Cheap train fares axed as rail operator claims it will ease overcrowding

From: Daily Mail

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A spokesman said only the ‘cheapest’ advance tickets had been scrapped, but would not confirm how many had been withdrawn from sale.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.’

Online train fare jargon ‘can make passengers pay too much’

Rail passengers may be paying too much for train tickets bought online, a consumer watchdog says.

Train companies that use websites to sell tickets must do more to ensure passengers are not overcharged, added Passenger Focus.

Operators and the sites themselves need to make clear the difference between tickets that are only for specific trains and those that can be used on any service, the group said.

Restrictions associated with the time of travel also need to be made clear, as well as the ‘permitted routes’.

Jargon on tickets needs to be cut and a range of improvements are required to make it easier for passengers to buy tickets on the internet, Passenger Focus added.

The watchdog’s chief executive, Anthony Smith, said: ‘It is too easy to pay over the odds simply through lack of familiarity with the fares system and its bewildering jargon.

‘Making sure passengers are not overcharged when they buy online may help improve passengers’ perceptions of fares and value for money on Britain’s railways.

‘As more and more tickets are sold online, it is vital this is got right.’

Gerry Doherty, leader of the TSSA rail union, said cuts in ticket office staff levels and opening hours had forced more passengers to book online. ‘Ministers must ensure that when they award longer rail franchises, they insist that ticket offices are kept open to ensure a fair deal for passengers,’ he added.

The ‘vast majority’ of the millions of rail passengers who travel each day were getting the right ticket for their journey, a spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said.

‘We are continuing to work closely with the industry and Passenger Focus to ensure we make it as easy as possible for passengers to find the right ticket at the right price,’ he added.

Commuter rail fares to rise by up to 13% with more to come

From : Evening Standard

London commuter rail fares will rise between eight and 13 per cent from January.

An eight per cent increase will add £320 and 13 per cent an extra £500 to an annual ticket currently costing around £4,000.

It will be the first stage in a three-year price increase after ministers changed the regulations allowing rail companies to charge more.

Similar rises will be levied in 2013 and 2014. The increases will confirm for years to come that the UK has the highest fares in Europe. Under new rules the rail operators are allowed to increase regulated commuter fares by plus three per cent of the Retail Prices Index for this month.

It is expected to be five per cent – meaning eight per cent increases at least.

In addition, operators will be allowed to “juggle” the fares on individual routes – charging up to five per cent more on some lines, providing they make up for that by reducing fares on other routes to maintain the average increase across the franchise of eight per cent.

An eight per cent increase will mean commuters from Swindon to Paddington (currently paying £7,024) will have to fork out an extra £562, from Brighton an additional £256 (currently £3,200), from Colchester £331 (£4,140), Portsmouth £313 (£3,920) and Hastings £316 (£3,956).

A 13 per cent rise would mean: from Swindon an extra £913, Brighton £416, Colchester £538, Portsmouth £509 and Hastings £514.

Gerry Doherty, leader of the TSSA transport union, said: “Commuter fares will jump because the Liberal Democrats abandoned their pre-election pledge to cut fares.”

“Rail passengers will face fare rises of well over 20 per cent by 2014 because they have been betrayed by the Deputy Prime Minister.

End of line for East Coast mainline train dining cars

Source: BBC News

It is one of the great romantic images of modern travel.

Sitting by the window on a speeding train, eating a meal served by stewards in crisp white uniforms.

In the age of the train you knew you had arrived if you could afford a meal in the dining car. Or you were on expenses.

However, East Coast trains, which runs mainline services between London and Scotland, has become the latest rail operator to withdraw the dining car.

At the moment several trains a day have a first-class coach with tables laid up for breakfast or dinner. From Monday they will be no more.

First-class passengers will get a meal at their seat as part of the ticket price. But there will no longer be a dining car on any service between London and Scotland on the east or west coast mainlines.

Standard-class passengers will see the end of one the satisfying loopholes of inter-city travel. Because up until now they could board a dining service, and for the price of a meal, go and eat in first-class surroundings.

Elaine Holt, the chairwoman of East Coast, said such passengers should consider upgrading to a first-class ticket.

She told the BBC: “We respect the heritage of the railways and that dining cars were popular many years ago but the world has moved on.

“We’ve talked to our customers and they’ve told us they want a meal included in the cost of their first-class ticket. It’s about adding value.

“It actually wasn’t a very hard decision because we talked to so many of our customers and indeed people who don’t travel with us.

Catering loss

“We asked them what would make them travel on the train and they told us this was the right thing to do. So when the customer says that, it becomes a really easy decision.”

It was also a decision aided by the claim by East Coast that the current catering operation is losing £20m a year.

And as this is a railway company currently owned by the government, it is taxpayers’ money which is being lost.

Rail passengers make 5% more journeys

Rail passengers made almost 5% more journeys in the first three months of 2011 than in the same period last year.

There were 316 million journeys in January-March 2011, up on the snow-hit winter of 2010, the Association of Train Operation Companies said.

In the year to March 2011, 1.34 billion rail journeys were taken, a 6.6% rise on the previous 12-month period.

Atoc chief executive Michael Roberts said the price of petrol had encouraged people to move from car to train.

The figures for the beginning of 2010 were affected by the bad weather of the January of that year.

A survey by Ipsos MORI for Atoc suggested a sixth of rail users have switched from car to train for at least one journey during February and March this year.

About half blamed the price of petrol.

Mr Roberts said: “It’s been a strong quarter on the railways, with more and more people choosing to travel by train, despite tough economic times and tight family budgets for many.

“At a time when high petrol prices are a concern to many households, the fact that more people are choosing to travel by train underlines the vital role that rail has to play in the economy’s continued recovery.”