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James Vertigan
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« Reply #45 on: March 09, 2010, 18:17:08 » |
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Volo being demonstrated on the main concourse at Paddington today. Had a little chat with the demonstrator who said that a few trains are running with it today and it will be across the whole fleet 'very soon'!
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BBM
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« Reply #46 on: April 14, 2010, 15:18:17 » |
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8619167.stmFirst Great Western to have first on-board TV service
The first on-board TV service for train travellers in the UK▸ has begun.
The service, which passengers have to pay for, has been introduced on some high-speed trains operated by the First Great Western (FGW▸ ) rail company.
The firm plans to introduce the new service in one carriage, of all 54 of its high-speed trains which run from London's Paddington station.
TV shows, sport programmes and documentaries can be seen on the screen which is in the back of the seat.
Other features include the latest news as well as a moving map, which displays real-time journey information.
When the roll-out is completed, passengers will be able to pay a flat fee of ^3.95 via their mobile phones to access the screen in front of them and can then watch as many TV shows as they like during the journey, FGW said.
They can also get access for an hour for ^1.50.
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John R
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« Reply #47 on: April 14, 2010, 16:04:55 » |
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On the odd ocassion when I've seen it in action, not many people seem to be using it (other than the moving map, which I guess is free). Any news on take up? ^3.95 sounds a lot unless you're on a long journey with two bored kids.
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Brucey
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« Reply #48 on: April 14, 2010, 16:43:27 » |
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I don't know how much money FGW▸ have spent on this, but it probably would have been much better spent equipping their trains with wifi internet access (which they could then charge for).
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matt473
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« Reply #49 on: April 14, 2010, 17:52:20 » |
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There is a large problem with the flat fee in which users between London and Bristol/Cardiff or paying the same as those travelling to Penzance and are getting a lot less value for money. Probably would have been smarter and cheaper to of only put it on the Low Density sets meant for longer distance travel (Assuming FGW▸ is actually paying for it)
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amiddl
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« Reply #50 on: April 14, 2010, 19:25:23 » |
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I don't know how much money FGW▸ have spent on this, but it probably would have been much better spent equipping their trains with wifi internet access (which they could then charge for). Agree 100% that would be really useful. I have sat in one of these carriages several times now (most recently last week) and have yet to see someone actually watching paid for content. |
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Glovidge
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« Reply #51 on: April 17, 2010, 11:39:55 » |
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Was pleasantly surprised to see these new-fangled Volo tv things this morning (05:55 to London Paddington) are they standard on all mainline FGW▸ services now?
In fairness ^3.95 is a bit pricey to watch an old episode of Top Gear but some of the free stuff such as tube times, route maps, BBC» headlines etc are quite nifty in my opinion. I think some form of National Rail Enquiries search format would be extremely useful
However everyone knows that they're going to be vandalised/ nicked very soon. Still nice to see FGW moving into the 21st century
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Glovidge
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« Reply #52 on: April 17, 2010, 11:40:48 » |
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Sorry that should have said tube maps. D'oh
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eightf48544
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« Reply #53 on: April 17, 2010, 12:05:06 » |
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Moving route route maps are not so uncommon in Europe.
The trams in Dresden have moving maps as do some double deck RE▸ stock on services North of Berlin.
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TrainSpy
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« Reply #54 on: April 20, 2010, 03:19:55 » |
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I don't know how much money FGW▸ have spent on this, but it probably would have been much better spent equipping their trains with wifi internet access (which they could then charge for). Agree 100% that would be really useful. I have sat in one of these carriages several times now (most recently last week) and have yet to see someone actually watching paid for content. FGW have not paid a penny as I understand it - I think Volo are the ones making the investment. All FGW have done is give them the maintenance time to install... |
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #55 on: April 25, 2010, 14:12:36 » |
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I don't know how much money FGW▸ have spent on this, but it probably would have been much better spent equipping their trains with wifi internet access (which they could then charge for). FGW have not paid a penny as I understand it - I think Volo are the ones making the investment. All FGW have done is give them the maintenance time to install... Correct I think. Perhaps the same arrangement could/should be reached with a wi-fi supplier? Wi-fi was after all a franchise pledge, was it not? To duck out of it with comments that the technology would soon be out of date doesn't really wash with me. |
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To view my GWML▸ Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/ |
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JayMac
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« Reply #56 on: April 25, 2010, 18:08:04 » |
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I think franchise pledges are rather like political manifestos.
"This is what we say we are going to do to get the gig. Once we've got the gig we'll do what we like."
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"A clear conscience laughs at a false accusation."
"Treat everyone the same until you find out they're an idiot."
"Moral indignation is a technique used to endow the idiot with dignity."
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John R
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« Reply #57 on: April 25, 2010, 18:32:17 » |
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The most blatant example of this was when TV-AM lost the breakfast franchise to GMTV many years ago. GMTV put in a ludicrous bid which was accepted by the government, and out TV-AM went. A year or so later they were back tail between their legs asking for it to be renegotiated, because they couldn't possibly make any money. Astonishingly, the government agreed to make the terms less onerous. By that stage TV-AM had ceased to exist (not surprisingly), so was not able to challenge the decision in court.
It all seemed mightily unfair. At least in the rail industry, franchises have proved reasonable firm commitments, with the only (?) renegotiations being Virgin WC▸ and XC▸ , where the bearded one had the government over a barrel as the financials assumed a 140mph railway would be built.
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James Vertigan
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« Reply #58 on: April 29, 2010, 07:11:34 » |
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I was on a train with Volo on April 7th (07:30 between PAD» and NTA» ). I didn't try out
the TV stuff as it didn't appeal to me, but I used the maps which I thought were good but could have been a bit more detailed or zoomed in more. It made me laugh when a middle aged couple got on at EXD» and the woman was trying to turn the screen off as she didn't want to stare a it for her whole journey, however it seems they could not be turned off so she draped a copy of the Telegraph over it!
Incidentally, they now have a screen by one of the information desks at Paddington telling you which services have Volo fitted!
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« Last Edit: April 29, 2010, 07:26:28 by James Vertigan »
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IanL
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« Reply #59 on: April 29, 2010, 09:29:46 » |
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I was in one of these carriages between Oxf and CBY a couple of weeks ago, one thing I noted is that while you expect there to be no screens on the seats around the tables, there are also a distinct lack of screens on the airline seats across the aisle from the table seats.
Like others, I didnt see a single set being used to watch the TV content, just the maps.
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