Great Western Coffee Shop

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=4483

Maybe the trial Volo carriage a few years ago was a success then. Safe to say this will no doubt increase the passenger experience and hopefully encourage more people onto the railways

at an extra ^3.95 per time + headphone charge.

I am not in the slightest bit surprised at this. I'm convinced that whether or not the "trial" was deemed to be a success, this was always going to happen. As I've pointed out on here before, this was always the hidden agenda in the refurbishment which gave us the high backed seats in the first place. Those seats had little or anything to do with elfin safety: it was always about giving the TOC the ability to install "in flight entertainment" in the seat-backs at some future date and thus create a whole new income stream.

Looks quite good, particularly lucrative with bored children and families i'd imagine.

Good heavens no, families won't possibly travel unless trains are full of tables...! ;)

seems like a good idea to me, and free use until February apparently!

I wonder if they'll fit this into First Class... ^3.95 Would be excellent value when on one of my 5 1/2 hour trips down to Cornwall... ;)

Although, IIRC there's only one seat that it could possibly be fitted to... and thats the one on it's own in Coach F... and not all HST's have a Coach F >:(

I love the sense of irony

'The picture quality and content is first class'

No it isnt its standard class  ;D

Not sure that the content is first class either - if my experience of it on the Night Riviera is anything to go by. Yes, it was free, but old episodes of 'Friends' and 'Only Fools and Horses' weren't really worth the extra for Volo equipped single berths for me and my mate.

Maybe they need the same sort of programming that Virgin Atlantic use (newer Films, and games, as well as the program repeats)... I'd pay the extra if I was travelling a long way on a train..

Where is my reply!

I did a long one and it submitted!

Dunno - it is just possible that the odd article was lost yesterday when we had a database error - but I've checked on the timing of the problem and of this thread, and the issue had been fixed before this thread was even started ...

I know!

It was literally about four minutes before I noticed it missing that I sent it!

It may have been erroneously routed via Feltham and Staines, thereby falling through the hole in that collapsed bridge...  ;)

Sounded great until I scrolled down to read that they are charging for it. ???

Virtually every person over the age of 6 now has a laptop. Why pay ^3.95 when I can download my favourite tv programmes from  the last week for free and watch them during my journey? Not to mention DVDs - I can rent the latest Hollywood Blockbuster for ^3.95 and simply post it back when done with.

On my frequent Exeter - Padd journeys half the carriage is watching something or other on their laptops (using the thoughtfully provided power sockets!)

Can only think that if you are travelling with other people and you all want to watch different things

Monday is the new launch day - likely to be in LA60 set which could operate on any of our main line.

I suspect Laira will put it on the 1000 Penzance Paddington, however it could also be on the any of the early morning Plymouth starters or Paignton HST.

Would be nice to know where the pilot carriage is. FGW have singularly failed to put up details on the website, Volo.tv just refers you to FGW's homepage. Why promote 'Entertainment Class' then fail to inform passengers where/when it's running? Supposed to have started on 21st November.

Oh, and that picture on the FGW website showing the carriage looks like it has been made up. The screens that are supposedly in the seat backs are not there in the window reflections!

Any folks 'in the know' know where the carriage is? What set is it in and what diagrams is it working?

The MD of Volo TV knows daily where his carriage is but he's not telling me; FGW say they are to put running details on the website but have yet to do so. FGW Customer Service said "What's Volo?" when I called. Not the most auspicious of launches.

Was on 0752 Oxford - Paddington this morning.

What a waste

Paddington - Oxford in fact.

As far as I can tell, vehicle is TS 42232 in the coach position in set LA60 then.

Still a waste

Surely best suited to longer distance journeys

It was, as this is formed by the 07:03 Maidenhead departure not that anyone who got on at Maidenhead had a chance to look at one mainly because we're lucky if we can even find standing room

Many HST diagrams will have an Oxford on them before the set then forms a Penzance/Swansea train later in the day. I don't know what that particular diagram is but it's highly unlikely just to have plied between Oxford and London all day!

The diagram I have found for this particular set (according to 125group (http://www.125group.org.uk/diagrams-FGW.pdf)) is:

0612 DID-PAD
0752 PAD- OXF
0931 OXF-PAD
1121 PAD-GMV
1434 GMV-PAD
1751 PAD-WOS
2059 WOF-PAD

Let us know Angel if you are on the 1751 ex PAD (Your usual is the 1722, right?) this week and the Volo carriage is there!!

The set will probably be on a different diagram each day though.

No - Mon-Thur my usual is the 1751

I get the 1738 from Crowthorne to Reading which gets in normally just as the 1722 is pulling out - but if the 1722 is delayed I can get it.

The last couple of weeks have been the exception - the weather has been so bad that, what with the cancellations, delays and stuff, I havent had the bike so get cabs and can make wokingham for the 1727 which just connects with the 1722.

Fridays I always get the 1722.

Tomorrow I am for certain on the 1751 since I am stuck in the waterloo hotel in crowthorne tonight due to a power cut overnight causing me to sleep through the alarm meaning I need to make 100% sure I am in early tomorrow.  My usual abode at the mal in reading was fully booked so I figured to get as close to the office as possible and this was it.

I will make a point of observing as it pulls into RDG and see if it is indeed the volo set.

You can miss the coach, just look for 1984 Orwellian looking passengers staring blankly at screens  ;D

The volo system has been on the Cotswold line as well. Quite why it is needed here beats me, most of us cant even contemplate planning to be in a certain coach, a seat anywhere would be good.

Looks like Laira are moving the carriage around different sets. Been told that today the Volo carriage was on the 1733 PAD-PGN.

Can some one pin it down for me so I can 'spot' it? :P ;)

Don't confuse the diagram number with the set number. As I said last page, the sets will usually be put on different diagrams each day. I would expect that the Volo carriage hasn't changed sets (indeed it would have spent last night at Old Oak Common, not Laira), just that it's been put on a different diagram. A busy one today, too; a couple of Oxford's, a Cardiff, and a Newton Abbot to round things off.

1733 Paddington -Paignton will be carting around much air after Westbury, particularly on a Wednesday night!

Been told by the Volo MD (who himself is having trouble pinning his carriage down!) that the carriage is starting from Bristol tomorrow (Fri 27th Nov). Anyone know what diagram?

its definately at Bristol because i worked it in as the 2045 ex pad service

Currently on its way to Wales in the consist of the 08:15 Paddington - Cardiff.

Just found myself in the Volo Coach on the 09.12 Newbury - Exeter St Davids. Bit of an odd choice with a lot of intermediate stops - not really a long distance train with passengers making long journeys.

Was very interesting to watch passengers reactions. The intial wow this is a coach with TV soon turned into disappointment that it was a pay to view service and that they needed headphones. Those who worked out that they could get a free code to allow them to view by entering thier mobile number were reticient to give the mobile number. End result nobody watching TV and most a little disappointed.

A couple of people played with the interactive map which seemed useful (with location, speed and ft above sea level) until it froze outside Pewsey and stayed like that for the rest of the journey. The emergency information got a bit montenous on repeat playing until Pewsey.

I like the sound of that! I always like planes that show this. As well as on Volo, I think many PIS systems on trains will be getting like this. The Thameslink stock proposals show the info screens saying things like "Bedford 14 min/20 miles" and "Speed: 75 mph".

Hmm.  At 75 mph it will take 16 minutes to travel 20 miles ...  ::)

Lucked upon 'Entertainment Class' today. Changed onto the 0730 PAD-PNZ Merchant Venturer from the loco hauled CDF-PGN train at Newton Abbot. The PNZ train was delayed which was a bit of a result as I didn't have to wait at Plymouth for another connection to Liskeard. Headed for me usual coach E and failed to notice Volo carriage until we were held at Plymouth for a points failure at St Budeaux. It was only on reading the platform PIS that I discovered this train had a/the Volo carriage.

Log in for the free trial was seemless and quick, and my choice of an episode of 'Frasier' passed the 25 minutes to Liskeard.

I'm guessing that as it is a free trial the choice of programming is limited and will doubtless improve when it becomes a pay-per-view service. I did a rough headcount and there were 8 people using Volo TV between Plymouth and Liskeard.

(http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt68/bignosemac/Picture032a.jpg)

(http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt68/bignosemac/Picture035a.jpg)

I hope the screens are not vandalised. :-\

One downside. The couple sat behind me didn't understand the concept of 'touch screen'. The prefered to poke the screen forcibily enough for me to feel every key entry through my seat back. Perhaps they were used to using FGW's TVMs. ;D I held my tongue...... ::)

I see from the Ring Go parking website that as of 1st March, Ring Go is now "the approved method of payment for in train entertainment on First Great Western Trains".

I feel like writing to them and asking how much it would cost to stage a re-run of that hilarious punch-up between drunken football fans on the 18:35 last week....

Volo being demonstrated on the main concourse at Paddington today. Had a little chat with the demonstrator who said that a few trains are running with it today and it will be across the whole fleet 'very soon'!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8619167.stm

On the odd ocassion when I've seen it in action, not many people seem to be using it (other than the moving map, which I guess is free). Any news on take up?  ^3.95 sounds a lot unless you're on a long journey with two bored kids.

I don't know how much money FGW have spent on this, but it probably would have been much better spent equipping their trains with wifi internet access (which they could then charge for).

There is a large problem with the flat fee in which users between London and Bristol/Cardiff or paying the same as those travelling to Penzance and are getting a lot less value for money. Probably would have been smarter and cheaper to of only put it on the Low Density sets meant for longer distance travel (Assuming FGW is actually paying for it)

Agree 100% that would be really useful.

I have sat in one of these carriages several times now (most recently last week) and have yet to see someone actually watching paid for content.

Was pleasantly surprised to see these new-fangled Volo tv things this morning (05:55 to London Paddington) are they standard on all mainline FGW services now?

In fairness ^3.95 is a bit pricey to watch an old episode of Top Gear but some of the free stuff such as tube times, route maps, BBC headlines etc are quite nifty in my opinion. I think some form of National Rail Enquiries search format would be extremely useful

However everyone knows that they're going to be vandalised/ nicked very soon. Still nice to see FGW moving into the 21st century

Sorry that should have said tube maps. D'oh

Moving route route maps are not so uncommon in Europe.

The trams in Dresden have moving maps as do some double deck RE stock on services North of Berlin.

FGW have not paid a penny as I understand it - I think Volo are the ones making the investment. All FGW have done is give them the maintenance time to install...

Correct I think.  Perhaps the same arrangement could/should be reached with a wi-fi supplier?  Wi-fi was after all a franchise pledge, was it not?  To duck out of it with comments that the technology would soon be out of date doesn't really wash with me.

I think franchise pledges are rather like political manifestos.

"This is what we say we are going to do to get the gig. Once we've got the gig we'll do what we like."

The most blatant example of this was when TV-AM lost the breakfast franchise to GMTV many years ago. GMTV put in a ludicrous bid which was accepted by the government, and out TV-AM went. A year or so later they were back tail between their legs asking for it to be renegotiated, because they couldn't possibly make any money. Astonishingly, the government agreed to make the terms less onerous.  By that stage TV-AM had ceased to exist (not surprisingly), so was not able to challenge the decision in court.

It all seemed mightily unfair. At least in the rail industry, franchises have proved reasonable firm commitments, with the only (?) renegotiations being Virgin WC and XC, where the bearded one had the government over a barrel as the financials assumed a 140mph railway would be built. 

I was on a train with Volo on April 7th (07:30 between PAD and NTA). I didn't try out
the TV stuff as it didn't appeal to me, but I used the maps which I thought were good but could have been a bit more detailed or zoomed in more. It made me laugh when a middle aged couple got on at EXD and the woman was trying to turn the screen off as she didn't want to stare a it for her whole journey, however it seems they could not be turned off so she draped a copy of the Telegraph over it!

Incidentally, they now have a screen by one of the information desks at Paddington telling you which services have Volo fitted!

I was in one of these carriages between Oxf and CBY a couple of weeks ago, one thing I noted is that while you expect there to be no screens on the seats around the tables, there are also a distinct lack of screens on the airline seats across the aisle from the table seats.

Like others, I didnt see a single set being used to watch the TV content, just the maps.

Well I have a confession to make, the other day I got a train from Cardiff to Paddington and they had the Volo screens onboard and the 8 year old child in me came out and I had a good old press on the screen, looking at BBC headlines and the maps etc and then it froze up for the remainder of the journey.

I tried  folloing the onscreen prompts an even turning it off but to no avail. So apologies

This was an accident not wilful vandalism I hasten to add.

Another trip in a Volo Coach - not a soul watching. Have they stopped the moving map for free as I couldn't find it at all???

The moving map is still available but now is within the paid for section

I just Googled Volo TV. It seems that the tv presence is annoying more people than it pleases, and there are some interesting debates, especially if you click on the transitioncultures.org entry on Google. Many comments also about 'no-one using it'. For me, only the map would be of interest.

Only free thing now is 'live updates'.

Even turning them off is problematic - something triggers them into life - mine came on twice from St Erth to Hayle and at Camborne, Redruth & Truro - after that it was off till Exeter.

If you switch off the screen it is designed to switch on again at every station stop.

The fact that there will always be a few that will use them probably just about makes the project viable. It's the sort of thing that you would have expected Virgin would have done on their services. The fact that they haven't does make you ask the question why FGW decided to go ahead and have them installed.

Perhaps Volo TV is the reason the awful claustrophobic high back seats were fitted.

The VDU at Twyford this morning announced that the 06:53 to Paddington had "TV entertainment in coach D". Problem was that the service was formed (as is scheduled) of a 5-car Turbo!  ;D

Indeed. According to Paul Soor, MD of Volo TV, they have a business model that only needs 7% of passenger journeys to (make it) pay. He's quiet on profit details and start up costs though.

When I last stood up in coach D, I glanced into D and a few seemed to have something that resembled Top Gear on. I suspect it's used more on the Penzance - Paddington route however.

There is some information on the Volo website about becoming a "Voloteer" (i.e. free access to the system, in exchange for your views)
http://www.volo.tv/voloteer.html

I normally go in quiet zones on trains so I can (hopefully) get away from people using those darn mobile phones.  But a few weeks ago I thought I'd go in the Entertainment Class, so that I could watching the live moving map and speed display.  Very dissapointed to find that I couldn't access this feature.   I now read it on that this is only available if you pay to use it.  I don't think I'll be doing that!

This mornings 0835 from Charlbury to Paddington (0851 at OXF) advertised as 8 car HST with volo tv in coach E. Unfortunately as is too often the case this was a 7 car HST with no coach E whatsoever, ABCD,F (buffet) GH. Removing standard class coaches on the first off peak train which is always very busy is a big mistake, especially when the missing coach is being explicitly advertised on the CIS.

volo tv is only fitted to D coaches!!!!!!

I would agree that it is fitted to a carriage that is usually labelled coach D and 4th in the rake.

However carriages are shuffled around  frequently (we often get ABCCE, ABDCE, frequently lose E or B) and the CIS at Oxford this morning definitely said coach E (I thought it looked odd and waited for the scrolling display to repeat)) and this was the missing coach this morning.

How are the 7-car sets with microbuffet labelled? Are they ABCDEGH or ABCDFGH? If the microbuffet is E, does that mean that it's now E in which there are no reservations rather than D, to account for the different seating layouts? Or are both reservation-free?

This morning train was ABCDFGH, ie no E, no idea if this was a micro buffet in F as seats are so rare that once I have one I dont move until Oxford. F did have some sort of buffet and seating at the first class end of the carriage (ie near G and H).

TSBs are labelled as Coach F as per the normal buffets, so formations are either

A B C D E F G H for a 2+8 set with a full buffet in; or
A B C D F G H for a 2+7 with a TSB.

Coaches E and F are both unreserved so it makes no difference to the reservation system if a 2+7 is substituted for a 2+8 and vice versa

Thanks for that - wasn't sure which way round it was, whether all catering vehicles were labelled F for consistency in that respect, or if the microbuffets were labelled E to keep standard/first coach labelling consistent.

Erm ... since when has 'consistency' been a feature on the railways??  ::)

E is the unreserved carriage (F for the case of mini buffet)

Can we agree which is correct?

If in doubt, believe Ollie since he works for FGW

E and F are both unreserved regardless of class of travel. All FC reservations are in G & H.

Digging up an old thread.
Volo in coach B today but not at all seats.