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Rail companies to hold Reading meeting for passengers - but during work hours

Staff at Network Rail and Great Western Railway will hold an event for passengers between 2pm and 4pm - when the vast majority of regular train users will be at work

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Staff from Network Rail and First Great Western will be at Reading Station

Reading’s long-suffering train passengers have a chance to grill transport bosses over the future of train travel - but may have to take time off work to do so.

Staff from Network Rail and Great Western Railway will be hosting an event designed to inform passengers about future plans and the promised new, greener, faster trains.

However, the event will be held between 2pm and 4pm, meaning they will be there while most commuters are at work and will leave before the passengers come home.

Representatives from the two companies will be on hand on Friday, October 14, to discuss the two companies’ partnership and their major upgrades of the line including the electrification of the Great Western Mainline.

A spokesman for Network Rail told getreading the reason for the timing of the meeting is because the company has held meetings during the morning rush before and found commuters were focusing on getting to their trains and were too busy to stop, adding that having it at quieter times meant more people should have time to stop.

Network Rail’s Mark Langman, managing director for the Western route, said the alliance “puts passengers at the heart of everything we do” and customers can find out about how the changes are aiming to improve the railway, bringing it into the 21st century.

Reading’s passengers, who face daily issues with overcrowding, will no doubt be keen to find out more about the plans for faster, greener, electric trains with more seats and more room for passengers.

Reading West MP Alok Sharma has also been campaigning for the train providers to ditch their first class carriages during busy times, so the staff can expect some questions on that subject too.

But the timing of the event will make it impossible for a lot of people with concerns to meet the staff.

Mr Langman said: “The purpose of our alliance is to put passengers at the heart of everything we do.

"As part of our Railway Upgrade Plan to provide a bigger, better, more reliable railway for passengers, we are undertaking work in Reading and the surrounding areas to prepare the line for electrification. This will pave the way for a new fleet of faster, greener electric trains with more seats and more room for passengers.

"In delivering the improvements we know passengers want, it’s vitally important Network Rail and GWR work together to minimise disruption as much as possible and provide passengers with the best possible service, which is why the alliance is so important.

“Everyone is welcome at our event, so if you’d like to know more about the alliance, our modernisation work or have a question you’d like answered, please come along.”

Mark Hopwood, managing director of GWR, added: “Our railway is going through the biggest investment since Brunel, and we’re making sure customers will see the full benefit of it. Our alliance will help us deliver value for passengers, and together we will capitalise on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Ridiculous timing whilst everyone is at work...

... however I guess it is Friday and the railways staff concerned are no doubt observing POETS day  ::)

Maybe trying to talk to these other groups of customers as well is not a bad thing to do. 

Agreed that Reading certainly isn't quiet on a Friday mid-afternoon.  Leisure travellers are probably more likely to stop and spend some time listening and learning, and quite a few workers finish earlier on the Friday than the rest of the week.  Perhaps starting it at 2pm is fine, but extend it a few hours, to, say, 7pm to catch most of the commuters as well?

Agreed that Reading certainly isn't quiet on a Friday mid-afternoon.  Leisure travellers are probably more likely to stop and spend some time listening and learning, and quite a few workers finish earlier on the Friday than the rest of the week.  Perhaps starting it at 2pm is fine, but extend it a few hours, to, say, 7pm to catch most of the commuters as well?

Errr....maybe another will be / has been scheduled for commuters? Why does *every* meet manager session have to suit commuters?