Great Western Coffee Shop

Quite a few queuing to exit Filton this morning as approx 6 RPO ably assisted by approx 6 BTP did a full check this morning.  8)

That^ll boost the Filton footfall figures.  ;D

I can^t remember the last time it was done, but it really should be a bit more frequent, FGW must be losing thousands a week on the evidence on just 2 services at about 7.45.  :o

Was a tad cosy this morning from TRO with the 07.01 failed at Westbury and the normally 4 car 07.24 turning up as a 2.  :( :(

There a far too many students from Yate openly boasting that they don't pay in either direction. And some of them even have the cheek to to ask why FGW don't put on more carriages! :o

From what I have seen, the MOD workers do pay and most have season tickets. It's the students that need to be targeted.

The normally 4-car 07:24 was a 2-car because the additional 2-cars were attached to the broken 07:01 (to make a 5-car).

So the correct number of coaches ran towards Bristol this morning, just not in the right order!

Thanks for that FC.

The only announcement I can recollect was that the 7.01 had failed so we all jumped on the first available service.

Some of us who have a little bit of leeway in arrival time may have elected to wait for the following 5 car if we had been made aware it was still running.

Yes Paul, the majority are students, but on a stopper from BRI to Parkway on a very busy train doesn't give the guard much chance of catching many of the culprits. I'm not sure how often RPOs travel, but if they could be seen a bit more just on some of the locals around Bristol would go quite a way in deterring the habit.

And you could say the same about most of the rest of the FGW network. Haven't seen an RPO on the Cotswold Line for getting on for two years. More frequent visits might gee up some of the conductors to go out and collect fares as well - still far too hit and miss, with some guaranteed to check and sell tickets, others never being seen.

Seems to be too much reliance on 'oh well, the barriers at Oxford/Reading/Paddington will get them'. Not if they're only travelling between intermediate stations they won't. I have never been asked to show a ticket when catching an evening train from Charlbury to Moreton-in-Marsh over several years. Or doing what I did last month, when I went from Moreton-in-Marsh, to Oxford, to Birmingham International (barrierless) without my ticket being checked once.

When I lived in Norway, you simply did not chance ticketless travel on the Oslo Metro, because the odds of being checked by their hit squad, at all hours of the day and night (even after midnight one time), in uniform or plain clothes, was high. On average, I'd reckon to encounter them two or three times a month - seem to remember being checked on only my second ever journey. Okay, they have a compact system to cover but the deterrent factor was definitely there, especially as the fines are pretty steep if you are caught.

I did consider starting a new thread entitiled ^Ticket checks at Filton cause chaos at Westbury^ as we had a repeat of yesterday.  :(

06.45 Frome/Cardiff  managed to get as far as Westbury again where it decided it didn^t want to play any more, (scared of the dark as it didn^t have any lights ???) causing pandemonium again at Trowbridge. First announcement I heard just after arriving at approx 7.15 was that the failed unit was blocking platforms at Westbury and the next service was probably going to be the delayed Cheltenham. In these situations it is tempting to hop on this and change at Chippenham, but the delay left a very marginal connection time for the 07.43 to BRI.


The next announcement advised that anyone who was left on the platform and wished to go beyond Bristol to join the SWT service and change. So in addition to what is normally quite a busy service it now had the 07.01 lot and now those like me who were looking for the 07.24 Parkway. 10 Coach capacity now reduced to 3, deep joy.  :'(

Not sure if the Frome ran in service to BRI at all but what I assume was the 07.24 arrived at BRI as a 5 car approx 5 min after the SWT had terminated.  ::)

Anyway the point being the RPOs were out again at Filton this morning so it was a bit of a scrum leaving the station.

The Frome - Cardiff departed Westbury approx 54' late after attaching another unit onto the front of the train to box in the defective driving cab.

Very frustrating for all as it is the same set as yesterday after it spent the rest of yesterday on SPM being "repaired"!

Cheers again FC, I just hope this isn't a taste of things to come as First need to meet the increasing premium payments and also approaching re-franchise time. SPM must be looking like a graveyard at the mo as there seems to be quite a few 158s missing. Regional fleet taking a back seat to the premium HSS services again no doubt.

Simplistic view I know but from a customer perspective that's all we can assume, not many HSTs failing after 15 min in service as far as I can tell.

They will also be getting good figures from the overloaded BRI FIT section from the RPO exercise which will be unavailable via a FOI request from DaFT no doubt.

Word the FoI in the right way and im sure you could get the figures, but as said you need to word it in such a way so they cant claim any exemption or "we dont hold the information" rubbish.

158954 aside - there are current enough 3-car 158's available to go around. Shortage of 2-car ones ATM. 2 receiving maintenance at SPM and one receiving heavy maintenance in Birmingham.

FC - are the 2-car 158's still going to be re-marshalled into 3-car 158's, and if so when?

Regional fleet taking a backseat to hss ???....utter rubbish as SPM as far as i was aware was now primarily a DMU maintainence/ repair Facility undertaking only nightly servicing/ fuelling to HST sets.

And getting back on topic, London Midland are getting tough, with posters giving the names of people they have prosecuted going up at stations. They have recently netted a Mr Darth Vader, of Walsall...

http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2011/01/25/darth-vader-had-no-train-ticket/

Yes - but need the LM 150's to arrive first.

I'm sure I overheard a lady, who got on my train this morning at Filton Abbeywood, say to another passenger that she had her ticket checked this morning "on the bridge". So that would make it the second time this week there's been a check at this station.

They've been there since Monday Paul.  ;)

LM and Central trains before them have done "name and shame" for years!

Staff checking tickets at Filton again yesterday morning and this morning, though not as mob-handed as a couple of weeks ago.

Check on the increase in numbers now the students are back full time.

I don't think there was a need for a BTP presence the second time around, I'm not even sure they were there all week the last time.

There appears to be a Revenue Protection presence every weekday morning now at FAW. Presumably, FGW must have been losing alot of revenue. There were a couple of spot checks in December, and this must have highlighted the issue. Is this a permanent set up, or just temporary?

Yes.  :-X


I'm not being funny, honest!  However, to confirm that either way could rather defeat the object of the revenue protection exercise, couldn't it?

Chris.  ;)

And at FIT (*pedant alert*, it's not FAW) we ain't talking about local scrotes effing it in the peaks..... there's that rather large Govt. employer very near by.....

I doubt the local scroates will be awake for the morning peak anyway. Interesting times ahead methinks and maybe if it shows the real usage figures for services allowing further upgrades to stock and the station itself to match demand. If everyone actually pays for the services then who knows, they may actually install proper waiting rooms and a full time booking office (even if only a cabin).

... and make it a regular clockface stop for the forthcoming BRI-PAD leccy services....

It would seem that the RPO barrier at FIT has become a regular January event.

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=8320.0

Interesting to note there are no BTP this year.

Although a few 'Govt employees'  have probably been caught, my impression is that the longest queue for tickets are people heading for the college in the other direction.

Heard a rumour that FIT will be "barriered" every day from now on (weekdays), saw the vacancy list a few weeks back and there were RPI jobs advertised at Worcester and Redhill so checks on the Cotswold line may become more frequent.

good.  Hopefully FGW have cottoned on to the fact that RP usually pays for itself.

(cough)  :P

Through my work with the Severnside Community Rail Partnership, I'm involved in various aspects of 'ticketing and revenue protection' in this area, so I can offer you some 'inside information' on what is happening.

I can assure you that FGW are very well aware of the significant level of revenue lost through ticketless travel, and they are taking substantial steps to address the issue.

Revenue protection staff have been recruited and trained, and are now being deployed at stations. This has already been seen at Filton Abbey Wood this week, for example.

As to exactly where, when and for how long any such 'barriers' will be put in place - well, I obviously cannot say.  ;D

I noticed this yesterday when I was traveling  to Bristol TM on the 09:30 Cardiff - Portsmouth Harbour.

The conducters were quick yesterday taking fares on the Severn Beach line when I travelled yesterday  to my surprise on a class 158 (Not what I was expecting mind you)

Maybe you can keep on at them to allow the TVM's in the Central area to accept cash again!

Whilst I travel on my local line less frequently than commuters, it is interesting to note that I've seen three revenue blocks on the Severn Beach Line in recent weeks. For reference, two outside the times I was conducting a passenger survey. One at Clifton Down, one at Montpelier and one at Stapleton Road. The last one when I was doing the passenger survey.

Most welcome, but these are the first revenue blocks I've seen on the SVB Line since moving to North West Bristol (local station - Shirehampton) in 2007.  :-\

I've heard rumour of a new Revenue Manager at FGW Towers. Perhaps that explains the more visible current revenue protection.  ???

At least he's found a line of work that is suited to his nature rather than being a member of the gestapo with a personality by pass

Ha ha! Great description of whoever it is! (and no, I don't want to know!)

Cough.  ::)

I happen to know exactly who it is - and I thank you for not being any more specific.  :-X

I've taken this opportunity to move a few posts and merge them here, in the interests of completeness, continuity - and simply to avoid any possible confusion due to some of them originally being posted in our 'North Downs Line' board.

Chris.  ;)

Out of the Bristol area slightly, but it was pleasing to see a full revenue check done after Swindon on a late night HST from London. In my carriage alone two people were issued new tickets for travelling on the wrong service with AP tickets and one lady was given the full 'interview under caution'. I did ask the RPI how many other ticket irregularities he had come across on this one train, but he politely declined to comment. I did comment that it was nice to see visible revenue protection on a late night HST.

On arrival at Bristol the RPI handed another passenger over to BTP. Don't know the outcome of her interest to the RPI, but I did see her walking out of the station 5 minutes later.

All four people I saw being dealt with would not have fitted the usual stereotype of 'fare dodging scrote'...

This in today's 'Bristol Post':


Makes me wonder if Mr Onions has ever tried buying a ticket under the circumstances he describes.

The other day I got on at Montpelier, heading for Worcester. I asked the guard where to sit if I wanted to buy a ticket from her; she pointed to a spot right next to the door she was operating and said 'Stand there!'.

It is quite impossible for the guard to get round everyone on that part of the line at busy times because their other duties (ensuring the safety of the train at stations) have to take priority. So what are ticketless passengers supposed to do when they get off at Stapleton Road? Find the guard and form a queue? What effect would this have on dwell times?

All this is a king-sized pain if you want to make a connection, because you have to queue up for upwards of 15 minutes sometimes to buy a ticket at the revenue protection booth by the barrier. I understand now that it is OK to get on a penalty fares train at a penalty fares station without a ticket under these circumstances, but I'd rather not take the chance of getting into an argument with a less-understanding guard...

It seems wide of the mark to accuse passengers of fare-dodging when you make it very hard for them to buy a ticket!