Day out to Edinburgh

If anyone is looking for something to do on Saturday 28th November 2009, 'The Christmas Pendle Scotsman' could be the answer. Compass Tours is running a special train to Edinburgh. Its just in time for the Christmas shopping or maybe just enjoying the festivities of Princess Street in the festive season including the Christmas Market. Or there is enough time to visit the Castle, or perhaps the brilliant National Museum. The train will run via the very scenic Settle and Carlisle Railway so there are views along the way too. Compass tours are a small organisation which arranges days out by trains for the general public to enjoy. The trains are staffed by enthusiastic volunteers who are dedicated to helping you enjoy your day out, so these are genuine fun trains.

Train or Coach

I recently had to head down to Dundee for a conference. The train fares were high (peak summer time) so I decided to look at coach tickets instead. So the final journey ended up being Megabus from Inverness to Perth, Citylink Coach from Perth to Dundee and back and then train from Perth to Inverness (National Express East Coast). Arriving at Inverness Bus Station I was looking forward to the journey as Megabus from Inverness uses new coaches that look pretty nice. My departure time was booked at 13.12 and since the coach is coming right from the bus depot, rather than other journey, you can be sure it will be on time...I thought. The tickets ask you to be there 30 minutes early for boarding. So at 13.00 there was no sign of the coach. At 13.10 it arrived. Ah well two minutes for us all to get on then. Only there was a problem. It sat there with the door closed. It seems we had the wrong driver. So when the right one arrived he got on and started checking tickets while the other driver helped us all load our luggage. So at 13.37 we left, very late. Before everyone thinks this is me being critical of Megabus let me explain. I understand Megabus to be a very reliable company, but in Inverness it is operated by Stagecoach Inverness a company that can't even get the first bus of the day out on time (0810 service to Dingwall - on time less than 50% of the times I've rode). On board my nice new coach was pretty good except the individual air vents were switched off. On a summers day with fellow passengers who perhaps are in need of a shower this was an issue. The journey was a long two hours.
Citylink was much better, for one thing the coach wasn't packed. So even if some of my fellow travellers had skipped the shower that morning I didn't notice. Plus the air was on, thank you Citylink. A pleasent journey to and from Dundee - and on time both ways.
Having enjoyed the conference it was time to head home and this was my train portion of the trip. Perth to Inverness first class on National Express. Well, you have to treat yourself after saving on every other bit of the trip! I was sitting at Perth thinking of dinner looking out over the Highland mountains. The Highland Chieftain is one of the few UK trains that still has an on board restaurant and the food is something else. The train was late, so I had lots of time to think of my dinner and to be honest I thought of very little else. Even after 30 years in service the HST still looks like a new train and I doubt there is anything more comfortable on the rails. I jamp on when it arrived and took a seat. Oh, it was a little hot. This reminded me of Megabus. The air conditioning was not working right. That is very unusual on the HST, its pretty reliable. Never mind dinner was about to be served. They always have the last serving just north of Perth from Monday to Friday. It was Saturday. Yes I had forgot that in my planning. Thoughts of a bowl of porridge and some toast were on my mind for the journey north.
Conclusions: avoid services run by Stagecoach Inverness. Citylink is pretty good if you are on a budget. Ask your Megabus driver (the one in the seat not the jolly yellow one painted on the side of the bus, to turn on the air), and check the day of the week before spending all conference thinking of your on board dinner.

Laurencekirk Reopens

The town of Laurencekirk is proud of their restored station. It was closed in September 1967 and fell into disrepair. This wiki image shows the extent of the decay only a couple of years ago when the platforms were gone and the building was in danger of being lost. Thankfully the Scottish Government decided to do something about this crazy sitatuion where a resonable sized town on a busy rail route has no station. The Station was restored and new platforms built. In May of this year it reopened and has been very popular with local people. The picture is from www.laurencekirk.info where you may see more pictures, details and find out more about the town.

NXEC no more

Yesterday I was writing about National Express East Coast offering 20% off their lowest advance fares, today they are back in the news again, this time having lost the franchise to run trains on the east coast mainline. The route runs from Edinburgh (and points north), Newcastle, York, Leeds to London. It is one of Britain's most popular routes and was Intercity's flagship in the 1990's with the high speed 225 electric trains. Today the Government has anounced that it is taking over the franchase and will run it until a new operator can be found. Ironic that British Rail's most successful route is back in state ownership, for the second time. Yes it has happened before. GNER (Sea Containers) won the rights to run as it was then known Intercity East Coast. Soon dark blue trains, stewards in smart uniforms and perhaps something of a return to the great days of rail was around as GNER lead the industry for customer service. GNER won the franchise for a second time but then in 2005 it was taken over by the government. Why? They didn't pay enough money. GNER didn't win the franchise for their customer service, they won for agreeing to pay a 1.3 billion premium to run the route. It was unaffordable. At the time Gerry Doherty, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, said "GNER is losing the contract because it cannot afford to pay £1.3bn to run the service, while at the same time the government is giving Sir Richard Branson £1.3bn to run the West Coast line,". Fast forward two years to 2007 and the Government and National Express now think 1.4 billion is a realistic figure to pay to run the route. At the time many industry insiders were wondering if anyone had learnt anything. Clearly they have not. Its still unrealistic. Yes, the East Coast makes money, it made money for BR, GNER and National Express, or would have if the franchiase rates were realistic. Of course the Government is well known for their over optimistic economic predictions...

What does this mean for the passenger though? Well the trains have been almost all refurbished, tickets purchase will be honoured and tickets for future travel are being sold. Thankfully unlike an airline going bust there is nothing to worry about. The route will continue as is for the time being and the most likely outcome is that a new operator will continue where National Express left off (National Express itself changed very little from GNER other than the livery). It would be nice though for the money constantly spent on new brand images, re franchising and other waste to be spend on trains or lower fares though. Do I ask for too much?

20% off National Express East Coast

From 30th June (today) until 4th July (happy Independence Day for my US readers ;), National Express East Coast is offering 20% off the lowest standard advance fares - so thats the standard class tickets you buy in advance but only the ones in the lowest price category. The offer is for travel between the 7th July and 20th September. See the NXEC website for details and happy summer hols.

The First Train and Bus

I came across this picture of a Greyhound coach (USA) and it reminded me of the remarkable story of First Group. In 1989 any visitor to Aberdeen would be familiar with the scruffy buses of Grampian Regional Transport. But this was also the year that the municipal bus company was sold off and an employee buy our resulted. The company improved services and was rather successful. So successful in fact that they started buying up other local city bus operators all over the UK. Then came the new name – First and a new bright cheerful livery. Together with new buses First developed a reputation for high quality, clean, comfortable and reliable bus services. In just twenty years they are now a global bus and rail company. Currently they own several UK railways including Scotrail, First Great Western, First Capital Connect and First Transpennine Express. My experience of their rail and bus services has been very positive. In Scotland they have really improved rail services since taking over from National Express. The impression is they are more serious about running the trains and they are certainly a lot cleaner. On a recent journey to Glasgow I enjoyed the comfort of a Scotrail (First Group) Turbostar train with comfortable seats, big picture windows and a catering service. Arriving in Glasgow I was able to use the local First buses with my train ticket which included local bus services (Plusbus). The bus stop (First Group again) had an electronic display telling me how long till the next bus. I got on and of course being a bus in an unfamiliar city I had no idea where to get off but they had even thought of that – there was an electronic display linked to a GPS system giving street names so you knew where the bus was! First has become a truly successful company with great transport products.

Bus travel in the USA has long been neglected. Greyhound is a huge company but it is interesting to see what First is doing. Route by route these new Greyhound coaches are appearing along with nice refurbished terminals. Here’s what First are saying: “In its continued commitment to offering the best in leisure bus travel, Greyhound Lines, Inc., the largest North American provider of intercity bus transportation, today began unveiling its fleet of new buses designed to offer a more comfortable riding experience. The first of the 102 re-designed buses debuted on the company’s New York to Montreal and New York to Toronto routes, with additional buses slated to begin appearing on the New York to Boston route by mid-April. Over time, Greyhound will replace the entire nationwide fleet.

“More than an updated paint job, our new buses offer a truly upgraded experience for customers and a new way to sit back and experience the open road,” said Dave Leach, president and chief executive officer, Greyhound Lines, Inc. “As the industry leader, Greyhound sets the bar for what bus travel should aspire to be, continuously evolving and innovating to offer the very best service.”

The new buses will feature a sleek exterior of strong blue and premium silver colors, highlighting a new Greyhound logo. Inside, passengers will be delighted with the vast upgrades and amenities available onboard including extra legroom, free Wi-Fi access, power outlets and three-point seat belts."

Some people may be skeptical but we have seen First’s track record. If anyone can transform coach travel in the US it is Greyhound. These are exciting times for Scotland’s bus and rail company, still Aberdeen based.

Unlimited Travel

There is something very liberating to know that you can go wherever you want. Yes get on any train (almost any time) and go anywhere. No need to ask how much or buy a ticket, you already have and it will allow you to go where ever you want, maybe even using a ferry or bus when the rails run out. There are some really good unlimited travel tickets around the country and I have started a page to describe them. So you like? And you wonder why rail companies don't promote them more? Well they would rather you bought and advance ticket and told them in advance you were coming and traveled only on their own services. However I'd rather you had a good time so check out the page.

Well it's been a busy day at work. Sometimes I wonder how I can fit it all in. I checked my diary and realised that it is only two weeks until I am due to go on annual leave. Those of us with more than two weeks work to get through are worried...