VTEC - new onboard crewing system

[47271]

Look at my lovely full meal dinner service earlier this week!

 

[SaveECRewards]

Look at my lovely full meal dinner service earlier this week!

The sausage roll - I keep thinking it's getting smaller, but some early photos I have seem to confirm it's always been that size.

They seem to have a bad week. One of the days (I think it was Wednesday), I saw tweets from customers saying no hot food on the 1730, 1819, 1833 and 1900 out of KGX and also on two southbound services.

Those were on trains where people bothered to tweet and that I happened to notice.

For me, it's making rail travel less attractive. Last year I only used domestic flights occasionally (and came to the conclusion train beats plane), this year has been different. As BA rewards loyalty, I have lounge access even on the cheapest tickets which means I get something to eat and drink. It's not as nice as the chef prepared VTEC evening meals, but the danger of getting only a sausage roll or a sandwich in a box seems to be increasing.

 

[jayah]

The sausage roll - I keep thinking it's getting smaller, but some early photos I have seem to confirm it's always been that size.

They seem to have a bad week. One of the days (I think it was Wednesday), I saw tweets from customers saying no hot food on the 1730, 1819, 1833 and 1900 out of KGX and also on two southbound services.

Those were on trains where people bothered to tweet and that I happened to notice.

For me, it's making rail travel less attractive. Last year I only used domestic flights occasionally (and came to the conclusion train beats plane), this year has been different. As BA rewards loyalty, I have lounge access even on the cheapest tickets which means I get something to eat and drink. It's not as nice as the chef prepared VTEC evening meals, but the danger of getting only a sausage roll or a sandwich in a box seems to be increasing.

Is that what passes for First Class nowadays?
I've had more high brow fare from Casey Jones in the 1980s.

 

[47271]

Is that what passes for First Class nowadays?
I've had more high brow fare from Casey Jones in the 1980s.

Ah, but this sausage roll is better because it was designed by a celebrity chef.

If memory serves, on the evening in question the other stuff on the menu had run out, so it was either the scary sausage roll, or a sandwich in a packet.

 

[boxy321]

What's in the small brown bowl?

 

[Chrism20]

What's in the small brown bowl?

Sultana sauce

 

[Blindtraveler]

Which just of course makes all the difference lol.

 

[theironroad]

I've been on 2 north and 2 southbound KGX/EDB (4 legs) in the last 10 days and there has been NO trolley in standard at all and on monday's 1530 southbound there was no shop or catering at all for standard certainly south of york when I tried to avail myself of it.

Not good.....

 

[Failed Unit]

If you want a surprise board the 1330 Edinburgh to London. It has a unicorn (trolley) in standard today.

 

[47271]

Although I started the discussion of it, I'm bored with the sausage roll now. The only thing I have to add is that I needed a Rennie a couple of hours afterwards. James Martin doesn't add his name to packets of those.

But on the subject of Standard Class trolleys, the last time I was on a southbound departure from Edinburgh the excuse given for its non appearance was that it had a technical fault. Sure, they're complex and sophisticated and there's all sorts of things that could go wrong.

Corrosion and seizing of moving parts due to lack of use?

 

[Jonfun]

Unfortunately with catering trolleys (and indeed a lot of other non-critical equipment), many companies take the approach of reactive rather than proactive maintenance - ie, wait until it's in such a bad condition that the staff refuse to take it out and then consider fixing it.

 

[Chrism20]

If they are in a bad condition it's not through sustained usage or overuse that's for sure

 

[gavin]

Few services cancelled or have made an additional stop today due to on board staff taking ill

The 16.33 King's Cross service to Leeds and 19:45 Leeds to London Kings Cross both cancelled due to the train manager taking ill

The 16:30 London Kings Cross to Edinburgh called additionally at Grantham due to a member of on-train staff taking ill during the journey

 

[baz962]

Few services cancelled or have made an additional stop today due to on board staff taking ill

The 16.33 King's Cross service to Leeds and 19:45 Leeds to London Kings Cross both cancelled due to the train manager taking ill

The 16:30 London Kings Cross to Edinburgh called additionally at Grantham due to a member of on-train staff taking ill during the journey

Were they ill due to eating the staff sausage roll meal

 

[96tommy]

Been to London and back a few times over the last week from either York or Wakefield and no trolley to be seen anywhere.

Not seen anything from VTEC now they've been running a couple of years to suggest they are better than the likes of East Coast or GNER.

 

[Darandio]

Not seen anything from VTEC now they've been running a couple of years to suggest they are better than the likes of East Coast or GNER.

I'd have to agree really. Lots of fanfare and nonsense, little by way of a good service.

 

[Iskra]

I'd have to agree really. Lots of fanfare and nonsense, little by way of a good service.

Agreed, cost-cutting and watering down of the service level at every opportunity.

I used to choose to travel to places using their network for leisure purposes. Now, I deem their services expensive and not worth it in 1st anymore, so I usually head elsewhere.

 

[Blindtraveler]

My opinion of the ECML service started to slump when GNER ended. They IMO took a lot of beating.

 

[daikilo]

Agreed, cost-cutting and watering down of the service level at every opportunity.

As I understand, VTEC is not meeting its financial targets. If this is their solution to the problem then they need to be wary of open access operators, current or future, plus other modes. And staff becoming unable to work en-route due to illness is a sign of malaise in staff relations.

 

[Blindtraveler]

There are doubtless 101 reasons why they have chosen to do things the way they have but if I were them then Id say offering a good quality service that people want to use would be the way to recovery. The opposit seams to be the case

 

[gavin]

The 09:35 London to Leeds and 12:15 Leeds to London will both run without any catering throughout

 

[38Cto15E]

Iskra "Ditto"
This summer I have been hardly anywhere with VTEC because of the reasons you stated.

 

[Alan2603]

I am pleased I am not travelling on the 1500hrs London to Sterling this afternoon:

''Facilities on the 15:00 London Kings Cross to Stirling due 20:15.
Catering is not available throughout''.

https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/travel-information/travel-alerts/

As others have said, service is definitely slipping on VTEC.

 

[AlterEgo]

I am pleased I am not travelling on the 1500hrs London to Sterling this afternoon:

''Facilities on the 15:00 London Kings Cross to Stirling due 20:15.
Catering is not available throughout''.

https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/travel-information/travel-alerts/

As others have said, service is definitely slipping on VTEC.

These failures are now so commonly reported that I try to avoid VTEC as much as I can. As a leisure traveller it is just not worth the money for a good chance at being disappointed.

 

[tsr]

Outside the severest of disruption, a London-Stirling journey with no catering at all would be really very poor indeed!

Those pre-set types of messages can be a bit generic, though, and don't always give the full picture. Hopefully there was some sort of supply of something at some point!

If it was the case, I'm guessing (but only guessing, as I've heard no different!) that there was some sort of technical failure which was wiping out the food storage and preparation facilities. Limiting things to cold drinks and non-perishable items wouldn't have left much choice, but I guess could have been started up mid-journey, with the couple of hours of forward planning which could have been possible. If crew issues were the cause - I'd be concerned at any TOC which wants to maintain any sort of reputation if they managed to run out of catering crew entirely, on such a long journey with many major stations en route.

 

[Alan2603]

Outside the severest of disruption, a London-Stirling journey with no catering at all would be really very poor indeed!

Those pre-set types of messages can be a bit generic, though, and don't always give the full picture. Hopefully there was some sort of supply of something at some point!

If it was the case, I'm guessing (but only guessing, as I've heard no different!) that there was some sort of technical failure which was wiping out the food storage and preparation facilities. Limiting things to cold drinks and non-perishable items wouldn't have left much choice, but I guess could have been started up mid-journey, with the couple of hours of forward planning which could have been possible. If crew issues were the cause - I'd be concerned at any TOC which wants to maintain any sort of reputation if they managed to run out of catering crew entirely, on such a long journey with many major stations en route.

Dare I say it, but if things are down to 'technical failures' they normally say so, both on the VTEC website disruption page and also on their Twitter feed.

If they don't give a reason for such service failures (and don't mention it at all on Twitter) as in the case of today's London to Sterling 'non catering' service, then it leads to the obvious conclusion.........!

 

[gavin]

Tomorrow morning's Inverness to London service may have to start at Edinburgh unless they can get another set up tonight today's service has terminated at Edinburgh 1 minute late due to a train fault

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y60083/2017/09/05/advanced

 

[Dr Hoo]

Bizarrely I have just been on a Grand Central service from Bradford to King's Cross where the travelling cleaner was wearing a Virgin-branded polo shirt!

Mind you, Grand Central had no First Class host and advised passengers with First Class tickets to walk along to the buffet for free hot drinks so they are clearly having their own staffing problems.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I'd have to agree really. Lots of fanfare and nonsense, little by way of a good service.

VTEC's just NXEC's smarmy little brother.

 

[Tetchytyke]

My opinion of the ECML service started to slump when GNER ended. They IMO took a lot of beating.

GNER were good in a lot of the ways, but let's be honest, their first class offering was rubbish.