Stonehaven: So Much Bullshit

On Wednesday 12th August, at 0938, in Carmont, Aberdeenshire, tragedy struck. A Scotrail IC125 set hit a landslide and derailed. The driver, conductor and a passenger were killed. 

Since then, including in the immediate aftermath, there have been sensationalist and unfounded suggestions and claims as to what happened, and, ludicrously, who was to blame. Examples are "the train was travelling the wrong way", "going too fast", "why hadn't the driver been cautioned", and in today's Telegraph, laughingly "73.2mph is said to be within the limit of 75mph". Is said to be? 

The thing is, this was one of the most easy to explain accidents on the railways I've ever heard about. Within a couple of hours it was obvious to anyone with half an inkling how the railway works what had happened. The train, 1T08, 0638 from Aberdeen to Glasgow, had been halted by the signaller who had received a report from a train travelling in the Down direction, that the Up line was blocked by a landslip. That down train, 2B13 is extremely relevant. Unable to proceed, 1T08 was turned round and sent back to Stonehaven. This meant waiting for a Network Rail engineer to set the crossover points so 1T08 could transfer from the Up line to the Down. Rarely used crossover points are routinely locked and pinned to avoid any accidental movement, which could cause a derailment.

After a delay of 2 hours, 1T08 started back to Stonehaven. It must be noted that not only had 1T08 already passed over this section of track with nothing suspicious to report, but so had 2B13. There was no suggestion of any blockage of the line, so no reason not to travel at line speed, which at this point was 75mph. Tragically though, in the time between 2B13 passing over the site, and 1T08 returning, there had indeed been another landslip, totally unconnected with the one further up the line. The train hit the landslip at 73.2mph, and all vehicles derailed, some hurtling down an embankment.

Then the media vultures arrived, looking for someone to pin the blame on. Never mind the fact 3 people had died, two of them doing a job they loved and were highly experienced at - someone must have cocked up. No they didn't. I'm not going to pre-empt the RAIB report, but from what they have already published it seems evident that the focus of the investigation is not going to be on the actions of the train crew or signaller. Unfortunately it would seem the media vultures, including some, sadly, who work for industry publications, are still hell bent on finding a scapegoat. Others are just plain ignorant as to how the railway works. 

The geology of our planet is constantly on the move. That includes the hardest of substances, of which mountains are proof. Tectonic plates shifting miles under the surface cause the face of the Earth to be forever changing, albeit over millions of years. Extreme weather can exacerbate that process, and the storms the previous night had clearly weakened the landscape. No one was to know or predict the extent. Railway workers have an extraordinary array of skills and talent. Psychic ability, however, is not one of them.

It is an insult to Brett McCullough, the driver, Donald Dinnie, the conductor, and Christopher Stuchbury, the passenger who lost their lives to try and find fault that doesn't exist, blame that is unfounded, and innuendo that causes reputations to be tarnished.

The definition of the word "accident" is thus; "an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury" Source Oxford Languages. I suggest Stonehaven falls directly into that category without touching the sides. This truly was a tragic accident.

Railway workers live by the rule book regardless of their role. I don't know of another industry where that applies to such an extent. Spontaneity has no place on the Railway. That is why I am of the opinion that the final RAIB report will be of far more interest to geologists, and how land surrounding railways can be better monitored, than to railway workers. As for those so called journalists who are still trying to find fault with the train crew or signalers shame on you. You don't deserve to earn a living from what you do. You are an embarrassment to your profession, and cause nothing but misery to those you come into contact with. 

Brett and Donald rest in peace - those who know, know. 

Suffolk To Get New Bus Route

Yes, you read that correctly. In these dark times for public transport with everyone still being told to avoid unessential use (unless the sun's out, obviously) and fears for the future of vulnerable routes nationwide, I can exclusively (sorry but it's been a long time since I've had the chance to use that word) reveal that from September 1st Borderbus are introducing a new service 522, which will operate from Aldeburgh to Peasenhall. Except it mainly won't as the route is split into two overlapping sections - Aldeburgh to Saxmundham and Leiston to Peasenhall. 

Why Peasenhall, I hear you ask. Why indeed, and honestly I haven't got a clue! But since I live there and our last bus ran in March 2016 I'm not complaining one iota. I'm fairly certain, despite the good friendship I have with the Borderbus team, that this bus isn't being put on just for my benefit, although it certainly will benefit me. I know residents in the West side of Yoxford, for example have always commented that the Aldeburgh - Halesworth 521 doesn't serve nearly enough of the village, and after Yoxford the next turning point is Peasenhall. Even so, in 2016 we had an open your own door Transit minibus, one return journey to Saxmundham 4 days a week, and now there will be 5 journeys each way with a double decker! This obviously indicates a school journey involved, and indeed that is the case, as you can see in the timetable below.

I'm guessing here, but it looks like Borderbus have won a school contract serving Leiston Academy from Whincops of Peasenhall, which would explain the Peasenhall terminus. I really should have asked but I'm a little rusty after 3 and a half months so I'm sure Andrew Pursey will correct me if I'm wrong. Sir John Leman School in Beccles continues to attract pupils from all over the county, and the Leiston to SJL is either a new route or a contract won from another operator. Either way it's great to see the buses put to good use while the kids are at school - if it's ever safe for them to go back that is!

However, as locals will know, there is already an hourly service between Saxmundham and Aldeburgh provided by First Eastern Counties' 64 from Ipswich. I can't see any variations to the route on the 522, so is there the demand for another bus, especially between Leiston and Saxmundham where there really isn't much apart from fields. This is where the theoretical side of me has gone into overdrive.

Chris Speed of FEC has long told me the 64 loses money hand over fist between Wickham Market and Saxmundham - indeed a few years ago it went to two hourly before being restored to hourly through council subsidy. Will the introduction of the 522 give First the excuse they need to pull out of Aldeburgh and Saxmundham once and for all? Will Suffolk CC still subsidise the Wickham Market to Sax part of the journey at a reduced frequency or will that link be lost forever?

If First pull out of Aldeburgh then will Borderbus step in and restart the immensely popular Anglian 165 Aldeburgh to Ipswich via Snape service that was so savagely cut by Phil Eden when he replaced Andrew Pursey there. One of the reasons was logistics in case of breakdown - it's a long way from Beccles to Ipswich to deal with a breakdown, but Anglian managed it pre Go Ahead so who knows what the long term thinking is. It's going to be interesting to watch developments.

My job now is to make sure the people of Peasenhall actually use the bus so there is no excuse to get rid of it again. Easier said than done, but opportunities like this don't happen every day! My thanks to Andrew for surprising me with the news (that's an understatement) and giving me the green light to go public. I should also say that Borderbus have retained the tender for the 521 for another 5 years, which is good news for both them, and the communities served by that important link. A 5 year tender in the current climate is some achievement, I think.

There will be another post in a few days with an update on a bus I was lucky enough to drive in days of yore, that I featured a few years ago on here. In the meantime stay safe, and try to avoid the lemmings who think the virus has gone and it's back to normal!

What Happens Now?

I hope wherever in the world you're reading this you are safe, well, and somehow getting through this planet changing episode in our history. These are strange and worrying times, and one has to wonder what happens now. If you have lost a loved one during this crisis my heart goes out to you - I've seen my Mother change from a vibrant, chatty, active if slightly batty and clumsy woman into a bed bound shell uttering a few incomprehensible sounds and not recognising anyone in the space of a couple of months. Thanks to lock down there has been no escape from it - not allowed to do anything or meet anyone to take minds off what's going on. That's tough. However, this is a transport blog so I'm going to concentrate on that side of things.

It's now two months since I've been on any form of public transport. I have absolutely no idea when I'll morally be allowed on it again. I'll be surprised if it's this year. I have a car so I'm expected to use it instead of public transport. Unless I want to go to London, of course, where the message is don't use public transport but don't drive either as we're hiking up the congestion charge and closing numerous roads so people can walk and cycle more. From places like Colchester and Milton Keynes no doubt. Go back to work if you can't work from home, but don't use public transport or your car to get there if your work happens to be in London. I have news for the people coming up with this advice, and I'm sure Sadiq Khan's dad would back me up - very few people take short bus journeys in London at peak times. The huge majority of City commuters, for example, walk to and from stations like Liverpool Street, Fenchurch Street, Cannon Street and Blackfriars anyway! They've been cooped up in offices all day and will be, or rather used to be packed into trains and tubes for another hour or more so they welcome the walk in between. Closing off roads will give them more room, but will not increase the numbers walking, or decrease the numbers needing to use buses as from my observations most bus journeys to and from work in London are too darned long to walk both ways, and not everyone is a born cyclist. The days where folks would jump on the platform of an RM and go a few hundred yards before hopping off again are long gone. I live in the country, yet I walk further in London than anywhere else, despite the transport system it has.

But what's happening outside London? Well, trying to get information out of bus operators isn't easy. Those that respond don't want to be quoted. However, it would seem that between 50 - 60% of the nation's bus fleet is currently SORNed. Heaven only knows what that figure is in the coach industry. The buses that are on the road have strict social distancing rules, so capacity is around 20% of usual. With the best will in the world no one can make any money operating at 20%, especially with the populace being told to avoid your product like the, well, virus. One manager told me today he thought the industry could bounce back well enough, and if this was to all finish tomorrow it might. But how long can it survive in its current guise? The State can't fund private operators ad infinitum so one of two things is going to happen. Firstly we see many independent operators fall leaving the big boys to pick up the choice cuts and abandon the rest, which is what they will do with their own routes anyhow. Buses will be for urban areas only, with rural services all but extinct. It is highly unlikely Councils will be adequately funded to subsidise any of the abandoned routes.

Or secondly the State will be forced to take the entire industry in house to guarantee services, which they won't as that would go against every Conservative sinew possible.

Add to that the current low public confidence in Public Transport and we have the perfect storm. If few people actually want to use buses why bother running them or indeed funding them? Key workers will suddenly seem less important - that process has already started - so we'll see a gradual yet definite and possibly terminal shedding of routes. I'm concerned to say the least. Any operator will tell you it's easy to lose passengers, but infinitely harder to win them back. If this new isolated way of life becomes the new normal, and let's face it, until the entire country has been vaccinated it will do, will anyone want to go back to the old ways? I really want to try out one of the new Caetano electric buses introduced in London this week, or find out just how loud the rattling on the new Excel Scania E400's is now, but genuinely can't see that happening this year. When transport has been your life for nearly half a century that's hard to take.

One other nail in the coffin of bus travel is the rural DRT and dial-a-ride services. Manned mainly by volunteers who can blame them for not wanting to put their lives on the line anymore, especially as their vehicles are the smallest and most enclosed of the lot. Getting those volunteers back in the same numbers won't be easy either.

There are lots of empty trains running we're all encouraged not to catch, and from tomorrow there will be even more of them. A slightly different situation financially from the buses as all rail services are run on behalf of the Government anyway, if not all by them. I don't think we'll ever see peak travel return to the old levels, as a lot of companies will realise having people work from home is mutually advantageous, and again social distancing means passenger capacity is greatly reduced. Except on the Underground, of course, which is where the Government's explicit and detailed advice of "following social distancing IF POSSIBLE" comes into play. In other words, "if you don't want to walk or cycle twenty miles then trust to luck". Again, outside London and the major cities it will be a confidence thing, and a conscience matter - after all when will it be morally acceptable to use public transport for leisure again? When will it be safe to travel in numbers again?

I can't see anything returning to its old self, be it the way we travel, the reasons we travel, or the way travel is operated and governed. Certainly my hobby has mirrored my dear old Mum - 3 months ago was in the peak of condition and is now a shell, staring blankly into space, not knowing or recognising anything, or aware of any future.

One last conundrum to ponder - when the schools go back presumably so will school transport. If school buses have the same social distancing rules as public buses that means 4 out of 5 kids won't be able to use them. If they don't have the same social distancing rules how will the Government justify it, or will that be the time they lift all social distancing measures on public buses and let everyone take their chances again? One to watch, I think.

Take care all, and stay safe, especially you wonderful folks keeping the wheels of the transport industry turning. I salute you all.

Ensign Family Values

Last night I received a message from Ross Newman, Director of just about everything at Ensignbus right now. He showed me a letter that had been sent to all the staff at Ensign. Regular readers will know the high esteem I hold Ensign in. If there's one thing I am proud this blog has achieved it's getting to know and be welcomed by these guys. The letter moved me to tears.

I asked Ross if I could publish the letter as with all the negative news about the way companies like Virgin, Wetherspoons and Sports Direct have treated their staff I thought it was important that as much of the world see how it should be done, and that there are companies who do treat their staff with compassion and huge respect.

I'm happy to say Ross has agreed to let me publish the letter. I urge all of you to publicise this post to as many as you can. This is how it's done. Thank you.


Today’s letter to everyone:

It’s fair to say the last few days have been like nothing we have ever known before. We understand the importance of sharing any updates we can but are mindful not to put out news that isn’t confirmed or is liable to change before being implemented so let me take this opportunity to bring you as up to date as we can.

Firstly, the all to obvious bad news. Being a fully commercial operation with no contracts that continue to pay even if we are not running our revenue has been decimated.

Private hires have dropped to zero with school trips, weddings and social gatherings all cancelled.

Service work saw revenue drop by around 60% before we went to an emergency timetable on Monday 23, with schools closed and businesses shuttered, clearly the service is now only for those that are key workers and need to travel and by operating it we are assisting them.

Bus sales are all on hold. Every operator in the U.K. has dozens of spare buses in their yards or have suspended their operations completely. Either way they don’t need replacement vehicles at this moment in time.

And now the good news, which I’m afraid is somewhat in short supply. The company was in a strong position before this chaos descended upon us. We have received positive soundings of support from the council towards the continued operation of the emergency timetable and Amazon have increased their requirements for both social distancing and extra staff needs.

Our priority, first and foremost is ensuring everyone’s safety and as such many workers have been sent home due to their own underlying medical conditions, their ability to be able to work from home, or simply as we want to reduce risk to you and others by having less people about.

Of course we know that the lack of work is of course a real concern to all of you and we want to do everything we can to ensure no employee at Ensign suffers undue financial hardship. As such everyone will be paid as normal this week and going forwards from then staff working as part of the skeleton team will be paid their wages as normal and in full for all hours worked.

Staff that we currently have no work for will be put on the ‘furloughed list’. This will allow us to claim back a proportion of your contractually based hours. However, we want to go further than that and have therefore provided more comfort as best as we can to try and further assist you and your families at this tough time. Therefore all furloughed staff will earn either 85% of their salary or 85% of their contracted hours. So, for example if you are on a 40 hour contract the government would assist us with paying 32 of those hours and we have added another two hours on top. Thus a 40 hour contracted worker on furlough will receive 34 hours pay. Obviously this pro-rata’s higher or lower based on your contracted minimum hours.

We believe that with the mortgage and tax holidays now available, no travelling or socialising costs etc. this level of income means you and your families can weather the storm with security.

Those of you that have been sent home without work will be added to the furlough list. Others of you will have been contacted by your line manager to explain the situation, others will remain working from home or indeed part of the team still ‘operating as normal’.

Years of operating a tight ship on costs and waste has put us in the position where it is possible for us to sustain this extra support for some time but should this shutdown last for an extended period we will of course have to review the situation again but we all hope dearly that does not become necessary.

It is often said that Ensign is a family and never have we felt that more keenly than in the last few days.  We have been overwhelmed and humbled by the offers of help and assistance from staff and can only thank you for the kind words which certainly helped stiffen our resolve to find a way through this. On a personal level Peter remains at home shielded due to being in a vulnerable age group, whilst Steve remains in isolation for a few more days after his youngest daughter showed symptoms.

It may well be the largest crisis we have ever had to deal with but Ensign has won many wars over the years and we have absolutely no intention of losing this one.

In these trying times the most critical thing is to keep family safe and for us that is a large family, the Ensign family. We remain committed to doing all we can to get through this and come out the other side stronger than ever before.

This Way Of Life Terminates Here

Hi everyone, sorry for the long gap - life has got a bit hectic, the storm before the enforced calm if you will. And in a matter of days the way of life, as we knew it, has changed, maybe forever. We are, effectively, at war. War with an invisible enemy who, left unchecked, has the potential to wipe out a proportion of the human population. It is already doing so in Italy, Spain, and Iran. It will do here unless people start taking it seriously.

In the last month the rail line to Berney Arms was re-opened. I was on the first train to stop there and it was great occasion. They may as well close it again. We are being told not to use public transport unless the journey is essential. There can be no possible "essential" journey to Berney Arms and anyone who gets the train there is putting others at risk. You can see from the header pic that more Class 745's are entering service. 745005 was the latest to enter on Thursday, and I've been told the last Class 90 loco hauled service will be tomorrow. Think on that. It was only two weeks ago I was told by a driver they expected the 90's to hang around till June. Now it's tomorrow. I'll try and find a very remote spot to take a pic, but it won't be a station, I won't attempt to travel on it, and that hurts. But since I had to pass through London on Thursday it would be highly inconsiderate of me to get close to any rail workers doing their best to keep the system going for those who really DO need to travel. But the fact it's happening speaks volumes, and suggests the reduced services starting tomorrow are here for a long time.

My mother is currently in assessment care in Kent, having been in hospital for 10 days after falling seriously ill with everything apart from Covid-19. Her assessment centre is in lock down, and I managed to wave at her through a window. As she's very confused right now heaven only knows what she's thinking, but I travelled down mainly to mothball her house until such time she needs it again as neither I nor my brother will be staying there as we have been over the last few weeks. It was the journey down that brought everything home to me. The 0740 Norwich to Liverpool Street normally carries well over 500 passengers. On Thursday there were 17 of us who travelled to London. 17 passengers on a 12 coach morning peak train. It was surreal.

Not wanting to use the Underground I doubled back to Stratford - which was busier than Liverpool St - and caught DLR to Woolwich. The Train Captains were chaining off the most popular seats at the front of the train and operating the doors from there, isolating themselves from passengers.

In Kent buses were being well used, and although the High St was quiet most of the shops still seemed well patronised. Not a patch on the shopping centres at Stratford, though, which were positively heaving as I journeyed home. The 1700 out of Liverpool St was busier than the journey up, but I reckon still less than 25% of its usual demand. I watched the train I alighted from at Darsham pull out the station, and wondered when my next trip on public transport would be. It won't be anytime soon. I have no need now. Cars are actually safer if travelling alone and if I really do need to get essential supplies I'll do it by road.

Eventually everyone else will get the message and public transport use will all but die. Who knows if it will ever recover to its former state. I doubt it. I was reading a blog by my good friend Roger French earlier, who suggested the only way forward would be to nationalise the rail and bus industries again until they were back on their feet, thus preserving jobs and services. I think he's right. Although this is an invisible war it is still a war, and wartime measures and thinking need to happen. If they don't then there will be no transport system to recover when this is over as everyone will have gone bust. Paying 80% of wages is one thing, but if there is no revenue coming in how are things like maintenance, fuel costs and insurance kept going? The State needs to take over and run all public services until the country has recovered enough to stand on its own to feet again - a bit like my poor old mum.

My heart goes out to everyone in the transport industry. I read a letter posted by Ensign the other day, apologising for having to cut services, and it almost broke my heart. There are people who have devoted their lives to the transport industry who are watching everything they have worked for come crashing down. The State owes them not only to save their operations, but to use their experience and wisdom to rebuild the transport network as and when the health issues allow. If they don't then everything could disappear outside London and other areas authority run.

When it does recover I can see changes to travelling behaviour happening that until the last few days would have been unthinkable. I was chatting to a couple of BTP officers at Liverpool St on Thursday, and we agreed that businesses would suddenly realise the value of employees working from home, the reduction of cost maintaining company premises, being able to downsize, and from the employees point of view the joy of the lack of daily commute, not to mention the cost and more time with their loved ones. We could see a huge reduction in demand at peak hours as businesses take stock and alter working practices.

Only time will tell, but in the meantime I urge anyone who doesn't have to use public transport not to. The fewer people that go out the harder it will be for the virus to spread. It's that simple. I'm listening to the traffic go by my window on a Sunday afternoon and wonder where the hell everyone is going - they can't all be hospital or other key workers.

To all my friends in the transport industry I'll be praying for you, everyone from MD's to cleaners. Thank you for what you're doing, those who will genuinely need your services will owe you a debt of gratitude, and let's all hope you are all still very much still doing what you do best long into the future. However, I do not genuinely need your services, so for the time being I'm putting the blog on ice. I won't be going out doing what I love - riding buses and trains - for who knows how long, until Government advise changes I guess, although if the last cl90 services is tomorrow then Greater Anglia don't believe this will be on the way out in 12 weeks anymore than the rest of us do. I'll still be active on Twitter (@busandtrainpage) so give me a follow there for any updates and what will be rare pics or vids.

Stay safe, be sensible, and we'll wait to see what colour light is at the end of this tunnel.