Not able to get on the train

[whole diary]

[swlines]

By the way - I can tell you about an 8 hour delay I suffered comming into St Pancras some 30 years ago - a ripping yarn that one, and if you're researching something along the "folk tales" lines I have a few others, such as the time the overhead electic cables came down on top of the train I was in anw whiplash / broke the windows.  p.m. me or email me if you want more on these!

Graham, that reminds me of a trip I was doing down the West Coast Mainline several years ago. There was a fire in the Euston area if I remember correctly. As we were a HST^▸ (High Speed Train), we were diverted and reversed at Bletchley and Bedford, and went into St Pancras!

[Doctor Gideon Ceefax]

By the way - I can tell you about an 8 hour delay I suffered comming into St Pancras some 30 years ago - a ripping yarn that one, and if you're researching something along the "folk tales" lines I have a few others, such as the time the overhead electic cables came down on top of the train I was in anw whiplash / broke the windows.  p.m. me or email me if you want more on these!

Graham, that reminds me of a trip I was doing down the West Coast Mainline several years ago. There was a fire in the Euston area if I remember correctly. As we were a HST^▸ (High Speed Train), we were diverted and reversed at Bletchley and Bedford, and went into St Pancras!

Pre or post privatisation?

[swlines]

Pre-privatisation of course, I can't recall any event of that happening completely unplanned post...

[vacman]

Hello,
I'm looking for people with nightmare train journeys. I'm a researcher with a production company based in London. If you've had any train horror stories please get in touch with me. My email address is marsdencaroline@hotmail.com. Looking forward to hearing your tales... Caroline.

Yay! more ways for the press to slate the railways!!!! Why not go and do something positive like find some satisfied customers (I'm not just on about FGW^▸ (First Great Western)!), the press make it look like every train is always late, cancelled, old dirty and overcrowded and overpriced (how they always quote open return fares when making comparissons etc).

[devon_metro]

Happen to agree Vacman, I've had many enjoyable and on time rail journeys!

[Jim]

You never (as I always say) read about the good journeys!

[Lee]

You never (as I always say) read about the good journeys!

There are several examples on here.....as I always say when Jim brings this up 

[12hoursunday]

We'll raise your journey with Andrew Haines, CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer) of first when we see him in a couple of weeks . Weekend trains are often far more overcrowded than weekday trains, and your experience occurs with regularity on Saturdays and Sundays. This is simply becasue FGW^▸ (First Great Western) is saving money. They have the extra rolling stock parked up to make longer trains in the week, but choose not to use it.
Tony, More Trains Less Strain

  Yeah right, carriages (not whole trains) that cost in excess of ^1500 a day each to hire parked up in sidings. That makes great monetary sense that does. I've never in all my days read drivel that's so ridiculous as this. It's no wonder that this lot ain't taken seriously.

The poster doesn't even know what Andrew Haines is CEO of, First Great Western or just First!

Where are these extra unit's then? you seem to alk a lot of rubbish but never provide any evidence to back it up?

 

[grahame]

  Yeah right, carriages (not whole trains) that cost in excess of ^1500 a day each to hire parked up in sidings. That makes great monetary sense that does.

I felt that the 1500 pound figure sounded a bit high - certainly with regard to the trains that I have costed out over the last three years, so I went back to some figures and sources.   I came up with a theoretical figure of around 950 pounds per day for each carriage of a 150, and I would guess that 143 carriages are a little less and 158s a little more. 

The 1500 figure might be about right for a high speed carriage, especially if you factor in the power cars - but then such a carriage is going to travel twice the number of miles in the average minute, so it can make twice the income even if pence per mile were equal - a whole different ballgame to the MTLS^▸ (More Train Less Strain) one which is not looking at HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train).

Three more interesting inputs to this discussion:

1. The effect of moving a single carriage from one route to another, where it runs a higher daily mileage, can be a long way over 250 pounds per day. I have the background to this commercial figure but I don't think I ought publish the maths or be move specific.  So if you take a carriage off completely on a "quiet" day it may not be quite so silly from a financial viewpoint - it may save nearly the same amount of money in operating costs as the hire costs.

2. Operating 2 to 4 coach trains that are averaging under 50 m.p.h. including stops, with a fare of between .20 and .30p per mile top whack and many cheaper fares isn't going to make money.  Add this to the previous point and it starts looking like there may be cases that it's better to leave carriages in sidings or ...

3. Trains need servicing.  If there's more demand in some parts of the week than others, does it make economic sense to keep your service depot running for as long as possible - i.e. as perceived in the franchise, to have a maximum of trains in service on Monday to Friday peak hours only.

I'm not taking "sides" here - just adding some background comments to point out that there are perhaps some figures and comments that are a bit over the top all around.  My own philosophy is to work within the system, look to make practical suggestions rather than looking for a change of the system or using a publicity seeking approach.   But then I have to note that since I got involved in the campaign for an appropriate TransWilts service, we have LOST two thirds of the trains, whereas since MTLS started up after the December 2006 cuts, there have been huge gains on their Bristol Commuter lines.  Makes you think, doens't it?

[dog box]

I dont really think Grahame you can give credit to MTLS^▸ (More Train Less Strain) for any gains made on the Bristol Commuter routes,..its a simple fact FGW^▸ (First Great Western)/Daft got it wrong initially and have just got the service back to something sensible.
Its much better to work with The movers and shakers in a constructive way instead of seeking sensationalism to further your cause

[grahame]

You never (as I always say) read about the good journeys!

There are several examples on here.....as I always say when Jim brings this up 

Jim, Lee .... I have just posted about some great old railway train memories ...

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=2016.0

[grahame]

,..its a simple fact FGW^▸ (First Great Western)/Dft got it wrong initially ...

Granted - just as they did on the TransWilts.  That's admitted now but our reasoned pressure and support has not yet corrected the issue even though it will take far less resource to put right than Bristol.