Petition to get FGW removed from the Franchise

[whole diary]

[vacman]

All very well and good saying that - but what if there no alternative rail services, vacman?

There's always an alternative!

[swlines]

If I lived in GW^▸ (Great Western) land I wouldn't!

I don't drive, I don't have a bike, I mainly take local bus services and rail services - so if I was trying to get from Clifton Down to Evesham that would be a bit problematic.

[vacman]

If I lived in GW^▸ (Great Western) land I wouldn't!

I don't drive, I don't have a bike, I mainly take local bus services and rail services - so if I was trying to get from Clifton Down to Evesham that would be a bit problematic.

Maybe so but you'd just have to put up with it!

[Tim]

As i've said many times before, it's not going to happen.

I think you are right but I have still signe dteh petition because - 1) I hate First Group and they deserve as much crap as we can shovel on them, 2) I might weaken their chances of winning any more franchises, 3) who knows what will happen if/when the government changes.  A new governemnt is not going to be able to resist tinkering and it is therefoire inportant that passenger views of FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are known to everyone concerned.

If you hate them so much then don't use their services! quite a simple answer really??

Sometimes I have no alternative but to use their services, but I do use them much less than I used to.   I travel to london on Business much less often now and when I do I an much more inclined to book a cheap fare or save money by re-booking at Didcot.   As most of my travel is on expenses I don't personally save any money but I estimate that my annual spend with FGW has gone from about ^4,000 to about ^1,500 (all boooked through the Chiltern Railways website so that the 9% commision on tciket sales is denied to FGW).  I also try to aviod Furst Group buses where possible.

The railway is a private business and if competition and capitalism is ever going to have a chance of working properly on the railways (some hope I know), good companies must prosper more than bad companies.  I consider FGW to be a bad company and therefore resent spending money with them in a way that I don't resent spending money with GNER^▸ (Great North Eastern Railways) (as was) or Chiltern.   

[dog box]

As i've said many times before, it's not going to happen.

I think you are right but I have still signe dteh petition because - 1) I hate First Group and they deserve as much crap as we can shovel on them, 2) I might weaken their chances of winning any more franchises, 3) who knows what will happen if/when the government changes.  A new governemnt is not going to be able to resist tinkering and it is therefoire inportant that passenger views of FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are known to everyone concerned.

If you hate them so much then don't use their services! quite a simple answer really??

Stop stressing about fgw Tim mate and chill out a bit

[Tim]

....Deep breathing, in out, in, out.

Perhaps hate is the wrong word, but in my perfect world good companies would prosper and bad companies suffer.

[vacman]

....Deep breathing, in out, in, out.

Perhaps hate is the wrong word, but in my perfect world good companies would prosper and bad companies suffer.

Bad companies always suffer in the end, I think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are unlucky as much as anything else!

[smokey]

....Deep breathing, in out, in, out.

Perhaps hate is the wrong word, but in my perfect world good companies would prosper and bad companies suffer.

Bad companies always suffer in the end, I think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are unlucky as much as anything else!

FGW aren't unlucky, they didn't do their HOMEWORK correctly over their franchise bid.

They were hoping to cut loads of services, run the minimum service levels that the franchise allows, squeeze more people into the trains at Higher fares and expect EVERYBODY to be HAPPY!

I can't see FIRST still running Great Western in 3 year, when they want to hand back the Keys I hope the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) tell First, Fine, hand 1 franchise back, hand ALL YOUR franchises back!

[devon_metro]

Whats wrong with TPEX/FSR^▸ (First Scot Rail) then?

[vacman]

Whats wrong with TPEX/FSR^▸ (First Scot Rail) then?

And Hull trains and to an extent FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect)??

[smokey]

It's a principal, if First want to hand back the Keys of Great Western because they got their franchise figures wrong, just remember we might have had a MUCH BETTER GREAT WESTERN service if NAT EXP or Stagecoach had won the Bid, they lost out to First's TOTALLY OVER THE TOP bid.

So it is only fair, on everybody if First want to hand back the Keys, then they hand back the keys to FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect) and First ScotRail.

They would keep Hull Trains and First Trans-P,
Hull trains is a open access operation.
FTP^▸ (File Transfer Protocol) is a joint franchise.

[Doctor Gideon Ceefax]

National Express?

They've done a sterling job with 'One' and Central Trains. Both First Great Eastern and Anglia had reasonably good reputations, Anglia Intercity in particular. One in comparison is dire.

Central Trains meanwhile was a continual hotbed of industrial action. Loads of strikes and large scale bustitution on Sundays. Also ask Northampton commuters how they feel about their Birmingham to London Silverlink service being severed in two, and what was once an express service, now turning into an extension of the West Midlands PTE^▸ (Passenger Transport Executive) stopping Birmingham to Coventry train.

Stagecoach?

SWT^▸ (South West Trains): Handing back perfectly good 442 units (effectively a 3rd rail unit version of the HST^▸ (High Speed Train)), and cascading 3+2 seating commuter units onto Portsmouth to London mainline expresses, so that the express trains from the Portsmouth routes could be used to on the Weymouth line, in order to save a bit of money.

East Midlands Trains: Removal of buffet cars, replacing HST's on London to Sheffield services with Voyager derivative trains.

Things aren't always as perfect as they might seem!

[smokey]

National Express?

They've done a sterling job with 'One' and Central Trains. Both First Great Eastern and Anglia had reasonably good reputations, Anglia Intercity in particular. One in comparison is dire.

Central Trains meanwhile was a continual hotbed of industrial action. Loads of strikes and large scale bustitution on Sundays. Also ask Northampton commuters how they feel about their Birmingham to London Silverlink service being severed in two, and what was once an express service, now turning into an extension of the West Midlands PTE^▸ (Passenger Transport Executive) stopping Birmingham to Coventry train.

Stagecoach?

SWT^▸ (South West Trains): Handing back perfectly good 442 units (effectively a 3rd rail unit version of the HST^▸ (High Speed Train)), and cascading 3+2 seating commuter units onto Portsmouth to London mainline expresses, so that the express trains from the Portsmouth routes could be used to on the Weymouth line, in order to save a bit of money.

East Midlands Trains: Removal of buffet cars, replacing HST's on London to Sheffield services with Voyager derivative trains.

Things aren't always as perfect as they might seem!

But at least OTHER TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s including First ScotRail etc, are running most of their services correctly, and not cancelling them like flies around a jam jar

[vacman]

Central cancelled PLENTY of trains because of staffing issues! There are TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) that are worse than FGW^▸ (First Great Western), National express East Coast are usually the only company below FGW for performance!

[smokey]

Central cancelled PLENTY of trains because of staffing issues! There are TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) that are worse than FGW^▸ (First Great Western), National express East Coast are usually the only company below FGW for performance!

I doubt theres any figures out for National Express East Coast yet!