Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
 No recent travel & transport from BBC stories as at 15:55 01 May 2025
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]		 05/05/25 - Walk to Pilning
10/05/25 - BRTA Westbury
10/05/25 - Model Railway Show, Calne
13/05/25 - Melksham TUG / AGM

On this day
1st May (1928)
Inauguaral non stop "Flying Scotsman" London to Edinburgh (link)
Train RunningCancelled
13:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
13:57 Exmouth to Paignton
15:03 Oxford to London Paddington
15:21 Reading to Gatwick Airport
15:25 London Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 5
15:27 Heathrow Terminal 5 to London Paddington
15:30 Warminster to Bristol Temple Meads
15:51 Filton Abbey Wood to Bristol Temple Meads
15:54 Reading to Gatwick Airport
15:57 Heathrow Terminal 5 to London Paddington
16:00 Oxford to London Paddington
16:00 Cardiff Central to Taunton
16:27 Heathrow Terminal 5 to London Paddington
16:59 Gatwick Airport to Reading
17:00 Oxford to London Paddington
17:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury
18:54 Reading to Gatwick Airport
20:11 Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads
20:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
Short Run
13:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
14:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington
14:38 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway
16:30 London Paddington to Taunton
16:50 Plymouth to London Paddington
17:30 London Paddington to Taunton
18:10 Taunton to Cardiff Central
Delayed
12:48 London Paddington to Swansea
13:48 London Paddington to Carmarthen
14:32 London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa
14:48 London Paddington to Swansea
15:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington
15:28 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
15:30 Banbury to Didcot Parkway
15:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington
15:34 Didcot Parkway to Oxford
15:34 Oxford to Didcot Parkway
16:07 Didcot Parkway to Oxford
16:18 London Paddington to Carmarthen
16:22 Swansea to London Paddington
16:35 Didcot Parkway to Banbury
16:35 Oxford to Didcot Parkway
•
PollsOpen and recent polls
Open to 08/05 09:07 Steam Excursion - or diesel excursion with a featured steam section?
Open to 07/05 09:27 Should train, bus and coach operators be required to accept cash
•
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
•
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
•
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
•
Train companiesSelect from:
GWR
SWR
XC
Chiltern
TfL
TfW
WMR
Southern
• Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple Meads • Bath Spa • Chippenham • Swindon • Didcot Parkway • Reading • London Paddington • Melksham
Exeter St Davids • Taunton • Westbury • Trowbridge • Bristol Parkway • Cardiff Central • Oxford • Cheltenham Spa • Birmingham New Street
May 01, 2025, 15:57:58 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[102] Steam excursion - except there's much more diesel than steam!
[101] Brighton Belle - merged topics
[87] Cash payments for transport services
[84] "Save the Last Remaining British Rail Hovercraft from Destruct...
[41] May Timetable Change
[40] Longer distance canal walks - public transport for one way sec...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Great Western Coffee Shop > All across the Great Western territory > The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom > West Coast fight ahead for Virgin
Poll
Question: Who do YOU think should be awarded the WCML▸ (West Coast Main Line) franchise?  (Voting closed: May 24, 2011, 07:42:57)
Virgin Group/Stagecoach Group - 9 (31%)
NV Nederlandse Spoorwegen - 4 (13.8%)
SNCF▸ (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways)/Keolis SA - 2 (6.9%)
First Group - 8 (27.6%)
None of the above! - 3 (10.3%)
Don't know/don't care - 3 (10.3%)
Total Voters: 28

Pages: 1 [2]
« previous next »
  Print  
Author Topic: West Coast fight ahead for Virgin  (Read 7689 times)
Mookiemoo
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 3117


View Profile Email
« Reply #15 on: March 25, 2011, 17:27:56 »
Don't first group (1) want to give up FGW▸ (First Great Western) and (2) also want east coast

I cant see them getting east coast AND west coast or either of them in addition to FGW

So vacman, you still wouldnt get free travel if they gave up FGW
Logged
Ditched former sig - now I need to think of something amusing - brain hurts -I'll steal from the master himself - Einstein:

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love"
paul7575
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 5347


View Profile
« Reply #16 on: March 25, 2011, 17:39:51 »
Quote from: Mookiemoo on March 25, 2011, 17:27:56
Don't first group (1) want to give up FGW▸ (First Great Western) and (2) also want east coast

I cant see them getting east coast AND west coast or either of them in addition to FGW

The ECML▸ (East Coast Main Line) franchise competition was delayed long enough for it not to start before the WCML▸ (West Coast Main Line) competition is over and done with, so it is probably OK for First Group to consider both as of now.

Paul
Logged
tramway
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 617



View Profile
« Reply #17 on: March 25, 2011, 21:21:06 »
Quote from: Mookiemoo on March 25, 2011, 17:27:56
Don't first group (1) want to give up FGW▸ (First Great Western) and (2) also want east coast

I cant see them getting east coast AND west coast or either of them in addition to FGW

So vacman, you still wouldnt get free travel if they gave up FGW

I can't find the comment at the moment from another meandering thread, but it would seem that we'll be seeing a lot very stupid bidding going on again. First want out of their current franchise commitments, all their backers say keep your eye on the buses, supported by serious industry commentators. They then start bidding for other work in the rail industry. Huh

Virgin(not Virgin) have made a fortune from their T&C's due to WCML▸ (West Coast Main Line) upgrade cock ups, they weren't that good at actually running anything.

The only company people wanted to continue to run trains were on the ECML▸ (East Coast Main Line) and they were thrown off on a technicallity, not that they weren't doing a good job.

Total b*ll*cks, and will be again. Not holding out much hope on who wins the next one.

I've not looked but are the franchise documents in the public domain, if not they should be.
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: 1 [2]
  Print  
« previous next »
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the 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 the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules via admin@railcustomer.info. Full legal statement (here).

Jump to top of page • Jump to Forum Home Page