Tickets going down in price

[bb21]

On the Bristol to Birmingham example we now have the somewhat perverse situation whereby XC have been allowed to reduce the size of the trains from 7-8 coaches to 4-5, causing massive overcrowding on most,

To correct an important mistake in your complaint, it was not XC who reduced the size of the trains on that corridor. On the contrary they helped boost capacity on that line by introducing HSTs.

 

[bnm]

On the Bristol to Birmingham example we now have the somewhat perverse situation whereby XC have been allowed to reduce the size of the trains from 7-8 coaches to 4-5, causing massive overcrowding on most, and then as a result use the concept of supply and demand to increase price. At first glance it makes the position reasonable - 'Our trains are filled to bursting point, we use price to moderate demand on these services' but then when you look at why they are so full...

When Virgin CrossCountry were running services between Bristol and Birmingham prior to the introduction of the Voyager fleet the service wasn't the clockface half hourly that it is now. There were large parts of the day when the service was only hourly at best.

Also it was extremely rare to see 8 coaches on a pre-voyager CrossCountry service between Bristol and Birmingham. HSTs were all 2+7. The loco-hauled, whilst also most often 7 coaches, (occasionally 6, very rarely 8) were predominantly Mk2.

Overall, Voyagers matched or slightly increased capacity by dint of the half hourly service. They also reduced journey times. I'm no fan of the Voyagers, but if the pre-2002 rolling stock and timetable was still in use today the service would be just as crowded. I'd disagree that this particular corridor is massively overcrowded. I've never had trouble getting a seat on a Voyager between Birmingham and Bristol, in either direction and at different times of the day. Between York and Leeds/Sheffield and Birmingham to Derby is where there is real crowding issues on CrossCountry.

The hard truth is that rail passenger numbers have increased massively in the last 10 years. Rolling stock provision has not kept up, but then I doubt very much when the Voyagers were ordered and the increased frequency was planned that anyone was predicting a 42% increase in passenger journeys between 2001-2011.

 

[Goatboy]

To correct an important mistake in your complaint, it was not XC who reduced the size of the trains on that corridor. On the contrary they helped boost capacity on that line by introducing HSTs.

It was XC - just the previous franchise holder. But thinking about it, I guess thats an important clarfication to make

ISTR it was the previous franchise holder who then increased all the fares too - so really Arriva have just maintained the status quo rather than caused it.

 

[cuccir]

Swindon - Didcot Parkway SDR £40.20 24 miles.

Didcot to London Anytime Day Return is £54. From Swindon to London there is no Anytime Day Return available and the Anytime Return is £112.

I don't really know the line at all. However evidence on these boards - specifically, these prices; and guard's comments on here about the frequency of people attempting to split incorrectly along that line - suggests that ticketing along the Swindon-Reading section of the Great Western Mainline is in a complete mess?

 

[John @ home]

ISTR it was the previous franchise holder who then increased all the fares too - so really Arriva have just maintained the status quo rather than caused it.

Not all the fare increases. It was the current franchise holder, Arriva, who imposed the "not before 0930" restriction on the longest journeys, leaving the ludicrous situation that the only Standard return ticket available on the 0625 Plymouth - Glasgow through train costs £387, but from the next stop 25 minutes later where the fare is set by a different company Totnes - Glasgow costs £176.80 on the same train.

 

[Zoe]

suggests that ticketing along the Swindon-Reading section of the Great Western Mainline is in a complete mess?

The boundary for the old Network SouthEast area on the GWML was at Didcot. A journey from Swindon to London would have been outside this area and classed as an intercity journey. The pricing (no Day Returns but advance fares available) reflects this. It's the same on the Berks and Hants where Bedwyn (inside the former Network SouthEast area) to London is £53 Anytime Day Return but from Pewsey (less than 10 miles west of Bedwyn but outside the area) there is no Anytime Day Return and the Anytime Return is £99. Advance fares are however available from Pewsey whereas there are none from Bedwyn.