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Author Topic: Rail companies to hold Reading meeting for passengers - but during work hours  (Read 5615 times)
Chris from Nailsea
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« on: October 14, 2016, 02:08:21 »

From getreading:

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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


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 (Member of Parliament) 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 (Great Western Railway) 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.”


Any reference to 'First Great Western' in the getreading article I've quoted above is down to their shoddy journalism, not me.  Grin

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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.
TaplowGreen
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« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2016, 08:18:28 »

Ridiculous timing whilst everyone is at work, however I guess it is Friday and the railways staff concerned are no doubt observing POETS (As in "Poets day". Friday. (Push Off Early - Tomorrow's Saturday).) day  Roll Eyes
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ellendune
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« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2016, 10:19:09 »

Ridiculous timing whilst everyone is at work...

There are people who use the railway during the day. Not just leisure travellers (who are often in greater numbers on a Friday afternoon), but also those of us who travel about the country for our work.  Those of us that do, know that some trains outside the peak can get quite crowded as well. They too are affected by disruption when things go wrong. 

Indeed without these other passengers that you do not see, your trains to and from work would probably not be affordable as they pay a major part of the fixed costs and many of them pay more, sometimes several times more, per mile than season ticket holders do.  Would you travel by rail each day if you had to pay 81 pence per mile each way?

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

... however I guess it is Friday and the railways staff concerned are no doubt observing POETS (As in "Poets day". Friday. (Push Off Early - Tomorrow's Saturday).) day  Roll Eyes

Where is this team based?
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2016, 10:53:17 »

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?
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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/
TaplowGreen
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« Reply #4 on: October 14, 2016, 14:24:38 »

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?

Exactly - a great opportunity to catch both the leisure travellers and the commuters - more bang for the buck!  Smiley
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grahame
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« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2016, 18:22:19 »

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?

Sensible idea.  And having committed to the capital (one off) tasks of set up and break down, why not add some more revenue (per unit) elements to take more advantage of that capital invested?

Homeward bound commuter are - in my experience - usually in a hurry.   A further suggestion is to ride the trains; that way you have a captive audience, or at least anyone who wants to talk can do so, without making their final arrival at home late.
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ChrisB
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« Reply #6 on: October 17, 2016, 18:58:06 »

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

Also, ever tried chatting to a manager standing in the aisle from a window seat on a full train. Your neighbours want peace & quiet, not you rabitting across them....
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NickB
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« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2016, 19:21:05 »

As I've mentioned elsewhere, the GWR (Great Western Railway) website only advertises 'meet the manager' sessions up to the end of July, and the publication of dates has been very much missing for the past year.
It would be nice to meet a manager, at Paddington, at a time suitable for commuters.
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ChrisB
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« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2016, 19:47:32 »

Can't disagree there!
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2016, 19:54:24 »

But you said,

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



Oh, never mind!  Wink Cheesy Grin

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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.
ChrisB
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« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2016, 19:56:02 »

I read that as 'in addition' as this meeting is in Reading! Doh!
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JayMac
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« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2016, 23:57:54 »

Meet the Manager has always been an afterthought from FGW (First Great Western)/GWR (Great Western Railway). Usually when they've realised or been reminded that they were REQUIRED to hold them. As the franchise commitment only stated how many they should have; not when or where; then the convenience has always been on their side, rather than the passengers.

MtM sessions, like the Customer Panel, are a sop. Largely pointless.
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #12 on: October 20, 2016, 16:54:18 »

The Customer Panel is now apparently defunct anyway: see https://www.gwr.com/~/media/gwr/pdfs/customer-service/customer-panel-meetings/east/east-customer-panel-meeting-20-april-2016-website-minutes.pdf?la=en for the latest details.  Roll Eyes
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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.
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