Dennis
Established Member
There appear to be some rather odd attitudes creeping into the responses given by DfT and FGW spokespersons to press questions regarding the problems in the West Country.
Friday night on the local TV news, a minsitry spokesman (can't remember who) was basically praising FGW for the way they were handling the situation while at the same time completly washing his hands of all responsibility, stating FGW set the timetable, decide on number of carriages and has the freedom to lease more carriages.
Tonight, the FGW spokesman (Andy Griffith?) claimed things have improved (which, in all honesty they seem to have a little) and will keep on improving, citing increased number of carriages on trains etc. However, he also stated that peak overcrowding is experienced everywhere else and that is is considered both normal and acceptable!
Reading between the lines, my impressions are that DfT simply aren't interested (as long as they get their cash) and that FGW are not bothered about running over-full trains carrying that are, after all, carrying one of their main sources of income, i.e. commuters.
These attitudes do seem odd to me; there is clearly demand for these services yet neither DFT nor the TOC are prepared to do anything about it. Surely this conflicts with other government policies and ideals (Kyoto, Stern, modal shift etc). No wonder there is global warming, too much hot air about....
On a more positive note, on Thursday, the day of the storms, I was forced to take the train to work at Westbury due to failure of the bike. Although the 153 I was travelling on broke down, resulting in a journey time of over 1 hour for a 6 mile journey, the guard's treatment of the passengers was fantastic, keeping us fully informed, checking onward connections and even offering refreshments from what I assume was his own lunch box. With customer service like that, it was almost a pleasure being late for work!
Friday night on the local TV news, a minsitry spokesman (can't remember who) was basically praising FGW for the way they were handling the situation while at the same time completly washing his hands of all responsibility, stating FGW set the timetable, decide on number of carriages and has the freedom to lease more carriages.
Tonight, the FGW spokesman (Andy Griffith?) claimed things have improved (which, in all honesty they seem to have a little) and will keep on improving, citing increased number of carriages on trains etc. However, he also stated that peak overcrowding is experienced everywhere else and that is is considered both normal and acceptable!
Reading between the lines, my impressions are that DfT simply aren't interested (as long as they get their cash) and that FGW are not bothered about running over-full trains carrying that are, after all, carrying one of their main sources of income, i.e. commuters.
These attitudes do seem odd to me; there is clearly demand for these services yet neither DFT nor the TOC are prepared to do anything about it. Surely this conflicts with other government policies and ideals (Kyoto, Stern, modal shift etc). No wonder there is global warming, too much hot air about....
On a more positive note, on Thursday, the day of the storms, I was forced to take the train to work at Westbury due to failure of the bike. Although the 153 I was travelling on broke down, resulting in a journey time of over 1 hour for a 6 mile journey, the guard's treatment of the passengers was fantastic, keeping us fully informed, checking onward connections and even offering refreshments from what I assume was his own lunch box. With customer service like that, it was almost a pleasure being late for work!
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