With all that money they are making it's a wonder some firms are having to threaten legal action to get paid.
And instead of spending many a penny on a traffic solicitor, you have to wonder why they don't spend a bob or two on a licensing one.
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| Fraser Eagle some past news snippets. http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10407 |
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| Author: | JD [ Thu Jan 08, 2009 3:38 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Fraser Eagle some past news snippets. |
January 5, 2007 Friday Malta s PM to open firm s new HQ Lancashire Telegraph THE Prime Minister of Malta is to officially open the new head offices of a Padiham-based transport firm. Dr Lawrence Gonzi is to visit East Lancashire on Friday, January 12, when he will officially open the new Fraser Eagle offices, Pendle Court, Shuttleworth Mead Business Park. The event, to open the £1.8million facility, is part of a three-day visit to Lanca-shire for the prime minister. He will also attend an assembly at Hapton Primary School and watch Blackburn Rovers play Arsenal in the Premiership on January 13. Fraser Eagle were able to attract Dr Gonzi to East Lancashire thanks to their links to Malta, where they have a control centre, opened by the dignitary last July. Kevin Dean, Fraser Eagle's group managing director, said: "We are delighted to be welcoming Dr Lawrence Gonzi to perform the official opening of our Padiham home. "This visit will further improve the relationship we have established with Malta over the last 12 months and bolster the international profile enjoyed by our business community here in East Lancashire. "We hope the Prime Minister will enjoy his stay in the county and we will certainly be showing him the best of what Lancashire has to offer." Fraser Eagle Group moved into the state-of-the-art building during December from property it had been renting elsewhere on the business park following its relocation from Accrington in 2005. It is the final part of over £4million investment by the firm in property at Shuttleworth Mead and puts all of the 180 head-office staff on one site. Fraser Eagle Group opened a second control centre in the Maltese city of Mosta to give it dual control of its UK transport operations. Having control centres in both means Fraser Eagle can continue operating if there is a system failure at either site. _____________________________________ March 23, 2006 Thursday Cabbies' anger at rail `snub' Evening Press reporter Ryedale MALTON taxi drivers are angry and feel snubbed after a train operator imported fleets of cabs from York to help them get Ryedale commuters to work. Trains from Malton were cancelled on Monday morning after track repair work by Transpenine Express, due to finish on Sunday, ran over deadline. But when alternative transport was arranged for passengers, including taxis and buses, many Ryedale taxi firms were overlooked. Executive Taxis, based in Malton, was one of the few firms offered work. Driver Paterakis Mamorlis was appalled to see taxis flooding in from York. "I was taking some people down to York from the 8am train and we could see all these taxis heading for Malton passing us at Flaxton," he said. "That adds an extra 25 minutes waiting time for these people, and there are all these taxis in Malton that have never even been asked." Transpennine company spokesman, David Mallender said that the firm employs the transport management company Fraser Eagle to provide alternative transport when trains aren't running. "It's a massive network. Rather than someone sitting in Malton Station with a phonebook, we employ Fraser Eagle to provide quick, available and 24-hour services, with a proven track record." He added: "In terms of getting the right buses and taxis at the right time, firms need to be putting themselves forward to Fraser Eagle if they want the business." _______________________ Burnley Express December 24, 2004 Breathalyser doubt keeps boss on road A COMPANY boss who crashed his £175,000 Ferrari after drinking, escaped a driving ban when his lawyer exploited a legal technicality. Solicitor Mr Nick Freeman brought proceedings to a sudden halt by submitting that the prosecution had not produced any evidence to show that the breathalyser machine had been correctly calibrated. He told magistrates in Blackburn that, in highlighting an omission in the prosecution, he had "seized upon an opportunity". A charge of driving with an alcohol level of 54 compared to the legal limit of 35 against Christopher Chambers (34), of Whins Lane, Read, was dismissed by the magistrates. Defence costs will be met out of public funds. Chambers is the chief executive of Accrington-based coach travel and holiday company, Fraser Eagle. Mr Paul Garner (prosecuting) said that shortly before midnight Chambers crashed his Ferrari into a dry stone wall on Whalley Old Road, Blackburn, an unlit country road. The badly damaged car was across the road when it was hit by a car driven by taxi driver Mr Kevin Singleton who was making his way home to Great Harwood after finishing his shift. Mr Singleton, of Gleave Street, Great Harwood, told the court his attention had been drawn to debris on the road and he only saw the unlit Ferrari 575 Marinello at the last moment. He said that Chambers was still in the Ferrari. He got out and said he had lost control of his vehicle after hitting a pothole. Mr Singleton said he told Chambers he would have to call the police because the situation was dangerous and Chambers said: "Fair play." "He seemed upbeat, not too concerned about it," said Mr Singleton. "He didn't seem devastated like I was because it was my living. I only had third party insurance and I was probably out of a job." The prosecution called two police sergeants to give evidence, one who arrested Chambers at the scene and the custody sergeant who carried out the breathalyser procedure, and the statements of three other officers were read. Mr Freeman said the defence case was that the prosecution had not induced any evidence of what the reading in breath had been. "Sergeant Yates tells you that reading was 54, but for that to be valid you would need to have evidence of calibration checks on the device," said Mr Freeman. "The Crown have not produced any evidence of that. You can't be satisfied the machine was working correctly." The magistrates agreed that no evidence had been submitted by the prosecution that the machine had been calibrated and asked Mr Garner if he agreed this was fatal to the case. Mr Garner said he had no advance notice of the submission and had been "non-plussed" by it. Mr Freeman replied that it had been a trial situation. Mike Jobbins chairman of The Campaign Against Drink Driving said last night: "How many times must we hear something like this before the authorities pull their socks up? "We obviously need to simplify the law because the people paid to protect us obviously struggle to grasp it and therefore cannot conduct simple cases properly. "I find it both baffling and utterly appalling that something like this can be allowed to happen." _________________________ The People August 29, 2004, Sunday LOST BUS DRIVER CALLS A TAXI TO BE GUIDE; PASSENGERS' FURY AT BUNGLE MATT GLASS A BAFFLED bus driver got so hopelessly lost he paid a TAXI to lead him to his destination. Passengers had twigged something was wrong when he went off in the OPPOSITE direction to the correct route. They were terrified as he nearly CRASHED while trying to read a map - then he ZIG-ZAGGED along country roads in a vain attempt to find the way. When the bungling busman ended up on a housing estate he gave up and asked for help from the driver of a taxi that had stopped. His 49 fuming passengers missed their rail connections because he took an hour and a half to complete a journey that should have been 24 miles and taken about 30 minutes. Passenger Sam Mccullon, 26, said: "It was an absolute farce. We might as well have taken a cab - it would have been miles quicker." The bus was called in to take train travellers from Wilmslow, Cheshire, to Crewe after their Virgin service to London was cancelled. The driver drove miles down the M56. Student Sam said: "I thought it was weird. It's not the quickest route. "Then he was reading a map while driving. The bus veered on to the hard shoulder and this lady screamed at him to concentrate on driving. "After 20 minutes on the motorway, he turned on to country roads. People were phoning friends and relatives for directions. Then we ended up on a housing estate before getting help from the taxi driver." Ian Jeffreys, a spokesman for bus firm Fraser Eagle, said: "We've spoken to the driver. It's sorted." A Virgin Trains spokesman said: "We expect an efficient service for our customers. We apologise if this wasn't the case." ____________________________________ Manchester Evening News August 19, 2004 Follow that cab! by clarissa satchell RAIL passengers forced to catch a replacement bus service were left fuming after the driver got lost and finally had to pay a taxi driver to lead him to his destination. The bus took an hour-and-a-half to take them just 24 miles from Wilmslow to Crewe. And it was claimed that on the way, the driver pulled out a map to find the way while driving along the M56 - making his bus veer onto the hard shoulder. Passengers arriving at Wilmslow station last Sunday to travel to London were informed their train was delayed and they would have to get a replacement coach service to Crewe. Sam McCollum, 26, was on her way back to London after spending the weekend with her dad, Wythenshawe Hospital vascular surgeon Prof Charles McCollum. She described the journey: "Once we got on to the bus he (the driver) whipped out a map and he was reading it as he was driving along the motorway. "There were people at the front shouting at him to put the map down. He was veering into the hard shoulder. "After spending about 15 minutes on the M56, we spent the rest of the time winding along back roads towards Crewe. At one point we ended up in a housing estate. In the end he found a cab driver and we followed him to the station. It was an utter farce." A spokesman for bus firm Fraser Eagle said: "We did use a vehicle for that route supplied by Andrews of Tideswell, who are one of our regular coach operators. "We've told them this is unacceptable; there is no excuse for a driver getting lost between Wilmslow and Crewe, and certainly not for reading maps on the route. ""We apologise to passengers on behalf of the company for what happened." ________________________________ Rugby Advertiser August 3, 2006 Is this the way to Amarillo - or Rugby...? A COACH operator will hold an investigation after passengers were asked to help a driver find his way to Rugby. It was claimed, by a national newspaper, that passengers laughed when a company supervisor asked if anybody on board could assist the driver. The supervisor allegedly added that the driver needed directions because he was Polish and couldn't speak much English. It was also claimed that a woman volunteered to sit next to the driver and direct him through the 20 mile journey. She was allegedly given a round of applause when the coach - run by travel firm Fraser Eagle - arrived on time for passengers to make their rail connections. Stephen Beech, 38, said: "It was lucky there were a couple of local people on the bus and one of them gave the driver directions as he clearly didn't have a clue. "It is disgraceful that a major firm like Virgin can employ a driver who doesn't know the route. Richard Branson should hang his head in shame." Another passenger, Samantha Jones, 32, said: "I thought it was a joke before I realised the driver didn't know where he was going. "It was embarrassing really. I was ashamed to be British. What would a tourist have made of all this? How did this driver get a job?" The coach - a replacement service for a Virgin Trains route - was travelling between Birmingham New Street and Rugby on Saturday, July 29. "Fraser Eagle confirmed the driver on the Coventry to Rugby stretch on Saturday evening had problems communicating with the supervisor as to what was expected of him. Andrew Taylor, PR and Communications Manager for Fraser Eagle coaches, told the Advertiser that the company was to begin an investigation. He said: "Although the coach did arrive on time for passengers to catch connecting services we apologise for any inconvenience caused. "The coach in question was not a Fraser Eagle branded vehicle but one that had been supplied to us from another company. "We will be speaking to the coach supplier involved to find out how this happened and how we can prevent such incidents in the future." Mr. Taylor added that coach companies were increasingly employing foreign drivers because of a wholesale drop in the number of domestic applicants. The coach service was operating due to rail maintenance work between Rugby and Birmingham that is set to last each weekend until the end of August. _________________________ March 19, 2007 Monday On track for a rail profit Ben Hewes Lancashire Telegraph AN EAST Lancashire firm has made at least £3million in just over two years after tripling its money on a stake in a rail company. At the end of 2004 Fraser Eagle, based in Altham, became the majority shareholder in York-based Grand Central Railway, essentially making the company a train operator. Now it has been revealed that Grand Central has now been taken over in a deal by a group led by two former rail bosses and the chairman of Bolton Wanderers Football Club. Fraser Eagle is not revealing the exact financial details, but it is thought to be costing the new investors about £10million - which includes buying Fraser Eagle's 79 per cent share of the firm, the trains and meeting running costs of around £1m. But Fraser Eagle, which has about 350 staff, has said it has more than tripled its initial £1.5million investment in Grand Central, in about two years. Group managing director Kevin Dean said: "This is great news for Fraser Eagle because it secures the future of the company and will give us the funds we need to develop exciting new areas of the business. "We financed Grand Central through a lengthy regulatory process with the rail authorities and also through a High Court legal challenge to get permission to operate these trains and we are now reaping the rewards of our determination." The new owners of Grand Central includes Phil Gartside, chairman of Bolton Wanderers Football Club, who will act as director; and former rail firm bosses Giles Fearnley and Bob Howells, who will serve as chairman and vice-chairman. In 2005/06, Fraser Eagle had a turnover approaching £50million in 2005/06. The company specialises in coach services, but has branched out into other areas including car sales, and also has two World Choice travel shops. It had established a new company, Bus Partnerships, which it is hoped will work with local authorities in England to supply transport. _________________________ May 15, 2007 Tuesday Award for coach firm Lancashire Telegraph EAST Lancashire transport firm Fraser Eagle has won a top industry award after helping to keep services running following a serious train crash. The company's transport division, Fraser Eagle Management Services, won the most effective recovery category at the 2007 Business Continuity Awards in London. It scooped the award after helping to transport Virgin Trains' passengers in the wake of the Grayrigg train derailment in Cumbria in February. An 84-year-old woman died and 22 others needed hospital treatment following the crash in which a Virgin Pendolino train from London to Scotland left the track. The incident closed the West Coast Mainline for two weeks. Within hours of the crash, Fraser Eagle had put 6,000 stranded passengers onto emergency coaches. The Padiham-based firm then ran 50 coaches per day between Preston and Carlisle for two weeks, transporting some 142,000 passengers in total. The awards are run by Continuity Insurance and Risk (CIR) - the UK's leading risk management and insurance journal. Steve Ellis, managing director of Fraser Eagle Management Services said: "What happened at Grayrigg could have been a major blow for the rail industry. "Fraser Eagle was pleased that we were able to help them keep passengers moving." ____________________________________- December 15, 2006 Friday Fraser Eagle group spreads its wings Lancashire Telegraph EAST Lancashire trans-port firm Fraser Eagle is set to open its own second hand car business. The Padiham-based company, which specialises in transport services including coach contracts and replacement bus services for rail companies, will open the new business in Accrington on January 2. Fraser Eagle has expanded a number of times in recent years, including becoming the main shareholder in a train operator, and starting an interior design and contract furniture company. Now the company has 180 staff in Padiham and a further 180 nationwide, and the new car dealership will also include a servicing and repairs centre. Kevin Dean, group managing director of Fraser Eagle, said: "This is an excellent new venture for Fraser Eagle Group and strengthens our portfolio of business to consumer products. "We are especially delighted to increase our presence in Accrington, the town were Fraser Eagle has its historical routes." The business, which will be known as Fraser Eagle Cars, is the culmination of a 20-year relationship between Fraser Eagle and car suppliers Keith Middleton and Duncan Spencer, formerly of Stratstone Volvo, Accrington. Fraser Eagle Cars will be based at the former Perry's Peugeot garage in Milnshaw Lane, Accrington, which has under-gone extensive refurbishment. The new team will also include service and repairs manager Steve Waddington, also a former Stratstone Volvo employee with 30 years' experience of car servicing and repairs. _________________________________________ August 31, 2006 Thursday Coach firm drives home £12m deal Lancashire Evening Telegraph AN East Lancashire transport firm has won a contract worth 12million pounds with train giant Virgin. Fraser Eagle Group, based on the Shuttleworth Mead business park, Padiham, has spent nine months finalising the three-year deal to supply taxis to Virgin train staff and customers. Fraser Eagle, which is best known as a coach tour operator, won the contract through its subsidiary firm, Fraser Eagle Management Services, which regularly provides replacement coaches and taxis. Now the firm, which had a base in Accrington until last year and employs around 200, will provide about 100,000 taxis a year to Virgin through a database of companies which it calls on to fulfil such orders. The taxis will be used to transport both Virgin staff members and passengers left stranded after train cancellations or emergencies. Fraser Eagle will be the sole provider of taxis nationwide for Virgin Cross Country and Virgin West Coast trains, and the deal is worth 4million pounds a year. Neil Atkins, group sales and commercial director for Fraser Eagle, said: "This is a huge success for FEMS and follows nine months of hard negotiation. "This contract will involve us running an additional one hundred thousand taxis a year on our current total - an increase of 60 per cent. "This is great news for the future of FEMS and demonstrates our expertise in the provision of large-scale nationwide transport solutions." The deal comes despite a recent incident which saw a driver, believed to be Polish, on a bus service run on behalf of Fraser Eagle for Virgin forced to ask for directions from passengers. Fraser Eagle is investigating the bus driver's actions, as he ferried Virgin Trains passengers between Birmingham and Rugby. ____________________________ November 6, 2000 UK Newsquest Regional Press Eagle's eyes see clearer tracks David Higgerson THE battle to keep Britain's train passengers on the move following rail crashes and bad weather is being co-ordinated from East Lancashire -- by a travel agency! Following a series of crashes, derailments and urgent safety checks, hundreds of services have been cancelled or delayed, leaving travellers struggling to get to their destinations. And with the weather causing even more delays and an announcement from Railtrack that another 175 miles of track is to close for repairs, travellers face a nightmare for weeks to come. Now an Accrington firm is working flat out to try to keep travellers on the move after being charged with finding alternative ways for passengers to travel. Fraser Eagle, based in the Globe Centre but better known for its travel agents division, has contracts from most of Britain's rail companies to provide or find buses should a train be cancelled, delayed or unable to reach its destination. Normally, that means providing a few taxis a day for passengers who have missed their last connection or a couple of coaches for trains cancelled due to track repairs. But following the Hatfield train crash, and the handful of accidents and minor derailments which have followed, the firm has found itself have to find more than 300 coaches a day to replace cancelled trains, with 150 people working flat out Kevin Dean, support services manager for Fraser Eagle, said: "The past week has been absolutely frantic because there have been so many hold-ups and accidents. "We have had to provide coaches all over the country and had buses ready to replace the services affected by the Hatfield crash within minutes of hearing about it. "Normally, we only have to lay on coaches for a couple of days after an accident until services get back to normal. But since that accident, things have got worse." In the aftermath of the Hatfield disaster, speed restrictions were slapped on many stretches of track, forcing rail companies to cancel services. Many lines were closed when safety checks were carried out on lines, including all of the West Coast Main Line north of Carlisle. Mr Dean added: "We have between 200 and 250 coaches on the road every day ferrying passengers about. Every time there is an accident, we have to find more coaches. Things aren't getting better yet." Last week's crash in Bristol, involving a mail coach and a coal train, added extra pressure for the company, which had to find extra coaches to ensure passengers could bypass the crash site. The firm also ferries air passengers around when they have landed at the wrong airport. That normally takes up most of their time -- but it is now taking a back seat. Mr Dean said: "We just don't what is coming next. We have worked on all the major train crashes outside London but none has compared to the amount of work this has produced." Picture: Fraser Eagle's management team of (front) Craig Currie and Kevin Dean and (back) Barry Cole and Morris Duckworth _________________________ |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Thu Jan 08, 2009 6:22 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Quote: May 15, 2007 Tuesday
Award for coach firm Lancashire Telegraph EAST Lancashire transport firm Fraser Eagle has won a top industry award after helping to keep services running following a serious train crash. The company's transport division, Fraser Eagle Management Services, won the most effective recovery category at the 2007 Business Continuity Awards in London. It scooped the award after helping to transport Virgin Trains' passengers in the wake of the Grayrigg train derailment in Cumbria in February. An 84-year-old woman died and 22 others needed hospital treatment following the crash in which a Virgin Pendolino train from London to Scotland left the track. The incident closed the West Coast Mainline for two weeks. Within hours of the crash, Fraser Eagle had put 6,000 stranded passengers onto emergency coaches. The Padiham-based firm then ran 50 coaches per day between Preston and Carlisle for two weeks, transporting some 142,000 passengers in total. The awards are run by Continuity Insurance and Risk (CIR) - the UK's leading risk management and insurance journal. Steve Ellis, managing director of Fraser Eagle Management Services said: "What happened at Grayrigg could have been a major blow for the rail industry. "Fraser Eagle was pleased that we were able to help them keep passengers moving." I think I should have been awarded......taking p*ssed off passengers and train crew. CC |
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| Author: | Sussex [ Thu Jan 08, 2009 6:24 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
With all that money they are making it's a wonder some firms are having to threaten legal action to get paid.
And instead of spending many a penny on a traffic solicitor, you have to wonder why they don't spend a bob or two on a licensing one.
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| Author: | captain cab [ Thu Jan 08, 2009 6:33 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Sussex wrote: With all that money they are making it's a wonder some firms are having to threaten legal action to get paid.
And instead of spending many a penny on a traffic solicitor, you have to wonder why they don't spend a bob or two on a licensing one. Perhaps they should pay those they owe first? CC |
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