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FGW 1st class upgrades?

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GodAtum

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I know you can buy a weekend upgrade onboard but what is the policy for during weekday off-peak? Can I upgrade onboard or will I get a fine?
 
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ainsworth74

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I know you can buy a weekend upgrade onboard but what is the policy for during weekday off-peak? Can I upgrade onboard or will I get a fine?

You can purchase an excess to the appropriate first class ticket for your journey which means paying the difference between the two tickets. If you're travelling from a station which has an open booking office you must purchase before travel if however there is no open booking office it should be sold by the guard on board.
 

sonic2009

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You can purchase an excess to the appropriate first class ticket for your journey which means paying the difference between the two tickets. If you're travelling from a station which has an open booking office you must purchase before travel if however there is no open booking office it should be sold by the guard on board.

agreed. but if you decide you wish to purchase the upgrade after you have got on the train with a open ticket office, and approach the guard before sitting down in 1st Class what the rules then?

Because surely one is allowed to change one's mind? .
 

RJ

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I know you can buy a weekend upgrade onboard but what is the policy for during weekday off-peak? Can I upgrade onboard or will I get a fine?

You need to pay the difference between the Standard Class and First Class fares at the ticket office prior to boarding the train.
 

mralexn

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I know you can buy a weekend upgrade onboard but what is the policy for during weekday off-peak? Can I upgrade onboard or will I get a fine?

You can upgrade on board, but i would recommend locating the Train Manager first and say you want to upgrade,

Because if you get a jobsworth RPI get on, you may have to pay Double the First Class fare to the next station .. Not fun if you got on at Exeter and the next stop is Reading ;)
 

wintonian

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I sometimes buy a standard ticket, get on the train realise it is rammed and find the guard for an excess if a reasonable price.

They don't have to let me pay the excess if I could have bought a ticket first but I have yet to have a problem apart from the time that a XC first class host took some exception to me only forcing my way through 4 carriages to get there looking for the guard, the host wanted me to go all the way back to the other end and return once more, and when I say force my way through I mean just that.

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Flamingo

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If an FGW HST (I wouldn't like to say about DOO Turbo's), then there will be absolutely NO issue in excessing to a 1st class ticket on board. Find a seat, and the TM will find you very soon after departure. You will be greeted with a smile, and the TM will be more than happy to increase his months commission bonus, sorry, I mean serve you :lol:

The only thing to be aware of is to make sure your card will be accepted by the on-board chip and pin, or you may then find yourself being ejected (still with a smile on his face)! :D

Seriously, get on, sit down, it won't be any problem.
 

richw

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If an FGW HST (I wouldn't like to say about DOO Turbo's), then there will be absolutely NO issue in excessing to a 1st class ticket on board. Find a seat, and the TM will find you very soon after departure. You will be greeted with a smile, and the TM will be more than happy to increase his months commission bonus, sorry, I mean serve you :lol:

The only thing to be aware of is to make sure your card will be accepted by the on-board chip and pin, or you may then find yourself being ejected (still with a smile on his face)! :D

Seriously, get on, sit down, it won't be any problem.

As a regular fgw passenger, I can echo flamingos comments. Fgw tms are always more than happy to excess passengers to first class, done it numerous times without issue. Something fgw tms are good at is looking after their passengers, from the tms on the cornish branches to those on hsts, fgw tms always seem to bend over backwards to assist genuine fare paying passengers.

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sonic2009

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Seriously, get on, sit down, it won't be any problem.

So for example if a said Joe Bloggs gets on a X Station with an Open Ticket Office, and RPI gets to Customer Before Train Manager, and people read your above comment, and take the general advice that's its okay to just sit down surely this is incorrect?

Personally it should be seek the TM First before Sitting Down in 1st Class on a HST
 

Flamingo

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You appear to be under a few misconceptions. It is well recognized in FGW that it is acceptable to upgrade to First Class on board. Apart from everything else, RPI's don't go through the train without permission from the Train Manager. It is the TM's train, he is in charge of it and EVERYBODY working in it, be they catering, revenue or cleaners. Any RPI's who attempted to do what you have described would receive a very quick lesson in manners from the TM, and would be leaving at the next stop.

If you chose to go ask the TM, then that is fine, but not compulsory.
 

richw

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So for example if a said Joe Bloggs gets on a X Station with an Open Ticket Office, and RPI gets to Customer Before Train Manager, and people read your above comment, and take the general advice that's its okay to just sit down surely this is incorrect?

Personally it should be seek the TM First before Sitting Down in 1st Class on a HST

I strongly believe Flamingo is correct in his advice for some reason, the main one being he is a fgw hst tm,

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GodAtum

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You appear to be under a few misconceptions. It is well recognized in FGW that it is acceptable to upgrade to First Class on board. Apart from everything else, RPI's don't go through the train without permission from the Train Manager. It is the TM's train, he is in charge of it and EVERYBODY working in it, be they catering, revenue or cleaners. Any RPI's who attempted to do what you have described would receive a very quick lesson in manners from the TM, and would be leaving at the next stop.

If you chose to go ask the TM, then that is fine, but not compulsory.

Thanks thats made me less nervous!
 

sonic2009

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I strongly believe Flamingo is correct in his advice for some reason, the main one being he is a fgw hst tm,

yes i understand that he is a FGW TM. I just wanted to check, and i'm not disputing
his information given, it's not all TM comes round.
 

tony_mac

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The differences are interesting, though - it seems that FGW allow you to take a seat in first and pay the upgrade when requested - Transpennine and Virgin sometimes announce this policy over the PA - yet other TOCs will prosecute for doing exactly the same thing.
 

richw

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The differences are interesting, though - it seems that FGW allow you to take a seat in first and pay the upgrade when requested - Transpennine and Virgin sometimes announce this policy over the PA - yet other TOCs will prosecute for doing exactly the same thing.

This ties into my comments in the "if you were given a blank piece of paper" thread where i commented about if new railway rules were created what would you like. My simple comment for consistancy across the entire network was commented by others as being silly! I think the above quoted commented backs my comment up
 

Eire Sprinter

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Out of curiosity if using a SailRail ticket (e.g. Paddington-Rosslare) would it be possible to excess to first class onboard during the week? (subject to available accommodation) (i.e. for the Paddington-Swansea HST leg).

Would the amount charged for this be the same as the zonal amounts as per the weekend upgrades?
 

LexyBoy

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Out of curiosity if using a SailRail ticket (e.g. Paddington-Rosslare) would it be possible to excess to first class onboard during the week? (subject to available accommodation) (i.e. for the Paddington-Swansea HST leg).

Would the amount charged for this be the same as the zonal amounts as per the weekend upgrades?

During the week the excess is to the appropriate 1st fare. I don't think there are 1st class sailrail fares so it would be a new ticket for the journey being made I think.

 

Flamingo

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You might be charged the difference between STD and 1st class depending on the guard, that is still way more than the £20 weekend supplement
 

Eire Sprinter

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Thanks for the replies. I think a "no go" so on cost grounds during the week.

I've often thought that a first class SailRail product would be a runner.
Implementing it would cost very little in my view - an update to fares plus a bit of mainly online advertising.

In fact if booking online this side with Irish Ferries Dublin-Holyhead one can select Club Class as an add-on to one's SailRail ticket.

It's do-able at present for Euston - Holyhead - Dublin - some destinations in Ireland depending on the train used. (E.g. 09.10 ex Euston). On the ship it would involve use of either the Stena Plus lounge (on Stena Line) or the Club Class lounge (on Irish Ferries). Both of these lounges charge a supplement.

It's also do-able Paddington - Rosslare though such a fare on this corridor would need to be a little lower reflecting the absence of first class on the ATW Cardiff/Swansea - Fishguard Harbour boat train.
 

Flamingo

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Thanks for the replies. I think a "no go" so on cost grounds during the week.

I've often thought that a first class SailRail product would be a runner.
Implementing it would cost very little in my view - an update to fares plus a bit of mainly online advertising.

In fact if booking online this side with Irish Ferries Dublin-Holyhead one can select Club Class as an add-on to one's SailRail ticket.

It's do-able at present for Euston - Holyhead - Dublin - some destinations in Ireland depending on the train used. (E.g. 09.10 ex Euston). On the ship it would involve use of either the Stena Plus lounge (on Stena Line) or the Club Class lounge (on Irish Ferries). Both of these lounges charge a supplement.

It's also do-able Paddington - Rosslare though such a fare on this corridor would need to be a little lower reflecting the absence of first class on the ATW Cardiff/Swansea - Fishguard Harbour boat train.
Write in and put it to FGW, they might run with the idea. It's probably not been thought of.

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/About-Us/Customer-services/Contact-us
 

richw

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Lol this made me chuckle

I had a couple of beers, and didn't realise I actually posted that, oops.
But why question if what a tm for a specific toc says, when the question is soly about his toc!
 

34D

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I had a couple of beers, and didn't realise I actually posted that, oops.
But why question if what a tm for a specific toc says, when the question is soly about his toc!

Possibly because everyone is evil, and they're all out to get him (whichever guy it was) and little people are speaking in his head saying kill the flamingo (or maybe not)
 

Flamingo

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Possibly because everyone is evil, and they're all out to get him (whichever guy it was) and little people are speaking in his head saying kill the flamingo (or maybe not)

Sounds like my boss... :lol::lol::lol:
 
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