11/09/11 - DIG>PAD Return - Bit Of A C*ck-Up On The Catering Front, etc.

[whole diary]

[Bob_Blakey]

Oh, the joys of a one day meeting in London!
0629 DIG>0641 EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains): a 2-car Nodding Donkey. Service on time and quite well loaded for such an early run.
0651 EXD>0900 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains): although we left Exeter on schedule the TM^▸ (Train Manager, or possibly Ticket Machine, depending on context) announced that the power outlets in Coach B were inoperative and invited all affected passengers to move to unreserved seats in other carriages which may have been quite entertaining as the train was pretty busy. This was rapidly followed by the Customer Host informing all pax that they 'had been given the wrong type of catering vehicle' and the Travelling Chef therefore only had a grill to work with - so bad luck if you didn't fancy a toasted sandwich of some kind. In terms of keeping the customers advised I personally thought this was too much information and that something along the lines of 'defective catering equipment' would have been sufficient. And despite the appearance of it being a fairly normal day in operational terms the service was 5+ minutes down at both RDG^▸ (Rail Delivery Group, or Reading station, depending on context) & PAD.

1903 PAD>2122 EXD: On-time departure but nearly 10 minutes down by RDG due to the usual stop to admire the scenery on the approach to the station. The delay was not clawed back on the run west and the TM had to be persuaded to contact control and have the 2128 PGN & 2132 EXM connections at Exeter held. Immediately after departure from PAD the Customer Host announced the single restaurant sitting but stated that due to a defective oven only starters & desserts were available (queue laughter). The ride quality was very poor when compared to recent trips.
2132 EXD>2144 DIG: 150129 effectively departed on-time.

My view is that infrequent users of our 'InterCity' services would not have been particularly impressed; the Avocet^▸ (Branch line from Exeter to Exmouth) Line service continues to work to a pretty high standard.     

[broadgage]

In my experience, the travelling chef service often consists of only sandwiches, rather than the extensive sounding menu.

As regards the Pullman, it is very good when available, but reliability of catering equipment seems poor.
There has only been one sitting for some years, though in the past meals were served to customers boarding at Taunton.

[bobm]

I have to confess when I've been on a defective Pullman I've had two starters, a dessert and biscuits and cheese.