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| New name for c2c | |||
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| 20:37, 08 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| 3141 Member Send a message Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 391 |
I think National Express were planning to launch the new name for c2c during February. In an article in the February issue of Modern Railways Paul Bunting of NatEx says they are working on a "creative solution". That probably means "Oh God, what on earth are we going to call it?" Creative? That's from the people who changed the name of West Midlands Travel to Travel West Midlands. They're going to change it again to National Express West Midlands. Imagine how confused they'd be if they'd won the West Midlands rail franchise. No doubt as well as being creative it will also be innovative, fresh, suitable for the 21st century, revitalised, crisp, and all the other clichés that companies trot out. No, not crisp - almost every other rail operator has a short name, but if you have to put "National Express" at the front of everything it certainly won't be crisp. Anyway, I thought we might offer a bit of help to Richard Bowker and his minions as they search for a "creative solution", so here are some suggestions. All of these are copyright (c) 2008 by 3141, naturally. National Express LTS National Express c2c National Express SoS National Express Essex Man (no, not sufficiently PC) National Express North Thames National Express Cockney Connections National Express EastEnders National Express Cockle Commuter (that's a reference to the shellfish stalls in Leigh and Southend, if you don't know the area) National Express Estuary I've run out of ideas. You probably think that happened before I'd even started! The most suitable name was the one it used to have - London Tilbury and Southend - and if they had any sense, instead of being besotted with their so-called brand, that's what they'd use. Anyway, what other "creative" ideas do you have? | ||
| 20:47, 08 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| Toady400 Member Send a message Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 1010 |
National Express Thamesside. Toady  I'm now a Southerner in North Wales. One extreme to the other! 50's Forever. The Signaller friendly Dobber! No.1 hater of buses. Anything with 4 wheels per coach just isn't a train! | ||
| 21:23, 08 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| Class 170 Member Send a message Joined: Jan 2005 Posts: 4223 News credits: 1 |
National Express Thames Gateway These are all personal opinions | ||
| 23:06, 08 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| Bazza_C Member Send a message Joined: Jan 2005 Posts: 412 |
National Express Southend Line (slow) Then you've got to rename the former One Service via Shenfield to Southend Victoria National Express Southend Line (fast) or NX Southend Victoria Line and NX Shoebury Line Bugger it, just call them all NAtional Express. Why do you need to qualify which line it is. Years ago it was all british rail. Now it's 'all' (in the east at least) becoming national express! To be honest, why can't they do what London Buses do. Keep all the trains in the same colour and just change the name of the operator. As it happens I do like the new NX livery, but haven't I seen it somwhere before? Oh yeah... v. similar to the prototype HST Railway Performance Society - Dedicated to analysing train performance, operations and the most comprehensive archive of steam, diesel and electric journey logs in the world. *** STOP PRESS *** *** Membership from only ?16 per year http://www.railperf.org.uk | ||
| 07:46, 09 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| 89001avocet Send a message |
This debate has been had before, but I am still going to agree with you!  | ||
| 15:32, 11 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| Alex Member Send a message Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 377 |
Hopefully they will just integrate it with 'one' and call the whole lot NX East Anglia (like Virgin Trains was XC and WC). When the next round of franchise re-letting comes about theres no doubt in my mind the two will become one anyway! 456024 'Sir Cosmo' | ||
| 16:01, 11 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| 89001avocet Send a message |
I think this is the way they will do it. I do, however, like the way C2C and One are seperate franchises - it keeps a bit on variety in the North-Thames area, and surely Competition Commission will have something to say about such a large area taken-up by one operater (yes, I know they are both NX at the mo., but if, say, First/Stagecoach acquire this mega-franchise (heaven forbid), it'll cause even more trouble as both probably operate busses in this area.! | ||
| 22:44, 11 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| Elliott Member 
Send a message Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 40 |
I'm not sure sure about the two franchises being merged, if it was going to happen then I think we would've known about it by now. I say this becuase the Gatwick Express franchise wasn't due to expire until 2011, instead it's being terminated in June this year and merged with Southern. In our staff brief a couple of weeks ago it mentioned that National Express are going to go for a franchise extention for c2c. As currently the best performing railway in the UK, I would say this is likely to be granted, but then, stranger things have happened under DaFT. Customer Service Assistant for c2c | ||
| 09:54, 12 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| Class 87 Member 
Send a message Joined: Feb 2005 Posts: 1245 |
NX East Coast, NX East Anglia, now another NX. I can see a pattern emerging here which is similar to another organisation on the network.  Number of edits: 1. Last edit: 09:58, 12 February 2008 | ||
| 09:55, 12 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| 89001avocet Send a message |
Yes, it's called getting the brand more widely know - who would have associated 'One', 'GatEx', CT, old SR, WT, W&B & C2C with the NatEx group? | ||
| 10:16, 12 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| Paul Scott Member Send a message Joined: Jan 2007 Posts: 2378 |
Horses for courses isn't it - the 'F in circle' gets everwhere, whereas Stagecoach and GoVia do not use the parent group names much at all, except possibly in the small print. Perhaps Nat Ex want to be as succesful as FGW... Paul | ||
| 10:31, 12 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| 89001avocet Send a message |
Ye, I'm surprised 'GoVia' don't invent an intelligent logo and use it on their stock - GoviaLondonMidland, GoviaSouthCentral/GoviaSouthern & GoviaSoutheastern seem catchy names, and more intelligent than putting 'First' infront of anything that's entered their area of scamming! There again, Stagecoach SouthWest sounds quite good, and Stagecoach EastMidlands doesn't sound bad either! | ||
| 12:35, 12 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| Alex Member Send a message Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 377 |
I think considering the size of a franchise like Northern or the volume of trains run by the likes of SWT, a combined one and c2c shouldnt be a concern... Could be wrong though! 456024 'Sir Cosmo' | ||
| 12:41, 12 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| 89001avocet Send a message |
Yes true, but Serco/Nedrail don't run any busses in the area do they, which is what I was meaning. Likewise, when One was initially let, weren't NX forced to surrender some of their rural bus-routes, because they really did have a monopoly in East Anglia? | ||
| 20:25, 12 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| Great Eastern Member 
Send a message Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 222 |
c2c will not (and cannot) become part of One, NXEA without the DfT. The blurb about National Express East Anglia states that they will simply refer to the operation as National Express unless they need to be specific, i.e at Peterborough where NXEA and NXEC meet. | ||
| 20:27, 12 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| 89001avocet Send a message |
We were meaning at the next round of franchise-changes - I believe they both expire at the same time? | ||
| 10:47, 13 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| t0ffeeman Member Send a message Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 124 |
How's about NX Essex Coast? Though Cockle Commuter should really win! | ||
| 18:03, 13 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| Class 170 Member Send a message Joined: Jan 2005 Posts: 4223 News credits: 1 |
That will be interesting at Upminster as well as at Stratford and Liverpool Street when c2c go and visit there. These are all personal opinions | ||
| 18:15, 13 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| 89001avocet Send a message |
Yep, that's what they're doing already in Leeds & York! | ||
| 20:09, 13 February 2008: | Report | Quote | ||
| 3141 Member Send a message Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 391 |
But so what if people didn't associate those train companies with the NatEx group, and why should their brand be more widely known? All this brand stuff is largely a delusion of PR and marketing people - going on about it helps keep them in work, and chief executives and directors like it because it's a kind of corporate virility symbol and pleases their egos. But do normal people care? I know there are some people on this site with an irrational hatred of the owners of certain TOCs, so possibly there are also some who are in love with one or other of them ("Oh Stagecoach, darling...." - or maybe not), but most people just want a train or bus which is on time, clean, and reliable. Most of them aren't going to say "I travel from London to York by train because it's GNER or NatEx". They do it because it's the only way you can get there in two hours or less, and what makes them come back is not the brand but whether they found it did what it was supposed to. One Saturday recently when I was going to London and there were engineering works between Basingstoke and Woking, the trainline was offering me travel to Paddington via Reading. Instead I drove to Sunningdale and got the train there. That's not because I prefer the Stagecoach brand to First, but because it was more convenient as the place I was going to was just over the road from Waterloo. If I'd been going to somewhere near Paddington I'd probably have travelled that way. Over most of Britain it's impractical for there to be a choice of train or bus companies for the same journey, so people will use the train or bus as long as it goes where they want to at the times they want. They won't choose it, or not, according to "brand". As I've said on another thread, what really matters is not the image but getting on with the job. Govia, who so far haven't gone in for the brand nonsense, are a good example of a company concentrating on doing the job right. | ||