Shortage of train crews on Great Western Railway - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

All cancelled due to crew shortage together with numerous other foreshortenings/alterations today - a Friday - which is within the working week as far as I know - this is becoming a joke - do GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) use workforce planning, or is it a case of turn up and hope for the best?

14:48 Reading to London Paddington due 15:46

15:57 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway due 17:24

16:21 Westbury to Swindon due 17:03

16:32 Reading to Gatwick Airport due 17:51

16:51 Reading to Shalford due 17:41

17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:18

17:58 Shalford to Reading due 18:48

18:00 Gatwick Airport to Reading due 19:29

19:02 Reading to Shalford due 19:53

19:34 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington due 21:01

20:02 Shalford to Reading due 20:57

20:42 London Paddington to Reading due 21:41

21:02 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington due 22:31

21:12 London Paddington to Reading due 22:08

21:26 Reading to Gatwick Airport due 22:53

22:01 Reading to London Paddington due 23:16

23:18 Gatwick Airport to Reading due 00:45

23:27 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway due 00:56

23:45 Reading to Oxford due 00:39

23:51 London Paddington to Reading due 00:58

00:22 London Paddington to Oxford due 01:31

01:07 Didcot Parkway to Oxford due 01:26

[GBM]

From Journeycheck
Cancellations to services between Chippenham and Westbury
Due to a shortage of train crew between Chippenham and Westbury all lines are blocked.
Train services running through these stations will be cancelled or suspended. Disruption is expected until the end of the day
....

Eh? All lines blocked?  Did a few train crew run out of hours & just walk off and abandoned their trains mid track?
Sounds implausible.
Anyone know wasson please?

[RichardB]

Sadly, after a great Sunday last week on the Tamar Valley Line, the first two trains today were cancelled.

This is Real Time Trains for Gunnislake

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/GSL/2019/08/18/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt

[a-driver]

All cancelled due to crew shortage together with numerous other foreshortenings/alterations today - a Friday - which is within the working week as far as I know - this is becoming a joke - do GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) use workforce planning, or is it a case of turn up and hope for the best?

14:48 Reading to London Paddington due 15:46

15:57 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway due 17:24

16:21 Westbury to Swindon due 17:03

16:32 Reading to Gatwick Airport due 17:51

16:51 Reading to Shalford due 17:41

17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:18

17:58 Shalford to Reading due 18:48

18:00 Gatwick Airport to Reading due 19:29

19:02 Reading to Shalford due 19:53

19:34 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington due 21:01

20:02 Shalford to Reading due 20:57

20:42 London Paddington to Reading due 21:41

21:02 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington due 22:31

21:12 London Paddington to Reading due 22:08

21:26 Reading to Gatwick Airport due 22:53

22:01 Reading to London Paddington due 23:16

23:18 Gatwick Airport to Reading due 00:45

23:27 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway due 00:56

23:45 Reading to Oxford due 00:39

23:51 London Paddington to Reading due 00:58

00:22 London Paddington to Oxford due 01:31

01:07 Didcot Parkway to Oxford due 01:26

I imagine a lot of the issues on the Thames Valley are down to CrossRail being delayed and potentially the problem in recruiting qualified drivers into positions they know will be short term.

[Adrian]

Last year, a major cause of crew shortages was given as driver training.  Surely this is no longer a significant factor?

Do GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) currently have the numbers of onboard staff specified in the franchise terms, and are these numbers actually set a high enough level to cover summer holidays?

[stuving]

Last year, a major cause of crew shortages was given as driver training.  Surely this is no longer a significant factor?

Do GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) currently have the numbers of onboard staff specified in the franchise terms, and are these numbers actually set a high enough level to cover summer holidays?

I have not found any explicit requirement for on-board staff in the franchise agreement - not even "the franchisee shall employ staff in sufficient numbers". There are a number of station staff requirements, but they are secondary - for example to staff gatelines - and are only mentioned because they are changes introduced during the franchise term.

[IndustryInsider]

Last year, a major cause of crew shortages was given as driver training.  Surely this is no longer a significant factor?

Do GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) currently have the numbers of onboard staff specified in the franchise terms, and are these numbers actually set a high enough level to cover summer holidays?

It is a problem on the West, and that is where the majority of cancellations (Sunday aside) are happening this year.  Last year it was mainly HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) routes where the vast majority of training has now concluded.

[TaplowGreen]

If anyone fancies helping to redress the balance there are plenty of opportunities. This one is for East but there are others across the regions.

At 60k + a year I'm not surprised they're not interested in overtime (roughly twice what a staff nurse gets paid, and they have to work Sundays!)

https://g.co/kgs/okgAXR

[a-driver]

If anyone fancies helping to redress the balance there are plenty of opportunities. This one is for East but there are others across the regions.

At 60k + a year I'm not surprised they're not interested in overtime (roughly twice what a staff nurse gets paid, and they have to work Sundays!)

https ://g.co/kgs/okgAXR

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have recently increased some aspects of overtime payments in order to entice drivers to work their rest days.
Whilst there may still be vacancies in the East at depots like Reading you’d need assurances on job security and future work once CrossRail takes over.  That potentially is enough to put some drivers  off
There is the depot establishment which states how many drivers each depot needs to cover the work allocated to that depot. The majority of the depots are over established. In other words they have too many drivers.  All depots must be fully established when the franchise changes hands.
It’s also worth noting GWR isn’t strictly a franchise. First are running the operation on the instruction of the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about).  This arrangement is likely to be extended when the current agreement runs out in March 2020

[TaplowGreen]

Cancelled or drastically foreshortened....Entire Liskeard-Looe branch gone until midday....on Bank Holiday weekend...;

06:34 Basingstoke to Reading due 06:57
06:38 Looe to Liskeard due 07:03
07:13 Gloucester to Worcester Shrub Hill due 07:53
07:14 Liskeard to Looe due 07:45
07:46 Looe to Liskeard due 08:14
08:15 London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa due 10:22
08:17 Liskeard to Looe due 08:48
08:51 Looe to Liskeard due 09:22
09:10 Worcester Shrub Hill to Westbury due 11:36
09:56 Liskeard to Looe due 10:25
10:18 Penzance to Plymouth due 12:27
10:27 Looe to Liskeard due 10:56
10:35 London Paddington to Paignton due 14:10
11:00 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington due 13:07
11:10 Liskeard to Looe due 11:41
11:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 13:14
11:42 Looe to Liskeard due 12:11
13:00 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington due 15:06
14:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 15:41
16:15 London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa due 18:22
16:55 Penzance to Plymouth due 19:02
18:23 Plymouth to Gunnislake due 19:09
19:00 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington due 21:06
19:13 Gunnislake to Plymouth due 19:58
20:23 Par to Newquay due 21:15
21:18 Newquay to Plymouth due 23:13

05:24 Bristol Temple Meads to Plymouth due 08

06:50 Portsmouth Harbour to Brighton
08:45 London Paddington to Pembroke Dock due 14:12
11:03 London Paddington to Penzance due 16:18
11:28 Newquay to London Paddington due 16:31
12:03 London Paddington to Penzance due 17:12
13:08 Paignton to London Paddington due 17:00
14:50 Paignton to London Paddington due 18:16
14:55 Pembroke Dock to London Paddington due 20:30
15:22 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 17:58
18:22 London Paddington to Hereford due 21:35
20:42 Plymouth to Penzance due 22:45
22:05 St Ives to Penzance due 22:30

[bobm]

The list was longer.

Earlier the final train of the day from Penzance to London Paddington was cancelled throughout.  It has now been re-instated.

[grahame]

Cancelled or drastically foreshortened....Entire Liskeard-Looe branch gone until midday....on Bank Holiday weekend...;

Losses Liskeard to Looe
Gap in the Gunnislakes
No Night (final) service to Newquay

A big problem is the aftermath of cancellations.  Its not just on the effect on the day - it's also the effect on the passengers (or rather) potential passengers in loss of confidence in a reliable service.   I have no figures - and indeed the damage is immediate but recovery is gradual and there's no point at which we can say "it's now back to what it should be".  But I speculate:
Cancel a significant part of. service (late notice) for a day ... and it will take a week to recover 90%
Cancel a significant part of. service (late notice) for a week ... and it will take a month to recover 90%
Cancel a significant part of. service (late notice) for a month ... and it will take a year to recover 90%

[NickB]

+ knock on effect on tourism confidence and subsequent local revenue.

[Wizard]

It makes me sad to see such a list. Just to think of all the people who’s journeys have been disrupted and won’t try again.

[Timmer]

+ knock on effect on tourism confidence and subsequent local revenue.

It’s a great shame that the ‘holiday lines’ are the ones bearing the brunt of the cancellations/part cancelled services with Cornwall particularly affected.

Sad to also see The Pembroke Coast Express not making it to Pembroke and it’s return service.