The RCTS: Then and now
THE pandemic has seen a vast drop in rail passenger journeys and if prepandemic service levels are to be maintained, it is essential that the number of travellers rises quickly as restrictions are reduced. It has been suggested by some that the operators should launch cheap fare offers to tempt the public back.
Forty years ago the country was in the grip of a severe economic depression and then the railways took initiatives to try to fill the trains, one such being the offer in late 1980 of £1 tickets for holders of Senior Citizen Railcards to travel anywhere in the country after 09.30.
The Railway Observer recorded the activities of one member who clocked up more than 6000 miles for the princely sum of £15. The person concerned was lucky in that they were based near central London. HSTs were starting to make their presence felt, and on the first two days he had reached Inverness via the East Coast route and returned to base via the West Coast line. The next day trip was from Paddington to Penzance and return, with visits to Manchester and Exeter from Waterloo following. A more sedate day was had wandering around East Anglia but getting as far as Sheringham. Charing Cross to Ramsgate via Dover and Waterloo to Weymouth occupied the next two days.
Another trip to East Anglia, simply to travel on the experimental Leyland railbus LEV1, provided more entertainment. The Flying Scotsman and The Talisman were employed for a trip to Newcastle, on that occasion to sample the then new Tyneside Metro system. Three further days were spent riding the West Coast electrics, firstly to Liverpool and then Scotland to reach Mallaig and Oban, while the final day used an HST for an out and back trip to Swansea.
Our traveller was generally very impressed with the service. A total of 68% of the trains were within five minutes of right time, with the Scottish region being top of the class. Only two trains were more than 30 minutes late, and one of those was caused by the train hitting an obstruction, with a replacement engine being required.
Positive reports were made about the cleanliness of most trains, with buffet car staff frequently clearing rubbish on Eastern and Western services but not on the Midland, where he endured 10 hours on the Clansman without sight of any rubbish clearing.
The original offer was for travel in November, but BR extended it for a further two weeks and another eight days of travel followed, which took in Cambridge twice, Leeds and York before a four-day extravaganza to end with, which allowed our intrepid traveller to reach the Isle of Skye.
The Railway Observer has in the past 12 months reported on the many service changes made due to the pandemic. Hopefully it will soon be able to record full trains running to the original timetables once more. For information on the society, visit www.rcts.org.uk, Britain’s leading railway society.