I know this is a little out of our area, but thought you might be
interested if you fancy a trip to Scotland in the next few weeks!!

-----

Taken from www.Ananova.com


GNER cuts fares to as little as £5

GNER is to cut fares across its network to as little as £5 for five
weeks.

More than 200,000 single tickets will be on sale until January 23 for
travel anywhere on GNER services for £5, £10 or £15.

Tickets must be booked at least seven days ahead and the lowest fares
will be available for travel on the least busy trains. The last day
for travel will be February 14.

Jonathan Metcalfe, GNER's chief operating officer, says: "We hope
that fantastic fares at January sale prices will help to encourage
people to treat themselves to a day trip or short break between New
Year and Valentine's Day."


Tickets can be bought from GNER travel centres; GNER telesales on
08457 464637; at principal Arriva Trains Northern stations; and from
ScotRail stations served by GNER. The low fares can also be reserved
online at www.gner.co.uk.

Tickets will be available for travel on all GNER services, and the
price passengers pay for a single journey will depend upon the time
of travel.

Mr Metcalfe adds: "Since the start of our recovery campaign in
spring, 2001, to encourage passengers to return to the railways and
to boost tourism, we have offered more than half a million seats at
substantially discounted prices."

Passenger numbers have been boosted by low fare offers, and GNER says
that the number of people travelling is back to a similar level to
that seen before the Hatfield accident.

GNER carries more than 30,000 passengers a day on more than 100 high-
speed rail services between London, the East Midlands, Yorkshire, the
North East and Scotland.

Story filed: 17:09 Wednesday 2nd January 2002

Taken from www.Ananova.com.

Trains and buses are running a skeleton service on some routes run by
strike-hit South West Trains.

Train services are running to an emergency time table on six routes.
Services from London Waterloo will run to and from Ascot, Haslemere,
Southampton and Basingstoke.

Other services will run between Basingstoke and Salisbury, and between
Southampton and Southsea.

A peak time bus service with a limited amount of seats is operating from
Alton, Farnham, Petersfield, Liss, Liphook, Bracknell and Cobham.

South West Trains tickets will be accepted on Wales and Borders, South
Central, Thames, Thameslink, First Great Western, Virgin, Silverlink, Anglia
and Wessex services from South West Trains stations.

For more information contact the National Rail website
<http://www.nationalrail.co.uk>  or call the enquiry line on 08457 484950.

Story filed: 08:11 Friday 4th January 2002

Cheers,
Lee Bumstead
Senior Systems Security Administrator,
B&Q PLC.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phone:  023 8025 6475 Fax: 023 8027 9005
Mobile: 07785 344348 Pager: 07699 754631
Email:  lee.bumstead@...
<mailto:lee.bumstead@...>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

****************************************************************************
B&Q plc
Registered Office: Portswood House, 1 Hampshire Corporate Park,
Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3YX
Buy Online NOW at http://www.diy.com

Registered in England Number 973387

This e-mail is only intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and
may contain confidential information. Unless stated to the contrary, any
opinions or comments are personal to the writer and do not represent the
official view of the company. If you have received this e-mail in error,
please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message
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****************************************************************************

See story from B'mth Echo Friday 4th

http://www.thisisdorset.net/dorset/purbeck/news/PURBECK_NEWS_NEWS1.html

PJ

Taken from www.ananova.com

Emergency strike timetable for South West Trains

South West Trains plans to run an emergency timetable on Monday and
Tuesday.

It is hoping to operate 500 trains and more than 100 bus and coach
services on both days if the planned RMT strike action goes ahead.

London Waterloo will have services to and from Aldershot, Ascot,
Basingstoke, Effingham Junction, Guildford, Portsmouth, Salisbury,
Southampton and Woking. Trains will also run between Southampton
Central and Portsmouth & Southsea.

Additional bus and coach services will be running between Alton and
Aldershot, Basingstoke and Farnborough, Petersfield and Haslemere,
Weybridge and Virginia Water, Bournemouth and Weymouth, Lymington
Pier and Brockenhurst, Salisbury and Exeter St Davids, Aldershot and
Ascot, Guildford and Effingham Junction, Southampton and Bournemouth,
Ascot and Reading, Staines and Windsor and Eton Riverside and between
Fareham and Winchester.

Train services operated by other train operators in the South West
Trains area will operate as normal on strike days.


South West Trains tickets will be accepted on South Central, Thames,
Thameslink, First Great Western, Virgin, Silverlink, Anglia and
Wessex services from South West Trains stations.

Additionally South West Train tickets can be used on Stagecoach bus
services in Surrey and Hampshire on strike days.

For more information and full timetable details contact the South
West Trains website, National Rail website or call the enquiry line
on 08457 484950.

Story filed: 11:31 Friday 25th January 2002

South West Trains strike details for Basingstoke
South West Trains will run to an emergency timetable in the Basingstoke area
on Monday and Tuesday if the planned RMT strike action goes ahead.
It is hoping to operate 500 trains and more than 100 bus and coach services
on both days of the strike.
Strike day services from Basingstoke to Waterloo run with a limited peak
time service both ways and an hourly service during the middle of the day.
Trains from Basingstoke start with the 6.14am service and the last scheduled
train back from Waterloo is at 10.20pm.
London Waterloo will have services to and from Aldershot, Ascot,
Basingstoke, Effingham Junction, Guildford, Portsmouth, Salisbury,
Southampton and Woking. Trains will also run between Southampton Central and
Portsmouth & Southsea.
Aditional bus and coach services will be running between Alton and
Aldershot, Basingstoke and Farnborough, Petersfield and Haslemere, Weybridge
and Virginia Water, Bournemouth and Weymouth, Lymington Pier and
Brockenhurst, Salisbury and Exeter St Davids, Aldershot and Ascot, Guildford
and Effingham Junction, Southampton and Bournemouth, Ascot and Reading,
Staines and Windsor and Eton Riverside and between Fareham and Winchester.
Train services operated by other train operators in the South West Trains
area will operate as normal on strike days.
South West Trains tickets will be accepted on South Central, Thames,
Thameslink, First Great Western, Virgin, Silverlink, Anglia and Wessex
services from South West Trains stations. Additionally South West Train
tickets can be used on Stagecoach bus services in Surrey and Hampshire on
strike days.
For more information and full timetable details contact the South West
<http://www.swtrains.co.uk>  Trains or National Rail websites or call the
National Rail  <http://www.nationalrail.co.uk> enquiry line on 08457 484950.
Story filed: 11:51 Friday 25th January 2002

****************************************************************************
B&Q plc
Registered Office: Portswood House, 1 Hampshire Corporate Park,
Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3YX
Buy Online NOW at http://www.diy.com

Registered in England Number 973387

This e-mail is only intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and
may contain confidential information. Unless stated to the contrary, any
opinions or comments are personal to the writer and do not represent the
official view of the company. If you have received this e-mail in error,
please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message
from your system. Please do not copy it or use it for any purposes, or
disclose its contents to any other person. Thank you for your co-operation.
****************************************************************************

Strike day services from Bournemouth will have two through train services to
Waterloo at 5.45 and 6.40am, return trains from Waterloo are at 5.35 and
10pm.

****************************************************************************
B&Q plc
Registered Office: Portswood House, 1 Hampshire Corporate Park,
Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3YX
Buy Online NOW at http://www.diy.com

Registered in England Number 973387

This e-mail is only intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and
may contain confidential information. Unless stated to the contrary, any
opinions or comments are personal to the writer and do not represent the
official view of the company. If you have received this e-mail in error,
please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message
from your system. Please do not copy it or use it for any purposes, or
disclose its contents to any other person. Thank you for your co-operation.
****************************************************************************

Strike day services from Portsmouth Harbour to Waterloo run hourly in both
directions starting with the 6.20am from Portsmouth, the last train back
from Waterloo is at 9.30pm, if strike still goes ahead on Monday and
Tuesday.

****************************************************************************
B&Q plc
Registered Office: Portswood House, 1 Hampshire Corporate Park,
Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3YX
Buy Online NOW at http://www.diy.com

Registered in England Number 973387

This e-mail is only intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and
may contain confidential information. Unless stated to the contrary, any
opinions or comments are personal to the writer and do not represent the
official view of the company. If you have received this e-mail in error,
please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message
from your system. Please do not copy it or use it for any purposes, or
disclose its contents to any other person. Thank you for your co-operation.
****************************************************************************

Services between Southampton Central and Portsmouth run hourly and start at
7.42am out of Southampton, the final service back from Portsmouth is at
8.42pm, if strike still goes ahead on Monday and Tuesday

****************************************************************************
B&Q plc
Registered Office: Portswood House, 1 Hampshire Corporate Park,
Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3YX
Buy Online NOW at http://www.diy.com

Registered in England Number 973387

This e-mail is only intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and
may contain confidential information. Unless stated to the contrary, any
opinions or comments are personal to the writer and do not represent the
official view of the company. If you have received this e-mail in error,
please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message
from your system. Please do not copy it or use it for any purposes, or
disclose its contents to any other person. Thank you for your co-operation.
****************************************************************************

Services from Guildford to Waterloo run at peak times and hourly during the
middle of the day. The first train to Waterloo is at 6.10am and the final
return service is at 10.30pm, if strike goes ahead on Monday and Tuesday.

****************************************************************************
B&Q plc
Registered Office: Portswood House, 1 Hampshire Corporate Park,
Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3YX
Buy Online NOW at http://www.diy.com

Registered in England Number 973387

This e-mail is only intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and
may contain confidential information. Unless stated to the contrary, any
opinions or comments are personal to the writer and do not represent the
official view of the company. If you have received this e-mail in error,
please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message
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----- Original Message -----
From: Steam Dreams <steamnews@...>
To: <pellingchris@...>
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2002 5:52 PM
Subject: [News] Steam Dreams News #12


S t e a m D r e a m s N e w s issue #12

Tel: 01483 209888
Fax: 01483 209889
Email:info@...
http://www.steamdreams.co.uk

.......................................................................

THE CATHEDRALS EXPRESS

STEAM EXTRAVAGANZA POSTPONED

Reluctantly, Steam Dreams and EWS have decided to postpone the Steam
Extravaganza scheduled for 10 to 15 February until Sunday 14 to Friday
19 April 2002. While the current RMT action against South West Trains
would not have prevented EWS from operating trains on strike days, it
was affecting passengers needing to travel by train to join the steam
service.

This has been compounded by the fact that Canadian Pacific and Bodmin
require some time consuming repairs and therefore only one engine would
have been available for the week. With bookings at the current level we
could not justify the expense of having a stand-by locomotive from
elsewhere and felt it was better to postpone until April.

By April, South West Trains is confident that even if the RMT action is
still on-going, it will have minimal effect on their services.
Additionally, both engines should be available and an added benefit
will be that the weather should be better (but no promises!) and with
the clocks going forward the evening runs to Yeovil will be in
daylight.

All the schedules for the April week will be identical, and your
original tickets will automatically be valid for the train on the same
day of the week, eg., if you are currently booked on the 0909 hours
departure from Eastleigh on Tuesday 12 February, your tickets will now
be valid for the 0909 hours departure on Tuesday 16 April. If you wish
to transfer to another day you may do so free of charge. Any tickets
for the coach transfer back to Alton on the Sunday will also still be
valid.

The only change is on Wednesday when the 1604 hours departure from
Eastleigh will not run. If this affects you and you have not yet heard
from us by telephone then please do contact us and we will endeavour to
accommodate your requests.

Because some school pupils will be starting their summer term that
week, we will allow any party that includes children to transfer to the
Sunday run with no extra payment (a saving of £5.50 per adult). This
train departs from Alton at 0946 hours, and terminates at Eastleigh at
1635 hours. Alternatively, you may wish to move to a late afternoon
train (which is cheaper) or, like any other passenger, you may apply
for a full refund.

We do apologise for this delay and hope you can make the new date -
remember you do not have to contact us if you are happy to transfer to
the appropriate date - anyone wishing to make a change or ask for a
refund is requested to do so by the end of February to help with our
administration. Phones are generally not manned at weekends but any
requests can be sent in my email.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

.......................................................................
Steam Dreams http://www.steamdreams.co.uk
To UNSUBSCRIBE mailto:majordomo@...
putting UNSUBSCRIBE NEWS as the body of your message
Comments and queries- mailto:webmaster@...
.......................................................................

Train company plans more services for strike days
South West Trains plans to step up the number of services it runs on strike
days, even though it faces increased industrial action.
The Stagecoach subsidiary plans to run almost 1,000 services when members of
the Rail, Maritime and Transport union stage walk-outs next week.
The union is involved in a dispute over pay and disciplinary procedures.
It is escalating its action by calling two 24-hour stoppages from noon on
Monday and again from Wednesday, threatening disruption over four days.
But SWT has trained managers to stand in for striking guards, enabling it to
run more trains than on previous strike days.
The company, which usually operates 1,700 trains a day across southern
England and into London's Waterloo Station, is also laying on 650 buses on
strike days.
SWT is pledging that about three-quarters of stations will either have a
train or bus service. Stagecoach plans to bring in buses from all over the
country to help transport passengers.
Routes which were paralysed by previous strikes will have trains next week,
including services from Kingston, Chessington South and Hampton Court into
London.
An SWT spokeswoman says: "The strikes have caused untold damage to everyone
involved, and it is not in anyone's long-term interest for them to
continue."
The company has also written to the RMT proposing a "clear way forward" to
end the long-running dispute.
Story filed: 10:21 Wednesday 6th February 2002

****************************************************************************
B&Q plc
Registered Office: Portswood House, 1 Hampshire Corporate Park,
Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3YX
Buy Online NOW at http://www.diy.com

Registered in England Number 973387

This e-mail is only intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and
may contain confidential information. Unless stated to the contrary, any
opinions or comments are personal to the writer and do not represent the
official view of the company. If you have received this e-mail in error,
please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message
from your system. Please do not copy it or use it for any purposes, or
disclose its contents to any other person. Thank you for your co-operation.
****************************************************************************

Taken from www.ananova.com <http://www.ananova.com> .

Bournemouth train services during the South West Trains strike
South West Trains will run to an extended emergency timetable from
Bournemouth during next weeks strike.
There will be two 24-hour strikes starting at midday on Monday and Wednesday
if the planned RMT action goes ahead. These are the main train services to
and from Bournemouth.
A through service to Waterloo goes at 5.45, and a return through service
runs at 22.00. All other services have to change at Southampton.
Trains to Southampton run throughout the day from 5.45 until 20.32, the
final return service is at 23.26.
Services to Poole run from 7am up until 19.43, the final return train is at
19.00
London Waterloo will have services and connections to and from Aldershot,
Ascot, Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Chessington, Effingham Junction, Guildford,
Hampton Court, Kingston, Portsmouth, Salisbury, Southampton, Staines,
Surbiton, Weymouth and Woking.
Additional bus and coach services will be running between Aldershot and
Alton, Aldershot and Ascot, Ascot and Reading, Effingham Junction and
Guildford, Farnborough and Basingstoke, Gillingham and Exeter, Hampton Court
and Shepperton, Petersfield and Haslemere, Staines and Windsor & Eton
Riverside, Weybridge and Virginia Water and Weymouth and Poole.
Train services operated by other train operators in the South West Trains
area will operate as normal on strike days.
South Central, Thames, Thameslink, First Great Western, Virgin, Silverlink,
Anglia and Wessex trains will all accept South West Train tickets on strike
days.
For more information and full timetable details go to the South West
<http://www.swtrains.co.uk> Trains or National Rail
<http://www.nationalrail.co.uk>  website or call the enquiry line on 08457
484950.
Story filed: 12:52 Friday 8th February 2002

****************************************************************************
B&Q plc
Registered Office: Portswood House, 1 Hampshire Corporate Park,
Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3YX
Buy Online NOW at http://www.diy.com

Registered in England Number 973387

This e-mail is only intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and
may contain confidential information. Unless stated to the contrary, any
opinions or comments are personal to the writer and do not represent the
official view of the company. If you have received this e-mail in error,
please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message
from your system. Please do not copy it or use it for any purposes, or
disclose its contents to any other person. Thank you for your co-operation.
****************************************************************************

Rather than send several from www.ananova.com <http://www.ananova.com> , I
have merged all the information I can find into one.

Trains on the Basingstoke to Waterloo line start calling at Guildford from
5.55 and run until 22.25, the final return service is at 22.15.
Services to Waterloo on the Portsmouth to Waterloo line start at Guildford
from 6.40 and run until 22.25 - the final return service is at 21.30. Going
to Portsmouth services commence at 7.04 and finish at 22.04 - the final
return service is at 21.20.
Trains from Portsmouth & Southsea will run hourly from 6.42 and the final
train is at 20.42, the final return service is at 21.42. By changing at
Southampton, services are available to Waterloo.
Services from Portsmouth Harbour to Waterloo begin at 6.20 and run to an
almost hourly timetable until 21.20, return trains run up until the 21.30
train
Trains to Portsmouth & Southsea run hourly starting at 7.42 up until the
21.42 service, the last return train is at 20.42.
Services to Waterloo run hourly from 6.40 up until 21.40 with additional
early services at 6.15 and 7.10.
Trains to Bournemouth start from 7.38 and run until 23.26, the final return
service is at 20.32. By changing at Bournemouth services are available to
Poole and by bus to Weymouth.
Basingstoke, Guildford and Woking to Waterloo services start at 5.54 and run
until the 21.21 service, the final return service is at 22.20
Trains to Southampton start at 6.45 and run hourly through the day until the
final train at 22.45, return services go up until the 21.40 service.
Services to Bournemouth and Poole can be made by changing at Southampton.
Services to Waterloo from Southampton stop at Basingstoke at 6.55 and run
until the 21.19 service. Return trains run up until the 22.00 service.
On the Salisbury route, services commence at 7.35 and run hourly until
22.35, the final return service is at 21.33. By changing at Salisbury
services are available to Gillingham, and bus connections run to Exeter.
Trains will be running between Fareham and Eastleigh with bus connections to
Basingstoke.

****************************************************************************
B&Q plc
Registered Office: Portswood House, 1 Hampshire Corporate Park,
Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3YX
Buy Online NOW at http://www.diy.com

Registered in England Number 973387

This e-mail is only intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and
may contain confidential information. Unless stated to the contrary, any
opinions or comments are personal to the writer and do not represent the
official view of the company. If you have received this e-mail in error,
please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and then delete this message
from your system. Please do not copy it or use it for any purposes, or
disclose its contents to any other person. Thank you for your co-operation.
****************************************************************************

>    Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 16:02:09 EST
>    From: hillingdon@...
>    Subject: Fwd: Pompey Engineering works 24/02/2002
> > THEN Southampton bound stopper now
> > approaches platform 3 from east and has to stop because platform
occupied
> > by eastbound South Central working!!!!!!

Do you happen to know how it got there? It must have travelled wrong line
for a considerable distance, as there are no facing crossovers nearby on
the line from Cosham (according to the Quail trackplan).

----- Original Message -----
From: "John E. Salmon" <john.e.salmon@...>
To: <WessexRail@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: 26 February 2002 13:32
Subject: [WessexRail] Pompey Engineering works 24/02/2002-Fareham


> >    Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 16:02:09 EST
> >    From: hillingdon@...
> >    Subject: Fwd: Pompey Engineering works 24/02/2002
> > > THEN Southampton bound stopper now
> > > approaches platform 3 from east and has to stop because platform
> occupied
> > > by eastbound South Central working!!!!!!
>
> Do you happen to know how it got there? It must have travelled wrong
line
> for a considerable distance, as there are no facing crossovers nearby
on
> the line from Cosham (according to the Quail trackplan).

Is that a recent Quail?  I haven't seen the Southern volume.

David Biddulph

--- In WessexRail@y..., "David Biddulph" <lists@b...> wrote:

> Is that a recent Quail?  I haven't seen the Southern volume.

It's not recent, and has been out of print for a good few years now.
There is an updated volume due out in the near future - my copy has
been pre-ordered for several months :)

HTH

Matt

I was told that an item appeared on TeleText a week or so ago
about Network Cards. Apparently moves are afoot to limit their use
on fares of £10 and over.

SWT wants to see how many complaints they get about the
proposal before going ahead with it.

Has anyone else heard about this?

Regards,

Ron Cross.

----- Original Message -----

From: Ron

To: WessexRail@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 2:34 AM

Subject: [WessexRail] Network Cards

I was told that an item appeared on TeleText a week or so ago
about Network Cards. Apparently moves are afoot to limit their use
on fares of £10 and over.

SWT wants to see how many complaints they get about the
proposal before going ahead with it.

Has anyone else heard about this?

Regards,

Ron Cross.

I must admit that it doesn't make good reading, but
then I ain't really surprised. I too have often
wondered how long the network card could keep going.
If it means that in some form the card keeps going,
then all the better. But then I only tend to use it
for long trips anyway, and I can see that I won't be
too much effect on me, since I only ever usually use
on trips to London, etc.

Although the minimum spend will be £10, I can bet that
the minimum will rise every year, because less and
less people will but one, since they won't see much
worth in it if you can't use it for short journeys. So
it could be phased out totally in a couple of years,
as the train companies use lack of useage as the main
cause of it's removal.

Cheers, Lee.

  --- Michael Wadman <michael.wadman@...> wrote:
> Ron (and all),
>
>  Changes to Network Card conditions
>
> from the London Evening Standard web site:
>
>
> > > Train fares may rise 50%
> >
> > > by Dick Murray Transport Editor
> > > Thousands of rail passengers in London and the
> South East face fare
> > > increases of up to 50 per cent as the train
> companies increase their
> > > profits by millions of pounds by cutting
> discounted tickets, it was
> > > revealed today.
> > > The operators aim to raise their profits by up
> to £10 million a year by
> > > changing the way the Network Railcard - used by
> 360,000 passengers a
> > year
> > > - can be used.
> > > The train companies are targeting off-peak
> travel because, under the
> > > regulations, they cannot increase commuter
> fares. But off-peak fares are
> > > not regulated.
> > > The service provided by the companies has been
> so poor that they are
> > also
> > > being forced to pay out huge amounts in refunds
> to passengers because
> > they
> > > are not meeting performance targets.
> > > Now they are seeking to claw some of that money
> back by hitting off-peak
> > > users.
> > > The annual card, costing £20, is used by
> passengers to obtain a one third
> > > discount on off-peak fares.
> > > It is most popular among families, shoppers,
> leisure travellers and the
> > > low paid.
> > > Now the 17 train companies who serve the capital
> and which run the
> > scheme
> > > say discounts will not be allowed on tickets
> costing under £10.
> > > This means that the many thousands of passengers
> using the card to
> > travel
> > > into London from places such as Dartford,
> Croydon and Working where
> > > cheap-day return tickets cost less than £10 will
> not now be able to get
> > > their one-third discount.
> > > For example, a cheap-day return from Working
> costs £7.60. Using the
> > > Network card that fare is reduced to £5. But
> because the usual fare is
> > > under £10 passengers will not be able to get
> their discount any more
> > when
> > > the restrictions come into force from the start
> of June.
> > > A huge number of passengers use the Network Card
> to obtain cheap travel
> > > into London or between stations throughout the
> South East.
> > > Cutting a huge part of the scheme has led to a
> bitter row between the
> > > train companies.
> > > One industry insider said: "There are a number
> of people incensed over
> > > what the train companies have done. Whatever the
> excuses of the rail
> > > companies it is purely designed to rake in more
> profits."
> > > A furious backlash from the passenger watchdog
> is also guaranteed.
> > > The insider said: "Stephen Byers's aide Jo Moore
> was rightly criticised
> > > for her attempts to bury bad news - but this is
> exactly what the train
> > > companies are guilty of by announcing their
> intention to axe cheap
> > tickets
> > > on a Friday."
> > > There was a row when the rail companies met to
> approve the restrictions
> > at
> > > the Association of Train Operating Companies.
> > > It is understood that companies owned by
> transport group GoVia, which
> > > includes Thameslink, Thames Trains and South
> Central and also the First
> > > Great Western company, threatened to scrap the
> scheme altogether unless
> > > the restrictions were introduced.
> > > Connex and South West Trains, which operate the
> busiest routes in the
> > > country, were against the move and wanted the
> Network Card kept as it is
> > -
> > > but they were out-voted.
> > > An association spokesman confirmed that the
> discounted travel was losing
> > > the operators between £5-£10 million a year.
> > > Philip Benham, director of commercial services
> for ATOC, sought to
> > excuse
> > > the move.
> > > He said: "The commercial reality is that the
> product is no longer
> > > achieving what it set out to do when it was
> introduced in 1986 and that
> > is
> > > to grow the off-peak market. In fact it is
> losing the train operators a
> > > considerable amount of money which could be
> reinvested in better
> > passenger
> > > services."
> > > Mr Benham said trains travelling out of London
> in the evening were also
> > > more crowded because of people returning home
> using their cheap tickets
> > > during the peak period while other passengers
> had to pay the full
> > amount.
> > > That, he said, is not fair.
> > > "Most passengers travelling during this period
> are buying full fare
> > > tickets or travelling on season tickets."
> > > The discounted tickets cannot be used before
> 10am but there is no
> > > restriction after that.
> > > Discounted travel will not be affected at
> weekends of Bank Holidays. The
> > > restrictions will apply to all new Network Cards
> purchased after 2
> > June.
>
> .
> There are a few issues here. I have wondered for
> some time how much longer the Network Card would
> survive now that it's shared between a dozen
> different companies each with their own marketing
> policy. I'm not surprised that FGW are amongst the
> ringleaders as they've always been pretty hostile,
> although I can't help thinking that the vast
> majority of their eligible fares are over £10
> anyway. But it's strange to see Go-Ahead up there
> when they make a big thing of being
> passenger-friendly (although since they've taken
> over South Central the service quality has tumbled,
> much to the surprise of all the people who said that
> it couldn't get worse than it was under Connex). As
> the benefits of holding a Card are reduced so fewer
> people will buy one and there will be even less
> revenue for the TOCs.
>
> It's going to throw up a few funnies. Taking a few
> examples at random from last year's fares manual
> (which is the most recent one I've got handy; I
> realise that these will probably no longer apply,
> but I'm just using them as examples), a single from
> London to Farnham is £9.70, which will not be
> discount-compliant. But a single to Alton is £11.80,
> which will be discount-compliant, and so will cost a
> Network Card holder £7.86 . So a Network Card holder
> may find it cheaper to book to a point beyond where
> he wants to go. Alternatively a Cheap Day Return to
> Farnham is £10.50, which will be discount-compliant
> and so will cost a Card holder £7. So it may be
> cheaper to buy a return ever if you only want a
> single! (Although I can't image anyone not wanting
> to return from Farnham.)
>
> If this has all been agreed by ATOC, there's not a
> lot that SWT can do about it. I suppose that they
> can unilaterally offer Network Card discounts on
> their own fares under £10, but they can't make it
> apply to other TOCS.
>
> As usual with the Evening Standard, there are lots
> of things missed out or not explained, such as what
> will happen to Gold Cards. And what on earth is
> "Discounted travel will not be affected at weekends
> or Bank Holidays " supposed to mean?
>
> MW
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Ron
>   To: WessexRail@yahoogroups.com
>   Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 2:34 AM
>   Subject: [WessexRail] Network Cards
>
>
>   I was told that an item appeared on TeleText a
> week
=== message truncated ===

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In message Thu, 14 Mar 2002, 02:21:08, WessexRail@yahoogroups.com writes
>   Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 19:54:27 -0000
>   From: "Michael Wadman" <michael.wadman@...>
>Subject: Re: Network Cards

>It's going to throw up a few funnies. Taking a few examples at random
>from
>last year's
>fares manual (which is the most recent one I've got handy; I realise that
>these will
>probably no longer apply, but I'm just using them as examples), a single
>from London to
>Farnham is £9.70, which will not be discount-compliant. But a single to
>Alton
>is £11.80,
>which will be discount-compliant, and so will cost a Network Card holder
>£7.86 .

No, there will be a GBP10 minimum, so it'll cost a tenner.

>So a
>Network Card holder may find it cheaper to book to a point beyond where
>he wants to go.
>Alternatively a Cheap Day Return to Farnham is £10.50, which will be
>discount-compliant
>and so will cost a Card holder £7.

Again, GBP10 minimum applies
> So it may be cheaper to buy a return ever
>if you only
>want a single! (Although I can't image anyone not wanting to return from
>Farnham.)
>
>If this has all been agreed by ATOC, there's not a lot that SWT can do
>about it. I suppose
>that they can unilaterally offer Network Card discounts on their own fares
>under £10, but
>they can't make it apply to other TOCS.


>
>As usual with the Evening Standard, there are lots of things missed out or
>not explained,
>such as what will happen to Gold Cards.

Unaffected: they keep current terms & conditions.  Indeed they retain
the 1996 T&C so still allow 1st class upgrades (not on all TOCs) for
GBP3 & the GBP1 child flat fare.  But the Goldcard Partner's Card went
some years ago: instead you can get a normal Network railcard for your
partner for GBP1.

Some people on the newsgroups are talking about getting Goldcards for
ultra-short journeys (Waterloo E-Charing Cross anybody?
Hillsea-Fratton?  Newhaven Town-Harbour? ) just for the off-peak
discounts.  Dunno if anything will come of it.

>And what on earth is "Discounted
>travel will not
>be affected at weekends or Bank Holidays " supposed to mean?

The GBP10 minimum will not apply Sat/Sun/BH.

This proposal stinks:  if you want to object to it look at
http://www.atob.org.uk/campaigns.htm
(quick & dirty I'm afraid but the info's there)

If worst comes to worst, renew your card 17/5/02 (last day of "3 extra
months free" offer) & keep current T&C till Aug 2003.

--
Rob Cope

----- Original Message -----
From: Chris <pellingchris@...>
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 2:09 PM
Subject: 37308 ECS moves


> Steam Dreams have agreed to let passengers travel on the 'empties' between
> Alton and Waterloo on the following dates:
>
> Wednesday 1 May
> Wednesday 5 June
> Tuesday 9 July
> Wednesday 21 August
> Thursday 19 September
> Wednesday 16 October
> Wednesday 10 December
>
> These services pick up from Alton and will also call at Farnham and Ascot
> and usually run via Richmond to Waterloo. Motive power will be 37308 or
any
> substitute 37 if 37308 isn't available. This is an experiment and may be
> extended to other services if successful.
>
> Fares will be ten pounds to those already booked on that day's Salisbury
> steam service, or fifteen pounds to all other passengers, including 'pay
on
> the days'.
>
> The return ECS movements from Waterloo to Alton will sadly not be
available
> as they run via Clapham Yard.
>
> Thanks, Chris...
>
>

Good morning all,

The following I picked up from Ananova.com

Protest over new railcard restrictions
Angry commuters are protesting against train companies' plans to effectively
raise prices on thousands of off-peak network railcard fares.
Labour MP Jane Griffiths is to lead the protest at London's Victoria
station.
She has tabled a House of Commons motion calling on rail companies to
reverse their decision to impose restrictions on the popular railcard.
Ms Griffiths is being supported by environmental transport group Transport
2000 and by Friends of the Earth.
Transport 2000's public transport campaigner Nick Duncan said: "A few train
companies want to see the end of the network railcard.
"They calculate that the more restrictions they put in place, the less
attractive the card becomes and they will be able to point to falling demand
when they finally pull the plug."
Until now, passengers buying network railcards have been entitled to a third
off any journey made in the south east of England after 10am on a weekday.
From June 2, rail companies propose to introduce a minimum fare of £10 for
railcard holders, as companies say they are losing a total of £5-10 million
a year by operating the scheme.
The new arrangement will mean railcard holders - who total 360,000
passengers - paying more than at present for any fare under £15.
When he announced the changes recently, Philip Benham, director of
commercial services for the Association of Train Operating Companies, said:
"The commercial reality is that the product is no longer achieving what it
set out to do when it was introduced in 1986, and that is to grow the
off-peak market."
Story filed: 08:16 Thursday 21st March 2002
Cheers,

Lee Bumstead
Senior Systems Security Administrator,
B&Q PLC

Phone: 023 8025 6475
Fax: 023 8027 9005
Mobile: 07785 344348
Email: lee.bumstead@...

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----- Original Message -----

From: Rob Cope

To: WessexRail@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2002 12:51 PM

Subject: [WessexRail] Network Cards

In message Thu, 14 Mar 2002, 02:21:08, WessexRail@yahoogroups.com writes
>   Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 19:54:27 -0000
>   From: "Michael Wadman" <michael.wadman@...>
>Subject: Re: Network Cards

>It's going to throw up a few funnies. Taking a few examples at random
>from
>last year's
>fares manual (which is the most recent one I've got handy; I realise that
>these will
>probably no longer apply, but I'm just using them as examples), a single
>from London to
>Farnham is £9.70, which will not be discount-compliant. But a single to
>Alton
>is £11.80,
>which will be discount-compliant, and so will cost a Network Card holder
>£7.86 .

No, there will be a GBP10 minimum, so it'll cost a tenner.

>So a
>Network Card holder may find it cheaper to book to a point beyond where
>he wants to go.
>Alternatively a Cheap Day Return to Farnham is £10.50, which will be
>discount-compliant
>and so will cost a Card holder £7.

Again, GBP10 minimum applies
> So it may be cheaper to buy a return ever
>if you only
>want a single! (Although I can't image anyone not wanting to return from
>Farnham.)
>
>If this has all been agreed by ATOC, there's not a lot that SWT can do
>about it. I suppose
>that they can unilaterally offer Network Card discounts on their own fares
>under £10, but
>they can't make it apply to other TOCS.


>
>As usual with the Evening Standard, there are lots of things missed out or
>not explained,
>such as what will happen to Gold Cards.

Unaffected: they keep current terms & conditions.  Indeed they retain
the 1996 T&C so still allow 1st class upgrades (not on all TOCs) for
GBP3 & the GBP1 child flat fare.  But the Goldcard Partner's Card went
some years ago: instead you can get a normal Network railcard for your
partner for GBP1.

Some people on the newsgroups are talking about getting Goldcards for
ultra-short journeys (Waterloo E-Charing Cross anybody?
Hillsea-Fratton?  Newhaven Town-Harbour? ) just for the off-peak
discounts.  Dunno if anything will come of it.

>And what on earth is "Discounted
>travel will not
>be affected at weekends or Bank Holidays " supposed to mean?

The GBP10 minimum will not apply Sat/Sun/BH.

This proposal stinks:  if you want to object to it look at
http://www.atob.org.uk/campaigns.htm
(quick & dirty I'm afraid but the info's there)

If worst comes to worst, renew your card 17/5/02 (last day of "3 extra
months free" offer) & keep current T&C till Aug 2003.

--
Rob Cope

In message Fri, 22 Mar 2002, 10:04:09, WessexRail@yahoogroups.com writes
>   Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 20:02:46 -0000
>   From: "Michael Wadman" <michael.wadman@...>
>Subject: Re: Network Cards
>
>Rob (and all),
>
>Thanks for the correction. I had obviously misunderstood the report (I
>blame bad writing by the Evening Standard!) to read that the £10 minimum
>applied to the base fare, whereas it actually applies to the discounted fare.
>
>If a Network Card holder bought a ticket with a base fare of £12 and
>therefore a normal discounted fare of £8, would they be charged £10? Or
>would they have to pay the full £12?
A tenner as that is the (threatened) minimum fare.

Fares GBP15 & over: no change, third off
Fares GBP10-14.99: discounted but only down to GBP10
Fares GBP9.99 & below: no discount
>
>It's good to hear that the rule won't apply at weekends and that Gold
>Cards are unchanged, but I feel sorry for the poor booking office clerks.

Also those needing to renew after 2/6/02.  if they think it's still
worth bothering.

Still (just) time to protest against this - see previous message.
--
Rob Cope

Apologies for cross-posting if you subscribe to both WessexRail
and RTN-UK.
.............................................................

If the reason given for restricting network card use to fares of £10
and over is to stop cheap-travel passengers using trains during the
evening peak period, it would make sense to change the terms &
conditions to say "Not valid for travel between 16:30 and 18:30" (or
whatever the times need to be).

The operating companies involved seem to be be saying "We want
to run train services but we don't want people to use them".

Regards,

Ron C.

Hi All

This has probably already been posted on the GEN group (which I don't
know how to subscribe to!) but for those of you interested, class 03
diesel no. D2059 has just returned to the IW steam railway following
a few days work reballasting on the Ryde-Shankin Island Line.

Islandline hired the 03 and two steam railway ballast hoppers - which
I believe are are LT examples so should fit in quite nicely bearing
in mind the passenger stock!

Simon

----- Original Message -----

From: Ron

To: WessexRail@yahoogroups.com

Cc: RTN-UK@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2002 1:48 PM

Subject: [WessexRail] Network Cards

Apologies for cross-posting if you subscribe to both WessexRail
and RTN-UK.
.............................................................

If the reason given for restricting network card use to fares of £10
and over is to stop cheap-travel passengers using trains during the
evening peak period, it would make sense to change the terms &
conditions to say "Not valid for travel between 16:30 and 18:30" (or
whatever the times need to be).

The operating companies involved seem to be be saying "We want
to run train services but we don't want people to use them".

Regards,

Ron C.