Chaitern Railways have been kind enough to pick up on points that I have made on my blog recently...
Nothing is yet decided on AMT's role in Chiltern's catering plans (see Business Class on Chiltern ???)
The state of cleaniness on the 1630 from Marylebone (see Alas, not the 1633 from Marylebone) was due, apparently, to a mix-up in communications. The Traincare team will be ensuring that it is upto Chiltern's high standards in future.
Under the new Mainline timetable (see Chiltern's plans for May 2011), the 0630 from Kidderminster will terminate at Snow Hill and not provide a direct connection with the new 0733 from Moor Street. Currently, Chitern are examing ways in which a connection at Moor Street can be provided...
NOTE that the introduction of the Mainlie timetable has been delayed until late summer 2011 (see http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/news/chiltern-mainline-announcement-0)
Sunday, 27 February 2011
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
'Business Class' on Chiltern???
This week's Rail magazine fuels the rumours that Chiltern is going to introduce First Class in all but name when its revamped Birmingham to London Mainline timetable starts; it seems to be an open secret that Mk3 loco-hauled stock has been earmarked for certain trains (the draft timetable 168 headings relate only to the timings for train planning purposes).
Some would argue that Chiltern already offer a 'first-class' service on their Clubman trains when fares are used to assess the comparative value of the offering, but, of course, Chiltern actually do run first-class carriages (declassified) already: the 0546 Monday to Friday from Moor Street and the 1630 return working from Marylebone.
I have blogged twice - first in praise and subsequently in disappointment - about the 1630 service but only today have I had the opportunity to try out the 0546.
I arrived in reasonable time to find the Moor Street ticket office closed, the departure screen showing Platform 4 for the service, and the train idling in Platform 3... No platform staff around but plenty of activity on board the train: ex-W&S staff in their smart uniform, Chiltern on-board staff, and AMT staff!
The declassified First Class carriage was virtually empty so no problem getting a table seat. Wi-Fi seemed to be working ok, the tables were tidy, and the toilet clean - so a better first impression of the state of the train. Departure was on time, and it soon became clear about the activity: AMT were using the service to trial run their proposed take-over of the catering service on Chiltern trains...
So, passengers had the interesting experience of an at-seat service between Birmingham and Banbury courtesy of a very friendly Chiltern catering stewardess followed by an equally friendly AMT member of staff offering an at-seat service from Banbury to London! So the tea was AMT branded but the bacon roll was Chiltern...
Passenger numbers picked up as the train progressed south so that on leaving Bicester it was virtually full. Pity the timing is so slack: 2 hours 6 minutes needs improving if it is to compete properly with Virgin even if the walk-on single fare is only £39.40 (see my earlier blog post on Chiltern peak fares ...). Revenue protection was strangely absent until after Leamington which suggests that Chiltern are catching the Virgin disease in this respect - even stranger when one considers the number of staff actually on board the service!
Overall, a better value service than the speedier Virgin eqivalent in terms of comfort and fare (£74.50 is the walk-on fare for the 6.30 departure from New Street) but Virgin do give you an extra half-an-hour in bed!
Some would argue that Chiltern already offer a 'first-class' service on their Clubman trains when fares are used to assess the comparative value of the offering, but, of course, Chiltern actually do run first-class carriages (declassified) already: the 0546 Monday to Friday from Moor Street and the 1630 return working from Marylebone.
I have blogged twice - first in praise and subsequently in disappointment - about the 1630 service but only today have I had the opportunity to try out the 0546.
I arrived in reasonable time to find the Moor Street ticket office closed, the departure screen showing Platform 4 for the service, and the train idling in Platform 3... No platform staff around but plenty of activity on board the train: ex-W&S staff in their smart uniform, Chiltern on-board staff, and AMT staff!
The declassified First Class carriage was virtually empty so no problem getting a table seat. Wi-Fi seemed to be working ok, the tables were tidy, and the toilet clean - so a better first impression of the state of the train. Departure was on time, and it soon became clear about the activity: AMT were using the service to trial run their proposed take-over of the catering service on Chiltern trains...
So, passengers had the interesting experience of an at-seat service between Birmingham and Banbury courtesy of a very friendly Chiltern catering stewardess followed by an equally friendly AMT member of staff offering an at-seat service from Banbury to London! So the tea was AMT branded but the bacon roll was Chiltern...
Passenger numbers picked up as the train progressed south so that on leaving Bicester it was virtually full. Pity the timing is so slack: 2 hours 6 minutes needs improving if it is to compete properly with Virgin even if the walk-on single fare is only £39.40 (see my earlier blog post on Chiltern peak fares ...). Revenue protection was strangely absent until after Leamington which suggests that Chiltern are catching the Virgin disease in this respect - even stranger when one considers the number of staff actually on board the service!
Overall, a better value service than the speedier Virgin eqivalent in terms of comfort and fare (£74.50 is the walk-on fare for the 6.30 departure from New Street) but Virgin do give you an extra half-an-hour in bed!
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Alas, not the 16.33 from London Marylebone
Regular readers will remember that I wrote in praise of the 16.33 from London Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street in January.
From Monday 14th February, departure of this service has been brought forward to 16.30, thus taking the path of the former W&S service to Wrexham. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to see what other changes had occurred now that the Wrexham & Shropshire is no more.
At first, omens seemed good. The train was made up of W&S stock and, as before, the de-classed First Class carriage was at the Birmingham end of the train so was not too busy. Staff were wearing W&S uniforms too...
BUT there were newspapers left on the seats, and the toilet - a source of much pride to the W&S - was not flushed, the basin was wet, and there were paper towels (!) instead of the hand-dryer ... Worse still was the scanty stocking of the buffet - very little on display and no menu, though I have to admit the prices were reasonable (£1.40 for tea) - and the lack of working Wi-Fi.
As I presume that the stock had come from Wembley depot after 'servicing', I was surprised at how far standards had slipped.
As before, the W&S train manager wasn't checking tickets, and as before a Chiltern ticket inspector joined at Banbury (happy are those who travel from Bicester to Banbury...).
The former First Class carriage is a pleasure to travel and work in... and, as a fellow passenger commented, is surely worth a supplement if this meant a return to W&S standards. So come on Chiltern... one class fits all has worked for you without a doubt BUT surely it is time to experiment with an enhanced service for your long distance passengers!
From Monday 14th February, departure of this service has been brought forward to 16.30, thus taking the path of the former W&S service to Wrexham. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to see what other changes had occurred now that the Wrexham & Shropshire is no more.
At first, omens seemed good. The train was made up of W&S stock and, as before, the de-classed First Class carriage was at the Birmingham end of the train so was not too busy. Staff were wearing W&S uniforms too...
BUT there were newspapers left on the seats, and the toilet - a source of much pride to the W&S - was not flushed, the basin was wet, and there were paper towels (!) instead of the hand-dryer ... Worse still was the scanty stocking of the buffet - very little on display and no menu, though I have to admit the prices were reasonable (£1.40 for tea) - and the lack of working Wi-Fi.
As I presume that the stock had come from Wembley depot after 'servicing', I was surprised at how far standards had slipped.
As before, the W&S train manager wasn't checking tickets, and as before a Chiltern ticket inspector joined at Banbury (happy are those who travel from Bicester to Banbury...).
The former First Class carriage is a pleasure to travel and work in... and, as a fellow passenger commented, is surely worth a supplement if this meant a return to W&S standards. So come on Chiltern... one class fits all has worked for you without a doubt BUT surely it is time to experiment with an enhanced service for your long distance passengers!
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Virgin First Class fares analysed
Recently I tweeted on my discovery that Virgin had restarted the Off-peak First Class single fare between Birmingham International and London Euston. As before, this is priced at £84 but, unlike last time (http://birmingham2london.blogspot.com/2010/06/virgin-fares.html), is valid on the 0603 out of Euston as well as the 0529 and 0550 out of New Street. Full details as in my June 2010 posting - don't forget to buy the £6.20 Virgin-only First Anytime Day Return fare between New Street and International to complete the journey!
As the fares are 'walk-on', they are a saving of £65.80 on the walk-on through fare of £240...
If you have to travel on the peak trains* and haven't got a railcard**, then save money by splitting your fare at Coventry (all trains but the 7.30 from New Street), Rugby, or best of all, Milton Keynes. DON'T forget that the train HAS to stop at the station at which you are splitting the fare! See my website (www.birmingham2london.com) for full details of the savings that can be made.
* Peak Trains: 0610 to 0950 from Birmingham New Street; 0623 to 0923 and 1503 to 1843 from Euston
** Raicard savings available to:
16-25: Virgin Business £168.95
Senior: First Anytime £158.40
As the fares are 'walk-on', they are a saving of £65.80 on the walk-on through fare of £240...
If you have to travel on the peak trains* and haven't got a railcard**, then save money by splitting your fare at Coventry (all trains but the 7.30 from New Street), Rugby, or best of all, Milton Keynes. DON'T forget that the train HAS to stop at the station at which you are splitting the fare! See my website (www.birmingham2london.com) for full details of the savings that can be made.
* Peak Trains: 0610 to 0950 from Birmingham New Street; 0623 to 0923 and 1503 to 1843 from Euston
** Raicard savings available to:
16-25: Virgin Business £168.95
Senior: First Anytime £158.40
Friday, 11 February 2011
Chiltern's plans for May 2011
Chiltern has published the draft May 2011 timetable for comment (http://bit.ly/ec4MvJ). The changes, due to the completion of the Mainline element of the £250 million Evergreen 3 project, are significant... Chiltern summarise them as
* two fast trains from Birmingham Moor Street to London in the morning, and two return trains in the evening which run non-stop from Warwick Parkway. Most of these trains will take just 90 minutes between Birmingham and London
* Substantial journey time improvements, spread along the whole London to Birmingham route
In detail, the key changes are:
from Birmingham...
First train from Moor Street 0546 arr Marylebone 0733
0655 from Moor Street stops only at Solihull and Warwick Parkway and arrives Marylebone at 0825 (90 mins journey time)
First train from Snow Hill 0646 arr Marylebone 0906
0852 from Snow Hill fast from Warwick Parkway arriving Marylebone 1027 - this will be the FIRST off-peak arrival
Off-peak service pattern: fast from Moor Street at 55 mins past the hour; slow from Snow Hill at 12 mins past the hour.
Last train from Snow Hill: 2145 arr Marylebone 2346
from London Marylebone...
First train 0700 arr Birmingham Snow Hill 0907
Off-peak service pattern: 07 mins past the hour to Snow Hill (117 mins); 37 mins past the hour to Moor Street (100 mins).
1630 and 1810 stop only at Warwick Parkway and Solihull to give 91 min journey to Moor Street NB Major changes to evening peak hour departure times!
Last train 2307 arr Moor Street 0050
COMMENTS to timetableconsultation@chilternrailways.co.uk by Thursday 24th February
* two fast trains from Birmingham Moor Street to London in the morning, and two return trains in the evening which run non-stop from Warwick Parkway. Most of these trains will take just 90 minutes between Birmingham and London
* Substantial journey time improvements, spread along the whole London to Birmingham route
In detail, the key changes are:
from Birmingham...
First train from Moor Street 0546 arr Marylebone 0733
0655 from Moor Street stops only at Solihull and Warwick Parkway and arrives Marylebone at 0825 (90 mins journey time)
First train from Snow Hill 0646 arr Marylebone 0906
0852 from Snow Hill fast from Warwick Parkway arriving Marylebone 1027 - this will be the FIRST off-peak arrival
Off-peak service pattern: fast from Moor Street at 55 mins past the hour; slow from Snow Hill at 12 mins past the hour.
Last train from Snow Hill: 2145 arr Marylebone 2346
from London Marylebone...
First train 0700 arr Birmingham Snow Hill 0907
Off-peak service pattern: 07 mins past the hour to Snow Hill (117 mins); 37 mins past the hour to Moor Street (100 mins).
1630 and 1810 stop only at Warwick Parkway and Solihull to give 91 min journey to Moor Street NB Major changes to evening peak hour departure times!
Last train 2307 arr Moor Street 0050
COMMENTS to timetableconsultation@chilternrailways.co.uk by Thursday 24th February
Virgin to match the WSMR?
One of the more surprising aspects of the closure of the Wrexham & Shropshire service was the reaction of Virgin Trains. In the Birmingham Post for 3rd February (http://bit.ly/fNpc5z) Arthur Leathley of Virgin is quoted as saying: "
We want to get back to the days when a train journey was special and we have some revolutionary ideas that we would like to introduce".
On Wednesday, I had an opportunity to compare and contrast Virgin's idea of 'special' with that of the late WSMR as I had booked an Advance standard WSMR ticket for outward travel on the former 0902 from Tame Bridge Parkway. Under the replacement arrangements for the end of this service, this meant catching the 0907 LondonMidland service to New Street and then the 0950 Pendolino to Euston. Interestingly, the replacement journey time was only a few minutes less than the booked WSMR timings...
Quiet Coach A of the Pendolino was indeed quiet - very few passengers upon departure, and few joining enroute - so I was able to use my favourite table at Seat 22. This is an Airline seat with a small fixed table about half-way down the carriage. Naturally, it does not have much of a window but it does have a power point! Of course, the WSMR equivalent carriage has spacious tables aligned with the windows and comfortable seats and power points throughout. However, the WSMR never cracked Wi-Fi in its standard class whereas Virgin offer a reasonably reliable conection all the way...
On the WSMR, the staff were friendly and very much in evidence - chatting to passengers as they passed through the train. Announcements too were couched in passenger friendly 'we love having you travel with us' terms. On Wednesday's Pendolino, it was difficult to tell how friendly the staff were as they were not in evidence apart from a ticket check after Rugby, one announcement from the Shop after International, and several 'ticket validity' announcements up to Coventry...
Talking of the Virgin Shop, a pleasure of the WSMR was the small buffet selling local produce and taking credit / debit cards for payment. I couldn't face the Virgin Shop, not least because of the requirement to pay in cash...
Cost? Well, the WSMR Advance Standard Single was £18. If I had booked as well ahead on LM/Virgin, it would have cost £32 (£31 from New Street itself).
Coming back that evening, I had booked a First Class Advance Single on the 2103 departure from Euston. Even the day before, this was available at £22 which when you consider that the Standard Advance Single was on sale for £15 is a bargain, including as it does access to Euston's First Class Lounge, and food/drink on the journey.
Euston's First Class Lounge was quiet but reasonably stocked with drinks and biscuits as I arrived. The 2103 was slightly delayed due to earlier problems at Tile Hill but departure was promised at 2108. In the meantime I was amused to be told by a fellow passenger that @LondonMidland's tweets were far more useful than @VirginTrains - too much schmoozing and no hard information was his description of Virgin's efforts!
In the end, departure from Platform 5 was about 10 minutes late. As the 2103 calls at Milton Keynes, the First Class stewards serve coffee / tea straight away but don't return with food and soft/alcoholic drinks until after MK. One great downside of this is the lack of a second serving of coffee.
Food offered was Tuna & Cucumber sandwich or a Wrap, with a cake (made in Somerset) or fruit or crisps. Drinks were the usual soft and alcoholic selection. The stewards are friendly enough but don't have the time to talk so you don't get the impression of individual service which was such a feature of the WSMR First Class experience. Of course, the WSMR journey time was more leisurely...
Yet again (see my posting for the 27th January), revenue protection was non-existent so anyone could have joined the train and sat anywhere... Has Virgin no incentive to check tickets?
Arrival in Bimingham was about 15 minutes late.
Overall, Virgin's Pendolino offering isn't bad BUT the revolutionary ideas are certainly needed if Virgin has genuine aspirations to raise its service game.
We want to get back to the days when a train journey was special and we have some revolutionary ideas that we would like to introduce".
On Wednesday, I had an opportunity to compare and contrast Virgin's idea of 'special' with that of the late WSMR as I had booked an Advance standard WSMR ticket for outward travel on the former 0902 from Tame Bridge Parkway. Under the replacement arrangements for the end of this service, this meant catching the 0907 LondonMidland service to New Street and then the 0950 Pendolino to Euston. Interestingly, the replacement journey time was only a few minutes less than the booked WSMR timings...
Quiet Coach A of the Pendolino was indeed quiet - very few passengers upon departure, and few joining enroute - so I was able to use my favourite table at Seat 22. This is an Airline seat with a small fixed table about half-way down the carriage. Naturally, it does not have much of a window but it does have a power point! Of course, the WSMR equivalent carriage has spacious tables aligned with the windows and comfortable seats and power points throughout. However, the WSMR never cracked Wi-Fi in its standard class whereas Virgin offer a reasonably reliable conection all the way...
On the WSMR, the staff were friendly and very much in evidence - chatting to passengers as they passed through the train. Announcements too were couched in passenger friendly 'we love having you travel with us' terms. On Wednesday's Pendolino, it was difficult to tell how friendly the staff were as they were not in evidence apart from a ticket check after Rugby, one announcement from the Shop after International, and several 'ticket validity' announcements up to Coventry...
Talking of the Virgin Shop, a pleasure of the WSMR was the small buffet selling local produce and taking credit / debit cards for payment. I couldn't face the Virgin Shop, not least because of the requirement to pay in cash...
Cost? Well, the WSMR Advance Standard Single was £18. If I had booked as well ahead on LM/Virgin, it would have cost £32 (£31 from New Street itself).
Coming back that evening, I had booked a First Class Advance Single on the 2103 departure from Euston. Even the day before, this was available at £22 which when you consider that the Standard Advance Single was on sale for £15 is a bargain, including as it does access to Euston's First Class Lounge, and food/drink on the journey.
Euston's First Class Lounge was quiet but reasonably stocked with drinks and biscuits as I arrived. The 2103 was slightly delayed due to earlier problems at Tile Hill but departure was promised at 2108. In the meantime I was amused to be told by a fellow passenger that @LondonMidland's tweets were far more useful than @VirginTrains - too much schmoozing and no hard information was his description of Virgin's efforts!
In the end, departure from Platform 5 was about 10 minutes late. As the 2103 calls at Milton Keynes, the First Class stewards serve coffee / tea straight away but don't return with food and soft/alcoholic drinks until after MK. One great downside of this is the lack of a second serving of coffee.
Food offered was Tuna & Cucumber sandwich or a Wrap, with a cake (made in Somerset) or fruit or crisps. Drinks were the usual soft and alcoholic selection. The stewards are friendly enough but don't have the time to talk so you don't get the impression of individual service which was such a feature of the WSMR First Class experience. Of course, the WSMR journey time was more leisurely...
Yet again (see my posting for the 27th January), revenue protection was non-existent so anyone could have joined the train and sat anywhere... Has Virgin no incentive to check tickets?
Arrival in Bimingham was about 15 minutes late.
Overall, Virgin's Pendolino offering isn't bad BUT the revolutionary ideas are certainly needed if Virgin has genuine aspirations to raise its service game.
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Weekend First upgrades
Virgin has returned to offering the Weekend First Upgrade for the Birmingham to London Pendolinos for £10 each way - though interestingly the web site page http://bit.ly/hMOfKa hasn't been updated to show this.
These upgrades are available either in Advance or on board. However, if you are booking a specific train in Advance, you should find it cheaper to book a straight forward First Class Advance ticket: looking ahead to next Sunday for instance, prices started at £22 compared to the off-peak single upgraded price of £53.30
Don't forget that if you hold a Standard Anytime Ticket, the Upgrade is free upon application to the Train Manager. Such a pity that Virgin hides this in the small print AND continues to offer a First Anytime Ticket on the Buy Tickets matrix on its web site....
These upgrades are available either in Advance or on board. However, if you are booking a specific train in Advance, you should find it cheaper to book a straight forward First Class Advance ticket: looking ahead to next Sunday for instance, prices started at £22 compared to the off-peak single upgraded price of £53.30
Don't forget that if you hold a Standard Anytime Ticket, the Upgrade is free upon application to the Train Manager. Such a pity that Virgin hides this in the small print AND continues to offer a First Anytime Ticket on the Buy Tickets matrix on its web site....
LondonMidland out, Chiltern back
Last Thursday I had an opportunity to try out LondonMidland's enhanced First Class offering by using the 0753 Class 350 from Birmingham New Street to London Euston.
Regular readers of my blog and tweets will know that LM is now offering free tea / coffee / water with biscuits to First Class ticket holders between New Street and Milton Keynes on selected through services (basically morning and early afternoon). Full details of the trains can be found at http://bit.ly/eVZJpf
Knowing that I was using the 0753, I was able to book an Advance ticket for £16 for the journey (a saving of £47 on the walk-on fare). As usual, the 4 car unit was the service from Crewe which the station announcer insisted was terminating at Plaform 1A despite the fact that it was clearly going forward. Surely someone can reprogramme these announcements to take account of 'reality' rather than the bureaucracy...
First class was very quiet so a table to myself with a power point meant no excuse not to work on my laptop! One other passenger had clearly bought an Advance ticket as she was singing its praises to a friend BUT she hadn't realised about the enhanced refreshment service so some work still to be done by LM's marketing dept.
The refreshment trolley passed through the First Class compartment after Birmingham International and my 'complimentary' tea and biscuits (a choice of 4 varieties) served once my ticket had been verified. Interestingly, this was the only ticket check on the journey - clearly LM have the same issues with revenue collection that beset Virgin!
The journey was uneventful and on time though of course slow... the linking up to another unit at Northampton costs at least 5 minutes on the schedule.
So, if one has plenty of time, can book in advance, and wants to end up in the Euston area, then LM are providing an improved service... and don't forget that between 19 Feb and 6 March, the LM Great Escape voucher gives a return £20 fare on most off-peak trains (see http://bit.ly/i0FPxM for full details).
However, Chiltern still lead the pack for value for money even though the Company doesn't offer First Class. I returned on the 14.20 Clubman to Moor Street, which offers a journey time 34 minutes quicker than the 0753 for a walk-on ticket price of £19.40
As I have blogged many times, the Clubman is an ideal environment in which to work, having spacious tables and power points throughout. No catering at that time of day and of course no WiFi but still an amazingly good way to travel.
Regular readers of my blog and tweets will know that LM is now offering free tea / coffee / water with biscuits to First Class ticket holders between New Street and Milton Keynes on selected through services (basically morning and early afternoon). Full details of the trains can be found at http://bit.ly/eVZJpf
Knowing that I was using the 0753, I was able to book an Advance ticket for £16 for the journey (a saving of £47 on the walk-on fare). As usual, the 4 car unit was the service from Crewe which the station announcer insisted was terminating at Plaform 1A despite the fact that it was clearly going forward. Surely someone can reprogramme these announcements to take account of 'reality' rather than the bureaucracy...
First class was very quiet so a table to myself with a power point meant no excuse not to work on my laptop! One other passenger had clearly bought an Advance ticket as she was singing its praises to a friend BUT she hadn't realised about the enhanced refreshment service so some work still to be done by LM's marketing dept.
The refreshment trolley passed through the First Class compartment after Birmingham International and my 'complimentary' tea and biscuits (a choice of 4 varieties) served once my ticket had been verified. Interestingly, this was the only ticket check on the journey - clearly LM have the same issues with revenue collection that beset Virgin!
The journey was uneventful and on time though of course slow... the linking up to another unit at Northampton costs at least 5 minutes on the schedule.
So, if one has plenty of time, can book in advance, and wants to end up in the Euston area, then LM are providing an improved service... and don't forget that between 19 Feb and 6 March, the LM Great Escape voucher gives a return £20 fare on most off-peak trains (see http://bit.ly/i0FPxM for full details).
However, Chiltern still lead the pack for value for money even though the Company doesn't offer First Class. I returned on the 14.20 Clubman to Moor Street, which offers a journey time 34 minutes quicker than the 0753 for a walk-on ticket price of £19.40
As I have blogged many times, the Clubman is an ideal environment in which to work, having spacious tables and power points throughout. No catering at that time of day and of course no WiFi but still an amazingly good way to travel.
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