Yesterday brought the official announcement that GWR (Great Western Railway) is to be nationalised on 13th December. There was no surprise in this - it has been expected or even anticipated around that date.  It means that the First Group will no longer be our train operator in Melksham - rather our trains will be operated by DfT Operator Limited - a public sector operating company. The "Great Western Railway" name will remain as it's a trading name that's actually been owned by the government and licensed to First.  Our operating staff and their managers will be "TUPE"d (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) across to DFTO and we will initially see little change.  It's unclear to me as to who will transfer at Director level, who will remain with First group, and whether some will chose to move on, start a new career or retire.

I have made some very good friends over the years in First Group (on the bus side too) though not always been in total agreement with their or their company's decisions.  We have understood one another and co-operated in the promotion and improvement of the offering to passengers, explaining the apparently-perverse to the public where necessary, and pointing out to First elements which it's in the common interest to update.  Of late, there has been a regrettable but natural drift for the team at a management level to tow the government line even where it's not fully considerate of the customer's needs, and a tendency for things to get lost in the treacle of bureaucracy or perhaps be put onto a back burner so they can be an early-win success story for DFTO to help show the benefits of nationalisation.

Crystal Ball time - what might we see under DFTO - or in future years "Great British Railways" - the newly integrated single public sector organisation combining tracks and passenger train operation (not, you will note, freight train operation nor ownership of the trains, which will remain largely in the private sector)?

There will be no big windfall income to the government.  Profits to First Group on operations are only a couple of percent, and indeed there's a case for saying that this has been worth paying for their local skilled directors. There may be a saving on admin - things like delay attribution and planning with each train operator having its own team looking after its interests.  Some of that will remain - there will still be a need to analyse issues, and to make payments back and forth when a freight or open access train interferes with, or is interfered by, a nationalised one, or where the nationalised operator has an accident or event that damages one of the trains owned privately by a RoSCo (Rolling Stock Company).

We expect the branding to stay; it was deliberate that the GWR name was only licensed to First, and indeed we may see more branding.  HMG wants to move to "localisation" and we may see more rather than less of a postcode lottery on rail services; it's already notable that South Wales and the Bristol area have seen lots of new stations and improvements and lines, as has Devon, but in Wiltshire and Dorset the last brand new station opened was in 1937, with Melksham a sorta-new station in 1985 having been closed in overenthusiastic zeal 19 years earlier.  Service is still far thinner than it should be.

The rail fare system has grown over the years to the extent it's considered over-complex and not fit for future purpose; the problem has been how to sort that out without creating too many losers who will complain far into the future. An element of the same can be said for certain service patterns.  In both cases, some of the problems relate to multiple operators - it's been worthwhile searching fare databases for good deals set by different companies, for example, or to travel on one train operator rather than another.  There is scope for change, but from the evidence I see "simplification" can often mean the elimination of cheaper and more practical customer options for the "operational convenience" and better overall stats as seen by the Department for Transport. 

There is scope for improvement ... but risk of dumbing down to a basic standard.  How does a nationalised railway operator justify on-train restaurant car catering for example, when the kitchen space could be used for more seats?  And there is scope - governments seem to love it - for making things more complex.  Will bicycles and dogs continue to travel for free?  Or only be allowed on certain trains?  The free reservation system sorta-works but it generates nothing to pay for its operation, and results in lots of unoccupied seats.  Stations with low passenger numbers may be at risk - there are multiple closures proposed on the Bletchley to Bedford line at present and with - in the case of Bow Brickhill - no adequate replacement that I can see.  The jury is out - a golden opportunity, but also an opportunity to reduce to a very basic provision. Not always a problem if modern technology does provide a friendly alternative.

South Western Railway was nationalised a year ago ... and on 20th May, Andrew Ardley of SWR will be talking to the West Wiltshire Rail User Group in Trowbridge.  Easily reachable at the Bethesda Church Hall - 100 yards from Trowbridge Station, and timed for people arriving from and returning to other stations including Melksham and Chippenham.  SWR still have a few services to Warminster and Westbury, though they have "rationalised" away their services at Trowbridge and Bradford-on-Avon leaving those stations without any through trains from London.  It will be very interesting to hear what Andrew - a good friend over may years - has to tell us, including an update on what they are doing on their core line in the south of the county.

In amongst the "don't know" elements is the passenger voice and I worry if and how that will get due weight into the future.  We have good friends at Transport Focus which, however, has lacked authority.  Marketing words suggest a positive future for them, but from what I have seen the toothlessness may still remain.  We will see; as an advocate of public transport I really hope for a mainstream strong and informed passenger voice / advocate.

No conclusions here - an explanation, a look ahead into a rather foggy crystal ball, and an encouragement to come along on 20th May.  Join me on the 18:10 train from Melksham; return on the 21:22 from Trowbridge.

 
This is an interesting read, on Twitter/X, the first post is below


https://x.com/noeldolphin/status/2052784732102877671?s=61&t=VlafMC5gF9tidw36b1Y8JQ

 
Also available on Bluesky (unless someone has an account, X is pretty much a closed book, Bluesky's essentially a public web site.)

Mark

https://bsky.app/profile/noeldolphin.bsky.social/post/3mle5putw6c2j

 
First thing to state is that DfTO confirmed that there would be one GBR overall branding eventually - although the names may remain on those brandings. To commence once all TOCs are nationalised.

GWR Churchward not likely to happen until "the mid-2030s"

 
I often write to help me remember, and to clear fact in my head by putting them down "on paper". I publish / comment where that may be of even minimal benign interest and - I admit - I do love (and thank you) for the odd bit of feedback.  Just occasionally, something takes off.  Late last week (Friday announcement - they usually are) was that our train franchise / operating contract will move from the commercial company First group to a government company on 13th December, and I explain on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/graham.ellis.melksham/posts/pfbid02LaM9mBLwKh6E8aP2ctVt1Cwz83p5C1GQUpCWGPgjkiALwdDPQWEQHuoQq5jG5k9bl and shared on our forum at https://www.passenger.chat/r32002.html a sorta-explanation of what it might mean, what some expectations are, and what it might mean in practise. 

Reducing it down to most basic terms, it's going to be very much down to government decisions, and decisions by their now-civil-servants who know (or don't know) what they are doing, and political direction / interference with things like stop-go funding and popularity aspects as to where it goes, and how much is left to the best people to chose in many cases with some potentially hard decisions that not everyone agrees.

My forum post has been read 407 times as I write, my Facebook post has had an astonishing 91,000 views from an estimated 57,000 people - and with 4,500 clicking through to read it and nearly 100 comments so far in addition to "likes",  suggesting I have hit a nerve.  Thank you for the comments - they are so valuable and they help inform me so much better of the mood and thoughts of interested parties, and over the next couple of days, I'll be looking ahead as to what may and may not occur.  There is evidence, by the way, that the numbers are genuine; 97% from the UK which I would not expect where I simply being harvested by automata for search engines and AI, and the depth of replies on Facebook confirm I have really reached new readers.   

Perhaps this bodes well for the future - confirms there is a broad spectrum, of interested and concerned parties out there willing to express their views and inputs.  On a personal note, it confirms that I am something of a minor influencer and nothing more I love than to see (for example) our local train working.  On Thursday, about 5 p.m., I got off the train at Swindon and was approached by a chap returning to Melksham / Trowbridge / Westbury.  "Are you Graham Ellis" he asked, and when I confirmed he thanked me - right back to out petition 20 years ago and all the other activities that have helped up have *that* service he was about to use.  Of course, I don't actually run the trains, and I have many, many people who help - I am a bit of a figurehead - but it really gives me a warm feeling of being part of achieving something and make my activity worthwhile.

 
The Melksham campaign was gratifyingly far-reaching (not least that it was audible from far and wide). Hearing of the campaign I recall a rail trip to Melksham to attend a produ tive meeting you hosted in your training room, it's really good that the campaign reminded the industry of what it needed to be doing (even if one of the things the Melksham service needs - and indeed the benefits would be more widespread - that is, more appropriate infrastructure to provide for the traffic the line's handling even at the present day not to mention its potential).

Then... the forum... finding that the thriving Bristol - Waterloo service that I used regularly, and earmarked by the previous franchise for increased provision as it obviously had unmet potential - was about to go in the bin completely, courtesy of the DfT and their friends in the viral community, putting an ear into the forum the impending demise of the service seemed to be rather flying under the radar both within this forum and within various railway support and promotion groups - something that quickly changed. Even though the DfT was unable to swallow its pride and the Bristol - Waterloo service went, I'm still very grateful to all the people who spoke up and worked in support of changing that decision. Given the changes to travel patterns served by the railway I'm hopeful that the railway industry has this service on a peg somewhere and ready to be taken down off the wall - it's a good fit for this "Less commuting / more travel to education / travel to friends / travel for events / travel for tourism / car-free travel / travel that meets accessibility needs" interlude.

Mark

 
Unfortunately, cost cutting is likely their first starter-for-ten, so don't expect additional services anytime soon - especially those that can still be travelled with a change of train. You might persuade (if you can find anyone to talk to with any clout) them to timetable the change better

 

Pity porterbrook haven't fitted a class 350/2 with batteries and 3rd rail does as a demonstrator for the north downs line

 
Yup, the DfT that, presented with the 'Opportunities' of a rebuilt London Bridge station, thought it was an opportunity to cut services,  tidy up the use of the crossover at Lewisham - and also ramp up the number of passengers that needed to use London Bridge as an interchange, severing a slew of through services to places that people want to go (no offence intended, Cannon Street). Said changes were grudgingly and very partially rolled back, but South Eastern services there are still not what they were.

It would be rewarding for the likes of the following approach - an inclusive strategy scorecard - to have a variety that takes a deep dive into rail transport and evaluated the network for improvements in the routes it offers - e.g. interregional services have dwindled but that's not always as a result of decline in popularity and passenger numbers. Useful for everyone and particularly useful for two groups: 'Encumbered travellers' and disabled people.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-transport-strategy-scorecard/inclusive-strategy-scorecard-summary-of-key-changes-between-2019-and-2023

Mark