Great Western Coffee Shop

27/10/2007.

11:52 London Paddington to Hereford due 14:53
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of a three car turbo and offer a Buffet service only.

11:41 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 14:32
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of a three car turbo and offer a Buffet service only.

10:08 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 12:32
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of a three car turbo and offer a Buffet service only.

10:52 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 13:05
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of a three car turbo and offer a Buffet service only.

09:52 London Paddington to Hereford due 12:55
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of a three car turbo and offer a Buffet service only.

08:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 11:20
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of a three car turbo and offer a Buffet service only.


"Err, Umm", says a passenger travelling with his companion, "I got reserved seats in coach D, where is coach D".


At 1200 noon the FGW was proclaiming ;-

15:25 Hereford to London Paddington due 18:32
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.

15:22 London Paddington to Oxford due 16:17
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.

14:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 17:25
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.

13:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 16:22
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.

13:17 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 15:32
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.

13:20 Hereford to London Paddington due 16:32
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.

10:08 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 12:32
This train will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.It will no longer call at: Great Malvern, Malvern Link and Worcester Foregate Street.This is due to an earlier late running service..

11:52 London Paddington to Hereford due 14:53
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.

11:41 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 14:32
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.

10:08 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 12:32
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.

10:52 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 13:05
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.

09:52 London Paddington to Hereford due 12:55
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.

SO WHAT THE BETTING THAT THE 08:52 RAN AS UNDER ;-

08:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 11:20
This train has been revised.
This service will be formed of three cars only.



Says companion of male passenger who wondered where coach D was, "Would you like to go and find the buffet service and get me a coffee and pack of biscuits". "Certainly says the man, I'll get a coffee for myself whilst I'm there". So the man walks up and down the train twice just to make sure and then approaches the train manager and enquires where the buffet service was operating from.

The train manager tells him there isnt a buffet service on the train. "But", says the man, "when I logged onto your company's website this morning it said a buffet service would be available on this train". "Well, if you logged onto the website this morning", said the train manager humourously, "YOU KNEW this train was formed of a three car turbo so why did you ask me where coach D was ?" Placing his hand on the passengers shoulder in a friendly manner, the train manager continued, "My friend, the management of this company couldn't organise a coktail party in a whisky distillery, let alone a train service. They brought in this new guy at the top and he's got to start at the bottom and see if he has the staff capable of organising the delivery of a crate of milk to the local infants school."

Whilst writing this reply I have remembered the days when I travelled by train as a kid. When we arrived at large stations tea trolleys would suddenly appear on the platforms alongside the trains with voices shouting, "teas and snacks anyone", and passengers would lean out of the windows and make their purchases through the windows or the doors of the train.

A business opportunity for some enterprising entrepreneurs or maybe a franchised business offshoot for FGW ? They wouldn't be short of customers with buffet cars being removed from shorter distance HST's (although under review) and passengers delayed by late running services, cancelled services due to lack of staff and all other excuses other than the real one.
 

Er um.

How can a turbo offer a buffet service....

But thats what the website said this morning at 09:00.

Well the services ran (hopefully!), and maybe they had a trolley service, or maybe some passengers had to forgo the pleasure (?) of a cup of coffee on their journey. I'm sure that was preferable than the service not running at all. "I'm sorry sir, but your train is cancelled this morning. We have a perfectly serviceable train to get you there more or less on time, but unfortunately it won't have any catering, so it can't run. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to have a coffee while you wait for the next service an in an hour's time. "

Let's get things into perspective please. What would you rather? No train, or a train without catering? 

 

Good little tale at the end of the post there :D

Well given that this line is where I spend 4-5 hours a day I can tell you what I would prefer:

Accurate announcement as soon as they know as to how the train will be formed - then I can choose whether to get the next one or get the short formed one - a huge difference between a 2022 that is planned to be a 3 car turbo and a 1922 that is a last minute 2 car turbo.

Of course, I know enough to log on and see a three car train is not going to be a buffet car - but then not everyone is mistake for a train spotter (wehn they have no real interest in the blinkin things)

Some of us have the felxibility to be flexible, if given the choice.