Coronavirus: Great Western Railway reduced services

[whole diary]

[didcotdean]

Great Western Railway reduces trains (Herald Series)

Great Western Railway is reducing its service due to coronavirus.

In a statement this morning, it said it aims to work with government guidelines against non-essential travel, but make sure certain routes are maintained to help key workers get to work.

The new timetable will take effect from Monday.

Services between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington and South Wales will continue to run every hour.

Local services will be reduced.

Full details will appear shortly at gwr.com

Thought this deserved it's own thread even though details are not yet available.

[grahame]

Great Western Railway reduces trains (Herald Series)

Great Western Railway is reducing its service due to coronavirus.

In a statement this morning, it said it aims to work with government guidelines against non-essential travel, but make sure certain routes are maintained to help key workers get to work.

The new timetable will take effect from Monday.

Services between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington and South Wales will continue to run every hour.

Local services will be reduced.

Full details will appear shortly at gwr.com

Thought this deserved it's own thread even though details are not yet available.

Thank you, yes - correctly a new thread.

Reports of traffic / income down by 33%, 50% and 70% from various sources (some GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) data in there) so this reduction is not unexpected;  I privately speculated what services might/should  look like soon via a personal message (but don't want to start a speculation thread) - but it did include cutting main line expresses west of Didcot to 2 per hour. Every 30 minutes alternating Swansea and Bristol would make sense, but considering how long timetable planning usually takes, I suspect a short cut of running to existing paths.

Trains will be cut quickly and some rough edges on the new timetables. I fear they won't come back to new-appropriate levels as the country comes through to a new future with anything like that speed of action, and indeed we may well find ourselves in "campaigning country" to get back what we loose very soon.

[IndustryInsider]

It’ll be very interesting to see what the medium and long term future holds, but for now there’s no doubt a much reduced timetable is required.  Numbers of passengers are still dropping and from the many long distance trains I’ve seen over the last 24 hours, I would say numbers are now at 10-20% of what you would usually expect.  That’s not 10-20% less, but in total.  Shorter distance services slightly, but only slightly, better.

Handouts Financial support will be needed very soon to keep operators afloat, and I think there’s a real possibility the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) will have to temporarily take over all services if the situation lasts well into the summer.

[grahame]

Government (nationwide) announcement:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/reduced-rail-timetable-agreed-to-protect-train-services-and-staff

The government and the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail industry have agreed a plan that will see a gradual reduction in train services across the country to reflect lower passenger demand, while keeping vital rail services running.

Operators will continue to run core services ensuring people remain able to get to work, can travel to access medical appointments and the flow of goods continues across the UK.

The move reflects a decrease in passenger demand as people stop all unnecessary travel and decrease non-essential social contact in line with government advice to help stop the spread of the virus. Running reduced services will also help protect the welfare of frontline railway staff essential for day-to-day operations.

Rail services will be reduced from Monday 23rd March and kept under review, with operators providing clear communications to ensure passengers who need to travel are well-informed of the changes.

There will be a gradual move towards introducing reduced service levels on wide parts of the network over the longer term. To minimise disruption, services will be reduced progressively across the network over the coming days.

The plan will also ensure key freight services can continue to move around the country, allowing vital goods to continue to be shipped where needed.

[IndustryInsider]

Based on more observations today, I reckon I can reduce my 10-20% figure down to 5% for many long distance services.

[grahame]

Email from National Rail

These are exceptional times. Coronavirus is changing how everyone lives, works and travels. But we know that Britain’s railway is vital to keep the nation connected and we wanted to update you on what is happening to train services.


In order to keep trains running with fewer staff over what may be a prolonged period of disruption for the country, we have worked with government to switch to a reduced timetable from Monday 23 March. It means that essential workers will continue to be able to get to their jobs over the coming weeks and months, and that trains will continue to deliver the goods that keep our supermarket shelves stacked and our power stations running.


There will be around half the number of trains running compared to a normal weekday, with early morning and late evening services where possible to support those doing shift work. New train times will be available from midday Sunday 22 March. Please check National Rail for more information and before you set out.


We are monitoring journeys closely and should it become necessary in the weeks ahead, we will adjust services to ensure they’re being delivered to where they’re needed most. In the meantime, if your journey is essential and you need to travel by train, please follow public health advice.


We would like to thank all customers for their support as we work through this time of extraordinary national challenge. We would also like to thank all our colleagues in the rail industry who, like other key workers, are to be commended for putting the needs of the country first, and whose safety remains front of mind. Together, they are keeping the country connected.


Sincerely,

The team at National Rail-

[grahame]

Circular letter from Matthew Golton in last half hour.  Very much along lines I would have guessed / sensible framework for the sort but indeterminate time.

Dear Graham
 
You may have seen in this morning’s media that following discussions with government and the wider rail industry, we are reducing services to reflect national advice against non-essential travel, while maintaining services critical to keeping key workers moving during the current situation.    
 
The new timetable will operate from Monday (23 March). There will however also be some changes to advertised services over this weekend. The new timetable will operate until further notice.   
 
The changes prioritise key routes, essential for those people continuing to deliver vital services as the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) responds to the current situation.  We will be operating hourly London services to Bristol Temple Meads, South Wales, Worcester Shrub Hill and Plymouth where customers will be able to connect for Cornwall.  Customers for the South Cotswolds will be able to connect with a two hourly service from Swindon. There will also be significant changes to regional and branch line services. 
 
We are working hard to enter all the changes into online and digital timetables, and these should all be updated in the next seven to ten days. From then individual journeys can be checked on www.gwr.com/travel-updates/check-your-journey.   
 
Until then we will be adding details to a dedicated page on our website gwr.com. This is being updated now and will be available later this morning. 
 
These are difficult times and we acknowledge that some of these changes may be difficult for some customers, but I know you will recognise the need for us to keep services running for those with critical roles and I would be grateful for any help you can give in getting the message out about these changes and why we are making them.
 
Best regards
 
Matthew

[didcotdean]

Full details now on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).com, at least as to the service level as copied below

High Speed Services
On the following long-distance routes there will be 1 train per hour in both directions:
• between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads
• between London Paddington and Swansea
• between London Paddington and Worcester Foregate Street
• between London Paddington and Plymouth (Services between London Paddington and Plymouth will alternate between a stopping service in the first hour, calling at Newbury, Pewsey, Westbury and Castle Cary and a fast service between London Paddington  – Taunton – Plymouth in the second hour.)

An hourly shuttle service will operate between Penzance and Plymouth with a varying calling pattern to intermediate stations.
A two hourly shuttle will operate between Swindon and Gloucester.

London and Thames Valley
An hourly service will operate on the following routes:
• between Reading and Basingstoke
• between Didcot Parkway and Oxford
• between Reading and Redhill
• between Reading and Newbury / Bedwyn
• between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway

The following branch lines will operate with a reduced service with amended timings:
• West Ealing – Greenford
• Slough – Windsor
• Maidenhead – Marlow/Bourne End
• Twyford – Henley-on-Thames

Bristol regional services
A two hourly service will operate on the following routes:
• between Cardiff Central and Portsmouth Harbour
• between Cardiff Central and Taunton
• Westbury and Weymouth

An hourly service will operate between Bristol Temple Meads and Gloucester/Great Malvern

Bristol Temple Meads – Severn Beach line will continue to operate but with amended times.

Swindon – Melksham – Westbury TransWilts services will continue with minor changes between Swindon and Westbury, calling at the normal intermediate stations.

Devon and Cornwall
An hourly service will operate on the following routes:
• between Exmouth and Paignton
• between Truro and Falmouth Docks
• between Penzance and Plymouth

Services between Barnstaple and St. James’ Park will operate at peak times

Services on the Plymouth – Gunnislake, Liskeard – Looe, Par – Newquay and St Erth – St Ives branch lines will continue to operate with amended times.

Night Riviera Sleeper service
The sleeper service between London Paddington and Penzance will not run until further notice.
Onboard services
Pullman Dining will no longer be available until further notice.

[IndustryInsider]

Based on what I’ve seen today, that will be more than enough.

[Sixty3Closure]

I think i was the only person on the Carmarthan train last night apart from a handful of people at Cardiff using it as a local service and single digits who got off at Bristol.

Very strange experience.

[rogerw]

Correct information still not available on line for next week. "Check your journey" has not been update despite the on line advice to use this.

[broadgage]

I think that "everything has all gone to pot" at Brimpsfield

[grahame]

100 short term cancellations tomorrow, starting with

Sat, 21 March 04:48 Swansea to London Paddington due 07:44

21/03/20 04:48 Swansea to London Paddington due 07:44 will be cancelled.

This is due to a short-notice change to the timetable.

Further Information

Following discussions with Government and the wider rail industry, Great Western Railway is reducing services to reflect national advice against non-essential travel, while maintaining services critical to keeping key workers moving during the current situation.

[IndustryInsider]

I assume you’ll see the same (though a shorter list) on Sunday before a proper emergency timetable is released and implemented from Monday.

[Noggin]

Walking past Temple Meads the last couple of days it looks like the London services are just using a single IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) unit rather than the usual pair.