2024 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury

[whole diary]

[grahame]

So that leaves (Melksham, population 25,000 remember!) today - Saturday 19th October 2024 - with trains northbound today at 08:02, 10:11, 12:32 and 14:35.   Southbound at 09:10, 11:31, 13:39 and 15:39.  But trains at 16:39, 18:01, 18:51, 20:10, 20:25 and 21:35 are cancelled.

It's interesting that the there's also an unadvertised train at 20:38 from Westbury to Swindon (half an hour after the cancelled 20:08).  Last time I was at Westbury on a Saturday evening, held up getting there by some delay elsewhere as I recall, I identified this train in platform 1 there and asked the chap walking up to the cab if he was headed for Melksham and Swindon; sheepish, he admitted he was, but explained his sheet told him he was a "class 3" and wasn't taking passengers. He left a few minutes later, all the lights on in the train and a train manager riding "on the cushions" just behind the driving cab.

It IS possible to get back to Melksham from Westbury after the 20:08 or even after the 20:38 or when the later summer-only service from Weymouth is cancelled. Trains to Bath Spa aren't all cancelled in the same way as all trains to Swindon are, and there's a late bus at 23:20 from Bath bus station at 23:20 which gets you to Melksham at midnight.  OK for me - message to Lisa to let her know I'll be late, but leisure travellers with families are put off rail travel ...

[brooklea]

So that leaves (Melksham, population 25,000 remember!) today - Saturday 19th October 2024 - with trains northbound today at 08:02, 10:11, 12:32 and 14:35.   Southbound at 09:10, 11:31, 13:39 and 15:39.  But trains at 16:39, 18:01, 18:51, 20:10, 20:25 and 21:35 are cancelled.

Sometimes this complete cessation of service along a route merits a “Line update” on JourneyCheck (possibly even with alternative travel advice), but seemingly not today on the TransWilts   

[grahame]

So nothing northbound yesterday (Saturday) after 14:35 calling at Melksham. The empty train that on past form is fully staffed ready for Stroud Valley onward services once the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) go home forth night passed through at 20:55 (3 minutes late).

There may be a good operational reason why this unit wasn't made available to passengers last night (I notice that it started from Hawkeridge Junction) but it looks really bad.  The GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) team / organisation failed to provide staff to look after their customers by driving their public trains - not for the first time. But they managed to staff for a private train that could have at least some help to some of the people they had let down.   It is a customer facing business, but it gives the appearance of not caring for its customers; that appearance isn't unique to Melksham and this line but it's brought into sharp relief here by the way it's done to us.   The "problem" I have is that it's questionable as to whether GWR actually care about us here, and if we rattle the cage too much they'll just give us two fingers and reduce us from second class to third class consideration.

[grahame]

11:42 Swindon to Weymouth due 14:01

11:42 Swindon to Weymouth due 14:01 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Frome, Bruton, Castle Cary, Yeovil Pen Mill, Thornford, Yetminster, Chetnole, Maiden Newton, Dorchester West, Upwey and Weymouth.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

08:10 Warminster to Swindon due 09:06

Facilities on the 08:10 Warminster to Swindon due 09:06.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.
Will be formed of 2 coaches instead of 3.

Additional Information

Please use any available seat according to the class of travel on your ticket. If no seats are available, we would be grateful if you could make sure that those who need them most are able to use them.

Alternatively, you can travel on either of the two GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services that are immediately before or after this one. Your ticket will be valid for travel on these GWR services at no additional cost. You can see how many coaches our services have with the 'Live Times' feature on the GWR app, or speak to staff for further information.

Applies to the rest of this and the next round trip too.  2 carriages should be enough ... not a high season service nor a weekday peak, and ongoing service issues are depressing potential passenger numbers in the medium term.

[IndustryInsider]

So nothing northbound yesterday (Saturday) after 14:35 calling at Melksham. The empty train that on past form is fully staffed ready for Stroud Valley onward services once the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) go home forth night passed through at 20:55 (3 minutes late).

There may be a good operational reason why this unit wasn't made available to passengers last night (I notice that it started from Hawkeridge Junction) but it looks really bad.

If it was asked and I missed it, then apologies, but IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion) this is exactly the sort of direct question that Daryn should have been asked in the recent session.

It was good to see better engagement from the membership this time round, but a lot of the questions were very broad, and therefore the answers were very woolly, vague and aspirational.  And dare I say it, easy to bat away.

A punchy specific question like asking if the above train can run in passenger service when the scheduled passenger service is cancelled, and if not, why not, would need a specific answer.

[grahame]

So nothing northbound yesterday (Saturday) after 14:35 calling at Melksham. The empty train that on past form is fully staffed ready for Stroud Valley onward services once the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) go home forth night passed through at 20:55 (3 minutes late).

There may be a good operational reason why this unit wasn't made available to passengers last night (I notice that it started from Hawkeridge Junction) but it looks really bad.

If it was asked and I missed it, then apologies, but IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion) this is exactly the sort of direct question that Daryn should have been asked in the recent session.

It was asked at the WWRUG^» (West Wiltshire Rail Users Group - about) meeting a couple of weeks prior ...

It was good to see better engagement from the membership this time round, but a lot of the questions were very broad, and therefore the answers were very woolly, vague and aspirational.  And dare I say it, easy to bat away.

A punchy specific question like asking if the above train can run in passenger service when the scheduled passenger service is cancelled, and if not, why not, would need a specific answer.

Yes, I know that the questions for MTM were general of interest to the whole audience.  Sadly, I would agree that some were batted away, or answers were provided to what would have been different but similar looking points.  Not unique to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).

No answer provided on the running of the fully staffed ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) in passenger service when the public train just ahead of it is cancelled, and last night was the first occasion that I have noticed this happening again (not that I have especially been watching for it).  So the answer from last night is that "we have not taken the customer input and been able to act on it".  Some you win, some you can't for operation reasons, and with some you don't know that until next time an event happens.

Many years ago, we celebrated an ECS being run in passenger service on a Sunday evening on a regular basis and providing a service one more that the SLC^▸ (Service Level Commitment) required on that day (which was 2 northbound and none southbound) and more recently - was it just last year - we got a train moved by a few minutes to make for a better connection at Trowbridge, bu failed to get similar at Chippenham by 1 minute.  And for the month's closure until the latter half of January, I have a very minor success (by warned, "very minor") that will speed up some people's journeys.   We keep asking - as "critical friends" and, yes, at times it is very frustrating to not get an answer when we would, at least, know where we stood (and know we are being listened to) when we don't hear back in answer to the question asked.

[eightonedee]

If it was asked and I missed it, then apologies, but IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion)▸ this is exactly the sort of direct question that Daryn should have been asked in the recent session.

.

Good point II, but it should hopefully now be stored away mentally for next time. It reminds me that when commuting sometimes a train would be "failed" when one or more doors failed on a coach, the passengers disembarked and it would be spirited off empty back to the depot. On other occasions the coach would be locked out of order, the passengers crammed into the remaining coach or coaches but at least they got home. Why?

The recent post about current rostering patterns also merits being raised the next time around.  

[TaplowGreen]

17:44 Swindon to Salisbury due 18:55
17:44 Swindon to Salisbury due 18:55 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Warminster and Salisbury.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

07:45 Westbury to Swindon due 08:34

Facilities on the 07:45 Westbury to Swindon due 08:34.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 2.

Lots of these today ... and I really look forward to a day when that third carriage is needed.  I was in Bradford-on-Avon last night talking to a group there.   "Wow" they say when I tell them that passenger journeys at Melksham have risen from 3,000 to 75,000 per annum ... but a sense of shock when they learn the the figure for Bradford-on-Avon is 400,000 per annum for a town with less than half the population of Melksham.   We have a long way to go - a great deal of potential and in my opinion having a reliable service - which it has not been - is a vital key step.

[grahame]

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47 will be terminated at Swindon.
It will no longer call at Kemble, Stroud, Stonehouse, Gloucester, Cheltenham Spa, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Worcester Shrub Hill and Worcester Foregate Street.
It is being delayed at Melksham.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

I suspect the wrong coding ... or an incomplete story

[brooklea]

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47 will be terminated at Swindon.
It will no longer call at Kemble, Stroud, Stonehouse, Gloucester, Cheltenham Spa, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Worcester Shrub Hill and Worcester Foregate Street.
It is being delayed at Melksham.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

I suspect the wrong coding ... or an incomplete story

From RealTimeTrains;

This service was cancelled between Swindon and Worcester Foregate Street due to late arrival of crew from an inbound service (YJ).

It also shows an ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) (5M81), running from Swindon to Gloucester at 08:21, so I would infer that the Guard for the Swindon to Worcester leg of the journey had got caught up with the disruption caused by the Boston to Swindon freight train (6V15) coming to a stop near Kemble for several hours this morning, hence the part cancellation.

[IndustryInsider]

It also shows an ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) (5M81), running from Swindon to Gloucester at 08:21, so I would infer that the Guard for the Swindon to Worcester leg of the journey had got caught up with the disruption caused by the Boston to Swindon freight train (6V15) coming to a stop near Kemble for several hours this morning, hence the part cancellation.

Yes, that was the reason.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks (yet again) for your confirmation, IndustryInsider. 

[grahame]

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47 was terminated at Gloucester.
It will no longer call at Cheltenham Spa, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Worcester Shrub Hill and Worcester Foregate Street.
This is due to a safety inspection of the track