Al Holmes wrote:
It's now open. Passengers were carried from about 17:00 this evening,
Friday 2 December.


TfL's live departure boards for King George V show a 6tph service to
Bank.

What a coup for Serco Docklands, getting the branch open for passenger
services two weeks before the projected date!

On 2 Dec 2005 11:32:29 -0800, "TheOneKEA" wrote:

Al Holmes wrote:
It's now open. Passengers were carried from about 17:00 this evening,
Friday 2 December.


TfL's live departure boards for King George V show a 6tph service to
Bank.

What a coup for Serco Docklands, getting the branch open for passenger
services two weeks before the projected date!

Don't worry - I'm sure the 'Standard' will manage to put a negative
spin on it!
--
Nick Cooper

[Carefully remove the detonators from my e-mail address to reply!]

The London Underground at War, and in Films & TV:
http://www.nickcooper.org.uk/

On Fri, 2 Dec 2005, TheOneKEA wrote:

Al Holmes wrote:

It's now open. Passengers were carried from about 17:00 this evening,
Friday 2 December.

TfL's live departure boards for King George V show a 6tph service to
Bank.

What a coup for Serco Docklands, getting the branch open for passenger
services two weeks before the projected date!

Why are these guys not running the tube?

tom

--
Gin for the mind, kebabs for the body, sushi for the soul

Tom Anderson wrote:
On Fri, 2 Dec 2005, TheOneKEA wrote:

Al Holmes wrote:

It's now open. Passengers were carried from about 17:00 this
evening, Friday 2 December.

TfL's live departure boards for King George V show a 6tph service to
Bank.

What a coup for Serco Docklands, getting the branch open for
passenger services two weeks before the projected date!

Why are these guys not running the tube?

Because building something and running it afterwards require very different
skills, as Adtranz found out when the took over a TOC train maintenance
depot.

On 2 Dec 2005 11:32:29 -0800, "TheOneKEA" wrote:

Al Holmes wrote:
It's now open. Passengers were carried from about 17:00 this evening,
Friday 2 December.


TfL's live departure boards for King George V show a 6tph service to
Bank.

What a coup for Serco Docklands, getting the branch open for passenger
services two weeks before the projected date!

To be strictly correct it is not Serco Docklands as they just provide
the trains and train captains. For this bit of the DLR network it is
this lot (quote from DLR website)

"City Airport Rail Enterprise (CARE), a consortium of AMEC and the Royal
Bank of Scotland as the preferred bidder and Concessionaire to design,
build and maintain the extension. "

The Lewisham extension is done on the same basis and the Woolwich
Extension is another deal with the same consortium members as CARE.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

Paul Corfield wrote:
To be strictly correct it is not Serco Docklands as they just provide
the trains and train captains. For this bit of the DLR network it is
this lot (quote from DLR website)

"City Airport Rail Enterprise (CARE), a consortium of AMEC and the Royal
Bank of Scotland as the preferred bidder and Concessionaire to design,
build and maintain the extension. "

The Lewisham extension is done on the same basis and the Woolwich
Extension is another deal with the same consortium members as CARE.

*blink*

I agree with someone else who asked why the hell this lot is not
involved with the Underground.

Different organizations actually able to _work_ _together_ and operate
a ___unified___ service? Amazing!

On 3 Dec 2005 11:28:52 -0800, "TheOneKEA" wrote:

Paul Corfield wrote:
To be strictly correct it is not Serco Docklands as they just provide
the trains and train captains. For this bit of the DLR network it is
this lot (quote from DLR website)

"City Airport Rail Enterprise (CARE), a consortium of AMEC and the Royal
Bank of Scotland as the preferred bidder and Concessionaire to design,
build and maintain the extension. "

The Lewisham extension is done on the same basis and the Woolwich
Extension is another deal with the same consortium members as CARE.

*blink*

Sorry but I'm confused, In my newsreader your post was below one that
simply said the line had opened.

I agree with someone else who asked why the hell this lot is not
involved with the Underground.

I haven't seen a post making that comment under the OneKEA name. I get
a sense you seem offended but that was not my intention. I was simply
saying the DLR set up was a bit more complex that just being a contract
with Serco.

Different organizations actually able to _work_ _together_ and operate
a ___unified___ service? Amazing!

If this is a remark contrasting with LU and the Infracos then there are
many, many reasons why performance levels are different between LU and
DLR. Almost all of them have nothing to do with the contractual
arrangements for providing the staff, vehicles and infrastructure. You
can slice the cake any number of ways and then put in place mechanisms
to make it work.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005, Brimstone wrote:

Tom Anderson wrote:
On Fri, 2 Dec 2005, TheOneKEA wrote:

Al Holmes wrote:

It's now open. Passengers were carried from about 17:00 this
evening, Friday 2 December.

TfL's live departure boards for King George V show a 6tph service to
Bank.

What a coup for Serco Docklands, getting the branch open for passenger
services two weeks before the projected date!

Why are these guys not running the tube?

Because building something and running it afterwards require very
different skills, as Adtranz found out when the took over a TOC train
maintenance depot.

That's true, i suppose. Oh well.

Hey, maybe, instead of maintaining the tube, we should just close lines
down after 30 years and build entirely new ones in their place!

tom

--
Space Travel is Another Word for Love!

In message .com,
TheOneKEA writes

I agree with someone else who asked why the hell this lot is not
involved with the Underground.

How much experience does the DLR have in running a network that is
mostly a century old and desperately short of funds?

Different organizations actually able to _work_ _together_ and operate
a ___unified___ service? Amazing!

Of course that is good, but setting-up and running a brand new low-cost
light-rail system is a totally different ball game to trying to do
something about the tube infrastructure, and the investment
opportunities for DLR's partners would vaporise in the light of the
costs involved.
--
Paul Terry

Paul Corfield wrote:
*blink*

Sorry but I'm confused, In my newsreader your post was below one that
simply said the line had opened.

Odd.


I agree with someone else who asked why the hell this lot is not
involved with the Underground.

I haven't seen a post making that comment under the OneKEA name. I get
a sense you seem offended but that was not my intention. I was simply
saying the DLR set up was a bit more complex that just being a contract
with Serco.

I'm not offended, I;m surprised! I thought the DLR was owned and
operated as a homogenous vertically-integrated entity, and that said
operator was Serco. I had no idea that the three extensions (Lewisham,
Beckton and LCY) were all operated by separate entities.


Different organizations actually able to _work_ _together_ and operate
a ___unified___ service? Amazing!

If this is a remark contrasting with LU and the Infracos then there are
many, many reasons why performance levels are different between LU and
DLR. Almost all of them have nothing to do with the contractual
arrangements for providing the staff, vehicles and infrastructure. You
can slice the cake any number of ways and then put in place mechanisms
to make it work.

I'm not making a specific reference to LU and the Infracos, I'm just
applauding the fact that the operation of the DLR with separate
organizations working together appears to be functioning so well. It
could certainly be far worse!