Great Western Coffee Shop

The Editor of the Southampton Echo likes to have a pop at SWT now and again, and has tried it again:

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/yoursay/blogs/ian_murray/10428478.Reasons_to_hate_South_West_Trains___number_50097/?ref=ec

Little sympathy from the commenters so far thankfully...

Paul

I find it interesting that so many such 'comments' have been allowed by that particular publication: in my own area, some of the local press are rather notorious for suppressing such negative reactions to many of their 'opinion' articles ...  ::)

First time I've heard of this problem happening, but it's exactly the sort of thing that concerns me when suggestions of portion working are raised for things like Voyagers, IEP and class 175s, none of which have corridor connections on the ends.

Portion working is such a useful means of operation that I believe all trains that can should be built with corridor connections, and those that can't (I assume this includes 125mph stock) should be built in long enough formations that multiple-working is not necessary in service.

You have portion working on the non gangwayed 140mph class 395 HS1 services though, which split at Ashford!

It shouldn't be a problem though with suitable information screens. The set-up used by the likes of Southern and Southeastern should be adopted by SWT, along with appropriate guidance before the passenger boards the train in the first place.

By the way, portion working does take place on FGW, it just isn't advertised in the timetables. I know of a morning service from Paddington to Banbury that actually splits at Oxford and the rear forms a service to Morton-in-the-Marsh and there's an evening service from Paddington to Oxford that splits at Reading with the rear going to Bedwyn.

Interesting... In my (considerable) experience, SWT's information screens are absolutely clear about which portion of the train to join to get to a particular destination, whether that's because of short platforms or because a train divides en route. Guards are also usually quite diligent about making announcements to make sure passengers are in the right portion (sometimes to the point of it becoming an irritation to those of us who are a little more au fait with things).

What I will say about the Desiro trains is this: there's almost nothing on-board to indicate to your average punter in which portion of the train they are. Guards can make selective manual or automated announcements to the unit in question, but there's nothing actually to indicate to the passengers "this is carriage 6 of 10", for example, as you see on Southern services. This is due to change in the relatively near future with an upgrade to the on-board information system to do just that, however.

The other point is that to the uninitiated, the gangway between units (as opposed to between individual cars within a unit) doesn't really look much like one that you are actually able to use. The doors are grey and windowless, and the only difference between them in their released state when you can walk through, and their locked state (when you can't walk through because if you did you'd find yourself sitting with the driver) is that the small green open button is lit. Guards do their best to indicate to passengers how far forward they need to walk, but this isn't always easy.

Getting passengers into the right portion of the train with or without gangways has been a problem since time immemorial.

Remember running down the platform at Carlise in the middle of the night in 1959 to get in the Stranrea protion.

Also have spent many happy nights at Victoria getting the drunks in the right portion of the midnight Brighton/Eastboune and getting them to stay there
 

There is an evening service from Paddington to Oxford which splits at Reading with the rear portion going back to Paddington.  I don't know what on board announcements are made before its arrival at Reading.  I boarded there to go to Twyford a couple of weeks ago and was asked by a fellow passenger as we went through Sonning Cutting what time the service reached Pangbourne.....

... and what was your reply to that rather geographically challenged individual, bobm?  ::) ;D

Being my ever helpful self ( ;) ) after referring to my phone, I suggested she crossed to platform 3 at Twyford and caught the second train arriving there which would take her to her destination without requiring a change at Reading.  I also mentioned she should sit in the front carriage just in case!  ;D