First Draft Train Service Petition Copy---Feedback welcome

Mon 19 Feb 2007, 16:25

We the undersigned are commuters and regular users on the First Great Western London to Worcester and Hereford services. Over the past 5 years we have tolerated a dramatic deterioration of the transport services in terms of extreme delays and cancellations on this line.

This has had a profound impact on commuters' professional working lives as tens of thousands of regular train users no longer can depend on the train service to get them to and from work with any margin of reliability.

Yet, in spite of numerous attempts to inform the executives of First Great Western to take action on what is universally acknowledged to be an unacceptable level of unreliable service, no substantial action has been taken by the company to rectify the situation.

To add insult to injury, we have also had to endure a steady increase in ticket prices well above the rate of inflation, a cutting back of the actual scheduled train services, an elimination of discounted ticket periods and a downsizing of train carriages resulting in overcrowded, uncomfortable trains particularly during periods when people are trying to get to and from work.

The direct consequence of the negligent management of this train service has been to dramatically increase the traffic congestion of roads along this route as more and more commuters switch to their cars not by choice but because they have no other way of insuring that they can get to work on time.

We, the undersigned feel that we have exhausted all reasonable means of conveying out concerns to an unresponsive First Great Western who's only response over the years have been in the form repeated apologies, false assurances of improvements and occasional train vouchers.

We feel the situation is static and serious enough to warrant action on the part of the government department of transport with regards to the inaction of First Great Western.

We have thus initiated this petition and an online Travel Blog (www.charlbury.info) to firstly document the persistent inconsistency and poor standards of this service and secondly, to stand a rallying point for the thousands of passengers who believe as we do, that a reliable train service is not a privledge but an entitlement we pay for. We insist that pressure be brought to bear on FGW to dramatically improve the reliability of the scheduled service.

As train customers, we believe demanding that a train service actually adhere to its published train schedule is the least we would expect for the price of our purchased tickets.

Futhermore, as the only alternative choice we have as passengers is to take to the roads, adding even more traffic to the congestion, it is only fair that FGW pay fair and on the spot compensation to its customers when it is unable to perform its obligations to the detriment of its passengers.

Therefore we insist that FGW institute a policy of paying a 50% refund on the full cost of tickets purchased for a particular service when that service is more than 30 minutes late and 100% when the service is more than 60 minutes late or the service is canceled with passage to the purchased destination on the next available train.

We feel that after much effort and communication that it is time to put real pressure to bear on FGW to respond and take subsequent action if necessary, until they take positive action in the interests of their customers to rectify the situation.