Mark Hopwood to speak at Plymouth University 11 February

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

I hope thats a mis-quote there and they mean a new fast train from Paddington to Plymouth to arrive by 0945

Yeah it is a misquote.
The lecture was full, and more people arrived on spec.
But TBH^▸ (to be honest), I don't really think there was much that isn't already in the public domain.
If anyone can think of anything specific you might have thought he would mention, I'll see if I can recall.

Well that's a considerable improvement on the current earliest arrival in Plymouth, shame it's still the thick end of 3 years away..........I'll be interested on how many of the "more direct trains into Devon" will terminate at Exeter St Davids though?

[JayMac]

Well that's a considerable improvement on the current earliest arrival in Plymouth,

What? 0514? 

[TaplowGreen]

Well that's a considerable improvement on the current earliest arrival in Plymouth,

What? 0514? 

If it were still the case that a sleeper carriage was detached at Plymouth and customers were allowed to slumber until a reasonable hour, that might be a valid point, as it is, it's a totally unrealistic option, unless you fancy pounding the streets for a couple of hours till shops etc start to open (........in my younger days during my misspent youth in Plymouth I did, but that was generally on my way home after a night out in Union Street!) - for all practical purposes, the first train is one that leaves London and arrives in Plymouth on the same day.......0945 is still rather late for my money, but it is an improvement on 1030........best option is to schedule one leaving London 0530 arriving 0830, for normal business hours - if they run it as a Pullman serving breakfast, might even get you out of bed for that one BNM! 

[John R]

.....0945 is still rather late for my money, but it is an improvement on 1030........best option is to schedule one leaving London 0530 arriving 0830, for normal business hours - if they run it as a Pullman serving breakfast, might even get you out of bed for that one BNM! 

I'm not sure how attractive that would be, at least from Paddington. Bear in mind you have to get to the station, and make sure you have time to spare, and the tube will only just be starting up.   You might get more trade from Reading I guess, but whether enough to make it viable I doubt.  In most instances a 0945 arrival will be fine (if on time) for a 1000 or 1030 meeting.  Yes meetings are sometimes scheduled earlier, but in my experience most people will try to be accommodating with timing if they understand the constraints of the attendees.

[IndustryInsider]

I would probably say a 9am-9:30am would be sufficient, especially if there was a breakfast option on the train, but 9:45am is certainly a very welcome improvement on the current dismal 10:33!  It would likely have to make several stops en-route to be viable, so a departure time of around 6am would likely be necessary to achieve that anyway - even with the new trains shaving a few minutes off of the running times.

[ChrisB]

0514 @ Plymouth or 0530 @ Paddington? Isn't that the same problem, TG?

[TaplowGreen]

0514 @ Plymouth or 0530 @ Paddington? Isn't that the same problem, TG?

Not really.......getting turfed out at Plymouth at 0514 as opposed to getting on at Paddington at 0530 is somewhat different I'd say.....

[JayMac]

0514 @ Plymouth or 0530 @ Paddington? Isn't that the same problem, TG?

At Paddington you can stay aboard until 0700. Something you used to be able to do at Plymouth in the days when there was portion working of the Night Riviera.

[ChrisB]

I was referring to how one gets to Pad/Gets away from PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains) really.

[Rhydgaled]

I'd also be interested to hear about the real reasons for the re-badging exercise. Not that Mr Hopwood will admit to the discussions behind closed doors at First Group being largely concerned with how to distance themselves from what had become a toxic brand. And then the decision to cynically appropriate a much loved historical name for their own ends.

Is it First as a whole which has become a toxic brand, for reasons outside First Great Western, or is it 'First Great Western' itself that has a problem. If the latter, then why change the brand before you have made changes to ensure the new brand doesn't come to stand for the same quality of service as the old one and hence the new brand would also become toxic?

[broadgage]

IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion), It is first group that has become a toxic brand in general. I would consider that FGW^▸ (First Great Western), now GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) is actually one of the better bits.
Until fairly recently, first group ran the Thameslink route in London and it would seem that  many shared my very negative views of that operation.
The public at large do not really understand rail franchising, but a lot of them DO think that First group means short overcrowded trains that regularly get stuck in tunnels!

When it was announced that first group had won the west coast franchise from virgin, a fair number of people seemed to expect that the west coast route would be operated by 4 car class 319s !

[plymothian]

There were celebrations when FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect) lost Thameslink and GTR hailed as the saviours, now GTR are getting the same treatment as FCC.

[Timmer]

There were celebrations when FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect) lost Thameslink and GTR hailed as the saviours, now GTR are getting the same treatment as FCC.

That will be reduced significantly when they get their shiny new trains and 24tph running through the heart of London.