Great Western Coffee Shop

In the case of SWT through to the following December. They are not the only TOC producing timetables for the whole year which makes sense where it is possible to do this.

FGW http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=5333

SWT http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/pocket-timetablesOY.aspx

XC http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/Tickets_and_timetables/Train_timetables.aspx

Just picked an FGW at random and shown until 12 May 2012 not December 2012

SWT timetables run through to December 2012. FGW until May.

Odd that XC have gone back to only two timetables for the long distance services again, it means for instance that for Reading to Brum services you need both booklets?   

Paul

I think they need to get a new proof reader or else there is a new service from St.Erth via Penryn to Plymouth not calling at Truro ::)

Not unusually, it appears that proof reading has been non-existent. Same thing twice a year.  ::)

The Severn Beach Line timetable Sundays has the stations the wrong way round for the times out of Bristol.

So if the SWT timetables are valid for a year, are the GW and SN times shown within the SWT timetables also valid for the whole year?

I'm fairly sure the original Network Rail announcement was that all 2012 timetables would run for 12 months - it was about the time they announced that special games advance fares would be available a year in advance.  Perhaps someone in FGW has just accidentally carried on the normal printing routine - the theoretical change date will have been known for some years as normal...

OTOH it may just be that something more subtle is going on, such as nothing can actually be changed, but summer only services that are  already confirmed now can be left out of the winter version, and added in May?

Paul

Interesting one this as May 13th is a Sunday not a Saturday when the timetable usually finishes. You have Southeastern saying their timetables run until May 19th which is in line with the schedule posted on the Network Rail website saying the summer timetable starts on May 20th but then goes onto to state that on this occasion the printed version of the 'summer' timetable will show this as Monday May 14th!
http://www.networkrail.co.uk/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=30064778309

Either it starts on Monday May 14th or Sunday May 20th. Make up your mind Network Rail. Which is it to be?

And just to throw this in for good measure...East Coast has their timetable running until June 24th. So we have different TOCs appearing to end their timetables at different times throughout the year but the actual content probably changing very little from the start of this December's timetable. I very much suspect Barry Doe with have a good rant about this in the coming days. Only on the railways could something like this happen.

PS Just discovered Southern show on their timetables running until May 18th! Crazy.

!

Yeah it was a shame that once again Network Rail have failed to post the new complete timetable onto their website one month out. I believe this happened last year or the year before. All the TOCs websites that I have checked all have their timetables posted on their websites apart from ATW which when I last checked had some timetables missing hence me not posting a link for them at the start of this thread. So if they can manage it why can't the publishers of the railway timetable?

Worse on the Cardiff/Bristol to Weston-s-Mare/Exeter timetable, all stations in the Bristol to Exeter direction are the wrong way, i.e. they are listed from Exeter to Bristol throughout the whole timetable. Either that or FGW are starting services at Patchway and XC are running a service non-stop from Patchway to Yatton and then Bridgewater then on to Edinburgh.

Not good that they could release something that wrong!

TLM

If FGW reads the above observations, I would like to think that someone there would take some time over the next few days to go through the list of timetables to check for errors like those that have been highlighted. Because they are now publishing on the website the versions that became available back in May for those with smartphones rather than pdfs of the printed versions, they should be fairly easy to fix.

Hopefully, FGW will read these observations and comments: I've drawn the attention of certain senior people there to them.  ::) :P :-X

I've just spent 15 minutes comparing the post December service at Castle cary in the three timetables, and I have a long list of anomalies. In my ignorance I thought the timetable 'books' were compiled from the same data base, so that an obvious mistake or omission would appear throughout, but that is obviously not the situation.

Ahem. ;)

FGW senior people are now aware of this situation - and it has been brought to the attention of their publications manager, who is even now reviewing the timetables 'as a matter of urgency'.  ;D

Also: I have been asked to encourage everyone to post any further issues or constructive comments here in this topic, as they will continue to be monitored by FGW.

Thanks,

Chris. :)

Thanks for flagging this up with FGW Chris. Any chance they could give their colleagues at Network Rail a chivy to post the forthcoming National Rail Timetable onto their website as it has still yet to appear. Still only showing the current timetable:
http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/3828.aspx

No problem with me, Timmer - I'll follow that one up with my contacts, too!  ;D

Here are a few then. At least Book 35 seems to have mostly been corrected now, but ::)

Book 35
Page 6
0628 EXSD to Par has a P in the column header that is not explained in the notes on Page 45 (Obviously P=PAR).  Don't know why, as normal, a Par arrival time is not shown in the Par line with an a as is done elsewhere.

Pages 34-37
Sun Gunnislake to Plymouth services at 0731, 0929, 1917 and 2221 do not exist.

Book 36
Page 10
Missing Sat PM Gunnislake to Plymouth services which are incorrectly shown on Page 11 as Sun services.

Appears to be done :-)
A word of explanation he supplied thus

Has a decision been made to pull the timetables off the FGW website as at 16.30 this afternoon the December-May timetables page is not on the website.

See above - probably being updated

Let's hope there aren't too many errors and that the page is back soon.

The tables have reappeared on the FGW website but the ones I mentioned in my post above are still wrong..................

I remain in close contact with FGW on this matter - and I've mentioned your latest concerns, SandTengineer  ::)

I just found a four page pdf listing of all the Dec 2011 and a few Summer 2012 service changes, on the NR track access applications site:

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/track%20access/1%20current%20consultations/2011.11.09%20fgw%2071st%20sa%20-%20closing%20date%2007%20december%202011/dec%2011%20changes%20summary%20v4%20051011.pdf

Might be of use to someone - rather than comparing loads of timetables...

Paul

Most useful, thanks Paul. We still have another week to wait before Network Rail post the new National Rail Timetable onto their website. For some reason they have decided not to post it onto their website one month out as for previous timetable changes but to wait until the TSO book version is published on December 2nd which I think is a bit pointless when all the TOCs have published their timetables.

FO 1915 Paddington ^ Swansea to be advertised ^pick up only^ at Reading

So this will be in addition to the 1903 which is also "pick up only" at Reading.  I know there is an additional train at 19.12 which stops at Slough and Reading to make up for this but it's only usually a 3-car turbo and it's already full.  By making this change all that's going to happen is that the 19.22 to Hereford will become even more rammed.  This change requires another service to take up the overflow of passengers trying to get to Reading.

Boppy.

There's also the 1918 to Oxford.

And I'd hazard a guess that these are just the type of services that will be strengthened when the additional rolling stock announced this week frees up some Turbos.

Let's hope so!  The 19:18 to Oxford is also one to avoid as it's packed to the rafters with folk heading home to Maidenhead.

Still the same today. Well Cornwall is a bit remote from Swindon....... :-\

I can't locate the thread at the moment, but the first trip on the Newquay Branch is withdrawn from December to allow the Unit to work elsewhere.   A poster stated that it would be replaced by a 'bus but there is no mention of this in the Timetable.    The summary of alterations shows the withdrawal, again with no mention of a bus.
The Unit would appear to be working an Additional 06 28 Exeter St Davids to Par.
I thought the Newquay had been provided with a suitable in recent years and now this happens.   Unable to travel frim Newquay until mid-morning again.

The National Rail Timetable for Dec 2011 - May 2012 is now available to download from the Network Rail website:

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/3828.aspx

FGW have now posted up most of the timetables for Sunday services from the 19th of February which are mentioned in pocket timetables as being available using the URL firstgreatwestern.co.uk/timetablesupplements that currently doesn't work. Correct link below:
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Train-times-and-tickets/Train-times/Timetable-supplements

For some reason the timetable supplements page on the FGW website showing timetables from the 2011-2012 Winter timetable have reappeared on the FGW website. I can only assume someone at FGW has accidentally 'flicked a switch' for this page to be shown again. Could cause confusion if you didn't look carefully at the dates on the front of each timetable.