25 May 2023, 01:31

Duchies Trains Explained
It used to be much more simple if expensive on the Duchies rail network. Gone are those days with multiple train operating companies with most people having a choice of 3 or more for a journey. With ridership soaring passenger satisfaction higher the opening of the intercity market to train operating companies has certainly improved services but it has also made things more complicated. Gone are the days where there was and advanced ticket and on the day ticket and flexible tickets with some season tickets. However it isn't all that hard to understand the system really. What is key to note when buying a ticket there is now three broad categories of tickets and those are as follows:
All operator:
This ticket is valid on all train services in the country with it being scanned on the train by the attendant . These are available in Peak and Off Peak with advance valid. These are fully flexible within the time period with any valid route available to you but will come at a far higher cost. This can be purchased through the GO Card system and is available as a contactless. These can be purchased in advance online and in stations also.

TOC Tickets:
Advance All operator :Available in off peak and peak and for one train in advance of the day with it transferable onto any train for up to 1 hour afterwards but only on the single TOC operator. There is also fully flexible peak and off peak tickets as well as season tickets and passes which can use any valid combination on the network of the TOC. These are usually among the cheapest tickets to buy.

Ticket Alliance Tickets:
Most TOC's are members of what are called ticket alliances. These give you points for using a network of operators and access to lounges for a certain amount of points, a fee or as part of the ticket with these operated by the alliance but the most important benefit is this ticket option, Alliance Tickets allow any valid route for the journey on an member TOC of the alliance, you can purchase season tickets and network passes this way as well. Tickets are available as advance , and flexible in peak and off peak rates. When choosing a network you should consider quality of the TOC's , access to the coach partner coach routes for your journey and the combination allowed , not all networks will serve every area by train so consider this when booking. Flixtrain essentially operates with the benefit of an alliance network coverage but all on its own services so they a a no-frills budget alternative if you want to travel cheaply be aware though there are fees for booking seats together and taking more than a backpack and one suitcase on the train so its not always the best network if you take alot of extras on the train.

The current TOC's are as follows with a projected ridership for the years as follows:

Franchise TOC Owner TOC Name Network High Speed: % of Intercity Journeys Intercity Journeys
Central 1 Arriva CrossCountry alt text Y 6.20% 249,788,477
Central 2 Mishar National Rail Central Link alt text Y 7.10% 286,048,095
Central 3 DuchieTran Westseaxna and Baltic Railways alt text Y 5.30% 213,528,860
Central 4 Yosai National Rail Southern and North Eastern Railway alt text Y 5.70% 229,644,245
Eastern 1 WOW Group WOW Train alt text Y 3.10% 124,894,239
Eastern 2 BalTran and Transport for Albion Eastern and Baltic alt text Y 2.90% 116,836,546
Eastern 3 Connexxion East Coast alt text N 1.40% 56,403,850
Northern 1 FlixTran FlixTrain alt text Y 10.20% 410,942,334
Northern 2 DTA(32%) AranTran(32%) , NordTran(34%) Grand Northern alt text Y 6.90% 277,990,402
Northern 3 Commonwealth Railways Inc Commonwealth Rail Duchies alt text Y 8.90% 358,567,330
Northern 4 Umbarra Bullet Nord Bahn alt text Y 5.30% 213,528,860
Southern 1 Roscoes Rail Group Roscoes Intercity alt text Y 10.50% 423,028,873
Southern 2 Purple Group(50%)Unitran(50%) Purple Train alt text Y 8.40% 338,423,098
Southern 3 SICF, Reynauld Constructions ,SINA and Emior Fastlink alt text Y 8.10% 326,336,559
Transholinies WestTran(50%), SuxTran(50%) Transholinies Express alt text N 3.10% 124,894,239
Transholinies 2 Vrigin Rail Group Virgin Transholinies alt text N 3.00% 120,865,392
Transholinies 3 DTA(50%) AranTran(50% North Central Railway alt text N 3.90% 157,125,010
Total - - - 100.00% 4,028,846,407

The current alliances are as follows:
Ticketing Alliances

TOC Alliances Members Network
Roscoes-Commomwealth Roscoes Intercity, Commonwealth Rail Duchies , Greyhound Lines(Coach Partner) alt text
All Duchies Purple Train,Transholinies Express,Grand Northern,Eastern and Baltic , Megabus(Coach Partner) alt text
DuchiesLink Fastlink,Westseaxna and Baltic Railways,North Central Railway,WOW Train. , LuxEpress(Coach Partner) alt text
DuchiesConnect Nord Bahn ,Central Link,Southern and North, Eastern Railway, East Coast , BlaBlaBus(Coach Partner) alt text

There are also many train operators with very special perks on their trains such as Roscoes where trains include bookable meeting rooms for meetings on the go for businesses or if you need to discuss private business with a client for example if you are doing a briefing with a client before going to court in another city.
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Many operators include full sitdown dining carriages and shop carriages also Roscoes is one of these as is Southern and North Eastern Railway,Commonwealth Rail Duchies and Westseaxna and Baltic Railways. As a rule Roscoes Intercity, the new incoming Virgin Transholinies , Westseaxna and Baltic, Fastlink and Commonwealth Railways are more premium but that often comes with ticket price to match the comfort, Flix Train is like your budget airline, less legroom , less amenities but it gets you there cheap with the others somewhere in between. So if comfort is a consideration consider these as many of those offer a meal in the restaurant in the ticket with some offering 3 course menus. Others offer a free snack service for some snacks and drinks. Flix Train, Purple Train and Wow Train are buy on board unless you buy an Alliance ticket in the case of Purple Train and Wow Train. We hope this guide has helped you , but as a rule if you want cheaper tickets than the national standard fares on GO Card or a more luxurious time book with the operator or through the train ticket alliances to get points and benefits as well if you want the flexibility to use any train no matter what use the GO Card . You can use a Ticketing Alliance Ticket for more flexibility within the network of TOC's that are members.There are additional operators joining train alliances while it is unknown yet which the new Virgin Transholinies is joining the new Nord Bahn is joining the DuchiesConnect Alliance.