It's Winter - Turn the Heating Off

I read an interesting article yesterday, which detailed the lengths that some companies are going to in order to realise savings during these economic hard times.

Some companies are still going for the traditional 'swathe' rationalisation mentality. i.e. lop off big chunks of an organisation, re-assign the work, sell the workers' desks and PCs and hope for the best. Others on the other hand, are examining all inputs, outputs and 'contribution' items or bits of a business, which cost money.

In order to translate this in to English, I witnessed the latter yesterday whilst on the 18:45 FCC train from Kings Cross to Kings Lynn. The train was decidedly 'split'. Those who sat on the left (facing the direction of travel) looked decidedly uncomfortable. Many were red-faced, fanning themselves and stripping down to their bare essentials.

On the contrary, those on the right were sat comfortably, reading, chatting, enjoying the wintery blackness out of the window. Occasionally dozing off only to be woken by the odd shudder of the train as it rattled round the right-hand bend in to Letchworth.

So what caused this divide? The plague? Had some cheeky adolescents put some itching powder on the seats of those on the left? Was it down to the work of God?

No. It was because FCC were trialing a new cost-efficiency lean six sigma bright idea. They had turned off the fans on the left hand side of the train but not the right. Thus reducing the amount of power need to run these systems by 50%. That is an ingenious saving if you think about it. Even if it did leave half the passengers red faced.

We could all learn from this…

Train Driver Jumped the Gun...?

An unexpected stopover in Kings Lynn mid-week meant that I had to catch the train I usually catch but half an hour earlier. I've caught it from Kings Lynn at the same time (05.53) before on many occassions but this time it was different...

As I parked my car in the car park at around 05.48 (5 minutes before my scheduled departure), I heard the familiar sound of a platform attendant blowing his whisltle (ooh er). This whistle blowing usually means that the train is ready for departure, at which point the doors are shut and the train departs. Of course, this wasn't what it meant, as I had checked the train times the night before and my train was definitely 05.53 and it was definitely 05.49 now. I therefore assumed that maybe it was part of a new rigorous train platform attendants collective training schedule, utilising the early mornings to rehearse their whistle blowing with 'live' trains. This can be very dangerous, as any training can be where a mock scenario can cause a live effect…

A mock scenario can cause a live effect indeed… As that is exactly what happened: I briskly walked from my car direct to the platform. This took all of about 20 seconds. The time now was 05.49.30 (ish). My thoughts were with the benefits that early morning training exercises offer; halcyon days came flooding back from when I once served as a Tank Commander in the Army and early mornings were spent tearing around the North German countryside on training exercises…with live ammunition… On this occasion the live ammunition proved to be the 05.53 from Kings Lynn to Kings Cross. As I walked on to the concourse with a spring in my step I was greeted by the platform attendant in full FCC uniform and whistle in mouth. Next to him stood the 05.53, engines running and windows already partially misted by passengers.

I had this immediate flashback of a torturous scenario I had once been in on a 'dry' live-firing tank exercise where I had to 'ghost' another tank as we hirtled down the ranges across the Bergen-Hohne countryside and the other tank fired. My orders were to follow the engagement sequence up until the point of firing: shouting 'bang' instead. Of course to my horror, my gunner had replaced the age-old military ammunition improvisation equipment of 'bang' with the extremely familiar 'put, put, put' of a 7.62mm Chain Gun firing 300 rounds a minute…

And on this occasion, the driver of the 05.53 had done exactly the same thing. As the 'in-training' platform attendant keenly blew his whislte, the driver mistook the training whistle for the real whistle (there's a tone pitch's difference, which only dogs can hear apparently) and shot out of the station quicker than Lewis Hamilton (the fastest man on 4 wheels) shot off the stage after coming second to Chris Hoy (the fastest man on 2 wheels) who won the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year on Saturday night.

Me: I was left amidst the diesel-fumed platform, briefcase in hand, next to the trainee conductor in shock horror… "the 05.53's leaving at 05.50 today!" he exclaimed, whistle still in between his teeth. The clock was 05:49.40… "Apparently so…" I replied…

It's Not Hard: But I'm Really Confused...

I think I must be going mad. I read a letter to the Editor of the Ely Standard from the Communications Manager at First Capital Connect that said they were reducing the number of intermediate stations between Kings Lynn and Kings Cross from the 14th December. This was also doucmented on their website (FCC).

It's now the 15th and the train stopped at the same stations this morning as it did pre-14/12 and the proposed journey home tonight appears to be unchanged too...

Have I missed something? Maybe the communcations manager at FCC needs a lesson in communications...?

Are Penalty Fares Fair?

I'm on a one-man mission to try and find out whether penalty fares are fair. First Capital Connect operates a penalty fare system whereby if someone does not a carry a valid ticket for the duration of their proposed journey, they will be charged £20 minimum.

Other rail operators such as the company, which provide the service between King's Cross and Hull, allow people to buy tickets on the train. My issue is that people do occasionally fall in to a situation where they do not have a valid ticket for their journey but the 'revenue protection officers' appear to penalise every time, without taking circumstances in to account. Therefore I think that they should revise their harsh rules and make situations more open. I'll happily give them a list of suggestions to make this a fool proof process.

As you can see FCC are extremely vague in their defnition and state you 'may' pay a penalty fare.

http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?iCmsPageId=100

Can anyone clarify what the rules surrounding the 'may' are?

Meanwhile I will write to them and ask....

Wow: is that a folding bike?

They were my exact words when I first saw one on a train. They're compact, easy to fold (and un-fold) and not only save the commuter a tube or bus fare but also help keep fit!

The link below takes you to all sorts of folding bike deals...

http://www.discountbicycles.co.uk/biz/section.php?xSec=10&gclid=CPSIssHLtpcCFQ0xawodxkzHjg

Are we Missing a Topic?

If you're a regular reader of this blog and would like another topic covered in the hope that it may be read and actioned by someone from your rail provider (or bus, airline or cycle manufacturer), let me know and I'll get it started!

Less Stops but Same Time...?

I'm confused. And happy. But definitely confused. From the 14th of December, First Capital Connect will be running direct trains from Cambridge to King's Cross. This is proposed to tackle the overcrowding by removing the intermediate stations. So for a train running from Kings Lynn to King's Cross the route will be as follows:

Kings Lynn
Watlington
Downham Market
Littleport
Ely
Waterbeach
Cambridge
London King's Cross

Royston and Letchworth have been removed.

So what's confusing me? The fact that the train gets in at the same time as it did before. Why wouldn't it be quicker? Surely removing two station stops removes the needs of the train to slow down, stop, open the doors, check all are on-board, shut the doors, check for a green light, announce (occasionally), and then slowly pull away, accelerating to the previous speed. Not having to do all of this must shave about 10 minutes off the journey?

Apparently not...

The Welwyn Garden Gap

I had the misfortune of witnessing the WGG first hand last night. To those who do not know what this is, it probably means you've not had the misfortune of being held up by it. It's not a rogue band of Hertfordshire-based bandits. It's a stretch of the Great North Eastern railway line, which runs from roughly four (or is it six?) train lines down to two.

The only time that the WGG gains notoriety is when a train gets stuck in the gap heading North-bound. What does that mean? It means everything behind heading North will be delayed....

This is what happened last night to me and many others. It doesn't just affect those heading North-bound too. It has an effect on the return leg, which runs simultaneously too.

Question: can Rail Track or First Capital Connect provide some sort of emergencyshunting service in order to cater for this type of event or indeed a service which is on emergency stand by as last week my train stopped at Royston and didn't get any further. But this is another story altogether...

Creatures of Habit?

Are all commuters creatures of habit? I would say not all, but most... On a daily basis I am met by the same people, stood in the same spot on the same platform. They can, so long as the train stops in the same place, sit in the same seat.

Once in that seat, they follow the same routine - pretty much... Whether that be reading the same paper by a certain stop, to then sleep for 23 minutes before getting up and queuing for the doors to open to chewing what appears to be the same bit of gum, in the same clothes, whilst talking about the same football team, loudly...

Is there a hierarchy? The later you join the the commute, the less power you have? I have seen 'originators' i.e. people who get on at the train's departure point look down and even tut at people who are '3rd', '4th' or '5th stoppers'...

The commuter's dynamics are really quite eye opening and the more I travel, the more I notice. I am concerned that I am becoming one of these...I try to add variation to my journey but it's not working at the moment. I feel comfortable knowing what to exepect. Is that so wrong?

I suppose we all do what we feel is necessary to get us through the commute. If that to some is chewing loudly whilst discussing last night's match or reading a paper followed by playing music really loudly then so be it...

Station Train Announcers' Compeition

This year's annual Train Station Announcers' Competition closing date will be Christmas Eve, with the results published in January 2009.

To remind you all of the judging criteria:

1. Clarity, tone and volume of announcements;
2. Frequency and relevance of announcements;
3. Capacity to use regional variations and dialects, along side the information given.

Please rate yuor favourite stations on the following scale against the above criteria:

1. Excellent in all ways. Should have been on the radio;
2. Average at most things. Occasionally forgets to announce or stutters, splutters and coughs;
3. Truly awful - and in many cases loving it.

An Example is below:

Fulwell Station, Middlesex

1 - 3 - No announcements

2 - 3 - No announcments

3 - 3 - No announcments although we can see him in the signal box.

Maybe the Driver was Kidnapped?

I was on the 5.53 from Kings Lynn to Kings Cross this morning and something rather odd happened. At around 07.10, the train started to slow down. It wasn't long after leaving Royston so I kew we weren't approaching a stop. It was dark outside so i couldn't exatly work out where we were and as the train drew to an unprecedented halt, I looked around the carriages and saw other passengers looking confused. Normally by now, the driver has told us why we are slowing down; a standard procedure for all drivers, I'm sure, in order to preserve the safety and sanity of the passengers.

But on this occassion, nothing came over the tannoy. Unlike the tannoy at Ely Station, where it's likely to attract an ASBO soon for being so loud, so early in the morning, there was no announcement.

This clearly caused great concern for me as I then started to replay the 'slowing down' over and over in my head, trying to use my photographic memory to identify a sound of a driver's door opening and closing. I couldn't recall anything, other than a sound of a whimper, like that of a dog, cold and wet, having beren locked outside the back door because the floor's just been cleaned.

I then fell asleep only to be woken by a sudden surge of people trying to get to the doors as we pulled in to King's Cross. What made me even more concerned was the driver's welcome upon arrival at King's Cross (20 minutes late) had been replaced with the falcetto tones of that over enthusiastic automatic announcement...

Why had the driver not warmly welcomed us in? Why had the driver not apologised forr the late running of the service? All manner of terrible things started running through my mind...no driver would leave us to fend for ourselves and make up an excuse as to why we were late in to work...therefore I could draw only one conclusion: the driver must have been kidnapped...

Overcrowding on Trains...

From a business perspective I can understand why they would want to charge more at peak times. More people travel and it offers greater revenue opportunities. But is it fair and is the service provided justfied by its cost?

I get the Kings Cross to kings Lynn train every day and if you arrive with less than 15 minutes to spare the chances are you will have to stand up. The carriages are consistently over crowded and ticket conductors are no where to be seen as they cannot physically get through the carriages. With all of that extra revenue surely they could add another carriage? Or buy another set of trains to increase the frequency?

To rub salt in to the wound, they are raising the majority of commuter fares in January. If the service was hassle free and I always got a seat i wouldn't overly object. But that's far from the truth....