One of the quirks of the Birmingham to London routes has been Virgin West Coast's easement for 16-25 & Senior railcard holders allowing the use of off-peak tickets on peak hour trains. From Sunday 6th September, this easement will be withdrawn -see this FAQ
Clearly this is bad news for those railcard holders who have been benefiting from Virgin's easement: an off-peak return fare of £34.15 will become an Anytime Return at £110.90 although Virgin do say that more Advance purchase tickets will be made available...
So what should an affected Railcard holder do? Clearly the first thing to check is that the journey needs to be at peak times for both legs. The Split Ticketing site is an essential place to start exploring the different options available - for instance, returning to Birmingham on the 16.43 from Euston is effectively off-peak by splitting the fare at Milton Keynes and Coventry.
Secondly, consider using London Midland services to / from Euston or Chiltern Railways services to / from Marylebone. Although slower, both companies' fares are much cheaper than Virgin's as their time restrictions are much less onerous.
Finally, buy your off-peak tickets now as return journeys after the 6th September will be honoured (so Virgin tell me).
Sunday 23 August 2015
Tuesday 27 January 2015
Wrexham & Shropshire - a trip down memory lane
Having written in praise of 'Wrexham & Shropshire: open access - the one that got away' last night to mark the four years since closure, I thought I would take a trip into my blog archive to see what memories my early posts would evoke...
My web site birmingham2london.com (now in abeyance) and this blog were inspired by the efforts that the W&S were making to break into the Birmingham to London market through the stop at Tame Bridge Parkway. In February 2010, I spent a week travelling First Class between the two cities on a variety of routes and services...
My first experience of the wonderful staff service on a W&S train was on my first day when travelling between Banbury & Leamington Spa. There was confusion on whether I was entitled to a meal but no hassle on being given something to eat (soup in this case). On the second day, I partook of the famed W&S breakfast and also wrote a rather snarky comment on the W&S claim to have four-star toilets...
In March, I traveled standard class for a week so of course marveled at the difference in comfort for the W&S as opposed to the other TOC offeirngs... see http://birmingham2london.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/tuesday-9th-march.html and http://birmingham2london.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/thursday-11th-march.html
In August, I sampled one of the 'Diverting with Doris' trains so warmly described in the book (p104-105) see http://birmingham2london.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/saturday-7th-august.html Happy days but surely financially ruinous...
In December I celebrated the use of W&S stock and staff for a new Chiltern service (see http://birmingham2london.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/going-first-class-with-chiltern-well.html) not realising what it was going to lead to!
A year on from the start of my blog came the end... http://birmingham2london.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/so-farewell-to-wrexham-shropshire.html It really was a good year but as the book makes clear one that was not sustainable. Thanks anyway to those who made it happen.
My web site birmingham2london.com (now in abeyance) and this blog were inspired by the efforts that the W&S were making to break into the Birmingham to London market through the stop at Tame Bridge Parkway. In February 2010, I spent a week travelling First Class between the two cities on a variety of routes and services...
My first experience of the wonderful staff service on a W&S train was on my first day when travelling between Banbury & Leamington Spa. There was confusion on whether I was entitled to a meal but no hassle on being given something to eat (soup in this case). On the second day, I partook of the famed W&S breakfast and also wrote a rather snarky comment on the W&S claim to have four-star toilets...
In March, I traveled standard class for a week so of course marveled at the difference in comfort for the W&S as opposed to the other TOC offeirngs... see http://birmingham2london.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/tuesday-9th-march.html and http://birmingham2london.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/thursday-11th-march.html
In August, I sampled one of the 'Diverting with Doris' trains so warmly described in the book (p104-105) see http://birmingham2london.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/saturday-7th-august.html Happy days but surely financially ruinous...
In December I celebrated the use of W&S stock and staff for a new Chiltern service (see http://birmingham2london.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/going-first-class-with-chiltern-well.html) not realising what it was going to lead to!
A year on from the start of my blog came the end... http://birmingham2london.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/so-farewell-to-wrexham-shropshire.html It really was a good year but as the book makes clear one that was not sustainable. Thanks anyway to those who made it happen.
Monday 26 January 2015
Four years ago this week - the demise of the Wrexham & Shropshire
Four years ago, Adrian Shooter - Chairman of the Wrexham and Shropshire - was preparing to travel to Wrexham to break the news to the staff of the company that the service was to cease. The end was mercifully quick: by Friday the last train had left London Marylebone for Wrexham and a brief but glorious episode in Britain's idiosyncratic railway history was brought to a close.
I can still remember the shock of the announcement that became public on the Wednesday, and my surprise at the seeming ruthlessness that was applied in closing down the service, I had been a champion of the company: indeed, it was its existence that first started me blogging on rail journeys between Birmingham and the Capital. So I felt the loss personally and wondered if we, the travelling public, would ever know the reasons behind the closure decision.
Well, three and a half years on, Richard Harper and Gordon Rushton wrote 'Wrexham & Shropshire: open access - the one that got away' (Adlestrop Press 2014 9780957145610 £33) and, having got a copy in my Christmas stocking, some of my questions have been answered.
The authors were both intimately involved with the company at various stages of its existence so the book is hardly a dispassionate account of its history. Having said that, they bend over backwards (perhaps too far?) to try to give a balanced view of the successes and the failures of the service. Thus, the 'killer' Moderation of Competition clause that Virgin Trains invoked for the Wolverhampton stop is treated even-handedly, as is Network Rail's seeming reluctance to give access to the Stour Valley Line from there to Birmingham. Even the Department of Transport - often a scapegoat for railway anger - gets off lightly!
So what killed the company? 'Events, dear boy, events' as Harold Macmillan probably didn't say. The company was launched just as Britain was about to enter recession; the planned rolling stock didn't materialise and the replacement dedicated rolling stock was delayed; the route timings were tortuous; Virgin launched its Very High Frequency timetable with new faster trains from the West Midlands; Tame Bridge Parkway failed to deliver patronage from north Birmingham; passengers turned out to prefer speed to comfort; the list goes on...
Despite all of the above - and the feeling that runs through the book that the service should never have been launched in the first place - there is real warmth for the achievements of the dedicated staff who worked so hard to make a go of it. Every member of staff has a well-deserved potted biography and key players are given space to explain their contribution. Wonderful photographs of the trains both inside and out show the real pride that the railway generated. Innovations such as the integrated web site / social media presence with print branding along with imaginative marketing material are given proper treatment, and, of course, the meals and on-board service are lovingly described.
So, if you ever travelled on the Wrexham & Shropshire this book is a must. If you weren't so fortunate, then perhaps the book will give you a flavour of why the service was always rated so highly in the Passenger Satisfaction Surveys. Buy it and enjoy!
I can still remember the shock of the announcement that became public on the Wednesday, and my surprise at the seeming ruthlessness that was applied in closing down the service, I had been a champion of the company: indeed, it was its existence that first started me blogging on rail journeys between Birmingham and the Capital. So I felt the loss personally and wondered if we, the travelling public, would ever know the reasons behind the closure decision.
Well, three and a half years on, Richard Harper and Gordon Rushton wrote 'Wrexham & Shropshire: open access - the one that got away' (Adlestrop Press 2014 9780957145610 £33) and, having got a copy in my Christmas stocking, some of my questions have been answered.
The authors were both intimately involved with the company at various stages of its existence so the book is hardly a dispassionate account of its history. Having said that, they bend over backwards (perhaps too far?) to try to give a balanced view of the successes and the failures of the service. Thus, the 'killer' Moderation of Competition clause that Virgin Trains invoked for the Wolverhampton stop is treated even-handedly, as is Network Rail's seeming reluctance to give access to the Stour Valley Line from there to Birmingham. Even the Department of Transport - often a scapegoat for railway anger - gets off lightly!
So what killed the company? 'Events, dear boy, events' as Harold Macmillan probably didn't say. The company was launched just as Britain was about to enter recession; the planned rolling stock didn't materialise and the replacement dedicated rolling stock was delayed; the route timings were tortuous; Virgin launched its Very High Frequency timetable with new faster trains from the West Midlands; Tame Bridge Parkway failed to deliver patronage from north Birmingham; passengers turned out to prefer speed to comfort; the list goes on...
Despite all of the above - and the feeling that runs through the book that the service should never have been launched in the first place - there is real warmth for the achievements of the dedicated staff who worked so hard to make a go of it. Every member of staff has a well-deserved potted biography and key players are given space to explain their contribution. Wonderful photographs of the trains both inside and out show the real pride that the railway generated. Innovations such as the integrated web site / social media presence with print branding along with imaginative marketing material are given proper treatment, and, of course, the meals and on-board service are lovingly described.
So, if you ever travelled on the Wrexham & Shropshire this book is a must. If you weren't so fortunate, then perhaps the book will give you a flavour of why the service was always rated so highly in the Passenger Satisfaction Surveys. Buy it and enjoy!
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