Shortage of train crews on Great Western Railway - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[broadgage]

Was not aware of this.
I can see the merits of these trains, but find it most regrettable that training on new stock has such adverse effects on existing services.

[TaplowGreen]

In the latter part of 2017 (and for many months previously) we were all led to believe by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) that the early part of 2018 would see the arrival at the promised land, with loads of new stock, previously unheard of steps up in capacity, reliability etc etc.

Somewhere along the line, before making all these promises and raising expectations accordingly, perhaps Marketing/PR^▸ (Public Relations) should have spoken to Operations to ascertain that there would be enough drivers to move the above around, and that there would be sufficient reliable stock available to run the service  rather than "more than usual being in for repair" which has now been going on for what must be approaching 2 years.

If II is to be believed (and I see no reason why he shouldn't) it won't improve before the Autumn.

Next time people tell me off for criticising GWRs "Manana Manana" promises, they may care to bear this in mind, as it seems that for GWR and their customers, "Manana" never comes.

[IndustryInsider]

It’s only an opinion, and I’m certainly not always right (witness my own ‘turning the corner’ posts at the end of last year), but we have been inept in virtually every regard since the turn of the year so it’s an opinion I hold with a certain amount of confidence.  I really hope I’m wrong.

[TaplowGreen]

It’s only an opinion, and I’m certainly not always right (witness my own ‘turning the corner’ posts at the end of last year), but we have been inept in virtually every regard since the turn of the year so it’s an opinion I hold with a certain amount of confidence.  I really hope I’m wrong.

Your honesty and candour is always appreciated amongst the sea of defensiveness elsewhere II.

[phile]

I thought that the 769s are the ex class 319s that have been rendered bi-mode by fitting diesel engines, are these to utilised in the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) area ?
I thought that they were destined for the North.

There are a total of around 80 class 319 units and conversion could go well beyond a couple of dozen.  As third rail capable units, they have a thumping great 750v bus bar along the train, and the supply of electric to that bar from a diesel engine running under one or two of the lighter coaches in the set is logical and relatively straightforward, I am told.

ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) are due to receive 5 x 769s also.   The GWR ones are meant for the North Downs.

[phile]

GWRs^▸ (Great Western Railway) "copy and paste" usually says that there are staff rostered but don't have the specifics or that there are spare staff available but are in the wrong place.

[grahame]

ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) are due to receive 5 x 769s also.

Indeed. 

Plans for their use?    Ebbw Vale and Cheltenham services??  or Manchester services??

[eightf48544]

Don't think they'd make Ebbw Vale on diesel.

[phile]

ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) are due to receive 5 x 769s also.

Indeed. 

Plans for their use?    Ebbw Vale and Cheltenham services??  or Manchester services??

Not decided yet.    Most probably to replace 4 car formations (these are 4 Car units)  on the Cardiff Valleys so that these can be used elsewhere on the Network.     ATW just say to provide extra capacity but it seems to be to release 150s for PRM^▸ (Persons with Reduced Mobility) Mods  which nobody has done anything about yet, despite the Welsh Government being told about it in 2013. 

[stuving]

I thought that the 769s are the ex class 319s that have been rendered bi-mode by fitting diesel engines, are these to utilised in the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) area ?
I thought that they were destined for the North.

There are a total of around 80 class 319 units and conversion could go well beyond a couple of dozen.  As third rail capable units, they have a thumping great 750v bus bar along the train, and the supply of electric to that bar from a diesel engine running under one or two of the lighter coaches in the set is logical and relatively straightforward, I am told.

Even with two of the proposed MAN D2876 engines, at their highest rating of 390 kW, and a pretty lightweight train, the performance is very unimpressive: a P/W of 4.4 kW/t (half of a cl 180's). Even as an EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) it wasn't brilliant, at 7.2, even if it is rated at 100 mph. So not an obvious choice for the North Downs Line.

I'm still puzzled how the 769s' use on GWR went from pure speculation to accepted fact in the last three months without, AFAICS^▸ (As Far As I Can See), going through the intervening stage of a reliable piece of news announcing it.

[phile]

Cancelling the 18-03 is very poor indeed.

It is indeed the last through service to the far west, except on a Friday when the 19-03 runs to Penzance.

Re-instated

[Timmer]

All in all wasn’t too bad a day unless you were travelling to South Wales.

[TaplowGreen]

All in all wasn’t too bad a day unless you were travelling to South Wales.

Awesome I'd say..........unless

Cancellations to services between Newport South Wales and Cardiff Central
Due to a fault with the signalling system between Newport (South Wales) and Cardiff Central the line towards Cardiff Central is blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 120 minutes or terminated at and started back from Newport South Wales. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

[Timmer]

With the line between Bath and Bristol closed today I had concerns for passengers using Bath Spa to travel to/from London that services could be affected by train crew issues.

Well I was right to be concerned, far worse than I thought with the train shuttle service between Bath and Swindon virtually wiped out and the few direct trains due to run from/to London either cancelled or terminating at Swindon.

I’ll leave it to others to talk through the other so far 55 cancellations apart from to say if you are hoping to travel from Cheltenham to London today forget it and as II mentioned on another thread WoE look to be affected today also.

[grahame]

With the line between Bath and Bristol closed today I had concerns for passengers using Bath Spa to travel to/from London that services could be affected by train crew issues.

Well I was right to be concerned, far worse than I thought with the train shuttle service between Bath and Swindon virtually wiped out and the few direct trains due to run from/to London either cancelled or terminating at Swindon.

I’ll leave it to others to talk through the other so far 55 cancellations apart from to say if you are hoping to travel from Cheltenham to London today forget it and as II mentioned on another thread WoE look to be affected today also.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) web site is not offering much:



So during the day, that's train to Swindon, train to Temple Meads (via Parkway, sometime with a change) and bus to Bath Spa.

But note

* X31 bus runs every two hours. Chippenham Station to Bath Spa Station. Run by - err - First 

* If you know what you're doing, you can travel hourly from Chippenham to Bath Spa with a change at Trowbridge - e.g. 12:35 at Chippenham, 12:50 to 13:17 at Trowbridge, into Bath Spa at 13:35.   Some journeys have a better change.

Not only a failure to provide a train service, but also a failure to provide correct information about alternatives!