Related Research Articles
The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest railway system in the world. The first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825, which was followed by an era of rapid expansion. Most of the track is managed by Network Rail, which in 2017 had a network of 9,824 miles (15,811 km) of standard-gauge lines, of which 3,339 miles (5,374 km) were electrified. In addition, some cities have separate metro, light rail and tram systems, among them the historic London Underground and the Glasgow Subway. There are also many private railways, some of them narrow-gauge, which are primarily short lines for tourists. The main rail network is connected with that of continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel and High Speed 1, opened in 1994 and 2007 respectively.
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by the British Railways Board, from 1965 using the brand name British Rail. Northern Ireland, which is bordered by the Republic of Ireland, has a different system. National Rail services share a ticketing structure and inter-availability that generally do not extend to services which were not part of British Rail.
The Rail Delivery Group Limited (RDG), previously the Association of Train Operating Companies, is the British rail industry membership body that brings together passenger and freight rail companies, Network Rail and High Speed 2. The RDG is approximately half-funded by Network Rail, the remainder of its funding being provided by the various transport groups it represents.
A train operating company (TOC) is the term used on the railway system of Great Britain for a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
Gautrain is an 80-kilometre (50-mile) higher-speed express commuter rail system in Gauteng, South Africa, which links Johannesburg, Pretoria, Kempton Park and O. R. Tambo International Airport. It takes 15 minutes to travel from Sandton to O. R. Tambo International Airport on the Gautrain and 35 minutes from Pretoria in Tshwane to Park Station in Johannesburg. The Gautrain has 10 stations. Buses, shuttles and midibus services are available to transport passengers to and from all stations excluding the O. R. Tambo International Airport Station.
Rail Settlement Plan (RSP) is a division of the Rail Delivery Group in the United Kingdom. It provides a wide range of common services to the UK's train operating companies and third-party providers of information and retail services.
There is no single 'discount railcard' available on the UK railway network. In addition to the large number and variety of short-term or localised promotional fares that have been available to passengers on the British railway network in recent decades, there are many permanent concessionary fare schemes available to passengers. Some of these take the form of Railcards, which can be purchased by people who qualify according to the conditions, and which give discounts for all journeys over a period; other concessions are available for individual journeys. In all cases, details of the type of concession will be printed on the passenger's travel ticket, to distinguish reduced-rate tickets from those sold at the standard full fare.
The Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress system is a passenger-operated self-service railway ticket issuing system developed and manufactured by the German systems development and production group Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH, based in the city of Mönchengladbach. Since the first trial installations in 2003, seven train operating companies (TOCs) in Great Britain have adopted the system as their main passenger-operated ticket vending method, while four others have installed machines at certain stations on their networks. More than 1,500 machines are in place across the country, and more than 850 stations have one or more. Machines can accept cash and/or payment cards and can sell most National Rail tickets.
The 16–25 Railcard is an annual card giving discounts on certain types of railway ticket in Britain. It is available to anybody aged between 16 and 25 (inclusive), and certain mature students aged 26 and above, and is currently priced at £30.00. There is no restriction on the number of times the Railcard can be used to purchase discounted tickets during the period of its validity, and there are no geographical restrictions on its use.
The National Routeing Guide is a document, the definitive resource on the validity of rail tickets for the purpose of rail travel in Great Britain. As stated by the Rail Regulator, "[it] sets out passengers' rights to use the network flexibly". It is a book produced by the Rail Delivery Group, which is carried by any rail ticket inspector and is also on hand for station staff.
The railway network of Great Britain is operated with the aid of a number of documents, which have been sometimes termed "technical manuals", because they are more detailed than the pocket-timetables which the public encounters every day. Historically, they were classified PRIVATE and not for publication, however since rail privatisation they are now more widely available, mostly in digital form, because they are produced centrally and not by the regional rail operators.
An airline ticket is a document or electronic record, issued by an airline or a travel agency, that confirms that an individual is entitled to a seat on a flight on an aircraft. The airline ticket may be one of two types: a paper ticket, which comprises coupons or vouchers; and an electronic ticket.
Fare avoidance, as distinct from fare evasion, is the lawful use of knowledge to travel using tickets which cost significantly less than the 'normal' fare for a given journey, which is what one might be expected to use. It is common in some parts of the world with complex travel networks, notably the National Rail network of Great Britain.
CIV or International Convention for the transportation of Passengers in rail transport refers to a set of uniform rules shared by European railway operators, to cover international journeys.
Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain is the system of contracting the operation of the passenger services on the railways of Great Britain to private companies, which has been in effect since 1996 and was greatly altered in 2020, with rail franchising being effectively abolished in May 2021.
A penalty fare, standard fare, or fixed penalty notice is a special, usually higher, fare charged because a passenger using public transport did not comply with the normal ticket purchasing rules. It should not be confused with an unpaid fares notice.
BahnCard is a discount subscription programme offered by Deutsche Bahn (DB), the German national railway company. Unlike airline loyalty programs, but similarly to the UK Railcard, the BahnCard entitles the passenger to a discount price and must be purchased prior to travel. The BahnCard is offered in a non-business and a business version called BahnCard Business. Non-business BahnCard contracts are automatically renewed each year, unless they are cancelled with sufficient notice. Three variants of BahnCard are sold by Deutsche Bahn: The BahnCard 25, the BahnCard 50, and the BahnCard 100. The first two variants allow passengers to get 25% and 50% discount respectively on standard long-distance rail fares, while the Mobility BahnCard 100 is a type of annual ticket that allows free unlimited travel on most of the German railway network for a fixed price. The (non-business) BahnCard 25/50 are valid for one year and can only be purchased by subscription. If they are not canceled no later than six weeks before the expiry date, their term is automatically extended by another year. BahnCard Business 25/50 are also valid for one year but require no cancellation. Unlike the personal BahnCard, BahnCard Business can be combined with the discount that is granted to large-volume business customers.
Plusbus is an add-on ticket, which can be purchased with National Rail train tickets in the United Kingdom. It allows unlimited travel on participating bus and tram operators' services in the whole urban area of rail-served towns and cities.
The Key is a contactless ITSO-compatible smartcard developed by the Go-Ahead Group used on buses, trains and other forms of public transport across various areas of the United Kingdom.
The Two Together Railcard is a scheme which gives discounts on certain types of railway ticket in Britain. Launched nationally in 2014 after a successful trial in 2011–12, it was the first new Railcard scheme since the 1980s. It is available to any two named individuals aged 16 or over and is priced at £30.00. There is no restriction on the number of times the Railcard can be used to purchase discounted tickets during the period of its validity, and there are no geographical restrictions on its use.
References
- ↑ "National Rail Conditions of Travel". National Rail. Rail Delivery Group. p. 3. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
- ↑ "National Rail Enquiries - Buying Tickets".
- ↑ "National Rail Conditions of Travel" (PDF). National Rail. 11 March 2018. p. 4. Retrieved 31 August 2018.