mwgdrwg
Be a Pisces. Jam.
Just walk.
The new GWR Hitachi trains - my verdict
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Just walk.
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
BB1 is at uni in Plymouth, so she's been on these a lot, I pay for her tickets, I have also used them a fair bit to visit her, am now a dab-hand at the delay-repay, last week she came up for the weekend, return train stopped at Newton Abbot for 90 mins for flooded track, 100% back in my pocket 
Particularly good one last year I was booked on the 1931 from Reading to Plymouth, all trains fucked up, the 1831 arrives at 1930, I have fixed ticket but get on anyway, no one even checks tickets all the way down, but the next morning checked the historical arrivals times, saw the 1931 was well late, 100% refund in spite of actually arriving on time. Take a win where you can.
Particularly good one last year I was booked on the 1931 from Reading to Plymouth, all trains fucked up, the 1831 arrives at 1930, I have fixed ticket but get on anyway, no one even checks tickets all the way down, but the next morning checked the historical arrivals times, saw the 1931 was well late, 100% refund in spite of actually arriving on time. Take a win where you can.
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
Whilst we're having a grumble, booked my next trip and it will be the 1931 from Reading again, has the Pullman Dining on it, but the cost is now through the roof. 2 courses £33.50, if you want the tiny 5oz steak, that's a supplement of 'just' £15. tbf the wine is decent value, £15 for a bottle of Rioja, so £63.50, a pricey treat.
editor
hiraethified
With fraud like that, it's no wonder ticket prices are going up.BB1 is at uni in Plymouth, so she's been on these a lot, I pay for her tickets, I have also used them a fair bit to visit her, am now a dab-hand at the delay-repay, last week she came up for the weekend, return train stopped at Newton Abbot for 90 mins for flooded track, 100% back in my pocket
Particularly good one last year I was booked on the 1931 from Reading to Plymouth, all trains fucked up, the 1831 arrives at 1930, I have fixed ticket but get on anyway, no one even checks tickets all the way down, but the next morning checked the historical arrivals times, saw the 1931 was well late, 100% refund in spite of actually arriving on time. Take a win where you can.
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
How is it fraud, her train was over 90 minutes late arriving in Plymouth, causing her to miss a long planned for event? Would have thought that you of all people would have had sympathy for those who's important plans get thrown in to jeopardy by train delays.
editor
hiraethified
"100% refund in spite of actually arriving on time. Take a win where you can."
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
Oh that, yeah, hands up, that £68.90 I got back is the reason that fares have gone up 4.9% this year. Bang to fucking rights there
editor
hiraethified
Yes, you committed fraud when you can clearly afford to pay.Oh that, yeah, hands up, that £68.90 I got back is the reason that fares have gone up 4.9% this year. Bang to fucking rights there
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
Bollocks, my train arrived 2 hours late.
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
Got stranded in Falmouth for hours last week. GWR were cancelling trains left and right because 'a larger than expected number of trains needed maintenance at the same time' which, considering all the long distance trains from Exeter to Penzance are these bullshit Hitachi ones now, suggests that they're getting a lot of breakdowns on rolling stock that's not yet ten years old.
First time in history I got delay repay money though. Refunded the entire return ticket.
e2a: The split-format 5+5 trains are a real pain in the arse on the Cornwall stretch as there are multiple stations where the platforms aren't long enough for them and you have to move carriages to get off. This is often complicated by the fact the carriage layout is A - B - C - D - E - J - I - H - G - F or similar nonsense.
First time in history I got delay repay money though. Refunded the entire return ticket.
e2a: The split-format 5+5 trains are a real pain in the arse on the Cornwall stretch as there are multiple stations where the platforms aren't long enough for them and you have to move carriages to get off. This is often complicated by the fact the carriage layout is A - B - C - D - E - J - I - H - G - F or similar nonsense.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
Yeah, the split-in-two train thing is a complete PITA, even without short platforms, and as you say the numbering never seems to be quite consistent.
Elpenor
a clown’s heart and a mandolin
It’s a long old journey to Penzance. That is poor.
I always self cater for train journeys, but mainly take the Waterloo line from Exeter up to London as it can be dirt cheap. And that’s 3:15 or so with no refreshments at all. Must be one of the longest by duration journeys thats uncatered.
I always self cater for train journeys, but mainly take the Waterloo line from Exeter up to London as it can be dirt cheap. And that’s 3:15 or so with no refreshments at all. Must be one of the longest by duration journeys thats uncatered.
Hollis
bloody furious
Yes they seem to be encouraging self catering through being crap at delivering the service. I regularly take this route and the service is abysmal.
I'd say the likelihood of being able to get a hot coffee when you want it is about 1 trip in 5.
Bus Honeygun
This week the score draws are plentiful
3hr 30m usually. SWR binned the trolley contract four years ago. I suspect the Exeter service was the only that was well-used, but the Portsmouth, Southampton and Weymouth ones were not and it was just easier to cancel the whole contract.
Seems to be happening more and more. SNCB/NMBS got rid of all catering years ago, DB have started to cut back in Germany. You can still get a decent meal with proper cutlery and bread in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, though. Usually quite cheap too.
Elpenor
a clown’s heart and a mandolin
I forget that it’s a bit longer as usually get on at Cranbrook as it’s free parking at the station there
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
Well this is a rare one. I’m currently on a GWR train heading to… London Euston.
This is owing to Paddington being shut til Sunday. The other option was to go to Ealing Broadway and make it eastward from there on the tube. But the train geek in me wanted to see how this goes.
This is owing to Paddington being shut til Sunday. The other option was to go to Ealing Broadway and make it eastward from there on the tube. But the train geek in me wanted to see how this goes.
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skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
It has just traversed the tracks at Old Oak Common onto the line that runs north of Kensal Green cemetery very carefully.
editor
hiraethified
And boy was it rammed at Euston....
My train arrived at Cardiff with the carriages in the reverse order as shown on the displays so there was an almighty scrum to get to the right entrance and naturally the reserved seats weren't working. The trolley was stuck on one carriage so we'd have been better off with an old fashioned buffet car and - naturally - there were no hot drinks available.
Getting to the station was fun too - the Coryton line train never showed up despite the station display saying that it was still 'on time', so I had to break the news to the mightily pissed off passengers standing in the 4C cold (thanks to an update from Real Time Trains),
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
There's going to be a lot of this over the next few years as they sort out Old Oak Common. But it'll be worth it for us here in the south west once we've got an HS2 line that...does absolutely fuck all to improve rail capacity or infrastructure in the south west. Or the north west. Or wales, or the north east, or the east midlands.
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
Many's the time real time trains has given me vital information that no human nor piece of technology at the actual station was able/could be bothered to.
Hollis
bloody furious
I really like the diversion to Euston as i live in North London and it's a quick trip home on the Victoria line.. I even managed to get a coffee on board this time.
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
I miss the days when you could travel from the West into Kensington Olympia using a similar rerouting at Old Oak Common, particularly as I lived very close to that station for a while.
There were even trains to Scotland, and you could load your car onto the motorail for a time. These days it’s just a shuttle stop between Clapham Junction and Watford.
There were even trains to Scotland, and you could load your car onto the motorail for a time. These days it’s just a shuttle stop between Clapham Junction and Watford.
