kentrailman
Member
It's a Tuesday. I am on the 0853 fast Bristol Temple meads to Paddington that stops only at Parkway having started at Temple meads. Leaving temple meads there were five people in the entire carriage !!
I watched the 0830 ' slow' service to Paddington leave Temple Meads having come from Taunton, the train I used to use before the time changes. It was full and standing and still has to stop at Bath, Chippenham, Swindon, Didcot, Reading. The earlier train arrives in paddington 13 minutes before this one. I know which one I would rather be on for the sake of 13 minutes .
Interestingly, far more got on at parkway than Temple Meads. After parkway the carriage is perhaps one fifth full but still a lot better than full and standing ! Of course sooner or later people will presumably also work it out for themselves, but for the moment .. I will enjoy it while it lasts !!
Also interestingly, on the gwr and other journey planners, as far as I can see, the earlier slow train is shown as a peak train ( it used to be off peak ) and this fast one is shown as the first off peak. When on the station and also at the ticket machines at Temple Meads however, the indicator boards say off peak tickets are in fact valid on the earlier train.
Since the new timetable, I also notice a similar pattern at paddington, the slow trains leave rammed full yet the new faster trains leave empty.
Lovely to not stop at reading ( sorry Reading folks) in particular as in recent years the trains get swamped there in both directions.
I watched the 0830 ' slow' service to Paddington leave Temple Meads having come from Taunton, the train I used to use before the time changes. It was full and standing and still has to stop at Bath, Chippenham, Swindon, Didcot, Reading. The earlier train arrives in paddington 13 minutes before this one. I know which one I would rather be on for the sake of 13 minutes .
Interestingly, far more got on at parkway than Temple Meads. After parkway the carriage is perhaps one fifth full but still a lot better than full and standing ! Of course sooner or later people will presumably also work it out for themselves, but for the moment .. I will enjoy it while it lasts !!
Also interestingly, on the gwr and other journey planners, as far as I can see, the earlier slow train is shown as a peak train ( it used to be off peak ) and this fast one is shown as the first off peak. When on the station and also at the ticket machines at Temple Meads however, the indicator boards say off peak tickets are in fact valid on the earlier train.
Since the new timetable, I also notice a similar pattern at paddington, the slow trains leave rammed full yet the new faster trains leave empty.
Lovely to not stop at reading ( sorry Reading folks) in particular as in recent years the trains get swamped there in both directions.