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FGW to convert First Class carriages
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I see. So they should reverse the entire policy in order to satisfy the needs of the better-heeled segment of commuters from Maidenhead on journeys of 18 or 25 minutes, three times a day, should they? Commuters who, just a few years ago, would not even have had an HST to ride on anyway...
From September 8 the 17.35 Paddington-Oxford semi-fast (first stop Maidenhead) will be formed of an HST as well, according to the new Marlow/Maidenhead-Paddington pocket timetable notes, which will probably solve the 'problem' on the 17.49 anyway.
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Goldfish62
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I'm surprised I have to spell it out to you again. Open First holders having to stand between London and Exeter on some trains. Is that clear enough?
No, it's not.
"Some trains" tells us nothing. Which specific trains? Is there a clearly identifiable and persistent problem on particular services?
We had posts a year ago claiming things along the lines of "it will be hell" and "it will be the end of cheap first advances" before the change took place - including one from you, informing us you would be driving to Cornwall from now on.
I, and others, were sceptical about all this at the time - and remain so now, because all we still get are posts lacking any detail on which trains are supposed to be suffering in this way, bar, apparently, the odd short-distance Thames Valley commuter run, where standard class is doubtless equally rammed and people would be complaining about some aspect or other of the service, no matter what FGW or any other operator did - and some rather cheap first advances are still on sale for West Country services.
In terms of specifics, your original post did mention "the summer". As you already know, West Country summer services (and plenty at other times of the year as well) are very busy, full stop - which will not change no matter how many seats are provided in either first or standard - with many trains a sea of seat reservation cards from end to end at Paddington when they are opened for boarding, so why on earth anyone expects to just breeze up and get a seat beats me. How much they have paid for the ticket is neither here nor there. No reservation means no guarantee of somewhere to sit.
Flamingo
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I'm with Jimm on this one. The substitution of Standard Class seats for First Class seats (approximately 2 for 1) is going to result in less overcrowded services overall, indeed it reduces the chances of the TM having to declassify First Class. Eighty Standard Class passengers standing would be a lot, if they are now sitting, so much the better for everyone. In the old set-up, even if a First Class carriage was declassified, only 48 of them would have had seats.
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You have to laugh, how do the bird-brains who design these things manage to hold down a job?!
Clearly, Greater Anglia employer designers with a bit of common sense:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tunnel_one/17365870045/in/contacts/
(Not my picture).
You've been given examples of HSTs to the west. HSTs to and from Maidenhead (to say nothing of getting a seat in 1st Class on a peak time Turbo) and I'll add to that the 1915 to Swansea. Not one spare 1st Class seat on two occasions in April, as I noted when boarding at Reading, with numerous people standing.
I fully appreciate the greater good blah, blah, blah, that means capacity has been increased overall, and I applaud FGW for doing what they can with the stock they have, but that doesn't change the fact that on certain HST services some First Class passengers are now standing, whereas prior to the changes they weren't.
Castigating folk for not being proactive in making seat reservations (Season or Anytime are flexible tickets - perhaps they should block book reservations to maintain flexibility, thus making the situation worse) is just crass. These passengers have not brought the situation on themselves.
And don't ask me to offer a solution. I merely observe.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
They could solve that by just flipping them upside down, provided the wire reaches.
Or just use the other cable that came with the PSU, so the transformer isn't anywhere near the socket. If that is too long, and short '8' shaped lead will do.
The end of cheap first class advances, has sadly come true for the journeys I want to make.
They are as you say still available on some routes, but try buying the lowest tier FCA for Bristol-Norwich for example (£34.50 IIRC). You simply can't do it, any day, any time. The fare is still there on the system (according to BRFares), but it appears no seats are ever allocated.
The USB sockets are very useful, means you can charge your phone and use your laptop without hogging both 230V sockets.
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It's nice to see USB ports on trains, or indeed anywhere. Virgin have them in some of their FC lounges, and Wickes now sell wall sockets with USB ports for £9.99 so I may well be upgrading most/all of my wall sockets in the coming months.
I wonder what the output is from them? I say because many new devices support 'turbo' charging, which allows for the port to output at 9 or 12v instead of 5v if it communicates with the device that says it's capable.
Given these trains will be in operation for many years, it's clear that in a year or two more and more people will get a smartphone, tablet or even laptop (e.g. the new MacBook) that can charge quicker. And they'll begin to moan that these are too slow!
(Hopefully they're at least 5v 2/2.1A).
I wonder what the output is from them? I say because many new devices support 'turbo' charging, which allows for the port to output at 9 or 12v instead of 5v if it communicates with the device that says it's capable.
Given these trains will be in operation for many years, it's clear that in a year or two more and more people will get a smartphone, tablet or even laptop (e.g. the new MacBook) that can charge quicker. And they'll begin to moan that these are too slow!
(Hopefully they're at least 5v 2/2.1A).
The only obvious solution to your observations would appear to be to reverse the change in seating layout. But, as I am sure your observations also tell you, the overwhelming majority of FGW services do not need acres of first class seats, as not enough people are buying first class tickets these days, whereas the number in standard is still rising in line with the trends across the industry.
What examples of HSTs to the West? You mean a vague reference to "the summer"? Such services have been busy in "the summer" since time immemorial.
HSTs did not even call at Maidenhead or Twyford until FGW put them on in recent years to help ease pressure, as Turbos could no longer cope on their own. But you appear to think this is just not good enough and they should also be providing oceans of first class seats for 18-minute-long journeys a few times a day made by people who, in many cases, bought a first class ticket to try to avoid the overcrowding in standard, and will happily go back in a couple of years' time once all the extra capacity arrives in the shape of electric services. And in the afternoon, at least, FGW is doing what it can to ease pressure on the 17.49 - and the 17.18 Adelante to Oxford, which is full and standing well past Reading.
Don't bring the 19.15 to Swansea into this - that's a different kettle of fish, due to various factors unrelated to the number of seats provided in first class, and one only ever likely to be solved by providing another HST as a relief five minutes later - but there isn't one available and it would appear that one that is coming free from September after the overhauls is already slated to help out your friends from Maidenhead...
I know what a flexible ticket is, thanks. But as observed previously, no matter what the price tag, it does not guarantee a seat, just a journey from A to B.
And if you were travelling between London and the West Country in "the summer" would you do so without reserving? I don't believe someone needs that much knowledge of the railways to work out that a reservation might be a good idea at that time of the year, or Friday evenings, Christmas and bank holidays...
And are you really suggesting that a train manager would make people stand if a train had left London with empty seats where someone had clearly not taken up a reservation?
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Which will be fine until USB 3 comes along...
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
USB3 is a different type of socket and is not backwards compatible.
fairysdad
Member
Unfortunately, not all Apple PSUs come with a lead. A normal figure-8 lead will, as you say, work, but just be warned that the Apple ones are earthed (unlike normal figure-8 leads). Equally unfortunately, there are other PSUs that are the wrong way around for these sockets (a friend's laptop's power cable was one that had the DC transformer on the plug rather than separately) - I made up an extension lead that was about half a foot long for just a situation, partially also because I had a really badly located socket in my house!
Hopefully, FGW will have a similar refit to the table sockets in Standard as well eventually. (I was on a table seat a while ago with only the as-pictured Apple power lead with me, so plugged it in to the airline seat socket behind me (with permission of the person sitting there of course!))
...and doubtless significantly reduce revenue! The people who have got them use them because they are willing to pay a bit for a better journey, but don't want to pay the over-inflated First Class season prices. If they are withdrawn, these people won't upgrade to First Class seasons, so revenue will drop.
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What are they planning to do with it...?
Ash Bridge
Established Member
If the proposal to build a fleet of additional Bi-mode SETs to replace the HSTs on services to the Southwest gets the red light, would extending the current sets to 9 Trailer cars (assuming spare cars become available when SETs takeover Paddington-Bristol/South Wales services) with the kitchen/buffet car turned around so that the counter is at the 1st class end, and the seating accommodation converted to an additional 40? standard class seats, the extra vehicle could then provide 48 more 1st class seats or 24 for Pullman dining and 24 non dining. The only problems I could think of is 1. Transferring food from the kitchen to the dining area, unless there is a staff door at the counter end? 2. Slight loss of performance on the Devon banks, what are your views?
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