FGW v GA

[AaronR]

Had to go to swindon yesterday, from Ipswich and it's re-ignited my passion for trains! Had a great trip but the differences between GA and FGW are quite striking! Can't believe how bad we have it in the east. The disgustingly filthy mixed bag of trains we have, along with the hotchpotch of liveries. The class 90 I travelled on was horrid, couldn't even see out of the windows, the tables were worn, as were the seats and the headrests were brown they were so dirty, too top it off, the train manager announced "thank you for travelling with national express"!! However, FGW were superb, the trains I saw were all immaculate, and upon entering the carriage I couldn't believe how modern and clean it was inside, along with the very comfortable seats! The train was very smooth too, couldn't even feel it pull away or slow down, unlike the GA train which was very jolty!


Had a great trip but was such an eye opener to compare the 2 operators!

Aaron

 

[richw]

Welcome AaronR. I am a big supporter of FGW and the quality of their services. Can i just pointout though regarding

FGW were superb, the trains I saw were all immaculate, and upon entering the carriage I couldn't believe how modern

The trains between London and Swindon are amongst the oldest on the rail network being around 30 years old on average. Just shows what good maintenance and a good refurbishment can do!

 

[LE Greys]

Welcome AaronR. I am a big supporter of FGW and the quality of their services. Can i just pointout though regarding


The trains between London and Swindon are amongst the oldest on the rail network being around 30 years old on average. Just shows what good maintenance and a good refurbishment can do!

Exactly. They are also practically the same design as the loco-hauled coaches that work with the 90s, it's just the inside that's been refurbished. I'm not sure I'd agree that is was a 'good' refurb though, I much preferred the old seats because they were softer, but that's just personal taste.

MkIIIa's can jolt a bit when being propelled, and I've never been sure why. It's not as if they were adapted to push-pull like the MkIIs, the original version works on a permanent push-pull basis. It was worse with the 87s, although that might have had something to do with their screw couplings, so taking the entire train's weight onto their buffers on starting.
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<SNIP> the train manager announced "thank you for travelling with national express"!! <SNIP>

hock: Someone's a bit behind the times!