Comment - Public bidders for next Scotrail Franchise?

380 019 wearing the Transport Scotland prescribed 'Saltair' livery calls at Paisley Gilmore Street.

This week it has been announced by Transport Scotland that a public body will be able to bid for the next Scotrail franchise, which will begin in 2025. I had not realised that it was as long ago as 2014 where I wrote a comment on the Inter City East Coast franchise, which was then under public ownership as Directly Operated Railways following the collapse of the National Express franchise. I asked at that time whether it was appropriate for a public bidder to enter the competition for the Inter City East Coast franchise- of course it didn't, and the contract was let out to a consortium of Virgin and Stagecoach. Fast forward to today and Inter City East Coast is once again in public ownership, now branded as LNER, after the failure of the Virgin/Stagecoach operation.

320 313 approaches Bellshill

I was particularly interested therefore to see the announcement this week that Transport Scotland would allow a public bidder to compete against the private sector in Scotland, something which the UK Government had previously refused to entertain. Transport Scotland have stated that 'Our consistent view over many years is that there ought to be a level playing field between the private and public sector in bidding for rail franchises.'- Almost exactly what I had suggested in my previous comment, and very similar to the model used in many parts of Europe where national operators bid (and sometimes win) against the private sector. This landmark ruling is a breath of fresh air for the UK rail industry and provides a real opportunity to challenge the current franchising system which has been so criticised in recent years. I will certainly be watching the next Scotrail bidding competition closely; whether or not a public bidder wins the franchise or not it will certainly shake up the system, and this can only be a positive step.
The full Transport Scotland statement can be read here.

37's to the Far North

37025 'Inverness TMD'  and 37421 at Wick preparing to head south with the SRPS 'Far North Explorer' tour on 3rd June 2017.

Those who know me will know that I don't tend to travel on many railtours- Given the choice I would much prefer to chase down the traction of my choice on service trains for a more 'genuine' ride. However I do make exceptions and when the Scottish Railway Preservation Society announced a tour to Wick and Thurso with a pair of classic class 37's it was an easy decision to book a few days off work and head north of the border.

37421 lead the tour from Inverness to Georgemas Junciton. During our first
photo stop at Helmsdale it catches the first of the days sunshine.

I had travelled the Far North line once previously, on a trip to Inverness with a class 158 which is the staple traction for the line, operated by Scotrail. The line is highly scenic (though the poor weather on this occasion did little to show off the landscape to me). The line is incredibly rural by nature and sees just 4 trains in each direction on weekdays. Thurso, the most northerly station in the UK and one of the termini of the route is 154 miles north of Inverness and a staggering miles north of Edinburgh (with a journey time of some 8 hours!). It was clearly going to be an epic trip and in light of the distance our train was due to depart from Edinburgh around 22:00 on the Friday night travelling overnight by way of Perth and the Highland Mainline to reach Inverness around dawn. We would then continue to Georgemas Junction to reverse before visiting both Thurso and Wick before beginning the long and scenic journey back to the Scottish capital. Overall this would involve more than 24 hours with our chartered train.

Friday 2nd June came and after a day in and around Edinburgh it was time to wait for our train at Waverley. As expected traction was a pair of 37's in the guise of preserved 37025 'Inverness TMD' and Colas Rail's 37421 (working it's first passenger train since withdrawal by EWS in 2004). For the run north I would be located towards the rear of the train formed of the SRPS Mk1 coaches. This was perfect- hopefully the chance to get some sleep and of course this would mean that the loco's would be at our end of the train for the daylight run south.

Sleep was of course hard to come by- and I'm not sure my poor earplugs, face mask left from the sleeper the previous night or the toasty ambiance of the coach (heated by the ETH on 37421) did a lot to help. Nor did the passengers opposite who gave a running commentary on how they could not get to sleep! Never mind- I was never going to get a good night's sleep in a standard seat on a Mk1 coach heading through Scotland overnight!

Leaky steam heat pipes powered by 37025's boiler.

At Inverness the first signs of 'proper' daylight (it never got totally dark all night really) were appearing on the horizon and while our locos were taken off the train and fueled the decision was also taken to swap them around putting 37421 at the head of the train. This loco was providing our heat- but with 37025 having a fully functioning and certified steam heat boiler the opportunity was too good to turn down. 37025's boiler was fired up and soon steam heating was warming the train (this being only the second occasion in preservation that a diesel train has been steam heated on the mainline). Unfortunately some leaky steam heat pipes in the stock did not help the passengers at the back of the train where it became distinctly chilly for the run up to Thurso! Breakfast was served before Georgemas Junction where the train was shunted to allow for the first southbound unit to pass our train. One locomotive was also run around so that our train could be 'top and tailed' for the branches to Wick and Thurso. After the stock had been watered we continued with 37421 powering alone to Thurso.

Here we left the train and took advantage of the optional coach tour to the very north of Scotland (well, as we had come this far!) heading to Dunnett head (the most northerly point in the UK) and to the more famous John O'Groats.

Re-joining the train at Wick the locomotives had been run around again to leave 37025 on the business end with 37421 once again tucked inside for heating purposes (37025 is through wired for ETH, however there was some concern the cables may not have been long enough to master the severe curves on this route!). The sun had come out and with the locos on our end of the train heading south into the Scottish Highlands this really was something to savour. The tour lost some time at Georgemas Junction waiting for a Scotrail Unit. The late running resulting in an extended stop further south at Brora, now very much in gloomy Scottish weather, to pass another unit while the booked stop at Dingwall unfortunately had to be curtailed (much to the disappointment of those wishing to stop here for Fish & Chips!).

Sunshine had become rain by the time we reached the Highland Mainline.
With 37025 leading our train pauses for a pathing stop at Blair Atholl.

After Inverness the train joins the Highland Mainline, no less scenic than the Far North routes but with a much increased linespeed and full semaphore signalling in many places. After climbing up from Inverness our train is recessed in order to let a Virgin Trains HST pass on the daily 'Highland Cheiftan' from London Kings Cross- this passes at speed proving this really is a main line despite the altitude and passing loops! Climbing on to Slochd and then Drumochter summits is a real test for our locomotives- excellent sound effects are heard from the head of the train with the locos left at full boar for some 20 minutes climbing the gradients.
A photo/pathing stop takes place at Blair Atholl as my journey begins to feel near to its end. Our train is now running to time having missed the long lay over at Dingwall and arrival at Perth, where I would leave the train, is on time at around 22:30. Those staying on to Edinburgh will enjoy another 2 hours of the class 37's but after 24 hours with this train I am definitely ready for bed.

What an excellent tour this has been- Great scenery, locomotives, company and even weather (in the most part). I'm sure I will be back again before too long for another SRPS tour- Kyle of Lochalsh must be high on my list now to reach with some classic Scottish 37's?

A final view of the train at Perth where we would leave for a proper bed. The train would continue to Edinburgh Waverley.

Introducing the class 73/9

On a dull 20th February 2016 73968 prepares to leave Oban returning the empty sleeper stock to Polmadie depot. This was
 the second weekend which had seen class 73/9's (and the Caledonian Sleeper) reach the town following the
classes passenger debut the previous week- which by all accounts was in far better weather conditions!

First appearing in 1962 the Southern Region's class 73 have become known as a reliable workhorse on the 3rd rail electric systems of South-East England. The locomotives run well on the electric current and their supplementary diesel engines have proved versatile, taking them off the juice on many occasions, but rarely far from their home territory. In the early to mid 2000's as the class lost their passenger work on the Gatwick Express and had all but been consigned to history on freight workings it appeared that the class 73 was reaching the natural end of it's life. GBRf then took on four locomotives for infrastructure work and have grown their fleet ever since, the versatility and reliability of the electro-diesels once again proving itself.

On 18th March 2015 GB Railfreight liveried 73963 'Janice' is pictured at
Clapham Junction on a deliver run from Loughbrough to Tonbridge. 

In 2013 something unexpected was announced; the class 73 was going to receive a major life-extension. A complete re-build with a new engine and traction package would give this ageing workhorse a new lease of life. The first locomotives to begin their re-build, by RVEL at Derby and fitted with Cummins engines will shortly begin working for Network Rail, however the larger and more 'standard' class 73/9 design is undoubtedly the MTU engined version which has been re-built by Brush at Loughbrough. A fleet of more than 10 locomotives will be outshopped from Loughbrough split between infrastructure operations in the South-East of England and in a surprising move, operating the diesel portions of the Caledonian Sleeper train in Scotland. Far from their original area of operation the upgraded 1600hp class 73's will be able to meet the haulage capacities required of them on the routes from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William while also providing train supply to Serco's new fleet of CAF built 'Mk5' sleeper coaches from 2018.

73967 prepares to work the 04:50 Edinburgh - Oban diverted Caledonian
Sleeper service on February 20th 2016.

The first passenger working north of the border was on Saturday 13th February when 73967 worked the 04:50 Edinburgh - Oban portion of the Highland Sleeper with 73968 dead on the rear for the return trip. The train itself was diverted to Oban as engineering works were blocking the line to Fort William, the 73/9's route availability of 5 making the diversion possible as heavier locomotives are banned on this line. While the locomotives look, and most certainly sound, different they do still retain much of their 'class 73' character with all locomotives retaining their option of electrical working from the 3rd rail and with the Southern based locos also retaining their 27-way multi-working cables (though re-positioned to allow the provision of new lighting clusters). GBRf have signed a 10 year deal with Network Rail to use the locomotives in Southern England and following the significant investment it is likely that the re-built class 73/9's will now be with us for a significant time to come.

Riding the Glasgow Subway

The London Underground is famous throughout the world. Between it and the Budapest Metro they are the two oldest underground railway systems in the world. The third oldest is somewhat less known- the Glasgow Subway. Completed in 1896 the network consists of a single twin circle of tracks which is contained completely below the streets of Glasgow. Three coach trains traverse an 'outer' and 'inner' circle around the city sitting on the unusual 4ft gauge track. While broadly similar in style to London Undergrounds 'deep' line tubes the Glasgow subway trains, built by Metro-Cammel from 1977-79, are noticeably smaller in size to fit through the very restrictive gauge of the tunnels on the system. Trains are painted in a version of Strathclyde Passenger Transport's orange which has lead to some, particularly in the press, nicknaming the system 'the clockwork orange'.
The network has 15 stations around Glasgow, many with central underground island platforms. Trains take 24 minutes to complete a loop of the Glasgow Subway and run up to every 4 minutes at peak times. Ticketing is now entirely through a 'smart card' system with disposable electronic paper tickets available for single journeys.

World Heritage Status for the Forth Bridge

A Scotrail 170 approaches North Queensferry on the Forth Bridge back in 2010 before the 'endless' task of painting it finished!

67021 exits the Forth Bridge heading south into Dalmeny with
one of the loco-hauled Fife Circle trains. These are now in the
hands of Class 68 locomotives from DRS.

In early July 2015 the Forth Rail Bridge in Scotland was officially awarded 'World Heritage Status' by UN's cultural committees meeting in Bonn. The bridge, completed in 1890 was the longest cantilever bridge in the world at it's time of construction (today it is surpassed only by the Quebec bridge in Canada) spanning the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh and Dundee in Scotland.

The bridge was designed by Sir John Fowler and Benjemin Baker to a grand design (partly to reassure the public after the collapse of Thomas Booche's spindly Tay Bridge which disastrously fell into the Firth of Tay in 1879. 125 years since its completion the Forth Bridge is still carrying up to 200 trains a day and with it's heritage status, also awarded to to structures such as the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Wall of China it is set to be preserved for the future as a Scottish Landmark. 

The bridge is famous for the 'Never ending' task of painting it. A constant maintenance crew have been based on the bridge for much of it's life- however in 2011 Network Rail completed a re-pair and repaint on the bridge which will will last for the next 20 years. 

A Scotrail DMU looks somewhat insignificant against the vast Forth Bridge and the firth below.

A look back at the First Scotrail Sleeper

On 31st March the first Serco Caledonian sleeper service departed from Fort William bound for London Euston. Serco has been contracted to run the sleeper as a standalone franchise for the next 15 years with promised investment in the service hospitality, menu and the much anticipated new trains that will arrive from 2018. Traction will be provided by GB Railfreight with, in the most part, class 92's and re-built class 73/9's hauling the train.

Here is a look back over the past 10 years while the Caledonian Sleeper has been part of the First Scotrail franchise with EWS (later DB Schenker) providing traction power:

Shortly after departing Castairs 90028 heads north Edinburgh in 2012.

Sleeper accommodation on board the Mk3 coaches.
The trains also provided seated accommodation and a
very popular lounge car in Mk2 coaches.

37427 with the Fort William portion in 2005

Class 67's replaced class 37's and 47's on the diesel portions.
67009 is seen in the early hours at Edinburgh Waverley.

37427 crosses one of the many viaducts of the West Highland line

Class 90's clocked up many thousands of sleeper miles
between London and Scotland. Scotrail liveried 90024
acts as ECS loco at Euston

An unusual visitor late in the DB schenker operation was
Chiltern liveried 67015 seen outside Inverness depot after
working the sleeper during 2015.

Sleeper stock at London Euston ready for the overnight trip.

Highland Virgin

On 1st March Virgin Trains East Coast commenced operation of the Inter City East Coast franchise superseding the government owned company Directly Operated Railways. The company (90% Stagecoach and 10% Virgin) has acted quickly to re-brand it's trains with large Virgin stickers. Already some of the Intercity 225 trains have been revealed in a totally new livery. The EC HST fleet will not be the first to wear Virgin colours although the scheme does differ from the previous livery seen on West Coast and Cross Country HST's which operated in Virgin days. The interim livery is seen here on 43319 as it passes non-stop through Carrbridge on the Highland Main Line with the 'Highland Chieftan' to London Kings Cross- one of the longest continuous rail journeys in the UK.

The wrong blue blues?

For fans of heritages AC traction there has been cause to celebrate recently. The AC Logo Group (ACLG), owners of many heritage electrics including 86101 and 87002 have secured a main line contract for several of their locomotives. Until GBRf can secure enough class 92's for the Serco Caledonian Sleeper contract they are to hire in locos from the ACLG to work the empty stock moves for the sleeper trains in London. This will be a great source of income for the preservation group and means investment in it's locomotives- plus a re-paint into 'Caledonian Blue'. 

It is the re-paint which seems to be causing some controversy with some enthusiasts up in arms that these locomotives are being painted out of their traditional BR blue livery- after all- the are preserved. People need to keep an open mind about these developments and view them as just another stage in the locomotive's life. In the fullness of time it is very likely that these locos will return to their much loved BR blue- but for now they will wear the colours of their new operator. An operator who is paying for their use, thus securing their future as well as further progressing the restoration of other members of the ACLG fleet such as the unique class 89. 

The enthusiast community should be commending the ACLG for securing this work, which represents a fantastic opportunity for these locomotives. I for one am certainly looking forward to seeing them on the blocks at Euston with the sleeper- whichever shade of blue they happen to carry!

The AC Loco Group's 86101 and 87002 stabled between duties at Carlisle in February 2012. The two locomotives along with
86401 are to be revived to haul empty stock movements for the new Caledonian Sleeper franchise.

Save the sleepers!?

Sleepers are a valuable and time efficient way to travel by train across long distances. In the UK we have just two sleeper services remaining, while in Europe there is still a vast network connecting many different important cities each night. The network however always seems to be under threat- are the sleeper trains really safe? As high speed lines spring up and daytime journeys over vast distances become viable the European sleeper network seems to become ever smaller. 

What role do our sleepers play in rail connectivity? Can they ever viable? Should they be saved?

The discontinued 'Elipsos Trenhotel' having arrived at Barcelona after an overnight journey from Paris.

It is almost a year now since the last 'Elipsos Trenhotel' ran overnight between Paris in France and Barcelona/Madrid in Spain. This was a quality train enabling the traveller to journey time efficiently from one country to the next and be ready for a full day the following morning. It was a popular train too with both tourists and business passengers- but it was withdrawn when through high-speed TGV's began to ran between Paris and Barcelona. The journey is now far quicker- but far less time efficient. The earliest arrival in Barcelona from Paris is now after 2pm- certainly no good for a days business. Over six hours is also a very long train journey by any standard- of course if you are asleep overnight the previous 12 hour train journey is not a cause for concern. 
The story for Madrid is even worse- it does not even benefit from a direct high-speed connection to Paris- yet has still lost it's overnight sleeper. 
The removal of these trains has vastly reduced options for onward travel also- many journeys which could once be accomplished in a day and a night now take two days- plus a hotel bill. I do not know how popular the new TGV's have been- but I suspect many a time conscious traveller, particularly those on business, has simply switched to taking the plane. Not something the rail industry should be encouraging. 

A comfortable bed in a 4-berth compartment on
board the Trenhotel to Spain.

The latest overnight network to come under threat are the international legs of Germany's excellent 'City Night Line'. From December German Railways is set to discontinue all overnight services from Copenhagen and Paris together with the longest distance trains from Amsterdam to Prague and Warsaw (the latter two will be cut back to begin in Cologne). Deutsche Bahn cite the reason as ageing stock and little opportunity for growth in traffic. The deletion of these trains will allow a cascade of better quality stock to keep the domestic sleepers running- but this will be of little condolence to the passengers of France, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Removal of overnight trains is a compound problem- the more that are removed from service, the less able the remainder are to run as these trains share locomotives, and various portions run together for parts of their journeys. Removing one part of a train suddenly unbalances the economics of running a network altogether. 
An online petition against the removal of the Paris-Berlin (and consequently also Paris-Hamburg and Paris-Munich) can be signed here should you choose.

An SNCF 'Lunea' sleeper car at Strasbourg having traveled
overnight from Nice.

For sleepers to continue to run they must not only provide convenience but also turn a profit. One of the often mentioned problems for sleeper trains is the low number of passengers they carry relative to their size- the requirement to provide a bed means a lot more space is required than for a seat- though passengers do pay a premium for this space. By using 6 bed couchettes a similar number of people can be housed within a coach as a standard 1st class seating layout- though at a compromise in comfort. Some German City Night Line services even use double-deck sleeping compartments. 
For sleepers to survive they either need to pack in a large number of passengers paying lower fares, or a smaller number paying large premiums. In reality there is probably a market for both.

Super high density sleeping- Russian 'Platzkart' sleeper car
with open bunks arranged both along and across the carriage.

The two remaining sleeper services in the UK run from London to Scotland and from London to the West Country. While these are threatened with extinction from time to time both are currently receiving investment and seem safe for the medium term. The 'Night Rivera Sleeper' is being extensively refurbished but it is the 'Caledonian Sleeper' where the really exciting investment is to take place. A new contract let and part funded by the Scottish government will see a complete re-branding of the Scottish sleeper service- together with brand new rolling stock- replacing the Mk3 coaches dating from 1981-2. These will be the first new loco-hauled coaches in the UK for over 25 years and will support the Scottish sleeper trains well into the future. The new carriages are to offer 'significant improvements including en-suite berths, Pod Flatbeds used for the first time in rail and a brasserie-style Club Car'. The balance of accommodation however must support all users of the train. I fear some regular passengers could be priced off the service which is aiming to cash in on the lucrative Scottish tourist market- the space to provide en-suite facilities will, of course, come at a huge premium. The idea of using 'pod flatbeds' as seen on airlines in recent years is certainly innovative and welcome- but will this really be able to compete on price with the current option of a seat? I personally think something in between should be offered to passengers- why doesn't the UK set a coach on the train aside for couchettes? Even within the British loading gauge it should be possible to stack three bunks on top of each-other giving a compartment of six beds. If these were sold individually, as they are across most of Europe, this would surely provide the most space efficient and cost effective method of transporting passengers in comfort overnight to Scotland.

 

Morning on the West Highland line aboard ScotRail's 'Caledonian Sleeper' a service which has now been safeguarded for the next fifteen years.

Update- another online petition has emerged to attempt to save the threatened City Night Line sleepers.
Please click here and sign it if you care about international rail travel in Europe.

Comment: Should the East Coast franchise stay public?

The tendering of the new East Coast Franchise, to begin in 2015, has sparked much discussion and debate about how rail services should be run in the UK. Since 2009 when operator National Express 'handed back the keys' on the East Coast route due to financial difficulties it has been run by the government- under the banner of Directly Operated Railways (DOR).

An East Coast HST is pictured in Northumberland. Directly Operated Railways took over running of the East Coast Route after it was handed back to the Government by National Express. The HST wears an interim livery in National Express colours with 'East Coast' branding. The franchise will return to the private sector in 2015.

DOR has been one of the success stories of the railways in the last few years- the route which crippled both GNER and National Express has become one of the most popular in Britain- and it turns a good profit which is payed back to the treasury. Many therefore feel that the line should be kept as it is, running successfully under government control. It could provide a useful benchmark for other privately let franchises and avoid the costly process of tendering to another unknown operation while maintaining stability on the route.
This is all very well, however it totally undermines the whole idea of a privatised railway. I do not subscribe to the camp that Britain's railways should be re-nationalised. It is clear without doubt that private enterprise has done wonders for rail travel in this country- we have new fleets of trains, competition and one of the very best rail networks in the world.
So to the East Coast franchise- should it be tendered back out to a private operator, and what should happen to DOR?
In my view the answer is simple- Yes, the route should be tendered out as a franchise BUT the government (under DOR) should bid to run it.
This isn't quite as stupid as it first sounds and is a model which is used in many other parts of Europe where national rail networks have been opened up to competition under EU laws. Competition in Germany is shaking up the railways in a big way- local authorities are tendering out rail routes to interested bidders- if Deutsche Bahn (DB) want to continue to run the tendered services they must simply put in a competitive bid just like any other perspective operator. This is good for competition, and good for the traveling public as it ensures the best deal is achieved for the rail network- no longer can DB rest on their laurels as the only option to provide rail services.
Could this work in the UK? I don't see why not. If the private bidders can forecast a profit from running East Coast then so can DOR. If there are cost savings through the operator being government run and not paying out to shareholders then these can be factored in also- if this enables DOR to put together a cheaper, more competitive bid then great. If DOR can win the franchise through competitive tender then it should continue to run trains on the East Coast Route.
Clearly at this stage in the process this will not happen. The tender process is now too advanced for a government backed bidder to enter the process- there would also be issues regarding conflict of interest which would need to be resolved before the Department for Transport could award a contract to another government body. But maybe, in the future, this model could be used to bring a new level of competition to the railways of the UK.

In Germany national operator DB bids against private competition to retain rail concessions. One service which is no longer in the hands of DB is the ALEX operation in Bavaria which was tendered to Arriva starting in 2003. Alex and DB locomotives are seen together between duties at Lindau.

Picture of the week- 6th July 2012

It's been a little while since the last 'Picture of the week' and I captured just the thing last weekend.
47854 in almost ex-works condition following a recent repaint glistens in the sunshine at Edinburgh Waverley  on 29th June. The locomotive, now named 'Diamond Jubilee' is about to head a 3 day West Highland excursion with the Royal Scotsman luxury train.
This is said to be one of the best ways possible to experience train travel- and if I ever have a spare £3000 or so for a ticket I'm sure I shall let you know!