First Great Western

...to buy a ticket. The first is in person at any uk train station where there is a ticket office. The second way to buy a ticket is on the internet. Either on the FGW site or any other site such as National Rail or The Trainline. The last way is to buy directly from the conductor on the service that you are travelling on at the time.
There are many problems with buying tickets over the internet. They include the tickets not reaching you in time. ...
...first class post, but for some reason they dont actually get to you in time to travel. who knows why this happens, but it just does. Then you face long (and i mean long) queues at the train station to pick the tickets up there. I work in London Waterloo and sometimes the queues can have a waiting time of of to 45 minutes. This is not very good if you are booked to go on a specific train.
Now, if you didnt want the hassle of buying the ticket ... more

HOW EASY IS IT TO BUY A TICKET?

Generally I don't think there is a problem with buying tickets. There are 3 main ways to buy a ticket. The first is in person at any uk train station where there is a ticket office. The second way to buy a ticket is on the internet. Either on the FGW site or any other site such as National Rail or The Trainline. The last way is to buy directly from the conductor on the service that you are travelling on at the time.
There are many problems with buying tickets over the internet. They include the tickets not reaching you in time. For example, the tickets have been sent to you by first class post, but for some reason they dont actually get to you in time to travel. who knows why this happens, but it just does. Then you face long (and i mean long) queues at the train station to pick the tickets up there. I work in London Waterloo and sometimes the queues can have a waiting time of of to 45 minutes. This is not very good if you are booked to go on a specific train.
Now, if you didnt want the hassle of buying the ticket on the net or queuing at the ticket office, then you could just buy your ticket on the train. The only problem with doing this is when you buy a ticket on the train, there are no cheaper fares available. For example you can't actually but a saver single/return. You would be forced into buying the more expensive standard open return/single. In most cases these tickets are double the cost of the cheaper saver version. My advice to you would be, where evere possible, always but your tickets as far ahead in advance as actually possible. That way you can avoid the rip-off fares and pay reasonable fee to travel.
I know that at most stations that FGW operate, there are ticket barriers, so you have to buy your ticket before you board the train. But - at many of the smaller rural stations there is simple a ticket machine and a waiting room if you are lucky. In that case you sould inform the conductor that this is where you boarded and then you will be able to purchase the cheaper ticket, thatis valid for that time. I think that has just about covered tickets, so shall we move on?.....

THE FREQUENCY OF TRAINS.

Now, this is an interesting subject. There is a lot of things that could be improved here. If you are travelling on the main line then you need not worry. There is a train every half an hour, with a limited stopping pattern. Stopping at every station along the way would mean that the journey would take ages. The trains that run on the main line (That is between London Paddington and South Wales and the West Country) run at a very regular pattern. Exactly every half an hour. From quite early in the morning to about 9.30 at night. This may seem early for the last departure, but if you take into accoun that it takes 2 hours to get to say Cardiff, then it would be pointless running a later service, as there would be no connections onwards.
Its a whole different story if you live along one of the rural branch lines in say Cornwall, as i think, there is only a train every hour, and on a Sunday a train every two hours. Which isnt very helpful if you have somewhere to be. But overall, the frequency of trains, isnt actually that bad.

FACILITIES FOR DISABLES PERSONS.

Now i would say that, as a fairly well seasoned traveller that I have been to virtually all of FGW's stations along the network. I have yet to see a station where there are no facilities for the disable person. Where there are toilets on a station or train, there is always a disable toilet too. Also there doesnt seem to be anywhere that doesnt have a step free access point, or a life of some sort. As well as this, there is always someone happy to help, for example, with a portable ramp, beween the train and the platform egde. FGW have done really well on this score.

RELIABILITY OF THE TRAINS.

There is where FGW let themselves down. This is why they have a lot of delays. I think this is also why they have earned their name of "Worst Great Western". The trains are forever experiencing some problem or other. I mean I cant really count the times where I have been on a train, only for us to stop in the middle of nowhere, because of a red signal. This isnt down the FGW. but what is, is when you are on a train and you find yourself listening to the gurad telling you that the brakes have locked on, or that we are experiencing engine troubles. Maybe, I am just unlucky, but this is always seems to happen to me. You need to get some new trains FGW!

COMFORT OF THE TRAINS.

I think that FGW have the best seating of all train companies. Thier seats are so comfortable. You just seem to not want to get off the train when your stop comes. The temperature in the coaches is just right. Cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I could easily fall asleep in one of thier coaches and sleep right through my journey. Only to find that i am at the end of the line, and that ive missed my stop. Beleive it or not, that has happened to me more than one time before.

ON BOARD FACILITIES.

The on board facilities are pretty good with FGW. There are always plenty of toilets in all coaches. Ive yet to come across a dirty one either. Plus there are toilets that are bigger, perhaps for a wheelchair user. The only problem is that sometimes toilets are locked out of use. But then all you have to do is go through to the next coach.
The buffet on the train is very good. It sells everything from sandwiches and cold drinks. To hot drinks and 3 course meals, to newspapers and pens. They even provide a free goody bag for any children travelling on the train. It only contains a cheap colouring book and some crayons. But it does keep them entertained for atleast half an hour, which helps, becuase we all know that bored children never sit quietly or go to sleep on the train.
Luggage space is really good on FGW. There are very large storage racks at the ends of each carriage and lots of room between seats. Once again there are small overhead racks. But you cant really hold much up there anyway. The only proble is, if you board anywhere other than at the starting point of the train, its almost full by the next stop.

THE GENERAL STATE OF THE PLATFORMS AND TRAINS.

Nothing really to report here. There are plently of rbbish bind, which people actually seem to use. Most of the decor in the trains is really good. Especailly on the refurbished stock. As for the platforms, I think that they do need to keep an eye on people dropping litter, they definitely need to step up the cleaning at the stations. There is nothing else to say here really.

SECURITY OF THE TRAINS.

The FGW trains are always double manned, the driver (obviosly) and the guard. There is also CCTV covering every aspect of all trains. There never seems to be any trouble on the FGW services. There are a few operators that i could name where a train journey and a fight are something of the norm. Passenger emergency alarms and an intercom system is built in to all trains for you to use in the event of an emergency.
CCTV is also installed at all stations across the network, along with emergency and information points. As well as this, all stations are well lit, to ensure the safety of passengers.

HOW GOOD ARE THE STAFF?

The staff are very helpful and polite. I know hat some will go out of their way to help you. I would say that they are very proactive. They really know what thye are doing. They never fail to please. I cant really prasie them enough to be honest. 

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