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Title: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: bobm on May 17, 2011, 21:37:45 Football meets FGW. With Swansea and Reading meeting at Wembley in the Championship final I wonder if there will be any changes to services on the day to keep the fans apart. Would they run some South Wales services non stop through Reading or try to enforce set down only on the up journey and pick up only on the return?
Whatever they do it could have been worse. An all Wales final was on the cards til Reading beat Cardiff! Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: ReWind on May 17, 2011, 22:37:57 They will probably lay on extra services, run dry services and have a load of BTP around!
That's what the usual outcome is on the many other sporting events that have affected FGW land! Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: bobm on May 17, 2011, 22:42:54 True. But it's not often you get both sets of fans on the same route.
Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: readytostart on May 18, 2011, 00:08:44 True. But it's not often you get both sets of fans on the same route. Um Stoke and Man City! VT ran footexes tho. Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: IndustryInsider on May 18, 2011, 13:45:52 True. But it's not often you get both sets of fans on the same route. Imagine how much more of a headache it would have been had Cardiff beaten Reading! Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: Mookiemoo on May 18, 2011, 13:50:42 Will it have much effect on late evening up services via reading? I'm thinking I'm on the 5ish departure from penzance gets into PAD at 1030ish
Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: bobm on May 18, 2011, 13:54:18 Yes, as I said BNM ;)
Wouldn't have thought so Mookiemoo. Whatever forms that service from PNZ will have come down mid morning so going against the flow. I am planning a day out that day. Might try going against the flow and see if Swansea and the Gower are empty! Got the Isle of Wight on the Saturday. Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: IndustryInsider on May 18, 2011, 14:02:21 It was me who was guilty of not reading the whole post. Not the first time poor old BMN has taken the rap for me I think! ;)
Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: bobm on May 18, 2011, 14:07:06 Whoops. My apologies. I blame it on my continuing double vision. (and not alcohol induced!)
Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: JayMac on May 19, 2011, 00:11:06 Er...um... why am I being referenced in this thread?
And II... I'm happy with 'poor', but less of the 'old' if you please! :P ;) ;D Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: bobm on May 19, 2011, 00:20:34 I still haven't a clue why I attributed it to you. At least I didn't compound it with age references. But then as I reach a half century next month thoughts of stones and glasshouses would prevent me.
Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: anthony215 on May 20, 2011, 13:01:39 FGW are putting on 3 extra services to London in the morning and 2 back in the evening which will run non stop through Reading:
www.thisissouthwales.co.uk Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: bobm on May 20, 2011, 14:24:53 So what service are First Great Western running on Bank Holiday Monday? The "additional" 6.58 mentioned in the article runs on Monday to Friday (and isn't marked Bank Holidays excepted) anyway. It runs on Saturdays too which according to National Rail is what FGW are running on the Bank Holiday.
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/seasonal/Easter+May2011/firstgreatwestern.html (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/seasonal/Easter+May2011/firstgreatwestern.html) Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: Chris from Nailsea on May 28, 2011, 20:45:09 From Newbury Today (http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=16868):
Quote Reading supporters travelling to Monday's match will not be able to buy group saver tickets with First Great Western Reading Football Club fans in West Berkshire travelling by train to the play-off final on Monday will not be able to use group saver tickets through train operator, First Great Western (FGW). The tickets, which can save each member of a group of four about ^10 for a day return trip to London, are not being permitted on all services on Monday, as it is one of the operator^s ^barred dates^ owing to the Run to the Sun festival in Cornwall and other Bank Holiday events. This has however angered fans, who have hit out at the train operator with thousands of people expected to travel via public transport to the capital for the one-off game. Nigel Chambers, who tried to buy a group saver ticket for Monday at Newbury train station yesterday (Thursday), said he was dismayed to find a sign at the station saying that First Great Western weren^t honouring the tickets on Monday, as he had not found such information on the operator^s website. He said: ^I suggest with the large number of people travelling from Swansea and Reading on Monday, it is just blatant profiteering from First Great Western.^ FGW spokesman, John Ratchford, confirmed that Monday was one of the dates when group savers were not permitted due to specific events, as announced earlier this year, adding that people could still buy tickets in a group on Monday, but there would be no saving in doing so. He added that the information should be communicated to customers at train stations, including via signage. Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: bobm on May 30, 2011, 10:01:10 Well the FGW website has certainly lived up to its reputation this morning. There is no mention of which trains from Swansea will not be making their booked calls at Reading either as a news story or on the live updates. (National Rail's live departures show some not calling and others are).
As for Groupsave the list of restrictions (http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/GroupSave/group%20save%20barred%20dates%202011%2001%2010.pdf)ran out at the end of April so nothing about today. However if you want to look at last winter's timetable for historical research they are still there! Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: JayMac on May 30, 2011, 10:33:55 GroupSave should be allowed today to London from South Wales. It's not listed on the 'barred' days list available on NRE.
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/groupsave_calendar.html Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: bobm on May 30, 2011, 10:36:45 But not according to the spokesman quoted in post 13 by Chris.
Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: IndustryInsider on May 30, 2011, 14:32:22 As far as Reading fans are concerned a large slice drove to High Wycombe to use the excellent direct service to Wembley Stadium station. I was there at just gone midday and the (newly expanded - http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/news/all-change-high-wycombe-station (http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/news/all-change-high-wycombe-station)) multi-storey station car park was just approaching full capacity and so the nearby Easton Street public car park would have been the next best bet. Upwards of 100 people queueing for tickets a constant stream coming through onto the platforms and I saw a 4-car stopper leave the bay platform full to the rafters. Luckily I was heading the other way!
I'd be interested to see what percentage of their total annual revenue Chiltern gets through people heading to the big football matches and concerts, as with (I'd guess) around 2000 people travelling just from High Wycombe today it must be a healthy slice! Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: bobm on May 30, 2011, 14:58:17 What a very good point. I hadn't thought of that. I must admit I don't offer consider driving to a railhead for an alternative route. Shame they closed the railway line from Maidenhead to High Wycombe!
Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: anthony215 on May 30, 2011, 18:01:27 I can say some FGW services did operate at all this morning, i didnt see a hst pass through Pyle at 04:25 nor at 05:25 while i was waiting for the 06:08 train to Cardiff.
In case anyone ask's i was bord so decided to take a slow alk to the station. Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: Jez on May 30, 2011, 18:52:39 Whilst waiting at Bridgend for a train home, as well as a refurb 158 on Maesteg I saw a HST to London at both 1700 (usual) and 1716. I can understand the need for extra HST this morning with the Swansea game but dont see the need for an extra one 16 minutes after the usual service in the early evening?!
Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: bobm on May 30, 2011, 18:58:50 It is a bit strange. They leave 16 mins apart but by Reading the second one is 28 mins behind AND it doesn't call at Didcot Parkway. I'm sure there's a very good reason for it! ;D
Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: Hafren on May 30, 2011, 19:03:04 Bank holiday extras. It looks like the additional trains left Cardiff at xx:55, providing an even interval, but left Swansea relatively early in order to stay clear of the Manchester trains, and then waited a bit at Cardiff.
Title: Re: Interesting day in prospect - May 30th Post by: Jez on May 30, 2011, 19:12:13 Bank holiday extras. It looks like the additional trains left Cardiff at xx:55, providing an even interval, but left Swansea relatively early in order to stay clear of the Manchester trains, and then waited a bit at Cardiff. Makes sense now. Of course in the mornings its the other way around and the Manchester seem to leave Swansea earlier to make way for the half hourly London service before 9am. This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. 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 content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |