On May 24, 2:32*pm, MIG wrote:

On 24 May, 12:50, Mizter T wrote:

On May 24, 12:23*pm, MIG wrote:

On 24 May, 12:14, "Paul Scott" wrote:
[snip]
Not everyone's happy, it seems:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8700136.stm

Is this just the fag end of some dispute the RMT were having about whether
it should be tube or rail, from about 5/6 years ago?

There was an RMT campaign, although not a dispute as far as I know,
about the fact that this was the first bit of LU to be privatised and
had ominous implications. *Ken claimed that it wasn't privatisation,
and then admitted that it was.

I don't recall him "admitting is was". Depends how one defines
"privatisation", but I didn't really regard the changes to the ELL as
being that, not as such at least. But maybe that's just the angle I
was looking at it from. I suppose I can sort of understand the RMT's
concerns that it could represent the thin end of the wedge.

There was certainly a lot of unhappiness about the successful and
popular public service operation run by LU being replaced according to
what was very topically at the time seen as a failed franchise model
for NR.

Sure - except the "London Rail Concession" (as it's properly known)
doesn't follow the conventional rail franchising model, it's quite
significantly different.


Among the issues were that a lot had been spent by LU on new
facilities that were never going to be used by LU and were a gift to
the private operator.

That's simply nonsensical. The infrastructure is owned by London Rail,
part of TfL - all that's happened in that sense is that it's been
transferred from one bit of TfL to another. LOROL didn't build the new
elements of the line, and nor are they going to maintain it either.
And if TfL did decide to award the operating concession to another
company in the future, then LOROL aren't going to rip out the staff
loos or whatever when they leave, not least because said loos wouldn't
be theirs to take.

I think it was specifically around brand new staff facilities which
were paid for by LU immediately before the line closed and were only
ever going to be used by the private TOCs staff.

Hmm - I think they'd have been paid for by TfL one way or the other,
if not in LUL days then when the line was being converted. Though I
can understand that staff might have felt a bit miffed that work was
being undertaken but they wouldn't benefit from it. That said, if it
was all part of the ELLX project, then I'd expect it to have come out
of the ELLX budget. So it'd be interesting to know what exactly the
RMT's angle was on this - without knowing more I don't find that
argument terribly convincing.


Anyway, I'm only reporting things I picked up on at the time.

Not shooting the messenger, just questioning the message!