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First Great Western 'least punctual' in Britain
SOUTH Wales train operator has the least punctual service in Britain.
First Great Western, which runs services to South Wales and Reading, Bristol, and the West Country, had just 79.7% of trains turning up on time during the last three months of 2007.
The data, released by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), shows FGW lagged more than 15% behind Chiltern Railways, the top rated operator for punctuality with 95.6% of their trains arriving on time.
The FGW service was recently branded "unacceptable" by ministers.
In January passengers were hit by above inflation price hikes across the network although FGW's poor performance prompted fare strikes by some consumers.
Franchise operator FirstGroup was last month forced into moves to increase capacity and fund cheaper tickets at FGW.
The ORR is currently overseeing a joint performance improvement plan - developed by Network Rail and FGW - aimed at improving performance on the route.
Michael Lee, the ORR's director of access planning and performance, said: "Everyone agrees that the performance of services on Network Rail's Western Route has been poor for far too long.
"I have seen for myself the dedication of people working on this route, and am certain that their first concern is to deliver the best railway they can for passengers and freight customers.
"But that dedication must now start to manifest itself in improved performance on the line."
Mr Lee added: "If targets for this route are not met in the near future, then the consequences for Network Rail could be severe.
"I do not propose, at this stage, to look into whether Network Rail is in breach of its licence - but all parties should be clear that this is an option that may be open in the future.''
A spokesman for FGW said: "FGW has accepted that it has not provided the service levels its customers deserve and we have put in place an improvement plan that has been agreed with the Department for Transport.
4:52pm Thursday 27th March 2008
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CommentPosted by: Al, Newport on 5:19pm Thu 27 Mar 08
I travel with FGW quite often, mostly Newport - Swansea, and find quite a few of the delays happen when the trains leave Paddington slightly late, then get held up at Reading for ages presumably due to how busy Reading station is with trains.
Despite the delays I still feel FGW are alot better than Arriva(never), espically now the trains have been refurbished.
I travel with FGW quite often, mostly Newport - Swansea, and find quite a few of the delays happen when the trains leave Paddington slightly late, then get held up at Reading for ages presumably due to how busy Reading station is with trains.
Despite the delays I still feel FGW are alot better than Arriva(never), espically now the trains have been refurbished.
Posted by: tim, Magor on 5:30pm Thu 27 Mar 08
The refurbished HST"s are nice,but very expensive if you want to go to London and don"t pre-book.Most of the problems are around Bristol with lateness and overcrowding.
The refurbished HST"s are nice,but very expensive if you want to go to London and don"t pre-book.Most of the problems are around Bristol with lateness and overcrowding.
Posted by: King of the Hill, Newport on 5:38pm Thu 27 Mar 08
The Cardiff/Newport to Bristol Temple Meads service is absolutely disgusting. Two filthy carriages that are always overcrowded. For such a main line service this is a disgrace.
FGW are the shining example of a failed privitisation, something that even Thatcher was against!
What an embarrassment. Even countries that we look on as second rate have better railways than us.
I often catch the train from Temple Meads to Parkway and catch the London to Cardiff train, just so I can sit down in comfort!
If FGW were transporting animals they'd be up for neglect!
FGW - the greatest advert for car travel.
The Cardiff/Newport to Bristol Temple Meads service is absolutely disgusting. Two filthy carriages that are always overcrowded. For such a main line service this is a disgrace.
FGW are the shining example of a failed privitisation, something that even Thatcher was against!
What an embarrassment. Even countries that we look on as second rate have better railways than us.
I often catch the train from Temple Meads to Parkway and catch the London to Cardiff train, just so I can sit down in comfort!
If FGW were transporting animals they'd be up for neglect!
FGW - the greatest advert for car travel.
Posted by: pwharley, Newport on 5:53pm Thu 27 Mar 08
The car is becoming increasingly attractive for travel along the M4 corridor.
The dire shortage of tables in refurbished FGW HSTs has lost a big advantage of train travel - being able to work as you go.
If you factor in the fact one train in 5 is late, the breathtaking cost of walk-on fares at peak times, plus crippling car park charges (which ATW set at Newport), is it little wonder that more people prefer to drive?
The car is becoming increasingly attractive for travel along the M4 corridor.
The dire shortage of tables in refurbished FGW HSTs has lost a big advantage of train travel - being able to work as you go.
If you factor in the fact one train in 5 is late, the breathtaking cost of walk-on fares at peak times, plus crippling car park charges (which ATW set at Newport), is it little wonder that more people prefer to drive?
Posted by: Rememberme, UK on 5:57pm Thu 27 Mar 08
The service may have been called "unacceptable" by ministers but what have they actually done about it? Improvement plan...please pull the other one!
Government tells us to use public transport as it allows inflation busting fare increases and stands by allowing poor service, such a government cannot be taken seriously.
The service may have been called "unacceptable" by ministers but what have they actually done about it? Improvement plan...please pull the other one!
Government tells us to use public transport as it allows inflation busting fare increases and stands by allowing poor service, such a government cannot be taken seriously.
Posted by: Simon, Newport on 5:58pm Thu 27 Mar 08
FGW are partly to blame for this and partly not. There is a distinct lack of capacity on the routes that they operate, and that is network capacity. The only thing to do is make trains longer - this is not a real solution... There needs to be a proper infrastructural improvement made if we are to see a decent service level - and that is down to Network Rail and the Government.
FGW are far superior to ATW in their service provision, its just a shame that FGW are lumbered with substandard network. The government is trying to blame First (Which is the company) for shoddy management, when first also run a lot of other franchises, and these are fantastic - why the difference? - Infrastructure...
FGW are partly to blame for this and partly not. There is a distinct lack of capacity on the routes that they operate, and that is network capacity. The only thing to do is make trains longer - this is not a real solution... There needs to be a proper infrastructural improvement made if we are to see a decent service level - and that is down to Network Rail and the Government.
FGW are far superior to ATW in their service provision, its just a shame that FGW are lumbered with substandard network. The government is trying to blame First (Which is the company) for shoddy management, when first also run a lot of other franchises, and these are fantastic - why the difference? - Infrastructure...
Posted by: Chris on 6:51pm Thu 27 Mar 08
A lot of the problems are caused by Network Rail. Signal failures, track repairs etc and are out of the hands of FGW. That said, FGW is not blameless. Others on here have described the poor service.
A lot of the problems are caused by Network Rail. Signal failures, track repairs etc and are out of the hands of FGW. That said, FGW is not blameless. Others on here have described the poor service.
Posted by: jon_smith, newport on 7:26pm Thu 27 Mar 08
FGW - focus is just purely based on revenue and their customer service is just thrown out the HST window, as long as they get the money, they do not give a monkeys about customer service
ATW - trying to focus their attention fully on customer service and revenue, but the way higher management treats it frontline staff, who are the hardest workers of arriva, severely demotivates them, which results in them taking out their frustrations on the innocent passengers...but in general passengers complain about the stupidest things when it comes to the railway...
FGW - focus is just purely based on revenue and their customer service is just thrown out the HST window, as long as they get the money, they do not give a monkeys about customer service
ATW - trying to focus their attention fully on customer service and revenue, but the way higher management treats it frontline staff, who are the hardest workers of arriva, severely demotivates them, which results in them taking out their frustrations on the innocent passengers...but in general passengers complain about the stupidest things when it comes to the railway...
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