UEFA Champions League Final June 3rd

[whole diary]

[John R]

The absence of any comment about the travel arrangements leaves me to believe that everything must have gone relatively smoothly last night.  In which case I think everyone concerned can take some pride at the way the railway rallied around to support the event and ensure no adverse publicity. Let's hope UEFA were suitably impressed to give Cardiff another opportunity in a few years time.

[grahame]

The absence of any comment about the travel arrangements leaves me to believe that everything must have gone relatively smoothly last night.  In which case I think everyone concerned can take some pride at the way the railway rallied around to support the event and ensure no adverse publicity. Let's hope UEFA were suitably impressed to give Cardiff another opportunity in a few years time.

I saw one minor gripe earlier in the day - that trains for Cardiff were leaving Paddington full and standing and there wasn't room for people to join them at Swindon.   Trains often leave Paddington full and standing, of course, but it seems that yesterday's passengers all stayed on right through rather than getting off for the pleasure of an afternoon in Reading. Can't imagine why  .

[Rhydgaled]

I understand that 3rd June "Weymouth Wizard" is to be loco hauled.  What loco not yet know.

No loco at all, possibly no coaches either. Either way; you're not going anywhere. I just asked the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) mixing deck journey planner for Bristol-Weymouth (with no changes of train) on June 3rd and I cannot see the Weymouth Wizard there at all.

From Bristol, the 08:39 is followed by the 09:49, the Weymouth Wizard is missing.
Leaving Weymouth, there is nothing shown between 16:08 and 18:28, not even a rail-replacement road service.

The Pembroke Coast Express and associated intercity stopper services to/from Pembroke Dock have similarly vanished without a trace on June 3rd. If they need the IC125s for the match traffic then fair enough cancel these summer specials, but would you agree that not putting on replacement road transport is unacceptable?

I suggested to you on another Forum that your gripe re the Pembroke Dock services should be with GWR and that as well as mentioning it on a Forum where it would go nowhere, you should ask or complain to GWR.  Just wondering if you did it.

Not yet, your suggestion sounded like a good idea so I came on here to look at the Who's Who On Western Railways section to see who I should e-mail, but nothing really jumped out at me in the brief time I was looking at it. I also called up the 'email us' page on the GWR website (the tab is still open in my browser) but wasn't sure whether to select 'Feedback' or 'Complaint' and whether this was a matter regarding 'our timetable' or 'any other feedback'.

I also had intended to go to Tenby (by local bus) yesterday to see if they had put on unadvertised replacement road transport (in which case I would have had no reason to complain) but the bus times, times of the missing services and availability of lifts to and from bus stops (I don't drive) did not coincide. Wondering whether it is still worth sending an e-mail given that I didn't manage to properly check out the suituation.

[John R]

Why would you?  It didn't affect you, and unless someone was actually affected it seems to be making work for someone for the sake of it.   I'd suggest you move on and celebrate the great success the railways had in moving so many people with (relatively) little complaint.

[RailCornwall]

Seems to have been severe crowding on services out of Cardiff this morning heading east. Noted a few tweets suggesting so.

[didcotdean]

People staying overnight rather than going directly home and finding something like the normal Sunday morning level services I guess. Although I understand there has been some rearrangement.