THREE railway companies have joined forces to run a competition for the second year running. This year they are celebrating “Railway 200”, which marks 200 years of the modern railway.
The companies Southern Rail, Thameslink and Great Northern have each chosen a team of their own employees, who will be taking on “The Dash”, which is described as “thrilling challenges”, over the weekend, ending with an “unforgettable finale” at The Odyssey in St Albans.
To enter the competition, you must follow @southernrailuk or @tlrailuk or @gnrailuk on Instagram. An Instagram post about the competition will go live on Saturday, and you will have to post a comment which shares which of the company teams you think will win. After this, ten winners will be chosen and their names will be revealed on 20th February. They will each receive an eTicket covering the return journey (up to 200 miles) on one of the services run by the three participating companies.
We ran a very unscientific poll in the office when we heard about the competition. We asked “what could a railway operator do to encourage you to use their service?” The top three answers were: •make tickets more affordable •make the charging structure easier to understand •make the service more reliable •make the trains cleaner •devote all your financial resources to improving the service – don’t waste money on gimmicky competitions “Run an exciting competition” did not receive a single vote.
●Read more about it: Is it pay peace for Tube travellers? “Minarets” shortlisted for Travel Book of the Year