Thursday 27 May 2010

First Capital Connect : First class fare for a third class journey

There is a very interesting report in the Daily Express today -  http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/177412/First-class-train-ticket-con - detailing how rail companies are charging First class ticket prices for routes where there is no first class service. Can you guess which company was described as one of the main culprits? None other than our beloved First Capital Connect. When asked how they could justify selling first class tickets from Luton to Wimbledon, when no trains have first class accomodation. A First Capital Connect spokesman said: 
“It is perfectly feasible for the entire national rail journey from Luton Airport Parkway to Wimbledon to be carried out in first class. FCC tickets to Wimbledon all include cross London travel for people who decide not to travel on a direct service, therefore the suggestion that an additional fare needs to be paid is incorrect.”
 So you are at Luton Airport Parkway, you have a load of bags and you want to get to Wimbledon in comfort and without stress. You know the service can get overcrowded so you buy a First Class ticket. Is there anyone who believes that you'd want to change trains, maybe several times?

 The article says that the ticket for the non existant services is charged at £21.40, rather than £13.40 for a Second class ticket. I have this question for First Capital Connect. How much should the fare be for a Third Class Service. One where trains are late, don't turn up, are too packed to board. I thought I'd visit my old friend, the First Capital Connect Journey check board. What joys did it have in line for us today?
Line problem in the Blackfriars area.
Train services between Brighton and St Pancras International are being disrupted due to signalling problems in the Blackfriars area.
Engineers are working as fast as possible to restore services to normal. Delays of up to 20 minutes can be expected.
Trains are being diverted via Streatham and will not serve London Bridge.
Services will go via Streatham and not call at London Bridge until further notice. Southern Railway are accepting FCC tickets on all reasonable routes.
Message Received: 07:52:51 27/05/2010
Line problem.
Train services on all routes via Shortlands are being disrupted due to signalling problems.
Engineers are working as fast as possible to restore services to normal. Short notice alterations and delays of up to 30 minutes can be expected.
Message Received: 08:57:27 27/05/2010
 So if the 2nd class fare is 62% of the first class fare, surely the third class fare should only be £8.40? Do we get a 38% reduction on our season tickets for the third class service? No of course we don't. Why? Because if there is one thing which is First class about First Capital Connect it is the renumeration package for their bosses such as Moir Lockhead.  You can click here to get the full details of his package :-
Let me give you a summary as reported

ANNUAL COMPENSATION*

Salary£609,000
Bonus£160,000
Total Annual Compensation£769,000

STOCK OPTIONS*

All Other Compensation£33,000
Exercisable Options735,853
Exercisable Values£185,979
Unexercisable Options297,107
Unexercisable Values£779,906
Total Value of Options£965,885
Total Number of Options1,032,960

TOTAL COMPENSATION*

Total Annual Cash Compensation£769,000
Total Short Term Compensation£769,000
Other Long Term Compensation£33,000
Total Calculated Compensation£802,000

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* I like the way it calls his earnings COMPENSATION. I always thought compensation was what you got from a company that provides a crap service. It seems like the only person who gets proper compensation from First Capital Connect for it's tawdry service is the bloke who runs it. If you want to know what's wrong with Great Britain today, can there be a finer example. 
Now there are a few things you can do. There is a number 10 petition to strip this awful company of its franchise. It only has a week left to run. It is 46 signatures short of 6,000. Please sign now if you haven't already. Please ask any fellow victims of this company to sign it if they haven't

There is also a facebook group, where we keep an eye on the issues related to this company


Then there is the First Crapital Connect noticeboard.
If you have a problem with this line, please log it on one of these sites, it makes it far easier to collate information to  write blogs, letters to MP's etc if we know what they are up to. Given the new Government is a coalition and there is a possibility that there may be another election in short order if it all goes pear shaped, I think that now is an excellent time to keep up the pressure.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Rog, Lady Thatcher once said that any man who had to get the bus over the age of 26 is a failure. i'm waiting with baited breath for your next riveting expose on bus diversions in upper mill hill

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, that's right - anyone who gets a bus is simply laughable, aren't they, like children with dyslexia, or 'thickheads' as you like to call them. Let's snigger at the less advantaged members of society, shall we, who are obliged to use public transport? Are they all failures? What a fine advertisment you are for Conservative values.

    ReplyDelete

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