Great Western Coffee Shop

Post from the Save The Train Forum (link below.)
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=4480.msg8260#msg8260

Surely FGW must be in the last chance saloon with the Dft by now. The amount of cancellations that are happening at the moment is as bad as it ever has been. What is it going to take before First are made to hand back the keys?

Save The Train takes it to the extreme.

Listing every single cancellation without bothering to question why and see that it might not be FGWs fault is simply petty.

Maybe, but you can go on FGW's website and find them there and sign up for daily bulletins that list known alterations and cancellations.

I was a bit harsh earlier when saying that surely FGW are in the last chance saloon and need to give the new MD more time. But all the while passengers are continuing to have to put up with overcrowding and cancelled services for whatever reason and this is very fustrating, especially when you know that there is more stock leaving with no replacements to take their place. If only they could keep the Adelantes which would solve many problems!

I don't actually agree there, The fleet of 180s are going but there are a lot more HST sets still waiting to come out of refurb and i *think* it will mean the number of HSTs will exceed the previous High Speed (HST + 180) fleet.

Then again, i may be wrong,

Sorry I wasn't very clear there. I Was thinking more along the lines of 180s being transferred to Cardiff-Portsmouth to free up 158s for other local services.

In an ideal world, this would happen...

however we're talking in the FGW world, were maximising profits anyway possible is king

When you only have 2 trains each way a day, every single cancellation does count.

The evening train to Swindon this evening was cancelled, and I had a visitor due to go on it, connecting on on a "this train ONLY" ticket to London.  Phone calls elicited the fact that she could travel on the next train - 09:20 tomorrow morning - instead.  But if we gave her a lift up to Chippenham, she could NOT travel from there on the train 10 minutes ahead of the cancelled one.

Cancellation rates on the "TransWilts" have at times been up to 40% of services in a week and, yes, we do list each one that gets squashed.  It's not just a case of waiting half an hour as it is at Weston or Bristol or Exmouth - it's much more disruptive. But you'll also find if you look back that we make fair note of where cancellations are outside the remit of FGW.  Not looking for perfection - just hoping for something that is within an order of magnitude of what's specified.

Should I tell you here that two were shown as cancelled today?   That left our last train at Melksham at 07:17 ... this morning!

'West' fleet availability is still complete and utter rubbish with units falling apart by the minute, the 150/2 fleet have turned into proper wrecks. Hopefully the 'refresh' will solve these issues?? However FGW need to work on this aspect, Laira fitters can only just about tell the difference between a 150 and a 153 and know nothing when it comes to actually repairing one. Its perfectly common for units to have the same old fault in its log book for weeks on end, it just seems no one has the knowledge to actually rectify it....

The interior state of the 150's has dramatically decreased recently. They were brilliant when they were first introduced but there interiors are disgusting now.

Exterior is just as bad, looks like most of them have been through a mud bath!

Thats common during leaf fall season with rails covered in sandite etc, at least they get washed at Laira, Long Rock, although that is pretty much all they do bar fuel them....

Unit availabilty (or otherwise) is FGW's Fault
Turns left uncovered is FGW's fault

They are the 2 most commen reasons for Trans-Wilts cancellations!

And FGW put the blame on ATW for the state of the 'West' fleet when it was handed over to FGW for maintainance. Of course that statement was retracted with the admission that they weren't ready to take over maintainance of the fleet last December. Bit of an understatement there as the depot at St Philips Marsh wasnt even built!

Maybe ATW could have helped them out a bit but when you make comments like that it hardly makes you want to offer experienced staff to come to the rescue.

Listen to the spotter.

Well in fairness, ATW didn't do a great job, but it should be rectified by now

Now now, I'm not a spotter, I don't take down train numbers

Canton were a complete shambles and regularly nicked parts of Wessex units to put into ATW unit's! It's even been known for a unit to go on Canton with faults and come off with more faults than it went in with!

Nearly as bad as the 153 i had yesterday that had tape over the seat springs because some idiot had vandalised the seat.