Birmingham2London

LondonMidland's Great Escape

2012-02-11T09:56:00.001Z

This weekend comes in the middle of LondonMidland's Great Escape promotion - still plenty of vouchers left for the half-term... Last Tuesday, I took advantage of the promotion to travel to London from Birmingham First Class for £25.

The first train out of New Street Monday-Friday on which the promotion is valid is the 0913 (arrives into Euston at 11.27). First surprise of the morning was to find New Street's Victoria Square entrance / exit fully manned for both ticket sales and ticket checks. These checks were followed up regularly on the train, even past Northampton.

The four car unit waiting on the platform wasn't particularly busy, so a table secured without a problem on which to work. Plenty of time to take advantage of the peaceful environment as the train runs local to Northampton before being semi-fast to Euston. Toilets clean and working... The only downside is the arrival into Euston's Platform 17 which must be one of the most depressing arrival / departure environments. Still, overall, a typically efficient LondonMidland working.

I returned on the 1946 - again a four car unit - which was standing forlornly in Platform 17. No barrier checks of course, none on the train, and none, naturally, at Birmingham New Street. Still, the train was relatively quiet and First Class particularly so, especially after Northampton. One of the peculiarities of the LondonMidland timetable is that it runs relatively fast trains out of London (2hrs 3mins) during the off-peak day but doesn't mid-evening. Thus the 1946 is timetabled to take 2hrs 15mins - almost mind-numbingly slow at that time of night.

So, although LondonMidland score highly on the working environment if travelling First Class, Chiltern still win out overall by charging the same price for a walk-on fare (£25 super off-peak return 0955 out, 1937 back), being quicker, offering Free WiFi, and refreshments in the morning... Sorry LM!

Miscellaneous updates: Chiltern Railways / LondonMidland / Virgin Trains

2012-02-04T10:20:00.000Z

Chiltern Railways

Chiltern continue to promote the Mainline service in Birmingham. Last Thursday's Birmingham Post carried a full page advert offering a MacBook Air in a competition... see www.chilternmacbook.co.uk

LondonMidland

LondonMidland's Great Escape starts today and runs until Sunday 19th February. Off-peak day tickets for £15 (£25 First Class) - first train to London is the 0913 from New Street - with NO restrictions for Birmingham passengers returning from London Euston. Will be monitoring the Twittersphere to see what the commuters make of this generosity during half-term!

Virgin Trains

Virgin are upgrading the food and drink offering in their First Class Lounges and are seeking feedback. Alas, the upgrade hadn't reached New Street on Friday so I can not yet give an opinion...

onboard for Winter / Spring '12 has been published and features a range of festivals in Birmingham.

Congratulations to Virgin Trains on two recent awards: Favourite Rail Operator award at the prestigious Globe Travel awards and for topping the performance league among companies operating long-distance rail franchises

Using the train as a travelling office: LondonMidland

2012-02-04T09:58:00.001Z

Last Monday saw me on the 0753 LondonMidland service out of Birmingham New Street bound for London Euston. Knowing about this journey well in time enabled me to take advantage of the £16 advance First Class Fare, and so make use of the table and power points (though of course there isn't WiFi on LondonMidland services).

The 0753 is formed of a 4-car Class 350 set which works in from Crewe and arrives and departs from Platform 1B in New Street. Clearly a train which is used by many regular commuters for stations to Coventry but by not too many First Class travellers (mind you there are only 24 First Class seats, of which 8 are around tables). The key to getting to a table is to remember that the First Class Compartment is in the centre of the train..

Active ticket checks up to Northampton were in evidence but none after that station (nor on exit slightly late at Euston...), and the First Class, though getting busier, remained a comfortable working environment. Pity the trolley service has gone but one can always remember a flask (and, of course, there is the wait at Northampton which would give the chance to use the station facilities). A (Orange) mobile wireless dongle finds coverage for most of the journey too...

Coming back from St Albans Abbey, I joined the 1201 Crewe / Birmingham service at Watford Junction. Announcements here and on board made it clear that the rear four coaches were for New Street. As before, the First Class Advance Fare was £16 though of course being midday the First Class Compartment was virtually empty. Another good run - and as before, the ambient temperature was pleasant and the toilets were clean!

So, despite the lack of WiFi and refreshments, there are times when LondonMidland can be used as a reasonably priced travelling office but generally, Chiltern would be my first choice...

Using the train as a travelling office: Chiltern Railways

2012-02-04T09:23:00.001Z

A trip to the Golden Whistles Awards, sponsored by Modern Railways, on the 27th saw me back on Chiltern's Mainline trains. A peculiarity of the current timetable is the running of a Mainline service as a multi-station stopper in front of a fast Mainline service; examples being the 0659, 0744, and 0825 services from Moor Street all of which have published arrival times into Marylebone 1 minute ahead of the 0733, 0815, and 0855 respectively.

From a 'working on board' point of view, the best of these slow trains is the 0825 from Moor Street which actually starts from Snow Hill at 0822 and benefits from the £50 return fare. So it was that I joined the virtually empty Clubman set at Snow Hill and settled myself at a table ready to work on my laptop. Departure was on time and the power points were working but disaster, no external WiFi connection... Fortunately, Chiltern train managers have a 'can-do' attitude... Steve reset the box whilst waiting in the Dorridge loop and the full (free) WiFi service sprang into life.

Although the train got busier, at no time was it uncomfortably so. With an at-seat trolley service (pity they still don't take credit / debit cards), what more can the working traveller want?

Alas, coming back wasn't quite so pleasant. The 1915 is notorious amongst Chiltern's vocal Twitter following for being overcrowded and this Friday's was no exception. I got a seat by dint of boarding at 1905 but on departure it was full and standing, and it wasn't until Leamington Spa that the last of the standing passengers got a seat. The primary cause of this overcrowding would seem to be the fact that the 1915 is the first super-off peak service out of Marylebone in the evening, along with the stop that it makes at Bicester North. Perhaps Chiltern could adopt a variable ticket restriction which sees Bicester North super off-peak tickets valid from the following 1937 rather than the 1915...

Of course, that would require ticket checking, something which all the TOCs that I use seem to find very difficult especially in the evening. On the Friday in question, the barriers were not in place at Marylebone (they're being upgraded), there was no on-board checking, and of course, there is no 'exit' checking at any Chiltern station en-route... Just as with Virgin and LondonMidland, one suspects a business plan which focuses on travel into London and works on the assumption that travellers out of London will be on return tickets...

Finally, a quick word about the Golden Whistles. Alas, the only whistle that the three TOCs won was Virgin's award for 'managing disruption'. By all accounts, something for which the TOC had plenty of opportunity to display in yesterday's WCML disruption at Bletchley.

LondonMidland / Chiltern updates

2012-01-24T17:42:00.000Z

LondonMidland

The Great Escape is back and booking is open for travel between Saturday 4th and Sunday 19th February. Standard Class travel for a day is £15 (First Class where available £25). A voucher needs to be downloaded from the web site before tickets are purchased at either a station or on the train if boarding at an unstaffed station. Railcard discounts are applied - making the fares £9.90 and £16.50 respectively - and interestingly Family & Friends railcard discount is being applied to First as well as Standard Class tickets (the children travelling for £4 or £2 each).

From Birmingham New Street, the first train available for travel to London Euston (Monday to Friday) is the 0913 (arr Euston 1127). Travelling from Euston, the first train available for travel to Birmingham New Street (Monday to Friday) is the 0946 (arr New Street 1201) - there are NO evening peak restrictions for Birmingham passengers! As ever, there are no restrictions at weekends.

So yet again, LondonMidland offer brilliant fares BUT seem to hope that their long-suffering commuters will put up with the influx. I pity those travelling on the 17.13 / 18.13 / 19.13 fast services out of Euston, especially anyone who has paid has a First Class season ticket...

Chiltern Railways

The Business Zone upgrade vouchers are still being made available in Central Birmingham. Each voucher saves£20 on the 0619 and 0655 from Birmingham Moor Street, and the 1646 and 1807 from London Marylebone.

Virgin Trains out / Chiltern Railways back

2012-01-18T09:18:00.001Z

Last week, I commented on the cost of travel on the Virgin Pendolinos between Birmingham New Street and London Euston, and compared it to the walk-on fares offered by Chiltern. Yesterday, I had an unexpected opportunity to compare and contrast both the fares and what was offered...

For my outward journey, I had booked through RedSpottedHanky.com as I had loyalty points to redeem. Thus my Virgin Advance First Class fare was reduced from £23.50 to a very reasonable £18.50. RSH is the new kid on the online booking block and is certainly making efforts both to differentiate itself from its competitors and be proactive in reaching out to both potential and existing customers. A nice touch is the pre-departure email 'Before the off' which arrives a couple of days prior to travel to remind you to pick up your tickets.

I was booked on the 12.30 departure from New Street. As ever, I took advantage of the First Class lounge beforehand - it definitely makes New Street more pleasant from which to depart. Quiet coach H was busier than usual (though not actually busy!) and as the Reservations had failed to download it was a bit of a free for all in looking for a table on which to work. Still, settled on one whilst being welcomed by the ticket restriction litany - at least yesterday's train manager actually put a bit of life into it.

Power points and WiFi working fine. Coffee offered after Birmingham International and again after Milton Keynes (nice touch) whilst the soft drinks trolley and sandwiches (can recommend the egg brown baguette) came round after Coventry. Slight delay at Watford Junction meant a 3 min late arrival into Euston but overall an excellent travel experience for the price I paid.

Unexpectedly, I returned on the 1807 Chiltern Railways Silver Service from London Marylebone. The walk-on Standard Class return fare is £50 (compared to Virgin's £158 and London Midland's £27) for which you get table seats with power points and free WiFi and access to an Expresso Bar (Virgin charge for WiFi in Standard; LondonMidland don't offer power points, WiFi or refreshments in Standard).

Standard class was relatively busy but a seat was to be had easily enough. Strangely, as I got on, the train was in darkness - the lights had tripped and noone had complained (the crew hadn't noticed, being deep in conversation on the platform...). Perhaps this is a common occurrence for Chiltern regulars???

As regular readers of my blog will know, I love travelling on the former Wrexham & Shropshire stock - proper trains! - especially now that the Class 67's can show what they can do with the former speed restrictions lifted. Actually, they can show what they can do until they leave the Marylebone signalling area... yesterday, although Aynho Junction was taken at speed, the train was delayed at Banbury by a CrossCoiuntry in front, and then at Dorridge by poor signalling looping the train through the platform to pass a LondonMidland service. Don't Network Rail get the concept of the Mainline service?

So a 15 minute late arrival into Snow Hill due to factors outside Chiltern's direct control. Would Virgin stand for being treated in such a way?

LondonMidland / Chiltern Railways - updates

2012-01-16T14:28:00.000Z

LondonMidland's Online Fare Sale has been extended by a week and now runs to Sunday 22nd January. Tickets can be bought for outward journeys up to and including Friday 3rd February. Don't forget that Walk-On fares are included in the Sale, and that you only need to allow a couple of hours for the tickets to be delivered to the relevant station's ticket machine.

Chiltern Railways are doing another push for their Business Zone offering between Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone. This week in Central Birmingham, leaflets are being handed out which contain a voucher for a complimentary upgrade to Business Zone on the 0619 & 0655 departures from Moor Street and the 1646 and 1807 departures from Marylebone. Note that these vouchers are subject to space being available in the Zone...

Who cares wins? Travelling by Virgin Trains

2012-01-12T14:24:00.001Z

This week saw the start of the Virgin Money campaign to promote the benefits of the takeover of Northern Rock. With a headline of 'Who cares wins', the campaign carries the strapline 'Our quest to make banking better starts here'...

So, does sister brand Virgin Trains seek the same ethos at the start of the year which will decide the fate of the WCML franchise? Yesterday, I was on the Virgin Pendolinos between Birmingham New Street and London Euston to seek an indication.

As I was travelling to a long booked meeting in Central London, I had been able to take advantage of the Virgin First Class Seat sale in November to book my journey for £17 each way. At such a price - the cheapest walk-on First Class fare is £92.70 each way - one starts off delighted!

I was booked south on the 10.50 departure but arrived at New Street with an hour to spare so, of course, took advantage of the First Class Lounge. Mid-morning proved to be very quiet as I settled down with my laptop to use the complementary WiFi, enjoy the refreshments, and pick up the papers (FT and Independent).

Quiet Coach H was equally quiet as I took my seat and once more took out my laptop. It would have been even quieter without the litany of ticket restrictions which some Virgin train managers deem to be necessary prior to departure from New Street along with the automated 'security' announcements...

Coffee was served immediately upon departure followed shortly afterwards by the soft drinks trolley, but it was not until after Rugby that the sausage / bacon rolls made an appearance... Ticket check prior to Coventry; arrival on time into Euston. The only downside to the journey was that 2 out of the 3 toilets in First Class were out of action!

My return journey was on the 20.23 from Euston which was ready to board as soon as the 20.03 service had departed. Was pleasantly surprised to find an efficient barrier ticket check in operation - as were some fellow travellers judging by the trade the man with the machine was doing - and even more surprised to see the same two members of staff following up with onboard checks too. A new policy for 2012?

Almost busy in Quiet Coach H but still plenty of room and at least we were spared the announcement sequences. Coffee and drinks offered on departure and light refreshments after Watford Junction (can recommend the egg and cress brown baguette). Everything, including the toilets, worked fine and arrival on time in New Street.

So for a total fare of £34 there is little to suggest to Virgin to improve: after all they do provide a frequent, fast, and relatively comfortable service day-in day-out. However, I would not pay the full walk-on fare for it - Chiltern provide many of the same facilities (albeit on services not as fast and as frequent) at a fraction of the cost (yesterday's trip would have cost £25 walk-on).

If Virgin Trains are adopting the same ethos as Virgin Money, then start with the fare structure!

Travelling 28th December to 2nd January?

2011-12-27T14:11:00.000Z

All three Train Operating Companies are discounting fares heavily this week and over the weekend for travel between Birmingham and London and vice versa. Full details:

Chiltern Railways
£10 Go Further fare available 27th-30th December - voucher needed

LondonMidland
25% off ONLINE bookings from 27th December to 15th January

Virgin Trains
Super Off-peak fares available without restriction 28th December to 2nd January. Can be upgraded onboard to First Class for £10 each individual journey

Chiltern Railways' fares from 2nd January 2012 additional split fare information

2011-12-21T21:22:00.000Z

Now that Chiltern have increased the Anytime Fares to £56 single and £85 return between Birmingham and London via High Wycombe, it is time to revisit the Split Fares scenarios for this route...

Travelling from Birmingham Moor Street on the 0619 or the 0733 Monday to Friday? If you are travelling one way OR you know you can return from London Marylebone before 4pm or after 7pm (or on a Saturday / Sunday) then SPLIT the single fare at Banbury: £50.30 (£16.60 + £33.70); for the return journey buy a Super Off-peak through single for £24.90 (making a total return fare of £75.20). Of course, the Super Off-Peak return from London is only 10p more than the single so, as it lasts a month, you might as well buy it and have an effectively free journey whilst saving almost £10...

Travelling from Birmingham Moor Street on the 0546 or the 0815 Monday to Friday?
If you are travelling one way OR you know you can return from London Marylebone before 4pm or after 7pm (or on a Saturday / Sunday) then SPLIT the single fare at Bicester North: £41.30 (£16.40 + £24.90); for the return journey buy a Super Off-peak through single for £24.90 (making a total return fare of £66.20). Of course, the Super Off-Peak return from London is only 10p more than the single so, as it lasts a month, you might as well buy it and have an effectively free journey whilst saving almost £20...
If you need to return from London Marylebone between 4pm and 7pm Monday to Friday and can use the 1607 or the 1737 or the 1840, then SPLIT the return fare at Bicester North: £72.10 (£22.50 + £49.60) - a saving of almost £13

Chiltern cannot refuse to sell you these tickets and you DO NOT have to get off the train at the intermediate split fare station!

Virgin Train fares 28th Dec to 2nd January

2011-12-21T20:32:00.001Z

UPDATE 27th December - Virgin's website is showing the Super Off-peak fares as being available on ALL Pendolino services between Birmingham and London and vice versa

Virgin Trains are offering a Super Off-peak fare of £22 return between London and Birmingham from Wednesday 28th December to Monday 2nd January. These are WALK-ON fares and are available after 2pm in both directions. Better still, the £10 First Class upgrade is possible on each leg if room is available once you have boarded the train. Thus, a First Class return is possible for £42.... NOTE that railcard reductions are also possible!

So, if travelling in the afternoon / evening both ways, it is cheaper NOT to book an advance fare...

Virgin Trains fares from January 2nd 2012 additional split fare information

2011-12-21T20:05:00.001Z

Both First and Standard Class passengers can save money on walk-on fares between Birmingham and London by splitting fares at key stations en-route. You DO NOT have to get off the train, and Virgin cannot refuse to sell you the appropriate tickets... NOTE that some of these split fares are for Day Return journeys - do check if you want to be away for more than a day.

First Class OFF-PEAK return fares: £184.60 by splitting fare at Birmingham International - £6.60 + £89 + £89

Standard Class PEAK fares:
All services except 0730 from Birmingham New Street: £143 by splitting fare at Coventry - £5 + £138
If you can use the trains which call at Rugby: £130.20 - £7.20 + £123
If you can use the trains which call at Milton Keynes: £113 - £84 + £29

Virgin Trains fares from January 2nd 2012

2011-12-20T20:49:00.001Z

PLEASE NOTE the following is based on my analysis of the Virgin Trains online booking system and may not be entirely accurate. I will update as corrections are notified, BUT, as ever, always check with Virgin Trains before travelling. All fares are Birmingham to London / London to Birmingham and are Virgin Trains specific.

What can you say about Virgin? Unlike their rival TOCs, it appears that Virgin have increased fares across the board...

Virgin Business Returns - now £271 (BUT remember that Railcard holders, except Family & Friends and Two Together, get discounts)
First Anytime Returns - now £254 (BUT remember that Railcard holders, except 16-25, Family & Friends, and Two Together, get discounts). ONLY BUY if you are travelling on the 07.30 from New Street; otherwise split fare at Coventry*.
Standard Anytime Returns: now £158 (BUT remember that Railcard holders, except Two Together, travel at Off-peak fares at anytime)

First Off-peak SINGLE - now £92.70 by splitting fare at Birmingham International £3.70 + £89 (available from New Street 0529, 0550, 1010 onwards; from Euston 0943 to 1443 and 1903 onwards).

Standard Off-peak Return - now £47 (available from New Street 0529, 0550, 1010 onwards; from Euston 0943 to 1443 and 1903 onwards).

* Split fares for First Class (all return). NB Elements of these split fares are for Day Returns only - do check if you are planning to be away for more than a day...

At Coventry: all services except 0730 from New Street - £235.40 (£7.40 + £228)
At Rugby: xx.50 services from New Street / xx.03 services from Euston - £210.80 (£16.80 + £194)
At Milton Keynes: xx.30 services from New Street / xx.43 services from Euston - £192 (£144 + £48)

Virgin cannot refuse to sell you these tickets - you don't need to leave the train...

LondonMidland fares from 2nd January 2012

2011-12-20T18:41:00.002Z

PLEASE NOTE the following is based on my analysis of the LondonMidland online booking system and may not be entirely accurate. I will update as corrections are notified, BUT, as ever, always check with LondonMidland before travelling. All fares are Birmingham to London / London to Birmingham and are LondonMidland specific.

First the good news... the Standard Anytime Return remains at £65 and the First Anytime Return remains at £90

Now for the not so good news... the Standard Day return has been abolished; the Standard Off peak return is increased to £27; and the Standard Super Off-peak is increased to £20.

Restrictions are as before:
from Birmingham New Street: Off-peak returns out 0753 onwards, back 0846 onwards; Super Off-peak returns out 1053 to 1554 and 1953 to 2133, return 1046 to 1554 and 1946 to 2146.
From London Euston: Off-peak returns out 0846 onwards, back 0753 onwards; Super Off-peak returns out 1046 to 1554 and 1946 to 2146, return 1053 to 1554 and 1953 to 2133.

Chiltern Railways' fares from 2nd January 2012

2011-12-20T18:15:00.005Z

PLEASE NOTE the following is based on my analysis of the Chiltern online booking system and may not be entirely accurate. I will update as corrections are notified, BUT, as ever, always check with Chiltern before travelling. All fares are Birmingham to London / London to Birmingham and are Chiltern specific.

The key change from Birmingham Moor Street is that the Anytime Return increases from £75 to £85. As the Anytime Single is £56, we're back to the days of checking if two singles are cheaper (ie by returning on a Super Off-Peak Single £24.90), and / or checking the split fares option... for instance, Banbury looks a likely possibility except for the two Silver train departures

Interestingly, the Business Zone Return Package remains at £115 but is only available on the 0619 / 0655 Silver trains from Moor Street and the 1646 / 1807 return workings from Marylebone.

Of course, the above is academic for those travelling from London Marylebone UNLESS a return from Moor Street is planned before the 0825 departure.

The Off Peak Return stays at £50 (Single £49) and the Super Off-Peak remains £25 (Single £24.90). Restrictions appear to be as before: from Moor Street, Off-peak starts with the 0825 and Super Off-peak with the 0955; from Marylebone, Super Off-peak is available until the 1537 and then restarts with the 1915 departure (in between it is Off-Peak).

OK Virgin you can delight - but can I afford the experience?

2011-12-13T09:21:00.001Z

Regular readers of my blog will know that I have a soft spot for Chiltern and that I can be critical of Virgin. The cause in both cases is my perception of the 'value for money' of each company's offering.

However, yesterday, I can genuinely report on being delighted by Virgin's service to and from London, though, as ever, there is a sting in the tail...

Let's start with the price of the fares. Thanks to Virgin's First Class sale in November, I was able to book the two journeys for £17 each way, using the 11.10 out of Birmingham New Street and the 20.23 return from London Euston.

Moving onto the running... both trains departed and arrived on time, and, of course, the journey time was only 84 minutes out and 82 minutes back.

Now onto ambience / facilities / staff... There is no doubt that travelling First Class on Virgin is SO much better than the Standard Class offering of the company. At New Street - such a depressing station - one can escape to the First Class Lounge before joining the train, whilst at Euston, the equivalent lounge is spacious and comfortable. On board, you can actually see out of the windows in First Class; there are power points, tables, and free WiFi for every passenger, and, of course, complimentary refreshments served to the seat.
Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to be offered a bacon roll on the journey down. On the way back, the sandwich choice was Beef and Horseradish or White Stilton and Chutney... The staff were attentive and friendly.

Even better, two of my regular bugbears with Virgin didn't occur. First, there was not the unnecessary litany of ticket restrictions on departure from New Street. Secondly, there was actually a ticket check on board upon departure from New Street, and a barrier check (!) before departure from Euston.

So Virgin definitely added to the pleasure of my trip yesterday - where's the sting? Well, naturally, it comes in the cost of travelling in such comfort on a walk-up basis... If I had not booked ahead, I would have had to pay £87.50 each way (and that's knowing to split the fare at Birmingham International!) - four times what the standard off-peak return would cost me on a walk-up basis.

Quite honestly Virgin, that is too huge a premium for First Class delights (especially when Chiltern offer much of the above in their Standard Class fares)...

December catch-up

2011-12-06T10:30:00.000Z

Chiltern Railways

The new timetable - starts Sunday December 11th - can be downloaded here Very little has changed BUT note that the 16.50 Silver service will now depart at 16.46
There is an opportunity to Tweet questions on the new timetable to Bevis Thomas, Head of Train Planning from 0830 - 0930 on Thursday 8th December #ttmbev
There is a 'Meet the Managers' session at London Marylelone on Wednesday 14th December from 4pm to 7pm.
On Thursday 15th December, Malcolm Holmes (General Manager Mainline) will be answering Tweets on catering from 5pm to 6pm #ttmmal

LondonMidland

The new timetable - starts Sunday December 11th - can be downloaded here (and a mobile version here) The new timetable will be integrated into the iPhone App on 12th December. No major changes BUT remember that most of the xx.13 off-peak departures from London Euston do the run to Birmingham New Street in 2hours 3mins.
Congratulations to the company on receipt of the Golden Spanner award for the reliability of the Class 350/2 EMUs which run the Birmingham to London services

Virgin Trains

The new timetable - starts Sunday December 11th - can be downloaded here No major changes BUT it does show the planned additional trains over the Olympics / ParaOlympics period.
The new, much improved, version of the iPhone App can be downloaded here Now able to book multiple passengers in one transaction, and to see live running updates.

In praise of Chiltern

2011-12-06T09:58:00.001Z

The Winter 2011 issue of the Chiltern Railways' onboard newsletter notes that in the period 21 August to 12 November the company received 8,254 letters / emails / phone calls of which 17 were 'praise only' (that many? I can hear disgruntled commuters muttering...).

Now I know that Chiltern aren't perfect but for me - a self-employed businessman who wants to work on his journeys and also wants to watch the pennies - the company does get many aspects of its offering right. Take yesterday's journeys as an example.

First, the fares. Travelling super off-peak, my 'turn up and walk-on' return ticket (valid for a month) from Birmingham to London cost £25.

Secondly, comfort and space. For my £25, I travelled south in the de-classified Business Zone on the 10.55 from Moor Street, and returned in a Clubman on the 20.10 from Marylebone. On both journeys, I enjoyed free WiFi and plenty of table space. On the journey south, I had a sausage bap and tea for £3.50. On the journey back, I had access to working power points...

Thirdly, the staff. Undoubtedly, the on train staff are a superb advertisement for Chiltern: friendly, helpful, and visible. They are backed up by Chiltern's wonderful Twitter team...

Of course, Chiltern don't get everything right. There appears to be an ongoing problem with power sockets in the Business Zone tripping out - glad I don't pay the supplement - and, more importantly, the services don't seem to be able to keep to time. Both journeys yesterday lost around 5 minutes for no noticeable reason.

Nevertheless, if you want to work on the journey to / from London and you are watching the pennies, then Chiltern is the way to go!

Chiltern Mainline Standard Business Package

2011-11-30T13:09:00.000Z

Chiltern continue to promote the Business Zone: on the Silver Sets used over the past two days, Feedback forms were available along with a flyer entitled 'Your office, but on the move' which promotes the 'Chiltern Mainline Standard Business Package' for £115 return...

According to the flyer, the package includes tube travel along with free Wi-Fi, at-seat catering service, complimentary hot drinks, and newspapers.It seems to suggest that the services available are the 0619 / 0655 / 1555 from Birmingham and the 0837 / 1650 / 1807 from Marylebone and gives the web address as www.chilternrailways.co.uk/mainline

Going to this address will give no further details nor will it indicate how to book the package. If you're really persistent, you can find the package as a fare on the booking system BUT tucked away in the more expensive fares sections and available ONLY on the 0619 / 0650 and 1650 / 1807 services (as of course the 0837 & 1555 require a £10 not £20 supplement). To be fair, the seat reservations are then made for you (though from my experience I don't see there being a problem getting a seat...).

Finally, the ghost of the Wrexham & Shropshire lives on as the fares system describes the package as WSMR Family 1st - and there's me thinking that Mainline was the brand!

A double dose of Chiltern... day 2

2011-11-30T12:38:00.001Z

Declaration of interest: this second of the two set of journeys covered in these postings was courtesy of a Chiltern Railways Free Travel Pass (food, however, was purchased by me).

On Tuesday, I was surprised to find the 10.55 service from Moor Street in reverse formation: ie loco at the back and the Business Zone carriage at the London end. No-one seemed to know why... Of course, this made the carriage even quieter but at least there was a bustle in the Expresso Bar which indicated the arrival of staff. Even better, an ex-Wrexham & Shropshire staff member was rustling up bacon sandwiches which were being sold at £3.50 including tea. Now there's a delight!

Less of a delight was the discovery that the power points in the Business Zone were not working. The on-board crew tried everything they could to rectify the situation but had to admit defeat - one for the fault book. Still Wi-Fi was working and there were copies of the Financial Times available so I settled back to enjoy my bacon roll, use laptop until the battery ran down, and then simply enjoy the ride.

As I mentioned in the previous post, departure was delayed due to a LondonMidland train getting priority but at least the loss of time was not accentuated further down the line so arrival into Marylebone was only a few minutes late. Even still, one has to wonder when Chiltern will persuade the Network Rail signallers that they are actually handling Express trains once more from Moor Street as I'm sure that Virgin's Pendolinos are treated with more respect...

Returning from London, I was expecting to pay my supplement to use the Business Zone once more on the 1807. Alas, it was the same set as worked the 10.55 and the power point issue had not been resolved. So I left the other three people in the Zone in peace and went in search of a standard table with power.

The 1807 is relatively busy in Standard but by no means crowded so finding a table further along the train proved not to be a problem. As power and WiFi was available, and the seats are the comfortable ex-W&S, one has to wonder again what I would have gained for my £20. Well there is the free tea served by a friendly host (Ex-W&S), it is quieter, and there is more room but overall I still can't see the package offering true value.

Good job I had the bacon roll on the way down as there was no hot food available on the 1807 - the paninis hadn't turned up! Still, the tea is reasonable value at £1.60.

Departure was slightly late due to earlier problems and of course we immediately ran into the pathing problems as we caught up delayed locals at Gerards Cross and High Wycombe. So despite taking Anyho Junction at line speed (first time I had experienced this benefit of Evergreen 3), we failed to keep to time to Warwick Parkway, and then lost further time post Solihull trying to get into Moor Street and Snow Hill. Things were so bad that the 1810 Stourbridge Junction service caught us up at Snow Hill despite supposedly being timed to arrive 17 minutes after us.

So Chiltern, you provide a good service from Birmingham to London at very competitive fares with stock which is a pleasure to use. BUT coming back from London is not such a happy story. Can you try harder please.

A double dose of Chiltern... day 1

2011-11-30T12:10:00.001Z

Two days of journeys to London Monday / Tuesday with timings that suited the use of my favourite train, the 10.55 Mainline Silver service from Birmingham Moor Street to London Marylebone.

One of the nice things about the Mainline timetable is that the xx.55 departures from Moor Street are formed of the xx.17 arrivals from Marylebone which means that the train is waiting to be boarded for up to half-an-hour before departure. So it was that I rolled up at 10.40 on Monday, bought my £25 Super Off-Peak return (what a bargain), and boarded the Business Zone of the Silver Set waiting in Platform 4.

As ever all was quiet in this carriage as most passengers passed by in search of 'standard' accommodation. However, it seemed too quiet with no sign of activity in the Expresso bar. The Train Manager didn't know if it was to be staffed so I patronised the excellent Expresso cabin before settling into my seat and getting out the laptop (Memo to Chiltern: do get your buffet car staff on board earlier!).

There is no doubt that the Business Zone is an excellent environment in which to work - power and wifi on tap and plenty of space - and is even better when free as on the 10.55 and you're not in any rush... and to be quite honest, currently the Mainline timetable is not delivering in terms of 'sharp' timing. Some of this is not Chiltern's fault - on both Monday and Tuesday, LondonMidland late running locals were allowed out in front of the 10.55 departure which naturally led to delays en-route and late arrivals into Marylebone - and some of it is (both my return journeys suffered from poor pathing!)

So let's move onto the so-called Mainline service that is the 20.37 departure from Marylebone... On Monday, this was formed of a three-car 165 set. There is no way that this set of commuter carriages, running to appalling semi-fast timings (122 minutes), can be described as Mainline and it was an insult for the departure board to suggest that it was. No tables, no wifi, no power points, no 100mph running... but at least it did eventually arrive into Moor Street - late! Chiltern, shame on you.

Virgin Atlantic do delight... at a price

2011-11-23T11:13:00.001Z

Travelling from Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic? Then make sure that your agent - should you be able to afford it - takes advantage of the Upper Class fare offer in conjunction with Virgin Trains. To quote:

Book selected Upper Class fares from London to anywhere in the world,
and Virgin Atlantic will pick up the tab for a single or return First Class ticket anywhere on the Virgin Trains network to London Euston absolutely free.
Then, when your passengers arrive in London, they’ll pick them up in a
complimentary chauffeur driven car and whizz them to Heathrow,
where they’ll go from their car to the
Clubhouse in just 10 minutes, thanks to the Upper Class Wing.
Once onboard, your passengers will enjoy superb, friendly service, excellent food and drink, and one of the longest fully flat beds in business class.

Now that does sound like true delight - wonder what the experience for the rest of us in like?

Virgin Trains First Class Seat Sale

2011-11-23T11:03:00.000Z

Virgin Trains are currently running a First Class Seat Sale, offering 50,000 tickets for the period Saturday 10th December 2011 to Sunday 22nd January 2012 if booked by Tuesday 29th November. Tickets between Birmingham and London (and vice-versa) are priced at £17

Based on three journeys that I need to make in this period, it would appear that the fares are available on trains roughly around the Super Off-Peak period that Virgin sometimes employs ie from around 11am to London from Birmingham (gaps at the evening peak), and at 6.03, then from around 9.30am to 3pm and then after 8pm back from Euston (Monday to Friday).

Undoubtedly the best value fares from Birmingham are on the 10.50, 11.10, 18.50, and 19.10 services from New Street when a Hot Snack is included. From London, there is availability on the 6.03 and 9.43 which gives breakfast, and on the 3 trains between 10am and 11am which include hot snacks.

Buying the tickets online is slightly fiddly as the link from the Sale Page takes you to Virgin's Best Value Fare Finder. Here you can skip directly to the main booking engine which is far easier to use - the fares are shown as First Class Promo when available. Don't forget these are SINGLE fares so book both ways!

Having not been delighted by Virgin's Standard Class offering recently, I look forward to seeing if First Class can delight!

Rail: Value for Money (Investment, Efficiency and Reform)

2011-11-18T17:35:00.000Z

No, not the magazine, but an event organised by Public Service Events at the Barbican yesterday which I attended as it featured Sir Roy McNulty, Anna Walker (ORR), and Tom Smith (ATOC) as key speakers - but not politicians, the DfT, or Network Rail...

A flavour of the event as it unfolded can be had from the tweets at #rail11 and from the presentations

First up, Sir Roy McNulty who gave what presumably is his standard spiel about his eponymous Report His keys points were the existence of the 'efficiency' gap (30%?) which is 'not a cause for despair'; Rebalancing the roles of Government and Industry; and trusting the Rail Delivery Group to deliver... Naturally he denied that he had been 'nobbled' by ministers to take out anything contentious about privatisation.

The key slide from his presentation is Slide 28 - How will we know it is happening? - which takes me neatly onto Anna Walker, Chair, Office of Rail Regulation. Her surprisingly combative presentation focussed on the timetable for PR13 and the need to save £1 billion + per annum by setting the right 'incentive framework'... Interestingly, she kept referring to the need for a 'Greater transparency of information' from Network Rail and the TOCs. In the meantime, she promises three consultation documents:
* ORR’s role in relation to TOCS
* Fares and ticketing
* Localism
Wish her luck...

Perhaps the best presentation of the morning came from Douglas McCormick, MD Rail of the main sponsors Atkins. Basically he warned that companies such as his can deliver but NOT if they are seen as the easy touch in the drive to reduce costs.

After Masterclasses and lunch, Tom Smith of ATOC gave us his presentation Alas, he failed to rise to the bait dangled by Chair Paul Clifton in his introduction to the afternoon session and stuck doggedly to his brief... which was, of course, to say that Privatisation was a great success story / everything was fine when the SRA had been in charge before the Government decided it knew better / private investors were hungry to invest - they just needed to know the long-term prognosis for the industry etc etc.

His most interesting slide (6) was entitled The Initial Industry Plan response - Costs, revenue and subsidy requirement, England & Wales to 2019 which seems to show how the industry is going to drive down the subsidy requirement to £1 billion at 2011/2012 prices by 2019...

Unfortunately he couldn't stay for the Panel session, leaving it to Edward Welsh (his Director of Corporate Affairs) to continue the positive spin in the face of some doubting questioners.

Overall, a mixed bag of a day, the value of which partly diminished due to the absence of key players in the process. One final point. Innovation (along with efficiency and transparency) seemed to be a favourite word of the speakers. Funnily enough, at an evening event which moved onto, innovation was also much to the fore in the speeches. However, here, it was innovation as practised by the late Steve Jobs at Apple: ranging widely for inspiration and refusing to be siloed.

Is there anyone in the UK rail industry who can fill the Steve Jobs role and lead the industry to providing real value for money through innovative thinking? One can only hope so...

Virgin Miscellany

2011-11-18T16:41:00.000Z

Virgin Trains: First Class Seat Sale - booking opens next Wednesday (23rd) and lasts until the 29th (or until the 50,000 seats are sold). Travel dates are between Saturday 10th December 2011 and Sunday 22nd January 2012. Birmingham-London travel will cost £17 each way - child discounts available but NOT railcard discounts.

Virgin Trains: First Class refreshments - breakfast on the 23rd December will be the last First Class meal served before the Christmas break. Full First Class Meal service will resume on Tuesday 3rd January 2012.

Virgin Trains: railcard ticket validity - Barry Doe in Rail issues 681 and 683 has explained the changes that Virgin have introduced on Railcard off-peak validity on Peak period trains. The off-peak price availability remains BUT the tickets must only be for the Virgin part of the journey. So for example, a railcard holder can still travel from Euston to Wolverhampton at peak times for an off-peak fare but must re-book from Wolverhampton if s/he wants to travel say to Shrewsbury

Also from Rail issue 683 is a news piece explaining the 36 week extension to the Virgin WCML franchise...