Andrew Griffiths Answers Some Questions

Q) I have now obtained the printed Dec 07 timetables & the errors on the on-line version which I identified were perpetuated there. According to the XC^▸ timetable, the 0800 from Temple Meads starts Cardiff 0700, dep Newport 0715. Although FGW^▸ timetable E omits this, the equivalent XC evening return arr Cardiff 20.19 is correctly shown.

AG) This will have to be added to the addenda for Book E - poor proof reading I'm afraid.

Q) On 28 NOVEMBER 2006, Tom Harris the Minister for rail transport detailed (to the Western Partnership) the improvements required to address reliability problems with the ex Wessex "local fleet" (including Cardiff -Portsmouth) which included modifications to the electrical systems, doors, underframes, engines, transmissions, couplings, air systems, engine cooling systems and brakes. At that time the new maintenance depot at St Phillips Marsh for the local fleet was (at least publicly) expected to be imminently open.

On 3 March 07 at SWPTUF^▸ in Taunton, Glenda Lamont said that FGW were strengthening the depot Management Team & working day shifts to catch up at the new Bristol local fleet Maintenance Depot. However, she failed to admit that the building housing the new depot was still very incomplete !! The welcome to FGW's "Updated Timetable E - 10 Sept to 8 Dec 07" included" We are about to start the refurbishment of our "West" fleet to provide greater comfort for our passengers and better reliability -which means better punctuality. " Begs some questions - WHY THE DELAY IN IMPLEMENTING MAJOR MECHANICAL OVERHAULS WHICH WERE RECOGNISED AS NECESSARY A YEAR AGO?

AG) The only delay is the franchising process - if Wessex had continued as originally set up then it is probable the fleet refurb would have been complete by now. FGW could not start the detailed tendering process until last April, and did start it then. It takes 18 months to agree the very detailed spec and get space in the busy rail workshops production lines.

Q) WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE LOCAL TRAINS MAINTENANCE DEPOT IN BRISTOL ?

AG) The contractor went into liquidation, and this coupled with problems about buried cables meant the work was delayed a further 9 months - now due next May. This is the 'Routine Servicing Shed' and 'Underframe Cleaning Shed'. All the rest done by last summer. There is another underframe pit on site, which we hire access to, and routine checks are done in the maintenance sheds; not ideal, but no more than an irritation. The depot has been 100% functional since last December.

Q) Refresh programme
What is the timetable for
class 158 to Doncaster
class 150
class 143
class 142
(one car) class 153?
Where are each class being sent (& why there) & what is being done to each class?

AG) The programme was ^1m in scope but is now ^10m, comprehensive internal refit and a long list of reliability improvement mods 'under the bonnet'. 2nd 158 due out now from Doncaster, 1st 150 due out now from Cardiff. 1st 153 is at Eastleigh. 143s will follow the 150s through Cardiff. 142s will receive a mini-refresh at Exeter depot (but NB we have yet to even see most of them yet).

Q) Will sufficiently clear large cycle pictograms be visible as trains approach & when the doors are open to speed loading ?

AG) I will check, but modifying even a simple sign like this requires VAB (vehicle authorisation board) approval, and can take weeks.

Q) Have cyclists (& cycling organisations like CTC) been adequately consulted ?

AG) Even ^10m does not buy a redesign, even if that was structurally possible, so little to consult on. Customer Panel members were party to the HST^▸ work and I believe the units too.

Q) Is it true that clapped out FGW class 158s are being swapped for clapped out northern class 142s ?

AG) 10 158s go off lease in December and will go to Northern. We would have liked to have kept at least some, but were not allowed. In return we get 12 142s subleased from Northern. These will work off Exeter (Exmouth-Barnstaple-Paignton), displacing 150s and 158s to Bristol. We have also secured an extra 2 150/1s formerly of Silverlink, to bolster the Bristol fleet

Q) Are these travelling on rail or are they so "clapped out" that they have to go by road ?

AG) First two arrived under their own steam!

Q) If so - why swap over "clapped out" trains ?

AG) This was not our choice.

Q) Where bikes are expected to be stowed in a "metal sided broom cupboard with a narrow entrance" are the metal sides being stripped out like the Trans Pennine ones which are already here?

AG) Yes.

Q) Reliability
Performance percentages alone give no indication of the reasons

More detail regarding the delays & cancellations would assist in providing some reassurance that the underlying causes have been recognised & are being addressed.
e.g
whether some "rogue trains" are particularly susceptible to delays & cancellations. How significant are rogue trains?

whether some specific trains (day/time) are particularly susceptible to delays & cancellations. What are the reasons for these repeat culprits?

for some local services, the turnround times are so tight that the same train cannot recover from delays. However, another train sometimes can. How often is the real cause of delays/cancellations the cumulative result of the same train being delayed earlier in the day or by an ongoing incident ?

AG) Impossible to answer simply. Every train is monitored and every delay minute analysed and attributed to a responsible manager. Some services are worse than others, and these receive the greatest attention.

Q) Staff issues
Frequently "local trains" are cancelled or delayed because of staff problems.

Particularly on Saturdays, trains are often cancelled due to staff shortage - either because there are no staff for the shift or because the "booked staff" have been delayed e.g. on an incoming train/taxi. This has been happening for so long. Clearly the shifts are not sufficiently robust. Begs the question - What are FGW doing about this & when will improvements be seen ?

AG) Short answer is that 60 extra drivers and 40 extra conductors are being recruited, as well as more traincrew managers to reduce the manager/staff ratio. The efficiency of rostering is being re-evaluated, and the aim is to get away from having to cover work by drafting in crews from other depots. Bristol has been affected by this, together with higher than forecast illness.

Q) Rescuing stranded passengers

Wessex trains sometimes sent taxis to "sweep up" stranded passengers.

Why cannot FGW (2 or 3 passenger counts under FGW means it should be easy for FGW to guestimate the number of probable passengers affected at each station whenever a service is seriously disrupted) ? British Rail & Wessex Trains had a rule - the heavily used "school trains" had priority to "run if possible". Do FGW have an equivalent (together with a back-up plan to deal with unavoidable cancellation of busy trains & placating "heavy user" schools & major employers/colleges) ?

AG) There is a very detailed contingency plan which is constantly refined and improved. Taxis or buses are sent if a gap of over an hour is likely (and if the road transport will get there in time before the next train)

Q) When will the FGW unstaffed stations including ones in the Bristol area receive information screens & two-way communication (which do not depend on traveller's mobile phones)?

AG) All stations will get a 'Help and Information Point', with push-button contact to a human operator, within the next year or so. Severn Beach line sooner than that, of course.

Q) Timetable issues
Robust Dec 07 timetable. Why was "work in hand" so late ? Are FGW confident that they will have the working trains, capacity, staff & paths to operate a more robust service than hitherto on long distance & local services ?

AG) Yes. Greater robustness in the Dec 07 timetable is essential.

Q) Stapleton Road & Lawrence Hill

It is understood that it was intended that the Gloucester/Bristol Parkway to Weston "stopping trains" would stop at Stapleton Road & Lawrence Hill from Dec 07. However, Network Rail had pathing issues. Generally the best compromise possible is:- Gloucester to Westbury & Westbury to Cardiff stop at Stapleton Road & Lawrence Hill. In Dec 06 there was imbalance between capacity (especially from local stations Westbury/Bath, Oldfield Park & Keynsham) to Bristol Temple Meads & Filton Abbey Wood in the morning & in the reverse direction. Are there similar inconsistencies in the Dec 07 capacity? Will there be a more consistent stopping pattern at Stapleton Road & Lawrence Hill in May 08 & Dec 08?

AG) Yes. Greater consistency in the Dec 07 timetable is the aim. SR^‡ and LH calls should be in the Weston-Parkway service, this is the aspiration.

Q) Severn Beach Line
There are issues re enhanced frequency service which Bristol City Council budgeted for but which FGW claimed they could not deliver. How much of this was due to path problems?

AG) Pathing has proved extremely challenging.

Q) The 7.37 from Temple Meads to Avonmouth skips through Lawrence Hill & Stapleton Road. It is understood that this is due to a preceding Portbury - Washbrook freight train. This begs some questions & general timetabling questions. Will the freight train actually run (or is it a phantom train which might run sometimes)? Why does a trainload of imported cars take precedence over a suburban passenger train?
This "car train" of empty cars potentially impacts:-
Trains from Weston & beyond between Parson Street & Temple Meads

Trains between Temple Meads & Narroways junction

Trains up Filton Bank between Narroways junction & Filton Abbey Wood/ Bristol Parkway

Trains at Bristol Parkway

Trains between Bristol Parkway & the Midlands

Why does it have to run at a time which conflicts with passenger train(s)?

AG) Every rail operator book paths (and NR^» adjudicates). No one operator has priority over another. There is an annual conference where the train planners get together and thrash out almost all issues amicably. The freight paths through Bristol are very limited.

Q) Presumably special rules apply to Royal trains, dangerous goods & excursion trains. Is there a hierarchy of trains for timetable & operational purposes e.g.
Cross Country
HST
long distance "local"
stopping local
"perishable" freight
"strategic" freight like power station coal trains
non-perishable freight
ECS^▸ - empty coaching stock ?

AG) Each operator will have their own priorities, but not as clear as the BR^▸ hierarchy you list.

Q) There were some anomalies in the "final" Dec 07 timetables online. Were these identified & corrected before the timetables were printed? XC - The Dec 06 morning train from Cardiff had stops at Severn Tunnel junction (specially belatedly included after great furore) & other "local stations" to provide peak-time capacity. The Bristol Temple Meads northwards timetable showed a Cardiff origin. However, the "stopping service from Cardiff" to Temple Meads was not shown !

AG) Slipped through the net.

Q) Severn Beach line - The 2119 from Temple Meads is headed starts at Cardiff. Instead it should be footed as continuing to Cardiff. The 1825 arrival at 1825 at Temple Meads correctly shows Bristol Parkway as its start. However, it should also be footed as continuing to W-s-M.

AG) Will check on this

Q) Short platforms symbol - why Yatton which is currently long enough for HSTs?

AG) No it isn't.

Q) Keynsham Rail summit
From the Keynsham rail summit we were expecting capacity at local stations to be improved by having HST London trains stopping at Oldfield Park, Keynsham & Worle once selective door opening was introduced. Worle has some. Keynsham has 8.09 heading for Bristol with no evening equivalent ! Oldfield Park has none.

AG) All peak time HSTs call Worle. Keynsham and Oldfield proved problematic to fit these calls in. Two 143+143 West services are going over to 150+158 so there will be extra capacity.

Q) Are we approaching another December rail crisis ?

AG) No!!.

These questions were posed by an FOSBR^▸ member and kindly forwarded to me. Any errors in English , grammar , punctuation or anything else like it are entirely down to your Global Moderator , working within a limited timeframe........