Great Western Coffee Shop

Broken train at Twyford this morning about 9ish. Apparently due to malfunctioning cameras.

There were a few this morning, 0642 Reading-Paddington was shortformed & was crammed to bursting by Hayes, apparently due to a fault.

Same train short formed again this morning. 4 carriages so probably quite cosy even on a Friday.

Yep, I was on it, rammed after Hayes, people had trouble getting off at Ealing. Apparently an earlier train was shortformed too (neither listed on Journeycheck), which didn't help.

07-45 ex-Goring also cancelled "due to fault on an earlier train".

However plenty of unused Electrostars loafing around Reading Depot - is it that old "train fault" means "staff shortage" routine?

In part yes, an "unused train" needs an unused driver which the TOC probably does not have many of them loafing about.  Sometimes its quicker for the passengers and less disruptive overall for the passengers effected by the failed train to wait for the next service than to try a slip in an "unused train" from the depot; it just does not seem that though to those directly involved

Not sure if its worth mentioning but there were some, somewhat significant, issues at Didcot East Junction today. Lots of trains queuing and several XC services passing through platform 1 at Didcot Parkway and reversing at Foxall Junction via the West Curve.

Yes, my son was amongst them. An hour and a half late into Oxford having missed a cancelled service and then been held on the Down Relief at 903 for a line inspection, and then finally talked past 907 and 913 along with a queue of trains both in front and behind.  Watched it all unfold on OTT included the XC reversal at Foxall. Up Relief services ran fine so I am assuming that the down relief Avoiding Line points lost detection. Any news from the inside?

It was reported on Radio Oxford travel news as a signalling problem between Didcot and Reading

Tweet just now from Dani Sinha of Channel 5 News:

Due to a problem with the 21:12 PAD-RDG shortly after it left London.  Power restored at 22:11 - with the 22:15 and 22:18 departures on the way on time, but failed train needs to be moved before full service can resume to normal.

Hopefully a minor issue.....

09:23 Reading to London Paddington due 10:08
09:23 Reading to London Paddington due 10:08 will no longer call at Maidenhead and Slough.
This is due to damage to the overhead electric wires.

Alterations to services between Slough and Reading
Due to a fault with the signalling system between Slough and Reading fewer trains are able to run on some lines towards Reading.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 25 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 20:45 22/01.
Additional Information
Owing to a fault with the signalling system fewer trains are able to run on the line between Slough and Reading , passengers for Taplow and Burnham are advised to travel to Reading and change for a local stopping London bound service.
Last

Change at Reading not Maidenhead? Are they allowing they allowing people to catch fasts to Reading?

Alterations to services at Langley


Due to a fault with the signalling system at Langley some lines towards Reading bound local stopping are disrupted.
Train services running through this station may be delayed or running non stop between Ealing Broadway and Slough. Disruption is expected until 08:15 24/01

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading

Due to a fault with the signalling system between London Paddington and Reading all lines are closed.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 12:30 24/01.

Last Updated:24/01/2019 10:53

Been looking at Open train times and Realtime trains looks bad trains stuck at Platforms.

711W 0716 Merehead Quarry to Acton T.C.  Went through platform 5 at Maidenhead and Platform 4 at Slough 

Several cancellations of up trains are attributed as "due to a power supply failure (XK)", where XK is in the list of "EXTERNAL EVENTS - NETWORK RAIL: These codes cover events considered to be outside the control of the Rail Industry, but normally attributable to Network Rail under the Track Access Performance Regime".

XK   External Power Supply Failure Network Rail Infrastructure   

I assume that means failure of external power feeding Network Rail (NR), not failure of Network Rail (NR) infrastructure handling external power!

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying acronyms

Looks to be correct.  Information received that SSE are suspected of striking an external cable according to TyrellCheck.

Disruption period now extended:

Power to signalling restored at 12:25, so trains now able to run again.  Will take a few hours for everything to get back into position of course, but evening peak should be largely unaffected.

Unusual for a provincial squirrel to get caught up in this kind of thing, but today I did!

I arrived at Paddington in very good time for the 12.45 to Bristol Parkway, to be told that it could be 4-5 hours before trains were running and my best bet was to nip across to Waterloo and get to Reading that way; all tickets (I had an Advance single) would be honoured. At Waterloo I was waved through onto Platform 21; this was all rather exciting for me as I'd not seen the old International Terminal from the inside before. The bloke on the gateline pointed out that it would take an hour an twenty minutes to get to Reading on this train, but I was rather invested in this option by now and in any case that sounded better than several hours at Paddington, so I pressed on. I will admit that by the time I got to Martins Heron the novelty of this route to Reading was starting to wear thin...

We rolled into Platform 6 at Reading just before 13.12, which coincidentally was the same time that the Bristol Parkway train was due to leave. I'm not good at running, so I sort of half-heartedly hastened over to Platform 14 fully expecting to see my train pull out (or at least lock its doors), but someone made a very sensible decision and held it for five or so minutes, this allowing a large number of people time to get on. Full marks to GWR for doing the right thing!

The Train Manager reassured us that we'd make up at least some of this time by Swindon, but near Didcot we slowed right down and reverted to diesel power, ambling most of the way to Swindon and adding seven minutes to the deficit. I changed at Parkway, catching a slightly late Weymouth train to Stapleton Road, where I crossed over for the Avonmouth train, which, I am delighted to say, was bang on time!

All in all, I was left with the impression that railway staff dealt with a difficult situation very well.

You were in good company according to this rather badly written article in the Swindon Advertiser

Blimey! It must be safe to assume that the Adver no longer bothers to employ any sub-editors.

Maybe the Advertiser got one of the nine years old she was meeting to draft the piece.  No, come to think of it, they would probably have done better than that.

I hope she didn't ask her father-in-law for a lift...  ;D

I don't know how disruptive this was but National Rail Enquiries still showing some minor delays at Reading.

People pay good money for trips like the, RS. Sounds like a grand day out!

Mean while yesterday on the M25 some friends of mine remained stationary for 3 hours ……………. no announcements given, no means of claiming compensation
Is rail travel so bad?

The difference is there is someone to blame, so people inevitably do. I do hope they weren't on their way to one of the airports.

A contact of mine wrote there was "no end in sight" ... but then that's what you get from a circular motorway!

National Rail Enquiries showing a number of "delayed" services at Reading at present.

NRE now saying delays/cancellations until 1530

Now cleared according to JourneyCheck


A couple of significant delays including the 13:03 Paddington to Plymouth which was stationary for about an hour.

Alterations to services between London Paddington and Slough
Due to a points failure at Iver the line towards Reading bound local stopping is blocked. Disruption is expected until 08:15 31/01.
Train services between London Paddington and Slough may be delayed or revised.
Customer Advice
Southall, Hayes, West Drayton, Iver and Langley: Local stopping line to Reading closed.

Trains from London Paddington, travelling towards Slough and Reading, are unable to call at Southall, Hayes, West Drayton, Iver and Langley.

Customers travelling from London Paddington and Ealing Broadway for intermediate stations should travel to Slough and circulate for Paddington bound services which are calling as normal.

Passengers from intermediate stations between Ealing Broadway and Slough wishing to travel towards Slough and Reading should catch services towards Ealing Broadway or London Paddington and circulate there for services towards Reading

Slackers!  ;)

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading


Due to severe weather preventing train crew getting to work between London Paddington and Reading fewer trains are able to run on some local stopping lines.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 12:00 01/02

GWR Web site appears to be struggling as well although when I checked at 5.30 this morning there were already lots of cancelled trains.

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington
Due to a fault with the signalling system between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington fewer trains are able to run on all lines.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 17:15 06/02.

A fair number of delays showing at Reading at the moment consistent with the JourneyCheck estimate.

15 days between posts under this heading!

Spring has arrived.

OTC

And we know what follows spring !
The season of speed restrictions due to high rail temperatures, clogged radiators on trains, broken air conditioning, barbecues, staff shortages, and overcrowding caused by passengers taking holidays at holiday times.

It’s not infrastructure just general shite.  After cancelling the 22.20ish LTV trains a 2 car service arrived at 22.50. So that’s 12 maybe 16 cars in to 2. We’ll done.

Naturally there were no GWR staff at Paddington to assist. Not one.

Would you say things have generally been better of late, Nick?

I travel outside of peak less frequently than I used to so cannot comment on frequency of incident. What I can say is that the absence of staff (and that is absence, not just shortage) at Paddington remains a disgrace.
16 or 12 carriages into 2 is shocking consideration for paying passengers whenever it occurs.

Indeed - provide that there were more than (say) 100 passengers total and less than (say) a 15 minute delay to anyone's journey.  I suspect that neither of these conditions of acceptability was met.

Is this related, or another incident?

There's still been general annoyances like short formed turbos and IETS along with the usual 5-10 minute delay but they don't seem worth posting.

Have things improved? A bit but I've been sticking to a couple of regular trains that generally run if over crowded. I've also started working from home more as the commute just depresses me. So there is an improvement but my confidence in the service remains low.

Thames Valley Infrastructure delays are back:

A reduced Great Western Railway service will run to and from London Paddington between 16:00 and 20:00 today due to a points failure in the Ladbroke Grove area. Trains may be cancelled or revised.
17:18 London Paddington Bedwyn will be started from Reading
17:38 Bedwyn London Paddington will be terminated at Reading
19:06 London Paddington Bedwyn will be started from Reading
16:09 London Paddington Maidenhead is cancelled
17:57 London Paddington Reading is cancelled
16:56 London Paddington Maidenhead is cancelled
17:42 Maidenhead London Paddington is cancelled
18:42 London Paddington Reading is cancelled
19:52 Reading London Paddington is cancelled

Although I notice that the 1P36 1522 Worcester SH - Paddington will be cancelled at Oxford, although of course that maybe for a different reason.

Maybe due to the hot February weather ;D ;D ;D

Wrong kind of sunshine.

Warm enough for a barbecue ;D

Could have had one on the boiling IET I was on earlier - the driver saw the forecast for rain on sunday it seems!

Cancellations to services between Reading and London Paddington


Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between Reading and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run on all lines.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 06:00 07/03.

Due to damage to the overhead electric wires at Newbury Racecourse fewer trains are able to run on all lines. Disruption is expected until 16:45 07/03.
Impact: Train services between Reading and Newbury may be cancelled.

One 387 was stranded at Newbury and iwas rescued by a Class 57 from the sleeper stock.  Turbos now being put out to run the Newbury to Reading stopping service.

Through services from the West of England not affected - either HSTs or IETs able to run on diesel.

This new Overhead Line Equipment (OHLE) seems to be suffering from a lot of faults.  Thought it was supposed to be more robust than the 'old' BR stuff..... ::)


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying acronym

Few of these today I reckon?

Cancellations to services between Bedwyn and Newbury


Due to a tree blocking the railway between Bedwyn and Newbury the line is blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled or delayed by up to 45 minutes. Disruption is expected until 11:00 10/03.
Last Updated:10/03/2019 10:04

Indeed - earlier ones at Totnes and along the seawall between Parsons Tunnel and Teignmouth station.

Tree down in a park in Chard too.

Not affecting any railway though!

I trust you weren't climbing it at the time?

Probably why it came down  ;D ;D

Or that Finn was making use of it at the time?

Due to failure of the electricity supply at London Paddington some lines are disrupted.
Impact:
Train services running to and from this station may be delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 17:45 12/03.

Latest Update:

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Slough
Following failure of the electricity supply between London Paddington and Slough some lines have now reopened.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 19:30 12/03.
Customer Advice
London Underground are conveying passengers between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for Great Western Railway rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.
London Buses are conveying passengers between London Paddington and Slough in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for Great Western Railway rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.
South Western Railway are conveying passengers between Reading and London Waterloo in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for Great Western Railway rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.
Last Updated:12/03/2019 17:39

3 hours Ealing Broadway - Taplow last night via District Line/Picadilly Line/81 bus from Hounslow/severely delayed train at Slough.

Not great but TfL seem to have got their act together at Ealing - nearly all staff were on the platform and there seemed to be a plan - they all had tablets and were able to look up details, give people travel advice and alternative arrangements very quickly whether by bus/tube or whatever - none of the gaping mouthed hopelessness and gazing at blank screens that you tend to get at Paddington (if you can find someone to help).

Got back to Slough at about 1915 to find that most of the staff had "done a Hopwood" - few or any to be seen and a lot of confusion - trains arriving randomly with no-one around to advise people where they were stopping, display screens not making sense, etc etc. Eventually got on the 1903 which arrived about 35 minutes late but I was one of the lucky ones.

Off to Preston today via Euston/Storm Gareth - could be interesting!!!  :o

I've noticed a couple of trains from Oxford arriving at Reading over half an hour late, and a number of Didcot/Oxford Oxford/Didcot services have been cancelled.

Not my favourite northern city, although I lived not far away, and saw Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, Gong, Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, and a few others, and ended up boozing with Yes and David Byron.

Actually, I quite like Preston.

I would suggest it’s the armpit of Lancashire, but there’s no shortage of competition!

It does have an architecturally stunning bus station.

...and a fantastic reputation thanks to the association to a well-known joke about the two deaf men in the pub.

We Lancastrians like to keep [the impression] it that way. We know that a mile away from those Dark Satanic Mills there lies some of the finest and most beautiful country in England!

It's called Yorkshire! ;D

Due to an obstruction on the track at Slough:
Impact:
Train services running through this station may be delayed by up to 20 minutes. Disruption is expected until 09:45 15/03.

At least now we know why the infrastructure is suffering.  Network Rail have allowed GWR to increase the number of trains running by 10,000 per day since 2012...

Article here:
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/passengers-benefitting-from-more-reliable-railway-as-train-performance-reaches-seven-year-high?fbclid=IwAR3TqP6mseiIDNAdnV6uL4LIaax7ii5XSU4UL7lLKAjVlUH6KW7tdVYOZTg#

Paul

I see they are making that claim AGAIN about Bristol being the biggest resignalling scheme ever undertaken.... ::)

.....and if they were honest enough, they should state that train performance couldn't have got much worse without bringing the network to a complete standstill.  The only way out of that is of course to get better so no reason to bleat about it.

Now reads:

^^
Odd that they haven’t altered it to “each year” now, which is probably far more logical and sensible...

Paul

Not sure I understand the 10,000 extra services per day - that's around 400 extra services per hour (ignoring its not really a 24 hour service and Sundays).

That seems a lot of extra trains that I've not really noticed on my route. Has somewhere else had a huge number of extra trains?

Maybe, but is that what they meant? I read the wording to refer to 2019 up to a little before the statement date (14 March). If 90% of trains are on time, and that's 108,000 there would be 120,000 trains in that period. That's about right, but sounds a bit high to me: I can find a GWR document from last year that talks about 9,000 trains per week, which is only 90,000 (ten weeks). And adding only 10,000 since 2012 doesn't look such a lot either.

But then the definition of a "service" (aka a train) has a certain fuzziness to it.

You may be right, I must admit I didn’t think much further than day, week, month, etc.  But in 10 weeks or so, let’s say a 1000 extra services a week - it still seems very high, even taken incrementally since 2012. I can’t remember many new regular all day services. But then again perhaps they’ll count a service each way separately.

Paul

I have been having a "play" with numbers too - and I am inclined to think we're looking at the 10 weeks since the star t of the year.   And I can find you some extra trains since 2012.   Starting (as I usually do  ;D ) with the TransWilts,  services up from 27 to 117 per week - there's 900 extra of your 10,000.  Then the extra services from Exeter to Paignton introduced at the same time; I don't have the number of new runs there but that's another chunk.  Paddington to Oxford local services now terminating at Didcot and extra trains every half hour on to Oxford - that's going to be several thousand more services running.  Aren't there inner extra locals running from Paddington to the bay at Hayes and Harlington (no loss of train numbers Paddington to Greenford as the number remain the same on the branch - just don't go as far)...

Counting the number of trains running by the number of head codes in the system for GWR passenger trains in ten weeks (in some cases (Didcot split, West Ealing changes)  that measures the operational change and not really the passenger benefit) and to me the numbers look like they fit the story.

Splitting the Greenfords and Running 2 tph to Hayes instead can perhaps reasonably be counted as introducing a “new service” because between West Ealing and Hayes it is new, but splitting Paddington to Oxford stoppers at Didcot is a fudge to deal with electrification issues, and AFAICT doesn’t actually give anyone an extra service. 

As a comparison with the Hayes/Greenford changes, SWR are about to split their Guildford to Ascot service at Aldershot, with an extension of the Guildford portion to Farnham. (May 19.) Analysis elsewhere suggests that service split isn’t included in their publicised total number of 300 additional services per week, because on its own their new 2 tph Guildford <> Farnham via Aldershot service would be about 300 per week anyway...

Paul

Due to the emergency services dealing with an incident near the railway between Swindon and Didcot Parkway all lines are closed.
Impact: Train services running through these stations may be delayed or diverted. Disruption is expected until 08:30 19/03.

Lines reopened just before 8am.

Not according to Journeycheck

Cancellations to services between Swindon and Didcot Parkway


Following the emergency services dealing with an incident near the railway between Swindon and Didcot Parkway all lines will be reopened shortly.
Train services running through these stations are returning to normal but some services may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or diverted. Disruption is expected until 09:30 19/03.

Last Updated:19/03/2019 08:25

The 07:30 from Paddington to Penzance, which was going to be diverted via the Berks & Hants, was briefly held at Reading before being sent booked route and called at Swindon around 4 minutes later than scheduled at 08:28.

Sadly, the emergency services were dealing with a body which was found lineside near Uffington.

Not Thames Valley - but now another incident at Hele & Bradninch crossing between Taunton and Exeter St Davids.

I was at Didcot Parkway at 8:40 and all the screens were saying that the lines were still blocked but would reopen shortly. And all the trains going west were still shown as Cancelled.

Noted - but the 07:30 from Paddington doesn't usually call at Didcot anyway.  It passed Tilehurst at 08:04.

Carrying on today....all day.....and further West too....any idea what's going on?

Alterations to services between Reading and Slough
Due to a fault with the signalling system between Reading and Slough some lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 30 minutes or running non stop between Maidenhead and Slough. Burnham will not be served. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Alterations to services between Hayes & Harlington and Ealing Broadway


Due to a broken down train between Hayes & Harlington and Ealing Broadway some lines are blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 09:15 25/03.

This was a freight train rather than GWR (according to our Train Manager)

Not a good day for LTV

Cancellations to services between Slough and Reading
Due to a broken down train between Slough and Reading some lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 16:00 26/03.

ustomer Advice
Trains from Slough, travelling towards Reading, are unable to call at Burnham, Taplow, Maidenhead or Twyford. Customers travelling from these stations towards Reading are advised to catch a train service to Slough and change there, where train services towards Reading (and beyond) are available. Customers travelling to Burnham, Taplow, Maidenhead or Twyford from stations London Paddington to Slough (inclusive) will need to travel through to Reading and then back by a London bound train service from there.

Broken down engineering train at Twyford.

The earlier problems between Maidenhead and Reading were caused by a broken rail at Ruscombe.

The freight train broke down between Twyford Station and the junction at Twyford West.  Stopping trains were crossed over at Twyford East (the crossover that used to be used by peak hour trains from London heading for the Henley branch).  Despite running through platform 4 at Twyford they didn’t stop.  I assume that’s because the selective door opening isn’t programmed for that platform and some trains in the peak would be too long.

Several long distance trains called at platform 1 at Twyford to cater.

LTVs very poor week continues...…….must be the searingly hot temperatures outside I guess?  ::)


Alterations to services between Slough and Reading

Due to a points failure between Slough and Reading some lines are closed.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 15:00 29/03.
Customer Advice
Owing to a points failure at Maidenhead there are only 2 out of the 4 running lines available for use between Maidenhead and Twyford. As a result Twyford, Maidenhead, Taplow and Burnham stations will see a reduction in the frequency of train services which call at those stations.

Delays to services at Didcot Parkway

Due to a points failure at Didcot Parkway:
Train services running through this station may be delayed. Disruption is expected until 15:00 29/03.

Speed restriction at Hanwell due to track fault.
Currently around a 30 minute delay due to all the inbounds to Paddington being delayed both in and out.

Delays to services between London Paddington and Reading
Due to a speed restriction over defective track between London Paddington and Reading trains have to run at reduced speed on the line towards Reading bound high speed.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 25 minutes. Disruption is expected until 19:30 29/03.
Last Updated:29/03/2019 18:15

Train manager on the delayed 17.07 also announced a points failure near Swindon and suspected trespasser at West Ealing.
Still only about 30 mins late home so could have been worse.

Alterations to services between London Paddington and Slough
Due to a points failure between London Paddington and Slough:
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 10 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 08:30 03/04.

Due to a fault with the signalling system at Didcot Parkway fewer trains are able to run.
Impact: Train services running through this station may be delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 09:30 05/04.

Now expected until 10:30, the signalling system at Didcot has recently become unreliable this is probably the 4th or 5th time there has been an issue over the last few weeks.

I was caught up in the problems this morning. 52 minutes late into PAD. Didn't help when we got away from Didcot they sent us right behind a local up the relief.

Cancellations to services between Slough and London Paddington
Due to a fault with the signalling system between Slough and London Paddington some lines towards London Paddington are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 09:15 16/04.

Cancellations to services between Reading and London Paddington


Due to a fault with the signalling system between Reading and London Paddington some lines towards London Paddington are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 15 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 09:15 16/04.

Now pushed out to 10:15

2nd day running in the morning peak.......

Cancellations to services between Slough and London Paddington
Following a fault with the signalling system between Slough and London Paddington the line towards London Paddington has now reopened.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 07:00 17/04.

Alterations to services between Newbury and Reading
Due to a problem with line-side equipment between Newbury and Reading trains have to run at reduced speed on the line towards Reading.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 25 minutes or diverted. Disruption is expected until 22:00 17/04.

Alterations to services between Maidenhead and Slough


Due to a points failure between Maidenhead and Slough the London Paddington bound high speed line is closed.
Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 15 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 17:15 20/04.

Alterations to services between Slough and Reading
Due to an object being caught on the overhead electric wires between Slough and Reading fewer trains are able to run.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 30 minutes or running non stop between Slough and Reading. Disruption is expected until 13:00 27/04.
Further Information
Customers travelling to Burnham or Taplow from stations London Paddington to Slough (inclusive) will need to travel through to Reading and then back by a London bound train service from ther

Currently nothing moving between Ealing Broadway and Slough in both directions due to a fire involving gas cylinders at West Drayton.

Latest update.....

Cancellations to services between Ealing Broadway and Slough
Due to a fire on property near the railway between Ealing Broadway and Slough all lines are blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 16:45 28/04.
Customer Advice
South Western Railway are conveying passengers between London Waterloo and Reading in both directions until further notice.
South Western Railway are conveying passengers between London Waterloo and Basingstoke in both directions until further notice.
Transport for London are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice.
Chiltern Railways are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice.
CrossCountry are conveying passengers between Basingstoke and Banbury in both directions until further notice.
West Midlands Railway are conveying passengers between Hereford and Birmingham New Street in both directions until further notice.
Virgin Trains West Coast are conveying passengers between Birmingham New Street and London Euston in both directions until further notice.

Latest:

Train services running through these stations may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 18:00 28/04.

London Fire Brigade say they have 10 pumps and 70 firefighters at the incident.

https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/incidents/2019/april/fire-at-a-container-storage-yard-west-drayton/ (https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/incidents/2019/april/fire-at-a-container-storage-yard-west-drayton/)

Lines re-opened at 17:30

Alterations to services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington
Due to a points failure between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington some lines towards Reading are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed or running non stop. Some stations between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington will not be served. Disruption is expected until 15:00 14/05.

No idea how significant the disruption but, for the record:

20+ minute delays Paddington to Reading due to points failure

Caught the 21:12 no delays.

Cancellations to services between Reading and London Paddington
Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between Reading and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 08:00 28/05.

Cancellations and disruption now expected until midday.

Cancellations to services between Reading and London Paddington


Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between Reading and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run on some lines towards London Paddington.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 19:00 28/05.

Strange, as it seems to be the Down Relief blocked (but only for electric services) between Twyford and Reading..... ???

Delays to services between London Paddington and Slough


Due to trespassers on the railway between London Paddington and Slough all lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed. Disruption is expected until 18:00 28/05.

Looking on Open train Times nothing is currently moving between Reading and Paddington...

Trespassers on the line at Hanwell - according to BBC Wiltshire travel news

I'm travelling from Worcester to Paddington this afternoon.

Pulled out of Oxford on time, but then there's an immediate announcement about problems ahead of us (a trespass incident at Hanwell), with everything backed up to Didcot.  Having that announcement before leaving Oxford would've been useful - could have gone to Marylebone instead.

Anyway, we get to Reading 20 late. After sitting in the platform, there's an announcement that we're not going any further. Please transfer to the train on the other side of the platform.

So we do that. And after 10 minutes, that one is cancelled as well.

Question - do we (1) sit it out and wait, or (2) go home and try again first thing tomorrow, or (3) go (very slowly) to Waterloo.

(2) difficult, because nothing is coming through from Paddington. The two cancelled trains are still sitting there. I'd've thought that running them back where they came from might help with clearing the traffic from Reading.

So here I am on the (very slow) stopper to Waterloo...

Trains beginning to move again...there's going to be a lot of DelayRepay..

Very complicated rescue of a distressed person on Wharncliffe Viaduct.

Which one is Wharncliffe Viaduct?

ancellations to services between London Paddington and Slough
Following trespassers on the railway earlier today between London Paddington and Slough all lines have now reopened.
Train services running to and from these stations are returning to normal but some services will still be cancelled, delayed by up to 125 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

It’s the high viaduct just to the west of Hanwell station that bridges over a river and park area.  I personally witnessed somebody threatening to take their own life stood on that viaduct wall many years ago.  They were talked down by staff in the end before police had arrived.

Thanks for that.

I eventually got off the Waterloo stopper at Richmond (to travel onwards by Underground) at 19:14, so some 92 minutes late.

Anyone know what the problem is that's made them stick an additional Reading stop in this morning's Capitals United?

I suspect it is because three other services from Swansea are cancelled due to a lack of IETs making it to South Wales last night following the lengthy closure at Paddington.

The 05:29, 06:59 and 07:59 all not running this morning.   The Capitals United is the 05:59 from Swansea.

Delays to services between Slough and London Paddington


Following a fault with the signalling system between Slough and London Paddington some lines have now reopened.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 20 minutes. Disruption is expected until 08:00 31/05.

Disruption now expected to continue until 0830

Interesting grammar but you get the picture........

Cancellations to services between Reading and Didcot Parkway
Due to a safety inspection of the track between Reading and Didcot Parkway the line towards local stopping is blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled. Disruption is expected until 10:00 12/06.
Customer Advice
Stopping services from Reading to Didcot Parkway are unable to call at intermediate stations.
Stopping services from Didcot Parkway to Reading are running normally.
Customers from intermediate stations travelling westbound should use the eastbound services to Reading and change for fast service to Didcot.

Kinky rail on the down main at Goring.  ;)

*** Correction.  It’s the Down Relief ***

.... and it ain't even sunny weather to cause it to kink !!!!

Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between London Paddington and Slough fewer trains are able to run on the line towards Reading bound high speed.
Impact: Train services running to and from these stations are returning to normal but some services may still be delayed by up to 15 minutes. Disruption is expected until 11:00 14/06.

Is this the new Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) west of Heathrow Jn or the Old between Paddington and Heathrow Jn?

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying acronyms

It was an ADD activation on a train near Hanwell, so an ‘old’ section of headspan Overhead Line Equipment (OLE).  As it was headspan all lines have to be checked, but no issues were found after those checks were made.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronyms

Overhead wire issues for the 2nd time in as many days, causing a fair amount of problems...………

Cancellations to services between Reading and Newbury


Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between Reading and Newbury fewer trains are able to run on all lines.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 17:00 15/06.

Some quite extensive damage this time, unlike yesterday.

Very new Overhead Line Equipment (OLE)!


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronyms

Certainly has been causing problems as far as services to the Cotswolds are concerned.

Apparently axle counters failed at both ends of the station resulting in delays and cancellations.

I don't know where the axle counters are located but P3 seemed to be more effected than P5, is this possible? This is based on the fact that trains  went in and out of P5 quickly for example the 0705 Paddington to Long Marston which arrived and left in a couple of minutes while the 0650 Paddington - Great Malvern was stuck in P3 for over 50 minutes.

What were the Long Marstons RTT gives 4 two out two back.

More about those specials here (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=21688.msg266507#msg266507)

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Maidenhead


Following failure of the electricity supply earlier today between London Paddington and Maidenhead all lines have now reopened.
Train services running to and from these stations are returning to normal but some services may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 10:00 22/06.
Customer Advice
Electric trains are now able to use all 4 lines following an earlier power failure. Now that train services are moving, residual delays can be expected as a result of congestion between Reading and London Paddington.

We do not have ticket acceptance with South Western Railway due to the limited train services as a result of industrial action and Ascot races meaning that services are busier than normal.

I arrived at TWY for the 08.24 to PAD but instead caught the 08.09 running 17 late. There’s been no delays on the journey and the train is now approaching PAD having gained back about 6 minutes. However every IET I’ve seen on the mains has been running on diesel power.

Power shortages/Crew Shortages/shortage of available (new) trains due to more than usual needing repair.

There is no shortage of excuses.

Sadly, no-one has yet found a way to harness excuses to drive trains or repair them ... they could make a fortune.

The road to Hull is paved with good intentions.

Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between Didcot Parkway and Swindon trains have to run at reduced speed on some lines.
Impact:
Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 10 minutes. Disruption is expected until 11:30 25/06.

Seems to be near "that" bridge at Steventon.

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading


Due to a fault with the signalling system between London Paddington and Reading fewer trains are able to run on all lines.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 17:15 29/06.

Now pushed out to 1800, also;

Cancellations to services between West Ealing and Greenford


Due to a broken down train between West Ealing and Greenford all lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled. Disruption is expected until 18:30 29/06.

………...and a points problem just outside Paddington too...……...all good fun in the sun  ::)

Would it be wrong of me to suggest that temperatures were exceptional today and that in previous years you would have expected far more significant disruption?

Good for commuters that today’s heat is giving way to more seasonally typical weather tomorrow in time for the return to work on Monday.

Not sure, to be honest. Damage to overhead lines wasn't an available cause of disruption in previous years.

I take your point, although of course it has been since the late 90s for the 11 miles out to Airport Junction.

Cancellations to services between Reading and Bedwyn


Due to a fault with the signalling system between Reading and Bedwyn all lines are closed.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed by up to 45 minutes. Disruption is expected until 09:30 04/07.

Delays to services between Newbury and Reading

Due to a fault with the signalling system between Newbury and Reading the line is closed.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed. Disruption is expected until 10:00 04/07.

Somewhat chaotic scenes at Thatcham when I was there just now (I'm not travelling today but a family member is trying to get to the City for 10am). The 0800 from Thatcham was cancelled yesterday aswell.

Looks like long-distance trains being diverted away from the B&H.

Looks like things are on the move now, 1A71 PLY-PAD on the move up the B&H 94 late from Newbury (ouch)
My family member has been driven to RDG to try from there.

I'm on the 0931 Reading to Plymouth (left about 40 mins late) was showing on time till 0928 then "delayed" staff on platform were getting as much information as customers (ie none). Usually starts from Paddington but started from Reading today......my first "long haul" on an IET.....seems OK to be honest (delay notwithstanding) but there's a chap causing problems.....keeps asking where the Pullman restaurant is & demanding steak & Port.......any idea who it might be? 😉

If he stays on board when the train gets to Plymouth, the set forms the 12:55 back to London which does have a restaurant.... ;D

and from National Rail Enquiries:


National Rail Enquires now saying (15:54):

Not me  :) as well aware that the service has no Pullman. And port  would not be requested until after the main course, to enjoy with the sweet or cheese. Only a heathen would drink port with the steak.

Not a good late morning it seems (from Journey Check)
Cancellations to services at Slough
Due to a speed restriction over defective track at Slough trains have to run at reduced speed on the line towards Reading bound high speed.
Train services running through this station may be cancelled or delayed by up to 10 minutes. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Cancellations to services at Maidenhead
Due to a points failure at Maidenhead some lines towards high speed are disrupted.
Train services running through this station may be cancelled or delayed by up to 20 minutes. Disruption is expected until 12:30 08/07.

Cancellations to services between Didcot Parkway and Reading
Due to a fault with the signalling system between Didcot Parkway and Reading fewer trains are able to run on the line towards Reading bound local stopping.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed by up to 20 minutes. Disruption is expected until 12:00 08/07.

On the final signalling hiccup.  Is it my imagination or are these now becoming very frequent?
Going back in time, surely failures occurred but we didn't notice? or trains ran without a problem?
Since centralisation, like most centralisation projects, they seem very susceptible to major outages.
Whilst putting all your levers into one big box, you save on staff costs, infrastructure maintenance, etc; but it seems a high price to pay for so many outages.
Which leads me to wonder - does the East & West Coast centralisation suffer similar outages as we do?

Certainly a lot more infrastructure issues in recent weeks it seems.......along with crew shortage, short formations etc etc....

There had been several months of pretty reliable infrastructure, demonstrated by the punctuality shooting up and the relative lack of posts on this thread, but yes a few more recent incidents.

I would say this year, so far, has probably seen the least amount of disruption caused by signalling and track defects in the GWML for at least the past five years, maybe longer - but that’s only from my general observations.

I don't know the answer to your question but Network Rail need to get a grip on these issues before the new timetable starts in December, with more GWR services and then CrossRail to come in these signalling problems are going to have an even bigger impact on services then they currently do.

Second full day of this;

Alterations to services at Slough


Due to a speed restriction over defective track at Slough trains have to run at reduced speed on some lines.
Train services running through this station may be delayed by up to 10 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Still a 5mph speed restriction at Slough on the down main line.

Also, not Thames Valley, but some disruption in South Wales after a pillock on the 05:29ex Swansea claimed to be a member of the IRA and would blow up the train.   ::)

All cancelled as a result;

16:48 Reading to London Paddington due 17:53
16:56 London Paddington to Maidenhead due 17:36
17:02 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington due 18:10
17:42 Maidenhead to London Paddington due 18:28
17:57 London Paddington to Reading due 18:42
18:19 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway due 19:23
18:42 London Paddington to Reading due 19:21
18:48 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway due 19:55
19:52 Reading to London Paddington due 20:46
19:57 London Paddington to Reading due 20:52
20:10 Slough to Windsor & Eton Central due 20:16
20:19 Windsor & Eton Central to Slough due 20:25
20:27 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway due 21:52
20:30 Slough to Windsor & Eton Central due 20:36
20:39 Windsor & Eton Central to Slough due 20:45
20:50 Slough to Windsor & Eton Central due 20:56
20:59 Windsor & Eton Central to Slough due 21:05
21:10 Slough to Windsor & Eton Central due 21:16
21:19 Windsor & Eton Central to Slough due 21:25
21:30 Slough to Windsor & Eton Central due 21:36
21:39 Windsor & Eton Central to Slough due 21:45
21:50 Slough to Windsor & Eton Central due 21:56
21:59 Windsor & Eton Central to Slough due 22:05
22:10 Slough to Windsor & Eton Central due 22:16
22:19 Windsor & Eton Central to Slough due 22:25
22:30 Slough to Windsor & Eton Central due 22:36
22:39 Windsor & Eton Central to Slough due 22:45
22:50 Slough to Windsor & Eton Central due 22:56
22:59 Windsor & Eton Central to Slough due 23:05
23:12 Slough to Windsor & Eton Central due 23:18
23:21 Windsor & Eton Central to Slough due 23:27
23:36 Slough to Windsor & Eton Central due 23:42
23:46 Windsor & Eton Central to Slough due 23:52

I would imagine all those Windsor’s are cancelled to get the unit off the branch early to allow repairs to the damaged rail to take place overnight.

An utter mess in the Thames Valley this evening.  I’d nearly forgotten how much I hate commuting.

Possession now taken to repair the damaged track.

I for one share your sense of outage.

I'm not sure whether exact figures on signalling failures per year, per route, are published - one for Stuving, our resident Google sleuth?  :D

Given the track defects last night at Langley and yesterday and today at Slough you might think those were on the increase, but I think generally the opposite is true.  'Broken rails' were down a whopping 90% from 952 in 1998 to 109 in 2015 for example.

Following the repairs to the track at Slough the unit for the Windsor shuttle is trapped on the branch. As a result some services have been cancelled to conserve fuel.

How much fuel is needed ?
No question of a drum of diesel fuel in the back of a van and a portable electric pump worked from the van battery I suppose.
Easier just to take the default option of mass cancellations.

It means two return trips an hour are running instead of three.

I’m not sure how you could get a road based vehicle to access the train.  It might be possible if the train is shunted to the siding near Slough station I suppose.

 From where I am in South Devon, it seems that signal/track problems always seem to happen in a
 relatively small area with regular frequency, correct me if I'm wrong.
 Are the new signalling systems not as 'robust' as the one's they replaced ?
 Do they have the same problems in other area's, i.e. South West Railway ?

 From a local point of view, Network Rail seem 'to fix' problems but not necessarily repair.
 I suppose with exception, the well publicised sea wall at Dawlish.

Exactly my question, which interestingly, hasn't had an answer as yet.
I do wonder if in bygone days before the tinternet, you would only hear about problems directly affecting you.
Also you were not so interested in how other areas were doing.

It does also seem to be the case with signalling issues that a quick fix is done.  Guess that's because there is no budget to look into historical failures/common issues and find a long term solution.?
More questions than answers!

From where I live in mid-Devon, the railway seems a relatively simple thing, becoming a much more complex organism the closer you get to London. A quick count on RTT shows 17 trains between Taunton and Exeter, with 18 in the opposite direction, between 0600 and 1200 today, with only 7 signals (if I got that right) between the two stations. Slough, although I didn't try counting, seems to get that in an hour. Between there and Paddington, the signalling is much more intensive and the track layout much more complicated. The effects of a fault are therefore much more severe than on the lightly-loaded line. You could maintain a reasonable service with drivers telephoning from every failed signal in Devon, but never in the Thames Valley.

So the combined resources of network rail (whose defective track caused the problem) and GWR whose train needs fuel, are not able to deliver a modest supply of diesel fuel to a train in suburban London. Several easy ways of doing this exist.

1) Put drum of fuel in back of a van. Pump fuel into train at someplace with suitable access.

2) Put drum of fuel in van. Unload and roll the drum/use a trolley to the platform by means of the ramp or lift intended for wheelchairs. Use a hand pump to fill tank on train.

3) Fill a number of 20 liter jerry cans with diesel fuel use a van to transport these to the station. Carry the jerry cans to the train. Use a large funnel attached to a short piece of hose to pour from jerry can into fuel tank on train.

4) Contact a fuel delivery firm with a small tanker that incorporates a pump and delivery hose. These are very common and readily available. They deliver to small tanks at the far end of a domestic back garden without problems, so a parked train should be easy.

While I don't disagree with the sentiment I am not sure that refuelling a train while it is stood on a public platform is likely to be countenanced.  Refilling water tanks is one thing, fuel - albeit it diesel - is another.

And yet it is done every day, with members of the public including children and babes in close proximity - diesel [and petrol!] with lots of moving vehicles and often food and drink sales close by. My local has a sign saying Tesco and sometimes offers a discount of 5p per litre.

Probably a more realistic idea would have been to re-time one of the trains back 10 minutes so the 2tph at 30-minute intervals that used to operate would run.  Maximum delay of just 10 minutes to passengers, and in fact the way the connections work, some through journeys would actually be 10 minutes quicker!  Possible implications with crew diagrams and breaks though.

This is how they do it in Romania, fuelling arrangements at the very beginning.
Perhaps a few of the vehicles could be procured to replace Pacers ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zeBIxI7n1I (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zeBIxI7n1I)

I don't think Network rail have ever published (i.e. externally) details of the failures that cause "incidents", though the Route Plans and similar documents have contained a lot of mentions of performance and how it's going to improve. But they are much fuller of jargon than comprehensible facts. Mostly you can get PPM and the like, telling you nothing about who did what do whom.  I've seen promises of more useful performance information, but not anything specific.

Network Rail (NR) do quite a bit of work in asset monitoring and the like (and promote it), aimed at predicting failures before they happen (the best kind of prediction, I'm sure). Some of that gets into the railway technical press. Suppliers are also busy doing this kind of stuff; even my ex-colleagues at Thales are at it now - though we didn't have any rail projects in my time. I saw a presentation of their work based on detailed analysis of the current drawn by a point motor, looking for patterns that show it meeds servicing or is about to grind to a halt. That and similar tricks may be very clever and potentially useful, but of course it all has to work, and make a difference, when rolled out on a large scale. And that I've not heard anything about.

What I have found is that NR now have a page of links to data (https://www.networkrail.co.uk/who-we-are/transparency-and-ethics/transparency/our-information-and-data/) (search for statistics and pick "Our information and data").

There is an item for Network Performance, bit its "related link" isn't (a link). The only other thing that might be of use, if anyone has the time to make use of it, is "historical delay attribution". That's not as historical as it might be (just 2018-19 and on), but is a complete list of all delay attribution incidents. There's a short explanation of its content and the column contents, which start with:

Each (4-week) period's data comes in a large zipped CSV file - large as in up to 500,000 rows x 39 columns. You'll need a copy of the DAPR to hand, not just the explanation, to process that lot into anything useful! These are the column heads:

FINANCIAL_YEAR_AND_PERIOD
ORIGIN_DEPARTURE_DATE
TRUST_TRAIN_ID_AFFECTED
PLANNED_ORIG_LOC_CODE_AFF
PLANNED_ORIG_GBTT_DATETIME_AFF
PLANNED_ORIG_WTT_DATETIME_AFF
PLANNED_DEST_LOC_CODE_AFFECTED
PLANNED_DEST_GBTT_DATETIME_AFF
PLANNED_DEST_WTT_DATETIME_AFF
TRAIN_SERVICE_CODE_AFFECTED
SERVICE_GROUP_CODE_AFFECTED
OPERATOR_AFFECTED
ENGLISH_DAY_TYPE
APP_TIMETABLE_FLAG_AFF
TRAIN_SCHEDULE_TYPE_AFFECTED
TRACTION_TYPE_AFFECTED
TRAILING_LOAD_AFFECTED
TIMING_LOAD_AFFECTED
UNIT_CLASS_AFFECTED
INCIDENT_NUMBER
INCIDENT_CREATE_DATE
INCIDENT_START_DATETIME
INCIDENT_END_DATETIME
SECTION_CODE
NETWORK_RAIL_LOCATION_MANAGER
RESPONSIBLE_MANAGER
INCIDENT_REASON
ATTRIBUTION_STATUS
INCIDENT_EQUIPMENT
INCIDENT_DESCRIPTION
REACTIONARY_REASON_CODE
INCIDENT_RESPONSIBLE_TRAIN
PERFORMANCE_EVENT_CODE
START_STANOX
END_STANOX
EVENT_DATETIME
PFPI_MINUTES
TRUST_TRAIN_ID_RESP
TRUST_TRAIN_ID_REACT



Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

I think I'll leave that one to the experts.

Due to urgent repairs to the track between Reading and Basingstoke the line is blocked.
Impact:
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 17:30 11/07.

Cattle on the line between Swindon and Didcot Parkway so all services stopped. Disruption expected to 11:00.
I believe that a train may have hit the cattle.

Now expecting several puns about cows and /or trains needing to get a moo-ve on.

In these circumstances there'll be a lot of compensation claimed.........Mooooooooooooos  gonna pay for it?

More than 30 cows reported on the line at one point and a suggestion they may have gained access due to vandalism.

Indeed:

https://www.facebook.com/zanydavy/posts/10162006486695223


Followed up by pictures of damage taken at Didcot.

https://www.facebook.com/zanydavy/posts/10162006594090223

Thanks for the links and looks like it was the 1A06 0620 Weston-super-Mare to Paddington.
And incident is now cleared although delays still to be expected.

It was 1A06.

Longest delay I think was 1C04 - 07:30 London Paddington to Penzance which was held just west of Didcot for a while before being sent back to Reading to go down the Berks & Hants.  It is currently nearly two hours late approaching Totnes and will be terminated at Plymouth.

Why terminate it quite that far short? They should still be able to make Truro and form the return journey on time.

Might be wrong, but it looks as if, from the pictures, the nose cone itself has just retracted.  Those nose cones are Kevlar lined, the nose cone doors themselves worth about £40,000.

Update from the BBC - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-49009906

I noticed yesterday a small tanker lorry in the car park at Slough ready to refuel the unit currently ‘stuck’ on the Windsor branch, so something has obviously been organised.

Yes, fuelling arrangements were put into place a couple of days after the unit became locked in.

Probably not needed before then.

Has anyone seen any mention of heat-related speed restrictions over the last couple of days? 

There were two delays on journeycheck earlier said to be caused by speed restrictions due to hot weather.

Cancellations to services between Slough and London Paddington
Due to a fault with the signalling system between Slough and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run on some lines towards London Paddington.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 17:00 24/07.

Delays to services between Reading and Slough...……………..until close of play tomorrow?


Due to a speed restriction over defective track between Reading and Slough trains have to run at reduced speed on the line towards London Paddington.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 20 minutes. Disruption is expected until the end of the day on 31/07/19.

Cancellations to services between Slough and Maidenhead
Due to urgent repairs to the track between Slough and Maidenhead fewer trains are able to run on the Reading bound local stopping line.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled or revised. Burnham and Taplow will not be served. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Due to animals on the railway between Newbury and Reading trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines.
Impact:
Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 15 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 10:00 15/08.


Due to a broken down train between Reading and London Paddington the London Paddington bound local stopping line is blocked.
Impact:
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 10:30 15/08.

Local Stopping Line  ???

Means more to most people than 'Relief Line'.  ;)

Due to an object being caught on the overhead electric wires at Hayes & Harlington some lines towards Slough are blocked.
Impact:
Train services running through this station may be cancelled or delayed by up to 30 minutes. Disruption is expected until 17:00 15/08.

I was on this train the 15:12 ex Padd.  The driver stopped short at Hayes as the plastic sheet / bag just above the leading coach, luckily the driver spotted it so it did not get wrapped around the Pan.   The train was evacuated and the next service 15:27 ex Padd stopped on platform 1 and held to allow the transfer.

Following animals on the railway earlier today between Reading and Didcot Parkway the line towards Didcot Parkway has now reopened.
Impact:
Train services running through these stations are returning to normal but some services may still be delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 09:15 16/08.

Delays to services between Reading and Didcot Parkway
Due to a fault with the signalling system between Reading and Didcot Parkway trains have to run at reduced speed on some lines.
Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 15 minutes. Disruption is expected until 16:15 19/08.

At least one (1C22) Bristol service diverted via Newbury

Got caught up in this one. Axle-counter failure on the down main at Didcot East Junction. There was a service on the up main that was caught up for some time too, so I suspect there might have been a bit of points detection failure in the mix as well. Third down train in line to be talked passed signals at danger.

165 111 worked 19:30 to Windsor and return now parked in platform 1 Slough (22:15) shut down with lights off. Out of fuel or failed?
GWR website gives.

Due to a fault on this train between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central the line is blocked.
Impact:
Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled or suspended. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Customer Advice:
Replacement road transport has been requested to operate in both directions between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central. Further details of this will be advertised when the road transport has been sourced.
First Bus route 8: Slough (Bus Station Bay 8) - Windsor (Theatre Royal) - Egham (Church Road) are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice.
South Western Railway are conveying passengers between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for Great Western Railway rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.

From RTT: the last run was into Slough at 2045. Later runs today are flagged: "This service was cancelled throughout due to a problem with the on-board safety systems (M0)."

Didn't see 20:45 arrival  must have failed at the end of that journey, as it was  already parked up at tea break @22.50 in the Manor. We (SWRS) had  been discussing some very early pictures of Slough Station in Broad Gauge days. C1870/80s.

Send me a message if you'd like copies.

Defective light in the speedo.

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Slough
Due to a fault with the signalling system between London Paddington and Slough trains have to run at reduced speed on the Reading bound high speed line.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 19:00 26/08.

Platforms 3, 4 and 5 closed at Didcot Parkway after a train's pantograph got tangled in the overhead late last night.

Surprised no additional stops, when I looked, being added to services from Bristol, South Wales and Cheltenham as a result of above but I suppose 387's stabled at Swindon can be re-routed using main lines for this am's traffic to the smoke or is that too simplistic for Swindon Control to implement.

Services now reported by National Rail to be disrupted until 16:00. If you have to catch a bus into/out of Oxford it could take a while as there are roadworks on the Botley Road.

Probably quicker to go via Reading?

Platform 5 has no wires....

Yes it does.

The area that doesn't have any wires, or more properly, where the Over-Head Line Equipment (OHLE) finishes, is part way along the Chester lines just west of the station.  Which is where the problem was as a pan was raised slightly too early on the 22:01 Oxford to Paddington last night.


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

Is that an understatement as I thought they weren't supposed to raise the pantograph until they have stopped in the station? Similiar to the procedure for London bound trains that stop on Platform 2.

That's correct.  Although you can raise the pan anywhere at 20mph or less.  Anywhere the wires have been installed that is, which is where the problem probably was!

Disruption now expected "until the end of the day" due to this incident.

Saw the picture on another group somewhere and did wonder if that was the case.  That's going to take some explaining.

They have been some additional stops inserted into some evening services to Bristol TM: 16:30, 17:00, 17:30 (? - included in some info and not others) & 18:00 at Tilehurst, Goring & St, and Cholsey.

And at Didcot on a couple of the Oxford-Paddington peak expresses so that the two per hour service can be maintained.

There’s a 6-car Turbo out doing RDG-PAD locals this morning, it did 2R11 0642 from PAD and appears to be scheduled for 2P28 0818 from RDG. I’m guessing that this might be as a consequence of the Over-Head Line Equipment (OHLE) damage which happened at Didcot a couple of days ago? Everything I’ve seen on locals on Saturdays since the start of last year has been 387s, indeed I’m currently on one.


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

Delays to services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington


Due to a broken down train between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington some lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed. Disruption is expected until 18:30 01/09.

Good start to the week.

Cancellations to services between Oxford and Didcot Parkway
Due to engineering works not being finished on time between Oxford and Didcot Parkway all lines are blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 07:00 02/09.

Add to that ;-

Cancellations to services between Twyford and Henley-On-Thames
Due to engineering works not being finished on time between Twyford and Henley-On-Thames all lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled. Disruption is expected until 07:00 02/09.

Disruption now expected till 0800.

Now 0900!

Delays due to signalling problems. Apparently. I just think that can’t be arsed.

Due to a fault with the signalling system between London Paddington and Reading some lines are disrupted.
Impact:
Train services running to and from these stations are returning to normal but some services may still be cancelled or delayed by up to 20 minutes. Disruption is expected until 09:45 20/09.

Alterations to services between Ealing Broadway and London Paddington
Due to a broken down train between Ealing Broadway and London Paddington the line towards London Paddington bound local stopping is blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 07:45 24/09.


Delays to services at Newbury


Due to heavy rain flooding the railway at Newbury trains have to run at reduced speed on some lines.
Train services running through this station may be delayed. Disruption is expected until 12:00 24/09.

Helped a little bit by no trains from the far-Southwest due to signalling being knocked out by lightning between Plymouth and Totnes.... :o

Due to a fault with the signalling system between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington fewer trains are able to run on some lines.
Impact:
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed by up to 15 minutes. Disruption is expected until 17:30 15/10.

Edit: disruption now until 21:30

Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between Reading and London Paddington the London Paddington bound line is closed. Services running to and from these stations have been delayed or cancelled.

I'm watching OTT Maps and Down fasts and semi-fasts on both the Main and Relief are running on time but just not stopping at TWY when scheduled to do so! What exactly is the problem?

A driver reported a track defect so there was a short closure of that line, an examination by another train and all reportedly ok.  Trains not stopping at Twyford during the time there was one line shut and shortly after until congestion had eased.

Delays to services at Maidenhead
Due to a speed restriction over defective track at Maidenhead trains have to run at reduced speed.
Train services running through this station may be delayed. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

As if all the crew shortage cancellations tonight weren't enough...………….

Alterations to services at Slough


Due to a speed restriction over defective track at Slough the line towards Reading bound local stopping is disrupted.
Train services running through this station may be delayed by up to 10 minutes or running non stop between Langley and Taplow. Disruption is expected until 18:00 31/10.
Customer Advice
Passengers for Slough from the London direction are advised to change at Maidenhead for a service back to Slough.
Customers at Slough for Reading are advised to travel to West Drayton for onward connections.

Now extended to 19:00.

And if THAT wasn't enough................

Cancellations to services at Maidenhead

Due to a problem with line-side equipment at Maidenhead:

Train services running through this station may be cancelled or delayed by up to 60 minutes. Disruption is expected until 19:00 31/10.

Line has finally reopened,  disruption ongoing till at least 2200.....I guess the cancellations caused by crew shortages should help clear any congestion...... ::)

Quote "running non stop between Langley and Taplow."

Interesting I thought trains weren't allowed to stop on the Down MAin at Taplow so why not st say Langley to  Burnham?

Thoroughly miserable journey home Thursday night. The train I was on changed destinations several times, was not stopping at Slough but definitely stopping at Taplow/Burnham. It then stopped at Slough got cancelled and after a lot of people got off seemed to become a new service set off almost straight away to not stop at Taplow/Burnham.

Some services or cancellations doesn't seem to do justice to the chaos and as usual complete lack of information. With hindsight I know it was multiple incidents but the different communication channels seemed to each have a slight variation which at the time only added to the frustration.

Have I missed the deadlines for questions to the MD because I'd really like to understand more about GWR's business continuity planning. I think we all understand incidents happen but every-time its the lack of information or worse wrong information.

Is this because the plan is badly written? Not understood? No clear lines of responsibility? Constrained by cost?  Lack of resources? Too much automation on things like the website?
Does the incident response focus on getting rolling stock and staff back in place rather than passengers? 
Relationship with Network Rail? The programme on channel 5 highlighted that communication between the two parties didn't seem great. And Network Rail don't always seem to see things as a customer/end user.

Sadly, the deadline was in the middle of last week - to give GWR a chance to know what's coming up (and indeed have some text ready) rather than us playing a "what can we spring on Mark to catch him out" game.   GWR have, I know, been working on the questions.

Looking back at last time's questions, there was one on "continuity" but that was more directed at sorting out the passengers rather than sorting out the trains ... links to last time's subjects at http://gwr.passenger.chat/22399 . Bearing in mind than next Tuesday's session is specifically slanted towards December changes, I suspect we may end up discussing recovery from unplanned issues, as with the best will in the world, there probably will be some of these.

Comes across as rather sycophantic.

Irrespective of "deadlines", contingency planning and Customer Communication should be part of an MD's portfolio, and the details should be at his fingertips at all times. He shouldn't need an underling to have some "text ready" - I attended a meeting  at a far larger and more sophisticated organisation than GWR yesterday and the responsible MD gave a presentation without notes or prompting and answered questions without hesitation.

It's not a question of trying to "catch him out", just basic stuff that goes with the pay grade.

Maybe it does come across that way, so fair comment.  It's also very practical; do members really want our "Meet the Manager" hour to be spent waiting for a response to be typed in when each question is sprung? 

The way we're doing it reminds me very much of how I tackle a niche training course on a complex programming language;  most of the language, I'll know (and use) well ahead of time but sometimes there's one or two somewhat unusual modules / elements that the customer wants to be covered.  They're always there in the product - but never the less I need to prepare ahead of time.

Yes, I think I'd prefer a prompt, detailed and accurate initial reply given the limited time of the session.  Seemed to work fine last time, though hopefully there will be no repeat of the unfortunate 'lost questions' incident which didn't help with trust in the transparency of the whole thing.

Whatever happens it'll be far better than the void of silence we had from GWR's management during the bad times last year.

Presumably the agreement is for a certain period of notice to be given? If that is the case, it should be stuck to, to preserve an event that was popular and informative the first time it was done, so that it can be a long-standing tradition (usually about the third outing). I wonder if a discreet enquiry could be made about adding this topic, though, given that it is a major source of frustration to passengers, although I would hazard a guess that the answer will be that it is a major source of frustration to GWR too.

Indeed, though once the base question is put and answer pasted, the session is open for discussion, follow up questions, etc. Basically the preparation sets the groundwork and then corollary stuff is welcomed without notice.  Those of you who submitted questions may well yourselves have follow up thoughts / text / additional comment prepared ahead of time ;D too

Not really infrastructure but for the want of somewhere better:


Lots of delays showing at Reading at the moment.

Train of oil tankers reported to be showing signs of smoke.   All trains stopped while it is examined.

Still going............


Cancellations to services between Reading and Didcot Parkway


Due to a broken down train between Reading and Didcot Parkway some lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes or diverted. Disruption is expected until 19:00 08/11.

The freight train is still stuck there.  Obviously there's a lot more caution involved when the cargo is in any way hazardous.  Looks like it'll be moving (slowly) to Didcot Yard shortly.

Caution of course, but 4 HOURS???  Was there a problem eg with the running gear that needed a part or person from far away?

Yes, on one vehicle brakes were stuck on and have caused serious damage to the wheelsets.

Now on the move and approaching Didcot, so the Down Relief line should be open shortly.

Ahh I wondered why this didn't move at all when I was walking past. It was a DB class 60 pulling tankers sat in the green gap between the edge of Reading and Pangbourne.

The green gap aka Purley on Thames!

When I saw these posts while "lurking" on my smartphone leaving Guildford after an after hours strategic meeting with a senior colleague I thought I had been fortunate in missing the aftermath of this. Sadly, the train I was aiming for (the 20-22 ex Reading, immediately preceding one of those annoying 35 minute gaps in the stopping service timetable) was cancelled, so there was an unwanted 50 minute wait at Reading, with not even a pretty sunset by way of compensation!

I’ve always ignored Reading’s daft political boundaries. It was spanning the green gap from the end of purley to the beginning of pangbourne.

It's not clear whether that cancellation (of the earlier inbound service) was related to the line closure or not. The line was cleared at about 18:30, so "an issue with the train crew" might or might not be knock-on. When I passed though at about 16:00 I saw the "all lines are closed" warnings and was surprised to find no trains showing as cancelled or more than a few minutes late - at least, not in the next 20 minutes or so.

I've moved the burgeoning discussion about political/administrative boundaries to a new topic in "The West - but not the West's trains":

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=22464.0

Well done that man! 👍

Hurrah.  Thanks.

Delays to services between Reading and London Paddington
Due to a points failure between Reading and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run on all lines.
Train services running to and from these stations will be delayed by up to 20 minutes. Disruption is expected until 20:00 28/11.

 Cancellations to services between Didcot Parkway and Oxford

and also:

Alterations to services between London Paddington and Reading


Due to a broken down train between London Paddington and Reading some lines towards Reading are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 18:15 08/12.

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading


Due to a fault on this train between London Paddington and Reading the local stopping line is blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 01:30 13/12.

.....and a good start to the first "working day" of the new timetable......

Cancellations to services between Reading and London Paddington
Due to a fault with the signalling system between Reading and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run on some London Paddington bound high speed lines.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 08:45 16/12.

... until 11am now. 

GWR flooding the media with the "this is nothing to do with the new timetable" comms.
They must be cursing the timing though.

Just received a forwarded email from Mike Gallop Route Managing Director Network Rail Wales and Western and Mark Hopwood


Vey unfortunate.
 

But what will be interesting is the mix of the signalling problems and the new timetable. Under the old timetable, services could often make up time once they'd got through the problem area. Now a lot of the slack has been removed that "elasticity" is no longer there.

Oh, and delays are now expected until 12:00

Up main now re-opened.  Passed through Slough a couple of minutes ago.

And of course there's more trains being squeezed in, meaning congestion builds up quicker when there is a problem such as this morning.

It's not all doom-and-gloom though as there is still recovery time in the schedules, not as much as before, but still some.  A good example is the 09:28 Paddington to Cheltenham train this morning, which was delayed by 28 minutes leaving Paddington, but even on a schedule that's a whopping 14 minutes quicker than the equivalent 09:36 departure in the old HST based timetable, it got to Cheltenham just 15 minutes late.  So an old schedule of 2h 16m, was bettered by 27 minutes, being completed in 1h 49m, 13 minutes quicker than the current schedule.

It may have revealed some of the services that are considered to be the first in line to be sacrificed. The rather unusual Swindon-Paddington service 1A11 that was cancelled could be one of these.

The non-stop Bristols went as well but you would expect that they will always be the first to go at times of disruption.

The stock for this got caught up in the signal failure and arrived Paddington 27 late, before it is then due to run empty to Swindon, hence the cancellation

Non-stop Bristols? Isn't there a place in Soho that offers that too? (........asking for a friend)

I seem to remember that one aspect of the Western Route upgrade, all of which this timetable capitalises on,  was signalling renewal. So along with electrification, new trains, and new Reading, came replacing all that old kit that keeps failing with something new and reliable. So ...

Another important upgrade that I don't think ever happened was to GWR's excuse generator. With the current one, if you feed in what happened today (Monday) - or yesterday - plus "the service would have been just as bad with the old timetable", and even if you turn it up to 11, it doesn't come up with anything management will allow to go out.

There is some kind of problem at Slough this morning.

Just updated on Journey Check:


It will be very interesting to see which services are amongst the small number selected.

Another triumph for the new timetable

Everything London bound from Taplow/Burnham cancelled for the foreseeable future

And once again unsurprisingly it’s the SF (super fast) trains that are getting canned. You book on those on the understanding that they will be the first to go at times of disruption so best not rely on them for an appointment/ flight etc. Defensive scheming required which kind of negates having a SF service.

"A track defect near Slough is causing disruption to journeys between Reading and London Paddington. Trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised.This is currently expected until the end of the day.This issue is not currently affecting services between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central."

The National Rail website suggests that most trains are leaving Reading for Paddington on time, but the 0733, 0810 and 0814 are cancelled.

This morning it was the 0615 and 0713 CDF to PAD that were cancelled, which are the stopping services.  The fast SWA - PAD trains that are scheduled to overtake them at Swindon did run - although I suspect they made Swindon stops in lieu.

.....here we go again, Day 2.

Cancellations to services between Reading and London Paddington
Due to a speed restriction over defective track between Reading and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 15 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Customer Advice
Owing to a short section of defective track in the Slough area, which requires some remedial work, a speed restriction has had to be imposed on the London bound fast line in that area

Delays to services between London Paddington and Reading


Due to a speed restriction over defective track between London Paddington and Reading trains have to run at reduced speed on the London Paddington bound high speed line.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 10 minutes. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

"Defective track" is a bit old school, I thought that the new approved term was "a safety inspection of the track"
Whatever next, an admission that the new trains have engines rather than generating units, or even that a footbridge exists at Reading rather than a transfer deck.

Cancellations to services between West Drayton and London Paddington
Due to a fault with the signalling system between West Drayton and London Paddington trains have to run at reduced speed on the line.
Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled or delayed by up to 15 minutes. Disruption is expected until 08:00 28/12.

Now until 11am, with 50% cancellations.

The wisdom of stripping toilets from the tfl services, and then only running tfl services over weekends, and then running them with 45min delays, is soon to be tested.

I’m on the 10.16 from maidenhead. Stuck at Hayes ad infinitum.

TFL are a metro service operator, if they want to run services on railways there should be legislation in place to make sure they provide the same as other operators provide, and have the relevant infrastructure in place at wherever their vehicles are stored overnight. This should especially be applied on lines shared by many other services with long gaps between stations.

The National Rail website suggests it was delayed by 19 minutes,  with all other Maidenhead-Hayes services also late or cancelled.

I recall that the official justification for no on-board loos is that the average time spent on a TfL train is expected to be 20 minutes and there are facilities at stations. Dunno what are the opening hours for some of the smaller stations, and I imagine that when there are no staff the waiting-rooms and toilets are locked. Could be some unpleasant whiffs around the next morning, as occasionally there are on Tilehurst Station footbridge, together with the odd pool of puke.

Marlburian

I think that the average time people spend on a crossrail train is going to be higher than that, and I would have thought that TFL and the department for transport were hoping so if they want people from Maidenhead to be travelling direct to east London, Canary Wharf, etc.

I think it probably will be about that - vast numbers of people will just use it to station hop within London which will bring the average journey time down - but that's not to say that there won't be a lot of people on board (in terms of numbers if not percentage) for an hour or more.  Toilets should have been provided.

Overall, I think TFL is the wrong operator for these services and a national rail network operator would have been better suited. Like I mentioned, if TFL want to run trains on the national network, then they should follow the same rules as other operators, and the tried and tested methods used by the national network, rather than trying to apply their underground methods to a railway which is clearly interurban.

It's been a long-standing practice to extend tube lines by connecting inner suburban lines to them instead of their terminus. This was seen as relieving capacity constraints in the track leading to the terminus rather than in platforms, though of course it does that too. At the same time it prevented numbers on suburban lines dropping too far (which was a big issue in the 60s), by offering a direct link into the tube network.

Crossrail is just a tube on steroids, and the same principle applies. Its higher speed means that Maidenhead was easily as close (in time) as other lines' outer limits, end even Reading not much further. So you can see why it looked the obvious way of doing things. 

With SWR now introducing toilets on their new inner suburban trains - I think for the first time - the question in my mind is for urban railways in general: "what took you so long?" I don't think the relevant bit of human anatomy (and physiology, and even pathology) has evolved a huge amount in even the last fifty years ... but our expectations have.

The Bakerloo line north of Queens Park is the only place on the tube network that would be comparable to the GW mainline and this is a corridor with six lines. Both services on this line are now TFL run I believe. The district line shares with network rail from Richmond to Gunnersbury. again both services are now run by TFL. All the other tube lines appear to be run as their own closed network, which is of course much easier to regulate and operate than a shared railway. Some may have been former national rail lines but since the conversion to a tube line do not interact with any other trains. Comparing Crossrail to a tube on steroids isn't the best way of describing what it is and what it's supposed to achieve. It will be used like a tube in central london but a better comparison is a local train on steroids and even the Marlow train has a toilet.
An equivalent could be imagined I suppose if Wimbledon District line services continued from there along the slow lines to Basingstoke.

With the much more ambitious Superlink concept had been rejected which as a first stage would have linked Reading with Stansted Airport and Cambridge, and later on had branches to Northampton, Basingstoke and Guildford via Heathrow etc, Crossrail reverted to the older concepts of it being in effect a large-size London Underground line with the outer former main lines feeding into it, with a very inefficient number of trains terminating at Paddington as a western terminal.

I guess though since even this has proved more difficult than envisaged, Superlink easily could have cost £30B or more just for the early phases as well as being years later.

Sadly that wasn’t the case and it was a 35min wait at Hayes and overall a 55min delay.  So that was 1hr and 40mins from maidenhead to Paddington.  Parents were taking children off to urinate on the platform.

Harumph. Add a 'toilet carriage'.

From GWR Twitter in the past 30 minutes:


EDIT: Line reported as reopened at 21:15.

I suspect that this explanation/justification has been posted before, and more than once, but Written Answer received by the London Assembly on 21 December 2011:

"Crossrail will be a high-frequency metro-style service for London and the south east. It is estimated that the average time a passenger will travel on Crossrail will be 20 minutes. It is not intended that toilets will be provided on board Crossrail trains.Thirty out of the thirty-seven Crossrail stations will have toilets (81 per cent).  This is an improvement on what was previously envisaged and has been accommodated through further design work. Furthermore, twenty three Crossrail stations will have at least one fully accessible toilet (62 per cent).  With only ten of the existing stations on the Crossrail route currently having at least one fully accessible toilet, this represents a significant improvement."

Which prompts some speculation as to why children were urinating on the platform at Hayes at 1030? Couldn't wait? Queues at the station loos (I can't recall where they are at Hayes)? Afraid the train would go off without them?

Let me stress I'm not criticising them; I would probably have had to do the same - I'm at the age where I have to plan these things.

Marlburian

The toilets used to be on platform 4. Everything on that platform was demolished a few years ago for Crossrail. I did see a temporary toilet behind the ticket office a few months ago amongst all the construction huts which was locked and possibly needs a Radar key on the station approach.

I've made a rather arbitrary cut-off here, simply to preserve the principle of splitting this historic topic into 'year by year' chunks.  :)