BLOGS
Could steam be the surprising solution on some rural branch lines? And should ticket prices on busy lines vary based on forecast traffic numbers? RTM readers make their cases.
H
enry Law of Brighton read with inter- est the recent ATOC announcement on the rising popularity of rural lines – but thinks there is more to it.
He wrote to RTM: “Whilst a boom in rural rail is good news, it is problematic in that it is seasonal. Capital equipment stands with nothing to do for eight months of the year.
“One solution that has been put forward by the Swiss company DLM is to use the tech- nology developed for mountain railways. This is based on an advanced type of steam locomotive burning light oil or diesel, with carriages constructed according to light rail practice.
“The company claims that given a suita- ble-size production run, it can deliver at substantially less initial cost than diesel locomotives of equivalent performance, with lower running costs also and cleaner exhaust emissions.
“One of the surprises, discovered over 15 years of operating experience with mixed fleets of diesel and steam locomotives was that the fuel consumption of the steam locomotives was lower. Investigations showed that this was due to several factors, including reduced waste when on standby.
“The use of steam locomotives is also thought to have generated addition- al traffic due to their tourist appeal.”
Meanwhile, another reader, Peter Shearer, VP of Passenger Transportation at JDA Software, thinks that maybe operators can make better use of passenger data when
setting ticket prices – and do so in a far more flexible way.
He said: “The recent announcement that rail prices will rise by 8% from next Janu- ary and then every year until 2014 under the government’s austerity plan, has been met with predictable outrage from the press and customers alike. To sugar the pill, the rail minister is guaranteeing longer trains and more seats for passengers, but this additional capacity will go to waste if fare increases start driving customers away.
“With consumers currently struggling to handle the rising cost of living, price hikes are never going to be welcomed. However, if train operators can be smarter about their pricing, they can limit the negative impact. Customers increasingly understand that booking at the last-minute or travelling at peak times will be more expensive but they expect access to discounts during off-peak periods.
“Rather than applying the required price increases across-the-board, rail operators need to show much more flexibility when it comes to pricing by setting prices based on day-to-day forecasts. In anticipating and building demand fluctuations into their pricing, operators can make the best use of available capacity while maintaining cus- tomer satisfaction and delivering the better deal to farepayers as the government has promised.”
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
opinion@railtechnologymagazine.com
rail technology magazine Aug/Sep 11 | 19
This issue, readers offer their thoughts on rolling stock on rural branch lines, and on flexible pricing structures on tickets.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92