Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk)

Railfuture - 'Passengers First' - Campaigning for a bigger and better railway in Britain. Railfuture Ltd is run by volunteers and funded by members of public.

[Railfuture Lincs @RailfutureLincs]

Just over two weeks before the @Railfuture mini-conference in Peterborough on Thursday 15 May - doors open at noon.

We have five presentations, with some high-level rail industry speakers.

Space is limited, so please book your FREE place now - see https://t.co/nbAVqprdOl.

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

This @Railfuture FREE conference has five guest speakers, two speaking about passenger matters.

Martin Gilbert of First Rail on open-access services (@LumoTravel / @Hull_Trains).

Anthony Smith of @RailRetailers on purchasing trains tickets in the future

https://t.co/wsBAf1cFOM

[Railfuture EastMids @RailfutureEMids]

Just over two weeks before the @Railfuture mini-conference in Peterborough on Thursday 15 May - doors open at noon.

We have five presentations, with some high-level rail industry speakers.

Space is limited, so please book your FREE place now - see https://t.co/8UDTOq3A64.

[Railfuture @Railfuture]

LNER's new 70 minutes semi-flex ticket starts tomorrow. We like that idea, but hate the demise of the Super Off-Peak ticket. That means that on some trains there is a 130% price increase. That's definitely unwanted. Read our press release at https://t.co/E38yaH1jQn

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

Interested in what @ScotRail are planning for passengers?

You have an opportunity to find out at the @RailfutureScot public meeting in Edinburgh on Sat 30 Sept at 14:00, when they will be the guest speaker.

Easy to find venue in the Old Town.

[Railfuture Scotland @RailfutureScot]

On Saturday 30 September 2023 at 14:00 @RailfutureScot will be holding a public meeting in Edinburgh. Our guest speaker will be Scott Prentice, Head of Business Development at @ScotRail.

Venue is Friends' Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, EH1 2JL.

It will be worth attending!

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

@BBCNews Why refer to 'Regulated train fares'?

Old divide of regulated (set by government) and unregulated (set by train companies) ended in March 2020. All fare income for the DfT-managed operators now goes directly to the Treasury, 100% of it.

Every such fare rise is driven by govt.

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

@BBCNews BBC news item: "Rail fares in England to rise below inflation again in 2024"

But RPI is not a legitimate measure of inflation. It is outmoded. It is maintained mainly for index-linked pensions.

Official rate of inflation uses CPI which (barring big interest rate drop) is lower.

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

@newdawn75 @RAIL @DarrylMeades @PaulCliftonBBC @JustinOnWeb At @Railfuture we're all volunteers, working for the benefit of rail users (you can become a member for £20 a year). In the last six weeks our volunteers have spent more time on station staffing than anything else in the last decade.

Here's an example of our internal discussions

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

The rail industry really does shoot itself in the foot, sometimes.

The @RailDeliveryGrp wants more people to use TVMs, yet 'home page' on @GNRailUK machines says they do not sell Group Save when they do.

@Railfuture spotted this in 2017 - six years ago - and posted an image...

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

@TransportFocus @AnthonySmithTF We shouldn't be thankful that fare rises will be "delayed" until March 2024. That will be 12 months after last rise. Has been March for last two years, so everyone expected March next year.

Capping "below" RPI could mean anything, and could still be above the 'proper' CPI rate.

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

Article: "Six ways to get Britain’s railways back on track"

Reforming fares
Sorting out the strikes
Heading for net zero
Putting the passenger first
Investing for growth
Overhauling the structure

At @Railfuture we agree this is a pretty good list.

https://t.co/jXXnnjNVT4

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

@AnthonySmithTF Question, Anthony. We're sure that some @Railfuture members, all of whom care about rail passengers, might be interested. However, would active involvement in rail campaigning disbar them from being appointed?

We wondered what might be considered a conflict of interest.

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

The latest edition of the @Railfuture monthly Rail User Express publication, containing highlights of rail user group activities across Britain, can be read online.

View at https://t.co/I0Wbt8CFuU

[Railfuture NorthEast @RailfutureNEast]

This Northern TVM appears to have a lot of functionality - it even does rovers. But why does it say "please wait" for so long, and appear not to work once you get to the end?

Doesn't matter how many functions it has, if it takes too long and you end up abandoning your purchase.

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

The false impression that rail fares are high, because of the overly complex fare structure, is a real concern that @Railfuture has raised in the past, and continues to raise.

Of course, if you don't give ticket staff enough info they may not be able to work out the best deal.

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

Rail fare increases from 2024 - an indication of how much they could rise will be revealed on Wednesday 16 August when July 2023 inflation figures are announced.
Below is the @Railfuture view.
https://t.co/ZBTU7NfN6j

@BBCNews @SkyNews @c4news @RAIL @Modern_Railways

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

@RussW3 Researching train fares at home (or work) to avoid stress at a station is sensible.

Many ways that TVMs could be improved, such as remembering your last three purchases.

Your idea would need TVM to have a sensor to read QR code on either a smartphone or a piece of paper.

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

A 'nice' feature of the Great Northern ticket machines is that they tell you what you can't buy up front on the home page - saves you time trying to find them and failing.

A nicer feature would be if it actually sold most of those 'not available' tickets. It's not rocket science

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

Many Rail User Groups (RUGs) are affiliated to @Railfuture. They remain independent of us, and make their own decisions, but benefit from our advice and support.

FLUA (Cambridge - King's Lynn) wrote this in its submission about Ticket Office proposals.

https://t.co/0d9t6K8EP1

[Network Rail Kent & Sussex @NetworkRailSE]

The new Thanet Parkway station will be served by @Se_Railway services from Monday (31 July) bringing the capital and the coast closer together.

- London St Pancras (70 mins)
- Ashford International (32 mins)
- Canterbury (17 mins)
- Margate (16 mins)
- Broadstairs (11 mins).

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

@Whitmore03David @RailfutureEA David, please read the @Railfuture response to the ticket office consultation at https://t.co/3VHXgDOWq5.

First two pages give a summary.

TVMs need to be much better and take best practice from around the world (it's not difficult to improve), but there still needs to be staff.

[Railfuture Passenger (railfuture.org.uk) @RailfuturePsngr]

Belgian state railway SNCB has simple-to-use but quite powerful TVMs.

Anyone who has shopped using a website knows how to use an online shopping basket, and that's how their TVMs work. You can add a series of 'products' (they use single-leg pricing in Belgium) and then you pay.