Well.. I had this actually quite long reply from
FGW▸ and it doesn't seem like a standard reply.. However in light of my comments above I will have to reply to them..I am however happy they seem to have taken some time and thought over the reply and for once are bothered about the air con not working.. Not that it will ever work..
Two of my favourite bits are..."Decisions like this are taken very seriously as we know that some passengers will be inconvenienced. However, it is vital that we make the decisions to benefit the vast majority."..and "This being said, our Control office has to consider the wider operations of the fleet as a whole, and do what's best for the majority of our passengers."
So my thoughts are that they delayed all of the Twyford and Maidenhead passengers by over an hour.. to speed up the already delayed people on the train by.. ooh.. 5 minutes.. and probably make no difference to the return journey... hhmmmm...
Here is the whole reply should anyone want to read it......
"Thank you for your email of 29 June 2010. I was concerned to learn of the difficulties that you encountered when travelling from Maidenhead to London Paddington on 29 June. I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience experienced.
I have checked our records and these confirm the following service performance details with regard to travel from Maidenhead to London Paddington on 29 June:
09:03 service was changed to an express service in view of an earlier mechanical issue
09:17 service was 12 minutes delayed reaching Maidenhead due to following a late running preceding service
09:33 service was 14 minutes delayed due to following a late running preceding service
In view of the original mechanical issue concerning our 09:03 service, we had to decide what we could do to get everything back to normal as quickly as possible. It was a very difficult decision, but we changed the 09:03 service to an express and took several stops out of its scheduled timetable.
Decisions like this are taken very seriously as we know that some passengers will be inconvenienced. However, it is vital that we make the decisions to benefit the vast majority. Not stopping at Maidenhead meant the train could start its next journey on time, reducing the risk of further disruption throughout the day.
I realise how immensely annoying it is to have your service changed to an express, and to see it pass through the station. I also appreciate that as a passenger you are solely concerned with the individual journey that you're making - and this is rightly so. After all, we know that our passengers have wider concerns and responsibilities outside of their rail journey, and how any disruption can have consequential affects on these priorities.
This being said, our Control office has to consider the wider operations of the fleet as a whole, and do what's best for the majority of our passengers. Part of this entails making unpopular decisions, such as removing a particular stop. However, I can assure you that such choices aren't arbitrary, and are made to reduce the level of disruption and as quickly as possible. Our Control office have to consider such factors as what the train and crewmembers must be doing throughout the remainder of their day, as well as the knock-on effects to services following behind etc. As a result, such choices remain strictly operational decisions.
When trains are cancelled at short notice this does naturally place additional demands on following services, particularly with regard to seating capacity. I am very sorry that our 09:17 train was so crowded. I realise how immensely annoying it must've been whe4n you couldn't board, and how this could only have added to your disappointment.
I was also sorry to learn how warm you found our 09:33 service to be. I realise that this must've been especially uncomfortable, and I apologise. I will of course refer the details on to our engineering team, so that they can check the service in question and immediately put right any faults with its air conditioning units.
I can see from previous correspondence that you've raised the issue of the air conditioning units as a concern before. I'll emphasise this as part of my report to our engineering team, so that they can take your feedback on-board as part of our wider rolling stock maintenance checks.
I really am sorry that you feel so let down by our actions on 29 June. It is clear that had you been in our position that you've responded to things differently, and I am sorry that you feel disappointed with the way in which we handled the events. I am of course happy to add your additional comments to our senior management report. This'll be included as part of our post incident review, and our Senior Managers will be able to use your feedback when considering future contingency plans.
In these circumstances we can offer compensation for the delay you experienced. However, in order to award compensation we do require your original weekly ticket. I would therefore be grateful if you could please send this to the above freepost address, quoting the case reference number 5413354. This would allow us the opportunity to make the necessary arrangements for you.
Whilst the events of 29 June must've been frustrating, I also recognize that you hold wider concerns about the performance of our Maidenhead-London services overall. I am very sorry that you have experienced delays to your journeys, and I can assure you that we find any delay or cancellation just as unacceptable as you do. They can be caused by a number of factors, some of which will be outside of our control but we do try to avoid them wherever we can. Any repeat delays are monitored very closely and we try to identify how we can to stop them from reoccurring. With 'ad-hoc' delays we do try to minimise their impact as much as possible.
Overall, we are still running the best service since the start of the franchise and we have worked very hard to achieve this. We have no intention of letting this slip. However, I realise your confidence will not be regained without more tangible evidence, and whilst I cannot promise you will never be delayed again, I hope you are at least more reassured about our commitment to providing you with the service you have every right to expect.
Thank you again for letting us know about your concerns, and I'll look forward to hearing from you soon."
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