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Topic: TravelWatch South West blast FGW (Read 2568 times)
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courgettelawn
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I came across this short article in the Avon Advertiser (4 July) of all places (not sure if it was syndicated and also appeared in Salisbury Journal).
It follows the latest National Passenger Survey which revealed a drop in passenger satisfaction with FGW performance on the ex-Wessex network. TravelWatch have said they want to see improvements in capacity, punctuality and reliability, ticket-buying facilities, handling of delays and ambiance of FGW rolling stock.
According to the survey, overall satisfaction dropped by 8% and now 5% below average compared to other operators. The biggest changes was the way the operator handled delays, falling in satisfaction by 17%.
Of 31 factors, only 3 have gone up for ex-Wessex services - all are station and train staff related (up by 1-2%).
TravelWatch have said: "Our message to First Great Western is 'We are watching, but will not be content with just waiting'. They expect improvements in the autumn survey.
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« Last Edit: July 05, 2007, 09:30:00 PM by courgettelawn »
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Graham Ellis
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There are a lot of people watching FGW at the moment. Any reliability they had fell apart last December - not only the timetable change, but also the stock repair situation and staffing. I understand morale is not high and perhaps they have lost far more staff than they bargained for; perhaps many or most of their planing inputs were unduely overoptimistic.
I've been reading elsewhere of trains sloweed down at each timetable change by a few minutes here and a few minutes there ... and it seems that this is how punctuality is being addressed. Let's face it, slower stock such as the 143s we now see frequently can't keep up with 150 / 153 / 158 timings. Draft timetables for this coming December extend that Westbury to Swindon run time to over 50 minutes in some cases. But if we have two extra trains - Arrive / depart Swindon at 08:45 / 08:50, and 17:45 / 17:50, then that 50 minute timing will be very acceptable.
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courgettelawn
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A brief moment to comment. I fear that in spite of the criticisms FGW's franchise quite safe. They could be embarrassed into improving services or they could just carry on as normal. I hear no new rhetoric from the not-so new-look DfT so the best response is to keep up the pressure as much as possible.
I will be collecting this information for the article.
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Graham Ellis
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I fear that in spite of the criticisms FGW's franchise quite safe. It probably is. If they lost the franchise, they would take the stock they own (5 trains at the moment, 10 in the near future) with them, leaving a new operator with a gaping hole .... |
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courgettelawn
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What we need is a rich and anonymous train-loving benefactor to take over the line. We'll have the best trains and best services in the country! I'd even travel on slam-doors again rather than the 158s!
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Lee
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What we need is a rich and anonymous train-loving benefactor to take over the line. We'll have the best trains and best services in the country! I'd even travel on slam-doors again rather than the 158s! Here is a business case for said benefactor (link below.) http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/open.html |
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