Train and Rail Travel - who runs it and where do I ask questions?
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2013-09-13 20:16:06 - Graham Ellis
"Who can I ask"?
One of the big questions that rail passengers, and potential rail passengers, ask. And there are so many different organisations involved that the answer's not straightforward. It gets even more complex for those of us who look beyond our daily travel and look to helping contribute from within the community to a successful future for rail services and passengers
In order to help newcomers understand where the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership - and other rail partnerships - fit in, I have attempted to draw a diagram showing the major organisations and who talks to whom. I've had some help with this, but even then I'm not really sure. Let's have a key:
Organisations in RED - primarily public facing
Organisations in BLUE - rail industry / specialist
PURPLE lines - public enquiry paths
CYAN lines - public marketing information
RED lines - enquiries between organisations
GREEN lines - information distributed between organisations
OK - so who are these organisations?
You can get information about travel in Wiltshire from or may wish to contact...
First Great Western Customer Service
For: General information, questions about trains, complaints (sorry, FGW), ticket sales online, etc [link]
National Rail (NR, but not to confuse with Network Rail)
For: Route, fare and timetable information [link]
CoffeeShop
For: Deeper discussion and questions answered by your fellow traveller and inside experts [link]
Tourist Information
For: Picking up timetables, information about what to do in places served by the railway, etc
Wiltshire Travel Advisors
For: Learning about your travel options from a knowledgable local person [link]
TransWilts Community Rail Partnership
For: Finding out what's happening on your own line and providing help, support and feedback for it [link]
British Transport Police (BTP)
For: Reporting crime on the railway or on other transport mode except roads [link]
Passenger Focus
For: Raising issues where you feel that a train operator has not adhered to its minimum standards [link]
Your member of Parliament (MP)
For: Out of the ordinary issues where you have exhausted the normal lines of enquiry and still need help [link]
You may come across, but are unlikely to have direct contact, with
The Association of Commpunity Rail Partnerships (ACoRP)
ACoRP shares knowledge and information between community groups who are constituted to assist in making better use of their marketable service for the good of the community, the train operators and local government. The TransWilts Community Rail Partnership is not a yet member of ACoRP (thus the dotted line) but is minded to re-apply once after the service on the line rises above their "marketable service" threshold. [link]
TravelWatch SouthWest (TWSW)
TWSW is an organisation which links user groups (such as the TransWilts CRP) with other rail and special interest groups such as (from our area) the Melksham Railway Developemnt Group, West Wilts Rail Users Group, Federation of Small Businesses... some 70 orgainsation meet and exchange information, and are informed, twice a year [link]
The back room folks at First Great Western (FGW)
Operational staff, management and HQ staff - everyone from drivers and conductors through to the people who print posters, plan timetables and decide what to do when things go wrong.
Network Rail (also known as NR!)
The owner and maintainers of the track itself, bridges, tunnels, etc and the people who run the signaling system. They also run about a dozen of the largest stations on the network [link]
Wiltshire Council (WC)
Wiltshire Council are the travel authority for Wiltshire and have a small team who look after public transport in the county. The small size of their team should not hide the importance of their role, and their influence. [link]
The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC)
The organsation that brings the train operating companies together for common ticketing, conditions of carriage, etc, and deals with the calculation of fare distribution on shared routes. [link]
The Department for Transport (DfT)
The Government ministry responsible for rail. They specify and award franchises, deal with the framework behind contracts, provide inputs into stock hire, subsidise train operations / companies where appropriate, run additional funding initiatives to prime development, specify common standards, etc. [link]
The Office of Rail Regulation
The Office of Rail Regulation is the independent safety and economic regulator for Britain's railways [link]
The following may get involved too, but haven't even made it onto my diagram
RoSCos
Rolling stock companies - companies who own trains and hire them out to the train operating companies
Consultants
Booking Agents
You can buy your tickets from thetrainline, from redspottedhankey and from many others!
In order to help newcomers understand where the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership - and other rail partnerships - fit in, I have attempted to draw a diagram showing the major organisations and who talks to whom. I've had some help with this, but even then I'm not really sure. Let's have a key: