Rail
Evolvi sales director Jon Reeve says reliability and punctuality of trains, and space to work efficiently, are business travellers’ main requirements. “Corporates do see rail as an expensive option, and want to see a recognition from train operators that they value their loyalty,” he says. “For example, people would like to purchase a ticket that includes car parking rather than pay separately and reclaim on expenses. They may want other ticketing methods, but at what cost? There needs to be a national strategy for developing this,
but the problem is that train operators have different agendas.” If you ask buyers what they most want to see from train operators, a wide range of issues will be raised – and value- for-money is one of them. Mike Green, BBC procurement manager, logistics, says: “We would like to see more competitive fares to encourage staff to travel by rail, as this would help towards reducing CO2. Advance fares for six, four or two hours before travel would create more opportunities for BBC staff to purchase fairly-priced tickets. Mobile ticketing and e-tickets should be standard across the rail network.” Will Hasler, travel manager of PricewaterhouseCoopers, says: “More
competition between train operators would be fantastic, and we are now encouraging staff to try Chiltern Trains between Birmingham and London as an alternative to Virgin, as you can pay a high fare and still don’t get a seat on peak Virgin services. “All the investment has to be paid
for, but where is the tipping point when it comes to increasing fares? You wouldn’t want to drive into London, but on some routes trains are absolutely crammed.” Without doubt, the rail routes receiving major investment will see much better services within a few years – but fares will continue to rise. The business traveller’s best chance of getting value-for-money is to travel off-peak and book in advance, but that will require a culture change at many organisations. ■
EXISTING FRANCHISE HOLDERS
ARRIVA TRAINS WALES Operated by Arriva, until December 2018. Route network: Most services within Wales, plus routes to Manchester and Birmingham.
C2C Operated by National Express, until May 2013. Route network: Local services from London Fenchurch Street to Tilbury and Southend.
CHILTERN TRAINS Operated by DB Regio (a subsidiary of German Railways), until December 2021. Route network: From London Marylebone to Birmingham and Aylesbury.
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CROSSCOUNTRY Operated by Arriva, until April 2016. Route network: Radiating from Birmingham to the West Country, Cardiff, the South Coast, Stansted Airport, East Midlands, Manchester, Yorkshire, Newcastle and Scotland.
EAST COAST Formerly operated by National Express, this route is currently being run directly by the government, with a new franchise to operate from December 2013 for 12 years
Route network: From London King’s Cross to Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland.
EAST MIDLANDS TRAINS Operated by Stagecoach, until April 2015. Route network: From London St Pancras to the East Midlands and Sheffield.
FIRST CAPITAL CONNECT Operated by First Group, until September 2013. Route network: From southern England to Cambridge, King’s Lynn and Peterborough via central London (including routes known as Thameslink). To be merged with Southern.
FIRST GREAT WESTERN Operated by First Group, until July 2013. Route network: From London Paddington to the Thames Valley, West Country and South Wales.
FIRST TRANS PENNINE EXPRESS Operated by First Group and Keolis, until March 2015. Route network: East-west routes in northern England, and from Manchester to Scotland.
GREATER ANGLIA Operated by Abellio (part of Dutch Railways), until September 2014. Route network: From London Liverpool Street to East Anglia.
LONDON MIDLAND Operated by Go-Ahead Group/Keolis, until September 2015. Route network: From London Euston to the West Midlands and Birmingham-Liverpool.
LONDON OVERGROUND Operated by MTR/Laing on behalf of Transport for London, until July 2014. Route network: Local lines in London.
MERSEYRAIL Operated by Serco/Abellio, until July 2028. Route network: Local lines around Liverpool.
NORTHERN Operated by Serco/Abellio, until April 2014. Route network: Local and regional routes across the North.
SCOTRAIL Operated by First Group, until November 2014. Route network: Most services within Scotland, plus Caledonian Sleeper overnight trains to/from London.
SOUTHERN Operated by Go- Ahead/Keolis, until July 2015. Route network: From London Victoria to South Coast. To be merged with First Capital Connect.
SOUTHEASTERN Operated by Go-Ahead/Keolis, until March 2014. Route network: From London to Kent, including high-speed services from St Pancras.
SOUTH WEST TRAINS Operated by Stagecoach, until February 2017. Route network: From London Waterloo to Southampton, Weymouth and Exeter.
VIRGIN TRAINS Operated by Virgin/Stagecoach, until December 2012. Route network: From London Euston to the West Midlands, North West, North Wales and Glasgow, and from Birmingham to Scotland.
Non-franchised operators are First Hull Trains (London-Hull) and Grand Central (London to Sunderland/Bradford), which are ‘open access’ ventures. Eurostar and Heathrow Express are also not part of the franchise system.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
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