Service levels influenced by locally resident management?

[whole diary]

[BandHcommuter]

I used to commute between Westbury and Swindon on the line through Melksham daily from 1994 to 2002 (with a couple of year's gap in the middle). The regular commuters got to know each other quite well, being relatively small in number, and travelling on a one or two coach train. During that period, I was aware of two railway managers who regularly joined the train at Melksham, one from Railtrack and one from First Great Western. My recollection is that it is unlikely that either was in a role which would enable them to influence the quantum of train service through the station. There were also several Railtrack managers joining the train at Trowbridge and Chippenham. There were quite a few commuters who worked for the local authority in Swindon, and some in the financial services sector. I think at that time there were probably up to 10 daily commuters joining at Melksham station.

I also recollect that the number of train services on the route was able to be increased because Wessex Trains were, for a time, relieved of their responsibility to operate trains on the Swindon to Gloucester route, when Virgin Cross Country took it on for a while (a precursor to an intention, later abandoned, to operate regular through services from Birmingham to Paddington via Cheltenham). This meant that the train which arrived in Swindon no longer had to head up to Gloucester, but could go back the way it came, so an innovative manager (was it Chris Gibb?) took the opportunity to utilise the resource which became spare to run the through trains from Swindon to Salisbury and beyond.

I did take advantage of the service to travel home from Swindon in the early afternoon on a number of occasions (there was a train some time after 2pm). And the evening train sometime around 10pm was very useful after post work drinks!

[eightf48544]

The Great Western and BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) (WR) were notorius for stopping trains at odd stations to pick up managers.

Up to the 60s we had a fast to from Taplow to Padd algedley for someone long gone but it remained in the timetable.

I believe places like Uffington and Wantage Raod had similar fasts to Padd.

And of course there was Badminton where I've stopped on an Up South Wales Express.

Why is the Marlow branch the most important line for FGW^▸ (First Great Western)?

[RichardB]

I seem to remember in Wessex days, of a manager that lived at Newton St Cyres on the Barnstaple branch. It may be my failing memory, but I'm sure a lot more trains stopped there then, than they do now!

Said Wessex manager lived on the main road and the stops at Newton St Cyres weren't related to where he lived, rather to encourage visits to the Beer Engine.  There are slightly fewer stops now simply as the previous provision has been felt to be a little more than is needed.



 

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

I well remember how many years ago Charlbury station was to lose its coal fire in the waiting room but Sir Peter Parker, then BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) Chairman was able to save it. Would that have been a service level influenced by locally resident management as he lived near to Charlbury station at Minster Lovell and commuted regularly to Lonmdon from Charlbury?

A certain FGW^▸ (First Great Western) officer uses Pangbourne. Pangbourne is getting a car park extension, just one of three or four out of many needing extensions. Would that be another case?

[lordgoata]

A certain FGW^▸ (First Great Western) officer uses Pangbourne. Pangbourne is getting a car park extension, just one of three or four out of many needing extensions. Would that be another case?

They also got the new CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) and PA^▸ (Public Address) systems very early in the roll out, if I recall?

[Btline]

About time I bribe some managers to move to Worcester...

[JayMac]

Worcester is the @rse end of the Greater Western franchise area. Good luck with that Btline. I hope you've got deep pockets! 

[rogerpatenall]

Going back a good few years, I seem to remember that the reason that main line trains started calling at pewsey was for just some such reason. This was before the days of sectors, etc.

[TerminalJunkie]

I seem to remember in Wessex days, of a manager that lived at Newton St Cyres on the Barnstaple branch. It may be my failing memory, but I'm sure a lot more trains stopped there then, than they do now!

Said Wessex manager lived on the main road and the stops at Newton St Cyres weren't related to where he lived, rather to encourage visits to the Beer Engine.  There are slightly fewer stops now simply as the previous provision has been felt to be a little more than is needed.

This has, of course, come up before: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=781.msg3223#msg3219. If you scroll down about four messages gaf71 had something to say about it then, too.

[grahame]

The subject of managers living near stations and the effect of this on services is a thorny one for the moderator team here.  Even the remotest suggestion of cause (manager lives on line) and effect (something gets better) can lead to some very serious issues for us, and yet (as I pointed out earlier), it's natural and encouraged for any user to bring matters that need attention to the appropriate authorities, and if those users are rail industry managers / experts, they'll tend to know who to report to, what the pertinent facts are, and what to suggest as a practical resolution - thus having much more effect from their inputs that most of us.

Still don't know of any National Express / Wessex Trains managers who live(d) in Melksham though     BandHCommuter's suggestion that it was initiated with spare stock off the Stroud Valley is - to my knowledge - correct, but of course that went full circle and Stroud Valley is no longer in Cross Country again.  And, yes, it's very frustrating to see a train parked up in the Swindon bay for the majority of the time during the day.

[Rain]

Back in the Wessex days some of the Melksham were carting around fresh air so it's not surprising they were cut back to the mimimum if managers no longer needed to use these trains.

[Btline]

Back in the Wessex days some of the Melksham were carting around fresh air so it's not surprising they were cut back to the mimimum if managers no longer needed to use these trains.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Calm yourself, Btline: we've already established that this is probably an urban myth (or possibly a rural myth?), due to the lack of any credible evidence of specific Wessex Trains managers actually living in Melksham at that time.

Breathe ... out.