SWR Exeter-Crewkerne Closure

[embers25]

The SWR website, having been offline most of the morning, is now back online and has been updated and the FAQ for this closure has been updated rather importantly with the "we are hoping GWR will grant ticket acceptance from Exeter to Paddington" to say there's no ticket acceptance with anyone. Very poor. Probably cos GWR are sick of accepting SWR on strike days already, even though they try to refuse SWR tickets on trains!!

 

[superalbs]

The SWR website, having been offline most of the morning, is now back online and has been updated and the FAQ for this closure has been updated rather importantly with the "we are hoping GWR will grant ticket acceptance from Exeter to Paddington" to say there's no ticket acceptance with anyone. Very poor. Probably cos GWR are sick of accepting SWR on strike days already, even though they try to refuse SWR tickets on trains!!

A quick look at journey planners shows that a full journey from Exeter St Davids to London Waterloo will now take five hours.

From an intermediate station, just shy of six hours.

 

[[.n]]

Pretty pathetic cosnidering both SWR and GWR have First as their common owner

 

[superalbs]

Not that the buses are running anyway!! Just boarded the 1342 Pinhoe to Exeter, now a grand total of 78L.

 

[3141]

A quick look at journey planners shows that a full journey from Exeter St Davids to London Waterloo will now take five hours.

From an intermediate station, just shy of six hours.

Well, that's the kind of thing that happens when a line is closed for major work. Fortunately, there's a much quicker alternative route.

 

[superalbs]

Well, that's the kind of thing that happens when a line is closed for major work. Fortunately, there's a much quicker alternative route.

Which you can't take because of no ticket acceptance.

 

[3141]

Which you can't take because of no ticket acceptance.

But that will only apply to people who've bought a ticket in advance, and either didn't notice the information that there were going to be buses and the journey would take longer, or did notice it and bought the ticket anyway on the assumption that it would be accepted by GWR. Most people who noticed how much longer the journey would take are likely to have decided to go by GWR and bought a ticket to Paddington.

 

[embers25]

But that will only apply to people who've bought a ticket in advance, and either didn't notice the information that there were going to be buses and the journey would take longer, or did notice it and bought the ticket anyway on the assumption that it would be accepted by GWR. Most people who noticed how much longer the journey would take are likely to have decided to go by GWR and bought a ticket to Paddington.

But given GWR fares are significantly higher for some flows, it seems very unfair that some of us have the choice of being significantly inconvenienced or paying a hefty surcharge. Also many tickets you don't get the choice as, for example, there are no fares from stations between Pinhoe and Honiton via Exeter so you end paying significantly more. Its just blatant profiteering by First. To top it all the buses are running very late due to road closures and the trains are running short formed (not announced on SWR journeycheck either). My 0605 from Crewkerne was 5 vs 3 from Crewkerne for no logical reason, but then 7 vs 9 from Salisbury so will be snug from Basingstoke.