Should TOCs abandon Weekend First?

[richw]

Who on here would realistically not make their journey at all if Weekend First (or cheap Advance First) were not available?

Genuine question, I'm curious that if the only tickets available were First or Std, would people not travel at all rather than pay for a full First Class ticket.

I would stick to standard. I feel £20 is a reasonable surplus to travel in the more comfortable seats and more space on Redruth to London/ Reading. It costs FGW the price of a bag of crisps and drink, and they make the remainder in additional income they wouldn't have otherwise, as the services I have used Weekend first has only had about 75% full in First class.
I wouldn't pay any more than £25-30 supplement to use First Class.

 

[AndyLandy]

Who on here would realistically not make their journey at all if Weekend First (or cheap Advance First) were not available?

Genuine question, I'm curious that if the only tickets available were First or Std, would people not travel at all rather than pay for a full First Class ticket.

By and large, I'd probably still travel and just stick with standard class. I guess if the late evening standard class was particularly unbearable enough times, I might try shopping around for other alternatives. Not that I'd expect to find any, mind you!

 

[maniacmartin]

Another vote for sticking to Standard.

 

[Deerfold]

By and large, I'd probably still travel and just stick with standard class. I guess if the late evening standard class was particularly unbearable enough times, I might try shopping around for other alternatives. Not that I'd expect to find any, mind you!

National Express has coaches at 2200 and 2330, taking about 2 hours to do London-Southampton.

 

[AndyLandy]

National Express has coaches at 2200 and 2330, taking about 2 hours to do London-Southampton.

I've thought of a few options. NatEx is one of them, or I can travel PAD-RDG-SOU using FGW and XC services (because I'm sure an XC Voyager won't be crammed at all... ), and there's a cheap Southern-priced flow via Barnham if I want to spend hours on a 377.

Of course, I'm not sure any would be any better or more convenient than the direct service from Waterloo. The key to finding somewhere to sit in standard is not to try and board at Clapham Junction as I seem to end up doing; but instead to get to Waterloo a good fifteen minutes before departure, so you can have your pick of the seats.

 

[Birdbrain]

I use weekend First on a Sunday out of Cornwall and it is worth it. I think most other passengers in the carriage are also upgrading. It makes such a difference to get a table seat that lines up with a window to yourself for a long journey.

 

[MKB]

On a EUS-LIV VT train last Saturday lunchtime, the four first-class coaches each had more people in than the seven standard-class ones. First class were about 35% full, standard about 20%. So probably about the same totals. I was surprised that the split was so even.

[Meanwhile, the LM trains were running through the Trent Valley with standing-room only. But VT and the DfT still think there's enough demand to run the VHF trains end-to-end with hardly any stops.]

 

[mralexn]

I have heard from a few roomers over the last week or so about FGW getting rid of their weekend first in about a month or 2. They are also meant to be increasing the prices for all First Advance fares, and turning carriage G into a Standard Class carriage,

Can anyone else help spread any light / truth to this news?

 

[TEW]

As part of the new franchise First Class is being reduced, and Standard Class increased. It seems this will be done by converting one FC carriage to standard on sets with full buffets, and converting on FC carriage to a composite on the sets with micro buffet. That will leave all sets with 1.5 FC carriages, and 6 or 6.5 SC carriages. With a reduction in First Class capacity a reduction in FC Advance fares seems inevitable, and Weekend First may well have to go too. They serve to sell spare capacity in First Class, but after the changes there is going to be much less spare First Class capacity.

 

[mralexn]

That's all well and good but what about Restaurant Trains? When they run a restaurant it takes up all of coach F and half of G, so if you were to take out coach then you will leave half a coach for First Class on 2 of the busiest services to the West country every evening? 18:03, 19:03, from London Paddington,

Let's hope everyone wants to get nice and close! :P

Personally I think they should just leave it as is,

 

[causton]

That's all well and good but what about Restaurant Trains? When they run a restaurant it takes up all of coach F and half of G, so if you were to take out coach then you will leave half a coach for First Class on 2 of the busiest services to the West country every evening? 18:03, 19:03, from London Paddington,

Let's hope everyone wants to get nice and close! :P

Personally I think they should just leave it as is,

Then the restaurant will just have to take up less room, driving the prices higher most likely! So good luck to us ever getting a space on one of those ever...

 

[TEW]

Still a good move overall in my opinion, anything which provides up to an extra 84 Standard Class seats is a good thing, even if it does mean the loss of 48 First Class seats. At the end of the day, there's plenty of services at Paddington in the peak with standees in Standard Class, but I expect the number where all the First Class seats are taken is minimal.

 

[455driver]

Personally I think they should just leave it as is,

So you are quite happy to stand from Reading to Taunton/ Exeter st Davids then!
This regularly happens on quite a few trains now.

They need extra standard class capacity so its either add another standard class coach (making them 2+9 with all the grip problems on the banks) or convert some 1st class accomodation to standard class. Which is quickest/cheapest?

 

[Goatboy]

They need extra standard class capacity so its either add another standard class coach (making them 2+9 with all the grip problems on the banks) or convert some 1st class accomodation to standard class.

There is a third option - the Cross Country approach, simply do nothing?

 

[455driver]

There is a third option - the Cross Country approach, simply do nothing?

FGW have choices, XC dont!