Great Western Coffee Shop

Like all pre-election promises, irrelevant of party,.....don't hold your breath

New civil engineer...playing to the audience?

The phrase "cast iron guarantee" springs to mind.  ;)

Funny how the Conservatives will be able to afford the ^16 billion Crossrail project but not a ^1 billion electrification scheme.

The phrase "cast iron guarantee" springs to mind.  ;)

The phrase "cast iron guarantee" springs to mind.  ;)

I know it's a tongue in cheek/running joke now for the Conversatives... but do you think spending Taxpayers money on a referendum on the Lisbon "Treaty" after that gibbering idiot in number 10 sealed our fate by signing it would have been a good use of money?

I thought the debt would be in Network rails name, the goverment is just securing it? Be interesting if they reckon some of the fleet will do another 15-20 years ( 150 units etc) if Replacing the 165/66 units is delayed by another ten years they wont be able to cascade them either.

The Tay bridge disaster, of course, was the rivets, or rather the lack of...the iron was fine.

I think you'll find cast iron will last forever, unless you belt in with a sledge hammer. ;)

With the exception of Lord Adonis (no guarantee he will be in the post after a post-election reshuffle), what exactly has Labour done for the railways?

Tories to allow National Express into rail franchise market

The Conservative party will reportedly allow the transport group to re-enter the rail franchise market if it wins this year's election.

National Express is likely to be allowed to bid for contracts in two years' time. This would be contrary to the Labour government's plan which has vowed to banish the group from the rail market after the ^1.4bn East Coast debacle.

The bus-and-coach giant had to hand its East Coast rail service back to the government after huge losses. It was also ordered to give up its East Anglia rail franchises in March 2011. John Devaney, National Express' group chairman, has reportedly met with Conservative transport team members for discussions.

A Conservative Party spokesman said the East Coast debacle "certainly doesn't make it easy for National Express to make a rapid return to the franchise market at the next round. They will need to work hard to rebuild their credibility".

It is likely that National Express will have to sit out the next round of franchising, but would be allowed to bid for contracts in 2012 and 2013, he added.

allowed Network Rail to run more or less its own affairs. 

he might vow to complete crossrail,but once they have had a good look at the countries books and determined the full extent of debt i would hazard a guess that the electrification on GWR will be canned.
big savings need to be made and quick so unlikely they will commit to massive spending until the national debt is under control

It's probably still cheaper than Boris's new Routemaster bus for London. Estimated development bill for five prototypes is ^7.8m. No Tory cuts there then.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/17/london-mayor-buses-project-criticised

Crossrail links to Abbey Wood and Maidenhead 'in doubt'

London Mayor Boris Johnson has raised doubts over the ^16bn Crossrail project going ahead "in its entirety".
He said branches to Abbey Wood, in south-east London, and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, could be threatened under the new government.
Transport secretary Philip Hammond has already said the project may not be completed by 2017.
Work has been under way since January 2009 on the route running from Berkshire to Essex across London.
The 72-mile (116km) rail line will connect Maidenhead with Shenfield in Essex passing through the West End and Canary Wharf. There will also be a link to Heathrow Airport.
Speaking at City Hall, Mr Johnson said he could come under pressure from the new government to modify the scheme and do away with the spurs.
"They would try to de-scope. I would be fighting very very hard to protect the project in its entirety. It's absolutely vital that we mount a Stalingrad-like defence of the London transport settlement. It's fascinating, the degree of ignorance about Crossrail still in the minds of the public and indeed in the minds of many of our important political colleagues. The more we can explain why it matters to London, the better."
In the run up to the elections, the Conservatives had come under fire when they refused to guarantee the funding of the project.
But on Friday Mr Hammond pledged his commitment to the project but warned it was essential to keep costs as low as possible although he said he could not guarantee the route would be ready on time by 2017.
The mayor said delaying the completion will add to the costs and not reduce it in the long-term.
Hotel groups have warned the mayor that his plans to make them pay an extra ^66 per sq m if new hotels are built near the route could harm the tourism industry.
The Mayor's office said its impact on tourism should be minimal, adding that for an initial three-year period there will be a 20% reduction in the charge on new developments.

Latest gossip from fairly reliable sources suggest LHR as Western terminus for Crossrail. With 10 tph?

Bang goes the Relief line service from Taplow, Burnham, Langley Iver and West Drayton.