From 1 April, retired rail staff wanting to find out about their travel facilities will have a new dedicated free phone number to call.

Based in London, the Rail Staff Travel team is on hand five days a week to answer queries from former rail staff and their families either by phone, e-mail or letter.

The new number to call from April will be 0800 652 1700 (ie the same number as for active staff).

Despite the change in contact details, all travel facilities for retired staff will remain the same and there will be no change to entitlements.

The change will mean that all rail staff travel facilities will be dealt with under one roof and the move has been designed to ensure no interruption to the service and support that retired staff will receive.

From mid-March onwards, retired staff will also be sent the new contact details along with their 2012-2013 staff travel card.

Angela Nicholson, Head of Rail Staff Travel, said:

“Bringing all rail staff travel together means that from the start of April it will be easier for us to give people the high level of service that they have rightly come to expect. Along with a new free phone number for people to call, we’ll have an expanded team based in London ready to deal with any queries people may have about entitlements and travel facilities.

“The only change we expect people to notice will be the new contact details and maybe a few new names! All retired staff travel entitlements will of course remain unchanged and unaffected.”