More Train Less Strain

More Train Less Strain gives a qualified welcome to improvements in FGW services following the Fare Strike this January.

Thanks to the support for the strike by thousands of travellers the government was forced to publicly acknowledge that FGW had failed to meet the terms of their franchise. Ruth Kelly showed FGW a yellow card, and issued a Remedial Plan Notice in a final attempt to force FGW to deliver a decent service.

The rest, as they say is history. Their new Chief Executive Andrew Haines pulled the stops out finding more rolling stock where previously we were told there was none. Miraculously more drivers were found and, even more surprisingly punctuality figures began to improve.

The latest published figures for April show FGW achieved a punctuality rate of 90%. Lets hope they maintain this trend and improve on it. This turn around in perfomance by FGW demonstrates just what can be achieved by mass public protest. Without your support for the Fare Strikes FGW, would still quite literally be taking us all for a ride.

We at MTLS Towers are now taking a well earned break from train campaigning and returning to the saner world of our allotments. But we will continue to keep an eye on FGW, and should you tell us that they are once again failing to deliver or that their fare rises are beyond reasonable, we will be ready, with your help, to once again demonstrate to FGW that they are accountable to their passengers, and that we can not and will not be taken for granted.