Great Western Coffee Shop

This is where "Meet the Manager" questions will appear from 5 p.m. on Monday 24th July 2023.

Six questions from members have been forwarded to GWR to give them an opportunity to prepare (we are NOT about catching people out with "left field" questions and they will be posted about every 8 minutes, giving a time to respond and follow up prior to the next question and leaving good time for mopping up.

A further six questions have been asked too, and those extra questions have gone to GWR so we can get answers too, though not in the live session.

Our thanks to Mark Hopwood and this team for suggesting this "Meet the Manager" session and at such a busy time.

All are welcome to watch - this is in public.  If you are here as a guest, you are welcome to join the forum ahead of time and you'll then be able to interact on the evening - and at all other times too.

To clarify - the questions have already been asked.  They cover a variety of topics across the GWR area. I know some people are seeing our publicity just a couple of days before the event.   Sorry - I am not going to bounce GWR into discussion areas unprepared, but I can and will put extra questions in writing to GWR at the end of the event, inviting comment by the end of the month should they wish.

There is one 'thread' of questioning which we (the moderator team) have been careful to avoid for the live session - and that's questions where perhaps the MD of GWR is not the right person to answer.  National policy issues (except for how they effect GWR, which has been included) really don't fit, and nor do local specific service issues (although written later attention to those may be forthcoming and the are useful feedback to GWR.

It should be an interesting and informative hour for all;  it's unlikely that it'll be drowned by service issues at Pilning or Lelant, or with calls for denationalisation of our railways!

HERE  (via http://gwr.passenger.chat/b48 ) - today, 24th July 2023 - from 17:00 - "Meet the Managing Director" with Mark Hopwood answering questions from members.  The questions that will be asked were passed to Mark last week so that he know what subjects will come up and has had the opportunity to research answer if any come from left field.  Follow up discussion will be through "live" posts on the various threads appearing on this board - members are encouraged to refresh every couple of minute to keep up.

Members are welcome to interact (and new members can still register and be approved - cut off is lunch time). 

Guests (any of the public who are not members) welcome to read, but you won't be able to write responses no matter how much you're yelling at your screens!

Good evening everybody!

It's Mark Hopwood here and, by way of introduction, I have been Managing Director at GWR for nearly 15 years (with a brief stint standing in as MD at South West Trains). I am the longest serving Managing Director of GWR, with a longer tenure as MD than my predecessors combined. I have worked with 8/9 other TOCs in a variety of roles, starting with telephone enquires in 1989.

As MD of GWR, I lead a team of over 6300 people, delivering a variety of train services for customers spanning from West London to Cornwall, South/West Wales and everywhere in between. I am happy to be here answering your questions and discussing the future of our franchise. 

Hello Mark and Welcome - you're more on time that I was with this intro ....

May I introduce Mark Hopwood to those who don't already know him. Mark started his career at Reading station in 1989 he and worked for various rail companies. He was appointed Managing Director at First Great Western in 2008. He has steered the business through substantial changes like introduction of the new electric trains and the delivery of the December 2019 timetable which added frequency and reduced journey times on most GW routes. Challenges in recent years have included the loss by the rail industry of virtually all revenue due to covid, and the changes to society and travel patterns since. Mark has had to implement some tough decisions (some of which are imposed), not all of which are welcomed by passengers, but he remains very much a railway advocate and it's a pleasure to work with him and team at GWR.

Mark was awarded a CBE in the 2021 New Year’s Honours List, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and a Fellow of Institute of Railway Operators. Mark holds other honorary posts within the heritage and mainline railway community.

I (grahame) am the "warm up act" and will be passing across to fellow admin "Red Squirrel" to pose questions over the next hour. These questions were passed to Mark's team last week as we're looking forward to this being a substantive exchange. Once a question has been posted, Mark will answer, and then we are open for discussion.  Please use the recent tab or click on this link (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?action=recent) from time to time to update on what's happening.  Mark will be assisted in posting (from an office in Swindon) by members of his team, and our third admin (BobM) is there to offer technical assistance as need be.  I will be around just 'in case' - any issues, please send me a message.

Sorry about that - too keen! Look forward to the discussion!

Delighed - and I double-headed too!

Thanks Mark! For reference, the six questions Mark answered are here:

Infrastructure failures: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=27700.0
Community Rail budget cut: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=27701.0
Impact of Industrial Action: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=27702.0
Fleet capacity: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=27703.0
Promotion of Ranger and Rover tickets: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=27704.0
Parson Street Station issues: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=27705.0

Thank you for coming along this afternoon Mark - that has been a most useful discussion and I'm sure our members will be following up and discussing it for a long time to come.

We put 6 questions to you prior to this event, but we had to be selective and a further six failed to "make the cut".  A couple of late questions came in too. I'll be forwarding a copy of all of those questions to you - feedback / quick comments would be appreciated though we do realise that some of them are line-specific and you'll need to get local responses, and others are probably more about government policy than GWR.

I personally found both your answers here, and your talk at Transport Focus last week, refreshing for their clarity and honesty in a difficult environment, and look forward to continuing to work alongside you for rail and rail passengers in this part of England and Wales.  Out of some of the current seismic changes and continuing earthquakes and extreme weather, we should be able to stand all shoulders together meeting common objectives.

I'm naughty - above prepared ahead of time but so great it ran that way. We've been just shy of 20 users milling around, and up to 86 guests.  That last is a bit of a "statistic" that's one step beyond a lie, but I reccon there's a couple of dozen real people there.   And the thread stay there and other will be reading and we'll be flagging up!   Also (to prove that I'm really writing live) I note that the 17:36 hasn't left Swindon for Westbury yet.  Please tell the train manager not to wait for Bob - he's not going to be catching it tonight  ;D

As we edge closer to the hour of 18:00 can I thank everyone for their questions and the number of people who have watched as the responses have been posted.

Mark

Thanks Graham - your comments noted.

The 17:36 has just left 17 minutes late as the unit built up air (we are investigating!) and it is approaching WB Jct - a Class 158

Un-prepped now. It's been great, thank you. And thanks to BobM and Red Squirrel and Mark's team too.   Threads remain open for comment and follow up - certainly some learning there.   Limited use of radioactive weedkiller indeed ...

Occasional delays NOT an issue and it's wonderful to have real time displays at unmanned stations along the way to inform people.

Frustratingly, I managed to be late for the Q&A session but have since caught up on the threads.  Most interesting and a big thanks from me to Mark, Grahame and the admins for their time and effort in making it happen.

Graham has sent me the questions that we didnt have time to do and my comments are:

G) We have seen an increase in leisure travel and a fall in daily commuting.  How quickly can is the railway adjusting to meet the new challenges, and do you have examples of new good practice which can adfantageuous be rolled out wider? (3)
RESPONSE - The railway is adjusting with less commuter services and a focus on returning leisure trains such as Newquay and Pembroke Dock. We need to do more and its under review - I have meeting this afternoon looking at this.
Edit to add - Discussion at http://gwr.passenger.chat/27712

H) Cost-cutting rumours in recent weeks have suggested that on-train WiFi and on-train catering will be withdrawn, in addition to the closure of all ticket offices. Is there any truth in these rumours, and are there any other upcoming cuts we should be aware of? (11)

RESPONSE Nothing that fits your category of things you need to be aware of but the financial challenges faced by the railway are real, serious and unlikely to go away. I would prefer we try and solve them through revenue growth....
Edit to add - Discussion at http://gwr.passenger.chat/27713


I) Through trains from Bristol via Salisbury to London were very popular, but were withdrawn as "duplication" in December 2021.  But then in May 2023, GWR started running 5 new services a day from Bristol that terminate at Salisbury, and SWR» run services onwards from Salisbury to London, many of which start from or gain extra carriages at Salisbury. Could the two First companies please join up their trains to restore a viable through service from the likes of Keynsham, Bradford-on-von and Trowbridge to London, and offer passenger from Bristol, Bath and Westbury direct services to the South Bank, just across the river from the cities of London and Westminster? (8)

RESPONBSE I understand the desire for such services but they also bring complexity and the risk of moving service disruption between routes. No plans to do so but not to be ruled out forever
Edit to add - Discussion at http://gwr.passenger.chat/27714

J)When trains are disrupted, why can't all registered bus services accept passengers who are being delayed, with local ticket office staff (!) providing local knowledge?  Would beat hands down waiting up to 90 minutes for a taxi or special bus! (9)

RESPONSE - We are doing that on many routes and will try to do more. In the future Google Maps transit functionality tells you everything you need and its transformed my ability as an individual to use bus services in places I am not familiar with
Edit to add - Discussion at http://gwr.passenger.chat/27715

K) With buses and trains all supported by government funding, why can't tickets across the whole GWR territory be interchangable, and with journey planners giving  the best option whether it's road, rail or a combination thereof? (6)

RESPONSE - that is more a national transport question than a GWR matter but noted
Edit to add - Discussion at http://gwr.passenger.chat/27716

L) Our local trains in the South West all date back to the last century. When will we see modern trains with level platform access and an ability to run on electricity (battery, catenary, third rail or solar panel), hydrogen and perhaps other technolies serving stations such as Exmouth, Falmouth, Avonmouth and Melksham? (7)

RESPONSE - When we can make a business case work and there is funding available., Nobody wants that more than I do!
Edit to add - Discussion at http://gwr.passenger.chat/27717

M) "Plans have been in place for some time, funding has been approved by the DfT» and paths added to the timetable for the GWR Barnstaple to Exeter Central services to be extended out to Pinhoe station. Why has this not been implemented yet?" As a supplementary question to the above.... "The once daily Barnstaple to Axminster service in the evening that was introduced to replaced the two SWR» evening local services is caped at Exeter St Davids more often than it runs throughout. Why is this?"

Your second point answers the first to some extent - with the industrial action going on we have not been able to comlete driver training. Plus,  Turbo trains are not route cleared. Both need addressing before more services can run but we are working on this and support the ambition.
Edit to add - Discussion at http://gwr.passenger.chat/27718

N) Can we ask him to extend 1B20 to Carmarthen instead of 1B21? It would result in a useful extra westbound departure in the evening peak at Cardiff and avoid a prolonged stop at Swansea on the Carmarthen service. The trade-off of cancelling the extremely lightly loaded 1L29, which is swapped for a set that goes into North Pole Depot at Paddington, and duplicates 1L86 all the way in from Swindon, is a price worth paying for getting the trains operating predominantly in the peak direction in the evening peak in South Wales.

RESPONSE - I am investigating this with the Train Planners but there are issues it creates but worth a look!
Edit to add - Discussion at http://gwr.passenger.chat/27719

Those are fantastic answer, thanks, Mark.   Each worthy of a discussion of its own and place in the archive, so I'm going to split / quote it as separate threads.  This topic will be locked and I'll come back and provide onward links to the individual questions.