If it's not a local route - it's certainly not an intercity route either, so, outer suburban?
It's not Intercity, no. It's not local either. Outer suburban? An Alton - Waterloo or Reading - Waterloo service sounds more like it would fit under that category. So whilst it's not local, outer-suburban or Intercity, what does it fit under? Regional express is the only category I can think of.
Apart from the small fact that FGW scrapped that branding a long long time ago...
Indeed they did, but you should by now I am fussy and set in my ways with certain things. This is one of those things.
You may think it needs a trolley service, but quite frankly, with the 2-car trains that FGW put on in no way are FGW able to put a trolley service going through the train every 30 minutes say. Not to mention the fact that you should arrive 10 minutes before the train in order to purchase your tickets, which the majority of time is also plenty of time to buy some food.
In reality, who can always arrive at least ten minutes ahead of their chosen service's scheduled departure time? I know for fact I've run for trains more times than I care to remember. Quite a few of these times have been due to unexpected units/locos/power cars turning up on the service or a last-minute change of plan mind.
You also forget to mention that most people do not travel from stations that have retail outlets. I'd like to see you try and buy something to eat/drink before departing on a train from Avoncliff, Severn Tunnel Junction, Dean, Cam and Dursley, Ashchurch for Tewkesbury, Alvechurch, Scotscalder and many, many other stations that could be named.
Whilst on said topic, if your train departs Trowbridge at 0638 (06xx off Salisbury to Cardiff, Jim will no doubt know the service I refer to) towards Bath Spa, the ticket office is not open until 0640. No, it doesn't usually open early either. The point in this example is that the drinks and snack (is there one of the latter? Do refresh my memory on that one Jim) vending machines (the only options near the station until 0800 when Asda opens unless you do a massive trek to the Tesco across town) are in the ticket office. However this particular service is not booked for a trolley service I believe anyway. The point also to be raised is that on a few occasions when the ticket office has been required for AP ticket purchases in recent times, it's been closed due to staff shortages. This buggers you up on a Sunday after 1600 if you need food and drink. There are doubtless other examples all over the country.
I can't believe you actually 'require' a 'certain' item.... :roll:
By my wording in my previous post, I was thinking more along the lines of an example where in if the outlet of your choice had run out of, say, Mars bars, then the trolley may have some on it. You may buy something else from said outlet, but if you're fussy...The Mars bar was the 'required' item.
SWT still go straight through RailGourmet and contract it out as per other operators and the contract for that doesn't come under renewal for quite some time. However, I think some shortcake is available on TPE and is sourced from Bournemouth!
Fair enough.
Trains are either booked for a "buffet" or a "moving trolley service". The buffet on a class 444 is too small quite frankly to use for the majority of staff - with them all still prefering the class 442 buffet counterpart which was a lot larger. If you hear there is a fixed trolley service, then it is because that they probably either don't want to use the small buffet (for various reasons) or they don't have the key for it!
The fact remains the service in question, the 1200 WEY - WAT (I can provide a date when I check records later if required), had manual announcements, umm, announcing that 'a buffet service was available in the front 5 coaches', which was a actually a trolley parked next to the buffet. My beef on this one is that the service was not what was advertised. If a 'fixed trolley service' had been announced, then I'd have no reason to moan. Still, that wasn't the case.
It does - you get a faster response by email in my experience!
More satisfying to do a hand-written letter and receive a letter back in the post. E-mail is unpersonal.
I make that 16 stops over a 141 mile distance - I make that a stop around every 8 miles. I'd hardly say that is intercity.
I counted it to be 15 stops. One station stop every 9.4 miles on average. Bit more reasonable, considering Swansea - London is Intercity with 10 stops over 192 miles, a stop every 19.2 miles on average.
That just lowers the average "distance between stations".... I'd say a stop every 20 miles is really an intercity service in the south east.
OK, let's do the passed stations shall we...That's quite a few...To save me digging out my atlas, let's do it from Southampton alone for now. So that's Milbrook, Redbridge, Mottisfont and Dunbridge, Dean, Dilton Marsh, Bradford-on-Avon, Avoncliff, Freshford, Oldfield Park, Keynsham, Lawerence Hill, Stapleton Road, Patchway, Pilning and Severn Tunnel Junction. 15 passed stations from Southampton, which is still good enough for a regional express.
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1) Please explain to me why whenever I board a train from Paignton (vomit) the shop is ALWAYS closed and this is in the middle of the day. I understand Virmin obviously do not intend to provide a shop in this region but I could have done with a drink! Your comment is therefore wrong.
2) That service is a local all station commuter service so unless you expect a trolley on every branch line train and commuter working...
1) Is the shop advertised as being available from Paignton? It may be that the staff do not work the shop from Newton Abbot for stock-checking and staffing reasons.
2) The service voyagerdude220 was on is indeed an all-shacks stopper, so a trolley service is unlikely. Not unheard of, but unlikely.
Commuter service, however, I would not call it. Who commuters at 1100?
