Rail network launches £3m ad campaign

The TV ads show work to repair the network

The UK rail industry has launched a £3m advertising campaign to lure travellers back to trains.

The campaign - entitled "It's Time to Return" - implores passengers to return to the network after the disruption caused by last October's Hatfield crash.

It is specifically aimed at leisure and one-off business travellers who have deserted the network in droves since Hatfield.

A series of TV commercials, newspaper and poster adverts will tell passengers that the rail companies are all working together to fix their problems.

Some campaigners have argued that cash would be better spent on compensation for passengers affected by the disruption.

Fewer passengers

There have been about 50 million fewer passenger journeys made on the national network since the Hatfield derailment.

The new ads target families and leisure travellers

The post-accident disruption is thought to have cost the industry £300m in lost revenue, with companies such as Virgin Trains having to put up fares to cover costs.

"Since the Hatfield accident many thousands of passengers, particularly leisure and business travellers, have abandoned rail and this is hardly surprising considering the disruption they and the industry experienced," said campaign director Philip Benham, of the Association of Train Operating Companies.

He added that a "tremendous amount of work" had been done to bring the network back to normal and that the time was now right to launch the campaign to reach passengers who have not yet come back to the trains.

'Determination'

Chris Austin, external relations director of the Strategic Rail Authority, said the campaign underpinned "a determination that exists at every level within the industry to win back customers".

However, with most services back to normal, one in five trains are still running late.

There are particular problems on Great Western routes into London, from Wales and the West Country.