Shortage of train crews on Great Western Railway - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

It will be everyone going on an 'adventure' as the advertisement says to do.

[Timmer]

Five arrive at the station to find their train cancelled due to shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

Five arrive at the station to find their train cancelled due to shortage of train crew.

Five?   ... only 3 arrived back into Melksham by taxi at 21:05 (that would have been next available train from Swindon to Chippenham after the cancelled 19:53 from Swindon, due at 20:19). I expect one of them and the dog had to make their own other arrangements, as rail replacement won't take dogs.   Sad end to three days of surveying and counting.

[TaplowGreen]

Along with numerous other peak services this morning.....brand new trains, no-one to drive them.....

07:17 Maidenhead to London Paddington due 08:03 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

.............perhaps the title of this thread needs to be extended beyond September?

[Chris from Nailsea]

In view of these apparently ongoing problems, I have now expanded the heading of this topic. 

I've now made a further expansion in the heading of this topic. 

[bradshaw]

Weymouth services significantly affected today, not helped by the 0533 failing before it left.

[BandHcommuter]

Weymouth services significantly affected today, not helped by the 0533 failing before it left.

The last train of the day back to Weymouth is also affected:

20:49 Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth due 23:13 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Bristol Temple Meads, Keynsham, Oldfield Park, Bath Spa, Freshford, Avoncliff, Bradford-On-Avon and Trowbridge.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.
Further Information
Passengers are requested to utilise the next available service.

This had become a frequent occurrence at weekends, and is now encroaching onto weekdays. Maybe there is a half-term annual leave effect on driver availability? I am reminded of an occasion when the last train to Weymouth was cancelled on a Saturday back in July. I had turned up to catch it from Oldfield Park station, where someone on the help point told me to get a local bus from the Lower Bristol Road to Bath Station, where a taxi would be provided. Trouble is, Bath Station couldn't rustle up enough taxis. A solution on this occasion would be either to delay the preceding Portsmouth train into the times of the Weymouth as far as Westbury (calling additionally at places like Oldfield Park, Freshford etc.), or hold the Weymouth train at Westbury until the following Portsmouth train arrives. It will be interesting to see how GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) choose to mitigate the impact on passengers.

[IndustryInsider]

Half term week will indeed mean more drivers are off on leave.  For example at one of the medium sized depots nine drivers have taken their block leave this week, which is one below the maximum allowed.  That drops to three next week, so a difference of six.  Multiply that number by the dozen or so GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) depots and you get some idea of the difference.  That can normally just about be coped with by ‘the system’, and no doubt training has been scaled back a bit this week, but there’s just not enough guys and gals around at the moment thanks to poor management.

[froome]

Weymouth services significantly affected today, not helped by the 0533 failing before it left.

The last train of the day back to Weymouth is also affected:

20:49 Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth due 23:13 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Bristol Temple Meads, Keynsham, Oldfield Park, Bath Spa, Freshford, Avoncliff, Bradford-On-Avon and Trowbridge.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.
Further Information
Passengers are requested to utilise the next available service.

This had become a frequent occurrence at weekends, and is now encroaching onto weekdays. Maybe there is a half-term annual leave effect on driver availability? I am reminded of an occasion when the last train to Weymouth was cancelled on a Saturday back in July. I had turned up to catch it from Oldfield Park station, where someone on the help point told me to get a local bus from the Lower Bristol Road to Bath Station, where a taxi would be provided. Trouble is, Bath Station couldn't rustle up enough taxis. A solution on this occasion would be either to delay the preceding Portsmouth train into the times of the Weymouth as far as Westbury (calling additionally at places like Oldfield Park, Freshford etc.), or hold the Weymouth train at Westbury until the following Portsmouth train arrives. It will be interesting to see how GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) choose to mitigate the impact on passengers.

I can remember occasions when a Portsmouth train has been stopped at Oldfield Park etc to make up for a cancelled preceding train, but not recently. Instead, more recently I've been on Oldfield Park station waiting for what has turned out to be a cancelled train and seen the next Portsmouth train coming through which looked like it had spare capacity in it, but not stopping.

[hassaanhc]

As of 1815, 10 alterations on JourneyCheck due to train crew issues. There were also a few Thames Valley cancellations in the morning due to either no or late crew.

15:08 Weymouth to Gloucester due 18:33
15:08 Weymouth to Gloucester due 18:33 will be started from Bristol Temple Meads.
It will no longer call at Weymouth, Upwey, Dorchester West, Maiden Newton, Chetnole, Yetminster, Thornford, Yeovil Pen Mill, Castle Cary, Bruton, Frome, Westbury, Trowbridge, Bradford-On-Avon, Avoncliff, Freshford, Bath Spa, Oldfield Park and Keynsham.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.
Further Information
Customers for Westbury and stations to Cardiff Central are requested to travel to Southampton Central on South West Trains services for next available GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) connections to Cardiff Central, Bristol Temple Meads or Great. Malvern.
Customers for intermediate stations will be requested to utilise replacement road transport.
Customers are requested to wait for road transport in the designated road replacement areas. Customers are advised that buses will run later that than the advertised train times due to line of route and additional time required for loading and unloading.

17:02 Brighton to Bristol Temple Meads due 20:28
17:02 Brighton to Bristol Temple Meads due 20:28 will call additionally at Avoncliff and Freshford.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

17:30 Weymouth to Bristol Temple Meads due 20:09
17:30 Weymouth to Bristol Temple Meads due 20:09 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Trowbridge, Bradford-On-Avon, Avoncliff, Freshford, Bath Spa, Oldfield Park, Keynsham and Bristol Temple Meads.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

17:44 Bristol Parkway to Westbury due 18:54
17:44 Bristol Parkway to Westbury due 18:54 will be terminated at Bristol Temple Meads.
It will no longer call at Keynsham, Oldfield Park, Bath Spa, Freshford, Avoncliff, Bradford-On-Avon, Trowbridge and Westbury.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

17:57 London Paddington to Maidenhead due 18:43
17:57 London Paddington to Maidenhead due 18:43 will be starting late from London Paddington.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

18:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 19:39
18:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 19:39 will call additionally at Keynsham.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

18:10 London Paddington to Maidenhead due 18:48
18:10 London Paddington to Maidenhead due 18:48 will be starting late from London Paddington.
This is due to train crew being delayed

20:21 Weymouth to Bristol Temple Meads due 22:45
20:21 Weymouth to Bristol Temple Meads due 22:45 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Trowbridge, Bradford-On-Avon, Avoncliff, Freshford, Bath Spa, Oldfield Park, Keynsham and Bristol Temple Meads.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

20:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour due 23:54
20:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour due 23:54 will call additionally at Keynsham, Oldfield Park, Freshford and Avoncliff.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

20:49 Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth due 23:13
20:49 Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth due 23:13 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Bristol Temple Meads, Keynsham, Oldfield Park, Bath Spa, Freshford, Avoncliff, Bradford-On-Avon and Trowbridge.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

[Alan Pettitt]

It does seem to be an absence of adaptability, we have had the best part of a year of short formed and cancelled trains in the Bristol area, it is absolutely ridiculous that the commuter trains in the evening from Bristol Temple Meads have often been cut from 4 or 5 coaches to 2, it is high time that trains should not be cancelled when the next one on the route is more than, say 30 minutes later, and unless that following train has sufficient capacity, this has certainly been a very poor year for 'customers' in the Bristol, Yate, Frome areas, let alone Melksham. Most years in the summer the trains to Weymouth have been 5 coaches, this year they actually ran one that was 1 coach and had to leave loads of people behind at Trowbridge. I'd like to sign this as "Not Impressed"

[hassaanhc]

It does seem to be an absence of adaptability, we have had the best part of a year of short formed and cancelled trains in the Bristol area, it is absolutely ridiculous that the commuter trains in the evening from Bristol Temple Meads have often been cut from 4 or 5 coaches to 2, it is high time that trains should not be cancelled when the next one on the route is more than, say 30 minutes later, and unless that following train has sufficient capacity, this has certainly been a very poor year for 'customers' in the Bristol, Yate, Frome areas, let alone Melksham. Most years in the summer the trains to Weymouth have been 5 coaches, this year they actually ran one that was 1 coach and had to leave loads of people behind at Trowbridge. I'd like to sign this as "Not Impressed"

The missing of stops when late also happens in the Thames Valley, and indeed most routes really. I actually don't mind it when only one or two individual services are delayed due to an issue, but if everything is delayed then it is better for everything to stop, especially if services already don't have enough capacity when things are running well. This is what happened to my brother last week: (he commutes from Southall to Reading)

Last week Tuesday when there was an issue at Paddington all day, there ended up being a 50 minute gap for westbound trains beyond Hayes & Harlington at Ealing Broadway, Southall, Hayes & Harlington and West Drayton.
At Southall the 0657 (8-car 387) ran pretty much on time, then the 0710 (3-car DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit)) was 23 minutes late in departing and was run non-stop to Slough. After that the 0725 (8-car 387) was 20 minutes late but at least it stopped as normal. It had 8 coaches but it was full throughout as it had passengers from 3 services (as it turned up at 0745 and had passengers that usually took the 0710, 0725 and 0741 services). The 0741 (his usual train) was 14 minutes late and is usually a busy 166 unit.
He took the delayed 0725, then noticed that at Slough he could run and get the 0806 non-stop to Reading (1M99 0750 London Paddington to Banbury and Great Malvern) and he actually arrived at the same time as he would have if his usual train was on time!

[IndustryInsider]

There’s a phenomenon I’ve noticed on the Thames Galley suburban routes called ‘2-car roulette’ which means whenever there’s disruption and cancellations you can usually count on a 2 being thrown meaning a 2-car Turbo is the first train to turn up!  At least that is set to change over the next couple of years when practically everything will either be 8 or 9 cars.

[NickB]

Delays due to trespassers on the track at Acton this morning but, according to our TM^‡(resolve), one of the people out looking for the trespassers is the driver of another service. So there you go - GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) actually have spare drivers to go looking for mentalists.

[Oxonhutch]

That driver might have been driving his own train but under caution, and very slowly.