"It's time to bring the railway bandits to justice", from the Telegraph

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

An opinion piece, from the Telegraph's Jake Wallis Simons:

Last week, I bought a train ticket. It all looked pretty unremarkable: I walked into the railway station, approached the tickets window, handed over my credit card. You'd have been forgiven for thinking that Bob was my mother's brother. But this was no ordinary train ticket. Reader, it cost me ^4,372. The reason? It was one of those dreaded season tickets. I live, you see, 68 miles away from the centre of London. This is my crime.
This will come as no surprise: it has been reported that over the last decade ticket fares have gone up by 50 per cent, despite "no perceptible improvement in service". From Wednesday, the average season ticket will cost 4.2 per cent more, which represents the 10th consecutive annual above-inflation increase. Some fares will rise as much as 12 per cent. We have the highest rail prices in Europe and the service we receive is pitifully inadequate. What's more, if you lose your ^4,372 ticket more than once, the rail companies refuse to replace it. How can we allow this outrage to persist?
There are numerous anecdotes from the year gone by which illustrate the execrable service provided by Britain's train operators. I could mention the time I was forced to stay on my brother's floor in London, as all services were cancelled for the entire evening. I could talk about the countless instances of overcrowding and late running. I could tell you about the night an incompetent guard closed the train doors before we had disembarked, thus forcing a trainload of knackered commuters to spend our evenings trekking back from the next station down the line, then topped it off by being incredibly rude. But no. Instead, I would like to share this:
A few weeks ago, on my way into London in the morning, I put a couple of things down the side of my seat. When the time came to disembark, I fished them out. My forefinger snagged something rubbery. It flicked out and landed on the seat. It was a condom. Yes, reader, a used condom. Retching, I managed to take a photograph on my phone as evidence, which I later posted on Twitter. I'll post it again if you like. Just in case you think I'm lying.
There can be no doubt: commuters are subject to one of the most barbarous and unjust monopolies of modern times. We are the very embodiment of the "striving" middle classes, working hard to make ends meet. Our wages may be relatively comfortable in comparison to the national average, but our expenses are generally high. Our jobs are often stressful, and tend to involve a great level of responsibility. Many ^ myself included ^ are pushed into debt by these outrageous train fares. It is simply beyond the pale.
So let's think this through. The fares are going up. The service is not improving. Where is all the money going? Here's a clue. In 2012, Ray O'Toole, boss of National Express, which runs the c2c rail franchise, enjoyed a 110 per cent pay rise; he now receives ^1.3 million per year. The Stagecoach Group chief, Brian Souter, who is responsible for the travesty that is South West Trains and East Midlands Trains, also took a fat 35 per cent rise and now receives ^1.2 million. David Martin, boss of Arriva, which runs Wales Trains and Cross Country Trains, took an eight per cent pay rise, bringing his income to ^803,000. The grand mufti of the Go-Ahead Group, which is responsible for the disgrace that is Southeastern, Southern, and London Midland, receives ^1.1 million. The lowest salary was taken by Tim O'Toole of First Group, of First Capital Connect, First Great Western, First Gull Trains, Transpenine Express, and ScotRail infamy; he drew a basic salary of ^579,000. All in all, the bosses of the five main train operators in Britain paid themselves average salaries of a million quid.
Now, I have no problem with people getting rich. Dammit, I'd pay myself ^1.3 million given half a chance. But I would like the rich to also be successful (at providing a decent service I mean, not picking our pockets). Taxpayer subsidies to the rail industry currently stand at more than ^4 billion per year. These men are getting fat and bloated on the backs of middle England, and the cash is coming out of all of our pockets ^ not just commuters, but taxpayers up and down the country. And while we struggle to work on overcrowded, unreliable, stuffy and stinking trains, brandishing our ^4,372 abominations, they don't even have the common courtesy to get the condoms out from the sides of our seats. It is high time these bandits were brought to justice.

[old original]

yawn...... zzzzzzzz

[Chris from Nailsea]

Well, I did describe it as 'an opinion piece' ...

And, if you can bear it, there are a fair few more 'opinions' expressed in the comments posted after that particular Telegraph item - not all of them entirely complimentary towards the Telegraph, incidentally ... 

[trainer]

Is he suggesting the railway company was responsible for the disgusting object he found by the side of his seat?  Some things - like trains departing before passengers have disembarked - are certainly attributable to staff action, but the depositing of rubbish and despoiling of the travelling environment is down to our fellow travellers.  No profit driven company cancels a whole evening's service without a serious reason.  Opinion is one thing, but exaggerated and mis-aimed criticism helps no-one.

As to the massive increases in senior executive pay, I share the outrage, especially because the cleaners and other train staff are being told that minimal increases will continue to be the order of the day, but that's a different argument.  Sadly it's an example of the conflated and populist arguments used by the press to feed prejudice.

'Execrable' is a lovely word.  I wish to attach to to the standard of this piece of opinion.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm.   As he's chosen to place his details in the public domain, through the medium of the Telegraph:

Jake Wallis Simons is a Telegraph features writer and a novelist. He also broadcasts for BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio 4. His novels include the award-winning The English German Girl (2011), a historical novel about the Kindertransport, and The Pure (2012), a thriller about the Mossad which he wrote under the name Jake Simons. His website is jakewallissimons.com; on Twitter he can be found at @JakeWSimons

[John R]

From which we see he lives in Winchester, so maybe a person that would appreciate the considered musings of SHRUG (?)

The rail fare quoted seems quite cheap if you happen to be a commuter from Swindon, which is a similar distance but nearly half as much again. 

[Brucey]

I will soon be buying a season ticket which would cost ^5,184.00 if bought annually.  I actually think this is exceptional value.  For that, I can travel the 60 miles each way to work, anywhere in London Zones 1-6 and then various alternative routes (e.g. I can use this via Brighton for leisure trips).

Based on 210 days per year, with 120 miles each day that is just 20.5p per mile.  That isn't including the travel around London or any leisure journeys.

Driving my car costs about 16p per mile on fuel, then ^2.20 per hour for car parking (8 hours per day) plus wear and tear.  I make that at least ^7,728.00 per year.  (I pay for the insurance anyway, so not including this in the calculation)

[SandTEngineer]

....and what about the cost of depreciation and capital funding for a replacement vehicle.....

[Electric train]

It always makes me laugh when a paper such as the Torygraph bitch when a service provider that was once state owned but now operated by a private company, I am sure 20 years ago the self same paper was advocating the private sector will drive down costs.

[Chris from Nailsea]

_Cough ... hence my personal comment:

And, if you can bear it, there are a fair few more 'opinions' expressed in the comments posted after that particular Telegraph item - not all of them entirely complimentary towards the Telegraph, incidentally ... 

 

[thetrout]

Sorry to bring back an old thread... But can I make an observation which I forgot to when it was Originally Posted...?

Tim O'Toole paid himself a basic salary of ^579,000 and runs the most franchises (FGW^▸ (First Great Western), FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect), HT^▸ (Hull Trains), FTPE^» (First TransPennine Express - website) & SR^‡(resolve))

Ray O'Toole paid himself a basic salary of ^1,300,000 and runs a single franchise (c2c) and is the CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer) of the company who defaulted on NX East Coast? and had NX East Anglia taken off them.

When you look at thinks in that perspective... I'm not sure I begrudge Tim O'Toole for taking a ^579,000 Salary, which compared to other sectors... (Say Investment Bankers etc) I'm not convinced is such large sum of money anyway.

Based on the article, that is my ending opinion. However that's certainly not my overall 'wider' opinion.

[EBrown]

An opinion piece, from the Telegraph's Jake Wallis Simons:

Last week...Tim O'Toole of First Group...First Gull Trains...It is high time these bandits were brought to justice.

That appears to say Gull. Who did it?

[Ollie]

Sorry to bring back an old thread... But can I make an observation which I forgot to when it was Originally Posted...?

Tim O'Toole paid himself a basic salary of ^579,000 and runs the most franchises (FGW^▸ (First Great Western), FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect), HT^▸ (Hull Trains), FTPE^» (First TransPennine Express - website) & SR^‡(resolve))

Ray O'Toole paid himself a basic salary of ^1,300,000 and runs a single franchise (c2c) and is the CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer) of the company who defaulted on NX East Coast? and had NX East Anglia taken off them.

When you look at thinks in that perspective... I'm not sure I begrudge Tim O'Toole for taking a ^579,000 Salary, which compared to other sectors... (Say Investment Bankers etc) I'm not convinced is such large sum of money anyway.

Based on the article, that is my ending opinion. However that's certainly not my overall 'wider' opinion.

The article does of course fail to mention what else these people are responsible for as it isn't just trains.

So for example Tim O'Toole has First Bus in UK^▸ (United Kingdom), then he has First Group America/Canada and wherever else First Group have got involved in.