Declaration of interest: this second of the two set of journeys covered in these postings was courtesy of a Chiltern Railways Free Travel Pass (food, however, was purchased by me).
On Tuesday, I was surprised to find the 10.55 service from Moor Street in reverse formation: ie loco at the back and the Business Zone carriage at the London end. No-one seemed to know why... Of course, this made the carriage even quieter but at least there was a bustle in the Expresso Bar which indicated the arrival of staff. Even better, an ex-Wrexham & Shropshire staff member was rustling up bacon sandwiches which were being sold at £3.50 including tea. Now there's a delight!
Less of a delight was the discovery that the power points in the Business Zone were not working. The on-board crew tried everything they could to rectify the situation but had to admit defeat - one for the fault book. Still Wi-Fi was working and there were copies of the Financial Times available so I settled back to enjoy my bacon roll, use laptop until the battery ran down, and then simply enjoy the ride.
As I mentioned in the previous post, departure was delayed due to a LondonMidland train getting priority but at least the loss of time was not accentuated further down the line so arrival into Marylebone was only a few minutes late. Even still, one has to wonder when Chiltern will persuade the Network Rail signallers that they are actually handling Express trains once more from Moor Street as I'm sure that Virgin's Pendolinos are treated with more respect...
Returning from London, I was expecting to pay my supplement to use the Business Zone once more on the 1807. Alas, it was the same set as worked the 10.55 and the power point issue had not been resolved. So I left the other three people in the Zone in peace and went in search of a standard table with power.
The 1807 is relatively busy in Standard but by no means crowded so finding a table further along the train proved not to be a problem. As power and WiFi was available, and the seats are the comfortable ex-W&S, one has to wonder again what I would have gained for my £20. Well there is the free tea served by a friendly host (Ex-W&S), it is quieter, and there is more room but overall I still can't see the package offering true value.
Good job I had the bacon roll on the way down as there was no hot food available on the 1807 - the paninis hadn't turned up! Still, the tea is reasonable value at £1.60.
Departure was slightly late due to earlier problems and of course we immediately ran into the pathing problems as we caught up delayed locals at Gerards Cross and High Wycombe. So despite taking Anyho Junction at line speed (first time I had experienced this benefit of Evergreen 3), we failed to keep to time to Warwick Parkway, and then lost further time post Solihull trying to get into Moor Street and Snow Hill. Things were so bad that the 1810 Stourbridge Junction service caught us up at Snow Hill despite supposedly being timed to arrive 17 minutes after us.
So Chiltern, you provide a good service from Birmingham to London at very competitive fares with stock which is a pleasure to use. BUT coming back from London is not such a happy story. Can you try harder please.
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
A double dose of Chiltern... day 1
Two days of journeys to London Monday / Tuesday with timings that suited the use of my favourite train, the 10.55 Mainline Silver service from Birmingham Moor Street to London Marylebone.
One of the nice things about the Mainline timetable is that the xx.55 departures from Moor Street are formed of the xx.17 arrivals from Marylebone which means that the train is waiting to be boarded for up to half-an-hour before departure. So it was that I rolled up at 10.40 on Monday, bought my £25 Super Off-Peak return (what a bargain), and boarded the Business Zone of the Silver Set waiting in Platform 4.
As ever all was quiet in this carriage as most passengers passed by in search of 'standard' accommodation. However, it seemed too quiet with no sign of activity in the Expresso bar. The Train Manager didn't know if it was to be staffed so I patronised the excellent Expresso cabin before settling into my seat and getting out the laptop (Memo to Chiltern: do get your buffet car staff on board earlier!).
There is no doubt that the Business Zone is an excellent environment in which to work - power and wifi on tap and plenty of space - and is even better when free as on the 10.55 and you're not in any rush... and to be quite honest, currently the Mainline timetable is not delivering in terms of 'sharp' timing. Some of this is not Chiltern's fault - on both Monday and Tuesday, LondonMidland late running locals were allowed out in front of the 10.55 departure which naturally led to delays en-route and late arrivals into Marylebone - and some of it is (both my return journeys suffered from poor pathing!)
So let's move onto the so-called Mainline service that is the 20.37 departure from Marylebone... On Monday, this was formed of a three-car 165 set. There is no way that this set of commuter carriages, running to appalling semi-fast timings (122 minutes), can be described as Mainline and it was an insult for the departure board to suggest that it was. No tables, no wifi, no power points, no 100mph running... but at least it did eventually arrive into Moor Street - late! Chiltern, shame on you.
One of the nice things about the Mainline timetable is that the xx.55 departures from Moor Street are formed of the xx.17 arrivals from Marylebone which means that the train is waiting to be boarded for up to half-an-hour before departure. So it was that I rolled up at 10.40 on Monday, bought my £25 Super Off-Peak return (what a bargain), and boarded the Business Zone of the Silver Set waiting in Platform 4.
As ever all was quiet in this carriage as most passengers passed by in search of 'standard' accommodation. However, it seemed too quiet with no sign of activity in the Expresso bar. The Train Manager didn't know if it was to be staffed so I patronised the excellent Expresso cabin before settling into my seat and getting out the laptop (Memo to Chiltern: do get your buffet car staff on board earlier!).
There is no doubt that the Business Zone is an excellent environment in which to work - power and wifi on tap and plenty of space - and is even better when free as on the 10.55 and you're not in any rush... and to be quite honest, currently the Mainline timetable is not delivering in terms of 'sharp' timing. Some of this is not Chiltern's fault - on both Monday and Tuesday, LondonMidland late running locals were allowed out in front of the 10.55 departure which naturally led to delays en-route and late arrivals into Marylebone - and some of it is (both my return journeys suffered from poor pathing!)
So let's move onto the so-called Mainline service that is the 20.37 departure from Marylebone... On Monday, this was formed of a three-car 165 set. There is no way that this set of commuter carriages, running to appalling semi-fast timings (122 minutes), can be described as Mainline and it was an insult for the departure board to suggest that it was. No tables, no wifi, no power points, no 100mph running... but at least it did eventually arrive into Moor Street - late! Chiltern, shame on you.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Virgin Atlantic do delight... at a price
Travelling from Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic? Then make sure that your agent - should you be able to afford it - takes advantage of the Upper Class fare offer in conjunction with Virgin Trains. To quote:
Book selected Upper Class fares from London to anywhere in the world,
and Virgin Atlantic will pick up the tab for a single or return First Class ticket anywhere on the Virgin Trains network to London Euston absolutely free.
Then, when your passengers arrive in London, they’ll pick them up in a
complimentary chauffeur driven car and whizz them to Heathrow,
where they’ll go from their car to the
Clubhouse in just 10 minutes, thanks to the Upper Class Wing.
Once onboard, your passengers will enjoy superb, friendly service, excellent food and drink, and one of the longest fully flat beds in business class.
Now that does sound like true delight - wonder what the experience for the rest of us in like?
Book selected Upper Class fares from London to anywhere in the world,
and Virgin Atlantic will pick up the tab for a single or return First Class ticket anywhere on the Virgin Trains network to London Euston absolutely free.
Then, when your passengers arrive in London, they’ll pick them up in a
complimentary chauffeur driven car and whizz them to Heathrow,
where they’ll go from their car to the
Clubhouse in just 10 minutes, thanks to the Upper Class Wing.
Once onboard, your passengers will enjoy superb, friendly service, excellent food and drink, and one of the longest fully flat beds in business class.
Now that does sound like true delight - wonder what the experience for the rest of us in like?
Virgin Trains First Class Seat Sale
Virgin Trains are currently running a First Class Seat Sale, offering 50,000 tickets for the period Saturday 10th December 2011 to Sunday 22nd January 2012 if booked by Tuesday 29th November. Tickets between Birmingham and London (and vice-versa) are priced at £17
Based on three journeys that I need to make in this period, it would appear that the fares are available on trains roughly around the Super Off-Peak period that Virgin sometimes employs ie from around 11am to London from Birmingham (gaps at the evening peak), and at 6.03, then from around 9.30am to 3pm and then after 8pm back from Euston (Monday to Friday).
Undoubtedly the best value fares from Birmingham are on the 10.50, 11.10, 18.50, and 19.10 services from New Street when a Hot Snack is included. From London, there is availability on the 6.03 and 9.43 which gives breakfast, and on the 3 trains between 10am and 11am which include hot snacks.
Buying the tickets online is slightly fiddly as the link from the Sale Page takes you to Virgin's Best Value Fare Finder. Here you can skip directly to the main booking engine which is far easier to use - the fares are shown as First Class Promo when available. Don't forget these are SINGLE fares so book both ways!
Having not been delighted by Virgin's Standard Class offering recently, I look forward to seeing if First Class can delight!
Based on three journeys that I need to make in this period, it would appear that the fares are available on trains roughly around the Super Off-Peak period that Virgin sometimes employs ie from around 11am to London from Birmingham (gaps at the evening peak), and at 6.03, then from around 9.30am to 3pm and then after 8pm back from Euston (Monday to Friday).
Undoubtedly the best value fares from Birmingham are on the 10.50, 11.10, 18.50, and 19.10 services from New Street when a Hot Snack is included. From London, there is availability on the 6.03 and 9.43 which gives breakfast, and on the 3 trains between 10am and 11am which include hot snacks.
Buying the tickets online is slightly fiddly as the link from the Sale Page takes you to Virgin's Best Value Fare Finder. Here you can skip directly to the main booking engine which is far easier to use - the fares are shown as First Class Promo when available. Don't forget these are SINGLE fares so book both ways!
Having not been delighted by Virgin's Standard Class offering recently, I look forward to seeing if First Class can delight!
Friday, 18 November 2011
Rail: Value for Money (Investment, Efficiency and Reform)
No, not the magazine, but an event organised by Public Service Events at the Barbican yesterday which I attended as it featured Sir Roy McNulty, Anna Walker (ORR), and Tom Smith (ATOC) as key speakers - but not politicians, the DfT, or Network Rail...
A flavour of the event as it unfolded can be had from the tweets at #rail11 and from the presentations
First up, Sir Roy McNulty who gave what presumably is his standard spiel about his eponymous Report His keys points were the existence of the 'efficiency' gap (30%?) which is 'not a cause for despair'; Rebalancing the roles of Government and Industry; and trusting the Rail Delivery Group to deliver... Naturally he denied that he had been 'nobbled' by ministers to take out anything contentious about privatisation.
The key slide from his presentation is Slide 28 - How will we know it is happening? - which takes me neatly onto Anna Walker, Chair, Office of Rail Regulation. Her surprisingly combative presentation focussed on the timetable for PR13 and the need to save £1 billion + per annum by setting the right 'incentive framework'... Interestingly, she kept referring to the need for a 'Greater transparency of information' from Network Rail and the TOCs. In the meantime, she promises three consultation documents:
* ORR’s role in relation to TOCS
* Fares and ticketing
* Localism
Wish her luck...
Perhaps the best presentation of the morning came from Douglas McCormick, MD Rail of the main sponsors Atkins. Basically he warned that companies such as his can deliver but NOT if they are seen as the easy touch in the drive to reduce costs.
After Masterclasses and lunch, Tom Smith of ATOC gave us his presentation Alas, he failed to rise to the bait dangled by Chair Paul Clifton in his introduction to the afternoon session and stuck doggedly to his brief... which was, of course, to say that Privatisation was a great success story / everything was fine when the SRA had been in charge before the Government decided it knew better / private investors were hungry to invest - they just needed to know the long-term prognosis for the industry etc etc.
His most interesting slide (6) was entitled The Initial Industry Plan response - Costs, revenue and subsidy requirement, England & Wales to 2019 which seems to show how the industry is going to drive down the subsidy requirement to £1 billion at 2011/2012 prices by 2019...
Unfortunately he couldn't stay for the Panel session, leaving it to Edward Welsh (his Director of Corporate Affairs) to continue the positive spin in the face of some doubting questioners.
Overall, a mixed bag of a day, the value of which partly diminished due to the absence of key players in the process. One final point. Innovation (along with efficiency and transparency) seemed to be a favourite word of the speakers. Funnily enough, at an evening event which moved onto, innovation was also much to the fore in the speeches. However, here, it was innovation as practised by the late Steve Jobs at Apple: ranging widely for inspiration and refusing to be siloed.
Is there anyone in the UK rail industry who can fill the Steve Jobs role and lead the industry to providing real value for money through innovative thinking? One can only hope so...
A flavour of the event as it unfolded can be had from the tweets at #rail11 and from the presentations
First up, Sir Roy McNulty who gave what presumably is his standard spiel about his eponymous Report His keys points were the existence of the 'efficiency' gap (30%?) which is 'not a cause for despair'; Rebalancing the roles of Government and Industry; and trusting the Rail Delivery Group to deliver... Naturally he denied that he had been 'nobbled' by ministers to take out anything contentious about privatisation.
The key slide from his presentation is Slide 28 - How will we know it is happening? - which takes me neatly onto Anna Walker, Chair, Office of Rail Regulation. Her surprisingly combative presentation focussed on the timetable for PR13 and the need to save £1 billion + per annum by setting the right 'incentive framework'... Interestingly, she kept referring to the need for a 'Greater transparency of information' from Network Rail and the TOCs. In the meantime, she promises three consultation documents:
* ORR’s role in relation to TOCS
* Fares and ticketing
* Localism
Wish her luck...
Perhaps the best presentation of the morning came from Douglas McCormick, MD Rail of the main sponsors Atkins. Basically he warned that companies such as his can deliver but NOT if they are seen as the easy touch in the drive to reduce costs.
After Masterclasses and lunch, Tom Smith of ATOC gave us his presentation Alas, he failed to rise to the bait dangled by Chair Paul Clifton in his introduction to the afternoon session and stuck doggedly to his brief... which was, of course, to say that Privatisation was a great success story / everything was fine when the SRA had been in charge before the Government decided it knew better / private investors were hungry to invest - they just needed to know the long-term prognosis for the industry etc etc.
His most interesting slide (6) was entitled The Initial Industry Plan response - Costs, revenue and subsidy requirement, England & Wales to 2019 which seems to show how the industry is going to drive down the subsidy requirement to £1 billion at 2011/2012 prices by 2019...
Unfortunately he couldn't stay for the Panel session, leaving it to Edward Welsh (his Director of Corporate Affairs) to continue the positive spin in the face of some doubting questioners.
Overall, a mixed bag of a day, the value of which partly diminished due to the absence of key players in the process. One final point. Innovation (along with efficiency and transparency) seemed to be a favourite word of the speakers. Funnily enough, at an evening event which moved onto, innovation was also much to the fore in the speeches. However, here, it was innovation as practised by the late Steve Jobs at Apple: ranging widely for inspiration and refusing to be siloed.
Is there anyone in the UK rail industry who can fill the Steve Jobs role and lead the industry to providing real value for money through innovative thinking? One can only hope so...
Virgin Miscellany
Virgin Trains: First Class Seat Sale - booking opens next Wednesday (23rd) and lasts until the 29th (or until the 50,000 seats are sold). Travel dates are between Saturday 10th December 2011 and Sunday 22nd January 2012. Birmingham-London travel will cost £17 each way - child discounts available but NOT railcard discounts.
Virgin Trains: First Class refreshments - breakfast on the 23rd December will be the last First Class meal served before the Christmas break. Full First Class Meal service will resume on Tuesday 3rd January 2012.
Virgin Trains: railcard ticket validity - Barry Doe in Rail issues 681 and 683 has explained the changes that Virgin have introduced on Railcard off-peak validity on Peak period trains. The off-peak price availability remains BUT the tickets must only be for the Virgin part of the journey. So for example, a railcard holder can still travel from Euston to Wolverhampton at peak times for an off-peak fare but must re-book from Wolverhampton if s/he wants to travel say to Shrewsbury
Also from Rail issue 683 is a news piece explaining the 36 week extension to the Virgin WCML franchise...
Virgin Trains: First Class refreshments - breakfast on the 23rd December will be the last First Class meal served before the Christmas break. Full First Class Meal service will resume on Tuesday 3rd January 2012.
Virgin Trains: railcard ticket validity - Barry Doe in Rail issues 681 and 683 has explained the changes that Virgin have introduced on Railcard off-peak validity on Peak period trains. The off-peak price availability remains BUT the tickets must only be for the Virgin part of the journey. So for example, a railcard holder can still travel from Euston to Wolverhampton at peak times for an off-peak fare but must re-book from Wolverhampton if s/he wants to travel say to Shrewsbury
Also from Rail issue 683 is a news piece explaining the 36 week extension to the Virgin WCML franchise...
Virgin Trains do deliver but the company doesn't always delight
Back in the heyday of customer service, certain brands would delight in 'delighting' their customers - KwikFit is one that springs to mind. The problem that I have with Virgin Trains is that the company delivers but doesn't always delight, at least not on the Birmingham to London runs.
However, let's start with the positives. An advance single to St Alban's Abbey via Watford Junction on Wednesday using the 14.10 out of New Street set me back the princely sum of £11.50. Coming back last night on the 20.43 from London Euston cost me another £10.50. If you can book in Advance, then Virgin do delight if you can travel off-peak...
The 14.10 Pendolino arrived from Wolverhampton in good time and left promptly. My table seat was reserved in the Quiet Coach, and indeed the Quiet Coach was quiet. Usual run of announcements about tickets but as ever no attempt to check prior to Coventry (to be fair, there was then a ticket check on the run to Watford). No shop announcement but one presumes it was open. Slight delay around Milton Keynes meant arrival into Watford was around 5 mins late. Apologies given. Overall, a routine standard class Pendolino experience.
Coming back, the reservation system had failed on the 20.43 but in fact my table seat in the Quiet Coach was available. Relatively busy due to Milton Keynes commuters using the service but after MK relatively quiet. Announcements were automated which meant that the needless 'security' warning was repeated seemingly ad nauseum. No ticket checks but the train manager did appear after MK to challenge a tourist who had placed his bike in the vestibule. Apparently there were no platform staff to put the bike in the front compartment as should have occurred. Again, no shop announcement. Slightly delayed around Birmingham International so another 5 min late arrival... Nevertheless, another reasonable Pendolino journey.
So what would delight me as a Pendolino passenger? A more human touch from the train managers and perhaps more visibility? Free WiFi obviously. More (leg)room in Standard and less of a 'crowd everyone in' feeling about the carriages. Overall, Virgin just giving the feeling that the company was actually pleased that I was actually using their services...
However, let's start with the positives. An advance single to St Alban's Abbey via Watford Junction on Wednesday using the 14.10 out of New Street set me back the princely sum of £11.50. Coming back last night on the 20.43 from London Euston cost me another £10.50. If you can book in Advance, then Virgin do delight if you can travel off-peak...
The 14.10 Pendolino arrived from Wolverhampton in good time and left promptly. My table seat was reserved in the Quiet Coach, and indeed the Quiet Coach was quiet. Usual run of announcements about tickets but as ever no attempt to check prior to Coventry (to be fair, there was then a ticket check on the run to Watford). No shop announcement but one presumes it was open. Slight delay around Milton Keynes meant arrival into Watford was around 5 mins late. Apologies given. Overall, a routine standard class Pendolino experience.
Coming back, the reservation system had failed on the 20.43 but in fact my table seat in the Quiet Coach was available. Relatively busy due to Milton Keynes commuters using the service but after MK relatively quiet. Announcements were automated which meant that the needless 'security' warning was repeated seemingly ad nauseum. No ticket checks but the train manager did appear after MK to challenge a tourist who had placed his bike in the vestibule. Apparently there were no platform staff to put the bike in the front compartment as should have occurred. Again, no shop announcement. Slightly delayed around Birmingham International so another 5 min late arrival... Nevertheless, another reasonable Pendolino journey.
So what would delight me as a Pendolino passenger? A more human touch from the train managers and perhaps more visibility? Free WiFi obviously. More (leg)room in Standard and less of a 'crowd everyone in' feeling about the carriages. Overall, Virgin just giving the feeling that the company was actually pleased that I was actually using their services...
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