Tweet Check
Welcome to RAIL’s new fact-checking service, which aims to answer your questions, debunk the myths, and get to the unvarnished truth behind some of the most common claims and queries we spot on social media.
Spare Mk3s
RAIL’s verdict: RAIL contributing photographer Jack Boskett joined the growing calls for spare Mk 3 coaches to be used to tackle overcrowding on the network, with this tweet on April 12, posted from a heavily loaded CrossCountry service between Bristol and Plymouth.
It was followed just two days later by RAIL Managing Editor and Events Director Nigel Harris, who made exactly the same point while aboard a packed two-car Class 175 between Shrewsbury and Cardiff (see
Network News, page 12). With 81 HST power cars and 464 Mk 3 coaches due to be sent off-lease by GWR and LNER by the end of this year, it certainly raises an interesting question of whether this spare capacity could be deployed more usefully in future.
And in case you were wondering, CrossCountry was good enough to respond to Jack and said it was working with the DfT to solve the problem and would “see what the future brings”.
Pensions fallout
RAIL’s verdict: We could not agree more with the sentiments expressed here by Talgo’s UK Director John Veitch, concerning the DfT’s decision to reject three ‘non-compliant’ franchise bids from Stagecoach (see Network
News, pages 6-11). The human impact of franchise change is often overlooked as we consider the wider implications of the DfT’s decision-making, and so we take this opportunity to salute all of the hardworking frontline and backroom staff at Stagecoach Group (which owns 49% of Virgin Trains), who must continue to give their best efforts despite this demoralising news.
Diversionary routes
RAIL’s verdict: This tweet from LNER passenger Sam Dixon demonstrates how passenger satisfaction is always much higher when trains are diverted onto alternative routes during times of disruption, rather than operators opting for bus replacement services.
Sam’s story also caught the eye of RAIL Managing Editor and Events Director Nigel Harris, who responded: “It should be a franchise requirement to have diversionary plans wherever possible. The new WCML deal should require S&C route knowledge, for example.”