Talk Bristol

janM
I've actually started to use the train all the time to get to work since they changed the time tables. Travelling from Severn Beach to Bristol and back again in the evening the times couldnt be more perfect if they tried. Prior to that I had to wait about an hour having finshed at 5pm for the train from Clifton. I guess you just cant please all the people all the time.

Steve Ehrlicher
Farce Great Western Strikes back. In a brilliant counter attack against those problem passengers who had the temerity to protest this Monday, Farce Great Western cancelled a train from Frome the next day. This was no ordinary cancellation - it had Machiavellian overtones. I, along with many other unsuspecting actors in this comedy or errors, arrived in good time for the 0647 departure to Westbury. This train is designed to connect with both a London train and a Salisbury train at Westbury and is a very good thing. In order to hide carriages from passengers, First Late Western also run a train from Frome to Westbury 5 minutes later, at 0652. This does not connect with the aforementioned trains and is probably better run as a connection from Westbury or some such important station. On this particular morning the 0652 was cancelled. What to do? Oh, run the 0647 in the path of the 0652, thus negating the connections. Wonderful idea. More was to come. It was announced to one and all that the connection with the Salisbury train would be held at Westbury. And indeed it was - it was held and held and held - just until the passengers from the delayed 0647 had got to Worstbury, ran off the train, down the stairs, along the subway, up the stairs, on to the platform - to see the train doors closing and the train moving off. Even the station staff were lulled into a false sense of security, as the conductor of the Salisbury train had promised them he/she would wait. Therefore they hadn't bothered to attend that train, to make sure we caught it. What a hoot - my, did we laugh! We only had 52 minutes to wait for our next train and it is such a lovely station. Ahha, they hadn't finished yet! In another brilliant move to hide carriages, First Great Worsten run two trains from Westbury towards Salisbury - one at 0759 and the other at 0806. On this particular occasion, they made the 0759 late by 4, 5 or 6 minutes (depending on which information service you used) and it took a little initiative to discover which of these two trains were to leave first. Bear in mind that - if it were the 0806, those lucky passengers who were left standing by the previous train would have to dash down the steps, along the subway and up the steps again. A thought occurs. Are First Great Western sponsoring the Olympics? As it happens, they had become tired of playing with their toys (us) and let the late-running 0759 out first. I wonder how many passengers were on the following (by 2 minutes) 0806 train. At least it kept the carriages hidden from those that really needed them. After all is said and done, I just feel I ought to apologise to First Great Western for being a nuisance and wanting to travel by train. I am very, very sorry - most of the time I travel with them. Steve, Frome

Richard Williams
I travel from daily Bath Spa to Temple Meads. Since Great Western took over the service has been erratic and gets very crowded. From Bath I've only had to let trains pass once a couple of weeks ago due to overcrowding, however, on numerous occasions passengers from Oldfield Park and particularly Keynsham have been unable to get on. People from these two smaller intermediate stops frequently stand. The service was worst just before and just after the Christmas holiday. It did get slightly better last week. This Monday, the day of passenger protest, trains were both on time and my train, the 7:47 was doubled in length, no staff were collecting tickets. Today, Tuesday, it is back to normal, tickets being checked, the 7:28 delayed by half an hour, and the 7:47 back to it normal two carriages carrying extra passengers because of delay. With my monthly season costing £112 for a 12 mile journey I think that the recent decline in services is appalling. With the planet showing signs of warming up quicker than many people though central government really need to address the issue of whether we want efficient railways or whether we just put more an more on the roads. If I commuted from Keynsham I would be sorely tempted to put up with the rush hour jam into Bristol and give up the train.

chris jackson
finsihing at 6.00pm in bristol i now need to wait until 6.50pm for a train - a wait of 35 minutes.previous train is 6.07pm - no chance of me getting there in time. thanks fgw - or should i say third rate western.

Alison
The week before last the 7.23 service from Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads was terminated at Avonmouth two days in a row for no apparent reason. As I don't have access to a car I arrived at work and hour and a half late. For some people there is no option but to catch the train. With the increase in prices and the change to the timetables we have seen no improvement. It's time the government stepped in because it seems no amount of complaints or protests seem to make a difference to this money-hungry company. If the government want us to reduce pollution by using public transport and leaving the cars at home, they need to ensure we are provided with an efficient and reasonably-priced service. As it is we're being royally ripped off.

K. Bishop
Now that the 7.40 from Keynsham to Bath has been cut, I have had no other choices that to revert back to using the car as the other alternatives are either far too early or too late. So much for encouraging us to use public transport. Crazy, isn't it!

Elaine
Oxford to Bristol and Nailsea 17:21 train from Oxford departed late so we missed our (4 minute) connection at Didcot yet again (the 17:41). Passengers to Bristol and beyond were now confronted with a 1 hour wait for the 18:41 service. This was cancelled. Next service to Bristol was the 19:12, with the prospect of another 40 min wait at Temple Meads for a connection to Nailsea. Passengers requested an additional stop at Didcot for the Weston Super Mare (WSM) service that normally passes through Didcot at 18:13, and stops at stations between Bristol and WSM. Station staff phoned through the request but it was refused. The WSM train was scheduled to depart Paddington 15 mins after the cancelled service so there was adequate time for FGW to accommodate the additional stop. While we waited at Didcot we watched in frustration as 2 trains thundered by en-route to our respective destinations. The 18:33 Cheltenham train arrived at Didcot around 18:45. I boarded this train on the premise that waiting anywhere other than Didcot offers more alternatives for onward connections. I caught (another) late running train at Swindon (7 mins late), destined for Bristol Parkway and Swansea, hoping to connect with the Exeter service which is timetabled to depart Bristol Parkway at 19:52. The Parkway Service arrived shortly after this time, but I made the connection because the Exeter train was also running late. This train arrived at Bristol Temple Meads at 20:15. It was still there at 20:30. There were no announcements and no-one around to ask what was happening. A platform attendant arrived later and told us there was no driver to take the service forward. We waited there until 20:49. The train eventually arrived at my stop (Nailsea) at 20: 58. My journey time from Oxford was 3 hours and 38 minutes, for a journey that previously took just over 1 ½ hours with only one change (at Didcot). These events may sound exceptional, but they are commonplace. We miss our Didcot connections on an almost daily basis. The timetable and train operator compound the problems by being so inflexible. So each night we arrive home late, tired, and very frustrated. I now pay over £60 a month more for the privilege. I recently submitted 7 legitimate compensation claims for travel delays, each in excess of one hour, and all have been refuted by FGW. Great service!

John
The only accurate bit in First Great Western is Western.

John Bishop
I couldn't agree more with Victoria. What a sad outlook we face when even the most ardent supporters of ecological transport are turned to use the car. I try my utmost best to be an eco-commuter but after today's awful journey with First Great Western I have to say I am now committed to using my car as single occupant driver for 80mins/day. I can't see any way that Bristol City Council will get more people off the roads with their current relationship with FGW. Today's journey to work took 2hrs10min whereas it is usually 40min or less in the car. It is also cheaper by car. Today's single carriage train was extremely (possibly even dangerously) overcrowded to the point where the condunctor was relaying tickets to standing passengers by bucket brigade. As is normal at stations, the conductor also had to walk down the side of the train and bang on the windows to try to encourage passengers to squeeze closer together. I wasn't lucky enough to get a ticket so I had to queue for 7 minutes to buy a ticket just to get out of Temple Meads station. And that was only the first half of my journey. I then had to take the X39 to Bath. First Bus ought to be reported to the Trading Standards Commission for advertising a bus every 12 minutes. Today it was 35 minutes before a bus actually stopped because it had space. I consider myself very enthusiastic about wanting to reduce car congestion but almost every time I attempt to use First Group transport I'm left with the same no-brain decision. Use the car. One word describes their service: Abysmal!

Andy C
First Great Western have reduced the Portsmouth - Cardiff train from three coaches to two.For almost the whole three hour journey the train is standing room only. When are they going to admit they have got it wrong and lease some more trains.

Dave Harries
I would vote for the abolition of Network Rail for all aspects other than track maintenance. Having ridden on railways in Germany, Belgium and Holland on several occasions I am now convinced that our trains should be run by a 4-way coalition made up of the Dutch, Swiss, Geman and Belgian railways. Then we might see a decent service.

mark gazzard
The trains should be subsidised. This country should learn something from the so-called poorer countries of the world. The government cannot take the easy way out with public transport. My 'service' is unpredictable, overcrowded, massively expensive and utterly dangerous. There are ALWAYS way too few carriages, often only one, and people are pushed and shoved and packed on board. I should imagine it is similar to the conditions experienced on slave ships, thankfully without the shackles. The prices have rocketed yet the conditions are worse and there is no ticket office attendant or a conductor who can fight their way through the 'cattle truck.' This means that many people have to queue for up for over 10 minutes in single file, making them late for work to add insult to injury. Why can't the government step in and provide us with a cheap, safe public transport system to encourage people off our crowded roads. First Great Western are a hopeless mess and offer no incentive. It is way beyond belief and they should be forced to relinquish the contract they undoubtedly cannot cope with. Please help us!

Victoria Price
I am a commuter because I am concerned by the amount of traffic on our roads and hate being in jams. I would like to sell my car but the only thing stopping me is the appalling state of First Great Western Rail Service. I cannot even call it a service it is more like torture being crammed on a train like cattle in way that is dangerous and claustrophobic. God help us if there was an accident. I am constantly late for work as the trains are delayed 90% of the time and I now have to catch the earlier train as I can't rely on my usual one arriving on time or even me getting on it due to over crowding. The prices have gone up but still there is no ticket man or machine at Nailsea so I have to queue at BTM for 5 Mins to purchase one. I have now just gone through the barriers telling the security man that I am not queuing as I will be late for work. This usually works. I would like to see First Great Western staff put on a single carriage train and made to travel all around Great Britain as punishment for being greedy and only thinking about their profits!!!! Should I continue to give FGW my hard earned cash or do I junp in my car , pollute the atmosphere and clog up the roads. I need an alternative. Any suggestions??

Angela
FGW revise their timetables with complete disregard for their regular customers. For example the 0801 Nailsea to Filton was already overcrowded, with passengers left behind whenever the train was reduced to 2 carriages. Now it’s been permanently reduce to two, with the train dangerously overcrowded and a lot of people left at the station (a windswept platform with inadequate shelter). The return journey around 5pm now has two services now taking twice as long – effectively reducing the service to once an hour at this busy time, and creating further overcrowding from Temple Meads. FGW’s response to complaints is ‘We know from previous timetable changes that in the first few weeks of the changes passengers will amend journey patterns before settling into new routines.’ Meaning customers will have to change from a convenient time to one that doesn’t suit them or find alternative transport.

Neil Pirie
I cannot understand why the Dep for Transport and FGW do not want to pick up commuters on trains which go through stations from Cardiff to Temple Meads (esp Patchway) at no additional cost. This would a) bring in revenue, and b) remove some people from the roads.

Trevor
Government at fault as usual. The problem here is that since all rolling stock is leased (save for five FGWHigh Speed Trains which they own themselves) the leasing companies will only agree to lease the stock provided there is someone to underwrite that lease in case of the operator going out of business... Guess who has to underwrite the lease - it's the good old taxpayer. Therefore the Department for Transport gets a say in how much it is prepared to underwrite, and if that's different to the amount of stock that FGW wants to lease then they lose out unless they buy it outright. The level of stock provision that the D for T is willing to underwrite is based on their draft timetable that first great western then went out to consultation with (yes that's right it was a dft draft not a great western one!). Since FGW then decided to run extra services it has to do so with the stock provided for the original draft. So know what to say when you MP says it nothing to do with him.

R Alder
As usual the revamp only benefits the company with total disregard for the passengers. There are more trains running late from north bristol to Temple Meads and we are having to catch a train 45 minutes earlier than previously in order to ensure we arrive at work before 9am. Great Western are relying on the fact that it is virtually impossible to take a car into the centre of Bristol or the Temple Meads area because of the chaos at the bottom of Newfoundland Road, backing everything up the M32, Gloucester Road, Muller Road and all other routes to Bristol. If we are serious about reducing congestion, it is time for the regulator to ensure that the transport operating companies only get thier subsidies if they are making a real effort to reduce congestion and not just make maximum profits. First Transport company have already shown that profit is their only motive on the buses, now they are being allowed to do the same on the trains.

K Richer
I can’t drive and because i work opposite templemeads I believed it would be ideal to get the train to and from Backwell each day. I spend over £60 a month to travel this relatively short journey and if I am paying that for only a 20minute train journey I can’t imagine what they charge others travelling further. For my £60 I hardly ever get to sit down, the conditions on the 5.25 train are disgraceful at best, I have even resulted to sitting in the luggage compartment more than once to make standing room for others, I think I have only ever heard one ‘unconvincing’ apology from the train staff and even then we were just advised we should take a later train! Maybe First GW would like to provide someone to start dinner and put the washing on at home then?! Because apparently we have all the time in the word to wait for less and less frequent trains!

Gary Honey
The new timetable has ensured that the train to work is no longer viable. Travelling from Backwell to patchway I have 2 options - a 6:20 train or a 50 minute journey time, the bus does it in 40, and its cheaper! Car does it in 30 mins and its more comfortable. Trains are suddenly a last resort, poorly thought out, poorly executed. In the main, conformation of public dismay at poor services.

K Brown
It's ridiculous. I commute from Yate, and the services have always been busy. They have now cut the train services and the number of carriages and expect them to cope. It doesn't help when they only put a singla carriage train on like in last night's and this morning's peak service. Cattle get better travelling conditions than FGW passengers

Nick Gould
Can i say you can complain as much as you like, first group have a policy to blame any one or anything apart from them selves! i have been complaining about the 902 park and ride service from brislington for months but it always someone elses fault. i even complained about a 332 service through willsbridge that went through 15 minutes early but i was told i must have been seeing things!! sorry but untill we get some competition for first grop we will just have to lump it.

Chris
Why did the timetables need to change so drastically. Prior to the Franchise, there were minumal changes between Summer and Winter timetables. It can't be rolling stock, afterall, there can't be that much that has had to be decommissioned in the last month or two. If FGW has had to change that much, surely the others operating in the area have had to as well, namely Virgin. Why owe why such a change for the worse. Lets get away from local commuters only travelling to Brisol Temple Meads and all others travelling to London. There are other destinations other than Temple Meads and London that us commuters travel to.

Mike Wheeler
It's not just Great Western - Virgin also is woefully overcrowded at peak times. The whole Railway network needs a little common sense applied.

Kay
The changes have had a negative impact on myself and several colleagues. I commute from Montpelier and two friends from Stapleton Road to Bath each day. We finish work at 5.30pm. The change to timetables and specifically the moving of the 5.54pm train to Severn Beach means that it now takes over an hour extra to get home - I have not been home before 7.30pm once since the new timetables were introduced. The trains to and from Bath are packed with no seating and I hate to imagine what would happen in the event of an emergency or accident, with so many people crammed in. I complained to First Great Western and received a dismissive email in response. The stranglehold First Group has on public transport in the West is disgusting and needs to be sorted out. I pay nearly £40 a week for a 'Bus and rail' ticket and the pleasure of freezing my proverbials off on a platform or at a bus stop while services run late, then being crammed in with barely enough floor space to stand on. I do feel sorry for the platform staff, though, who have to face the consequences of their management's actions - angry customers.

markw
I get the 08:30 Bristol to Bath and the 17:26 return. Since the timetable changes the service has been absolute see-rap. I can't see how they can possibly justify raising fares when they can't get the trains to run on time. Appalling service.

Stuart
Having listened to the representative from FGW on Points West this week, following the introduction of the new timetable, I am left wondering, does he actually use the train. Living in Worle nr Weston Super Mare his suggestion for catching HST's as opposed to the local services, would for me, mean a 10 mile round trip into Weston, petrol to get to Weston and the additional expense of having to buy a more expensive ticket. Living almost next door to the main line to Bristol you can see that the carriages on the train have now been reduced. I have to confess at this time I have taken to driving and paying the price of fuel and parking charges. At least I know I will get there, eventually!! So much for encouraging people to use public transport!!

Jan
For the first time in a long time I decided to get the 7.30 am bus instead of the train from Bath to Keynsham. Much dearer but oh, the space! I could actually sit down. No doubt First will bring the rail prices into line soon (ie put them up of course!). Going home at night around 5 pm and sardine time again on the train but time-wise and price-wise preferable. It would be good to have the best of both modes of transport. I firmly believe that First should have their monopoly revoked to give someone else a chance to put everything right. Before long dedicated commuters who choose to live and work along the track will choose to relocate leaving everyone losing out. The service should be encouraging travellers and not discouraging them - after all I would imagine it's a pretty lucrative slice of income.

jimc
Passengers at Bristol Temple Meads on Monday morning this week were informed that 'because of overcrowding' the 08:22 service would not be stopping at Bath Spa. I commute between Bristol and Bath Spa by train regularly every weekday, I use a season ticket. What was the logic informing this policy?

phil jardine
I came back from university yeaterday, and am working in bath over christmas. I only just found out about this, and am v.concerned am not going to be able to get to work on time!

Jason
I commute from Gloucester to London every day. The service in the evening coming home has been getting steadily worse prior to the introduction of the new timetable. FGW often replacing HST trains with the smaller Adlente version which leads to significant overcrowding. The new timetable has meant that more people now have to change at Swindon than before. On Monday FGW response was to provide a single carriage service to carry the Gloucester bound passengers from three London trains and the usual Swindon passengers. The train was dangerously over crowded and a large number of people were left at Swindon. The MD’s letter on the FGW’s web site makes telling reading. They are modifying the existing HST fleet to be able to get more passengers in and improving stations. Nothing about increasing the number of trains or working on their dreadful punctuality.

Natalie
The government seek to get more people to use the trains, but this is not a viable option when commuter trains are removed. The new timetable is abismal, with no consideration given to common commuter links.

Simon Wickham
I have started using the service to travel from Parkway Station in Bristol to Gloucester each day to work. In my experience not only are the time tables hard to follow but First Great Western are always late and rescheduling train times. I have experienced time and time again poor excuses for why the train is late and there are little rewards for using the train over the car.

Steve
I get the 6.39 train from Patchway station to Temple Meads. This gets me into work for a start time of 8.00am. This train has been scrapped and the first train is now 7.39, this would make me late every day. This week I have been getting a bus at £2.50 for a single which I begrudge as I have an annual train card I paid £500 for. I think it's disgusting. I did used to cycle to Parkway but I've had 2 bikes and a set of wheels stolen from there in the space of a few weeks, I complained to them about about security at the time but it fell upon deaf ears, I've no reason to believe any complaint I make about the train times will be treated any differently. The way the train companys treat their customers really is quite shocking.

Mike
The train service between Nailsea and Filton Abbey Wood is appalling, the trains were overcrowded before they changed the time table, now there are less trains and the number of carriages has been reduced. Not everyone is getting on the trains and those that do are squeezed in with others literally begging to be allowed to get on to meet commitments. It is hard to believe this is something we are paying for?

Chris Hamilton
What needs to be remembered here, is that the days of the franchisee specifying the service are gone. This current Greater Western franchise was specified by the mandarins in the Department for Transport, including all services required. Had the DfT's original plan been followed, then the cuts in the west country would have been much worse. First has heeded most of the concerns, and managed to add some services on to the original spec. The answer here is to take the railways out of the control of the DfT, and put it in the hands of an organisation that knows how it works. Now what could we call it, "Britains Railways" or a shorter version, "British Rail".

Mel
monday was awful but seems to have got better over the week. today, i caught First GW intercity 125 from chippenham, 10 mins later arrived in bath, waited for 5 mins and then caught a local First service from bath to trowbridge. the train was on time, there was 5 carriages and plenty of space.

sam
advertised (in the new timetable) 8.34 from Temple Meads to Bath hasn't appeared all week so far. When I called the indian call center i was told all trains were running correctly even though I was stood on the platform & there was no 8.34

Disgusted
I suggest a jollie on the railways in Switzerland or Holland. Now thats a train service! (Vicky) Ah but thos etwo countries are civilised, the have's don't exploite the have nots... Public transport in private ownership is perverse imo, greedy profiteers the lot of em.

Vicky
Just to follow on from my comments earlier [see below] If First are serious about investing £200m upgrading services - as stated in the MD's letter see the First website; why arn't these changes being implemented now? Currently it seems First's only objective is to scare their existing customers off the trains and back onto the roads, which would be a waste considering how many people are willing to travel by train if they are given the incentive; that would be: clean trains with enough carriages to avoid over crowding, tube style carriages handles in the carriages for customers who have to stand in the rush hours; frequent local services and a value for money service. This would deliver an positive impact on the environment as well as increase long term profit margins. If they need reference to what a half decent train service I suggest a jollie on the railways in Switzerland or Holland. Now thats a train service!

Harris Johns
My commute is better, I catch the 7.17am train from Westbury to Bath Spa and there's always plenty of space. I know some people who complain that the 7.30am service is often packed so it would be well worth their while to turn up quarter of an hour earlier.

Vanessa
I get a train half an hour earlier than before the timetable changed, just to ensure I can get onto the train. There's been a lot of press about the chaos caused by the change to the timetable, but prior to the change I've not been able to get on local trains due to overcrowding, or have endured a journey pinned in a very small space. If the government are serious about tackling environmental issues they have to do the obvious - provider reliable and reasonably priced public transport. A lot of people with strict work times have very little choice.

Vicky
So far the implementaion of the new winter timetables has had nothing but a negative impact. My daily commute between Bath and Bristol Parkway has been prolonged due to late running services resulting in missing connections. This morning I only managed to get into work on time because I jumped on a train as the doors were closing, my previous train had been delayed. Last night I switched stations and travelled from Filton Abbey Wood my train was delayed and I found myself waiting for an hour on dreary wet station - I managed to get home by 7:30. So far the carriages have been even more over crowded than usual - but we are talking about shoving 2 trains worth of passengers onto one service with reduced rolling stock. I really hope the 'settling down' period settles soon because so far travelling in the morning on great western services is a joke and the only people seeing an improvement are the shareholders!

Me
I don't understand how the government and train company directors' don't see the problem! Why don't they look at how other countries operate: this country can't arrange anything, it's pathetic! Passengers need to come first. Why pay £118 for a Bristol/London return ticket, when you can pay £50 for a return air fare to Prague?

Steve Knowlson
Since First took over the trains from Cam and Dursley to Gloucester have been either late, filthy, or often both. Looks like the Great Western franchise is going the same way as Bristol's buses - down the tubes. Thanks First.

Marcus
I commute from Bristol Parkway to Gloucester. As a result of the changes I have to leave earlier and go via Cheltenham, putting at least half an hour on my original journey time. This week trains have been cancelled or delayed. I've got one unrelated complaint into First Great Western still outstanding for 2 months now with no satisfaction, so what's the point of complaining again? I'm off to organise a car-share.

Dave
YET AGAIN profit before passengers. when will the government learn/listen that you cannot get people to switch from cars to public transport unless passengers are FIRST!!! that means reliable transport and a fairly priced ticket system.