Great Western Coffee Shop

This was rather odd yesterday (Saturday 08/05/2010), Me and a friend were going to catch the 14:25 service to Weston-Super-Mare of off Platform 10 at BRI, we had 1st tickets and noticed the CIS on platform 12 was showing that a TV carriage was in Coach B & D on the 14:51. So we assumed this was a HST, knowing these have 1st Class we decided to wait.

The odd thing about the whole thing was this train had come from Cardiff Central. I checked the timetable on my iphone and this train was showing that it did not have 1st accomodation. However when the train turned up, it was most definately a HST. We got on the train and took a seat. The guard checked tickets and proceeded to move everyone who had Standard Class tickets out of 1st, even though the timetable said SC only!

So my question is, is this going to be a regular working on a saturday? or what exactly did someone at FGW towers decide to do with the 14:51

Cheers,

TT

One of the options when strengthening is needed for Weymouth is to use a 125 on Cardiff - Taunton and send the carriages released down to the seaside.   Don't know if it will be regular, but according to what I hear, it's most certainly a planned option

It was indeed HST vice unit. I've travelled on this particular diagram when it has been an HST.

That's an interesting one... I have a feeling that strictly speaking they can't do that if FC happens to be provided on an advertised SC-only train. After all, remember all the ex-TPEx 158s that ran around with first class compartments for many months before being refurbished...

But would he be allowed to "lock out" the coaches as such to keep passangers closer together instead of spread across the train to make it easier for them when it comes to people getting off at smaller stations.

I seem to remember a court case on this several years ago I think around around Mirfield and the Calder Valley (well somewhere "oop ther") where all services were advertised as SC only being mainly 14X.

When a 156 or 158 turned up everyone piled in the FC.

The TOC (or it may have been still BR) tried to surcharge people even no FC fares were quoted for the route.

I believe it  went to court and surprisingly, in my view, I seem to remember the TOC won.

So the guard may well have been right to turn them out as in your case.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that if a train with FC accomodation turns up on a route where there are only services with SC and thus no published FC fares, the guard or train manager is entitled to charge people sitting in FC the relevant full Anytime Single SC fare plus 50%, no matter what time of day it is and what ticket they already hold.

Last week (I can't remember which evening) the 18.51 service to Oxford from Paddington had an unusual carriage arrangement where carriage E in what would normally be standard class was a "re-badged" First class coach G reporting to be carriage E.

The problem was that to the typical passenger it appeared First Class so hardly anyone sat in it.  People stood instead waiting to find out if they could sit there or not.

Unfortunately, even though the train was rammed with all the vestibules full no announcement made the situation clear.  On leaving Paddington the train manager instead of saying coaches A-E are standard class and F-H first class (which is usual in my experience) simply stated that standard class was towards the front and first class towards the rear which didn't help the situation at all.  In the end the carriage was basically unused all the way to Reading because no-one knew it's status.

Boppy.

That's not good if it was standing room only. In my experience some TM's make it very clear that the coach in question is available for standard pax, whereas others leave you guessing. And of course, the majority of people will not know or work out what the position is, and those that suspect will probably err on the safe side.