fares. “If you can use the journey to work, rail might be the best use of a business traveller’s time,” he says. “But we need to consider not just the cost and time taken on the journey, but whether you might need to spend the night in a hotel if travelling by rail. “What the business traveller needs most is the right environment to work in. Clients who are looking for a modal shift from air to rail are also interested in the CSR agenda, as carbon savings are a major driver.” Wilmslow-based Review Travel is also enthusiastic about opening up the rail network to more competition, says CEO Christian Gleave. “We would like to see advantageous deals being offered by rail companies competing for market domination, catering to the tighten- ing purse strings of travel bookers,” he says. “It is glaringly obvious that Britain is being left behind by our European neighbours in terms of technology and efficiency. Delays to major infrastructure projects result in the UK lacking modern technology required to provide efficient services to business travellers, and the government should recognise that in- vestment will benefit the UK economy as a whole. “Unreliable wifi has plagued the UK rail
network for the past couple of years, hin- dering attempts to work on long journeys. Reliable internet connectivity should have been standard a long time ago.”
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Travel management company Capita programmed a seminar at the Busi-
“What the business traveller needs most is the right environment to work in”
ness Travel Show, looking at how the business traveller’s customer experience can be enhanced when trav- elling by rail. It is working on innova- tions itself, including a new mobile app called Iris:go. Capita’s head of auxiliary partner- ships and innovation, Raj Sachdave, says: “Customers want to know things like what platform their train goes from before this is announced and there is a big rush, and we can integrate rail, air and hotel bookings on one app so our customers don’t have to look at three or four websites. “The rail industry is bringing in people
from outside to look at the customer experience, and that has to be a good thing. There is a complete lack of con- sistency between operators on issues such as mobile ticketing, station parking and free wifi, and we would like to see a traveller’s manifesto drawn up that could be written into franchise agreements. “The pace has increased on open
access, and franchise operators such as Virgin are also opening up new routes,” adds Sachdave. “We have educated
customers to access lower fares by travel- ling outside peak times, but there needs to be more competition between train operators during peak hours.” Dialogue with the rail industry is also sought by the Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM), as it seeks greater recognition for the frequent business traveller. Issues it is grappling with include automated refunds after delays, offered by Virgin Trains but only when bookings are made through its own website or app. Will Hasler, chairman of the ITM’s
industry affairs group, says: “This was done without consultation and is a thorny subject. We want people to book only through our channels, and while some companies are happy for travellers to keep any compensation, others are not. “The business traveller needs to pass
through stations quickly to board their trains, plus punctuality and a good working environment. It is good to see stations such as London King’s Cross, London Bridge, Reading and Birming- ham New Street being upgraded, but we would like to see access to larger business lounges and more competi- tion, which brings lower fares and makes train operators serve customers better. There should either be a British Rail-style monopoly or competition, but at present we are stuck between the two. “Train operators should also look at
loyalty schemes, with benefits such as access to advance fares at peak times. The ITM and GTMC would welcome dialogue on this.”
WHETHER THE GOVERNMENT’S MUCH TRUMPETED ‘NORTHERN POWERHOUSE’ PROPOSALS deliver any real benefits is open to question, but rail travellers will see some significant improvements with the re-letting of the Transpennine Express and Northern franchises. These two operators run most regional and local services across the North, with Transpennine Express offering first class on its trains, many
96 BBT MARCH/APRIL 2016
of which serve Manchester airport. This franchise has been retained by First Group in a deal running until 2023, and it will introduce 220 new carriages, equivalent to 44 trains, at a cost of over £400 million. Some new trains will operate at up 125 mph, and additional services for Scotland include a new, direct Liverpool to Glasgow route from December 2018. Arriva Rail North, which takes over from a consortium
of Serco and Abellio, will run the Northern franchise until 2025 and phase out the basic Pacer trains by the end of 2019. It will also invest £400 million in 281 new air-conditioned carriages, and introduce a higher quality Northern Connect service on routes from major cities. Both operators will provide
free wifi on all Transpennine Express services and stations by July 2018, and on all Northern services and 36
stations by December 2019. Mobile and print-at-home ticketing will also be introduced. Network Rail’s delayed electrification of the Manchester-Leeds route means that electric trains will not now run all the way from Liverpool to Newcastle until 2022. The longer term plan is for a high-speed line across the North, but even if approved, this would be far into the future.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
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