No more Travelling Chef on FGW?

[bnm]

IME the Great Westerner is narrowly beaten by EMT (who come out top) and the WAG Express, but all three are of a very high standard. East Coast and Virgin in comparison are rather poor. (Two tiny slices of salmon and a spoonful of scrambled eggs do not constitute breakfast however you look at it.)

I think the FGW Pullman breakfast knocks them all into a cocked hat, for quality and service. EMT probably wins on value.

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/...lman_Feb_2014_breakfast x2 menus 287x155.ashx

Pricey, but full silver service. And you can even have a Bloody Mary as well!

Just a shame that its only currently available on one service.

 

[bb21]

Unfortunately that is the only thing I cannot comment on atm, so I will take your word for it. Must try it out one day.

 

[Handsomepete]

What are we left with now? A handful of inconveniently timed Pullman services going to the West Country on trains where off-peak tickets can't be used and the WAG express (if that's still available - haven't checked recently).

Or plastic food on Virgin. Or no food (sorry, we've run out) on East Coast. Or cardboard on XC (OK- someone's now going to tell me I'm being too hard on them).

I have a 1st advance for the 06.43 to Paddington on the 23rd, so apart from availing myself of a Great Westerner, I'll have a chat with the chef then and see what he or she (the Hereford train alternates for some reason) thinks. It's always quiet on the train until you start getting into the Cotswolds anyway.

May I ask how EXACTLY you obtained your 1st advance ticket?------ ive tried various websites and looked at fares/dates months from now,and as far as I can see there are NO advance fares available on the Cotswold line.

 

[RPI]

May I ask how EXACTLY you obtained your 1st advance ticket?------ ive tried various websites and looked at fares/dates months from now,and as far as I can see there are NO advance fares available on the Cotswold line.

I don't believe there are any Advance tickets on cotswold line services at peak times

 

[Handsomepete]

I don't believe there are any Advance tickets on cotswold line services at peak times

Or indeed at ANY time as far as I can see!----- methinks this poster is a fantasist!

 

[bnm]

You can get Advances that include travel on the Cotswold Line to certain destinations following a change in London. Norwich is one such destination.

However, SickyNicky said he had an Advance to Paddington on the 0642 from Hereford. Could be he had an Advance to a destination beyond London, but that isn't clear. Neither is the response...

Travelling on the 06.42 Hereford to Paddington via the Cotswold line, on a 1st Advance (with apologies to bnm, it is possible!)

... which didn't really answer the query.

I can't find any Advances ending at Paddington that allow travel on the Cotswold Line.

 

[bb21]

Or indeed at ANY time as far as I can see!----- methinks this poster is a fantasist!

I am happy to back SickyNicky's claims. Just because you cannot get one does not mean others cannot either.

If he is willing to tell you how he managed to get them, he will.

 

[jimm]

You can get Advances that include travel on the Cotswold Line to certain destinations following a change in London. Norwich is one such destination.

However, SickyNicky said he had an Advance to Paddington on the 0642 from Hereford. Could be he had an Advance to a destination beyond London, but that isn't clear. Neither is the response...

... which didn't really answer the query.

I can't find any Advances ending at Paddington that allow travel on the Cotswold Line.

Just so. And they aren't going to offer them when you can use a Network Card all the way out to Worcester and the Cotswold Line Railcard makes many local journeys at stations between Oxford and Worcester a bargain off-peak.

If you want to spend a lot of time faffing around with splits at Oxford, using OXF-PAD advances for the eastern leg and a Cotswold Line card west of Oxford, you can save a couple of quid here and there but is it worth the hassle?

Especially when there is an easement allowing use of Network Card fares on the 08.26 from Worcester, plus the ability to use off-peak returns on the 06.42 departure from Hereford at stations west of Oxford and go home on an off-peak return using any afternoon peak service from London - all of £54 from Hereford to London and back.

Travelling Chef breakfasts will certainly be missed on the Herefords - it's not unusual for them to run out of ingredients well before Oxford on busy days.

 

[Flamingo]

http://www.rmt.org.uk/news/inter-city-express-programme-iep220814/

RMT take on the proposals...

 

[ainsworth74]

RMT take on the proposals...

Summon help I'm agreeing with the RMT this must surely be a sign of the apocalypse

But in all seriousness I do wish them success in this endeavor as it would be a shame to lose the Travelling Chef from a passenger point of view.

 

[nuneatonmark]

Can you take advantage of the travelling chef service in standard class? If so, I don't ever remember it being obvious you can do so on any of the many times I have travelled on trains with a TC on board? I would have certainly used it had I known. I had just assumed it was for first class.

 

[ainsworth74]

You place your order at the buffet and get it in a takeaway cardboard box to take back to your seat.

 

[455driver]

Excellent food, Bacon and mushroom baguette £5.20, I have had one or two in the past.

I have also tried various other items both breakfast and dinner and can state categorically that everything has been excellent and tasty, I for one am going to miss the chefs on the train and I am telling every passenger that will listen about this ridiculous decision which is simply being done now so it doesnt coincide with the IEPs introduction, you know these new trains which only have a galley behind the 1st class driving cab, IE nowhere to prepare food for standard class passengers because they want to cram as many seats in as possible.

 

[Flamingo]

Summon help I'm agreeing with the RMT this must surely be a sign of the apocalypse

But in all seriousness I do wish them success in this endeavor as it would be a shame to lose the Travelling Chef from a passenger point of view.

Lots of disquiet in the grade about how it's been presented so far. There is a feeling management are not playing fair.

 

[ainsworth74]

Lots of disquiet in the grade about how it's been presented so far. There is a feeling management are not playing fair.

I'm obviously not involved but from what I've picked up on here and on-line I can certainly understand why they'd feel like that. It does sound a bit underhand what's going on.

 

[Blindtraveler]

It certainly sounds badly handled and I hope some kind of union backed action is taken by staff. As 455Driver states, the service would have to be scrapped anyway when IEP arives but the PR dept wouldnt want the reputations of these shiny new statements of progress tarnished by announcing to Great Westen and East Coast customers on launch day that not only would they be herded in like sheep but they wouldnt be able to cheer themselves up with a freshly grilled bacon sarny↲wor a cold beer fresh out the fridge now would they?↲

 

[IanXC]

I'm not entirely sure I agree that Travelling Chef would have to be scrapped with IEP. Yes you couldn't deliver the service in the way it has been delivered up until now, but as Virgin have shown you can deliver food prepared in the first class kitchen to standard passengers at their seats - having taken orders at the micro buffet/from the trolley/even from an app.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Didnt realise VT Did this?

 

[IanXC]

Didnt realise VT Did this?

They've been running a pilot offering pizza delivered to your seat... Equally CrossCountry do bacon rolls and burgers in the same fashion.

 

[Blindtraveler]

The Pizza Idea is good. How well marketed is it? Must admit I missed this

 

[Mag_seven]

The Pizza Idea is good. How well marketed is it? Must admit I missed this

A few years ago when East Coast was GNER they experimented with a pizza offering at the weekend.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

A few years ago when East Coast was GNER they experimented with a pizza offering at the weekend.

Was that before or after someone had the cheek to have a pizza delivered to a heavily delayed train in a station?

Not even sure which TOC or line that was on though!

 

[hassaanhc]

Was that before or after someone had the cheek to have a pizza delivered to a heavily delayed train in a station?

Not even sure which TOC or line that was on though!

That was also reported to have happened the other week at Stevenage or somewhere, the evening when the wires got pulled down on the East Coast line. Reports of it on Twitter at the time.

 

[21C101]

That was also reported to have happened the other week at Stevenage or somewhere, the evening when the wires got pulled down on the East Coast line. Reports of it on Twitter at the time.

Splendid innovative thinking. In fact with modern technology TOCs could do orders for fast food themselves for PAX, would be very good PR

 

[Busaholic]

That was also reported to have happened the other week at Stevenage or somewhere, the evening when the wires got pulled down on the East Coast line. Reports of it on Twitter at the time.

It obviously had a Domino effect!

 

[yorksrob]

Just noticed in the timetable that my train tomorrow doesn't have a travelling chef afterall, so thats that idea scuppered.

Looks like it will be a runny egg sandwich from the buffet at Penzance instead.

 

[gordonthemoron]

didn't someone have a takeaway curry delivered to an ECML train at York station some time back? May have been pre-privatisation

 

[HarleyDavidson]

It obviously had a Domino effect!

Booo, hisss... Gerra off.

As for having take away food delivered to a train I know of one driver who had his dinner delivered to it at a certain Hampshire station with an Indian takeaway on it.

 

[richw]

Just noticed in the timetable that my train tomorrow doesn't have a travelling chef afterall, so thats that idea scuppered.

Looks like it will be a runny egg sandwich from the buffet at Penzance instead.

Maybe too late to advise you, but the greasy spoon opposite the station on the corner of the big council car park is excellent and a million times better than the station buffet.

 

[yorksrob]

Maybe too late to advise you, but the greasy spoon opposite the station on the corner of the big council car park is excellent and a million times better than the station buffet.

Ooh, will have to try that. Am very partial to a greasy spoon !