Thanks from FGW for your patience during the bad weather. Plus prize draw.

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From firstgreatwestern.co.uk

Last week saw some of the worst weather conditions for travelling in well over a decade. With many roads at a standstill and airports and other transport hubs closed, I^m very pleased First Great Western was able to continue running the vast majority of services for our customers.

I am particularly proud of the huge efforts put in by staff across our business who continue to work hard to keep services running and keep our stations and platforms clear of snow and ice. Thanks to their efforts and our severe weather planning, more than 90 per cent of our services were able to run.

The difficult conditions meant that a small number of customers^ journeys were affected, so I would like to thank everyone for their patience as we worked to deliver a service in very challenging circumstances.

With more severe weather warnings over the next couple of days, we^ll continue to work with Network Rail to keep your trains running and deliver the best possible service.

Finally, when you are travelling with us and please do take extra care during this wintry weather. Allow enough time to catch your train and please don't rush as car parks, platforms and stairways may be slippery.

We continuously update this website with our latest travel information, so please check before you travel.

Mark Hopwood
Managing Director
First Great Western

From thisisbristol.co.uk (Bristol Evening Post)

The head of First Great Western is offering free first class tickets as a thank-you to customers for their patience during the bad weather.

There are 20 pairs of first class return tickets up for grabs in a prize draw, valid on any FGW^▸ (First Great Western) service.
Managing director Mark Hopwood said: "I am particularly proud of the huge efforts put in by staff across our business who continue to work hard to keep services running and keep our stations and platforms clear of snow and ice.

"Thanks to their efforts and our severe weather planning, more than 90 per cent of our services were able to run. The difficult conditions meant that a small number of customers' journeys were affected, so I would like to thank everyone for their patience as we worked to deliver a service in very challenging circumstances."

The prize draw entry form can be found here. Closing date for entries is 1st February 2010.