Network Rail quote - use busses as they are cheaper

[class47]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...lls-staff.html


'Trains are too expensive, use coaches instead', rail head tells staff
Network Rail staff were told to travel to a conference by coach because trains are too expensive.

The cost of 200 employees making a 90-mile trip from Reading to Coventry on the train was calculated as an "untenable" £27,000, compared to £2,400 by coach.

A second-class open return for the journey costs up to £146-a-head by train, whereas a return journey on a bus would cost £12 per person.

In a memo, a senior executive at Network rail wrote,: "If we all book our own travel and most of us use trains, it'll cost £27,000 on travel alone."

He said that as a result they should instead get the "spacious" buses costing £12 a head – a total outlay of around £2,400. The news comes after Britain saw its first £1,000 train fare: a first-class ticket from Cornwall to the Highlands.

Network Rail, which has been forced by regulators to cut costs by 21 per cent and plans to cut 1,500 jobs, said its staff get "privileged" rates on trains only if they are on old British Rail contracts and the perk does not cover work trips.

A spokesman for the operator said: "We use rail for the overwhelming number of journeys but occasionally, if there is a cheaper alternative we will use that."

[ashurstdave]

It's a sad reflection of privatisation. Prior to 1996, railway staff were able to travel on "Duty Passes" which covered them for any journey on company business. A free ticket was also given to Union Delegates travelling to Conferences and First Aiders to their events throughout British Rail. There is not much incentive today, if new entrants to the railway industry do not have free or 1/4 fare travel?

[class47]

Very true, and a reflection on how companies treat employees thesedays.