First Great Western provides the mainline rail service between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads. There is an half-hourly train frequency between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads, with a journey time of just 1hr 45-minutes. Currently the return Conference Fares from London Paddington to Bristol are set at just £44 for Standard Class Travel and £89 for First Class travel. Furthermore these fares are available on most trains on most days, allowing delegates to travel at the time they want to. First Great Western is also relaxed about delegates travelling a little before of after their Conference, allowing venues to also promote a few extra night stays through business tourism. When travelling on FGW mainline services, First Class passengers also enjoy complimentary at-seat refreshments and may also use the First Class Lounge at London Paddington station (open weekdays and Sunday evenings).

The Conference Fares are available exclusively for conference delegates and may not be used by anyone else for any other purpose. Delegates may be asked by FGW ticket inspection staff to prove their conference attendance at a pre-approved conference venue. Conference fares may then be booked using the following link: www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/offers/conferences, selecting the 'Bristol' destination tab and making the booking with payment by debit or credit card. Only one ticket may be purchased at a time, only through this mechanism and then collected from a station ticketing machine - the same card being required to activate the ticketing machine as was used to make the purchase.

As stated, there are Conference Fares to Bristol Temple Meads from most FGW stations. We are also very pleased to say that these fares can be purchased for travel from many stations in SE England, where the ex-London fare is surcharged by just £10 for a Std Class return and £20 on a First Class return. This extends to areas such as Herts, Essex, Kent, Sussex, Surrey, etc.

Finally, First Great Western will soon be adding an additional layer of security to the booking process. This will consist of a PIN code to access the Conference Fares booking site. These codes will be venue specific, therefore allowing greater control and facilitating a greater understanding of which venues are having the most success in persuading delegates to take the train to their conference. I will inform you as and when such measure are implemented.