First Capital Connect : The Filth and the Fury

The fury is us. The users of the service. If you read this blog to the end, you'll probably have some idea who I think "The Filth" are. This blog is a roundup of the two debates in Parliament about Thameslink and the First Capital Connect route. I've read the minutes for both debates and there were some stark and revealing issues raised.

I've long had reservations about the ability of First Capital Connect to operate an efficient service, but I'd not considered whether we were actually safe on the trains. Are we risking our life and limb? Like me you may have wondered about the recent spate of lineside fires. I couldn't understand how you could get a lineside fire in a sealed tunnel, such as happened recently near City Thameslink.I read this horrific passage in the debate on the Thameslink route in Parliament on 2nd Feb. Mr Kelvin Hopkins MP said this :-

One other point is that there are signalling and electrical power problems. Already there have been line-side fires in the tunnel between Farringdon and City Thameslink. That, I understand, is caused by arcing from the third rails, because the delivery for electricity to those tracks is at one end of that section of track rather than, typically, in the centre, which means that the voltages must be higher to drive the current longer distances.

From Mr Hopkins comments, it appears that there is a system problem, making that part of the network prone to fires. I don't know about you, but to me the concept of tunnels, fires and packed commuter trains sounds like a rather dangerous mix.

There was another debate yesterday (3rd Feb) which had been arranged by Anne Main MP, specifically about the FCC service. There were some rather interesting points raised here. One which seemed to sum up the inefficiency was a comment by Lib Dem MP Paul Burstow.

It is not just that trains have been delivered late; they are not delivering the service they are meant to deliver. I gather that at the moment, First Capital Connect trains, the 377s, are breaking down after every 6,000 miles, compared with Southern, which runs the same trains and seems to keep them running for 22,000 miles before they break down. Surely that is another example of how incompetent the company is.

I wasn't aware of the huge difference in the reliability of the same trains on different routes. Why on earth should the trains be nearly 4 times more reliable on the Southern Route? In the same debate, Luton MP Kelvin Hopkins also commented on the apparent ruses used by First Capital Connect to avoid financial penalties. Yet again the commuter is the one to suffer :-

Moreover, we have a delay attribution system. If a First Capital Connect train is late there may be a delay in its connection with an East Midlands train, which then might have a problem connecting with a cross-country route in, say, Sheffield, and people will miss their connections. If the fault is traced back to First Capital Connect, it can be fined. So First Capital Connect goes out of its way to ensure that it is not blamed, because it does not want to be fined, but someone has to pay somewhere.

This presumably is why some trains are suddenly run through as fast trains. Yet again, the root cause is that FCC don't want to be penalised financially. Mr Hopkins added

The former rail regulator, Tom Winsor, said in this building, in my hearing, "When BR handed over the railways to the privateers, they were handed over in good order." He is not a dyed in the wool socialist like me; he is an objective observer who was a regulator. He also said that British Rail worked miracles on a pittance. It was desperately underfunded, but it still managed to run a railway.

In other words, dodgy companies like First Capital Connect have transformed a functional system into a shambles. Nadine Dorries, MP for Bedford summed it up :-

Moments before we came into the debate, we received an almost self-congratulatory e-mail from First Capital Connect, which announced that there were only 135 cancellations in the week from 25 to 31 January. It is almost as if those cancellations were the only issue, but as my hon. Friend says, they force more people on to fewer trains, making people late and making their journeys incredibly uncomfortable. "This is the best ...performance...since May 2009.".

The bottom line though is that after 2 debates in 2 days, it is clear that the Government couldn't be bothered to do anything. Reading the minister, Chris Mole MP's comments, it is clear to me that he is completely useless. A remedial plan is in place until the next major disaster. It seems that the Government are buying the line that First Capital Connect are doing well now. I suppose if you accept that lineside fires, 135 cancellations a week, timetable manipulation, driver shortages (they still don't have the right number of drivers), passengers packed like sardines have no relevance to the debate they are doing OK. What I found extremely upsetting was the fact that none of the MP's in Barnet, all of who represent passengers who use the line, made any contribution to these debates. During the debates there were great contributions from Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem and Independent MP's. Sadly those in our Borough couldn't be bothered. Is it because they all have second homes and so never actually use the line? Is that why they don't care.

What more can I say, other than to give you the highlights of this mornings delays. Enjoy ....

07:24 Brighton to Bedford due 10:08
This train has been delayed and is now 22 minutes late from Gatwick Airport.
This train has been revised.
It will no longer call at: St Albans City, Harpenden, Luton, Leagrave, Harlington and Flitwick.
This is due to signalling problems.
Message Received: 08:28:41 04/02/2010
          
07:28 Rochester to Bedford due 09:52
This train has been delayed and is now 10 minutes late from Rochester.
This is due to congestion caused by earlier delays.
Message Received: 07:52:38 04/02/2010
       
07:50 Brighton to Bedford due 10:22
This train has been delayed and is now 11 minutes late from East Croydon.
This is due to earlier signalling problems.
Message Received: 08:47:46 04/02/2010
       
08:18 Bromley South to Bedford due 09:58
This train has been delayed and is now 15 minutes late from Elephant & Castle.
This is due to an earlier broken down train.
Message Received: 08:42:16 04/02/2010