Great Western Coffee Shop

…...could make for fun and games at the ticket gates!!!

GWR Amended Facilities


Due to a fault with the ticketing systems. Passengers will be travelling with reference numbers today.

Ticket office machines not capable to issue prebooked tickets but the automatic machines were/are ok

Not so at Newton Abbot and Totnes. All TVMs and both ticket offices unable to release pre-booked tickets.

Think they should do away with all these stupid prebooking things, just goto booking office on the day and get a ticket to travel, like I always do.

It will be interesting to see the outcome of the RDG consultation - http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=19894.0 - report due soon?

Advance fares sometimes work well for the passenger who's looking for a bargain basement fare and the train operator who gets a passenger onto a really really quiet train, and 100% of the income too I believe rather than an industry share for the journey.  But for return trips, beware little or no saving ... and beware the inconvenience of having to hang around for your train if you can't plan accurately your travel time in one direction.

You enjoy spending far more money than you need to?

And miss out on some great value Advance purchase fares? No thanks, I like the current system. Like airlines and hotels, the earlier you book the better the deal (in most cases)

There seems little sense (and not good for the customer) in removing that Advance option.  If Dispatch Box does not want to use them (s)he does not have to.   I have an allergy to chocolate and cannot eat it, but that does not make me call for it to be done away with for everyone else!

TfL input to the RDG report includes using only contactless & single tickets (returns twice the orice)

While this works reasonably well within their operational area, can't see it catching on elsewhere - especially as max contactless is only £30....won't get you far in the South East at peak times....

Because of illness I do not go far much anyway, Just to Cheltenham from Gloucester mostly. fare 4 pounds 95 pence, blasted pound sign not working.
Also I have witnessed many people trying to get tickets out of the machines at Gloucester only to swear at the machine cos it does not recognise the codes they have to use.

Graham, if I PM you my home address you are welcome to send me any surplus chocolate that is bothering you and I will dispose of it safely and responsibly...

 ;D

Much as I would like to do that for you, my wife regards the diversion of any chocolate that comes my way towards her as being one of the elements of our relationship.   Whilst I can assure you that this diversion is not a keystone of the relationship, it is never the less something that ain't bust and should really not be fixed.  I thank you, however, for your kind offer of an alternative solution to my situation.

Went to Trowbridge today to pick up some tickets.  Bristol side TVM decided that it couldn't be bothered -still telling me to wait after 5 minutes.  The ticket office was closed. Fortunately the Westbury side machine cooperated. However whilst printing out the tickets it told me that an off-peak return to Cheltenham, sold for and dated for a Friday was not valid on a Friday.  I thought all Friday restrictions had ended years ago so where did that come from?

I very largely agree.
I have previously suggested that fares need to be greatly simplified, and that no discount should be applicable for advance purchase.
I stand by my earlier remarks that only 3 different fares should be available for a given journey, the highest fare at the busiest times and the lowest fare on lightly used services.
I see no merit in punitively high fares for last minute travel on a lightly used service.
Neither do I see any merit in offering discounted advance fares for services known to be overcrowded.

…...that would introduce a price based apartheid on (for example) travel to the Westcountry on Fridays after midday, it would create a system of travel only affordable on a universal basis to the relatively wealthy. Good luck with getting people off the roads and onto the trains with that mindset, it would be a massive disincentive to use the railways for a whole tranche of society.

As the railways receive massive public subsidy, this should be reflected in its pricing policy and be available to all - in virtually every area of life, if you plan and are prepared to pay in advance you get a discount.

The answer is to increase supply, not restrict demand.