Great Western Coffee Shop

From JourneyCheck:


 ::)

An update, from JourneyCheck - more cancellations:


 :o

Situation getting worse:


 :(

Well, it's now got to the stage where even I will stop posting any more updates:  ::)


 :-X

According to an email I had earlier a  Lawley Street - Southampton freightliner derailed near Reading and then got re-railed but has caused some damage to the track.

From what I heard the 13:28 Swansea - London Paddington service will form a  16:45 Swindon - Bristol TM service.

This is teh freight service concerned:

FEA-B wagon #640166 onboard Freightliner's 4O02 Lawley Street - Southampton liner with 66593 up front derailed and then re-railed earlier at Reading West Junction and has damaged 15 chairs in the track

The 14:39 Reading to Paddington (ex Cheltenham) is reported as being 2 hours 56 minutes late. I wonder if it's taken a weird and wonderful route, as NR are reporting nothing able to run between Didcot and Reading.

BBC local radio in cornwall are reporting average 2 hr delays around Reading!

I'm surprised that the "Travel Disruptions" tab on the home page makes no mention of this. I know that the Journeycheck link further down the page does give you this news, but you have to scroll down the home page to find this. Many visitors to the page will see the Travel Disruptions" tab, click on it and assume all is well. It wouldn't occur to them, or me for that matter, that the real travel disruptions are on a completely different link.

()

Indeed, lhrdave.  :)

Just for information, the FGW JourneyCheck page is available at http://www.journeycheck.com/firstgreatwestern/

However: the previous post could be an action point for those responsible for the First Great Western website, possibly?  :-X

Won't be the first time FGW have been asked why they no longer provide a clear link from the top half of the homepage to a travel disruptions page that includes current running information across their whole network.

You'd assume that the tab that is there would call up the correct information, but, no. It just gives some mostly useless information about the Hammersmith flyover and one entry about engineering works.

No plans to change the layout was an answer I saw on either FGW's twitter feed or Facebook page (one or the other).  ::)

Hmm.  ::)

In that case, I'll be taking this matter up with one of my 'very senior contacts' at First Great Western.  :-X

Meanwhile ... from one of my many impeccable sources:  ;)

I was travelling into London and back today.. On the way in our train (the 3.02pm departure from Maidenhead which started at Reading) only left Maidenhead a few minutes late.. We had to stop additionally at Langley and Iver though as their half hourly service was provided by the trains from Oxford which weren't making it through Reading at that point...so that delayed us a bit more..

On the way back we travelled from Ealing Broadway.. I'd hoped it would be sorted out by then (7.30pm) but it wasn't.. The trains were very overcrowded but again I was lucky not to be too delayed..

So all in all not too bad considering..  And we had quite a few announcements on the train on the way in apologising for the delay and also advising us of the extra stops.. And on the way back they were making some very useful announcements at Ealing Broadway too as I think there had been quite a big gap between trains before we arrived..So I think in this instance the staff did very well in communicating (well on my journeys at least).

Mind you on the way back we did have "stary man" and "smelly man" (I hope I'm allowed to call somoene smelly on here) in our carriage which made the journey seem very long.. ::)

Well that was a minor nightmare getting back from Bath to Swindon with the 1513 cancelled and then the 1543 being diverted after off loading Swindon people at Chippenham....for an hour's wait with no information until a replacement bus turned up. Total delay a few mins short of 2 hours.

I was going to post a thread on this called A Tale of Two TOCS or A Bad Day for FGW and a Good Day for DB Schenker. I was going to post in the lighter side as for us All Well that Ends Well.

Got up horrendously early Saturday motrning to catch the 06:36 Taplow to Padd to catch the 07:49 from Padd To Swanscombe via Bentford, Colnbrook, Woverton Works and the that white elephant the Bletchley Flyover. 

All was looking good when we left all ontime. Got to station and found 06:36 shown as 07:52 or 16 late not so bad should still be in at 7:30 or so. Then an 06:49 popped up arrivng at  07:52 and 06:36 went back a few moremnutes and was then cancelled. Still possible as that would be 06:47 off Maidenhead which doesn't normally stop at Taplow due Padd 07:31. So FGW on the ball putting in special stops.

Any rate it arrived at about 07:55 and after a lacklaustre run to Padd arrived on platform 10 at about 07:35 (It's marvelous how much time Turbos are allowed from Ealing to Padd to find our train on Platform 11 across the platform directly opposite our coach. Met up with rest of party.

I had a contingency paln which was if were too late at Southall to bail out there and phone our friends to get picked from Platform 1? as the train came accross to enter the West Yard.

Rest of day with DB Schenker went well and back at Euston 7 early not bad for a 66.
Scored at least 20 points at Fenny Stratford stopping across the level crossing to reverse.

Why is it that we throw so much rubbish onto our railway lines especially freight only ones?

 As I'm mean we didn't get a Travelcard but just a return from Taplow to Padd as I know the 205. So we could use our passes. Plus it's not as far to walk to Bus Stop H as Euston Square. Got there just as 205 drew up. Got on, went upstairs saw some of the party still on their way along Euston Road.

Got to Padd at 18:57. Then we ran into Jo 's problem. To find lots of people milling about and very few trains a sure sign of trouble. Now on a good day We would have got the 19:21 Hereford and changed at Slough butt in the meantime the 18:12 stopper came as being on Platform 13 so a train in teh paltform being better than 2 on the indicator we legged with hundreds of others to Platform 13 to find a 2 Car Turbo with no CIS indication to show what it was. Well we piled in and got seats. I then went and checked with the driver, no platform staff in sight, that this realy was the 18:12 and not a stray Greenford. Trundle off roughly ontime and stopped all staions to Taplow full and standing all the way. When we got to Slough the Hereford had just pulled in on Platform 2 but due to the eagarness of SLough despatch staff several would be changers were left behind so we would have been stuck at Slough, So a good tip in times of disruption if you can get on train get on it! Don't worry about tickets the RPIs that got on at Ealing stayed in the back cab.

Now there's a follow up to this tale at around 9 o'clock, siting catching up on Michael Portillo my mobile rang. It was one of the party asking where we were, he was amazed when I said I was at home. Some how he was still at Reading when he wanted Maidenhead or Slough. Not sure of full story but it involved Platform 15 being shut for Circle and Hammersmith and them going to Royal Oak! Then back to Baker Street. Surprised LUL wasn't saying change at Edgware Road to Padd this train is not stopping. Waiting to hear full story.

I think that's OK, Jo. Just so long as the person in question wasn't Bob Crow, obviously  :P

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has released its report (http://www.raib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/130128_R022013_Reading_West.pdf) into the freight train derailment at Reading West Junction on 28 January 2012. The RAIB has made five recommendations:

 "minimising the formation of track geometry defects during mechanised maintenance."

Interesting comment I thought modern track machines were suppose to line everything up with lasers etc.

I'll sshush about further signalling problems between Slough and Paddington today.................. :-X :D ;)

....how about this for a new FGW slogan...."every day, another delay"!!!  ;)

It is begining to look rather like that !
Many of the delays are not actually the fault of FGW, but that is of little interest to those being routinely and significantly delayed.

In another thread, someone complained about the delay in obtaining buses for substitute road transport, and a respected member pointed out that it was unreasonable to have a fleet of buses on standby "just in case"


Over the last few months, a fleet of buses if available would probably have seen regular use ! Rain, snow, overunning engineering work, more snow, new signalling does not work, more rain, old signalling does not work, derailed freight train, another signalling failure and so on.

And looking to the future, we have electrifaction to look foward to, no trains in windy weather as the wires will come down and/or be struck by wind blown debris.
And new signalling, which has caused problems in the past.
And new trains with more to go wrong !

And looking to the future, we have electrifaction to look foward to, no trains in windy weather as the wires will come down and/or be struck by wind blown debris.
And new signalling, which has caused problems in the past.
And new trains with more to go wrong !

How right you are broadgauge.

Three major changes to be implemented at the same time.

Don't forget with the modern software controlled railway you not only have to get the physical infrastructure in place, i.e.  wires, signals and trains you have to ensure that the software controlling each system can interoperate.

The power supply has to to interact with the trains power controls whilst not interfering with the signalling. Whilst  the train also has to interact with the signalling system.

Don't forget that there are still? (or until very recently) mechanical signal boxes and absolute block on the WCML which apart from colout light signals remain virtually the same as steam days even though they are now signalling second generation electric trains.

You don't have to change everything at once.

"A fleet of busses on standby".

Would be good to have ONE on standby for replacement within the bus network here.
Around two years ago, all bus depots (in this area) were told they could only have the current number required for service in that depot - no spare(s).  This was to reduce road tax, insurance & maintenance costs (I believe).
When a vehicle goes down now, something has to give, so busses are swapped around at no notice, and runs sometimes dropped.
Rail replacement is usually done at weekends when the bus schedules are not as intensive, so the "weekday" busses are used for rail.
Drivers volunteer for rail, though that presents it's own problem with EU/domestic driving hours being involved.
It seems there are spare busses available, but a case has to be made for one or two to become available - so I've heard.

.....mmm.  Strikingly ( ::)) similar to this incident at Watford on 23 January 1975 http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=765

http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/largeeventimages/event1410_1.jpg
http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/largeeventimages/event1410_2.jpg
http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/largeeventimages/event1410_3.jpg
http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/mastereventimages/event1410_4.jpg