Ron Ron Ron

At the moment, it isn't just the IC East Coast franchise. The next problem brewing is Anglia and if Abelio say cheerio, don't expect a rush of willing bidders there either. .

No it isn't fully formed in the sense of what they appear to be aiming for, i.e. re-letting the franchise, but under some sort of partnership arrangement with the infrastructure operator, NR. I thought this was fairly clear when Chris Grayling first announced the partnership idea. .

DOR were still in existence as a live company earlier this year, although not trading. DOR ceased to function when all its shares in East Coast Mainline Ltd (trading and branded as East Coast), were transferred to the new franchise holder, Inter City Railways Ltd (owned by Stagecoach 90% and Virgin Group 10%) in 2015. **n.b. - Inter City Railways Ltd, traded under the Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) brand. But, that wasn't the end of it...... From the DfT.... When the franchise with VTEC was terminated, ownership of East Coast Mainline Ltd was a transferred to DfT OLR Holdings Ltd (DOHL). East Coast Mainline Ltd now trades under the LNER brand. LNER are the company running the train operation. LNER is owned and managed by DOHL, which in turn is owned by the Secretary of State for Transport (i.e. the DfT). From Mike's previous contributions, my understanding is that DOHL is run largely by outside consultants. I don't know the current status of any such arrangements. .

Not directed particularly at you, but that typifies the use of poor and inaccurate language around this subject and how that allows people (the press media and politicians in particular) to twist and frame discussion to their own agendas. It's also not helpful for ordinary members of the public to understand the true nature of the situation and has lead to majority opinion being muddled and misinformed. A clue..."government run train service"......what does that mean, if anything at all ? .

The proposed HS2 stations will not just be built as stand alone entities. Work is in hand to develop the station environs and other surrounding areas, with the aim of maximising and fostering economic growth around the stations. DfT owned, London & Continental Railways are a key player in this work. (note: LCR are now completely divested from any involvement with HS1 (CTRL). They are the successor to BRB (Residuary) Ltd, which they took over a few years ago). http://www.lcrhq.co.uk/our-business/hs2-growth-partnership/ https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/regeneration-giant-lined-up-for-hs2-project .

HS2 Trains. Talk about two of the bidding consortia in Rail Technology Magazine...... Hitachi & Bombardier: A high-speed legacy Alstom: Creating something special .

Have you got the latest version of the full manual, plus the Quick Start guide? .

Absolutely spot on Jamie. The time for arguments about whether or not HS2 should be built, or where it should be built and run to, has long gone. For right or wrong, it's actually being built....and for Phase One, as per plan. .

HS2 will eventually blend into the countryside, especially as large parts of phase one will be hidden from view, either in tunnel, cut and cover, or hidden behind earth banks or tree screening. HS2 are also creating dozens of new wildlife and nature reserves, in addition to the thousands of trees they are committed to plant. As for wrecking the "green bits in between", I'd be far more worried about UK population growth and the very real prospect of large chunks of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire being developed to provide hundreds of thousands of new homes, along with the necessary infrastructure that will have to be provided to go with them. HS2 would be nothing in comparison. ....

That's about to be finally sorted out with the HS2 Euston re-build.

Missed it by a week. Last week saw the 50th anniversary of opening of the redeveloped (1968) Euston Station. Some wonderful photos in this Blog...... https://www.hydeparknow.uk/2018/10/14/euston-station-anniversary-special/ .

I saw this useful link on another forum. It leads to a local Blog describing some of the HS2 preparatory work that is going on, or is due to commence shortly, around the Euston and Camden areas. Well worth a look. In reverse order.... 20th September 2018 https://www.hydeparknow.uk/2018/09/20/euston-hs2-3/ 2nd May 2018 https://www.hydeparknow.uk/2018/05/02/euston-hs2-update-2/ 13th February 2018 https://www.hydeparknow.uk/2018/02/13/euston-hs2/ .

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/16301722.rail-bosses-must-grab-bull-by-the-horns-and-rebuild-failing-oxford-station/

Redevelopment of Oxford Station has been in the pipeline for a few years. Inevitably, there is some dispute between NR and the city council over who pays for what. http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/plans-for-125m-oxford-station-revamp-unveiled- Some of the design proposals can be seen here.... https://www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20182/regeneration_and_development/949/oxford_station_masterplan https://consultation.oxford.gov.uk/consult.ti/oxfordstationcomp/consultationHome They won't be choosing this bold design though..... .

Whilst it is lamentable (bl**dy poor actually) that a major airport as large and as busy as Heathrow, has up to now had very limited rail links, there are a few things to bear in mind. With the opening of Crossrail, there will be an initial service of 10 tph (6 EL + 4 HEX) from there to central London (and beyond). There's an aspiration for a couple more tph, but how they will manage that is anyone's guess. The Western Rail Link project is still in active progress, despite having been deliberately slowed down for various reasons. Once given the final go ahead, it will open up links via the Reading interchange. There is now much political support for the latest proposed Southern Rail link to be tied to the R3 planning approval. That 76% of all of Heathrow's originating and destination passengers are travelling to or from Greater London and the SE of England (which incidentally doesn't include Hertford and Essex!!), with only 7% travelling to/from the Midlands, North of England and Scotland (i.e. HS2 territory). I personally thought that HS2 should have routed via LHR, but it isn't going to be. That decision was made long ago and the crayons can be put safely away. .

Sorry folks, going off topic for a moment, but just to correct a couple of points made in this thread and the HS2 thread.... LHR is not gaining a "short haul runway". That was the previous 2007 plan, that was scrubbed a decade back. The later, current, government sanctioned scheme involves a new full length runway. Also, the proposed new LHR terminal isn't located in Sipson, but is planned to be built back-to-back with T5, facing the M25 (i.e. between T5 and the M25). That's all academic anyway, as HS2 is not going to run via LHR. Back to the topic......... .

There's a myth that the emergence of low cost airlines killed off the prospect of Regional Eurostar services. It's been written in a few places and is in danger of becoming a false, accepted view of history; whereas it's nothing but an urban myth. The proposed Regional Eurostar services were killed off long before the Low Cost airline revolution in Europe really got going. LoCo airline operations in Europe were only in an embryonic state in the late 90's and did not serve the short range market that Eurostar was aiming at. It wasn't until the early 00's that the LoCo airline business began to explode into what became huge growth across the continent. Regional Eurostar was in its death throws from the mid-90's and was finally canned by 98/99. Even so, Low Cost airlines have largely stayed well clear of serving UK to Paris and Brussels, leaving it almost exclusively to what were sometimes described as, "full fare airlines", or "legacy carriers", such as BA, Air France, CityJet, Brussels Airlines and BMI (before they ceased to be). It's only in more recent times has there been more presence by the LoCo's on those very short haul routes. .

This option is already available today and has been available for just coming up to 11 years, except the train from Edinburgh arrives at adjacent platforms in KGX. .

Paul, can you explain what you are saying here, as I'm quite puzzled by those comments? As far as the rail tracks go, HS2 is totally segregated from the classic rail lines, except where it links into the classic network at various points north of Birmingham and in Yorkshire.. Curzon St. is a brand new terminus, exclusively for HS2 traffic. Euston and Piccadilly are being extended to add HS2 exclusive facilities, adjacent to, but separate from the existing "classic rail" facilities. So I don't understand what you mean when you say HS2 is going to mix with commuter traffic, or talk about "squeezing more into the existing stations". Perhaps I've misunderstood your point. .

I most definitely read articles in the early days of the GWEP that said the original OHLE between Paddington and Airport Junction would have to be upgraded/modified and largely replaced to allow for the introduction of the IET's. There's been quite a lot of replacement in places, but from observation, most of the original headsman infrastructure remains in place. So to echo Mike's "rhetorical question", what has really happened? I'm only speculating, but it looks as if somewhere along the way, decisions have been made to cut costs and somehow that old OHLE has been deemed suitable. Hopefully someone with inside knowledge can help here? .

I've just requested it to be moved by the mods Ron.

Not forgetting, a sizeable number of them won't arrive at Euston, but will arrive and transfer to Crossrail etc, at OOC. .

Auto Express article. Testing the UK's EV charging station network in a Hyundai Kona..... https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/hyundai/kona/104813/testing-the-uks-ev-charging-station-network-in-a-hyundai-kona .

Smart meters, re-using old car battery cells etc........ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZDllPFmXNg. .

Smart Meters - It is said that they can provide enormous benefits for the Electricity supply industry. Yet on their own, they provide little or absolutely no benefit to the consumer. However, if harnessed correctly, Smart Meters could unlock benefits for both the electricity industry and for consumers. Some useful insight contained in this video..... .