GWR Paddington Priority Boarding Trial

[Nova1]

Seems like GWR are trialling Priority Boarding at Paddington for a select number of services.

The website doesn't have a massive amount of detail on it but it seems to be pointing mainly towards families with children who would definitely benefit being able to board before all the commenters etc do, will be interesting to see how it works out.

Family Train Travel | Great Western Railway

Family train travel lets you spend quality time with your family at great prices. Explore the benefits and savings for famalies and children on our trains.

www.gwr.com

 

[SuspectUsual]

Wow. It looks like it’s something that some passengers would find useful, and as far as I can tell it’s free. Good for them, if that’s the case

 

[Horizon22]

This has been going on for months - since late summer I believe. The take-up has been incredibly low (perhaps due to lack of promotion).

 

[Nova1]

This has been going on for months - since late summer I believe. The take-up has been incredibly low (perhaps due to lack of promotion).

I didn't even know about it until I saw it on their twitter (and I have been through Paddington a few times in the past few months)

 

[edwin_m]

Seems like GWR are trialling Priority Boarding at Paddington for a select number of services.

The website doesn't have a massive amount of detail on it but it seems to be pointing mainly towards families with children who would definitely benefit being able to board before all the commenters etc do, will be interesting to see how it works out.

Family Train Travel | Great Western Railway

Family train travel lets you spend quality time with your family at great prices. Explore the benefits and savings for famalies and children on our trains.

www.gwr.com

Has someone organised a forum event on a train out of Paddington?

There doesn't seem to be much detail on the link about what actually happens. Is this about getting the priority groups on the train before everyone else? (if so, if the train is ready, why not just let everyone on sooner?). Or is it just an enhanced porterage/passenger assistance service?

 

[duncanp]

I can foresee a problem if more and more people become aware of the scheme, unless there are only a limited number of priority boarding slots for each train.

If too many people book a priority boarding slot then there will be just as big a scrum to get on the train as if there was no priority boarding.

Other people will hang around the Priority Boarding flags to see if they can get an advance warning of what the platform is going to be.

And all this depends on sufficient staff being available to operate the scheme - if there are shortages then priority boarding will be one of the first services to be canned.

To say nothing of what happens in times of disruption.

 

[Horizon22]

There doesn't seem to be much detail on the link about what actually happens. Is this about getting the priority groups on the train before everyone else? (if so, if the train is ready, why not just let everyone on sooner?). Or is it just an enhanced porterage/passenger assistance service?

Pretty much that. They assist you to the train before boarding has been announced. You have some perfectly valid questions about what benefit it will achieve considering trains are boarded as soon as they've been prepped and cleaned so the time benefit will be negligible but might help if you're a large group with children I guess. Also it's something that anyone looking at RTT could realise (disruption dependent of course).

It seems a nice idea in principle, but in practice it seems hardly effective (in addition to the extremely low take-up).

 

[MikeWM]

I didn't even know about it until I saw it on their twitter (and I have been through Paddington a few times in the past few months)

There's a poster about it next to the timetable racks (the ones fairly adjacent to platforms 8/9, not the ones near the ticket office), or at least there was a few weeks ago.

I'm not convinced it gave a lot of useful details though.

 

[Revilo]

It’s a good idea in theory. At one time they had family carriages too and gave out colouring-in books etc.

 

[Oxfordblues]

I always get "priority boarding". I check realtimetrains for the headcode, then opentraintimes for the platform number, so I'm among the first through the ticket gate. Anybody could do that, if only they knew!

 

[Envoy]

I see that Penzance comes up - really meaning anyone going west of Plymouth (should be Cornwall). Presumably this to make sure that these people get a seat in the front 5 cars due to splits at Plymouth? Perhaps they should also add the 1 at day that goes west of Swansea - where the rear 5 cars will be proceeding to Carmarthen as it is more likely ‘local’ commuters will pile into these rear 5 cars at Paddington. The same applies to the summer Saturday service that goes through to south Pembrokeshire (Tenby/ Pembroke Dock).

 

[RPI]

I seem to remember this came about after consultation with GWR staff last year, there was something on the staff "yammer" page asking for suggestions from staff about how to encourage more leisure travel coming out of the covid shenanigans and there seemed a lot of positive suggestions from staff.

 

[ChrisC]

I can see the point of this to encourage families to use the train for leisure travel. I’ve regularly seen parents with children struggle to get boarded and seated whilst having to supervise children at the same time as getting their luggage on board and stored in the racks. I just wonder where you actually draw the line as to who else would benefit from priority boarding.

I know that disabled people get lots of assistance as do elderly people who request passenger assistance. However, I think there is also a large group of less mobile people who could be at even more of a disadvantage if priority boarding is also allowed for families. There are a lot of elderly people who are not at the stage where they require assistance but are certainly not as mobile and as quick at boarding trains as younger fitter people. Many of these struggle boarding trains and finding their seat and storing their luggage. I hope it doesn’t get to the situation where all the families, disabled and those who really do require assistance can safely board first, then the commuters and other fit younger people who can hurry down the platform and get on next, leaving the slower less mobile elderly people with luggage last to board when by then the train could be very crowded. Perhaps I’m exaggerating the point but it is a thought.

 

[SLC001]

I could not agree more with ChrisC. My wife is a sufferer with arthritis and takes pain killers regularly. She is not disabled, gets on with life as best she can. My point is that there are many people with disabilities which are neither obvious or age related and rail travel needs to improve its product, booking systems and ensure that assistance is available to those who do not ask for it but actually do in certain circumstances.

 

[Goldfish62]

I see that Penzance comes up - really meaning anyone going west of Plymouth (should be Cornwall). Presumably this to make sure that these people get a seat in the front 5 cars due to splits at Plymouth? Perhaps they should also add the 1 at day that goes west of Swansea - where the rear 5 cars will be proceeding to Carmarthen as it is more likely ‘local’ commuters will pile into these rear 5 cars at Paddington. The same applies to the summer Saturday service that goes through to south Pembrokeshire (Tenby/ Pembroke Dock).

Except you'll be hard pressed to find a Penzance train that splits at Plymouth. Most are 9 car.

 

[RPI]

Except you'll be hard pressed to find a Penzance train that splits at Plymouth. Most are 9 car.

Yes, very few Penzance services not 9 cars now.

 

[Requeststop]

Quite right about the 9 car trains to Cornwall. Only at Penzance platforms 1 & 2 do the poor individuals in First Class not have to bounce their way forward with their luggage to exit the train.

Actually most of the time in Paddington in my experience you are lucky to be given three or four minutes notice as to which platform your train will be leaving from. This inevitably lead to a mass panic at the gates to get onto the train as soon as possible. I don't see the system working.

 

[cactustwirly]

Quite right about the 9 car trains to Cornwall. Only at Penzance platforms 1 & 2 do the poor individuals in First Class not have to bounce their way forward with their luggage to exit the train.

Actually most of the time in Paddington in my experience you are lucky to be given three or four minutes notice as to which platform your train will be leaving from. This inevitably lead to a mass panic at the gates to get onto the train as soon as possible. I don't see the system working.

It seems to be better with the 800s. Most trains I've got have had their platform displayed 20 minutes before departure.

 

[Horizon22]

Actually most of the time in Paddington in my experience you are lucky to be given three or four minutes notice as to which platform your train will be leaving from. This inevitably lead to a mass panic at the gates to get onto the train as soon as possible. I don't see the system working.

That's not true unless there's some form of late inward working. Granted that Plymouth / Penzance trains inward are the most likely to collect delays, but they still tend to have 30-40 minutes turnarounds.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Noticed they're advertising it on their social media, this being their Instagram example

 

[RPI]

Quite right about the 9 car trains to Cornwall. Only at Penzance platforms 1 & 2 do the poor individuals in First Class not have to bounce their way forward with their luggage to exit the train.

Actually most of the time in Paddington in my experience you are lucky to be given three or four minutes notice as to which platform your train will be leaving from. This inevitably lead to a mass panic at the gates to get onto the train as soon as possible. I don't see the system working.

Cant really win, on one hand people whinge that five cars isn't enough or that ten cars are a pain, so GWR change the vast majority of diagrams to Cornwall to nine cars and people still whinge!

As for giving three of four minutes notice at Pad, thats tripe I'm afraid, I work trains there two or three times a week and other than when there's disruption most are on the screens a good fifteen minutes before departure... but even if what you say is the case, the whole point of the priority boarding is that you are taken to the train before the platform is advertised in order to get comfortable!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Cant really win, on one hand people whinge that five cars isn't enough or that ten cars are a pain, so GWR change the vast majority of diagrams to Cornwall to nine cars and people still whinge!

9 to Cornwall makes sense and is very welcome. Just proves the 5s should never have been built, really, they are indeed a nuisance. Give them to XC and build more 9s to replace them.

 

[py_megapixel]

9 to Cornwall makes sense and is very welcome. Just proves the 5s should never have been built, really, they are indeed a nuisance. Give them to XC and build more 9s to replace them.

The last thing XC needs is more 5-car trains!

The 5-cars on GWR are about the right length for the Cheltenham services FWIW (and are rather satisfyingly a perfect fit for the newly extended platform at Stonehouse, not that this is a reason to keep them necessarily)

 

[Bletchleyite]

The last thing XC needs is more 5-car trains!

The 5-cars on GWR are about the right length for the Cheltenham services FWIW (and are rather satisfyingly a perfect fit for the newly extended platform at Stonehouse, not that this is a reason to keep them necessarily)

Replied here: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/gwr-80x-5-car-should-they-be-replaced.228163/

 

[norbitonflyer]

If too many people book a priority boarding slot then there will be just as big a scrum to get on the train as if there was no priority boarding.

When everyone is somebody, then no one’s anybody​

(W S Gilbert - "The Gondoliers")

 

[Mag_seven]

Just a reminder that this thread is for discussion of the GWR Paddington Priority Boarding Trial.

A separate discussion about GWR 5 car Class 800s can be found here:

GWR 80x 5-car - should they be replaced?

From an off-hand comment of mine on another thread...I suggest GWR's 5-cars are a nuisance now 9s are going to the Westcountry, and that they should go to XC in favour of new 9-cars (and maybe a few 7-cars) being ordered. Alternatively ScotRail might be interested, or some could be sent west to...

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