Melksham Connections

[whole diary]

[bobm]

Of little comfort to the passenger waiting on the station but both last night's and this morning's root causes were not the fault of FGW^▸ (First Great Western).  A points failure at Bedwyn effectively blocked the line from Newbury to the west forcing trains to be diverted via Swindon/Melksham while this morning a freight train got into difficulties on the single line.  The train from Gloucester to Melksham and on to Southampton was sitting on the main line waiting for the branch to become free and was about to be sent on towards Bath to reach Trowbridge when the freight train got on the move and cleared the line.  As a result of all that it held up the morning South Wales service which goes via Bristol Temple Meads.

One of the problems Melksham has is it is in a "black hole" when it comes to railway reporting systems.  The times of trains calling or passing are not sent back to the Live Departure boards - hence the "no report" you often see.  This also means that if a train is delayed after Chippenham or Trowbridge (depending on the direction it is going) the problem is not picked up until it reaches the next reporting point after Melksham.

Now whether there is anyway an audible message can be broadcast from the help point to alert those on the platform I don't know but it might be worth investigating.  However it then falls to someone to actually send the message and whether that would be FGW or Network Rail I wouldn't like to guess.

[grahame]

My log ....

I arrived at Melksham station at 06:30 for the 06:38 to Westbury, arriving there (planned) at 06:55 to catch the 07:01 to London - arrival 08:38 into Paddington, taxi to my place of work today for around 09:00.  The information point showed "on time" on its display.

At 06:34, a freight train passed through, northbound, and as the line is single track I (and six others waiting on the platform) were concerned that the southbound train we were waiting for would be late, and various connections missed.   I pressed the information button on the help point, and was informed by the person I spoke to that the 06:38 was only one minute late, and I would make the connection.

06:38 and 06:39 came and went, and the train did not appear.  The information point still showed "on time".

At 06:50, still showing "on time", I called again and was told that the train was 15 minutes late.  As I spoke to the person on the help desk, the display changed to say 17 minutes late.   He told me that I was unlikely to catch the 07:01 from Westbury, but there were plenty of alternatives - I could catch the 07:04 and change at Swindon, or the 07:09 and change at Bath.

At 07:00, the display changed to "CANCELLED", and three other people headed off in one of their cars to Trowbridge.  A fourth walked away towards the bus stop.  I decided to hold on, with the final 2 passengers, for the 07:20.

At 07:08 (approx) the southbound train pulled in!  The advise of the conductor ("should we get on this train") was that he didn't know about connections at Trowbridge to Bristol for the other two, and that I would be able to connect into the 07:51 at Westbury to Paddington.   I decided to wait for the 07:20, as this offered an earlier connection at Swindon from my recollection.

At 07:15, "On time" for the 07:20 changed to "07:24" then a few minutes later to 07:28.   The train eventually left just before 07:30.

For the record, there were about 40 people on the train when it arrived in Melksham from Trowbridge.  About half a dozen joined at Melksham. Some got off and about the same number on at Chippenham.  And I counted 47 getting off at Swindon - so the load was 47 plus anyone staying on board for the continuing journey of that service to Gloucester.  Also for the record, the connection into the 07:58 (Paddington ONLY) train from Swindon did "make", and in coach A where I travelled, about half the seats were occupied - not all that different to the density loading of the TransWilts train!

One of the other passengers for the 06:38 was trying the train for the first time today to see how it worked for him communting.  As the delays unfolded, hw vowed he would never use the train again.

Questions ...

1. Why was the freight train sent through in priority to the passengers?

2. Why were we told that the down train was only one minute late and assured that the connection at Westbury would be OK when that was not the case?

3. Why was I advised to catch the (late) train and change into the 07:04 at Westbury which would bring me back through Melksham, calling there again if I made it?   Would it not have been right to tell me to wait for the 07:20?

4. Why was everyone told the 06:38 was cancelled (and so people made other plans at their own expense) ... when in fact it was still running and turned up a few minutes later?

Credit goes to the crew of the late 06:38 and the conductor of the 07:20 this morning - for honesty.  Will it make the connection - "Don't Know" isn't what we wanted to hear, but it was correct - in contrast to other sources. And full credit to the crews for a positive attitude and being as helpful as possible with the hand and information they had been dealt.  And as we approached Swindon, it was good to be filled in further - that the connection would make, and to be told which of 2 platforms it would be on, and where they were in relation to the incoming train.

07:58. Swindon to Paddington, due 08:54.  Left on time from Swindon. Arrived Paddington 08:52 ... rushing now to start work 25 mins late. Not bad in the circs

[bobm]

1. Why was the freight train sent through in priority to the passengers?

From what I understand and looking at realtraintimes it looks like the freight was either on the single line or very close to it when it failed.  Had all been well it would have passed through Melksham before 06:00 and not been a problem.  All the time it was either close to or on the single line it was going to hold up the 07:04 from Westbury so a bit of a no win.  Reversing was not an option so it had to press on - holding up the southbound service and meaning a late start for the 07:04 as a result.

[paul7575]

Interesting that there is full integration in London with Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services). Look how useage has increased particularly on the Overground.

Bus/tram and tube/rail/overground are certainly integrated on the same smartcard for payment purposes, but fares are not linked across multi-mode journeys in the way Graham is asking.  A to B on tube followed by B to C on rail including overground would be linked as one journey, but buses and trams are not linked in the same way.  And each bus or tram leg is charged separately - this is a regular criticism of the bus charging system.

So basically it comes down to bus and other mode charges being added together for capping purposes - but they still aren't through fare tickets as people normally understand them.

Paul

[grahame]

1. Why was the freight train sent through in priority to the passengers?

From what I understand and looking at realtraintimes it looks like the freight was either on the single line or very close to it when it failed.  Had all been well it would have passed through Melksham before 06:00 and not been a problem. ....

That's actually fair enough - "one of those things" I guess.  And I guess you may have explained my question (4) too. 

But why such patently wrong information from the help point staff when it was patently obvious to us (and, surely to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) staff in control too) that there was no way the delay would just be a minute.   And why the advice to ride down on the train (when it turned up) to Westbury and then catch the service back the other way, stopping at Swindon.

By accepting / following the first piece of advise, I lost the time in which I could have driven to Westbury and caught the 07:01 from there.  By following the subsequent advise, I would have been left at Westbury until ... rather later, having also missed the via Swindon service.    Is there an "if you don't know, guess" directive to call centre staff?   Would "if you don't know, admit it and find out" be better?

[IndustryInsider]

From what I understand and looking at realtraintimes it looks like the freight was either on the single line or very close to it when it failed. 

The NR^» (Network Rail - home page) log for the delay says smoke was spotted coming from one of the wagons by a driver of another train as it went through Trowbridge, and it was stopped at Bradford Junction for examination - which meant a block on all other lines, so as 'bobm' says I think it was indeed not possible (or sensible) to send the southbound TransWilts service from Thingley Junction.

Interestingly, and something that might explain the 'Cancelled' information, is that Genius is still showing the southbound train as 'not calling at Melksham'... 


Edited to fix quote. bignosemac

[Kim]

From looking at the app, the one minute late estimate I believe came from the fact that the train departed Chippenham one minute late. This didn't account for the way that the train was then held at the signal just outside of Chippenham because of the freight train.

[Southern Stag]

Interestingly, and something that might explain the 'Cancelled' information, is that Genius is still showing the southbound train as 'not calling at Melksham'... 

Seems the Melksham stop was only 'cancelled' for 3 minutes before it was reinstated again.

[grahame]

Interestingly, and something that might explain the 'Cancelled' information, is that Genius is still showing the southbound train as 'not calling at Melksham'... 

Seems the Melksham stop was only 'cancelled' for 3 minutes before it was reinstated again.

Maybe ... we were waiting there and it flipped from "18 late" I think to Cancelled.  We all looked for backup alternatives, and it had disappeared off the screen by the following time I looked.  That was probably about five minutes, and the next train showing was the 07:20.     The first I knew of it running after all was the two tone horn ... and I commented to one of the others "oh no - not another freight.  How late will that make the 07:20".

It might be only three minutes to some people, but it's a twelve hour gap signalled to other.

[Kim]

Enquired about the reason for today's fiasco and was told that they had a problem getting their onboard communicator to work as it's new, and they can't leave without it being operational.

Perhaps some more training in advance? Or why not stay with the previous system? 'If it isn't broken, don't fix it' springs to mind.

[grahame]

Enquired about the reason for today's fiasco ...

"Today's Fiasco" was an 6 minutes late TransWilts, which drifted up to 8 minutes.   Enquiry person said that London connection at Westbury would not be held, and I would probably have to wait for the train nearly an hour later.

Can't afford the time / loss of customer face and confidence.   Drove to Chippenham (12 mile round trip @ 40p / mile = 4.80) and parked there (7.10).  And what was the point in buying a Melksham VIA WESTBURY ticket at a higher price when on both of the 2 days I wanted to use it the train was cancelled / delayed to the extend that I couldn't use the service?

Not a very good show this week.

[Kim]

Definitely think that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) should be challenged on the timing of the 6:38, as I am struggling to see any benefit of the 'service' running at that time.

- There is only a 5 minute connection at Westbury. As a regular user of the 06:38, that isn't an unusual occurrence, but a 5 minute delay on the morning service never bothers me because of the point below
- I alight from the TransWilts at Trowbridge, to go onto Bristol. Trains are at 6:44 or 7:02. The TransWilts gets in at 6:47, so for the sake of three minutes, I have to stand around for fifteen.
- If the service ran earlier, the chance of any delays being caused to the northbound service by a late running southbound service are reduced.

I am not surprised that reliability is an issue when they run services so close together over a single track, and believe that the service has worsened since they retimed the 6:37 departure from Melksham and the 19:10 arrival to 6:38 and 19:11. The evening service is now hardly ever on time, whereas it always used to be.

[John R]

Definitely think that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) should be challenged on the timing of the 6:38, as I am struggling to see any benefit of the 'service' running at that time.

- I alight from the TransWilts at Trowbridge, to go onto Bristol. Trains are at 6:44 or 7:02. The TransWilts gets in at 6:47, so for the sake of three minutes, I have to stand around for fifteen.
- If the service ran earlier, the chance of any delays being caused to the northbound service by a late running southbound service are reduced.

It would need more than 3 minutes to make the connection work. For it to be a valid connection it would need to shift 8 mins earlier (to allow 5 mins at Trowbridge), and bear in mind this would then require earlier departures all the way back to its start point at Gloucester. I'm not sure those that use the service from the South Cotswold line to commute east of Swindon would appreciate an extra 8 minutes cooling their heels at Swindon, just so that a more convenient connection is made at Trowbridge for the benefit of pax from Melksham heading towards Bristol.

Very often we see situations like the one you describe and think it would be easy to change. But it has to be remembered that fitting in services is a complex task, and tweaks like the one you describe can have implications over a very wide area, and to a large number of other passengers.

In respect of the reliability of the northbound service, there's over 20 minutes between the southbound service leaving the single line and the northbound entering it, so I don't think reliability would be significantly improved.

The answer for Melksham is not tweaking of the existing paltry service, but provision of a much more adequate and appropriate service. Which is where the Coffee Shop started several years ago, and for which we still wait.

[bobm]

It would need more than 3 minutes to make the connection work. For it to be a valid connection it would need to shift 8 mins earlier (to allow 5 mins at Trowbridge), and bear in mind this would then require earlier departures all the way back to its start point at Gloucester. I'm not sure those that use the service from the South Cotswold line to commute east of Swindon would appreciate an extra 8 minutes cooling their heels at Swindon, just so that a more convenient connection is made at Trowbridge for the benefit of pax from Melksham heading towards Bristol.

Ironically running it eight minutes earlier would make a more robust connection with the 06:10 train from Swindon to Paddington.  However as you say fitting in any change is a complex issue and it would probably have an impact beyond Trowbridge as it goes south into the height of the morning peak.

[grahame]

Ironically running it eight minutes earlier would make a more robust connection with the 06:10 train from Swindon to Paddington.  However as you say fitting in any change is a complex issue and it would probably have an impact beyond Trowbridge as it goes south into the height of the morning peak.

I've not looked at the train's Gloucester to Swindon timings and loadings ... but the Swindon to Westbury section was moved by a few minutes about 4 years ago to allow for the London connection, and the train now sits for about 5 minutes at Westbury, whereas it used to wait (I think) at Swindon.   There's a complex matrix here, and much of the traffic on the TransWilts section is to Trowbridge for the (poor) Bath and Bristol connection and to Westbury for the (tight) London one. There is also traffic joining at Trowbridge for Salisbury which might be reluctant to accept a further extended wait at Westbury.   Interestingly, lots join at Warminster and the whole train virtually empties at Salisbury.  Earlier into Salisbury would (I suspect) be a step in he wrong direction for people there if (for example) they are connecting into the Waterloo.

Have to agree with John R. ... it's really not about tweaking the existing services, but about providing an appropriate service.  Making the current services more appropriate by moving them by a few minutes is worthy of consideration, and a useful part of the whole picture