HST Shortages - Cotswold Line suffers again

[whole diary]

[Btline]

I find 3+2 on LM^▸ (London Midland - recent franchise) 150s more comfortable than 3+2 on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) 166s.

I wonder how many inches extra room you get on a 2+2 FGW 150. But it'll be the armrest that is the main improvement, giving you some extra space if you overlap the seat.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Cotswold Journal:

Rail chiefs launch new service following passengers' complaints

Rail chiefs have introduced an extra mid-morning service to the busy Cotswold Line in response to passengers^ complaints.

Passengers from Charlbury and Hanborough complained to First Great Western (FGW^▸ (First Great Western)) after the company replaced the 500-seat High Speed Train (HST^▸ (High Speed Train)), used on the daily 8.58am Great Malvern-London weekday service, with a 250-seat turbo train.

The passengers complained there was insufficient room aboard the turbo train, forcing many to stand all the way to Oxford.

At the time, FGW^s Thames Valley route director, Richard Rowland, said the change was to ensure services were operated by trains ^which have the right level of accommodation for the number of passengers using them^.

The Cotswold Line Promotion Group, representing passengers on the Oxford-Worcester line, called for the HST^s reinstatement and launched a Turbo Watch campaign, asking its members to supply details of overcrowding problems on the smaller trains.

Rather than reinstate the HST, FGW has introduced the extra Turbo-operated train that will start its journey at Moreton at 9.29am before visiting Kingham at 9.37am, Charlbury at 9.52am and Oxford at 10.05am.

From Oxford, it will continue as a stopping service to London Paddington where it will arrive at 12.01pm, although an 11.13am London arrival will be made possible by changing trains at Didcot Parkway.

FGW^s spokesperson said: "Our customers are at the forefront of everything we do and the decision was made to introduce the extra service after listening to what they had to say.^

[IndustryInsider]

So how about being radical and ripping out all the seats when they are finally refreshed and putting in new 2+2 seats designed to accommodate something resembling an average-sized human adult, rather like the refreshed FGW^▸ (First Great Western) 150s - pic here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:150233_C_Half_Internal.JPG

But I must confess I'm not au fait with what loads and actual use of the seats (ie do lots of people actually wedge themselves into the middle seat of the three) are like on the stoppers east of Reading in the peaks, so someone else may be better placed to comment on whether this would be a good idea.

It's an interesting idea, and would be worth a serious thought if only the trains weren't so full between Hayes and Ealing/Paddington. If FGW had the resources to make sure that 166's could be pretty much confined to London - Oxford/Cotswolds/Bedwyn and the Gatwick line then it would be a good idea to do them if not the 165's. But with the fleet being utilised pretty much to capacity, it's inevitable that you can't avoid having 166's on some of these trains, whether planned or unplanned.

Sadly on most suburban arrivals from 07:30-09:00 and departures from 17:00-1900 people are crammed in to such an extent that all seats are taken - even if people aren't very comfortable on them and it's only for a relatively short period of time. On a few services, even some of the 6-cars - the 06:08 Banbury to Paddington being a prime example - there is practically no room for anybody to get on the train at Southall, let alone a seat.

[willc]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western)^s spokesperson said: "Our customers are at the forefront of everything we do and the decision was made to introduce the extra service after listening to what they had to say.^

Yes, well, pity they didn't give their customers the chance to say something before the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) was taken off the 8.58. Posters simply appeared at the stations announcing the change a matter of days before it happened, which was the first the CLPG^» (Cotswold Line Promotion Group - about) or anyone else knew about it.

[ReWind]

From the Cotswold Journal:

Rail chiefs launch new service following passengers' complaints

Rail chiefs have introduced an extra mid-morning service to the busy Cotswold Line in response to passengers’ complaints.

Passengers from Charlbury and Hanborough complained to First Great Western (FGW^▸ (First Great Western)) after the company replaced the 500-seat High Speed Train (HST^▸ (High Speed Train)), used on the daily 8.58am Great Malvern-London weekday service, with a 250-seat turbo train.

The passengers complained there was insufficient room aboard the turbo train, forcing many to stand all the way to Oxford.

At the time, FGW’s Thames Valley route director, Richard Rowland, said the change was to ensure services were operated by trains “which have the right level of accommodation for the number of passengers using them”.

The Cotswold Line Promotion Group, representing passengers on the Oxford-Worcester line, called for the HST’s reinstatement and launched a Turbo Watch campaign, asking its members to supply details of overcrowding problems on the smaller trains.

Rather than reinstate the HST, FGW has introduced the extra Turbo-operated train that will start its journey at Moreton at 9.29am before visiting Kingham at 9.37am, Charlbury at 9.52am and Oxford at 10.05am.

From Oxford, it will continue as a stopping service to London Paddington where it will arrive at 12.01pm, although an 11.13am London arrival will be made possible by changing trains at Didcot Parkway.

FGW’s spokesperson said: "Our customers are at the forefront of everything we do and the decision was made to introduce the extra service after listening to what they had to say.”

Do I read that correctly, that Passengers are complaining aout standing from Charlbury/Hanborough all the way to Oxford!!!!

[RailCornwall]

Rightly so. Change will not come without complaints. Only then will the chronic shortage of stock be rectified.

[willc]

Do I read that correctly, that Passengers are complaining aout standing from Charlbury/Hanborough all the way to Oxford!!!!

Yes, you do - and even from Kingham, Moreton-in-Marsh and Evesham on the odd very busy day in the school holidays earlier this year - we're all looking forward to half-term at the end of this month - but since they are the last to get on, Charlbury and Hanborough passengers get the rough end of the stick all the time. And if a second Turbo set is not provided at Oxford, which has happened on a number of occasions since February, then a lot more people are standing - all the way to London.

This is an off-peak service (but not a lightly-loaded one as it's the first when CDRs^▸ (Off Peak Day Return [ticket type] (formerly 'Cheap Day')) and Network/Cotswold railcards are valid) on a line far from major conurbations, which for the previous four-and-a-half years had been operated by an Adelante (indeed was the first service on the line to go over to Adelante operation) then an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) in the months before the Turbos suddenly returned - without, as I said, any chance for the people "at the forefront of everything that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) do" to express an opinion about this sudden cut in comfort and seating capacity.

I don't think people are being unreasonable in expecting to get a seat at this time of the day - they are rather more tolerant if forced to stand on a heavily-loaded peak HST between Charlbury and Oxford.

The reappearance of Turbos off-peak on the Cotswold Line has a lot more to do with cutting operating costs than stock shortages - at the time the change was made in February, FGW had 52 HST rakes - it now has 53 since the arrival of the former MML^» (Midland Main Line. - about)/ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) set from overhaul.

[stebbo]

So getting rid of the Adelantes was a bad move? They may not have been brilliant, but I guess that was due to their servicing.

Of course, raises the issue whether having the old BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) one might have got some standardised stock and mor reliability.

So we have Virgin/Cross Country diesel electrics and the ex-GW^▸ (Great Western) Adelantes doing similar jobs. Daft?