Print Page - Buying advance tickets tomorrow

Me and my mum is going to Bristol Temple Meads tomorrow to get the advance tickets to Dawlish for the airshow on Thursday 19th August 2010. I have looked up the price on FGW and it costs ^13.60 altogether with the F&F Railcard. We are catching the direct 11:15 CrossCountry service there for ^8.50 and the 20:02 FGW service back for ^5.10 changing at Exeter St Davids which totals ^13.60.

We are catching the CrossCountry service up as we do not like the FGW HST's as the seats are horrible and have hardly any tables. The seats are too close together making it more packed in and the lights are too bright.

We have not got much choice coming back as we are catching the last train so we will be on a FGW HST coming back. I will try to reserve a table seat in the quiet zone if they have not already gone.

Voyager seats are far closer together than HSTs, plus they only have 2 tables per coach since XC changed the seat layout. So on a 4 car vomit thats 6 tables in cattle class. FGW has either 10 or 20 tables dependant on whether its low or high density. If you travelled on the 0944 from Bristol or 1244 then it would be a XC HST, which are by far the nicest of the lot.

Perhaps slightly controversially, I beg to differ... Leaving aside the general crank preciousness about how "it's not a train unless you're sitting at a fixed table, how can you possibly expect families and groups to travel without them?" (which as I've posted before in my opinion is absolute garbage), have you ever tried sitting in the "airline" seating on the XC HSTs? Horribly cramped compared to FGW. And the tray tables aren't up to the job so many of them droop past horizontal and stuff slides off. Vastly over-rated!

Quote from: vacman on June 15, 2010, 20:20:31

ummm FGW HST's may not be perfect but compared to a Vomit Comet they are like Pullman carriages! Also every train of Dawlish on carnival day will be full and standing anyway!

True. I just think FGW have ruined them by ripping out all those lovely comfortable seats. Every train will be packed but I think FGW may lay on Loco-Hauled trains running between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot as they did last year which would ease overcrowding a little.

Hmm. The lovely comfortable seats where you had to perform acrobatics to slide across a fixed arm-rest and get into a window seat, where the cushions were so old and squashy you sank about two feet when you sat down, and where in the airline seating someone of my height had their knees jammed against the seat in front?

Think we'll have to agree to disagree here :)

Quote from: inspector_blakey on June 15, 2010, 22:02:26

Ok. Everybody has there own views. I must admit we did sink when we sat down (but we loved it). I don't know what the airline seating was like on them as I always had a table.

Quote from: devon_metro on June 15, 2010, 20:39:05

What train do you suggest we book for? We are undecided whether to go with FGW or CrossCountry. I would imagine the train would be packed whatever TOC we decide to go with. We think CrossCountry are more comfortable and is a smoother journey. The FGW HST's are cramped. But the tea on CrossCountry is cheaper! Is it true they have done away with all the buffet cars? Would a trolley definately pass up and down the train or would I have to find it? Would it be a XC HST on the 11:15 from BTM to Dawlish and 20:50 from Exeter St Davids to BTM?

Thanks for your help Devon Metro.

Quote from: James158 on June 15, 2010, 22:33:46

Is it true [CrossCountry] have done away with all the buffet cars?

Yes.

Quote from: James158 on June 15, 2010, 22:33:46

Would a trolley definately pass up and down the train

No.

Quote from: James158 on June 15, 2010, 22:33:46

or would I have to find it?

Possibly, assuming you wanted a cup of tea that badly*

Quote from: James158 on June 15, 2010, 22:33:46

Would it be a XC HST on the 11:15 from BTM to Dawlish and 20:50 from Exeter St Davids to BTM?

No and no.

When all's said and done, it's your choice which train company you want to take. It sounds like you've used CrossCountry Voyagers and FGW HSTs before so take a crazy risk and make a decision on that basis ;) If you're using advance tickets then you could also decide based on what trains have the cheapest tickets available, since you can only use those tickets on the train you are booked on.

*_{But remember that if all the trains are very crowded due to the Dawlish airshow (which they will be) then a trolley probably won't be able to get through the aisle and neither will you. In that case, it doesn't make much difference whether there's a buffet counter or a trolley, you ain't getting a cup of tea either way. Thermos...?}

Personally I'd go with the cheapest option which probably isn't Cross Country. I always try and avoid Cross Country like a barge pole simply because I dislike the lack of tables/lack of legroom/lack of decent catering/annoying toilets/unsavoury smell that are found on Voyagers.

I don't find the refreshed HSTs bad, legroom is ample, the buffet serves a wide range of goods and the enthusiast in me prefers the mk3 with droplight etc.

On balance I'd travel on the 1114 Paignton service simply because it is direct and negates the use of a packed unit betweenExeter and Dawlish. On the return however I'd travel on the 2042 FGW HST from Exeter, which is usually fairly quiet so chances are you will get a table, plus FGW advance fares to Bristol are dead cheap.

For ^15.75 Advance Purchase each way (I'm assuming 1 adult 1 child F&F) you can go 1st class on the FGW 0913 from Bristol TM to Exeter SD and return on the FGW 2044 from EXD-BRI. Then ^3.25 for an Off Peak Day Return from EXD-Dawlish. Does mean a unit from EXD though. Tis only 15 mins though.

Total ^34.75. With better comfort levels on the legs to/from Exeter, complimentary refreshments, served at seat in the morning, collect from buffet in the evening.

Point to note is that when booking a ticket through the CrossCountry website you can pick the seat you want from an overview of the coach, rather than just a request for preferences on other sites. Book for a table seat in coach F and you wont have far to go in search of the trolley if it can't make it through the train.

Also worth noting is whenever a five car XC voyager rolls up, all the seats in coach B are unreserved and B also has more tables.

I personally think that replacing diabled access toilets in coaches C and B (five car Voyager only) with smaller ones, and keeping some sort of reduced size buffet would have been a more effective solution than ripping out the shops and moving the cycle storage, but then that was a decision above my pay scale.

Quote from: readytostart on June 16, 2010, 01:00:01

Point to note is that when booking a ticket through the CrossCountry website you can pick the seat you want from an overview of the coach, rather than just a request for preferences on other sites.

That's neat, didn't know about it. Does the XC website only offer that facility for XC trains or is it available on other operators as well?

Quote from: bignosemac on June 16, 2010, 00:29:22

F&F railcard not valid for 1st class tickets AFAIK ?

Quote from: Cornish Traveller on June 16, 2010, 12:06:46

Quote from: bignosemac on June 16, 2010, 00:29:22

F&F railcard not valid for 1st class tickets AFAIK ?

No F&F railcard works fine for ADVANCE first class tickets. These are the only first tickets which it can be used for. The same also applies to YP first advance.

Quote from: super tm on June 16, 2010, 13:58:31

Quote from: Cornish Traveller on June 16, 2010, 12:06:46

F&F railcard not valid for 1st class tickets AFAIK ?

No F&F railcard works fine for ADVANCE first class tickets. These are the only first tickets which it can be used for. The same also applies to YP first advance.

No F&F should not be accepted on First Class tickets.

Quote from: http://www.familyandfriends-railcard.co.uk/are-you-eligible/tickets-travel-times

Save on these ticket types:

* Off-Peak Day Singles and Returns
* Anytime Day Singles and Returns
* Anytime Singles and Returns
* Off-Peak, Super Off-Peak
* ALL Standard Advance*
* Gatwick Express, Stansted Express, Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect services
* London Underground Zone 1-6 Off-Peak Day Travelcard (subject to minimum fare)
* Anytime Day Travelcard London Zone 1-6 Anytime Day Trave card when bought as part of ticket t o London (subject to minimum fare)
* PLUSBUS - unlimited bus travel from your arrival / destination station with participating operators. Visit www.plusbus.info or ask at your local station ticket office for further details
* Some rail/sea journeys with Wightlink, Red Funnel Ferries and Stena Line

* These tickets need to be booked before you travel.

Quote from: devon_metro on June 15, 2010, 23:53:01

Personally I'd go with the cheapest option which probably isn't Cross Country. I always try and avoid Cross Country like a barge pole simply because I dislike the lack of tables/lack of legroom/lack of decent catering/annoying toilets/unsavoury smell that are found on Voyagers.

I don't find the refreshed HSTs bad, legroom is ample, the buffet serves a wide range of goods and the enthusiast in me prefers the mk3 with droplight etc.

On balance I'd travel on the 1114 Paignton service simply because it is direct and negates the use of a packed unit between Exeter and Dawlish. On the return however I'd travel on the 2042 FGW HST from Exeter, which is usually fairly quiet so chances are you will get a table, plus FGW advance fares to Bristol are dead cheap.

Hi

We have just bought the tickets to Dawlish at Weymouth.

We are booked on the 11:47 direct from Bristol Temple Meads arriving at 13:09 and the 20:02 from Dawlish changing at Exeter St Davids onto the 20:44 to Bristol Temple Meads arriving at 21:47. Total price is ^10.20. Both journeys are travelling with First Great Western. We asked the lady to reserve a table seat in the quiet zone and she said that you cannot choose your seat. We have always been able to choose what seat we would like. We have a airline seat in Coach B reserved both ways. All we have to do now is look forward to the Dawlish Airshow and travelling on this lovely scenic route.

Well, according to a previous post of yours you seem to be familiar with the difference:

Quote from: James158 on June 19, 2010, 01:54:24

The CrossCountry HST's are lovely. They are better than First Great Western HST's.

But let's take a wild guess...

I'm tall. My legs will fit comfortably, with room to spare, in the airline seating on FGW's HSTs. The same is not true of XC's, where my legs end up wedged against the seat in front.

And James158, please do not use the quote tool when you're replying in threads unless it's absolutely necessary for clarity, otherwise things can get veyr very cumbersome and difficult to read. Thanks.

Great Western Coffee Shop

Journey by Journey => Shorter journeys in Devon - Central, North and South => Topic started by: James158 on June 15, 2010, 19:26:49