(17/12/2019 20:01)mikestone Wrote: [ -> ]Andy Burnham quoted in today's Guardian again saying that Arrive should be relieved of the franchise as a dire warning to TPE.
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Given that TPE only managed to run four trains from Liverpool to Newcastle yesterday, back to the 1960s level of service, I would suggest they should be fired first.
Well not that long ago almost all Liverpool TPE services went to Scarborough and a change was required for Newcastle.
Didn't TPE have major issues yesterday due to a derailment outside their depot? On the other hand Northern were cancelling services due to not employing enough drivers, errors in rosters and their class 150 trains dropping like dead flies.
Also worth remembering if a TPE service you intend to catch is cancelled then you usually face a shorter wait for the next train then you would if a Northern service is cancelled. Only a few months ago Northern only ran a few trains per day between Lancaster and Manchester. One Saturday when a Windermere service terminated short at Lancaster due to a driver not being available there were a number of people on Northern only tickets and the next Northern service was a few hours away and the guard's response was "You'll have to ask the guard on another operator's service nicely if you can travel on their train."
(18/12/2019 10:23)knutstransport Wrote: [ -> ]Well not that long ago almost all Liverpool TPE services went to Scarborough and a change was required for Newcastle.
Didn't TPE have major issues yesterday due to a derailment outside their depot? On the other hand Northern were cancelling services due to not employing enough drivers, errors in rosters and their class 150 trains dropping like dead flies.
Also worth remembering if a TPE service you intend to catch is cancelled then you usually face a shorter wait for the next train then you would if a Northern service is cancelled. Only a few months ago Northern only ran a few trains per day between Lancaster and Manchester. One Saturday when a Windermere service terminated short at Lancaster due to a driver not being available there were a number of people on Northern only tickets and the next Northern service was a few hours away and the guard's response was "You'll have to ask the guard on another operator's service nicely if you can travel on their train."
I agree with your points on Northern. However- and speaking from experience- TPE are equally as bad as Northern. Theres frequent cancellations due to no staff, short forms, disruption.
However they get nowhere near the bad press Northern get, I can only assume TPE have friends in the media...
(18/12/2019 11:38)ls1911 Wrote: [ -> ]I agree with your points on Northern. However- and speaking from experience- TPE are equally as bad as Northern. Theres frequent cancellations due to no staff, short forms, disruption.
However they get nowhere near the bad press Northern get, I can only assume TPE have friends in the media...
Northern is just an easy target. With everyone else targeting Northern, why not jump on the bandwagon and get a story out of it. TPE is just as bad but you can't keep recycling the same story (pacers) with them and so journalists have to put some effort into their articles.
Northern rail are operating 3 routes on Boxing day being Skipton and Bradford, Ilkley and Bradford, and Bolton and Salford Central.
(18/12/2019 13:06)iMarkeh Wrote: [ -> ]Northern is just an easy target. With everyone else targeting Northern, why not jump on the bandwagon and get a story out of it. TPE is just as bad but you can't keep recycling the same story (pacers) with them and so journalists have to put some effort into their articles.
If Northern was taken over by an operator of last resort , would the problems go away overnight ?
Its highly doubtful , once a new operator is chosen , the publics ire would then fall on TfN as they chose this operator.
According to Burnham's Twitter feed a Northern ticket machine at Oxford Rd station took his money and didn't issue him a ticket, only for station staff to then tell him it's been temperamental for weeks.
(18/12/2019 14:57)wirralbus Wrote: [ -> ]If Northern was taken over by an operator of last resort , would the problems go away overnight ?
Its highly doubtful , once a new operator is chosen , the publics ire would then fall on TfN as they chose this operator.
I seem to recall the summary of the submitted bids was:
Arriva - met franchise requirements plus the bid included new EMUs and additional TVMs
Govia - offered less than Arriva, tried to offer the bare minimum with a question mark over whether all the requirements were properly met
Abellio - Proposed new DCO commuter DMUs and EMUs with the intention of a DCO commuter network with brand new trains around all the main cities in the franchise. Many Sprinters and the 319s would have been returned to ROSCOs in addition to the Pacers due to the higher number of new trains.
So Abellio's bid would have been preferable to most passengers but the RMT would have had a fit if they had been given the franchise - going from a franchise with no DOO to one where all commuter trains are DCO.
Abelio should never be even short-listed for another franchise after introducing a completely and obviously unworkable service at LNw.
(19/12/2019 17:12)mikestone Wrote: [ -> ]Abelio should never be even short-listed for another franchise after introducing a completely and obviously unworkable service at LNw.
The problem with the Abellio LNW timetable was not enough resilence was built in to the service at Birmingham New street.
Its only unworkable because the London end of the route is always favoured over the country end of the service.
I seriously have to question the need for the timetable change in winter to be before Christmas , i reckon the timetable change should be moved to the first Monday in the new year .
New timetable and New fares is a better set up.