From the Bristol Evening Post
Rail operator First Great Western is advising commuters to avoid using some of its busiest rush hour trains.
The company is handing out leaflets to passengers listing peak evening services from Bristol when a new timetable comes into force next week.
And on two routes where complaints of overcrowding have been rife - from Temple Meads to Bath and Weston-super-Mare - the leaflet warns many services will be "extremely busy".
It goes on to say: "We would advise you to consider catching alternative services."
The services the leaflet highlights run between 3.45pm and 6.30pm - the whole of the evening rush hour when workers and students want to get home to Weston, Bath and all stops in between, including Bedminster, Yatton, Nailsea & Backwell and Keynsham.
First has pointed out that extra carriages are being added to some routes to help relieve the pressure, including three services to Weston and five to Bath.
But a commuter action group says the leaflets are a coded warning to long-suffering passengers to expect severe overcrowding.
More Train Less Strain spokesman Tony Ambrose said people may find it impossible to board trains home.
Mr Ambrose, who commutes daily between Bath and Bristol, said: "What the company is saying is that we may not be able to get on.
"That's what happened in January with the last timetable changes. Suddenly hundreds of people couldn't get on to trains.
"Reading between the lines of this leaflet, the same thing may happen again.
"The company is worried about it and is giving us forewarning.
"There will be equally bad services in the morning. We just haven't seen the leaflet yet.
"I pretty well guarantee that in weeks to come people will not be able to get on at Oldfield Park and Keynsham, but also Trowbridge and Bath Spa possibly.
"This will be mirrored for people coming in from Weston, Bridgwater, Yate and all the outlying towns around Bristol."
First Great Western (FGW) insists the new timetable will be a major step forward for passengers.
It says it is encouraging people to use high-speed trains where possible, which have been given the extra capacity, instead of services which stop at every station along the route.
Regional manager Andrew Griffiths said: "Tony Ambrose has got it 100 per cent wrong.
"The new timetable will bring a major change to local train services and will be a major advance.
"We recognise that the previous timetable was less than ideal in many respects. It required a much more structured schedule of services.
"The new one will improve passenger loadings on the very busy trains - it is designed to spread the load better.
"There is still a lack of knowledge among people who don't use the trains every day, hence the leaflets.
"Local trains are within 10 minutes of the high-speed ones and we would encourage people to use these where they can.
"On some local trains, we simply don't have the extra carriages to make them less of a crush than they are at the moment."
The new timetable took 13 months to design and aims to provide a more regular spread of trains.
Half-hour departures will be provided where possible, with more through journeys through Bristol, so passengers have to change less.
This will produce a more reliable timetable with fewer delays, Mr Griffiths said.
He said the leaflets were designed to let people know which trains were likely to be busy and encourage them to use intercity trains where possible.
Mr Ambrose said: "I think the leaflets show that FGW has no confidence in the new timetable.
"If they are anxious, we should be very anxious.
"They've had a year to plan for it and should have learned that passengers aren't prepared to be ridden roughshod over, given the prices they are paying.
"They should know this from the fare strike we organised last year. It looks like we'll have similar problems this year.
"The whole point is that we should be able to take the first train that comes along. The service should be run for the convenience of the customers rather than the shareholders.
"The simple solution is to make Sprinter trains longer.
"The reason FGW didn't bid for more coaches is because it will costs them ú100,000 per coach per year. It is running the service on minimum rolling stock."
First Says 'Don't Use Trains'
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tugboatcharly2
- regular
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How not to run a railway service
Now once upon a time there were railway men and women running a service and then one day the NASTY PARTY gave it to their friends who had no ideal how to run a railway but maybe has a train set at home.Now who in business tells it customers that we cannot supply your needs I do admit that they have been caught out by the number of Passengers they are getting but then the Nasty party and the ministry of transport knew of the problems to come and I know that in the ministry transport in London in 1975 when the High speed service came into being on the Paddington to Bristol and Cardiff, the civil servants had worked out that the HST would increase traffic by 10% so nil planning is the norm but not the motor way system because thats where the real money is, but alas in 2007 the oil is on the way down and the Nasty party knew that this was the future.So thats why we are blessed with First Great Western Amen. 
