Great Western Coffee Shop

Stagecoach (http://www.stagecoach.com/media/news-releases/2015/2015-03-25.aspx?hootPostID=3da8d59c1401f4e75408a366ae29d773) have announced....


New ^50 million package of benefits for South West Trains passengers

25 Mar 2015
Millions of pounds of enhancements announced as part of new agreement with the Department for Transport
Introduction of smart ticketing across the network and 170 new easy-to-use ticket machines
More than 57,000 additional seats and 73 new services
1,400 additional parking spaces at stations across the network

Rail passengers on South West Trains, the UK's busiest commuter network, will benefit from a ^50 million package of improvements under an amendment to the current South West Trains franchise agreement between Stagecoach Group and the Department for Transport.

The agreement means millions of pounds worth of passenger improvement initiatives will be introduced between now and February 2017. Passengers will not have to wait for a new franchise to benefit from these initiatives and taxpayers will gain better value from public investment.

Planned improvements to include:

More space for passengers
More than 57,000 additional seats will be created through the introduction of 73 new evening and weekend services on suburban and mainline routes and through additional seating on existing services
Additional 1,400 parking spaces will be created at up to eight of some of the busiest car parks across the network by the end of 2017.  The first station to benefit will be Andover which will be completed by early January 2016

Improved technology and better ticketing
New website and mobile app will make buying the best value tickets easier
A new online booking system and an expansion of our smart ticketing programme will allow joined up journeys with London's bus and Tube network.  Working closely with Transport for London (TfL) South West Trains is testing its Smart Card on the Oyster infrastructure. Some 15,000 smart cards have been issued to staff and their families for testing and a customer pilot is planned for this autumn when passengers renewing their annual season tickets on the Portsmouth direct line (travelling from any station between Rowlands Castle and Farncombe inclusive to London Terminals or London Travel Card Zone) will be contacted and offered the opportunity to be part of a customer smart ticketing pilot for travel into and around London

Enhanced customer service
New Customer and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy including introduction of mystery shoppers, online customer service satisfaction surveys, further investment in community engagement schemes and NVQ qualifications in customer service for employees
Some 170 new easy-to-use ticket machines, including 90 with a facility for customers to ask for help via a video link, will help passengers get the best value fare for their journey
More visible staff on station concourses to help passengers face to face
More fare promotions and marketing campaigns will enable passengers to get access to the best value fares available

Chief Executive of the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, Tim Shoveller said, ^These exciting changes will deliver the biggest package of customer focused benefits for years. As well as the expansion of our smart ticketing scheme we are also introducing more staff to our concourses so that they are able to help passengers, face to face. 

^We^re also creating hundreds of new parking spaces across the network and introducing more than 57,000 additional seats and 73 new services on suburban and mainline routes across the network.^

Rail Minister Claire Perry said: ^As we spend record amounts on modernising our railways as part of our long term economic plan, our franchising programme is also unlocking considerable investment from train operators.

^This package of improvements from South West Trains, with its strong focus on customer service, is very welcome and will make a huge difference to passengers on the many busy routes served by this franchise.^

These new benefits follow a number of enhancements already underway to deliver a better service to South West Trains passengers. These include:
the roll-out of a ^65m investment in 108 refurbished train carriages for the network
plans for a ^210m fleet of 30 new five-carriage trains
collectively, these two projects will deliver a total peak-time capacity increase of around 30% by 2018
major infrastructure improvements at London Waterloo to accommodate the new trains
bringing the remaining four platforms of the former Waterloo International Terminal back into full use and then extending London Waterloo Platforms 1-4 to accommodate longer 10-carriage trains
a ^7m upgrade to the railway through Wimbledon, improving reliability and punctuality for hundreds of thousands of passengers

The current South West Trains franchise will end in February 2017.  The DfT and South West Trains are seeking to negotiate an extension to April 2019 of South West Trains operation of the franchise.

Stagecoach has operated the South West Trains franchise since 1996, doubling the number of passengers using its services and driving forward a number of innovations to help customers. It has delivered a more joined up railway, improving integration between track and trains.

In 2006, South West Trains became the first train operator in the UK to launch a fully integrated operational control centre. It brought train operating staff and Network Rail employees responsible for track and signalling together under one roof. Since 2012, a single management team has been responsible for managing both track and trains under the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, with the ground-breaking partnership extended in April 2014.

South West Trains operates around 1,600 trains a day on a network in the South and South West of England, serving more than 200 stations and employing around 4,500 people. The network includes routes through Hampshire, Surrey, Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Devon, Somerset, and Greater London, serving a mixture of commuters and longer-distance travellers.

ENDS

For further information, please contact South West Trains on 01738 442111. Out of office hours: An on-call service operates for urgent media enquiries out of hours. To access this service, please call 08448 222888 and quote MEDIA1. Please leave a short message, including your name, media organisation, phone number and the nature of your enquiry. The on call press officer will then return your call.

NOTES TO EDITORS

57,000 seats include trains that are extended from their current destination station and those which are diverted from their current route.

Basingstoke
Two additional trains per hour between Basingstoke and Waterloo on Sunday afternoons (one from Salisbury and one from Portsmouth via Eastleigh)
Over 4000 additional seats between Basingstoke and London on Sunday afternoons

West of England
Half hourly service from Salisbury to London on Sunday afternoons
New hourly express trains on Sunday early evenings from London Waterloo to Salisbury calling only at Clapham Junction with journey times of 1hr10m
1000 extra seats on the West of England line on Sunday afternoons between Salisbury and London

Poole/Bournemouth
10 minute faster journey times between Poole, Bournemouth, Southampton and London on Sunday afternoons
Over 1600 additional seats between Poole, Bournemouth, Southampton and London on Sunday afternoons
New early morning train from Southampton to London at 05:20 and 0703 from Waterloo on weekdays

Suburban
Half-hourly service on the Hounslow loop on Sunday afternoons
Half hourly connections through to Hampton Court until the end of service Monday to Saturday[/quote]

This is actually the formalisation of the track access application being discussed in this thread in the SWT forum:

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=15428.0

The track access application linked therein refers to it being made as a result of the deed of amendment.

Paul