Rugby World Cup - underestimated number of fans

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

expect to see some very unhappy Welshmen in London tomorrow night, especially after they've lost to England, being unable to get home will just rub salt into their wounds!

Oh dear.    

[bobm]

Given the result I'm not sure Welsh fans will be too worried about getting home after all! 

[grahame]

What about England fans from other parts of the country? Are they any better off getting home?

Last train with a connection to our town scheduled at 20:00 from Paddington.  Except Real Time Trains shows it was running late and the connection missed ...

A TransWilts colleague attended the match. Due to the issues getting home, his party have booked a hotel a short distance from the ground (I dread to think how much that will have cost) and they are travelling home in the morning for the TransWilts CIC^▸ (Community Interest Company ) board meeting.

[stuving]

JourneyCheck now shows the changes to the 23:30:

23:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 01:24
This train will be cancelled.
This is due to overcrowding because of a sporting event.
Last Updated:26/09/2015 22:48

23:30 London Paddington to Cardiff Central due 01:31
This train will be delayed between Swindon and Newport (South Wales) and is expected to be 60 minutes late.
This train will be diverted between Swindon and Newport (South Wales).
This train will call additionally at Gloucester.
This is due to overcrowding because of a sporting event.
Last Updated:26/09/2015 22:54

Which is not exactly true - the train only runs to Cardiff (assuming it has a driver) because of an expected "crowd". The diversion was missing from its previous, short-lived, mention here.
Nothing about a new Bristol service.

[a-driver]

An "expected crowd" isn't in the system as a cause though.  All delay causes are not free form entries as they all have a delay code attributed to them for the purposes of apportioning delay minutes to the relevant company or department.

[stuving]

Nothing about a new Bristol service.

... but it was on Twitter some time ago:

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Help ‏@GWRHelp 50 minutes ago
Enjoy #ENGvWAL? For trains home tonight to Chippenham, Bath and BristolTM, get the 0013 from Reading also calling at Didcot and Swindon.

GWR Help ‏@GWRHelp 55 minutes ago
Enjoy #ENGvWAL? Train home 2330 Paddington, 0006 Reading, calls at Didcot Swindon Newport & Cardiff at 0230. Hour longer than usual to Wales

GWR Help ‏@GWRHelp 4 hours ago
If you are travelling back from #ENGvWAL please be aware that the last train from Reading to Cardiff is scheduled at 22.29 #RWC2015

No explanation, or apology, for the appearance of these trains at the last minute.

[stuving]

An "expected crowd" isn't in the system as a cause though.  All delay causes are not free form entries as they all have a delay code attributed to them for the purposes of apportioning delay minutes to the relevant company or department.

That's true, but this was GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) explaining its decisions to its customers - I don't see why that needs to be limited to standard delay attribution labels. For an external cause, where they might be seen to be blaming someone else, standard text could be safer.

[a-driver]

Nothing about a new Bristol service.

... but it was on Twitter some time ago:

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Help ‏@GWRHelp 50 minutes ago
Enjoy #ENGvWAL? For trains home tonight to Chippenham, Bath and BristolTM, get the 0013 from Reading also calling at Didcot and Swindon.

GWR Help ‏@GWRHelp 55 minutes ago
Enjoy #ENGvWAL? Train home 2330 Paddington, 0006 Reading, calls at Didcot Swindon Newport & Cardiff at 0230. Hour longer than usual to Wales

GWR Help ‏@GWRHelp 4 hours ago
If you are travelling back from #ENGvWAL please be aware that the last train from Reading to Cardiff is scheduled at 22.29 #RWC2015

No explanation, or apology, for the appearance of these trains at the last minute.

It's managing demand in the only way they can.  Advertise the services in advance and they'll be swamped leaving many passengers on the platform and a lot of upset. 

[JayMac]

No explanation, or apology, for the appearance of these trains at the last minute.

Blame is being attributed elsewhere to the IRB, RFU and broadcasters for scheduling the match when they did. Also there may be issues around communication and planning between those bodies and the rail industry.

None of that excuses or absolves GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) for the shambolic last minute faffing around they've done today. They are a mass public transport operator and this major sporting event, with this fixture in particular, hasn't crept up on them unannounced. There is absolutely no need for them to have been reactive today. They should have been proactive months ago, ensuring additional services were scheduled, listing them in publications and advertising them widely. Along with lots of positive messages along the lines of "Going to England v Wales? GWR will get you home."

Instead, all they've done is projected the message (to some, not all I'll concede - festival fans are regularly accommodated) that, yet again, they, and the rail industry generally, are too hidebound to actually do much beyond the normal timetable. That'll be the opinion of many Welsh Rugby fans who either had to stay in London, drive or take a coach home tonight.

Of course the result tonight may actually be good news for GWR. I predict Paddington may be somewhat busier in the morning with lots of tired but happy Welsh heading home after a night on the tiles.

Finally, excuses about rolling stock and staffing. Piffle.

And seven other Ps.

[ellendune]

Finally, excuses about ... .... staffing. Piffle.

And seven other Ps.

So would you be happy if GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) cancelled services in the morning because the staff were not available because they worked during the night?

GWR could employ spare crew to just sit around until nights like this, but that would cost money and if that was what the franchise demanded that would mean they would pay less premium to DfT^» (Department for Transport - about).

[stuving]

SWT^▸ (South West Trains) were doing quite well most of the evening, until:

22:50 London Waterloo to Reading due 00:15
This train has been delayed at Feltham and is now 11 minutes late.
This is due to the customer alarm being activated on a train.
Last Updated :26/09/2015 23:30

collapse 22:58 Twickenham to Reading due 23:58
This train has been delayed at Feltham and is now 18 minutes late.
This is due to the customer alarm being activated on a train.
Last Updated :26/09/2015 23:23

The earlier of those will not now connect with the first new last Cardiff train, but both should make it for the train balai at 00:32  if it runs ... which it does.

[JayMac]

So would you be happy if GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) cancelled services in the morning because the staff were not available because they worked during the night?

GWR could employ spare crew to just sit around until nights like this, but that would cost money and if that was what the franchise demanded that would mean they would pay less premium to DfT^» (Department for Transport - about).

GWR could have rostered crews for this known about event months ago. No need for crews to be sitting around. That isn't the seven Ps. There's one more. Proactive.

Next excuse? Network Rail?

A new National Rail ("Britain's Train Companies Working Together") advert with the following tagline should run through the remainder of the Rugby World Cup:

"Welcome to National Rail. We have a can't do attitude. Along with apologists to back up said attitude." 

[stuving]

For the record, those Cardiff trains ...

1C36 waited at Reading for the delayed 2Z63 from Twickenham, and left 11 late at 00:17.
1Z37 left 3L at 00:42, all its SWT^▸ (South West Trains) connections having arrived.

I wonder how many passengers they had?
A policy of running two very late-night trains, but lying to the public that there will be none until a couple of hours beforehand, seems guaranteed to avoid getting much revenue towards their cost. On odd way to run a railway, or a business; so are they (First or GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)), as is often said, motivated solely by profit?

[a-driver]

They haven't lied, they simply managed demand.  If they had advertised that the 23:30 would be running through to Cardiff how many passengers would have turned up at Reading expecting to get on it?  more importantly, how many passengers would they have left behind?
If such things as realtime trains hadn't existed no one would have been the wiser.  It seems though the train companies get slated for have no contingency.... and when they do have a contingency they get slated again. Can't win.
Obviously crews were rostered otherwise these extra trains wouldn't have run

Edited:  Just to add, the two sets used stabled at Cardiff overnight.  One will return to St Phillips Marsh arriving around 0900 and the other set runs back empty to Old Oak arriving 1100.  That's two sets that probably won't be used today.  There would have been no other room at Cardiff to stable any more extra services overnight.

[grahame]

... odd way to run ...  a business; so are they (First or GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)), as is often said, motivated solely by profit?

As a (small) business, we will turn down the opportunity of customers, even where we have resources that could be deployed and are otherwise lying idle, in some circumstances.   If our team has doubt as to the integrity of a (potential) customers and whether our product is what they need, they'll turn them down.  That's (a) because we want our guests to be thrilled with what they buy, (b) because we want out facilities treated with respect and (c) because we don't want other customers disturbed.  A quick income one night could cause major expense and heartache an simply aren't worth it.

Ironically, late last night I had a very very rare case which lead me to question whether guests should be with us - although in this case they had checked in (at 11:30 in the morning) with no indication of problems - nice couple.   We give people electronic keys to get it, but at around 11 p.m. I was awoken from the door intercom with a demand to be let in - the young lady swearing like a trooper, with no proof / confirmation she was the guest in that room, and engaged in a heated discussion on her mobile phone which clearly had a faulty microphone because it had to be yelled at (or perhaps phones need that in Wales where she comes from).  Not best pleased when I checked her name just to make sure.  Partner arrives about 15 minutes later, he has a card and lets himself in, but appears not capable of closing the door behind him (I expect she does that at home) and goes up to the room and they have a 'domestic' ... probably no more that 15 to 20 minutes, but it seemed to go on an age.  Don't know what we will find this morning - but at least they are prepaid!

It's unique for me to talk about / quote experiences in this way, and I am being very careful indeed not to say anything that could lead to a revealing of identity. I do wonder if there could be some relationship to the Rugby game in the behaviour shown, and it's a really good illustration of where I would have been prepared to take a loss rather than risk my facilities.  Once checked in, it's harder to chuck people out and there can be co-lateral damage and expense; better simply to complete product delivery.

No statement / defence or support of GWR's actions and decisions up to last night's service.  Just a view from a slightly different angle as to why it's occasionally sensible for a business to turn away - even - someone who walks up with a wad of cash.  And such actions may not only protect the business, but can also in some circumstances protect the [potential] customer from buying product not suited to them.