DfT makes commitment to legacy technology?

Good news for historians of t'interweb!

According to the Department for Transport...

The rail industry is to roll out high speed mobile broadband on the busiest parts of Britain’s rail network, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced yesterday.

Under the plans, 70% of the travelling public will benefit from the new technology by 2019, with passengers expected to begin noticing improvements to their journey during 2015. 

Hmm... 2019 is six years away.

So perhaps the equivalent of saying in 2007 that all trains will be fitted with cable or DSL access...

UPDATE: This from Steve Strong...

"Under the plans, 70% of the travelling public will benefit from the new technology by 2019"

Or 2021, obviously, if it is being delivered by Arriva Cross Country.

Arriva announces Dutch Cap on WiFi roll out!

This from Arriva...

December 2012 - Arriva Netherlands, the Dutch rail operator, is completing a rollout of wireless internet on all its trains through specialist provider Nomad Digital. A pilot of ten trains was first trialed early last year, and, following popular demand from passengers, the project has since been extended to fit Nomad wireless routers on its remaining 51 trains, as well as on an additional 38 new Stadler trains going into service at the end of this year. 

By January 2013, its entire fleet of ninety-nine trains will offer free passenger WiFi.

Alas, despite 'popular demand', Arriva Cross Country's class 170 fleet remains resolutely WiFi free.

Arriva XC meets WiFi obligations

This from CrossCountry...

With fitment on 221133 completed on 21st September, all CrossCountry Voyagers and HSTs now have WiFi installed (and working!).

Good news indeed!

But what's this?

Users of CrossCountry's WiFi are apparently unable to view Railway Eye!

No doubt a temporary technical glitch?

UPDATE: The Fact Compiler offers a mea culpa!

This post updated from a CrossCountry Voyager using the trains WiFi!

Access restored!

Stagecoach puts DB to shame!

This from the Mad Hatter...

According to EMT...

In just six months, East Midlands Trains has fitted WiFi onto all of its 27 Meridian trains and 11 HSTs. This means that all passengers travelling from stations on the mainline route to London including Sheffield, Chesterfield, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Market Harborough, Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough can now fully benefit from this new service.

Wifi in 6 months!

So why has the mighty Deutsche Bahn proven unable to do the same?

With the failure of WSMR, the takeover of Evergreen 3 by NR and Arriva Trains Wales now a five day railway is DB all it's cracked up to be?

Rather than assembling bid teams perhaps DB should devote additional resources to solving its current problems?

UPDATE: This from Mr Tuppence Worth...

Good work from Stagecoach.

However, those of us not having the luxury (?) of travelling in first class have to pay high fees for this service.

You can’t use it free for a limited amount of time and can only view EMT propaganda without paying up.

Indeed, if using it on a regular basis it would make far better sense to invest in mobile broadband – and you can use that elsewhere too.

One small thing though: is it the MML or those Meridians which mean mobile signals are dire when you Get On Board with EMT?

Arriva celebrates arrival of on-board WiFi

This from The Man by the Photocopier...

Well, well, well.

With just ONE CrossCountry Voyager finally equipped with wi-fi after years of franchise breach by Arriva in Britain, look what they've managed on the other side of the North Sea!

ARRIVA Netherlands launch on board WIFI service

Arriva Netherlands today launched their complimentary on board WiFi service providing on the move connectivity for the first time, much to the delight of their rail passengers.

As Arriva's Dutch Managing Director said:

"We are delighted to be able to offer our passengers such a high quality on board service, which will only enhance the journey experience."

Quite so.

UPDATE: This from a Virgin Twice Removed...

A Virgin chum travelled with CrossCountry last week and was delighted to see the pretty little light on his PC light up, suggesting that a WiFi signal was available.

Wondering why such a momentous event had taken place without fanfares and celebratory stickers appearing in the saloon he logged on…

Only to discover he was picking up the signal from an adjacent Pendolino set at New Street.

Perhaps in future Arriva XC should just advise "WiFi available when adjacent to Bendydildos."

Wifi finally appears on a CrossCountry train

First Arriva CrossCountry wifi enabled set in traffic.

As exclusively revealed by Eye on the 21st January and seen in service on Friday.


With a bowler tip to Is 1A03 out of Chester yet, Bert?

DB continues to view GB as second class market

This by way of a gratuitous dig at the WSMR closing, Class 66 exporting and WiFi avoiding Deutsche Reichsbahn...

In a major boost for rail passengers National Express East Anglia (NXEA) is to fully introduce wi-fi facilities on its Norwich to London intercity service from 1 February. The completed initiative will be formally launched by key representatives from the region’s business community on an NXEA intercity service on Tuesday 1 February.

Meanwhile, still nothing from Arriva Cross Country on when it might meet its franchise obligations...

CrossCountry finally fits WiFi to a train?

This from an Eye spy...

You might like to know that Cross Country unit 220030 has been fitted with trial WiFi in First Class and will be labelled internally next week.

Good news!

Reports on its effectiveness or otherwise most welcome.

West Coast franchise - and they're off!

This from Billy Connections...

The West Coast franchise documentation is now available on the DfT website.

For students of such things there is an interesting paragraph in the Pre Qualification Process Document:

In addition, the Department will assess any past failure to deliver on contractual commitments, including those of price and quality, whether arising from over-optimistic bidding or from poor management. In the case of rail franchise contracts this will apply to those let since January 2001. Where the Department considers that a severe incidence of failure to deliver contractual commitments may have occurred it will review the circumstances against the following four indicators: the significance of the contractual breach; the time elapsed since the breach occurred; the relevance of the circumstances to UK passenger rail franchising; and the materiality of any estimated financial loss to the taxpayer or counterparty. The Department reserves the right to exclude an Applicant where it considers that a severe past failure to deliver contractual commitments has occurred.

With DB owned Arriva having singularly failed to deliver the promised WiFi to Cross Country passengers will this rule out the Hunish Hordes from the West Coast competition?

If not then how big a "failure to deliver on contractual commitments" does a potential bidder have to make before it is barred?

UPDATE: This from Ithuriel...

For an exclusion to stand up in law, DfT will have to demonstrate a clear process for evaluating the significance of the 'four indicators'.

They can't just do a Lord Adonis in Peggy Mitchell mode rant, as with National Express East Coast and say 'You're barred'

Will there be a numeric scale, with each indicator scored and a maximum total above with bids will be excluded?

Should be worth half a million in legal and accounting fees making the exclusion process water-tight.

And since the Department is determined to have its revenge on Virgin, why isn't there a fifth indicator covering past negotiation with threats (Virgin's use of the PUG2 nuclear option) and a sixth for ungentlemanly behaviour (exploiting DfT's poor negotiating skills)?

A message to Berlin - Pull Your Fingers Out !

This from East Midlands Trains...

East Midlands Trains completes installation of WiFi on Meridian trains

Now that wasn't so difficult was it?

So DB, what precisely is stopping you doing exactly the same to the identical Arriva CrossCountry Voyager fleet?

Cross Country still in breach of franchise commitment

A pretty map has arrived in The Fact Compiler's inbox from retailing website mytrainticket.co.uk

But what's this.

Something is strangely missing from the list of TOC's providing on-board WiFi.

Eye wonders what it could be...


Perhaps time for DafT to stop pussy footing around and actually take meaningful action against DB owned Arriva Cross Country for breaching its franchise commitment.

Eye has something like this in mind...


Presumably swapping one nationalised operator for another won't be a problem?

Arriva Cross Country spanked for lack of WiFi

So. DfT has fined Arriva Cross Country for failing to install on train WiFi in breach of its franchise agreement.

Regular readers will be aware that Eye has often called for Arriva Cross Country to meet this particular commitment.

Finally, according to Monday's Daily Telegraph, the DfT has decided to act:

CrossCountry, which runs trains from Cornwall to north- east Scotland, has been fined for failing to provide WiFi.

And about time too.

Meanwhile what news on penalties for its other missing franchise promises, which were previously lauded on the Arriva XC website:

Introduction of five High Speed Train (HST) sets each with eight state-of-the-art refurbished coaches (total of 550 seats per set), providing longer trains with more seats and luggage space on the major North East-South West route... (Only two are in use every weekday and all sets are one TSO short).

High quality service on board:

• seat reservations within 10 minutes of a train arriving at a station (nope)
  
• introduction of at-seat catering, reflecting customer preferences (trolley usually stuck at the rear of standard class)
• Wi-Fi access for all seats on all HSTs and Voyagers, and improved mobile phone reception on Voyagers (mobile phone reception still dreadful)
  
• hot plated food available to First Class passengers (soggy cardboard is not a plate)
  
• three members of staff providing on board service on long distance trains (you're having a laugh)
  

Will DfT's new found boldness at enforcing franchise commitments stretch to enforcing penalties for the non-delivery of these as well?

UPDATE: This from @swlines, via Twitter...

Think 3 members of staff is met! Trolley, TM and FC host!

UPDATE: This from The Major...

I'm confused.

Far be it from me to doubt the Telegraph but the story appears to differ from the headline and gives no tangible evidence of the DfT fining Arriva XC.

It does have the DfT saying that it's taken action against XC but this could be a stiff letter rather than a fine.

Furthermore it notes that XC's deadline is September 30.

I'm sure XC deserve a fine but to levy it before the deadline is a little 'previous' particularly as my latest RAIL magazine (read in public placed within one's regimental journal) suggests that XC has yet to agree this deadline (hardly surprising I suppose).

And what is this wifi of which you speak?

I struggled for years with Button A and Button B...

UPDATE: This from Tony Miles...

Eye readers might be interested in this statement issued by the DfT last week:

"CrossCountry has been paying a Committed Obligation Payment Adjustment since the start of the year relating to WiFi. CrossCountry will continue to pay this until the obligation is satisfactorily completed."

Notes to readers - a COPA is affectively a fine, and is payed EVERY four weeks until the DfT is satisfied the TOC has met its contractual obligations.

In the documents released under the FOI request the DfT also assumes XC won't meet its obligations by September 30th.

WiFi on Arriva CrossCountry coming soon! Not.

Telegrammed by Wired William
Exciting news for Arriva CrossCountry passengers!

Regular readers will recollect that Arriva singularly failed to deliver on its CrossCountry franchise commitment to fit WiFi to their HST and Voyager fleets by the 11th November 2009.

So what has the supine DfT been doing to hold Arriva to account for breaching its franchise agreement?

A Freedom of Information request reveals errr.. not very much.

The released data contains myriad electronic and hard copy communications between DfT's Franchise Manager and Andy 'Duff' Cooper, the MD of CrossCountry.

Duff initially offered a range of excuses as to why Arriva should be able to shirk its franchise obligations, including offering up 3G as a jam tomorrow solution and then cheekily suggesting that the prevalence of dongles obviates any need for on-train WiFi.

A clearly exasperated DfT wrote to Arrive CrossCountry on the 2nd December 2009 instructing the franchise to implement WiFi by 31st January 2010.

Amusingly CrossCountry's Franchise and Internal Compliance Manager (sic) then penned the following to DfT:

"As it is not possible to install Wi-Fi in less than 2 months, we have been unable to meet that deadline."

This letter was dated the 26th February - almost a full month after the compliance date. Evidently Arriva holds the Department in high regard.

Finally DfT's Cross Country Franchise Manager wrote to Duff on the 7th May this year saying:

Franchise Agreement: Appendix 11 Part 1 paragraph 2.1 (b) (iii)

I refer to the above clause contained in the Franchise Agreement requiring CrossCountry to provide operational WiFI at all seats on its HST fleet by the revised delivery date of 31st January.

CrossCountry has failed to fulfil this Committed Obligation, and is in contravention of the Franchise Agreement. The DfT expects CrossCountry to meet all of its obligations to provide operational WiFi at all seats on both its HST and Voyager fleets.

Proposal

To enable realistic delivery of the HST and Voyager obligation and to include the obligations to offer complimentary WiFi to 1st class customers, the Department is prepared to agree to a revised delivery date of the 30th September 2010.

If CrossCountry would like to progress this proposal please advise me in writing so we can prepare the necessary documents.

Enforcement

The Department will take prompt enforcement action in respect of any future conravention. If Cross Country enters into this Contract Change and it appears likely at any time that you will not have complied with the relevant obligations by the new due date, the Department is currently minded to impose and enforcement order under section 55 of the Railways Act 1993, which may include a fine...

Fine words indeed!

But what's this?

As at the 6th August (the date of the last document released) the new date for WiFi fitment had still to be agreed by Arriva.

An email from Duff to DfT on that date contains yet more excuses as to why a date cannot be agreed, including:

• Consultants "applying for their own jobs" following a merger which prevented a technical workshop taking place until the end of August

• The need to secure a deal with REDACTED to secure better reception in Voyagers

• The need for a firm programme before agreeing a contract change

Whilst Arriva continues to drag its feet the DfT shows precious little sign of enforcing any penalty on the recalcitrant franchise.

Meanwhile EMT has already started rolling out WiFi on its Meridians (Voyager derivatives).

With Deutsche Bahn due to complete its takeover of Arriva at the end of this month Eye wonders whether Teutonic efficiency can deliver where CrossCountry management couldn't?

UPDATE: This from Gricer Central...

Could you explain the link with Class 47 diesel locomotives that earns Andy Cooper the soubriquet "duff"?

The Fact Compiler being an old phart believes that Cross Country trains should always have a Duff leading!

Golden Aerial awards - nominations requested

There is an open letter to Arriva Cross Country's MD over at John Popham's blog, with a bowler tip to @watfordgap.

In the letter John bemoans the lack of connectivity aboard Arriva Cross Country's Voyager fleet.

And he politely suggests that Arriva Cross Country "consider introducing signal boosters into Voyager carriages."

Now the Fact Compiler has used XC's Voyagers on numerous occasions and to be honest, he found them particularly good for both phone and mobile broadband connectivity.

At least they were, until a couple of weeks ago when they become as connectivity friendly as the dreaded Meridians and Desiros.

So John has a very good point, but it's not a problem that is restricted to Arriva Cross Country.

With this in mind Eye invites readers to suggest the best and worst TOC fleets for mobile working.

Eye will then award Golden Aerials to the best connected fleet (free wifi), Silver Aerials (paid for or no WiFi but your own kit can still pick up a signal) and Bent Aerials (train made of lead).

Eye's starter for 10:

Golden Aerials (free wifi)

• East Coast (HSTs and IC225s)
• Grand Central (HSTs)
• Heathrow Express (332s)
• Virgin (Pendolini - First Class Only)
• Wrexham and Shropshire (only on refurbished sets)
  

Silver Aerials (I can connect!)

• Arriva XC (HSTs)
• C2C (Electrostar 357)
• Charter Operators (Mk1s and Mk2s are pretty good)
  
• EMT (HSTs)
• FCC (319s)
• First Great Western (HSTs)
  
• Northern (14x & 15x fleets do connectivity)
  
• Southern (377s)
• South West Trains (159s)
  
• Virgin (Voyagers)

Bent Aerials (if the bomb drops I want to be sitting here)

• Arriva XC (Voyagers)
• EMT (Meridians)
• SWT (Desiros)
• Virgin (Pendolini - Standard Class)

Eye welcomes any additional contributions and suggested regradings.

UPDATE: This, via Twitter, from @SWLines...

Don't forget @WrexShropRail have free WiFi in all classes on all the refurbished sets. Dunno how many unrefurb left, though.

And you may care to point out that Arriva Cross Country promised WiFi in all Voyager and HST trains by 11th November 2009 (2 years into the franchise).

And so they did - naughty Arriva Cross Country! I wonder what the supine Department for Transport plan to do about that broken franchise promise?

UPDATE: This, via Twitter, from @Richard_Baker...

All virgin trains have orange signal boosters I think.

UPDATE: This from a Mr Willis...

I'd like to nominate First Great Western (HSTs) for a silver aerial - at least for most of the route between Paddington and Oxford.

There's a black hole somewhere in the Cholsey Gap...

UPDATE: This from Pendolino Warrior...

Phew,home at last and able to communicate with the world......reliably.

Virgin Wifi is slow and unreliable. It just can't take the demand placed upon it.

Effectively it ticks the box for Wifi on trains but does little more. It is provided by TMobile and can be very Germanic...


General Error advances west.

UPDATE: This, via Twitter, from @AMonkster...

As for dongles, c2c route fairly friendly.

Blackspots at Limehouse, East Ham, Dunton Bank and just west of Southend Central.

357014 is pilot free T-Mobile Hotspot. 357034 has trial signal dampener in the Quiet Zone to reduce no. of bars reception.

UPDATE: This, via Twitter, from @SWLines...

AFAICT XC ripped out boosters upon the franchise change as all stickers disappeared, instead of having VT reference removed.

UPDATE: This from Billy Connections...

Of course the East Coast WiFi is "first generation" with remarkably low data speeds and regular disconnections.

DOR "wonder-woman" Elaine Holt says one of her first priorities is to get it upgraded - but don't expect it to remain free of charge for Standard Class passengers.

Meanwhile over at Virgin people are finding better reception and less drop-outs on its SuperVoyagers.

Veteran operator Chris Gibb says this is because his 221s have a dedicated receiver for every vehicle, whilst the Pendolinos share fewer receivers and the signal, especially north of Crewe, gets lost more easily.

Finally WSMR may have free WiFi, but logging on requires the inputting of an email address and contact details.

Give it a couple of days and the mailshots will start arriving in your in-box... shameless!

UPDATE: This from Murray...

RE East Coast (HSTs and IC225s) - it may be free, but have you tried using it?

It is slow at the best of times, but on my last journey it crapped out at least six times between Edinburgh and London.

In most cases it was much faster to use my iphone & 3G even when the train wifi was "working".

You get what you pay for.

WiFi tangled web

Whilst the rest of the media swallowed whole Virgin's latest puff piece about the introduction of on-train wifi the geek press was not so easily spun.

So full marks to ZDNet for spotting the inconvenient fact that:

Virgin Trains Wi-Fi arrives one year late

Beardie Rail late - never!