The Ticket Collector

Fares ‘revision’ 18th May.

On the 18th May the new revised fares will be coming into effect on the National Network. Some companies have withdrawn some tickets and replaced them with more expensive tickets.

In January 2008 the overall allowable average increase for regulated fares Peak day and Season Tickets was 4.8%, with variations by flow and ticket type up to a maximum 9.8% increase.

Some Train Companies did not use the full yearly increase and therefore will be increasing the tickets to the yearly maximum this time around.

National Express East Coast (NXEC) will be increasing their already expensive tickets some more in May. We have also received reports (from an unnamed travel centre clerk) that they will charge everyone without an advance ticket a seat reservation charge of £1 for each seat reserved. Is this to stop the season ticket holders reserving seats, or is it to pay for for a new seat reservation printer so they can finally put out reservations 07:20 at Peterborough and late night services out of Kings Cross?

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Blind man refused travel on ScotRail

A blind man was refused travel on the ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper on Tuesday 15th April because his dog might have had fleas, germs or even mites.

Mark McClenaghan said: “Well, basically, I turned up at the station, on time for the train. My blind pass doesn’t allow me through the regular ticket barriers, and so I have to wait for assistance, I have to wait for somebody to physically open the barrier at the side.”

He continued: “By the time I got through, the train was rolling out. I was then aware that there was a sleeper train leaving for Edinburgh, well, for London. I asked if I could board it and they said, ‘No, no dogs allowed.” I said, well, my pass covers me and my dog’s a guide dog and they said absolutely no dogs allowed, through possible risk of the dog passing on fleas or germs or mites, which is just absolutely ridiculous. I mean, she’s a certified guide dog with the Health and Safety Executive.”

“They left me stranded in Aberdeen with no route to Edinburgh. I then spoke to a station manager who was just an idiot. He questioned my disability. He asked if I was genuinely blind. You can tell my eyes look normal but it’s behind my eyes that’s gone. The only option was rather than spend the night in what effectively was a building site at the front of the station, was to jump on a train to Perth which is still about 50 miles to Edinburgh. And I had to get in a taxi costing me 95 quid.”

The official (not for public reading) rules on Guide Dogs on the Caledonian sleeper is as follows

Guide Dogs travelling with a blind or deaf traveller are conveyed free of charge with NO CLEANING CHARGE APPLIED.

TheTicketCollector is wondering why this man was refused travel with his guide dog when it clearly states in the retail handbook that they are conveyed free of charge. TheTicketCollector is hoping that the members of staff who refused this man travel get a Form 1 disciplinary hearing and get retraining in disability awareness.

A spokeswoman for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association Emailed TheTicketCollector saying it was illegal to discriminate against guide dog owners. She said: “It is against the Disability Rights Act to refuse a guide dog access to any public place or public transport. Guide dogs and their owners should be treated the same way as any other user. All guide dogs are given a certificate of health and safety and do not pose any risk.”

We have emailed First Scotrail and a spokesman said: “We are investigating these claims and will respond direct in full to the customer. Our policy is to make services accessible to everyone, to provide all necessary assistance and to enable guide dog owners to travel safely.

“People with guide dogs are welcome on our services and they have Scotlandwide free travel at all times. There are clear guidelines in place and we expect these to be followed at all times.”

Ticket names to change.

As if you were not already confused by the huge number of different ticket names, the powers that be have decided to change the names yet again.

So say goodbye to the SuperSaver, the Saver, the Cheap Day Return, the Standard Day Return and say hello to Super Off-Peak and Anytime.

The new ticket types are as follows.

Severe weather warning - Friday 1st and 2nd February.

Severe weather conditions have been forecast by the Met Office for the UK for Friday 1 and Saturday 2 February. The weather warning is valid from 0001 Friday 1st until 0600 Saturday 2nd February.

The Met Office continues to forecast colder weather to spread southwards across the UK during Friday and at first on Saturday giving heavy snow in places. Areas most at risk include Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland from early on Friday, extending to northern and central England and much of Wales on Friday afternoon, and perhaps into southern areas on Friday evening. Northern areas could see accumulations of 10cm of snow, with up to 20cm on higher ground, and blizzard conditions and snow drifts could occur in strong winds. Southern areas could see accumulations of 2 to 5cm of snow by Saturday morning. Disruption to transport and power networks is likely and the public are advised to take extra care. This warning will be updated by 1200 Friday 1st February unless superseded by Flash warnings.

Euston to Inverness sleeper hits object on track at 80MPH

Services between Carlisle and Inverness/Aberdeen/Fort William are subject to severe delays due to the sleeper hitting an object on the track near Beattock Summit at around 0315 this morning.

The train was moved to Carstairs station at 0940 GMT. First ScotRail said buses were taking passengers to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William.

The train however remained upright throughout this incident and it is thought that there are no injuries reported.

First Group bans hands free mobiles

First Group will ban employees from using mobile phones even with legal hands-free kits, from next year.

FirstGroup’s bus and train drivers are already banned from using them and this ban will extend to any staff on business.

The firm commissioned research which suggests talking behind the wheel can quadruple the risk of accidents.

The Transport Research Laboratory study found hands-free kits provided no safety advantage over illegally holding a phone while driving.

According to the research, a driver on the phone was more distracted than a driver who had drunk as much as the legal alcohol limit.

The risk of a crash was four times higher when the driver was on the phone, it found.

Poor weather conditions in Scotland and England

We have just been informed that their are bad weather conditions expected in the next few hours. Speed restrictions are expected on some costal lines. Also be aware that poor rail conditions will cause some delays.

We are also hearing that delays are expected for tomorrow morning, we will let you know as soon as we recive the information, as this has not yet been confirmed.

GNER cancelations today:
15:30 Kings Cross (London) to Edinburgh due 20:19 - no reason given