First Capital Connect Train Tickets from Computicket.co.uk

First Capital Connect Information

First Capital Connect operates trains between London, Brighton, Bedford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn over the UK's busiest rail network.

First Capital Connect began its passenger operations on the National Rail network on 1st April 2006. It is owned by First Group and combines the service on the cross-London Thameslink railway line. First Group is in the process of overhauling the trains with new liveries and on-board services as well as an £8 million programme of upgrades for several major stations. The full term of the franchise is 9 years (until 2015).

The two franchises (Thameslink and WAGN) were amalgamated in preparation for the Thameslink Programme (formerly Thameslink 2000), which will increase capacity on the Thameslink route and allow trains from King's Lynn, Cambridge and Peterborough to run via Thameslink. On 24 July 2007, the Secretary of State for Transport, Ruth Kelly, formally announced that the Government was fully committed to funding the Thameslink Programme. Since the planning permission and legal powers associated with the project have already been granted, the project is now clear to proceed.

First Capital Connect Contact Information

First Capital Connect Current Fleet

First Capital Connect are the sole FirstGroup TOC that uses only electric trains in passenger service. An additional 8 Class 319 trains will be transferred from Southern to expand capacity on the Thameslink route. Southern are also in the process of procuring 23 new dual voltage Class 377 units, 12 of which will be transferred to First Capital Connecton delivery to further enhance the Thameslink services.

First Capital Connect will also take on five Class 321 units (cascaded from London Midland) mid-next year, with the possibility of an additional five 321s coming over to FCC towards the end of the year. These units will enhance the Peterborough - London King's Cross services, thus allowing more Class 365 units to be available for the King's Lynn - Cambridge - London King's Cross services. Some Class 313 units from London Overground will move to the Great Northern route for Inner Suburban services from London King's Cross/Moorgate - Welwyn Garden City/Hertford North/Letchworth Garden City.

Separate from the government's rolling stock plan is the procurement of new rolling stock for use on the expanded Thameslink route which will replace the current Class 319 units. 1100 vehicles will be purchased; these will be dual voltage EMUs likely to be delivered in units of four, which will operate in multiple giving trains of 12 cars. The new stock is due to enter service from in 4 years time, during the period of First Capital Connect's franchise.

First Capital Connect Service Changes and Information

In the early part of the year First Capital Connect (FCC) conducted a study and sought consultation on options for increasing the capacity of services to Peterborough and Cambridge. The final recommendations involve changing a small number of morning and evening peak services from 8 to 12 carriages, and adding or removing a small number of stops to balance loads between trains. The changes are due to take place midway through next year.

Last April, First Capital Connect introduced a new type of ticket called "One Day Off Peak Travelcard Plus". Despite being an Off Peak ticket, the 'plus' indicates that the ticket can be used in the evening peak (but not the morning peak). It costs the same as a Peak Travelcard, but unlike a Peak Travelcard it can be purchased in conjunction with a railcard at a discount. The ticket does not appear as a suggested ticket on the National Rail site, and many staff are unaware of it.

On 11 June 2006, First Capital Connect introduced changes to reduce overcrowding on evening peak time trains by introducing restrictions on the use of off-peak (and other reduced price tickets) on trains departing London northbound between 16:30 and 19:00. No restrictions apply in the evening on trains departing London southbound.

First Capital Connect stated the reasons for the above changes as... "This step was taken in order to try to spread demand away from the highly crowded peak trains onto less busy trains before or after the peak. These changes were introduced to ensure that those customers who use our service on a daily basis have access to as comfortable a journey as possible, cheap tickets are designed to be used on less busy off peak services".

Due to slight problems with the changes First Capital Connect subsequently made minor changes to the restrictions on 10 July 2006 and announced that the restrictions would no longer apply to journeys from London to stations south of Stevenage and St Albans, and from London to Ely and stations to Kings Lynn. First Capital Connect also took the opportunity to rephrase the restriction to prevent people using a flaw in the original wording to avoid the restriction.

First Capital Connect have revised the way that customers can apply for compensation on the occasions that their journeys are delayed. In place of cash refunds, a form. has to be completed to claim rail vouchers.

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