Great Western Coffee Shop

The following letter is to be distributed by FGW on all their trains :

18 December 2007

 Dear Customer,

 First Great Western Train Service

 Over the last few weeks we've not been giving you the service you deserve, and the level of disruption many of you have experienced is simply not good enough.

 I know from my own experience just how frustrating it can be when your train is late and I want to say sorry for our recent poor performance and the inconvenience it has caused. Signalling and track problems, overrunning engineering work by Network Rail, freight and passenger train failures, trains without enough carriages and crew shortages have all caused problems.

 I want you to know that I am committed to getting these problems sorted.

 So what are we doing? Network Rail is spending around ^750m now and over the next 18 months to make the region's track and signals much more reliable ^ and we're working closely with them to reduce the impact this work has on customers. An example of this is the major work that takes place over Christmas when one of the biggest and most problematic rail junctions on our network ^ Airport Junction near London ^ is replaced with more modern, reliable equipment.

 We're currently recruiting and training an additional 40 drivers and 60 guards to reduce the number of crew shortages, and we are strengthening our management team to ensure we deploy all our resources more effectively.

 Our programme to install new engines in our High Speed Train fleet is almost complete ^ 95 power cars now have the new engines. Alongside this, we have already started work on a major reliability improvement programme to all of our other trains. We are still getting too many train fleet related delays and cancellations and our engineers know this is a top priority for us in 2008.

 Our new timetable, which was introduced last week, is providing more seats and more services. There were a number of problems at the start on some routes and we have acted quickly to address these.

 Our Passenger's Charter provides compensation to individual ticket holders that have experienced delays in excess of an hour. This can be claimed from our Customer Relations department using the form overleaf.

 In addition to this, and to thank you for your patience, I'd like to offer season ticket holders compensation equivalent to two days' travel in rail travel vouchers.

 Please submit your claim by completing the form below. You will then need to enclose a copy of your ticket and send to the address shown below, marking the letter MPR10368: Customer Services, Freepost SWB40576, Plymouth PL4 6ZZ.

 We are also happy to accept email claims if accompanied by scanned images via our email address: fgwfeedback@firstgroup.com.

 My team and I know that you will judge us on our results. We are committed to improving your train service.

Andrew Haines
Chief Operating Officer

(A compensation claim form is also included.)

What happened to the extra train staff that Alison mention this time last year?

Are FGW actually increasing the number of train staff, or are they replacing staff who have left?

Shame whoever drafted the latter for him doesn't seem to know about the former FGW Link (ex-Thames Trains) area compensation scheme's offer of a 50% refund for delays of 30 minutes on journeys of less than an hour (a hangover from Network South East?).

Following was lifted tonight from the FGW website Passenger's Charter section, wording which is repeated in the current FGW compensation claim form.

"Journeys on (former) First Great Western Link Services:
If you hold a ticket for a single or return ticket, or a Weekly Season Ticket, and your train is delayed or cancelled due to the fault of the rail industry, you will be entitled to compensation in National Rail travel vouchers of at least 50% of the price you paid for the delayed journey if:
You are delayed by more than one hour on a rail journey of an hour or more; or
You are delayed by more than 30 minutes on a rail journey of less than an hour."

Should add that twice in the past year I have had to write back to customer services in Plymouth pointing this out provision when they had initially refused to pay out for 30-minute-plus delays, saying the trigger was an hour. How many payouts have they saved themselves with this response, I wonder?

My first claim of new timetable has already gone in, so I await the response with interest. Could have been three, but two trains crept into Oxford 28 minutes down!

More on this in the link below.
http://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/news_article.php?section=5&category=89&story=5167

**First Great Western Train Service

 Over the last few weeks we've not been giving you the service you deserve, and the level of disruption many of you have experienced is simply not good enough.**


Last few weeks?? Try last 18 months......

Distributed? When and where?

Claim form?

You would have to ask them about distribution. The claim form comes with the letter, which has been sent first to "stakeholders."

Further relevant link.
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/12/not_so_great_western.html#more