Differential fares on local/express services - GWML (idea)

[LexyBoy]

After electrification, Thames Valley local services will have considerably more coaches at their disposal AIUI, as 2- and 3-car Turbos will be replaced with 4-car EMUs. At present there is no "competition" on the outer suburban section of the GWML, unlike the WCML and ECML, despite being a clear express/local split with the different journey times and levels of comfort you'd expect.

So, on the basis that the franchise is unlikely to be split up again (nor would I wish it to be), what are people's thoughts on whether there would be any benefit to FGW (or whoever's next) in openly offering cheaper tickets on the "local" services - I say "openly" because there's clearly a premium put on the Reading-Paddington journey which can be avoided by splitting at intermediate stations. There's also the more lenient peak restrictions on stopping services.

As an example, I'm naturally thinking of services from Reading. Travelling up in the peak, SDR fares are currently (paraphrasing routeings for clarity):
* Paddington (express, 25-30 mins): £41.20
* Waterloo (85 mins): £30.70
* Paddington (stopping, 45-65 mins): £27.20 (based on a split in Maidenhead)

I reckon that there will be a good number of people willing to have a longer journey (still considerably shorter than the SWT route) to save a tenner or so, and get a better chance of a seat to boot. It would be likely to attract those who would otherwise wait until Off Peak tickets become valid, so if correctly priced should increase revenue. It would also have potential to partially alleviate overcrowding on the fast services and to give FGW some comeback to the frequent complaints at the cost of the Reading-Paddington journey. Once Crossrail's running (assuming it's not extended to Reading), changing at Maidenhead and touching in with Oyster will be an obvious possibility which it might be prudent to pre-empt.

Downsides could be overcrowding at the eastern end, though this should be alleviated with Crossrail, and the difficulty of checking tickets on the expresses. FGW never seem too concerned with rigorous ticket checks though, and barriers could be programmed to reject tickets for local services on platforms 1-5 at Paddington. I also can't think of a way such tickets could be restricted, other rather clunkily creating a Super Off Peak Day category with a restriction code barring all fast trains, plus a CALLSMAIDNHEAD routeing to make it clear.

What do people think - could such tickets be profitable? Are there problems I've overlooked? Has this been done in the past?

 

[swt_passenger]

Start a TOC, buy some route specific stock, and label it up as 'Reading Express'. Introduce non-stop trains at a premium fare. A little while later merge the TOC with GW, and get rid of the special stock, but keep the fares for use on non - stop services that now extend beyond Reading. Paint 'Reading Express' on a few HSTs, and a few months later, paint out the word Reading, leaving just 'Express'. Brief staff to ching anyone using the wrong fare, and rehearse all the arguments about whether or not 'Reading Express' is a real TOC under the NRCofC...

That should do it. You might be able to miss some steps out, but you could probably cover yourself with a few misleading posters or announcements...

 

[sheff1]

Start a TOC, buy some route specific stock, and label it up as 'Reading Express'. Introduce non-stop trains at a premium fare. A little while later merge the TOC with GW, and get rid of the special stock, but keep the fares for use on non - stop services that now extend beyond Reading. Paint 'Reading Express' on a few HSTs, and a few months later, paint out the word Reading, leaving just 'Express'. Brief staff to ching anyone using the wrong fare, and rehearse all the arguments about whether or not 'Reading Express' is a real TOC under the NRCofC...

That should do it. You might be able to miss some steps out, but you could probably cover yourself with a few misleading posters or announcements...

Like it !

Regarding the OP. I do not know if the idea would be profitable, but it sounds as though it would be worth investigating. As to whether it has been done in the past - I am not aware of anything in the UK, but such differential pricing is commonplace in countries where the distinction between classes of train is clear and well understood. The Dortmund - Duesseldorf corridor in the Ruhr is one example.

 

[TEW]

The fast services have far more available capacity than stopping services so it doesn't make sense to price people onto the slower trains as it would create more overcrowding.

 

[island]

Tell that to the people on full to bursting up HSTs at 0800 every morning!

 

[LexyBoy]

The fast services have far more available capacity than stopping services so it doesn't make sense to price people onto the slower trains as it would create more overcrowding.

More total capacity certainly, but little available capacity. Eastbound locals tend not to get seriously crowded until beyond Slough IIRC and that's with 3/5/6 car trains which should be replaced with 8 car trains after electrification. Plus commuters from Reading and beyond tend to complain about overcrowding louder than those travelling from inner suburban stations.

Cue Flamingo to tell us of the wealth of free seats on his trains, and how passengers would try it on with the cheaper tickets on the expresses