Good-if-you're-First-Class Great Western

Advantages: Nice design
Disadvantages: Late, completely packed

...I guess most reviews come from the fact that people either have something really great they want to tell people about, or really bad that they want to moan about. To be honest I would love this to be a big rant about Great Western, but I'm going to keep my comments fair, because although they do a lot of things wrong, there are also some things that I do actually like about the way they run their service. I started getting First Great Western trains from Reading a couple of months ago. I generally get the rush hour trains in and back, but I do also have experience of using their trains during off-peak hours as I used to travel a lot on them at the weekends last year. Generally I am travelling between Reading and London Paddington, but I have also taken trains to other stops around the area such as Oxford. ~~An average day...

tac20 08.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

Last Great Western

Advantages: It gets you there
Disadvantages: may be delays, pricey, sullen staff

...*Update: Since writing this the first time I have had the displeasure to travel twice weekly with FGW and my estimations have gone down: old trains, slow trains, late trains (especially on a Sunday!) sullen and miserable staff members, overcrowding, prices have gone up etc. They also have the WORST train delays out of all the UK train companies...25% of their trains are late, what a disgrace.* About the Company: FGW is a train company that operates services from Wales, Bristol and the West of England into London. I always travel from Swindon and my most recent experience focuses on the London route. Swindon Station: Swindon Train Station has dramatically improved. You have a choice of 2 cash machines, a W.H Smith shop and a café. Security is also improved with railway staff ensuring that no one without a ticket reaches...

Katieshaz 15.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

First (or Last) Great Western - It depends!

Advantages: Gorgeous Scenery/Wildlife, Beautiful Convenient Journey Breaks,!st Class
Disadvantages: Old Trains, Possibly Overcrowded,Unreliability not confined to this carrier

...breeding here yet, but the nearest Ive heard of them before is the Western Loire and Brittany in France. Global Warming? Oystercatchers and Shelduck provided splashes of colour and it was an education to see all of these birds so close-up to the mouth of the river - some bird hides are placed near the shore so you need binoculars to see certain birds. I would rather see them like this, from a train, close-up with the naked eye any time. All in all, by the time we alighted from the stuffy confines of the train, our souls were quite refreshed! SEATING CLASSES We, as usual, travelled Second Class! (Who are these First Class Types anyway and where do they reside? Do they all live in Palaces? Seriously, I expect a completely different version of events would be experienced in First Class. (except for the 20 min late arrival - their carriage...

queenmaebh 13.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

Avoid First Great Western at all costs!

Advantages: if your lucky you can get a seat
Disadvantages: slow, unreliable, expensive, rude, Very Very Late

...I HATE First Great Western trains. you may think that is a little harsh but let me explain just how shocking their service is and then you'll think i've been very reserved with my judgement. Firstly i'll give you some general information. FGW run trains between London Padington and the South West and generally anywhere else in the south west area, this includes Reading, Portsmouth, Southampton, Cardiff, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth and down into Cornwall. Their trains are generally pretty old, they do have a few new ones but you'll be lucky to get one of those, they never have enough carriages, and although they say they are the most reliable train company in the UK i find it hard to believe. So why am i so negative, i'll give you a few examples of the shocking service. In July i got FGW trains from Portsmouth to Plymouth...

esteban1985 29.10.2006 (04.12.2006) · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

Worst Great Western? I don't think so.

Advantages: Clean trains and facilities, helpful staff
Disadvantages: The seats are so comfortable you are in danger of sleeping past your stop.

...HOW EASY IS IT TO BUY A TICKET? Generally I don't think there is a problem with buying tickets. There are 3 main ways to buy a ticket. The first is in person at any uk train station where there is a ticket office. The second way to buy a ticket is on the internet. Either on the FGW site or any other site such as National Rail or The Trainline. The last way is to buy directly from the conductor on the service that you are travelling on at the time. There are many problems with buying tickets over the internet. They include the tickets not reaching you in time. For example, the tickets have been sent to you by first class post, but for some reason they dont actually get to you in time to travel. who knows why this happens, but it just does. Then you face long (and i mean long) queues at the train station to pick the tickets up...

smcclt3006 12.08.2007 (24.12.2007) · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

American Indians, The First Nations

Advantages: A wonderful book, richly illustrated
Disadvantages: none

...American Indians, The First Nations is a compelling and very readable book by Larry J. Zimmerman, published by Duncan Baird Publishers at £12.99, ISBN 1-904292-74-7. The book is a large format paperback which is sumptuously and richly illustrated with some very colourful photographs and some wonderful coloured drawings, too. It is a perfect introduction to the immensely varied and interesting diverse aboriginal cultures of America. It examines the intense and quasi-religious and spiritual relationships that the indigenous peoples of America have with the land that they share with the other creatures of nature. It shares with the reader the fantastic arts and crafts of the peoples, all varied and different, but often with some common themes that seem to be interwoven with neighbouring peoples and even, sometimes, more...

Martinscholes 05.03.2006 · Read review
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Review of American Indians: The First Nations - Larry Zimmerman

First North Western

Advantages: quick journeys - good prices
Disadvantages: vandalism, dirty stations

...On the First north western route I regularly travel on the trains are usually late - but only about 5 - 10 minutes. Their trains on their Cumbrian coast are mainly quite comfortable but could be cleaner. On some occasions when i have visited the toilet on-train the toilet would not flush. The stations on the Cumbrian line to Carlisle are falling into dis-repair and many are vandalized and desperately in need of a lick of paint. But the train service is reasonable and so are their fares - it beats the bus any day as the trains have short journey times. ---UPDATE 4/8/01--- The above was wrote a while ago and now most of the stations on the Cumbria line are being improved, the station in my town is currently being refurbished and the last time I travelled on one of their trains it was quite modern, and with lots of seats free...

mmclcukie 13.09.2000 (04.08.2001) · Read review
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Review of First North Western

FGW is First

Advantages: Fast & Efficient, Plenty of Seats, Buffet's Good, Children's Activities
Disadvantages: Maybe a tad expensive - though deals can be found (but not on my route!)

...First Great Western (FGW) run services to South Wales (Cardiff, Swansea, Carnaefon), the West Country and right down to Penzance - all of which run through Reading and terminate at London Paddington. They also run a service though the pictuesque Cotswolds through Oxford and then on to Worcester and Hereford. This is my local line - so my experiences relate to my travels through the Cotswolds. I must stress that this op is not about First Great Western Link (note the difference) who run those terrible turbos on the commuter lines around Reading and even somehow reach up my line.... So here is my typical journey... from Evesham (Worcestershite to London Paddington). ***Buying a ticket*** Even if it is a cold start one early morning, the man behind the ticket desk welcomes you with a cheery smile - always seeming to be...

evesham1988la 23.08.2005 (24.08.2005) · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

First Mediocre Western is more like it.

Advantages: Reasonably frequent services.
Disadvantages: Trains slow by modern standards. Not good value for money.

...painted! I travel First Class due to overcrowding of Standard. First Class of itself is otherwise not worth the extra money, £108 Plymouth to London for an Open Single. You do get free refreshments after a fashion. Not alcohol, limited snacks..you get to pay extortionate prices for crisps etc., the tea/coffee is in paper cups. Hardly inspring for the money. Buffet prices are a rip off FGW like the captive market!! Staff are helpful. Why is it that long distance trains always arrive at the furthest platform from the exit at Plymout so that you have to take luggage downstairs then thru subway and upstairs again. What about trolley ramps etc? Parking at Plymouth is extortionate. All in all it is a bit of a cheek to call this Great Western. First Western maybe, First Mediocre Western is more like it....

V70R 25.03.2004 · Read review
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Review of First Great Western

First Mistake

Advantages: Cheap all zone tickets available, Friendly drivers, Clean busses and lots of bus stops
Disadvantages: Fares are expensive on single and return tickets

...When the old Southern National bus company was bought out by the First group the whole of Weymouth gave a sigh of relief. For years we had suffered busses that had no windows that opened and constanty broken air conditioning making it nearly impossible to breathe. First Southern National run the bus services in the Dorset and Somerset areas. My experiences with the company are only in Weymouth, Portland and Dorchester really but I hear its the same story all over the area. *The busses Different routes in the towns have different kinds of busses. The two main routes in the town have fairly new low floor busses that are always in imaculate condition. As you move down the order of route numbers you get worse and worse busses ending up at mercedes benz shuttles that run on most routes. If you are down in the summer you can take...

leggb 14.09.2001 · Read review
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Review of First Southern National