Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
 No recent travel & transport from BBC stories as at 04:35 20 Apr 2025
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]		 10/05/25 - BRTA Westbury
10/05/25 - Model Railsay Show, Calne
13/05/25 - Melksham TUG / AGM
14/05/25 - West Wiltshire RUG

On this day
20th Apr (1789)
Opening of Sapperton Canal Tunnel
Train RunningCancelled
08:58 Bristol Parkway to Swansea
09:35 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa
09:55 Bristol Parkway to London Paddington
10:49 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington
12:30 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa
13:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads
14:00 Cheltenham Spa to Swindon
15:09 Liskeard to Looe
15:29 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa
15:40 Plymouth to Penzance
15:41 Looe to Liskeard
16:35 Par to Newquay
17:00 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington
17:09 Weston-Super-Mare to Severn Beach
17:16 Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach
17:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads
17:37 London Paddington to Swansea
17:48 Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth
17:55 Newquay to Par
18:00 Cardiff Central to Taunton
18:01 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads
18:15 Penzance to Plymouth
18:35 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads
19:43 Swindon to Westbury
20:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington
20:09 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
20:11 Weymouth to Bristol Temple Meads
20:17 Taunton to Bristol Temple Meads
21:39 Bristol Temple Meads to Gloucester
22:45 London Paddington to Bristol Parkway
23:12 Bristol Temple Meads to Weston-Super-Mare
23:49 Weston-Super-Mare to Bristol Temple Meads
Short Run
08:15 Penzance to London Paddington
08:47 Penzance to Cardiff Central
09:22 Bristol Temple Meads to Portsmouth Harbour
10:00 Cardiff Central to Taunton
10:25 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
10:55 Cardiff Central to Penzance
10:57 Paignton to Exmouth
11:09 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
11:41 Swindon to Weymouth
11:50 Penzance to Cardiff Central
12:26 Exmouth to Paignton
13:16 Taunton to Cardiff Central
14:09 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
15:00 Cardiff Central to Penzance
15:35 Severn Beach to Weston-Super-Mare
16:18 Penzance to London Paddington
16:25 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
18:00 London Paddington to Penzance
18:11 Castle Cary to Swindon
19:39 Bristol Temple Meads to Worcester Shrub Hill
20:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
20:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
21:57 Worcester Shrub Hill to Bristol Temple Meads
etc
•
PollsThere are no open or recent polls
•
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
•
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
•
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
•
Train companiesSelect from:
GWR
SWR
XC
Chiltern
TfL
TfW
WMR
Southern
• Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple Meads • Bath Spa • Chippenham • Swindon • Didcot Parkway • Reading • London Paddington • Melksham
Exeter St Davids • Taunton • Westbury • Trowbridge • Bristol Parkway • Cardiff Central • Oxford • Cheltenham Spa • Birmingham New Street
April 20, 2025, 04:38:27 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[96] RNLI station celebrates 10 years of saving lives - Portishead,...
[89] FOSS and FOSW validity - some quirks
[88] St Erth station - facilities, footbridge, improvements, incide...
[67] Fifteen years of the Transwilts CRP
[59] Wiltshire Day Rover - new multi-operator bus ticket
[56] Eyesight rules for motorists unsafe, says coroner
 
News: A forum for passengers ... with input from rail professionals welcomed too
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Great Western Coffee Shop > All across the Great Western territory > Across the West > Easter Diversions - 2013
Pages: [1] 2
« previous next »
  Print  
Author Topic: Easter Diversions - 2013  (Read 13149 times)
bobm
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 10234



View Profile
« on: March 27, 2013, 21:28:17 »
Rather than dilute the Reading Station Improvement topic, I thought I'd post here.

FGW▸ (First Great Western) have obviously gone to a lot of effort to provide diverted train services over Easter but I wonder how popular they will be.

At the beginning of February I booked myself advance tickets from Swindon to Paddington (via Banbury) and Waterloo to Newton Abbot on Good Friday.  Eight weeks later those tickets are still available for the same price. 

I know Thursday will be the busiest day and to be fair my journey to Paddington is at silly o'clock - but I would have thought the West of England services would have filled up a bit and prices risen.

I have also learned today of a family friend who is travelling to Newton Abbot as well on Friday and has, at almost the last minute, booked themselves on the only WoE from Paddington - the 10:00 retimed Torbay Express, which will take half an hour longer than me from Waterloo but is nearly ^10 cheaper.

I'm wondering of my trains will only be full of people wanting to travel over unusual routes!
Logged
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 13323


View Profile Email
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2013, 11:30:28 »
I'll be one of those!

Catching that Torbay express out of PAD» (Paddington (London) - next trains) on Saturday, changing at TAU» (Taunton - next trains) onto a PNZ 125. Dinner in PNZ, staying baxck up at Liskeard with friends.
Back to PNZ on the Sunday, and up on a WAT 125....

1st Class comp too....
Logged
bobm
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 10234



View Profile
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2013, 14:54:23 »
Quote from: bobm on March 27, 2013, 21:28:17
I'm wondering if my trains will only be full of people wanting to travel over unusual routes!

Belay that - just looked at my train from Waterloo tomorrow and the one following and there are no standard class reservations available now, let alone advance tickets, for either service.  Obviously a rush of latecomers!  Still advances in First Class.   Think I might go for Weekend First upgrade!
Logged
paul7575
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 5346


View Profile
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2013, 15:40:35 »
Isn't this possibly related to the glitch with searching for fares to/from Paddington rather than 'London Terminals', as discussed here:  http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=12197.0

Paul
Logged
bobm
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 10234



View Profile
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2013, 15:53:08 »
Don't think so. I searched for Waterloo to Newton Abbot and it has the train. Yesterday it had seats, today it doesn't.
Logged
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10450


View Profile
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2013, 12:13:33 »
Off to a good start with the Waterloo services, but the Banbury diversions have got off to a poor start with 'an earlier broken down train between Oxford and Banbury' leading to some severe delays and cancellations at the moment!
Logged
To view my GWML▸ (Great Western Main Line) Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/
bobm
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 10234



View Profile
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2013, 12:54:50 »
One of the Reading to Westbury shuttles was also turned back at Westbury. The 09:59 Waterloo to Plymouth well loaded so probably as well the shuttle didn't make the connection in the end.
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 43850



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #7 on: March 29, 2013, 13:42:09 »
Quote from: bobm on March 29, 2013, 12:54:50
One of the Reading to Westbury shuttles was also turned back at Westbury.

?  Am I missing something here?   Isn't a Reading to Westbury supposed to ....
Logged
Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
swrural
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 647


View Profile
« Reply #8 on: March 29, 2013, 13:49:23 »
I  had a look at the real time performance (the Waterloo ones and the Bristol via Banbury ones) today and it was all ticketty boo with the timekeeping.  I started to ponder if the Waterloo to Exeter via Westbury might not be permanently exploited by.........  Grin Cheesy
Logged
bobm
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 10234



View Profile
« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2013, 13:50:05 »
No Grahame, you are paying attention. I'm losing the plot. Was having two conversations at once. I did, of course, mean it was turned back at Bedwyn!!
Logged
Timmer
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 6604


View Profile
« Reply #10 on: March 29, 2013, 16:00:24 »
Saw an HST▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) parked in the stabling sidings at Clapham Junction around 10.30am this morning. Spare set?
Logged
Southern Stag
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 984


View Profile
« Reply #11 on: March 29, 2013, 18:49:45 »
Yes, one will be running ECS▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) there from Old Oak Common every day this weekend. It would be fair to say the 11:07 Waterloo-Penzance was well loaded today. I'm glad I wasn't on for long, some of the passengers were a bit disgruntled having stood for five hours!
Logged
bobg
Full Member
***
Posts: 38


View Profile
« Reply #12 on: March 29, 2013, 19:03:54 »
I was on the 1151 from Basingstoke (Heading to Hereford via Westbury and Newport) and it was still very full when  I got off at Westbury.
Logged
Timmer
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 6604


View Profile
« Reply #13 on: March 29, 2013, 19:27:30 »
Quote from: Southern Stag on March 29, 2013, 18:49:45
Yes, one will be running ECS▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) there from Old Oak Common every day this weekend. It would be fair to say the 11:07 Waterloo-Penzance was well loaded today. I'm glad I wasn't on for long, some of the passengers were a bit disgruntled having stood for five hours!
I came into Waterloo on the train (12 mins late arriving) that formed the 11:07 and yes there was quite a crowd waiting for this service. I suspect most FGW▸ (First Great Western) services out of Waterloo to the South West were very busy today. But I guess that would have been the same had they been operating out of Paddington; still just an hourly service.
Logged
Southern Stag
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 984


View Profile
« Reply #14 on: March 29, 2013, 19:35:15 »
Yes, it is always likely to be a busy time of year, the 11:07 did seem to be particularly busy compared to the others.
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1] 2
  Print  
« previous next »
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules via admin@railcustomer.info. Full legal statement (here).

Jump to top of page • Jump to Forum Home Page