Feature: Rail Travel
HIGH-SPEED RAIL, AT LAST
THE Government’s go-ahead for building High Speed 2 (HS2), Britain’s second high-speed line after HS1 to the Channel Tunnel, has been welcomed by most of the business travel industry. At an estimated cost of £33billion, Phase One is due
for completion by 2026, linking London and Birmingham with a journey time cut from 1h 24m at present to 45 minutes. A link will also be provided to HS1 so that trains can run directly to Europe. Phase Two will follow by 2033, creating a Y-shaped network reaching Manchester (1h 8m) and Leeds with stations in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. A link to Heathrow Airport will also be added. Trains will run at up to 250mph and carry up to 26,000 passengers per hour. Many other cities will benefit from faster journey times as their trains will use HS2 for much of the route, including Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Journey times from Glasgow or Edinburgh to London would be around 3h 30m. HS2 has been costed at £32.7 billion, and the go-ahead has caused a huge outcry from people living along the route and those who consider it a waste of money. One newspaper columnist, Simon Jenkins in The Guardian, wrote: “Taxpayers must now find £1billion a year in interest payments alone so a few rich business people can get to Birmingham half an hour earlier.” The Guild of Travel Management Companies supports
HS2, based not just on improving London to Birmingham, but if it were to be pushed on to Scotland too. Capita’s Raj Sachdave says: “HS2 will relieve overcrowding on the busy West Coast route, but the real journey time savings will come when the line reaches Manchester and Leeds. It’s not just about getting to and from London, but also for visitors from abroad including business people. “Although the link to Heathrow won’t come until the
second phase, it’s good to have that commitment from the outset,” he adds.
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Virgin. First class bookings were up by 21 per cent from May to December compared to the same period in 2010, with rail now accounting for 62 per cent of the London-Newcastle market (compared to airlines) and 22 per cent on the London to Edinburgh run. East Coast has also scored some major successes in getting corporate customers to switch to rail. BskyB’s rail bookings between Edinburgh and London have increased by 300 per cent, while BT and Royal Bank of Scotland have also seen a big shift, all by using the Scottish Executive package with compli- mentary upgrade to first class. Three major franchises are being re-let over
the next two years, starting with Virgin’s West Coast route in December this year. Virgin will be one of the bidders, and it will be interesting to see if the Department for Transport (DfT) requires conversion of any first class capacity into standard. More changes could be coming after the Great Western and East Coast franchises are re-let in 2013, with East Coast currently being run directly by the DfT after National Express pulled out. Capita has found an innovative way of cutting the total cost of a business trip by rail, using a new online system called Interactive Campaign Manager which generated over 2,000 ancillary savings opportunities worth £60,000 in its first few weeks. Most of these 'soft benefits' have been negotiated with train operators for standard class passengers. Negotiated on a customer by customer basis, the benefits include free on-board refreshments or light meals, complimentary
access to first class station lounges, and free wifi access. It also hopes to negotiate free or reduced car parking at stations. Raj Sachdave, Capita’s strategic business development manager, says: “Upgrades to first class are usually not available, but this is a way of rewarding regular travellers without compromising fare revenue. Our ability to deliver value for money to our customers
Pictured: London St Pancras gets set for the Olympic Summer; East Coast's First Class lounge at London King's Cross;
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28 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 18 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
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