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Contents Listing - Articles & Features in this issue
EOL>Railscene Railrover a€ Lostwithiel and the Fowey Branch Picture Parade Autumn tints Sunday diversions on Yorkshire curves Western railcars a€" 50 years on The Cheshire Lines Committee today Remodelling the approach to Brighton Toton-Whitemoor Photogulde Special Spot Stockllst Rail Riders News Cover: Class 73 No 73.106 passes Clapham Junction on 16 June 1984 with the 16.30 down'Gatwick Express'.
Article Snippets
iewpoint: WE KNOW it has been said before, but does anyone pay full fare when travelling by rail these days? Yes, of course they do. In fact, we did so on a recent visit to the MRP office a€ but only because it was too early to take advantage of the day return fare. Passing the time at Victoria on that occasion, we looked in at the travel centre and picked up half-a-dozen leaflets in as many seconds a€" every one of them describing reduced-rate travel opportunities. Probably there were more, but these alone included such diversities as railcards and other attractive offers available to young people, older people, disabled people, families and season ticket holders. Not to mention people who wash their clothes in a particular brand of washing powder or in whose lavatories thrive only one per cent of all known germs! There cannot be many folk who do not fall into one or other of these categories. The wonder is a€" how on earth do ticket office clerks remember which railcard orvoucher entitles the holder to which discount, and on what time of day or day of the week? And, if by chance they issue a ticket incorrectly, is every ticket inspector acquainted with all the details? Travellers, too, have to be on their guard. Suppose a Family Railcard holder misunderstands or inadvertently misses the warning not to ""commence any journey to or from Taunton or stations in Devon or Cornwall between 06.00 and 14.00, on a Saturday in July or August? Maybe most people know what day it is, but it seems you must also have a knowledge of geography as well, or you could find yourself being asked to pay an enormous excess fare. The reason for all these special reductions is, of course, to increase the number of what Sir Peter Parker was pleased to call 'bottoms on seats'. It is a marketing ploy, encouraging certain groups of people to travel by rail at certain times when trains would otherwise be lightly loaded. The trick is to provide the opportunities at the times when both the railway and the people want them a€" even though the latter may not realise it. Generally the system works, so let us not knock it. As the holder of a Journey Club Railcard we have certainly benefited, although we have always been puzzled by its limitation to weekends and Bank Holidays only. This particular scheme is being replaced by a new Annual Season Ticket Holders' Railcard next May. Why not allow us to use it on week days as well? We might, after all, decide to make rail journeys during our holidays. David Percival
