Great Western Coffee Shop

From the BBC - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-65937832 - about yesterday


From GWR yesterday


I appreciate that instant transfer of people to do things is not possible, but have we planned an allocated resources right?

On the evidence presented elsewhere on this board & news bulletins - unfortunately there were several thousand (hundreds of thousand, even?) times the number that travelled (& were likely to travel) on the Swindon-Weymouth line in London /going to London to watch the Trooping of the Colour & flypast.

So keeping those services into London was higher priority. An unpalatable fact unfortunately.

I'm feeling a similar frustration with TfW. There is a known issue with rolling stock availability (175 self-combustion), but many (probably most) of the cancellations are flagged as down to staff availability.

There was the backlog in training because of Covid, along with self-isolation issues. All reasonable. But we're well down the line now. I'm not in the know enough to say it's completely unreasonable for these to be having an effect now, or indeed if they are still the issue, but it feels never-ending. There is a lot of training on new stock of course, which needs to be done, and may mean some flexibility in re-allocating resources is lost, but still it's frustrating.

I'm in day-tripping reach of two lines that are great for day trips. I used to keep an eye on the weather when planning such trips. Now I'm watching for cancellations as well, and making early morning decisions.

I found a workable day on the Heart of Wales line not long ago. It worked fine for me, but I was aware of a cancellation during the day, and overheard people saying they had intended to have a day out in Swansea, but had switched to Shrewsbury because their return journey was cancelled. (The cancellation was the southern half of a train each way, i.e. the Carmarthen crew was unavailable.)

At some point I'd like to do a trip to Pembrokeshire. But every Saturday I check to see how things are performing and it seems more often than not there's a problem. Today the two early evening up trains are cancelled, making the return home from a day trip highly convenient. That's in an era when leisure travel is increasingly important to the industry, on a rural line whose numbers are hugely boosted by tourism, on a sunny day in the peak season, albeit not the height of the peak (still term-time). Journeycheck suggests replacement transport is being arranged, but it's far from ideal, and uninitiated travellers will just see "Cancelled" and feel they're stranded.

If I don't see consistent running soon, I might just not bother trying to go that way this summer. And how many of the general population want to be tracking performance for weeks before taking the plunge and making a trip?

I don't doubt that there's no magic instant fix for these issues, but it is a problem and it could cause long-term problems for the industry if people are put off, especially with the leisure market being much less captive than commuters.

And this week/weekend it's Glastonbury......wonder how services will be prioritised for that (I understand a lot of extra services have been promised) and which other routes will be stripped back as a result?

Usually the South Cots isn't it? With connections from Swindon off other Wales services.

A massive event, with large numbers using the trains….but not targeted by the unions.

Many of them going! Along with their offspring....and for those that aren't, a week without them!

I wonder if the rumours of Mick Lynch appearing on stage with Elton John are true?

Chris, I have zero objection to services being tuned ahead of time for a number of really major special events each year - it makes sense.   What I strongly object to is a seemingly frequent and last minute disruption which does not provide customers with plannable suitable alternatives.   The current way of not running services looks to be very disrespectful and discouraging of passengers. 

It's called service adjustment to meet the needs of those special weekends and, for sure, less people may be making their normal journeys so some thinning is fine.   But, please, to the industry standard of - what is it - 12 weeks notice which they seem to manage for engineering works, and done in such a way they have enough staff not going to London, or Castle Cary, or Cheltenham Spa, or Falmouth or Finstock to run the amended service.

In case the TOCs don't know yet ...
Trooping of the Colour 2024 - 8th June
Cheltenham Gold Cup 2024 - 12th to 15th March
West Wilts Rail User Group AGM 2024 - 20th March
FA Cup final 2024 - 25th May
Glastonbury 2024 - date not yet confirmed

It's a shame, but the DfT couldn't care any less....

I think it's fair to say they don't appear to be alone in that sentiment.

The DfT are pulling the strings, we know that. They won't pay a penny more

There is a feeling in some circles that it is more than that - that they actually want strikes they see as stoking up 1970's style anti-union and therefore anti-Labour party sentiment. So they will do everything possible to prolong public sector strikes.  Forget that the strikes have already cost the government - according to some reports - more than they would have had to pay to settle them. 

Quite simply its not in a TOC franchise or management contract with DfT to provide these additional services; they have a minimum service obligation to meet.  The run extra trains outside of the contract the TOC has to pay NR extra track access charges these are outside the franchise so may be more expensive, also if a FOC or another TOC is effected they need compensating.  The training leasing companies will also need paying for the extra use.

BR did not have all the above complexities, but then the government said a vertically integrated railway Nationalised railway with its lack of competition was unable to recact to customer needs !!!

Completely out of context. The Kings Coronation parade was much shorter than that for his mother because the Armed Forces no longer have the number of bodies to line a route that long.

Getting back closer to the subject do we know whether Imber Bus day Saturday 19th August 2023 is "safe" or not. After last year they could do with some decent numbers to bolster the fund raising.

Agreed. But doesn't the minimum service obligation require the TOC to provide staff and rolling stock to run the trains they have in their published time table, all be it subject to alteration 8 (or is it 12) weeks ahead because of things like engineering works and - perhaps - major events?  Closing a line because they don't have enough crew, and doing so at a few hours notice, strikes me as being way below the minimum that should be provided.  It also does no good for their business which should be about giving customers a service they can plan to use and then rely on.

It's no longer that 'sort' of business - the TOCs just do what they are told/asked to perform. And that really is that!

But - if you are answering me - they are NOT performing.  They are not running the trains in the published timetable.   Or have they been asked to perform in some way different to what's published?   FOI question anyone??

Is DfT controlling staff levels now?  Does the ongoing industrial action affect staff training and therefore recruitment?

A freeze on all recruitment (regardless of the consequences) is the sort of unthinking action bean counters (such as the Treasury) insist on when they need to save money. 

All I have been told is that the DfT have to agree on any increase change in expenditure - and that includes after savings identified, agreed & made/being made. So it depends on why the recruitment is being requested.