Is First Class good on a FGW HST?

[foxwhiskers]

Hey there Tommurrow I shall be taking a trip from Reading to St. Erth on a First Great Western HST. I was wondering if First Class is good on them, I hope there is free food involved

 

[Goatboy]

The standard of accomodation is excellent - you get large reclining leather chairs. The food service is less impressive and is quite limited.

 

[GWRtom]

Yep very good, especially if a traveling chef is on board.

 

[yorkie]

Hey there Tommurrow I shall be taking a trip from Reading to St. Erth on a First Great Western HST. I was wondering if First Class is good on them

Yes, a lot better than standard class!

I hope there is free food involved

Not much in the way of free food, but if there's a Travelling Chef, the prices are reasonable and the food is served to your seat.

 

[Goatboy]

Yes, a lot better than standard class!

I'm really going to miss it when they remove half of it and refit it to Standard Class

 

[GearJammer]

The standard of accomodation is excellent - you get large reclining leather chairs. The food service is less impressive and is quite limited.

I can't comment on the food but Goatboy is spot on with the accomodation, if you've not ridden first class before you'll love it..... i know i did!

 

[VauxhallandI]

In agreement, great seats and the travelling chef is good too

 

[Andrewlong]

Depends if you shelled out your own cash or got it as a freebie! If it's the latter, enjoy the leather seats and the extra space.

I got a free upgrade to first class last year on a train from Oxford to Worcester aboard a class 180. Very nice indeed!

 

[ffm]

Slippery leather seats and miserly freebies. Better, by. Ike's than the dreadful standard class, but if only you had East Coast as a rival......
Ps Adelante seats are much better, but still damned leather.

 

[Twoonthebuzzer]

In agreement with most on here. Leather reclining seats and general environment is brilliant. Complimentary food service could be better though.

As a coffee drinker, happy with the unlimited free coffee service.

 

[bronzeonion]

If you're tall and like leather seats then ideal

 

[island]

First class seating is fine; free food is rubbish.

 

[jimm]

Is it just me, or is there an unfeasibly large number of people on this forum whose sole concern when it comes to first class travel seems to be the so-called freebies? Which are being paid for out of their fares...

On the rare occasions I shell out the money for first it's purely on the grounds of getting a decent travelling environment on services where I know standard is going to be rammed, not because I might get the odd 'free' drink or 'free' sandwich or snack box.

 

[bb21]

Just different perspectives from different people. I find complimentary food offerings to be a great bonus of travelling First and adds to the experience, however without them it won't be the end of the world.

It's all about what you make of it.

 

[Essexman]

It is comfortable, quiet and if there's a Travelling Chef, has excellent catering. Otherwise the free food isn't up to much but that doesn't bother me - I'd rather pay for what I want to eat. Sadly now the government want to get reduce first class accommodation it will no longer have the benefit of enough space for a small table to oneself

 

[island]

My understanding of the changes the government has asked for is that they are a lot less wide-ranging than the press is making out. They are limited to changing coach F to standard on the HST sets where it is currently first class.

 

[starrymarkb]

Is it just me, or is there an unfeasibly large number of people on this forum whose sole concern when it comes to first class travel seems to be the so-called freebies? Which are being paid for out of their fares...

On the rare occasions I shell out the money for first it's purely on the grounds of getting a decent travelling environment on services where I know standard is going to be rammed, not because I might get the odd 'free' drink or 'free' sandwich or snack box.

I don't get it either. I'd love to hear the moaning after some people on here take a trip on the continent in 1st. All that you get is the bigger seat and more space. On ICEs you get at seat service (and you have to pay for any drinks/food you order) and maybe some free Kinder sweets!

 

[ChiefPlanner]

I don't get it either. I'd love to hear the moaning after some people on here take a trip on the continent in 1st. All that you get is the bigger seat and more space. On ICEs you get at seat service (and you have to pay for any drinks/food you order) and maybe some free Kinder sweets!

But the Bord Bistro is good - and the staff will often bring you what u need , plus the DB coffee is superlative. IMHO.

 

[Goatboy]

My understanding of the changes the government has asked for is that they are a lot less wide-ranging than the press is making out. They are limited to changing coach F to standard on the HST sets where it is currently first class.

So thats only a reduction of 0.5 coaches on affected sets?

 

[D1009]

And in a fair number of sets coach F already is standard.

 

[Goatboy]

This sounds much better, if its true. Is it?

 

[Rich McLean]

Below are the new configurations:

Full Buffet Sets:
Standard: A, B, C, D, E, F
First: G (Buffet Car), H

Mini Buffet Sets:
Standard: A, B, C, D, E, F (Mini Buffet), G (F end half standard class with partition)
First: G (H end half first class with partition as above), H

It will mean first class customers in sets with the Mini-Buffets having to walk through standard to get to the buffet,

 

[Goatboy]

Partitioned FC tends to be quite sucky as much of the noise carries through.

So whilst island gave a glimmer of hope it does indeed sound as bad as we thought it was. What a shame, one of the best First Class offerings on the railway nicely scuttled it seems.

Are they not doing anything about Greater Anglia's similarly large FC provision on IC sets? I guess not? What about VT?

Why just FGW?

Why has the continual significant overcrowding on XC been ignored?

 

[jimm]

Just different perspectives from different people. I find complimentary food offerings to be a great bonus of travelling First and adds to the experience, however without them it won't be the end of the world.

It's all about what you make of it.

When it comes down to it, FGW has made a decision to go for a different on-board service to other operators.

One which gives everyone travelling on a train with a Travelling Chef or a Pullman access to hot food prepared on board by the chef, something that is no longer on offer to standard passengers on Virgin and EC.

And a service that is used by FGW's standard class passengers. I have made an number of journeys on Saturday morning FGW services where the chef has run out of breakfast ingredients on trains with barely a first class passenger to be seen.

When I had lunch on the Pullman from London to the West Country in the autumn, eight of the dozen customers were from standard. On other operators all they could have had was a microwaved burger or bacon roil. And there weren't legions of hungry passengers traipsing through from coaches G and H to buy something more substantial than their free drinks and crisps, nuts and biscuits.

Partitioned FC tends to be quite sucky as much of the noise carries through.

So whilst island gave a glimmer of hope it does indeed sound as bad as we thought it was. What a shame, one of the best First Class offerings on the railway nicely scuttled it seems.

Are they not doing anything about Greater Anglia's similarly large FC provision on IC sets? I guess not? What about VT?

Why just FGW?

Why has the continual significnat overcrowding on XC been ignored?

Since you haven't seen an FGW coach with a partition in it yet, how would you know noise would carry through?

How do you know the standard section will be noisy? They could make it a quiet zone.

There will still be a complete first class-only coach on every HST, so how on earth does that equate 'one of the best First Class offerings on the railway nicely scuttled'?

Whatever happened to a sense of proportion?

Why FGW? Because it's under enormous pressure from politicians who get their ears bent by constituents about overcrowded FGW trains, so want to be seen to be doing something, eg the MP for Maidenhead and Home Secretary, Theresa May. The Tories are keen to shore up their vote in the Reading seats, etc, etc...

 

[Goatboy]

Since you haven't seen an FGW coach with a partition in it yet, how would you know noise would carry through?

Speculation. I'll be happy to be proven wrong.

There will still be a complete first class-only coach on every HST, so how on earth does that equate 'one of the best First Class offerings on the railway nicely scuttled'?

Whatever happened to a sense of proportion?

The significant reduction in capacity will mean a significant reduction in the sale of and therefore increase in the price of Advance tickets, as there is less spare capacity to use up through the provision of Advance tickets. The walkon fares are prohibitively expensive for most.

Exeter to London Paddington, for example..

The cheapest walkon first class single is £186. Typically, an Advance tickets in First Class can be had for under £50, far better value for leisure passengers not travelling on expenses.

For most of us, the end of readily available Advance First tickets means the end of travelling First Class with FGW.

Meanwhile, people traveling on other operators, say York to London, can continue to enjoy good value First Class fares whereas those in the Westcountry will lose them. I am entitled to be irritated by this. I'll get over it, but I'm allowed to be a bit peeved

Why FGW? Because it's under enormous pressure from politicians who get their ears bent by constituents about overcrowded FGW trains, so want to be seen to be doing something, eg the MP for Maidenhead and Home Secretary, Theresa May. The Tories are keen to shore up their vote in the Reading seats, etc, etc...

So those of us who use Intercity trains for long distance comfortable travel are disadvantaged by those who use them for a 25 minute commute. Frustrating.

 

[CC 72100]

So those of us who use Intercity trains for long distance comfortable travel are disadvantaged by those who use them for a 25 minute commute. Frustrating.

Because everyone knows that Reading commuters are much more important than the rest of FGW combined ..... or at least they are the ones who shout the loudest! :roll:

 

[Essexman]

FGW HST standard class has already been spoiled by cramming in loads of seats to accomodate short distance commuters. By taking out a first class coach they will effectively price most passengers out of first class - few can afford walk on first class fares. Yet another example of modern train travelling becoming steadilly less enjoyable.

Since my book came out (The Next Station Stop - Fifty Years by Train) I've been contacted by quite a few readers all saying that inter city trains of 30 year ago were better to travel on than modern ones.

 

[jimm]

FGW HST standard class has already been spoiled by cramming in loads of seats to accomodate short distance commuters. By taking out a first class coach they will effectively price most passengers out of first class - few can afford walk on first class fares. Yet another example of modern train travelling becoming steadilly less enjoyable.

Since my book came out (The Next Station Stop - Fifty Years by Train) I've been contacted by quite a few readers all saying that inter city trains of 30 year ago were better to travel on than modern ones.

They may well have been 'better to travel on', but even 30 years ago, the numbers of people using the railways were nothing like they are now and commuting into London from the likes of Swindon, Newbury, Didcot, Oxford, Reading, etc simply wasn't on the same scale.

You can wallow in nostalgia all you like but FGW has to deal with the world as it is now and it is in the mass transit business, a business fuelled by 125mph trains encouraging longer-haul commuting. The HSTs were intended to be long-distance expresses but they were also the engineers of modern travel habits by slashing journey times to places further from London. They have had to be adapted to handle those changes.

What else do you suggest they should have done?

For most of us, the end of readily available Advance First tickets means the end of travelling First Class with FGW.

I doubt 'most of us' are travelling first class on FGW anyway. Most of my journeys are made at weekends - using weekend first, not actual first class tickets - and the number of people in two or two-and-a-half first class coaches would usually fit into half a coach.

 

[Goatboy]

They may well have been 'better to travel on', but even 30 years ago, the numbers of people using the railways were nothing like they are now and commuting into London from the likes of Swindon, Newbury, Didcot, Oxford, Reading, etc simply wasn't on the same scale.

You can wallow in nostalgia all you like but FGW has to deal with the world as it is now and it is in the mass transit business, a business fuelled by 125mph trains encouraging longer-haul commuting. The HSTs were intended to be long-distance expresses but they were also the engineers of modern travel habits by slashing journey times to places further from London. They have had to be adapted to handle those changes.

What else do you suggest they should have done?

He doesn't need to come up with answers to feel aggreived. The HST's were, as you say, intended to be long distance express trains linking distant points to London. So it's therefore understandable if those of us who use them for this intention find the travelling experience constantly eroded by the needs of the legions of people who made the choice to chase London salaries whilst living further out..

Perhaps some nice suburban units for the Oxford, Newbury and Reading commuters and non-stop operation for the HST's (I appreciate thats unrealistic, obviously).

 

[jimm]

He doesn't need to come up with answers to feel aggreived. The HST's were, as you say, intended to be long distance express trains linking distant points to London. So it's therefore understandable if those of us who use them for this intention find the travelling experience constantly eroded by the needs of the legions of people who made the choice to chase London salaries whilst living further out..

Perhaps some nice suburban units for the Oxford, Newbury and Reading commuters and non-stop operation for the HST's (I appreciate thats unrealistic, obviously).

It isn't just commuting that has upped demand, lots more people are making longer-distance journeys by rail as well - both are factors in rail travel being at record levels, a development I assume you have noticed - so trains have had to change to accommodate all of them as well. Sunday afternoons and evenings on some routes are now just as busy as weekday peaks.

Outer-suburban units with a 110-115mph capability, such as those being touted by Siemens and Bombardier, are now highly likely to be acquired for GW use, in order to be able to mix it with IEPs on the fast lines between Paddington and at least Maidenhead once Crossrail starts running - but Cotswold, Gloucester and Bristol expresses are key parts of the overall service between London and the likes of Didcot, Oxford and Swindon, and that will remain the case with IEP.

And Reading is now one of the UK's busiest interchange stations, on top of all the commuters - many coming into Reading to work as well as going out - and the capacity the expresses offer will remain critical, however many emus are operating. FGW - and any other operator come to that - is not going to send a two-thirds full train from the likes of Bristol or Cardiff non-stop to London, sailing past crowded platforms at Swindon, Didcot or Reading.