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Rail travel card - help please

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rakoczigabi

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8 Nov 2015
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Hello ,

I started to work for SWT on the 15th of February. On my first day all of us received our free staff travel card ( temporary paper version ).
Been told that we will get the plastic one after a few weeks of work and if we have a partner / husband ect we have to apply for a card for them on the ATOC website.

Applied for a card for my husband.

Today I got a letter from ATOC with a paper card in it.

It's says it's a " 2015/2016 stagecoach group rail travel card " valid till October 2016. And has 5 boxes on it which I have to fill out when I want to travel. Also saiys it's for leisure travel only.

Does anybody know what's this card for ?

Am I still going to get my plastic travel card ? And why this card is only valid for 5 travels ?

Sorry about the silly question , it's just a bit confusing for me.

Thank you :)
 
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theironroad

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Don't panic, the plastic card will be issued soon I guess, and just replaces the temporary one, though the plastic one operates all the barriers like a oyster card. The plastic one is for unlimited free travel on Swt, (including island line) and east Midlands trains.

The stagecoach groups card with 5 boxes is a new (last year) card that for Swt employees is only valid on virgin train East coast (it is not valid on West coast on any other operator when issued to Swt employees).

Each box is valid for 2 days travel and before you travel you should enter the date in a box, so if today 02/03. It is then valid all today and for tomorrow. You have 5 opportunities before the card runs out. If stagecoach lose the franchise next year, then we will lose this card. It allows you to travel from kings cross up the east coast to places like York,Leeds,Newcastle and Edinburgh. Once a day you can get all the way to Inverness in north Scotland and there are a couple of East coast services to Aberdeen. For a return trip, you will need to fill in two boxes if you return after the first box has expired.

After a qualifying period (notr sure if 6 or 12 months) you will get the atoc privilege card which gives no free travel but 75% off most tickets on most of the rest of the passenger operators. Again after a qualifying period you ll get your FIP card which gives access to reduced Eurostar travel and reduced European travel ( and some free European(except Eurostar) travel too.

The biggest thing you won't get I'm afraid is any discount on London underground or buses etc.
 
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tlionhart

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23 Dec 2011
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346
After a qualifying period (notr sure if 6 or 12 months) you will get the atoc privilege card which gives no free travel but 75% off most tickets on most of the rest of the passenger operators. Again after a qualifying period you ll get your FIP card which gives access to reduced Eurostar travel and reduced European travel ( and some free European(except Eurostar) travel too.

The biggest thing you won't get I'm afraid is any discount on London underground or buses etc.

ATOC priv card is 3 months service. Everything else is spot on :)
 

tiptoptaff

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Still don't get why some southern TOCs make you wait that long - ATOC's own website says it should be a month!
 

tlionhart

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I've known some to get them quicker. Say a month or 2. Depends on your luck, however ATOC travel say 3 months. (for Southern TOCs)
 

bb21

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ATOC priv card is 3 months service. Everything else is spot on :)

ATOC priv card is actually one month's service apart from SouthEastern, which is after six months' service, unless GTR have changed their arrangments. SWT is one month.

Chances are the SWT smartcard (blue smartcard) will arrive shortly before or after the ATOC priv card (red flimsy paper card attached to a letter). The SWT smartcard is only processed in 4-weekly batches.

The timeframe given by HR is pretty much out of date, especially if you are unlucky enough to just miss a print run.

The 5 "boxes", as mentioned above, are only valid for travel on Virgin East Coast for SWT employees. They are not valid for travel on EMT or SWT, for which you need to use your smartcard SWT ID once it arrives. Each "box" is valid for 50 hours from 2200 the day before the date you write in the box, to 2400 the day after.

FIP is after 12 months' service, and Family & Friends tickets are after 6 months' service.
 

tlionhart

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23 Dec 2011
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Must be dependant on TOC?
GWR don't give them until 3 months. Friend who also started SWT got his 2 months after start. (I got mine just under 3 months)
 
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