Great Western Coffee Shop

From the FGW website :

07:10 Oxford to London Paddington due 08:21
This train has been revised.

This train is formed of 10 carriages.

Not sure how it's a revision, when it appears to be 2x180, which is the booked formation for this service.

It is a revision because it is so often not 2x180 due to a failure.

Perhaps it is a revision because it is 10 coaches (2x180) instead of 8 (an HST)! :P

I'm told it was shown as a revision as it's normally a 5 - but it's also booked a HST (although FGW do have 180 diagrams, everything still is a HST to allow ease in the WTT).

I can assure you this train is not normally five-car, nor does it run as such if there is a failure on the depot - see below. There would be riots among the commuting classes of Oxford if it was.

This is pretty much THE key peak train from Oxford, as it starts there empty, skips Didcot and Reading, and gets into London at 8.21, which makes it very useful if you then have to go across town to start work at 9.

As has been noted in another thread, if they can't get a pair of Adelantes fired up at Old Oak Common first thing for this duty, then the HST booked for the 5.42 to Worcester is pinched for the 7.10 and the Cotswold Line gets a single Adelante, but this hasn't happened any time I have used the 8.37 back from Worcester since about March 12.

I often see the return working of the 7.10 run into Oxford round about 10am (to operate the 10.30 back) and it has been 2x180 every time I have seen it in the past three weeks.

Yes, on paper it's meant to be an HST, but since they haven't got enough to go around and need to keep the last three 180s serviceable for another year or so, this is a sensible duty for them - couple of out and back trips to Oxford to stretch their legs but close to home if something breaks in service.

Yep I'm aware of that - just forwarding what I was told by someone in Swindon (mind you, them not knowing what's going on day to day is quite normal!).

OO didn't notice that skipped Reading! I'm more surprised the 0730 OXF-PAD isn't more of a commuter train calling only Reading and London unlike the 0710 which stops at a few shacks along the way!

Thats what makes the 07.10 a commuter train!

Thing about the 07.30 is: a. It does stop at Didcot and Reading, so can get pretty busy; b. It's not due in London until just after 8.30, so if runs late, you're cutting it fine trying to get to work for 9, hence a lot of people opt for the 7.10 with that extra time margin.

After the 10.30 from Oxford back to Paddington, one of the Adelantes is now a regular performer on the 11.51 to Hereford and 15.19 return - the new issue of the CLPG newsletter reports rather better punctuality since this change, though this may also have something to do with leaving Oxford seven minutes earlier since the start of March and dropping the Malvern Link stop and the resulting standing start up a 1 in 120 gradient.

Interesting, given some calls were dropped at Malvern Link in services to/from Bristol in December 2007.

This is what happens when an Adelante breaks... from FGW website today

05:42 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 08:20
This train will run short formed with 5 carriages.This is due to a train fault.

07:10 Oxford to London Paddington due 08:21
This train has run short formed with 8 carriages.This is due to a train fault.

and when a Turbo breaks...

06:09 Abergavenny to London Paddington due 09:47
This train has been revised.It will additionally call at: Shipton, Ascott-Under-Wychwood, Finstock and Hanborough.This is due to an earlier train fault.

Combe must have got a taxi.


And finally... the Adelante (180104) stayed on the diagram all day, and was on the 17.51 London to Worcester. Transmission under coach A did not sound at its best when accelerating.

It looks like those calls are reinstated from May 2008 (link below.)
http://files.southwesternlines.co.uk/timetables/may/pmhcdf/pmhcdf_sx.pdf

The CLPG had complained about the London-Hereford train's call being dropped, as it left two-hour gap in services if you wanted to travel west of Great Malvern when setting out from Malvern Link - there is a piece in the new issue of Cotswold and Malvern Line News headed 'First Great Western's apparent dislike of Malvern Link'!

The 1151 to Hereford still misses out Malvern Link in the May 2008 timetable (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/DC%20MAY%202008%20TIMETABLE/London%20Paddington%20to%20Hereford.pdf

However, there is good and bad news on the services heading to/from Bristol.

The good news is that the only service which misses out Malvern Link will be the 1854 from Great Malvern to Weymouth service.

The bad news is that the 0723 from Warminster to Great Malvern service will be cut short at Worcester Foregate Street, and will then turn round to form a 1049 Worcester Foregate Street to Brighton service (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/DC%20MAY%202008%20TIMETABLE/Bristol%20area.pdf

By the way, this service will still not call at Stapleton Road & Lawrence Hill.

Good. The Brighton was started half the time at Worcester anyway. Iam also pleased it does not stop at Stapleton RD/Laurence Hill, as it's an express, (or should be) not a stopping service.

On the other hand, it does leave a gap in the pattern of those services, especially as one of the benefits of the new timetable is that Stapleton Road/Lawrence Hill will have a daytime service in both directions to/from Bristol Parkway. Missing out those stops leaves a 2-hour southbound gap in this improvement, but does not speed up the journey between Filton Abbey Wood-Bristol Temple Meads.

Also, this doesnt really move it closer to being an express, when you consider that it still calls at all stations between Bristol Temple Meads-Warminster.

However, removing these stops would reignite the "2-hour gap" controversy that dogged the December 2006 timetable (link below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2006/11/no_beeching_by_stealth.html#more