South West Trains proposes to reduce ticket office hours again

South West Trains has launched another consultation with customers and stakeholders concerning the company’s proposals to further reduce the opening hours of ticket offices at three railway stations in South West England – the affected stations are:-

Christchurch

Crewkerne

Pokesdown

It is proposed to withdraw Sunday ticket office opening at Christchurch railway station (currently 0845hrs to 1245hrs). The opening hours for Crewkerne railway station ticket office are proposed to be reduced by over fifty-three per cent (currently Monday to Friday 0550hrs to 1800hrs, Saturday 0605hrs to 1725hrs and Sunday 0900hrs to 1720hrs to proposed Monday to Friday 0550hrs to 1220hrs, Saturday 0730hrs to 1230hrs and Sunday Closed), while the opening hours for Pokesdown railway station ticket office are proposed to be reduced by over fifty-four per cent (currently Monday to Friday 0550hrs to 2015hrs, Saturday 0630hrs to 1340hrs and Sunday 0800hrs to 1500hrs to proposed Monday to Friday 0550hrs to 1230hrs, Saturday 0750hrs to 1340hrs and Sunday Closed).

South West Trains states that sales at ticket offices are falling, due to the installation of self-service machines and rising internet purchases. Full details of the proposals can be viewed on the company’s website ‘www.southwesttrains.co.uk’ – any comments on the proposals should be forwarded by electronic mail to ‘jocelyn.pearson@passengerfocus.org.uk’ not later than Thursday 18 March 2010.

Portishead freight line

Network Rail has advised North Somerset Council that the current condition of the six-mile railway track, used by freight trains, between Parson Street and Portbury is ‘so poor’, that it will cost up to ten million pounds to upgrade it to permit the operation of passenger services operating at a maximum speed of sixty miles per hour.

First Great Western orders new customer information system

First Great Western (FGW) has signed a contract with Atos Origin for the installation of a new customer information system which will drive station display screens, automated public address announcements on platforms and new ‘information points’ at approximately two hundred stations from a single centralised control facility – FGW currently has three separate customer information systems, which reflects the particular history of this train operating franchise.

Success of CrossCountry iPhone application

The train operator, CrossCountry, has reported that there have been nearly seventy thousand downloads of the company’s ‘Train Search’ application for the Apple iPhone since it was launched four months ago. This free ‘real-time’ application provides users with instant access to ‘live’ train times for any rail journey in Great Britain, timetables and the innovative ‘current position’ feature which identifies the location of the nearest railway station. The CrossCountry ‘Train Search’ iPhone application can be downloaded free from ‘apple.com/iphone/apps-for-iphone’

Buses powered by fuel cells?

A group, fronted by Virgin CEO Richard Branson, has released a report this week warning that peak oil is not only real, but closer on the horizon than many might think the group warns that demand for oil could outstrip supply as soon as 2015. It appears that Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCVs) may become commercially viable for manufacturers as early as 2015 – it is forecast that fuel cell buses will be at the vanguard of the FCV movement, with sales of such vehicles growing by over thirty per cent per year from mid-decade. It will be necessary for the establishment of a network of hydrogen filling stations to be established, if the forecast demand for fuel cell buses is to be achieved.

And finally,

The South Devon Railway has purchased the freehold of the six and a half mile line between Buckfastleigh and Totnes Littlehempston for just one pound!