First Great Western's future plans for quiet carriages
First Great Western has this morning hit back at claims it is removing Quiet Carriages from all its trains (Daily Mail, 31-7-14, p15).
First Great Western has this morning hit back at claims it is removing Quiet Carriages from all its trains (Daily Mail, 31-7-14, p15).
A First Great Western spokesman said: "There will be a quiet carriage on all our High Speed Trains for the foreseeable future. Claims that there will be no solace for customers who want a quieter journey are simply unfounded."
The Mail appears to have confused First Great Western with CrossCountry trains, who issued a press release last week, saying they were removing Quiet Carriages completely from their trains.
It is true, however, that First Great Western's First Class Quiet Carriage will go when the company redesigns its First Class carriages in the coming months.
The company is converting some First Class carriages into Standard carriages on all its long distance trains, which will only leave one and a half First Class carriages.
To make one of those carriages 'quiet' would be madness, but it is a practical decision based on the need to increase the number of standard seats on our services. The renewed First Class carriages will instead be fitted with specially designed headrests and partition screens to keep noise levels to a minimum.
The changes are happening as part of a range of investments on its High Speed Trains for customers worth more than £13 million currently taking place.
These include 3,000 additional standard class seats with more tables for customers and free Wifi from early 2015.
A First Great Western spokesman said: "There will be a quiet carriage on all our High Speed Trains for the foreseeable future. Claims that there will be no solace for customers who want a quieter journey are simply unfounded."
The Mail appears to have confused First Great Western with CrossCountry trains, who issued a press release last week, saying they were removing Quiet Carriages completely from their trains.
It is true, however, that First Great Western's First Class Quiet Carriage will go when the company redesigns its First Class carriages in the coming months.
The company is converting some First Class carriages into Standard carriages on all its long distance trains, which will only leave one and a half First Class carriages.
To make one of those carriages 'quiet' would be madness, but it is a practical decision based on the need to increase the number of standard seats on our services. The renewed First Class carriages will instead be fitted with specially designed headrests and partition screens to keep noise levels to a minimum.
The changes are happening as part of a range of investments on its High Speed Trains for customers worth more than £13 million currently taking place.
These include 3,000 additional standard class seats with more tables for customers and free Wifi from early 2015.
To make one of those carriages 'quiet' would be madness, but it is a practical decision based on the need to increase the number of standard seats on our services. The renewed First Class carriages will instead be fitted with specially designed headrests and partition screens to keep noise levels to a minimum. The changes are happening as part of a range of investments on its High Speed Trains for customers worth more than £13 million currently taking place. These include 3,000 additional standard class seats with more tables for customers and free Wifi from early 2015.