| Archived Save the Train forum articles - 2005 to 2010. See below
MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5313 Written by Lee on Friday, 18th May 2007 RMT general secretary Bob Crow and union activists will be out among commuters at Paddington Station on Monday morning (May 21), urging rail users to join the campaign for an end to First Great Western Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5347 Written by Lee on Tuesday, 22nd May 2007 Here is an alternative view on this (link below.) http://firstgreatwestern.blogspot.com/2007/05/foolish-consistency.html Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5355 Written by aik4on on Tuesday, 22nd May 2007 Yes, I think this severely reduced the credibility of MTLS as a genuine passenger pressure group. It seems now to have evolved into a political campaign with an anti-corporatists agenda. Does the RMT fund MTLS, I wonder? Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5362 Written by Lee on Wednesday, 23rd May 2007 [quote author=aik4on link=topic=2307.msg5355#msg5355 date=1179848369]Does the RMT fund MTLS, I wonder?[/quote] In a word , no. Although one of the "core aims" of MTLS is to act as a vehicle for passengers to register their legitimate displeasure with FGW's running of the Greater Western Franchise , its website has made clear from the beginning that they think that the current system is no way to run a railway and that they favour renationalisation. Therefore , there is no "credibility gap" as they havent deceived anyone. If MTLS wish to lend their support to the RMT (or vice versa) on issues on which they share common ground , then this seems an entirely logical thing for them to do. To suggest otherwise seems to me to be rather an alien concept , and one which I find rather taxing. I have met with RMT officials (as well as with Conservative MPs) , I regularly post links from the RMT website (which is an excellent source of rail news items from media organisations of all political "shades") and it would be fair to say that I am not First's number one fan (a "trait" that I share with a great many passengers from across the FGW network.) Does this mean that I too have an "anti-corporatists agenda" ? First are well aware of my views. I invite them to comment on a regular basis , and they do so from time to time. An example regarding the Severn Beach Line Development Plan can be found in the link below. http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2293.msg5294#msg5294 Quote from Andrew Griffiths (FGW) : "Wider aspirations are fine - and certainly could be included if there is any sign of someone stepping up to the plate to fund them. Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5384 Written by tramway on Thursday, 24th May 2007 Working in a business where we have had to learn some hard lessons in poor tender specification and then had to live with the consequences, perhaps the fault lies not so much with the franchise winner who will gleefully run to the lawyers to find the holes when they have succesfully bid, but in the woeful tendering process in the first place. The DfT and Councils really do seem to be amateurs when it comes to setting tender specifications, I'm sure it's not beyond the whit of the DfT to specify that the Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5385 Written by Lee on Thursday, 24th May 2007 [quote author=tramway link=topic=2307.msg5384#msg5384 date=1179994495]Working in a business where we have had to learn some hard lessons in poor tender specification and then had to live with the consequences, perhaps the fault lies not so much with the franchise winner who will gleefully run to the lawyers to find the holes when they have succesfully bid, but in the woeful tendering process in the first place. The DfT and Councils really do seem to be amateurs when it comes to setting tender specifications, I'm sure it's not beyond the whit of the DfT to specify that the Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5393 Written by aik4on on Friday, 25th May 2007 I disagree, I think the credibility of MTLS is severely damaged by its clearly very cosy and close links to the RMT. I would go as far to say that the 1970s throwbacks who lead the RMT are 'using' MTLS to stir up trouble to further their rather absurd call for renationalisation. As far as I am aware, MTLS was set up as a 'passenger power' movement to campaign for additional rolling stock to ease overcrowding for westcountry commuters. To move from this to an overtly political campaign aimed at removing FGW's franchise and/or renationalisation means that what they say will be taken with a much larger pinch of salt by journalists. I think this is already very clear from the almost complete lack of media interest in the protest on Monday. MTLS ever closer links with the RMT will not help their campaign at all. Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5400 Written by tonya on Friday, 25th May 2007 Watching CJ harrison's with amusement. Reminds me of a national paper who recently contacted MTLS asking for our press dept. I know we had a successful protest and a huge profile but just who do they think we are!! We are are a small and very informal group of campigners who all go to work so have very limietd time for campaigning. Our strength stands or falls on the level of public support we can muster.We aren't part of some sort of political conspiracy and the group includes people who hold a broad vareity of opinions on how the railways should be run. After all everyone holds their own opinion, and there is ususally something good to be in found in most people's opinions. We have no political affiliation, and we are pleased that the RMT saw fit to add our name to their leaflet, which may generate more support for our next event- No Run to a Railway Day, later this year. The RMT are the people who actually take the trains out of the sidings each day so probaly have a good idea what is wrong is the railways. If the railways can be run well under the private franchise system then well and good. But after 10 years or so, it doesn't seem that way does it? So why not build a head of steam for a return to well run public ownership, and I stress well run. Why should private companies make huge profits ourt of us whils cranking up the fares and reducing frequencies? But our statement supporting public ownership is a long term goal and only a small part of our campaign. We are realists which is why we continue to put pressure on train companies to improve their services, and the government to review or rewrits the franchises, so that we have abetter service now. And the perception of most commuters and press in our region is that the service has improved as a result of the fare strike! Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5401 Written by CJHarrison on Saturday, 26th May 2007 I am not sure, Mr Ambrose, why you claim to be watching me Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5402 Written by CJHarrison on Saturday, 26th May 2007 [quote author=Lee link=topic=2307.msg5385#msg5385 date=1180002242] In my view , the best description of how this money is spent can be found below : [/quote] I do not wish to be disingenuous, but it is not a good explanation at all. As I explained in some detail on that thread, it assumes there is a limited pot of cash. In reality, there isn Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5403 Written by CJHarrison on Saturday, 26th May 2007 [quote author=Lee link=topic=2307.msg5362#msg5362 date=1179913504] It would be fair to say that the author of the alternative view , CJ Harrison , disagrees with those that take an "anti-corporatist" stance. He calls his blogspot "The Truth About First Great Western" , the "truth" apparently being that everyone would be better off if the DfT removed the constraints placed on First. I would invite you to consider the following as examples of why this might not be such a good idea : [/quote] The stance I take rather depends on how you want to define anti-corporatism. Criticising a company because you disagree with its policies is not being anti-corporatist. Stating that a company is incompetent because it runs its services badly, even if others hold divergent views on the matter, is not being anti-corporatist. Stating that the profit motive is bad and that we would all be better under a system of public ownership *is* anti-corporatist. Forget whether you agree with the assertion or not, there is no getting around the fact that it is, by its very definition, an anti-corporatist position. My blog is clear on the distinction between these two points. I do not believe in the anti-corporatist agenda. I have neither time nor respect for it because it is based on flawed analysis and an often deliberate misreading of how the economy and the railway functions. Most importantly it will not, ultimately, make things better for travellers. Quite the opposite, it will make things significantly worse. That is one of the reasons I established the blog: to deal with the mass of misinformation and the large number of fallacies surrounding First Great Western. I wanted to demonstrate that these things were wrong and that they were often unfair. That said, my blog does not exist to defend Great Western per se. I have said many times in various comments and I am happy to repeat again, that First Great Western (much like any company) is not perfect. It does make mistakes and it does get things wrong. And where it does, people are right to criticise and to complain. As for the assertion that the truth is Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5415 Written by admin (Graham Ellis) on Sunday, 27th May 2007 I am glad to see that both of you gentlemen are at least in agreement that the current system is not best fitted to giving the travelling public an appropriate say / balance in the service that's provided. Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5475 Written by whistleblower on Friday, 1st June 2007 There are several erudite and detailed arguments for and against an alliance between MTLS and RMT. Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5514 Written by Lee on Monday, 4th June 2007 [quote author=CJHarrison link=topic=2307.msg5402#msg5402 date=1180137011] [quote author=Lee link=topic=2307.msg5385#msg5385 date=1180002242] In my view , the best description of how this money is spent can be found below : [/quote] I do not wish to be disingenuous, but it is not a good explanation at all. As I explained in some detail on that thread, it assumes there is a limited pot of cash. In reality, there isn Re: MTLS & RMT To Join Forces - 2307/5516 Written by Lee on Monday, 4th June 2007 [quote author=CJHarrison link=topic=2307.msg5403#msg5403 date=1180138435]As for the assertion that the truth is link to index of articles |
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Save the Train was the campaign to bring an approriate train service back to and through Melksham. Most big contributors are still around writing at the Coffee shop forum where new members are very welcome. The train has been saved - sort of - we have stepped back up from an unusable service to a poorish one but it's doing very well. We did that through setting up the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership. That fulfilled its early objectives; it has been taken over by local and regional government types who are now doing medium and long term work. The team from this forun can also be found at the Melksham Rail User Group (which was the Melksham Rail Development Group at the time these articles were written and we had no users. We mustn't loose sight, though, that the train service remains poor and needs our community support in marketing and campaigning to keep it going in a positive direction ... and all the more so when we're expecting to find a different normallity once we get out of the Coronavirus Pandemic and head for zero carbon via the climate crisis. Yes, it's saved ... it's now a key community facility ... the need for enhancement and the strong and near-universal local support remain, and the rail industry and goverment remain slow to move and provide the enhancements even to level us up with other towns. Please support the Melksham Rail User Group - now very much in partnership rather than protest with the rail industry and local government, including GWR, TransWilts and unitary and town councils. And please use the trains and buses, and cycle and walk when you can. -- Graham Ellis, (webmaster), February 2021 | |||
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