Happy New Train
February 11th, 2007
On 2nd January we were greeted by widespread rail fare rises in London. For example, a return ticket to work increased in price by in excess of 23% (from £3.00 up to £3.70). I wrote to my local operator, First Capital Connect, about these rises and was politely told:
“As our fares are so low, we have been instructed [by the Department for Transport] to introduce a large increase to bring our ticket prices in line with other Train Operating Companies.”
I have to say, that is the first time I’ve heard rail travel in the UK described as too cheap.
Naturally, one might expect an improvement (a 23% improvement?) in service to accompany such rises. Possibilities include operating longer trains (so that more customers can get on the train, rather than being left on the platform), changing carriages to provide handles so that passengers can safely stand on the train (at the moment, despite the fact that a large quantity of people stand, the carriages were not designed with this purpose in mind), or increasing frequency, punctuality and reliability.
This week, The Guardian reported that the only thing that FCC intend to do with their additional revenue is to increase the number of ticket collectors at stations. Not exactly in the interest of passengers. Indeed, prior to 2007 I had never had my ticket checked in either direction on my daily journey to work. Now, it is checked on virtually all journeys.
On a similar note, I was incredibly impressed by the efforts of a group of passengers, travelling with First Great Western, who successfully protested against fare rises and poor service with spoof rail tickets. Their campaign was widely reported in the press, and even made discussion in parliament.
2 Responses to “Happy New Train”
1Malcolm Parsons
February 12th, 2007 @ 11:05
I thought you were in Edinburgh.
2tom
February 12th, 2007 @ 11:31
I was. But I moved to London in October, and clearly I have been had at informing people of this move :)
Leave a Reply