Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/...-HENDERSON.XML

Quote
Henderson appoints KPMG for Chiltern sale-source
Thu Jul 5, 2007 12:15 PM BST ]
LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - Fund manager group Henderson (HGI.L: Quote,
Profile , Research) has retained accountancy group KPMG [KPMG.UL] to
advise on the sale of its Chiltern Railways unit, a source said on
Thursday.
Henderson acquired Chiltern Railways last year when it bought John
Laing and is selling the rail firm to focus on its public
infrastructure portfolio, the source said.
Possible bidders would include Britain's top five bus and rail
operators, Stagecoach Group (SGC.L: Quote, Profile , Research), Go-
Ahead Group (GOG.L: Quote, Profile , Research), First Group (FGP.L:
Quote, Profile , Research), National Express (NEX.L: Quote, Profile ,
Research) and Arriva (ARI.L: Quote, Profile , Research), as well as
Germany's Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and French bus and rail operator
Keolis, the source added.
KPMG was not immediately available for comment.
© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Unquote

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On Jul 5, 5:07 pm, Bob wrote:
Possible bidders would include Britain's top five bus and rail
operators, Stagecoach Group (SGC.L: Quote, Profile , Research), Go-
Ahead Group (GOG.L: Quote, Profile , Research), First Group (FGP.L:
Quote, Profile , Research), National Express (NEX.L: Quote, Profile ,
Research) and Arriva (ARI.L: Quote, Profile , Research), as well as
Germany's Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and French bus and rail operator
Keolis, the source added.

Oh wonderful. If any of the usual suspects acquire it I can see
Chiltern getting sucked into a tiolet tank and turned into a shadow of
its clean, reliable, expansionist, common-sense self. Whoopee.

*has horrible mental images of Barbie swirls all over the 168/Xs*

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 6 Jul, 03:20, TheOneKEA wrote:
On Jul 5, 5:07 pm, Bob wrote:

Possible bidders would include Britain's top five bus and rail
operators, Stagecoach Group (SGC.L: Quote, Profile , Research), Go-
Ahead Group (GOG.L: Quote, Profile , Research), First Group (FGP.L:
Quote, Profile , Research), National Express (NEX.L: Quote, Profile ,
Research) and Arriva (ARI.L: Quote, Profile , Research), as well as
Germany's Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and French bus and rail operator
Keolis, the source added.

Oh wonderful. If any of the usual suspects acquire it I can see
Chiltern getting sucked into a tiolet tank and turned into a shadow of
its clean, reliable, expansionist, common-sense self. Whoopee.

*has horrible mental images of Barbie swirls all over the 168/Xs*

There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

In article . com,
wrote:


There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony


and this weeks Transit magazine shows chiltern's latest financial
figures, indicating that the previous year's decent profit has been
turned into a reasonable loss....

SB

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On Jul 6, 11:36 am, Steve Broadbent wrote:
In article . com,

wrote:
There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

and this weeks Transit magazine shows chiltern's latest financial
figures, indicating that the previous year's decent profit has been
turned into a reasonable loss....

SB

I spy a bank or venture capitalist firm lurking about...!

Chiltern Railways- "Not As Good As We Think We Are"
--- But they are better than some of the rest!

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 6 Jul, 08:44, wrote:
On 6 Jul, 03:20, TheOneKEA wrote:

On Jul 5, 5:07 pm, Bob wrote:

Possible bidders would include Britain's top five bus and rail
operators, Stagecoach Group (SGC.L: Quote, Profile , Research), Go-
Ahead Group (GOG.L: Quote, Profile , Research), First Group (FGP.L:
Quote, Profile , Research), National Express (NEX.L: Quote, Profile ,
Research) and Arriva (ARI.L: Quote, Profile , Research), as well as
Germany's Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and French bus and rail operator
Keolis, the source added.

Oh wonderful. If any of the usual suspects acquire it I can see
Chiltern getting sucked into a tiolet tank and turned into a shadow of
its clean, reliable, expansionist, common-sense self. Whoopee.

*has horrible mental images of Barbie swirls all over the 168/Xs*

There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

I think the tunnel collapse hit the finances hard and have they been
compensated yet?
Ridership does not seem to be a problem, but reliability of the 165
fleet, whilst hitting a peak a few months ago has again slumped to
around half that achieved by the Reading based examples. ATP problems
perhaps? The Chiltern 165s do have a few extra bits on them which
would mean more to fail. The Chiltern engineering staff are looking at
some innovations which have caught the attention of other DMU
operators, all of which would go a long way to improving reliability.
Doors and couplers being the main problem for most operators. In all
honesty though, apart from the tunnel incident, I cannot see what has
hit the finances to this degree. It was predicted at the time Laing
sold out that the business would be sold as a non core activity.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

"chunky munky" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jul 6, 11:36 am, Steve Broadbent wrote:
In article . com,

wrote:
There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

and this weeks Transit magazine shows chiltern's latest financial
figures, indicating that the previous year's decent profit has been
turned into a reasonable loss....

SB

I spy a bank or venture capitalist firm lurking about...!


What isn't clear is if Henderson is selling Laing Rail, which is Chilterns
parent, or just Chiltern.

If they are selling Laing Rail division, is there any reason why GoVia, the
second placed for the London Rail concession, couldn't buy it? I thought
they were in with a shout for the Ovewrground, if only because there will be
a lot of interaction between the ELL/WLL and other GoVia/Southern routes.
Same applies to services through Snow Hill now as well of course with West
Midlands...

Paul

Paul

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 6 Jul, 03:20, TheOneKEA wrote:
On Jul 5, 5:07 pm, Bob wrote:

Possible bidders would include Britain's top five bus and rail
operators, Stagecoach Group (SGC.L: Quote, Profile , Research), Go-
Ahead Group (GOG.L: Quote, Profile , Research), First Group (FGP.L:
Quote, Profile , Research), National Express (NEX.L: Quote, Profile ,
Research) and Arriva (ARI.L: Quote, Profile , Research), as well as
Germany's Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and French bus and rail operator
Keolis, the source added.

Oh wonderful. If any of the usual suspects acquire it I can see
Chiltern getting sucked into a tiolet tank and turned into a shadow of
its clean, reliable, expansionist, common-sense self. Whoopee.

*has horrible mental images of Barbie swirls all over the 168/Xs*


The three most reliable DMU Fleets at present are SWT 159s, TPE 185s
and FGW 165/166s. Two of those are Barbie liveried, and the Chiltern
Fleets are a few thousand MPC adrift of the top three.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

"JP" wrote in message
oups.com...

The three most reliable DMU Fleets at present are SWT 159s, TPE 185s
and FGW 165/166s. Two of those are Barbie liveried, and the Chiltern
Fleets are a few thousand MPC adrift of the top three.


Am I right in thinking SWT haven't had the overhauled 158s long enough for
meaningful statistics to be gathered yet? I guess they are hoping to achieve
similar figures to the 159s in due course?

Paul

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 6 Jul, 11:39, chunky munky wrote:
On Jul 6, 11:36 am, Steve Broadbent wrote:
In article . com,

wrote:
There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

and this weeks Transit magazine shows chiltern's latest financial
figures, indicating that the previous year's decent profit has been
turned into a reasonable loss....

SB

I spy a bank or venture capitalist firm lurking about...!

How about a managment buy-out? Or even, purchase by MTR?

AE

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 6 Jul, 12:07, "Paul Scott" wrote:
"JP" wrote in message

oups.com...

The three most reliable DMU Fleets at present are SWT 159s, TPE 185s
and FGW 165/166s. Two of those are Barbie liveried, and the Chiltern
Fleets are a few thousand MPC adrift of the top three.

Am I right in thinking SWT haven't had the overhauled 158s long enough for
meaningful statistics to be gathered yet? I guess they are hoping to achieve
similar figures to the 159s in due course?

Paul

I was speaking to one of their Salisbury based engineers a month back.
SWT certainly intend their 158 and ex-158 DMUs to perform as well.
They have always reported the 158/159 fleets as a combined figure in
any case. Contrary to popular belief the idea of ATOC's NFRIP is to
increase co-operation between commercial rivals and increase overall
reliability. So with 158s from FGW going to Wabtec it makes sense to
see what worked well and not so well with other operators. SWTs fleet
visit Salisbury very regularly and get tender loving care, other
operators can have their fleets stuck in sidings away from depots for
several days at a time so I suspect SWT will always have or be very
near the top spot DMU wise.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On Jul 6, 3:20 am, TheOneKEA wrote:
Oh wonderful. If any of the usual suspects acquire it I can see
Chiltern getting sucked into a tiolet tank and turned into a shadow of
its clean, reliable, expansionist, common-sense self. Whoopee.

It's expansionism seems to be a shadow of its former self already. The
"Projects" section of their website lists:
- Aylesbury Vale Parkway (fair enough)
- Evergreen 2 (completed last year)
- Wembley depot (completed 2005)
- West Hampstead Interchange (dead)

Sounds like they could do with a new injection of cash.

U

--
http://londonconnections.blogspot.com

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

Ridership does not seem to be a problem, but reliability of the 165
fleet, whilst hitting a peak a few months ago has again slumped to
around half that achieved by the Reading based examples. ATP problems
perhaps? The Chiltern 165s do have a few extra bits on them which
would mean more to fail. The Chiltern engineering staff are looking at
some innovations which have caught the attention of other DMU
operators, all of which would go a long way to improving reliability.

I spent a few weeks at Aylesbury TMD about 3 years ago and one of the
new fitters was a former employee for FGW at Reading Turbo depot. He was
saying that staff at Reading were set to work in teams, (eg: those with
electrical expertise would work on electrics.) Whereas at Aylesbury, all
fitters end up doing all types of work. Could possibly be an issue...

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

JP wrote:
Ridership does not seem to be a problem, but reliability of the 165
fleet, whilst hitting a peak a few months ago has again slumped to
around half that achieved by the Reading based examples. ATP problems
perhaps? The Chiltern 165s do have a few extra bits on them which
would mean more to fail. The Chiltern engineering staff are looking at
some innovations which have caught the attention of other DMU
operators, all of which would go a long way to improving reliability.

Could it simply be down to a bit of over-zealous fault reporting? Certainly
I can't recall the last time that I encountered a Chiltern 165/0 operated
service that was cancelled or that was a failure in traffic (it's been 168s,
if anything). Similarly, I can't recall the last time that I found a 165
with defective air-cooling in any vehicle in the set or was on a set that
had door problems - in fact I can't think of any instance in the last year.
Conversely, your 165/1s don't have air-cooling to worry about and, IME, on
the 166s I've found it quite common to find a vehicle in traffic with the
air-con not working, even on my infrequent GWML inner-suburban journeys.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

Bob wrote:
http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/...-HENDERSON.XML

Quote
Henderson appoints KPMG for Chiltern sale-source
Thu Jul 5, 2007 12:15 PM BST ]
LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - Fund manager group Henderson (HGI.L: Quote,
Profile , Research) has retained accountancy group KPMG [KPMG.UL] to
advise on the sale of its Chiltern Railways unit, a source said on
Thursday.
Henderson acquired Chiltern Railways last year when it bought John
Laing and is selling the rail firm to focus on its public
infrastructure portfolio, the source said.

If that's the case why did they bid (and win) the London Overground
franchise?

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

"Stuart" wrote in message
o.uk...
Bob wrote:
http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/...-HENDERSON.XML

Quote
Henderson appoints KPMG for Chiltern sale-source
Thu Jul 5, 2007 12:15 PM BST ]
LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - Fund manager group Henderson (HGI.L: Quote,
Profile , Research) has retained accountancy group KPMG [KPMG.UL] to
advise on the sale of its Chiltern Railways unit, a source said on
Thursday.
Henderson acquired Chiltern Railways last year when it bought John
Laing and is selling the rail firm to focus on its public
infrastructure portfolio, the source said.

If that's the case why did they bid (and win) the London Overground
franchise?

To fatten up the animal for sale?

Paul

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

In article .com,
Mr Thant wrote:

On Jul 6, 3:20 am, TheOneKEA wrote:
Oh wonderful. If any of the usual suspects acquire it I can see
Chiltern getting sucked into a tiolet tank and turned into a shadow of
its clean, reliable, expansionist, common-sense self. Whoopee.

It's expansionism seems to be a shadow of its former self already. The
"Projects" section of their website lists:
- Aylesbury Vale Parkway (fair enough)
- Evergreen 2 (completed last year)
- Wembley depot (completed 2005)
- West Hampstead Interchange (dead)

Sounds like they could do with a new injection of cash.

which of those did Chiltern pay for, I guess none but I am not a local,
certainly Evergreen is Network rail


SB

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

In article ,
"Paul Scott" wrote:

"chunky munky" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jul 6, 11:36 am, Steve Broadbent wrote:
In article . com,

wrote:
There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

and this weeks Transit magazine shows chiltern's latest financial
figures, indicating that the previous year's decent profit has been
turned into a reasonable loss....

SB

I spy a bank or venture capitalist firm lurking about...!


What isn't clear is if Henderson is selling Laing Rail, which is Chilterns
parent, or just Chiltern.

If they are selling Laing Rail division, is there any reason why GoVia, the
second placed for the London Rail concession, couldn't buy it? I thought
they were in with a shout for the Ovewrground, if only because there will be
a lot of interaction between the ELL/WLL and other GoVia/Southern routes.
Same applies to services through Snow Hill now as well of course with West
Midlands...

any body can buy it, another TOC's parent, a would be TOC, merchant
bank, Sainsburys, but what is it worth... Transit says the company net
worth is £3 million, it is making a loss and has 15 years to run as a
franchise, so £50 should easily buy it?? Plus, if relevant, the half
share in London Overground.

SB

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 6 Jul, 13:10, Steve Broadbent wrote:
In article ,
"Paul Scott" wrote:





"chunky munky" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Jul 6, 11:36 am, Steve Broadbent wrote:
In article . com,

wrote:
There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

and this weeks Transit magazine shows chiltern's latest financial
figures, indicating that the previous year's decent profit has been
turned into a reasonable loss....

SB

I spy a bank or venture capitalist firm lurking about...!

What isn't clear is if Henderson is selling Laing Rail, which is Chilterns
parent, or just Chiltern.

If they are selling Laing Rail division, is there any reason why GoVia, the
second placed for the London Rail concession, couldn't buy it? I thought
they were in with a shout for the Ovewrground, if only because there will be
a lot of interaction between the ELL/WLL and other GoVia/Southern routes.
Same applies to services through Snow Hill now as well of course with West
Midlands...

any body can buy it, another TOC's parent, a would be TOC, merchant
bank, Sainsburys, but what is it worth... Transit says the company net
worth is £3 million, it is making a loss and has 15 years to run as a
franchise, so £50 should easily buy it?? Plus, if relevant, the half
share in London Overground.


Just to clarify, the share in London Overground belongs to John Laing
Group, not Chiltern Railways, so it will not necessarily be included
in any sale of the latter.

Also, as far as I am aware, it has not been stated that the split
between John Laing and MTR in the London Overground Consortium is
50/50. It might be 60/40 or 40/60 for all we know. Or 10/90 ... etc.

The Gerrards Cross fiasco has cost Chiltern dear. Apparently, during
the blockade, many Chiltern passengers found viable alternatives and
have not returned to rail in the numbers expected. The nearby M40 is
not such a bad option, either by coach or by car.

In addition, at long last, the Virgin Trains service between
Birmingham New Street and London Euston has experienced a strong
revival. At least some of the passengers using this must have moved
back from Chiltern Railways' services between Snow Hill/Moor Street
and London Marylebone. Anyway, the result is that the Birmingham
traffic on Chiltern, which experienced explosive growth, only to be
cut short by the Gerrards Cross blockade, is now being hit by
competition from a much faster (although vastly more expensive) Virgin
Trains service, and is therefore growing much more slowly than
expected.

The ownership of John Laing Group by Henderson was always going to
mean changes. Whereas Laing had always taken a longer-term view, and
made strategic decisions, Henderson Global Investors Limited is
unashamedly focused on shareholder value, which means that
underperformance will not be tolerated for long.

It will be interesting to see who buys Chiltern. In my view, a trade
sale to another transport operator is far more likely than a sale to
another finacial institution. A Train Operating Company is unlikely
to appeal to a private equity firm, for example, as there are few
assets that can be realised and the scope for rapidly increasing
profit performance simply does not exist because of the inertia that
is built into the franchise agreement.

My money will be on one of the TOCs that will have been disappointed
in the current tound of franchise awards. National Express Group is
one possibiity, but there are others.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 6 Jul, 13:06, Steve Broadbent wrote:
In article .com,
Mr Thant wrote:

On Jul 6, 3:20 am, TheOneKEA wrote:
Oh wonderful. If any of the usual suspects acquire it I can see
Chiltern getting sucked into a tiolet tank and turned into a shadow of
its clean, reliable, expansionist, common-sense self. Whoopee.

It's expansionism seems to be a shadow of its former self already. The
"Projects" section of their website lists:
- Aylesbury Vale Parkway (fair enough)
- Evergreen 2 (completed last year)
- Wembley depot (completed 2005)
- West Hampstead Interchange (dead)

Sounds like they could do with a new injection of cash.

which of those did Chiltern pay for, I guess none but I am not a local,
certainly Evergreen is Network rail


John Laing Group was project manager for Evergreen 1 although the work
was carried out by and for Network Rail.

Evergreen 2 was carried out by John Laing Group on a Design, Build,
Finance and Transfer basis. John Laing Group funded the project and
took full commercial risk. However the assets became the property of
Network Rail, because that is the way the franchise system works,
Chiltern Railways being effectively prevented from owning such
assets.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On Jul 6, 12:44 pm, "Jack Taylor" wrote:

Could it simply be down to a bit of over-zealous fault reporting?

No, the reliability figures are based on miles per casualty, a
casualty being defined as a fault which causes a delay of five or more
minutes. Air-con faults do not normally result in a train being
delayed. Faults with engines, doors, couplers, TPWS, etc do, and when
a train sits down on the line with one of those, there's no question
of under-reporting it.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On Jul 6, 11:58 am, "Paul Scott"
wrote:
"chunky munky" wrote in message

ups.com...





On Jul 6, 11:36 am, Steve Broadbent wrote:
In article . com,

wrote:
There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

and this weeks Transit magazine shows chiltern's latest financial
figures, indicating that the previous year's decent profit has been
turned into a reasonable loss....

SB

I spy a bank or venture capitalist firm lurking about...!

What isn't clear is if Henderson is selling Laing Rail, which is Chilterns
parent, or just Chiltern.

If they are selling Laing Rail division, is there any reason why GoVia, the
second placed for the London Rail concession, couldn't buy it? I thought
they were in with a shout for the Ovewrground, if only because there will be
a lot of interaction between the ELL/WLL and other GoVia/Southern routes.
Same applies to services through Snow Hill now as well of course with West
Midlands...

Paul

Paul- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Their is a link between Laing Rail & Renaissance Trains, that gave
rise to WSMR. It will be interesting to see what happens to WSMR
application as an open access operator as the sale of Chiltern
Railways progresses


Hobenius

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

W14_Fishbourne wrote:

No, the reliability figures are based on miles per casualty, a
casualty being defined as a fault which causes a delay of five or more
minutes. Air-con faults do not normally result in a train being
delayed. Faults with engines, doors, couplers, TPWS, etc do, and when
a train sits down on the line with one of those, there's no question
of under-reporting it.

In that case I definitely don't believe that they have got *that*
dramatically worse. You couldn't travel up and down the line (almost
exclusively on 165s) as much as I do and not notice at least some
cancellations or have some problems en route. The only thing that I have
noticed is the more regular use of the 121 on the branch during the day,
periodically, which is generally cover for when depot-based refurbishment
work or mods are being undertaken on 165s.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

In addition, at long last, the Virgin Trains service between
Birmingham New Street and London Euston has experienced a strong
revival. At least some of the passengers using this must have moved
back from Chiltern Railways' services between Snow Hill/Moor Street
and London Marylebone. Anyway, the result is that the Birmingham
traffic on Chiltern, which experienced explosive growth, only to be
cut short by the Gerrards Cross blockade, is now being hit by
competition from a much faster (although vastly more expensive) Virgin
Trains service, and is therefore growing much more slowly than
expected.


I can't say I've ever noticed much demand from Birmingham whenever
I've used it.

Warwick Parkway is a different story, in the peak it's Warwick that
fills the trains and I would guess Virgin's business from Coventry has
been hit hard.

The Parkway station is so much easier to drive to than the congested
city centre.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

"The Good Doctor" wrote

Evergreen 2 was carried out by John Laing Group on a Design, Build,
Finance and Transfer basis. John Laing Group funded the project and
took full commercial risk. However the assets became the property of
Network Rail, because that is the way the franchise system works,
Chiltern Railways being effectively prevented from owning such
assets.

AIUI Chiltern do own a couple of infrastructure assets, including Warwick
Parway station and the 'new' platform at Princes Risborough.

Peter

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 03:39:28 -0700, chunky munky
wrote:

Chiltern Railways- "Not As Good As We Think We Are"
--- But they are better than some of the rest!

I'd rather have Silverlink (County), who are getting to rather
impressive standards of punctuality and reliability[1], not to mention
lack of overcrowding. Just proves it *can* be done.

[1] I don't remember the last time I saw "Cancelled" on the board at
MKC.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 6 Jul, 18:04, "Peter Masson" wrote:
"The Good Doctor" wrote

Evergreen 2 was carried out by John Laing Group on a Design, Build,
Finance and Transfer basis. John Laing Group funded the project and
took full commercial risk. However the assets became the property of
Network Rail, because that is the way the franchise system works,
Chiltern Railways being effectively prevented from owning such
assets.

AIUI Chiltern do own a couple of infrastructure assets, including Warwick
Parway station and the 'new' platform at Princes Risborough.


Warwick Parkway is indeed owned by Chiltern Railways. However, it
predated the Evergreen project and hence played no part in Evergreen
1, nor Evergreen 2. It is doubtful whether a TOC-owned station could
ever be built on National Rail in future, given the substantial
changes in the nature of rail franchising since the Warwick Parkway
project was initiated.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 6 Jul, 08:44, wrote:
On 6 Jul, 03:20, TheOneKEA wrote:

On Jul 5, 5:07 pm, Bob wrote:

Possible bidders would include Britain's top five bus and rail
operators, Stagecoach Group (SGC.L: Quote, Profile , Research), Go-
Ahead Group (GOG.L: Quote, Profile , Research), First Group (FGP.L:
Quote, Profile , Research), National Express (NEX.L: Quote, Profile ,
Research) and Arriva (ARI.L: Quote, Profile , Research), as well as
Germany's Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and French bus and rail operator
Keolis, the source added.

Oh wonderful. If any of the usual suspects acquire it I can see
Chiltern getting sucked into a tiolet tank and turned into a shadow of
its clean, reliable, expansionist, common-sense self. Whoopee.

*has horrible mental images of Barbie swirls all over the 168/Xs*

There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

Probably not to do with 'key performance indicators', but my last few
trips on Chiltern have been very disappointing train. A recent journey
to Birmingham was on what was perhaps the grottiest train I have ever
travelled on - the walls inside had ancient coffee stains, the carpets
looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months and the table was
sticky. Yuck.

Their staff are good, and Marylebone station is a credit to them (I
don't think it's a Network Rail one)... but I for one find Chiltern's
reputation better than the reality.

That said, I bet National Express will be keen to pick them up... or
First. Please don't let it be First!
Would a management buy out be viable (afterall that's what led to M40
Trains being created in the first place)

B.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

"ONscotland" wrote in message
ups.com...

Probably not to do with 'key performance indicators', but my last few
trips on Chiltern have been very disappointing train. A recent journey
to Birmingham was on what was perhaps the grottiest train I have ever
travelled on - the walls inside had ancient coffee stains, the carpets
looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months and the table was
sticky. Yuck.

The other thing that would worry me if I were Chiltern is that, although
Virgin's service is more expensive, it's not always as expensive as people
think. I don't know if VT have increased their quotas of Value fares but I
was surprised to find that as late as Wednesday I was able to book a First
Advance ticket from New Street to Euston for Friday, at exactly the time I
wanted to travel, for £29.50. I could have got Standard for £10. I was
travelling on business so it was a no-brainer, but at that price I would
have been tempted even if it had been a leisure trip, bearing in mind that
the price includes coffee, soft drinks, a copy of the Times, some perfectly
good sandwiches, and no screaming kids.

It would still be a shame if Chiltern did go into decline. I for one was
sorry that they didn't take over the Snow Hill suburban services in the
recent WM shake-up.

Regards

Jonathan

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

Peter Masson wrote:
"The Good Doctor" wrote
Evergreen 2 was carried out by John Laing Group on a Design, Build,
Finance and Transfer basis. John Laing Group funded the project and
took full commercial risk. However the assets became the property of
Network Rail, because that is the way the franchise system works,
Chiltern Railways being effectively prevented from owning such
assets.

AIUI Chiltern do own a couple of infrastructure assets, including Warwick
Parway station and the 'new' platform at Princes Risborough.

So does that mean Chiltern could "take their ball home", if a situation
ever arose where they felt like doing so (perhaps a Connex-style early
termination)? "It's our platform, and you can't have it..."

--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 7 Jul, 18:42, ONscotland wrote:
On 6 Jul, 08:44, wrote:





On 6 Jul, 03:20, TheOneKEA wrote:

On Jul 5, 5:07 pm, Bob wrote:

Possible bidders would include Britain's top five bus and rail
operators, Stagecoach Group (SGC.L: Quote, Profile , Research), Go-
Ahead Group (GOG.L: Quote, Profile , Research), First Group (FGP.L:
Quote, Profile , Research), National Express (NEX.L: Quote, Profile ,
Research) and Arriva (ARI.L: Quote, Profile , Research), as well as
Germany's Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and French bus and rail operator
Keolis, the source added.

Oh wonderful. If any of the usual suspects acquire it I can see
Chiltern getting sucked into a tiolet tank and turned into a shadow of
its clean, reliable, expansionist, common-sense self. Whoopee.

*has horrible mental images of Barbie swirls all over the 168/Xs*

There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

Probably not to do with 'key performance indicators', but my last few
trips on Chiltern have been very disappointing train. A recent journey
to Birmingham was on what was perhaps the grottiest train I have ever
travelled on - the walls inside had ancient coffee stains, the carpets
looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months and the table was
sticky. Yuck.

Their staff are good, and Marylebone station is a credit to them (I
don't think it's a Network Rail one)... but I for one find Chiltern's
reputation better than the reality.

That said, I bet National Express will be keen to pick them up... or
First. Please don't let it be First!
Would a management buy out be viable (afterall that's what led to M40
Trains being created in the first place)


Richard Bowker isn't a fan (so he told me) of buying up other
franchises/businesses.

And - re. another point - if Chiltern decide to "take their ball home"
they lose a very large performance bond and could still be liable to
pay any costs of running the franchise until it was re-let - including
the cost of reletting it.
When Connex let go of South Central early GoVia actually had to buy
them out of the remainder of the franchise.

Tony

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

In article ,
Arthur Figgis wrote:
Peter Masson wrote:
"The Good Doctor" wrote
Evergreen 2 was carried out by John Laing Group on a Design, Build,
Finance and Transfer basis. John Laing Group funded the project and
took full commercial risk. However the assets became the property of
Network Rail, because that is the way the franchise system works,
Chiltern Railways being effectively prevented from owning such
assets.

AIUI Chiltern do own a couple of infrastructure assets, including Warwick
Parway station and the 'new' platform at Princes Risborough.

So does that mean Chiltern could "take their ball home", if a situation
ever arose where they felt like doing so (perhaps a Connex-style early
termination)? "It's our platform, and you can't have it..."

"It's our tunnel ...."

Nick
--
http://www.leverton.org/blosxom ... So express yourself

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 7 Jul, 22:33, wrote:
On 7 Jul, 18:42, ONscotland wrote:



On 6 Jul, 08:44, wrote:

On 6 Jul, 03:20, TheOneKEA wrote:

On Jul 5, 5:07 pm, Bob wrote:

Possible bidders would include Britain's top five bus and rail
operators, Stagecoach Group (SGC.L: Quote, Profile , Research), Go-
Ahead Group (GOG.L: Quote, Profile , Research), First Group (FGP.L:
Quote, Profile , Research), National Express (NEX.L: Quote, Profile ,
Research) and Arriva (ARI.L: Quote, Profile , Research), as well as
Germany's Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and French bus and rail operator
Keolis, the source added.

Oh wonderful. If any of the usual suspects acquire it I can see
Chiltern getting sucked into a tiolet tank and turned into a shadow of
its clean, reliable, expansionist, common-sense self. Whoopee.

*has horrible mental images of Barbie swirls all over the 168/Xs*

There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

Probably not to do with 'key performance indicators', but my last few
trips on Chiltern have been very disappointing train. A recent journey
to Birmingham was on what was perhaps the grottiest train I have ever
travelled on - the walls inside had ancient coffee stains, the carpets
looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months and the table was
sticky. Yuck.

Their staff are good, and Marylebone station is a credit to them (I
don't think it's a Network Rail one)... but I for one find Chiltern's
reputation better than the reality.

That said, I bet National Express will be keen to pick them up... or
First. Please don't let it be First!
Would a management buy out be viable (afterall that's what led to M40
Trains being created in the first place)

Richard Bowker isn't a fan (so he told me) of buying up other
franchises/businesses.

Tony

I think that when they had nine franchises, I could see why they would
wonder about buying TOCs.
But they've lost seven franchises now. I can't see them standing back
and letting Go Via or First or Stagecoach snapping up an opportunity
like Chiltern. Plus it gets them the Overground again.

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On 8 Jul, 08:28, ONscotland wrote:
On 7 Jul, 22:33, wrote:





On 7 Jul, 18:42, ONscotland wrote:

On 6 Jul, 08:44, wrote:

On 6 Jul, 03:20, TheOneKEA wrote:

On Jul 5, 5:07 pm, Bob wrote:

Possible bidders would include Britain's top five bus and rail
operators, Stagecoach Group (SGC.L: Quote, Profile , Research), Go-
Ahead Group (GOG.L: Quote, Profile , Research), First Group (FGP.L:
Quote, Profile , Research), National Express (NEX.L: Quote, Profile ,
Research) and Arriva (ARI.L: Quote, Profile , Research), as well as
Germany's Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and French bus and rail operator
Keolis, the source added.

Oh wonderful. If any of the usual suspects acquire it I can see
Chiltern getting sucked into a tiolet tank and turned into a shadow of
its clean, reliable, expansionist, common-sense self. Whoopee.

*has horrible mental images of Barbie swirls all over the 168/Xs*

There are suggestions going round that whilst Chiltern is doing very
well on punctuality etc. there are many problems to do with other "key
performance indicators" linked to retaining the franchise that need
very urgent attention. (suggested as one reason behind the change of
MD recently announced) - so whilst it may seem to be doing very well
it could be that there are issues that need to be resolved elsewhere
in the company that we aren't aware of.

Tony

Probably not to do with 'key performance indicators', but my last few
trips on Chiltern have been very disappointing train. A recent journey
to Birmingham was on what was perhaps the grottiest train I have ever
travelled on - the walls inside had ancient coffee stains, the carpets
looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months and the table was
sticky. Yuck.

Their staff are good, and Marylebone station is a credit to them (I
don't think it's a Network Rail one)... but I for one find Chiltern's
reputation better than the reality.

That said, I bet National Express will be keen to pick them up... or
First. Please don't let it be First!
Would a management buy out be viable (afterall that's what led to M40
Trains being created in the first place)

Richard Bowker isn't a fan (so he told me) of buying up other
franchises/businesses.

Tony

I think that when they had nine franchises, I could see why they would
wonder about buying TOCs.
But they've lost seven franchises now. I can't see them standing back
and letting Go Via or First or Stagecoach snapping up an opportunity
like Chiltern. Plus it gets them the Overground again.


Agree 100%. National Express' recent record would indicate that the
only way they will increase the number of rail franchises they hold is
to take over other TOCs.

Obviously, I will eat my words if they win InterCity East Coast!

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On Fri, 6 Jul 2007, JP wrote:

SWTs fleet visit Salisbury very regularly and get tender loving care

Hmm. I suppose with the demise of steam, trains now have to go to great
lengths to get some tender lovin'. Didn't realise Salisbury Depot was now
functioning as a rolling stock brothel, though.

Insert jokes about greasy coupling etc as desired.

Sorry.

tom

--
Tech - No Babble

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

Further report from Reuters
Quote
LONDON (Reuters) - Chiltern Railways could be auctioned as soon as
late August by fund manager Henderson , with bids expected to exceed
80 million pounds, industry sources said on Friday.

One of the sources said bids could approach 100 million pounds,
adding, "It should happen in early autumn -- around late August or
early September."

Another source said on Thursday that Henderson had appointed KPMG as
advisers for a sale of the train operator, so that its project manager
division, John Laing, can focus on its core infrastructure activities.
This source later said Chiltern could be worth around 80 million
pounds.

Chiltern Railways has a franchise to run services northwest from
London towards Birmingham until 2020. It was acquired by Henderson
last year when the fund manager bought John Laing for around 950
million pounds.

"It's an easier business to manage than most, as one company runs the
line end to end, and the assets are in very good nick (condition),"
said one of the sources.

Chiltern is seeking significant compensation after a tunnel collapsed
on its line during the construction overhead of a new Tesco store at
Gerrards Cross near London.

The source said Henderson would not have started the sale process
without reaching an agreement with Tesco.

POSSIBLE BIDDERS

Another of the sources, referring to bus and rail operator Go-Ahead
Group , said, "Go-Ahead would not rule out looking at this fairly
closely."

Analyst Joe Thomas at Investec said, "Go-Ahead is the most undergeared
stock in the sector, and they have a stack of cash, but you shouldn't
rule out infrastructure funds being interested too."

Go Ahead shares rose 1.4 percent to 27.37 pounds by 1:56 p.m. British
Time.

National Express Group is also seen by analysts as a possible bidder,
having last month missed out on a bid to run East Midland rail routes.

Other possible bidders for Chiltern include Britain's Stagecoach Group
and Arriva , Germany's Deutsche Bahn and French bus and rail operator
Keolis.

Laing's joint venture with Hong Kong-based MTR 0066.HK, running the
London Overground system from November, may also be sold, said one of
the sources.

MTR/Laing last month won a competition to run London Overground --
taking over from Silverlink Metro on a route that combines the North
London Line and the soon to be modernised East London tube line.

KPMG, Henderson, MTR and Go-Ahead all declined to comment.
Unquote

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

"Bob" wrote in message
ups.com...
Further report from Reuters
Quote
LONDON (Reuters) - Chiltern Railways could be auctioned as soon as
late August by fund manager Henderson , with bids expected to exceed
80 million pounds, industry sources said on Friday.

One of the sources said bids could approach 100 million pounds,
adding, "It should happen in early autumn -- around late August or
early September."


Laing's joint venture with Hong Kong-based MTR running the
London Overground system from November, may also be sold, said one of
the sources.


Interesting that the possibility of retaining the Overground concession
exists - of course an operating concession with no farebox risk may be seen
as a better earner than Chiltern, a franchise (although much longer than the
norm).

Paul

Reuters announce Chiltern Railways for sale
 

On Jul 10, 12:18 pm, Bob wrote:
Further report from Reuters
Quote
LONDON (Reuters) - Chiltern Railways could be auctioned as soon as
late August by fund manager Henderson , with bids expected to exceed
80 million pounds, industry sources said on Friday.

One of the sources said bids could approach 100 million pounds,
adding, "It should happen in early autumn -- around late August or
early September."

Another source said on Thursday that Henderson had appointed KPMG as
advisers for a sale of the train operator, so that its project manager
division, John Laing, can focus on its core infrastructure activities.
This source later said Chiltern could be worth around 80 million
pounds.

snipped

If that is the case then the link with Renaissance Trains (WSMR) will
need to be sorted. Any price Renaissance Trains joining in the
bidding? or even Virgin to replace the lost XC franchise?

Hobdenious