East Coast rail franchise - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[didcotdean]

Although a long-term continuing of the poor provision of service from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) may at some stage lead to a drop in custom and hence financial issues.

[ChrisB]

SWR^» (South Western Railway - about), by contrast are doing better from the passengers point of view. There is always room for improvement of course but as regards the percentage of trains that are short formed/cancelled/part cancelled they are doing better than GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).
SWR are however reportedly in financial trouble.

Seriously? SWR are majority FirstGroup, no?

[broadgage]

SWR^» (South Western Railway - about), by contrast are doing better from the passengers point of view. There is always room for improvement of course but as regards the percentage of trains that are short formed/cancelled/part cancelled they are doing better than GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).
SWR are however reportedly in financial trouble.

Seriously? SWR are majority FirstGroup, no?

SWR are indeed part owned by First group who have a majority interest. AFAIK^▸ (as far as I know) they are a separate company and any financial failure of SWR would not mean the failure of the rest of First group.

Just as National Express are still a going concern despite the failure of their East Coast franchise.

[devonexpress]

Out of interest how likely is it we will see apple green vinyl's as per GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) 800s for LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about)?

[Western Pathfinder]

I'd rather they were out and about in Garter Blue .

[broadgage]

My main issue is will they paint the trains LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) green    

With the carriages wrapped in teak-coloured vinyls ...

Would never be allowed, the doors would have to be a contrasting colour under present regulations, thereby ruining the whole effect.

[devonexpress]

My main issue is will they paint the trains LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) green    

With the carriages wrapped in teak-coloured vinyls ...

Would never be allowed, the doors would have to be a contrasting colour under present regulations, thereby ruining the whole effect.

There was silly talk like this back in 2015 with the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) rebrand, then people slagged off the livery and the grey doors, so it doesn't surprise me its happening again.  I don't think garter blue is a good idea as its too reminiscent of GNER^▸ (Great North Eastern Railways), I think apple green or a similar shade would be better for the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train)'s, it would be a fresh start and a clean slate considering the LNER brand is now permanent whoever takes hold of the new style franchise.

[ellendune]

There was silly talk like this back in 2015 with the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) rebrand, then people slagged off the livery and the grey doors, so it doesn't surprise me its happening again.  I don't think garter blue is a good idea as its too reminiscent of GNER^▸ (Great North Eastern Railways), I think apple green or a similar shade would be better for the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train)'s, it would be a fresh start and a clean slate considering the LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) brand is now permanent whoever takes hold of the new style franchise.

Has DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) actually stated that the LNER brand is now permanent?

Indeed have they said this of the GWR brand?

[Sixty3Closure]

Although a long-term continuing of the poor provision of service from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) may at some stage lead to a drop in custom and hence financial issues.

I've no idea of the numbers involved but how much of GWR's income is actually leisure travel related as opposed to government subisdy and more recently Railtrack refunds? Once you have season tickets and grants what's the gap? East Coast being supposedly more profitable (or even profitable) was it more susceptible to traffic changes?

Personally I quite liked the Virgin service on my trips to Scotland. Staff were friendly and booking in advance not too bad value. I hope they keep the Toffee and Banana cake as well!

[devonexpress]

There was silly talk like this back in 2015 with the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) rebrand, then people slagged off the livery and the grey doors, so it doesn't surprise me its happening again.  I don't think garter blue is a good idea as its too reminiscent of GNER^▸ (Great North Eastern Railways), I think apple green or a similar shade would be better for the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train)'s, it would be a fresh start and a clean slate considering the LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) brand is now permanent whoever takes hold of the new style franchise.

Has DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) actually stated that the LNER brand is now permanent?

Indeed have they said this of the GWR brand?

Yes the LNER brand is permanent, its in the document about the takeover.  The GWR is not, it was a First Group decision not a DFT^▸ (Department for Transport), of course things could change if First lose the franchise.

[broadgage]

Whilst I would hope for a smart livery, this is a long way down my list of concerns.
Higher priorities are on board facilities and comfort.
Restaurant
Buffet
Luggage space
Leg room
Tables
Windows
Air conditioning that works
Toilets that work, including the emptying of retention tanks and filling of water tanks
Comfortable seats
Gangwayed throughout
Peak fares high enough to deter overcrowding and off peak fares low enough to make best use of the trains

External livery can hardly be seen once on board so is a LONG way down my list of preferences.

[TaplowGreen]

Whilst I would hope for a smart livery, this is a long way down my list of concerns.
Higher priorities are on board facilities and comfort.
Restaurant
Buffet
Luggage space
Leg room
Tables
Windows
Air conditioning that works
Toilets that work, including the emptying of retention tanks and filling of water tanks
Comfortable seats
Gangwayed throughout
Peak fares high enough to deter overcrowding and off peak fares low enough to make best use of the trains

External livery can hardly be seen once on board so is a LONG way down my list of preferences.

You are Jacob Rees-Mogg & I claim my £5.

[grahame]

Whilst I would hope for a smart livery, this is a long way down my list of concerns.

External livery can hardly be seen once on board so is a LONG way down my list of preferences.

Indeed - but our internals may vary

I notice you didn't list "seats" until 9th on your list of 11 items ... I think I would put seats much higher up on anything that I'm using for more that a "one stop hop", and I would probably suggest good sized seats not one that are just designed for an average sized traveller.  Indeed on Great Western, you could suggest "7 foot" or broad gauge seats rather than tacky 4 foot 8 inch seats in a 3 + 2 arrangement.

Here are some more ideas

Seat back or alternative tables for airline seats
UK^▸ (United Kingdom) mains power points
Ever-faster WiFi connections that work even between Dean and Mottisfont
Wide enough aisles to allow trolley to serve
Loading indicators to let you know whether it's worth walking through to a less crowded area
Announcments / screens that inform you of the real time running of connections (will they / won't they) to other trains and buses

[Surrey 455]

Announcments / screens that inform you of the real time running of connections (will they / won't they) to other trains and buses

That's a good idea. Are there any apps available that let you plan a journey involving more than one train and then after you have started monitor the status of your connecting train(s) alerting you and possibly re-planning the remainder of your journey?

[ellendune]

Ever-faster WiFi connections that work even between Dean and Mottisfont

[Pedant Mode]
I see no reason why East Coast Mainline trains should have WiFi that work between Dean and Mottisfont since they are unlikely to ever work through there.
[/Pedant Mode]