Great Western Coffee Shop

From GWR but in my words - train service plans for later this year  (see later in post for SWR comment)

1. "Before Easter we hope/plan" to restore the remaining services that were withdrawn temporarily in January due to lack of staff caused by Omicron. That included the early morning Monday to Friday service on the TransWilts (currently first Southbound at Melksham is 09:10 not 06:36!), and the late Sunday morning service (currently a 4 hour gap). 

2. From May, GWR's services will no longer run along the coastway east of Portsmouth.  Those services will be cut back to Westbury / Warminster - so more GWR services into Salisbury lost, but no further loss from Bristol to Westbury. This is a permanent change.

3. GWR will not run to Pembroke Dock this summer - they will not run west of Carmarthen. This is not 'sold' as a permanent change.

4. Kintbury, Hungerford and Bedwyn will (continue to) be served by a shuttle service from Newbury "off peak". Peak services will be provided through to London with calls in trains from / to further west - as at present.  This is a permanent change.  Newbury will be served by 2 trains an hour eastwards - both electric class 387, one local to Reading and one semifast to Paddington.

5. There will be summer saturday strengthening to Weymouth with an intent that all trains should be four carriages long.  No other changes on Heart of Wessex

6. The increase from hourly to half hourly from Bristol to Gloucester planned for May will not be happening and it is "hoped" it may happen in December.

7. The local service increase from one to two 'stoppers' per hour from Bristol to Bath and Westbury touted for December is far from certain - sold more as a delay than a cancellation of plans

8. Further plans (later in the year) for some additional semi-fast calls at Hungerford and perhaps Bedwyn to give occasional off peak services from those stations to the West and to London.  Possibility of a later morning train from Kennet Valley to Bath and Bristol, with an afternoon return by the same route.

9. Changes on the Thames Valley as Crossrail opens through in due course.

10. GWR running an extra commuter service out of Exeter to Honiton

Very much "errors and omissions excepted" - from the notes I made at a briefing yesterday - I have thinned out the stock implications and reasons to be able to write this as a summary article but I (and other members who were at the meeting) can fill in.

SWR have a briefing in 3 weeks and I will be able to fill you in similarly on (if) there are changes into our part of the country this time.  I did meet with a key member of their team a couple of days ago, and he assures me that he does not know of anything going on there outside public view like there was at this time last year. 

Traffic levels west of Salisbury have come back far better than east of Salisbury. So there remains a question mark over full restoration of twice an hour through services from Salisbury into Waterloo - still expect Basingstoke terminators going forwards. 

SWR discussions were very much on their diesel services - nothing to fill you in yet on electric services (such as from Weymouth via Poole).  I am heartened by a move to help inform us - (re)build an element of trust.  But these are time when both SWR and GWR are not / cannot always consult with us when they are ordered to make changes by the DfT.  More on that topic to follow.

Welcome back to a nationalised railway, where the Treasury decides what trains will run and when; not the contracting TOCs, and definitely not the travelling public. Who cares about them in 11 Downing Street...

Well some people have wanted a nationalised railway for years, who the heck did they think would run it?

To expand on grahame's points 6 and 7 (half-hourly services from Bristol to Westbury, and Bristol to Gloucester): GWR stated that this was due to problems with Class 769s (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=19683.0) which in has delayed the cascade of 165s and 158s westward. 

Indeed - Stock changes at http://www.passenger.chat/26120

I would have hoped for some sort of arms length body to run it. While the treasury will always hold the purse strings they shouldn't be involved in operational decisions. Some sort of 5-10 year funding plan that allows for forward planning and a decree of independence. Bit like the way the BBC licence fee is done?

Does the new GB Railways provide this?

Thanks for that list. Good point about the loss of services to Salisbury but there is one survivor which is that, on RTT at least for 16th May, 1V94 (0859 Brighton - Worcester Foregate Street) starts back from Salisbury thanks to an additional working from Westbury:

2O07 1037 Westbury - Salisbury, due 1106 (New working)
1V92 1112 Salisbury - Worcester Foregate Street, due 1416

For anyone interested this is, as far as I can tell, going to be done by the 0845 Filton Abbey Wood - Westbury extending to Warminster (due 1001) where it shunts to the opposite platform and returns as 2F91 (1020 Westbury - Warminster) (new working). That train divides on arrival at Westbury with the rear forming 2O07 and the front working ECS to Westbury DMU Sidings. It seems that 1V92 does not pick up the detatched portion from 2F91 when it calls at Westbury.

Dave

Looking at your report of the meeting Graham I see some unwelcome trends developing.

The recent through service losses we have seen and have been announced, SWR Salisbury-Bristol, GWR Fratton to Brighton and Carmarthen- Pembroke Dock all appear to be of the same pattern. The sections of routes they are to be withdrawn from are essentially on another TOCs “patch.” The sections of route now no longer served have plenty of trains provided by other TOCs.

To somebody in the Treasury trying to save a few quid rather than provide a service the public wants, this could appear to be a perfect solution.

I was going to start this paragraph expressing surprise that SWR are still running Yeovil to Salisbury via Castle Cary, but them three thoughts sprang to mind: a need to retain route knowledge for diversionary purposes; I suppose someone now still has to provide a YVJ to YPM service and (and perhaps I’m being over-cynical or suspicious here) Hey Presto! GWR trains between Westbury and Salisbury are reduced to compensate for the SWR services now running.

The Newbury to Bedwyn shuttle and terminating LSW line diesels at Basingstoke also follow a pattern, of stopping running diesels over electrified lines that might be seen as a waste of money.


The transfer of dual mode IETs to replace the “Castles,” whilst on one level might seem bizarre, it might make sense if the repair and maintenance costs of these units are less than the shortened HSTs. And of course, if for the funding of Scotrail is wholly or partly funded by the Scottish government, then there s even more icing on the cake for the Treasury.

So what are the thoughts of others? Have I hit the nail firmly on the blunt end or should I take my tinfoil hat off?