teccuk wrote:This just in via 'passenger transport' the magazine for people who like graphs and bar charts about buses ....
Anyway. First are to drop their national brand in favour of specific west coast brand developed for the route. So no barbie pendolinos.
It would be interesting to know how valuable that brand actually is. Not enough, apparently.
Like most utilities and transport, the brand is only important to the marketing department ... First, like British gas and Barclays bank is increasingly toxic.
teccuk wrote:Geoghost Geo Ghost, I don't know how you guys do it...
Do what? Travel with First?
They are not as bad as people make out. I do have issues with them at times, but they are by no means the worst company to exist. However, like all companies, they are not perfect either No one is.
teccuk wrote:Geoghost Geo Ghost, I don't know how you guys do it...
Do what? Travel with First?
They are not as bad as people make out. I do have issues with them at times, but they are by no means the worst company to exist. However, like all companies, they are not perfect either No one is.
Ha. No. Know everything before its out there. I get told things in whispers by people who know, and i come here and its already common knowledge. Just a few months ago at this data thing, NR and others were getting all hyped up about allowing people to know where freight trains were on the network. Someone pointed out that any enthusiast worth his salt knew were they all were anyway.
I was social distancing before it was cool Formerly known as 47434
Last train journey I could be bothered to look up the headcode for: 04/02/2016, Mirfield to Batley, 2J34 1459 Huddersfield to Leeds, Northern Rail 144015
Glad to know. I assume DfT will re-run the competition, will FirstGroup be included? I also hope the government will refund any costs incurred to the TOCs in the cocked up bid.
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I'm glad that happened. Not that I love Virgin Trains or anything, but it just seems the way First won the bid was dodgy. As in "take a certain government minster or two to dinner, buy a new BMW here and there, and generally bribe the crap out of anyone important in the decision making" dodgy.
So 40 million to make a decision, and presumably another 50million to make the decision again with more scrutiny?
We're lining somebody's pockets, here. How hard can it be to go "okay, who's gonna give us some money and run some trains? Okay, you've said you'll increase capacity most and with a decent subsidy, you do it"?
I'm pretty sure a few sensible chaps could make the decision in a week, and for a damn sight less than 40 million.
