WCRC Licence Suspended

No-one stops there tho.

 

PMR trip on 11/4/15 to Chester has been cancelled see http://www.prclt.co.uk/Tours.html

 

Still possible to book GBVIII online so you would hope some kind of back up plan is in place. Or am I being wildly optimistic ?

 

I would hazard a guess that RTC and their colleagues are rather busy trying to find a solution to the GBVIII.
Probably best to leave them to it and accept the news when it is announced!

 

Don't forget 45407 & 44871 who are currently at the NYMR. They're also in limbo too although at least they are hauling trains.

 

Will tours be on the taps for June?

 

It seems to me from looking elsewhere, assuming of course that WCRC do get their licence back, that there is a significant question about the supply of main line passed steam drivers in the long term.

It may well be possible to use 'heritage railway' crews to Whitby or on The Jacobite but unless we start getting younger drivers passed for steam and then have an operator who can use those skills it will all be over sooner or later

 

I was kind of thinking the same, but also with a healthy dose of optimism. Looking through the (public) correspondence between NR and West Coast, and given the hopeful willingness of all parties to achieve a solution asap, it might be possible for this to be sorted within the next month?

 

Quite so, I mentioned this further up thread, but I won't elaborate as I suspect such thoughts now belong in the new related thread so as to keep this one specific to the WCR suspension notice.

 

from another forum:

I've spoken with the ORR today and it says Phil's quote is correct.

I was told today : "The rail regulator has notified the West Coast Railway Company that it is reviewing the company's safety certification - needed to operate trains on the rail network. This follows a serious incident on 7 March 2015, when a train passed a signal at danger near Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire. Our initial investigation has found significant weaknesses in the company's safety management systems.

"ORR is carrying out further assessments to determine whether health and safety laws were breached, and the appropriate enforcement action required."


It also said it has the ability to raid offices to recover files etc if it feels that such action is necessary to gather evidence for any potential future legal action.




This does not sound good....

 

Indeed it certainly doesnt sound good at all. Such a shame, but then its fast becoming apparent that Network Rail in the last few years have been tightening up on the paperwork, the regulations and the health and safety culture to minimise risk and increase punctuality, while running a safe and secure railway. Rightly so.

It would be interesting to know of the action taken against FOC and TOC that have also caused delays or had accidents, or whether NR is more likely to attribute events like containers blown of wagons, or pantographs bringing down the knitting are more of a factor of the MDTR than running a steam engine with vac brakes - the latter of which I think will sharp become a factor, as well as the paperwork and steps taken afterwards.

It does sound, if what is mentioned above continues, that a case is being prepared against WCRC and that further action could be taken. I hope things are resolved sufficently for WCRC to be given a opportunity to adapt and continue to serve the market it has made in the future.

 

Why can't one discuss crew issues here? Which thread does it belong in?

 

I think it is part of the picture here.

Praying for wcrc right now.

 

I meant in the sense of the first paragraph, not the second!

 

its not good news which ever way you look at it As others have said, other TOC's have had Spads, so what happens, the driver gets a form 1 and retrained i would guess, but the TOC would have a paper trail to show that rules have been obeyed, in West Coasts case, something has obviously gone very wrong, and its down to them to put it right to the satisfaction of NR but with the lack of income until they do, will West coast be able to return, after all the profit margin is very small, and that just leaves DBS, who only want to run what it already does, my view is that there should be no difference in how a TOC runs steam charter, both should have to obay the same rules, if it means having an inspector as a 3rd set of eyes, so be it, if it means that theres an upper age limit, so be it, but you have to look at each situation, for instance whilst we cant discuss crew members, does the inspection regime need to be tightened up, for instance should lack of tamper proof seals should have meant the engine failing its FTR, ?

 

You do wonder if certain loco's are jinxed or whether there is some common factor at work. Don''t forget the Tangers dropped her inside valve motion near Rugby and punctured the oil bath some years ago on a LE move. Also 777 bent her reverser reach rod near Skipton on a Ribblehead working ex-KWVR IIRC.