Reservations Enquiry

[whole diary]

[NickB]

NickB...they can't if Maidenhead pax have already nabbed 'em! Well, they can, as far as Maidenhead! Seems as though 50% is your max.

Which strikes me as reasonable, leaving the rest (bar 10 unreservable) - so less than Maidenhead pax can get - for those west thereof. Of course, if they're not reserved, then they're first come, first served like you recommend!

Let's be clear - passengers from Worcester or Kingham are welcome to make reservations if they find that us pesky commuters are reserving a lot of seats. They also have first dibs on those 10 unreserved seats. What I'm arguing for is a level playing field for myself and other Maidenhead passengers to be able to make those reservations too.

A year ago there were next to no ticket reservations on this service for passengers from any station. Then Gwr told us that we should make reservations to ensure we got a seat. This is what we have done, and this is the result. Either have a fair non-discrimitory reservation system or don't have them at all. I don't mind which.

[John R]

Let's be clear - passengers from Worcester or Kingham are welcome to make reservations if they find that us pesky commuters are reserving a lot of seats. They also have first dibs on those 10 unreserved seats. What I'm arguing for is a level playing field for myself and other Maidenhead passengers to be able to make those reservations too.

I think it's entirely reasonable for GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to leave a proportion of seats unreservable, so that a first class passenger from further up the line can walk on without a reservation and enjoy their journey without having to get up at Maidenhead. After all if you've a customer who's paid ^162 (or even ^258 - the OLJP seems to have two different prices for direct services from Worcester to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)), then you are going to want to look after them, at the expense of someone who is paying c ^9 for their journey. 

Remember this was the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)'s making. GWR are trying to manage the system they've been lumbered with to the best of their ability, and I think limiting reservations is not at all unreasonable under the circumstances. 

[NickB]

Fair point but you are missing the key element which is that those seats can be reserved by passengers from any station apart from Maidenhead.

[ellendune]

Please remember these are long distance services and Maidenhead passengers are short distance passengers. These trains only stop at Maidenhead to give people there more journey opportunities.

There is only so much capacity to share about and if commuter passengers east of Reading want the to take up too much of it then that is hardly fair on travellers from the west country and Wales. After all long distance passengers pay more in total and even far more per mile than the lower Thames Valley commuters do and fewer of them are season ticket holders so they pay even more. If lower Thames Valley commuters want to take more of the current seats then they are going to have to pay a great deal more to make up the loss of revenue from elsewhere.

Crossrail and new electric trains are coming and we will all get more capacity.  In the mean time there is not enough to go around and it causes problems for all of us. 

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have tried their best to find solutions and it looks like his one had unintended adverse consequences for other passengers for whom the train is primarily intended. 
 

[NickB]

I have to disagree with your opinion but will leave it there. My reason for raising it on this forum was to seek help with finding the cause of the discrepancy and I thank those who helped with that.
I will say however that when mention is made of the trains 'intended passengers', and that one passenger should have more rights than another, I find that rather disappointing. Yes, passengers travel different distances and pay different fares, but at no point in this thread has I or anyone else suggested that anyone from Worcester stand to London. It is also disappointing that the usage of gwr by commuters is demeaned by this statement. Yes, we overfill the nice trains and clog the aisles, but do you really think any train operator would survive without us?

[ChrisB]

but at no point in this thread has I or anyone else suggested that anyone from Worcester stand to London.

Hmmm - not far off. If all seats were reservable by Maidenhead-ites, all those with 1stt class tickets would be standing from that point inwards at least....

[Richard Fairhurst]

The irony is that some blame in this situation must go to an MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) from elsewhere on the Middle Thames*, Alok Sharma, for his long campaign to declassify first class to standard.

Given the limited seating now available, and that the train is in the PSR^▸ (Permanent Speed Restriction) so has to run anyway, it's not too surprising that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) prioritises its more lucrative long-distance passengers over the outer-suburbans.

As ellendune alludes, this will probably become moot anyway once IEPs^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) and 387s/365s come in, at which point I'd expect Cotswold and other such services to stop calling at Maidenhead.

* traditionally Windsor to Abingdon

[TaplowGreen]

but at no point in this thread has I or anyone else suggested that anyone from Worcester stand to London.

Hmmm - not far off. If all seats were reservable by Maidenhead-ites, all those with 1stt class tickets would be standing from that point inwards at least....

perhaps if GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) had thought this through properly & not raised the prospect of Maidenhead 1St class season ticket holders being able to reserve seats in the first place then people would not be so disappointed. Part of good customer service is managing expectations, rather than giving unsustainable short term solutions & then withdrawing them.

[ChrisB]

Wasn't this introduced *before* some egotistical MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) 'persuaded' GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to reduce 1st class by a whole coach?

Frankly, one of the downsides then should have been this policy which GWR could then avoid the blame

[NickB]

Wasn't this introduced *before* some egotistical MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) 'persuaded' GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to reduce 1st class by a whole coach?

Frankly, one of the downsides then should have been this policy which GWR could then avoid the blame

Nope. All of the current badness has happened subsequent to the removal of the second carriage. Before that time capacity was just about right.

[ChrisB]

I was referring to the introduction of the East only 1st season....you confirm it was about right before the reduction.

So the blame lays firmly on the egotistical MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Sharma, I think - and GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have to deal with the fall-out. Ok badly, but the reduction was rather forced on them. I suspect you'll see the end of this product once the electric trains are in. In the meantime, grab those seats that are not reservable. If you find that they've all gone, then GWR have a point....

[ellendune]

I will say however that when mention is made of the trains 'intended passengers', and that one passenger should have more rights than another, I find that rather disappointing. Yes, passengers travel different distances and pay different fares, but at no point in this thread has I or anyone else suggested that anyone from Worcester stand to London. It is also disappointing that the usage of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) by commuters is demeaned by this statement. Yes, we overfill the nice trains and clog the aisles, but do you really think any train operator would survive without us?

Perhaps, I overstated my point but if Worcester 1st Class Passengers found out that they would have to vacate their seats and stand from Maidenhead to Paddington I think it might impact on the number of Worcester passengers buying 1st class tickets. (Yes I know they could book but irregular travellers do not always book that much in advance). In that case GWR would have empty 1st class seats over most of the route.  If the same were to happen in Standard class then the viability of Worcester services at that time would be significantly compromised. 

Still it is hopefully only a relatively short term issue and what I was really calling for was some sharing of the pain. 

[NickB]

By way of a quick update, following a more formal enquiry (complaint) I received a reply stating that there had been an "error with our booking system" and I have received reservations for all services that I requested.
I am also pleased to report that no Worcester passengers have been made to stand in exchange for this concession. 

[IndustryInsider]

Sounds like a more generous allowance from Maidenhead has now been allocated.  Good news - shame you had to push it with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) though.

[JayMac]

By way of a quick update, following a more formal enquiry (complaint) I received a reply stating that there had been an "error with our booking system" and I have received reservations for all services that I requested.
I am also pleased to report that no Worcester passengers have been made to stand in exchange for this concession. 

Well done NickB. I applaud your tenacity. Man (or woman) after my own heart.