'THE GOVERNMENT'S ABSOLUTELY AWARE ... - Rail Professional

NEWS
Extending peak fares will drive
passengers back to their cars
With the media outrage at the New Year
fare increases not far behind us, South
West Trains have unexpectedly sold their
passengers down the river by launching a
tier of ‘just off-peak’fares – which actually
span most of the day (see page 6).
The strategy appears to be aimed at
spreading the rush that happens straight
after the peak, by retaining the old fares
as ‘super off peak’ and introducing a
higher band to bridge the gap.
But it will almost certainly drive some
passengers off trains altogether, as it will
now only be possible to get the cheapest
fares in the afternoon and evening. For
most people within driving distance of
London, it’s a toss up whether to drive to
a Tube station on the outskirts of the city
and catch the underground or get the
train straight to the centre, particularly
when it comes to leisure travel. For some
SWT passengers, the price increase will
make that decision a lot easier.
The timing of SWT’s
announcement about its
fare increases is also bad
planning.The national
PROFESSIONAL
place and that private
companies have no
business making fat
profits out of public
press has picked up on the
transport.
increased dividends which COMMENT
Stagecoach – the franchise
holder – is paying out to its shareholders,
with Brian Souter and his sister getting the
lion’s share (see page 10).
If the new fares are about spreading
out the peak and Stagecoach appears to
have money to throw around, passengers
are bound to wonder why off-peak fares
were not reduced and the new tier
brought in at the old level, which would
have had a similar effect of spreading the
rush, but without penalising passengers.
Rather like First Capital Connect’s
extending of peak fares last year, these
increases simply play into the hands of
those who believe the railway never
should have been privatised in the first
ON A lighter note,
Clive James spoke for many passengers,
and a fair few railway professionals, when
he parodied the confusion caused by the
more ill-thought-out of the franchise
names on Radio 4’s A Point of View.
He is particularly irked by the name
First Great Western, which, as he pointed
out, wrongly implies that there must be a
Second Great Western too. He relates
how he cursed the brand when he found
it difficult to locate a second-class
carriage on a train that was about to pull
off, where every carriage bears the word
‘First’.
One railway was also ripe for his jibes
and he is not alone in finding the name
perplexing. Early on in the days of the
East Anglian franchise, passengers found
it difficult to tell whether the station
announcer was talking about ‘the 10.31
train’ or the ’10.30 One train’.
It begs the question as to how much
companies think through their brand
names.While ‘First’ and ‘One’ might
sound trendy and quirky when
presented to the board of a newly
formed company, in an environment like
a train station – which can be confusing
and chaotic at the best of times –
adding further ambiguities to the mix
does little to curry favour with
passengers.
Clive James sums up:‘If the first One
train leaves at 20 to one it’s the 20 to one
One train and if the other one leaves at
10 to one it's 10 to one on that it's the
one One train one actually wanted but
one couldn't understand the
announcement.’
Train fuel emissions are
falling faster than cars’
Carbon dioxide emissions from
trains have fallen by 22 per cent per
passenger kilometre over the past
10 years, according to the
Association of Train Operators.
But average emissions from cars
have fallen just 8 per cent, while
carbon dioxide from domestic air
travel has dropped by 5 per cent.
Atoc director General George
Muir said: ‘Obviously the railway
can’t replace the car but to the
extent reasonably possible, Britain
will meet its environmental
objectives more readily if rail
carries a greater share of the
national traffic. Notwithstanding
technical advances within the car
industry, rail is likely to retain its
environmental advantage.’
Atoc has put together a Baseline
Energy Statement setting out the
diesel and electric traction energy
used by the passenger railway in
2006-6, estimating the carbon
dioxide emissions arising from it.
The figures show that, on
average, rail travel generates just
over half the emissions per
passenger kilometre of car and
approximately one quarter that of
domestic air. The EU aims to
reduce carbon emissions by 20
per cent by 2020.
A spokesman for Friends of the
Earth said: ‘These figures
demonstrate again that rail has
significantly lower carbon
emissions compared to both air
and car travel. But the rail industry
mustn’t rest on its laurels. We need
technology improvements on all
fronts if we are to prevent the
worst impacts of climate change,
and that includes the development
of more efficient rail vehicles.’
London Underground to trial
mobile phone coverage
The tube may not be a sanctuary
from other people’s mobile phones
for much longer. London
Underground is to begin a sixmonth
trial of mobile phone and
new technology services on the
Waterloo & City line.
If the trials are successful, they
could pave the way for DAB and
wi-fi access even in the deepest
parts of the tube network.
During the trial, passengers will
be able to make calls on platforms
at Bank and Waterloo stations and
in tunnels between the two
stations. It is hoped the experiment
will begin in April 2008 – contractors
are currently being sought.
Richard Parry, LU strategy and
service development director, said:
‘The below-ground sections of the
Underground are one of the few
places in London where you are
unable to use a mobile phone. We
recognise there is a growing demand
for coverage to be extended
to deep-level sections of the Tube.
He added: ‘If the trial is not a
success then London
Underground will not proceed with
plans to extend mobile phone
coverage to the Tube.’
A passenger survey found 56 per
cent of people would support the
idea of being able to use mobile
phones at stations and on Tubes.
Aside from making personal calls,
passengers could potentially
receive up-to-the-minute travel
information via a mobile phone or
other device while on the Tube.
Passengers can and do use
mobile phones on the sections of
the tube network that are above
ground, which represents 55 per
cent of the Tube network.
4 RAIL PROFESSIONAL : APRIL 2007