Category Archives: Network Rail

Rolling blog: a tale of two cities…

06 Wednesday Nov 2019

Posted by in Birmingham, Calder Valley, London, Network Rail, Railways, Rolling blogs

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05:30.

I was up before sparrow fart this morning as I have to be in London for a commission with Network Rail at Euston at 09:00, then in Birmingham in the afternoon for the ACoRP AGM.

Right now I’m walking down to Halifax station to potentially catch the second train of the day – if it’s running to time. My connections are tight if I’m going to be punctual and punctuality isn’t great in the leaf-fall season. There’s no rain this morning, which is a bonus. Instead it’s clear and frosty. The gritting lorries have been busy overnight and as it’s quiet this time of morning i’m walking on the roads rather than the leaf-strewn pavements. Yorkshire stone slabs may look pretty, but in the autumn they’re as slippery and untrustworthy as Boris Johnson!

05:53.

I’m taking a chance and this could all go horribly wrong, but I’m now on the 05:50 from Halifax to Manchester Victoria, which is being worked by one of Northern’s new Class 195s. It was 3 mins late arriving from Bradford and it’s the first service of the day through the Calder Valley across the Pennines, so I’m taking a risk! I’m sat in the front car and it’s freezing! There’s no heating on and the information screens aren’t working either. The Conductor’s apologiesed and explained that the units come straight off Neville Hill depot and “hasn’t got going yet”!

06:01.

We’ve just left Sowerby Bridge, where I could have caught the train from (and had an extra 15m in bed) but i’d have been without a plan B (going via the East Coast) if the train had been late or cancelled. To be fair, we’re not doing badly. The driver took it easy leaving the station but the railhead conditions musn’t be too bad as he’s making the most of the unit’s superior acceleration and braking.

06:10.

We’re now leaving Hebden Bridge and I’ve noticed another thing about this unit (195109) which is there’s a real whistling sound at speed. The unit feels very draughty and I suspect it’s coming from the driver’s door!

06:17.

The whistling and draughts were annoying enough to make me move into the centre car. It’s still freezing in here but it’s not as draughty! Our timekeeping’s not bad. We’re only 2 mins down departing from Todmorden so I’m cautiously optimistic. In the bay of seats behind me are two men complaining about the service Northern Rail have been providing. To say the TOC has an image problem is an understatement!

06:33.

We’ve left Rochdale 5 mins late. I can feel the wheels slipping here but the driver’s done well. My connection time in Manchester is going to be very tight, but I might just make it. I’ll let you know if I do afterwards! I’m looking forward to sitting on a nice warm Pendolino with a steaming cup of coffee in my frozen hands…

07:16.

Bugger – missed it! A 5 minute late arrival into platform 6, the furthest away from the barriers that involves a scrum on the footbridge, meant that – despite a heroic sprint across the city centre – I missed the 07:00 Euston train by 2 minutes! I’m now thawing out in coach C on the 07:15 Pendolino which gets me into Euston 20 mins late. I’m sure my Network Rail colleagues will understand!

07:45.

Another calamity has befallen me. The coffee machine’s kaput! This could have been an absolute disaster were it not for the fact the chap in the shop had a stash of coffee bags, so I managed to get a brew after all…

07:50.

We’ve just left Stoke-On-Trent and the few seats keft unoccupied after leaving Stockport have filled up. This is a peak service so tickets aren’t cheap, but that’s not deterred the many business travellers who’re heading down to London for the day. This train’s now fast to Milton Keynes, so I’ll be interested to see how many alight there.

Weatherwise, we had a cracking sunrise around Stockport but now the mist has settled, marring visibility despite the thin, high cloud. I don’t travel the WCML anywhere near as much as I used to, so I’m going to sit back and enjoy the journey for a while.

08:55

We’ve just called at Milton Keynes, which became a bit of a scrum because of the passenger churn. Many left us, but many more joined and this train’s now standing room only. Outside, the weather’s changed too. The sky is clear blue whilst the mist has mistly burned off, leaving a lot of the country and lineside steaming in the warm sunshine.

13:29.

Phew! part 1 of the day’s been done and I now have portraits of 20 members of Network Rail staff in the can after a busy morning at Eversholt St. Despite arriving 25 mins late we managed to catch up time and get through all the pictures that were needed. I even had a bit of time spare to check out progress on the HS2 demolition work around Euston station and the Regent’s Park estate.

The demolition of Eskdale House on the Regents Park estate to make way for HS2 is in full swing.
The former Euston station signalbox sits in splendid isolation as all the surrounding buildings have been demolished.
With Euston station to the right, this view is looking North across the site of the old Thistle Hotel and St James’ garden

Right now I’m on another Virgin Pendolino, this time a 9-car set working the 13:03 from Euston to Birmingham New St in order to get to the ACoRP AGM.

Sadly, the wonderful autumn sunshine I had on the way down and in London has given away to more typical gloomy weather.

15:39.

Keeping busy at the ACoRP AGM…

Jools Townsend, ACoRP’s Chief Executive addresses the AGM.

17:14.

The AGM finished at 16:00 but Dawn and I resisted the opportunity to hang around for a drink as we’d seats booked on the 16:57 Cross-Country service to Manchester Piccadilly. These trains are always packed, so it was worth making use of the reservations.

True to form, there was an absolute scrum to get on the train at New St, then the scramble as people (including us) tried to get to their reserved seats. If there’s one train I actively dislike, it’s these. It’s neither fish nor fowl, neither a proper intercity train nor an adequate local one. The sooner these services are replaced by HS2 the better.

18:34.

15 mins late, but we’re finally in sight of Manchester Piccadilly where we can abandon this train, get some fresh air and clear our ears of the management bollocks being spouted by the guy sat opposite who’s insisting on having a loud (but ultimately pointless as it’s devoid of any real content) conversation on his mobile!

19:50.

Having traversed Manchester from Piccadilly to Victoria we arrived to find our train home had been cancelled! We’d have been quicker staying at Picc & coming home via Huddersfield. Adjourning to a local history to drown our sorrows and eat crisps we ended up catching the 19:37 instead. We’re now bouncing our way back to Yorkshire on a Pacer (142018 to be precise).

21:22.

The end of a looong day! I’ve been up since 04:30, travelled hundreds of miles (and walked nearly 11, burning 3.5k calories), visited three of our biggest cities and taken hundreds of photos, so it’s time for a little relaxation and the chance to enjoy a soak in a bath with some of Islay’s finest whisky as a nightcap. Goodnight!

Rolling (ish) blog: Manchester travels…

05 Friday Jul 2019

Posted by in I love my job, Lancashire, Manchester, National Rail Awards, Network Rail, Northern Rail, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel

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08:10.

It’s day two of working for Network Rail’s ASPRO (Asset Protection) team and this time the focus is on the Manchester area, so I’m on my way to meet them at NR’s Square 1 offices next to Piccadilly station. This is a ‘local’ job so I’m not encumbered with my overnight kit, which makes my bags a bit lighter!

I’ve caught Northern’s 08:06 service from Sowerby Bridge to get to across the Pennines. Made up of a Class 150/156 pairing it’s a surprisingly quiet train. I can only assume the holiday season’s in full swing. Needless to say, I’ve plumped for the 156 where I’m almost the only passenger in the rear car.

Unlike London where it’s meant to be even hotter than yesterday, it’s relatively cool here in the Pennines at 19 degrees with a blanket of high level cloud. At least I won’t have to cope with any harsh shadows today.

We’ve got a very busy schedule and plenty of sites to visit today so I’ll blog as and when I can. Hopefully there’ll be a few interesting pictures to add, although I don’t think I’ll be able to compete with the dramatic skyline pictures I took in London that are displayed in yesterday’s blog!

08:34.

We’ve now passed under the Pennines into Lancashire and our trains beginning to fill up with passengers from stations on the way like Littleborough and Smithy Bridge. Rochdale always provides a good crop of commuters so I expect we’ll be pretty full by then. This service is bound for Southport so it’ll probably be picking up the ‘bucket and spade brigade’ from Manchester.

22:28.

That went well then! Very sorry for the complete absence of blog updates. That’s partly because we were really busy and partly because not everything went to plan. Anyways, here’s a couple of pictures that give you a flavour of the assets we were looking at today.

DG327863crop

Brick arches at Salford. Below them is a compound for building new residential housing right next to the railway. 

DG327944crop

A new rail bridge over the A6

 

Rolling (ish) blog: London travels…

04 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by in Engineering, I love my job, London, Network Rail, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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10:40.

I’m at Twickenham station after completing the first assignment with Network Rail’s ASPRO (Asset Protection) team where we visit the project you can see in the background to this picture.

This is the new station building that also contains flats and shops. It’s a complex project built astride the operational railway that’s due for completion next year. We’re now off to have a look at a similar project in Kew.

13:09.

Wow! That was interesting. You get to go to all sorts of places in this job. This triangular site is bounded by three railway lines. On one of them sits Kew Bridge station (just off the the left of this picture). Around the triangle’s a vast housing development that also includes Brentford Town’s new 17,000 seat stadium. It was originally planned to be 20,000 but this would have overhung the operational railway and proved to be difficult to maintain, so was scaled back.

15:52.

Next up was Vauxhall. Wait till you see some of the other pictures I took from the roof of this new 27 storey development!

DG327625crop

Like this, looking at Vauxhall station in a way you never normally get to see it – unless you’re in a plane!

DG327638CROP

16:20.

Now I’m in Stratford, an area I knew well as I lived and worked near here for 11 years. I have to say, where we are now I wouldn’t recognise at all. The only thing that still remains is the railway from Stratford heading up to Lea Bridge. Everywhere you look new housing has sprung up.

18:49.

After a long, hot and sweaty day I’m heading back North on LNER’s 18:33 to Bradford Forster Sq. This is still worked by a Class 91 and Mk4 set, but they’re showing their age. This set is missing coach D, which is causing a few problems. Plus, both ovens in the buffet are kaput and the PA’s on the blink!. That said, the Train Manager’s doing an excellent job keeping passengers informed. He’s pointed out that the first stop is Stevenage, where (normally) at least 100 people will leave the train, so there should be plenty of seats available (he was right by the way).

21:05.

I’m on my last leg, if not my last legs! The journey up to Leeds was pretty good. I managed to get a bit of work done on the train but also had time to collect my thoughts for a bit and enjoy the scenery for a while, which is a rare treat.

Now I’m on Northern’s 21:08 from Leeds to Huddersfield via Halifax which is made up of a two-car 144 and 150 lash-up which were joined in the station as I arrived. I suspect they’re heading to Huddersfield for stabling overnight. For old times sake I’m travelling on 144009 as Pacer withdrawals start this month and soon, they’ll be all gone.

Rolling blog: Another ‘rat up a drainpipe’ sort of day…

28 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by in Network Rail, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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08:40.

After a relaxing and very sociable bank holiday weekend at home, normal service is resumed and I’m back on the rails again. As is often the case, there’s a lot of travelling involved. First, I’ve got to head down to Milton Keynes for a meeting with Network Rail, then I’ll be making my way up to Glasgow ready for a job in Scotland tomorrow. I’ll update this blog throughout the day, so stay tuned…

10:24.

My first train of the day’s the 10:06 from Sowerby Bridge to Southport which I’m taking as far as Manchester Victoria. It rolled in 5 minutes early, which took me by surprise as I’m more used to them being delayed! Northern have turned out a Heaton based Class 156, which makes a pleasant (and more comfortable) change to the normal Class 150s. The 156s are roomier, with deeper windows, so they’re better on scenic routes like this. Their 2×2 seating helps too.

The stormy skies seen in Yorkshire are replicated in Lancashire so I wouldn’t be surprised if I get a soaking at some point today!

10:41.

As this trains only a two car it’s now rammed after calling at Rochdale, a town that always provides plenty of passengers. According to figures from the ORR (Office of Rail and Road) over 1.2 million folk use the station every year.

12:15.

My Virgin Pendolino’s just pulling out of Piccadilly. Next stop for me is Milton Keynes. As is my wont I walked across a busy city centre from Victoria to Piccadilly, narrowly missing an earlier train, but as I had plenty of time I spent a profitable hour getting pictures. One thing that I noticed at Piccadilly was how the train Northern fleet’s changed in recent years due to the almost continuous cascade of second-hand stock. The ex-Thameslink Class 319s are a common sight on Manchester Airport turns now that electrification of the Bolton and Liverpool corridors has been completed. At the same time, more 2nd generation diesels have joined the fleet, such as this one which has just been transferred from the London Midland fleet now that it’s been displaced from services on the Bedford-Bletchley line by Vivarail’s Class 230 underground train conversions.

DG323842crop

150107 is working Manchester – Chester services today. It was pictured at Manchester Piccadilly earlier.

These extra units and the introduction of the Class 195s will soon spell the end of the old BR Pacers which are still plying their trade around Northern metals.

14:28.

Appointment time…

16:22.

My meeting with Network Rail’s Asset Protection (ASPRO) people went well. We talked about needs and ideas plus some provisional diary dates. I even managed to make it back to the station before the heavens opened, dodging the deluge I’d predicted earlier. I dunno why but every time I’ve visited the area recently it’s co-incided with rainstorms. Now I’m sat on the 16:13 Virgin Pendolino to Glasgow Central for the next five hours! It’s a busy train despite it being the school holidays. I hate to think what this 9-car would be like if the schools weren’t out. Although I’ve managed to get an airline seat I’ve no plug sockets enabling me to keep the laptop powered up. This service goes via Birmingham New St as it’s one of the Brummie turns that was extended to Scotland in the last franchise. Hopefully I might be able to grab a table seat later but I’m not optimistic.

16:42.

We’ve just pulled into Coventry and this train’s even more rammed now as well over a hundred folk have joined as this service may be long-distance, but right now it’s a commuter train on this section of the route. That these Intercity trains have to occupy rush-hour paths between places like Coventry-Birmingham-Wolverhampton’s a great advert for building HS2. Get the Euston-Glasgow on Hs2 and turn it into a proper Intercity train that can lead to modal shift from road and air through shorter journey times and use the existing path for a fast people move like the Siemens Class 700s that can absorb the commuters in comfort.

17:36.

Much to my surprise, I did manage to bkag a table seat when we arrived in Birmingham. As expected, this train’s still busy, but the holiday periods clearly taken the edge off it. Right now we’re approaching Wolverhampton. We’re running late as we’re caught behind a stopping service. This really is a waste of a 125mph train as we’ve staggered most of the way through this congested corridor from Coventry. On the plus side, the weather’s brightened up so I’m hoping for a lovely run through the scenic North of England and into Scotkand. I’m afraid sunshine can’t really help Wolverhampton!

19:22.

We’re now between Preston and Lancaster, running at least 18 mins late due to being stuck behind local services around Birmingham. This has meant we’ve missed our connection at Preston with the Edinburgh service which is now ahead of us. Our Train Manager’s apologised and asked control if we can be put ahead of it between Lancaster and Carlisle so that folk can make the connection in the border city.

19:36.

Despite the power and performance of the Pendolino’s, we’re losing more time. We passed Carnforth 21 late. The only bright spot was literally on the horizon as the weather through Lancashire was gorgeous. I could’ve got a suntan through the train window! Now, as we get closer to leaving England, the clouds are regrouping, which meant that the spectacular Lune Gorge wasn’t seen at it’s best.

20:19.

We’ve arrived into Carlisle and to everyone’s credit the TPE service to Edinburgh has been held so the the few dozen people off our train can make their connection. Who says the railway can’t be joined up when needed?

21:00

Oh joy. We’ve ground to a halt at Beattock summit and our Train Manager has just announced on the PA that this is because Network Rail have lost power to a signalling panel. That said, we’re still on the move, albeit stop and start. I have a feeling that this is going to be a loonnng day…

21:16.

I should have been in Glasgow Central a minute ago. Instead, we’ve just pulled past the signal failure and a freight train stuck in the Beattock loop 43 minutes late. It’s no-one’s fault and it sounds like Network Rail had staff out to the problem PDQ, but that’s not going to placate some passengers.

23:20.

I’m off to bed. We arrived an hour late into Glasgow so by the time I got to my hotel I’m more than happy to call it a day. Watch out for another rolling blog tomorrow as I’m up here testing trains with Pip Dunn for RAIL magazine.

More on the Calder valley line

24 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by in Calder Valley, Engineering, Flooding, Mytholmroyd, Network Rail, Northern Powerhouse, Rail Investment, Railways, Yorkshire

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As the weather was meant to be good yesterday I took a little trip down the Calder valley line to Mytholmroyd, one of the towns which was badly hit by the Boxing Day floods of 2015. Nearly 15 months later, Mytholmroyd is still struggling to recover from the devastation. Although both the pubs have reopened, they’re still showing the effects. The Shoulder of Mutton’s beer garden backs on to Cragg Brook which burst its banks that day, flooding the whole area under several feet of water. Here’s what the brook and beer garden look like today. Giant ‘Lego’ blocks act as a bulwark against the brook, but take up all the beer garden!

DG267761. Flood repairs. Mytholmroyd. W Yorks. 23.3.17

The Environment agency is currently working on strengthening the towns flood defences, so I’m hoping that this is only a temporary measure.

It’s not just businesses that suffered in the floods. I passed several homes along the brook which are still empty as the owners are waiting for them to be renovated or dry out. Whilst the floods no longer make the news it’s clear the effects linger, even if the TV cameras  don’t.

The reason for my visit  wasn’t to gawk at the damage caused by the floods, it was to have a look at another of the worksites on the railway West of the station as a follow up to my earlier blog on the Calder line modernisation. There’s several footbridges on this stretch. Most of them have been renewed over the past few years and replaced with high sided metal structures suitable for electrified lines. What they’re not good for is photography – unless you’re carrying a ladder. However, one stone arch bridge remains at the end of Erringden Rd. Wide enough for a road, it’s now just a footpath. It cuts right across what will be one of the sites for where track renewal will be taking this coming weekend (25-26th March) – as you can see from this shot.

DG267764. Preparing to relay the track. Mytholmroyd. W Yorks. 23.3.17

Looking back East towards Mytholmroyd station. The Up line on the right was renewed back in January 2014. Lights and matting have been left in the cess next to Down line which will be renewed this weekend. New rail has been dropped in the four-foot of the Up line. In the background is one of the new footbridges. The two signals seen here are controlled by Hebden Bridge signalbox, which will be abolished as part of the resignalling scheme. No new cable troughing has been laid in this area but the existing troughs have had broken or missing lids replaced.

For reference, this next view was taken back in January 2014, looking back to the bridge I was standing on today.

DG168579. Relaying the Up Main. Mytholmroyd. 19.1.14.

Renewal of the Up line in January 2014

Whilst I was in the area I had chance to get a shot of one of the new freight flows that use the line. Last summer, GBRf started hauling stone from Arcow quarry on the Settle-Carlisle line through to Bredbury or Pendleton in Manchester. The trains run as Q services (Q=as required) and have several different paths allocated for them to use in the timetable, so they’re a bit unpredictable. I only found this one was running a few hours before it did. Here’s 66725 hauling 6M38, the 11.25 Arcow quarry to Bredbury.

DG267801. 66725. 6M38. Arcow Quarry - Bredbury stone. Mytholmroyd. W Yorks. 23.3.17

If you want to see the location on google maps. Use this link.

 

This week I’m swapping PPE for a suit.

01 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by in Network Rail, Rushbearing, Sowerby Bridge, Travel, Work

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After another rare night at home I’m on the road again, only this week I’m swapping my PPE for a suit.

Whilst most of you were relaxing over the bank holiday I spent several days at Stafford where I was working on the Staffs Alliance resignalling project. This involved closing the West Coast Main Line from Friday night until early this morning. The work wasn’t just at Stafford but commissioning the new signalling in the area was the major focus. Unless you’ve been involved in one of these schemes it’s unlikely you’ll appreciate the complexity & difficulty of organising them. There are so many different skill sets to co-ordinate and the failure of any of them can delay or even stop the whole job. Add in the fact you have several different shifts working around the clock & the planning needs to be almost military in its co-ordination.

As it was, the ‘Orange Army’ got the job done & the railway reopened on time. Casualties were confined to the two old signal boxes which were decommissioned as Stafford is now controlled from Rugby ROC.

This week the focus of my work shifts somewhat. Right now I’m enjoying the chance to sip coffee & watch the world go by on a Grand Central service to London, where I’ll be spending another night in a hotel before a job at the Strand Palace hotel. I’m not sure what I’m doing after that as an early morning email means I might have to go up to Birmingham to do a quick job there before heading up to Darlington ready for the official opening of Hitachi’s new train building factory at Newton Aycliffe on Thursday. I’m told that’s going to be a major event, although I don’t know the full details yet…

After that, I actually get to go home – and have a weekend off! It’s the annual Sowerby Bridge rushbearing festival which is a fabulous event. For two days teams of people push and pull the rushcart around various churches and hostelries in the area. They’re accompanied by various morris dancers, mummers & minstrels. It’s thirsty work too, after all – the area’s not exactly flat! If you’ve never been come down and take a look. I’m sure you’ll have have a cracking day out as Sowerby has plenty of great places to eat & drink.

Here’s a link to details of the event. I’ll add some pictures from previous years later today when I have a bit more time.

See you there!

The job is changing, thanks to social media

30 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by in Network Rail, Photojournalism, SAIP, Stafford, Work

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The world of photojournalism has never really stood still. Even when it was film based the technology that allowed pictures to be transmitted & disseminated was always changing. I remember when I first started out in the late 1990s. Then, living in London was a huge advantage. Most of my work at the time was travel photography. Newspapers used to ring me up and ask me about a list of pictures or fax me over an article (yes, fax. Remember them?) to illustrate. If I had suitable pictures to send they’d get a motorcycle courier to collect them – and pay me a £25 search and service fee for submitting them whether they were used or not.

How the internet age has changed all that!

This bank holiday I’m working for Network Rail on the Stafford Area Improvement Programme (SAIP) again. Taking the pictures is only part of the job nowadays. What’s equally important and just as time consuming is getting them to the client asap, along with caption details. This can be either a description of the work being undertaken – or a bio (or even short interview) with a person being portrayed. All this is to feed the beast: Social media. Pictures are needed fast to tweet, add to Facebook or go on corporate newsboards.

Now, my hotel rooms are transformed into mini editing suites where the speed of the internet is as great a consideration as the comfort of the bed or how good the shower is!

What this also means is the job is getting longer & more time consuming, something that has to be factored in as a simple ‘shoot’ is simple no more. Defining how long the job will take now is like asking ‘how long’s a piece of string?’

I still love this job. The places I get to go to and the things I get to see still fascinate & amaze me – and I learn so much. Here’s what I was doing in the early hours of Saturday morning, whilst most of you were tucked up in bed.

DG222848. SRS Palfinger crane. Stafford 29.8.15

An SRS Palfinger crane prepares to lift signal droppers onto the new gantry at the South end of platform 2 at Stafford

Plus ça change.

21 Friday Aug 2015

Posted by in GWML, Hs2, Network Rail, Rail electrification, Rail Investment

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I’m currently working for Network Rail around Bath, Bathampton & Box tunnel on the Great Western Mainline electrification scheme. It’s a fascinating job that vividly illustrates the problems of modernising a Victorian rail network – especially one that contains so many iconic and listed structures.I’ll blog about this in more detail, but for now I’ll share with you part of the site induction, which gives a historical & technical perspective on the famous Box Tunnel.

Box tunnel facts

I cracked a wry smile when I read the section on detractors & objectors & their doom-laden prophesies as this reminds me so much of the modern day opposition to Hs2. Plus ça change!

What was more sobering was reading about the death toll. 100. We may chafe at modern ‘elf & safety’ but on the railways it’s a vital component of everyday work.

Right, time to go and put that PPE on…

UPDATE:

For once, I’ve actually managed to get myself on the other side of the camera in Box tunnel. Thanks goes to my COSS, Joe Kensley for stepping up to the plate to get a decent pic in very difficult circumstances!

Beam me up Scottie! looking up one of the air shafts in the Box tunnel.

Beam me up Scottie! looking up one of the air shafts in the Box tunnel.

Andy Burnham shows how politicians don’t understand social media

01 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Andy Burnham MP, Michael Dugher MP, Network Rail, PR nightmares, Transport, Twitter

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A few commentators and I have observed over the years how politicians don’t understand social media. It seems that many of them think it’s a way to pontificate or score a few cheap points over your political opponents, nothing more. This is especially true of Twitter, where some of them put out all sorts of nonsense & forget that the electorate (many of whom are far better informed) have the right to reply and the unwary can end up getting their arse handed to them on a plate. When a politician decides to tweet, there’s normally no battle scarred Press Officer looking over their shoulder, ready to snatch the phone off them whilst shouting ‘Noooo…’!

The latest victim of this phenomenon is the man who fancies himself as the next Labour leader – Andy Burnham MP, who tweeted this earlier:

burnham 1

Such an uninformed cheap shot at both the Government and the rail industry wasn’t going to go unchallenged. Burnham had left an open goal & one of the first to reply was a rail industry & PR veteran, the ‘Fact Compiler’

FC burnahm

In truth, it was an incredibly stupid thing for Burnham to tweet. For a start, there wasn’t ‘total chaos’. I’ve been travelling today & used both the East coast & Midland main lines – including Cross Country services. Apart from some delays, there’s been few real problems. And, believe me, if anyone’s going to suffer from speed restrictions or ‘chaos’ – it’s Cross Country. Their franchise stretches from Cornwall to Scotland! I was at Derby & the latest train I saw indicated was 10 minutes. Nor have I seen ‘chaos’ mentioned in other TOCs Twitter feeds – or on Facebook. What this shows is neither understanding of the railways nor commonsense when it comes to public relations. Needless to say, many other Tweeters (including myself) joined in and Burnham was left looking an idiot. However, he didn’t learn & unabashed, added to his woes with this untruthful & cheap jibe..

burnham 2

Of course, his problem is the fact that trans-pennine electrification & line upgrade hasn’t been cancelled at all, it’s merely been postponed whilst a bigger & more comprehensive scheme is designed. Burnham should know this. If he doesn’t, he’s very questionable Labour leadership material. That said, I’m not too surprised. His leadership campaign manager is Shadow Transport Minister Michael Dugher – also well known for making an arse of himself on social media. (see previous blogs like this).

My concern is this. Is this really the best the Labour party have to offer as future leaders? Can you imagine the likes of Blair, Brown (or even Milliband) making such schoolboy errors? If Burnham (and Dugher) really are the future Labour leadership then I can see only one result in the 2020 election – and it ain’t a Labour win. Having your arse handed to you on a plate via Twitter is one thing, but by voters at a general election?