And the winner is....

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And the winner is....

by Fentyke @ 14/08/2007 – 09:40:58

National Express.

Mid December and it will be goodbye GNER, hello National Express and the government can expect a £1.4 Billion windfall throughout the franchise which runs to 2015. Under the deal, the operator will be expected to deliver faster journey times, with London to Leeds services taking two hours, as well as more London to Edinburgh trains with journeys lasting four hours 20 minutes. Do you think this will mean less trains stopping in Tinsel Town to acheive this. I suspect so!

National Express has committed to ensuring that nine out of 10 trains run on time, as well as environmental benefits such as reducing fuel consumption per passenger kilometre by 28% over the life of the franchise, and investment in four "green" stations. Not such a bad thing I suppose.
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21 Comments to And the winner is....

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- Carl (Visitor)
- 14/08/2007 @ 10:08:33
I welcome the decision to allow National Express to run trains on the ECML. For some years I have travelled by Midland Mainline, operated by NAtional Express from Nottingham to St Pancras: this service has certainly improved enormously with new trains punctual services, good offers and even friendly staff!
GNER made a good start but just seemed to have lost momentum - I even supported their bid to extend the franchise and bitterly regretted it when they hiked fares and doubled car parking prices. The wages of a footballer are required to eat in the buffet.
Great news about free wifi for all. Midland Mainline have always offered complimentary cups of tea & coffee - let's hope they do this on ECML services.
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- trolleytotty (Visitor)
- 14/08/2007 @ 10:30:26
I work on board and think its a discrace that we werent told first ! Hopefully the new company will treat its staff a little better than the rabble that is GNER. Im reassured to read we are keeping restaurant servies and will provide an at seat service in std for hot food so it looks like our jobs at the lower level should be ok... Its every man for himself now ! For full details of the franchise look at the department for transport website.... That and on here are where us staff find out what is going on !
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- Christopher 'Alf' Garnett (Visitor)
- 14/08/2007 @ 13:30:43
Well, I guess Ginny's suspicions proved right when she spotted those National Express Group executives having that cosy lunch at Parliment last month.

Haven't heard from Richard yet, poor boy, but I expect he's spitting feathers? As for Jonathan, he's been talking lately about packing his bags, and uprooting the family to Spain to run a bar in Benidorm if he didn't win through, but I've told him to hang fire for the moment, see if I can get him a place on board this Olympic thing?

Well, dear commuters, we did our best, but we shall have to see how NEG does at the helm of the good ship GNER? God bless her, and all who sail in her. Praise the lord though, that those 'gold chain wearing' chavs at First didn't get their hands on the old girl !
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- Fentyke
- 14/08/2007 @ 14:27:27
I've got to admit that it's a bit short sited of GNER not to issue some sort of statement to staff when they reported for duty this morning. Realisitcally, there's no way they could have said anything prior to making the formal announcment to the media first thing this morning however in my experience companies in these sort of situations often have a written statement waiting for staff.
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- dangerousdave (Visitor)
- 14/08/2007 @ 14:35:59
well its goodbye to GNER and hello NXEC it just doesnt have the same ring to it, but lets hope they know how to run a railway franchise unlike the shower of shite GNER has become when i started at gner a number of years ago i used to be able to tell my friends where i worked and they would comment on what a good place it was to work but not know they just laugh and i have to agree with them its a complete joke no-one gives a toss any more staff morale is non existent.But lets see what NXEC can do about it if anything i hope they will get rid of all the fuckwits and directors at york along with the new EPOS and server and shove it up their arseholes.
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- Frother
- 14/08/2007 @ 14:54:35
Does this mean that the blog will be renamed from the date of the new franchise starting? NXEC Commuter blog doesn't quite run off the tongue in the same way as GNER did?

Nice to see free wi-fi for Standard class punters, 25 extra trains a day and forty extra coaches are an interesting concept as it does not mention new coaches I assume these will be refurbished vehicles,maybe stored or redundant from the leasing Company/ies cannot think where from? A Kings Cross Lincoln two hourly service will need to be an HST so some recasting of timetables to make resources fit.

No mention of free teas/coffee in the franchise statement which was included when NeX won MML if I remember rightly, they did try to abolish it at one point and were told politely that was not possible.
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- - longdistance runaround (Visitor)
  - 14/08/2007 @ 14:59:59
  The Department for Transport suggests that extra sets will come from ex- West Coast Mainline stock - so probably 4/5 more old HSTs joining the route.
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- longdistance runaround (Visitor)
- 14/08/2007 @ 14:56:14
I'm pleased that we at least know the result. Getting to know the service will be a different matter I suspect. I really can't believe they'll offer an at-seat-service for hot food through standard class. Even on a good day now it's all the trolley can do to get one trip right through between Newcastle to London - let alone thinking about running back and forth through 5 carriages with orders. When a train is full (which they will hope it is) it's unlikely that this will happen at all. Surely it was a typo and they meant in first class, as they do now?
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- Frother
- 14/08/2007 @ 15:27:59
No spare HST sets or power cars , now that Cross Country are reintroducing them that means old loco hauled sets and an electric loco, currently 110 mph unless mods are made?
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- unsure (Visitor)
- 14/08/2007 @ 15:46:28
I'm unsure as to what NEX group will bring to the mix. They ran WAGN into the ground none of their ex staff have a good thing to say about them, and they also had a say in Central and we all know how good they have been....
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- Electrics need juice (Visitor)
- 14/08/2007 @ 17:55:46
As I understand it the decision was made public at 0700 this morning. We had pager messages by 0730 telling us. Our sign on points and messrooms had a written statement in them not long afterwards. It might have been a nice gesture for the DfT to haver perhaps told GNER yesterday so that they could have told us before the rest of the world, but I can understand why they didn't.

It is good to see that it would seem that the same level of on board service will remain, that will help staff morale as now we can be assured that jobs will be safe and passengers will not lose out. I also like the fact that wi-fi will be free to all, to be honest it is too expensive for what you get and I think that more people will use it.

The new sets from west coast will be ex virgin sets, this is not so good though it looks as if they will be refurbished they are class 86 electrics and coaches that are older than the HST's. I understand that they will be a temporary measure until new pendolino trains are built.

The faster services are to be supplemented by a new York service calling at all stations which will then connect into the fast services.

I am pleased that the announcement has been made so that we can now concentrate on what needs doing. Obviously there will be a lot of changes and we don't yet know what to expect but at least we can now start looking forward.
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- TallUn (Visitor)
- 14/08/2007 @ 19:21:09
Well, NatEx East Coast it is then. Should be interesting. As long as they don't try and run it like a bus company they should do fine. Free wifi for all, great (when it works), catering still around, that'll please the catering crews. When the lines go down, at least they have access to Coaches to ferry people (hehe) But, as the above poster (unsure) said, they ran WAGN into the ground and Central speaks for itself. So cross your fingers. I'll wait and see what happens before I decide on what I think about NatEx East Coast.
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- central-simon (Visitor)
- 14/08/2007 @ 19:58:58
From reading the DFT website, it appears that the current timetable will run until 2010. (so no late night sat services and no early am sun services). Then from 2010 the 'improvements' will begin.

From 2010, the Thameslink improvements should've reached Peterborough, so add the requirement to speed up services and I'm sure we can guess how things will shape out.

At least you can now use free wi-fi, assuming you can find a seat with no capacity improvements planned for the next 2-3 years.
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- jock (Visitor)
- 14/08/2007 @ 22:39:13
Well bloggers, i always say better the devil you know than the devil you dont!

How punctuality can be improved on i dont know, because it wont stop people jumping infront of trains, it wont stop inclement weather, broken down freight trains, overheadline damage, etc etc, all out of any train operators control! As for all of this free stuff? No such thing as a free lunch! I seem to remember political parties having golden manifests, in writing which are or werent ever delivered!

Financially how can the new company meet the financial commitments if GNER couldnt meet them how will NXEC?

Best of luck to the employees, who i wish the best of luck too, as like i said through life, better the devil you know again comes to mind!
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- Nez (Visitor)
- 14/08/2007 @ 23:51:54
The extra trains will probably be class 90's and ex West Coast MK3 coaches, just like their London - Norwich express trains that run for 'one'. The coaches being about the same age as the HST's, and are pretty much the same internally, but I wonder if they will give them a mallard stlye refurbishment?
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- Schrödinger's Cat (Visitor)
- 15/08/2007 @ 13:39:48
Can they really be that bad? Surely not. Yes, we all know what a mess Central Trains are in etc. Hopefully they'll bring in a decent management team and sort the whole structure out! Get rid of the sickie's etc.

It seems their proposals are a little ambitious; especially the promise of even more money to the government! Like, hello!! We've already failed on that one! That's why NEEC have had this opportunity!

So..... out with the old? Yes. No more season ticket discount. (How much abuse will the booking office staff get for that! Too much when it's not their fault, and don't give me that rubbish about it's who they represent. It's not their fault! End of discussion!)
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- Moaning Toff (Visitor)
- 15/08/2007 @ 14:23:37
These things all take time to change and Romw was not built in a day. Actually I suppose the railways have been here longer then a day so they should be better.

I hope they fire all those prattish revenue inspectors and replace them with a machine.

Dont worry lads Macdonalds are allways hiring and you lot look as if you enjoy them.
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- badwolf (Visitor)
- 15/08/2007 @ 16:57:20
Well well its been announced there we all were looking forward to our Virgin discounts on Flights, holidays,shopping and balloon flights, and now we got discounts on buses to look forward too!!!.

WEll they have promised you all quite a bit, free Wi-Fi in std that should please the folks,discounts for delays on single legs of journeys according to the length of the delay, regardless who's fault it is, at seat service in std accomadation ( that i cannot wait for)do we think that the C.E.O of National Express has been reading this blog for ideas.

But of course what they giveth they have to taketh away which means an increase in ticket prices of 2.1% above inflation every year good for us that sell tickets cause we get a mini pay rise but not so good for the passengers.

Well time will tell how well it goes so are we gonna start taking bets on when does the www.nxecsucks.co.uk blog begin?
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- trolleytotty (Visitor)
- 16/08/2007 @ 07:59:36
Be interesting to see if they keep the time scheme going. We had about 15 people ask us yday. As for the hot food in std...... Its a sign that our on board jobs be safe but the thought of the old std plus springs to mind !
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- GNER Guard (Visitor)
- 22/08/2007 @ 00:57:18
Well guys, like you say, there's no such thing as a free lunch. All this "free wi-fi" malarky etc. has to be funded somehow. Through fare increases, no season ticket discounts and yes, you guessed it, increased car park charges!

I'll give it a year before you are all reminiscing about the good old GNER days. Trust me.
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- KevinFinnerty
- 25/08/2007 @ 20:16:20
Well. Sorry for the late post. But NXEC it is. And good. Richard Bowker is a rail man through and through. Funnily enough what a rail company needs. Not number crunching bean counters to run a service. NO THANK YOU. Bring on Nat Ex. Let them run the serivce and see what happens. MML has been the TOC of the year for the last three years... Some accolade to have... And all you wanting the free / discounted Virgin stuff... Is that all that mattered to you?

You should be ashamed.

TTFN
KF
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