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Question: 105

It seems that fares seem to rise above RPI every year, and Off Peak tickets are getting even more restricted, yet we never see any improvement to services.

We still have trains exactly the same length running to exactly the same timetable that we did 5 years ago.

Where exactly is all this extra money going?

Posted 26/08/2010 11:50:30

Answer:

The Government determine both the terms under which rail franchises are awarded and the rules on regulating rail fares. Since 2004, regulated fares (generally season tickets and peak walk-up tickets) have risen by an average 1% above inflation. It is Government policy to reduce the burden on taxpayers by increasing the proportion of operating costs that come from the fare-paying customer. Prior to 2004, fares rose by 1% less than inflation for six years.

In answer to your second point, we have been investing in improvements to customer facilities at stations, including a new passenger shelter at your local station. In the recent past, we have replaced our entire ticket vending machine fleet. We have also improved train service levels on certain routes; for instance, in December 2009 we introduced an hourly service on our West of England route (Exeter St David's - London Waterloo).   

 

Question: 103

Why do you insist on only running 4 car trains on the Alton-Waterloo service off-peak and at weekends, even when trains are busy with shoppers and day-trippers heading to London?

People often have to stand north of Woking, or force themselves into the middle seat of a bay of 3.
This is even worse when additional stops are made at Esher for racegoers heading to Sandown Park.
Surely there is enough spare stock available to make sure off-peak and weekend passengers can travel in comfort.

Posted 26/08/2010 11:45:33

Answer:

The difficulty with weekend services is that it is often difficult to predict the number of passengers that will be travelling on our services.

Generally, 4-car services are sufficient, and we do strengthen services for particular special events and during the Christmas period. 

To strengthen services often means having to operate 8-cars all day long which is wasteful and uneconomical.     

Question: 102

The 0040 Woking to Alton service seems to be replaced with a bus between Farnham and Alton almost as often as it runs as a train.

Is there really that much engineering work going on this section of line? Or is it just a way to save money by not having to send the train and crew down to Alton and back to Farnham Depot?

Posted 26/08/2010 11:42:18

Answer:

It is true that this service has been curtailed at Farnham more than usual in the last few weeks, but this has not been done to save money on drivers and guard wages. 

Network Rail have recently completed two significant pieces of infrastructure work: a re-railing job and a bridge renewal. This has meant that they have needed a higher number of engineering "possessions" of the Alton branch in recent weeks, both at night and at weekends. 

The 0040 Woking to Alton service has terminated at Farnham so that the train can be worked directly into the depot at Farnham, leaving an adequate amount of time during the night for the infrastructure engineers to take possession of the line and carry out their work, thus minimising the number of possessions required. 

With the completion of these works, the 0040 Woking service should be able to operate with its normal level of reliability.

Question: 101

Hello, I really want to become driver for South West Trains and I frequently check your job pages. I'm currently a senior designer working for a global company but I want a new career and a new challenge and something I'm passionate about.

When are you likely to start recruiting for new drivers especially in the Guildford area and what is the best way to get considered by South West Trains?

Posted 26/08/2010 14:25:02

Answer:

In all circumstances the best way to check on driver vacancies is to contact our recruitment department via the website, who will advise on the latest situation.

May I also suggest that South West Trains has other vacancies which maybe of interest to you and if successful would give you the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the business before deciding which area of the railway you would like to be considered for.  

  

Question: 100

The new 'Quiet Zone' labels on the outside of the train doors are much appreciated.

However, with the removal of the blue stickers from the windows, it is now harder tor people to know that it's a quiet zone once inside the train.

The new stickers next to the windows are not in an obvious place and are hard to spot.

Would it not be possible to have obvious labels both outside and inside (perhaps on the backs of airline seats and below the window in facing bays).

Posted 26/08/2010 11:37:55

Answer:

At present, we are reviewing the location of quite zone labels, and this includes the size and fitting to the interconnecting doors between the coaches.

We have to get the balance right on the number of labels that we place on our trains, and currently we are not considering fitting them to the seat backs due to the high number required per fleet.

Question: 97

Please get rid of the quiet carriages. They were a good idea except (a) you always get people who ignore them and use their phones, which starts arguments with nobody to police the system and (b) at each station 6 announcements are made which take 10 minutes, so its not quiet anyway (welcome onboard the south west trains..., this train is calling at...., if you see anything suspicious..., you must have a valid ticket to travel...., hello this is the conductor and I will be passing..., hello this is the refreshment girl...., etc etc)

Posted by Jaffa Brown 26/08/2010 09:01:53

Answer:

South West Trains has a mandatory obligation to make nearly all of the announcements that you hear on our services.

On the remainder of the announcements, we feel that these are of use to passengers such as the London Underground updates. We are working with Passenger Focus on identifying those that can be removed.

On the issue of mobile phone usage, we have found that although not observed 100%, these carriages are generally quieter. Guards do check on these carriages and where appropriate will ask the passenger concerned to move to the vestibule.

We therefore have no plans to remove these carriages, as they are still an overall benefit to the passenger

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