GWR Overcrowding

marmite1979

Ignore the railway sycophants here who consider the service you had exceptional and as expected. You are probably a rare user of rail and situations like this is probably why you will be an even less frequent user in the future.
''Take your own flask'', Spoken like a true trainspotter, what about a satchel and notebook too!!

esuhl

marmite1979 wrote: »

Ignore the railway sycophants here who consider the service you had exceptional and as expected.

Anyone expecting something to be both "exceptional" and "as expected" is either a terrible pessimist or optimist!

But yes -- trains are expensive, and often overcrowded. It's rarely a safety issue, although someone fainted on a very hot, overcrowded train recently, so it does happen:

https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/south-western-railway-strike-crowded-17353788

It ridiculous, when roads are increasingly congested and the government should be making public transport an attractive alternative to driving.

Tofu_eater

Hate GWR.They're crooks.Tickets are so expensive.It's always like that on the London to Bristol journey.Lost count of the number of experiences like this I've had.Pay for your ticket and then can't sit down,have to stand the whole way,can't get to your bag to get your headphones or book because you can't get down the aisle to where you stowed it in the luggage.Can't go to the sodding toilet even!I always get the coach if I can and try to boycott train travel where possible

discat11

Train overcrowded- 'impossible to move' so much so you had to walk outside to reach another coach -so how was the TM to check tickets?
Hardly a fair thing to say when you know full well it'd have been impossible for them to do so.

Tardis4

When people are making excuses for the train companies and basically telling you to suck it up, no wonder UK rail travel is so crap compared to other comparable, well-off countries. If everyone refused the poor conditions you can bet the train companies would make changes but instead people are OK with standing in overcrowded conditions with water only available if people start collapse. It's very odd to be OK with that situation, having paid for a seat. Wouldn't happen in many other countries but then again they have standards.

yorkie2

Tardis4 wrote: »

When people are making excuses for the train companies and basically telling you to suck it up, no wonder UK rail travel is so crap compared to other comparable, well-off countries. If everyone refused the poor conditions you can bet the train companies would make changes but instead people are OK with standing in overcrowded conditions with water only available if people start collapse. It's very odd to be OK with that situation, having paid for a seat. Wouldn't happen in many other countries but then again they have standards.

My advice to anyone who finds their seat reservation will not be honoured, and finds the train will be full & standing, and where a later train would get them to their destination, would be to take the later train and claim compensation accordingly. If possible, gather some evidence about the conditions and short-formed (e.g. photos showing this), though of course the company's records should confirm this, so it isn't necessary. Speak to staff who should endorse tickets for travel on later services.


No-one can be forced to stand on a short formed 5-car service when they had a reservation in a non-existent coach and no train company could legitimately deny compensation to any passenger who either stands up on their booked train or takes a later train in more comfortable surroundings.

If anyone was denied such compensation, I would expect an appeal to the MD of the company and/or the Rail Ombudsman would succeed.

discat11

Yorkies advice is spot on.
Remember the staff will invariably agree with you since it certainly doesn't make their work easier either!
Unfortunately when a train is slightly short formed it is perfectly normal for the reservations to be moved to another coach and unfortunately with paper reservations always, other passengers can & do take them out leaving both the reserved passenger and the on-train staff in an impossible situation, especially when there is no where to move the reserved passenger to.

Pianist

What worries me is that when the lockdown is lifted we will be expected to return to work (working from home has been far from ideal in my area of employment) and for me that will necessitate travelling in GWR's disgracefully overcrowded carriages on the Cardiff to Bristol route. I have no viable choice, as I don't drive. All around Bristol Temple Meads station patronising "Health and Safety" posters are displayed about various trivial issues, yet soon we will be faced with a genuinely dangerous safety issue of being compelled to travel in carriages where there are often 60 people standing in the aisle and in the area between carriages, all rammed together, when the Coronavirus is still active, albeit considered of lesser danger. The train operating companies are forced to pay ridiculously high prices to rent carriages (this was one of the worst aspects of John Major's inept privatisation arrangements, which he stubbornly insisted on pushing through, despite receiving advice that the plans were badly thought out), and it is understandable that the TOCs try to economise on how many carriages they rent, as it is financially unrealistic to rent more than needed, and to have many almost empty. Nevertheless, GWR appears always to have based its operating costs on scandalous levels of overcrowding being considered the norm: some years ago this was even raised in Parliament and GWR (First Great Western, as it was then) capitulated and added carriages on the Cardiff to Portsmouth route when threatened with the loss of subsidy if something wasn't done about this. However, GWR did the minimum they could to ease overcrowding, and once the issue was out of the headlines we became accustomed again to trains turning up with only two carriages at peak time. Within a few months this overcrowding will be not merely about inconvenience, but about spreading the virus. It is absurd that I should have to consider giving up my job because the commute involves a health hazard caused by this cynical, profiteering company.

yorkie2

Pianist said:

What worries me is that when the lockdown is lifted we will be expected to return to work...

Do you have a source for that?

It is more likely that people who can work from home will probably be asked to do so, as much as possible, for the next year or so.

Stigy

Pianist said:

What worries me is that when the lockdown is lifted we will be expected to return to work (working from home has been far from ideal in my area of employment) and for me that will necessitate travelling in GWR's disgracefully overcrowded carriages on the Cardiff to Bristol route. I have no viable choice, as I don't drive. All around Bristol Temple Meads station patronising "Health and Safety" posters are displayed about various trivial issues, yet soon we will be faced with a genuinely dangerous safety issue of being compelled to travel in carriages where there are often 60 people standing in the aisle and in the area between carriages, all rammed together, when the Coronavirus is still active, albeit considered of lesser danger. The train operating companies are forced to pay ridiculously high prices to rent carriages (this was one of the worst aspects of John Major's inept privatisation arrangements, which he stubbornly insisted on pushing through, despite receiving advice that the plans were badly thought out), and it is understandable that the TOCs try to economise on how many carriages they rent, as it is financially unrealistic to rent more than needed, and to have many almost empty. Nevertheless, GWR appears always to have based its operating costs on scandalous levels of overcrowding being considered the norm: some years ago this was even raised in Parliament and GWR (First Great Western, as it was then) capitulated and added carriages on the Cardiff to Portsmouth route when threatened with the loss of subsidy if something wasn't done about this. However, GWR did the minimum they could to ease overcrowding, and once the issue was out of the headlines we became accustomed again to trains turning up with only two carriages at peak time. Within a few months this overcrowding will be not merely about inconvenience, but about spreading the virus. It is absurd that I should have to consider giving up my job because the commute involves a health hazard caused by this cynical, profiteering company.

I think you'll find that the trains won't be nearly as crowded as they have been previously, for at least the next year or so. GWR has strengthened the service with the implementation of the December timetable, although admittedly there are still shortfalls. The Cardiff to Portsmouth services should primarily be 5 car trains now for example. You'll never ease congestion to a huge extent anyway, but certainly for the foreseeable, I can't see it being particularly severe. GWR along with most other companies are looking at increasing their services by May 18th, much to the dismay of the unions. 

It's a case of damned if you do and damned if you don't though unfortunately, as presumably you'd be annoyed is train services remained vastly reduced for the foreseeable future, even though this would be an answer to your argument that overcrowded trains would be dangerous in the current climate? If there were fewer trains and people were urged to remain working from home, there'd surely be lesser risk?