5 into 10 goes once

[whole diary]

[didcotdean]

If table seats are so popular, how come I so often end up in one when I have requested a reservation for an airline seat?

Is the reservation system deliberately bad or vindictive, or are table seats amongst the last to be reserved - especially the fourth one?

[1st fan]

Four out of five days this week the 8:17 Chippenham to Bristol has been 5 cars which is worrying for reliability. On a positive note the train is now arriving several minutes early to match HST^▸ (High Speed Train) performance which was never the case until the last month. As far as buffets go, who ever used them? In over 30 years of using gwr I can count on one hand the number of times I've bought something. Give the space to seats! As soon as the 9 cars are in widespread use hopefully all these gripes will go away, I wanted to hate these trains but they are actually pretty good.

I may be in a minority but I use the buffet. They haven't given "the space to seats" as you put it because a comparable sized space is used by the kitchen in 1st.

[philipgreg]

I think my comment was supposed to suggest that the space should be used for seats rather than a kitchen or buffet or whatever. When your journeys are all during peak commuter time and you end up standing for the very high price you've paid for a ticket you begin to resent large wasted spaces. Peak trains should not be compromised so a relatively few people can have the occasional hot meal.

[stuving]

If table seats are so popular, how come I so often end up in one when I have requested a reservation for an airline seat?

Is the reservation system deliberately bad or vindictive, or are table seats amongst the last to be reserved - especially the fourth one?

I suspect the algorithm was cloned from a restaurateur in a tourist trap - you know the kind; won't let you have a table with any more seats than your party numbers in case two coach parties come in at once at 3 o'clock on a damp Tuesday afternoon out of season.

[JayMac]

I think my comment was supposed to suggest that the space should be used for seats rather than a kitchen or buffet or whatever. When your journeys are all during peak commuter time and you end up standing for the very high price you've paid for a ticket you begin to resent large wasted spaces. Peak trains should not be compromised so a relatively few people can have the occasional hot meal.

If that 'relatively high price' is a Season Ticket then you are paying some of the cheapest per-journey costs.

[broadgage]

I think my comment was supposed to suggest that the space should be used for seats rather than a kitchen or buffet or whatever. When your journeys are all during peak commuter time and you end up standing for the very high price you've paid for a ticket you begin to resent large wasted spaces. Peak trains should not be compromised so a relatively few people can have the occasional hot meal.

If that 'relatively high price' is a Season Ticket then you are paying some of the cheapest per-journey costs.

I agree, season tickets are very much cheaper than most other peak time fares, less than half fare in many cases.
Most commuters are making relatively short journeys such as London to Reading, and in my view should use the local trains such as the new Crossrail services. These have been designed for optimum passenger carrying capacity with no space "wasted" on such things as catering, and will therefore surely meet with great approval from season ticket holders.

[TaplowGreen]

I think my comment was supposed to suggest that the space should be used for seats rather than a kitchen or buffet or whatever. When your journeys are all during peak commuter time and you end up standing for the very high price you've paid for a ticket you begin to resent large wasted spaces. Peak trains should not be compromised so a relatively few people can have the occasional hot meal.

If that 'relatively high price' is a Season Ticket then you are paying some of the cheapest per-journey costs.

This has been done to death.

Any business will offer a discount to a client or customer who is prepared to pay up front for a bulk supply and commit themselves to that businesses goods or services for a finite period. It is not a railway thing. The business accepts a smaller margin in exchange for the money in the account upfront and the certainty of custom - this is the same principle whether you purchase a football club season ticket rather than paying match by match, or a pallet load of widgets rather than half a dozen.

If the less frequent traveller/enthusiast can get their head around this concept it may assuage the apparent misplaced resentment which quite often seems to rise to the surface as a means of hitting commuters over the head.


On train catering is increasingly looking like an anachronism, particularly on busy commuter routes given the desperate need for passenger capacity and the general availability of sandwiches, coffee etc elsewhere and at stations of far better value and far higher quality.

The novelty factor of the Pullman will continue I guess but this is very much a niche market.

[Adelante_CCT]

Most commuters are making relatively short journeys such as London to Reading, and in my view should use the local trains such as the new Crossrail services.

Firstly can't be done as crossrail doesn't run to Reading yet.

Secondly, when it is up and running, are you suggesting all Reading commuters, or those who change at Reading for local stations westwards, should catch a train taking 52 (ish) minutes instead of one taking 22 ? It'd be quicker to commute to Swindon than Reading!

Thirdly, 'slower' trains out of London are extremely busy as they are. You would not be able to add all Reading passengers on to current slower services.

[broadgage]

I am aware that Crossrail is not yet running.
However it should open fairly soon, and the long trains should provide a welcome increase in capacity.
If Reading commuters choose to use the faster long distance trains, then they need to accept that these trains are allegedly designed for longer distance travel and that they will contain a restaurant and first class, if the presence of these facilities offends, then use the local Crossrail services.

Reading passengers should not be allowed on the busiest long distance services, this is already the case in theory but enforcement is almost unknown.

When the 18-03 departure is advertised as "pick up only" at Reading, it annoys me when Reading commuters not only board, but then complain that it is crowded.
Penalty fare them to Taunton !

[Adelante_CCT]

Agree with your last point, shame GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) don't bother

[JayMac]

I think my comment was supposed to suggest that the space should be used for seats rather than a kitchen or buffet or whatever. When your journeys are all during peak commuter time and you end up standing for the very high price you've paid for a ticket you begin to resent large wasted spaces. Peak trains should not be compromised so a relatively few people can have the occasional hot meal.

If that 'relatively high price' is a Season Ticket then you are paying some of the cheapest per-journey costs.

This has been done to death.

Any business will offer a discount to a client or customer who is prepared to pay up front for a bulk supply and commit themselves to that businesses goods or services for a finite period. It is not a railway thing. The business accepts a smaller margin in exchange for the money in the account upfront and the certainty of custom - this is the same principle whether you purchase a football club season ticket rather than paying match by match, or a pallet load of widgets rather than half a dozen.

If the less frequent traveller/enthusiast can get their head around this concept it may assuage the apparent misplaced resentment which quite often seems to rise to the surface as a means of hitting commuters over the head.

I was neither complaining or resenting. Merely pointing out the fact that season ticket commuters pay the least to someone who was complaining about the 'high' price they pay and resenting having to stand.

[TaplowGreen]

Agree with your last point, shame GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) don't bother

Agreed, another one done to death. This will continue until GWR enforce their own rules. A mob handed ticket check before boarding would do the track

Yes it might cause a bit of conflict to start with but the message will soon get through.

Talking about penalty fares is a bit daft. Stop the problem proactively at Paddington before it starts. Can you imagine Johnny ticket checker standing on the platform at Reading trying to write out all the penalty fares? Or trying to stop people getting off the train whilst he does?

[bobm]

When the 18-03 departure is advertised as "pick up only" at Reading, it annoys me when Reading commuters not only board, but then complain that it is crowded.
Penalty fare them to Taunton !

It isn't helped when the Train Manager on pick up only services often announces at Paddington that the train will call at Reading - even though it isn't (in the case of HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train)) mentioned on the window labels.

[Adelante_CCT]

I was neither complaining or resenting. Merely pointing out the fact that season ticket commuters pay the least to someone who was complaining about the 'high' price they pay and resenting having to stand.

To be fair philipgreg doesn't mention season tickets, just that travel is expensive, and many do it during peak hours

When your journeys are all during peak commuter time and you end up standing for the very high price you've paid for a ticket

This could be the high price for a season ticket over a year, or for an expensive anytime ticket during peak hours

[JayMac]

To be fair philipgreg doesn't mention season tickets, just that travel is expensive, and many do it during peak hours

Which is why I used the word 'If' in my original response to him.