EPF representatives from the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany recently met senior managers of Eurostar and Thalys in Brussels. These two operators are in the process of merging and are sometimes currently referred to as “New Eurostar”.
For more than a decade, AERA has been an associate member of the European Passengers’ Federation (EPF) which brings together public transport users’ organisations and related bodies in 20 different European countries. EPF is widely recognised as a well-informed independent voice of rail customers, which has regular dialogue with political and transport professionals and decision-makers. In this context we are pleased that AERA took part in EPF’s Conference this year, which took place in the Steam Museum, Swindon – the old main workshops of the Great Western Railway, one of the “big four” railway companies, which connected London with the West Country and the West Midlands, and was nationalised in 1948.
The Conference, which was attended by consumers and providers from 9 European countries, covered many topics, including “Women & Transport”, “EU Transport Policy”, “The experiences of the private and public sectors”, “Community involvement”, and Issues of Information & Ticketing”.
AERA Member Alex Nelson gave a presentation on the last of these, and the illustrations are courtesy of Simon Hodge, depicting the AERA Banner; Alex on stage; and one of Swindon Steam Museum’s prize exhibits, No. 6000 “King George V”, the Great Western’s largest and most powerful express passenger steam locomotive, built in 1927, retired in the mid 1960’s, but preserved in working order to work occasional special trains.
