Shortage of train crews on Great Western Railway - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

In addition to staff shortages and train failures there's flooding in Devon and several points failures (which are now starting to look endemic) to add to the fun for the start of the new week - good luck to anyone travelling today.

[grahame]

In addition to staff shortages and train failures there's flooding in Devon and several points failures (which are now starting to look endemic) to add to the fun for the start of the new week - good luck to anyone travelling today.

Looking better now ...

Cancellations to services between Plymouth and Totnes

Following a river flooding the railway between Plymouth and Totnes all lines have now reopened.

Train services running through these stations will be cancelled or delayed by up to 60 minutes. Disruption is expected until 14:00 19/12.

Customer Advice
**CUSTOMER ADVICE TO NOT TRAVEL HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN - lines have reopened.**

[TaplowGreen]

A fair number of full/part cancellations today and an early finish generally for anyone planning a night out - whatever you are doing, have a good one and a better 2023 when hopefully the railways will sort themselves out....

[grahame]

... and a better 2023 when hopefully the railways will sort themselves out....

They're not starting well. One hopes the old way is up from this

Cancellations

Sun, 1 January 07:52 London Paddington to Penzance due 13:32
Sun, 1 January 08:15 Penzance to London Paddington due 13:20
Sun, 1 January 08:33 London Paddington to Swansea due 11:29
Sun, 1 January 09:12 Plymouth to London Paddington due 12:24
Sun, 1 January 09:33 London Paddington to Swansea due 12:22
Sun, 1 January 09:35 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa due 10:36
Sun, 1 January 10:03 London Paddington to Penzance due 15:15
Sun, 1 January 10:03 Bristol Parkway to London Paddington due 11:20
Sun, 1 January 10:36 Paignton to London Paddington due 13:53
Sun, 1 January 10:36 London Paddington to Newton Abbot due 13:26
Sun, 1 January 10:46 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 13:16
Sun, 1 January 11:03 London Paddington to Plymouth due 14:12
Sun, 1 January 12:23 Swansea to London Paddington due 15:09
Sun, 1 January 12:36 London Paddington to Paignton due 15:49
Sun, 1 January 13:03 London Paddington to Plymouth due 16:15
Sun, 1 January 13:23 Swansea to London Paddington due 16:10
Sun, 1 January 13:31 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa due 14:32
Sun, 1 January 13:56 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 16:29
Sun, 1 January 14:03 London Paddington to Penzance due 19:05
Sun, 1 January 14:13 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington due 16:24
Sun, 1 January 14:15 Plymouth to London Paddington due 17:24
Sun, 1 January 14:36 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids due 17:01
Sun, 1 January 15:01 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington due 16:59
Sun, 1 January 15:03 London Paddington to Plymouth due 18:13

01/01/23 15:03 London Paddington to Plymouth due 18:13 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Short runs

Sun, 1 January 08:27 Plymouth to London Paddington due 11:59
Sun, 1 January 08:51 London Paddington to Penzance due 14:06
Sun, 1 January 09:46 London Paddington to Hereford due 13:00
Sun, 1 January 10:18 Penzance to London Paddington due 15:24
Sun, 1 January 10:54 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington due 12:59
Sun, 1 January 11:45 Bristol Temple Meads to Penzance due 16:28
Sun, 1 January 12:03 London Paddington to Penzance due 17:05
Sun, 1 January 13:46 London Paddington to Hereford due 16:59
Sun, 1 January 14:18 Penzance to London Paddington due 19:24
Sun, 1 January 14:46 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 17:16
Sun, 1 January 15:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 16:36
Sun, 1 January 15:18 Penzance to London Paddington due 20:41
Sun, 1 January 15:23 Swansea to London Paddington due 18:10

01/01/23 15:23 Swansea to London Paddington due 18:10 will be started from Cardiff Central.
It will no longer call at Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot Parkway and Bridgend.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[TaplowGreen]

"Utterly shambolic" is being generous....what a start to 2023 - almost 200 full/part cancellations listed already with virtually no alternatives provided.......

Due to a shortage of train crew:

Train services running across the whole Great Western Railway network have been cancelled or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Customer Advice
.
Due to the combination of reduced staff availability, the ongoing industrial action and severely reduced contingency options, intending customers are advised to find alternative ways to make their journey today.
.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please, only travel by train if absolutely necessary on Sunday 1 January.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
.
Trains will be very severely disrupted with a significantly reduced level of service throughout the day and there are likely to be further short notice alterations, cancellations and revisions to services. Some routes will experience consecutive train service cancellations / alterations. This will especially be the case on train services between London Paddington and the West Country (& return) and also along the Swindon - Melksham - Westbury route where we do not anticipate being able to operate any level of service. Kindly note that connections cannot be guaranteed and that it may not be possible to complete certain journeys today.
.
Those trains that do operate will be extremely busy. Online journey planners will be updated on a regular basis as alterations are input into the system so if you do have to travel on Sunday, we strongly advise you check your entire journey again prior to its commencement.
.
The supplier of our replacement road transport has advised us that being New Year's Day they are unable to procure vehicles to meet our needs and have reminded us that many local bus routes will themselves be operating to much reduced service levels. Our ability to offer contingency service provision in the vast majority of areas is remote so we are very unlikely to be able to offer any alternative road transport or supporting facilities.
.
If it assists in making your journey today GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) ticket holders may use CrossCountry services via any reasonable route but note that CrossCountry themselves are also having to amend their services.
.
We sincerely apologise for the significant disruption, and any changes this has brought to your travel plans today.

[Timmer]

Now up to 149 cancellations and 48 altered services. New Years Day falling on a Sunday and industrial action. The perfect storm.

Trying to travel to/from the Southwest of England today by train looks horrendous. What’s actually left running is going to be absolutely packed.

[a-driver]

Industrial action?  I wasn’t aware of any industrial action taking place today.

[grahame]

Industrial action?  I wasn’t aware of any industrial action taking place today.

I would agree with you.  There seems to be a propaganda war going on ... the system is failing to deliver a reliable service as planned, and I look to many parties for joint responsibility, but see each of them pointing at someone else.  Let's hope they can get their heads together very, very soon and sort out this mess ...

[Timmer]

Industrial action?  I wasn’t aware of any industrial action taking place today.

Overtime ban?

[GBM]

Totally agree.
Unfortunately the finger pointing is also going on between train operating companies and the Department for Transport.
The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) are being told what they can pay by the Government who seem determined to sit this one out.
Not sure if the general public appreciate the Government are controlling this.
From what I've seen on this forum, the attrition is more to do with 'conditions' and less with pay.
I would not want any more creepage of driver only operations anywhere.  Indeed, would prefer a reduction in DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)).
Ticket offices need to be staffed wherever possible, not cut back.
I'm also sure there are other 'conditions' in the new contracts which would be detrimental to staff.

[a-driver]

Industrial action?  I wasn’t aware of any industrial action taking place today.

Overtime ban?

Is an overtime ban really industrial action?  What you have is essentially staff working their contracted/rostered hours.

i can see this unfortunately going on for at least another year.  If the government aren’t prepared to sit down with NHS staff then us rail staff haven’t got a hope at present.
What I think also hampers progress is the government and RDG^‡(resolve) are negotiating with the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) covering all TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company). You would probably find progress would be a lot quicker if the individual TOCs were free to negotiate with the RMT. If you dropped some of the conditions, namely DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)), a blanket closure of all tickets offices and the Sunday working proposals, you would probably find a 5% pay rise would be accepted.
It does need sorting urgently though. Morale is rock bottom, once that’s gone goodwill quickly vanishes well.

[Electric train]

Industrial action?  I wasn’t aware of any industrial action taking place today.

The RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) members are still on an overtime ban, this affects Network Rail Maintainers, Ops (Signallers, MOM^▸ (Mobile Operations Manager)'s etc) and ToCs so trains that require a Guard / TM^‡(resolve).

Therefore unless RMT members were rostered to work today, a Sunday, there could be a shortage of key staff, from a NR^» (Network Rail - home page) point of view the contingent cover is volunteer based with quite a large percentage on holiday over the Christmas week, also they will be needed next week from Tuesday when the NR RMT members are on strike effectively all week.

Happy (not) New Year ...................... meantime I'm sure our elected leaders are not in SW1A but have been enjoying a sunny beach somewhere

[TaplowGreen]

Totally agree.
Unfortunately the finger pointing is also going on between train operating companies and the Department for Transport.
The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) are being told what they can pay by the Government who seem determined to sit this one out.
Not sure if the general public appreciate the Government are controlling this.
From what I've seen on this forum, the attrition is more to do with 'conditions' and less with pay.
I would not want any more creepage of driver only operations anywhere.  Indeed, would prefer a reduction in DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)).
Ticket offices need to be staffed wherever possible, not cut back.
I'm also sure there are other 'conditions' in the new contracts which would be detrimental to staff.

Both/all sides need to compromise and this involves some changes in conditions - not least to resolve the ludicrous situation on Sundays.

I've said elsewhere that the arguments against DOO seem sound, but the insistence on retaining the status quo re ticket offices is absurd.

At the point of privatisation, 82% of tickets were purchased at ticket offices - they are now in inexorable decline and the figure is now around 13% - it is simply ridiculous not to reflect this and to expect their numbers to be maintained at the current or similar level.

As I've also said elsewhere, unfortunately all sides seem too entrenched and pig headed to move much - Bruvver Lynch is relishing his newly found celebrity status, whilst Government Ministers compete to demonstrate who has the largest testicles.

[Wizard]

In previous years when ‘big’ dates such as New Year’s Day have fallen on a Sunday, an enhanced rate of pay was offered. I imagine the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) put a stop to that this year, and as many traincrew have the option to not work it, they have decided not to bother this time.

[TaplowGreen]

.......given the chaos which was going on last night with the flooding near Totnes, and the meltdown which they could foresee this morning, I thought this was a nice customer service touch from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)! 

(The Twitter page proudly states "We are GWR. Here to help between 06:00 and 23:00, 7 days a week.
Let's get back on track!") Irony!