Pewsey station - facilities, services / fares, incidents and user group - merged posts

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

It depends on the circumstances.  A driver with a clean record not on a development plan doing a minor overshoot at a small station where part of the train is still platformed might be deemed OK to continue until the end of the shift.  Anyone with 'previous' would probably be relieved of their duties.  Also, the driver themselves would be free to deem themselves unfit to continue.

[grahame]

From Deadline News:

UNDER fire ScotRail have reached "a new low" after making the incredible admission that a train was cancelled because the driver "forgot" to stop.

The beleaguered firm have launched an investigation after Friday’s 13.00 from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh failed to stop at Croy, North Lanarkshire.

A furious passenger asked ScotRail why his train had been cancelled and received the astonishing admission that the driver "forgot" to stop.

The Scottish Conservatives said the incident was further evidence the government needed to sort out its train "fiasco".

Croy's another one of those stations where some services are booked to call and others on the same route and driven from the same pool aren't ...

[rogerpatenall]

Most likely to stop at the next station, yes, but it can depend on the location and the train in question, and also when (as the driver) you've realised your error.  For example, if you were on a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) heading to London and missed Castle Cary then it would usually be best to continue to Westbury rather than stop at Bruton.  Basically you would report it and follow the instructions of Control and/or the Signaller.

And if the pattern was fast from Castle Cary to Reading, what then? Bruton, Pewsey, Newbury or Reading? Or would he stop somewhere between Bruton and Fairwood, and ask to be put in to Westbury? I guess in practice that Cary would have alerted Control who make the decision for him.

[IndustryInsider]

In that case I would imagine a special stop at Westbury would probably be arranged.

[Rob on the hill]

Apparently a XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) Voyager was caught on Dawlish Beach cam overshooting Dawlish today. After a few minutes the train reversed back into Dawlish. I'm guessing this is the one: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P30969/2016/12/22/advanced
Video here: https://www.facebook.com/dawlishbeach/

[grahame]

And now Hayes and Harlington in Get West London

A train driver angered commuters waiting at Hayes and Harlington station, when he completely FORGOT to stop.

Passengers were left baffled after the Great Western Railway train, which departed Paddington, did not call at Hayes as normal.

The train was due to call at Hayes and Harlington station at 6.14pm on Thursday (July 27) but passengers were quick to point out the error to the driver.

A passenger who needed to disembark at Hayes, told getwestlondon: "Everybody was knocking on the engine room.

"He didn't open the door because he was talking on the phone and he covered his face.

"People on the train were upset, and people were getting so angry at the station as they wanted to get on the train.

"The driver just said 'Sorry, my mistake, I forgot that stop'."

[Adelante_CCT]

I know open data sources aren't always correct, but usually when a train misses a stop it will just show the departure time with n/a for the arrival time, however on this occasion, it suggests it did stop at Hayes.

[Louis94]

I know open data sources aren't always correct, but usually when a train misses a stop it will just show the departure time with n/a for the arrival time, however on this occasion, it suggests it did stop at Hayes.

That's just one of many ways a fail to call could present itself, although it'll be 'n/r' meaning No report. On this occasion it is more than likely the train was running under cautionary aspects and therefore because of the way arrival and departure times are reported it could easily look like the train stopped as normal.

[Surrey 455]

And now Hayes and Harlington in Get West London

A passenger who needed to disembark at Hayes, told getwestlondon: "Everybody was knocking on the engine room.

"He didn't open the door because he was talking on the phone and he covered his face.

"People on the train were upset, and people were getting so angry at the station as they wanted to get on the train.

"The driver just said 'Sorry, my mistake, I forgot that stop'."

If the passenger was already on the train how does he or she know that people waiting to get on were "so angry"? Were they able to establish that by looking at the expressions on their faces in the fractions of a second as the train went past?

[plymothian]

Unless the driver managed to stop the train with part of the train still on the platform.

[TaplowGreen]

And now Hayes and Harlington in Get West London

A passenger who needed to disembark at Hayes, told getwestlondon: "Everybody was knocking on the engine room.

"He didn't open the door because he was talking on the phone and he covered his face.

"People on the train were upset, and people were getting so angry at the station as they wanted to get on the train.

"The driver just said 'Sorry, my mistake, I forgot that stop'."

If the passenger was already on the train how does he or she know that people waiting to get on were "so angry"? Were they able to establish that by looking at the expressions on their faces in the fractions of a second as the train went past?

No doubt CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) will confirm one way or the other, and if it's proven to be the case that he was on the phone we will have one more "driver shortage"!

[IndustryInsider]

I expect he was 'on the phone' (actually, probably the GSM-R^▸ (Global System for Mobile communications - Railway.) handset) reporting that he'd had a 'fail to call' to the signaller.  Though, yes, if the incident was caused because he'd been using a mobile phone on the move then the Unions don't want to know and it would be goodbye time.

[grahame]

From a public area of Facebook (so names can be quoted without invading privacy).

John Thorpe

We have the railway line but very few trains Pewsey is becoming isolated with most trains stopping at Bedwyn rather than running through to Westbury with a stop at Pewsey before reversing for the journey back to London. Connections from Westbury offer a plethora of destinations without the crush of London or Reading. Its time for First Group (Great Western Railway and MTR) to review and make the long overdue changes to improve the service to Pewsey Vale and the environs. TransWilts have done an outstanding job in the reinstatement of a viable service for the Melksham area of Wiltshire but Pewsey trains and links has been forgotten in the Community Rail Partnership.

Actually I'm a bit flattered that the author feels we have a responsibility for his service too 

TransWilts (my response)

I can assure John Thorpe that Pewsey is far from forgotten. Community Rail Partnerships are intended to "put new life in local lines" ( the ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) sound bite) but the line through Pewsey is anything but a local line - it's the main line to the West of England and indeed is the only station in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) served exclusively by HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train)

When I first (personally) used Pewsey Station, there were but a couple of trains each way per day. Over time that has risen to perhaps 9 or 10.   I would agree that there are service gaps, but they're due to be significantly reduced from December 2018, with a semi-fast London to Exeter train (125 mph stock) calling every 2 hours, and also calling at Westbury to connect which services don't always do at present.

Pewsey is the only remaining station in Wiltshire without a user group (to my knowledge) and outside a formal CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership).  It's not done badly without - look at the service improvement described above, look at the station improvements such as the £465,000 spent there  last year, and look at future plans. I do understand the frustration of the hourly local service from Reading petering out at Bedwyn and current timetable gaps.  I encourage you, John, to engage to help set up a local group and partner as well as campaigning. Within our bounds, the TransWilts / Melksham team would love to help and ease your way to a continuation of the improvements you are seeing - but that's not something we can do effectively without support from residents in the Pewsey catchment.

Discussion invited from members ... and I'm going to message John to make him aware of potential ongoing positive discussion and invite him to join in.   Would love to help Pewsey; good bus engagement there but have found rail engagement difficult.

[IndustryInsider]

Hopefully the timetable recast will make further improvements on what is already a vastly improved service over what it in the fairly recent times as you allude to, Graham.

I would like to see many of the the Bedwyn stoppers extended to Westbury as can be seen from my very first post on this forum getting on for ten years ago!  With the turnback loop at Bedwyn being extended that might be an opportunity missed though.

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?action=post;topic=18896.0;num_replies=0

[Thatcham Crossing]

With the turnback loop at Bedwyn being extended that might be an opportunity missed though

I'm sure I saw a previous discussion somewhere on here that that isn't needed, as it can accommodate a 5 car unit in it's current form?