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Title: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: SusanW on February 25, 2007, 14:08:10 Ox Rail Action is a campaign group set up by Oxford passengers - for Oxford passengers - fighting for passengers before profits. In short, we want:
* An adequate supply of seats and services to and from Oxford in peak hours. * Proper passenger consultation and representation. You can find out more about our group, how to sign up to our e-mail distribution list, and see our progress at our website: http://oxrailaction.wordpress.com (http://oxrailaction.wordpress.com). We also need you help - please get invovled! Monitor delays, tell us about incidents and problems. Also if you have any questions or comments please e-mail us at saveourtrains@googlemail.com At present, we are putting together a monitoring report on Oxford morning trains, based on a sample two weeks in Jan/Feb. We asked members and volunteers to take notes on the number of free seats, the number of people standing and delays for all morning peak trains (6-8am). We then used this data to put together a report, showing the level of service post the slight timetable alterations on 15th Jan. I'll post a link to this report as soon as it is up on our website so you can see what we've been doing. Anyway, no need to write more here about Ox Rail Action as all updates and past updates are on our website for you to browse! Susan Ox Rail Action Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: grahame on February 26, 2007, 05:48:56 Sensible objectives there, and I've heard / read some of the press stuff. Question - have they got the evening peak rather more correct? I note you're talking "morning" both in this post and on your site and Google Group.
Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Jim on March 01, 2007, 21:55:21 Whats wrong with the service Oxford gets! A 180 what every 30 mins calling at Reading only in some cases, Melksham is lucky if it sees 4 trains!
Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: grahame on March 02, 2007, 04:19:42 The service that Oxford gets is not something I'm (personally) well suited to comment on, but I do have a couple of points to raise.
a) I have noted a very high proportion of bus travel spoken of from Oxford to London, which indicates to me that *something* is there which tip the balance away from rail. Price? Frequency? Timing? Overcrowding? People want to get to Victoria not Paddington? I don't know BUT ... b) You can't look to improve a service starting just with the worst case first - you need to look at options across the board and ENCOURAGE them all. Let's say they Oxford scores 17 points on some scale, and Melksham just 3 points. Then - YES improve Oxford up to 22 points but at the same time do not brush Melksham under the carpet - improve it by more that 5 points at the same time. The strength of other services in different parts of the regions cannot but encourage other improvements. I live in Melksham and I would love to have an 8 point service. In fact, I would love to get up to 15 points ... Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: SusanW on March 03, 2007, 15:43:30 Hi there,
Thanks for your comments. Yes - we have focused just on the morning services at the moment. This is not to say that the afternoon peak services are adequate, just that these didn't really change on the 10th December. I for one catch the same train now in the evenings as I have always done, and it hasn't changed in terms of chances of getting a seat etc. Not half so many people have complained to us about the afternoon changes as the morning ones. The bus is an alternative. However, it does have an average journey time of 100mins, rather than the train times of roughly 60mins - that's quite a difference twice a day. I think that's the main reason people don't use it for regular commuting. Like me, I'm sure they are tempted by the price difference, but it would mean giving up your entire weekdays to work and travelling. What's wrong with our service? The fact that we have only have four fast trains to London (by fast I mean those that stop only at Didcot and Reading - all the trains stop at Reading I'm afraid) between 6-8am. Two of these trains begin before Oxford and so are at least half or two-thirds full. Two are turbos (one a three-carriage), one is a High Speed Train (HST) and one is an Adelante. Add that to the fact that there must be 500+ people travelling every day and you can see why we're overcrowded and frustrated! Susan Edit: VickiS - Clarifying acronym Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on March 26, 2007, 14:25:13 An update from Ox Rail Action :
You may have heard in the press at the end of this week that FGW have made some changes to our timetables. The changes will not affect Oxford commuters that much, but if you look here you can see them in full (I have substituted links below - Lee.) http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/03/oxford_commuters_get_extra_sea.html#more http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/03/fgw_timetable_changed_after_pr.html#more The key changes for us are: 05.55 will change from a 5-carriage Adelante to a 10-carriage, and will call additionally at Radley and Pangbourne - I imagine that few people use this train on a regular basis, but the extra stops will probably slow dow this journey a little. 07.33 will change from a 5-carriage Adelante to a 10-carriage. This will be good for Oxford passengers as there will be an even slimmer chance of not getting a seat, but it will largely benefit Didcot and Reading passengers who will be pleased to see some empty seats on this train. These changes are very small, and there as far as I can see, there are no substantial changes to the evening services either, apart from very slight re-timings. What FGW don't seem to realise is that other trains are far more deserving of extra carriages - for example the 07.05am service. Ox Rail Action members are in the process of arranging a meeting with FGW to discuss our recent monitoring report - we will be asking them about further changes that have been hinted at for May and the changes in December. Just a tip - if you have not yet sent off to FGW for your compensation for the disruption by a train fire on the 7th March, make sure you cc in Alison Forster - experience has shown that you are likely to get ^100 rather than the standard ^50! Happy commuting Susan Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on May 01, 2007, 12:08:31 From Ox Rail Action :
May timetable changes Some of you may have seen the posters advertising timetable changes in May. Will this mean an improvement in services for Oxford commuters? Well, don't get too excited - there are very few changes that will affect you: Early services at 0400 from Oxford to London Paddington are subject to slight change, whilst the 0546 Reading to London Paddington now starts from Oxford at 0506. The 0725 Banbury to Paddington leaves Reading earlier and now calls at Langley, Iver and West Drayton. The 0752 from Oxford to London Paddington has been re-timed to depart Twyford at 0844 to provide an additional connection from Henley on Thames. Some Oxford services now feature High Speed Trains ^ with greater capacity than the previous Adelante trains - which will also add seat capacity at stations en route. The 2050 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington will call at Didcot Parkway. If you need more information, the new printed timetable booklets are available from the station now. Ox Rail Action meeting with FGW Many of you will know that Ox Rail Action put together a monitoring report in early March this year, demonstrating the continued problems for Oxford commuters, particularly our morning services. As a follow-up to this report, representatives were invited to meet FGW to discuss our findings and recommendations. This meeting, attended by three Ox Rail Action members, Chris Bates (FGW Customer Panel representative), Richard Rowland (FGW Regional Director), Glenda Lamont (FGW Customer Services Manager) and Adrian Ruck (FGW External Relations), happened on the 20th April. The minutes from this meeting will be soon be available to read in full on our website but here is a brief summary of the main points: 1. ORA members expressed disappointment that the changes in May would not improve travelling from Oxford in the short-term. Apparently large-scale changes will not be made until the December timetable. 2. The changes in December 2007 will not involve a complete re-draft of the present timetable (FGW is keen not to repeat last December's fiasco) but will involve some significant changes. FGW will have a draft timetable by early summer 2007 and wishes to consult with ORA when it has this - we will arrange another meeting at this time. 3. FGW is aware of the performance and timekeeping issues that it has with all trains. Some of this (e.g. the 7.33am) is due to trains that were squeezed into the timetable. There are some long-term solutions to this ( i.e. major investment plans for both Oxford and Reading stations) but few short-term apart from the December changes. 4. Complaints about the state of the turbo trains have meant that FGW have brought forward an interior 'refreshment' program to next year. In the meantime, if there are specific problems on a turbo train ( e.g. window keeps flying open, smelly toilets etc) passengers have been asked to make a note of the problem, the specific carriage and the train number (on the front, usually starts 165...) to Chris Bates, who will pass this information on to the appropriate engineers - his e-mail is chrisjbates@btinternet.com 5. FGW is investing in customer service training for its staff and setting minimum standards of service. In particular, the issue of the electronic boards not working at Oxford station was raised, and the suggestion of ORA that the station should use wipeboards to give service information when they are working was taken on board. Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on May 08, 2007, 11:00:01 The minutes from the meeting are now available (link below.)
http://oxrailaction.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/20070420_meeting_fgw_minutes.pdf Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: ihatefgw on May 09, 2007, 15:23:01 Hello
Would the members of OxRail be interested in adding my badges to their protests? I'm handing out "I Hate First Great Western" badges to disgruntled commuters, as it seems that protests and petitions are getting us nowhere, so I'm now trying to embarrass them into submission with a visual protest. Please visit my blog if you'd like more information: www.ihatefirstgreatwestern.blogspot.com, or e-mail me at IhateFGW@yahoo.co.uk to order some badges - at the moment they're free so let me know if you want to order in bulk and I'll make a special order for you. I'd like to get thousands of people wearing them over the next few months, and your support would really help. Let me know if you're interested. Many thanks Helen (IHateFGW) Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on June 08, 2007, 15:58:54 Here is a further update from Ox Rail Action :
1. Passenger Focus survey results You may have seen in the press that Passenger Focus, the independant national rail consumer watchdog, have recently released their 2007 passenger survey. It shows that satisfaction levels have dropped again this year to just 72%, and that FGW is the second worse performing company in terms of customer satisfaction - not at all surprising. The full report is available from the Paasenger Focus website. It is interesting to note that the bottom three worst performing rail companies are all FirstGroup franchises. 2. New RingGo parking system Those of you who drive to Oxford station will have noticed the new RingGo paying system, designed to keep the car park free for rail passengers. After some initial doubts, most people seem to think the new system is an improvement (no trying to find those pesky pound coins!) but there has been a hike in the prices to ^4.50 per day, which seems to have seeked in without comment. We've been contacted by Cobalt Telephone Technologies who provide the technology behing the new system, who advice that if people are worried about giving out their credit card details over the phone on the platform or the train, you can pre-register at the RingGo website. The company wish us luck with our campaign. I'm sure if there are any comments or suggestions for making the system easier to use, Cobalt would be pleased to hear them and we can pass them on. 3. Campaign progress There are several meetings on the horizon at which Ox Rail Action organising members will be again representing the views of Oxford passengers and attempting to get a better service. Firstly, we have been invited to meet the Secretary of State for Transport, Douglas Alexander, in mid-June. We hope to raise the profile of our campaign and talk directly to him about the issues facing Oxford passengers. Secondly, we are hoping to have a date soon for a meeting with FGW to discuss the draft December timetable. Updates on both meetings will be forthcoming. Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Jim on June 12, 2007, 21:49:16 2. New RingGo parking system Those of you who drive to Oxford station will have noticed the new RingGo paying system, designed to keep the car park free for rail passengers. After some initial doubts, most people seem to think the new system is an improvement (no trying to find those pesky pound coins!) but there has been a hike in the prices to ^4.50 per day, which seems to have seeked in without comment. We've been contacted by Cobalt Telephone Technologies who provide the technology behing the new system, who advice that if people are worried about giving out their credit card details over the phone on the platform or the train, you can pre-register at the RingGo website. ^4.50! Why is it becoming so expensive to park at a station! Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: grahame on June 13, 2007, 05:59:29 ^4.50! Why is it becoming so expensive to park at a station! Because it's unregulated and so the price rises to what the market will pay. Where there's a good train service, a shortage of spaces, no parking in nearby streets, poor public transport on road to the station and a major catchment that's not quite in walking distance .... Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on June 21, 2007, 10:40:05 Latest Ox Rail Action update :
Representatives of Ox Rail Action have been busy having meetings with important people, and so here is an update from us. Look out for the story, hopefully in the Oxford Times tomorrow. Meeting with FGW We met with Richard Rowland and one of FGW's timetable people last Friday, to discuss the proposed draft timetable for December. FGW are not going to consult widely on this timetable, (they initially stated that they would not consult at all) but they have agreed to consult with campaign groups such as ourselves, after much pressure. Unfortunately I cannot give specific details of the timetable here as it is in such draft form that individual train times may still change. Suffice to say that the timetable is largely the same for the 7.33 and trains after this one in the morning and the same for the afternoon trains as now. The difference comes in the earlier morning timetable, about which we have concerns. There is still a lack of HST trains, and there is a real gap between 6.30ish and 7.30ish, filled by only one three-car turbo, which we predict will have similar problems to the present 7.05 with overcrowding. We made clear to FGW that this was a particular part of the timetable that we had clearly campaigned about, and that we had expected that they would take our views on board to increase capacity at this key time of the day. FGW said they would try to put another train in but they're not promising anything. We made clear that this was the key problem with the timetable, and that we expected them to resolve this problem. Meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport Last Monday, representatives from Ox Rail Action met with Douglas Alexander, the Secretary of State for Transport; a meeting arranged by Oxford MP Andrew Smith. Coming at an ideal time, we told the minister about our concerns for the new draft timetable as outlined above. He made it clear that he knew that FGW are the worst performing train companies in the country and was quite frank about how bad the situation was. He has been having regular (twice monthly) meetings with Moir Lockhead, the head of FirstGroup to resolve the problems, and promised to bring up our concerns with him at the next meeting the week after next. Overall, we feel dissappointed that FGW have not taken our concerns about the early morning timetable on board, and are hoping that our input into the consultation, together with pressure from Douglas Alexander may go some way to help resolving the issue. The December 2006 timetable will be published in mid-August on the FGW website. Cycles on trains Just to confirm that although the timetable booklets state that cycles are not allowed on any peak-time trains, this is NOT true. Cycles are allowed, but only with a reservation. Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on August 22, 2007, 10:24:15 Latest Ox Rail Action Update :
Sorry for the lack of updates to the website - it's really because there has been not much news. We are still waiting to be shown the new December 2007 timetable, which we were promised mid-summer. We've been told it will be available to view on the FGW website in a couple of weeks so keep an eye out for it. Hopefully FGW will have taken on board our many concerns and issues over the draft timetable, but we shall have to wait and see. Meanwhile, in other news^.. Court threats London passenger group TravelWatch have accused FGW of breaching their franchise agreement, and after sending a letter to Tom Harris, the Rail Minister, they were threatened with being taken to court for libel. After a series of meetings, this threat has now been withdrawn but it just shows how campaigns such as ours can turn a bit nasty. A Poet You may have seen the recent press coverage of FGW's attempt at customer care with the appointment of a 'platform poet'. Sally Crabtree, a Cornish poet, performed at selected stations with her copper tree, including a session in Oxford last week. When asked for a quote about this for the newspaper reports, an Ox Rail Action spokesperson ( i.e. me) said "It made me laugh when I heard about this. If trains are delayed while this poet is performing, I don't think passengers will be too impressed". Actually, I laughed a lot more at The Times journalist Alan Hamilton's own poetry about FGW: Waiting, waiting, fulminating 'Gainst announcements once more stating That the 8.15 from Reading, Which for London should be heading, Won't be here for half an hour; There's been a failure in the power. Signals stuck at stubborn red; We could have laid awhile in bed, In ease and warmth to contemplate That First Great Western's running late. Excuses shower down like rain For why the train's delayed again. Driver shortage, leaves on line, Breakdown, letdown, bad design; Snow in engine, sun on rails, Carriage shortage down in Wales. The cheek of calling itself 'First' When figures show it's now the worst And underline the harsh reality Of quite abysmal punctuality. Yet always the commuter suffers, As taut-stretched patience hits the buffers. To customers they surely owe it To do far more than hire a poet. If you liked this, there is more at www.timesonline.co.uk/poetry Susan Westlake Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Jim on August 23, 2007, 08:02:11 Excelent Poems!
Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on December 20, 2007, 16:35:05 Ox Rail Action update :
Quote The new timetable we all pinned our hopes on arrived^ and First Great Western has failed to deliver. OxRail Action has continued to tell FGW's new Managing Director, Andrew Haines, of your mounting anger that a service already described as abysmal ^ not just by us. That was London Travelwatch! ^ has got even worse. If you've been reading the Oxford Mail, or listening to BBC Oxford, you'll have seen and heard us giving FGW a hard time. And we've been keeping in touch with local MPs. The first response from FGW is attached, in case you didn't see it on the train. FGW is offering compensation for lost time. Please use it and pass it on! We have also been promised a meeting with Andrew Haines soon. We have to keep the pressure on FGW and we need your support. Several of the original organisers of OxRail Action are no longer commuting to London every day, so we need new people to join the organising group and to help spread the word. The time commitment is small; an occasional meeting and a few emails ^ much less than you're losing to FGW delays at the moment! But if we get a reliable service, it will be worth it. So we'd like you to tell your travelling companions about OxRail Action and get them to join the mailing list by sending an email to this address. On Tuesday, January 8 th we'll be meeting in the Waterman's Arms, South Street, Osney Island (see http://oxford.openguides.org/wiki/?Watermans_Arms for a map) - at around 8pm. Do come along. Have a great Christmas ^ and let's make 2008 the year the train takes the strain, not us! OxRail ACtion Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: willc on January 11, 2008, 13:41:41 Report on OxRail Action meeting this week
http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.1954153.0.commuter_strike_on_agenda.php (http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.1954153.0.commuter_strike_on_agenda.php) Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: willc on January 17, 2008, 22:06:25 Report on OxRail Action meeting yesterday with Andrew Haines
http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.var.1971180.0.commuters_meet_rail_chief.php (http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.var.1971180.0.commuters_meet_rail_chief.php) Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on February 08, 2008, 20:05:37 From Ox Rail Action :
Quote As you know, following our campaign First Great Western has offered double compensation to season ticket holders for their poor service. Andrew Haines, First Great Western's Chief Operating Officer, has also promised to meet OxRail Action regularly to discuss FGW's efforts to improve the service. To prepare for our next meeting with Andrew Haines later this month, we are holding an open meeting in the Waterman's Arms in Osney (map here: http://www.multimap.com/maps/?title=Waterman's%20Arms&hloc=GB|OX20BE) to discuss passengers' views and the next steps for our campaign. The meeting will be at 7:45 pm on Tuesday 19th February. Haines has said he realises he cannot take customers for granted and has promised to discuss future fare rises with us. But we will only have an impact if we show that passengers are united, so a healthy presence at the meeting on the 19th is important. The meeting has been designed to make it easy for people returning from London to walk or cycle to the pub (or drive if you want!). It's a pleasant local hostelry with good food and beer, so come along, even if it's only for a few minutes. Also, don't forget to tell your fellow travellers about the meeting and encourage them to register with our email list by sending an email so saveourtrains(at)googlemail(dot)com Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on February 18, 2008, 18:06:15 From Ox Rail Action :
Quote Just a reminder that we are meeting with Andrew Haines later this month to raise concerns about First Great Western's service between Oxford and London. We are holding an open meeting tomorrow evening (Tuesday 19th February) in the Waterman's Arms in Osney to discuss your views and what we raise in our meeting with Andrew Haines. The meeting will be at 7:45 pm. We can only hope to have our voice heard if we have strong support and OxRail Action is seen as truly representing a large number of you. That's why it's important to come along tomorrow night. You don't have to stay long - and we'll try to keep the meeting short anyway! - but turning up will show your support. The meeting has been designed to make it easy for people returning from London to walk or cycle to the pub (or drive if you want!). It's a pleasant local hostelry with good food and beer, so come along, even if it's only for a few minutes. Also, don't forget to tell your fellow travellers about the meeting and encourage them to register with our email list by sending an email so saveourtrains[at]googlemail[dot]com Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on March 09, 2008, 14:48:13 Can be found in the link below.
http://oxrailaction.wordpress.com/2008/03/08/this-is-a-trial/ Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on March 16, 2008, 23:01:49 From Ox Rail Action : Quote Just a reminder that we are meeting with Andrew Haines later this month to raise concerns about First Great Western's service between Oxford and London. We are holding an open meeting tomorrow evening (Tuesday 19th February) in the Waterman's Arms in Osney to discuss your views and what we raise in our meeting with Andrew Haines. The meeting will be at 7:45 pm. Minutes from this meeting can be found in the link below. http://oxrailaction.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/oxrail-action-meeting-19-feb-shortened-minutes.doc Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on March 17, 2008, 22:19:42 Meeting minutes including some interesting info on future FGW plans (link below.)
http://oxrailaction.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/meeting-of-oxrail-and-fgw-27-2-08.doc Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: jane s on March 18, 2008, 09:34:03 Hi, Please can you summarise - I read this at work & this website is barred!
Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on March 18, 2008, 10:01:49 Hi, Please can you summarise - I read this at work & this website is barred! Quote from: Ox Rail Action MEETING OF OXRAIL AND FGW: 27TH FEBRUARY 2008 Present: FGW: Andrew Haines, Mark Hopwood, Mike Hogg, Richard Rowland, Sue Evans ORA: Zahra Akkerhuys, Paul Mylrea, Simon Eaton, Stanley Skoglund, Carol Sweetenham Update and announcement of 26th February Ah explained the background to the announcement of 26th February. Cancellations had been a particular issue; delays less so (although an issue for the West Country and Oxford). The misreporting issue had been raised by FGW itself as soon as discovered: it was ^poor practice^ which had now been ended, not a deliberate attempt to mislead. FGW had agreed three things with DfT: (i) that cancellations were at an unacceptable level, (ii) a remedial plan and (iii) a further passenger dividend for under-performance. The remedial plan included recruitment of additional staff, a new HST set in 2009 and in the interim retention of 3 Adelantes. The ^29m package included the ^4m previously allocated to doubling compensation for performance in 2008. The other ^25m was new money. This was split between: An additional ^7m on customer information An additional ^5m on refurbishing Turbos ^4m on customer service training, prioritising gateline staff ^2m on compensation of 7.5% if needed for 2009 ^6m on the Cardiff-Portsmouth route Money towards additional discount fares 2. Operating problems from Oxford Mark Hopwood explained that 100 additional train crew were being recruited and training to convert Turbo staff to HST working was nearing completion. FGW would restrict use of Turbos where HSTs were available but could not be staffed. Mike Hogg had been reviewing operating practices at Oxford, where FGW acknowledge problems with punctuality persist. FGW would: by 5 April raise speed in the sidings from 5mph to 15mph: this would make it faster to transfer trains across lines; a new siding on platform 2 by the end of March opening the down freight line to passenger traffic. By the end of the year they hoped to carry out signalling work to separate Bicester traffic from other station traffice, and to reintroduce permissive working (i.e. two trains being allowed on one platform, not permitted since 1999). Mark Hopwood added that: it remained a long-term aim to double the existing single track Cotswold line. In the short term he was looking at changing the operating of the 5.50 a.m. from Moreton; FGW was also looking at deprioritising freight at morning and evening peak. ORA commented that it was encouraging to hear about focused short term measures. However there were regular issues with the punctuality of the 7.30 a.m. and the 8.07 a.m., both of which were currently on average 15 minutes late. FGW said that the delay to the 7.30 was a knock-on of it ceasing to stop at Didcot and therefore catching up with a preceding slow service. They agreed to look at both. ORA raised the issue of quality and reliability of refurbished HST stock. AH explained that FGW had refurbished 53 sets in 20 months and he recognised this had had some effect on quality, e.g. taps working. However reliability was satisfactory. AH asked for views from ORA on a further proposed change to Oxford station. This would involve losing car parking space in exchange for a new bay platform at Oxford which would be used by stopping services. This was scheduled for 2011. He would however welcome feedback from Oxford commuters on whether the loss of some car parking space was a price worth paying for greater punctuality. Action: ORA to feed back views. Oxford station The treble provision of information screens remained confusing. It would not change for at least a year: a tender was about to be let for a complete overhaul of info systems. In the meantime the plasma screens were the most reliable. The refurbishment would be finished in around two months. The final stage was to instal an M&S store on the site of the old toilets, and to move the AMT bar a few feet. Timetable changes ORA said that, whilst they recognised the May changes were very minor, they were surprised not to have been consulted or even alerted. FGW said they would do so in future. FGW said that they were starting to consider the December timetable. ORA asked to be fully involved in the process as on previous occasions. Role of ORA AH agreed that: ORA should send a representative to the customer panel ORA should have its own poster site in Oxford station ORA would receive written permission to leaflet Oxford station, though this would be withdrawn if leaflets were defamatory or misleading about FGW. AH asked whether ORA would be willing to work with FGW on an information session at Oxford station. Action: ORA to consider and respond. Date of next meeting ORA said they were compiling a report on punctuality which they would present at the next meeting. Both sides agreed this should be in six weeks^ time, in mid-April. Action: FGW to trawl for dates. ORA February 2008 Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Lee on August 15, 2008, 11:26:29 OxRail Action met Andrew Haines, Richard Rowland, Richard Cole (NR) and Dylan Bowen (NR) to discuss the proposed improvements between Didcot and Oxford, the impact on commuters of the redevelopment of Reading station starting in 2010, and Crossrail (link below.)
http://oxrailaction.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/08-08-06-meeting-of-oxrail-fgw-nr.pdf Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Btline on December 07, 2009, 16:43:41 http://oxrailaction.wordpress.com/
They've been rather quiet recently. Esp when you consider the proposals for the station and new lines etc. Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: IndustryInsider on December 07, 2009, 16:46:20 I think it's due to a combination of the 'driving force' behind the group leaving the area, and the fact that Oxford-London commuters have never been so well served.
Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: ChrisB on January 12, 2010, 09:49:13 Yup - I'm even getting spam through their email newsletter now.
Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Andymills on February 06, 2012, 18:10:58 Hello everyone,
Just to let Oxford commuters know of the existence of a group called OxRail Passenger Group. Please see website: http://oxrailpassengergroup.wordpress.com/ (http://oxrailpassengergroup.wordpress.com/) OxRail Passenger Group was founded a few years ago, under the name of OxRail Action Group. On 10 December 2006 First Great Western introduced a new timetable for their train services, and the quality of life of Oxford^s commuters took a dramatic turn for the worse. The new timetable reduced the number of fast direct services from Oxford to London in the crucial 06:00 to 08:00 period from 6 to 3. And to make matters worse the 3 cancelled services used to start empty at Oxford. Overnight the carrying capacity of the service was reduced by 80%, meaning a significant number of people had to stand all the way from Oxford to London. Out of this chaos, the OxRailAction campaign was born. It started as a petition signed by over 250 people, which was then formed into a fully fledged campaign. The aim was to restore the previous capacity of fast direct train services from Oxford to London in the crucial period between 0600 and 0800. In the last couple of years frequency of services has been significantly improved but reliability and punctuality of FGW services from London Paddington to Oxford became the main issue of concern of this group. Tired of suffering hours of delay each year, anxious about having an important appointment in the morning not knowing at what time the train will get you there, persistent signaling and train faults, radio silence from train manager or inconsistent messages as to the reason of the delay^ With annual season tickets above 4,000^ a year the current level of service is unacceptable. Through regular dialogue with both FGW and Network Rail, this group of commuters is seriously lobbying for performance, reliability and punctuality improvements. Please join us in this effort, we need you! http://oxrailpassengergroup.wordpress.com/ Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Chris from Nailsea on February 06, 2012, 18:13:51 Many thanks for that information, Andymills - and a warm welcome to the Coffee Shop forum!
CfN :) Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: paul7575 on February 06, 2012, 18:57:36 With annual season tickets above ^4,000 a year the current level of service is unacceptable. Welcome. But please don't lay it on too thick about your season ticket cost though, because that's quite a bargain. You pay about ^18 a day for your journey, about a third of the ^54 that a walk up passenger wanting to travel in the peak would have to pay. That's about 14p per mile... Paul Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: ellendune on February 06, 2012, 20:10:55 And don't forget that for a mere 15 miles further the fare from Swindon is twice as much!
Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: IndustryInsider on February 07, 2012, 00:09:54 Good to see a little life being breathed back into this action group which had been pretty dormant for the last few years.
Though to just quote a couple of things from your latest update regarding the 07:31 service: 2) Hundreds of passengers at Oxford station are now obliged to wait up to 20 minutes in the cold because this service is now allowed to arrive late every day 3) Everyone pushing and squeezed like sardines trying to get on the train as we are now given 1,5 minutes to all jump on board 4) All passengers now having to wait at the platform generates concentration of people around the footbridge area resulting in people not being able to walk along the platform or doing it beyond the safety yellow lines as only option ^ and all of this for the benefit of a few dozen passengers from Charlbury ^ who, if I may say, already have 2 other services coming from Hereford in the morning that stop there. Whilst I can understand the annoyance of the lack of punctuality that affects the 07:31 now it starts at Charlbury - I've also noticed that it is regularly 5-10 minutes late, I find it a little ironic and a little selfish that you should actively suggest the reduction of trains from other stations so that you're all OK. As it was, the 07:31 provided Oxford commuters with a service that they were guaranteed to easily find a seat on, and still do with a fair chance they won't have anyone next to them until after Reading, and to be honest reasons 2, 3, and 4 above are pretty pathetic. You wait in the concourse if it's cold, and with reasons 3 and 4 that happens every day on pretty much all the other services that don't start at Oxford and hundreds of times throughout the region at other stations. Compared with the majority of stations on the commutable FGW routes, Oxford has it bloody good - just ask 'Johoare'! Looking forward though, I'm sure that FGW are taking the lack of punctuality of this service quite seriously (and it's right that you highlight it) - trouble is it can't easily start earlier as the stock can't get there as it has to fit in between other trains on the single line, so perhaps the timings of other trains need to be adjusted slightly earlier, or the 07:31 being advertised as a 07:36 departure with the same arrival time as now? Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: ChrisB on February 07, 2012, 10:50:45 That last suggestion would be supported here.
Starting it from Charlbury does remove that nasty crossover from the down sidings that shuts all lines at a very peak time of day, and that itself used to generate delays to this train on occasion! I don't think the Oxford fare is particularly high either - for an extra 18 minutes, the annual from Banbury is over ^1000 dearer, and as has been noted, the fare from Swindon is nearly double for just a further 15 miles. You need to bear in mind that the Oxford fares, like the cotswold Line fares, have historically been held down *because* the reliability is below par. Come electrification, I think you can expect fares to rise towards the pence per mile charged elsewhere on the HST routes....so I'm not sure I'd be shouting too loudly right now.... Lastly welcome Andy - do you often use someone elses email address in your profile, rather than your own? :-) - and were you aware than the Manager at Oxford is about to / if not already has moved to Swindon Ops - he's pushing his way up quickly is Matthew Lee.... Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Andymills on February 07, 2012, 12:31:31 Hello everyone,
Thanks for your feedback. First of all, Andymills is only a nickname, not my real name... I agree with you in that other routes are more expensive. I think paying any more than ^4000 to get to work is outrageous, particularly when compared with the poor reliability and punctuality during the year. I hope the relevant action/ passenger groups are fighting for this in those areas. I am part of OxRail Passenger Group so my responsibility is to defend the quality of service Oxford commuters receive. I have calculated that in 2011 I suffered above 36h delay, and I consider that paying ^4300 for that service is not appropriate. I have lived in other European countries where those fare levels can take you between cities >200km away. An 80km journey (Oxford-London) that requires 1h is already generous, to which they have added a 10 minute buffer until they call it officially late^ and to on top of that not being able to make it ^on time^ is ^ in my impression ^ a very poor level of service. Agree that the blame is to be shared between Network Rail and the Franchise operator, but we, as customers of FGW, can only push them. Going back to the 0731 that now starts at Charlbury, our group made it clear that we are not asking FGW to not serve Charlbury passengers (although I would like to bring to your attention that they have 2 other peak services coming from Hereford at around that time stopping there). We are simply asking for the 0731 to arrive and depart ON TIME to/ from Oxford. It is ridiculous that this train now departs systematically late! This obviously doesn^t work and we are trying to find a suitable solution. You might not agree, this is only my (and my group^s) view of things and we will continue to have regular dialogue with FGW to improve this. Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: ChrisB on February 07, 2012, 13:22:52 Let us know how you get on? Good luck.
For your fares concern, I think you ought to be talking to the DfT, as the operator has little legroom - see the threrad on Regulated (v unregulated) fares elsewhere. With Oxford & Didcot sharing the same fare levels, I can't see how any adjustment can easily be made to simply the Oxford fare? btw - have you updated your noticeboard at Oxfotrd station recently? :-) Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Andymills on February 07, 2012, 13:43:20 Thanks.
Yep, notice board updated last weekend :) Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: IndustryInsider on February 07, 2012, 15:22:21 I notice it was bang on time this morning. Bang on time as per its Working TimeTable departure time of 07:33. Still, I managed my annual little moan about Working and Public schedules last week...
Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: ChrisB on February 10, 2012, 10:14:01 Going back to the 0731 that now starts at Charlbury, our group made it clear that we are not asking FGW to not serve Charlbury passengers (although I would like to bring to your attention that they have 2 other peak services coming from Hereford at around that time stopping there). We are simply asking for the 0731 to arrive and depart ON TIME to/ from Oxford. It is ridiculous that this train now departs systematically late! This obviously doesn’t work and we are trying to find a suitable solution. Just bveen announced on twitter that this train is retimed to 0733 from 20 February. Better chance of getting away on time. Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Andrew1939 from West Oxon on February 10, 2012, 12:20:13 Just a little counter comment about the change of the 07.31 from Oxford to 07.15 from Charlbury. The main reason for the change was the above average growth in use of Cotswold Line trains especially at peak hour as more and more people have been relocating from areas nearer London to places like West Oxfordshire. This, together with increased use from further west has meant that, people boarding at Charlbury and Hanborough often had little chance of getting a seat to London, although some standing travellers did sometimes get the chance to have a seat from Oxford when CL travellers left a seat at Oxford just before the Oxford boarding travellers try to get on quickly to get a seat. FGW has changed the running of this train in response to changes in overall traveller use. Of course I sympathise with the Oxford people who have lost one of their Oxford starters but the ever increasing rail use is creating problems all over the network. Hopefully with extra carriages to be added to some trains this year the overcrowding can beased if not totally resolved.
With regard to prices, I was speaking a little while ago to one new Hanborough/London commuter who had relocated from Wokingham to Witney. He had wanted to move to a larger home to cope with his expanding family and had been commuting from Wokingham to Waterloo for work in the city. He said that he could not afford Wokingham prices and had discovered that West Oxon prices were much lower. He could make a major saving on his mortgage that more than paid for the extra cost of a season ticket for the longer journey (in miles). However he said that the actual commuting journey time from home to work was little different because the FGW service to London has faster trains with fewer stops than from Wokingham. So Oxford commuters although I think you are correct to raise your concerns about reliability and punctuality, you do have some advantahes over other commuters. Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: IndustryInsider on February 10, 2012, 13:27:57 Just bveen announced on twitter that this train is retimed to 0733 from 20 February. Better chance of getting away on time. Eminently sensible move. It has around 4 minutes of recovery time between Oxford and Didcot North Junction, so they'd be no need to alter any other timings. Having an advertised arrival time of 07:31 and a departure time of 07:31 is asking a bit much for a busy train! I'll let you know if the WTT departure time stays at 07:33, or now changes to 07:35! ;) Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Andymills on February 10, 2012, 14:43:52 Thank you for the info.
Sorry, I don't use twitter... how can I see this announcement and who is it coming from? Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: paul7575 on February 10, 2012, 14:59:12 Thank you for the info. Sorry, I don't use twitter... how can I see this announcement and who is it coming from? You can 'lurk' on FGW's twitter feed without signing up using this if you want: http://twitter.com/fgw Paul Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: Andymills on February 10, 2012, 15:06:18 Thank you!
IndustryInsider - would you like to join Oxrail Passenger group? :) Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: ChrisB on February 10, 2012, 16:12:53 Jo ***, works for Sue Evans.
Edit note: In line with our forum policy of not identifying members of FGW staff (other than directors) without their agreement, I've removed the surname here. Chris. Title: Re: Ox Rail Action passenger group - merged topics Post by: ChrisB on February 11, 2012, 11:33:16 Ok, thanks - wasn't aware of that policy.
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