Great Western Coffee Shop

I'm trying to recall if it was the summer of 2014 or 2015 that I offered Dad a day trip to Weymouth on a Sunday - a nice and more gentle trip out for him as he slowed down, a chance to see the countryside from the train as we passed through, and to look up haunts we knew in Weymouth itself.

Alas, we got as far as Yeovil Pen Mill and there we came to a halt - overnight engineering works hadn't been completed on time to hand the line back for the train to go through, and a busy summer sunday service full of people was turfed out onto the station forecourt, so stand there (seating - you must be joking) in an unmarshalled mass to wait for buses that were promised and took an age to materialise - when the first one did, it then being filled on the basis of "fittest and pushiest first".   We aborted that trip - which (as it's turned out) would have been Dad's final trip to Weymouth.

Looking back at our decision to abort over the following days, our decision was a wise one.  It turned out that the predicted return of the line for train operation within a few hours didn't happen and we would have had two bus journeys rather than the one, goodness only knows with what timing and connections, and the chance of the further connection onwards to Melksham being slim.

One of the really useful things that can come from a failure such as this to provide is the real case to look back at and say "how can we avoid this in the future" / "how can we do better next time".   Sadly, looks as if this follow up analysis didn't happen, or if it did the outcomes of the analysis haven't been effectively implemented.

When I awoke this morning:


No comments about other services - looked like an overrun.    But now (midday) I read:


Oh dear, oh dear ... looks like someone's taken something apart and not been able to put it together again ... again!

Looks like there's no contingency plans in place for replacement road transport on this line ... again!

Looks like there's an false expectation that the thing can re-open quite quickly rather than being realistic about what's gone wrong ... again!

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Yesterday, I actually took the day trip from Melksham to Weymouth - looking at loadings and metrics to help understand Saturday flows through Wiltshire and where they were headed (and also some time at the seaside).  The Weymouth Wizard was 79 minutes late into Weymouth ... which (compare to today) was a good trip ...

Gypsy and thought much of Dad as we walked along the front and around the harbour, paddled in the sea, saw Mr Punch and shared an ice cream before it was time to return.  The 16:08 last train from Weymouth with a Melksham connection on Saturday was fine for us, as Gypsy and I are slowing down too.   There were families with very young children too for whom this return was suitable, but how I wish the 19:32 Westbury to Swindon ran 7 days a week (not Sunday to Friday only) to have allowed us to come back on the 17:28 Wizard. 

Spot on.  Overnight work on the signalling at Dorchester but technicians struggling to get the panel back together again.

Correction - it's only running 5 days this week: optimist estimate:


So that's anyone making the Melksham to Weymouth day trip today, who woke up expecting the whole thing to be a 2 hour train journey each way (and indeed thought that would be the case when they set off) now has three road transport legs along the way.

There is a balance between the cost of having a robust system that will function even in the event of some problems, and one that's so tightly balanced that it falls apart at the least whiff of problems.  The thought occurs to me that there seem to be so many problems at the moment that the balance is incorrect.

Whole range of problems this morning... some within the control of the railways - some not.

First round trip on the St Ives branch cancelled as signaller was stuck on a failed train and could not get to St Erth box in time to open up
No signaller rostered to cover Worcester Shrub Hill box
Fatality at Exeter St Thomas
Signalling problems at Dorchester
Engineering train derailed going into the yard at Swindon

All reported between 8 and 9 this morning.

Oh, is that the cause of the cancellations on the Cotswold Line today? Rather unfortunate timing given that the Wilderness Festival is taking place just outside Charlbury: shuttle buses are being cancelled then reinstated, rail replacement coaches laid on...

GWR won't be happy, especially when many turn up later to go home!

I would agree; on the Heart of Wessex / trips from Wiltshire to Weymouth issues over the weekend, blame can be attributed I suspect (yuk - horrid to say "it's your fault")

* on the tw*t who collided his/her road vehicle with a bridge
* on Network Rail for the taking something to pieces that they couldn't then put back together
* on GWR for not having enough guards available

But then there's the issue of mitigating the effects if something does to wrong, and planning for these things.   I'm noting that none of us is saying "goodness, isn't that unusual" to any of the occurrences.   And I do wonder if there are better ways to have things in place to mitigate any delays

* Collision with road bridge
- An hour before anything could move - "awaiting Network Rail", who took (it seems) virtually no time to say AOK
- Could strategically places GWR staff be trained to do a first look?   Potential saving - 30 minutes?

* Not being able to put the signalling back
- How about a pilot man with a bag of point clamps?  Crude, but effective for a limited Sunday service?
- Work with your local bus companies (even if not first) to have them on hottish standby.  Sunday is not peak bus time.

* On not having enough guards available
- Sorry - down to staff resourcing management.  Yes, it's hard to get right - that's why you're paid well (if you are!)
- Occasionally there will be a shortage, but it's not occasional at the moment!

I do wonder if much of this delay mitigation work would have been carried out by operation managers based in places like Oxford and Westbury in the past, but perhaps these days the financially best approach is to wait for Network Rail to sort out their elements rather than to do anything which costs money and also reduces compensation income.  Or am I being unduly cynical in even asking?

Edit to note that engineering overrun effected SWT / Weymouth to Wool as well.  Still a chap with point clips and the trains as far as Dorchester East West?

......how on Earth can this be allowed to happen?

That sounds like it'll be fun in the blame attribution game!

Almost tempted to say how on Erth......

In answer to Graham's bullet points...

TOCs run trains, NR run the track, and neither will do (allow) the other near it's area. Yet. Government are looking at conjoining the areas responsibilities within franchises. Potential cost: huge, which is why its not done. Chances of these pax doing no work in a shift as nothing goes wrong: high.
 
Talk to a friendly bus company & you'll discover how mich they want for a Sunday standby contract. How would you loke to be on Sunday standby? Means you couldn't leave home....cost: high. Possibly need to charge prak fares to pay for it. Then you'd grimble.

We've discussed staff Sunday contracts before - cost to gel to 7day eailway shifys? Huge.

Line has reopened with just two through services running today due to train crew and unit displacement and staff shortages:

17:56 Weymouth to Bristol Temple Meads
20:48 Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth

So your answer to customers is "it would cost too much and cause too many demarcation and staff contract issues to provide systems that help us get going again when something goes wrong" - have I read you right?

Nit my wish fir an answer, but in as many words, those are the answers you'll get from GWR, yes.

Until now I had not realised that you were from Scotland ChrisB. ;D

A Scottish lineage would certainly explain the familiar "Ooooooooos gunna pay for it?" refrain! :-)