Severn Beach Line; trains, performance, tickets and usage

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Saw a 3x166 turbo set heading north through Yatton about 1345 this afternoon. I heard they are going to be eventually used on the Weston to B.Parkway services, is that still right? Any provisional dates for transition?

Still the plan ... at an update last month. Planned for soon after the next section of electrics start running in the Thames Valley - which I think's late October. I'm about 700 miles from my handwritten notes, so writing from memory.

[Adelante_CCT]

Next major transfer of units should be during/after Christmas with more electrics starting in the Thames valley on 2nd January

[grahame]

Next major transfer of units should be during/after Christmas with more electrics starting in the Thames valley on 2nd January

That's the point at which most remaining Bristol "unit" based services should switch.

[johnneyw]

They are getting a bit less late now according to my usage but still not as good as the pre Sprinters.  Two months is a long time to get it right for such long lead time.

[Red Squirrel]

Been on a couple of trips on the Severn Riviera Limited this week:

On Tuesday I went from Montpelier out to Avonmouth on a 166 - 8 mins late, and water pouring in through the ceiling by the declassified first class area. Judging by the stink of decomposing upholstery this was not a new problem.

On Weds I went in to Temple Meads on a 158 - 11 mins late. I think there were two 158 sets running, so where were the 166s?

Are things really improving?

[grahame]

Are things really improving?

They are a LOT better (from my biased perspective) than they were ten years ago.

But on a shorter term, for "the West" fleet and on balance, no, they are not improving - they have been getting worse.

We're promised that they will get better, and that steps are being taken to ensure that.  We are told that the problems and reduction in performance is due to the failure of suppliers to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to deliver on time - that's Network Rail failing to deliver electrification, meaning that GWR's plans for introducing new(er) trains have been blown out of the water, with the contingency that was built in far exceeded.   The result is that trains that were due to be withdrawn (and so were being run down / allowed to get out of legal hours) have had to be kept in service, or rather put though maintenance at a far higher rate than had been planned, and that trains that were contracted to go elsewhere are having to be released as GWR has no right to keep them.   Current plans are that the new(er) turbo fleet will transfer over at a far quicker rate than was originally planned, and that means that an awful lot more train crews, and maintenance crews too, are going for training at the same time, leading to staff shortages.

OK - that may be a somewhat official / glossy view  ... but it's background for thought as to why we're where we are.

[Red Squirrel]

To be fair, the Parkway closure probably isn't helping either...

[simonw]

No, and the poor bus services from Filton Abbeywood to Parkway/Yate are a joke.

It is not uncommon to have to wait 20 minutes at Filton Abbey Wood to wait on a bus to get to Parkway. This may not sound serious, but the on-going work at Filton means no car park, no space for secure cycle bays, delays to Metrobus means traffic is still chaotic in the area.

All in, this period of GWRs^▸ (Great Western Railway) tenure is a disgrace, caused by DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) and local authrities.

[johnneyw]

After all these months looks like the service is still plagued with delays and cancellations. The 14.34 from Temple Meads to Avonmouth was so late that, during a long wait at Stapleton Road, it was announced that the service would only go as far as Clifton Down. Then more delay until the service from there had passed us.

Same story with the 20.34 from Temple Meads last Saturday.

[Red Squirrel]

Yes, that's my experience. At least one person I know has given up on it for the time being because it is too unreliable.

[johnneyw]

Yes, that's my experience. At least one person I know has given up on it for the time being because it is too unreliable.

According to some FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) FB posts it's having a serious impact on some commuters using the line to/from Avonmouth/Severn Beach. After all these months of unreliability, I can understand why this is.
The revenue protection chap on the delayed and curtailed service I was on today acknowledged that there have been a lot of problems but felt things were beginning to improve in his experience. It cannot come soon enough for very many people and it struck me that it would really undermine a Portway P&R^▸ (Park and Ride) should reliability problems remain when it opens.

[TonyK]

It is to be hoped that the assumption that this is a result of teething troubles is correct. It must take time to get used to a different vehicle, but hopefully everyone is getting there.

[grahame]

Yes, that's my experience. At least one person I know has given up on it for the time being because it is too unreliable.

According to some FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) FB posts it's having a serious impact on some commuters using the line to/from Avonmouth/Severn Beach. After all these months of unreliability, I can understand why this is.

Looking back at published traffic stats and graphs over the last 20 years or so, I have spotted correlations between the highs and lows of service and the rises and falls of the graphs.   But that's the "macro" way of putting it.  At an individual level, it's a person who's daily life differs and at the "micro" level it's hundreds and thousands of journeys made or not made.

[TonyK]

If you are going to cancel a train from Severn Beach, it is probably a good idea to make sure that the stranded passengers do not include Mhairi Threlfall, Bristol City Council's Cabinet Member for Transport.



Taxis were promised, it seems one arrived 40 minutes later, but there were 12 pax waiting.

Worse still. Mhairi's twitter feed continues:

Mhairi Threlfall‏
@mthrel
 
Train cancelled at Severn Beach, young children and man going to St Michaels for birth trapped and no clear info on options - like taxis. Woman on help point confused and unclear - taxis still not here! @GWRHelp

[ChrisB]

You generally won't get a taxi replacement unless the wait is to be in excess of an hour...