1. travel

UK Rail with Rail Europe
Overview
Enjoy Europe
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Travel by Train!
Summary
UK Rail : Recent background, facts and figures
The TOCs network
Selling UK Rail : services and fares structure
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UK Rail :
Recent background, facts and figures
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UK Rail – Recent Background
Until 1992
•
A public system with British Rail, the public, monopolistic rail operator
since 1948
In 1993, promulgation of the Railways Act
•
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Privatisation of British Rail set in motion by John Major's Conservative
government
Re-organisation of the rail network :
 the establishment of a single infrastructure management
company (Railtrack, subsequently Network Rail) in 1994; and
 the letting of 24 regional train operating franchises of varying
durations from 1996 onwards to service the passenger market.
The franchise network was completed in 1997 :
•
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The franchise network was completed in 1997. Franchises are subject
to review and re-award after a defined number of years, which differs
across franchises.
UK Rail – Facts & Figures
The UK rail network is the fastest growing railway in Europe, with passenger
growth in excess of 50% since the franchise network was completed in 1997

15,795 route kilometers
An Extensive and Accessible

2,500 stations
Railway Network


44% of population live within 25 minutes walk of a
station
1.27 billion passengers in 2008/09
Passenger Demand at

3.5 million passengers per day in 2008/09
Post-War Record Levels

20,000 trains per day

50+% growth in journeys since 1997/98


104 million long-distance rail journeys made in 2007/08
vs 25 million domestic air journeys
£5 billion invested in new rolling stock since 1996
Massive Investment &

Average age of fleet less than 15 years
Improvement Programmes

More than £30 billion invested in infrastructure since
1995/96
Passenger rail contributes 0.5% of total UK CO2
emissions (vs 13.4% for road passenger transport)

Low Environmental Impact
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
Average CO2 emissions per passenger mile
significantly lower than those for short-haul air, car and
bus transport
UK Rail Organisation
The Railway Act establish a new regulatory framework to oversee the
activities of and relationships between the various stakeholders
Department for Transport
Passenger
Focus
funding
Also: Passenger Transport Executives,
Welsh Assembly, Transport Scotland,
Transport for London
Franchise
Agreements
TOCs
ATOC
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Office of
Rail
Regulation
Track Access
Agreement
High Level
Output
Statement
Network
Rail
UK Railway Organization
Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) :
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•
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Regulates Network Rail’s stewardship of the network
Licenses the operators of railway assets and approves agreements and
charges for access to the network
Following the enactment of the Railways Act 2005, ORR has also taken
over the safety regulation role of the industry
Network Rail :
•
•
Owns, maintains and develops the railway infrastructure, including its
track, signaling, electrification equipment and structures
(bridges/tunnels/level crossings)
Successor organisation to original infrastructure manager, Railtrack
Train Operating Companies (TOCs) :
•
•
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Manage the provision of day-to-day train services and champion
passengers’ interests
They provide and run train services and the majority of railway stations
ATOC
ATOC
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•
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It stands for “Association of Train Operating Companies”
It’s an unincorporated association owned by its members, set up in
1994 by the Train Operating Companies (TOC) formed during
privatisation of the railways under the Railways Act 1993.
It’s a body which represents around 24 train operating companies that
provide passenger railway services on the privatised British railway
system
As the “official voice of the passenger rail industry”, ATOC
•
•
•
•
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Coordinates of joint activities for its members (TOCs)
Manages & promotes of the National Rail brand
Provides support services to travel agents
In particular, on the international markets ATOC is in charge of the
distribution, promotion and marketing of the TOC Sales.
International Markets Specificities
Until 2009 the only British product line to be sold on the
international market was the BritRail one, distributed by ACP :
•
•
Britrail Passes
BritRail OT (zoned priced)
As of now, the domestic fare range can be sold on international
markets and Rail Europe is one of the 3 accredited distributors
of this range in its markets.
The domestic fare range is the same as the range offered in UK
(with a few exceptions : season tickets and discounted cards)
and offers much more competitive prices.
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The TOCs Network
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Travel by Rail in the UK
15,795 kilometres of track that connect most towns of any size in mainland Britain.
London is the hub of the rail network where there are 14 ‘terminals, from which the principal
lines that link London with other parts of Great Britain run. However, more and more companies
are offering cross-country routes that means travellers can make a variety of journeys without
having to cross London. If travellers do have to change trains in London there are a number of
options for travelling around: these include London Underground services, buses and taxis.
There are also a lot of ‘metro’ systems such as the Newcastle Metro, Glasgow Underground and
Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London, and modern tram systems such as those in Sheffield,
Manchester, Birmingham, Croydon and Nottingham.
Northern Ireland has its own rail system – Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) has four main routes,
radiating from Belfast which serve a number of major cities and towns and some coastal regions.
It provides connections with UK ferry services in Belfast and Larne, with airline services at
Belfast City Airport.
Finally, there is the Eurostar (passenger only) and Eurotunnel (vehicle with passenger) services
through the Channel Tunnel. Eurostar services operate from London St Pancras International
and Ashford International stations to Paris, Lille, Brussels and other destinations.
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UK National Rail Network
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Train Operating Companies
24 train companies that serve the length and breadth of the UK
The TOCs operate under a license
There are divided in 3 categories :
•
9 TOC operate long distance traffic
•
6 TOC operate regional traffic
•
9 TOC operate London & Southeast traffic
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Long Distance Traffic
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Regional Traffic
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London & Southeast Traffic
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Selling UK Rail :
Services and fares structure
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Services
Train Companies run many different types of trains across
the rail network, offering a range of facilities.
All trains are totally non-smoking and offer standard
seating.
Some trains offer additional facilities such as:
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•
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First Class seating
Catering
Seat reservations
1st class Anytime tickets provide access to Lounges.
WiFi and power points for laptops and mobile phone
chargers are available on some trains.
Modern trains are equipped with visual information
displays and automatic announcements are made to keep
you informed throughout your journey.
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Station Facilities
Station facilities in the UK vary but below are a range of
facilities that can be found at many of the major terminals:
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Pay Phone Tourist Information Office
ATM Bureau de Change
Shops Public WiFi
Trolleys Showers
First Class Lounge Waiting Rooms
Baby Changing Wheelchair-accessible Toilets
Toilets Seating Area
Information kiosk Help Point
Customer Information System Web Kiosk
Selling Tickets
The full range of fare will be available with Rail Europe
The main exception to this is “Season Tickets” which are only
available for sale via TOCs, and discounted cards
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Domestic fare range overview
Main benefits
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Local Fare Range, no more zone pricing
More competitive than the former BritRail Open ticket
Pass products still available in BritRail range
Mains limits
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8 travelers max
No groups booking
No Senior or Youth fares, in this case a railcard is required and can only be
purchased locally
No Pass holders fares
Good to know
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From a technical point of view, Euronet will be connected to the TOC’s
distribution system through Evolvi
Evolvi is a technology provider accredited by ATOC
Summary of fares types
In the past
•
Over the years, individual TOCs have introduced their own fares,
or used different names to describe generic fare types...
•
As a result, the fare structure was complex, there were many fares
on offer, which was a source of confusion for rail customers.
The fare simplification took place in 2008, terms and conditions
applicable to each fare type were standardized, all across TOCs.
There are now just 3 types of fare making it simple. All the train
companies now use the same 3 names to only offer the same 3
types of ticket :
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Advance
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Anytime
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Off-Peak
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Advance: buy in advance, save money
ADVANCE = cheap, inflexible...
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What
 Single (one-way) tickets for selected journeys
 Available in First Class and Standard Class
 Best available price for each journey
 Possibility to mix and match Advance fares for a return journey
When /Validity
 Only valid on the date and train shown on the ticket
Availability
 Tickets must be purchased in advance of travel, from 12 weeks to the day before travel.
 Sold in limited numbers, subject to availability
Conditions of use
/service
 First Class Advance tickets do not always grant access to First Class Lounges at stations
Break of journey
 Not possible to start, break and resume, or end the journey at any intermediate station
except to change to/from connecting trains as shown on the ticket(s)
Exchange
 Possibility to change to time or date of travel before departure of the first reserved train
 Origin, destination , Train Company and route must remain the same.
Difference between the price paid and cost of the next suitable fare is payable, plus a £10
administration fee per person, per single ticket for each change to a journey.
 If a cheaper fare is available, the difference will not be refunded.
Refunds
 Non-refundable
Anytime : buy anytime, travel anytime
ANYTIME = fully-flexible...
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What
 Fully flexible tickets, with no time restrictions on when you can travel.
When /Validity
 Anytime Single (One Way) and Anytime Day (Single and Return) tickets must be used on the date
shown on your ticket.
 Anytime Single tickets : valid for travel on any train on the date shown on the ticket.
 Anytime Return tickets : the outward journey must be made within 5 days, and including, of the date
shown on the ticket, and return journeys must be made within one calendar month
Availability
 Possibility to buy Anytime tickets in advance or immediately before travel
 Possibility to get on the train without a reservation.
Conditions of use
/service
 The outward part of an Anytime Return ticket is only valid for travel when accompanied by an unused
return part of the same ticket
 First Class Anytime tickets provide access to First Class Lounges at stations
Break of journey
 Possibility to start, break and resume, or end the journey at any intermediate station along the route
of travel (with conditions)
Exchange
 Possibility to change : no restrictions on when you can travel, as long as the journey is completed
within a calendar month for 'Anytime' tickets and on the date shown on the ticket for 'Anytime Day'
tickets.
 Need to buy a new ticket and apply for a refund on the existing ticket in order to change the date of
the single ticket or outward travel (for a return ticket), the route, or to downgrade from First Class to
Standard class accommodation
Possibility to upgrade the ticket upon payment of an excess fare, if continuing the journey to a further
station, or upgrading to First Class
Refunds
Return unused ticket Rail Europe within 28 days of expiry date, Administration/Cancelation fee will
apply. Refund amount takes into account any use of the ticket and in some circumstances no refund
will be paid
Off-Peak : buy anytime, travel off-peak
OFF-PEAK = flexible with restrictions...
What
 Cheaper tickets for travelling on trains that are less busy. Super Off-Peak is the cheaper Off-Peak
fare with more restrictions, where is more than one Off-Peak fare for a journey.
When /Validity
 Requirement to travel at specific times of day, days of the week or on a specific route.
 Generally, not valid on trains leaving London between 15:00 and 19:00 Monday-Friday, and on trains
leaving before about 10:30 on Monday-Fridays.
 Off-Peak Single (One Way) and Off-Peak Day (Single and Return) tickets must be used on the date
shown on the ticket and until 0230 on the following day.
 Off-Peak Return tickets : outward journeys must be made on the date shown on your ticket and
return journeys must be made within one calendar month.
Availability
 Possibility to buy Off-Peak tickets in advance or immediately before travel.
 Possibility to get on the train without a reservation
Conditions of use
/service
 The outward part of a Off-Peak Day and Super Off-Peak Day Return ticket is only valid for travel
when accompanied by an unused return part of the same ticket.
 First Class Off-Peak tickets may provide access to First Class Lounges at stations.
Break of journey
Exchange
Refunds
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 Possibility to start, break and resume, or end the journey at any intermediate station on the return leg
(but not on the outward leg) along the route of travel, unless the ticket restriction for the journey does
not allow it.
 No need to travel on a specific train, but restrictions on the travel time
 Check at the station before travelling: you may find you don't need to pay an additional fare as long
as your outward travel date remains the same.
 Off-Peak Day and the outward part of Off Peak tickets are only valid on the date shown on the ticket.
Need to cancel and buy a new one if case of changing this date.
 Return unused ticket within 28 days of expiry date, administration/cancelation fee will apply.
 Refund amount takes into account any use of the ticket, in some cases refund won’t be paid.
Retrieving Tickets (1)
All UK Rail tickets are issued as e-tickets / TOD
Travelers will need to go to a station with a TVM (Travel
Vending Machine) also called FastTicket or a ticket
window in a station
There are 900 Stations with TOD, 400 have TVM
The list of stations will be available on the extranet shortly
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Retrieving Tickets (2)
To collect the ticket, it’s recommended to arrive at the
station at least 20 minutes prior to departure
Customers must have a credit/ debit card plus their
confirmation email containing their reference number
(PNR).
The Ticket Vending Machine doesn't debit the card but
matches the name against the name used for the booking
and if the two match, it will print the tickets.
Follow steps on screen of the TVM
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Seat assignation
Where applicable, travellers must travel in the Class and
reserved seat(s) shown on the ticket(s)
Travellers can reserve a seat on many longer distance
services and reservations are recommended on busy
services
When making a reservation, travellers can request the
following: a window seat or an aisle seat
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Tips
If the ‘Route’ also states ‘and Connections’, travel is allowed on
appropriate connecting trains where shown on the ticket(s) or other
valid travel itinerary.
If the route shown on the ticket has a †, the ticket includes the cost of
travelling between certain London Stations (e.g. between Liverpool St
and Paddington) by either London Underground, Docklands Light
Railway (DLR) or First Capital Connect (Thameslink Route) services
appropriate to the route of the journey being made.
Note: Tickets will only be accepted by London Underground and DLR
on the date shown on the ticket (or last day of validity for return portions
of Off-Peak Returns) and until 0429 the following day. - Other than to
change trains, a break of journey at intermediate London Underground
or DLR stations is NOT permitted.- Travel restrictions do not apply on
weekends and public holidays.
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Appendices
Department for Transport
Passenger
Focus
funding
Also: Passenger Transport Executives,
Welsh Assembly, Transport Scotland,
Transport for London
Franchise
Agreements
Explanation of diagram slide 6
TOCs
Office of
Rail
Regulation
High Level
Output
Statement
Track Access
Agreement
Network
Rail
ATOC

Train Operating Companies
(TOCs)
Department for Transport (DfT)
Manage the provision of day-to-day train services and champion passengers’ interests. They provide and run train services and
the majority of railway stations

Sets industry strategy, determines overall funding, awards franchises

Owns, maintains and develops the railway infrastructure, including its track, signalling, electrification equipment and structures
Network Rail
(bridges/tunnels/level crossings). Successor organisation to original infrastructure manager, Railtrack

Regulates Network Rail’s stewardship of the network, licenses the operators of railway assets and approves agreements and
charges for access to the network. Following the enactment of the Railways Act 2005, ORR has also taken over the safety
Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)
regulation role of the industry
Passenger Focus

Independent public body, funded by the DfT, set up to protect the interests of rail passengers

Facilitation, helping members to work together to meet their obligations and to promote the use of passenger services

Assisting members to co-operate on developing products and managing projects that benefit passengers, to promote the
advantages of the rail network, and to share best practice

ATOC
Communicating with government, public bodies, European institutions and other authorities and media, as well as with third
parties, including other transport operators

Providing information through printed and electronic materials, conferences, meetings and seminars on passenger rail industry
issues and collecting, analysing and circulating relevant data
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
and TFL-operated services (with the exception of London Overground) are not members of ATOC

Established as a single point of contact for phone enquiries in 1996
National Rail Enquiries

Web and other self-service channels (PDA, WAP, SMS) now account for 90% of contacts
(NRE)

Principal tools are online Journey Planner, live departure boards and information on service disruption/engineering works
Glossary
Break of journey: Alighting a train and exiting the station at an intermediate stop
Conditions of Carriage: The contract that passengers enter into with Train Operating Companies when they buy a ticket
CoP: Code of Practice for Ticket on Departure transactions
CTR: Customer Transaction Record – a customer’s Ticket on Departure reference
E-ticketing: Rail ticket-less travel
Eurostar: High speed train service directly from London St Pancras International to the centre of European cities such as Paris
and Brussels
Evolvi: The brand name of a ticket issuing system accredited for travel agent use
FastTicket: Is the brand name of a national network of Ticket on Departure (ToD) machines.
Interchange Stations: A station where you can catch a connecting train
Metro: A local public rail transportation system, a subway system
Network: Any railway line, a collective term for the Industry as a whole.
Network Rail: An organisation responsible for running, maintaining and developing Britain’s tracks, signalling
system, rail bridges, tunnels, level crossings, viaducts and 17 key stations
NR: Network Rail (RFF UK)
NRE: National Rail Enquiries
NRS: National Rail Standards (for timetable, reservations…)
TFL: Transport for London
TIS: Ticket issuing systems: accreditation from RSP (Rail Settlement Plan)
TOC: Train Operating Company
TOD: Ticket on Departure. A facility which allows clients to collect pre-paid tickets from Ticket Vending machines and Booking
Offices
TVM: Ticket Vending Machine
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