Shortage of train crews on Great Western Railway - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

Of course that comes into it...but the bigger problem is that of capacity! Full football fixture list *plus* many returning from Christmas will surely result in ooosnot getting on their train. :-)

[IndustryInsider]

There was a full football fixture list today and people going away in their droves.  A few isolated problems but largely dealt with fairly easily.  We won’t know until we give it a go... 

[ChrisB]

Those going away have been doing so since Thursday evening....till tomorrow afternoon. More wish to return on Boxing Day to save holiday usage on the 27th when thats a working day methinks, which will concentrate the travelling.

You're right, it has to be tried with suitable warnings for those services with reservations when there's none left? But getting TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) to try it with the costs involved will need DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) making payments or at least zero Advance fares

[IndustryInsider]

I’ll be undertaking a long distance car journey Boxing Day afternoon, and will report back on the state of the motorways.  Perhaps any other forum members undertaking a similar journey could do the same?  A comparison with a typical Sunday on the motorways, with an allowance for the fact they’ll be slightly busier anyway because the train isn’t an option, will give a very good indication as to likely demand.

[TaplowGreen]

I’ll be undertaking a long distance car journey Boxing Day afternoon, and will report back on the state of the motorways.  Perhaps any other forum members undertaking a similar journey could do the same?  A comparison with a typical Sunday on the motorways, with an allowance for the fact they’ll be slightly busier anyway because the train isn’t an option, will give a very good indication as to likely demand.

Yep I'm driving back on Boxing Day, I'll report back too.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I'll be driving the road equivalent of Nailsea & Backwell to Totnes on Boxing Day morning: I, too, will report back. 

I will also look at splitting these latest posts off into their own new topic, as they don't relate to 'train crew shortages' directly. 

[Timmer]

I’ll be flying out of Bristol Airport at 7am on Boxing Day  so will update how I get on there.

[Electric train]

After many years in the past having to work over Christmas and Boxing Day improving the Railway infrastructure; having changed what I do few years ago I now enjoy staying at home over those two day and only travel locally 

[SandTEngineer]

After many years in the past having to work over Christmas and Boxing Day improving the Railway infrastructure; having changed what I do few years ago I now enjoy staying at home over those two day and only travel locally 

Me to.  When I started as an S&T^▸ (Signalling and Telegraph) Technician on the southern end of the WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line) way back in the early 1970s, I worked many xmas eves/xmas days/Boxing days.  I remember trains running on xmas eve up to about 0200 on xmas day.  Oh fun times......

Any way, a happy xmas and new year to all.

[simonw]

This thread has been active several months now, and this issue appears to getting worse, not better.

Is there a serious reason for this? Does GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have issues training enough drivers|guards generally, or for particular routes, or where they over reliant on overtime and drivers|guards are not doing as much now?

Whilst my main journey, from Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads is frequent and short, I see many cancellations from the boards, and experience a fair number of them myself.

[bobm]

Interestingly despite it being a Sunday AND Christmas Eve today it seems sufficient staff have been resourced so far.

Up to 11am there have been no GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) cancellations or short workings and only one train formed with fewer than the planned number of coaches.

Indeed there are a handful of additional services planned for this afternoon in South Devon, but that may be adding ones which had been accidentally omitted from the original timetable.

[grahame]

This thread has been active several months now, and this issue appears to getting worse, not better.

Is there a serious reason for this? Does GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have issues training enough drivers|guards generally, or for particular routes, or where they over reliant on overtime and drivers|guards are not doing as much now?

Whilst my main journey, from Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads is frequent and short, I see many cancellations from the boards, and experience a fair number of them myself.

I understand that one of these is being delivered over Christmas and the New Year:

It comes in the form of class 166 units which have already started to move down - enough for five or six diagrams from the start of service on 2nd January, with drivers and train managers who have been substantially away on training also returning from that training to drive the new services, allowing stock released to lengthen the remaining one car "multiple" unit (!) trains in the area, and indeed providing something of an oversupply allowing 150/1 trains to be released to go "up north".

It does all still depend on some works being completed over the next 8 days, sign-offs to allow electric trains to run between Maidenhead and Didcot (otherwise - watch the panic transfer back of the 166s!).  And of course, being "railway", it does require paperwork and certification of the magic wand in time.   Should that not happen, I expect we would see a storm of complaints about the overrun like we've never seen before!

[SandTEngineer]

According to WNXX^▸ (Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes) Forum posts the Maidenhead to Didcot electrification has already been signed off: https://twitter.com/IanProsser7/status/944259672487399424

[ChrisB]

I thought we had noted that already (maybe in another thread?)

[plymothian]

It's amazing what double time and a 1/4 will do for people who 'never work Sundays'.