Chiltern Railways
Chiltern continue to promote the Mainline service in Birmingham. Last Thursday's Birmingham Post carried a full page advert offering a MacBook Air in a competition... see www.chilternmacbook.co.uk
LondonMidland
LondonMidland's Great Escape starts today and runs until Sunday 19th February. Off-peak day tickets for £15 (£25 First Class) - first train to London is the 0913 from New Street - with NO restrictions for Birmingham passengers returning from London Euston. Will be monitoring the Twittersphere to see what the commuters make of this generosity during half-term!
Virgin Trains
Virgin are upgrading the food and drink offering in their First Class Lounges and are seeking feedback. Alas, the upgrade hadn't reached New Street on Friday so I can not yet give an opinion...
onboard for Winter / Spring '12 has been published and features a range of festivals in Birmingham.
Congratulations to Virgin Trains on two recent awards: Favourite Rail Operator award at the prestigious Globe Travel awards and for topping the performance league among companies operating long-distance rail franchises
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Using the train as a travelling office: LondonMidland
Last Monday saw me on the 0753 LondonMidland service out of Birmingham New Street bound for London Euston. Knowing about this journey well in time enabled me to take advantage of the £16 advance First Class Fare, and so make use of the table and power points (though of course there isn't WiFi on LondonMidland services).
The 0753 is formed of a 4-car Class 350 set which works in from Crewe and arrives and departs from Platform 1B in New Street. Clearly a train which is used by many regular commuters for stations to Coventry but by not too many First Class travellers (mind you there are only 24 First Class seats, of which 8 are around tables). The key to getting to a table is to remember that the First Class Compartment is in the centre of the train..
Active ticket checks up to Northampton were in evidence but none after that station (nor on exit slightly late at Euston...), and the First Class, though getting busier, remained a comfortable working environment. Pity the trolley service has gone but one can always remember a flask (and, of course, there is the wait at Northampton which would give the chance to use the station facilities). A (Orange) mobile wireless dongle finds coverage for most of the journey too...
Coming back from St Albans Abbey, I joined the 1201 Crewe / Birmingham service at Watford Junction. Announcements here and on board made it clear that the rear four coaches were for New Street. As before, the First Class Advance Fare was £16 though of course being midday the First Class Compartment was virtually empty. Another good run - and as before, the ambient temperature was pleasant and the toilets were clean!
So, despite the lack of WiFi and refreshments, there are times when LondonMidland can be used as a reasonably priced travelling office but generally, Chiltern would be my first choice...
The 0753 is formed of a 4-car Class 350 set which works in from Crewe and arrives and departs from Platform 1B in New Street. Clearly a train which is used by many regular commuters for stations to Coventry but by not too many First Class travellers (mind you there are only 24 First Class seats, of which 8 are around tables). The key to getting to a table is to remember that the First Class Compartment is in the centre of the train..
Active ticket checks up to Northampton were in evidence but none after that station (nor on exit slightly late at Euston...), and the First Class, though getting busier, remained a comfortable working environment. Pity the trolley service has gone but one can always remember a flask (and, of course, there is the wait at Northampton which would give the chance to use the station facilities). A (Orange) mobile wireless dongle finds coverage for most of the journey too...
Coming back from St Albans Abbey, I joined the 1201 Crewe / Birmingham service at Watford Junction. Announcements here and on board made it clear that the rear four coaches were for New Street. As before, the First Class Advance Fare was £16 though of course being midday the First Class Compartment was virtually empty. Another good run - and as before, the ambient temperature was pleasant and the toilets were clean!
So, despite the lack of WiFi and refreshments, there are times when LondonMidland can be used as a reasonably priced travelling office but generally, Chiltern would be my first choice...
Using the train as a travelling office: Chiltern Railways
A trip to the Golden Whistles Awards, sponsored by Modern Railways, on the 27th saw me back on Chiltern's Mainline trains. A peculiarity of the current timetable is the running of a Mainline service as a multi-station stopper in front of a fast Mainline service; examples being the 0659, 0744, and 0825 services from Moor Street all of which have published arrival times into Marylebone 1 minute ahead of the 0733, 0815, and 0855 respectively.
From a 'working on board' point of view, the best of these slow trains is the 0825 from Moor Street which actually starts from Snow Hill at 0822 and benefits from the £50 return fare. So it was that I joined the virtually empty Clubman set at Snow Hill and settled myself at a table ready to work on my laptop. Departure was on time and the power points were working but disaster, no external WiFi connection... Fortunately, Chiltern train managers have a 'can-do' attitude... Steve reset the box whilst waiting in the Dorridge loop and the full (free) WiFi service sprang into life.
Although the train got busier, at no time was it uncomfortably so. With an at-seat trolley service (pity they still don't take credit / debit cards), what more can the working traveller want?
Alas, coming back wasn't quite so pleasant. The 1915 is notorious amongst Chiltern's vocal Twitter following for being overcrowded and this Friday's was no exception. I got a seat by dint of boarding at 1905 but on departure it was full and standing, and it wasn't until Leamington Spa that the last of the standing passengers got a seat. The primary cause of this overcrowding would seem to be the fact that the 1915 is the first super-off peak service out of Marylebone in the evening, along with the stop that it makes at Bicester North. Perhaps Chiltern could adopt a variable ticket restriction which sees Bicester North super off-peak tickets valid from the following 1937 rather than the 1915...
Of course, that would require ticket checking, something which all the TOCs that I use seem to find very difficult especially in the evening. On the Friday in question, the barriers were not in place at Marylebone (they're being upgraded), there was no on-board checking, and of course, there is no 'exit' checking at any Chiltern station en-route... Just as with Virgin and LondonMidland, one suspects a business plan which focuses on travel into London and works on the assumption that travellers out of London will be on return tickets...
Finally, a quick word about the Golden Whistles. Alas, the only whistle that the three TOCs won was Virgin's award for 'managing disruption'. By all accounts, something for which the TOC had plenty of opportunity to display in yesterday's WCML disruption at Bletchley.
From a 'working on board' point of view, the best of these slow trains is the 0825 from Moor Street which actually starts from Snow Hill at 0822 and benefits from the £50 return fare. So it was that I joined the virtually empty Clubman set at Snow Hill and settled myself at a table ready to work on my laptop. Departure was on time and the power points were working but disaster, no external WiFi connection... Fortunately, Chiltern train managers have a 'can-do' attitude... Steve reset the box whilst waiting in the Dorridge loop and the full (free) WiFi service sprang into life.
Although the train got busier, at no time was it uncomfortably so. With an at-seat trolley service (pity they still don't take credit / debit cards), what more can the working traveller want?
Alas, coming back wasn't quite so pleasant. The 1915 is notorious amongst Chiltern's vocal Twitter following for being overcrowded and this Friday's was no exception. I got a seat by dint of boarding at 1905 but on departure it was full and standing, and it wasn't until Leamington Spa that the last of the standing passengers got a seat. The primary cause of this overcrowding would seem to be the fact that the 1915 is the first super-off peak service out of Marylebone in the evening, along with the stop that it makes at Bicester North. Perhaps Chiltern could adopt a variable ticket restriction which sees Bicester North super off-peak tickets valid from the following 1937 rather than the 1915...
Of course, that would require ticket checking, something which all the TOCs that I use seem to find very difficult especially in the evening. On the Friday in question, the barriers were not in place at Marylebone (they're being upgraded), there was no on-board checking, and of course, there is no 'exit' checking at any Chiltern station en-route... Just as with Virgin and LondonMidland, one suspects a business plan which focuses on travel into London and works on the assumption that travellers out of London will be on return tickets...
Finally, a quick word about the Golden Whistles. Alas, the only whistle that the three TOCs won was Virgin's award for 'managing disruption'. By all accounts, something for which the TOC had plenty of opportunity to display in yesterday's WCML disruption at Bletchley.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
LondonMidland / Chiltern updates
LondonMidland
The Great Escape is back and booking is open for travel between Saturday 4th and Sunday 19th February. Standard Class travel for a day is £15 (First Class where available £25). A voucher needs to be downloaded from the web site before tickets are purchased at either a station or on the train if boarding at an unstaffed station. Railcard discounts are applied - making the fares £9.90 and £16.50 respectively - and interestingly Family & Friends railcard discount is being applied to First as well as Standard Class tickets (the children travelling for £4 or £2 each).
From Birmingham New Street, the first train available for travel to London Euston (Monday to Friday) is the 0913 (arr Euston 1127). Travelling from Euston, the first train available for travel to Birmingham New Street (Monday to Friday) is the 0946 (arr New Street 1201) - there are NO evening peak restrictions for Birmingham passengers! As ever, there are no restrictions at weekends.
So yet again, LondonMidland offer brilliant fares BUT seem to hope that their long-suffering commuters will put up with the influx. I pity those travelling on the 17.13 / 18.13 / 19.13 fast services out of Euston, especially anyone who has paid has a First Class season ticket...
Chiltern Railways
The Business Zone upgrade vouchers are still being made available in Central Birmingham. Each voucher saves£20 on the 0619 and 0655 from Birmingham Moor Street, and the 1646 and 1807 from London Marylebone.
The Great Escape is back and booking is open for travel between Saturday 4th and Sunday 19th February. Standard Class travel for a day is £15 (First Class where available £25). A voucher needs to be downloaded from the web site before tickets are purchased at either a station or on the train if boarding at an unstaffed station. Railcard discounts are applied - making the fares £9.90 and £16.50 respectively - and interestingly Family & Friends railcard discount is being applied to First as well as Standard Class tickets (the children travelling for £4 or £2 each).
From Birmingham New Street, the first train available for travel to London Euston (Monday to Friday) is the 0913 (arr Euston 1127). Travelling from Euston, the first train available for travel to Birmingham New Street (Monday to Friday) is the 0946 (arr New Street 1201) - there are NO evening peak restrictions for Birmingham passengers! As ever, there are no restrictions at weekends.
So yet again, LondonMidland offer brilliant fares BUT seem to hope that their long-suffering commuters will put up with the influx. I pity those travelling on the 17.13 / 18.13 / 19.13 fast services out of Euston, especially anyone who has paid has a First Class season ticket...
Chiltern Railways
The Business Zone upgrade vouchers are still being made available in Central Birmingham. Each voucher saves£20 on the 0619 and 0655 from Birmingham Moor Street, and the 1646 and 1807 from London Marylebone.
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Virgin Trains out / Chiltern Railways back
Last week, I commented on the cost of travel on the Virgin Pendolinos between Birmingham New Street and London Euston, and compared it to the walk-on fares offered by Chiltern. Yesterday, I had an unexpected opportunity to compare and contrast both the fares and what was offered...
For my outward journey, I had booked through RedSpottedHanky.com as I had loyalty points to redeem. Thus my Virgin Advance First Class fare was reduced from £23.50 to a very reasonable £18.50. RSH is the new kid on the online booking block and is certainly making efforts both to differentiate itself from its competitors and be proactive in reaching out to both potential and existing customers. A nice touch is the pre-departure email 'Before the off' which arrives a couple of days prior to travel to remind you to pick up your tickets.
I was booked on the 12.30 departure from New Street. As ever, I took advantage of the First Class lounge beforehand - it definitely makes New Street more pleasant from which to depart. Quiet coach H was busier than usual (though not actually busy!) and as the Reservations had failed to download it was a bit of a free for all in looking for a table on which to work. Still, settled on one whilst being welcomed by the ticket restriction litany - at least yesterday's train manager actually put a bit of life into it.
Power points and WiFi working fine. Coffee offered after Birmingham International and again after Milton Keynes (nice touch) whilst the soft drinks trolley and sandwiches (can recommend the egg brown baguette) came round after Coventry. Slight delay at Watford Junction meant a 3 min late arrival into Euston but overall an excellent travel experience for the price I paid.
Unexpectedly, I returned on the 1807 Chiltern Railways Silver Service from London Marylebone. The walk-on Standard Class return fare is £50 (compared to Virgin's £158 and London Midland's £27) for which you get table seats with power points and free WiFi and access to an Expresso Bar (Virgin charge for WiFi in Standard; LondonMidland don't offer power points, WiFi or refreshments in Standard).
Standard class was relatively busy but a seat was to be had easily enough. Strangely, as I got on, the train was in darkness - the lights had tripped and noone had complained (the crew hadn't noticed, being deep in conversation on the platform...). Perhaps this is a common occurrence for Chiltern regulars???
As regular readers of my blog will know, I love travelling on the former Wrexham & Shropshire stock - proper trains! - especially now that the Class 67's can show what they can do with the former speed restrictions lifted. Actually, they can show what they can do until they leave the Marylebone signalling area... yesterday, although Aynho Junction was taken at speed, the train was delayed at Banbury by a CrossCoiuntry in front, and then at Dorridge by poor signalling looping the train through the platform to pass a LondonMidland service. Don't Network Rail get the concept of the Mainline service?
So a 15 minute late arrival into Snow Hill due to factors outside Chiltern's direct control. Would Virgin stand for being treated in such a way?
For my outward journey, I had booked through RedSpottedHanky.com as I had loyalty points to redeem. Thus my Virgin Advance First Class fare was reduced from £23.50 to a very reasonable £18.50. RSH is the new kid on the online booking block and is certainly making efforts both to differentiate itself from its competitors and be proactive in reaching out to both potential and existing customers. A nice touch is the pre-departure email 'Before the off' which arrives a couple of days prior to travel to remind you to pick up your tickets.
I was booked on the 12.30 departure from New Street. As ever, I took advantage of the First Class lounge beforehand - it definitely makes New Street more pleasant from which to depart. Quiet coach H was busier than usual (though not actually busy!) and as the Reservations had failed to download it was a bit of a free for all in looking for a table on which to work. Still, settled on one whilst being welcomed by the ticket restriction litany - at least yesterday's train manager actually put a bit of life into it.
Power points and WiFi working fine. Coffee offered after Birmingham International and again after Milton Keynes (nice touch) whilst the soft drinks trolley and sandwiches (can recommend the egg brown baguette) came round after Coventry. Slight delay at Watford Junction meant a 3 min late arrival into Euston but overall an excellent travel experience for the price I paid.
Unexpectedly, I returned on the 1807 Chiltern Railways Silver Service from London Marylebone. The walk-on Standard Class return fare is £50 (compared to Virgin's £158 and London Midland's £27) for which you get table seats with power points and free WiFi and access to an Expresso Bar (Virgin charge for WiFi in Standard; LondonMidland don't offer power points, WiFi or refreshments in Standard).
Standard class was relatively busy but a seat was to be had easily enough. Strangely, as I got on, the train was in darkness - the lights had tripped and noone had complained (the crew hadn't noticed, being deep in conversation on the platform...). Perhaps this is a common occurrence for Chiltern regulars???
As regular readers of my blog will know, I love travelling on the former Wrexham & Shropshire stock - proper trains! - especially now that the Class 67's can show what they can do with the former speed restrictions lifted. Actually, they can show what they can do until they leave the Marylebone signalling area... yesterday, although Aynho Junction was taken at speed, the train was delayed at Banbury by a CrossCoiuntry in front, and then at Dorridge by poor signalling looping the train through the platform to pass a LondonMidland service. Don't Network Rail get the concept of the Mainline service?
So a 15 minute late arrival into Snow Hill due to factors outside Chiltern's direct control. Would Virgin stand for being treated in such a way?
Monday, 16 January 2012
LondonMidland / Chiltern Railways - updates
LondonMidland's Online Fare Sale has been extended by a week and now runs to Sunday 22nd January. Tickets can be bought for outward journeys up to and including Friday 3rd February. Don't forget that Walk-On fares are included in the Sale, and that you only need to allow a couple of hours for the tickets to be delivered to the relevant station's ticket machine.
Chiltern Railways are doing another push for their Business Zone offering between Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone. This week in Central Birmingham, leaflets are being handed out which contain a voucher for a complimentary upgrade to Business Zone on the 0619 & 0655 departures from Moor Street and the 1646 and 1807 departures from Marylebone. Note that these vouchers are subject to space being available in the Zone...
Chiltern Railways are doing another push for their Business Zone offering between Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone. This week in Central Birmingham, leaflets are being handed out which contain a voucher for a complimentary upgrade to Business Zone on the 0619 & 0655 departures from Moor Street and the 1646 and 1807 departures from Marylebone. Note that these vouchers are subject to space being available in the Zone...
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Who cares wins? Travelling by Virgin Trains
This week saw the start of the Virgin Money campaign to promote the benefits of the takeover of Northern Rock. With a headline of 'Who cares wins', the campaign carries the strapline 'Our quest to make banking better starts here'...
So, does sister brand Virgin Trains seek the same ethos at the start of the year which will decide the fate of the WCML franchise? Yesterday, I was on the Virgin Pendolinos between Birmingham New Street and London Euston to seek an indication.
As I was travelling to a long booked meeting in Central London, I had been able to take advantage of the Virgin First Class Seat sale in November to book my journey for £17 each way. At such a price - the cheapest walk-on First Class fare is £92.70 each way - one starts off delighted!
I was booked south on the 10.50 departure but arrived at New Street with an hour to spare so, of course, took advantage of the First Class Lounge. Mid-morning proved to be very quiet as I settled down with my laptop to use the complementary WiFi, enjoy the refreshments, and pick up the papers (FT and Independent).
Quiet Coach H was equally quiet as I took my seat and once more took out my laptop. It would have been even quieter without the litany of ticket restrictions which some Virgin train managers deem to be necessary prior to departure from New Street along with the automated 'security' announcements...
Coffee was served immediately upon departure followed shortly afterwards by the soft drinks trolley, but it was not until after Rugby that the sausage / bacon rolls made an appearance... Ticket check prior to Coventry; arrival on time into Euston. The only downside to the journey was that 2 out of the 3 toilets in First Class were out of action!
My return journey was on the 20.23 from Euston which was ready to board as soon as the 20.03 service had departed. Was pleasantly surprised to find an efficient barrier ticket check in operation - as were some fellow travellers judging by the trade the man with the machine was doing - and even more surprised to see the same two members of staff following up with onboard checks too. A new policy for 2012?
Almost busy in Quiet Coach H but still plenty of room and at least we were spared the announcement sequences. Coffee and drinks offered on departure and light refreshments after Watford Junction (can recommend the egg and cress brown baguette). Everything, including the toilets, worked fine and arrival on time in New Street.
So for a total fare of £34 there is little to suggest to Virgin to improve: after all they do provide a frequent, fast, and relatively comfortable service day-in day-out. However, I would not pay the full walk-on fare for it - Chiltern provide many of the same facilities (albeit on services not as fast and as frequent) at a fraction of the cost (yesterday's trip would have cost £25 walk-on).
If Virgin Trains are adopting the same ethos as Virgin Money, then start with the fare structure!
So, does sister brand Virgin Trains seek the same ethos at the start of the year which will decide the fate of the WCML franchise? Yesterday, I was on the Virgin Pendolinos between Birmingham New Street and London Euston to seek an indication.
As I was travelling to a long booked meeting in Central London, I had been able to take advantage of the Virgin First Class Seat sale in November to book my journey for £17 each way. At such a price - the cheapest walk-on First Class fare is £92.70 each way - one starts off delighted!
I was booked south on the 10.50 departure but arrived at New Street with an hour to spare so, of course, took advantage of the First Class Lounge. Mid-morning proved to be very quiet as I settled down with my laptop to use the complementary WiFi, enjoy the refreshments, and pick up the papers (FT and Independent).
Quiet Coach H was equally quiet as I took my seat and once more took out my laptop. It would have been even quieter without the litany of ticket restrictions which some Virgin train managers deem to be necessary prior to departure from New Street along with the automated 'security' announcements...
Coffee was served immediately upon departure followed shortly afterwards by the soft drinks trolley, but it was not until after Rugby that the sausage / bacon rolls made an appearance... Ticket check prior to Coventry; arrival on time into Euston. The only downside to the journey was that 2 out of the 3 toilets in First Class were out of action!
My return journey was on the 20.23 from Euston which was ready to board as soon as the 20.03 service had departed. Was pleasantly surprised to find an efficient barrier ticket check in operation - as were some fellow travellers judging by the trade the man with the machine was doing - and even more surprised to see the same two members of staff following up with onboard checks too. A new policy for 2012?
Almost busy in Quiet Coach H but still plenty of room and at least we were spared the announcement sequences. Coffee and drinks offered on departure and light refreshments after Watford Junction (can recommend the egg and cress brown baguette). Everything, including the toilets, worked fine and arrival on time in New Street.
So for a total fare of £34 there is little to suggest to Virgin to improve: after all they do provide a frequent, fast, and relatively comfortable service day-in day-out. However, I would not pay the full walk-on fare for it - Chiltern provide many of the same facilities (albeit on services not as fast and as frequent) at a fraction of the cost (yesterday's trip would have cost £25 walk-on).
If Virgin Trains are adopting the same ethos as Virgin Money, then start with the fare structure!
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