LOWER fares, flexible ticketing and a refund if you have to stand are part of the package being promised by a firm hoping to launch cut-price rail services between Hampshire and London.

Alliance Rail Holdings, the firm bidding to bring competition to the Southampton Waterloo route, says its on track make its contract application before Christmas.

As reported by the Echo last month, Alliance Rail Holdings plan to operate a service to Waterloo offering fares between 25% and a third cheaper than their rivals.

Tomorrow sees the end of the industry consultation on the bid and Alliance's managing director Ian Yeowart says an official application to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) will be submitted before the holidays and he hopes for a decision in the spring.

The ORR can award a five or seven-year contract.

Alliance, part of the Arriva group, is bidding for an 'open access’ service running alongside the timetable of the franchise holder, currently South West Trains.

The company is currently meeting with rail users groups and next week will hold talks with the area's MPs in Westminster.

If successful in their application the Alliance service would start to run off-peak in December 2017 and a year later would add peak time trains, two in the morning and two in the evening – bringing their total number of trains per day up to nine.

Mr Yeowart said peak time services would come in the second year after the service had established itself and improvements at Waterloo had been completed.

The peak time trains between Southampton and Waterloo would only stop at Eastleigh and Winchester. The off-peak trains will add stops at Basingstoke and Hook. 

Mr Yeowart said that talks with network rail had shown there was room for Alliance with minor adjustments to the current timetable.

Alliance is preparing to invest between £50 and £70 million to get the service, which will create 60 jobs, up and running.

The firm already operates open access services between Sunderland and London and Bradford and London, under the name Grand Central, which account for 16 per cent of the long-distance trains on the east coast main line.

Alliance are also seeking approval to run a service between Blackpool and the capital via Preston.

Mr Yeowart said that their services in the North East had resulted increased passenger number and increased passenger satisfaction across the regional network and the same would happen in the South.

"There's never been an application to compete head to head on this network but recently the rail regulators have made it clear they want ore choice and competition," he told the Echo.

"It more than 20 years since the railways were privatised but the passengers have never had a proper choice in that time."

"Our success will be decided by the passengers - if they don't like us there's no safety net and no cost to the taxpayer."

He said the key to Grand Central's success in the north had been its flexible ticketing.

If their Waterloo bid is successful the new service would allow passengers to buy tickets on board the train, and offer flexible season tickets and carnet ticketing - a booklet of identical tickets offered at a discount price which could be used by a group travelling together or by one person on different days.

Season ticket holders could also have reserved seats which would be theirs every day and passengers who are unable to find a seat would receive a 50% refund.

Mr Yeowart said there would be no possibility of the kind of split ticketing confusion uncovered by a recent Echo investigation which showed it was often cheaper to buy two or more tickets to stations on the way to your final destination rather than one through ticket.

Alliance plan to lease electric Class 442 electric rolling stock which although 25 years old are, claims Mr Yeowart, "reliable" and "well-loved by passengers".

However, he said, if the service was successful, rolling stock would be upgraded as has been done on its northern routes.

The Alliance carriages will actually have fewer seats than many operated by their rivals to increase leg room and luggage capacity. They will also have free WiFi and on-board catering.

Denis Fryer, of the South Hampshire Rail Users Group, met with Mr Yeowart this week and said he was impressed by Alliance's offering.

He said the plans would be particularly welcome in Eastleigh which was served by few fast trains to London.

Mr Fryer also welcomed ticketing innovations and the ability to purchase a ticket after boarding the train.

"This makes a change from South West trains which treats its passenger like criminals - one mistake with the ticket a hefty penalty."

The franchise for the south-west networks is set to be renewed in June 2017 and two tenders have been shortlisted by the Department of Transport - from the incumbent Stagecoach South West Ltd and FirstGroup’s First South Western Trains.

Major reforms of the way the railway were set out by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling yesterday.

Mr Grayling said that passengers ''don't understand the division'' between who runs the tracks (Network Rail) and who runs the trains, and when there is disruption a ''lack of a joined up approach can make things much worse''.

To address this the government is planning to introduce ''integrated operating teams'' responsible for both train services and rail infrastructure, meaning Network Rail will share its responsibility for track maintenance with train companies.

The South Eastern and East Midlands will be the first routes to experience the change, when their franchises are renewed in 2018.

This will also be a new organisation separate to Network Rail, created to secure private sector investment for the building and operation of the rail link from Oxford to Cambridge, which is being reopened after its closure in 1967.

Network Rail's chief executive Mark Carne said: ''We strongly welcome these plans'', adding that they will give his organisation ''a clear focus on what customers want''.

The RMT union described the changes as ''the piecemeal privatisation of Network Rail'' while the TSSA warned that private companies ''aren't in it to make rail great again, they are in it for a quick buck''.

The South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance Passenger Forum will be held at at Waterloo next Tuesday.

Managers from South West Trains and Network Rail will be on hand throughout the day to answer questions from passengers, provide advice and explain more about capacity improvement works to be made across the network during 2017.

The focus of the forum will be the Waterloo and South West Upgrade, which will provide a 30 per cent increase in capacity for passengers during the busiest times of the day. 

This £800million investment will provide the biggest package of improvements for passengers travelling on the railway to and from London Waterloo for decades, including longer platforms for longer trains to run on Suburban routes, a fleet of 150 brand new carriages and rebuilding the former International terminal at Waterloo. 

Information about the benefits of South West Trains’ Smartcard will also be offered to passengers. To find out if your journey is Smartcard ready, visit swtsmart.co.uk.

Adam Piddington, customer service director for South West Trains, said: "We run on one of the busiest rail networks in the country and help support commuters and leisure passengers travel across London and the South West. We’re very proud of our record delivering extra capacity on trains, station facility upgrades and customer improvements.

"However, we’re conscious that we need to do even more to ensure continuous improvement for all of our passengers. That’s why we’re delighted to invite passengers to meet us at Waterloo station on Tuesday to see and hear about what we’re doing to improve things with investment and changes to services."

Any passengers who cannot attend the Passenger Forum but would like to ask a question or find out more can get in touch in the following ways:
• Phone: 0345 6000 650
• Feedback: tellswt.co.uk
• Email: customerrelations@swtrains.co.uk
• Post: Customer Relations, South West Trains, Overline House, Southampton, SO15 1GW
Twitter: @sw_trains
• Textphone: 0800 6920 792