Changes to Annual Gold Card benefits from 2nd January 2015

[Haywain]

What we are seeing here is a separation of the areas applicable to the Gold Card and the Network Railcard, and I don't think there is any chance of the area for the latter expanding.

Virgin will accept the Network Railcard as they do now (London to Milton Keynes) but not accept the Gold Card at all. Similarly, East Coast will no longer accept the Gold Card but will continue to accept the Network Railcard between London and Stevenage. And CrossCountry will no longer accept the Gold Card between Ely and Stansted Airport.

Looking at the expanded areas, I think we could read into this that London Midland and Greater Anglia are very enthusiastic about the Gold Card, and the other south east operators probably welcomed the opportunity to change things a bit. FGW and EMT were OK with it as it stood, and Virgin and East Coast are clearly not fans!
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I predict a surge in season ticket sales between Lichfield City and Lichfield TV.

I predict an increase in the price of that season!

 

[jon0844]

Different validity between a Gold Card and Network Railcard? Seems unnecessarily complicated/confusing to me.

 

[Abpj17]

Virgin will no longer accept Gold Card discount, although they will continue to accept the Network Railcard.

*sighs* not even for journeys like Euston to MK?

 

[Lad Brookes]

I predict an increase in the price of that season!

Alternatively, LM might be happy to sell a handful of Lichfield TV to Lichfield City seasons to passengers who won't ever be using their services.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Just seen the ATOC brief. The £10 discount on another Railcard will apply to 16-25, Family & Friends, Senior, Two Together, Disabled and Network Railcards.

The official announcement is due to be made on Tuesday.

 

[bb21]

I thought you said £20 discount?

 

[CyrusWuff]

I thought you said £20 discount?

I did...I blame being up at 0500 all week. It's worded as "another Railcard for £10" in the brief.

 

[jon0844]

Why pay £1 when you can pay £10! Thanks ATOC for making things so much more simple!!

 

[CyrusWuff]

Why pay £1 when you can pay £10! Thanks ATOC for making things so much more simple!!

Yes...But you'll now be able to pay £10 for most other Railcards, including for yourself if you qualify for one of the others, rather than £1 for a Network Railcard so it's swings and roundabouts.

 

[All Line Rover]

I predict an increase in the price of that season!

How, exactly? It is a regulated ticket. They can't just increase the price fivefold.

 

[DarloRich]

Seems to have been promulgated widely in the railway media if Twitter this morning is anything to go by – Still waiting to see the new map area to see if our reduced benefits have been “traded” for a much wider geographical validity area

 

[greatkingrat]

Details are now up at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46573.aspx#2015 and the new area map can be found at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stati...maps/Gold_Card_scheme_area_from_02_Jan_15.pdf

 

[Buttsy]

It appears that the gold card disocunt isn't valid to Worcester via Evesham when the map suggests that it is. Can anyone clarify this please?

Annual Gold Card discounted tickets are not valid for travel on:

First Great Western services routed via Evesham/Stroud

 

[Haywain]

It appears that the gold card disocunt isn't valid to Worcester via Evesham when the map suggests that it is. Can anyone clarify this please?

I expect that means tickets routed 'Evesham/Stroud', which is the same as the current situation, where the discount is limited to those tickets routed 'via Evesham'.

 

[IanD]

The maximum group size is four adults, four fare-paying children and two children under 5 (who travel at no charge). The Annual Gold Card holder must travel with the group at all times.

This is vaguley interesting. I'm sure we worked out on here that the maximum group size used to be four adults, four fare paying children and 16 children under 5 - ie 2 per fare paying passenger as per the NRCOC section 5. Can the conditions of a railcard override NRCOC?

5. Children
Up to two children under five years of age may travel free of charge with a passenger holding a ticket or other authority to travel. However, children under five years of age who are travelling free may only occupy a seat which is not required by a passenger holding a ticket or appropriate authority to travel.

My bold.

 

[Buttsy]

I expect that means tickets routed 'Evesham/Stroud', which is the same as the current situation, where the discount is limited to those tickets routed 'via Evesham'.

Thanks, I didn't realise it was a different routing. It read to me as any service via Evesham or Stroud rather than Evesham and Stroud.

 

[DarloRich]

Details are now up at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46573.aspx#2015 and the new area map can be found at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stati...maps/Gold_Card_scheme_area_from_02_Jan_15.pdf

thanks - essentially the incorporation of the LM franchise area in the West Midlands, the full Chilter route, South Eastern High Speed, some extensions on FGW and extensions to cover all of Norfolk and Suffolk

Nothing on MML or ECML extension wise nor does it seem to cover Virgin services to MK or Birmingham

 

[LexyBoy]

Sounds relatively positive overall to me, although a little strange that the time restriction is being brought in line with other national Railcards if the Network Railcard is remaining at 10 am.

I dislike operator-specific rules as they are confusing and generally poorly advertised. Most passengers see "the railway", not individual operators, whatever the TOCs like to think. However, the extensions must be a good thing although it looks like I'll rarely make use of them personally.

This is vaguley interesting. I'm sure we worked out on here that the maximum group size used to be four adults, four fare paying children and 16 children under 5 - ie 2 per fare paying passenger as per the NRCOC section 5. Can the conditions of a railcard override NRCOC?

I would interpret it as referring to the Gold Card holder's party: themselves, up to 3 other adults with tickets discounted with their Gold Card, up to 4 children with tickets discounted with their Gold Card, and up to 2 under-5s travelling with them as the holder of a valid ticket.

Each of the other ticket holders may also take up to two under-5s, as they hold tickets independently (though only valid with the GC holder).

 

[IanD]

thanks - essentially the incorporation of the LM franchise area in the West Midlands, the full Chilter route, South Eastern High Speed, some extensions on FGW and extensions to cover all of Norfolk and Suffolk

Nothing on MML or ECML extension wise nor does it seem to cover Virgin services to MK or Birmingham

Virgin seem to have nothing but contempt for their MK customers. They were the first to opt out of the 1st class upgrade, then they stopped calling in the peak times, then they bunched all 3 of their off peak Londonbound services in a 15 minute slot and now they are opting out of the gold card scheme altogether.

 

[trevmonk]

Just to clarify - will buying a season in the newly extended area also qualify you for a Gold Card, or is it just an extension of where discounts can be obtained to existing Gold Card holders?

 

[swt_passenger]

Just to clarify - will buying a season in the newly extended area also qualify you for a Gold Card, or is it just an extension of where discounts can be obtained to existing Gold Card holders?

Yes - this is made clear in the eligibility paragraph near the end of the earlier linked web page:

Who qualifies for an Annual Gold Card?
Annual Gold Cards are automatically issued with an adult Annual Season ticket or Annual Travelcards when:
the issuing station is in the Annual Gold Card area; and
either the origin station, destination station or both are within the Annual Gold Card area.

The links from the original page are to the new map.

 

[Paul Kelly]

Just to clarify - will buying a season in the newly extended area also qualify you for a Gold Card, or is it just an extension of where discounts can be obtained to existing Gold Card holders?

I would say that's a given, but it's funny how the publicity doesn't seem to mention it. A more interesting question would be whether holders of existing annual seasons in the newly extended area can have these re-issued as Gold Cards.

 

[swt_passenger]

I would say that's a given, but it's funny how the publicity doesn't seem to mention it. A more interesting question would be whether holders of existing annual seasons in the newly extended area can have these re-issued as Gold Cards.

Is this really 'the publicity' though? Surely this is really the nitty gritty T&C being put up early, and fairly deep in NR's website.

Publicity at the time will probably involve banner adverts on websites, leaflets and notice boards at stations, and will be completely different...

 

[Be3G]

Hmph. I just knew the world ‘simplified’ would appear somewhere regarding the changes…

Please note, from Friday 2 January 2015 Annual Gold Card discount benefits will be simplified and aligned with other popular Railcard discounts. A new extended Annual Gold Card scheme area where these discounts can be used will also come into effect.

I find that paragraph quite ironic actually, because the extension of the gold card area arguably introduces an added complexity as it now means it's different from the Network Railcard area, and we have the added complication of not every operator's service being valid within the given area, e.g. East Coast between London and Stevenage, which was valid under the old rules.

[rhetorical question]I wonder if the Network Railcard area will be expanded too, and the validity extended to 9:30am, to make things ‘simpler’?[/rhetorical question]

It also strikes me that benefits such as a Network Railcard for £1 and first class supplements were only complicated for ticket office clerks – not customers, for whom it was all really rather simple: pay £5 for a day's first class upgrade during off-peak hours; pay £1 to get a Network Railcard for an acquaintance.

Sigh.

 

[mattdickinson]

Another annoying exclusion for people in the West Midlands is:

nNetwork, nTrain and cross boundary nTrain Season tickets

 

[splashsquelch]

What will this mean for tickets routed any permitted where one route is a non-Gold card accepting TOC and another is? Eg Kings Cross to Cambridge, any permitted. Will the any permitted ticket not be available for sale to a Gold Card, or is the passenger expected to guess the different TOC names every few years? Or, arewe going to see a slew of new fares just for Gold Cards, which are 'Route Not EC'? Either outcome is very messy, to me.

Actually, I'm a bit surprised it is within the powers of the TOCs to come and go from this scheme, rather than being bound into it by franchise agreements. Seems an oversight not to bind them, imo.

PS. The footnote of the map says 20th Jan. I wonder if that's a drafting mistake from this year's delayed fare rise implementation in London...

 

[lj9090]

Hmm. While at first glance the extension looks useful to me, XC validity ending at Banbury and the fact that route is very good for splits means any new savings are too small to bother detraining to Chiltern. Shame it doesn't extend to Leamington Spa where there's more connection options.

Thoughts (on the extension):

1. Virgin & East Coast have gone. Why haven't Cross Country? All three operators could be said to have a low proportion of their operations within the old area and their services are duplicated over much of those routes by other operators so their exit from the scheme can be argued to not be a problem. A little less so with XC admittedly as Oxford->Winchester is a lot more fiddly without them than Milton Keynes->London is without Virgin.
My concern at the moment is XC might disappear in much the same way as them not being part of Groupsave.
2. Going the other way, if deemed a success might the area end up growing further as other TOCs are persuaded to get on board? We could maybe start to see the beginnings of a national railcard.
3. Gatwick Express and Southeastern High Speed as seperate TOCs

 

[LexyBoy]

I doubt new ticket routeings would be created - the situation already exists with e.g. CrossCountry and GroupSave. Yes, it will lead to a lot of confusion from both staff and passengers!

 

[greatkingrat]

As East Coast are no longer in the scheme, I am surprised they haven't extended to Peterborough. It seems a bit odd that there is only one station in the whole TSGN franchise not covered.

 

[MikeWh]

As East Coast are no longer in the scheme, I am surprised they haven't extended to Peterborough. It seems a bit odd that there is only one station in the whole TSGN franchise not covered.

Then there would be calls to include Peterborough to Ely. You can't win wherever you draw the line.