Positive future for the London -> Cornwall Sleeper

[Clay Country]

Or a rumour down west we may see a large logo blue 57? - bring it on...

 

As a regular sleeper user I'd rather see First splashing out on hiring some more reliable locos than spending money repainting 57s. There was talk of bringing in 67s a while back, although with loco haulage on the Chilterns I wonder if DBS would have enough (servicable) locos to cover the sleeper.

[Cornish Triang Paul]

Well its only 2 locos not in correct livery !! Many staff are expecting DBS to win the new franchise.........(!). Whatever happens, the NR WILL be committed to as part of the gov.t's specifications for the new GW franchise.

[Ron Ron Ron]

.....Many staff are expecting DBS to win the new franchise.........(!).

If you mean the GW franchise, currently operated by FGW, then DBS won't even be in the running Paul. They're a freight operating company (FOC), part of the DBS logistics group and a subsidiary of DB.

DB Arriva (formally the UK part of DB Regio) would be the passenger operator who'd be bidding for a passenger franchise.

 

 

 

[Glorious NSE]

On the main line or in the window of a certain shop in Camborne?

 

Has there ever been a time more recently than IC sector days when the entire NR stock and locos has been in one livery? IC gave way to Merlin to Fagpacket to dynamic lines and now there's a 57 in GWR-style.

 

All stock was consistently in fag packet for a few years.

[Steadfast]

57603 has gone to Brush for repaint now. Not sure if it's returned yet, but it should be standard FGW blue. So apart from 57604, the whole FGW fleet is in the current scheme.

HTH

 

jo

[Cornish Triang Paul]

If you mean the GW franchise, currently operated by FGW, then DBS won't even be in the running Paul. They're a freight operating company (FOC), part of the DBS logistics group and a subsidiary of DB.

DB Arriva (formally the UK part of DB Regio) would be the passenger operator who'd be bidding for a passenger franchise.

 

 

 

 

 

Well... you know what i mean - DB then

[RJS1977]

I'd have thought there might have been competition/monopoly issues with DB taking on the GW routes - after all, they already provide the competing services on Penzance-Bristol & Basingstoke - Banbury (CrossCountry), Newport-Carmarthen (ATW) and London-Banbury(Chiltern).

[Clay Country]

I don't think those routes really compete as such with FGW - if you want to go to Exeter from Redruth for example, you probably won't sit around and wait for a cross country train, especially as the fare is usually the same whatever the operator.

 

DfT tends to view competition either as something that happens at the franchising stage or something cheeky open access operators occassionally try to do.

[Gwiwer]

There might indeed be competition issues but the Competition Commission must take a reasonable view on this . There would potentially be competition issues if First were re-awarded the franchise since they operate a significant number of bus services throughout the region served by the FGW rail franchise.

 

They are not the major operator in Cornwall any more (the independent Western Greyhound holds that title) and bus is not the major competitor of passenger rail (that honour goes to the private car) yet some strange decisions sometimes come out of the Corridors of Power.

 

Stagecoach was required to divest itself of some bus operations in order to win a rail franchise and First Group are unable to register long-distance bus routes in Scotland as they hold the rail franchise there.

 

We are reaching the situation where fewer and larger holding group companies control most of our public transport. This is probably not what Nicholas Ridley had in mind when bus service deregulation was introduced and the former NBC sold off piecemeal. It was probably not the intention behind rail franchising into private hands either. But it is the situation we have and as such most of our transport is already controlled by Stagecoach (Scottish-owned), First Group (also Scottish), Arriva (now German-owned) and Go Ahead (part-British part-French I believe). With Germany also owing much of the rail freight task through DBS we have to play on the Global stage.

[Kris]

There might indeed be competition issues but the Competition Commission must take a reasonable view on this . There would potentially be competition issues if First were re-awarded the franchise since they operate a significant number of bus services throughout the region served by the FGW rail franchise.

 

 

First were a major bus operator in the region at the time the previous franchise was awarded so I would not expect this to be an issue.

 

 

[Ron Ron Ron]

I'd have thought there might have been competition/monopoly issues with DB taking on the GW routes.....

It sounds suspiciously like the return of the Gross Vestern Bahn.

 

 

 

[Cornish Triang Paul]

57 603 Tintagel Castle is now back in service assimulated into the FGW blue collective . 08 644 is now perminantly at PZ in leiu of 410 but unfit for mainline use for several reasons incl lights/radio so no Penwith and Kerrier Thunderbird !