Great Western Coffee Shop

from The BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50262788)


We have seen timetables that may have been our of date and not best fit for modern purpose replaced by new ones at Southern/Thameslink, ar Northern and some in East Anglia too.  The report quoted is from the West Midlands ... and it's our turn come 15th December 2019.

Reports of problems are rife - West Midlands Trains are joining the list of companies pulling back on some of the changes - "retiring to lick their wounds"??


Times have changed since 1976 (the "last major change") and timetables do need changing to cater for the changing needs and expectations of passengers. Modern technology (and I include electrification // partial electrification oin that) brings trains that can run faster.  Updated train entrance and egress design means intermediate station duties can be reduced in length.  Trains need less time to be serviced at the end of runs - we've moved from steam engines being sent for fuel, water and service after each trip to trains with locomotives that have to run around to push-pull (e.g. HST) or trains with powered passenger carriages (IET).

From 1976 to around 2000, passenger journeys were stable at around 750 million per annum, but since then they have more than doubled to around 1,750 million per annum.  Trains have got longer, there has been an "infill" of extra services and - in places - rather more than that.  But - with so much of the system based on 1976, the time has come for a "once in a lifetime" change.  The $64,000 question - do we have the right balance between a fast, effective new timetable, or are we at times over-ambitious, putting into place new timetables which work well on paper, work well on a typical mid-September day when there are no unforeseen or irregular option issues, but fall apart spectacularly when it freezes, when it's too hot, when the line floods as Looe or Dawlish, when a passenger's taken ill on a train at Pewsey, when no-one wants to work the early Sunday shift or there's a staff retirement party, where there's an incident at Slough, leaves on the line at Sea Mills, or a train is called in for a safety check.

The Information age brings us data we would never have had in the past, and problems are news like they never were before.  This page (I admit it!) is just as guilty in bringing things that won't effect most passengers to their attention; in the last couple of days, we have Newquay closed because of a landslip, Looe closed for a while because of high tides, three out of four Thames Valley branches loosing service because of staff shortages - but I would bet that 8 out of 10 of our members are not going to be effected by any of those.  The news does not report on successes - of (on most of the GWR network) at least 39 trains in 40 running (patchy, mind - just 34 in 40 at Melksham last week - see - there I go again highlighting the bad exceptions).

So - how will trains go on and after 15th December??  A very great deal of planning has gone into the changes and a number of awkward compromises have been made.  There are gains for many,  and that's especially notable for passengers travelling in to London.  There are changes for some that are less positive - commuter trains that ran at least every 25 minutes now with 40 minute peak gaps, trains turning around short of their previous final destination, and some train times moved by even just a few minutes that sky-rocket the prices of some journeys. And - inevitably - there will be elements which even under the best laid plans lead to either teething or unforeseen issues.  Some of the teething issues are being guessed and planned for. The unforeseen once / detail cannot.

I do know that GWR have put very considerable effort and resource into planning the new timetables, with a desire to have them work well.  And the consultation (on Monday to Friday services only, it has to be said) over the last 18 months has been as different as chalk and cheese to the lack of consultation over the December 2006 disaster.

Questions?   Yes - we have.  Mark Hopwood, MD of GWR will be online next Tuesday evening - 5th November 2019 on this forum to answer member's questions which have already been submitted (plan is to have good answers that are well thought out) and follow up with discussions, interactive, on those questions / answers.    Starts at 5 p.m. and runs for an hour ... though I would be amazed if conversations don't carry on between members to later into the evening.   All welcome to read - it will be on the public board at http://gwr.passenger.chat/b48 .