FGW 1st Class - ongoing discussion of the benefits and their apparent reduction

[whole diary]

[chrisr_75]

Dropping the Reading stops isn't the answer. There is a significant passenger flow from Reading to points west.

I know, I was just making as suggestion as ridiculous as that made by the Reading MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) 

As bobm says, enforcing the pick-up only restrictions is what is needed. A month long carrot and stick operation should educate the Reading commuters.

Devil's advocate here. Maybe, on the odd occasion, run fast to Swindon or Taunton, with a relief service from Reading. Anyone from Paddington over-carried to Taunton or Swindon would then think twice about again boarding a service that isn't advertised to call at Reading.

And FGW^▸ (First Great Western) did almost that - there was a 19:12 departure to SWA^» (Swansea - next trains) (first stop BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains)) proposed, last year sometime, which got as far as having paths, staff, trains in place to act as a relief for the 19:15 RDG^‡(resolve), SWI^» (Swindon - next trains) stopper. For once a great idea from the ToC, only for it to be vetoed at the last minute by DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) - it was so last minute that tickets/reservations were on sale at one point & it was included in the online timetables...

[TaplowGreen]

The background to Alok Sharma's intervention is that somewhat under the radar without bells and whistles or attempts to seek publicity he has been representing the interests of his constituents who have been suffering recently through the frankly appalling service FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have been offering its customers since early October, be that via signal failures, the seemingly increasing unreliability of it's stock, normal meteorological conditions etc, etc.

As regards this request, he and others have been attempting to engage with FGW to find out how often and in what circumstances 1st class is declassified on overcrowded trains between Reading and London..........not an unreasonable request for basic information from an elected MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) you might think? In return he has been met with a parrot like response of "it's up to the TM^‡(resolve)" and "we can't tell you without consulting all the journey logs" etc............hence his resorting to a petition.

Personally I admire an MP who takes up cudgels on behalf of his constituents on an issue which is of major concern to them......but clearly he lacks the breadth of vision and vast wisdom of a lot of those here.

[ChrisB]

It is left to the TM^‡(resolve)'s discretion....

[TaplowGreen]

It is left to the TM^‡(resolve)'s discretion....

Indeed  -  the MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) is after finding out how often it's happened in a given period, but the information wasn't forthcoming, hence the petition.

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) could have avoided the unfavourable publicity by simply providing what appears to be pretty basic performance information/data.

[ChrisB]

I doubt the TMs^‡(resolve) actually record this info?....

[TaplowGreen]

........surely they'd have to?

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't passengers who have paid a 1st class fare get a refund if it's declassified? I would have thought that this would have to be recorded to allow them to apply for it and be verified?

[NickB]

Wouldn't this info have to be tracked as a declassification triggers refunds for 1st class ticket holders?

I've said it before but its worth saying again - first class travel isn't a birth right or social apartheid. Anyone can just buy an upgrade if they are so peeved with Standard provision. Perhaps FGW^▸ (First Great Western) would be better served by encouraging more people to upgrade rather than pleasing no one with the current situation.

[ChrisB]

Fair point!

[Oxonhutch]

Wouldn't this info have to be tracked as a declassification triggers refunds for 1st class ticket holders?

I've said it before but its worth saying again - first class travel isn't a birth right or social apartheid. Anyone can just buy an upgrade if they are so peeved with Standard provision. Perhaps FGW^▸ (First Great Western) would be better served by encouraging more people to upgrade rather than pleasing no one with the current situation.

I agree strongly with Nick here. FGW regular mark-up on first class is over 100% on standard.  Off peak the differential can be even higher where steeply discounted standard fares are available but no off-peak fares are available in first. To travel now (Fresh from the Mixing Desk: 15h00 07-Nov-14) DID^» (Didcot Parkway - next trains)-BAN ^8.80 std/^28.40first. 

[4064ReadingAbbey]

Dropping the Reading stops isn't the answer. There is a significant passenger flow from Reading to points west.

As bobm says, enforcing the pick-up only restrictions is what is needed. A month long carrot and stick operation should educate the Reading commuters.

Devil's advocate here. Maybe, on the odd occasion, run fast to Swindon or Taunton, with a relief service from Reading. Anyone from Paddington over-carried to Taunton or Swindon would then think twice about again boarding a service that isn't advertised to call at Reading.

Gerry Fiennes, when GM of the Western in the late 1960s, did just that! He also put plenty of Ticket Inspectors on the trains to collect the excess fares.

[mjones]

I'm not really convinced that creating additional rules for customers to break and suffer penalties for is the best way to improve customer service..

[4064ReadingAbbey]

I'm not really convinced that creating additional rules for customers to break and suffer penalties for is the best way to improve customer service..

What additional rules would those be? 'Pick-up only' has been around for probably a century, or even more. There's nothing 'additional' about it.

The problem is that some people think they know it all and get on trains at Paddington because they 'know' they all stop at Reading. The result is that people making longer distance journeys do so in some discomfort and dwell times are extended because the passengers expecting to board have to wait until those getting off have got off.

This may be more of an issue in future - come electrification it seems that some or all the SETs^▸ (Super Express Train (now IET)) to Bristol via the Badminton route and Bristol Parkway will not make a station call before Swindon at the earliest to shorten journey times as much as possible. There might be quite a lot of people who get carried past Reading!

[thetrout]

There is a set running around at the moment with 7 Standard Class Carriages (With Micro Buffet) and 1x First Class Carriage (Unrefurb'd). This set has only 1 toilet in First Class and No Wheelchair Space.

Something else that occurred to me the other week and I mentioned in person with another Forum Member. In doing this refurbishment to First Class; FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are creating an extra Wheelchair Space. Yet we still won't have an RVAR compliant toilet and perhaps worryingly also "Emergency Call for Aid buttons". Both of these are available in the existing Standard Class Accommodation. Other operators also provide these fundamentally basic features in both First and Standard Class.

I was tempted to email FGW about this. But considering they have still not answered 4 emails sent across Q2 and Q3 this year it's likely a complete waste of time.


Also, was it just me. Or did anyone else come across that stupid set that had only slightly less than half a First Class Carriage a couple of weeks back? (Full Size Kitchen)

I don't think it was around like that for very long. I managed it twice in one day though

I also had a rather sour experience 2 weeks ago where First Class was at full capacity. I had ordered lunch from the Travelling Chef. Whilst waiting for the food I had to dash to the toilet at the same time the train called at Bath Spa. When I returned there was someone sat in my seat and I asked them nicely if I could have it back. I was told in no uncertain terms where to go and just as this happened my food arrived. I looked at the host and just said "Apparently you lose your seat if you decide to use the toilet..."

A rather irritated trout was then seated in Coach E to eat lunch opposite a table of hyperactive teenagers. Despite this, by the time I has started eating, the food was so excellent I had forgotten about the affair. When I went to the buffet to return the plate/cutlery and get a drink. The same lady was then lashing into the TM^‡(resolve) about the lack of toilet paper in the First Class toilet. I can't imagine who was responsible for that.............

I am in complete agreement with NickB also. First Class is not a right at birth. But some people seem to act and behave like it is.

[chrisr_75]

I've said it before but its worth saying again - first class travel isn't a birth right or social apartheid. Anyone can just buy an upgrade if they are so peeved with Standard provision. Perhaps FGW^▸ (First Great Western) would be better served by encouraging more people to upgrade rather than pleasing no one with the current situation.

I also completely agree with this. The act of filling first class seats using discounted tickets or reducing the mark up (let's face it FGW, your first class offering isn't really that much to write home about anyway) would also have avoided the rather substantial cost to the taxpayer of converting the existing carriages to standard class accommodation, even though the bulk of these will either undergo (I assume) a heavy overhaul to continue duties on West Country services or with other franchises or just scrapped with the advent of IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.)...

[Chris from Nailsea]

It's a testament to the skills of the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) maintenance and engineering teams at Old Oak Common, St Phillips Marsh, Landore and Laira that they've been able to (just about) match fleet availability with service requirements.

Not to mention the staff at Long Rock, Penzance, who also do their bit.

... and those various depots win awards in so doing.  For example - from the First Great Western press release:

Monday 27 October 2014

First Great Western depot team wins at Rail Staff Awards

The Technical Team at First Great Western^s Old Oak Common depot have won Depot Team of the Year at the Rail Staff Awards. They won the award ahead of fourteen other teams nominated in the category, including FGW^▸ (First Great Western)^s own Reading Driver Management team.

The Old Oak Common team was recognised for their successful implementation of new digital communications, to address issues the depot faced in its day-to-day activities. These projects have been so successful they are now being rolled out in other Engineering depots and elsewhere in FGW.

The depot has introduced new digital communications screens to reduce its reliance on paper notices, trialled the use of tablets with vehicle maintenance documents installed on them, and improved recording of train positions on the depot.

Ajmal Akram, Depot Engineering Manager at Old Oak Common, said: "This award is a great honour for our team, especially because we were short-listed by our colleagues and peers across the rail industry and then awarded by the judging panel. This rewards the hard work and effort of the whole team at Old Oak Common to help implement new digital technology, so that we could improve our depot communications. This award shows we're on the right track as we begin to roll the screens out to FGW's other depots."

Mark Hopwood, Managing Director, said: ^I am sure you will join me in congratulating our winning colleagues, and all those who were nominated for a Rail Staff Award. We can all feel proud of this high-profile recognition from our industry peers.^

The OOC^▸ (Old Oak Common (depot)) team won the award for its successful installation of digital screens with specially designed software. The screens allowed for posters to be uploaded across multiple screens and they reduced the need to manually print and post paper notices. The project received a Best Practice notice during a quality audit from industry certification body RIQC.

A second project was the trial of vehicle maintenance documents on tablet computers. This aimed to replace paper manuals which became damaged or often went missing. Old Oak was the first depot to try this and received another Best Practice notice, this time during a safety audit by QSS.

Thirdly, a digital touchscreen was installed at the depot for recording real-time train positions. This dramatically reduced the phone calls made to the Yard Team Leader to confirm positions, which were creating a major distraction and posed a safety risk.