Great Western Coffee Shop

Originally spotted by Timmer and in the final stages of construction (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=2415

I've already spotted 3 errors  ;D

Don't tell me - F ... G ... W !






I'm joking!!! ::)

Feel free to spill the beans....

Nothing too important ... just a few minor timing errors to booked times here and there.

EDIT: Oh, and that dodgy service on the Melksham line is still an error waiting to be corrected!!

You don't seem to be able to download the notes to any of the timetables.

The first train Malvern - Paddington still doesn't stop at Pershore. To get that train you still need nearly a thirty minute wait at Evesham.

Not impressed.

That's the bit that appears to be still under construction....

The Frome-Cardiff service is indeed a through journey, but the Avoncliff stop in the 0600 Portsmouth-Cardiff service has definately been taken out (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/DC%20MAY%202008%20TIMETABLE/Bristol%20area.pdf


Even odder is that it runs as a through service on Fridays....

Yes - that one is quite an odd one although it varies depending on the friday according to the data I'm looking at! I've just counted it as a different service as it's too complicated to work into notes.

Timetable B has an error and a couple of weird bits.
Summer Saturdays has a 12:50 PNZ-PLY with First Class, Resrvations and a Buffet but is not a HST.
Monday-Friday has the Exmouth-Penzance diagram shown as three trains although it may not operate from Exmouth any more. It has a EXD-PLY and a PLY-PNZ. Weird.
Summer Saturdays has the later Bristol train to Penzance in the morning as three trains Bristol-Exeter Exeter-Plymouth and Plymouth-Penzance.
Monday-Friday has the 11:4x Plymouth-Newton Abbott as 1 train and a minute earlier normally and two trains a minute later summer peak.

Dislike the fact that the origin of the service is now a note.

Also interesting to note that WoE services are now xx06 from Paddington. Might prove useful as many often have to wait for a slowly driven/dispatched Bristol service to leave at Reading.

The Exter - Plymouth / Plymouth - Penzance trains are different units. Spotted this when it came out on the FGW website about a month ago, but then they didn't connect. An email to Julian Crow got that fixed.

The summer Saturday service 1250 was certainly not an HST last year. Can't check on National Rail because neither this or the 1450 Penzance - Plymouth are uploaded, and do not show!

Book C for the Cotswold lines has missing stops for the 0600 Paddington to Worcester service (ie Charlbury)

I'm working through the timetable databases through various sources at the moment and getting mine ready for release (like I said I would for December. Damn time!!)

Really, they gain absoultely nothing for that and I do not understand why.
Exeter-Plymouth will probably be booked pacer so it can operate D/M the rest of the day.

It is now properly advertised and has ammendments available as well.

And my haven't FGW improved in their timetable production? There are now very few ammendments needed which is a huge improvement on a couple of years ago. Well done FGW!

At the risk of offending two of our global moderators, maybe "amendments"?

I can only spell when I write ot when I type, when I write I have brilliant spelling but I can't spell at all when I type.

Why does a train not call at Charlbury? ???

I was under the impression that Charlbury was one of the most important stops.

Mistake: Some trains are given 4 mins between departing Worcester Shrub Hill and arriving at Foregate Street! 2 mins is fine for most trains, perhaps 3 mins for HSTs as they are slower, but not 4 mins!

It's the difference between the public and working timetable coming into play on that one.

A post from the I Hate First Great Western blog mentioning the new timetable and also featuring an interesting take on overcrowding from Korea (link below.)
http://ihatefirstgreatwestern.blogspot.com/2008/04/train-pushers-and-new-timetable.html

Now wouldn't it make the Saturday 12.50 PNZ-PLY a Train spotters favorite IF this train was formed of the Day cars from the Night Sleeper and Class 57 haulage.
A proper train!

BR used to use the Day Cars like this for a PNZ-PLY, and 14.50 PLY-PNZ return working years ago.

It was a real MONEY earner with the Rail Enthusiasts.

Class 57 and "real" train??? only for someone who's sad enough to bash 57's!

In all fairness Vacman, what else is there left?

What, in preference to a 57? well where do I start, 142, 153........................ ;D

How about a 37? :)

Oh yes! my point is that anything is better than a 57!!

Apart from a 66 ... or a 67? ;)

Pwaoooar DESPERATE  :D

Cough, 142 Cough. today cough.

Now starting to arrive at stations....

:D

"We are sorry to announce that the 18.07 (get it?) Timetable service to your station is being delayed."

Or should that be 18.05!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Only took you two attempts to get that right ;)

Shut-up ;D :P

Great, now they're stopping peak hour Hereford to Paddington trains at Hanborough and stretching the times.

Suppose I'll carry on doing what I do most times I want to go to London these days, ie drive to Swindon and catch the train. At least there's four trains an hour so one c**k up doesn't affect you too badly. One and half hours in the car plus hour on the train still beats the direct timings. Ridiculous

I agree. The sooner proper expresses are introduced, the better!

Obviously, the local "Park and Ride" stations should have some trains, but not at such a cost that commuters are being forced onto the M40/A44!

Where abouts do you drive from?

I drive from Hereford - used to drive to Bristol P'kway until the traffic and road layouts around there became a nightmare.

I work in Cheltenham, so I have caught the Cheltenham train before with work colleagues. Despite that farcical single line stretch between Kemble and Minety, that's still better than the Cotswold line these days. Rejoice at the recent announcement about limited redoubling (see other posts).

I used to work outside Brum for a few years and it so happened I occasionally used Chiltern from Warwick to Marylebone. That shows what redoubling can do - great service. I lived in Banbury when younger and still remember the old morning and evening Paddington to New Street "express" via High Wycombe over the then single stretch..... Mind you, Chiltern could still use the old through fast lines at Beaconsfield, Denham etc (Too late now for Gerrards Cross).

But then as a real toddler in the 1950s I lived in Gerrards Cross and remember the old steam hauled expresses. Aaaaah.....

Seriously annoying that the 18:27 from Frome to Bristol is now departing later at 19:05. This pretty much means for me I can't commute back from Frome in the evenings anymore. It is a shame as there were always a decent number of passengers joining that service- usually at least 10 or so.

That train now starts from Westbury at 18:38. Wish they could have extended it to start from Frome!

This is due to a later Weymouth departure time, which also means that the service will have to wait at Yeovil Pen Mill for a train to pass (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=2397.msg17929#msg17929

The Weymouth line changes are probably related to issues raised by Frome Public Transport Users' Association and others (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=1137.msg5883#msg5883