15.51 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill

[whole diary]

[bathgreenpark9f]

Anyone able to advise if this is still a 3 car Turbo instead of an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) on Fridays?

[bobm]

It seems, according to this thread http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=12851.msg138720#msg138720, the service is likely to be operated as a 180 all things being equal.

Mod note: Have not merged topics as this provides a useful signpost to the other thread which also includes details of services for the lower Thames Valley.

[bathgreenpark9f]

Thanks for above, had not spotted this thread. Train shows tonight as non reservable which is unusual, maybe a turbo in prospect perhaps

[ChrisB]

Others may hopefully correct me - but has anyone seen seat reservations on the 180s recently? I've travelled on a few, and not seen any at all recently....

[IanL]

ON a 180 service  to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) yesterday, lots of people with seat reservation tickets unable to use their seat as the seat reservation cards had not been placed out and the train was full and standing already by Charlbury.

[ChrisB]

That's a known problem if they're to be put out at WOS^» (Worcester Shrub Hill - next trains)/WOF or GMV....

[Super Guard]

Todays service is currently showing as 180108, which has just gone back into OOC^▸ (Old Oak Common (depot)) after it's morning trips and is due back into PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) at 15:23.

[IndustryInsider]

That's a known problem if they're to be put out at WOS^» (Worcester Shrub Hill - next trains)/WOF or GMV....

Yes, all depends on who the Train Manager is as to whether it gets done or not when the train gets turned round.

[IanL]

I am traveling home from Oxford on the 1551 ex Paddington or the 1732 Oxford stopping service most evenings and suffice it to say the 1649 Oxford train (now a 180 rather than the HST^▸ (High Speed Train)) is absolutely packed almost every evening, the stopping service is also picking up some of the overflow and is much busier than it used to be with lots of passengers standing from Oxford.

[charles_uk]

The (now) 15:52 hasn't been quite so squashed this week so far but was beyond funny last week.

I wrote to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) about the downgrading of this service, and the reply arrived yesterday. There was the usual "apologise that... [the] service is always crowded... can imagine how uncomfortable these journeys have been" etc. Then the bit about national shortage of rolling stock followed by the revelation that my letter had not been read at all... "We were therefore delighted to bring in 48 extra carriages in 2012... providing a total of 4,500 additional Standard Class seats across our network at peak times." Leaving aside the fact this was exactly the same paragraph that appeared in FGW's reply to my letter complaining about the withdrawal of the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) on summer Fridays, I wasn't writing about the overcrowding (as the HST was usually very full) but the removal of three carriages and 150 Standard Class seats from this service. I doubt there was much point in replying but it has made me feel marginally better...

[Busboy W1]

1W47 15:52 Ex Padd looked like a Sardine tin tonight on departure from Oxf but then it is Friday. Also being a superior 180 may have helped a little.

[charles_uk]

1W47 15:52 Ex Padd looked like a Sardine tin tonight on departure from Oxf but then it is Friday. Also being a superior 180 may have helped a little.

It does seem to be worse on Fridays. The HST^▸ (High Speed Train) which FGW^▸ (First Great Western) felt we could manage without usually had a fair number of passengers standing so a 180 doesn't help at all. (For all their faults, Turbos do appear to have been designed to cope better with over-crowding).

[martvw]

It seems that if it is a Worcester service it is of no importance ! The city of Worcester does not count for much on the rail network just look at the state of the Stations and track layout.

[CLPGMS]

I suspect that, in this instance, it is not a case of Worcester service being considered to be unimportant.  It is probably the easiest solution to having to take one HST^▸ (High Speed Train) at a time out of service for "refreshing".

Can anyone confirm that the HST stock which originally formed the 1551 to Worcester now forms the 1545 to Swansea?  If it does not, what does it now do?  It is understood that train crews on the Bristol, South Wales or South West routes have not been trained operate class 180s.

I wonder whether, if train crews have the relevant route and traction knowledge, the Class 180 could be used on the 1536 to Cheltenham Spa, releasing the HST from that to form the 1551 to Worcester. What are the loadings like on that train and its 1834 return from Cheltenham Spa?  Would misery merely be transferred to the South Cotswold Line passengers?

[Southern Stag]

I'm not 100% sure how the workings work but replacing the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) set on the 1551 with a 180, as well as cancelling the 0640 Bristol-London reduces the number of sets diagrammed by one, therefore allowing a set of HST stock to go off for a mechanical overhaul.