Advice To Network Rail

I see that today, yet again, commuters on Southern Rail are facing serious and ongoing delays between Brighton and London.

This is therefore an opportune moment to offer some friendly advice to Network Rail re its "customer information".

Last week I had the misfortune of having to travel by rail from Brighton to London, on another day when commuters on the London/Brighton route were facing serious delays and cancellations.

One train, in the midst of the chaos, appeared to still be operating (the 11:34 Bedford train). At 11:29 the "customer information" showed "on time".

However, at 11:30 it showed "cancelled".

Clearly, given the ongoing disruption that day, Network Rail knew full well (before 11:30) that the train was not going to depart.

Why therefore did it wait until 11:30 to inform the hapless customers?

Lying to the customers does not endear Network Rail to its customers.

I then asked a member of staff as to when the next train to London would leave (the "information" board showed nothing other than "delay" or "cancelled").

He gave me an honest reply:

"I don't know".

At present Network Rail offers three specific messages wrt train departures:

- on time
- delayed
- cancelled

May I suggest that they add a fourth?

"We are fucking clueless".

That at least is an honest message!

In The Navy!

How reassuring that the world's shipping lanes are being patrolled and protected by such a professional navy!

There Was A Young Man Called Ed

Spike Milligan clearly was very being very perceptive about the future of Labour when he wrote this:

"There was a young man called Ed sir
Who was always found in bed sir
One day at one
They fired the gun
And Ed sir in bed sir was dead sir"

Bye Bye Ed

Heaven Preserve Us!

Heaven (if you believe in such things) preserve us from the possibility of Tony Blair (ex PM and current leader of the "Faith Foundation") from become president of the EU!

Linked In April Fool

It seems that today (1st April) Linked In, the business networking site, has gained a sudden influx of famous (yet dead) new members eg:

-Einstein
-Tolkien
-Hemingway
-Groucho Marx
-Robin Hood etc

Clearly an April Fool joke, but the question is "in house" or external prankster?

A Waste of Space

Baroness Ashton is to spend £8.5 million polishing the image of her new EU diplomatic service despite having four spin doctors of her own and the free use of the European Commission's 1,000-strong communications staff.

Criminal Waste

The reputations of the MOD, and the previous Labour administration, have plumbed new depths as it has been revealed that MOD contracts set up under Labour have resulted in light bulbs (worth 65p) being bought for £22 each and screws worth £2.60 being bought for £103.

This comes at a time when the MOD faces significant and damaging cuts in its budget and operational capabilities.

Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, has publicly claimed to be very angry. However will anyone actually be sacked for this?

Don't hold your breath!

Israel's Blockade of Gaza

The remarkably inept interdiction at sea by Israel of an aid convoy headed for Gaza, has highlighted a number of issues wrt the blockade and their handling of the interdiction.

1 The 20 mile sea cordon sanitaire around Gaza is not recognised by anyone other than Israel.

2 When intercepting a ship at sea the rules of the game are that you contact the captain and, if he refuses, the country that "flagged" the ship (in this case it is some flag of convenience). Israel did not do that.

3 The interception took places 40 miles outside Gaza (ie in international waters, outwith the Israel cordon).

In short, aside from the loss of life, Israel has not handled this well and will suffer serious "blowback".

Conundrum

Question: When is a resignation not a resignation?

Answer: When it is Gordon Brown resigning from leadership of the Labour Party, but not from the office of Prime Minister.

Viva El Presidente!

Gerson Lehrman News

Off topic, I write articles covering business issues for Gerson Lehrman News, and am an Accounting & Financial Analysis Council Member (AFA Council Members include CFOs, former top regulatory body officials, partners from the world's leading accounting firms, academics, forensic accountants, and other financial executives).

The news articles can be accessed via this link Gerson Lehrman News.