The Great Britain VIII

But why would a WCRC loco be following what is looking like it'll be a DBS operated tour?

There's still no times for west of Exeter on Tuesday or Wednesday onwards.

 

Latest email from RTC

Newsflash- Great Britain VIII Customer Update


All passengers due to travel on the Great Britain VIII tour departing on Tuesday 28thApril, please be advised we are still not in a position to confirm the exact details of this tour. A final decision will be made on Thursday 23rd April at 10.30am, until this time no further updates are expected.


We aim to despatch all joining instructions by 1st class post on Thursday, with an email being sent, which will also confirm the details. This information will also be available on our website.


We apologise sincerely for the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Great Britain VIII tour and we would like to thank you for your continued support, loyalty and patience at this time.


Kind regards


The Railway Touring Company

 

I think you will find that the vast majority of folk book for the whole tour, as I have (and wish I hadn't!).

I e-mailed RTC last week telling them, politely, that their proposed alternative, 90% diesel, tour was of no interest to me, nor what they had sold to me and that I expected a full refund if there was no substantial change.

I have had no reply to date.

I know that I am not the only person to write in this vogue to them.

If nothing changes, my seat may well be empty after Bristol.

 

Indeed, the Railway Touring Company are between a rock and a hard place and we must sympathise with them. That said, we MUST think about those who have booked on this tour. I think that there is a stark possibility that a significant number of persons will wish to cancel and have a full refund. To be honest, if I had spent the kind of money involved here, only to get steam from London to Exeter and back to Bristol, I would also abandon the tour and demand a full refund. Actually, does anyone know what the 9-day tour costs as I have no ideal. It may be that you could have a fortnight in the Bahamas for less! I heard someone is flying in from Australia for his steam dream of a lifetime My words, not his. The whole thing is a mess.

 

see http://www.railwaytouring.net/travel-tours/great-britain-viii and scroll down.

 

Times for Wed 29th are now in RTT: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U55312/2015/04/29/advanced

 

Nice to see you are so supportive of RTC. I am sure what they really need right now is lots of passengers emailing them complaining about an itinerary that has been turned upside down through no fault of their own!

I assure you they are working a mile-a-minute to try and provide the best possible itinerary under extremely difficult circumstances....circumstances through NO fault of their own!

(I can't believe I find myself supporting RTC! lol)

 

When you spend thousands on a railtour, you have the right to bitch & moan, as much as you want. If it was just a day trip, then taking it on the chin would be the only option.

 

Come on,thats a bit harsh is'nt it? I mean condemning someone who has spent £2k plus and looks like getting nothing like what they paid for as being "unsupportive" of RTC !

Of course it's not RTC's fault,everybody knows that,but you seem to be saying that if RTC can cobble together some kind of trip with a semblance to what was advertised(probably with little or no steam,except for the first 2 days) then the punters should be grateful and put up with it?

Obviously,different passengers will have different priorities,but if I had payed all that money I would be pushing for a full refund. Over the years I have spent heaven knows how much with RTC on day trips(the last one on 21 March) so yes I am "supportive" of them,but that does not extend to saying that GBVIII passengers should have to suffer something that is nothing like what they paid for...

 

...So they should just have pulled it as soon as NR stepped in?

 

To be honest,I simply don't have enough information to form a view on that. From RTC's point of view I suppose so much depends on what costs are recoverable,but yes with hindsight maybe pulling it would have been best.

If you had booked on it,how would you be feeling?

 

Agreed. I think most people will be very sympathetic regarding RTC's situation, they really are in a no win situation. However, given the cost and duration of this tour, the viewpoint and option to withdraw for the participants must surely be respected, if the trip runs largely diesel hauled. I think that the law of contract would probably support the passenger in that regard too.
RTC are an experienced and well respected organisation and I'm sure they wouldn't want to force the issue in any event, i.e. insist that a no choice option (with no refunds/discounts, etc) to take part whatever the haulage is, is taken. A lot of their passengers will come from repeat business and such an approach would alienate potential future customers. As such, I'd be confident that there will be options for those that have booked, if the tour does go ahead.

 

Some friends of mine are booked on this - two couples - and they all say that they do not want a largely diesel hauled tour. I'd be exactly of the same opinion if I was on it. I realise the situation regarding WCRC is not of RTC's making but that would not make any difference to my disappointment at the prospect of several days diesel haulage in place of steam.

 

The railtours companies like RTC will currently have little income from railtours but will still have their fixed costs to pay (salaries, buildings, IT etc). It's a difficult decision for passengers, but demands for refunds now will put even more pressure on their finances and perhaps their long-term survival.

 

The full cost of GBVIII to those paying to go on it is high. Plus the use of a significant amount of annual leave for those still working. Any that booked on it purely because of the very large amount of steam traction advertised when bookings were made must surely have the right to be very unhappy and to consider asking for a refund even if that puts pressure on RTC. Maybe some sort of compromise solution can be found. A real dilemma for both RTC and their paying customers. I cannot recall a situation quite like this happening before for such a long multi day tour.

 

Frankly, when you have a commercial organisation like RTC, it is not the passengers' responsibility to keep its cash flowing when things go wrong. If it turns out that "Plan B" is put into operation, i.e. diesel haulage with DRS after the first couple of days of token steam haulage with 70000, then I would expect that passengers should be given the choice of a full refund or, if they wish to continue, a significant reduction in the fare.

I have booked and indeed have travelled some 20,000 km to travel on the tour. Therefore, if Plan B eventuates, I will still travel but will expect a significant reduction in the fare, especially as the operating costs with diesels is a lot less than with steam. I would also expect that RTC would have insurances in place to cover situations such as this.