Why didnt it stop?!?

[whole diary]

[NickB]

Ok, so maybe this was partly my fault for wearing headphones but judging from the people with me I wasn't the only idiot.
Tonights 19.48 from Paddington didn't stop at maidenhead! Wtf! I am at reading awaiting a return. It said maidenhead on the board, so why am I here??

[grahame]

Run throughs happen more than you might expect, NickB ... there were "sorry your train did not stop" announcements at Didcot Parkway the other evening, for example. I would be interested to know why this happens.  I suspect that sometimes it's simply because the stop is an unusual one - witness the signs saying "are you stopping at Culham?" at Didcot which suggest there might have been some runthroughts there.

[Brucey]

The 19:48 additionally called at Slough (not for passengers) for drop off a driver for another service.   By Maidenhead, it was 9 minutes late.

[a-driver]

Additional call at Slough would be to drop a driver off for the Slough - Windsor services.  Driver would normally travel on the 1950 Banbury

[NickB]

I'm afraid that I beg to differ. The 19.48 from pads platform 1 did not stop from padd to reading.

[Southern Stag]

The 19:48 left from Platform 9. The 19:45 Plymouth service used Platform 1.

[bobm]

The 19:48 normally leaves from platform 1 - that may be where the confusion arose.

[Ollie]

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P70525/2014/04/17

Just to show the details of the train. Left from Platform 9. Was at Maidehead for about 3 mins.

[a-driver]

I did see on the system that it was stationary at Maidenhead for 3 minutes!  The 1950 Banbury was cancelled so one HST^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) definately had to stop at Slough to drop off the Windsor driver.

[Btline]

Good. Hopefully this will happen everyday. Cotswold trains should not be making these stops.

[a-driver]

No service running on the fast lines between Paddington and Reading should be stopping at the likes of Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford.  Would improve punctuality no end.

[John R]

so why am I here??

It would appear you caught the wrong train. Went to the normal platform, and didn't realise it was a different service.

Wearing headphones certainly wouldn't have helped. I've seen "headphoned" people at both Swindon and Bath realise that they're on the London to Taunton via Bristol service instead of the direct train to Taunton which leaves Paddington 3 minutes later. If they hadn't been wearing headphones they would have likely heard an onboard announcement on or after departure from Paddington and been able to change at Reading for the correct train.  

[NickB]

Thanks southern-stag. If that is true then that would explain it. Although 150+ confused people at reading were as confused/grumpy as me.

To those moaning about the requirement to serve the Thames valley, sorry but we pay a lot of the wages.

[SDS]

And the morale of the story.... just because your train has gone from platform X for the last 4 days, doesn't mean it will go from the same platform on day 5.
Then these people who don't know how to read a departure board moan and abuse the staff for something which clearly is not the staffs fault.

[IndustryInsider]

Thanks southern-stag. If that is true then that would explain it. Although 150+ confused people at reading were as confused/grumpy as me.

Did you see it advertised as that train on the departure boards before you boarded, Nick?  Or was it a case of 'That's the platform it always departs from!'  If the former I have every sympathy, especially if no on-train announcement was made, but if it was the latter then I have none.