GWR Reviews

Train from Paddington to Pembroke cancelled. Paddington staff very helpful, caught a later train but no connection to Pembroke, train manager advised talking to staff at Swansea. Arrived at Swansea, station staff arranged a taxi to Pembroke, can’t fault it.

They want a pay rise but they don’t know how to tell you what correct platform is your train departing, lots of incompetent people working here. They change the platform 5 mins before departing, they tell you instead of getting to Gloucester to grab the Birmingham train at 21:30 having to pay hotel overnight to go back next day to your actual destination, delayed trains every day and these are just a few of the issues I encountered travelling only a few times with the train in 3 years! Great poor service, payrise for a incompetent services, I would not give you a penny more for how many bad instructions and how many times I missed a train because of the people working there!!!!

When you try to take your money back it takes months or you don’t even actually give it to you.

Impolite railway staff by beating me for just ticket checking. Ticket price is also unreasonable by double the fare for same distance comparing with other operators. I will definitely NEVER use it again

I had to change my ticket because my travel plans changed. I contacted GWR via Whatsapp and they were very quick to respond, with very helpful info and were very patient with me even when I messed up what I had to do! It took several Whatsapp conversations to resolve my issue (my fault, not theirs) and every time was handled with a smile by Phil.

17-7-2022 - 10.08 train - London Paddington to Oxford.

25 degrees outside and no air conditioning in any of the coaches.

I had to spend over an hour standing in the door section just to stay moderately cool.

Heaven help those later in the day when temperatures are Expected to reach 29 degrees - it will be even hotter than that in coaches full of people with all windows sealed so can’t be opened anywhere on the train.

(A friend I was meeting at Oxford who arrived on a different GWR train told me that the air-conditioning on her train was not working either. )

Had they bothered to make an announcement at Paddington I would have taken the next train.

Wi-Fi not working either.

The only thing that did work efficiently was the app to take my fare.

Is Great Western Railway saving money, or just can’t be bothered?

I travel with GWR frequently. The trains are wonderfully air-conditioned and always clean. All the staff are lovely. They are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. When there are problems or delays they make regular announcements so that passengers know what's going on. Even on days when there are delays and trains are packed with standing passengers, the staff remain efficient ad helpful.

Our 15-year-old daughter was looking forward to a direct train from Cheltenham Spa to Didcot today. Train cancelled. Advised by GER of an alternative route, she tried again. Train cancelled.

For goodness sake, we pay more for rail travel than ANY comparable country and yet the service is dreadful. A couple of years ago I gave up commuting to London on GWR as I’d had enough of the poor service and nothing has changed in the meantime.

Save yourself disappointment and frustration and drive. It’s cheaper VC and more reliable, sadly.

This evening I was really impressed by the ticket collector on the 19.32 train from Paddington to Bath.I have just arrived back in England from France and am loving his friendly English manner and his helpfulness to passengers. I just heard him help one customer by looking up which connecting service he can get.
His announcements are also excellent and clear.
I would have given GWR 5 out of 5 except there was a slight delay to the service I was in.

I caught the 9:24 from Exmouth to Central Station yesterday. It was very easy to buy my ticket the day before at the station as a conductor was in the station helping to keep the queues down. He was super helpful and efficient. It's only a short journey to Exeter but the carriage was airy and seats very comfortable with good lumber support. It was clean too. The same conductor was working on the train and I noticed how helpful and nice he was to everyone. And the train was on time for both journeys. Good job GWR.

Travelling recently from Stroud to Paddington on a direct train. Was delayed on the journey by approximately 2 hours, stopping for long periods at stations. The train became solidly packed during this time with passengers standing. Eventually told to change by the driver to a longer train at Reading as the longer train was being given priority to leave. Did as asked. Had to wait for a replacement driver at that point due to delays. Eventually arrived in Paddington on that train. That evening I received an email telling me to request a refund. GWR are now saying I did not complete my journey by train and are refusing to refund?!

Travelling first class, there was someone in my reserved seat but I easily found another. I didn’t want any of the free refreshments offered, but asked if I could buy some white wine, to be told there was only Prosecco. That’s fine, I said, and was give a plastic cup and a napkin, but the wine never arrived, nor an explanation. Why are people so useless at their jobs? I would be unemployed if I behaved this way to my customers.

I begrudgingly had to give 1 star as there is no minus option. I recently purchased tickets to travel on GWR connecting with a flight. As my flight was cancelled I changed my plans. I requested a refund following the instructions on GWR website and am annoyed to say the least. 15 days later I have been contacted by email requesting I resubmit images of my tickets cut in half!! I foolishly thought that when my request for refund was resolved the tickets would become void and unable to be used for travel therefore making the need for the ticket to be defaced unnecessary. I do not see the need for companies, of which GWR is a prime example, to deliberately prolong the refund process. I personally think 7 days is an acceptable time frame.

I’m on a train delayed for the saddest of reasons, a fatality at Maidenhead. Cardiff to Paddington. I was excited to experience for the first time a GWR Pullman train. I enjoyed a two course (and two bottle) lunch with wine delivered by fabulous hosts, Diane and Marc. Professional, natural, genuine, emotionally intelligent people. What a treat to be looked after by them. I like GWR a lot because of their people. Look after them or risk losing them like so many others, who put profit above people. Culture first, profit follows.

was supposed to catch the 11:46 train but the train pulled in earlier and left at 11:44 meaning that i missed the train. sort it out

I made the mistake of applying for a full refund on a return ticket when I needed the return journey. I rang them to ask if this could be amended - was told no. I spend a lot of money a month on trains and am struggling with the price increases. I said I can't afford to pay for another ticket. person I spoke to couldn't care less.