Shortage of train crews on Great Western Railway - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

Posted on Journeycheck:

Please be advised that train services will be severely affected on Sunday 15th December due to a shortage of train crew.
Many services between London and South Wales, as well as London and Cornwall, will be amended. Trains will terminate short of their destination, with services also likely to be cancelled, with trains that do run to their intended destination expected to be extremely busy.
If you are planning to travel today you are advised to check travel plans before embarking on your journey, and if your journey is absolutely necessary you are urged to travel as early as you possibly can.
We apologies for the inconvenience that this will cause.

[broadgage]

Better to give warning than not, but yet again the message is "train travel is unreliable"

Whilst "check before you travel" is sound advice, it is of little help to those who have booked airline tickets, hotel accommodation, or purchased tickets for events.

One may see why certain political figures campaigned against the building of the proposed new arena in central Bristol, "because events are planned far in advance, without knowing if the trains will be running on the day"

If a previous posting is accurate (and I have no reason to doubt it) Another feature of the new trains is revealed in that todays downgraded service is planned not around passengers but around Hitachi to prevent them "having an excuse to short form tomorrow"
I don't recall this ever happening with proper inter city trains, progress I know but still regrettable.

[CarolineCummins]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Twitter response seems to consist of "Sorry, we've got a crew shortage, you can catch the next train"

Interesting also that they are advising that they are "trying to source" road transport - they've known that this was going to happen for days, if not longer - why was this, at the very least, not put in place in a timely fashion?

Many of you know that I manage the relationship between GWR and the Coffee Shop and I thought it would be helpful to give you an idea of where we are today.
 
I can’t respond to every comment on here but recognise the issues being flagged about Sunday availability of crews. Any cancellation is not acceptable but we have been working hard to get Sundays included in the working week for all GWR colleagues with some progress but we recognise there is more to do.

Regular contributors will be aware of what we are doing to bring Sunday into the working week for all staff. The issue is absolutely understood and the evidence shows the new contracts we introduced last year are  having a positive impact on the overall service, although we recognise that is no consolation to anyone impacted today. The timetable itself is working well, but it doesn't insulate us against the challenges any train operator faces on a day to day basis. We are running the majority of services today and current ppm is over 90%.

Most of the short notice cancellations today relate to work at our Swansea depot which has historically not been a place we have recorded many issues.  This is due to the availability of Swansea drivers with the relevant route knowledge to run services on the Vale of Glamorgan diversionary route.
 
We are trying to reduce the impact where possible and your contributors have mentioned some of these activities.
 
We have plans to continue minimise the impact in the short term and to address the issue in the longer term.

[Wizard]

As Bristol and Paddington drivers also drive Swansea trains, perhaps they could learn via the VoG line for situations such as this?

[IndustryInsider]

I can’t respond to every comment on here but recognise the issues being flagged about Sunday availability of crews. Any cancellation is not acceptable but we have been working hard to get Sundays included in the working week for all GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) colleagues with some progress but we recognise there is more to do.

Regular contributors will be aware of what we are doing to bring Sunday into the working week for all staff. The issue is absolutely understood and the evidence shows the new contracts we introduced last year are  having a positive impact on the overall service, although we recognise that is no consolation to anyone impacted today.

Is it possible to have an update from GWR as to whether the additional staff and required negotiations with the unions for Sundays in the working week for the two driving grades GWR and HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) (not the 'committed Sundays' agreements that are already in place for GWR grade drivers) are expected to be concluded in time for a commencement date of next December, which was the original target?

[grahame]

Many of you know that I manage the relationship between GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and the Coffee Shop and I thought it would be helpful to give you an idea of where we are today.

That is hugely helpful, Caroline - thank you.  I have just come back from Melksham Station - intent was just to pick up some tickets but, my goodness, busy with people congregating for the 12:52 to Swindon and all's running (though that one a little late).  Good to see the signs all updated too, to reflect the new timetable.

Whilst we should not / cannot make light of the issues, there are also many lines which are running ... a gent on his way to Gatwick (with the brightest green fluorescent suitcase I have even seen!) and I was able to advise him "fine to Swindon, a bit thin today from there to Reading compared to normal, and then as per timetable pretty well to Gatwick".  He's defensive- scheduled / overnight in a hotel and flying first thing tomorrow, so very laid back.

[CarolineCummins]

As Bristol and Paddington drivers also drive Swansea trains, perhaps they could learn via the VoG line for situations such as this?

Paddington and Bristol drivers would ideally sign Vale of Glamorgan but they can’t as there is not enough work for them to retain their route knowledge and for Paddington drivers it would probably exceed the maximum driving time allowed.

[CarolineCummins]

I can’t respond to every comment on here but recognise the issues being flagged about Sunday availability of crews. Any cancellation is not acceptable but we have been working hard to get Sundays included in the working week for all GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) colleagues with some progress but we recognise there is more to do.

Regular contributors will be aware of what we are doing to bring Sunday into the working week for all staff. The issue is absolutely understood and the evidence shows the new contracts we introduced last year are  having a positive impact on the overall service, although we recognise that is no consolation to anyone impacted today.

Is it possible to have an update from GWR as to whether the additional staff and required negotiations with the unions for Sundays in the working week for the two driving grades GWR and HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) (not the 'committed Sundays' agreements that are already in place for GWR grade drivers) are expected to be concluded in time for a commencement date of next December, which was the original target?

As far as negotiations are concerned we are not able to share details of this for wider discussion until we have done a deal.  We will, of course, keep you informed when a deal is confirmed.

[CarolineCummins]

Many of you know that I manage the relationship between GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and the Coffee Shop and I thought it would be helpful to give you an idea of where we are today.

That is hugely helpful, Caroline - thank you.  I have just come back from Melksham Station - intent was just to pick up some tickets but, my goodness, busy with people congregating for the 12:52 to Swindon and all's running (though that one a little late).  Good to see the signs all updated too, to reflect the new timetable.

Whilst we should not / cannot make light of the issues, there are also many lines which are running ... a gent on his way to Gatwick (with the brightest green fluorescent suitcase I have even seen!) and I was able to advise him "fine to Swindon, a bit thin today from there to Reading compared to normal, and then as per timetable pretty well to Gatwick".  He's defensive- scheduled / overnight in a hotel and flying first thing tomorrow, so very laid back.

Thank you Graham, really good to hear things are going well at Melksham and glad you were able to update the gentleman travelling to Gatwick.

[IndustryInsider]

As far as negotiations are concerned we are not able to share details of this for wider discussion until we have done a deal.  We will, of course, keep you informed when a deal is confirmed.

Thank you.  I wasn't asking for any details other than whether it is still expected (or hoped) to be resolved as planned for next December.  We face another summer of significant cancellations on Sundays next year sadly - my feeling is that any extra staff numbers will be outweighed by the additional trains in the timetable - but hopefully that will be the last one if a deal can be done in time.

[Wizard]

As Bristol and Paddington drivers also drive Swansea trains, perhaps they could learn via the VoG line for situations such as this?

Paddington and Bristol drivers would ideally sign Vale of Glamorgan but they can’t as there is not enough work for them to retain their route knowledge and for Paddington drivers it would probably exceed the maximum driving time allowed.

Isn’t that the same situation as Lydney though? Some drivers at Bristol and some at Paddington sign that for Severn Tunnel diversions, despite the fact there is normally no booked work. A driver refreshing Lydney could probably refresh Vale of Glamorgan on the same shift.

[CarolineCummins]

As far as negotiations are concerned we are not able to share details of this for wider discussion until we have done a deal.  We will, of course, keep you informed when a deal is confirmed.

Thank you.  I wasn't asking for any details other than whether it is still expected (or hoped) to be resolved as planned for next December.  We face another summer of significant cancellations on Sundays next year sadly - my feeling is that any extra staff numbers will be outweighed by the additional trains in the timetable - but hopefully that will be the last one if a deal can be done in time.

We hope that it will be concluded as soon as possible.

[CarolineCummins]

As Bristol and Paddington drivers also drive Swansea trains, perhaps they could learn via the VoG line for situations such as this?

Paddington and Bristol drivers would ideally sign Vale of Glamorgan but they can’t as there is not enough work for them to retain their route knowledge and for Paddington drivers it would probably exceed the maximum driving time allowed.

Isn’t that the same situation as Lydney though? Some drivers at Bristol and some at Paddington sign that for Severn Tunnel diversions, despite the fact there is normally no booked work. A driver refreshing Lydney could probably refresh Vale of Glamorgan on the same shift.

It’s different for Lydney as half of the Lydney route is on the regular route to Cheltenham, which makes route refreshing much easier.  The Vale of Glamorgan is much further from London and therefore more difficult for drivers to maintain competency within their booked hours.  It is worth noting that there are significant differences in the signalling layout on the two routes – the Vale of Glamorgan is more complex.

[TaplowGreen]

As far as negotiations are concerned we are not able to share details of this for wider discussion until we have done a deal.  We will, of course, keep you informed when a deal is confirmed.

Thank you.  I wasn't asking for any details other than whether it is still expected (or hoped) to be resolved as planned for next December.  We face another summer of significant cancellations on Sundays next year sadly - my feeling is that any extra staff numbers will be outweighed by the additional trains in the timetable - but hopefully that will be the last one if a deal can be done in time.

We hope that it will be concluded as soon as possible.

I'm sure we all echo that sentiment, but it'll take more than hope! 

[old original]

Stretching the definition of reinstated.......

16:03 London Paddington to Penzance due 21:06

16:03 London Paddington to Penzance due 21:06 will be reinstated.
It will be started from Exeter St Davids and terminated at Plymouth.
It will no longer call at London Paddington, Reading, Taunton, Tiverton Parkway, Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Par, St Austell, Truro, Redruth, Camborne, St Erth and Penzance.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Will be formed of 2 coaches instead of 5.