Meet the Managing Director - 17:00 on 5 Nov 2019

[whole diary]

[grahame]

A summary of the topics raised this evening - links to each of them

1. Availability of staff and trains  - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22414
2. After the timetable change - what next? - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22415
3. Speed to London v. Network Reliability - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22416
4. Bus/Train integration - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22417
5. Timetable changes affecting availability of off peak fares - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22418
6. Mis-ticketing - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22419
7. Sexual harassment on public transport - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22420
8. Finally, an invitation! - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22421

[grahame]

Follow up links on social media -

Shared on Twitter via
https://twitter.com/CoffeeShopCRP/status/1191787780671705088
https://twitter.com/CoffeeShopCRP/status/1191787393180950529

And on FaceBook via
https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeShopCRP/photos/a.2247872375459869/2505451993035238/

Please feel (very free!) if your a member of either of those sites to share / retweet

Numbers of both members and guests rose significantly during "Meet the Manager" - some immediate figures the system gives me can be a bit misleading though. At midnight, certain clever computers much the daily stats and I'll be able to report a lot better about how we did in the morning!

[0lg4]

OK, so I missed the opportunity to ask the question this time. But if there is another occasion, please could you ask GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to clarify exactly who should "authorise" the stopping of IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) in Pilning, and what the correct process would be to request that GWR clear Hitachi Class 800s to call at Pilning?

I refer to the article in Thornbury Gazette  https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/18012186.dispute-changes-one-pilnings-two-trains-week/ where GWR said: "Unfortunately we are not authorised to call our new Intercity Express Trains at Pilning".

Thank you.

[grahame]

But if there is another occasion, ...

Keep your eyes peeled here, and on Facebook and on Twitter where it's flagged up well in advance - twitter and Facebook handles are in a post Just above these in this thread.   I will try to remember to flag you personally too but am getting old and forgetful.  If you are a frequent poster by now, you'll see what I have been doing today as well as the forum.

Now - where's this?  - one that isn't make it into the "From the Train Window" quiz:



That pathway leads up to a road ... a symmetric path down the other side (for the road bridges the railway), a couple of modular platforms, and Robert's your mother's brother!  There's even a bus service on that road.

[Western Pathfinder]

On the up approaching Pilning Westgate ,the proposed site of.

[0lg4]

That's the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) compound in Pilning village. The idea to relocate the station looks great on paper. However, the local consensus is still such that the station should stay where it is - away from the village, closer to the Wave, and easier to get to from the M5 and Thornbury.

We checked with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) too, seeking their opinion. They were rather elusive, but reading between the lines, we drew the conclusion that a station so close to the Severn tunnel might cause a massive bottle neck (due to the speed restrictions on the loops, among other things), unless the tracks are relaid to allow a wider angle.

[grahame]

If you are a frequent poster by now, you'll see what I have been doing today as well as the forum.

Two more posts and you will be.  Of course, you might not want to know what I have been doing today, but regular posting of the angle from your home area helps keep it on the radar.

We checked with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) too, seeking their opinion. They were rather elusive, but reading between the lines ...

There's often a point in campaigning for something better that you get that sort of thing - I got the same thing when I asked for improvements.  I've just been in a Facebook conversation with one of our regular users who works shift patterns and is typically on what is supposed to be the quietest train of the week - reporting it to be carrying nearly twice the average number of passengers needed over all the trains. 

[grahame]

Meet the Manager - the morning after.

A huge "Thank You" to Mark Hopwood for visiting yesterday evening, answering questions asked in advance, and then picking us right away on follow up comments and questions.  Big thanks to the others who were there assisting Mark in Swindon - both from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and from the forum on the technicl side.  Thanks also to our moderator MC, to other moderators who were also around (with, as planned, no more than a watching role). And thanks to the 30 or so members and 100 or so guests who read and perhaps commented during the hour.  As well as visitors arriving during the hour, many other were there waiting as we started, and here on the forum during the evening,  All the threads remain open for further follow up and comment.

Our forum - using the Community Rail wording - is sometimes a critical friend (personally I prefer "candid friend"), and at the moment our community has a number of concerns - some in terms of what's happened already (or not happened) and some in anticipation of changes that are being flagged up for the next months making us nervous.  So the session had some hard talk in addition to some really useful information; realically the more "casual" viistors will have majored on the information, and the regulars who are / were already aware of most of this will have been looking at the hard talk, and (in places) issues that remain hard this morning.

What we discussed, with reply count to midnight:
1. Availability of staff and trains  - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22414 (12 replies)
2. After the timetable change - what next? - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22415 (6 replies)
3. Speed to London v. Network Reliability - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22416 (8 replies)
4. Bus/Train integration - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22417 (3 replies)
5. Timetable changes affecting availability of off peak fares - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22418 (5 replies)
6. Mis-ticketing - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22419 (3 replies)
7. Sexual harassment on public transport - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22420 (1 reply)
8. Finally, an invitation! - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22421 (3 replis)
And this overall / management thread - http://gwr.passenger.chat/22421 (21 replies)
The final thread includes a "Thank you" to Mark with 15 members signing to endorse that. (and signing is members only, not guests who have no way to register their thanks)

I was planning as I started to write to summarise each thread here, but have changed my mind ... better to follow up on each thread; there are a couple of things I need to follow up on, some great answers and some (frankly) disappoining, while appreciaiating the difficult position that Mark's role puts him in having masters in the Department for Transport, at First group HQ^▸ (Headquarters), in his operational and management staff, in his passengers and in the wider and regional communities that GWR provides a key economic and quality of life element.


Numbers off Google analytics
620 users on Tuesday, v 410 on Monday,
937 sessions v 694 on Monday
Peak 120 users in the hour, v 57 in the peak hour on Monday
Peak 95 sessions in the hour, v 51 in the peak hour on Monday
Note - hourly data is dangerous; we don't know which hour people are counted in - for an arrival at 16:45 and a departure of 18:15 we know it's counted once for 16:00, one for 17:00 or once for 18:00.

Numbers off our server
In the flow - 28 logged in members present during seseion v around 10 a couple of hours before & after
139 new posts, v 67 on Monday

Numbers off Twitter
113 impressions to follow up with 24 readers acting on impressions (e.g. click to read more)
Multiple tweets before the sessions - no easy data (to my twitter knowledge) for them; o
one noted that was well shared and reached 3000 impressions
Estimate (no better) total 5000 impressions, 300 acted on

Numbers off Facebook
98 people reached by follow ups, with 63 engagements
Prior to session - 07:00 on 5.11 - 1742 reached, 112 engaged
Prior to session - 09:00 on 4.11 - 124 reached, 16 engaged
Prior to session - 10:30 on 2.11 - 126 reached, 52 engaged

Note - our Twitter and Facebook presences are recent and intended just as waymarks to the forum
Our numbers / membershps are targetted at the forum so other numbers are low quality icing on the cake.