Graham,

I'm sorry that I haven't been on the forum for quite some time, but I really felt I had to respond after seeing this thread.

I have to confess the first that I had heard about the locomotive cancellation was from the First Great Western website but from seeing the various posts, it would appear that the whole episode with the locomotive on the Heart of Wessex Line has been a bit of a shambles from start to finish.

I don't travel down the Heart of Wessex Line as much as I would like to, having work commitments in Taunton, but being a "Weymouth" lad, I do enjoy going "home", and it always good to travel down it, especially remembering the trip down using the locomotive in the Wales and West/Wessex Trains days.

I am not happy about how the whole situation has been handled by First Great Western, who have certainly been careless at the very best, and I am happy to take this up to them for a formal response.

Regards

Chris




Chris Corbin
FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Customer Panel Member
Highbridge and Burnham - Tiverton Parkway   

Susan,
 
I apologise for the delay in writing this post. I have been liasing with various contacts within First Great Western as you have raised some very valid points that needed some further clarification. I hope you don't mind, but I believe that this may answer some queries for Graham as well.
 
The Customer Panel is available to contact through the generic email address on the website. Unfortunately individual email addresses are not available to the public for Data Protection reasons, and this is unlikely to change. However I do agree that just directing customers to the website to contact us is inappropriate in itself. I have been informed that from the next timetable (May 2007), the contact details for the Panel will be put in all First Great Western timetables, including the postal address.
 
Posters should be up at stations advertising the Panel and containing the email and postal address to contact us. I do understand that there has been some difficulty with the siting of posters at various stations within the network, and I am assured that this is currently being rectified. There are also leaflets available which detail the local Panel members and the areas they represent. These should be available at your stations as well as the Reach customer magazine which has dedicated pages for the Customer Panel.
 
As I have said previously, I do not believe the current set-up of the Panel needs to be changed. It is this cross-section that makes the group appeal to all kinds of passengers needs. I do agree nontheless that the Customer Panel need to be seen to be effective (not that this necessitates daily travel to achieve this), and I remain committed to that, as I believe First Great Western are as well.
 
Obviously, on your personal experience within Ox Rail Action, I am sorry to hear that you have had difficulties in communication with the Customer Panel. I have been in contact with your Customer Panel member, and he is very committed to being inviolved with Ox Rail Action. I can only assume that this particular issue was a temporary IT problem which has certainly been sorted since that time.
 
 
Regards
 
 
 
Chris Corbin
First Great Western Customer Panel Member
Highbrodge and Burnham - Tiverton Parkway.   

Graham,

Many thanks for your reply to my message. I will try and answer some of your points.

The ideaology of the Panel is that it is a cross selection of different kinds of travellers (commuters, leisure, occasional) of First Great Western services. Therefore, immediately you may get Panel members who don't see their "services" on a daily basis.  I, myself am a daily traveller between Bridgwater and Taunton. It is therefore true that I do not see Tiverton Parkway as frequently as the other two (although I do go there when I can due to my working hours). However I do not feel this does impair me in my role, as I do keep in close contact with events at Tiverton Parkway. I do also have good relations with First Great Western management covering the stations.

In response to the second question... I would emphasise that all Customer Panel members are volunteers. It is correct that First Great Western would, for example, invite us to participate in an event if there is a justifiable reason for Panel Members to be there. This is done so the Panel can excercise their remit through increased knowledge and railway experience (for example... Meet the Manager sessions which I have done before), although I would accept why you may view a conflict.

I am loyal to First Great Western in the belief that they have a very large part to play in making the passengers life the best possible... my job is to help accomplish this. I can understand concern that you might feel the Panel are an additional "propaganda" machine for First Great Western.  I can assure you this is not the case. My opinions are purely my own and do not necessarily represent those of other Panel Members or especially First Great Western.

It is certainly my opinion that First Great Western hide behind their franchise agreement, and that recently that has cost them very dearly in tremendous amounts of negative publicity for very good reason. However, as previously said, they are a commercial contractor for the Government and this must be remembered certainly for reasons of objectivity.

Overall SLC2 is after all a minimum level of service commitment that is required and the contractor should aim to better it. I work with this belief in mind to do my remit. 

I hope this does go some way to alleviate some of the concerns you may have. I am positive that the Customer Panel can help and my personal support is there.

Regards


Chris Corbin
First Great Western Customer Panel Member
Highbridge and Burnham - Tiverton Parkway

Hi everyone,

I came across this website by accident, and upon reading many of the comments posted, I felt compelled to join to introduce myself.

My name is Chris Corbin, I am 22 years old, and I live in Bridgwater. I am currently the First Great Western Customer Panel member covering from Highbridge and Burnham to Tiverton parkway.

I am sure many of you will be aware with the Customer Panel but for those who are not I will explain.

The Customer Panel are a group of volunteers who can represent the views of the travelling public to First Great Western. We are not paid by First Great Western, and are not employees of the company. I can ask questions of First Great Western, and they have to answer me... they do not have to agree with what I say but you get an honest answer from them.

I am concerned with the various events that have taken place recently with which so many people will be familiar (the timetable changes, the rolling stock issues), as I feel it has not been handled appropriately with any degree of customer thought, rather an excercise to control profit margins. However I would say to forum members that it is wise to bear in mind that First Great Western are after all a private contractor, so commercial aspects will be an issue, despite the fact that we might diagree with any decisions taken.

As I have said I do not agree with the handling of certain events, and I am right behind the campaigns that are ongoing currently. Keep up the good work

I look forward to talking to all of you very soon.

Kind regards



Chris Corbin
First Great Western Customer Panel Member
Highbridge and Burnham - Tiverton Parkway