E X P R E S S

ewsrail EXPRESS322

WEEK ENDING 2 September 2006 ITEM FOR TRAIN NN COMPANY ON RETAIL TRAIN TRAVEL ITEM SUBJECT OUTLETS STAFF AGENTS 1ATOC Three Peaks Challenge – 21 to 23 September 2006 ✓ ✓ 2 Disabled Person’s Railcard Important changes to the Disabled Person’s Railcard ✓ ✓ ✓ 3 Railcards Railcard application forms ✓ ✓ 4 Heathrow Connect Heathrow Connect ✓ ✓ ✓

National Rail information is listed first, followed by Train Company information in alphabetical Train Company order. Further items follow in alphabetical contributor order. *To be read by Retail Staff, On-Train Staff and Travel Agents where appropriate.

for more Specialfor contributorsseelow inside pricedetails cover trial – ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS The list shows additional publications included with this Newsrail Express. If you do not receive them or if you need extra copies, rail staff should see ‘Further Supplies’. Travel Agents please contact your Sales Office.

1. ADDITIONAL ITEMS YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED

PUBLICATION NAME SENT TO NEWSRAIL EXPRESS NUMBER

2. CONTACTS FOR FURTHER SUPPLIES – FOR RAIL STAFF

TSO Customer Services, St. Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1PD Tel: 0870 850 2149 Fax: 0870 600 5533 e-mail: [email protected]

3. DISTRIBUTION DATABASE – FOR RETAIL STAFF

You should advise of any publications distribution database amendments to your Retail or Pricing Manager.

Special low price trial – save £££’s...

Do you provide information and updates to include in Newsrail Express and the Retail Manual? We are currently offering special trial low prices for putting news items in Newsrail Express and for updating the Retail Manual.

1 side normally 1/2 side normally 1/3 side normally Newsrail Express £400.00 £626.43 £220.00 £319.79 £150.00 £242.88 Retail Manual Part One and Two £300.00 £474.00 One page – black & white (2 sides) £550.00 £1120.00 One page – colour (2 sides) add £50.00 £240.00 for each side laminated

These prices give you the following service benefits: ● 8000 copies of Newsrail Express printed fortnightly ● Estimated staff readership of 15,000 ● Information also made available in electronic format through the Marketing & Retail section of www.atoc.org website plus made available through other electronic retail information channels to stations and travel agents ● Over 1300 ticket offices reached, plus on-train staff depots giving National Rail-wide coverage How much would it cost you in time, envelope stuffing, postage etc to get the same nationwide coverage and reach all rail retail staff? Why not use this three-month trial opportunity to ensure that your TOC’s retail information is entirely up to date in retail manuals? It is a TSA requirement that you provide retail staff with accurate information, as well as being essential if retailers are going to clearly understand and sell your tickets and services to generate more income for your TOC. Bulk and frequent use discounts are also available – why not have a regular Newsrail Express feature item about your TOC’s products and services? Please contact Andrew Tolley at RSP on 0207 841 8119 or [email protected] for more information. Make sure retailers get your message…..now even better value for money!

2 TO BE READ BY: TRAIN COMPANY RETAIL STAFF ✓ ON-TRAIN STAFF ✓ 1 TRAVEL AGENTS ASSOCIATION of TRAIN OPERATING COMPANIES Three Peaks Challenge – 21 to 23 September 2006

On Thursday 21 September 2006 people representing rail companies from all over the UK will set off on a special train from London Euston to compete in a Three Peaks race by rail challenge. The event has been organised by the Railway Children, a charity that helps runaway and abandoned children living on or around the world’s railway stations. Participants of the challenge will walk or run up the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales in around 48 hours, with special trains connecting the three peaks. A Standard Class commemorative “all stations” pass, valid from 21 to 24 September 2006 (inclusive) has been produced free of charge by BemroseBooth for the event (specimen will be illustrated in the next edition). Each pass issued will carry the participant’s name and participants are expected to verify their identity if requested by revenue protection staff. The pass provides rail travel: ● to London on Thursday 21 September 2006; ● from North Wales, the Lake District or the Scottish Highlands to the participant’s home, if he or she drops out or misses the organised train between peaks, and ● from London to the participant’s home on Saturday 23 September 2006 or Sunday 24 September 2006. Rail Settlement Plan 0207 841 8105

Newsrail Express for train company National Rail information • over 7,000 copies printed fortnightly • 3,000 stations, travel agents and call centres receive Newsrail Express • Estimated readership of 15,000 retail staff

3 TO BE READ BY: TRAIN COMPANY RETAIL STAFF ✓ ON-TRAIN STAFF ✓ 2 TRAVEL AGENTS ✓ Important changes to the Disabled Person’s Railcard

From 6 September 2006, the Disabled Person’s Railcard will be available as either a one year or three year card. The one year Railcard, which has been £14 since 1992, will be £18 from 6 September 2006 and the three year Railcard will be £48.00 from 6 September 2006. The terms and conditions for use of both Railcards remain unchanged. The discounts also remain unaltered. Visit www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk, see Retail Manual Part Two or the Ticket Examiners Handbook for further details. [email protected]

4 TO BE READ BY: TRAIN COMPANY RETAIL STAFF ✓ ON-TRAIN STAFF 3 TRAVEL AGENTS ✓ Railcard application forms

All retail staff are reminded to return all Family Railcard, Senior Railcard, Young Persons Railcard and Network Railcard application forms (including telesales application forms) to the following addresses on a regular basis: Stations and Telesales Railcard Application Service, ATOS Origin, PO BOX 5332, Derby DE24 8UP Only the Railcard forms listed above should be returned to this address. Other applications (e.g. for Season Tickets or local Railcards) should be returned to your Train Company application collection point. Travel Agents Travel Trade Service, PO Box 177, Stevenage, SG1 2YW Despite the changes we have made to improve the layout of the Railcard application forms, we are still receiving very poor quality and low numbers of completed Railcard Application Forms. Clearly and accurately completed application forms are essential to allow ATOC and the Train Companies to communicate to Railcard holders with important information about their Railcard as well as providing information about offers. Full instructions for submitting completed Railcard applications forms are shown in Retail Manual Part Two NAT.A.34. Thank you for your assistance. Samantha Mathieson National Railcards Product Manager, ATOC Tel: 020 7841 8056

5 TO BE READ BY: TRAIN COMPANY RETAIL STAFF ✓ ON-TRAIN STAFF ✓ 4 TRAVEL AGENTS ✓ HEATHROW CONNECT

First Great Western Link and Heathrow Express jointly launched a new stopping service in June 2005 between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3, calling at Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell, Southall and Hayes & Harlington. The service conveys Standard class accommodation only. A free transfer between Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 and Terminal 4 is offered by Heathrow Express. FARES Through fares to Heathrow Connect have been set up in the Fares systems – From London Terminals (for London Paddington), route Not Heathrow Express – on all flows not passing via London (e.g. from Maidenhead, Reading, Oxford, Swindon, Bristol, etc). For other flows through fares may be issued by adding the amounts shown below to the fare to Hayes & Harlington. Alternatively, you can issue a ticket as normal to Hayes & Harlington and a separate ticket between Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow Connect. Add-on amounts Adult single £6.00, Child single £3.00 Adult return £12.00, Child return £6.00 Fares may also be issued for the reverse direction. Please note that for the correct fares to come up in Fares, Enquiry and Ticket Issuing systems, the destination must be entered as HEATHROW CONNECT (H987). VALIDITY OF LONDON TRAVELCARDS Travelcards are NOT valid between Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow. Boundary Zone extension fares are available (see NFM Section K.3). Note that holders of All Zone Travelcards need to be issued with a ticket from BOUNDARY ZONE 5. DISCOUNTS Normal Child, Railcard, and Privilege discounts apply. REFUNDS Normal arrangements apply. TICKETING Destination Name/nlc: HEATHROW CONNECT H987 Tickets may be issued on Ticket Issuing machines only. Do not issue handwritten paper tickets. For the first 30 respondents, we are offering a return trip for two on Heathrow Connect to use between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport at your leisure to sample our service, please email by 31 September your name, address, your job title and company name to [email protected] Andrew J. McConnell Senior Communications Executive Airport Express Tel: 0208 750 6673

6 INDEX

This index covers those more important items still current from the last six issues of Newsrail Express. Amendments to Fares Manuals and associated Publications are excluded.

NEWSRAIL PAGE ITEM EXPRESS No. No. No.

National Rail – Disabled Persons without Railcards 316 3 1 National Rail – Adult & child GroupSave 316 4 2 National Rail – British International Motor Show, ExCeL London 316 5 3 Railcards – New Railcard Leaflets & Posters – June 2006 316 7 4 Railcards – Railcard application forms 316 9 5 Central Trains – Fares review – June 2006 316 10 6 First Great Western – Firstminutefare Business and Sleeper Open tickets 316 12 7 National Rail – PlusBus is easy to issue 317 1 3 National Rail – Rail Rover ticket used in combination with another ticket 317 2 7 ATOC – Reduced rate season ticket for TOC new entrants 317 3 8 Central Trains – Central Trains Promotion 317 4 9 GNER – Leisure First (LFR) and Excursion (SAR) tickets to London International 317 5 10 Midland Mainline – National Fares Manual 93 amendments 317 6 11 National Rail – Conditions of Carriage 318 1 3 National Rail – NFM93 – DFS 1st Business Advance A 318 2 3 Railcards – Railcard application forms 318 3 4 First Scotrail – Caledonian Sleeper services 318 4 5 South West Trains – Farnborough Air Show – 22-23 July 2006 318 5 6 National Rail – Travel to/from London Terminals & London Thameslink and tickets with ‘Cross-London’ validity 319 3 1 National Rail – Oyster ‘Pay-As-You-Go’ on National Rail Services 319 5 2 National Rail – Travelcard Seasons left at home or lost and Oyster 319 6 3 National Rail – Launch of Elite Athletes Oyster photocard 319 7 4 National Rail – Fares Checking – Status Codes 18, 19 and 20 319 8 5 National Rail Conditions of Carriage 319 9 6 National Rail – London area train tube fares 320 3 1 Atos Origin – Missing SPORTIS 320 4 2 Railcards – Railcard Application forms 320 5 3 National Rail – Disabled persons without Railcards 321 3 1 ATOC – Carriage of surfboards on First Great Western 321 4 2 Silverlink – Altered timetables to/from Euston 321 5 3

7 Retail communication deadlines for information providers August 2006 to March 2007 Newsrail Express (NRE) Retail Manual Part Two (RM2) Rail Directory for Travel Agents (RDTA1) (provided to travel agents in electronic format only) NRE RM2/RDTA1 Date communications reach stations Text to be entered in FRPS website by issue number issue number (may vary by 2 days either side) TOC/ATOC information providers 323 11 September 30 August 197 October 2006 25 September 6 September 324 25 September 13 September 325 9 October 27 September 198 November 2006 23 October 4 October 326 23 October 11 October 327* 6 November 25 October 199 December 2006 20 November 1 November 328* 20 November 8 November 329* 4 December 22 November 200 January 2007 2 January 29 November 330* 2 January 6 December 331* 15 January 20 December 201 February 2007 29 January 3 January 332* 29 January 3 January 333* 12 February 17 January 202 March 2007 26 February 24 January 334* 26 February 31 January * Subject to confirmation – these dates are currently guidelines only FRPS website The Fares & Retail Publications service website (operated by TSO) for entering information is https://frps.tso.co.uk Each TOC and ATOC have designated information providers with password access to contribute Newsrail Express items and manuals updates. Proof checking At the proof check stage (normally 2 days – 3 days for RM2/RDTA1 – after the deadline for submitting articles/updates) information providers will receive an email from TSO which states what the time deadline is for checking your proof. This normally gives you one working day to check the proof. You must supply proof alterations by email or fax to ATOC Editorial ([email protected], fax 020 7841 8266) by the deadline shown in the email you receive from TSO telling you that your proof is ready to check. Further information and prices Further information and full pricing details for contributing news items and updates is available in the FRPS area of the RSP section of www.atoc.org Note that prices are higher for colour and laminated pages where available. ** PLEASE CHECK THE INSIDE COVER OF THIS EDITION FOR SPECIAL LOW PRICE OFFERS ** Guidance and cue cards The FRPS part of the RSP section of www.atoc.org also includes guidance on how to use the system and easy to use cue cards with tips on FRPS updating procedures. Publication supplies, distribution and technical support The TSO helpline for publication supplies (if you want to buy extra copies of manuals), distribution queries (if you do not receive the information that you were expecting) and technical support is 0870 850 2149 or email [email protected]. If you simply wish to make a change to the distribution database then please contact your TOC’s Retail or Pricing Manager. Inserts If you wish to send out any separate inserts (such as merchandisers) within the Newsrail Express distribution package, please arrange this direct with TSO on 0870 873 8722, email [email protected]. TSO will provide costs, quantities and timescales for your insert. Ensure that you contact TSO at least 7 days in advance of the text deadline date shown above. Retail Manual Part One, Rail Directory Part Two, Ticket Examiners Handbook If you want any changes made to Retail Manual Part One, Rail Directory for Travel Agents Part Two and Ticket Examiners Handbook, please email these to ATOC Editorial on [email protected]. RSP Service Manager and ATOC Editorial For further information on pricing, invoices and procedures contact Andrew Tolley at RSP on [email protected], tel 020 7841 8119, or for editorial guidance contact Paul Chilver at ATOC Editorial on 020 7841 8058.

ASSOCIATION of TRAIN OPERATING COMPANIES

working together for Great Britain’s National Rail companies

8 9 789999 055796