Reading rail rant
Angry rail users from Reading have had their say in a BBC article about overcrowding on rail services:
Ive travelled from Reading to London once a week for about 10 years. I always travel from Reading between 7.15 and 8.30 and I have NEVER had a seat. Not once. The cost is now in excess of £30 return
I used to commute from Reading to London Paddington (2003) on a daily basis and provided you travelled before 7.30am or after 8.30am you had more than a 50% chance of getting a seat. My partner still commutes to London and now, especially with First Great Western’s timetable change and shortening of some key trains, my partner has to travel before 7am just to be able to physically get on a train!! Most trains are now full and standing before they reach Reading. At a cost of nearly £4000 a year, this is outrageous.
Earlier, another passenger, Tony Richards, complained to train operating company First Great Western following a journey from Reading to Penzance last October. FGW charmingly replied with:
If a passenger boards an already crowded service, they are in effect saying to FGW that they agree to travel in those conditions.
Ultimately if a passengers feels that the travelling conditions do pose a safety risk, the responsibility lies with the passenger in choosing to leave such a busy train.
Ah, the joy of travel.