Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Hey, Welsh people, want to be on the beeb?


Hello all
I have been contacted by BBC Wales, who are making a 30 minute programme on the transport problems between Wales to London. As I have mentioned before, I've had more than a few requests for I Hate First Great Western badges from Welsh people, so if you're Welsh, fed up with FGW, and have a yearning to see your face on the big screen (or at least the medium- sized one in the living room), please write to me with your contact details to ihatefgw@yahoo.co.uk, and I will pass your details on to the producer.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello,

My name's Oliver. I'm the researcher working on this edition of "Week In Week Out". I just thought I'd post a comment to confirm that this is a genuine request for Welsh travellers on First Great Western to come forward and tell us their stories. First Great Western's performance relative to other train operators is indicated in the official statistics. But to show what this really means for people who use the service, it helps if we can reflect the experiences of regular rail travellers. If you are Welsh, travel on First Great Western and are happy to share your experiences, please do get in touch, either by contacting this website or contacting me directly.

Thanks very much for your help.

Email: wiwo@bbc.co.uk.
Tel: 029 2032 3819

Anonymous said...

How about a program about the problems CAUSED by Welsh travelers on trains - drunken yobs throwing up, rampant fare evasion, consistent anti-social behavior (especially on late-night trains), verbal and physical assaults on train staff, it's quite a list. That's without the trains carrying Cardiff fans, which are a special type of hell.

And on the late night trains to South Wales, all is usually quiet until Newport is reached, then it's like entering the twilight zone.

Also, when on the subject of FGW trains in Wales, please remember to mention that Arriva take around 90% of all fares paid for travel within South Wales, so even if the bunch of yobs chucking up on the FGW train going from Cardiff to Bridgend HAVE bought a ticket (and this is very unlikely, given that Arriva do not man ticket barriers after 7 pm in the main stations, and 12 midday in most others), then FGW are probably getting around 30p each for the dubious privilege of cleaning up after them.

Mind you, the puzzled and shocked expressions on the faces in Wales when asked for a ticket makes it almost worthwhile!

Also, on the subject of weekend travel to South Wales, Network Rail pretty much come under the heading of an Act of God - although I'm sure your program will take the trouble to interview someone from Network Rail to explain why they cause this disruption to travelers.

I'm sure that the BBC will mention this, in the interest of balance!

Insider said...

Funnily enough, I too got an invitation from the BBC to tell all from a, pardon the pun, inside perspective.

I haven't made up my mind yet whether or not to dish some dirt on my former employers, as I would like to see a balanced view and I wouldn't want the good things I have to say cut out in favour of the bits that make for better television.

What to do, what to do, what to do.

Helen said...

Of course, I vote that you do it, because you are the perfect candidate to answer the questions -there's no reason why you have to stitch FGW up, just explain things the way you have always explained them to us. Also, I'm sad that you don't work there any more, you gave us all what FGW wouldn't - the truth, and I appreciated that hugely. Hope you're happy in your new job, we will miss your insights.