On Thursday the BBC Midlands Today news program had a clip about the return of the HST. We don't get that TV channel in Northampton so on Friday Robbie sent me a link so that I could watch the clip. It was good, I still think the Cross Country livery lacks sparkle, in fact it is downright dull, but I can see the attraction of the HST, it looks as if they have done a very good job with the refurbishment of the trains and they certainly seem to be popular with the passengers. The HST's are the same age as Robbie, but after their twenty million pound upgrade they are looking better than ever. Hopefully they will continue in service for many years because Robbie loves them and anything that keeps him happy gets my vote. Talking of upgrades there was a news item last week about the staggering amount of money that the Republican party have spent on Sarah Palin's wardrobe. In her case I think they wasted their money, she is still very scary. Andy Cooper the MD of Cross Country appeared in the news clip about the HST what he said was interesting, but it crossed my mind that the company could learn from the political parties and use a stylist to make him seem a little more 'cuddly' and exciting.
Showing posts with label Arriva. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arriva. Show all posts
Monday, 27 October 2008
XC Refurbished HST
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
All Change 22.11.07
One of my jobs today involved sorting out Robbie's piles. Don't panic, I'm not talking about haemorrhoids! He deposits piles of magazines and assorted clutter all over the place. I found myself leafing though his railway magazines looking at the articles marking the end of Virgin Cross Country. The thing I am going to miss most is the uniform, I particularly liked the long coats the men wore in the winter, they looked really good. Robbie showed me some pictures of the interim Cross Country uniform, there is nothing especially wrong with it but it is so uninspiring. I hope they will eventually come up with something with a bit more personality. Silverlink also bit the dust a couple of weeks ago, those of you with long memories will remember that I once described their uniform reminiscent of the austerity and menace of the old Soviet Union. Our local station was run by Silverlink and it is now the responsibility of London Midland. As far as I can tell the only thing to have changed so far is the name badge, but we live in hope! I feel a bit sorry for London Midland because some of their employees have frighteningly lugubrious faces and however splendid their uniform they will still look like boarder guards!
Anyway on the subject of coats, Robbie has been on a shopping spree. He has almost as many coats as he has shoes, but he didn't have one that offered sufficient protection from the arctic winds at Northampton station. That was his excuse anyway. He arrived home proudly wearing his new wool coat and I must admit that he looked very smart. We had to pop to the supermarket when he got home, and as I watched him walking across the car park in his new coat I realised that he bore a striking resemblance Paddington Bear. All that was missing was the hat!
Anyway on the subject of coats, Robbie has been on a shopping spree. He has almost as many coats as he has shoes, but he didn't have one that offered sufficient protection from the arctic winds at Northampton station. That was his excuse anyway. He arrived home proudly wearing his new wool coat and I must admit that he looked very smart. We had to pop to the supermarket when he got home, and as I watched him walking across the car park in his new coat I realised that he bore a striking resemblance Paddington Bear. All that was missing was the hat!
Sleeping Beauty 11.11.07
When Robbie told me he wanted to go out 'playing trains' yesterday he assured me that I would have his undivided attention today. By the time I went to bed last night it was almost 3am and Robbie stayed up until 4am. I know it sounds mad, but somehow it was important for him to be awake to mark the end of the Virgin Cross Country franchise and the transfer to Arriva. I awoke fairly early this morning but despite my best efforts Robbie was doing a very convincing Sleeping Beauty impression and it seemed that the only response I was likely to get from him was the occasional grunt! Eventually nature achieved what I could not and after a trip to the bathroom Robbie made a detour to the kitchen and returned with a most welcome cup of tea.
He settled back into bed and reached for his book about Virgin Trains, and with a big sigh he began to thumb through the pages crammed with so many memories. It seemed that Robbie must have been kidnapped by aliens who had left me with Victor Meldrew's younger brother instead. We had all the ingredients for a very challenging day! By late afternoon I had to beg Robbie to give me half an hour or so without mentioning the word train!
He settled back into bed and reached for his book about Virgin Trains, and with a big sigh he began to thumb through the pages crammed with so many memories. It seemed that Robbie must have been kidnapped by aliens who had left me with Victor Meldrew's younger brother instead. We had all the ingredients for a very challenging day! By late afternoon I had to beg Robbie to give me half an hour or so without mentioning the word train!
The End - 2am 11.11.2007
If you chopped Robbie in half (and believe me there have been times when I've been tempted!) I think you would find the words Cross Country running through him like a stick of rock. He has loved working for Virgin and he was proud of all the achievements of Cross Country, so the end of the franchise is a big deal to him. He has spoken of little else for weeks - and if you know Robbie you will know that he can fit far more words into a minute than most people!
On Friday he went to a retirement event at Kidderminster where he met lots of old friends from the railways. He was late home - again, but when he got back he went on and on and on about the end of an era and all the people who were moving on. Finally he fell asleep, but as soon as he woke up he was droning on about it all over again. Distraction techniques worked for a while, but you can never stop Robbie talking for very long and in the end I gave up. He was still going full steam ahead on the demise of Virgin Cross Country and I was contemplating the bedroom ceiling thinking that a coat of paint was long overdue, not to mention a new lampshade and curtains. My silence must have lulled him into a false sense of security because I was dragged back to the subject of railways when he asked if I would drive to Coventry station to pick him up in the middle of the night. He must be mad, I wouldn't drive to Coventry station in broad daylight, it's the pits, and nothing on earth would induce me to drive there in the middle of the night! He wanted to travel on the very last Central train, but he couldn't get home from Coventry.
On Friday he went to a retirement event at Kidderminster where he met lots of old friends from the railways. He was late home - again, but when he got back he went on and on and on about the end of an era and all the people who were moving on. Finally he fell asleep, but as soon as he woke up he was droning on about it all over again. Distraction techniques worked for a while, but you can never stop Robbie talking for very long and in the end I gave up. He was still going full steam ahead on the demise of Virgin Cross Country and I was contemplating the bedroom ceiling thinking that a coat of paint was long overdue, not to mention a new lampshade and curtains. My silence must have lulled him into a false sense of security because I was dragged back to the subject of railways when he asked if I would drive to Coventry station to pick him up in the middle of the night. He must be mad, I wouldn't drive to Coventry station in broad daylight, it's the pits, and nothing on earth would induce me to drive there in the middle of the night! He wanted to travel on the very last Central train, but he couldn't get home from Coventry.
He got more twitchy as the day went on and in the end I had to let him out because he was driving me mad. I left him and his camera at Northampton Station where he intended to have a good look at two engines on a special charter. After that he headed to Birmingham to watch the last Virgin Cross Country services depart - sad crank! Of course he couldn't resist having one last ride so by the time he arrived home it was Sunday and I was struggling to stay awake! I stayed up because I knew he would be feeling sad when he got home. I listened to all his talk about the evening and I admired his photos, but in the end he made me sad - by announcing that he had to be at the station by 6am on Monday to see a special train. I will leave you to imagine my response, but I think I conveyed my feelings adequately!!
Mistaken Identity 09.11.07
As I have mentioned before Robbie is known by several different versions of his name, but today he was most put out to find that his name had been completely changed. Virgin Cross Country will cease to exist at 2am on Sunday morning and Arriva will take over the franchise. This has necessitated all sorts of changes including new email addresses and have all the IT migrated to a new server. So this morning he and his colleagues switched on their pc's to find they were about as reliable as the present government - all noise and no substance. It took most of the day to achieve something approaching normality. Anyway, to cut out along story short when Robbie finally got internet access he found that they had made a mistake with his new email address and apparently his name was now Richard! This caused considerable amusement in the office and the inevitable jokes about his new name. Robbie struggled to see the funny side of being lumbered with an old man's name.
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Big Ideas, Little Substance. 20.07.07
Robbie was in the dog house this morning, I was so cross with him. I was too tired to finish reading Rail last night so I hid it so that I could finish reading it this morning. I thought he had forgotten about it, but when I went to get it this morning he had already taken it!!
It is no surprise that the Arriva take-over of CrossCountry made the front cover of Rail this week. The news article inside makes grim reading. How can Arriva possibly have won the franchise when they are unable to explain how they are going to do many of the thinks that they promise. They are unable to explain how they will provide hot food to all passengers from a trolley. They say they are going to remove one disabled toilet from each set, leaving two toilets. As far as I know all toilets on Voyagers are classed as disabled toilets and they are all used by everyone. This will provide more seating and luggage space, fine but do the maths! These are not huge spaces so it will not create a huge amount of extra seating or luggage space. I have travelled on voyagers enough to know that the toilets are well used and removing a third of them will create a number of problems. When considering this we need to accept that it is fairly common for one or more toilets on a train to be out of order and this will put further pressure on an already reduced number of toilets. Even if the disabled seating is within easy reach of the remaining toilets, many people with disabilities are not in wheelchairs and may have to walk further to reach the toilet. Many people who are non disabled need to use the toilet more often than average including some elderly people, pregnant women, young children and a number of other groups. If they have to walk further to reach the toilet there is more potential to trip over luggage or stumble due to train movement. They may have to queue and will therefore be at risk of stumbling if they have to stand while the train is moving, there is also a risk of a different type of accident if insufficient toilets are available.
There are so many other issues where their promises lack substance, it gives me a distinct feeling of Alice in Wonderland when Iread about it, or maybe it is more like the Emperor's New Clothes, because it is all about impossible promises. It is all smoke and mirrors. Rail Magazine included a picture of Andy Cooper of Arriva and confidently announced that he is to be the Managing Director of Cross Country, but it seems that they were incorrect about that, it appears he is dealing with the transition. If that picture of Andy Cooper was of an aspiring politician seeking election, he would have lost my vote instantly. There was something of Tony Blair about him, all artificial earnestness and spin, and why ever did he allow himself to be photographed in that hand wringing pose - it is the CrossCountry employees who have every right to ring their hands in despair. Andy Cooper was at a CrossCountry meeting today and the word is that he didn't make much of an impression, apparently he has all the Charisma of a wet fish!
It is no surprise that the Arriva take-over of CrossCountry made the front cover of Rail this week. The news article inside makes grim reading. How can Arriva possibly have won the franchise when they are unable to explain how they are going to do many of the thinks that they promise. They are unable to explain how they will provide hot food to all passengers from a trolley. They say they are going to remove one disabled toilet from each set, leaving two toilets. As far as I know all toilets on Voyagers are classed as disabled toilets and they are all used by everyone. This will provide more seating and luggage space, fine but do the maths! These are not huge spaces so it will not create a huge amount of extra seating or luggage space. I have travelled on voyagers enough to know that the toilets are well used and removing a third of them will create a number of problems. When considering this we need to accept that it is fairly common for one or more toilets on a train to be out of order and this will put further pressure on an already reduced number of toilets. Even if the disabled seating is within easy reach of the remaining toilets, many people with disabilities are not in wheelchairs and may have to walk further to reach the toilet. Many people who are non disabled need to use the toilet more often than average including some elderly people, pregnant women, young children and a number of other groups. If they have to walk further to reach the toilet there is more potential to trip over luggage or stumble due to train movement. They may have to queue and will therefore be at risk of stumbling if they have to stand while the train is moving, there is also a risk of a different type of accident if insufficient toilets are available.
There are so many other issues where their promises lack substance, it gives me a distinct feeling of Alice in Wonderland when Iread about it, or maybe it is more like the Emperor's New Clothes, because it is all about impossible promises. It is all smoke and mirrors. Rail Magazine included a picture of Andy Cooper of Arriva and confidently announced that he is to be the Managing Director of Cross Country, but it seems that they were incorrect about that, it appears he is dealing with the transition. If that picture of Andy Cooper was of an aspiring politician seeking election, he would have lost my vote instantly. There was something of Tony Blair about him, all artificial earnestness and spin, and why ever did he allow himself to be photographed in that hand wringing pose - it is the CrossCountry employees who have every right to ring their hands in despair. Andy Cooper was at a CrossCountry meeting today and the word is that he didn't make much of an impression, apparently he has all the Charisma of a wet fish!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)