FixMyTransport: Do something about the late running 0731 from Oxford to paddington

Description

E Brett

Since the timetable changed in Dec 2011 the 0731 Oxf to Pad now starts at Charlbury at 0715. It is now invariably late at Oxford - up to 10 minutes late every day. Why does this happen and can something be done - for instance starting earlier from Charlbury?

Comment

Problem History

Expand All Collapse all

1 E Brett reported the issue on FixMyTransport. close 21:58 14 Jan 2012 #
2 E Brett wrote to First Great Western Railway close 21:58 14 Jan 2012 #

Here is the letter that E Brett wrote.

0731 Oxford Paddington

Since the timetable changed in Dec 2011 the 0731 Oxf to Pad now starts at Charlbury at 0715. It is now invariably late at Oxford - up to 10 minutes late every day. Why does this happen and can something be done - for instance starting earlier from Charlbury?
3 First Group Response responded to E Brett close 22:03 14 Jan 2012 #

Thank you for contacting First Great Western. We confirm receipt of your e-mail and aim to forward a full response within 5 working days. If you have a more urgent issue that needs resolving please telephone on 08457 000125 where we will try to give a faster resolution.

Please note that you will not be able to reply direct to this email, however if you wish to contact us further by email then please use the address below.

[email address]

Thank you for contacting First Great Western. We confirm receipt of your e-mail and aim to forward a full response within 5 working days. If you have a more urgent issue that needs resolving please telephone on 08457 000125 where we will try to give a faster resolution.

Please note that you will not be able to reply direct to this email, however if you wish to contact us further by email then please use the address below.

[email address]
4 FGW Customer Relations responded to E Brett close 23:46 25 Jan 2012 #

First Great Western
Customer Services Team
FREEPOST
SWB40576
Plymouth
PL4 6ZZ

Tel: 08457 000 125
Fax: 08456 008 363
[First Great Western Railway problem reporting email]

www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk

Ref: FGW 6381741

Dear E Brett

Thank you for your recent correspondence. I am sorry that you have had cause to complain about the performance of our 07:31 service from Oxford to London Paddington since the December timetable changes.

As a bit of background, over a year ago, we changed the pattern of services from Oxford to improve punctuality. It was our 07:09 service which was always a regular cause for the delays we experienced on the 07:31 as it operated on a very tight margin between Oxford to Didcot and also calls at Maidenhead, so we moved it to start from Didcot Parkway as it was always lightly used and calls at all stations from Didcot to Reading. This greatly improved the performance of the 07:31.

In response to the demand for a service for Charlbury and Hanborough and make use of the benefits brought about by the redoubling work completed last year, this train now starts at Charlbury However, this does take away the luxury of a the few minutes we used to have 'spare' at Oxford. The train has been extremely popular for Charlbury and Hanborough customers and we are trying to balance the needs of all our customers.

Unfortunately, due to very tight pathing restraints, its not as simple at it sounds to simply leave earlier from Charlbury. We do acknowledge that the performance of trains in the Oxford area has not been as we would like and the FGW Train Planning team are working with Network Rail to see what opportunities are available to create a more robust path for the 07:31 service.

We have regular dialogue with OxRail User Group and periodic meetings as well as discussions with Network Rail as we are keen to work with our customers and industry partners to improve the ongoing performance of this service.

Thank you for bringing the matter to my attention and for allowing me the opportunity to reply.

Yours sincerely

Mark Webber
Customer Relations Senior Officer

*** Your feedback is really important to us so we would be very grateful for a couple of moments of your time to complete our customer satisfaction survey. If you would like to participate, please click on the link below. ***

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=1M...

First Great Western Limited. Registered in England & Wales No. 05113733.
Registered office: Milford House, 1 Milford Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 1HL.

First Rail Holdings Limited. Registered in England No. 5154485. Registered office: 50 Eastbourne Terrace, Paddington, London W2 6LG.

This message is confidential. It may not be disclosed to, or used by, anyone other than the addressee. If you receive this message in error, please advise us immediately.

Internet email is not necessarily secure. First does not accept responsibility for changes to any email which occur after the email has been sent. Attachments to this email could contain software viruses which could damage your system. First have checked the attachments for viruses before sending, but you should virus-check them before opening.

For more information on our range of services or to book your tickets online, please visit:- http://www.firstgroup.com

First Great Western
Customer Services Team
FREEPOST
SWB40576
Plymouth
PL4 6ZZ

Tel: 08457 000 125
Fax: 08456 008 363
[First Great Western Railway problem reporting email]

www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk

Ref: FGW 6381741

Dear E Brett

Thank you for your recent correspondence. I am sorry that you have had cause to complain about the performance of our 07:31 service from Oxford to London Paddington since the December timetable changes.

As a bit of background, over a year ago, we changed the pattern of services from Oxford to improve punctuality. It was our 07:09 service which was always a regular cause for the delays we experienced on the 07:31 as it operated on a very tight margin between Oxford to Didcot and also calls at Maidenhead, so we moved it to start from Didcot Parkway as it was always lightly used and calls at all stations from Didcot to Reading. This greatly improved the performance of the 07:31.

In response to the demand for a service for Charlbury and Hanborough and make use of the benefits brought about by the redoubling work completed last year, this train now starts at Charlbury However, this does take away the luxury of a the few minutes we used to have 'spare' at Oxford. The train has been extremely popular for Charlbury and Hanborough customers and we are trying to balance the needs of all our customers.

Unfortunately, due to very tight pathing restraints, its not as simple at it sounds to simply leave earlier from Charlbury. We do acknowledge that the performance of trains in the Oxford area has not been as we would like and the FGW Train Planning team are working with Network Rail to see what opportunities are available to create a more robust path for the 07:31 service.

We have regular dialogue with OxRail User Group and periodic meetings as well as discussions with Network Rail as we are keen to work with our customers and industry partners to improve the ongoing performance of this service.

Thank you for bringing the matter to my attention and for allowing me the opportunity to reply.

Yours sincerely

Mark Webber
Customer Relations Senior Officer

*** Your feedback is really important to us so we would be very grateful for a couple of moments of your time to complete our customer satisfaction survey. If you would like to participate, please click on the link below. ***

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=1M...

First Great Western Limited. Registered in England & Wales No. 05113733.
Registered office: Milford House, 1 Milford Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 1HL.

First Rail Holdings Limited. Registered in England No. 5154485. Registered office: 50 Eastbourne Terrace, Paddington, London W2 6LG.

This message is confidential. It may not be disclosed to, or used by, anyone other than the addressee. If you receive this message in error, please advise us immediately.

Internet email is not necessarily secure. First does not accept responsibility for changes to any email which occur after the email has been sent. Attachments to this email could contain software viruses which could damage your system. First have checked the attachments for viruses before sending, but you should virus-check them before opening.

For more information on our range of services or to book your tickets online, please visit:- http://www.firstgroup.com