Abellio clamps down on fare dodging
by Peter Brown
Passenger safety and a clampdown on crime, including fare evasion are the key elements of the Greater Anglia franchise, which came into force on 5 February under the control of Abellio. Abellio replaces National
Express East Anglia, which had been running services between London Liverpool Street and Norwich, as well as suburban trains serving stations in the north east area of the capital, Hertfordshire and Essex. Additional Making Travel Safe Officers (MTSOs) will
be working in conjunction with revenue protection officers (RPOs) and the British Transport Police, explained Greater Anglia managing director Ruud Haket.
He said: ‘I want customers to have complete peace of mind and the deployment of the MTSO and RPO team will certainly help. I also want to make it really clear that I believe all customers should travel on a valid ticket. ‘We know that over 90 per cent of customers buy a ticket; however, this still leaves one in 10 that doesn’t and this minority is costing all rail users in the end.’
Superintendent Gareth
Williams of BTP has welcomed the initiatives to make the routes safer and tackle crime. He told Rail Professional: ‘The MTSOs will be a valuable addition to the existing police presence and will provide further reassurance for passengers across the network. ‘We already have officers who tackle crime and passenger safety issues on trains and at stations across Essex and East Anglia, but these additional teams will play a significant role in supporting our efforts by patrolling the lines across the Greater Anglia route.’
ORR reveals true costs of rail n
The railway cost £11bn to run in 2010-11, according to the Office of Rail Regulation. Income from fares was £6.6bn, with £4bn coming from government. The ORR measured significant regional variations in income and expenditure across the UK. The highest subsidy was in Scotland at 15.6p per passenger km and the lowest in Wessex at 1.7p.
The average government
funding across all rail regions was 7.5 pence per passenger km. The Wessex region –
Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire – largely equates with the South West Trains franchise. It has the highest passenger density, with an average 143 passengers per train. Scotland has the lowest, at 84 passengers per train.
Old fleets to be given new
lease of life Alstom is to convert a fleet of 36 five-car units to enable longer trains to run on South West Trains routes into Waterloo during peak hours. Porterbrook, which owns the trains, has asked Alstom to lead on the work, as it originally built the Class 458s and 460s that will be used for the £42m project. Some of the work will be carried out at Wabtec’s Doncaster-based plant, under Alstom’s supervision. Terence Watson, managing
The average fare was 12.1p
per passenger km. ORR said its objective was to shine a brighter light on the costs and funding of the railway.
Director Cathryn Ross said: ‘As the rail industry works hard to improve efficiency and cut costs, this data will improve understanding of how the money flows across the rail industry.’
director of Alstom Transport in the UK and Ireland, said: ‘We look forward to bringing Alstom’s local expertise to the fore in this key project that shows how industry partners can work well together to provide innovative, value for money proposals to meet rolling stock requirements.’ The Class 458s are
currently used by South West Trains, while the Class 460s were formerly used on the Gatwick Express route. The modifications will include work to cabs, couplers and gangways, as well as the conversion of baggage areas into passenger saloon areas.
ScotRail conductor Alan Mitchell, 63, has returned to work after time off following a train incident viewed two million times on YouTube. He confronted an alleged fare dodger, who was then ejected from the train by a second passenger. The Crown Office has now decided no one will be prosecuted over the fracas
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