Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 12:35 02 May 2024
* Spectacular thunderstorms rumble across UK
* Russia blamed for GPS interference affecting flights in Europe
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 18/05/24 - BRTA Westbury
22/05/24 - WWRUG / TransWilts update
02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber

On this day
2nd May (1859)
Wilton South station opened

Train RunningCancelled
11:00 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads
12:00 Oxford to London Paddington
13:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington
Short Run
09:52 London Paddington to Hereford
10:55 Paignton to London Paddington
12:35 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
13:18 Hereford to London Paddington
PollsThere are no open or recent polls
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
May 02, 2024, 12:37:21 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[232] Vintage film - how valid are these issues today?
[86] Leven, Fife, Scotland, fast forward a month
[79] Train drivers "overwhelmingly white middle aged men"
[63] Visiting the pub on the way home.
[23] underground plans for Bristol update.
[16] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: First Great Western deny rumours passenger urinated in bin 'out of desperation'  (Read 8170 times)
Chris from Nailsea
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 17900


I am not railway staff


View Profile Email
« on: December 11, 2014, 21:18:06 »

From the Reading Chronicle:

Quote
First Great Western deny rumours passenger urinated in bin 'out of desperation' when toilets broken

Rumours that a train passenger urinated in a bin because the on-board toilets were out of order were denied by First Great Western this week.


The photo posted by the commuter

A photo posted on Twitter showed an ^Out of Service^ toilet sign with a hand-written note which read: ^ONLY TOILET ON TRAIN NOT ACCEPTABLE! HAVE WEE'D IN BIN IN DESPERATION!^

It was unclear whether the desperate traveller was male or female.

The commuter who tweeted the photo, who wishes to remain anonymous, claimed the note was found on the 6.18am Oxford-bound service from Paddington which passed through Reading on December 3.

A spokesman for the railway company said: "A blocked toilet was reported to our Twitter team on 2 December and was fixed quickly, having apparently been deliberately blocked by vandals. We found no evidence to suggest the claims made in the picture of graffiti were genuine."
Logged

William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10122


View Profile
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2014, 00:55:22 »

The reliability of Turbo toilets is unacceptably low and has been since the original design was replaced with a cheap alternative that isn't fit for purpose.

They block or run out of water far too easily.
Logged

To view my GWML (Great Western Main Line) 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/
6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 2754



View Profile Email
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2014, 09:16:43 »

The person who tweeted the picture wishes to remain anonymous ..... People really do not understand Twitter do they
Logged
Fourbee
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 672


View Profile
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2014, 09:50:34 »

I remember once on a Southern unit checking there was water before lathering up my hands with what can be quite aggressive soap.

Little did I know, I'd just used up the last of the water Angry

As well as attacking my hands the soap also doubled as a nice adhesive to the toilet paper I was trying to use to wipe it off.
Logged
thetrout
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 2612



View Profile
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2014, 20:24:10 »

I tend to stay away from trains with just 1 toilet if I can help it for precisely this reason. Shorter journeys isn't so much of an issue but I wouldn't want to sit on a train with no toilet for longer than an hour.

c2c have just 1 toilet on their Class 357s and due to my unluckiness I always come across the units where the toilets are broken.

As for denying the rumors... FGW (First Great Western) should take a look at what happens on Cardiff Match Days when the toilets on 150s don't work...... Less said about that the better I feel.

Hence why I use GreaterAnglia to head to Southend. Whilst the toilets are likely to be ghastly, they are usually usable to an extent and for every 4 extra coaches = 2 extra toilets. Can someone explain the logic of why the 3 Car Turbos were fitted with just 2 toilets, yet 158798 is running around as a 3 car sporting 4 toilets?
Logged

Grin Grin Grin Grin
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10122


View Profile
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2014, 22:59:05 »

Can someone explain the logic of why the 3 Car Turbos were fitted with just 2 toilets, yet 158798 is running around as a 3 car sporting 4 toilets?

The 166s have two toilets, but the 3-car 165s in use on Chiltern and FGW (First Great Western) routes only have one toilet.  Two is ok for a 3-car train, but 1 is not really good enough - especially given the reliability of the current model fitted to the FGW ones.

We had the honour of a VIP travelling from Oxford a month or two back.  A VIP important enough to mean an extra unit was added to the train.  However there was then a mad panic when it was realised that there wasn't a single toilet working on the 5-car formation they hoped to use.  Cue a load of set swaps to try and find one that did have a working toilet!
Logged

To view my GWML (Great Western Main Line) 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/
Surrey 455
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1230


View Profile
« Reply #6 on: December 13, 2014, 10:16:21 »

The 166s have two toilets, but the 3-car 165s in use on Chiltern and FGW (First Great Western) routes only have one toilet.  Two is ok for a 3-car train, but 1 is not really good enough - especially given the reliability of the current model fitted to the FGW ones.

Sigh... Even one toilet is a luxury. My regular commute in a 4/8 car 455 unit has none and there'll probably be a lot of fed up passengers walking up and down Crossrail trains trying to find a non existent toilet too.  Sad



Edited - original was badly worded.
« Last Edit: December 13, 2014, 20:39:35 by Surrey 455 » Logged
chrisr_75
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1019


View Profile
« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2014, 10:21:19 »

We had the honour of a VIP travelling from Oxford a month or two back.  A VIP important enough to mean an extra unit was added to the train.  However there was then a mad panic when it was realised that there wasn't a single toilet working on the 5-car formation they hoped to use.  Cue a load of set swaps to try and find one that did have a working toilet!

Typical, some so-called VIP comes along and FGW (First Great Western) pull out all the stops and find not only an extra train but one with a working toilet. The rest of us are just expected to tolerate whatever clapped out excuse for a sardine tin turns up.
Logged
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10122


View Profile
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2014, 11:36:36 »

Typical, some so-called VIP comes along and FGW (First Great Western) pull out all the stops and find not only an extra train but one with a working toilet.

Well, it was the PM.  That may of course make efforts to provide a working toilet even less worthy depending on your political persuasion!
Logged

To view my GWML (Great Western Main Line) 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/
chrisr_75
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1019


View Profile
« Reply #9 on: December 13, 2014, 13:25:34 »

Typical, some so-called VIP comes along and FGW (First Great Western) pull out all the stops and find not only an extra train but one with a working toilet.

Well, it was the PM.  That may of course make efforts to provide a working toilet even less worthy depending on your political persuasion!

Putting any political persuasions to one side, I do not see any reason why the PM or any elected or non-elected civil servant should be treated any differently to the rest of us, apart of course on grounds of security, but then he would be travelling in his bomb/bullet resistant Jag if that was a significant issue at the time! Let him pee in a bin or dampen his expensive bespoke suit and find out what reality is really like  Grin

He probably didn't even buy a ticket!  Wink

Ok, rant over  Smiley
Logged
ellendune
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4453


View Profile
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2014, 13:43:33 »

But from the point of view of FGW (First Great Western) they would not want the PM to find out just how bad it is for the rest of us would they?
Logged
didcotdean
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1425


View Profile
« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2014, 15:20:13 »

David Cameron is possibly more used to Chiltern in recent years, travelling to Chequers.
Logged
TaplowGreen
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7805



View Profile
« Reply #12 on: December 13, 2014, 15:58:57 »

But from the point of view of FGW (First Great Western) they would not want the PM to find out just how bad it is for the rest of us would they?

A nasty pong today might spoil Hopwood's chance of a gong tomorrow.
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page