FGW weekend first increases

[yorkie]

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=3973

Oh dear. Looks like people will be priced off escaping the awful standard class refurbished coaches.

 

[richa2002]

It seems reasonable enough from where I'm sitting.

 

[First ScotRail]

It is that much of an increase? Its a decrease for many?

 

[voyagerdude220]

It seems reasonable enough from where I'm sitting.

London to Bristol is £15.. or to take it to the extremes, the FGW weekend upgrade is still £15 between Didcot Parkway and Bristol Parkway/Bath Spa. (London to Bristol= just under 2 hours, with the shorter examples being under an hour.)

London to Glasgow (401 miles, around 4 hours 40 mins over the weekend) on VT is £15, and you can still get an at-seat service of soft drinks, crisps and fruit at weekends/Bank Holidays.

Pendolino FC seats are extremely comfortable IMO, especially compared to what I remember the refurbished FGW FC HST seating to be like.

 

[devon_metro]

It seems reasonable enough from where I'm sitting.

Agreed. Nothing wrong with the standard class seating anyhow. It brings new benefits. You are now able to change trains and break journeys with the same upgrade. All seats are available to ticket holders and the full range of complementaries. Not limited to 3 items.

Back to Yorkie for his Farce Group piffle...
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London to Bristol is £15.. or to take it to the extremes, the FGW weekend upgrade is still £15 between Didcot Parkway and Bristol Parkway/Bath Spa. (London to Bristol= just under 2 hours, with the shorter examples being under an hour.)

London to Glasgow (401 miles, around 4 hours 40 mins over the weekend) on VT is £15, and you can still get an at-seat service of soft drinks, crisps and fruit at weekends/Bank Holidays.

Pendolino FC seats are extremely comfortable IMO, especially compared to what I remember the refurbished FGW FC HST seating to be like.

FGW Leather seats are far nicer than the Virgin example. Wider for starters.

 

[Max]

Agreed. Nothing wrong with the standard class seating anyhow. It brings new benefits. You are now able to change trains and break journeys with the same upgrade. All seats are available to ticket holders and the full range of complementaries. Not limited to 3 items.

£25 is, in my opinion, extremely expensive, and a massive increase of up to 150% for some! If they're trying to encourage people to travel, they're not doing a fantastic job.

 

[me123]

But is it not a far fairer system for most? In the past, I could get an upgrade all the way from London to Penzance for a tenner, but it would cost the same price for a ticket from Bath Spa to Chippenham. Now, there's a distinction which makes travel much fairer for people on the shorter journeys.

Of course, you could equally argue that an upgrade for Taunton to Weston Super Mare costs twice as much as Taunton to Exeter, despite being a shorter distance.

 

[Max]

But is it not a far fairer system for most? In the past, I could get an upgrade all the way from London to Penzance for a tenner, but it would cost the same price for a ticket from Bath Spa to Chippenham. Now, there's a distinction which makes travel much fairer for people on the shorter journeys.

Of course, you could equally argue that an upgrade for Taunton to Weston Super Mare costs twice as much as Taunton to Exeter, despite being a shorter distance.

But who would bother upgrading for such a short journey? After all, the first off peak day return is only about £10 more than the standard off peak day return, so that would be a cheaper option anyway! I'm sure most shorter journeys on FGW have corresponding first day singles/returns that provide better value than weekend first.

 

[yorkie]

Of course, you could equally argue that an upgrade for Taunton to Weston Super Mare costs twice as much as Taunton to Exeter, despite being a shorter distance.

Well, exactly, so it's not fair.

And as for the claims of being limited to 1 train and 3 complimentary items, I used Weekend First last year and I was never told of any such restrictions and no-one limited the number of items or anything.

 

[devon_metro]

£25 is, in my opinion, extremely expensive, and a massive increase of up to 150% for some! If they're trying to encourage people to travel, they're not doing a fantastic job.

Most people on such a journey would buy a First Advance Single.

 

[yorkie]

Which is fine if you can make that commitment.

But if you don't want to commit months in advance, you are then basically encouraged by FGW to get the car.

 

[Sleepy]

Most people on such a journey would buy a First Advance Single.

Not if using a Family Railcard as do not give discount on any 1st class tickets (or Std Priv) or Rovers !
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You are now able to change trains and break journeys with the same upgrade. All seats are available to ticket holders and the full range of complementaries. Not limited to 3 items.
What is the full range - thought it was just Tea/Coffee/Coke and biscuits !

 

[voyagerdude220]

I haven't personally used FGW very much, since the refurbished HSTs came in, but only remember being offered a very limited range of complimentaries food wise, but i guess this is reflected in the cheapness of the AP FC singles, in comparison with other TOCs.

Off topic: Do FGW HSTs which still have the usual buffet car still retain the "traditional" non-refurbished FGW seating (all be it with different branding), or have the seats been replaced, with refurbished ones since i last travelled on FGW?

 

[devon_metro]

Which is fine if you can make that commitment.

But if you don't want to commit months in advance, you are then basically encouraged by FGW to get the car.

For most people the rise isn't that major. Only those from Penzance, and most people travelling from Penzance will be on dirt cheap advance purchase tickets.

First Class is an exclusive service anyway so shouldn't be full of people who are only using it because its cheap.

 

[anthony263]

Hi all

i upgraded to first class on the 04:30 service to London from Bridgend yesterday, especially since i didnt want to be with the drunks in standard class (who happened to wreck one door).

i recieved the free complementory items which was a bag of crisks packed of biscuits and a cup of coffee.

the member of staff at the buffect car said that there would be an increase for the weekend first.

yesterday i was the only first class passenger on the train until reading when a few passengers got onto the wrong cariage but after being told by the conductor about the weekend first offer they decided to take it.

i must admit i enjoyed my first class experience and will happily purchase the upgrade again when i next go to london

 

[voyagerdude220]

The quietness of FC could partly be due to the very early timing of your journey.

 

[me123]

Well, exactly, so it's not fair.

But to pay £5 for London-Reading Weekend First and to pay £10 for Exeter-Taunton FC is? Bearing in mind that London-Reading is shorter than Exeter-Taunton. This example existed under the old system, but now the fares have actually reversed.

Another example would be travelling London-Exeter. I could upgrade to Weekend First for the same price as someone going on to Penzance. I don't think that's fair; the Penzance passenger gets more of the FC experience and possibly more complimentary goodies.

I don't think you can say that the old system is any fairer than the new one. It has the same flaws as any zonal network, including London and Strathclyde areas, and these have been highlighted already. But it does mean that for more passengers, you're paying more for a longer distance.

Besides, Weekend First is a luxury service, subject to availability. I don't expect to get it, and I suppose that most people wouldn't. It's an incentive not to improve passenger experience, but mainly to get people into the FC carriages hence creating a small profit for the TOC and, in effect, some advertising so that people will use the service on weekdays. It shouldn't drive passengers away; they shouldn't expect Weekend First in the first place!

 

[devon_metro]

I'm more likely to use it if I can get to Taunton in First Class for only £5. Thats a free coffee and some food.

 

[yorkie]

It shouldn't drive passengers away; they shouldn't expect Weekend First in the first place!

But passengers should expect a chance of getting a window view and a table. How many tables with window views are there in a standard class FGW coach? About one!

 

[mrcheek]

But passengers should expect a chance of getting a window view and a table. How many tables with window views are there in a standard class FGW coach? About one!

so you still havent noticed those little foldy things on the back of the chairs then?

 

[yorkie]

Next time I'm in a group of 4 and we all have to sit individually due to the lack of a proper table, we'll all pull down those tiny tables and say "Ah, it's fine, we can pull these tiny tables down - problem solved!"

Sunglasses should be available from the buffet to deal with the awfully bright interiors too.

 

[Max]

so you still havent noticed those little foldy things on the back of the chairs then?

You can't work on those tables, families can't sit round those tables...

 

[asylumxl]

For most people the rise isn't that major. Only those from Penzance, and most people travelling from Penzance will be on dirt cheap advance purchase tickets.

First Class is an exclusive service anyway so shouldn't be full of people who are only using it because its cheap.

Dirt cheap?

 

[me123]

You can't work on those tables...

I beg to differ. They are the same as used by Scotrail on the 158s I think, and have a little metal bit pulling out? (If not, ignore this). I used a laptop on there without any problem whatsoever. And my laptop is probably slightly larger than average. You can work there; and what's more, you can do it without invading the space of three others.

Families are the biggest losers in this case, admittedly. But FGW has had problems with overcrowding as we all know; surely the High Capacity layout helps combat this as a main issue?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

But passengers should expect a chance of getting a window view and a table. How many tables with window views are there in a standard class FGW coach? About one!

I don't know. I've never been on a FGW HST, hence why I'm not commenting too much about bright lights and other problems. At the very least, I'm keeping an open view. But I still do not think that passengers should expect to be able to upgrade; it is subject to availability. Passengers should also not expect a window and a table; on no train that I know of has this been guaranteed for every passenger!

 

[devon_metro]

The extra seats seats are vital. More commuters travel on FGW than families. At least they should all get a seat. The lights are fine anyway, as they are set to dim by default.

Yorkie simply has an anti fgw vendetta

 

[90019]

£25 is, in my opinion, extremely expensive, and a massive increase of up to 150% for some! If they're trying to encourage people to travel, they're not doing a fantastic job.

No, they're only not doing a good job if they're trying to encourage people to travel first class, there's a difference.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Which is fine if you can make that commitment.

But if you don't want to commit months in advance, you are then basically encouraged by FGW to get the car.

What does standard class no longer exist on these services? Does everyone have to pay for an upgrade?

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From what I can tell, you're suggesting that people who get on in standard shouldn't have to pay that much to upgrade to first, possibly less than someone who paid for first class tickets in the first place. If that's it, the I'm sorry, but that's complete rubbish.

Do FGW actually have to offer this? Or is it just something they've chosen to do?

 

[Mojo]

I think the seatback tables are fine if you're working on a laptop thanks to the pull-out section as mentioned by someone else.

Even on a train with tables arranged around a bay of four you can't do non-laptop work anyway unless the trains are empty. I wouldn't be too impressed if the person opposite me started getting out folders and paperwork as it would most certainly encroach on my 25% of the table.

 

[asylumxl]

So, someone spends less on a ticket, and travels less distance, has to pay less for an upgrade? Yet someone who travels a longer distance, has to pay more. Surely the longer a customer is on the train, the more comfortable the customer should be? Can you say "milking it"? Plain old profiteering.

Just typical of First. All of us living on the Thameslink Route know how they work. They do it because people have no real choice but to use their services.

They could at least make it proportionate. Someone traveling from Reading to London pays 20% of a return fair. But then someone traveling to Penzance has to pay 30%? Percentages really don't even tell the story. The Penzance traveler pays 5.5x the price for their ticket then has to pay even more to upgrade?

 

[John @ home]

Passengers should also not expect a window and a table; on no train that I know of has this been guaranteed for every passenger!

Grand Central does. See http://www.grandcentralrail.co.uk/our-service.html

They also used to promise that if they didn't deliver a seat when one was reserved then they would refund half the cost of your travel ticket, usually in cash on the train. But I can't see any reference to this promise on their web site today. Perhaps they have dropped it.

 

[Techniquest]

Well, I didn't know of this Weekend First change until last night, when I discovered it on the FGW homepage.

I've made my views on the refurb countless times before, but the long and short of it is that I find Standard Class quite reasonable and First Class no longer has the appeal of wider and seemingly more comfortable seats due to the plastification of the supposedly leather seats.

Based on that much alone, I have no real issue with the price change, and in some areas it's going to be cheaper due to it only being a fiver and the restriction on complimentary items appears to have been removed.

What I do have an issue with is that even Virgin don't charge this much. NXEC charge a lot I believe (twenty notes as of December 2007) which I thought was a rip-off. FGW charging 25 notes for the full journey from Paddington to Penzance is a very large increase though and too much. 20 notes would have been the highest I'd be willing to pay for that, and only very begrudingly.

Granted, the allowing of having the upgrade throughout the journey and not just one leg is a plus though. Not sure where that would be useful for me personally, but there's bound to be passengers who will benefit.

I did find it humourous that Westbury to Portsmouth and Brighton is included on the zonal map, yet these routes do not receive any First Class provision from FGW!

Overall, for some passengers this change is good news and on most journeys I do personally on the network it is only a fiver more on top of the previous upgrade (15 notes vice a tenner) which coupled with the chance to use it on the whole journey and not just the HST I travel on and the removal of the 3-items-only rule on complimentary stock may well actually get me using it again. Probably only when Standard Class is wedged out mind, but we will see.