CHEAP RAIL FARES

Central Trains is withdrawing a range of cheap day return tickets for journeys of more than 50 miles - because too many people were using them. It found they were too popular and led to crowded trains. There will be a new range of tickets to replace the cheap day returns on routes of more than 50 miles and where the cheap day tickets do remain on shorter journeys, there will be inflation-busting increases.

Dave Watkin, sales and marketing director for Central Trains, said there were some anomalies in fares which would be ironed out with the new prices. He said, "Low prices were also leading to a very high demand for some tickets, which has resulted in a situation where passengers could not get a seat on our trains. We understand that the passengers affected by these increases will be concerned."

Phil Davis, chairman of the Rail Passengers Committee for the Midlands (RPC), said, "It is not fair on the passengers to pay more money when services are not as good as they should be in the Midlands." Fare changes include: Burton-on-Trent to Birmingham, from £5.90 to £6.60 and Derby to Birmingham, from £6.40 to £9.

Cheaper fares and more frequent services have been proposed by rail industry delegates to encourage the public to travel by train. Free travel on Saturdays and two journeys for the price of one were two of the ideas put to representatives from the rail industry to attract commuters to the railway. A Rail Passenger Summit was held in Matlock to discuss the future of rail services in the East Midlands. The meeting included representatives from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire county councils, the Rail Passengers Committee, Central Trains, Virgin Crosscountry and the East Midlands Charities Forum.

Chris Austin of the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority, which was set up last year to promote the use of the railway network, was also a delegate. Phillip Benham, director of commercial services for the Association of Train Operating Companies discussed the effects that the Hatfield disaster had on operators, which for some included a 40% loss in revenue. Mr Benham said, “Despite a serious failure within the infrastructure it does not mean the whole system is in complete chaos.”

He added, “Travelling by rail is still the safest way to travel. The same amount of people who died in the Hatfield disaster die on the roads each day. We now need to regain the confidence of the public.” According to a Government survey, which questioned commuters on the M1, 50% said that they would have been more inclined to travel by train if tickets prices were cheaper. A comment from the floor was made that rail fares in Britain were the highest in Europe.

But Mr Benham denied this and said the comparisons made did not give a true indication of the price of travel by train per mile. Martin Doughty, chairman of Derbyshire County Council’s resource committee said that although geographical boundaries had been set for each operator, it was important to co-operate as 10,000 people from the county travelled to Sheffield and Manchester frequently. In the summing up Chris Austin praised all the organisations for their co-operation.

He said, “We can look ahead positively, we need to build the public’s confidence with the railways and in the New Year aim to get more people back.” Mr Austin also pointed out the importance of accessibility. He said that the co-operation between councils and operators was crucial, by providing frequent and reliable bus services to and from stations it would mean a complete service for the customer.

Fare dodgers who become abusive will get away without paying for rail tickets under a bizarre new edict. Ticket collectors have been told "on no account" to challenge passengers refusing to cough up for their journey. The memo to staff working for South West Trains orders them not to apprehend fare dodgers and underlines the word "let them go". Instead, inspectors manning barrier gates are advised to politely point those who won't pay in the direction of ticket offices.

One long-serving SWT worker said, "What's the point of being law abiding when if you get stroppy you can avoid paying? I'm all for protecting staff from risk of injury, but surely the job is to get people to pay and if they don't, then take action forcing them to."

Sandra Smart of SWT sent out the "barrier gate risk assessment" memo. SWT said, "We're not encouraging people to travel without paying but we advise staff to let them go if they use threatening behaviour. We don't want staff endangering their lives. There are people who carry knives these days."

The rail industry estimates fare dodging costs £100million-a-year but SWT, which operates from London's Waterloo, says its recent 4.1% ticket price rise has nothing to do with non-payers. The firm used to form human chains at stations to catch cheats but has cut back on inspectors. The £10 penalty fare is now under review as many passengers find it cheaper than a ticket.