The figures quoted in today’s BBC story seem to bear out my claim with St Albans annual season tickets coming in at 31 pence per mile travelled.

Of course there are the oddities – the absurdly expensive Heathrow Express and the infamous tube journey from Covent Garden to Leicester Square which was always supposed to be more expensive per distance covered than Concorde.  My concern is for standard commuter journeys which people have to use every day.

As I told the BBC, we are paying Rolls Royce prices but not getting the Rolls Royce.   I welcome any thoughts on the appropriate car model which best describes the Thameslink experience!

PS I blogged before Christmas about my meeting with rail minister Norman Baker, where I put on the table a dossier compiled by two local commuters on their recent daily experiences of First Capital Connect.  Norman promised to pass it to Tim O’Toole, chief executive of First Group, the parent company of FCC.  This has resulted in a five page letter of explanation from Mr O’Toole which Norman Baker forwarded to me today.  When I have digested its contents, I will report on them here.

What this means is that they have issued an “OJEU Notice” – ie it has been advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union, as is mandatory for all public procurement.

This minimum seven-year franchise will:

• include all services that are currently operated by the First Capital Connect (FCC) franchise from September 2013;
• at a point between April and December 2014 the franchise would include some services currently operated by Southeastern. These services would be all those that are jointly operated by FCC and Southeastern at present, and some further current Southeastern services which may be transferred to enable the implementation of the full Thameslink service operations;
• include all the services operated by the current Southern franchise at some time between July 2014 and July 2017;
• operate until 2020 (unless the Secretary of State exercises her contractual rights to extend beyond this date) allowing for the Thameslink programme infrastructure works to be completed, the new Thameslink programme rolling stock to be fully deployed, the new train control systems to be commissioned and the future Thameslink timetable to be implemented.

Using 2010/11 data, the APTU calculates this will be a £1bn per annum business from the time current Southern services are included.  We will have to see whether First Group decides to bid – if so, their many manifest failings must be put under the microscope and any promises to reform examined as rigorously as possible.

I also know (because they have contacted me) that Dutch railway operator Abellio is interested.  They already have the Northern Rail and Merseyrail franchises in the UK, and are about to take over the Greater Anglia franchise out of Liverpool Street.  Dutch railways seem to operate like clockwork and they might have some good ideas about making our rail service as bicycle friendly as possible…

Should you have £100m to spare (that is the size of the performance bond wanted to ensure that applications are serious), you can pursue this via http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/thameslink-franchise-2013

I remain sceptical about the UK rail privatisation model which has led to us having the most expensive railway in Europe in terms both of fares and of carrying out routine procedures such as renewing points and track.  When we recently met Norman Baker, the rail minister, he assured us that all new franchise agreements will be much more output driven – as compared with the current contracts which specify all sorts of inputs but don’t seem to result in trains running on time or at all.

Well the proof of the pudding will be in the travelling.

We took with us a dossier prepared by two St Albans commuters about their recent experiences using First Capital Connect’s Thameslink service.  Issues covered were

• the hopelessly inadequate knowledge of FCC staff during disruptions, when passengers using smartphones and social networks seem to know far more than platform staff but then get hopelessly frustrated because the latter cannot confirm things;
• poor and incorrect announcements, so that people are allowed to board trains which FCC know will end up being at a standstill down the line outside Radlett or wherever;  or being advised to go to Hatfield and catch a bus when a Thameslink train will come in half an hour and so is still the best alternative;
• the continued lack of effective interworking beween FCC and Network Rail, for example the age before the broken electronic information board at Farringdon was replaced;
• the refusal of East Midlands trains to accept FCC tickets during disruptions, which would at least allow St Albans commuters a sensible and timely alternative;
• increasingly high levels of off-peak overcrowding and the way that FCC has quietly dropped its previous passenger charter commitment that ‘we plan services so off-peak you should always have a seat’; and
• all the flaws of the delay repay scheme for commuters, particularly the way that compensation vouchers can’t be used for on-line ticket purchases, and compensation is only given when a journey is actually attempted, although often FCC advise people not to travel and commuters have to make alternative arrangements such as working from home.

Norman Baker listened intently.  He is already raising the issue of poor passenger communications during disruptions with ATOC, the industry body which represents rail franchisees.  The key thing is to look at best practice elsewhere (it does exist) and then ensure that all operators reach these standards.  He also revealed that the next generation of franchises will focus far more on outputs than on inputs – so the passenger experience will matter far more.  This meets one of my own long-held hobby horses, that Government has been all too ready to remove franchises when the Treasury is not paid, but strangely reluctant to bite when it is the fare-paying passenger who is let down.

By sheer chance, he was due to have a meeting with Tim O’Toole, chairman of the First Group parent company of FCC, later this afternoon and promised to raise all these issues directly with him – including giving him the above-mentioned dossier.

So we’ll watch this space.

PS Norman is also the minister to thank for getting next year’s fare rises reduced from the planned RPI+3 percent to the previous RPI+1 percent

PPS On the way there and back (on trains that were on time and using the south bank exit from Blackfriars for the first time) I was re-reading the appropriately titled Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood – no Erste Kapital Konnekt in Berlin…

Due to a significant rise in value, metal has become a much sought after commodity. This increased demand has resulted in a sharp rise in metal theft nationally. Metal fencing, gates, manhole covers and other metallic items are stolen on a regular basis. Property is raided for lead, copper and cabling. War memorials and statues have been taken. Overhead power lines are stolen at serious risk to personal safety with huge costs for replacement and major inconvenience to the public. Historically the scrap metal trade has been a cash in hand industry. This creates difficulties as there is no audit trail, making identification of individuals who may be trading stolen metal or who may be committing tax or benefits fraud, a difficult proposition. An amendment to the Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964 to prohibit cash transactions would make payment by cheque or directly into a bank account mandatory and would be a significant component in reducing metal theft.

Thinking of the way that the roof of St Michael’s church in St Albans has been stripped so many times of its lead, the disruption caused to local commuters when railway cable has been stolen (causing delays which are neither the fault of  First Capital Connect nor Network Rail), the personal hurt caused by the theft of garden ornaments and gates, this seems a simple idea which should be progressed.  As with all these things, the more signatures the better.  If the petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it has to be debated in Parliament.

Just visit http://bit.ly/qZwCy2 to sign it.

Some people argue that crowded peak hour trains and rising passenger numbers suggest that fare rises are not a problem. But not everyone who uses the railway is wealthy – particularly if they are buying property in St Albans…

As transport commentator Christian Wolmar, one of the speakers at yesterday’s meeting, said, “railways have fantastic externalities” – ie they make a contribution to the environment and economy which far outweighs any direct economic loss or surplus.

Much was made of the perversion of rail fare regulation. It was initially designed to prevent rapacious private monopolies from exploiting the captive traveller. Thus the initial fare rise regime of RPI-1 percent – ie that fares should rise by less than inflation each year.

Then the Labour government introduced the RPI+1 percent formula – making fares rise faster than inflation.  The new government has now determined it will be RPI+3 percent. These are eye-watering figures, particularly given current inflation rates and current lower than inflation pay rises for normal workers who are not FTSE 100 directors.

In two bounds the regulatory regime has moved away from any notion of providing protection to the rail traveller from rapacious monopoly.  It’s a case of regulatory gamekeeper turning into Treasury poacher, using rail fares as a stealth tax.

On current forecasts, fares will rise by an average of 28 percent between now and 2015. And that’s just for the average “basket” of regulated fares. As we know, routes like First Capital Connect St Albans to St Pancras have consistently had fare increases higher than the mandated average.

At yesterday’s briefing, Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert quoted ONS data on the rise in cost of travel by different modes between 1997 and 2010. Average rail fares increased by 66 percent or 17 percent in real terms over the period.  Even worse, bus fares increased by 76 percent or 24 percent in real terms.  Although the cost of driving went up by 42 percent in money terms, that was in fact a real terms decline of seven percent (although the last 12 months must have provided a painful correction.)

CfBT quoted some very interesting research suggesting that we could inflict real economic damage if we continue with these planned fare rises. In particular London’s competitiveness as a world city could be severely impacted if our cost of commuting starts to differ really widely from the cost in other big cities.

It’s not as if savings cannot be made which can and should be passed on to the travelling passenger. The recent McNulty review of value for money in the UK rail industry highlighted all sorts of inefficiencies, many stemming from the perverse structures created by rail privatisation.

In the Q&A session which followed the briefing, I raised the failings of the current Delay Repay compensation scheme, how complicated and arbitrary it seemed to be, and how it requires huge delays in percentage terms for the sort of short commuter journeys typical of St Albans rail users.

I was disappointed that Anthony Smith of Passenger Focus defended Delay Repay, but Louise Ellman MP, chair of the Transport Select Committee, gave a most insightful answer concerning their recent inquiry into delays caused by cable theft.  Network Rail compensate the train operating companies (TOCs) when the delay comes from their problems as is the case with cable theft.  But TOCs don’t pass this on to the travelling public unless the delays trigger Delay Repay.

This feels like a scam and is worth following up, I think.

On this occasion the fault lies with Network Rail rather than First Capital Connect, and was presumably related to the Thameslink upgrade.  But it is not as if the First Capital Connect route has been faultless over the last month.  It seems to have been one thing after another.

It is a basic expectation that trains run to time.  That is what people pay for.  The upcoming fare rises of around eight percent look less and less justified while these operating failures persist.

The RAIB describes the incident as follows:

At approximately 18:00 hrs the 16:30 hrs Brighton to Bedford service, formed of two Class 377 units (a total of eight carriages), stopped close to the northern portal of Kings Cross Tunnel with the rear two carriages within the tunnel.  The train had stopped because of an electrical problem on the train itself that had caused the overhead line’s electrical protection equipment to trip, cutting off power to several trains in the area. At this time the train, which had a seating capacity of 476, was fully loaded, with many standing passengers.

Another train of the same type was sent to assist the failed train, and was eventually coupled to it at 20:20 hrs. By this time some passengers had used the emergency release handles to open the train doors in an attempt to improve ventilation (the air conditioning and lighting systems were no longer functioning). The train began to move at 21:03 hrs but this movement was immediately stopped because passengers were getting out onto the railway from the carriages within the tunnel. The passengers were escorted back onto the train, which was then authorised to move forward again at 21:12 hrs. Three sets of doors towards the rear of the train were still fully open while it travelled approximately one mile to reach Kentish Town station, where all the passengers left the train.

The RAIB investigation will identify the sequence of events that led to the movement of the failed train with open doors.  Factors for consideration will include the design and operation of the trains, the management of the incident and the information available to the passengers and staff who were involved.

This shows that the summary of events reported by me on 27th May based on eyewitness reports was horribly accurate.  A train so packed that passengers had to stand was left half in a tunnel for nearly three hours, passengers were left without information so that some exited the train onto the tracks further delaying the salvage of the stranded train, and then the failed train had to be moved with doors still open.

Although no injuries or fatalities occurred as a result of this sequence of events, First Capital Connect will rightly have to answer some serious questions.  I hope that there is no whitewash.

He wrote that he and senior colleagues “have spoken to and corresponded with many customers as well as meeting with a high proportion of MPs along the route.”

And guess what, they have decided to improve the compensation package for season ticket holders (annual season ticket holders will now get a 7 percent discount and weekly ticket holders a further two free tickets).  He also announced investment in trains and also in better communications technology for staff when future problems happen.

Anyone would think there was an election in the offing.

Perhaps they are finally smelling the coffee.  But it has come so late that it will do little to quell the fury of travellers.

I am knocking on doors across the constituency and the feedback is the same everywhere.  Only last evening I met a voter in London Colney who told me that she had lost a promotion at work because of her problems getting into work on time over so many months – and this is just one voter among many.

This announcement still provides for less than one month’s free travel for annual ticket holders.  It still does absolutely nothing for regular off-peak travellers for whom it does not make sense to buy season tickets because they work from home some days a week or their work demands that they travel outside peak hours.

The Delay Repay scheme so trumpeted by FCC is despised by everyone for its complexity and meannesss.

As for the announcements on train and station investment, this is what they should be doing as franchisee.  It is welcome to have the confirmation that improvements are finally underway, but for many it will feel like bolting the stable door.

The picture taken by Gary Shore of Gaslight shows Norman and myself telling the audience at the end of the meeting that we were off to The Goat, where Norman had performed in a gig back in 1978, long before he got into Parliament and achieved his current reputation as a tireless campaigner and Liberal Democrat spokesman on transport.

But first of all there was the serious stuff.   Chris White, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on Herts County Council, opened the meeting and set the context.  I then covered all FCC’s multiple failings which have been well rehearsed previously in this blog – just type First Capital Connect into the search box on the right hand side.  I pointed out that statutory mechanisms exist for franchises to be taken back temporarily into public sector management as has happened with East Coast Mainlines currently and previously happened with the terrible Connex.

The audience was then invited to share their own experiences,  and we had a stream of interesting comments and questions, including whether it is now possible for FCC to lose their franchise.

Norman listened hard to all the points and interjections, and then gave a thoughtful and detailed response, showing a considerable grasp of First Group and FCC’s history and performance both on Thameslink and elsewhere.  He reeled off the statistics on FCC’s relative performance not just over this last winter but for the previous few years and showed how they had consistently under-performed the rest of the rail industry.

He agreed with members of the audience that FCC’s business choice not to employ a sufficient number of drivers and rely disproportionately on rest day working barely justified the argument that all the consequential train cancellations were the result of force majeure when the drivers quite legally refused to play ball.  Since this was the basis of the Department for Transport deciding FCC were not in breach of their franchise obligations, it does indicate an unhealthily close relationship between ministers, officials and franchisees.

The core of his argument was that current franchise arrangements are far too Treasury-focused when they should be passenger-focused.  So the franchises were taken away from Sea Containers and National Express on East Coast Mainlines when they failed to pay the Treasury, while no similar action was taken against FCC when they failed their passengers.  We have a railway run for the Treasury and not for the public.

He was adamant that FCC should not have any franchise extension after the end of the current term in 2012 and that they had to be on  notice for any further failure to deliver their promises to passengers.

Norman ended by painting a vision of longer franchises with passenger-focused targets rather that Treasury ones.  He highlighted the investment being made by Chiltern Railways (which has a 22 year term) in a brand new stretch of track which will create a new route from Oxford to London.  More money could be pumped into the system by making Network Rail match international benchmarks for efficiency and so lower the industry’s costs, by cutting expenditure on new motorways, and by channelling funds through the new National Infrastructure Bank envisioned by Vince Cable.

And on a final note, he alerted us to announcements to be made later this week by the Liberal Democrats on a new vision for fares and better ways of compensating passengers for poor performance.  Watch this space.

The mechanism exists for rail franchises to be handed back if franchisees fail to deliver the promised service.  FCC seems to have had a charmed life in hanging on to its lucrative monopoly, it is time that passengers had their say.

So we are calling a public meeting for next Tuesday 16 March to discuss whether FCC should now lose their franchise.  The main speaker will be my friend Norman Baker MP, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesman in the House of Commons.  The meeting will take place at Marlborough Road Methodist Church in the centre of the city (see directions here) and starts at 7.00 pm with doors opening at 6.30 pm – so do put the date in your diary!

When I successfully proposed my motion on rail franchises at last autumn’s Liberal Democrat conference, Norman summed up the debate.  The Daily Mail has described him as having ‘consistently been a thorn in the Government’s side’. In 2001 he was named “Inquisitor of the Year” in the Zurich/Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards and, in February 2002, he won the Channel 4 Opposition MP of the Year Award.

It’s going to be a lively meeting, I hope to see you there.