QUESTION: Why are there no later trains back from London to Wycombe at a weekend? If I want a night out in London I have to come back from Paddington to Maidenhead.
ANSWER: Network Rail closes the Chiltern line every night south of Banbury unlike the Paddington route. This means that operators on the Great Western Mainline can run later services than we are able to.
QUESTION: The TVM at Bicester does not switch from peak to off peak until after 0900 which makes it difficult for the queues to catch the 0911 train.
ANSWER: The last peak is the 0859, and the TVM clicks over a minute later. We will look at altering this to 0855.
QUESTION: Why is Wi-Fi not available on your trains?
ANSWER: We considered Wi-Fi in our Clubman refurbishment, but all suppliers we trialled could not offer coverage throughout our route.
QUESTION: Why is there no consistency on announcements on trains? They should announce before you leave where the train is going, and what the first stop is. Also, if the train stops at somewhere other than at a station, it would be nice if we were told what was going on.
ANSWER: We have trialled automated announcements on board but these were not well received. We will take this away and look at possible solutions with our driver Managers. This is something we take very seriously as it is a requirement under Disability laws for some of our trains.
QUESTION: On the old Turbo trains, the doors between carriages seem to either remain permanently open, or continually open and close. Why is this?
ANSWER: We are aware of a problem with a sensor module on these doors which we are in the process of replacing. As these trains have aged it has become a problem across the “Networker” fleet which is used by many London Train Companies.
QUESTION: Why are there no catering trolleys on trains to Birmingham off peak?
ANSWER: We found that due to the number and variety of food outlets at Marylebone that most people have purchased food and drink before they join the train. We still have catering on peak London-Birmingham services. All train companies lose a lot of money running on train catering and at peak times the higher fare prices can be used to subsidise the costs. Because our fares off peak are so much lower we can’t do so off peak.
QUESTION: When are you going to get a new departure board?
ANSWER: A new 6 panel board should be installed by July. This project has been delayed due to problems receiving the necessary building consents for a Listed Building.
QUESTION: Why is the station announcing at Marylebone so inconsistent?
ANSWER: Marylebone Station has notoriously poor acoustics which mean the clarity of announcing varies dramatically depending where one is stood.
