So long and thanks for the ride...

Not sure that I can claim to be a poacher turned gamekeeper but I have taken a position with one of the three TOCs upon whose services this blog comments... so alas I can no longer claim independence and will have to put my blogging and tweeting activities on hold.

All the best with your journeys this Autumn

Peter

Index showing average change in price of rail fares 2004 - 2013

Late last month, David Milward, transport editor of the +The Telegraph, published an article on fare rises based on ORR Statistics: Cost of rail travel rapidly outstripping inflation, official figures show

I was intrigued by his article as I couldn't find the official figures to which he referred. Fortunately, Juliet Hyatt of the Office Of Rail Regulation has come to my rescue. She writes:

"Your enquiry was passed to our statistics team who have advised that the 23.1% increase in real terms quoted is taken from the "Index showing average change in price of rail fares 2004-2013", the latest version of which was published last Thursday (1st August 2013). The 23.1% refers to the real terms change in average past 2013 compared to 2004, for "Anytime" tickets for all operators.

The report we publish includes the change for other ticket types (including other walk-up fares such as off-peak) for each of the three sectors (long distance, Regional, and London and South East) plus all operators combined."

From this table, the actual % fare increases in real terms by the Groups to which the three Birmingham-London train operating companies fall is as follows:

+Chiltern Railways (London & SE)

Advance .... -3.8
Anytime .... 15.9
Off Peak ... 18.4
Season .... 12.9
Super Off-Peak ... 9.7
Other ... -0.6
All Tickets ....15
Revenue per journey ... -2.5

+Virgin Trains (Long Distance)

Advance .... 21.4
Anytime .... 31.5
Off Peak ... 14
Season .... 17.9
Super Off-Peak ... 14.6
Other ... 22.3
All Tickets ....22
Revenue per journey ... -7.7

+London Midland

Advance .... 17.6
Anytime .... 17
Off Peak ... 13.9
Season .... 10.4
Super Off-Peak ... 21
Other ... 11.3
All Tickets ....14.7
Revenue per journey ... 8.1

Virgin Trains Super Off-Peak fares

Virgin Trains have introduced a £28 Super Off-Peak walk-on return fare between Birmingham and London during August.

Monday to Friday northbound outward travel from Euston is available for departures between 1100 and 1400 and after 2015; Saturday and Sunday departures between 1030 and 1630 and after 1830. RETURN travel must be on trains arriving into Euston between 1250 and 1615 and after 2030 Monday to Friday or between 1208 and 1750 and after 2005 Saturday and Sunday (ie departing New Street from 11.30 to 14.50 and after 1910 M-F, or from 1050 to 1610 and after 1850 S/S)

Monday to Friday northbound outward travel from New Street is available for departures between 1130 and 1500 and after 1900; Saturday and Sunday departures between 1030 and 1630 and after 1830. RETURN travel must be on trains arriving into\New Street between 1225 and 1530 and after 2140 Monday to Friday or between 1208 and 1750 and after 2005 Saturday and Sunday (ie departing Euston from 11.03 to 14.03 and after 2023 M-F, or from 1103 to 1623 and after 1843 S/S)

Conditions include:

Normal railcard and child discounts available.
You may start, break and resume, or end your journey at any intermediate station along the route of travel.

Super Off-Peak single tickets are available online for half the stated fare only when purchased as a return journey in conjunction with another single fare

Chiltern's Summer of Surprises promotion

This week's very pleasant surprise is 30% off ANY +Chiltern Railways  fare between Birmingham Moor Street (ONLY) and London Marylebone - see http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/30-percent-off-birmingham-to-london?utm_source=CheetahMail&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=SoS1Metro

A voucher has to be downloaded after registration and the tickets are only available from the Birmingham Moor Street ticket office on the day of travel. However, well worth it as the fares from now until Sunday September 1st are:

Anytime return: £66.50 / Off Peak £35 / Super Off Peak £19.25

Talk about a bargain!

There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.... overcrowding between Birmingham and London?

So +Chiltern Railways apparently join +London Midland in running an overcrowded service between Birmingham and London.... According to the Department of Transport, the 0619 Chiltern Service from Moor Street had a 155% standard class load factor on arrival in Marylebone during the Autumn of 2012 (making it no. 6 in the top ten list of 'most overcrowded' services) whilst the 1813 LM departure from Euston ran at 165% standard class load factor on leaving (making it no. 2).

Of course the 0619 no longer runs, whilst the 1813 is 'only' overcrowded until its first stop at Leighton Buzzard so passengers of both companies travelling between Birmingham and London can ignore the media (and governmental) hype and be assured that their journey - whatever the time of day - will be in relative comfort...

For those who like digging deeper into the stories behind the headlines, the actual statistical report makes fascinating reading... In particular, this explanatory paragraph caught my eye:

Paddington and Marylebone had the highest levels of PiXC* despite having below average levels of passengers standing. A large number of services into both of these terminals travel for more than 20 minutes between their final stop and the terminal and so do not have standing allowances included in their standard class capacities. This means that a significant part of the PiXC seen on these routes represents passengers having to stand for more than 20 minutes rather than necessarily having to travel in cramped conditions.
* Passengers In Excess of Capacity (PIXC) only applies to weekday commuter trains arriving in London between 07:00 and 09:59 and those departing between 16:00 and 18:59.

Which would you rather do: stand for more than 20 minutes or travel in cramped conditions? Who'd run a railway when the Government sets the parameters and then blames the companies for matters largely outside their control...

Summer offers from the three TOCs - updated Wednesday 24th July 2013

+Virgin Trains has a First Class seat sale for travel between Monday 29 July and Sunday 1 September. Booking in advance is required and advance booking for the sale closes on Tuesday 23rd July. Fares between Birmingham and London start at £18.50 and seem to be available most days after 9.30. Fares from London to Birmingham also start at £18.50 but seem to be available only in the morning and evening Monday to Fridays (though all day on Saturday and most of the day Sunday).
The Sale has ended but £23.50 First Class Advance Single tickets seem to be fairly widely available in August both ways outside the Monday-Friday peak times

+Chiltern Railways ' Evening Standard £2.50 offer ends on Friday 26th July with the last day for booking being Thursday 25th July. Full details in a previous blog post. Don't forget that the Chiltern 'Summer of Surprises' promotion promises "Everything from special travel offers and fantastic discounts on hundreds of amazing attractions to exclusive competitions and giveaways" during the six week break...
The first 'Summer of Surprises' email has now been distributed and features...
Win the ultimate shopping spree courtesy of Bicester Village 
Win a day of hospitality at the Women's Ashes at Wormsley Cricket Ground near High Wycombe Station

+London Midland are waiting for the Royal Birth before 'The Kate Escape' begins... The promise is 1% off LM advance and off-peak tickers for every pound the new baby weighs (eg 8lb birth weight will mean 8% off). You have to be registered for LM marketing emails to get the 'special' link, and the sale is not likely to last for long...
The arrival of the Prince has enabled LM to email their registered web users with details of the 8% discount on Advance and Off-Peak LM fares. Advance bookings to be made or off-peak walk-on tickets bought through the web site by Sunday 4th of August; outward travel must be by Sunday 1st September.

Finally, +London Midland are looking for volunteers to test a new iPhone and Android app - visit http://www.londonmidland.com/about-us/latest-news/help-us-test-our-new-iphone-and-android-app/ for more information.

Chiltern south, Virgin north: the perfect combination?

Twice last week I had to be in London for early afternoon with an early evening event to complete the day. In such circumstances, you cannot beat using +Chiltern Railways  to go up to the capital and picking up a Virgin Pendolino for the return. My only proviso is that you need to be confident enough of your return timings to book the Virgin leg in advance...

Chiltern Railways walk-on Super Off-peak singles are valid on the 9.55 Clubman service from Moor Street (arrives Marylebone 11.34) and subsequent services. A SOP single costs £27.40 so you might as well buy the SOP return for 10p more (£27.50) and have an extra ticket should you need one later in the 'rolling' month following the purchase date. Clubmans are fine - free WiFi, tables with power sockets, catering trolley on most morning services south - but for true added value use the Silver Sets that form the 10.55 and 12.55 services from Moor Street.

As regular readers of this blog will know, I am not a fan of standard class travel on Virgin Pendolinos... the seats are crammed into the carriages, tables are few as are power sockets, and you have to pay for the WiFi. Fortunately, Virgin offer very competitive advance First Class fares on their evening services back from Euston: £23.50 starting with the 20.23 deparrture. For this fare, you get access to the First Class Lounge at Euston (which is far better than hanging around the concourse), decent seating with tables and power sockets, free WiFi, and, of course, free refreshments. Further more, to be fair - see an earlier blog - the staff seem much more friendly....

Overall, a no-brainer!

Campaign For Rail

Last month, I attended the first AGM of the Campaign for Rail as an interested observer.

The Campaign has now given me permission to load the documents that I picked up at the meeting:

West Midlands Rail User June 2013 (note this file is 12mb)

Chairman's Report 22nd June 2013

Campaign for Rail Membership Application form

So just what is happening at Snow Hill?

Readers of Rail 725 will have seen a sidebar by Christian Wolmar entitled 'A token effort to crack down on fare dodging'. In it he lambasts ATOC for the press release on fare dodging noting that the 'implication that operators are doing everything in their power to clamp down on fare dodging is hardly borne out by my experience'.

Now Christian is a Londoner so his experience tends to be very southern focussed. Alas, however, those of us who live in the West Midlands know his experience only too well.... Virgin Trains and +London Midland seem to have given up on revenue protection between Birmingham New Street and Coventry - Birmingham International and Coventry are truly 'open' stations and New Street often is - and now +London Midland seem to have given up on Birmingham Snow Hill routes.

Last Wednesday I tweeted a photo (below) of the open gates at Snow Hill at 10am in the morning. In response (not from @londonMidland 's official twitter account), it was suggested that the gate staff were on a 30 minute break... On Friday, at 10am, not only were the gates open but the booking office was closed... Again came the (unofficial) response about breaks...

Now once is just about believable but twice? So come on, +London Midland , at least make some effort to show that buying a ticket during the day is a worthwhile exercise (I won't start on the complete lack of revenue protection in the evenings or at weekends). As Christian says, it would be great if TOCs saw staff as being an essential pat of running the railway rather than as a cost which eats into their profits.

Virgin Trains First Class or Chiltern Railways Business Zone?

One of the joys of attending an event such as yesterday's is the chance to talk to rail industry insiders under Chatham House rules. Thus it was I found myself discussing the positives and not so positives of a recent First Class trip on Virgin Trains between Birmingham New Street and London Euston.

A couple of weeks ago, I was needed in Cambridge for a 9.30 meeting. As I have noted previously, it is possible to travel directly from Birmingham to Cambridge on CrossCountry Trains but they tend to be expensive for the speed of journey and often the trip via London is more comfortable and a better use of my time. So the 5.50 Pendolino it was, connecting into the 745 First Capital Connect service from King's Cross.

The 5.29 and 5.50 Pendolino's are both 'off-peak' trains and so one can benefit from the split ticket routing via Birmingham International to reduce the single First Class fare from £127 to £92.70 (£3.70 New Street to International + £89 International to Euston). However, advance fares are excellent value on this train so I was able to book through to Cambridge for £51 First Class.

All was well at New Street and on the journey in terms of timing and overall comfort. Virgin of course give their First Class passengers free WiFi along with tables with power sockets and on the early morning trains breakfast. So far so positive...

Alas, as ever with Virgin, it is the small things that niggle (especially given the price of the fares). First Class passengers are supposed to be offered a Financial Times or a Guardian. I actually saw the papers being loaded into Coach J but of course that is where they stayed. When I asked a paper at my seat in Coach H, I was promised that one would be brought... in the end I walked up to Coach J and picked up the papers from the pile where they had been left.

Coffee or tea is served after Birmingham International and toast offered after Coventry but my full breakfast didn't turn up until nearing Milton Keynes. The breakfast itself was excellent - just a shame everything is back to front. However, my main grouse is that Virgin staff don't smile... I know that it was early in the morning, that the First Class was quite busy, and that their shifts are horrible BUT some interaction with the fare paying passengers would help make the journey pleasanter.

Compare and contrast with the +Chiltern Railways Business Zone experience. I returned from the Awards on the 1815 Silver Set from Marylebone, which was sitting in Platform 3 when I arrived for the train at 6pm. The Business Zone host was busy offering tea or coffee already and she was smiling and chatting with the passengers. Admittedly, the Business Zone is not as busy as the Pendolino First Class and her shift is from Moor Street and back but the difference is marked.

However, Chiltern aren't perfect either... The big weakness of the Silver Sets is the poor WiFi offering, especially if the Set is busy. Yesterday, the signal disappeared after Princes Risborough and didn't return until a reset after Banbury. There are some areas where Virgin can teach the upstart how to do things!

Taking the slow (Chiltern) train to The Railway Industry Innovation Awards

One of the mysteries of the current +Chiltern Railways timetable is that Birmingham Snow Hill, supposedly so important for Chiltern's reach-out to the Birmingham business community, has the slower of the two off-peak services each hour from Birmingham to London Marylebone. Yesterday's 10.12 Clubman ambled its ways south in just under 2 hours (1 hour 56 mins to be precise).

Of course, if like me you use the train as a travelling office, this may not matter: Clubman's are comfortable, have power points at the tables, offer free WiFi, and some of the xx.12's even have a catering trolley (10.12 / 13.12 / 14.12). However, if the loading of yesterday's service to go by, there aren't too many doing so...

The keynote speaker at the Awards was Peter Wilkinson, interim Franchising Director at the Department for Transport. Not being an industry insider, some of the coded references passed me by but he was clear about the importance that his political masters now placed on meeting passenger needs by making relationships within the rail industry work (he highlighted that 60% of the revenue base was from the fare box). Further he indicated that there would be a new focus on commuters who he suggested had been forgotten about... Outside London, public transport was NOT optional and rail has a big part to play BUT all involved must share the Government's transparency agenda and must show that innovation is possible through engagement and partnerships between the industry's key players.

As to the Awards themselves, not too good for the Birmingham to London TOCs this time. Virgin Trains didn't make the long list in any category (and were noticeable by their absence from the event). +London Midland 's Project 110 was on a long list but didn't make the short list. The refurbishment of +Chiltern Railways Mk 3s by Wabtec Rail made the shortlist for the Operations and Performance Award but didn't win...

Summer 2013 promotions from Chiltern Railways

Two promotions running with +Chiltern Railways at present.

Those travelling from London to Birmingham Mondays to Saturdays until Friday 26 July can travel for £2.50 each way (certain trains only) by registering at www.chilternoffers.co.uk and using the special online booking matrix which is then displayed. Note that the trains down from London are in the morning and the trains up to London are in the afternoon / evening. Tickets need to be printed out from the confirming email attachment. Passengers from Birmingham can of course use this offer for £5 south by booking return with an unrequired journey north...

As ever, Chiltern remain optimistic about the weather and have launched a Summer of Surprises promotion. Well actually they haven't* as in a classic piece of Chiltern planning the site was promoted through a wrap-round in today's Birmingham edition of the Metro without it being actually ready! Emails or tweets of despair to stressed marketing team if you want to take part!

* The site is now live and taking registrations (tested at 7.30pm) - looking forward to my first surprise...

Updates from Rail 724

Rail 724 has useful articles in relation to the TOCs that provide services between Birmingham and London...

Network Rail track access charges

+Chiltern Railways will pay £324m in Control Period 5; +London Midland £1,040m; and Virgin Trains £2,740m

Chiltern Railways calls on the services of DB Schenker '67s'

Britain's train fleets in 2013

Virgin to the rescue

Letter from Chris Gibb on the WCML 'Thunderbird' offering

Rail 724 is on sale from tomorrow (Wednesday 12th June)

The usefulness of the Network Railcard

The Network Railcard gives discounts on off-peak travel in London and the South East and is available for journeys south on the three TOCs from Banbury ( +Chiltern Railways ), Northampton * ( +London Midland ) and Milton Keynes (Virgin Trains).

I have blogged before on its usefulness, especially in relation to Chiltern (using it for a split fare on the Banbury-London leg after 10am allows for a return journey between 4pm and 7pm at a saving on the £50 through fare). Yesterday's journey to Cambridge was a good example of why Birmingham passengers should obtain one.

Going to Cambridge from Birmingham is possible 'directly' using CrossCountry's Class 170 service via Leicester and Peterborough but, of course, being CrossCountry, the journey is slow and expensive when you look at the fare being charged: £54.40 for the hourly 2hr 45min journey.

The alternative is via London. Using the Network Railcard and Chiltern:

Off-peak: first train Birmingham Snow Hill 0912 to reach Cambridge at 1231 (via King's Cross). Cost: £13 Chiltern only anytime day return to Banbury, then £32.75 off-peak Banbury-Cambridge. The 09.55 departure from Moor Street would get to Cambridge at 13.01 (again via King's Cross).

Thus for a total fare of £45.75 you get free wifi for at least the Chiltern portion of the journey (plus table and power point), and, as occurred yesterday, the opportunity to take in a meeting in London too.

BEWARE you may have difficulty buying a walk-on ticket at Birmingham Snow Hill for the Banbury onwards leg. Yesterday I was told by the ticket office staff - who I usually find very helpful - that they did not have a code for the Network Railcard discount. In fact, @londonmidland assure me that there is one so it may be a case of persisting. Otherwise, the Chiltern train manager can sell you one on the train.

* Actually, Long Buckby marks the Network Railcard boundary

South with Chiltern / North with LondonMidland

+Chiltern Railways is looking for feedback on the Business Zone provision on the Silver Sets - complete the online survey for a chance to win VIP tickets to London as well as influence the company's thinking.

Of course as a regular off-peak user of the BZ I am one happy customer (so long as they don't increase the supplement beyond £10) but it will be interesting to see what peak users say now that the supplement for them is £25.

Yesterday, I caught the 1055 from Moor Street and benefited from the usual high level 'at seat' service from one of the regular BZ hosts. Also enjoyed the vegetable chow mien plated meal at £3.50 - tremendous value when needing an early lunch.

Yesterday too allowed Chiltern to boast that the company has been 'named top franchise rail operator for right time train punctuality for a record sixth period running, according to research released today by Network Rail.'  The company is well ahead of +London Midland and Virgin Trains in this regard BUT of course it doesn't have to use the West Coast Main Line...

Returning from London on the LondonMidland 1813 'fast' service to Birmingham New Street showed just why LondonMidland and Virgin Trains haven't a chance in the right time train punctuality stakes. A points problem in the Wembley area during the afternoon was proving difficult to sort meaning that trains were stacking up on the approach to Euston (Virgin being particularly affected). Fortunately the 1813 made it into Platform 14 in reasonable time to load but then was delayed by 4 minutes on departure and then held several times on the approach to Wembley to allow Virgin services to get in front. Once past Wembley, the train had a good run but the damage had been done and it reached Northampton 20 minutes late. The 4 coaches for Birmingham left at 1945 but LM control took the decision to terminate the service at Birmingham International where a following Virgin Pendolino took us onto New Street - arrival 28 minutes late!

Clearly neither LM or Virgin can do anything about Network Rail infrastructure problems and one has to admire the resilience of the staff who have to put up with these ongoing issues day in day out. It does seem a bit hard for the press to focus on the train operating companies when it is actually the infrastructure company at fault (and don't get me started on Network Rail bonuses).

Talking of staff, one final note of sympathy for those on the front line. Last night, the admirable @londonmidland twitter feed was in full swing keeping passengers informed. Also in effect was the real time running information available from the Chiltern Railways App. Thus it was that those of us 'connected' knew well in advance of the Train Manager that the 1813 was going to terminate at International - the poor man only found out once Control actually paged him... Wonder when LM staff will be able to use the information now available to passengers???

London to Birmingham timetables - a Friday afternoon blog for those who 'geek' train times...

So as another cold wet Bank Holiday weekend in Birmingham looms, what better way of spending the Friday afternoon than catching up with Rail 722, in particular with Barry Doe's article on the National Rail Timetable (NRT)?

As regular readers will know, Barry is a favourite columnist of mine so, although he didn't have much to say on the Birmingham-London timetables this time (in truth, there is little to say - see my blog on the minor changes), I remain grateful for his reminder of the varities of ways of getting to the NRT: electronic, printed and working...

Electronic first. Network Rail makes the complete timetable available as a PDF download, either complete or in individual tables - see http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/3828.aspx Also on this page is the ability to obtain printed copies of individual timetables where errors occured in the file sent to the publishers (in this case Table 31).

Printed... Two companies actually publish the NRT in print: Middleton Press at £16.95 and TSO at £18. Don't forget that TSO also publish the Avantix Traveller Fares Information CD-ROM at £10.81 incl VAT

Working... Network Rail now makes the Working Timetables for the whole country available - "it shows all movements on the rail network including freight trains, empty trains and those coming in and out of depots. It also includes our unique identification codes for each train, and intermediate times for journeys, including which stations a train is not scheduled to stop at". NOTE the important proviso: This document has been made available for rail industry professionals and should not be confused with the passenger timetable

For the Birmingham to London routes, the following sections are relevant:

CB01 - EUSTON TO WATFORD JUNCTION (MAIN LINE)
CB02 - WATFORD JUNCTION TO RUGBY
CC03 - RUGBY TO STAFFORD (via Birmingham)

CG01 - MARYLEBONE TO AYLESBURY AND BANBURY
CG02 - HEYFORD TO BIRMINGHAM

PA01 - LONDON PADDINGTON TO GREENFORD (and link to South Ruislip) - pedants only!

So, if you have the patience, you can track +Chiltern Railways / +London Midland / Virgin Trains performance against what Network Rail has agreed rather than what is published to the public...

Have fun (next wet bank holiday project.. the National Routing Guide. Noooo!)

South with LondonMidland / North with Virgin Trains

Regular readers will have realised that I have become quite fond of the +London Midland change at Rugby for a 'fast' service from Birmingham to London - fast being sub two hours rather than the meander round Northampton of the through services south...

Partly this is because of the Desiros which ride so much better than the Pendolinos at speed and partly because there is just no comparison in cost, first or standard class... Yesterday I was using up the return half of an off-peak LM return which had allowed me to leave London earlier in the month during the evening peak for the princely sum of £28 standard class. +Chiltern Railways would have charged £50 (though see my post on the use of Network Railcard to reduce this) whilst Virgin charge £158 (though NOT to Railcard holders who benefit from off-peak fares on all Virgin Train services...).

Of course, LM don't offer WiFi or power points but there is usually a table to work on for the 56 minute journey from Rugby and even my ancient laptop battery can last that long (plus don't forget to take a refreshment stop at Travelines in the Rugby station booking hall!).

However, coming back mid-evening it has to be Virgin as both Chiltern Railways and LondonMidland both fail to provide reasonable journey times back to Birmingham after 8pm... Virgin's clock-face timetable continues to deliver 84 minute timings until after 10pm.

Fortunately, the Virgin mid-evening trains tend to have very good advance First Class fares: £23.50 single was the one I used last night. Not only does this fare give you excellent accommodation on the train with free WiFi and refreshments but importantly gives access to Euston's First Class Lounge which at least makes waiting for the train bearable (one of the few benefits of HS2 will be the revamping of Euston...).

Having said this, I'm glad I don't pay Virgin's exorbitant First Class Walk-on fares for what you get. The First Class lounge is looking so tired and careworn and scruffy whilst the refreshments are minimal. Come on Virgin - don't wait for HS2 to sort out what you offer to your passengers who pay you so much for the privelege of travelling with you!

Wensleydale Railway (North Yorkshire) - FREE TRAVEL PROJECT – 25th MAY to 2nd JUNE 2013

From 25^th May to 2^nd June 2013 the Wensleydale Railway (WR) is taking a very bold step... becoming the first UK rail operator not to charge fares for ordinary travel. Yes, you did read that correctly. 

The idea is to really put the WR on the map.  The offer will apply to ‘buy on the day’ tickets only, not to booked groups who have reserved seats or to pre booked catering trains or special events.

That does not mean that the railway does not want passengers to pay anything for their travel.  It will expect them to pay what they wish, or what they feel the experience was worth.  Every opportunity will be made available for them to donate during their journey.

Passengers will still need to carry a ticket, which will be issued as an FOC Day Rover with the total number of passengers travelling shown clearly in the appropriate space. 

It will not be possible for people to reserve seats on the services, unless they have paid the normal fare in advance, and we will be operating to the advertised timetable over this period.

The Railway starts at Leeming Bar just off the A1(M) (Satnav DL7 9AR) and runs through Lower Wensleydale via Bedale and Leyburn to reach Redmire (of Bolton Castle fame). Connections by bus from Northallerton station to Leeming (service 73) - Northallerton has trains run by Transpennine Express, East Coast, and Grand Central.

 

Declaration of interest: the author of this blog is also the Honorary Editor of Relay - the magazine of the Wensleydale Railway Association.

New timetables May-December 2013 for Chiltern Railways, LondonMidland, and Virgin Trains

New timetables start tomorrow (Sunday 19th May) and, if +London Midland Snow Hill station is to be believed, 'certain fares may be revised'... Overall, little has changed for the three TOCs who provide services between Birmingham and London

+Chiltern Railways (Monday-Fridays) Download the timetable

The xx.12 from Birmingham Snow Hill and xx.55 from Moor Street pattern of off-peak services to London Marylebone continues. Silver Sets are timetabled for the services at 0650 and 0706 from Snow Hill and 1055, 1255, and 1555 from Moor Street. It would seem that the 0610 service from Moor Street has lost its catering trolley but the 1612 departure from Snow Hill seems to have gained one.

Returning from London Marylebone, the xx.15 and xx.45 pattern of services continues. Silver Sets are timetabled for the services at 0845, 1015, 1315, 1647, 1715, and 1815. The first catering trolley service north is at 0815 but it would appear that the 1115 has lost its trolley whilst the 1847 has gained one. Don't forget that the 1847 now runs through to Birmingham Snow Hill and beyond whilst the 1915 now terminates at Moor Street.

Of course, being Chiltern, there is no mention of the hot meals service on the Silver sets!

+London Midland (Monday-Fridays) Download the timetable

The first through train departure from Birmingham New Street to London Euston is now at 0654 with subsequent ones at 0714, 0733, 0754 and 0833 before the off-peak pattern of xx.54 / xx.14 / xx.33 starts at 0854. The xx.54 services continue to connect at Rugby with the fast LM Rugby-Euston services through to 18.54. Changing at Rugby saves 28 minutes on the journey AND gives time for a refreshment break at the Travelines kiosk in the station booking hall...

Returning from London Euston the first train continues to be the 0530 (a real masochist service with a journey time of 2 hours 33 minutes) followed by the 0634, 0713 (journey time of 2 hours 4 mins), 0749, 0754, before the off-peak journey pattern of xx.49 / xx.13 starts at 0849. NOTE however that from 0846 until 1446, the fast LM service to Crewe connects at Rugby with a LM local to Birmingham to give a sub-2 hour journey time. The BIG disappointment with the new timetable is that the three fast evening peak services (1713 / 1813 / 1913) have been slowed by around 5 minutes due to operational issues at Northampton.

The big weakness of the LM offering is the lack of power points in standard class, something that may be addressed in the new stock due in 2014 (though only a limited number of new trains are actually on order).

Virgin Trains (Monday-Fridays) Download the timetable

No changes to the 3 trains an hour service pattern both ways.

From Birmingham New Street at xx.10 / xx.30 / xx.50; from London Euston at xx.03 / xx.23 / xx.43

A false alarm with a Silver (Set) lining

Shortly after 10.30am last Wednesday, the new look Birmingham New Street resounded with the public announcement 'This is an emergency - please evacuate the station immediately'. As it turned out, it was a false alarm - see Birmingham Mail story - but as a prospective traveller on the +London Midland 10.54 to London Euston I was faced with a dilemma: did I go to Moor Street for the 10.55 +Chiltern Railways Silver Set to London Marylebone?

Regular readers will know that I needed no real excuse to transfer my allegiance so off I went through the new access tunnel and along the 'big green wall' to reach Moor Street in good time to see the arrival of the Silver Set from London. I have sung the praises of the Silver Sets many times but I still love travelling on them, especially in Business Zone with the friendly staff and endless complimentary (non-alcoholic) refreshments not to mention the free WiFi. A recent bonus on the 10.55 is the availability of hot meals which allow you to start the afternoon in London well-fed - on Wednesday, I chose the Chinese-style chicken with rice (amazing value at £3.50).

Having travelled down Super Off-Peak (£27.50 return), I returned on the first SOP that evening: the 1915 Clubman service (or should I say Clubmans as it is currently made up of two sets, one of which is left behind at Birmingham Snow Hill as the other travels onto Kidderminster). Clearly, Clubmans can't match Silver Sets for comfort - though they are fine to travel on - but they are supposed to match the facilities (well, not refreshments as Chiltern don't believe there is a market for a trolley service at that time of night).

Alas, the WiFi on the lead Clubman wasn't working. Of course, there is not a train manager on departures from Marylebone until Banbury so there was noone to ask to reset it. Tried Tweeting @chilternrailway but got the standard response of ring the 0845 support number (from a mobile - I don't think so) or emailing chiltern.support@icomera.com (but there is no WiFi!). VERY frustrating. In the end, the WiFi briefly sprang to life at Leamington only to die again by Dorridge.

Cannot understand why Icomera don't run a Twitter support account for Chiltern - can't they afford a mobile phone? The company's web site says 'We’d like to hear from you' but the reality would seem to suggest otherwise. Shame as generally Chiltern themselves are responsive

40 years as a car driver - how many bad habits can one accrue?

I hope my regular readers will forgive this off-topic posting...

I almost entitled this post 'So you think you're a good driver?'. 40 years with a clean licence certainly made me think I was one. However, a session with experienced driving instructor +Ken Monkman soon knocked me off my self-erected pedestal (actually, within 5 minutes of starting!).

Leaving aside my sloppy habits with the steering wheel - hands in my lap, letting the wheel slide through my hands when returning to the straight etc - Ken homed in on information as my key weakness. Apparently I did not seek information, give information, or use information in any effective way...

So I need to adopt the following mantras...

• Be a 'nodding dog' - use your mirrors every five seconds to ensure you know exactly what is going on behind and alongside your vehicle
• TUG - Take information / Use information / Give information
• Remember that brakes are for stopping and gears are for going (in my defence, I did learn to drive when using the gearbox to slow down was more acceptable...)
• Drive at a speed appropriate for the road conditions and think ahead with the aim of not stopping unless specifically instructed to do so (road signs, traffic signals etc) or because of the actions of other road users
• Don't rush!

Ken has kindly offered to take me out again in a month's time - fingers crossed that I will have changed at least one of my bad habits by then.

My thanks to Ken for his patience - Ken Monkman Driver Training

Gold Cards

Barry Doe in Rail 721 uses his 'The Fare Dealer' column to explain (yet again) why Annual Season Ticket holders should use their automatic Gold Cards and to berate TfL over their inability to give their customers the correct Annual Gold Card discounts on Oyster Cards.

Benefits include £5 first class upgrade in off-peak periods, discounted standard class travel, and a Partner card for £1. ESSENTIAL reading though depressing that TOC and TfL staff seem so uninformed as to the benefits the card allows.

As I highlighted last July, any user of the three TOCs who has an annual season ticket to a station within the old Network South East area (Northampton or Banbury southwards) should buy the ticket from a station within the Area so as to get the Gold Card benefit. DO NOT buy online without checking that the Gold Card will be issued. If you have a Oyster card, make sure that the Gold Card is added to it at an Underground station as apparently the process is not automatic...

LondonMidland timetable from Sunday 19th May 2013

+London Midland have made the timetable for the period 19th May to early December 2013 available as a downloadable PDF

No major changes to the existing pattern of services BUT the following should be noted:

From Birmingham New Street (M-F):

0633 will no longer run - the first through train is now the 0654
NEW through service at 0714 - arrives London Euston 0927

From London Euston (M-F)

NEW through service at 0634 - arrives Birmingham New Street 0901
NEW through service at 0749 - arrives Birmingham New Street 1001
0813 no longer runs through to Birmingham
1713 now takes 2 hours 8 mins to Birmingham (was 2 hours 3 mins)
1813 now takes 2 hours 8 mins to Birmingham (was 2 hours 4 mins)
1913 now takes 2 hours 8 mins to Birmingham (was 2 hours 4 mins)

The extra minutes added to the three evening peak trains are due to operational reasons at Northampton. LM still aspire to bring London-Birmingham journey times down to 2 hours.

The +Chiltern Railways timetable for the same period is available as a downloadable PDF

No changes of any significance to Monday to Friday services (though Sunday services are improved). Intriguingly, the new 1847 through service to Kidderminster from Marylebone shows a catering symbol but does not promise a Silver Set (don't forget the 1915 will no longer go beyond Moor Street). Wonder if Chiltern will throw in a free tea for those passengers who find their fare rising from £27.50 to £55 if they want to stick to through trains...

PLAIN PAPER TICKETING OPENS UP FOR CORPORATE RAIL TRAVELLERS

Don't press releases have exciting headlines! Evolvi Rail Systems are working with +Chiltern Railways to offer 'Print at Home / Office' tickets to corporate travellers who use Travel Management Companies (TMCs). Currently the offering is restricted to purchasers of the Business Zone package but Chiltern are hoping to offer a wider range in the future. Full details here with more background here

Of course, print-at-home has been available to Chiltern passengers through the TOC's web site since 2007 though as yet only ADVANCE tickets can be obtained this way.

So you want to become a Public Member of Network Rail?

A huge amount of information to enable you to answer this question is available on the Recruitment website. The following blog is purely impressionistic based on my attendance at the public presentation on the role last Wednesday (slides from which are available here).

Around 80 people filled a room at King's Place in London to listen to Network Rail chairman Richard Parry-Jones, deputy company secretary Win Chime, and Peter Reichwald, director, Harvey Nash.

I had read positive views on the chairmanship of Richard P-J and his presentation did not disappoint. He comes across as a  man who has a clear vision of the purpose of Network Rail, who is very aware of the limitations of the regulatory & political structure under which he works, and yet who has an almost boyish enthusiasm for the sheer scale of the company which he leads and the achievements to which he can point (Reading being his latest 'boast').

He believes that Government recognises that rail can help drive sustainable long-term economic growth BUT also knows that in Control Period 5 (2014-2019) efficiency savings of 18% are expected (and he believes are deliverable).

So what does he want from Public Members? He pointed to Welsh Water / Glas Cymru as having the only equivalent structure (worth viewing the relevant web page here) and highlighted the CORPORATE GOVERNANCE role of the Public Members, likening them to 'shareholders' (though of course they have no equity stake). Public Members hold the Network Rail Board to account with the ultimate sanction of voting the Board off at the yearly AGM.

The forty or so members are selected by an independent panel, serve for an initial three year term (and then can serve again), and are totally independent - bringing to the process of governance their individual expertise. Public Members do not work as a body but have individual contact with both Richard and other Board members.

Win Chime fleshed out the work of the Public Members.


Apart from attending general meetings, Public Members are also able to:
–attend other meetings organised by Network Rail (workshops & other meetings) in which briefings are given and which include scrutiny sessions in which Public Members are able to ask Non-Executive Directors questions on a range of issues
–engage in active and regular dialogue with other Public Members, Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)
–participate in engagement groups in areas key to the governance of Network Rail – Safety, People, Finance & Risk, Performance, Future.

Public Members are expected to put in around 6 days work a year (minimum is two full days) and are supported by a dedicated unit within Network Rail. Naturally, the work is unpaid but full expenses are given.

Peter Reichwald emphasised the skill set being sought:


-A good knowledge of UK Corporate Governance Code
–An appreciation of secondary governance
–Be able to appreciate the specific issues for Network Role
–Do you have the ability to hold others to account

NOTE that the emphasis is on the GOVERNANCE role of Public Members. They are NOT a shadow board so do not apply if you want to change the direction of Network Rail. The die has been cast - be part of the process that ensures the company delivers...

VERY cheap fares from London to Birmingham in the morning and from Birmingham to London in the afternoon (25p each way with Chiltern Railways)

After a weekend of false starts, it appears that +Chiltern Railways have followed up the Evening Standard 50p fare offer of 2012 with a similar promotion in 2013

Visiting the page Evening Standard 50p Offer - Book your ticket allows you to book a 25p single ticket in advance for travel from London to Birmingham in the morning and from Birmingham to London in the afternoon Mondays to Saturday until Friday 17th May.

NOTE that travel from Birmingham to London can only be be booked as a return journey for a trip out from London SO the cheap fare from Birmingham is actually 50p (you can book 25p singles from London however).

Train availability from London is 0815 then hourly until 1315; from Birmingham it is 1255 then hourly until 1555, 1615, 1843, 1917, and 2018. Business Zone is available on the 1015 and 1315 from Marylebone, and the 1255 and 1555 from Moor Street.

Excluded are the following Saturdays - 13th April 2013, 4th May 2013, 11th May 2013, and 18th May 2013 along with Monday 6th May 2013.

The formal offer page is at http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/eveningstandard50

DON'T forget that +London Midland are still doing their GINORMOUS online rail sale - ticket need to be booked by Sunday 21 April for travel up to Friday 31st May - whilst Virgin Trains are offering a Super Off-Peak return fare of £25 for the London-Birmingham route on Saturdays and Sundays until the end of April (time restrictions apply: departures must be between 10.30am and 4pm or after 6.30pm from either end of the route. NOTE that these are walk-on fares, valid for up to a month (within April), so DO NOT need to be booked in advance). Full details on my blog at http://birmingham2london.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/cheaper-tickets-with-londonmidland-and.html

Has there been more competition on fares between the UK's two great cities?

Transforming Passenger Information 2013 - overview

Disclosure - I attended the Transforming Passenger Information Customer Experience Summit 2013 as a guest of London Business Conferences Live Tweets from the Conference were posted at #TPI13

TPI13 was an international conference with speakers from the US, Canada, Denmark, Germany, and Sweden as well as from a range of UK TOCs and national rail-orientated organisations. Not surprisingly, many concerns overlapped with an emphais on the effect of WiFi, GPS, Social Media, and the role of Staff. Also, not surprisingly, different countries and (within the UK) different organisations were developing systems and solutions at varying paces and perhaps re-inventing the wheel?

Of course, the Rail Industry is complex - especially in the UK - yet the passengers' (information) needs are simple: I want to know how to get from A to B; I want reassurance that I am getting from A to B; if delayed, I want to know when I have to leave A to get to B / if I left A when I will get to B.

It was good to hear speaker after speaker recognise that such needs are valid, and to learn that much effort is being put into meeting them more effectively. It was also good to hear about efforts to inform and involve front-line staff in meeting passengers' needs, especially during disruption. There is a danger that in the excitement of the technical solutions being developed, it is forgotten that the most reassuring way of meeting a passenger need is the sound of a human voice or the actual physical presence of an informed member of staff empowered to take the appropriate action.

From the point of view of my blog, it was good to see all three TOCs involved in the Conference and all displaying a leading-edge approach to enhancing the information being made available to their passengers. Long may such pro-active approaches continue from +Chiltern Railways +London Midland and Virgin Trains

Transforming Passenger Information 2013 - speakers from Passenger Focus

Disclosure - I attended the Transforming Passenger Information Customer Experience Summit 2013 as a guest of London Business Conferences Live Tweets from the Conference were posted at #TPI13

The 'Customer Experience' aspect of the Conference was presented by two speakers from Passenger Focus

CEO Anthony Smith was one of the opening Keynote Panel speakers, emphaising that passenger trust is a key issue, and that a reliable service and good information are two components which go to build that trust. Information needs to be timely, accurate, consistent, and useful. Thus a departure screen which says that a service is on time after the shown departure time has passed is NOT a good way of building trust. Likewise, it would appear that many TOCs don't check their web sites to ensure that an accurate message is displayed, nor do they check the National Rail Enquiries web site for their services!

Interestingly, the National Passenger Survey for Autumn 2012 saw the Provision of Information being a 5% driver of overall satisfaction BUT How Train Companies dealt with Delays was a 52% driver of dissatisfaction.

His overall message: at any station, passengers need to know ....

• is the train coming ? / when is it coming ?
• Visual and audible information should be the norm at every station 
• With trains tracked (GPS on all trains?) to make it accurate 
• Passengers should not have to gaze up the line wondering

Passenger Issues Manager Guy Dangerfield spoke on the second day, focusing on Passenger Expectations During Disruption. He highlighted:

• Accurate, timely, consistent and useful information Why? Because it allows passengers to make informed decisions about what they can do
• Once caught up in a problem .... “how long will I be?” Why? Because it allows passengers to judge the impact on their day 
• Attitude and empathy of staff is a key factor ... Treat me (the passenger) with respect; Recognise my plight; (accept that) You got me into this, help get me out 
• Help me (the passenger) avoid the problem in the first place!

For this last point, he suggested that:

• What do passengers need to know now about what is likely to happen later - Be proactive when passengers might doubt all will be perfect later/tomorrow (snow, floods, earlier disruption) 
• Tell the regulars when a temporary timetable being put in (whether through Day A for Day B, or by making on the day cancellations) 
• Warn passengers who are booked on trains you know will be affected – come earlier, come another day ... 
• Where ticketing rules stop passengers deciding ‘never mind I’ll go tomorrow instead’, change the rules! 
• What do passengers need from ‘line of route’ alerting (as distinct from alerts about a particular train)? Are current products meeting that need? 

Research shows that passengers appreciate an announcement on a train within two minutes of an unscheduled stop. Also appreciated is the use of PLAIN English rather than 'railway speak'.

Finally he reinforced the message that the information about disruption must be consistent across ALL sources under a TOC's control. He made a particular plea for Retail sites to carry disruption information as a matter of course.

Relevant research from  Passenger Focus is available on the PF web site....

• Passenger information: a vision, July 2008 (joint research with National Rail Enquiries) 
• Delays and disruption: rail passengers have their say, December 2010 
• Rail passengers' experiences during the snow, March 2011 
• Information: rail passengers’ needs during unplanned disruption, September 2011 (joint research with Southern) 
• Passenger Focus assessment of online information provided to rail passengers during high winds January 2012 
• Short and Tweet: how passengers want social media during disruption, June 2012 (joint research with Abellio) 

Transforming Passenger Information 2013 - speakers from LondonMidland

Disclosure - I attended the Transforming Passenger Information Customer Experience Summit 2013 as a guest of London Business Conferences Live Tweets from the Conference were posted at #TPI13

For some reason (!) +London Midland seemed to provide the TOC speakers on information during disruption...

Matthew Clarke, Passenger Services Manager LondonMidland, tackled the need for a 'Disruption Mode' to be implemented when matters go seriously wrong. He described how LM, First Capital Connect, and East Midlands Trains are cooperating on an information system to meet the suggestion from Passenger Focus that "it would be better to display only those trains that are running - rather than force passengers to hunt for them amid an array of departures showing cancelled or delayed"

The outcome of this work will be local station and other displays with a 'current major disruption' warning displaying ONLY those trains KNOWN to be running to or from the station. This will be backed up with pre-programmed 'alternative route' displays when ticket acceptance by other rail and bus operators comes into force.

All being well, the enhanced information system will come into play in May 2013.

David Whitley, Head of Marketing LondonMidland, spoke on "Using Social Media to deliver passenger information during disruption" - LM of course tweet as @LondonMidland and David himself is @DavidWhitley74

David's key advice on the Twitter effect:

• Assess Impact calmly
• Draw information from several sources
• Evolve the service through interaction
• Promote self-service tools that Tweet recipients can access

Who makes a good Tweeter? Someone who

• Has good Company Knowledge
• Has awareness of alternative routes
• Can link effectively with Control
• Has the patience of a saint...
• Has a VERY thick skin

Finally, passengers rate the Twitter service very highly BUT remember there are pitfalls (even though they can arise from misquotations of Tweets!)

Transforming Passenger Information 2013 - Darwin - National Rail Enquiries / Virgin Trains / Chiltern Railways

Disclosure - I attended the Transforming Passenger Information Customer Experience Summit 2013 as a guest of London Business Conferences Live Tweets from the Conference were posted at #TPI13

Darwin - a central source that feeds consistent information through different mediums

David Johnson, Programme Manager +National Rail Enquiries , kicked off the session on Darwin with an overview of this 3 year programme to rationalise information systems and improve the consistency, quality and timeliness of customer information at rail stations.

By 2015 it is expected that Darwin will interface to the Customer Information Systems at 2000 stations - systems provided by Atos,
 Amey, 
Ketech, 
Siemens, 
and 
Funkwerk.

The core functionality of Darwin is a National Data Store with a single Prediction Engine which takes information from Train Operating Company Control Staff through the Tyrell messaging system and through dedicated Darwin workstations to push information out to station CISs and to third party outlets.

The key advantage of Darwin is it replaces the current interconnected (or not) prediction engines driving individual TOC CISs

Francis Jellings, Head of Information Technology Virgin Trains, picked up on the lessons learnt as Virgin Trains acted as a pilot for Darwin in mid-2011. Virgin was chosen as it manages just 17 stations...

Birmingham International went live on 31 May 2011 and the final station, Crewe, went live 7 July 2011.

Implementing Darwin has helped Virgin increase the National Passenger Survey Information about Train Times/Platforms score on its London-Manchester route to almost 93% satisfaction.

The key challenge of implementing Darwin was the tight timetable for training 76 station announcers in the new 'automated' system. The ongoing technical challenges remain the data feed from 40 year old TRUST, and the lack of an automatic failover system (one is promised).

The hope for the future is that Darwin will feed a Real-Time On-Board Passenger Information System.

Matt Bromley, Station Manager at Marylebone, described the 'quick win' which Darwin has given +Chiltern Railways in upgrading its Passenger Information Systems.

Marylebone went live in September 2012 and by the end of the month all other Chiltern managed stations had followed.

Key benefits noted by Matt are:

• Single source of live train running information 
• 87 delay reasons available rather than 5 (announced and displayed as remarks) 
• Live arrivals at Marylebone (previously done manually)
• National live information (previously Chiltern's Cross-Country train infomation boundary was at Oxford...)

Issue still to be tackled:

• Interfacing with legacy systems ("some systems were installed before my parents were born" - Matt is 26)
• NO live tracking of trains Harrow on the Hill to Amersham
• Platforms at Marylebone still entered manually

Ketech has issued a press release on its work with Chiltern in implementing Darwin

FINALLY - not part of the Conference but relevant -see Tom Cairn's blog post

ORR Real Time Train Information Consultation

Transforming Passenger Information... 2013

My thanks to London Business Conference for the guest pass to Transforming Passenger Information... 2013 My Tweets from the event (and those of other Twitter addicts) can be found at #TPI13

Full blog posts on the key developments covered during the two days to follow (along with a follow up to my posts on the +London Midland Ticket Vending Machines at Euston!)

Chiltern Business Zone and LondonMidland First Class

Had the pleasure of travelling on +Chiltern Railways 12.55 Silver Set from Birmingham Moor Street today. One advantage of this service is the longish layover at Moor Street by the incoming service which means the train is available to board half-an-hour before departure.

Though a fairly leisurely 99 minutes in journey time, another advantage is the good value hot meals served on a plate with proper cutlery to those of us travelling in the Business Zone. Today I tried the vegetable chow mein. Of course in the BZ, one gets copious cups of tea included.

All in all, an ideal way of travelling over lunchtime.

Came back on the +London Midland 1650 service from London Euston as LM had made me an offer (25% discount on Advance First) that I coudn't refuse... The 12 car Desiro was standing in Platform 15 in good time BUT, as has happened before, no crew turned up until 5 mins before departure - meaning a scrum down around the doors as the flow of commuters built up.

First Class in the Birmingham portion was nicely but not completely filled, meaning that I got a table on which to work through the 131 minute journey. Actually had a ticket check after Northampton - no barrier checks at either end of the journey of course. Good job most rail travellers are honest fare-paying folk...

Was amused to see the Guardian trail a story about the Budget suggesting that TOCs would be 'bribed' to provide WiFi. One can only hope LM take the bait if it is offered. Also amused by Nigel Harris in Rail praising TOCs for cutting fare evasion. Suspect he has not travelled between Birmingham and London recently as I cannot see how certain TOCs know how much fare evasion is taking place!

Transforming Passenger Infomation starts tomorrow

Thanks to the generosity of London Business Conferences, I will be blogging on the Conference Transforming Passenger Information - Customer Experience Summit 2013 and, all being well, tweeting using #TPI13 as the identifier.

Tomorrow's opening keynote panel is entitled Passenger Information frrom a Customer Perspective and features Vernon Everitt (TfL), Anthony Smith (Passenger Focus), and Jason Durk (National Rail Enquiries). The Panel is followed by a case study Understanding what the Customer wants before Alex Hynes (Go-Ahead Group) addresses Customer Preferences for Delivery Mediums.

Later, David Whitley (LondonMidland) tackles Passenger Information During Disruption (PIDD), looking at how LondonMidland have used Social Media (especially Twitter) to keep passengers informed and at what lessons are being learnt.

Should be a fascinating day.

Cheaper tickets with LondonMidland and Virgin Trains

+London Midland have launched a GINORMOUS online rail sale - travel at up to 50% off.

LM Off-Peak Day Return, Off-Peak Return, Advance and Advance First tickets are all on offer across the LM network. Available to buy between 17 March and 21 April, for travel between 23 March and 31 May 2013. NOTE that Anytime and Super Off-Peak tickets are NOT included, nor are First Class Off-Peak tickets. ALSO, the offers are only available through the web site!

DON'T forget that Virgin Trains are offering a Super Off-Peak return fare of £25 for the London-Birmingham route on Saturdays and Sundays from Easter weekend until the end of April 2013 (Good Friday is also included). Time restrictions apply: departures must be between 10.30am and 4pm or after 6.30pm from either end of the route. NOTE that these are walk-on fares, valid for up to a month (within April), so DO NOT need to be booked in advance.

For both operators, First Class upgrades are available on board. DO NOT buy walk-on FIRST CLASS fares for weekend travel...

Transforming Passenger Information 2013

I am fortunate to be blogging from the Transforming Passenger Information Customer Experience Summit 2013 next week - my thanks to London Business Conferences and LondonMidland for arranging this opportunity. In preparation for the Conference I would be interested in receiving feedback on the way forward for our three TOCs in this area. Please complete the short survey below or comment.

Chiltern Railways Business Zone / Virgin Trains First Class

When everything comes together, the services offered by our Train Operating Companies are simply 'First Class'. Take yesterday as an example...

For those of us fortunate enough to have afternoon meetings and evening events in London the +Chiltern Railways 10.55 Silver Set from Birmingham Moor Street cannot be bettered for the journey south. For a fare of £27.50 Super Off-peak return, you get comfortable seating, large windows, tables with power points, FREE WiFi, and access to the very good Expresso Bar. Pay another £10 to add the quietness and extra space of the Business Zone, unlimited tea / coffee / water and service at your seat.... Even better, it arrives into London Marylebone in time for lunch (or you can try one of Chiltern's hot meals for £3.50...).

However, the downside of travelling with Chiltern is the slow return trains once evening starts. Knowing I would be finishing around 8pm, I looked on the Virgin Trains site on Sunday afternoon to see what Advance First singles were available. To my delight, a £23.50 fare was being offered on the 20.23 service from London Euston to Birmingham New Street - ideal!

Travelling First Class with Virgin does bring the touches that add to the pleasures of the close of day: the First Class lounge at Euston, the fact that the First Class is at the barrier end of the departure platform, the efficient at-seat service with a range of complimentary drinks and snacks, and, of course, the 84 minute journey time. Even the WiFi is free in First Class....

Fare note: Virgin are offering a £25 Super Off-peak return between Birmingham and London on Saturdays and Sundays from 30 March until 28 April. Travel will be valid on departures from Birmingham or London between 10.30am and 4.30pm and after 6.30pm each day. Looks like a bargain... For extra comfort with refreshments and WiFi included, upgrade to First Class on board for an extra £10 each way.

Yet more on LondonMidland

Congratulations to +London Midland on their success last night at the Rail Business Awards in the marketing category. LM's innovative campaign to reduce fares by an extra 1% for every gold medal won by Team GB during the Olympic Games was the company’s most successful marketing campaign to date and resulted in more than 27,000 new customers joining the operator’s database.

Also, I have been told that the problematic display on the LM Euston ticket machines that I highlighted is down to a glitch in the national ticketing database. Apparently, the LM 'boffins' are trying to work out a fix so that LM fares are displayed rather than the more expensive Any Permitted fares to Birmingham.

LondonMidland ticket machines at Euston part 2

Having been assured by +London Midland that the display on their Euston ticket machine was an error, I returned today and took the following photo:

Apologies for the quality - the key point being that the bottom right destination on the front page is Birmingham and it is showing Standard Off-Peak return £49 even though this is not actually a valid ticket at 0914 at Euston...

Interestingly, middle right you will see a LondonMidland ONLY fare for Milton Keynes so clearly LM have the power to show their own fares!

So, come on LM - if you are going to place a branded ticket machine at Euston, at least show your won fares by default. After all, they are cheaper and are vaild off-peak for longer!!!

LondonMidland ticket machines at Euston

In the week that +Which? claims 'Ticket machines aren’t working' I was dismayed to find proof of this report at London Euston yesterday...

My daughter was returning to Birmingham on the 1650 +London Midland service and, as I had been in Brighton for a meeting that morning, I was able to join her. As I was requiring a LM ticket (who pays Virgin Trains walk-on peak fares???), I opted to use one of the two LM ticket machines standing defiantly amongst the massed rows of Virgin machines in the ticket hall.

Imagine my surprise at finding that the default Birmingham fare displayed on the front screen was the Virgin Trains Any Permitted off-peak return - not least because the fare is not valid on the 1650 service...

I raised this strange situation with the LM Twitter team who first of all claimed that the fare was valid and then seemed (unusually for @londonmidland) to not understand the point  I was making and lose interest in helping me.

SO let us be clear. LM ONLY off-peak fares at £28 return are valid on LM evening peak services from Euston to Birmingham; Virgin Trains Any Permitted off-peak returns at £49 are NOT. What's the point of LM ticket machines if this fare information is not clearly displayed???

As a postscript, regular readers will not be surprised to learn that no ticket check took place at any point on the journey so one could ask: what's the point anyway?

LondonMidland are also publicity-shy...

It is not only +Chiltern Railways who like to hide their light under a bushel. Since the December timetable change, +London Midland have offered a faster off-peak service* from Birmingham New Street to London Euston for those who are prepared to change at Rugby. However, twice recently, I have made this journey connection successfully yet have found my fellow passengers blissfully unaware of the time saving to be made.

This is doubly strange as the great value LM advance tickets can be booked to use this connection so there is no difference in cost (£16 advance first for my trips). So LM be pro-active and save your passengers 20 minutes on their journey times (and give them the chance to get a coffee at Rugby too!).

* the services south are those departing from New Street at 54 mins past the hour from 08.54 through to 18.54 (11 services). Heading north, departure from Euston is at 46 mins past the hour from 08.46 through to 14.46 (7 services)

Hot Meals on the Chiltern Silver Sets

One of life's little mysteries is +Chiltern Railways attitude towards catering on its trains, specifically on the Silver Set Mainline services. At a time when many TOCs are doing their best to dispense with catering on their trains, Chiltern are improving their offering BUT seem very loath to admit to doing so...

Take today's 1055 Silver Set Mainline service from Birmingham Moor Street to London Marylebone. For £27.50 Super Off-Peak return you get the most comfortable of trains and, for a further £10 supplement, the exclusivity of the Business Zone with its friendly hostess and unlimited tea and coffee. In addition, for those in the know, you can have a hot meal served to your seat on a plate with real cutlery... today's choice was vegetable chow mein, chicken noodles, or chicken tikka masala.

I plumped for the chicken tikka - http://t.co/uFrZvcu3 - which was served after Banbury for the princely sum of £3.50. Very tasty it was too. Would you know of this from the web site / departure board / timetable / posters / on-board announcements? Very unlikely as Chiltern seem to be under the impression that a process of osmosis is the best form of publicity...

So, catch these meals whilst you can - someone, somewhere may decree that no one wants them!

Splitting fares on Chiltern

I am grateful to +Ranbir Sahota of Vitis PR for pointing out that splitting the fare for a +Chiltern Railways  journey to London at Banbury can reduce considerably the £50 off-peak return fare when returning from Marylebone during the Monday-Friday evening peak (4pm-7pm).

The trick is to buy a Network Railcard (£28 per annum from Banbury and stations south thereof) and use the trains south that call at Banbury post 10am (ie the 0912 Snow Hill departure onwards).

The Birmingham to Banbury Chiltern Only Anytime Day return is £13, and the Network Railcard Off-Peak Return from Banbury to Marylebone is £25.50 making a grand total of £38.50, a saving of £11.50. NOTE that you cannot use the 1715 Silver Set back to Birmingham as this does not stop at Banbury.

So, a minimum of 3 journeys a year will save you money and give a better journey pattern and, of course, you get the additional benefits in the London & S-E area that the Railcard brings.

+Ranbir Sahota  of Vitis PR emailed me in August (apologies for the delay!) to add:

I have now used this journey combo a number of times now and would suggest that travellers carry a set of used tickets with them in their rail card wallet, as sometimes the ticket office struggles on finding the fare!