of English Heritage comes as a boost to the many lovers of the route who believe it should receive global recognition.
At yesterday's conference, held as part of the celebrations marking the bicentenary of Brunel's birth, English Heritage launched a consultation with the public about how the bid for world heritage site status ought to proceed.
Some believe the site should include the GWR network through Somerset, Devon and Cornwall; others that it should be focused on the 112 miles from Paddington station in west London to Bristol Temple Meads. Construction of the line began in 1836, and was completed in 1841. Among the feats of engineering is Box tunnel in Wiltshire, which at the time of its construction was the longest railway tunnel in the world, and Wharncliffe viaduct at Hanwell, west London.

It would be mad to create this World Heritage Site without including Brunels wonderful bridge over the Tamar - surely one of the most recognisable landmarks on the whole route!