FGW First Class

[Goatboy]

Since when has Penzance been in the Cotswolds?

Or are you dragging this thread off topic just to make a point?:roll:

Given the First Class provision is the same whats the problem with his post?

You get a paper cup in First Class on Penzance services, too. Perhaps its different on travelling chef trains but there must be all of one of those a day so generally speaking First Class on a Cotswolds HST is exactly the same as First Class on a Penzance HST.

As for offtopic, at least his post was about First Class. What was yours about?

 

[TEW]

You get a paper cup in First Class on Penzance services, too. Perhaps its different on travelling chef trains but there must be all of one of those a day so generally speaking First Class on a Cotswolds HST is exactly the same as First Class on a Penzance HST.

Don't get proper mugs on Travelling Chef services either. There are actually 9 services to/from Penzance a day with Travelling Chefs btw. Only service you do get proper mugs on is the sleeper service.

 

[Essexman]

The two early morning trains from Hereford to Paddington have Travelling Chefs.

 

[Captain Chaos]

The two early morning trains from Hereford to Paddington have Travelling Chefs.

As long as it's not a Turbo!

 

[jimm]

As long as it's not a Turbo!

Never a Turbo, as the stock for those trains comes up from Bristol.

Though to be fair, walk-on fares on the Cotswold Line to London seem really quite reasonable anyway.

Checking the prices has thrown up a question though - from Worcester and Malvern how come the Any Permitted offpeak is cheaper than the Evesham/Stroud one? Given that both are valid on the Cotswold line?

Depends on your definition of reasonable - and with yet another round of increases today, that's not a description a lot of passengers would use. For local journeys on the Cotswold Line, the peak fares are increasingly inflated, especially given the yawning gap compared with what off-peak travel costs if you use a Cotswold Line Railcard (typically a railcard fare is about 40 per cent of what you pay in the peak). The anomaly you point out is just yet another example of the mess the fares system is in generally.

 

[GodAtum]

A photo of the Travelling Chef:

 

[ainsworth74]

That's Pullman Dining not the Travelling Chef. Obviously both involve on-board chefs but they are different in what level of catering they provide.

 

[musicking1306]

Never a Turbo, as the stock for those trains comes up from Bristol.

Unless it is a standard class buffet (Micro-buffet) which would result in the chef being left on the platform.

 

[Paule23]

A photo of the Travelling Chef:

That's not a travelling chef, that's someone's dinner.....

 

[SephenWorceste]

> Let's just get the sequence of events right, as you make it sound as though HSTs reigned supreme on the Cotswold Line..

Thank you for your very informative post. My journey was on the bank holiday monday for the Queens Jubilee. It was a mid afternoon Paddington to Hereford service shown in the timetable as a HST. I did think it was a sprinter (but it could have been a turbo). It must have been quite a short train as there was only one (non working from Oxford) toilet. I think it was 2+2 in first and 2+3 in standard. Also FGW had decided not to open the First Class Lounge at Paddington as it was a bank holiday despite the web site saying it should be open.

My picture of the coffee cup was from another trip on a Hereford to Paddington HST. The 5.30AM ish departure. The seats are so comfortable, the carriages spacious, nearly empty (unfortunately packed in standard after Oxford), the stewards so helpful, and the travelling chef breakfast! I am always surprised to get a paper cup as the breakfast was on crockery. First Class on the early morning HSTs on the Cotswold line is a real pleasure. A reminder of the best of the old BR.

Best wishes, Stephen.

 

[jimm]

> Let's just get the sequence of events right, as you make it sound as though HSTs reigned supreme on the Cotswold Line..

Thank you for your very informative post. My journey was on the bank holiday monday for the Queens Jubilee. It was a mid afternoon Paddington to Hereford service shown in the timetable as a HST. I did think it was a sprinter (but it could have been a turbo). It must have been quite a short train as there was only one (non working from Oxford) toilet. I think it was 2+2 in first and 2+3 in standard. Also FGW had decided not to open the First Class Lounge at Paddington as it was a bank holiday despite the web site saying it should be open.

My picture of the coffee cup was from another trip on a Hereford to Paddington HST. The 5.30AM ish departure. The seats are so comfortable, the carriages spacious, nearly empty (unfortunately packed in standard after Oxford), the stewards so helpful, and the travelling chef breakfast! I am always surprised to get a paper cup as the breakfast was on crockery. First Class on the early morning HSTs on the Cotswold line is a real pleasure. A reminder of the best of the old BR.

Best wishes, Stephen.

Are you sure it was a Hereford service? That Monday and Tuesday, the service was described by FGW as a modified weekday timetable. On weekdays the first departure for Hereford after the 10.22 is the 17.22, or on Saturdays, the 16.21.

If you mean the 15.51, this only runs to Worcester Shrub Hill and is almost invariably a Turbo formation (usually five or six cars as far as Oxford, three beyond) on bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year, as the numbers using this service bear no relation to those travelling at that time on a normal weekday, when an HST is used.

Sprinters have not been used on the Cotswold Line since 1993 (and until then only west of Oxford). Most likely that what you travelled on was a three-car Class 165, which only has one toilet. They are not supposed to be used on the Cotswold Line, with 166s (two toilets) meant to be used, but 165s do turn up on occasion.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I wonder what the volume of the plastic / cardboard cups are compared to the 'real', china ones Virgin et al use? On the surface (pun unintended) it always seems as if you get more in the disposable ones, or certainly on VT anyway...

 

[Goatboy]

FGW First Class Coffee is quite weird. They are very funny about the special cups. I once went to the buffet for a coffee and forgot to show my ticket first. He poured out a regular paper-cup coffee. When I showed him my ticket, he threw the freshly poured coffee away and made a new one in the smaller cup.

What a tragic waste.

 

[SephenWorceste]

> If you mean the 15.51, this only runs to Worcester Shrub Hill and is almost invariably a Turbo formation (usually five or six cars as far as Oxford, three beyond) on bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year, as the numbers using this service bear no relation to those travelling at that time on a normal weekday, when an HST is used.

I have checked my itinerary and that was the train. I am sure it was as you described.

As far as I can see from the timetable it is shown as a HST on Monday to Friday. Anyway I wrote to FGW stating that I did not get the advertised spacious reclining leather seat, complimentary refreshments, power socket, etc. I also mentioned the first class lounge not being open. They refunded in vouchers the difference in price between first and standard. Which I think was fair. Of course if their website and timetable made a reference to bank holiday they could have avoided the cost and just said we told you so.

The thing that really annoyed me was the lac of a toilet for a large part of the journey. Full we were told.

Best wishes, Stephen.

 

[TEW]

FGW First Class Coffee is quite weird. They are very funny about the special cups. I once went to the buffet for a coffee and forgot to show my ticket first. He poured out a regular paper-cup coffee. When I showed him my ticket, he threw the freshly poured coffee away and made a new one in the smaller cup.

What a tragic waste.

They can't give away the normal coffees for free, so if he'd have given you that one he'd have to have charged you. The paid for coffees should come out of the coffee machine nowadays.

 

[calc7]

They can't give away the normal coffees for free, so if he'd have given you that one he'd have to have charged you. The paid for coffees should come out of the coffee machine nowadays.

Bureaucracy at its worst...

 

[trainophile]

The thing that really annoyed me was the lac of a toilet for a large part of the journey. Full we were told.

Is that legal? I've just checked and it is over 2 hours from Oxford to Hereford, some services nearer 3 hours. Don't they have to allow comfort breaks at stations along the route in such circumstances?

Even if it makes the train late, it's tantamount to a human rights issue to not provide such basic facilities on a long journey.

If you were desperate and had to get off at a station en route, I trust you would be allowed to get on the next train, even with an Advance ticket?

 

[Captain Chaos]

Is that legal? I've just checked and it is over 2 hours from Oxford to Hereford, some services nearer 3 hours. Don't they have to allow comfort breaks at stations along the route in such circumstances?

Even if it makes the train late, it's tantamount to a human rights issue to not provide such basic facilities on a long journey.

If you were desperate and had to get off at a station en route, I trust you would be allowed to get on the next train, even with an Advance ticket?

Yes we do. In such circumstances we would normally make a quick call to control, tell them the situation and advise them which station we will be stopping for longer at. They have never refused such a request to my knowledge. Sometimes we aren't always aware (for whatever reason) that there is a problem with the toilet. But tell us and we will do our best to help you.

It used to happen quite often on the North Downs but since the new toilets have been put in I haven't had to do it for about a year and a bit. The new toilets are much more reliable then the old ones by a huge margin.

 

[TEW]

Bureaucracy at its worst...

It would be simpler if all the coffee was the same but the First Class coffee is a lot cheaper I'd imagine, as it's just instant coffee whereas the paid for coffee comes out of the machine.

 

[Goatboy]

It would be simpler if all the coffee was the same but the First Class coffee is a lot cheaper I'd imagine, as it's just instant coffee whereas the paid for coffee comes out of the machine.

Given the amount of money some pay for those First Class tickets you have the wonder why they are petty enough to make a special cheaper coffee just for First Class passengers.

 

[TEW]

Well it used to all just be instant coffee but when they installed the coffee machines when they refurbished the HSTs they didn't change the FC coffee. If you're serving the coffee from the First Class trolley as well having to bring every single one from the coffee machine would be a lot of hassle.

 

[jimm]

Quote:
Originally Posted by trainophile
Is that legal? I've just checked and it is over 2 hours from Oxford to Hereford, some services nearer 3 hours. Don't they have to allow comfort breaks at stations along the route in such circumstances?

Even if it makes the train late, it's tantamount to a human rights issue to not provide such basic facilities on a long journey.

If you were desperate and had to get off at a station en route, I trust you would be allowed to get on the next train, even with an Advance ticket?

Yes we do. In such circumstances we would normally make a quick call to control, tell them the situation and advise them which station we will be stopping for longer at. They have never refused such a request to my knowledge. Sometimes we aren't always aware (for whatever reason) that there is a problem with the toilet. But tell us and we will do our best to help you.

It used to happen quite often on the North Downs but since the new toilets have been put in I haven't had to do it for about a year and a bit. The new toilets are much more reliable then the old ones by a huge margin.

If this happens on the Cotswold Line when the staffed intermediate stations are open, the trains will make an extended stop for a toilet break in such circumstances but unfortunately on the journey in question, it was late afternoon on a bank holiday, so that option wasn't available.

 

[Goatboy]

Well it used to all just be instant coffee but when they installed the coffee machines when they refurbished the HSTs they didn't change the FC coffee. If you're serving the coffee from the First Class trolley as well having to bring every single one from the coffee machine would be a lot of hassle.

I only tend to use it at weekends when there is no trolley anyway and you have to go to the buffet. But to be honest that sounds like a bit of a non-issue, XC, SWT etc manage to negotiate an entire train of standard class with coffee produced from a coffee machine. Ok well not XC, becuase the trolley can never make it out of the rear of the unit due to all the passengers and luggage on the floor in the corridors, but you get my point

 

[TEW]

AFAIK XC and SWT just have instant coffee on their trolleys. Like on most trains now it's the Starbucks Instant Brew stuff. The coffee in First Class on FGW is pretty horrible tbh, you would think they'd provide decent coffee in First Class.

 

[SephenWorceste]

> Yes we do. In such circumstances we would normally make a quick call to control, tell them the situation and advise them which station we will be stopping for longer at. They have never refused such a

That is helpful to know. Thank you. Particularly on bank holidays, weekends and later in the evenings finding an open station toilet after Oxford on the Cotswold Line is difficult. Worcester Foregate Street has improved and is is now usually open. Other stations often dont have them (Ledbury) or are locked (Evesham). At least HSTs, Pendelinos, Voyagers have one or more in most coaches so you hopefully can find one working.

 

[221129]

Im planning to do FC into Waterloo on FGW in March From Tiverton Parkway - London Waterloo Return. What will I likely get? I will be on the 06:02 from TVP - WAT (05:46 off Exeter) Returning on the 21:37 to TVP.
TIA Ollie

 

[38Cto15E]

On the 1255 Pullman service from Plymouth to Paddington, do any members know how many sittings FGW have for Lunch?
I would assume a main sitting after Exeter and then a secondary sitting from Taunton and Castle Cary.
If I were travelling from Plymouth on this train in Standard class I assume that I would be able to buy lunch unless the dining car was full of First class passengers which would be unlikely.
I could probably stretch lunch out until Newbury before I had to return to my seat in Standard, any thoughts on this matter are most welcome. TIA

 

[mr williams]

In my experience second sittings are a thing of the past, even if there are 1st class passengers who miss out.