GWR Weekend First New Prices

[whole diary]

[PhilWakely]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have now started providing a customer host and trolley service on weekends with the same range of complimentaries usually found on weekdays making the new Weekend First prices slightly more palatable.

That commenced several weeks/month-and-a-bit ago?

I took advantage of the upgrade with my wife and daughter on the 1900 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains) a couple of Saturdays ago, but saw neither hide nor hair of such a service - but that may have been down to the large number of pax returning from the rugby at Twickenham who had congregated in the buffet area rendering access nigh on impossible.

[ChrisB]

Not sure of the times at weekends, but I've personal experience of a Saturday mid-morning and a Sunday around 1630, both with full trolley several weeks ago

[Timmer]

That commenced several weeks/month-and-a-bit ago?

Yup, that's when it started on services I was travelling on. Alas not enough for me to continue traveling in first come the new year, can't justify £20 each way for an hour and half's journey. I do feel the zones are a little lop sided. How can Paddington to Penzance be £25 and Paddington to Bath be £20?

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

Personally i think weekend first should be for season ticket holders only now that first class capacity has been reduced quite significantly... i have had several incidents where as a first class ticket holder i have been unable to get a seat... on one occasion i boarded mid route found first was full... i sat in standard and then witnessed people who boarded at origin being charged up... i don't think this is fair

[ellendune]

Personally i think weekend first should be for season ticket holders only now that first class capacity has been reduced quite significantly... i have had several incidents where as a first class ticket holder i have been unable to get a seat... on one occasion i boarded mid route found first was full... i sat in standard and then witnessed people who boarded at origin being charged up... i don't think this is fair

Hang on Season ticket holder who normally pay relative low fares to us ordinary peak hour travellers to get a further perk!  My company (through the anytime tickets I need to buy for work) already subsidise season ticket holders why should they be the only ones to have this advantage.  Outraged of Swindon.

[Western Pathfinder]

Fare point well made .

[John R]

Hang on. If someone holds a first class season ticket, surely it isn't a perk that they get a seat in first class  at weekends?   Though I disagree that weekend first should be limited to those with season tickets, of either class. That would limit the market for weekend first upgrades somewhat.

[ChrisB]

Think that was the idea, such that anyone with a st class ticket can always get a 1st class seat

[TaplowGreen]

Weekend First on long distance routes (Devon/Cornwall) should be scrapped or severely restricted and made reservation only - there's been numerous times when I've been returning from Devon on a Sunday when First class ticket holders have been unable to find a seat due to people who have bought weekend first supplements at earlier stations on the journey - on Penzance/Plymouth - Paddington services 1st class is often full before Exeter.

The capacity simply isn't there to sustain it - and this won't get any better with the new trains.

[Timmer]

The capacity simply isn't there to sustain it - and this won't get any better with the new trains.

Exactly, which is why I find it crazy to be charging £25 from Plymouth/Penzance and £20 from Bath/Westbury to London.

[JayMac]

According to a TM^‡(resolve) I encountered yesterday, if you have split Standard Class tickets your WF upgrade must also be split.

That would have cost me £35 each way (if TM on return believed the same) on a trip from Weston-super-Mare to Paddington, split at Bristol TM and Didcot.

When I asked if he minded whether I checked to see if individually excessing each Off Peak Day Return to the cheapest available 1st Class Return would be cheaper than paying £70, or if I just upgraded WSM-BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) and DID^» (Didcot Parkway - next trains)-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) for £15, and moved in and out if the cheap seats for BRI-DID, the TM decided to issue the £20 WSM-PAD WF upgrade.

No problems on the return. TM upgraded through journey.

[grahame]

According to a TM^‡(resolve) I encountered yesterday, if you have split Standard Class tickets your WF upgrade must also be split.

From the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) web site:

And even if you need to change to another GWR train as part of your trip, you’ll pay one fare for the whole journey.

The price of your upgrade depends on the number of zones you travel through:

£7.50 for 1 zone
£15 for 2 zones
£20 for 3 zones
£25 for 4 or 5 zones

It talks about for your JOURNEY and how many zones you TRAVEL through, not your ticket, so doesn't depend on any splits you have - it's a journey upgrade.

[didcotdean]

Weekend First has become a very messy and confusing web of differing arrangements across various operators - some allow pre-booking, some don't allow people with standard advances, some charge a flat fee, others a tiered charge. This is without staff inventing their own rules.

[TaplowGreen]

Weekend First has become a very messy and confusing web of differing arrangements across various operators - some allow pre-booking, some don't allow people with standard advances, some charge a flat fee, others a tiered charge. This is without staff inventing their own rules.

As far as long distance trips go on Sundays - particularly Penzance/Plymouth to London, Weekend First should be stopped as there are not enough seats for those with regular First class tickets, I've seen it happen on a number of occasions when 1st Class is full by Exeter, largely by those who have bought supplements, and 1st class ticket holders can't get a seat.

I always thought Weekend 1st was designed to utilise 1st class when it wasn't busy but now that there are only 1.5 carriages that is rarely if ever the case on those services.

[stuving]

Weekend First has become a very messy and confusing web of differing arrangements across various operators - some allow pre-booking, some don't allow people with standard advances, some charge a flat fee, others a tiered charge. This is without staff inventing their own rules.

As far as long distance trips go on Sundays - particularly Penzance/Plymouth to London, Weekend First should be stopped as there are not enough seats for those with regular First class tickets, I've seen it happen on a number of occasions when 1st Class is full by Exeter, largely by those who have bought supplements, and 1st class ticket holders can't get a seat.

I always thought Weekend 1st was designed to utilise 1st class when it wasn't busy but now that there are only 1.5 carriages that is rarely if ever the case on those services.

Well, 1A92 16:56 Plymouth-Paddington was announced at Reading yesterday (Saturday) as "Formed of 9 carriages". Do you think that would help?