David Leeder

Forget “Ulysses”: I still think that this is his best book.

@Captain_Deltic @amotorhomme @Modern_Railways But ORR/DfT appear unable to stop the cash spending except by the brutal act of stopping / curtailing schemes as unit costs inflate.

@DavidLeeder2 @amotorhomme As I explained in @Modern_Railways a year so back. RAB-based funding is no longer available , although ORR is keeping the RAB updated in case it makes a comeback. The Network Rail credit card has been cut up.

What I find truly depressing about the recent publication of the draft Transport Bill and the George Bradshaw presentations by the Rail Minister and his Labour shadow, is that a once self-confident rail industry is standing outside the room, waiting to be told what to do.

@amotorhomme @Captain_Deltic incentive.

@amotorhomme @Captain_Deltic Not a topic for tweets. Would need an article in MR to skim the surface. But there must be be a change in inventive structure, and more risk capital IMHO.

@Captain_Deltic @amotorhomme Indeed. They have the RAB left over from Railtrack, which is an incentive to deploy more capital, and de facto deficit financing since Prescott which is free money. And an ORR near zero risk target that incentivises almost any safety-related opex and capex.

@DavidLeeder2 @amotorhomme You can only play what's in front of you according to the rules of the game. But the mechanism for funding Railtrack/Network Rail borrowing has left a sense of entitlement inimical to cost saving.

@amotorhomme @Captain_Deltic But there have been 3 official reviews into costs since 2010, all have which have been kicked into the long grass by industry resistance.

@jerryalderson @Captain_Deltic Fully agree. And the franchising system created an incentive to avoid confrontation with unions and passengers over cost issues that could be deferred into the next franchise period. As for NR, it has in practice been deficit financed for 20 years.

@DavidLeeder2 @Captain_Deltic Re: industry operating and capital costs are out of control They have been since Hatfield in 2000. But no-one panicked during those revenue-driven years because growing patronage masked the cost increases. Everyone should have seen the current situation coming but closed eyes.

@Captain_Deltic I’m glad that someone is !

@DavidLeeder2 I am currently working on a cost and revenue analysis.

@Captain_Deltic @r4Today The question for Burnham etc ought to be “are you prepared to raise any local taxes, or cut back other spending in the NW, to make-up some of the cost overruns ?”

@DavidLeeder2 @r4Today Interesting theory.

Hearing Harper on @r4Today endlessly bleating "I'm not going to comment on speculation" (about HS2) begged the question, what caused the speculation? Can anyone remember the source of the original report of a decision "within the coming week"?

@Captain_Deltic @r4Today This would be consistent with a pattern of recent civil service leaks, which then lead to precisely these kinds of journalistic pile-ons “Minister, will you deny the rumours etc etc”.

@Captain_Deltic @r4Today Presumably people with a vested interest in continuing the project (of whom there are many) have leaked the review to embarrass the Gov and bounce them into a statement that it will be continued. So we are now in the period of disorganisation

@DavidLeeder2 @r4Today No, there was a report in the media a couple of weeks ago saying that a decision on Phase 2 would be announced in the "coming week". What sparked that?

@WFHWORLD @CeltTurtle @JohnOBrennan2 @IrishRail QMV means that every member doesn’t sign up - it means that a weighted majority of votes by population and number of countries get to decide. No vetoes under QMV, I’m afraid.

This is a lie from long standing anti-European, Mick Lynch. Ireland’s national rail operator @IrishRail is nationally owned and will remain that way (thankfully).

@CeltTurtle @WFHWORLD @JohnOBrennan2 @IrishRail for national voters

@DavidLeeder2 @WFHWORLD @JohnOBrennan2 @IrishRail David apologies for simplifying- but you believe 🇪🇺is / was bad for public transport policy and that 🇬🇧is better off out due to that? I might be wrong - hence the ? Genuine question..

@CeltTurtle @WFHWORLD @JohnOBrennan2 @IrishRail I’m not really offering an opinion on that. I personally favour more competition and outsourcing. But I think this should be a matter not national voters. I don’t think that this should be decided by remote committees of technocrats with no democratic override.

@Call_Me_Angus @CeltTurtle @JohnOBrennan2 @IrishRail This is correct. And similarly in France SNCF owns the infra again. But there is plenty of open access freight in both countries and pax and tendered regional in Germany (who are closer to following the rules).

@dsquareddigest @JohnOBrennan2 @DenisMacShane @Peston Im sure that Peston hasn’t read any of the EU law in this area either. But he will support the concept of it without bothering to check what it is. Or how it was made.

@JohnOBrennan2 @DenisMacShane @Peston I think if Peston had "corrected" this, Lynch would have shot straight back that Ireland has only done this by failing to comply with the 2016 Railway Package after losing its single-operator exemption in 2013. Deregulation and a single European rail market is Commission policy

I trust Robert @Peston corrected him