Tuesday 30 April 2013

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...


Monday 22 April 2013

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...






Friday 12 April 2013

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...




Tuesday 9 April 2013

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?