Dear Mr Griffiths,

I am a daily commuter from Trowbridge to Southampton. Over the last few months I have found it necessary to complain to your company over the appalling service on the Cardiff/Portsmouth line.

Given the recent publicity I had hoped that the need to complain might subside but again this morning your company is juggling its inadequate stock of trains and leaving passengers stranded on cold platforms. Please see my email to your customer services team, below.

I am fed up receiving the same 'cut & paste' replies which state that your committed to providing a ..." safe...reliable...quality...service" etc etc. Then of course the next day the trains are cancelled again.

My question to you is simple. When are FGW going to provide a reliable service and put and end to these never ending cancellations?

Perhaps as the Regional Director of FGW you will have the decency to reply to my question.

Regards

David Corless. Trowbridge, Wiltshire

 

Dear Mr Corless

I am concerned and disappointed that you have not noticed an improvement over the last 3 weeks. Certainly, the service is still some way off being as reliable as it should be, and the number of problems with train sets once in service is still too high. Some, such as vandalism of a set at Weymouth and the guard of the 0705 Westbury - Southampton being involved in a road traffic accident on Monday, are outside of our control, and mean that a short-notice problem arises that cannot be covered by drafting in a replacement. However, we are now in a position that on most (still not all) days there are sufficient sets in service.

Over the coming months the local train fleet will be refreshed internally (technically it is not a refurbishment), and at the same time there will be a programme of mechanical reliability improvements. The poor maintenance of the fleet in the past is still causing trains to break down for relatively simple issues that could and should be avoided. Our engineers in the new Bristol depot are now able to turn their attention to these deep-seated problems, and so the reliability of the fleet will gradually improve.

I apologise for the difficulties you have faced, and ask for your continuing forbearance as the actions of our investment programmes start to take effect.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Griffiths
Regional Manager, Central (Severn & Solent)

First Great Western