From "The Times" today ...
Under the law governing rail franchises, submitting false figures is punishable by heavy fines. But Ruth Kelly, the Transport Secretary, said yesterday that she had agreed with FGW▸ that it would provide a ^29 million package of passenger benefits as an alternative to a ^monetary penalty^. She said that the package would be better for passengers than a fine.
However, FGW admitted that the package included ^several million pounds^ of benefits that it had already announced under another scheme to compensate passengers for running a fifth of its trains late. FGW said that the DfT» had been aware that some of the ^29 million was not new money. A spokesman said: ^They were happy to give us the credit for doing what we had already done.^
Whatever the background to the extra 29 million, I have to agree that it's far better for the real customers - the passengers - to be ploughed back in to improving the situation that it would be for it to be paid out of the system to the treasury.
We have seen how some of the spending is to go - it should be able to cover a great deal for many of the issues facing FGW, and much has been announced. Less than a million pounds of the money - around 3% of the money announced - would meet the gap that I understand needs to be filled to provide a TransWilts service running as at present, PLUS an 3-hourly service from Salisbury to Swindon and back, providing an appropriate extra commuter service into Swindon and back out at decent times (08:45 arrival, 17:45 departure or thereabouts), services to Melksham and Trowbridge at the start of the business day with connections from London and back at the end of the day, and would meet many other passenger flows too.
To put that money into context, we're looking at around 50p per journey based on a realistic growth figure, and that's on a line with low fares where (I hate to say it) the market would stand an increase of far more that that 50p in real terms.
In other words, 3% of the 29 million could be used as seeding money - a "win / win for everyone!.
Mr First Great Western - if you're reading this, what do you think of the idea? It would get you some wonderful positive publicity and actually not end up really costing you anything.
Pretty please
