Clive Feather's third letter to ATOC got another quick reply. It seems that ATOC staff have changed, but the new ones aren't any more ready to provide any facts:
ASSOCIATION of TRAIN OPERATING COMPANIES11 August 1999 Dear Mr Feather National Routeing Guide Many thanks for your letter to my predecessor Mr Stevens of 30 July; unfortunately, I did not receive this until 02 August. You certainly raise some interesting issues. I'm sure you can appreciate that we do not have the resources or means to satisfactorily answer hypothetical questions. However, I would re-iterate that we would certainly investigate instances whereby you have attempted to make a journey and been in conflict with a train operator. You state that you and others have found 'yourself possibly having to pay higher fares because the guide did not make the situation clear'. Should you be able to provide hard evidence of particular examples of this, we would be happy to investigate. Whilst you may not have noticed tangible evidence of the Rail Journey Information System, I'm pleased to report that significant progress has been made in its development and implementation. This is now being tested across one train company (Midland Mainline), showing times, fares and ticket validates. A further phase will be rolled out in November, to include routes, seat reservations and journey itineraries. The routeing guide is a complex document, and with approximately 2,500 stations across the rail network, there are potentially over 6 million individual flows. Given the huge volume of data, a small number of errors was inevitable, and were identified as part of the RJIS development process. Incorporating amendments involved seeking approval from each of the appropriate train operators, ATOCs own group with representatives of train companies present, the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority and the Office of the Rail Regulator. The present status is such that the SSRA and ORR are considering these amendments. Once they are approved, we will be taking steps to ensure the relevant pages of the guide are reprinted, and amendments incorporated to RJIS. Undoubtedly, RJIS will be beneficial to its users, adding real value to customer service, with speeding up transaction times. Its development is seen as fundamental to securing a first-rate railway retailin system for the future. I trust this has provided you with an understanding of the progress we have made to date, and hope that you will continue to enjoy using the benefits of the rail network. Yours sincerely Simon M Wragg |
Unfortunately, that appears to have been that. Have things changed? Have they heck! - ed