Not sure I've made my point clearly enough. Trains times tomorrow (Thursday) from Exeter to London leaving before 09h00 are, filtering out cases where a train is substantially overtaken:
dep 0510 arr 0846 takes 3h36, to Waterloo
dep 0546 arr 0838 takes 2h52, to Paddington
dep 0652 arr 0900 takes 2h08, to Paddington
dep 0753 arr 1002 takes 2h09, to Paddington
dep 0851 arr 1124 takes 2h33, to Paddington
I assume most people travelling for work and expected to spend the whole day alert will be unhappy with a 0510 train departure and even 0546 is less than appealing.
It's clear that a train can do Exeter to Paddington in 2h08. However assuming a business location is not adjacent to Paddington, it's very difficult to make a meeting before about 0930 or 1000.
Alternatively
EXT dep 0640 LCY arr 0800
Just late enough to be palatable to those who like a good night's sleep, and arrives early enough to make a 9 am meeting viable anywhere in central London.
Frankly a rather compelling option to anyone who would otherwise be travelling early morning from Exeter to London for work, and potentially slashing demand in first class on the early morning trains. Will First Great Western respond, and if so, how ?
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 23rd Apr 2014 at 12:43.