Ticket Prices SVR?

You think people on here have a positive view of steam railways? - Dream On

 

Pickering/Levisham to Whitby returns cost the same on peak days. Like to see Steve's comment on the situation now.

 

Right, here is the fares lists on the website. A Kidderminster to Bewdley return is just a day return, KR-AY is just a day return, KR-HY is just a day return. Now the KR-HL and KR-BH fares would also just be day returns if the FOTL wasn't offered, but as it is and they are both full fares, they are FOTL in addition to being day returns. The same goes for fares starting at Bridgnorth.

 

Not necessarily!
Dadsie may have decided a trip on the spur of the moment, not everyone wanders the streets with mobile phones, tablets etc. at the ready.
It would be good for Dadsie to answer some of the assumptions made here, but I guess he may be reluctant given some posts.

 

I did check the website before hand, I also picked up a timetable/leaflet from the B&B we were staying in outside Ludlow.
Quite clearly stated freedom of the line bought on the day were £19-80, it also stated that cheaper, shorter fares did not include admission to the engine shed, ergo, a ticket price less that that of a Rover.
After catching the bus from Ludlow, we caught the late running 12:45 (13:05) it was a cold wet day and an unheated train.
The ticket collector was polite and carried out his duties as one would expect.
After a lacklustre trip to Bridgnorth we arrived even later, with that experience in mind we were compelled to catch the 16:05 back as the last bus left Bewdley at 18:04.
It was a birthday treat, we had travelled up from Weymouth, specifically. I had not travelled on the line since 1986, I was looking forward to the experience.
It did put a damper on the day.
What galls me even more, I could have used my volunteer/staff pass but I tend not to use this privilege as we all know how desperate all railways are for income.
I have just checked the WSR site and £20 on the day Rover tickets, ordinary returns are available and cheaper and shorter distance journeys even more so.
So in a nutshell, they could be clearer about cheaper shorter journey ticket prices..............or lack of
Steve

 

Thanks for that, did not find that page on the website, but negotiating web pages on a phone can sometimes be tiresome, especially when no wifi available and poor 4G

 

I had to look for it. The website is one of my pet hates, it is rarely clear and frequently has spelling/grammatical errors.
Said table is under Fares, whilst Ticket Office will only give you FOTL and special event tickets. In a way this makes a bit of sense as you can't buy non-FOTL on website so the online Ticket Office bit wouldn't cover them. I might suggest elsewhere that there should be a bit more explanation and link up between the pages.
http://www.svr.co.uk/Fares.aspx

 

I don't control the NYMR and I don't necessarily agree with everything they do. As I understand it, the reason for this is to discourage people starting their journey at Levisham at peak service times because trains are frequently full when leaving Pickering . You should note that all other fares from other stations are cheaper for shorter journeys and the same applies to Levisham on non-peak timetables. I don't see that the SVR fares only apply to peak timetable.

 

IIRC The Engine House was separately charged for one or two years, before it was included in the FOTL price. I think I remember complaints then that charging a separate admission was unpopular, so there's an element of being wrong either way. IMO having a FOTL is the most sensible rather than instead having choices of (a) one only return (b) day rover and (c) separate Engine House admission.

It is shown on the fares page on the website and in the Bewdley booking hall. I have some sympathy on the 'shorter journeys' point but feel the brochure is extremely crowded with information already.

Patrick

 

A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that, with 8 stations and halts and even only a moderate range of ticket types, there are over 800 fares that passengers might enquire about. Expressing *all* of that information succinctly is very difficult, and there has to be a limit somewhere as to how much can fit on the brochure and can easily be displayed in summary form on the website.

Like @Kje7812 I'm not enamoured with the SVR.co.uk site, although I would say firstly that it's better than the previous version and secondly that it's definitely not the worst railway website out there. Good websites, though, cost a lot of time and money.

 

As other SVR volunteers have mentioned intermediate fares are available, e.g. Bewdley - Highley, Northwood - Kidderminster. TTIs do have a fare book with all the fares, although some are the same, you may get extra mileage for no extra cost

As others have said the simple fare table is complex enough for the brochure and the full fare table would take up too much space.

I do hope DADDSIE does return for another visit in the future

 

Thanks guys, I fell into the trap of assuming, Never assume!
My railway, Swanage, charges; £20 for rover ticket, £12-50 for day return, £6-50 for intermediate station return.
Whilst not suggesting that these are prices that SVR charge as it is a longer railway, but was a pricing structure that I was expecting.
Steve

 

NYMR charge more than the SVR, okay a longer line but not by much when you take away the Whitby bit, dispite the NYMR having less stock, stations etc but more passengers. It's all swings and roundabouts.

Nobody on here said about agreeing with the SVR, it's just the way it is. £19.80 for a 25 mile round trip and access to a museum, so potentially 4/5 hours worth of entertaining isn't bad value in this day and age when cinema tickets cost over £10.

 

I note that the OP had come all the way from Weymouth, so surely the cost of the SVR ticket was a minor component of the trip. When you look at the cost of travel from home to the railway, plus quite likely some overnight accommodation, the price of the ticket for the steam train is unlikely to be a deal breaker. To be honest, I don't bother checking out the cost of the preserved railway ticket. If I want the steam experience, I'll pay the price; it is unlikely to be totally outrageous and if it is a bit steep at least it is going to a good cause. After all, we are enthusiasts, aren't we?

I don't mean any criticism of the OP - he nobly paid instead of using his free travel privilege.

John

 

And you could, potentially, fit a second round trip in too included in that price - that would give you up to 64 miles of travel, if that was more to your taste than visiting the museum.

 

That's exactly what I thought regarding Springs Branch post.

Assuming from your posts that you're (thankfully) not one of the 'thrash, clag and tonezzz' type of enthusiast, I am genuinely interested what made the trip ro Bridgnorth 'lacklustre' and what you would have liked to be different about it to make the lustre not lacking?

'Poor 4G?' You poor soul! I spend most of my time lumbered with something like 1.05G and my broadband/wifi speed is like dialup with a gentle tap on its buttocks for encouragement. But I manage.

 

Other railways and attractions in the tourist business manage to offer varied prices by time of day and numbers of attractions included. I suspect the SVR may actually miss potential income from the current FOTL ticket which will seem expensive to people visiting for a part day and not having the opportunity to take full advantage of multiple rides and a visit to the engine house. (Often not easy on the off peak timetable or if suffering delay before arriving in the morning).

There have previously been threads on here about fare structures and maximising revenue and the perceived benefit of making a standard return a rover. In reality though the rover element may lead to requiring an extra coach and costs to prevent overcrowding. Annecdotally I have heard people decide not to ride as an all day rover ticket with added attractions inevitably seems dear to a potential customer with little time who might be persuaded by a cheaper fare to fit in a trip between other activities. Not every potential customer will have planned or have all day for their visit or be part of a family group where all of the members want a whole day railway experience.

 

Just out of curiosity I had a quick look at some nearby 'attractions' to see how the SVR FOTL fare compares for a one-off Adult admission without drawing any conclusions

Attingham Park near Shrewsbury ( National Trust ) (From Saturday 4 March Attingham will adopt a whole site admission ticket only.) -- £13 (gift aid price) otherwise £11.80
but a better comparison may be
Blists Hill Victorian Town ( Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust ) -- £17.95 (gift aid price) otherwise £16.25. Other attractions in the gorge have a lower separate price although an annual adult passport is available for £25 (great value).

 

The SVR marketing team (I'm not a member) do consult a database prices of of other attractions, railway and otherwise

Patrick

 

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