From today, Sunday 6th November 2011, All Tickets Please will move completely to it’s new home on the Internet. For those who are still looking for their fix of railway news, humour, photography, video and model railways; please forward yourself to the new addresses below.
All Tickets Please Railway Photographs is a new site that has replaced my Photobucket account to allow for more control over images. The new address is http://railphotos.allticketsplease.co.uk
I will still be maintaining my Flickr Photostream with images of Charters, Steam Loco Movements, Unusual Freight Workings & Test Trains. The address is http://www.flickr.com/photos/allticketsplease/
Last but not least, my Youtube Channel is still open and is added to fairly regularly. Please visit http://www.youtube.com/user/allticketsplease for video of Freight & Passenger workings, London Underground, Network Rail Test Trains, Charters, Steam Loco movements and much more.
Finally for this post, and indeed the blog at this address, many many thanks to all of you, my readers, who have made this blog as popular as it is. I look forward to writing for you in the future at the new address.
A proposed £32bn national high-speed rail link was described as a “white elephant” during an MPs’ debate.
Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom made the claim adding that HS2 was “out of date before it is even completed”.
Liberal Democrat Dr Julian Huppert said the project was “a cold, hard necessity which we cannot afford to ignore”.
The line would first connect London to Birmingham, then to Manchester and Leeds and include stops in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.
Ms Leadsom, whose South Northamptonshire constituency would be affected by the line, said she was against plans for a scheme that she thought was “unjustifiable and eye-wateringly expensive”.
“If this route was going from Truro to Paddington or from Leeds to Edinburgh, I would still be here today defending the taxpayer,” she added.
Coventry North-West MP Geoffrey Robinson (Labour) was also opposed to plans and said: “It’s the largest capital project this country will ever have engaged in and it is money, frankly, that could better be spent elsewhere.”
Successful economy
Transport Minister Theresa Villiers backed HS2 to defuse the “passenger capacity time bomb” on the West Coast Main Line and denied the scheme was only about cutting the London to Birmingham journey time to 49 minutes.
“It’s about delivering the inter-city transport links that are absolutely crucial for the future success of our economy.”
Labour’s shadow rail minister John Woodcock argued HS2 was “a vital lifeline of economic growth”.
“We will be failing future generations if we pass up the opportunity to employ the most advanced technology available,” said the Barrow MP.
A petition against the scheme has been delivered to Downing Street with 108,000 signatures.
Stop HS2 campaigners assembled at Old Palace Yard, opposite the House of Commons, to protest against the plans.
The line would also run through rural parts of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire.
Better services, improved passenger information, and cuts in the cost of running the railways have been outlined in future plans announced by rail chiefs.
Described as an initial industry plan, the programme covers the period 2014 to 2019, with the industry aiming to cut rail costs by £1.3 billion a year by the end of this decade.
Plans include £5.6 billion-worth of schemes, including the Northern Hub – a £560 million plan to deliver more than 700 extra services a day between Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sheffield.
The rail chiefs’ vision also includes journey time improvements in the East Midlands, Yorkshire, Bristol and Oxford areas and electrification of the Midland main line, the north trans-Pennine line, and further electrification schemes in Scotland.
The plan also envisages improvements to a number of stations including Fenchurch Street in London and Liverpool Central, as well as a £200 million scheme to improve services between Inverness and Aberdeen in Scotland.
By better linking Britain’s major cities, an extra 180,000 peak-time seats could be provided, as well as accommodating a 30% increase in freight.
Rail chiefs also announced plans to move from 800 signal boxes to 14 modern signalling centres. The hoped-for schemes, which will need Government approval, are in addition to £4.9 billion-worth of ongoing projects such as the Thameslink and Crossrail schemes in London and already-announced electrification schemes such as the Great Western line.
The rail industry also spoke of trying to improve the passenger experience in key areas such as journey information, comfort and accessibility.
Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said: “Rail has a bright future in supporting a successful green economy in the years ahead. This plan shows how we can do that by providing a better quality of service to growing numbers of passengers at a more affordable cost.
“We look forward to working with government to ensure the right framework is in place to make this possible.”
Fare dodgers are depriving the rail network and other passengers of an estimated £200m a year, according to figures published by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) which represents Britain’s train operators.
Fare dodgers who choose to travel without buying a ticket are estimated to be making more than 110,000 train journeys each and every day on the rail network.
The figures come as train companies publish a list of some of the more memorable excuses used by passengers caught travelling without a ticket.
Examples of excuses given by fare dodgers for not buying a ticket include:-
“I’m related to The Queen so I don’t need a ticket.”
“I’m in the Zimbabwean SAS, on covert ops.”
“Don’t you know who I am?”
“What’s a ticket?”
“Do I need a ticket? I thought the railway was free.”
“If the ticket man doesn’t see me then I don’t need one.”
“I’m a freeman of the land, I don’t recognise the law and the law does not apply to me.”
An adult travelling with a child ticket said “I thought I was a child until I was 21.”
A passenger claimed he did not buy a ticket because “I didn’t think you would accept my fare.”
“I thought by hiding in the luggage rack you wouldn’t see me.”
The hundreds of millions of pounds lost every year due to fare dodging is money train operators could otherwise invest in improving services for passengers.
It is estimated that the £200m currently lost every year due to fare dodging would be enough to:
– Lease over 1,300 extra commuter carriages, or;
– Lease around 800 extra inter-city carriages for longer distance journeys, or;
– Pay for the upkeep of around 380 stations for the next five years.
Train companies have a number of safeguards in place aimed at ensuring that customers unable to buy a ticket are not given a penalty fare. Staff are regularly updated about ticket machines which may not be working and other circumstances which may prevent people from buying tickets. Passengers should check with their train operator what its policies are on ticketing and fare evasion.
David Mapp, Commercial Director for the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), said:
“It’s frustrating for the vast majority of honest passengers who do pay for their ticket when fare dodgers’ selfish actions suck millions of pounds out of the railways each year. That’s money both train companies and passengers alike would rather see going back into further improving services.
“Train companies deal with fare dodgers in a fair but firm manner. Where there is a genuine reason for someone travelling without a ticket, train companies will always use their discretion. Strong deterrents are in place to ensure that the vast majority of passengers don’t end up paying for the few who think they can get away without buying a ticket.
“As these excuses show, there are always some people who choose to spend time thinking up an excuse rather than buying a ticket.”
Network Rail today published an analysis of passenger congestion at stations along with a toolkit of potential measures for the industry to address congestion at stations around the network.
Congestion can affect passengers at smaller stations as much as at the big termini in major cities. The report – the Network Route Utilisation Strategy: Stations – recommends that action is taken to identify the measures needed to relieve passenger congestion at 11 stations by 2019.
The stations identified in the report are:
London
Victoria, Fenchurch Street, Charing Cross, Clapham Junction, Wimbledon and Surbiton.
Outside London
Liverpool Lime Street, Basingstoke, Bristol Parkway, Preston and Watford Junction.
Paul Plummer, Network Rail’s group strategy director, said: “A successful railway station should add to the passenger experience as well as support the economic, social and environmental benefits of rail. As more and more people choose to travel by rail, it’s vital that passenger congestion is tackled or some stations risk becoming victims of their own success.
“Working with our partners from across the rail industry, we have identified a number of stations that would benefit from cost effective measures to reduce congestion and improve the travelling experience for passengers.”
The list excludes stations where congestion-tackling measures are already in place, such as Paddington and Farringdon in London.
NR also listed 12 stations with long-term plans which would deal with congestion, but which might not be fully committed or developed.
These 12 stations are: Barking in east London, Bristol Temple Meads, Chelmsford, Derby, Finsbury Park, Glasgow Queen Street (High Level), Leeds, Liverpool Central, London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly (west side platforms), Manchester Victoria and Tottenham Hale.
Today’s publication takes in to account comments received following the publication of the draft route utilisation strategy for consultation in May 2011.
Cheap train tickets are being scrapped just months ahead of inflation-busting price increases, a leaked memo has revealed.
One of Britain’s largest operators has stopped selling its lowest-priced fares for Friday afternoons and Sundays to prevent overcrowding.
This is despite the fact that cheap advance tickets are used by rail companies to justify large price increases for their more flexible fare options.
The move comes after passengers were told they would face price rises of up to 13 per cent in the New Year, and nearly 30 per cent by 2015, leading to the £10,000 season ticket. The cheap fares cull at CrossCountry Trains was uncovered by ticketing expert Barry Doe of Rail magazine.
CrossCountry carries more than 31million passengers each year, with more than 60,000 of its journeys each week made using pre-booked tickets.
However, a memo to staff stated that there would be ‘no cheap advance fares anywhere on our network’ before 9.30am on Monday to Thursday, after 12pm on Friday or all day on Sunday, following feedback from conductors.
A spokesman said only the ‘cheapest’ advance tickets had been scrapped, but would not confirm how many had been withdrawn from sale.
‘We know these trains will be very busy,’ he said. ‘Why sell very cheap tickets on a train which is already full?’
The move means further misery for those seeking more affordable fares.
Mr Doe said: ‘People spend hours trawling the internet looking for the best deal. As a passenger, you never know how many of the cheap tickets are available, or even if it’s zero.’
First Hull Trains and the Heathrow Express have been ranked as the best rail operators among customers.
Heathrow Express Class 332 EMU 332005 at London Paddington
The National Passenger Survey, which consults 50,000 rail users across the UK, found that First Hull Trains and Heathrow Express ahead of other operators, followed by Mersey Rail, c2c and Virgin Trains when it came to satisfaction levels
Lowest ratings for overall satisfaction were given to First Capital Connect, National Express East Anglia (78 per cent), First Great Western (82 per cent), Southeastern (82 per cent) and Southern (82 per cent).
Overall satisfaction has remained steady at 84 per cent, matching last year’s high score. However, drops in scores for performance and value for money for some train companies are sparking concern.
Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus, chief executive said: “The rail industry needs to re-double efforts to make sure that poor performance is spotted, understood and addressed. Getting trains on time remains the key driver of passenger satisfaction.”
GB Railfreight Class 66 Diesel 66740 still in the livery of former owner Freightliner passes through Acton Mainline Station with an infrastructure working.
First Great Western Class 43 HST Diesel Power Cars 43063 & 43036 Storm Past Acton Mainline Station on a working to London Paddington.
These are just a taster of the 13 videos from my visit to Acton Mainline that I have uploaded to my Youtube Channel. To view the full collection, please click here.
The number of passenger accidents at railway stations increased last year, official figures showed today.
Eight passengers died in incidents at stations in 2010/11 compared with five in 2009/10, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) said.
RSSB policy, research and risk director Anson Jack said: “Against a background of strong growth in passenger numbers, passenger accidents at stations have increased and the industry needs to identify means to achieve improvement in this area while maintaining safety improvements across the railway industry.”
In 2010/11, for the fourth year running, there were no passenger or workforce deaths in train accidents.
There was just one workforce death in 2010/11, when a worker died from a fall from height.
There were 208 suicides on the railways in 2010/11 as well as 27 deaths through trespass and four pedestrian deaths at level crossings.
My latest trip took me to the West of London to a little station called Acton Main Line. The station is located on the Great Western Mainline and is the first station out of London Paddington. Train services are provided by First Great Western who operate a 30 minute service between London Paddington & Greenford, this is the only service that stops at the station and does not run on Sundays.
Passenger services passing the station are operated by First Great Western, Heathrow Connect and Heathrow Express. Freight services are operated by EWS (DB Schenker), Freightliner, GB Railfreight & Hanson.
Acton Mainline is also host to a freight yard operated by EWS (DB Schenker) which is used by a large volume of stone trains serving the nearby terminal. There is also a freight avoiding line that passes between platform 4 and the yard which is used by freight trains accessing/exiting the North London Line.
Stock Seen at Acton Main Line
Locomotives: Class 43 HST, Class 59 Diesel, Class 66 Diesel Multiple Units: Class 165 DMU, Class 166 DMU, Class 180 DMU, Class 332 EMU, Class 360 EMU
Photographs
As usual, here is a little taster of the images I captured. The full gallery of images can be found on my Photobucket site here.
First Great Western Class 43 HST 43037 passing Acton Mainline Station
DB Schenker Liveried Class 66 Diesel Locomotive 66152 at Acton MainLine Yard
This blog has been designed to allow me to post news & stories from the Railways, both real and model. I also intend to share a few stories from my work as a Revenue Protection Officer along the way.
The opinions expressed on this blog are exclusively mine and in no way, shape or form reflect the opinions of my employer.
Posted by allticketsplease 
All Tickets Please 
Network Rail publishes recommendations to tackle overcrowding at stations
September 1, 2011Network Rail today published an analysis of passenger congestion at stations along with a toolkit of potential measures for the industry to address congestion at stations around the network.
Congestion can affect passengers at smaller stations as much as at the big termini in major cities. The report – the Network Route Utilisation Strategy: Stations – recommends that action is taken to identify the measures needed to relieve passenger congestion at 11 stations by 2019.
The stations identified in the report are:
London
Victoria, Fenchurch Street, Charing Cross, Clapham Junction, Wimbledon and Surbiton.
Outside London
Liverpool Lime Street, Basingstoke, Bristol Parkway, Preston and Watford Junction.
Paul Plummer, Network Rail’s group strategy director, said: “A successful railway station should add to the passenger experience as well as support the economic, social and environmental benefits of rail. As more and more people choose to travel by rail, it’s vital that passenger congestion is tackled or some stations risk becoming victims of their own success.
“Working with our partners from across the rail industry, we have identified a number of stations that would benefit from cost effective measures to reduce congestion and improve the travelling experience for passengers.”
The list excludes stations where congestion-tackling measures are already in place, such as Paddington and Farringdon in London.
NR also listed 12 stations with long-term plans which would deal with congestion, but which might not be fully committed or developed.
These 12 stations are: Barking in east London, Bristol Temple Meads, Chelmsford, Derby, Finsbury Park, Glasgow Queen Street (High Level), Leeds, Liverpool Central, London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly (west side platforms), Manchester Victoria and Tottenham Hale.
Today’s publication takes in to account comments received following the publication of the draft route utilisation strategy for consultation in May 2011.