HearFromYourMP

Comments

• Posted by Francis Irving, 15:31, Wed 9 August 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Yes, I find the new restrictions very annoying. It is not just the cost. I also have to try to predict when I'm coming back, which often depends on who I can meet in London after my main appointment.

  Worse, there is at least one nasty trick you can use to get round the restriction. For example, you can buy a day return from Kings Cross to Cambridge, and use the return part before the outgoing. That that is possible but hidden prevents buying of tickets at the machines, would make my expenses claims more complex than using a travelcard, and is simply unfair.

  Put more carriages in the trains, or more trains on the track. The train pricing system needs simplifying, not making more complicated.

• Posted by Eleanor Scott, 15:34, Wed 9 August 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #

  As a regular commuter, I have sympathy with First Capital Connect's policy of restricting use of the trains from London to King's Cross during the peak period in the evening. The 18:15, which I usually travel home on, and which used to be packed like a sardine tin, is somewhat less crowded than it used to be as a result of the restriction. However, when the train leaves Kings Cross, there are still quite a lot of people standing, and it's still necessary to arrive 20 minutes before the train leaves in order to be sure of a seat. It would obviously be much better for everyone if another four carriages could be added to the train and the travel restrictions removed. I have heard that longer trains are impossible because there isn't sufficient power, and that upgrading the power supply is unrealistic/too expensive for some reason. Is this true? Can nothing be done about it?

• Posted by James Aylett, 15:38, Wed 9 August 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #

  I've noticed that peak time trains into London in the morning have become less crowded, which is something that I don't remember happening last year. It seems to have happened since the overall price hike on season tickets.

  Peak services back in the evening I've been able to get a seat on reliably in the last couple of months, which again wasn't happening before.

  So: it does seem to be reducing overcrowding. I agree that reducing the number of rail users isn't necessarily the right solution (although it depends where they're going; are they just not travelling, or are they driving, for instance?). Are there power consumption (and hence pollution) effects of running less crowded services?

• Posted by Chris Lightfoot, 16:37, Wed 9 August 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #

  My understanding is that the line between Cambridge and King's Cross can't really support more trains, because the section south of Stevenage is already at capacity. It turns out that the maximum frequency of high-speed trains you can support on a railway is fairly small (because the stopping distance of a train is so large). So more trains probably aren't an option, on that line at least. Making the trains longer would be, assuming there's space for them at the stations and First have enough spare carriages. I hadn't heard the statement about power, and they seem to run a mixture of four- and eight-carriage trains throughout the day, so I'm not sure it's quite that simple.

  There are of course the trains to Liverpool Street; it's just a pity they're so slow.

  As Francis points out above, you can get a return from London to Cambridge, and the ticket office (which is run by "One Railway", not by First) will sell you one of these. You can't get a Travelcard by this means, though.

  More generally, I think the bargain that we're supposed to be being offered is that fares go up to pay for improvements to the railway which will make it more efficient, the trains less crowded, etc. But I don't think that's actually going to happen; to improve matters they need to build more tracks at Welwyn Garden City (there are only two, whereas almost the whole of the rest of the line is four-track), and that project was cancelled a couple of years ago.

  The fare increases result in increased revenue for First, not National Rail, and I don't believe that First are lobbying for the kind of infrastructure investment that's needed. Increasing fares will certainly reduce usage, but there's more to public transport strategy than just managing demand!

• Posted by Andrew Watson, 09:00, Thu 10 August 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #

  I'm in the same situation as Francis Irving; I go to London occasionally, sometimes leaving late enough in the morning to qualify for a Cheap Day Return ticket. However, I rarely know exactly when I'll be returning, so under the new system I'd find it hard to predict whether I need a Standard Return or not. Will it be possible to pay the difference to the ticket collector on the train if I buy a Cheap Day Return but return during the 1630 to 1901 window? Otherwise, I suppose I could kick my heels in London and catch the first train back after the 1901 cutoff time - but this won't improve this customer's satisfaction with the railways!

• Posted by Alice Douglas, 10:56, Fri 11 August 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Thanks very much for the responses to this message. Given your responses, and those we've had through on email, its clearly a subject causing some concern in Cambridge.

  David will be taking a note of all your comments and will raise them when he meets with Elaine Holt next Thursday. He'll then write back and fill you in the outcome of the meeting.

  Thanks again for your comments.

  Alice Douglas, Office of David Howarth MP

• Posted by Alice Douglas, 14:56, Fri 25 August 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Last week David met with Elaine Holt, Managing Director of First Capital Connect, to discuss the ticket restrictions between London King's Cross and Cambridge in the afternoon peak. He is away for the next couple of weeks and so has asked me to update you on the outcome of the meeting.

  Ms Holt was unable to say at the moment whether the new ticket restrictions had been successful in reducing overcrowding on the afternoon peak trains but she was expecting some more conclusive data in September. David will be asking to look through this data when it is available but he is still of the opinion that what we need is an increase in capacity not demand management.

  Much of the meeting focused on how to increase capacity on the London to Cambridge route. David discovered that First Capital Connect is actively investigating increasing the number of carriages on Cambridge trains from 8 to 12. This would involve lengthening the platforms at several of the intermediate stations which First Capital Connect is willing to pay for. The difficulty with this option is the limited electricity supply to the rail network in the area. Longer trains require more electricity and so at current power levels the longer trains would need to be powered by diesel. This isn’t ideal as diesel has its own problems such as causing greater environmental damage and not offering the same journey times as electric trains. David now plans to talk to Network Rail and to the electricity companies to see if a solution to this problem can be found. It is very important that the train company takes

  A second option to increase capacity was also discussed. Apparently it would be possible for First Capital Connect to increase the number of trains, especially at peak times, without requiring a new signalling system. The company would need to negotiate with other rail companies in order for this to work as it could require companies such as GNER to alter their timetable to accommodate extra First Capital Connect trains.

  A final option suggestion to introduce more crowded seating options within the trains. David stressed his dislike for this option and instead offered his help in speaking to the Department of Transport which will have to give its approval for either of the first two options.

  David also tried to raise many of the other issues brought up in your comments. On the topic of tickets the company seems to be considering the idea of introducing carnet (a book of 10 reduced price tickets) tickets to Cambridge. This would seem to be dealing with the issue of those of travel to London regularly but not daily and so for whom a season ticket is not economically viable. However, to do this they would require ticket barriers at Cambridge station. Elaine Holt suggested that barriers could be arriving in Cambridge as early as this autumn. David would appreciate your thoughts on this development.

  Another issue that was raised was that of carrying bikes on trains. David managed to convince Ms Holt that in this respect Cambridge was different from most other places and that many people cycle to work. She promised to bear this consideration in mind but she made no promises about future policies on this matter. This is clearly something to return to in the future.

  On the matter of the end of the onboard refreshment service, there are no plans to reinstate the service as it had proved commercially unviable and was not competing with the services on the platforms.

  Finally David raised the problem of poor information on emergency timetables and service changes. Ms Holt was unable to find a reason for this but was aware of the problem and will be looking into how the service can be improved in this respect. One idea mentioned was a text message service to update passengers on timetable changes, as is implemented in other areas. This investigation seemed to be in the early stages.

  Overall there were some promising signs as the company seemed to be considering real improvements to capacity. However progress so far has been slow. David will be keeping up the pressure on First Capital Connect to ensure that we get the much need improvements to the service.

  Best wishes

  Alice Douglas Office of David Howarth MP

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