Introduction to Railrover Tickets Survey

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I include details of all tickets which give unlimited travel over any rail network for any period from one day upwards, provided the network forms part of the British national system, Northern Ireland Railways, Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail), London Underground (LUL) or those railways owned by the PTEs, but excluding point-to-point Season Tickets and a few limited-area travelcards where the rail element of an otherwise bus-facility is very small. Other private railways are only mentioned if the above tickets are valid on them.

It is now very difficult for operators to introduce new rovers as it requires the agreement of all other operators in the area and this leads to potential disagreements over the way revenue is split. In the bus world the process is usually very straightforward with each operator keeping all the revenue from any ticket he sells in the hope that total usage is 'swings and roundabouts', but this cannot work with rail. A simple proof for this would be Virgin Cross Country which 'owns' no stations and therefore no booking offices so, in effect, sells no tickets of its own - every other operator sells on its behalf!

It is nevertheless disappointing that operators are not even introducing rovers valid only on their own trains, which is easier for them to do. Indeed only one example seems to exist - the new Penwith Day ticket in west Cornwall, valid only on Wales & West services.

As I travel round the country I note that Wales & West seems to be the only operator that produces decent marketing of its products and distributes them nation-wide. Cornish Rovers seem well-advertised in Scotland but I do not see ScotRail advertising in Cornwall!

At least the All-Line Rover now has a proper leaflet - though why a booklet showing all rovers, even if only those valid for longer than one day, cannot be produced is beyond me. I have heard it is the same as with tickets: the operators cannot agree on how to share the printing-costs!

As in past years many excellent bargains abound in 1998 - perhaps even better bargains than before as the rise in prices in most cases seems less than that of ordinary fares. Quoting my usual examples, the Cornish Rover remains one of the best with prices as low as £32 for 8 days unlimited travel on any operator, throughout a network that includes splendid branch-lines and for which one end-to-end Day Return is £9.90, whilst the Devon Rover offers 8 days unlimited travel for £38 when a Saver from Gunnislake to Weston-super-Mare is £31.30.

Once again the best value for day facility has to be the Dartmoor Sunday Rover which for only £5 includes the Okehampton branch plus a vast network of buses which surely puts the Dartmoor National Park in the lead for serious public transport in rural areas. Sadly, other rovers remain unavailable on the Okehampton line - again, revenue-sharing has to come before the convenience for users, something that will have to be tackled if people are going to treat railways seriously.

There is much talk in this country about integrated transport being taken seriously for the first time. In my opinion nothing brings modes together better than integrated ticketing - surely the London Travelcard proved that! When, then, will we in Britain get anything remotely approaching the total integration of bus and rail enjoyed in Northern Ireland or the amazingly low price of an annual ticket in the Republic as detailed above: a mere IR£1435 (approx £1215 sterling) giving the freedom to use every bus and train in the whole of Eire for a year. Remember that £1360 in this country only buys a year's access to London's buses and trains!

I remain indebted to my colleague John O'Flaherty of Dublin, who, as usual, supplied me with all the detail for Eire. For the UK I am grateful to my many contacts within train companies, PTEs, counties and NIR for their assistance with both these articles.

Barry S. Doe AFIMA, MCIT

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Whilst this information is the result of exhaustive research and checking by Barry Doe, and is believed accurate at the time of compilation (July 1998), readers are advised to check availability and prices with the appropriate administration before purchase.

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Last updated 12th July 1998.