Job Losses at South West Trains

South West Trains has announced plans to reduce the company’s workforce by four hundred and eighty people. The staff reduction proposals will affect people undertaking management, administration and other roles – train crew and frontline fleet maintenance staff will not be affected by the proposed changes. South West Trains states that the actual number of people leaving the company will be approximately two hundred, due to existing vacancies and unfilled posts.

DfT protects South West Trains ticket office hours

The proposals by South West Trains (SWT) to substantially reduce the ticket office opening hours at twenty railway stations in South West England have been partially rejected by the Department for Transport (DfT) – the Government has rejected proposals by SWT to reduce opening hours at any ticket office during periods when twelve or more tickets are sold per hour. It was proposed, for example, to only open the ticket office at Pokesdown railway station between 0550hrs and 1130hrs on Monday to Friday – the DfT has decided that the ticket office at Pokesdown must now open between 0550hrs and 2015hrs on Monday to Friday, between 0630hrs and 1340hrs on Saturday and between 0800hrs and 1500hrs on Sunday. The DfT rejected the request by SWT to close six ticket offices in South West England on Saturday and four booking offices on Sunday. Full details of revised ticket office opening hours are available on the company’s website ‘www.southwesttrains.co.uk’

Electrification of Great Western Main Line?

The Department for Transport has stated that new high-speed lines and electrification of existing rail routes form part of the Government’s long-term vision for the country’s transport network – one of the two priority candidates for rail electrification was identified as the Great Western Main Line (although the western boundary(ies) for electrification was not defined).

Wilts and Dorset customer growth

Wilts and Dorset have announced that the number of customers travelling on the key inter-urban bus service X3 (Bournemouth – Salisbury) has increased by fifteen per cent since last October, when seven new Scandia double-decker buses commenced operating the route.

First Great Western Club 55

First Great Western is offering discounted off-peak rail travel to customers between fifty-five and fifty-nine years of age between 1 February 2009 and 7 April 2009 – customers in this age group will be able to purchase off-peak return tickets between any two stations on the company’s route network for twenty-five pounds (standard class) and forty-five pounds (first class). Senior railcard holders can claim a further discount of five pounds.

Devon County Council to charge staff for car parking

Devon County Council has announced that staff will have to pay for car parking at County Hall in Exeter as part of the travel plan for that office location. It is expected council employees will be charged between fifty pence and two pounds per day – the daily parking charge has been linked to the employee’s pay grade. Councillors and visitors (with the exception of disabled people) will also be charged for car parking.

Gloucestershire County Council appoints new concessionary fares manager

Gloucestershire County Council has appointed consultant JMP to manage and administer the county’s concessionary fares schemes for the elderly and the disabled – the County Council has acted on behalf of the six district councils in the county (Cheltenham, Cotswolds, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury). Consultant MCL previously held the contract to manage and administer the county’s concessionary fares schemes.

And finally,

Customers travelling on a First Great Western road replacement service between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot via Dawlish had an eventful and extended journey as the driver ‘got lost’ on three separate occasions!