Great Western Coffee Shop

I want to travell to the West on the 18-03 from Paddington, on either the Wednesday or the Thursday preceeding Christmas.
It is likely to be overcrowded, or will most have left London earlier ?
Would the Wednesday or the Thursday be best ?
I would book a seat in F , so in theory it does not matter how crowded the train is, but in practice I dont to fight for my seat.
What are the odds on the advertised Pullman restaurant appearing ? can be a bit unreliable at holiday times.

Early in the new Year, I would wish to return to London, what day are normal services likely to resume ?
Although network rail and FGW expect a normal service from Jan 4th, I dont think that anyone else would expect the work at Reading to be finished on time.
What are odds on the advertised Pullman appearing on the train from Plymouth ?
(only one up service retains a restaurant in the new timetable, the one on the 12-05 is being withdrawn, this is known as progress!)

West of England services will be going to/from Waterloo during the Reading blockade. I suggest you wait until replacement timetable is released.

Not a lot to be said yet, I would suggest waiting until booking opens for your dates of travel.

However, can I just pick up on the point you made about one of the up Pullmans being withdrawn. Where have you got this information from? Not suggesting it's not true, but a verifiable source would be welcome.

You cant book a seat in coach F.  Only G and H

Indeed, you can however reserve a place on the down Pullman services.

The present timetable has two up trains with a Pullman, 12-00 and 12-55 I think from Plymouth.
The new timetable, now on the FGW website pocket timetable number 4, shows only one up Pullman on the 12-55 from Plymouth. Most regretable, even if it is called progress.
The long term trend has been roughly one withdrawal a year.

Yes I heard that, but I thought that my proposed dates fell outside the blockade dates, or does it start earlier than I thought ?

Running into Waterloo sounds better than buses replacing trains, BUT I fear the potential for cock ups.
Such as network rail deciding at the last minute that HSTs cant run to waterloo, or lack of drivers with route knowledge, or Waterloo being closed.

Your outward journey is clear of the blockade. Although the information you have given about your return journey is somewhat vague, it is possible that it may be affected depending on yout date of travel.

Look at the FGW website - the front page gives information on the dates up to which reservations (and therefore confirmed timetable information) is available. That will tell you when you are able to book the journeys you want.

Since Christmas falls on a Saturday this year, Wednesday and Thursday are 22 and 23 Dec. I'm guessing that the Thursday will be very busy, from past experience. Wednesday may be a better option, but I think your suggestion that the "crowds" may have left earlier is wildly over-optimistic. Both will, I suspect, be very busy.

Catering provision can be hit-and-miss around that time, and it's absolutely impossible to say whether or not the restaurant service will be available until you arrive to board the train. Between Christmas and New Year you can forget any thought of a Pullman appearing, especially with the diversions around Reading, and it may take a few days once normal service resumes before those things settle down. Frankly I think FGW are going to have more important things to worry about over the Christmas period this year than providing full restaurant services.

Bottom line: yes, of course it will be busy. I'd go for Wednesday if it was me, good luck booking a seat in F, don't bank on the restaurant service being available. If you're lucky and it's not there there may be a travelling chef which is a good substitute.

For your return journey, I think your cynicism about normal services being resumed on 4 Jan is ill-founded. In fact apart from the well publicized and rahter spectacular screw-ups on the west coast and Liverpool Street early in 2009 the track records of these sorts of big possessions for finishing on time are pretty good. NR know how many people they will affect, and how much money they'll have to fork out in compensation if things go awry, so the contingency planning should be fairly robust. Of course I stand to be corrected in the fullness of time. Again, impossible to know whether or not the restaurant will be available. Pack a sausage roll just in case.

Sorry, I may be missing something, but I cannot see the Dec 2010 - May 2011 timetable on FGWs website. The present timetable shows the 1200 from Plymouth as a Travelling Chef, but this is an error. The Pullman dining (http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=70) webpages list the services. If I am missing something obvious then could someone provide a link. Ta

I understood that the timetable on the FGW website is the new one, the notes attached to it refer to the Christmas works at Reading, suggesting that it not the current one.
But perhaps I am mistaken ?
If both Pullmans are being retained, then that is good news.
Anyone know for certain?
2 a day is rather minimal, but a lot better than none !

The down Pullmans are, I believe, doing sufficient business to ensure they are retained. It makes sense to have both up Pullmans retained also, as they get the crew and stock from the base in Plymouth up to London.

Whilst the up Pullmans may be more lightly used, I guess it makes sense to have the crew working and bringing in some revenue, rather than riding up to London on the cushions.

I hope to do an up Pullman for lunch sometime in November, intending to report back here on the forum with a review of the food and service. I'll make some enquiries of the staff, when I use one of the 'ups', regarding Pullman provision pre- and post-Christmas. I do know that last Christmas the Pullmans didn't run between Christmas and new Year and I would suspect that this year they are unlikely to run during the Reading blockade.

You may be okay for Pullman dining on the 1803 on the 22nd/23rd. If you need an answer sooner then I suggest you e-mail or call FGW Customer Service (http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=111). If you do not have inclusive 0845 calls then the alternative number for FGW CS is 01752 675640.

Bear in mind, though, that 0845 numbers are not necessarily premium rate: many of them are local call rate from anywhere in the country, so they could be cheaper than the national number.  ::)

All 01/02 numbers are billed at the same rate these days regardless of distance. My reason for including the 01 number, is that most call providers (both landline and mobile) do not include 0845 numbers in their inclusive bundles.

The added bonus with that landline number is that you get straight through to the Customer Service queue, bypassing all the recorded stuff and options.

The timetable on the FGW website is stated to be valid from September 6th until December 11th.
In booklet 4 it only refers to only one up train retaining a pullman.

Is this correct ? a previous post refers to a typo in the previous timetable, so perhaps that is the case.
Anyone know for certain ?

Timetables can and do contain errors. I thought we'd covered this. I'm 99% certain there are currently 2 up Pullmans. Take a look at the FGW Pullman Dining part of their website:

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=70

If you are still not convinced then give Customer Services a call. Details upthread.

Hopefully it is an error.
I have telephoned customer services, twice and got two different answers ! one advisor told me that only 1 up service retains a pullman, the other said that both are being retained "for now"

   

Well, I made my Christmas trip, and was impresed.
Outward journey on the Teusday preceding Christmas, booked a seat in the restaurant on the 18-03, excellent meal, train virtually on time.

Return  today , lunchtime train from Taunton, advertised Pullman available, most enjoyable.
No port wine available, but that is hardly the fault of FGW as I understand that their supplier has gone bust.

I was also impressed by the train manager, who was most diliegent in removing standard class ticket holders from First.

Is it just me or are passengers with standard class tickets who don't wish to upgrade trying it on in first happening more frequently now? Coming back from London the other day, the train manager practically managed to empty coach G leaving just four passengers including myself in the carriage.