Let battle commence

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago Stagecoach Devon would be going into direct completion with there rivals First Devon and Cornwall. It was announced that Stagecoach would launch new route X45 Plymouth-Paignton which runs exactly the same route as First’s route X80

Stagecoach has done this because of First increasing the frequency of the route between Torquay and Paignton. Both companies run the same type of bus though First’s are a bit newer so one will win there. They both run the same frequency as well. But the loyalty of the customers is at the moment with First as Stagecoach has never even come here before. And First are offering the journey for cheaper. First have advertised this at Paignton bus station owned by Stagecoach giving hand outs out about there cheaper fares cost in £1 cheaper than Stagecoach. This resulted in the Police being called in as Stagecoach thought they were breaching the peace.

Virgin bites the dust

Today the department of transport announced that Virgin would no longer be running the service that they currently run in the countryside. This was given to the European wide company Arriva branding it as 'CrossContry'.

Arriva plc, one of Europe’s leading bus and rail operators, today welcomed the decision of the Department for Transport (DfT) to award it the new Cross Country rail franchise.
The Cross Country network is the most extensive rail franchise in the UK. Stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance, and from Stansted to Cardiff, it covers around 1,500 route miles and calls at over 100 stations.

Arriva will run the franchise under a new CrossCountry brand and livery. The centre of operations will be in Birmingham, at the heart of the network and the largest city served by it.
Arriva’s successful bid for the franchise featured the following benefits for travellers:

35 per cent increase in seating capacity in critical evening peak on principal routes by June 2009

At-seat catering on all routes, for all passengers, not just First Class

Radical improvements in ticketing and reservation booking, including home printing of tickets and tickets by mobile phone, with discounted tickets available much closer to the start of travel

Investment in improved rolling stock, with all other trains refurbished to the standard of the popular Voyagers

The reintroduction of HSTs to provide 550-seat trains on busy routes

Wi-Fi available to all Voyager and HST passengers, free in First Class.

The franchise will run from 11 November 2007 to 31 March 2016, with the last two years and five months conditional upon achieving agreed performance targets. Annual revenue is expected to exceed £600 million in its first full year, including franchise support payments which reflect the current inability of the franchise to cover its operating costs through fares alone. However, by supporting growth in passenger numbers and improving the quality of services, Arriva is committed to reducing government support on the franchise to almost zero before the end of the franchise.

Arriva will make cheaper fares easier to obtain closer to the point and time of travel. Saver tickets will continue to be available on relevant services at regulated prices. Whilst prices of the most flexible, full-price fares will rise by an average of 3.4 per cent above RPI, becoming more focused on those who need the added value of maximum flexibility in their travel plans, almost all travellers will have lower-cost alternatives.

David Martin, Arriva’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen to operate this major franchise, which advances Arriva’s UK rail presence significantly.
“The Cross Country network has many existing strengths but our stakeholder research has helped us to pinpoint important areas where we can improve the passenger experience and make the business more efficient. Our proposals and substantial targeted investment will make rail travel more attractive and support growth in passenger numbers by increasing seating capacity.

“Arriva’s new Cross Country operation will support growth in regional travel by rail, help to ease congestion and contribute to improving the UK’s environment. With innovations in technology, and expertise which benefits from our existing success in rail operations in the UK and across mainland Europe, we are confident of meeting both rising demand and passengers’ rising expectations for quality of service. With franchise support payments almost eliminated by the end of the term, we are confident of providing an excellent result for the taxpayer as well as improved services for passengers and a reasonable expectation of fair returns for the risks borne by our shareholders.”
Website link: http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/

Notes to Editors

Arriva is one of the largest private sector providers of passenger transport in mainland Europe, employing more than 34,000 people and providing more than one billion passenger journeys every year.

Arriva provides transport services including buses, trains, commuter coaches and water buses in nine European countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Operations in a tenth country, Poland, are due to start later this year.

Arriva’s rail services operate in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK with Polish services scheduled to start in late 2007.

Franchise Highlights

More and better trains:
35% increase in seating capacity in critical evening peak on principal routes by June 2009

Nearly 20,000 extra seats through Birmingham every weekday

Introduction of five High Speed Train (HST) sets each with eight state-of-the-art refurbished coaches (total of 550 seats), providing longer trains with more seats and luggage space on the major North East-South West route

Longer Voyager trains on other key services

Internal reworking of Voyager and Class 170 fleets to meet customer priorities for more seats and more luggage space

Additional services to base service pattern providing through journey opportunities between

Edinburgh and Reading, Bournemouth and Newcastle, and Penzance and Manchester

Additional late evening services to and from Stansted Airport

High quality service on board:

Introduction of at-seat catering, reflecting customer preferences

Wi-Fi access for all seats on all HSTs and Voyagers, and improved mobile phone reception on Voyagers

First Class accommodation on all trains, including ex-Central Trains service

Hot plated food available to First Class passengers

Three members of staff providing on board service on long distance trains

Staff more accessible and visible to passengers

A ticketing and information revolution:

Centred around a new internet retailing service, providing:

Easy to use service, guiding towards the cheapest fares and best interchange options

Print at home and mobile phone ticketing

Personalised journey information, with text updates on itinerary

Wider and better information on stations and connecting transport services

Flexible reservations systems to cope with late changes to journey plans
£1 million investment in more ticket machines and information screens at key stations
Information campaign on alternative locations (to Birmingham New Street) for interchanging between trains

Additional staffing to provide help and assistance during December 2008 timetable change

A railway contributing to environmental improvements:

Training staff in environmentally-friendly ways of working

Reducing on-board waste and increasing recycling

Cooperating with industry and Arriva initiatives to develop alternative fuels

Encouraging modal shift to rail by providing more trains with more seats

A secure railway:

Introducing a new ‘Secure Trains Scheme’ to give passengers confidence about their on-board security

Working with industry partners to extend Secure Station Accreditation across key

CrossCountry calling points

Employing additional security staff

Staff and stakeholders:

£1.4 million to be invested annually in staff training and development
Regular employee surveys

Consultation on new staff uniforms

Regular stakeholder events across the whole franchise area

Stakeholder and customer consultation on restructured December 2008 timetable

Source from Arriva website.

Virgin responded to the decision with this:

Virgin Rail Group (VRG) said today it was extremely disappointed at the announcement by the Department for Transport (DfT) that its bid for the New Cross Country franchise was unsuccessful.

The DfT announced that Arriva plc has been awarded the franchise to operate the New Cross Country franchise from 11 November 2007.
Commenting, Tony Collins, VRG's Chief Executive, said today: "We are understandably extremely disappointed at today's announcement and will be seeking an early meeting with the DfT to understand why we were unsuccessful. Our bid was extremely competitive, built on our experience of operating the CrossCountry franchise for the last ten years, during which time we almost doubled the number of passengers and increased performance to regularly exceed 90%. We attempted to strike a balance between an affordable and deliverable deal for the taxpayer, and continuing the high quality customer service that Virgin CrossCountry has created."
Despite today's announcement, VRG confirmed it would continue to operate the Virgin CrossCountry franchise to the highest standards until the 11 November handover. Chris Gibb, Managing Director of Virgin CrossCountry, said: "Our aim through our people has always been to provide the best possible service to our customers and we will continue to do this to the end of our franchise. Although November will mark the end of Virgin's stewardship of CrossCountry, the new franchise will build on the legacy of our investment in new trains and improved services, and the skills, experience and loyalty of our people: skills that will be invaluable to the new operator when they begin the New Cross Country franchise."
Today's announcement has no effect on Virgin Trains' other franchise, West Coast, which runs services from London Euston to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, North Wales and Glasgow. The current Virgin CrossCountry tilting services between Birmingham, the North West and Scotland will transfer to Virgin West Coast in December.

Source from Virgin website.

New buses at A-Line

As promised here are the pictures of the new A-Line buses. The whole set is avalible at www.ptotpa.fotopic.net
Local bus company A-Line Travel of St John have recently been going through fleet modernisation by acquiring two new buses to replace other agingvehicles in the fleet currently in storage with no MOT. The first to be acquired was ex-Williams coach E920 EAY a Volvo B10M with Plaxton Paramount bodywork replacing the oldie faithful C-Reg Bedford, which will be used on the Torpoint school run between Cawsand and Torpoint and on other coach trips, as well as private hire as has recently been used for the children of Fourlanesend school on one of her first trips. The second bus is ex Rigg’s Minibuses of Swansea a Mercedes 709 registration M152 LPL. This will replace the ex-Southern Vectis Iveco J238 KDL and another will follow to replace another Iveco J234 KDL. This bus will therefore run the service 80 Cawsand to Cremyll and the 270 Cawsand to Trago Mills. I say very good choices have been made. Well done A-Line Travel!

Lucky old Pont L'Abbe

It was announced in March that the Pont L’Abbe would have her charter extended until 2009. But the ex-Duke of Scandinavia on charter from DFDS has been extended so that she will now run Plymouth-Roscoff until late 2008 and then will transfer to run Portsmouth-Cherbourg until the completion of the new multi-million pound new vessel the M/V Bretange which will take over the running of Pont L’Abbe. Pont L’Abbe will leave here in 2008 to make way for the brand new vessel the M/V Armorique costing 110 million pounds which pictured to the left. So therefore Pont L’Abbe could be still running until 2010. So she is saved by the skin of her teeth again.

Torpoint fleet list correct today

Leyland Olympian ECW Gardener 6LXB 1984
Registration Fleet number Name
C409 HJN 34809
C412 HJN 34812
C413 HJN 34813
C417 HJN 34817

Dennis Trident East Lancs Transbus 2004
WA54 OLN 32759 Swan
WA54 OLO 32756 Heron
WA54 OLP 32757 Cormorant
WA54 OLR 32760 Spoonbill
WA54 OLT 32758 Egret

Dennis Dart MPD Plaxton Cummins 1998
S764 RNE 40002 Kingfisher

Mercedes Vario Plaxton Mercedes 1998
S407 GUB 50301
S412 GUB 50306
S529 RWP 52529

Enviro 400 modle to be made

Sorry I have not posted for a while school has been getting in the way a bit.

Very recently it has been announced that there will be models made of the hugely popular park and ride Dennis Enviro 400s. This was announced on First Devon and Cornwall’s official site that the models will be made by the very good model makers ‘Creative Master’ the same people who made the model of the Tamar link Dennis Dart which had as fine detail as adding the actual notices that were in the bus at the time pictured to the left. The model will be avalible in Antics for £30 or at the first travel shops for the same price. It is a limited edition.

34002 working hard abroad

First Devon and Cornwall recently took the decision to send away Torpoint’s only Volvo Olympian 34002(K802 ORL). 34002 had not been with Torpoint all that long. She came in late early 2006 where she replaced 38846 and 38847 two of the three remaining Bristol VRs. Though she was quite an unreliable bus (phrases like “She spends more time off the road than on the road” and “Shocking”) she in my opinion was the best bus at Torpoint when the VRs had gone. She had a 300hp engine and lovely coach seats. But early this year she was sent away to Laira depot to undergo a major overhaul to iron out her problems (see issue 002). I remember the first few days, she was on my route, just amazing compared to the Leyland Olympian she used to roar up the hills, but now she is used on X80 but is actually based in Callington. Good luck 34002.

52529 returns from the dead.

Sorry I have not posted for a while.

It was reported last week by me that one on the three Mercedes Varios of the First Devon and Cornwall Torpoint fleet 52529 (S529 RWP) was written off in an accident. It was found out that the crash happened with a car on a single track lane on a blind bend in between the villages of Widegates and Horningtops near Liskeard. It was reported that speed and the narrowness of the road were factors which left no time for the bus or car to avoid the accident and no space for either of the vehicles to dive out of the way. After the accident 52529 limped in tatters to Laira depot where it was thought that she would be scrapped But no. First Devon and Cornwall took the decision to renew the front of the bus, change the old wind blind for an LCD blind and give her a complete repaint. Very unusual for a big bus company but none the less very noble. Let’s just hope this does not happen again on new route 181.

Train mess up

First Great Western Recently announced the new timetables and routes of the lines. But incorrect information was published saying that there was a train line to Falmouth that doesn't exist. The picture I have included is one of the only two DMUs that have been repainted into First livery from Wessex Trains livery.

A-Line travel gets a new bus

A-Line travel has recently bought a E reg Volvo B10M with PLaxton Paramount bodywork that seeing the withdrawal of his old Bedford pictured above. Sorry I haven't got a picture of the new or should I say old coach but it is being used on the Torpoint school run and on the Falmouth trips. He has also told me he will be replacing his ex-Southern Vectis Ivecos likely with some Mercedes 814D/811Ds . I will bring you more information on this as it comes.

New liveries

I have been trying to get a picture of the new branded Plymouth Citybus buses in the Plymouth Citybus livery but I do live at least an hour away from where they run and there is only three of them and I usually have a ride on the Enviro 200s as 34 is the route I use I don't often get to see them. But yesterday and the day before luck struck but my camera didn't so I didn't get a picture of the Recycle liveried one but did get one of the Plymouth Sound one. And note I don't know why but all the special liveried buses now have the normal citybus livery on the front.

Bus shortage at Torpoint and its good night from her

I only found this out today but news in that Torpoint Mercedes Vario 52529 has been written off iin a crash on new route 181 near Liskeard aftere a collision with a car at a Junction. I hope to get more news on this and maybe a picture but I have been told that she is in Laira Bridge depot at the moment. This leaves just two Tamar Link liveried Mercedes Varios.

Torpoints oldest Leyland Olympian 30065 has left and has been transfered though I do not know where yet I hope to be able to update you on this. For some reason the picture won't load of this so I am providing a link below. http://www.ptotpa.fotopic.net/p39678785.html

34002 Torpoints only Volvo Olympian has been transfered now to Callington.

And last week over the course of just a few days three of the Dennis Tridents all of a sudden became unreliable and broke down. All three had to be taken into Plymouth to be fixed.

No sale for Citycoach

Plymouth Citycoach has recently announced that the company will not be selling the company. Back in February Plymouth Citycoach announced they were going to sell up because of problems with trading conditions and rival companies.

But Plymouth Citycoach have had many complaints from its loyal costumers wanting the services they provide kept.

But the company has announced it will keep going after a talk with their supplier VHE ltd.

So they will keep going but with a reduced fleet of buses and they are reling on the loyalty of all its costumers to keep them going.

Optare Solo for Torpoint

Yesterday I was told by a school girl that an Optare Solo was in Torpoint depot on school duties. This has now been confermed by her and another person as 53108/ EO02 FLH which has been painted into First livery and brought down from Essex. Apparantly the Optare Solo is acctually causing trouble. Luke Farley has been told my his sister (Bonnie Farley) that the Solo was doing the school run to Cremyll but it is usually an Olympian, they had to use a Trident which was doing the Millbrook run aswell. So then they parked at Trigantle fort and waited for 81C which was an Olympian to come so they took the kids off the Trident and the solo. Put the 81C passengers on the solo put the Cremyll people on the Olympian and put the Millbrook on the Trident so it sounds quite hectic. The buses were probebley over the limit. But the Solo probebley doesn't have a ferry lift yet so is eighter going to have to go al the way round the bridge again to get its ferry lift or be used on school runs and 181 which don't use the ferry. Onlt time will tell.

C417 HJN

Today I had my first ride on Torpoint's new Leyland Olympian C417 HJN (34817) And I can report to you she is a lot nicer in condition that the other Olympians at Torpoint. She has grey seat covers. None of them teared they are all in brilliant condition. There is no scratches or bumps on the bodywork so they must be doing something right up country. The gearbox and engine are working very well very smooth changes and a very good sounding engine which I will upload a video soon. She blasts up the hills even better than the old VRs used to (I am sorry to say). So all in all she is a very good bus. Sad to see her be thrashed and trashed on this route now and with the school kids.

And today I saw Torpoint's Leyland Olympian 34813 on the 7A. So she is having a holiday. I am sure it is the equivalent when you work so hard on route 81B/C.

Sorry I have not done the story about the boats yet I am finding more relevant news to the area but it will eventually happen I promise.

Cawsand Community bus on the mend

Hello. Sorry I didn't post yesterday. As Luke hijacked my blog again I thought that would be enough.

Today passing Willcocks and Broad's garage in Millbrook I spotted that the Cawsand Community bus was in the garage. It is currently having its MOT and some mechanical part replaced but I don't know what it is.

Just to tell you a little bit about the bus it is a she is a 'Y' reg Mercedes Sprinter with the best 413 turbo diesel engine. Registration Y194 BAF. She can seat 17. She became our community bus at the start of last year when we bought it from Downderry and District Community bus. It had been used daily or near that since new as they used the bus for the school run and trips very often. She is a very good bus compared to the old LDV also pictured but is proving to be very expensive to maintain and run so the charity is finding it difficult to fund it. It is at the moment do as many trips as possible and run as many coffee mornings as possible. I myself preferred the LDV.

S536 RWP at Torpoint

One of the last vehicles in the fleet to retain the 'barbie 2' colours is S536 RWP (52536). The vehicle has been operating Torpoint services recently, and is pictured opposite Torpoint depot on June 4th.

Text and image by Luke Farley

C417 HJN arrives at Torpoint

Ex-Bristol based Leyland Olympian, C417 HJN (34817) has arrived at Torpoint. It is fitted with an LED destination display, and is painted in a non-standard variation of First colours. The bus is pictured at Torpoint depot on June 4th.

Photos and text by Luke Farley

81C

Here we are a picture of 32759/WA54 OLN/Egret on the 81C passing Cawsand fort.

Because it has been a Trident on mine and Luke's pictures of 81C I think but am not sure that all 81Cs might be excluded from Anderton. I will find this out tommorow on my first trip on 81C

I am back!

Hello. I have returned from my week in France so I won't have much news from the area so I might talk about french public transport a bit.

Firstly I would like to publicilly thank Luke Farley for covering for me while I was away. It all seems to have gone well.

At 9:54 I am going to go and take my first picture of 81C and I will publish this soon after.

What I do think is that French Public transport is rubbish. I was going to have a trip on one but there was no bus near me and I can't speak french. But there arn't any anyway. There are loads of bus stops but no buses for them to stop at. I did pass one depot at about 9:00 so the rush hour and the depot was full. All the buses were sitting there idel and the bus station was desurted. The only place i did see a bus network all be it 5 frequent routes was in the town of Quimper. There was not even any or very few the the capital of Brittany Vannes. But the Quimper buses are quite nice. One is pictured above. I would say around 50% of the buses there were gas powered. So we are quite far behind in that aspect But hardley any of the buses are low floor so we are ahead on that aspect. And really that is about it except a ferry company which I will talk about tommorow and one of them is pictured above.