Of Chiltern Railways Business Zone and other matters

Yesterday, I had an unexpected journey to Leamington Spa which gave me an opportunity to try out the Business Zone offering on the 1555 from Birmingham Moor Street.

Yesterday's train was made up of the 'adapted' Silver set. Presumably, this set has now bedded down and is running reliably in service. Alas, the crew still had problems with the sliding door between the carriage and the toilet vestibule. In the end, it was left on 'manual' so at least it was shut for most of the journey.

Other than that, and the hum of the alternator which is evident when at a stand, the Zone was a delight for all two passengers to travel in... Tea served promptly in tea pots upon departure, and the Financial Times available to be picked up (pity the CBD Digest in the racks was an old edition). WiFi was working fine and, of course, there is so much space in which to make yourself comfortable.

So, Chiltern, why can't you sell the benefits more effectively? Is it the timing of this service which is perhaps a  tad early for returning business travellers to London, or could it be that the journey time is too long (111 mins compared to 84 mins on the 1550 Pendolino)? It would be a shame to see the Business Zone wither away through lack of use.

Chiltern Railways Monthly Money saver

Chiltern have introduced  a Direct Debit scheme for Monthly Season Ticket holders which gives the 12th month free if the first 11 months are paid for under the scheme. For Birmingham to London commuters, this would make the cost £7,075.20 if monthly season tickets were bought. However, the cost of the Annual Season Ticket between the two cities via HighWycombe is £6,700 so you are paying Chiltern an extra £375.20 for this facility...

Note too that Annual Season Ticket holders who buy their Birmingham to London season tickets from any Chiltern station Banbury southwards are entitled to the National Rail Goldcard which gives numerous benefits for both the holder and family within the old Network SouthEast area. As an aside, the same applies to any Annual Season Ticket holder who travels from Birmingham to London using LondonMidland or Virgin so long as the ticket is issued in the old Network SouthEast area ie Northampton southwards.

[Barry Doe has confirmed that my interpretation of the following wording from the Goldcard site is correct

Annual Season tickets can be issued as Gold Cards when:

• the origin station is within the area, or
• the issuing station and either the origin station, destination station or both are within the area.

Chiltern have said that the Business Travel Service cannot allocate Goldcards to Birmingham - London Annual Season Tickets bought through the Service as, although the service is based at Bicester, its sales are not allocated there... So, DON'T use the Business Travel Service to purchase an Annual Season Ticket from Birmingham to London!]


Thursday 5th July 18:36 - I hope that this will be the final update to this particular blog post... Of course, another way to get the Goldcard is simply to have the Annual Season Ticket running from London TO Birmingham using the ticket offices at Marylebone, Euston or Paddington.... As ever, when grappling with the national rail fares system, one's head begins to hurt!

Sun, Sea, Sand, and super savings

Finally, Chiltern seem to be suffering from the delusion that Summer has arrived (says he watching the rain pour down in Birmingham). For passengers from their commuter belt north of London, they are suggesting GroupSave trips to Brighton, Whitstable, Margate, and Worthing. Alas, at a journey time of almost 4 hours to Whitstable from Birmingham even the £50 Super Off-Peak fare isn't going to temp me that far south.