Fares, profits, and overcrowding - viewpoints from Rail 714

Barry Doe Fare Dealer column in Rail 714 carries his annual comparison of percentage changes in walk-on fares to / from London since privatisation.

For the period June 1995 - January 2013, he states that (RPI) inflation has risen by 66% so it will perhaps surprise regular commuters to learn that +Chiltern Railways and Virgin Trains standard seasons have risen by 65%, whilst +London Midland has risen by 80%. Hardly the outrageous increases over the period that the media make a meal over each January...

However, walk-on single and return fares for the three companies have all increased markedly.Virgin Trains standard singles lead the way with a 210% increase whilst +Chiltern Railways off-peak day returns have increased by 140%. Only +Chiltern Railways Super Off-peak return matches the 'inflation' increase.

Elsewhere in the issue, Paul Prentice 'delves deep into the controversial world of rail fare increases'. He points out that season ticket holders actually get very steep discounts and that the rail fares policy is largely driven by the Treasury. However, he does suggest that the TOCs could help themselves in PR terms by offering direct debit facilities for annual season ticket purchases, and by making the Carnet system (12 tickets for 10 etc) more visible on their web sites.

Of the three TOCs that I cover, +Chiltern Railways does offer a 12 months for 11 months payment scheme (see http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/seasonw) whilst routes of +London Midland and Virgin Trains wholly within the West Midlands are covered by the Centro scheme (see http://tickets.networkwestmidlands.co.uk/directdebit/Index_DD.aspx)

As for the 'discount'... the figures for the cheapest standard class annual season are:

+Chiltern Railways Birmingham-London c66% (£7320 / 230 days as compared to £95 anytime return)
+London Midland Birmingham-London c66% (£5240 / 230 days as compared to £69 anytime return)
Virgin Trains Birmingham-London c75% (£9384 / 230 days as compared to £158 anytime return)

Meanwhile, Philip Haigh's report on the Rail 2020 inquiry by the Transport Select Committee is headlined MPs report train operating company profits halved Certainly the table showing net operating profits and Overall Subsidy makes salutary reading.

Finally, Christian Wolmar has a wheeze for solving +London Midland three most overcrowded departures from Euston. Simply make the Virgin Trains 'pick-up' only stops at Milton Keynes into 'open' stops. Simple...