Is third class rail travel now sneaking back?
Last November, the Department for Transport confirmed that their rail franchising agreement (the document that they use to beat companies like First Great Western with) allows bidders to introduce a third passenger class on our trains.
Not many of us are familiar with third-class rail travel, but it existed until 1956.
Rather shockingly, until 1844, there were no covered rail carriages for third-class rail passengers. Before then, they were exposed to freezing temperatures, rain and wind.
Thankfully, third-class rail travel has been consigned to history, but perhaps it is sneaking back in another form.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Sunday, May 26 2013
Using trains to get to work in the mornings, and home again in the evenings, it is sometimes difficult to get a seat. When there are no seats, we have to stand.
We have first-class, we have standard-class, and then we have passengers who have paid for a ticket and who have to stand for their train journey. Is this the new third-class?
Unfortunately, we are probably going to be stuck with overcrowded trains for some time to come.
Not good, but we need to be realistic.
So here's an idea. How about giving discounts for passengers who cannot find a seat?
I am pretty sure that passengers who have to stand are not counted in the train companies' revenue forecasts for the year ahead (they are of course included in their sales figures).
Assuming that train companies do not include standing passengers in their revenue forecasts (as they cannot predict the future), this would mean these passengers are an additional revenue.
The train companies can surely only make their revenue forecasts for the year ahead on the numbers of seats that are filled.
A well-earned discount for passengers who cannot find a seat. How about it?
Brook Whelan Widcombe Bath
6 Comments
by MoeXXX
Wednesday, March 20 2013, 11:19PM
“Agree with the sentiment, but offering discounts after-the-fact (compensation, basically) isn't realistic. How could anyone prove they couldn't find a seat?
Also, the assertion that standing passengers are not included in revenue forecasts is a bit spurious. Why wouldn't they be?
Tinkering around the edges again. Leave everything to market fores, and of course we end up being crammed in to the maximum density permitted by law - that's exactly how the market is supposed to work. The whole thing needs to be taken back under public control.”
by rogerh3
Friday, March 15 2013, 10:00AM
“Interestingly the 3rd Class that existed until the 1950s was really 2nd Class in all but name. 2nd Class was largely abolished in the 1870s but 3rd Class remained because it was a requirement of the 1844 Railway Regulation Act.
http://tinyurl.com/bshvs6e”
by rogerh3
Friday, March 15 2013, 9:54AM
“The public want railways renationalised – what are we waiting for?"
"Is there anything that better highlights the democratic deficit in Britain – and the gap between the political elite and ordinary people – than the issue of renationalisation of the railways?"
http://tinyurl.com/8q9gvjo”
by BrookWhelan
Thursday, March 14 2013, 8:38PM
“The Office of Rail Regulation have just today published figures which show that in the final three months of last year, revenue from rail passengers increased to a record £1.96 billion. The figures also show another increase in the number of passengers.
In other words, the profitability of most train routes is increasing significantly, and this strengthens the case for giving a small discount to passengers who cannot find a seat.”
by SarahBell
Thursday, March 14 2013, 8:16PM
“Brook's right - the train companies should give discounts. They make too much money, and don't care about the passengers. Not sure if the train companies would ever agree to this though!”
by MadAsHeck
Thursday, March 14 2013, 10:48AM
“Unfortunately in my long battle with First Great Western and its predecessors Wessex Trains and Wales and West I now know that a ticket does not mean that you have purchased the right to sit on a seat. Furthermore there is no legal limit as to how many people First Great Western can cram onto a carriage. However, if we were classed as animals it would be illegal to jam so many of us together on one train as it would be inhumane. Hence we have adopted the name "Cattle Class", not third class, as animals are treated better than humans and if we were seen to be animals we might get treated humanely. Just don't hold your breath.”