First Great Western > Reviews > FGW is First

Author's product rating:   

Frequency of trains	Good
Reliability of trains	Mostly on time
Comfort of trains	Very comfortable
On-board facilities	Excellent

Advantages:	Fast & Efficient, Plenty of Seats, Buffet's Good, Children's Activities
Disadvantages:	Maybe a tad expensive  -  though deals can be found (but not on my route ! )

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

First Great Western (FGW) run services to South Wales (Cardiff, Swansea, Carnaefon), the West Country and right down to Penzance - all of which run through Reading and terminate at London Paddington.

They also run a service though the pictuesque Cotswolds through Oxford and then on to Worcester and Hereford. This is my local line - so my experiences relate to my travels through the Cotswolds.

I must stress that this op is not about First Great Western Link (note the difference) who run those terrible turbos on the commuter lines around Reading and even somehow reach up my line....

So here is my typical journey... from Evesham (Worcestershite to London Paddington).

***Buying a ticket***Even if it is a cold start one early morning, the man behind the ticket desk welcomes you with a cheery smile - always seeming to be interested in the people he serves and wishing them a pleasent journey. Obviously, such customer service is welcoming enough - even if you have not completely woken up yet. The point at which you do, is when you realise how much you are paying (though fortunately i'm eleigible for a YP Railcard - £18 Cheap Day Rtn or £20 Saver Return. A tad expensive, in my opinion. When those who do not take the train regularly enquire how much it is for a return to London - £27 - they respond "is that for 2?" - unfortunately not. However, as well as the range of travelcards there are some good deals to be found, though not always advertised such as:

• GroupSave - 4 travel for the price of 2 - with additional children £1/ea
• Evening Flat Fare - after 6.30pm
• Gatwick Flyaway - 4 adults £50 open return & £1 for additional children.

Also, anyone can buy a Cotswolds Railcard for travel between Oxford and Worcester for only £5 a year giving 34% of travel - bargain!! (Though hardly anyone along this route has heard about it).I am aware that on other routes on FGW you can buy Apex tickets and SuperSavers which are much cheaper than the standard fares - though are not that flexible. For some strange reason, they are not avaliable on the Cotswolds Line.

You can buy a tube add-on to your ticket - whether it is one return journey or a TravelCard. If travelling elsewhere, you can get PlusBus add-ons - such as in Reading, Oxford, Bristol, Worcester etc.

***Timetables***

Combined with First Great Western Link - the sister operator of FGW - trains down to London from the Cotswolds vary in frequency depending on what time of day it is. In the morning peak you can expect one every half-hour. During the day it could be every one or two hours. In the evening, its back to one hour. Coming back from London, very few leave in the morning with the majority, understandably, coming back in the evening peak. The good thing about FGW is that they run a few late trains on the Cotswold Line... such as the last southbound train arrives in London at 00:50 and the last northbound train arrives in Worcester at 00:02 - though I would like there to be a later one.

***Stations***

There are many quaint one-platform stations along the Cotswolds Line (such as Charlbury) with their array of hanging baskets along the limestone-built ticket office. Many of these stations ticket-offices in the rural areas are only open for part of the morning and never on Sunday. Some are even unstaffed. Therefore, you have to buy your ticket on the train. Oxford has a greater selection of facilities - buffets, a WHSmith, cash machines, toilets, bus connections - and ticket barriers to prevent fare-dodgers reaching the platform. Of course this poses a problem if you've come from Hanborough 10 minutes away from Oxford that doesn't have any ticket-buying facilities. Paddington, on this scale, is even grander. Again with the ticket barriers, it is like a mini shopping centre and food court - WHSmith, Tie Rack, M&S Simply Food, Yo Sushi!, Millie's Cookies, and not forgetting "Paddington Bear @ Paddington Station" Gift Shop. One gripe is that to "spend a penny" you need 20p - same at Reading. Anyway, at least the toilets are kept spotlessly clean. From Paddington, there are connections via the tube (that's another story), buses from outside on Praed St, and the Heathrow Express.

***The Journey***

Stepping on your platform, the electronic screen almost always reads "On Time" - however this is not the case. They always arrive EARLY.

FGW operates two types of trains - the older High-Speed Trains (HST) and the newer (more sleeker) Adelante trains - meaning 'forward' in Spanish.

Taking a HST and first impressions are that the train is very long - it doesn't fit on the platform. Two carriages for 1st class and the buffet, a family carriage, 3 standard class carriages and a Quiet Carriage.

I have never been in 1st class so can not comment but the Family Carriage is (surprisingly) ideal for carriages. The seating arrangemets here are designed so more seats have tables and so a family of 4 can sit together. It is also conveniently situated next to the buffet - where an Activity Pack can be obtained free for every child on board. Now as a mattter of investigation, I managed to obtain a pack - for my make-believe child - to see what it contained. Inside, there are lots of peices of paper with wordsearches, puzzles, cartoons to colour in (of course with the wax crayons - though you can't be that creative with the 4 colours that are provided) as well as a model train to make. The Activity Pack is based around the advantages of the "Carriage Crew" and I forget the names of the characters but in the comic you can read all about their adventures- and then colour it in. There does seem to be a lot of colouring to in so should wipe away any boredom on-board - and keep your little angels occupied. However, despite the activities on offer the "Family Carriage" tends to be a noisy one of whining children crying "Are we there yet?" The buffet is conveniently situated so you have to pass through the very noisy Family Carriage from Standard Class. Now, the buffet - to be honest it is not that bad as you might expect. Ok, it is not cheap but think London prices - £1.20 for a cup of tea and £2.50 for a sandwich. It is not exactly Pret a Manger but at least its edible. And then unlike other train operators, there is Charlotte the Travelling Chef. She creates freshly made-to-order food on board - but this is really only restricted to burgers and the like. Together with Joanne behind the counter the customer service is really top-class - possibly because the buffet is shared with 1st class "accommodation".

The quiet carriage is for those who like to travel and peace and who don't want to listen to people's phone conversations such as whether the FTSE share index is on the slide or a desicion over what to have for tea.

The seats are quite comfortable and clean with no chewing-gum or litter around. The windows are generally clean as well - which is important as the view is spectactular. The rolling countryside whizzes by as you travel 100mph - past sheep, cows, horses (and the many foxes in the early morning), limestone houses, village pubs, churches... If coming back from London on a cloudless evening don't miss the sunset which is quite amazing when the sky fills with reds and oranges. I tried to take a picture of it once but you travel along so fast that it comes out as a blur.

In fact, you do pass through the Cotswolds - as well as from Oxford to Reading - relatively fast. The countryside eventually disappears and you pass along the Thames (briefly) at Oxford, then onto Reading and the business parks at Slough (think the Office). Going into London - look to your left for the new Wembley Stadium and on your right planes landing at Heathrow. As I've said the customer service is excellent - not only with Charlotte and Joanne - but with the "Train Manager" - or more commonly known as the Ticket Collector. They have a sense of humour - advising tourists of the best travelcards they could buy for the tube. Then arriving in to London, he advises us of the inevitable delays on the tube and wishes us a safe onward journey.

The toilets onboard are generally clean but small - however they do what they are suppose to do. There is a much larger one acting as a Disabled Toilet and Baby Changing Room - which can be found next to the Family Carriage. Overall the HST trains are very long and have plenty of seats so combats any overcrowding problem. Also, you can reserve seats 24hrs in advance at no extra cost.

Now, the newer Adelante trains have a bright purple, red, and blue interior with nice plush seats - though one problem is that there is not quite enough of them. Adelante's have two less carriages than the HSTs and so seating is somewhat limited - so overcrowding can occur. These new trains can accelerate faster than the HSTs cutting journey times only by a few minutes. They have first class "accomodation" as well as Quiet Carriages - but also have an audio carriage. This is where you can plug into your headset (or buy them from a shop for £2.50) and listen to 4 radio channels (inc. BBC) and 3 CD channels. So, you can feel rather smug as you listen about the impending traffic jam on the M25. There are also dot matrix screens telling you the next station and an automated voice (female) - telling you to remember to take all your belongings. However, I do find this slightly annoying as it is on a loop when we reach the next station. Toilets are much nicer than on the HSTs and much bigger too.

On both trains there is a compartment for bikes, though there is limited spacing so places are recommended to be reserved in advance - for free.

One thing I nearly forgot is their complementary magazine they offer on board - "Reach" - providing FGW (& celebrity) news, information about destinations etc. I've read that FGW are looking to expand their range of carriages to include one with back-seat TV and entertainment systems (like you get on BA)- should be interesting - though I hope a point is not reached when a train is cancelled because the TV system is not working.
I've also read that FGW has recruited a customer panal - normal people who can communicate directly (in regular meetings) with FGW to improve the service that they offer. In all fairness - what can they improve? The service is far superior to that of other operators (cough, cough Virgin) - which brings me on to my next point.

***Delays?***

I have never really experienced a long delay at all - the maximum being only 5 minutes - which is not a problem when you have gained so much time travelling to your destination instead of taking the car. However, delays can possibly occur as some of the track on the Cotswolds Line is single-track. If a train in the operating direction is suffering a delay - the there would be a knock-on effect on the train that is running on schedule. However, the way the timetable has been constructed is to reduce these types of delays. Cancellations? - never experienced or heard of one - but I've heard that taxis or buses are placed on as soon as possible. If there is a delay of say 1/2 an hour, FGW will refund you the cost of your ticket back as it breaches there aims of their customer charter. One gripe, is Sunday Works - although these are advertised at stations they do add minutes on to your journey but any engineering works are minimised to quieter times.

***Overall***

FGW is a model company for others throughout Britain and even some nationalised ones in Europe to follow. The customer service is first-class, the new trains are fast and sleek and at a good frequency when considering it is a rural area. Maybe they are tad expensive - but then again the Cotswolds is quite an affulent area. If only Virgin can follow as an example...