Better information

[whole diary]

[grahame]

OK - so clearly the cancellation is unfortunate, but I like the somewhat less automated explanation added, with the way it treats customers far more as people who'll understand rather than we're use to.

06:22 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour due 09:51
06:22 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour due 09:51 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Additional Information
Following Cancellations over the weekend due to a shortage of available train crew; an insufficient number of trains finished their day in Cardiff yesterday evening to cover all train services this morning.

[JayMac]

Yes, it is nice to have a fuller explanation that highlights GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s rostering and train planning incompetence.

[martyjon]

Thu, 24 May composed at 20:05.

From Journeycheck I suspect this to be a "porkie".

Fri, 25 May 15:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour due 18:58

25/05/18 15:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour due 18:58 will be started from Bristol Temple Meads.
It will no longer call at Cardiff Central, Newport (South Wales) and Filton Abbey Wood.
This is due to urgent repairs to the track.


Cant see any other service facing disruption tomorrow due to this urgent repairs to  the track.

[welshman]

This excuse has been appearing for a few days in relation to the Cardiff-Portsmouth service.

[martyjon]

This excuse has been appearing for a few days in relation to the Cardiff-Portsmouth service.

Has GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) acquired a batch of "duff porkies" then.

[phile]

Thu, 24 May composed at 20:05.

From Journeycheck I suspect this to be a "porkie".

Fri, 25 May 15:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour due 18:58

25/05/18 15:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour due 18:58 will be started from Bristol Temple Meads.
It will no longer call at Cardiff Central, Newport (South Wales) and Filton Abbey Wood.
This is due to urgent repairs to the track.

The alteration was due to the train was always intended, like the others on the route due to the Engineering work, to start from Bristol TM^‡(resolve) but for some reason failed to appear in systems.   GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) then had to use this process to amend it.      It would appear the reason for this was picked out of a hat from all the cut and paste excuses.  I Tweeted GWR yesterday and who said my tweet would be passed onto Control and a reply that failed to answer the question so I gave up and left it at that.


Cant see any other service facing disruption tomorrow due to this urgent repairs to  the track.

[martyjon]

Can anyone explain this one.


05:53 Plymouth to London Paddington due 09:00

05:53 Plymouth to London Paddington due 09:00 will be started from Exeter St Davids.
It will no longer call at Plymouth and Newton Abbot.
This is due to a broken down train.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 10 between Taunton and London Paddington.


Will it be formed of 10 coaches between Exeter St. Davids and Taunton ?

[grahame]

Can anyone explain this one.

05:53 Plymouth to London Paddington due 09:00

05:53 Plymouth to London Paddington due 09:00 will be started from Exeter St Davids.
It will no longer call at Plymouth and Newton Abbot.
This is due to a broken down train.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 10 between Taunton and London Paddington.

Will it be formed of 10 coaches between Exeter St. Davids and Taunton ?

(Unconfirmed)
1A72 05:53 Plymouth to London Paddington cancelled between Plymouth and Exeter due to a train fault. The IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) currently being used for crew training was pressed into service apparently.

[martyjon]

Can anyone explain this one.


05:53 Plymouth to London Paddington due 09:00

05:53 Plymouth to London Paddington due 09:00 will be started from Exeter St Davids.
It will no longer call at Plymouth and Newton Abbot.
This is due to a broken down train.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 10 between Taunton and London Paddington.


Will it be formed of 10 coaches between Exeter St. Davids and Taunton ?

The broken down train being the overnight down sleeper service which failed at Newton Abbot then and the 10 coaches between Taunton and London Paddington should read 5 coaches instead of 8 between Taunton and London Paddington then.

[martyjon]

25 May 2018 17:45

Another howler off of Journeycheck ;-

15:45 London Paddington to Swansea due 18:50

15:45 London Paddington to Swansea due 18:50 will be terminated at Bristol Parkway.
It will no longer call at Newport (South Wales), Cardiff Central, Bridgend, Port Talbot Parkway, Neath and Swansea.
This is due to a problem currently under investigation.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 10 from Bristol Parkway.

Useful (or useless) information for a service being terminated at Bristol Parkway anyway ?

[martyjon]

If this post is on wrong thread mods please move it but "Better Information" is what is needed here.


Journey Check this morning :-

05:29 Swansea to London Paddington due 08:30
05:29 Swansea to London Paddington due 08:30 will be starting late from Swansea.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

06:29 Swansea to London Paddington due 09:30
06:29 Swansea to London Paddington due 09:30 will be starting late from Swansea.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.


RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) shows 1L14, the 05:29 departed Swansea 05:28 1/2, half a minute early, departed Newport 15 seconds early at time of posting.

RTT shows 1L24, the 06:29 departed Swansea 06:29 1/4, 15 seconds late, departed Port Talbot 15 seconds early at time of posting.

NEVER BELIEVE A WORD OF WHAT GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) TELL YOU, does the words, more seats, better experience come to mind

[grahame]

If this post is on wrong thread mods please move it but "Better Information" is what is needed here.

Not sure where the right place is ... we need a whole category for information systems!

There are massive problems in getting correct information to people, and in having it correct at the time of telling to reflect what's correct at the time of happening.  Do you go optimistic, pessimistic, in the middle, or say nothing at all knowing you're likely to upset the users of those early trains if they learn you knew you had a problem but didn't tell them, but you save yourself being slated on social media?

There is a further issue this morning in you report Martyjon - the "leaving late" flag is still shown on Journey check even though (I believe you, not that either of us has seen them) they're running on time.   That looks like a clumsy failure to update the information systems as the situation developed - with a better outcomes than had been predicted.  Yet the resources to go back and update is limited, and we 'know' how limited resources are some times ... and perhaps the pragmatic least-worst overall picture is to let the mis-report work out of the system naturally, while having people check and enter other issues and deal with other customers who's trains are yet to start / where new information will actually effect their journeys

[TaplowGreen]

If this post is on wrong thread mods please move it but "Better Information" is what is needed here.

Not sure where the right place is ... we need a whole category for information systems!

There are massive problems in getting correct information to people, and in having it correct at the time of telling to reflect what's correct at the time of happening. 

Especially when you have a culture where customer service is bottom of the priority list.