Loadings, cancellations and other issues

[whole diary]

[bobm]

A problem with the doors on the 153 apparently.

[bobm]

Today's 16:15 Westbury to Swindon is nearly 40 minutes later after being "delayed by a late running freight train".

Well yes, said freight train arrived at Westbury for a driver change with the back end still foul of the junction - but there was no driver immediately available so the station area was effectively blocked.  Also affected West of England services and those between Cardiff and Portsmouth.

[JayMac]

A nice big delay minutes bill should be sent to DBS^» (Deutsch Bahn Schenker - UK^▸ (United Kingdom) website).

But it will just be rolled into the complex Schedule 8 formula and DBS will likely not take a financial hit for this individual incident.

[grahame]

A nice big delay minutes bill should be sent to DBS^» (Deutsch Bahn Schenker - UK^▸ (United Kingdom) website).

But it will just be rolled into the complex Schedule 8 formula and DBS will likely not take a financial hit for this individual incident.

I arrived in Trowbridge from Melksham to catch the 16:16 to Cardiff, various changes to Lancaster where I was due at about 9 p.m.   It was 40 minutes late of so from Trowbridge, sat outside Temple Meads and pulled in at 17:29 which meant I missed the 17:30.    Now expecting to be in Lancaster at around 23:30 rather than just before 21:00. Frankly a bit p***ed off.

[JayMac]

Frankly a bit p***ed off.

Ameliorated just slightly by full refund though?

[bobm]

It does beg the question - what is the procedure where crew are relieved en route.  Is the incoming driver supposed to wait with the train to handover to the replacement?  However, if they stay and no replacement arrives what is the scope for moving the train?  Where could it go to be out of the way?  I assume if the problem had been flagged up early enough the train could have been "put inside" earlier and the disruption avoided.  The human element will always confound the best of plans.

[grahame]

Frankly a bit p***ed off.

Ameliorated just slightly by full refund though?

Hmmm ... maybe, if I go through that.   The reason for me leaving at 15:53 was to get to Lancaster at a reasonable hour; I've not been hugely well and I have another heavy day tomorrow. If I had wanted to arrive over 2 hours later, I would probably have started my journey 2 hours later - I considered it, but ruled it out on health and practicality grounds. Gawd knows how I'll be tomorrow now - and I thought I had allowed plenty of connection time!

[TeaStew]

Not really a TW cancellation or issue per se but related-ish and maybe not worthy of its own thread. Still, this is quite a long one...:

Background: If planning a journey from BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) to MKM^» (Melksham (Station code) - next trains) on a weekday afternoon an option that comes up is the 1749 departure - change at TRO^» (Trowbridge - next trains) for 1838 there. The 1749 from BRI is the 1640 GCR^» (Gloucester - next trains)->WEY and has a nice 14min wait at BRI before carrying on. Having used this service a lot I know that if there is a delay at BRI then it is not worth it as the connection at TRO is 8 mins and with all the stops on the way a few minutes late departure easily misses.

When the trains in that direction are running late it isn't uncommon for the first one to run non-stop to Bath and then on - my assumption has been to clear the mainline for the 1800 HST^▸ (High Speed Train) to Paddington. The intermediate traffic made up on the next train - 1804.

However yesterday something curious happened: the 1749 left 9 or 10 mins late a minute or so before the HST, stopped just outside BRI and waited for the HST to overtake and then ran as normal to Bath. It then ran non-stop to TRO requiring a reasonable exodus at Bath - intermediate traffic made up on the following 1804 .

I was going to BOA so changed at Bath so I do not know how it panned out at TRO, realtimetrains suggests it arrived at 1837, as too did the TransWilts which apparently left at 1839. Impossible to say without being there but the connection may have been made by people ready for it. If it did not make it the timing is still much closer than I have experienced leaving BRI so late.

My thoughts/questions then - was this a deliberate attempt to make the trains connect or is there some other signalling timing I am overlooking? Usually the icing on the cake is being held up into TRO while the TransWilts clears Bradford Junction so I do not know. I do not know but assume Bradford-Melksham flow is not huge.

My own conclusion (sadly) is that this is probably one of those one off decisions by a different combination of staff in a unique circumstance that only resembles what I have seen before and I am only rationalising it to something I want to see -  clever decision making to preserve connections (especially for Melksham).

I seem to have rambled on so will stop there! It was certainly a different journey on a differently named TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company).

[bobm]

11:47 Westbury to Swindon
12:47 Swindon to Frome started from Westbury at 13:32

Both cancelled because of a problem with a train at Chippenham.

Edited to add the 12:47 was only part cancelled.

[bobm]

From Journeycheck

The ticket vending machines are out of order at Melksham station.

Additional Information:

Please purchase tickets at the ticket office or at the first available opportunity to do so where no other means of purchasing tickets is available at the station. 

[ellendune]

From Journeycheck

The ticket vending machines are out of order at Melksham station.

Additional Information:

Please purchase tickets at the ticket office or at the first available opportunity to do so where no other means of purchasing tickets is available at the station. 

Is that the invisible ticket office?

[JayMac]

To say nothing of the alleged plurality of TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) at Melksham.

[TeaStew]

Troubles to a few trains this morning due to "failure of lineside equipment" near Westbury around 7.

0704 to Cheltenham left there 21minutes late and this seems to have been the worst delay. Temperature related rather than something in more pieces than it should be?

[bobm]

14:04 Frome to Swindon cancelled from Westbury northbound and 15:12 Swindon to Westbury also a non runner due to a lack of drivers.

I caught the 15:12 yesterday and it was well used for a mid afternoon service, including a number of schoolchildren travelling from Chippenham to Melksham.

[bobm]

Problems at Bradford Junction causing problems for TransWilts services, and others, this morning.

The first southbound service, the 05:17 from Gloucester was held at Swindon for over an hour before being cancelled.  The set is now going back to Cheltenham Spa in the path of the 07:04 from Westbury - which now starts Swindon.  Meanwhile a unit is picking up the 05:17's path to Southampton from Westbury, albeit with a 35 minute late start.

The 07:33 from Westbury and the 08:49 from Swindon both cancelled.

Points have now been secured in one position - to allow trains from Trowbridge to reach Bradford-on-Avon so the Melksham line is inaccessible.