Great Western Coffee Shop

Hello All,

I've recently started commuting from Thatcham to Paddington every day and have bought an annual season ticket. I have read in various places about a few benefits available to season ticket holders but I'm not sure what is available on FGW services. Can anyone shed any light on this ?

Having never used trains before regularly I'm also pretty impressed with FGW, maybe I'm still in the honeymoon period but the HST's are pretty comfy on the way home although the little trains (165's I think) are pretty tired but I hear a refurb is on the way....

Thanks all !

Anthony

I'm sure John R can confirm, but don't gold cards give a few days that allow unlimited travel across the FGW network?

That is assuming an annual season is the same as a Gold card!

just did a random check...

its not always a cheap option to get an anual season ticket infact in the case of digby- dawlish warren it would cost you ^70 extra a year

^984 for an annual season (unless railcard discount is available)
however you could do this same return trip 365 times... more than enough!!! for ^912
and if you only did this trip once a day only on weekdays you would save even more

How did you work that one out?

I make it ^1387 off peak and ^2117 Peak.

cost me ^2.50 off peak return and no i did not select child fair lol, i did notice a woman got on at st thomas and was charged 3.60 from st thomas to dawlish warren... are fairs at the machine cheaper than onboard the train

God knows where you got that fair from!

DIG - DWW
FDS      8.30
FDR       16.60
FCR        9.00
SDS       5.20
SDR       5.80
CDS        3.70
CDR        3.80

^2.50 is a Railcard fare, however.

 :-[ i did miss that bit out didnt i.... still it wont let you book a season ticket online with your railcard

It's not the same thing. A gold card is only available on season tickets issued in the former NSE area, so I haven't got one. I did wonder if I went to Didcot and bought my Swindon to Nailsea seasons there I would get one, but in the end decided life's too short!

My non-gold card FGW annual season renewal this year gave six free FGW tickets to use at weekends.  But only for renewals I believe. These tickets are unusual in that they are completely transferable - you don't need to take your season ticket with you to prove you're entitled to them.

They have also repeated the offer of go anywhere on FGW at weekends for ^10 standard or ^20 first class with other members of your party entitled to travel at the same price (children half price). And other associated freebies like free weekend car parking.

I presume that these benefits were also available to gold card tickets issued by FGW. As I understand it the Gold cards also have more permanent benefits, which I'm sure can be found on the National Rail site. 
 
Finally, I think you have to buy your ticket through FGW to get the non-gold card benefits.

No that would not work.  one of the stations has to be in the network area.  As neither Swindon nor Nailsea are then sorry no.

Thanks for clarifying that. I'm glad I didn't bother trying!

When I had an annual season ticket up until recently, the benefits I remember were occasional first class (off peak) upgrades, as well as vouchers for free weekend car parking, a free drink from the buffet (not that our local trains have buffets  :)) and things like that..

Hi Athony W,

Is your ticket just Thatcham to Paddington or is it a travelcard for ALL Zones?

If it's the former I don't know what benefits you get.

But with an ex NSE Gold Card All Zones you get unlimited travel rail, tube, bus, DLR and Croydon trams  to  all destinations out to boundary of Zone 6, including Heathrow by Piccadilly and bus, but not Heathrow Connect except between Hayes and Padd.

You also used  get 1/3 off OFF peak journies Monday to Friday and all dat Sat Sun on ex NSE services. If these journies start in the TFL zones you can usually buy a ticket from Boundary Zone 6 rather than the London terminl. I've done Boundary Zone 6 to Littleport (on a non stop Cambridge in a 165 without underfloor engines a much superior beast,  and Bus from Cambridge, engineering works! Well it was a Saturday and Peterborough to Boundary Zone 6. I've also done Boundary Zone 6 to Stanstead, Redhill,  Ashford (Kent), Datchet.
 
Not sure if discount still applies or about current rules of train stopping at last station in Zone.

It's a Thatcham to London ALL ZONES, sorry I should have been more specific ! Thanks for your help and the info, I wasn't given any vouchers or details on benefits when I bought the tickets (had to buy one for the Mrs as well - an expensive day !) so it's good to know I get a little something extra for my 8 grand !

Cheers
Anthony

There used to be a leaflet on Gold Cards giving benefits and restrictions. Maybe still available.

FGW is remarkedly quite about benefits. Couldn't find any reference on their website although it does admit to selling Gold Cards.

Go to SWT website and the benefits are spelled out.

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/SWTrains/Ticketsandprices/Season+tickets/GoldService.htm

Also on C2C and Southern.

Also found:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/season_tickets/goldcard.html

Which in theory should be definative and are.

Holders of Gold Card season tickets and Travelcards receive:

34% discount on Standard Class Single and return tickets on participating train company services within the Network Area, plus:


Up to three other adults aged 16 or over, each receiving a 34% discount
Up to four children aged between 5 and 15 pay just ^1
Up to two children aged under 5 travel free of charge with each fare paying passenger.
The maximum group size is four adults, four flat fare-paying children and two children under 5 (who travel at no charge). The Gold Card holder must travel with the group at all times.

discounts on a London Zones 1-6 Off-Peak Day Travelcard

Gold Card holders do not need to purchase a ticket for themselves if the journey to be undertaken is covered by their season ticket.

Restrictions are:

Discount are available for travel at or after 1000 hours on Mondays to Fridays. Valid at anytime on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays. There are some exceptions where you can travel earlier, ask when you buy your ticket.



So if your wife has one too you can travel with 6 other adults 8 children over 5 and 4 children under 5!

My only doubt is that it mentions

When using a combination of tickets, if one of the tickets is a season then the train doesn't have to stop at the boundary station.

Or, as National Rail put it:

19. Using a combination of tickets
You may use two or more tickets for one journey as long as together they cover
the entire journey and one of the following applies:
(a) they are both Zonal Tickets (unless special conditions prohibit their use);
(b) the train you are in calls at the station where you change from one ticket to
another; or
(c) one of the tickets is a Season Ticket (which for this purpose does not include Season
Tickets or travel passes issued on behalf of a passenger transport executive or
local authority) or a leisure travel pass, and the other ticket(s) is/are not.
You must comply with any restriction shown on the tickets relating to travel in the
trains of a particular Train Company or Train Companies (see Condition 10).
If you do not comply with this Condition, you will be treated as having joined the
train without a ticket and the relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply, either
to the entire journey, or from the last station where the train stopped at which at
least one of the tickets was valid.
For the purposes of this Condition, a ^leisure travel pass^ means any multi-journey
ticket (excluding Season Tickets) valid for:
(i) at least 7 consecutive days; or
(ii) at least 3 days in a period of at least 7 consecutive days
and includes rover tickets, travel passes, flexipass tickets and BritRail passes.

John

When did that happen, I've seen nothing of the sort from FGW, did they post them to you or did you have to hunt them out in the deepest recesses of their 'friendly' website?

They were posted. Think they arrived in late February (I renewed on 31/12). The discounted ^10 offer mailing came through about 2 months ago.

So, are you on FGW's mailing list as an annual season ticket holder? If so, and you renewed an annual ticket, I think you should have got them.



 

Yes but most people who buy seasons are travlling to work so usually in peak time, so a mass saving by buying a season!

thats a good point, mind you if you work the afternoon shift then your onto a winner