GWR Performance Figures

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

I mentioned the following in the Thames Valley Signalling Problems thread:

Thames Valley punctuality performance last month was at 86.4%, over 1% lower than it was last month, but still enough to increase the MAA^▸ (Moving Annual Average) (Moving Annual Average) from 84.3% to 84.6%.

All other sectors are still easily achieving the season ticket discount 'trigger' levels, with all except HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) also above the 'target' figure.

I'll do a monthly update on this thread, so we can follow the trend from what should be the current low (old trains, lack of capacity, lots of engineering works) to a future high when Crossrail launches.  I'm sure there will be a few peaks and troughs in the intervening years!

To make it easier to find (easier than it is on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) website, anyway!), I thought I'd start a new topic which I'll update monthly.  I'll concentrate on HSS and LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) as they are the ones that are performing worst, compared with target's and trigger values.

The previous period's results have now been published, and it was another good month for GWR.  HSS scored 92.3% for punctuality, which lifted the MAA up to 89.3%.  LTV (which has a trigger at 89%) managed 88.4%, though the MAA actually dropped slightly to 84.5%.  Some way to go until 89% is threatened, but another encouraging period.

I would expect the next period to be more challenging as the ongoing unit shortages due to HEx Class 332's still undergoing repair, and a Rest Day Work ban which is ongoing in the drivers grade, are all making it harder to run a punctual service.

The attached graph shows the figures for the last three periods.

[ChrisB]

Apparently, the check of the 332s revealed a dozen needing attention....

[IndustryInsider]

Every MD's biggest nightmare (bar a serious accident) is an issue which results in a fleet of trains being withdrawn from their TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s use.

Just imagine the disruption if the Turbo or High Speed Train (HST^▸ (High Speed Train)) fleet had to get withdrawn for similar reasons!  I seem to remember there was a close call regarding the Turbo fleet back in the Thames Trains days.

Edit: VickiS - clarifying acronym

[JayMac]

Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin West Coast had a Voyager fleet withdrawal back in May 2005. Just for one day but it was a Bank Holiday Monday. I remember well the chaos that caused as I was working as an FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Customer Service temp at Temple Meads at the time.

Cause was a door mechanism that 'exploded', injuring a fitter.

[IndustryInsider]

A surprisingly good period for GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), given the Rest Day ban that's currently in force.

HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) recording punctuality of 92.4% and LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) 88.5% - both marginally better than last month, though the MAA^▸ (Moving Annual Average) (Moving Annual Average) dropped marginally.  Plymouth & Cornwall services recorded an outstanding 99.1%.  Reliability was over 99% for all sectors, though I would expect the Rest Day ban to have more of an effect on both performance and reliability next period and we've already had one day where both morning and evening services fell apart for the LTV and HSS sectors!

LTV continues to be the only sector below the trigger rate on performance, thus giving a 5% renewal discount.

Usual graph for LTV/HSS punctuality attached:

[ChrisB]

Remember delays & cancellations owing to events outside railway control are excluded from these stats.

[IndustryInsider]

Yes, indeed.  So, for example, delays/cancellation caused by yesterday's fatality would be excluded, but signalling problems at Southall and damage caused by an engineering train on April 4th and ongoing delays/cancellations caused by driver shortages would not be excluded.

[IndustryInsider]

A very impressive set of results for April, considering the on-going driver rest day work ban and a couple of days of significant infrastructure failures.

93.3% punctuality for HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) was enough to lift the Moving Annual Average (MAA^▸ (Moving Annual Average)) of the HSS sector to within a whisker of the target - just under two percentage points above the discount trigger for season tickets.  The LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) result of 91.8% was just under the target of 92% and meant the MAA rose 0.8% to 85.2% - still very low, but if this recent performance continues it won't be long before it's heading towards the 89% trigger target.

[IndustryInsider]

May was a bad month for punctuality on the HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) and LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) routes.  HSS recorded 89.1% which was the first time it's been below the target over for the last six months.  LTV recorded a very poor 83.2% punctuality (and its reliability figure was also low at 98.5%), though this only meant a 0.2% drop in the Moving Annual Average - so last May must've been pretty poor!  All the other sectors posted more respectable results however.

Usual graph attached:

[TaplowGreen]

May was a bad month for punctuality on the HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) and LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) routes.  HSS recorded 89.1% which was the first time it's been below the target over for the last six months.  LTV recorded a very poor 83.2% punctuality (and its reliability figure was also low at 85.5%), though this only meant a 0.2% drop in the Moving Annual Average - so last May must've been pretty poor!  All the other sectors posted more respectable results however.

Usual graph attached:

So approximately 1 in 5 of London and Thames Valley (LTV) services were late in May, is it any wonder why London and Thames Valley (LTV) commuters are cheesed off?

Edit: VickiS - clarifying acronym

[IndustryInsider]

Yes, and most commuters would have experienced worse than that as some of the 'bankers' such as the Slough-Windsor and Twyford-Henley services (which usually run on time and frequently) help to massage the figures on what is recorded on the services into Paddington.  Overall though the trend (for the last six months) is an improving one.  The key is to accept that the odd bad month will happen, but to make sure it's as an exception rather than the rule.  That often wasn't the case last year, and TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s like Southern make you realise that some people have it worse - their figures have been in the 70s percentage wise four out of the last seven months, dipping as low as 72.6%!   

[IndustryInsider]

Surprisingly good results for GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) for the last period, given the massive disruption caused by the derailment outside Paddington, which in itself caused over 3000 delay minutes and 200 cancellation IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly).  Presumably those figures would have been added to the results?  Certainly the reliability figures took quite a hit, down at 97.0% for HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) and 97.3% for LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) - around 2% less than average, but the punctuality at 89.6% and 88.6% were actually better than those recorded on the previous month.

Usual punctuality graph attached...

[ChrisB]

Once a revised timetable announced, delays are marked against that, rather than the original timetable. So the Cardiff cancellations would be excluded, once GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) had announced they would only run once an hour, for example

[IndustryInsider]

Yes, I thought that was the case.  How long does it take for those exclusion rules to apply though?  Presumably all services on the evening it happened would have to be included, so perhaps a surprise to see the figures hold up so well if that was the case?  I was looking at the daily summary for the month though, and apart from the disruption caused by that incident, the rest of the month did look pretty good.

[NickB]

And there was me thinking that the total closure of all lines might warrant a void day. Silly me.