Title: First Great Western MD reveals how he plans to get the beleaguered train operator back on track | The Independent | The Independent
Headings: First Great Western MD reveals how he plans to get the beleaguered train operator back on track
First Great Western MD reveals how he plans to get the beleaguered train operator back on track
Mark Hopwood says his mission is 'to present a different face for the business'
Best and worst of Britain’s railway

Content: That’s what the industry guidelines are – it’s not something that we’ve invented.” David Cameron visiting First Great Western's Laira rail depot in Plymouth, last year (Getty)
(Getty Images)
Some passengers are keen on split tickets to try to avoid fares so high that they resemble on-the-spot fines. The 16-minute, 24-mile journey between Didcot Parkway and Swindon costs peak-time travellers £22 one way. “If you were to start from scratch, you wouldn’t create a fare structure like the one we’ve got,” concedes Mr Hopwood. “ But as a result of decisions that have been taken for very good reasons by politicians, it is very difficult to move away from the current fare structure.” Advance tickets are unregulated, but can still look expensive. Booking a month ahead for the first service of the day from Exeter to London, the cheapest one-way ticket is £94 – exactly four times the fare on a Flybe aircraft from Exeter airport to London City. Our 11am from Paddington arrives at its first stop, Reading, right on schedule – an experience that is not always repeated. In March this most crucial section of the First Great Western route network experienced an average of 1.2 signal failures per day. In the National Rail Passenger Survey, First Great Western consistently scores lower for passenger satisfaction than other long-distance operators: