I don’t commute by train to London anymore thank goodness but imagine my surprise when I was dropping off passengers at Maidenhead station that as a private car you can’t actually access the station anymore.  Access is controlled by ANPR.  Grenfell Drive has limited space (all taken) and Shoppenhangers is a complete no no.  Aren’t we supposed to be making access to public transport easier, not harder?

What are others doing?  Is this RBWM, TFL^▸ (Transport for London) or GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)’s machiavellian strategy?

Sounds like your letter had some impact!

I guess a typo from Oxenhutch on 7.02/7.07.

Ambitious because running a fast service 3 minutes behind another fast service seems likely to be impractical and an anomaly that will get cut in any future new timetable.

A 'good service' and 'better than Slough' can't hide the fact it's not as good as it was in that peak time.  And for more money.

I cant find that 7.07 on the GWR website.  Ex the 7.36 which looks ambitious, the service has gone to roughly every half hour in that peak period.  Higher fares for a worse service.

The new timetable has probably been discussed elsewhere, but this is specifically for Maidenhead to Paddington.  It looks like the 06.46 and the 07.16 have both been axed, leaving the only fast train during this prime commuter time as the 7.02, leaving Maidenhead feeling less connected than before; surely a retrograde step.  And good luck to the developers trying to sell the monstrosity flats in the town center as commuting to London becomes less practical!

I see the the price has been increased from £6 to £8 - a 33% price increase when inflation is running around 10%, for no change in service except for bigger potholes.  Also, I've never understood the 20p extra 'convenience' charge to pay via the APCOA^▸ (Car parking company used at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) - controlled stations in the area) app.  Surely it costs more to send someone to collect the cash from the machine as well as to maintain it, whilst the incremental cost of paying online is virtually zero.

Thank you for your detailed reply!  I think the ticket crossover problems will only arise after I've entered Maidenhead station with my flexi ticket to take a GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train only to find it is delayed and have to take an Elizabeth Line train instead, or I have travelled into London in the morning using my flexi ticket, but then have to return using the Elizabeth Line due to disruption.  In the past week's disruption it seems that GWR trains to Maidenhead get cancelled with the expectation that passengers can take the Elizabeth Line instead.

I couldn't find this discussed elsewhere, but apologies if I'm re-hashing old ground:

My normal trip has been Maidenhead to west London using GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) non-stop services and the tube, paid for using one of the new flexi-tickets and credit card for the tube.  The Elizabeth Line isn't really any quicker - no changeover at Paddington but stopping at all stations into Paddington makes for a longer journey.  Also I can't use the flexi-ticket on the Elizabeth Line as you can't tap in/out at the gates at a tube station.

With the disruption this week I have been caught out using my GWR flexi-ticket to enter the station, but ending up using the Elizabeth Line due to delayed GWR trains, or using GWR into London in the am, but returning via the Elizabeth Line, so paying twice in effect.  I'm wondering if I can reclaim for the flexi-ticket on the Delay Repay scheme and if I'm thinking about this all wrong? 

Cool thanks.  That's the most exciting part of the project for me.

Has a date been set yet for when the Crossrail trains will run directly underground at Paddington?  Last I heard it would be 'sometime in the autumn'.

Shoppenhangers Rd car park back to being full by 06:55 today, presumably due to the opening of the Elizabeth Line.  Neither the Stafferton Way car park nor the new one under construction by Lidl are particularly attractive alternatives, being a longer walk and the wrong side of the busy Braywick Rd.  Cycling might be an option, but the station bike racks are the 'bike theft capital of Europe' according to one local counsellor.

Will I be able to travel from Maidenhead to Tottenham Court Rd without changing?

As an aside, and probably in the wrong thread, but is the extension of the station on the Shoppenhangers Rd side still going ahead?

I see ground is being broken at the Vicus Way site.  You're right, its a pretty poor location, and I guess will be a year to completion.  However Stafferton way multi-storey is a bit closer to the station and in the past had spaces in the morning.  Neither is as convenient as Shoppenhangers Rd though.  Just another nail in my decision whether to go back to commuting.  Although I expect I will, I will be pushing out my re-start to as far in the future as possible, and only a few days a week.

Be carful on your purchasing of hydrogen peroxide in quantity unless you want the boys from '5' knocking on your door 

Also if the virus spreads as widely as the government anticipates there will presumably be a lack of train crew and other staff leading to a partial shut down of the network?