ndrailusers - Mag25

Issue 25, Spring 2007

Table of Contents

Editorial

Editorial New livery for FGW's regional fleet Photo: Mike Day

Eventually! another issue makes it to press after an unprecedented gap of nearly six months, and what a six months it has been.

Firstly one of the main reasons for the lateness of this issue has been the passenger survey carried out in February at the same time as the passenger counts; over 1300 passengers were surveyed generating a wealth of data which then required entering and collating at the time this issue should have been produced. The resulting report is now issued and this is commented on in your chairman's report.

Chairman's Report Pullman and the Devon Belle Updated Tarka Line Usage Figures First Great Western Customer Panel Blockade of North Devon Line for Engineering Works Common Sense Prevails!

The Music goes Round and Round...

TravelWatch SouthWest General Meeting 3rd March 2006 Chairman's Report In Search of Excellence-UK Train Franchising Delivering the Greater Western Franchise Timetable Changes

Secondly, the last six months has seen the introduction of the new winter timetable with the reduction of the service from 12 to 11 trains a day, the missing train, peculiarly, being the well used one between 8.30 and 10.30 making the service two hourly in the mornings when it is busiest, and hourly in the afternoons when it is quietest – some inverse form of logic at work here? The summer timetable, which is imminent, remains virtually unchanged.

As well as the timetable reduction the line has not escaped the "FGW phenomenon" of lack of stock, lack of staff, and lack of information. Although the Tarka Line is only a small part of a relatively small regional section of a company that is itself part of a national group, one would have thought that with the resources at its disposal, quick effective solutions to the problems experienced by users could have been found without the bad press that has been generated nationally and is still being generated locally.

Help Wanted News Update and Miscellany A Return for Charters?

My Life feature: Kevin Ogilvie-White Here Comes Summer!

Membership Matters New Members Committee Meetings (Members Welcome)

The aim of this group is to represent the users and potential users of the line, and to turn potential users into regular ones. The figures reproduced in the centre pages cannot be built upon without the provision of a service fit for use in terms of frequency, capacity, and reliability, and effective management of resources, this does not appear to be happening.

Whilst the higher level management seem to have problems, it should be well noted that locally, management, station staff, and train staff continue, in difficult circumstances, to do a great job in a friendly manner which indeed has been commented on in the survey – how about the resources and organisation to let them get on with the job effectively!

Andy Hedges

Chairman's Report As the Editor has explained, the main reason for the lateness of this edition is because of the Passenger Survey and the not inconsiderable amount of work there has been in analysing the data and preparing the report.

The Survey was conducted mainly because of concerns expressed by members and others about the effect of the new timetable introduced in December. It was decided that, in the interests of economy, it should be carried out at the same time as the twice yearly Passenger Counts carried out by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The survey was made possible because funding for it came from the Partnership and also Passenger Focus who were both very pleased that the survey would be carried out under the auspices of

NDRUG, with the support of FGW. Aside from the timetable, the opportunity was taken to seek awareness among passengers of fares and especially the local cheap day returns, comments on the train being used for that journey, peoples views on the twice yearly two week line closures for engineering works and what travel arrangements they made. Finally people were made aware of NDRUG and we hope to recruit a number of new members as a result.

The report is being finalised as I write this and a full account will appear in the next edition and on our web-site here. In the meantime, the editor has reproduced a few of the early results as a taster.

We are extremely concerned that the Summer Timetable will not include a 0940 departure from Barnstaple on Monday – Friday nor, unbelievably, on Saturdays. I have been in constant touch with FGW on this issue following handing over proof of need based on surveys carried out on every Saturday morning last summer. Then, with three morning departures, many trains left Barnstaple full and in some cases full and standing. Currently we have only two – at 0840 and 1040 and unless extra carriages are provided on both trains, travel conditions will be unacceptable and could drive passengers away for good.

FGW have explained that at present their resources are such that they cannot guarantee that a 0940 would be reliable and so have taken the decision not to show it in the timetable rather than run the risk of having to cancel it on a regular basis.

Your Committee will continue to press hard on this and also towards an hourly service and a late evening train from Exeter using the evidence gained from the Passenger Survey. Hopefully we shall have made good progress for May 2008 if not December this year. In the meantime, you may wish to write to FGW about it on a personal basis. The address to write to is given on below and I would encourage you to do so.

Turning now to other issues I am pleased to report that we have established excellent relations with the Station Management Team, lead

by Kevin Ogilvie-White. Don Reid is the Service Delivery Manager responsible for the Tarka Line and now tries to attend each Committee meeting. He has been very helpful and reacts as quickly as possible to problems we bring to his attention.

The recent Blockade bus service worked well thanks to excellent two way communication with FGW and our thanks go to Andy McRae for working closely with us on the planning side and to Kevin and Don locally to ensure people were aware of where the buses stopped and that the bus drivers knew the local arrangements. There were very few complaints this time, even though the bus service is not popular, especially with regular passengers.

The work carried out during the recent blockade included replacing jointed track with continuously welded rails at and to the south of Copplestone.

Once again you will see that the Station Gardens Scheme is being run again this year with sponsorship from FGW and I'm delighted to be able to announce that this year every station except Lapford will be taking part! Judging will take place at the end of June, with prizes presented in early July. Good luck to all those taking part.

Last year we presented Network Rail with a certificate for creating a 39 mile garden! This was circulated widely among the company's offices and I recently had a discussion with a representative of the company who assured me that the weed killing train will definitely visit the line in good time this year.

On that seasonal note, I hope that you have a pleasant summer and, as always, will make use of our beautiful railway line!

John Phillips Chairman

Pullman and the Devon Belle The 'Devon Belle' was introduced in 1947. It was the result of a fruitful initiative between the Pullman Car Company and the Southern Railway to meet specific circumstances in the early post-war period.

Firstly, a few words about the Pullman Car Company. It had detached itself from its parent American company in 1905 and in the ensuing years, had entered into contracts with a number of railway companies, including the predecessors of the Southern Railway. The contracts were for the provision of catering services on a variety of routes. Pullman cars were built for these services which saved the railway

companies the capital outlay and operating costs of providing their own restaurant cars. The railway companies provided the locomotive for the train whilst retaining the passenger fare receipts. Pullman charged a supplement for travelling in its cars, which were more luxurious than those of the railway companies, and profited from the meals and drinks, served at each seat, whilst en route. But it also bore the risk of fluctuating demand with high on board staffing costs in terms of chefs, attendants and conductors. Nevertheless, overall, Pullman made good profits throughout the company's existence, in contrast to the railway companies who tended to lose money on their own catering services and saw such provision as a loss leader in the bid to attract passengers.

The Pullman cars themselves were very distinctive, being 'slab sided' with inward opening doors, oval lavatory windows, table lamps and eventually standardising on the evocative cream and umber livery with gold lining out. Until the 1920s, the cars were 1st class but 3rd class cars were also built thereafter (2nd class being confined to boat trains at that time). The interiors were lavish and each car was individually decorated in a particular period style in a variety of exotic hardwoods. Elegant 18th century classical schemes predominated, executed in woods such as mahogany, amboyna, rosewood, maple and satinwood with elaborate marquetry pictorial effects. All internal metal fittings were in ormolu gilt or satin silver plate. In the late 1920s and 1930s, the intricate classical schemes gave way to simpler but striking 'art deco' schemes. In 1st class, there was 1+1 seating (a single armchair either side of a gangway). 3rd class was usually 2+1.

The 1st class cars were named, the 3rd class cars were given a number, applied to the bodysides in gold transfers. The trains consisted of saloon or parlour cars, parlour cars with kitchens and parlour cars with brake ends.

Kitchen car 'Sappho' ( Photo: Birmingham City Archives (Metro Cammell Collection Album 108 Folio 23 To return to the Devon Belle, Pullman cars were stored for most of the war and the bulk of the fleet was intact. There had been some losses but damaged cars were renovated on cessation of hostilities and the Pullman company was keen to resume business. The 'Golden Arrow' was the first Southern Railway service to be restored in 1946 followed by the 'Bournemouth Belle' and later in 1947, the 'Brighton Belle'. The public yearned for a return to the normalities of civilian life following a harrowing war and there was a desire to travel, particularly to Summer holiday resorts. The Southern Railway was not best placed to meet this demand immediately as it had lost a great deal of rolling stock owing to enemy action and replacements would take some years to expedite because of materiel shortages. Happily, Pullman had sufficient spare stock to inaugurate a new service from London to Ilfracombe via Salisbury and Exeter. The Southern Railway provided locomotives from its growing fleet of Bulleid Pacifics to power this new train that could stretch to 14 vehicles during peak periods, grossing to over 500 tons. 'Merchant Navy' Pacifics hauled the train between London and Exeter, where the train was divided, and lighter 'West Country' Pacifics then took over for the rest of each journey to Plymouth and Ilfracombe. A feature of the new service was an observation car, rebuilt from a 1921 Pullman car. This was seen as a great attraction to enjoy West Country scenery, especially through the Taw Valley and the climb up Mortehoe Bank to Ilfracombe.

The 'Devon Belle' began a Summer only service in June 1947, with a Friday to Monday train in each direction, so two rakes of Pullmans were provided. From London, the complete train ran to Exeter Central where four cars were detached for Plymouth and the principal train plus observation car proceeded to Ilfracombe via Barnstaple. The Plymouth portion left first, proceeding on the North Devon line but at Coleford Junction it diverted across Dartmoor via Oakhampton to approach Plymouth from the north east. The Ilfracombe portion followed on up the North Devon line to Barnstaple Junction and across the iron railway bridge adjacent to the medieval bridge, thence through Barnstaple Town station and on to Ilfracombe. The inclined route above Braunton and Wrafton to Mortehoe was mainly 1 in 40 and was one of the steepest ascents in the country. As a precaution, a 'banking' engine was provided to give the train rear end assistance. This was normal practice and the other prestige express on this route, the 'Atlantic Coast Express', was similarly treated.

Photo: Mike Morant Collection

The timings for the 'Devon Belle' varied over the years but initially the down train left Waterloo at 12 noon, arriving at Plymouth at 5.36pm and Ilfracombe at 5.33pm. The up train left both Plymouth and Ilfracombe at 12 noon, arriving at Waterloo at 5.20pm. The relatively slow timings were probably due to the condition of the track in the early post-war period. Both up and down trains ran non stop between London and Sidmouth Junction and vice versa although there was an unscheduled stop at Wilton, later at Salisbury, to take water as the Southern had no water troughs, an unusual oversight by the Southern and its predecessor companies.

In addition to the observation car, the train was composed mainly of 3rd class cars. There were a few 1st class cars but the train was aimed at holidaymakers rather than 'expense account' business people. To make up the number of cars, many older 1st class cars were downgraded to 3rd class by the simple expedient of replacing the 1+1 seating with 2+1 and rearranging the panelling.

Photo: Mike Morant Collection

At first, the new service to Ilfracombe was very successful. Post war austerity meant that the motor car was still the prerogative of the well-to-do and even if you owned a car, the drive from London would have been long and tedious. The portion detached for Plymouth was less remunerative, particularly once, following railway nationalisation, the newly formed Western Region was able to introduce a faster non supplement service from Paddington to Plymouth. The Plymouth portion of the 'Devon Belle' was dropped in 1950.

As the 1950s progressed, car ownership became more widespread and the desire for continental holidays increased. Attempts by the Southern Region to speed up journey times had not been sufficient to stop a fall in demand for this Pullman service. Despite reducing the number of Pullmans provided, the high staffing costs were beginning to tell and the 'Devon Belle' was rather arbitrarily cut at the end of the 1954 season.

Parlour car 'Minerva' ( Photo: Birmingham City Archives (Metro Cammell Collection Album 108 Folio 37 The Pullman Car company had remained a private company at nationalisation but in 1954, the British Transport Commission became the majority shareholder and the company became wholly owned by the BTC in 1963 and merged into British Rail. Although new Pullman cars were built in the 1960s, to contemporary designs, the older cars faced a bleak future. The period interiors now looked antique set against the 'white hot technological' era of the 1960s. Most of the pre-war cars were scrapped with the 'Brighton Belle' and Golden Arrow' services as the last to be withdrawn in 1972. Fortunately, over 50 of the traditional cars survive across the country in various states of preservation, the best maintained owned by the Venice Simplon Orient Express (VSOE) and the Bluebell Railway.

Both 'Devon Belle' observation cars survive. One is on the Dart Valley Railway operating between Paignton and Kingswear. The

other car has just been repatriated after spending 40 years in California. It is to be refurbished at Derby for use on the Swanage Railway.

Looking back fifty years, it now seems amazing that Ilfracombe should have had a dedicated Pullman train service in addition to the 'Atlantic Coast Express' and other main line services. But Ilfracombe was seen as an affluent resort attracting well heeled visitors. Sadly, during the 1950s, holidaymakers looked for increasingly glamorous holiday locations and business at the English coastal resorts tailed off.

Withdrawal of the 'Devon Belle' was an early precursor of the reduction of the North Devon railway from a main line to a branch line.

Termination of the railway at Barnstaple has certainly not helped Ilfracombe cope with the difficulties that now face so many seaside resort towns.

Finally, on a brighter note, the author has begun the renovation of two derelict Pullman cars at Portsmouth Arms. These will be an echo of the 'Devon Belle' that passed through the station on its way to Ilfracombe and a reminder of how travel used to be for the price of a small Pullman supplement. A description of the cars and their history will appear in a later edition of the NDRUG magazine.

Patrick O'Connor

Updated Tarka Line Usage Figures Released recently by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership are the latest journey figures for all of the lines in the South West, details of these can be found here, and make interesting reading. As can be seen from the graph, 2006 shows a considerable increase over previous years, kick started early on by the Wessex Trains "Winter Wonder" initiative. This year's winter promotion has been down played because of problems with the service, but indications are that the 2006 figures may be matched even with one train missing from the timetable. The two figures that stand out are the 54% increase in patronage from 2001 to 2006, and the 22% increase from 2005 to 2006; there is every hope that this trend can be continued as long as the line can be provided with the service and capacity that it requires.

Andy Hedges

First Great Western Customer Panel Since starting the new franchise First Great Western have divided their network into three areas. Our line falls into the West Area under the General Manager, Julian Crow. For each of these areas there is a Customer Panel under an independent Chairman. For the West Area the Chairman is John Caff who represents stations in part of east Cornwall. I was appointed to the Panel to represent Passengers' interests at Stations between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple.

The Panel meets quarterly and is attended by managers from both First Great Western and Network Rail. There is normally a briefing and an update from these and also the Customer Panel members provide feedback and comment on diverse matters such as service delivery, timetabling, train refurbishment and facilities for disabled people and at stations. In order to promote open discussion some information is given in confidence which Panel members have all agreed to respect.

Footfall at Barnstaple is more than twice as great as at all the other stations on the line combined NDRUG Survey Feb 2007 The most recent meeting examined how FGW were recovering the position regarding performance, but was mainly about rolling stock provision, and specifically the units that provide local services in Devon and Cornwall including the Tarka Line. A small group has been established to look at the problems and opportunities (including for the forthcoming refurbishment) and report back to the next meeting.

As Panel member, I do from time to time have issues raised by individual passengers passed to me for comment and I have been able to find a way of overcoming problems in one or two instances. I will report from time to time giving an update of any significant developments - provided I get re-appointed when my term of office expires!

John Phillips

Blockade of North Devon Line for Engineering Works The second blockade this Winter took place on Mondays to Fridays W/c 26/2 and W/c 5/3/07. Due to pressure from NDRUG FGW pursued with Network Rail the desire to run trains from 1600 on both Fridays of these weeks as no works were planned by Network on the line after this time. This was an important breakthrough and the busy 1632 Exeter Central to Barnstaple was thus the first train.

Hopefully this will apply on other lines on Fridays where hitherto no such initiative has been forthcoming to try and alleviate the inconvenience and delays suffered by rail passengers through having to travel by bus instead of train.

The main work on the ND line during this 2 week blockade was the relaying of approx 1 mile of line with new steel sleepers and new continuously welded rail the Yeoford side of Copplestone and approx 1/4 mile roughly half way between Lapford and Eggesford near Chenson. In the last few years long welded rails on steel sleepers have made a noticeable inroad into what was previously almost an entirely jointed track line. At present the longest stretch of jointed track is between Eggesford and Umberleigh and much of this has had rotten sleepers replaced with new softwood sleepers rather than complete and much more costly complete renewal due to the generally good condition of the rails and most of the sleepers. Besides more routine track and structure maintenance done was the replacement of rotten timbers on some bridges. At present a 30 mph speed restriction, imposed a couple years ago, remains on the line north of Crediton for loco hauled trains.

Network Rail plans, in due course, on completion of the track renewal between Coleford Jn and Copplestone to raise the maximum speed on this stretch from 55 to 70 mph which is good news for the ND line. Every second saved is worthwhile in order to reduce journey times and make the line even more attractive to passengers.

It is good to hear that the hugely disruptive for rail passengers nationwide 'Blockades' of main and branch lines introduced by Railtrack/Network Rail for mostly 'run of the mill' track maintenance and renewal works a few years ago are increasingly being questioned for their wisdom and efficiency, not only by rail users but by influential rail industry leaders.

Chris Green, Chairman of the Railway Forum, recently stressed the importance of the SEVEN day railway and wanted infrastructure works to be completed quicker, at more suitable times, and with far less disruption to passengers journeys. Present lengthy and disruptive 'Blockades' are known to be depriving the Rail business of much revenue.

I quote from 'The Rail Engineer' a monthly Rail Industry magazine:- "Over the last couple of years railway engineers of the old school have been increasingly surprised by the growing use of long track possessions. Not just at Bank Holidays, but at other times too. Now Network Rail are under pressure to cause less disruption."

It will be very interesting to see what in due course transpires.

Tony Hill

Common Sense Prevails!

67% of passengers are in favour of the current timetable NDRUG Survey Feb 2007 Since this magazine first reported the sudden demise of the rubbish receptacles on the Tarka Line, and the observations from members that they were not an endangered species in other areas of the country; questions have been asked of the authorities who control such things. TRANSECT, the transport security wing of the Department of Transport make recommendations to train operators on how to reduce the likelihood of a terrorist attack on the railways by means of Instructions and the best practice guidance in the National Railway Security Programme (NRSP). In this case the recommendation is that litter receptacles be removed at times when the threat to the railway is "severe" as is the case at present apparently! However, they are quick to point out that it is ultimately for the train operator, in the light of this recommendation, to determine whether the removal of litter receptacles at particular stations is appropriate, based on local circumstances. We are now seeing common sense prevailing and so far Barnstaple now has the facility returned; no doubt the smaller stations will follow in due course.

Andy Hedges

The Music goes Round and Round...

Once again the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership in conjunction with First Great Western are running music trains through the late spring and summer.

The arrangements are as in previous years, with trains either running from Exeter St Davids for the return trip to Barnstaple with the band playing on the train all the way; or from Barnstaple to Eggesford, with the band playing on the train and then at the Fox and Hounds Country Hotel, followed by a return to Barnstaple on a later train. Dates are as follows: 25th May Exeter to Barnstaple Jeremy Hugget's Band of Gold 8th June Barnstaple to Eggesford Steve Tucker's All Star Jazz Band 29th June Exeter to Barnstaple Jeremy Hugget's Band of Gold 13th July Barnstaple to Eggesford Steve Tucker's All Star Jazz Band 27th July Exeter to Barnstaple Jeremy Hugget's Band of Gold 10th Aug Barnstaple to Eggesford Guy Fenton's All Stars 24th Aug Exeter to Barnstaple Jarca 7th Sept Barnstaple to Eggesford Guy Fenton's All Stars

From Exeter the train leaves at 20.55 From Barnstaple the train leaves at 18.06

Leaflets are available at stations or call 01752 233094 for more details.

TravelWatch SouthWest General Meeting 3rd March 2006 Tony Hill and I attended the general meeting of TravelWatch SouthWest (SWPTUF) at Taunton on the 3rd March 2007 on behalf of NDRUG. The meeting was introduced by Chris Irwin (Chairman) who gave his report.

Chairman's Report The board of the South West Regional Assembly have agreed to increase the Assembly's annual contribution by 40% in the financial year 2007/8 subject to confirmation by the Department of Communities and Local Government of the Assembly's own funding. This has been a result of appreciation of the work SWPTUF has done on the Assembly's behalf in the past year. The Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) has occupied the organisation's time in recent years and the strategy is to go to Examination in Public by a panel appointed by the Secretary of State. The TravelWatch response is at http://www.accesssouthwest.org/RSSdoc ). The EiP is spending two days on its examination of transport issues. The hearings take place on the 19-20th June and the findings are reported in October 2007. The purpose of the RSS is to manage the nature, location, pace and scope of development in the South West. The priorities for ÂŁ865 million of funding has been identified for spending on transport up to 2016. The region has the highest portion of public transport spending of any region.

The Regional Planning Assessment is spread over 20 years. It has to take into account the growth of the tourism market, the Stern review, the need to account for areas of deprivation and accessibility and the need to address the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations for all of the South West fleet (none of which will be compliant in 2020). The focus was also on the need for a reliable and resilient rail network which was able to account for projected growth. Chris visited Tom Harris, the Minister for Rail, in October and discussed the Greater Western franchise and other franchise issues.The Greater Western rail franchise process has caused considerable debate. The current franchise process is seriously flawed, not least at the level of Ministerial responsibility in the absence of an accountable agency. It is not credible to expect Ministers , however gifted, to be masters of rolling stock allocation or timetable specification. The regional institutions are right to devote more of their resources to delivering a well researched and effectively delivered sense of their concerns and priorities so that the MPs and ministers can listen and act on this information. This helped to implement last minute changes in the recent South Western franchise. What is needed now is for the franchisee and the Department for Transport to work together and not blame each other for the very real hardships that have been exposed by the December timetable and to provide solutions to these problems. After all both sides knowingly signed up to this very detailed franchise. The New Cross Country franchise is in its final stages and is of crucial importance to the region. Despite research that has demonstrated the importance of travel without having to change at Birmingham the Department of Transport is resolute that it will make no significant changes to to its draft specification. Passengers organisations will need to urgently address this shortcoming and Chris Irwin hopes to initiate such a process at the next TravelWatch National Liason Meeting later in March. The Minister must be persuaded to purchase 30% increased set capacity on the BristolManchester-York-Reading Cross Country territory and he must be dissuaded from going ahead with the DFT's plan to reduce present peak time capacity to and from points south west of Bristol.

TravelWatch South West gave substantial evidence into the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) investigation into the Rolling Stock Leasing Companies. It believes that the market operates to the detriment of passengers particularly in relation to suitable peak capacity in major urban areas outside London and in response to the seasonal demands of the tourist industry. The ORR concluded in November that its investigation led it to suspect that there are aspects of the rolling stock leasing market that are preventing, restricting or distorting the competitive process. TravelWatch South West will support ORR if it refers the supply of leasing of rolling stock for franchised passenger services to the Competition Commission (CC) for a market investigation as it should benefit public transport users. It has written to the ORR to this effect and to also draw attention to the hardship arising from the DFT/ First Great Western Ltd franchise agreement.TravelWatch South West has cooperated with Transport 2000 in its Growing The Railways campaign. Its purpose is to influence the Government's thinking in the High Level Output Specification.

In Search of Excellence-UK Train Franchising

by Chris Green, Chair - The Railway Forum, Non Executive Director Network Rail Chris Green is the former Chief Executive of Virgin Trains and gave an excellent presentation on the state the rail industry is in at present and the route forward.

The last ten years have very much been a rollercoaster from being nationalised in 1996 through the destabilising processes of privatisation, fragmentation, franchisation, creation of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) to the low point of Railtrack in administration. It has since been on a process of recovery with the formation of Network Rail, the SRA abolished, Department for Transport (DFT) centralisation, and the mix of public/ private management. With stability comes growth with passenger trips declining from a point of nearly 1,250,000,000 trips in 1960 to a minimum point of 800,000,000 trips in 1986. From this low point the industry has seen on average 40% growth since 1995 to a point slightly greater than 1,255,000,000 in 2006 and projected growth of 70% in the future. At the moment he sees the rail industry as an 80/20 industry with 80% right and 20% that is still wrong. From 2003-2006 the railway is back to 88% of achieving its performance targets with projects finally running on time and within budget and has a stable structure. There is ÂŁ21 billion investment and 81% customer satisfaction. This country is finally achieving a stable funding structure for the period 2009-2014 with route utilisation plans, the five year plan (HLOS), five year funding (SOFA) and a thirty year strategic plan. This is beginning to become comparable with other countries where long term planning is normal. The last ten years have seen continuous revolution, lost skills and lost delivery. The next ten will see continuous improvement and world class expansion. Network Rail has been re-structuring. Eighty per

cent of the issues can be solved within the structure by ÂŁ1 billion funding of the infrastructure, trains, timetable and capacity. The remaining 20% are not solvable within the structure and are due to over centralisation from Whitehall, over-restrained franchises and fragmentation of responsibilities. In 2002 there was a financial crisis where the cost of the industry tripled. This lead to the treasury centralising funding and planning with the Department of transport made responsible for rail delivery which in turn lead to the new franchises minimising freedom and funding. The treasury mission was to minimise subsidy and not to fund growth. The challenge for the industry is to convince the treasury that expenditure is under control. This will restore franchise freedom and then a case can be made for funding growth and quality on an agreed formula. He gave five proposals:

1. Toughen consumer voice by independent funding and regional focus.

The consumer voice has to be independent from Whitehall and funded by an industry levy (similar to Office of the Rail Regulator). It has to be focused on the regions, champion overcrowding targets, tougher performance targets and value for money e.g. a seven day railway, particularly in response to current changing travel patterns with Sunday now the busiest inter city day.

2. Demand World Class performance in exchange for stability.

Delivery would be that 99% of trains run and punctuality would be 90%. Trains free of overcrowding would be a 95% target and customer satisfaction 90%.

3. Franchises would be freed up to exploit creativity and expertise.

This would mean rolling franchises retained so long as the company could deliver. Franchisees would be encouraged to enhance, excel and invest.

4. Virtual regions would be created. which would be based on routes.

They would mirror the Network Rail regions and have joint management with Regional Assemby/Watchdogs. The Great Western franchise is ideally suited to be a pilot.

5. Strategic Leadership This would be by a small agency independent of Whitehall as it cannot give business leadership. The Civil Service can deliver Government policy, act as a Treasury steward, legislate, regulate and franchise. It cannot offer strategic leadership as it needs to be independent and it cannot micro-manage as that is the province of the train companies. Chris proposed a Rail Strategy Agency independent of Government and funded by industry levy with strategic leadership and a freedom to speak. It would offer a medium to long term strategy for rail with a small professional team and a board made up from industry, consumers and business. It would plan future demand/capacity, new railways, environmental strategies, energy policies and the socioeconomic value of rail. It could also do a case study of any future high speed lines.

Delivering the Greater Western Franchise

by Glenda Lamont, Customer Services Director First Great Western First Great Western is a new company made up of the original First Great Western, Thameslink and Wessex Trains. It employs 4,575 staff, operates 210 stations, serves 276 stations and operates 9,079 services per week. There are 75¡8 million passenger journeys made on its trains over a distance of 4.7 billion kilometres and it has experienced 4.3% passenger growth in the last year. Their objective is to be a profitable train operating company and an employer of choice offering consistent punctuality, reliability, and excellent customer service. She admitted that the franchise had had a difficult start, but improvements are beginning to come through. Its investment is beginning to show and its performance improvement plan is in place.

The West fleet (ex Wessex) has had a changeover from maintenance at Cardiff to Bristol. Full completion of the Bristol depot has been delayed. Its High Speed fleet have had 31 MTU engines fitted which are quieter and more environmentally friendly. This has doubled the mileage per casualty to over 44,000 compared with the old engines they replaced. This major investment programme also involves new coach interiors and seating which will have more leg room than planes and enable 35 more seats per train set. They will be fitted mainly with laminated windows and phone and laptop sockets. There have been improvements in station dispatch. First Great Western's punctuality performance has improved as it has benefited from a 50% reduction in track speed restrictions and a 44% reduction in track circuit failures due to Network Rail. It has had problems with the train crew and fleet at the time of the timetable change in December.

Bristol Parkway is having a third platform built and the Reading-Paddington relief line will have a speed enhancement. There will be a gateline and new waiting room at Exeter St David's. Exeter Central and St Thomas will be refreshed. There will be investment in Station Managers along branch lines. Over fifty new Ticket Vending Machines will be installed at stations. New ticket machines are planned for Exeter Central, Topsham, Digby and Sowton, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Barnstaple, Paignton and Totnes. Access for All schemes include lifts for Exeter Central , Taunton and Westbury (DFT and Network Rail). There will be a disabled ramp at Dawlish and induction loops at Exeter St David's. There will be more CCTV and 202 Help points at stations, with more shelters and seats installed across the region.

They are to spend an extra ÂŁ2,000,000 above their franchise commitment on the West fleet on refurbishing their interiors and external livery and to improve reliability. There will be investment in on board catering for the High Speed fleet.

There have been some ticketing innovations with a 25-30% reduction in the price of Cheap Day Returns at the start of Summer 2006 in

Devon and Cornwall and the revision of the Devon and Cornwall Railcard to cover a larger area for the same price, with a morning peak restriction in Cornwall, reduced price season tickets in Cornwall and a free Railcard for Annual Season ticket holders. New carnet schemes were introduced on the Barnstaple line and a marketing offer of a free carnet to new home occupiers at Copplestone.

There is a Service Recovery Plan which will be independently audited.

The plan to improve performance will include:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

An additional High Speed Train (HST) and short term hire of Porterbrook Trailer car Strengthening the Cardiff/Portsmouth service and a peak Weston-Super-Mare service Increased management, Train Managers and drivers at Marsh Junction Additional Catering Crew, improved catering and catering on extra services Additional 3 x 158 deployed to provide resilience to West operation.

HST trailer cars (X3) being sourced to help minimise short-formings that have occurred.

HST (4X) Power cars release has been accelerated Third party engineering staff for the West fleet.

Additional staff recruited to ensure delivery of services leaving Paddington Additional staff recruited to champion customer service and additional Customer Relations staff at First to improve quality and the turnaround of letters 11. HST/LTV heavy clean programme has started.

Timetable Changes On 15th January and 26th March 2007 a group of changes were implemented to increase capacity on morning peak services from Oxford, Didcot, Maidenhead, and Twyford to London and between Frome, West Wiltshire, Bath, Bristol, Oxford and the Kennet Valley.

Tactical changes have been made to the operation of services whose performance has has had a bad interaction with the December timetable. This applies particularly to the North Cotswolds, Twyford and the Henley branch.

Development priorities have been set for the December 2007 timetable: Didcot peak and off-peak calling pattern; Oxford to London services (including Didcot-Reading, Twyford and Maidenhead; Bristol area services; inner suburban services (Slough stoppers); North Cotswolds; North Downs; Kennet Valley; HST 2+7 timtable.

Alan Clark

Help Wanted With the help of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, the Group has now acquired a supply of secure noticeboards which will be adorned with our logo and will contain details of the Group as well as publicity material for the line such as the Rail Ale Trail and the Music Trains. In addition there will be room for any specifically local information from the community to be displayed. First Great Western have agreed in principle to the boards being mounted in the waiting shelters, subject to an initial trial installation at a single station.

This where the request for help comes in! Since the committee consists of only a small number of people, who are already heavily loaded with the running of the group, we are looking for volunteers to assist with the installation of the notice boards when the time comes, and also individuals local to each station, to ensure that the content of the boards is maintained.

If you are interested, and could help, please contact any one of the committee listed inside the back cover of the magazine; we look forward to hearing from you.

Andy Hedges

News Update and Miscellany Lynton and Barnstaple Railway reports just over 33,000 passengers carried during 2006..a big increase on the previous year no doubt due to the extension of the railway to Killington Lane station at the end of May, which now gives a 2 mile round trip. The 'official' reopening of the L and B Rly takes place over the 12/13 May weekend.

Meldon Quarry is at present again despatching up to 5 trains a week. Unusually on 22 Feb however 2 trains formed with the large Auto ballaster hoppers ran. On 24 Feb Okehampton station was very much alive with the running of a fully booked 10 coach charter train from Waterloo arriving at lunchtime hauled by preserved 'Western' class loco D 1015..it later returned at 1600 to Waterloo. Also in use was the Dartmoor Railway's current steam 0-6-0T loco with 3 coaches on the Meldon Shuttle.Diesel loco 31465,5 Mk II coaches and 37198 also did one round trip from Meldon. Dartmoor Railway plans to hold a Diesel Gala on 4/5 May weekend. Dartmoor Sunday Rover services are now planned to be the same this Summer as in 2006 and will run from/to Exeter. Plans by the Dartmoor Railway for their trains to run to/from Yeoford to connect with ND trains now seem likely from 2008.

Services on the ND line have, since Christmas, enjoyed a period of good punctuality and reliability with the busiest train of the day from Barnstaple, at 1040, now scheduled to be formed with 2 cars. Most trains are formed with cl 150 units, some with 2 (and very occasionally one) cl 153 unit. However some trains are worked by Cl 158 units (often the superior ex Trans Pennine Units which retain a declassified first class section) which are very popular with passengers with seats arguably much more comfortable than Virgin Voyagers and even the refurbished FGW HST's!

In early March the 30 or so long stored MGR coal wagons at Exeter Riverside were being cut up for scrap on site.

Taunton Fairwater Yard is now once again, after many years of infrequent use, a hive of activity with the baseing there for the next 3 years, of the new 'high output', but very costly, ballast cleaning and relaying trains plus a cl 73 loco as yard shunter. This is in connection with the extensive track and ballast renewal on the Exeter to Reading and Taunton to Bristol main lines. Approx 160,000 tons of spent ballast will be given to the West Somerset Railway and unloaded at Norton Fitzwarren in exchange for them providing somewhere for Network Rail to locally dispose of this material. In addition tens of thousands of 1960's 'life expired' concrete sleepers, thousands still suitable for further use, will be surplus..some will end up being given to private railways but most are destined to be crushed up for cheap hardcore.

Wouldn't it be good if Network rail donated the good sleepers (and rails) to the scheme to reopen the Bere Alson to Tavistock and even to Meldon, former SR main line, shortsightedly closed in May 1968 and increasingly regretted..not least by the Plymouth and Cornish passengers who endure many days/weeks of road transport each year due to planned and emergency seawall and track/infrastructure works between Exeter and Plymouth.

Tony Hill

A Return for Charters?

We have been working with a local businessman to create the possibility of a charter train starting at Barnstaple. Although there is along way to go, everything is looking positive. We are looking at taking 2 Class 47's up to Birmingham in late November for Bull Ring shopping and then'for those enthusiasts in th party, on to the Severn Valley Railway. It may also be possible to pay for an additional ticket and Ride from Exeter St David's up to Barnstaple before the departure to Birmingham. Ideal for Xmas shopping, no changes a direct service!

The idea of the excursion is to prove the case for platform 2 to be reinstated to allow greater flexibility in having charter trains use Barnstaple as a destination and as a starting point. I appreciate we are still in the infancy of this plan but if you wish to be included on the mailing list for further information as it becomes available and the chance to book tickets (there are a limited number of seats), please either email sales@tarkatrains.co.uk or pop into platform refreshments at Barnstaple Mon - Sat 8.00 – 12.45 and pick up a form. If all goes according to plan we will produce an exciting range of memorabilia for the excursion.

Mike Day

My Life feature: Kevin Ogilvie-White Kevin Ogilvie-White, 39, has more than six years experience working in the rail industry. Since starting as a Service Delivery Manager at Reading station, he's gained a wealth of knowledge and worked his way up to the role of Station Manager responsible for more than 20 stations.

I've learned a great deal over the last few years about running a busy station, which has set me in good stead for my new role as First Great Western's Station Manager for Exeter and Mid-Devon. Since September last year, it's been my job to

keep everything on track at all the stations on the Barnstaple to Exmouth line.

I'm based at the very busy Exeter St Davids station where I oversee the day-to-day running of all 23 stations in the Exeter and Mid-Devon region. Closely supported by a team of two Service Delivery Managers, Nick Davies and Donald Reid, it's up to us to ensure customers receive the best in customer service and all 64 members of staff stay informed right down the line. We also need to co-ordinate all areas of operations from train dispatch and safety procedures to provision of customer information and contractual commitments made under the franchise – so it's quite a task!

Before coming to Exeter, I had been a Station Manager for four years looking after just two stations in Taunton and Tiverton so gaining responsibility for so many has been a fantastic challenge. This patch includes a number of unmanned stations and it's important that my team and I visit them all at least every two to three weeks.

A Station Manager's day is typically very busy and mine always starts with a walk around the station at 8am – part of a procedure we follow called 'Eyes Wide Open'. While out on the station floor I fill out a detailed audit which needs to be completed every day, and check for health and safety hazards or damage that must be reported and rectified. I also use this as an opportunity to catch up with the station staff and talk about any issues or problems, as well as chatting to customers.

After touring the station, I check our event log, a document that is produced by our control office in Swindon that details all of the significant operational incidents from the previous day. Sometimes I will need to investigate a specific incident, such as a point or signal failure that occurred on my patch and provide a follow up report about how it was dealt with so we can be prepared should a similar incident occur. Nick and Donald also give me feedback on any anticipated delays on the line.

To begin each day properly it's important that we learn from the last, this is why we need to spend time talking to people and gathering information before we put that day's plan together to ensure our staff and customers are kept up to date.

As Station Manager my primary task is to work with my team to continue to improve customer service through better communication with our customers. The very nature of the job means we play a big part in responding to staff and customer enquiries which requires close communication with the First Great Western Customer Relations team and regular contact with local community groups such as the North Devon Rail User Group. Being out on the front line also means we need to be careful listeners - so good people skills are a must for our team!

A Station Manager's day is never dull whether you look after one station or 23. We need to have our eyes and ears open at all times, be aware of serious safety procedures and work hard to ensure that passing through our stations is both a safe and positive experience for everyone, whether they are First Great Western passenger or not.

Reproduced with the permission of First Great Western press office.

Here Comes Summer!

62% of passengers do not use a railcard of any kind NDRUG Survey Feb 2007 The busiest time of the year for North Devon is the summer, and in particular the school summer holidays, when tens of thousands of families descend on the area to enjoy a much needed break. The majority come by car, as can be seen by the tailbacks on the M5 and the North Devon Link Road at the height of the season. Some come by coach, adding to the traffic problems, and some come by train, using the long distance services into Exeter to connect into the Tarka Line.

One only has to stand on the platform at Barnstaple on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday in July and August to observe the number of suitcases, surfboards, bicycles and buggies that the train service has to carry. Committee member Mike Day has kept a watching brief over the past year and has recorded the numbers on and off the services (mostly the morning services) during that period, and has noticed a large increase in usage in March and April compared with the same period last year.

In order to be pro-active, Mike has calculated the projected loadings for the summer period assuming a lower but still significant percentage increase over the same period last year, and has come up with some disturbing results for July and August as follows.

An estimation of 73 seriously overcrowded services (on the assumed 2 coach trains which should be run) ranging from 150 to 300 passengers.

57 of these services will require 3 carriages, 15 will require 4 carriages and 1 will require 5 carriages.

Take up of Devon and Cornwall railcards has increased NDRUG Survey Feb 2007 We know from experience that FGW does not have enough stock to cater for these sort of numbers, and that the situation will be exacerbated by the provision of a single carriage 153 on any of the services. One of the contributing factors is the continuing two hour gap in the morning service since the withdrawal of a train between 9 am and 10 am which has proved in the past to be a popular travel time. When pressed to respond on the potential (and expected)overcrowding situation, First Great Western has indicated that any shortfall in capacity will be met by hiring in road transport, assuming that this is available at the height of the holiday season! So here's hoping the worst does not happen and that we will not be alienating yet more passengers on this line—I have my doubts!

Andy Hedges

Membership Matters If you know someone who you think might like to join NDRUG, please contact the Membership Secretary whose address is shown here.

New Members We welcome: Dr W Burgess, Bishops Tawton Mrs S Batt, Chittlehamholt Mr T and Mrs M Jones, Portsmouth Arms Mr J and Mrs C Saul, Ilfracombe Dr R and Mrs M Henrywood, Bow Mr E V Webber, Chivenor Mr A Day, Lympstone Mrs L.C. Bowden, Barnstaple Mrs L. Greenwood, Barnstaple Mr P. Snowball, Westward Ho! Mr P. Craske, South Tawton Mr G. Mitchell, Barnstaple

Committee Meetings (Members Welcome) Wednesday, 16th May 19.00 - Fox and Hounds, Eggesford Wednesday, 20th June 19.15 - Barnstaple (location TBA) Wednesday, 18th July 19.00 - Gables Tea Rooms, Umberleigh