Great Western Coffee Shop

One good month will not allow me to forget years of problems!

Also, punctuality figures are selectively chosen and therefore do not reflect the service you use. As Disraeli said ...

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.

What I want is a clean, reliable train service. I still find it unacceptable that FGW are a bus company at weekends. For two-three years now, nearly every weekend BPW station has become a busy bus station with loads of bus's replacing trains due to work between

BPW - Newport
BPW - Swindon
BPW - Filton
BPW - Cheltenham

I still remember the day last autumn when a I bought a return ticket from BPW to Liverpool Lime Street, and on leaving the ticket office, I was told the train was replaced with a bus to Cheltenham, then a bus from Cheltenham to Birmingham New Street, and there where no return buses or from Birmingham after 18:00! The only thing that stopped me going ballistic after spending ^50 for 6hr bus/train journey was another guard suggesting that I went via Filton-Netwport-Chester. A life saver courtesy of Arriva Wales!
 

looks like FGW acheived over 90% for HST services during this period... A very bigWell done to all concerned  prehaps  now we can finaly put the First Late Western title out to grass.

Why is there so much engineering work affecting Bristol Parkway at the weekends???

I definetly think that punctuality has improved, my experience from journeys from and to Bridgebnd seems ot suggest that things now run on time, for the first time in years!

Why is there so much engineering work affecting Bristol Parkway at the weekends???

I definetly think that punctuality has improved, my experience from journeys from and to Bridgebnd seems ot suggest that things now run on time, for the first time in years!

Why is there so much engineering work affecting Bristol Parkway at the weekends???

I definetly think that punctuality has improved, my experience from journeys from and to Bridgebnd seems ot suggest that things now run on time, for the first time in years!

How much of this is down to padding times?

Ten minute wait at Evesham, fifteen minute trip on to Moreton with another ten minute wait and so on.

If you add the thick end of half an hour to the journey then arriving on time is hardly anything to get complacent about. Yes it saves FGW penalties but doesn't necessarily mean you get to your destination any more quickly.

Looks good but far from convinced the service is actually that much better. However I could be proved wrong, how many services have improved that have not had padding times introduced?

It wont get you there quicker but at least you will know near enough what time you will arrive!

And that way we dont have to listen to you complaining they're late every day  ::) ::)

With respet to the 2004 timings, how many actually arrived on time, a a percentage?  Surely if not many ever arrived on time, it proves that it just inst a realisticly viable time?

But 99% of passengers would rather their train was realisticly timed so it gets to where its supposed to get on time.

With respet to the 2004 timings, how many actually arrived on time, a a percentage?  Surely if not many ever arrived on time, it proves that it just inst a realisticly viable time?

Andy you know as well as i do the problems on the Cotswold line are mainly down to trying to run a decent service over what is essentially a single track railway....sorry but remarks about dodging fines etc is utter rubbish

Andy you know as well as i do the problems on the Cotswold line are mainly down to trying to run a decent service over what is essentially a single track railway....sorry but remarks about dodging fines etc is utter rubbish

Just as well you can take the train now in under 2 hrs.

Sorry - as a passenger I'd rather the hope of getting home in less than two hours and 1/2 a week being wrong than guaranteed up to half an hour sitting at stations waiting for departure time (and paying more for the privilege).

Of course, if FGW could sort out their operational issues then there would be no need to compromise.

Annual train punctuality has reached the 90% mark for the first time since records began in 1992, Network Rail (NR) has announced.

A total of 90.6% of trains ran on time in the 12 months ending in March, while the figure for April was a monthly record of 93.5%.

When NR took over responsibility for rail infrastructure from Railtrack in 2002, punctuality was less than 79%.

Best-performing company in 2008/09 was the London to Tilbury and Southend operator c2c, which achieved a trains-on-time figure of 95.3%. Chiltern and Merseyrail also reached the 95% mark.

Two companies - Virgin Trains and London Midland - did significantly worse in 2008/09 than in 2007/08 due to the disruption caused by the ^9 billion upgrade of the West Coast Main Line, which was completed last December.

Virgin's punctuality figure slipped from 86.2% in 2007/08 to 80.0% in 2008/09, while London Midland declined from 88.9% to 86.5%. The biggest year-on-year improvement was made by First Great Western, whose punctuality rose from 83.1% in 2007/08 to 90.5% in 2008/09.

Can we start thinking of taking some of the massive amounts of recovery time out of the timetable now then? It struck me on my recent trip to Glasgow how much shorter were the station stops, typically 45 secs to a minute, whereas on time FGW services stand for 2 to 3 minutes at most stops (and 9 at BTM tonight, followed by another 3 at Nailsea).

Maybe it's because Virgin want a headline journey time Birmingham to Glasgow of under 4 hours, whereas FGW don't really care what the overall journey time is.

 

I'd be interested to know what Wrexham & Shropshire's punctuallity figures are... From what i've heard, they are doing quite well for themselves ;D

They are my franchise of choice - I cant find anything that equals them in terms of punctuality or service

I can only assume that the extended dwell times apply somewhere out west - they certainly could not apply at, for example, platform 4 at Reading.

I can only assume that the extended dwell times apply somewhere out west - they certainly could not apply at, for example, platform 4 at Reading.

And after the cock up this morning, doesnt make me feel any better!

and this cock-up would be what exactly?

Things do go wrong elsewhere too, including on btline's favorite operator - currently showing on Chiltern's website:

11:40 Stratford-Upon-Avon to London Marylebone due 13:56
This train is being delayed between Stratford-Upon-Avon and London Marylebone.
This train has been cancelled.
This is due to animals on the line.

May not be their fault, but not great when the next train isn't for two hours

Laying bed debating whether or not to get the 0535 as I had a training course I wa delivering at 0930.  Decided against it since I get to slough at 0855ish and its only five minutes in a cab.  Get the0624

Just at Morton and the TM starts hammering at the door panel.  Goes on for a good ten minutes - something to do with the key being stuck.  We continue and get to Oxford on time (there's the padding again!) only to have the hammering resume.  15 minutes of this, several calls to control and G and H are evacuated into F and SC (anticipating this I had one of the few seats in F by this time) and we continue.

Get into Reading at 0833 - two minutes after the 0831 has left.  Everything else now running 15-20 minutes late.   The 0847 (?) which stops at maidenhead and not slough leaves at 0905 - this I get and finish my journey with a taxi from maidenhead to slough (at a cost of 30 quid) and get to work only 10 minutes after my delegates have started contemplating their navel.  I did this, because the 0903 was going to run from reading none stop to west drayton and the next train to stop at slough was the 0916 which was going to call all stations and resemble a sardine can and I know from experience would not get me into the office until nearly 10 anyway.

So -

Taxi = 30 quid
Hotel tonight = unknown as yet since im going to be stuck here late doing prep I could have done in that half hour from 0900 to 0930 and i will is the 1922!

Thanks FGW

I know - **** happens - im just understandably hacked off (especially since I left my bag of tricks at home which had my season ticket and modem in it!)

Train punctuality across Britain has improved compared with the same time last year but is worse on a main line in public hands, figures show.
Network Rail (NR) said the number of trains on time last month was up from 92.7% to 93.5% on the national network.
The worst showing was by government-run company East Coast, between London and Scotland, down 4.9% points to 87.0%.
East Coast said it had been affected by major disruptions due to severe weather conditions during the period involved.
The best performing company was c2C on the London to Tilbury and Southend route with 97.5% of its trains on time.
The biggest improvement in performance was by Virgin Trains on the West Coast Main Line with a rise of 7.6% points to 91.0%.
CrossCountry services saw a large fall in punctuality of 4.1% points to 89.2%.
Robin Gisby, NR's director of operations and customer services, said: "Passengers continue to enjoy a high-performing, punctual railway. We, and the train operators, continue to invest in the railway to make it even better by providing more capacity, better stations and fewer buses. The immediate threat of a national rail strike is behind us and talks to resolve the situation with our trades unions continue. We believe an amicable settlement, without the need for further ballots or threats of strike action, is possible."
The East Coast Main Line franchise was taken over by the Department for Transport in November 2009.
Falling revenue and rising costs had left previous operator National Express unable to meet a commitment to pay ^1.4bn for the business until 2015.
East Coast said it was working closely with Network Rail to "deliver robust joint action plans" to improve punctuality.
A spokesman said: "Unfortunately, during this period, performance was affected by severe weather conditions, including landslips and flooding, which at two locations blocked our route for two days. We also had to contend with an increased number of fatalities, train fleet reliability issues and major engineering work over nine weekends at one of the busiest locations on the East Coast Main Line at Hitchin. We continued to operate trains through the Hitchin area on each weekend, at reduced speed, rather than having to transfer customers to replacement buses."

The railway in Great Western has one of the highest number of trains arriving on time, according to the latest train performance records released by Network Rail today.

First Great Western continues to outperform target, with an annual average of 92.4% of trains arriving on time by the end of April - the first month of the operating year.   

Chris Rayner, director of operations and customer services, said: "Today^s records mark a positive start for the year.  Train punctuality continues to go from strength to strength and just in March, we ended the year with performance results in Great Western at its highest in 13 years.  Delivering an even better service for our customers and for passengers remains our primary focus as high levels of investment to beat bottlenecks and overcrowding continue."

First Great Western^s Managing Director, Mark Hopwood, said: ^We work closely together with Network Rail to deliver the best possible service to our customers and are very pleased with how far we^ve come. However, there is still more to do and we look forward to conitiuing to work side by side to improve our performance even further.^

Across the country, 94.0% of services arrived on time between 1 April ^ 1 May.  This compares to 93.6% in same period, period 1, last year.   In all, 11 of the 19 operators saw their performance improve, or stay at record high levels, compared to the same period last year.

The UK's only public sector train firm had the poorest punctuality last month, figures have shown.

The London to Scotland East Coast line had 85.2% of trains on time - the only passenger train company not to achieve a punctuality figure of at least 91%.

The figures from Network Rail, which owns and operates the rail network, cover 22 August to 18 September.

The UK operator said the East Coast delays were mainly caused by factors out of its control such as cable theft.

The theft at Newark in Nottinghamshire on 10 September brought the East Coast line to a halt for many hours, Network Rail said.

Problems with overhead lines on 31 August south of Peterborough also affected East Coast services, it added.

East Coast services are operated on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Overall, the train companies averaged 93.5% punctuality during the four-week period - down slightly on the same period last year.

Chiltern trains were the most punctual in September, with 97.3% running on time, and 13 of the 19 companies had improved their performance compared to last September.

Virgin Trains, which operates the West Coast Main Line, was the most improved, up from 89% to 91.3%.

Network Rail director Robin Gisby said September had been a good month for delivering a high-quality, punctual service to millions of passengers and freight users.

An East Coast spokesman said it would have hit its punctuality target had it not been for continued factors outside its control.

"For the second consecutive four-week period, the top three causes of delay were due to infrastructure and other external factors including cable theft, damage to overhead power lines and breakdowns involving other operators' trains," he said.

The Association of Train Operating Companies said the rail industry was committed to improving services, as demonstrated by the "consistently high levels of punctuality".

TRAIN PERFORMANCE DIPS IN OCTOBER

Train performance in October saw a marked dip for Britain's train services. Network Rail today released the latest train performance results which saw 86.3% of trains arriving on time compared with 90.3% for the same period last year.

Period eight (17 October to 13 November) is the first full month of the difficult autumn period that historically sees train performance fall. Average train punctuality for period eight over the last ten years has been 77.6%.

Robin Gisby, director of operations and customer services, said: ^The railway has made great strides in reducing the impact of the autumn weather over the past decade, but the start of this year's has been difficult resulting in disappointing train punctuality.

"The industry has invested heavily, some ^30m, in technology and techniques targeted at lessening the impact of autumn. We aim to deliver much better performance in the weeks ahead."

18 of the 19 operators saw their performance drop compared to the same period last year. London Overground was the most punctual operator during the period with 94.0% of trains on time. 10 operators saw significant movement in their performance (over three percentage points)

TRAIN PERFORMANCE HIT BY SEVERE WINTER WEATHER

The severe winter weather continues to affect train performance across most parts of the country. During the 28 day period up to 11 December (period nine), especially in Scotland, the north east and across the south east of England train performance dipped to 81.7% of trains arriving on time compared with 89.4% for the same period last year.

Robin Gisby, Network Rail's director of operations and customer services, said: ^Passengers will appreciate that these harsh weather conditions make it very difficult to maintain both capacity and punctuality. We took an early decision to keep as many people moving as possible by prioritising which routes to keep open to run the maximum number of trains possible. Reliability becomes more important to passengers than high levels of punctuality.

^As of today, the railway remains open for business although several train operators are running revised timetables because of some operating constraints with the infrastructure or a shortage of available trains. We are currently planning to run greater than 90% of a normal service. Regrettably, some services may not run and punctuality remains much lower than we would like. Our priority is to run as many services safely and reliably and to work jointly with the operators to provide the most up to date information to passengers.^

During period nine, 18 of the 19 operators saw their performance dip compared to the same period last year. Chiltern Railways was the most punctual operator during the period with 94.4% of trains on time. Fourteen operators saw significant movement in their performance (over three percentage points)

TRAIN PERFORMANCE HIT BY SEVERE WINTER WEATHER

Continued severe winter weather during December hit train punctuality during the period, Network Rail reported today.

The latest train performance results reported that 81% of trains arrived on time compared with 80% for the same period last year.

Period 10 (12 December to 8 January) included more severe winter weather and the coldest December ever recorded in Great Britain.

Robin Gisby, director of operations and customer services, said: "During the recent tough weather, many passengers saw disruption to their journeys. Whilst most trains ran and we kept all the major routes open, passengers and freight users did not receive the high levels of service they have come to expect and rightly demand.

"We endeavoured to run as many trains as possible and sometimes put capacity ahead of punctuality. Working closely with train operators, Network Rail is looking at what we can do to further reduce the impact of extreme weather on passenger journeys and improve the flow of information to passengers."

TRAIN PERFORMANCE BOUNCES BACK

Train punctuality has bounced back to over 90% on time following the difficult winter conditions of December.

The latest train performance results reported that 90.3% of trains arrived on time compared with 89.5% for the same period last year. A result achieved despite the lingering effects of the severe weather on both the infrastructure and some rolling stock.

Period 11 (9 January to 5 February) saw train performance recover from the recent bout of severe winter weather to the normal high levels.

Robin Gisby, director of operations and customer services, said: "It is good to see train performance bounce back and start to recover to the high levels passengers, and our customers, have come to expect.

"While this is good news, our focus remains on bringing all train operators up to the level of the very best performers and we are re-focussing our efforts, in partnership with the train operators, to improve the level of service experienced on the East Coast Main Line."

Seven of the 19 operators saw their performance improve compared to the same period last year. London Overground was the most punctual operator during the period with 96.4% of trains on time. Eight operators saw significant movement in their performance (over three percentage points).

East Coast trains 'less punctual'

Government-run train operator East Coast had 8.8% fewer trains on time in January this year than January 2010, despite milder weather, figures show.

Network Rail also revealed 11 of Britain's 19 train companies ran fewer punctual services last month compared with last year's snow-hit January.

However, overall 90.3% of trains ran on time - an improvement on the January 2010 figure of 89.5%.

Most East Coast delays were caused by "external factors", a spokesman said.

The government took over the running of the East Coast mainline - one of Britain's busiest train routes - in November 2009 after its operator, National Express, defaulted on its franchise.

Run on behalf of the Department for Transport before a return to the private sector, it was the worst-performing company in this period, operating 80.9% of trains on time.

The best-performing company was the Transport for London-managed London Overground which achieved a trains-on-time figure of 96.4%.

The company improving most was Virgin Trains with a punctuality figure on its West Coast services of 86.9% - a 9% rise on its January 2010 performance.

NR operations and customer services director Robin Gisby said: "It is good to see train performance bounce back and start to recover to the high levels passengers, and our customers, have come to expect. While this is good news, our focus remains on bringing all train operators up to the level of the very best performers and we are re-focusing our efforts, in partnership with the train operators, to improve the level of service experienced on the East Coast Main Line."

An East Coast spokesman said: "Around four-fifths of our delays continue to be caused by external factors, such as cable theft, trespassers on the railway, weather-related problems and issues relating to the infrastructure."

But passenger group Passenger Focus was critical of the delays on East Coast over the past month, and of the definition of "on time".

A train is on time if it reaches its end destination within 10 minutes of its specified time, even if it has been arriving at stations "half-an-hour later" en route.

Ashwin Kumar, passenger Focus rail director said: "Our research shows that passengers' satisfaction with punctuality has been dropping. Delivering trains on time is key to keeping passengers happy. With as many as one in five trains at least 10 minutes late at their destination, many passengers will know only too well the frustration of not being able to rely on the East Coast timetable."

"But these figures only show part of the story. No information is available about trains running behind schedule along the route and most passengers don't think of 10 minutes late as 'on time'. Passenger Focus research shows that satisfaction on longer-distance journeys starts to drop after only four to six minutes of delay, not 10 minutes."

TRAIN PERFORMANCE HITS RECORD HIGH FOR FEBRUARY

Train punctuality for February reached a record high of over 92% - the best February figure on record.

The latest train performance results reported that 92.4% of trains arrived on time compared with 91.8% for the same period last year.

Period 12 (6 February to 5 March) saw train performance continue its recovery following December^s severe weather to its normal high levels.

Robin Gisby, director of operations and customer services, said: "Trains on time are what matter most to passengers, train operators and Network Rail. This is the good service we must deliver, day in, day out. Network Rail still has areas to improve, particularly for operators who use the East Coast Main Line. While there has been an improvement in performance compared to last month, there is still some way to go to reach the high standards we set for ourselves and which our customers rightly expect.^

Ten of the 19 operators saw their performance improve compared to the same period last year. The most punctual operator during the period was c2c with 96.5% of trains on time.

MARCH'S TRAIN PERFORMANCE AT 93%

Train operator c2c ^ which runs services between London and Essex ^ saw 97.4% of its trains arrive on time in March making it Britain's most punctual operator for the month.

Overall, across the country, train punctuality for the month reached 92.9%, slightly down on last year's 93.5%, but still the second best for the period on record. The month, period 13 ran from 6 March to 31 March.

Year end performance data for the French railways for the past year (January 2010 to December 2010) has also recently been published. It reports intercity punctuality, including its high speed TGV lines of 80.6%, while commuter and regional services averaged 90.3% for the year**

Robin Gisby, director of operations and customer services, said: "We have had a strong end to the year with good levels of punctuality yet there is more to do, especially on improving performance for long distance services.^

East Coast has seen punctuality jump almost a three percentage points compared to last month as the operator has successfully reduced its delays and driven up the performance of its train fleet to the best in class. Network Rail is working hard on improving the reliability of its infrastructure on the East Coast Main Line and on managing those external factors, such as cable theft, that have such a big impact on train performance.