First Great Eastern is a train operating company which operates metro and medium distance journeys in the south-east out of it's London terminal Liverpool Street.
I used to be a student in Barking, and at first used to use the District Line and c2c from Barking station to get to Central London. But i found that using Goodmayes station (which is marginally closer to me), it was quicker, more frequent amd more reliable to use the First Great Eastern Metro service offered from the station.
The First Great Eastern Metro is a frequent service from London Liverpool Street to Shenfield. A normal weekday will see a frequency of a train every 10 minutes in both directions. Some services are faster services - they do not call at Manor Park, Forest Gate and Maryland. This means that from Goodmayes, Liverpool Street can be 15 minutes away. Interchange can be made at Stratford for the Jubilee and Central Lines, Docklands Light Railway (see my opinion on the DLR for more info), Silverlink services and CrossRail to Basingstoke. There is no First Class on these services, and they are not the most comfortable trains that FGE operate.
As well as Metro services, the company offers longer-distance services to SouthendVictoria, Clacton, Ispwich and others. First Great Eastern is the stopping operator on the line between Ipswich and London (mainline fast services provided by Anglia Railways). These are provided by Class 321 trains which are being refurbished at the moment to provide a higher level of comfort. Passengers on these trains have the option of a First Class compartment. Some routes have on occasions older slam door services, but these are a minority.
Fares are good - a fare from Goodmayes to Southend Victoria is cheaper than from Barking using c2c. With a Young Person's Railcard, Southend Central was approx £6 for a Cheap Day Return. From Goodmayes, it is approx £5 for a Cheap Day Return. There is a Penalty Fares scheme on FGE, so make sure you purchase a ticket before you board a train. From Romford and stations to London, it is more affordable to get a Travelcard after 0930 in the morning.
In general, the company is very good at being punctual during the week and offers a speedy journey to and from London with good value fares!
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Advantages: More comfortable than 2003! (previous reviews). Buffett car, in seat trolley service. Frequent services. Disadvantages: Array of faults with trains/overhead lines/signalling.
Lummers40000 06.10.2006 (06.10.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of First Great Eastern
Advantages: More comfortable than 2003! (previous reviews). Buffett car, in seat trolley service. Frequent services. Disadvantages: Array of faults with trains/overhead lines/signalling.
Lummers40000 06.10.2006 (06.10.2006)
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Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of First Great Eastern
Dec 9th, 2001
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