From the
Express & Star:
Commuters from Kidderminster and Stourbridge will be able to get to the capital and back for ^10 after a rail users group secured new bargain fares.
Chiltern Railways is extending its reduced rate ^e-ticket^ to customers using the London Marylebone service at Kidderminster and Stourbridge Junction.
It means passengers travelling to London on the 7.30am service, or back on the 7pm train, will be eligible for a ^5 single fare.
The extension of the ^e-ticket^, introduced on some lines three years ago, follows pressure from the Stourbridge Line User Group (SLUG).
Secretary Don Barton has campaigned for a Stourbridge and Kidderminster e-ticket as chairman of the Chiltern Passenger Board and delighted members said today his perseverance had paid off.
SLUG chairman Rob Hebron welcomed the ^long overdue^ extension of the e-ticket. ^Don^s persistence has opened up the market for Chiltern,^ he said. ^With a footfall figure of more than 1.2 million for 2008/09, Kidderminster more than justifies its inclusion. Stourbridge Junction catered for more than 1.1 million passengers in the same period. It^s a win-win situation,^ he added. ^The proposed high-speed rail line to London is years down the line but we already have a quality and affordable service to the capital. SLUG was instrumental in bringing London Marylebone trains to Kidderminster and we want to develop the existing service further.^
The e-ticket is a bargain advance fare available online.
A bar code is issued to each passenger which can be printed off or stored on a mobile phone.
Scanning the barcode at stations releases gates or barriers.
It comes after commuters between Stourbridge and Birmingham were dealt a blow, with Diamond announcing it was scrapping its Number 9 service.
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