I agree, oooooo and dog box!  The reference to 'parcels' brings up childhood images of 'brown paper packages tied up with string' - pure Sound of Music, surely?  I think it may be Posh Pamela (who has been mentioned here previously) who tries to get round this by requesting that "unattended articles" should not be left lying around - you can almost visualise her disdainful look as she refers to "unattended articles"!

And such announcements are (or were) broadcast at Nailsea and Backwell: "any unattended articles will be removed without warning."  Oh, yes: removed by who, exactly?  As Nailsea is an unmanned station, is this yet another job opportunity for the civilian lady who runs the coffee van at the foot of the steps to platform 2, perhaps???

Thanks, dog box and gaf71 - I've just looked again at that page on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) site, http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=110 , where he is indeed featured!

"Based in Exeter, George moved to England from Canada some 15 years ago ... "

Well, it's great that he has retained his distinctive accent, then!

 

Yes, I think it's a bit rich, Alistair and Dawn laying into FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to 'get a grip' or risk their franchise being reviewed: it's the terms of the franchise that are at the root of the problem. Good for Charles Howeson, pointing this out:


AND Charles Howeson did acknowledge that some problems are within FGW's control:


A very well balanced article, I think. The only pity is that it appeared in the Western Morning News, which I suspect is not Alistair or Dawn's usual breakfast table reading. Hopefully the Times will pick up the story? 

Yes.

Will it do you any good?   No.

 

Hi, swlines!

I agree - it looks good!

I just wondered, as Lee has mentioned the inclusion of Reading Green Park ... would you consider including the Portishead and Tavistock branches?

 

Station Manager, thanks for starting this particular thread.  I hope responses from non-staff are also allowed, as we are all affected by safety? 

For the benefit of the non-staff (including me ^ I^m just a passenger!), while I know that PTS^▸ (Personal Track Safety) means -Personal Track Safety - could you explain what is meant by CIRAS^▸ (Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System) and SCWID^▸ (Safety Critical Work Identity (card)), please?

Also, you will find some related information, on a previous thread in this forum, from http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=1528.msg9922#msg9922 onwards.

However, could I ask that any new responses to Station Manager^s specific question above are posted here, please, to avoid duplication?

Thanks!   

Thanks Jim!

That's interesting, because it's the 1718 (1530 from Paddington) which usually clears all of the 5:00 batch of commuters at BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) (together with the 1725), leaving those who leave the office at 5:30 to try for the 1753.  If the 1718 was that delayed this evening, maybe it also collected some of the normal 1753 crowd?

However, I was still impressed with my introduction to travel on a 150/1!

By the way, the 1530 from Paddington was canned altogether yesterday, 'due to an earlier train fault' according to the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website.

Thanks, qprrule and Lee - exactly right!

So why did a 150/1 suddenly turn up, after months of my fuming about the need for exactly such a unit on the 1753???  I thought it must be my birthday, or something!

I'm really sorry to hear that, Jim.   

I can only suspect that you got one of the tatty old two carriage units that normally form the 1753 from Bristol Temple Meads to Nailsea and Backwell?  I was actually impressed this evening - because a nice ex-Silverline two car unit turned up at Bristol, took on board all of the usual crowd of commuters with only a few standing - and with room for those with big mountain bikes as well!  Please bear with me, I'm still not an expert with classes - but this was one I've not seen before.  However, it just showed what a more suitable unit could do, to make my daily journey home quite pleasant!

However I do know what it's like being crammed: some evenings, if I didn't have to get home on time, I'd frankly prefer not to even try getting on the usual 1753, but wait and catch the 1822 instead.   

There is an excellent, well sourced and comprehensive item on the whole subject of 'crowding', on Insider's blog, at http://indefenceoffirstgreatwestern.blogspot.com/2008/01/up-close-and-personal.html .

To avoid duplication, I won't reproduce any of the text here, but it's well worth a look if you want some more background information on this clearly rather emotive subject.

(Thanks to Insider for this - again!)

Thanks, John!

Sorry if I seemed flippant, but it was actually a serious question. While approaching the station from Nailsea this morning, I noted yet again how tatty it looks: embankments overgrown with that infernal Japanese plant that grows everywhere, stonework on the road bridge stained and leaking water over everyone whenever it rains, metalwork paint (on the road bridge and the footbridge) flaking off, litter everywhere - but FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have had a few ground cover plants stuck in, to try to cover up all this mess!

For those who don't know my beloved local station, this is what I mean: http://www.bristol-rail.co.uk/images/nailsea17.jpg

On a more positive note: the lady who operates the coffee van at the foot of the steps to platform 2 has indeed taken over the newspaper stand sales from the local newsagent!  So, apart from giving her an Avantix^▸ (Ticket Issuing System used on board trains) machine, I think we've almost gone back to Nailsea and Backwell being a manned station again!

 

Well, if that was indeed the case, it's rather unfortunate timing, happening so early in the 'experimental trial' use of such trolleys! 

And as d_m pointed out, we don't get the 'benefit' of Adelante services, actually, west of Bristol! 

Good point, John!

Erm .. do you mean the road bridge, or the foot bridge?

 

Back in October last year, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) sent their 'in-house' painters to refurbish the railings and shelters at Nailsea and Backwell station.

On Monday of this week, a couple of external contractor staff replaced all the perspex window panels in the platform shelters.

The result in each case was perfectly adequate, in my opinion: there's not necessarily a case for saying that in-house staff do a better job than contractors, or vice versa.

I have more concern over the fact that a lot of money was apparently spent on getting some landscape garders in, to put assorted plants on the embankment under platform 2 in an effort to improve the appearance of our station, but no attempt was made to remove the skipful of litter from the embankment under platform 1.  Now, IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion), that's where the 'value for money' argument falls down: lack of joined up thinking, not in-house v contractor.

Good one, Smokey!