We changed the clocks on Saturday night (strictly speaking it was Sunday morning). I love the lighter evenings that come with British Summer Time, but I absolutely hate losing an hour because it takes me weeks to adjust. I set my alarm clock for Sunday morning because I wanted to make absolutely sure that I didn't miss out on my usual Sunday morning routine and to make sure that I was wide awake in plenty of time to enjoy the omnibus edition of The Archers. We were awake by 8am and we enjoyed a nice relaxed morning, but this morning I was much more reluctant to get up, it felt like the middle of the night. Why do we have to be so tied to time?
To answer my own question, it is all the fault of the railways. In the middle ages towns and villages managed perfectly well with local time, set from a sundial, but everybody had slightly different local time. Mechanical clocks were created and they were also set using the sun and local time continued. When the railways developed it was very inconvenient to have various local times, imagine the timetable nightmares. The Great Western Railway was the first to adopt London Time in 1840, others followed and by 1847 most were working to London time, this is confirmed by the January 1848 edition of Bradshaws Railway Timetable (no Robbie's collection does not go back that far!). By 1855 most public clocks were set to GMT, but this held no legal status until the Definition of Time Act in 1880. There is a certain irony in all this, the railways 'invented' standard time with GWR leading the way, now time is their master and it seems that punctuality seems to create greater problems for FGW than for anyone else!
Showing posts with label FGW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FGW. Show all posts
Monday, 31 March 2008
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Three to a seat
Saturday morning dawned a little too early for my liking, Robbie was far too cheerful and noisy, but at least he had made me a cup of tea and brought it back to bed. He was making train noises again, according to him it was the sound of a DRS Chopper starting up. It is just as well that he told me because it sounded more like Woody Woodpecker to me!
I tried to cling to sleep, but my efforts were futile because Robbie was chattering away happily about a rail tour that he is going on later in the year. When Robbie is excited he speaks even faster than usual and his accent is stronger. He assured me that this particular charter was going to be brilliant "because it is three to a seat". At least that is what I thought I said. I was horrified, thanks to Robbie I have come across more than my fair share of train enthusiasts and I wouldn't want to share a carriage with some of them, so the prospect of sharing a seat was truly appalling! I had a flash of sympathy for FGW passengers because that degree of overcrowding is a daily reality to some of them. Anyway it seems that my ears let me down - it's not surprising as they are severely over worked when Robbie is around! He had not said "to a seat" he had said "to the sea". It is a rail tour to the seaside.
www.spitfirerailtours.co.uk
I tried to cling to sleep, but my efforts were futile because Robbie was chattering away happily about a rail tour that he is going on later in the year. When Robbie is excited he speaks even faster than usual and his accent is stronger. He assured me that this particular charter was going to be brilliant "because it is three to a seat". At least that is what I thought I said. I was horrified, thanks to Robbie I have come across more than my fair share of train enthusiasts and I wouldn't want to share a carriage with some of them, so the prospect of sharing a seat was truly appalling! I had a flash of sympathy for FGW passengers because that degree of overcrowding is a daily reality to some of them. Anyway it seems that my ears let me down - it's not surprising as they are severely over worked when Robbie is around! He had not said "to a seat" he had said "to the sea". It is a rail tour to the seaside.
www.spitfirerailtours.co.uk
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
Customer Service? 16.11.07
It was a surreal sort of day, as I drove Sam towards school I noticed that the all the girls heading for Laura's school were armed with large soft toys. Laura explained that to support Children in Need they were having a 'take your teddy to school' day. I asked why she did not have her teddy bear with her and she said that the sixth form were doing something different, they were having a 'wear your pyjamas to school day' but she had wisely decided that she would rather pay not to wear her pj's! It wasn't until I watched Children in need tonight that I realised that a number of companies were also doing a 'wear your PJ's to work' thing. Thankfully Cross Country have been too busy getting on with the first week of the franchise, so the travelling public were spared the horror of encountering Robbie in his PJ's on his way to work. You know what he's like, any excuse to take his clothes off, he would ha jumped at the chance to go to work in his pyjamas - scary! It has been so cold at Northampton station in the last few days that he would have had a serious case of frostbite - imaging explaining that at casualty!
Well, it didn't take long did it? we are still in the first week of the new franchises and there is already fighting talk from East Midlands Trains passengers at Kettering and Wellingborough. EMT found themselves on the TV news this evening, in their infinite wisdom they have withdrawn the option of seat reservation for season ticket holders and the passengers are furious. It seems obvious to me that people who pay an arm and a leg for a season ticket would expect something as basic as a seat, but apparently East Midland Trains didn't foresee the consequences of their action. Clearly they haven't got a clue about customer service, one traveller described the service as the worse she has experienced in 20 years. I am tempted to suggest that they may as well abolish the coaches and replace them with cattle trucks so that they don't need to bother with seats at all. The irony is that if they packed cattle in the train in the way that they pack people in, they would be breaking countless laws and regulations, it seems a shame that the welfare of passengers does not merit that much attention. Déjà vu, it could be FGW all over again. Another own goal for the chinless wonders at the DFT who make these batty decisions about franchise changes. My anger about this issue extends far beyond the Cross Country situation, I still haven't forgiven them for merging Wessex trains with FGW last year, the date they chose for the merger speaks volumes - 1st April!!!
Well, it didn't take long did it? we are still in the first week of the new franchises and there is already fighting talk from East Midlands Trains passengers at Kettering and Wellingborough. EMT found themselves on the TV news this evening, in their infinite wisdom they have withdrawn the option of seat reservation for season ticket holders and the passengers are furious. It seems obvious to me that people who pay an arm and a leg for a season ticket would expect something as basic as a seat, but apparently East Midland Trains didn't foresee the consequences of their action. Clearly they haven't got a clue about customer service, one traveller described the service as the worse she has experienced in 20 years. I am tempted to suggest that they may as well abolish the coaches and replace them with cattle trucks so that they don't need to bother with seats at all. The irony is that if they packed cattle in the train in the way that they pack people in, they would be breaking countless laws and regulations, it seems a shame that the welfare of passengers does not merit that much attention. Déjà vu, it could be FGW all over again. Another own goal for the chinless wonders at the DFT who make these batty decisions about franchise changes. My anger about this issue extends far beyond the Cross Country situation, I still haven't forgiven them for merging Wessex trains with FGW last year, the date they chose for the merger speaks volumes - 1st April!!!
Thursday, 21 February 2008
The John Wayne Look 22.06.07
After a busy and challenging day I sat down with this weeks issue of Rail. Like most people I don't start at the beginning of the magazine and work through in a methodical manner, I browse stopping at whatever takes my fancy along the way. I read the article on West Coast Railways, then my attention was caught by the article on the spring National Passenger Survey results. It came as no surprise to find FGW languishing in the relegation zone at the bottom of the league in terms of satisfaction and value for money. Maybe their fictional track, non existent seats and fantasy timetable were not such a good idea after all!
I thumbed the pages towards the front of the magazine and was startled to come across an alarming picture of Chris Gibb holding a urine sample! Ok I admit he is fairly easy on the eye compared to many other railway people, but bodily fluids in rail magazine - surely not! When I recovered from the initial horror I realised he was proudly displaying a sample of bio-diesel at the launch of the first bio-diesel train in UK. I think it is a hopeful sign and if the government sort out the nonsense regarding tax on bio-diesel maybe the railways can become a little greener, but please no more scary photos!
I found another photo of Chris Gibb on the Christian Wolmar page, he was still waving the dratted 'urine sample' but this time he was standing in front of the Voyager with a group of Virgin CrossCountry staff. I am sure they are all nice people but the Voyager is the star of the show, so please move the people and let us look at the Voyager. While on the subject of photos, why do all male Virgin employees stand like that? I can only describe it as the 'John Wayne look' - to put it bluntly they stand with their legs so far appart that they look as if they have just got off a horse!
I thumbed the pages towards the front of the magazine and was startled to come across an alarming picture of Chris Gibb holding a urine sample! Ok I admit he is fairly easy on the eye compared to many other railway people, but bodily fluids in rail magazine - surely not! When I recovered from the initial horror I realised he was proudly displaying a sample of bio-diesel at the launch of the first bio-diesel train in UK. I think it is a hopeful sign and if the government sort out the nonsense regarding tax on bio-diesel maybe the railways can become a little greener, but please no more scary photos!
I found another photo of Chris Gibb on the Christian Wolmar page, he was still waving the dratted 'urine sample' but this time he was standing in front of the Voyager with a group of Virgin CrossCountry staff. I am sure they are all nice people but the Voyager is the star of the show, so please move the people and let us look at the Voyager. While on the subject of photos, why do all male Virgin employees stand like that? I can only describe it as the 'John Wayne look' - to put it bluntly they stand with their legs so far appart that they look as if they have just got off a horse!
Off The Rails 21.06.07
So Silverlink lost the West Midlands franchise, I can't say I am too sad about that, they didn't exactly sparkle and they had some devastatingly miserable staff. On the other hand my 321's will go and I am pretty sad about that, I can't explain why I like them, I just do. The livery reminds me of the old style Cadbury's dairy milk wrapper and it seems comfortable and familiar. OK, 350's may be more comfortable, but it will not seem right not seeing the 'Dusty Bins' at Northampton.
Robbie came with me to pick Emily up from the Music Centre. On the way home we were chatting about the change of franchise when Emily said that she needed to tell me something. She told me that I was getting as bad as Robbie - that's impossible!
I see that First Great Western are still getting it spectacularly wrong in the South West. The latest fiasco defies belief. FGW produced and sent out a map indicating a direct rail link between Falmouth and Redruth, just one slight problem, no rails! There is no rail link between those towns so sending out the info as part of a cheap fares promotion was a bit of an oversight to say the least. No wonder their passengers call them Worst Late Western!!
Perhaps the fictional track was intended to complement the non existent seats and their fantasy timetable!
Robbie came with me to pick Emily up from the Music Centre. On the way home we were chatting about the change of franchise when Emily said that she needed to tell me something. She told me that I was getting as bad as Robbie - that's impossible!
I see that First Great Western are still getting it spectacularly wrong in the South West. The latest fiasco defies belief. FGW produced and sent out a map indicating a direct rail link between Falmouth and Redruth, just one slight problem, no rails! There is no rail link between those towns so sending out the info as part of a cheap fares promotion was a bit of an oversight to say the least. No wonder their passengers call them Worst Late Western!!
Perhaps the fictional track was intended to complement the non existent seats and their fantasy timetable!
Happy Birthday Laura 02.06.07
An early start this morning! At 7am we were all enjoying bacon sandwiches and watching Laura open her birthday presents. After some hasty packing we hit the road at about 9.30am. I am always reluctant to leave Cornwall, but it is a little easier on a dismal morning such as this morning. It remained wet and miserable until we were past Exeter and then gradually a beautiful warm day emerged. It was a tedious journey as there were far too many people on the road but once the dreaded Bristol was behind us and we had joined the M4 the journey improved.Robbie was delighted to see a FGW train heading towards London and a Virgin double set heading towards the south west. It is a very odd sensation to drive along the M5 with a train travelling alongside.
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
The Answer to Rail Congestion - Become a Sheep! 31.01.07
Being a sad sort of person, I listen to Radio 4 wall to wall (I even have a radio on the loo!). Last night as I was getting everything ready for Emily's birthday 'Today in Parliament' came on the radio and the railways took centre stage at Transport Questions. It is surprising to hear a government minister say anything that has a clear basis in truth, but I have to admit that the Transport secretary Douglas Alexander was absolutely right when he said that the recent performance of FGW was 'simply unacceptable'. Understatement, truth and brevity - not what we have come to expect from government ministers! Don't worry, it didn't last he was soon back to spouting the usual nonsense about matters that he knew absolutely nothing about. He must have had a deprived childhood because it is clear that he has never seen a train in his life. Imagine growing up without Thomas the Tank Engine, poor man!
The government has apparently set the operating companies a target that a passenger should not have to stand for more than 20 minutes. Well, I suppose FGW meet that by not providing enough floor space for them to stand on, and by thoughtfully providing a cushion of other passengers to keep them upright when they faint! There were lots of horror stories about people having to stand for entire journeys, one woman stood all the way from Kirkcaldy to London. The feeble reason given for overcrowding was that the government has been surprised by the increase in rail passengers - hardly a surprise surely, for years it has been government policy to get us out of our cars and on to public transport!! I really should be more charitable, they must have been surprised that one of their policies is actually working. Maybe astounded would be a more appropriate word, I think most of their polices are for show or for job creation rather than to make a practical difference. True to form, when incapapable of joined up thinking, Douglas Alexander reached for statistics to support his feeble excuses. He said that over a billion journeys were made by rail in the year 2005-6, that is the largest number of journeys taken since 1961. Look out folks, that could be an omen, remember who was getting ready to sharpen his axe in the early sixties - Dr Beeching!
Virgin came in for some criticism too, mainly for their annoying habit of dropping off but not picking up at Milton Keynes (pity they can't do the same with Coventry!). Douglas Alexander claimed that it was due to the wrong kind of platform - too short, I think he is wrong, but he certainly didn't explain himself very well. There were also grumbles about lack of functioning toilets, MP's want a statutory requirement to provide toilets on trains. The most interesting little snippet was that regulation 1/2005 91/6281 specifies a minimum amount of space required for cattle, pigs and sheep when travelling by rail, but there is no such entitlement for human beings. Never mind, I can think of one or two people who would easily qualify under that regulation!!
The government has apparently set the operating companies a target that a passenger should not have to stand for more than 20 minutes. Well, I suppose FGW meet that by not providing enough floor space for them to stand on, and by thoughtfully providing a cushion of other passengers to keep them upright when they faint! There were lots of horror stories about people having to stand for entire journeys, one woman stood all the way from Kirkcaldy to London. The feeble reason given for overcrowding was that the government has been surprised by the increase in rail passengers - hardly a surprise surely, for years it has been government policy to get us out of our cars and on to public transport!! I really should be more charitable, they must have been surprised that one of their policies is actually working. Maybe astounded would be a more appropriate word, I think most of their polices are for show or for job creation rather than to make a practical difference. True to form, when incapapable of joined up thinking, Douglas Alexander reached for statistics to support his feeble excuses. He said that over a billion journeys were made by rail in the year 2005-6, that is the largest number of journeys taken since 1961. Look out folks, that could be an omen, remember who was getting ready to sharpen his axe in the early sixties - Dr Beeching!
Virgin came in for some criticism too, mainly for their annoying habit of dropping off but not picking up at Milton Keynes (pity they can't do the same with Coventry!). Douglas Alexander claimed that it was due to the wrong kind of platform - too short, I think he is wrong, but he certainly didn't explain himself very well. There were also grumbles about lack of functioning toilets, MP's want a statutory requirement to provide toilets on trains. The most interesting little snippet was that regulation 1/2005 91/6281 specifies a minimum amount of space required for cattle, pigs and sheep when travelling by rail, but there is no such entitlement for human beings. Never mind, I can think of one or two people who would easily qualify under that regulation!!
Busy Going Nowhere! 30.01.07
Robbie arrived at the station bright and early this morning, having had one of those rare mornings when everything goes as planned and there is no competition for the bathroom, lost phone or missing season ticket. But nothing is as straightforward as it appears, he got to the station with time to spare, and there he stayed. The previous train failed at Long Buckby, blocking the line, and Robbie rang me from an increasingly crowded and uncomfortable train still sitting at the station with the prospect of going nowhere fast! I am starting to think he must be jinxed, but it could be worse, at least he doesn't have to travel by F.G.W!!
Terrorise the Traveller 16.01.07
Robbie rang again at 8.10am and he was only at Rugby, at that rate he will get to work at about 11am! Oh well, I can look forward to another evening of him muttering darkly about the state of the railways. At least it will make a change from hearing about the failings of FGW, they seem to be rivalling Network Rail on the Burgess hit list recently.
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