ERUF Committee Meet With Essex MPs

Members of the ERUF committee met up with four Essex MPs last night at Westminster to discuss the letting of the new Greater Anglia franchise.  These were Priti Patel, Sir Alan Haselhurst, Bob Russell and Brooks Newmark.

The ERUF committee were anxious to convey a message to the government that we did not want a repeat of the underfunded National Express franchise which has resulted in some of the lowest passenger satisfaction levels in the country.   Essex rail services are some of the most profitable in the country so rail users deserve a much better service than they are currently getting.

ERUF committee members have already met with representatives of the three companies bidding for the franchise to replace National Express East Anglia, to highlight the areas where passengers expect to see improvements.

Passengers Dissatisfied With Train Punctuality And Value For Money

The number of passengers in the UK satisfied with train punctuality and reliability has gone down with National Express East Anglia (NXEA) second from bottom out of all UK train companies.  Satisfaction overall has dropped from 82% to 80% with NXEA scoring 78%. Hull Trains came top with an overall satisfaction level of 95%.

The survey was carried out by Passenger Focus and involved more than 32,000 passengers across the country.

Services Disrupted By Heat

Network Rail and National Express East Anglia are warning of cancellations and disruption due to the hot weather affecting the overhead wires.  Passengers are advised to check the National Express website for updates before travelling.

'Rip-Off' Fares

A special investigation carried out by the East Anglian Daily Times (EADT) has found that fares on National Express East Anglia are considerably higher than comparable journeys in other parts of the UK.  The EADT has worked out that NXEA customers pay pay 50p-per-mile at peak times on the Ipswich to Liverpool Street service, against South Eastern (33p), South West Trains (43p) and Chiltern Railways (45p) for comparable journeys into London.

For full details go to the EADT website.

ERUF Meets With Franchise Bidders

Members of the ERUF Committee are meeting with each of the three bidders for the new Greater Anglia franchise to discuss requirements for the rail service in Essex.  The three bidders are Abellio, Go Ahead and Stagecoach and the winner will replace National Express East Anglia as provider of rail services for the region.

Tube Strikes Cancelled

The RMT has announced that the tube strikes planned for the coming weeks have been cancelled.

Whilst again the cancellation of these strikes is to be welcomed this appears to be a tactic much used by the RMT now.  Cause disruption by threatening strikes only to call them off at the last moment, so the history books will show that no strike took place.

Tube Strikes Announced

The RMT has announced dates for intended stikes on the tube as follows:

• 16 to 17 May: 2101 - 1159
• 18 to 19 May: 1200 - 115
• 20 May: 1200 - 2100
• 13 to 14 June: 2101 - 1159
• 15 to 16 June: 1200 - 1159
• 17 June: 1200 - 2100 

The strikes are in reponse to two driver being sacked although the reasons for the sackings are unclear at the moment.


As is often the case with RMT industrial action, the decision to strike has been taken based on a majority of the 29% of tube drivers who actually voted.  It must be hoped therefore that as the vast majority of drivers didn't even bother to vote there may be a service of sorts running.