9:38 to London no more after 13 December.

Wed 3 Dec 2008, 11:49

Chris: if you go back and read my posting again, you will see that I wasn't suggesting that FGW attempt to control usage by running a substandard service. What I actually said was that that was an indirect consequence. It is the ticket restrictions that I feel directly control usage.

Like Richard, I don't feel that the off-peak tickets are stupidly cheap and I think it's a bit of an insult to those of us who are poorly paid to suggest that they are. Even by using a Network Card and a Cotswold Card and making use of all the cheap offers I can find I still consider train travel to be expensive. All of the money I pay to FGW comes directly out of my own pocket. A lot of season ticket holders have their tickets paid for by their employers and I don't see that they should automatically get special treatment as a result. If you want to go down that route, why not introduce special carriages for season ticket holders? Perhaps you could also reintroduce third-class carriages at the same time for the proles like me who travel on cheap tickets!

Yesterday I travelled to Oxford on the 15.35 from Charlbury. The train was almost completely empty. I travelled back on the 18.55 and that train too was very sparsely populated. However, I paid the same price for my ticket as I would if I'd gone out on the 09.38 and back on the 16.49 (two trains that are generally very busy). I don't therefore think it is right to say that the price of one's ticket always reflects the popularity of the trains one travels on. FGW set the prices high for certain trains to stop them from getting too overcrowded. They don't reduce them commensurately for the very unpopular off-peak trains in order to encourage more people to travel by train. How about half-price tickets if you travel outside of the morning and evening peaks? It would be a way of partially filling up trains which are practically empty at present.

Finally, lest anyone should start to feel desperately upset over the plight of FGW, can I remind them that FGW did bid for the franchise to run the Cotswold Line? As far as I know, no-one put a gun to the head of the CEO of First Group and said "You must take on the running of the notoriously difficult Cotswold Line or else I'll pull the trigger." Presumably FGW knew that the CL was single line before they took over the franchise? Presumably they commissioned a feasibility study beforehand? Presumably they thought they would be able to cope with the unique challenges and difficulties that the line presents? Like it or not, FGW agreed to take over the running of this line and I don't think they should continue to blame everyone else for problems that should have been apparent before they were awarded the franchise. They've made their bed and now they have to lie in it and get on with running the best rail service they possibly can.