GWR's Passenger's Charter

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Passenger’s Charter

September 2015

Great Western Railway

What is our Passenger’s Charter? 4

How we’ll help you plan your journey 6

Making it easy to buy tickets 8

If you need help when you travel 12

What to expect at our stations 16

What to expect on our trains 20

If things go wrong – including delays and compensation 28

How to get in touch with us 38

Great Western Railway route map 43

What’s inside?

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Our Passenger’s Charter is our commitment to you. We work hard to make sure every journey you take with us is easy and enjoyable. And our charter tells you what you can expect from all of us at Great Western Railway (GWR), on our trains and at our stations. It sets out the minimum level of service we’re committed to.

Every year, we review and refresh our charter. We work with Transport Focus, London TravelWatch and TravelWatch SouthWest to make sure it’s up to date and fair for all of our customers. If you have any suggestions for us, we’d love to hear them. You can let our Customer Support team know your thoughts on 03457 000 125.

You can get copies of this charter from the staff at our stations, from our Customer Support team or from our website, www.GWR.com.

Treating our customers fairlyWe put our customers at the heart of everything we do and every decision we make. Making sure you’re safe and well, and that we always treat you fairly, is our highest priority. We want you to have a great experience with GWR. So we make it easy to talk to us, and we’ll always listen to you and take your individual circumstances into account.

Our Customer ReportWe’ll publish our Customer Report every year to update you on our plans and tell you about the improvements we’ve made. We’ll also let you know how we’re performing against our customer satisfaction, reliability and punctuality targets.

The National Rail Conditions of CarriageOur Passenger’s Charter goes hand in hand with the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. These conditions explain the contract you have with us when you buy a ticket and use it to travel. You’ll find them on our website, www.GWR.com, or you can ask our Customer Support team or the staff at our stations for a copy.

What is our Passenger’s Charter?

Great Western Railway: our Passenger’s Charter

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We know how important it is to give you everything you need to plan your journey properly, and to keep you up to date with any changes. That’s why we offer advice, timetables and information about travelling with GWR in all sorts of ways.

Here’s how you can stay up to date:

• Check the information displays at our stations.

• Read our leaflets at our stations or on our website.

• Go to www.GWR.com for train and journey information, to book tickets and to print your own personal timetable.

• Follow us on Twitter @GWRHelp for live journey information, service updates and to have your questions answered 24 hours a day.

• Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GWR.

• Sign up to our free journey alerts at www.journeycheck.com/GWR.

• Download our free app from your app store or text GWRapp01 to 86688, so you can plan your journey, buy tickets and check train times and journey information.

• Call our Customer Support team on 03457 000 125.

You can also listen for our announcements at our stations and on our trains. We give full and accurate live information before and during your journey. This includes information on how our trains are running, as well as information about our station facilities, promotions and fares.

National Rail Enquiries and TravelineYou can also get information about all UK trains from National Rail Enquiries. Just call them on 03457 484950 or go to www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Traveline can help you with local and national bus information. You can call them on 0871 200 22 33 or go to www.traveline.info.

How we’ll help you plan your journey


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Our Buy Before You Board policy means you need to get a ticket before you get on a train. So we make it as easy as we can for you to buy tickets for our journeys. And we offer a range of tickets to suit different circumstances and budgets.

You can find information on our website at www.GWR.com or speak to our station staff who are happy to help.

Go to www.GWR.com to buy tickets in advanceWe can post them to you or have them waiting for you at the station – either at the ticket office or in one of our ticket machines. You can also print your tickets at home if that’s easier.

Download our free app to buy M-ticketsYou can buy M-tickets for some routes and ticket types with our GWR app. To get the app, text GWRapp01 to 86688 or search ‘GWR’ in your app store. We’ll be adding more routes and ticket types to the app soon, but until then you can find everything you need at www.GWR.com.

Go to the ticket office at any of our stations to buy our full range of ticketsWe’ll explain our range of ticket and fare options and help you find the best one for your journey.

You can use cash and most credit and debit cards to pay – each office displays a list of the payment cards it accepts in the window.

You’ll find the opening hours of our ticket offices at www.GWR.com or displayed at our stations, along with details of how to buy tickets if the office is shut.

You shouldn’t have to queue for more than five minutes to buy a ticket from our ticket office at peak time, or more than three minutes at other times. Peak times are 7am–9am and 4pm–7pm, Monday to Friday. If we find there are very long queues, we’ll open extra windows or put on extra ticket staff to speed things up if we can.

Making it easy to buy tickets


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Use our ticket machines to buy tickets to use straightawayAt a ticket machine, you can buy a wide range of tickets available for immediate use. You can also pick up tickets you have booked online or over the phone. Most of our stations have them, and they take cash and/or most credit and debit cards. Some tickets may not be available, depending on the time of day. You can buy these in advance on our website, at the ticket office or through our Sales team.

You can check whether your local station has a ticket machine at www.GWR.com or by calling National Rail Enquiries on 03457 484950.

Call us on 03457 000 125 to buy tickets over the phoneWe’re open from 7am–10pm Monday to Friday, and from 8am–7pm at the weekend. We can post your tickets to you or have them waiting for you at the station – either at the ticket office or in one of our ticket machines.

If you need help when you travel, please call our Assisted Travel team. They’ll help you plan your journey, buy your tickets and arrange any support you need on your trip. There’s more about this on page 12.

Load up your Oyster card to travel round LondonOyster cards make it really easy to travel around London. You can use your card for GWR journeys between any stations in the London fare zones 1–6, and as far as West Drayton and Greenford.

You can put travelcards and pay as you go (PAYG) credit on them. For Oyster PAYG, you need to touch in on the yellow reader at the station where you start your journey, and touch out at the end of your trip. That way you’ll be charged the right fare.

We do cap our Oyster fares. So, if you take several journeys in zones 1 and 2 on the same day, the most you’ll pay is the cost of a travelcard for those zones. If you don’t touch in and out, you’ll be charged the maximum fare for your trip, and we won’t cap the cost.

You can use an Oyster card with a travelcard on it with Oyster PAYG as well. But you can only use your Oyster PAYG with paper tickets if you’re at an intermediate station. These have a yellow Oyster reader where you can touch in.

It’s really important that you make sure you have enough money on your Oyster PAYG to cover your journey. If you don’t, you won’t be able to use the card again until you top up the amount. You might also get a penalty fare or be reported for prosecution.

Use smartcards for your season ticketsWe’re testing smartcards (a bit like Oyster) across our network. Once we’re happy they work for our customers, we’ll start setting them up in more places. You’ll then be able to load your card with your season ticket and just touch in and out to get to and from your train more quickly.

Buy PlusBus for unlimited bus travel at your destinationYou can buy PlusBus with your ticket; it’s available in more than 70 towns on the GWR network. You can also get a season ticket version. Go to www.plusbus.info for more details.

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We want to make sure everyone who travels with us has an easy and comfortable journey – including our older customers and people with a disability. So if you need support getting on and off the train, navigating the station or planning your journey, we’re more than happy to help.

We’ve put together a leaflet called ‘Making Rail Accessible’. There are several different versions. Our Easy Read version is for people with a learning disability and it’s available at www.GWR.com. We also have Braille and audio versions. Just ask a member of staff at one of our stations for a copy, or call our Customer Support team on 03457 000 125 for more details.

How we can helpIf you’re planning a journey with us, you can book some support for when you travel. You just need to let us know 24 hours before your trip. Then we’ll:

• help you find your nearest station with the best facilities for you

• help you plan the easiest route for your journey

• make sure our staff know you’re coming and what support you need

• give you all the help we can along the way.

If your local station or the station you need to get to isn’t very accessible, don’t worry. We’ll arrange for you to get to and from a station that is, free of charge.

Giving us enough noticeIf you can’t give us 24 hours’ notice of your journey, we’ll do our best to support you when you travel. But we can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to give you the same level of help.

If you need help when you travel



How to book support for your journeyYou can get in touch with our Assisted Travel team from 7am–10pm, every day except Christmas Day. They can also help you buy tickets and make seat reservations. You can:

• call them free on 0800 197 1329

• dial Textphone free on 18001 0800 197 1329

• email [email protected].

You can also book through our website: www.GWR.com.

Other useful numbersYou can get more information about trains and journey times from National Rail Enquiries. Their phone and Textphone number is 0345 60 50 600, and they’re available 24 hours a day.

Our mobility scooter permit schemeIf you have a mobility scooter, we’re happy for you to bring it with you on certain trains, as long as you have a permit. The only exceptions are concerned with certain sizes and weights, which may make the scooter unsuitable or unsafe for our trains. You can find out more about this and apply for a permit by calling our Customer Support team on 03457 000 125 or going to www.GWR.com.

You won’t need a permit if your mobility scooter can be folded down so it is no bigger than an average large suitcase; that way it can go in the luggage rack. You’ll need to be able to take the scooter on and off the train yourself, or have someone with you who can help.

Priority Seat CardsWe always ask our customers to give up priority seats for people who need them more. But it’s not always obvious why someone needs a seat.

If you need to sit down when you travel, you might be able to get one of our Priority Seat Cards. That way, when you ask someone for their seat, you can show your card without any embarrassment or having to offer an explanation.

To see if you can get a card, call our Assisted Travel team on 0800 197 1329 or go to www.GWR.com.

Parking for Blue Badge holdersIf you have a Blue Badge, you can park for free in all of our car parks. The badge just needs to be visible through your windscreen.

Disabled People’s Protection Policy (DPPP)Our Disabled People’s Protection Policy (DPPP) outlines our commitment to helping our disabled and mobility-impaired customers.

You can read the policy on our website at www.GWR.com, or ask our station staff for a copy of the booklet. It’s also available in large print, Braille and as an audio recording from our Assisted Travel team. You can call them for free on 0800 197 1329.

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We work hard to make our stations pleasant and easy to use. So we regularly check everything’s working properly, and keep them clean and tidy as best we can throughout the day. If you find that’s not the case, please speak to a member of our Station team or call our Customer Support team on 03457 000125.

Here’s what you can expect at our stations.

Polite, helpful staffEveryone who works at our stations is proud to wear a smart, distinctive GWR uniform. They also wear a name badge, and they’re trained to give you excellent customer service. They’ll be happy to answer your questions, give you information about your journey and help with anything else you need.

Waiting areasAll our stations have sheltered waiting areas. Some have waiting rooms as well, which are open when our staff are at the station.

We also have first class lounges at London Paddington and Cardiff Central. Here are their normal opening hours, but these can change from time to time:

London PaddingtonMonday to Friday: 6.30am–11.30pm Saturday: 6am–9pm Sunday: 10am–11.30pm

Cardiff CentralMonday to Friday: 6am–6.45pm Saturday and Sunday: – closed

What to expect at our stations


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Automatic ticket gatesFor extra security, and to stop people travelling without a ticket, we’ve fitted automatic ticket gates at many of our stations.

If you need to keep your ticket after your journey, you can show it to the staff at the gates and let them know you need to keep it. They’ll open a gate for you.

Getting the right trainWe give as much information as we can to help you find your train. All the platform details, train times and stations on each route are on our notice boards and information screens. We also have help points at most of our stations, where you can get live updates and timetable information.

Changing trainsIf you’re changing trains and the service you’re on is running late, your next train may not be able to wait. That’s because we don’t want to make the customers already on that train run late as well. Sometimes, we will be able to wait – for example, if there aren’t many trains per day or if your connecting train is the last one of the day. But if not, your ticket will be valid for the next available service.

Please check our timetables to see how much time you’ll need to change trains before you book your tickets.

Car parkingMost of our stations have car parking for customers. You can check www.GWR.com to see if your local station has a car park and how much it costs. Or you can call our Customer Support team on 03457 000 125.

ToiletsMany of our stations have toilets for customers and they’re open when our staff are there. We work hard to keep them clean and hygienic throughout the day.

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We want all of your journeys with us to be comfortable and enjoyable, so we work hard to make sure everything runs smoothly. Here’s what you can expect on our trains.

Food and drinkWe offer a range of different options for food and drink on our trains. We give details of all the catering services in our timetable, and at www.GWR.com. We’ll do our best to let you know if anything changes before you travel.

The Pullman is the UK’s only train with fine dining. There’s information about the train’s routes and the impressive menus on our website.

Wi-FiAt the moment, we have Wi-Fi on our:

• Night Riviera Sleeper

• long-distance services to the West of England and South Wales

• trains that run between London Paddington and the North Cotswolds.

By the end of 2015, we’ll have Wi-Fi on our local trains which stop at stations in the Thames Valley.

Our first class serviceWe have first class coaches on many of our trains – we list which ones in our timetables. And we always try to give exceptional service to all our first class customers. This includes giving you free refreshments on the trains with a catering service.

There are times when we can’t serve you at your seat. When this happens, just show your ticket at the buffet to get the complimentary snacks and drinks you’d like.

What to expect on our trains



Room for bikesWe always try to accommodate bikes on our trains, but we can’t promise there’ll always be room.

If you’d like to travel with your bike, it’s best to check www.GWR.com before you get to the station, to see which trains you can catch.

You can book a bike space when you buy your ticket, and from the ticket office at the station up to two hours before you travel. As the spaces are limited, it’s a good idea to book early. It’s also a good idea to arrive early to give yourself plenty of time to get your bike on the train safely.

If you have a foldable bike, you can put it in the luggage rack on our coaches, if there’s room. When you do store your bike on our train, we’re not responsible if anything happens to it – for example, if it’s lost, stolen or damaged.

When you may not be able to put your bike on the trainOn some peak time trains, we can’t take bikes at all. On others, we can only take bikes if customers have reserved a place for them.

There may also be times when we feel there isn’t enough room for your bike, or that loading it on to the train might be inconvenient or cause delays, damage or injury. If that happens, we may not carry your bike – even if you booked a space.

You can find out more about taking bikes on our trains in the National Rail Conditions of Carriage and our leaflet ‘Cycling by Train’. Please ask the staff at any of our stations or go to www.GWR.com for a copy.

Taking animals on our trainsIf you’d like to travel with your pet, we’re happy for you to bring it. Please keep dogs on a lead and other animals in a suitable carrier.

You can take up to two animals free of charge. You’ll also need to keep them off the seats and make sure they aren’t taking up space that other customers could use.

We’ll get you to where you need to beIf you give yourself plenty of time but still miss a connection because our train is late, we’ll help you get to the destination on your ticket.

Reserving a seatWhen you buy your ticket, you can make one seat reservation per single journey. If you don’t use your seat, we’ll give it to someone else. If you buy an advance purchase ticket, it’s only valid with the seat reservation that comes with it.

If you haven’t made a reservation in advance, we can’t guarantee that you’ll get a seat on the train. We plan our services around how many customers we expect to travel at certain times. But at peak time, when trains are much busier, you may have to stand. This shouldn’t be for more than 20 minutes (or one stop, if that’s longer). And you shouldn’t have to stand on an off-peak train at all.

Some of our tickets are flexible, so you can catch any of our trains. But it’s a good idea to book a seat on a specific train – especially for long-distance journeys. It’s free to reserve a seat when you buy your ticket.

If you do book a standard class seat but have to stand up because we couldn’t provide it, we’ll give you some vouchers as compensation or a cheque if you would prefer. If you have a first class ticket and there are no seats available, we’ll give you some vouchers based on the cost of your ticket, or a cheque if you would prefer. We’ll make up the difference between a first and standard class ticket for your train. If you have a season ticket, we’ll work out the proportional rate (not pro rata) for your journey.

To claim your compensation, please send us your:

• original first class ticket, or

• standard class ticket and seat reservation, or

• M-Ticket booking confirmation, or

• season ticket details.


You can send them to:

GWR Customer Support FREEPOST RSKT-AHAZ-SLRH Plymouth PL4 6AB

Bringing luggage on our trainsPlease don’t bring more luggage onto the train than you can carry. If you have large cases or other large items, you might be able to put them in our guard’s van. But that’s only for our high-speed trains, and we may charge you a fee. You can find out how much in the National Rail Conditions of Carriage or by calling our Customer Support team on 03457 000 125.

We always do our best to accommodate all your luggage, including things like surfboards. But if the train is busy, or loading your luggage could cause delays, injury or inconvenience, we won’t be able to take it. We also won’t take unaccompanied luggage or anything that we think might be dangerous.

Travelling without a valid ticketOur Buy Before You Board policy means that all our customers must buy a ticket before they get on the train. We remind our customers about the policy by displaying signs at all our stations.

If you start your journey at a station where you can’t buy a ticket, you’ll need to buy one on the train. Or, if you’re changing trains, you’ll need to buy one at the station where you change.

It’s really important you know if your ticket has any restrictions. You can check the terms and conditions of our tickets and railcards at www.GWR.com. Or you can call our Customer Support team on 03457 000 125 before you travel. They’ll be happy to help.

If you catch one of our trains without a valid ticket, at a station where you could have bought one, we’ll charge you an anytime fare. That’s the cost of an open single or return. You won’t get any discounts, unless you have a Disabled Persons Railcard.

If you’re in a penalty fare area, you might be charged a penalty fare of £20, or twice the cost of a single fare to the next station – whichever is more.

You can find out more about the Penalty Fares Regulations in our Buy Before You Board policy. Please ask the staff at any of our stations or go to www.GWR.com to read it.

If you have a railcard, please carry it with you when you travel. If you can’t show it with your discounted ticket, we’ll charge you the full standard single fare for your trip. This is the same for advance ticket reservations. Your ticket is only valid if you have the reservation with you – and vice versa – so you need to show them together. If you don’t, you may be reasonably asked to pay the full standard single fare.

If you have a ticket for a specific train and you want to travel on a different one, please go to our ticket office before the train you booked leaves. You can then pay any difference between the old fare and the new fare to travel on a different train. We will charge a £10 admin fee for amendments. If you don’t pay the extra fee you might have to buy a new ticket at full price on the train.

Our staff check tickets at many stations, so please keep your ticket with you until you’re outside the station.

Travelling in a groupIf you want to travel in a group of 10 or more, please call our group booking service on 03457 000 125. We’ll help you find the trains where you’re more likely to get enough seats for everyone, and you might also be able to get a discount.

Great Western Railway: our Passenger’s Charter 27

Business DirectIf you travel for work, you might like to use our dedicated rail booking and business management system to organise your travel quickly and easily. You can call our team on 03457 660 228 or go to www.GWR.com.

First class upgrades for mums-to-beWe know it can be hard for pregnant women when there aren’t any seats in our carriages. That’s why we offer women who are 25 weeks into their pregnancy, and have a standard class season ticket, a first class upgrade. That way, if there aren’t any standard class seats, they can sit in any first class seats that are free.

If you’d like to be upgraded while you’re expecting, please send us a copy of your:

• season ticket

• photocard

• Maternity Certificate (MAT B1) or Family Health Services Authority Exemption Certificate (FP92) – you can get these from your midwife or GP.

You can send them to our Customer Support team at:


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We work hard to make sure your journeys with us run smoothly. But we know that sometimes things don’t go to plan. So, if your journey is delayed, we’ll do everything we can to get you where you need to be.

What we’ll do to get you through delays• We’ll always try to keep you up to date about what’s happening, and

give you advice about your journey.

• If the problems with our service are very bad, we’ll try to put extra members of staff on the delayed trains and at the stations they stop at.

• On high-speed services running over an hour late, we’ll give you free soft drinks for as long as we have them on board.

• If the train you’re on is delayed during your trip, we’ll get you to the station you’re going to if we can – by bus or taxi if we need to. If we can’t get you to that station, we’ll take you back to the station that will work best for you. And if we can’t do either of those things, we’ll find you somewhere to stay for the night, so you can continue your journey the next day.

• We’ll make claiming compensation for a delayed journey as easy as we can. Where possible, our crew will let you know if you’re entitled to it and will give you a claim form or let you know where you can collect one.

Let us know how we’re doingIf you ever get delayed on a journey with us, we want to hear from you. We’d like the chance to make up for it and handle any complaints you have quickly and efficiently.

For more on what you can expect from us and how to get in touch, check our Complaints Handling Policy. You’ll find a copy at www.GWR.com.

If things go wrong



How we compensate you for delaysWhen we give you compensation, we’ll ask you whether you’d like rail travel vouchers or an e-voucher, which will show as credit on your GWR online account. If you’d prefer to get your compensation back as money instead, just let us know and we’ll send you a cheque.

Below, you’ll see the details of the minimum amount of compensation we pay for delays. If the delay to your journey isn’t covered, please get in touch with our Customer Support team on 03457 000 125. They’ll look into what happened and get back to you as quickly as they can.

If your journey is delayed because of something outside the control of the rail industry, we don’t normally offer any compensation. This might be things like trespassing, vandalism, someone being hit by a train, severe weather or a security alert.

If you have a single, return or weekly season ticketJourneys on (former) First Great Western servicesIf you’re delayed by more than an hour, we’ll compensate you for the full value of that part of the journey. That’s 50% of the cost of a return, and 100% of a single.

If you’re delayed by more than two hours, we’ll compensate you for the full cost of your ticket.

For weekly season tickets, we’ll base your compensation on the value of your journey. So we’ll divide the cost by 10 – which represents two journeys a day for five days.

Journeys on (former) First Great Western Link servicesWe’ll compensate you for 50% of the cost of your tickets if:

• your journey is an hour or more and we delay you by an hour or more

• your journey is less than an hour and we delay you by more than 30 minutes.


Journeys on (former) Wessex Trains servicesIf you’re delayed by more than an hour, we’ll compensate you for 50% of the cost of a single ticket and 25% of a return ticket.

If you’re delayed by more than two hours, we’ll compensate you for the full cost of your ticket.


If you have a combination of ticketsIf you have a combination of tickets for your journey, we’ll compensate you for your whole journey in line with the compensation arrangements above.

If some of your tickets are for trips with other train companies, we’ll compensate you if we caused the delay. If we didn’t, we’ll ask the other train company to contact you. We’ll always let you know when we’ve done this.

If you have season tickets for a month or longerOur compensation for customers with a season ticket for a month or longer is based on whether we meet our punctuality and reliability targets. If we don’t meet them, we’ll give you a discount when you renew your ticket.

The table on the next page shows how this works for our different services. We explain the terms we use later on.


Punctuality, reliability and the on-time allowancePunctuality concerns the number of trains that arrive at their final destination on time. The ‘on-time allowance’ concerns the number of minutes’ leeway we have to still be classed as on time if we don’t arrive exactly on schedule. Reliability concerns the number of scheduled trains that actually run.

At the moment, we record our punctuality and reliability standards under these groups:

• the former First Great Western

• the former First Great Western Link

• the former Wessex Trains

We also separate Wessex Trains’ targets into four sub-groups. The table opposite shows these groups and their standards.

The triggerThe trigger is the point at which we give a discount for season ticket holders. If we don’t meet one of the targets, and fall below the trigger percentage in the last 12 months, we’ll give our season ticket holders 5% off their next season ticket. If we miss both the punctuality and the reliability targets, and fall below both triggers, we’ll give you 10% off.

How to get your discountIf you’re entitled to a discount, we’ll take it off when you renew your ticket. To get your discount, please buy your new ticket:

• within four weeks of the day your old ticket expires

• for the same journey

• for the same period of time or for a shorter period of time than your old ticket.

Annual season tickets for former Wessex TrainsIf you used to buy your annual season tickets from Wessex Trains, we’re more than happy to give you the same discounts.

We’ll give you another 1% off when you renew for every four-week period that our average yearly punctuality or reliability falls below the trigger. We’ll give you a maximum of 8% off. If we fall below both triggers, we’ll give you a maximum of 16% off.

Charter Group On-time allowance

Punctuality% Reliability%

Target Trigger Target Trigger

High Speed Services* 10 minutes 90.0 88.0 99.2 98.2

London–Thames Valley Services** 5 minutes 92.0 89.0 99.0 98.0

Bristol Suburban Services*** 5 minutes 92.0 89.0 99.5 98.5

Devon Services*** 5 minutes 92.0 89.0 99.5 98.5

Plymouth & Cornwall Services*** 5 minutes 92.0 89.0 99.5 98.5

South Wales–South Coast Services*** 10 minutes 92.0 89.0 99.5 98.5

*Former First Great Western services

**Former First Great Western Link services

***Former Wessex Trains services

All Monday to Saturday services are included in these calculations, except former First Great Western Link services. For those, we include Monday to Friday services. And we only include morning and evening peak services in the punctuality calculation. Peak services are the trains that arrive at London Paddington from 7am–10am and trains that leave London Paddington from 4pm–7pm. We don’t include Sundays and Bank Holidays in these calculations.


If you’re entitled to a discount, we’ll take it off when you renew your ticket. To get your discount, please buy your new ticket:

• within four weeks of the day your old ticket expires

• for the same journey

• for the same period of time or for a shorter period of time than your old ticket.

Compensation for void daysA void day is when there’s a serious disruption at peak time, and we haven’t offered you another way to get to where you’re going – like a rail replacement bus.

If we think our performance falls below an acceptable level during a peak period, we’ll declare the day ‘void’ for the people affected. When this happens, we’ll get in touch by email or post. We’ll also put up posters at our stations. We’ll explain what happened and the options they have for compensation – either a season ticket extension or a refund based on the number of void days. And we’ll let them know how they can claim it.

We don’t compensate you for any losses or other costsIf your train is delayed or cancelled, we won’t give you compensation for any losses or extra costs (if you miss a plane, for example). That’s in line with the National Rail Conditions of Carriage for all train companies.

If you are catching a plane, please leave plenty of time to allow for any delays to your train journey. You can ask your airline how much time you’ll need to leave to check in. It’s also really important to get full travel insurance.

Work to improve our servicesPlanned improvement workAt the moment, we’re introducing electric trains on many of our routes so we can run a faster, more efficient service. There’s also lots of resignalling work going on, as well as the construction of Crossrail and the ongoing maintenance of the train network. This means many of our timetables will be changed to allow this work to go ahead.

We always know about improvement work 12 weeks before it starts, and we keep our website up to date with any changes to our services. Alternatively, you can contact National Rail Enquiries for information on work across the entire rail network.

We’ll also put up posters at our staffed stations four weeks before and we’ll make amended timetables available at stations seven days before.

We’ll do our best to make sure you can still travel by train for all your journeys during the work. But there will be times when we may need to take you by road instead. When this happens, we don’t always have room for things like:

• prams and pushchairs that don’t fold

• bikes

• animals (except guide dogs).

If you need to travel with any of these things, please check the status of your journey before you leave home.

Emergency workWork sometimes needs to be done at very short notice, so we have to run a new timetable. When this happens, we’ll give you as much notice as we can – through our website and at our stations. You can also follow us on Twitter @GWRHelp for live updates, or get a text or email alert. You can sign up for the alerts at www.journeycheck.com/GWR.


When we can give you a refundDelays and cancellationsIf your train is delayed or cancelled or your reservation will not be honoured and you decide not to travel, we’ll give you a full immediate refund at any ticket office wherever possible. Alternatively, you can return the unused tickets to where you bought them, no later than 28 days after they expire. This also applies to advance tickets.

If you choose not to travelIf the trains are running with no problems and you decide not to travel, we’ll give you a refund, depending on the ticket you have, but will take a £10 admin fee off. All you need to do is return the unused tickets to where you bought them, no later than 28 days after they expire.

We won’t refund certain tickets – for example, advance tickets – so it’s a good idea to check the terms and conditions of your ticket before you buy it.

Refunding season ticketsIn most cases, we can refund you if you don’t use a portion of your season ticket – in other words, if you return it before it expires. You can return the season ticket to where you bought it and we’ll give you a refund from the date you handed it back.

Our season tickets are a great deal for regular travellers because you pay a lot less per day for your journey. You also save more for a yearly season ticket than you do for a monthly one, for example. So you might find that there’s only a very small amount, or nothing, to refund when you return it to us.

If you use an annual season ticket for 40 weeks, there won’t be any refund. That’s because we don’t work out the refund pro rata: we base it on the difference between the cost of the season ticket you originally bought and the cost of a season ticket for the amount of time you actually used it.

If you’re illIf you can’t travel for more than four weeks because of illness, we might be able to refund some of your unused season ticket. Please let us know as soon as you can if you won’t be able to use your ticket. You can call our Customer Support team on 03457 000 125. We may ask you for some confirmation of your illness, such as a medical certificate.

If you lose your season ticketIt’s important that you keep your ticket safe. We can give you a duplicate, but we will charge you a £10 admin fee.

If your property is damagedAnything you bring with you to our stations or on our trains is your responsibility. So if you lose it or it’s stolen, we don’t give any compensation. If your property is damaged, we’ll only give you compensation if the damage was caused by the negligence of our staff.

Accidents and injuryTravelling by train is very safe, and we work hard to prevent accidents.

If something does go wrong and you are hurt, please let us know as soon as possible. If it’s an emergency, we’ll get you the help you need.

We record all the details of accidents so we can investigate what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Lost propertyIf you ever leave something on the train or at the station, you can let our Lost Property team know on 03457 000 125.

If we find any lost property, we send it to our lost property office at Bristol Temple Meads station. Or if we find anything at London Paddington, we keep it in the lost property office there.

We store the items we find for at least 12 weeks. If we have something of yours, you can collect it, or we can post small items or arrange a courier. We do charge an admin fee in line with the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, and we’ll ask you to pay for postage or courier fees as well.

39

Whether you have a question or a complaint, want to claim compensation, give us feedback or make a suggestion, we make it as easy as we can for you to get in touch with us.

Go to www.GWR.com Start a web chat If you’re travelling soon and need help straightaway, start a

web chat with one of our advisers. They’ll help you find train times and tickets, and book your seats – seven days a week, from 7am–10pm.

Fill in our online form Send us a message and we’ll aim to get back to you within

five working days. If you send us a complaint, we may take longer to give you a full response if we need to look into what happened.

Call us on 03457 000 125 If you’re travelling soon and need help straightaway, our

Customer Support team will be more than happy to help you with whatever you need. They’re available from 7am to 10pm every day, except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Get in touch on social media If you’re travelling soon and need help straightaway, tweet

us @GWRHelp or send us a message on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GWR. We’ll be on hand to help you 24 hours a day.

Email us at [email protected] Send us a message and we’ll aim to get back to you within

five working days. If you send us a complaint, we may take longer to give you a full response if we need to look into what happened.

How to get in touch with us



Write to us Our address is:


Once our Customer Support team has your letter, they’ll aim to get back to you within five working days. If they need more time to investigate a complaint or check information, they’ll let you know within five working days. They’ll then write with a full response within 20 working days.

Sometimes letters get lost in the post. We work with Royal Mail to try and stop this, but we can’t always prevent it. If you’re worried about your letter getting lost, the best way to get in touch with us is by email, online or over the phone.

Comments about other train companies If any of your comments are linked to another train company,

we’ll send them on and ask them to contact you.

Our customer panels We’re always keen to hear from our customers if they have

any suggestions for how we can do better. In fact, we have two regional customer panels to help us do this. The panels meet every six months with members of our Senior Management team. So, if you’d like to help us make changes, you can volunteer to be on the panels.

If you’re interested, go to www.GWR.com for more details on what’s involved and how to join.

Our advisory board Our advisory board is made up of stakeholders and customers

who meet at least five times a year with directors and senior managers. Together, they look at how we’re doing and discuss changes for the future.

The board, and our customer panels, help us decide what we do with our Customer and Communities Improvement Fund. This fund helps us transform our customer service where there is real social need and where normal business criteria make it harder to invest.

Meet the manager We hold regular sessions where you can talk to our senior

managers and directors about our service. You can find out when the next sessions are at www.GWR.com.

If you’re not happy with our reply to your complaint

We work hard to give you great service and treat complaints fairly. If you’re unhappy with our response to your complaint, you can get in touch with Transport Focus or London TravelWatch – the watchdogs for the rail industry. They can independently review your complaint and make sure we responded fairly.

For journeys outside London, please contact Transport Focus. Here are their details:

Transport Focus FREEPOST RTEH-XAGE-BYKZ PO Box 5594 Southend on Sea SS1 9PZ Phone: 0300 123 2350 Text phone: 0845 850 1354 Website: www.transportfocus.org.uk Twitter: @transportfocus


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Here are their details:

London TravelWatch 169 Union Street London SE1 0LL Phone: 020 3176 2999 Website: www.londontravelwatch.org.uk Email: [email protected]

For journeys within the area in the map below, you can contact London TravelWatch.

FCN: 482899/00

Documents

GWR's Passenger's Charter