Are FGW as bad as this?

[SGS]

He does seem terribly picky and fussy. If my train rolls into the station 7 minutes late I am actually quite grateful and appreciate it.

Crikey, how long are you normally delayed!?

FWIW (not much), I think the blog is quite amusing. He uses a restaurant analogy at one point, which should make the readers of the ticketing sub-forum seem right at home.

 

[1e10]

Crikey, how long are you normally delayed!?

FWIW (not much), I think the blog is quite amusing. He uses a restaurant analogy at one point, which should make the readers of the ticketing sub-forum seem right at home.

I've never been on a train that's been delayed for more than 27 minutes. I've sat in a car for hours on end because of an accident on a motorway. At the end of the incident, there was no one for me to write to and complain about the road being closed, the driver of the vehicle wasn't entitled to a refund on their car, insurance, MOT, road tax like they and any other passengers would have been entitled to a refund had we have travelled by train.

People seem to have very high expections of the train. When I take to the bus to college every morning, sometimes it will take me 20 minutes, other times it will take me 40 minutes. If the bus is anything more than 20 minutes late I get a voucher for free unlimited travel for a day in the area. The bus is hardly ever dead on schedule though, it's due to arrive at 7.45 but often it will be 7.46 or 7.47 or maybe even 7.49. On a rainy morning it could be ten minutes past it's scheduled arrival time before it actually arrives. On a rainy morning the bus company will have more passangers to deal with and this is understandable. If it rains and everybody tales the car to work there will be traffic and Many will be stuck in traffic and many will expect this, so why expect the bus to be running dead on schedule?

Heck if I am walking to college on a rainy day it could take me longer, I may have to avoid puddles or wait longer to cross the road. If I need to be somewhere dead on time then I make sure I give myself plenty of time to be there and take an earlier bus or train.

Recently I added up all of the miles I've travelled by train since the start of yessr and then devided that by cost, it worked out to 11.5p per mile. The same amount of miles in a car would have cost me 12.7p per mile in fuel. That's not taking things such as the actual price of a car, insurance, MOT, road tax into account.

Despite the beliefs of many, we often get a good deal in this country when it comes to public transport. Yes it's expensive but so is the alternative. Yes it can sometimes be late and overcrowded, so can travel by road. Nothing is ever going to be perfect. You can either get on and make the most of it or you can wste even more of your time writting pointless letters which will often change nothing, getting yourself all-worked-up by the situation.

 

[TheWalrus]

There's the oxford tube?

Thats the brand name of a frequent coach services between Oxford and London

yeah the original post mentioned about alternatives so that would be the next alternative.

 

[Darandio]

If you really want it here's the blog link http://letterstofgw.blogspot.co.uk/

I got as far as 'Panorama dudes!'

Anyone get any further?

 

[Polarbear]

Oh he is one sad self centred individual with far too much time on his hands. :roll:

I only read a few of the letters and no, they're not funny. In fact, they're quite patronising to railway employees who work long hours in difficult conditions to ensure that the trains arrive SAFELY above all else.

Credit is due to the respondants from FGW who (even by this idiot's own admission) were always professional & courteous in their replies. I also note that the replies tend to explain why things happened without apportioning blame (some of what I read looked like it could be levelled at Network Rail rather than the TOC).

I really do not understand the British obession with absolute punctuality? With some people, if a train is more than a minute or two late, they start ranting & raving as though the world is about to come to an end! Can any of the honestly say they have NEVER been delayed when using their own car (or other public transport). If you want to ensure you arrive at a place at a set time, leave plenty of time & don't bank on that service that arrives with a split second to spare to make it on every occasion.

Grr...!!

 

[jon0844]

People will moan when the train is stuck outside the terminus waiting for a platform, because it's early! I guess that unless the train is at full speed, some people will get upset and wonder why they don't just speed up.

 

[Temple Meads]

I'm laughing, but only at his complete and utter stupidity.

 

[maniacmartin]

I've sat in a car for hours on end because of an accident on a motorway. At the end of the incident, there was no one for me to write to and complain about the road being closed, the driver of the vehicle wasn't entitled to a refund on their car, insurance, MOT, road tax like they and any other passengers would have been entitled to a refund had we have travelled by train.

The railway is more of a closed system though, unlike a road that anyone can drive down. Cars don't generally have pre-planned timetables that are published, and a car driver no contract to travel from A to B with their suppliers.

People seem to have very high expections of the train. When I take to the bus to college every morning, sometimes it will take me 20 minutes, other times it will take me 40 minutes. If the bus is anything more than 20 minutes late I get a voucher for free unlimited travel for a day in the area.

I have more sympathy for buses as they are influenced by other traffic that is outside their control, unlike the railways where paths are booked and there should be less chance of some other traffic turning up unannounced and causing congestion. Really the railways should be offering more compensation than buses, not less! (Though your local bus company seems rather generous...)

If it rains and everybody tales the car to work there will be traffic and Many will be stuck in traffic and many will expect this, so why expect the bus to be running dead on schedule?

Because the bus company has published a schedule perhaps :P

Heck if I am walking to college on a rainy day it could take me longer, I may have to avoid puddles or wait longer to cross the road. If I need to be somewhere dead on time then I make sure I give myself plenty of time to be there and take an earlier bus or train.

Recently I added up all of the miles I've travelled by train since the start of yessr and then devided that by cost, it worked out to 11.5p per mile. The same amount of miles in a car would have cost me 12.7p per mile in fuel. That's not taking things such as the actual price of a car, insurance, MOT, road tax into account.

The car is more expensive you you, but cars also have loads more flexibility. You can travel whenever you like, take loads of luggage, carry 4 extra passengers for a neglibable price increase, etc etc.


That said, I don't think this journalist's website is professional or funny. He comes across as the sort of person who thinks hes funny but is too arrogant to see that his rants are childish.

 

[tony6499]

The author must have thought it humorous although I doubt anyone else would, can't imagine anyone would want to buy a book of this garbage

 

[richw]

Has it really taken the Daily Mail 18 months to find this idiots blog. They are terrible, and shows a lack of knowledge.

 

[CC 72100]

I quite liked the little image that looks like it was done in paint of the train. :PThe rest has all been summed up on this thread.

 

[Roverman]

I found myself genuinely laughing out loud at this. The author is clearly an egotist, and working in front line customer service I've met a few of those over the years, including a man who learnt how to use Twitter just to try and torment me and my colleagues (it didn't work as we don't have access to the feed at the office, we merely get sent emails about tweets)

The Daily Mail however is not funny. Its sad. The last blog was uploaded 18 months ago and the book won't be out until January! This is barely news.

Seconded about Bill Bryson, he is hilarious, in print AND on screen.

 

[jopsuk]

Has it really taken the Daily Mail 18 months to find this idiots blog. They are terrible, and shows a lack of knowledge.

No, it's taken him 18 months to get his book published. The Mail's essentially promoting the book

 

[W-on-Sea]

Very annoying and so self-obsessed that any humour often evaporates v quickly.

And commuting from Oxford to London on FGW (as I have done weekly for the last two years) is really not all that bad: if you time it right you can get an HST that starts at Oxford. Going back is not quite so fun, but the biggest downer is the use of the accursed Turbos on some fast post-peak evening services. No complaints at all about their staff, and, while timekeeping is not close to perfect, and some trains are a bit crowded, compared with Arriva CrossCountry' services to Oxford....FGW shine in comparison

 

[Drsatan]

No, it's taken him 18 months to get his book published. The Mail's essentially promoting the book

As a result of his book's promotion by the Mail and given the subject matter (which will strike a raw nerve with quite a few long distance commuters, I can imagine), the book will no doubt sell quite a few copies (and Kindle downloads), earning a tidy sum for the author.

Somehow I doubt he'll bother purchasing an Oxford-Paddington season with the proceeds; chances are he'll buy a Mercedes E class to drive to work and then write another blog complaining about accidents on the M40 restricting his ability to arrive at work on time.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Has he ever done a "real" job - i.e delivering a practical service ...?

 

[Drsatan]

Has he ever done a "real" job - i.e delivering a practical service ...?

Depends on what you mean by 'real' job

If the journalist in question has done some proper field journalism e.g. spending several months in Syria with both the Syrian Army and FSA, and writing numerous well-researched articles about the changing dynamics in Syria, then that's a good job.

If the journalist in question writes articles about elf n safety gone mad, Muslims taking over, the nanny state without bothering to check any facts, and with the sole intention of raising your blood pressure to such an extent that you keep buying copies of the same rag, then that's not a real job.

 

[Darren R]

So the Daily Mail have dredged up an anti-FGW story - just as they are the subject of a documentary series on Channel Five... hmm, now there's a coincidence!

(Channel Five: owned by Northern & Shell, who also happen to own the Daily Express.....)

 

[asylumxl]

So the Daily Mail have dredged up an anti-FGW story - just as they are the subject of a documentary series on Channel Five... hmm, now there's a coincidence!

(Channel Five: owned by Northern & Shell, who also happen to own the Daily Express.....)

I find it amusing there's a reference to Southall in their article. Some kind of subliminal effort to promote their xenophobic attitudes to their readers? :roll: