Bristol to Bath Disruption Tonight

[whole diary]

[John R]

Appear as though nothing is running between Bristol and Bath. Reported delays of 80 minutes due to "signalling problems".

Some services from London stopping short at Chippenham. Live departure boards for stations in the area don't appear to working though - helpful!

[CliveD]

It appears that cables were severed somewhere between Bristol & Bath (rumour was at Keynsham but unconfirmed) resultiing in a total blackout of signalling (not even red lights) from Bristol TM^‡(resolve) as far as Bathmapton and Bradford-on Avon. From what I can gather, the ^incident^ occurred just after 4pm, as the last train to head east through Bath Spa was the 1552 Bristol Waterloo which I understand then got stuck around Bradford. The next eastbound departure was not until a 5 car Portsmouth Harbour bound service arrived and departed at 1930. Westbound, the 1608 dep from Bath to Gloucester eventually left at 1745 presumably under restriction, and the next arrival was a Portsmouth Cardiff at 1915.

I assume that services to / from Paddington were diverted via Bristol Parkway. At Bristol TM, some passengers for Portsmouth / Weymouth stations were sent via Taunton to Westbury, and I believe a combined Portsmouth and Weymouth was also routed this way.

Once again, communication was yet again below par at Bath with mixed messages being given to passengers regarding alternative transport. At around  1730, it was stated that there would be coaches arriving in about 15 minutes for Bristol, Swindon and Westbury; but in the end, the delayed Gloucester train left for Bristol first. Some coaches did turn up eventually which i think were mainly for Swindon. On the arrival of the Portsmouth service, there was a mad dash from the forecourt up the stairs for passengers to catch the train, as they didn't know about it until the train arrived!

At Westbury, staff there were visible doing their utmost best to deal with naturally disgruntled passengers, sorting out tranpsort options and issuing stop notices as required in order to get passengers on the move. Well done guys. Shows exactly what can be done when local staff take in control and not the remote dead-hand of Swindon who only seem interested in main line intercity passengers.

[smithy]

It appears that cables were severed somewhere between Bristol & Bath (rumour was at Keynsham but unconfirmed) resultiing in a total blackout of signalling (not even red lights) from Bristol TM^‡(resolve) as far as Bathmapton and Bradford-on Avon. From what I can gather, the ^incident^ occurred just after 4pm, as the last train to head east through Bath Spa was the 1552 Bristol Waterloo which I understand then got stuck around Bradford. The next eastbound departure was not until a 5 car Portsmouth Harbour bound service arrived and departed at 1930. Westbound, the 1608 dep from Bath to Gloucester eventually left at 1745 presumably under restriction, and the next arrival was a Portsmouth Cardiff at 1915.

I assume that services to / from Paddington were diverted via Bristol Parkway. At Bristol TM, some passengers for Portsmouth / Weymouth stations were sent via Taunton to Westbury, and I believe a combined Portsmouth and Weymouth was also routed this way.

Once again, communication was yet again below par at Bath with mixed messages being given to passengers regarding alternative transport. At around  1730, it was stated that there would be coaches arriving in about 15 minutes for Bristol, Swindon and Westbury; but in the end, the delayed Gloucester train left for Bristol first. Some coaches did turn up eventually which i think were mainly for Swindon. On the arrival of the Portsmouth service, there was a mad dash from the forecourt up the stairs for passengers to catch the train, as they didn't know about it until the train arrived!

At Westbury, staff there were visible doing their utmost best to deal with naturally disgruntled passengers, sorting out tranpsort options and issuing stop notices as required in order to get passengers on the move. Well done guys. Shows exactly what can be done when local staff take in control and not the remote dead-hand of Swindon who only seem interested in main line intercity passengers.

in times of disruption westbury staff are alwas friendly and helpfull,a credit to FGW^▸ (First Great Western)

[devon_metro]

Well, a departed member of the team at Westbury, perhaps not. The one who spent more time taking photos than actually doing work!

Amusing to note that I spotted him at Port Talbot Parkway of all places a few weeks back.

[inspector_blakey]

Interesting to read CliveD's comparison of staff attitude and efficacy at Bath versus Westbury. One time when I got stuck at Bath thanks to a series of delays followed by a cancellation I made the mistake of asking a member of platform staff (who remains nameless, but was still employed last time I used the station) if he knew when my connection was going to turn up. This gentleman's response was to say "how am I supposed to know, I don't have a computer" and walk off. Then I made the mistake of calling my lift to warn them I was running late and had no idea when I'd get there because said SDA was refusing to assist - he actually overheard this phone conversation and shouted at me...