numberbiter
06 Oct 2016
£500,000 down the pan This, apparently, was the cost of Southern's failed media campaign (see previous email). Thousands of posters that were to be put up in stations are to be destroyed, Why would anyone want to invest in a company where incompetent management waste shareholders' money?
numberbiter
03 Oct 2016
Misplaced tweet Southern Railways (Go-Ahead Group is the overall parent) tweeted begging passengers to tweetly complain to the RMT Union. How low can they sink? It didn't do them any good, as the response was the opposite of what they wanted. One response summed up the overall reaction: " I dislike unions but I dislike incompetent management more."You would think that by now the directors of this company would sort the management of Southern out by banging a few heads together. As they are apparently unwilling to do this a further decline (to below 2,000p) is inevitable.
numberbiter
22 Sep 2016
How awful can Southern get? How Southern Railways keep their franchise beggars belief. day their service gets worse and worse with endless delays and even more cancellations. Now, they plan to close all their ticket offices so if you want something outside local travel, they tough you should have booked weeks ago on line. Management have given no thought to those without computers or foreign tourists who need help. Then we are about to suffer 14 days of strikes because the management won't even talk to the Unions. This is a useless company with inadequate management. The share price should only go one way!
numberbiter
17 Sep 2016
Re: GTR You might retire in three years, but think about your mates?If all railways were bad, we might agree that the problem is expansion. But apart from the awful Southern Railways and the cattle truck Virgin operation, most franchises are operating reasonably well.The reason why Southern is so bad is that the management could not care less about their customers; their sole strategy is to break the Unions. But if they achieve this you don't get the best out of the workforce by humiliating them.
itowns
07 Sep 2016
Re: GTR I retire in about 3 years, so I'm alright Jack! In all seriousness, driverless trains are already with us. However, it's very expensive to retro upgrade infrastructure for driverless trains....much easier to introduce them on new infrastructure.The railways have been a phenomenally successful buisiness in the last 20 years, and most of today's problems are a result of pressures of expansion rather than incomptetence.
II Editor
06 Sep 2016
NEW ARTICLE: Stockwatch: Yield and cash protects this train wreck "Does a privatised essential service industry have shareholder value underwritten during a majority Conservative government? It's a cynical hunch, albeit relevant beyond the 1980s privatisation programme, which sold off state assets cheaply then ..."[link]
numberbiter
05 Sep 2016
Re: GTR I wouldn't get too complacent if you are a train driver. There is a long term plan to reduce the level of service and cut costs. Firstly, ticket offices are being closed, so passengers who need help to plan their journeys won't get any. Then they will not be able to travel at all if they cannot buy their tickets on-line (machines only cater for local services).The objective is to cut the number of passengers; revenue will not be affected as this is guaranteed by government. Firstly the plan is to get rid of conductors and slowly replace drivers with driverless trains. Your dividend is likely to be maintained, but I would not count on your job.
itowns
03 Sep 2016
Re: GTR Oh absolutely, privatisation of the railways in particular was a botched job to say the least. Far too many TOCs for a start.I've benefited personally mind, being a train driver myself.
LifeInPlastic
03 Sep 2016
Re: GTR My nephew works for FGW. Investment in their shares has been a bumpy ride for their shareholders .I can see why the way rail (and utilities) were privatised irks some people though.
itowns
03 Sep 2016
Re: GTR I don't know what your agenda is, but I work for this company, and own shares and I don't recognise some of the things you say.The rail industry is not a game in which you can make large margins, hence they are also seen as a comparatively safe investment. The franchises are set up that way intentionally. No profit for Go-Ahead comes from the Southern rail franchise. The lions share of profits come from running the bus division.I've held shares since 2008 and they have been a very good investment indeed.
numberbiter
02 Sep 2016
Re: GTR It makes a profit only because they receive a massive government subsidy and where things go pear shaped because of poor management taxpayers are forced to put in more (recently £20 million more). Investing in rail franchises is a risk free investment, but is bad news for commuters and taxpayers,
II Editor
02 Sep 2016
NEW ARTICLE: Go-Ahead profits swell despite rail chaos " LSE:GOG:Go-Ahead made an extra 37% profit from its rail franchises last year, despite massive problems on the Southern network. Capacity restrictions, strike action and absent staff continue to cause misery for thousands of commuters from ..."[link]
itowns
02 Sep 2016
Re: GTR I work in the rail division (and I'm a five figure shareholder) and how it makes any profit at all baffles me.
LifeInPlastic
02 Sep 2016
GTR "did not contribute to profit" Couldn't spot a figure for the actual GTR operating result. If anyone else has, please point out where it is in the RNS.Assuming GTR broke even (a big assumption), the operating margins in the rest of rail were about 4.2% (by my back of a cigarette packet calcs),"The rail division profitability was marginally ahead of the Board's expectations through better than expected resolutions of contract negotiations, this was despite the operational challenges faced during the year and the fact that GTR did not contribute to profitability. Trading performance in both Southeastern and London Midland remained strong"
numberbiter
01 Sep 2016
Better news than I thought Apparently tax payers are forking out £20 million, not £2 million to avoid poor management from absolute disaster. Why should taxpayers subsidise private companies?
