IETs into passenger service from 16 Oct 2017 and subsequent performance issues

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Journey check is not that reliable but should give some idea of the actual position.

To be honest it’s not even accurate enough to give you some idea.  I’ve just checked the next 5 arrivals/departures at Paddington listed as short formed and according to the unit allocations all are in fact 9 or 10 cars.  This includes the 16:33 and 18:33 to the WoE.

[BBM]

1A88 12:04 PNZ-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) has apparently failed at Westbury so that might affect unit availability in this evening's peak.

[Trowres]

1A88 presumably diverted into Wesbury and offloaded passengers, as it's now passing Lavington as ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) to Paddington.

[a-driver]

Journey check is not that reliable but should give some idea of the actual position.

To be honest it’s not even accurate enough to give you some idea.  I’ve just checked the next 5 arrivals/departures at Paddington listed as short formed and according to the unit allocations all are in fact 9 or 10 cars.  This includes the 16:33 and 18:33 to the WoE.

I think JourneyCheck may be correct at the start of service..... and then the juggling takes place and sets that are out of traffic may come good during the day.

[BBM]

Very sadly there's a PHBT near Slough so everything's come to a standstill anyway.

[jamestheredengine]

Latest installment of the mess that is 1B46 last night. I hesitated to post this, as the poor GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) employee on the ground was clearly doing his best and even gave me a £5 drinks voucher (I must have developed a very good disappointed face); but he had been put, far from atypically, in an impossible situation by his superiors, and they deserve having this posted where Mark Hopwood can read it.

Started off with two very bad signs. First, Murco had decided to run their rush-hour-wrecking Theale to Robeston oil empties (this path doesn't work and should be retimed), which had entirely predictably made it quarter of an hour late. Secondly, it was in the worst possible 5+5 formation: First Class in carriages 4, 5, 6, and 7 (this really should be avoided).

So obviously, I didn't want to sit in carriages 4 or 7, as the horrible composite design just means that you continually get passengers traipsing through between Standard and the end vestibule. I also did not want to sit in carriage 6, as all but a handful of the seats are backwards. So carriage 5 it had to be.

We then got the predictable fun of the staff trying to direct Standard Class passengers towards the ends of the train, morons who don't listen trying to enter the kitchen. There was also the minor annoyance of a noisy pram, made worse by even noisier older sibling. (A second noisy pram then joined at Bridgend.) But the design defect of putting the accessible space in the end carriage is a fairly minor one to my mind – I can be head down in a book pretty quickly.

We then got the textbook example of hiding in the kitchen. Yep, no First Class trolley on a main peak train on a Friday night. Stunning. So I banged on the door at Bridgend, in the hope of getting a packet of nuts and buying a gin and tonic. The poor guy in there turned out to have been left on his own, was in some despair at quite how busy a train this was west of Cardiff, and had basically given up. He couldn't sell me a gin, as he'd cashed up early; so I made do with the explosive sparking water, specially shaken up by the gremlins in the bottling plant.

I'd clearly managed to incite a minor outburst of anarchy (aka queuing at the kitchen door accompanied by assorted tutting)  from the other First Class passengers from Cardiff at this point. Oops.

To the guy's credit (or at least to my disappointed face's), I was pleasantly surprised to be handed a £5 drinks voucher somewhere one side or other of Port Talbot. A nice gesture to set right a fairly rubbish journey.

So I'm really only posting about this performance issue to draw attention to the inadequate performance of the people who roster the catering staff: 1B46 1445 Paddington to Swansea is clearly understaffed, and this underlies the continual failures to provide the advertised service on what becomes a very busy train west of Cardiff. The staffing levels may be just about okay if it were a 9-car, rather than a 5+5 – perhaps the easiest zero-cost solution for GWR would be to swap the sets diagrammed for the 1415 and 1445.

[FarWestJohn]

Question? Anyone have ideas on what the I in IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) stands for? After many journeys it definitely does not stand for Inter city. Today on the 1500 from Penzance I was in the rear unit of a 10 car and it was dirty, the carpets were stained, noticeable vibration and rattles, plus the never ending announcements were continually repeating and sounding like in an echo chamber therefore they were gibberish and incomprehensible. Have not had that one before. Really pleased when I could get off that is the best part of and IET journey. One good point, there was a trolley.
I find it difficult to believe these are modern and we are stuck with electro diesel multiple units for the next 27 years on long distance routes.
Pleasant journey on the bus home after the train trip. Friendly driver, big windows that were easy to see out, choice of tables, sensible height fairly comfortable seats and practical announcements -- Next stop XX and arriving XX.

[rogerw]

I suggest that member Broadgage would say it stands for inadequate.

[BBM]

In the last 2 weeks I've made 3 return trips by IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) between RDG^‡(resolve) and PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains), and all 6 trains had dirty windows and carpets. Today I went from KGX to Doncaster and back by Azuma^▸ (Brand name for Class 80x trains on LNER) and I almost felt I was on a completely different type of train, both of them were spotless inside and out. However not everything is rosy in LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) land - on my return journey, the Azuma on a preceding service failed at Newark causing a backlog of trains which meant I had a 30-minute late arrival back in London.

[broadgage]

Sister was recently on an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) that failed, with everyone ordered off to await a following train.
There was some light hearted discussion between the driver and other GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff as to what exactly was wrong with the train. The consensus reached was "heatstroke"

[IndustryInsider]

Though with very warm temperatures today the service generally, specifically IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) and 387s, seemed to hold up as well as (or, some might suggest, better than) it used to with HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) and Turbos.

[Robin Summerhill]

In the last 2 weeks I've made 3 return trips by IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) between RDG^‡(resolve) and PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains), and all 6 trains had dirty windows and carpets. Today I went from KGX to Doncaster and back by Azuma^▸ (Brand name for Class 80x trains on LNER) and I almost felt I was on a completely different type of train, both of them were spotless inside and out. However not everything is rosy in LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) land - on my return journey, the Azuma on a preceding service failed at Newark causing a backlog of trains which meant I had a 30-minute late arrival back in London.

When I as on one on Friday last week between Newark and KGX I got the impression that the seats were even harder than on "ours!"

They do of course have an onboard "shop," which if introduced by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) might go some way towards cheering up Broadguage...

[IndustryInsider]

They are the same seats!  Nothing more to say. 

[Robin Summerhill]

They are the same seats!  Nothing more to say. 

Well yes - but the thing about impressions is that they don't necessarily reflect the actuality

Perhaps I just sat in an exceptionally over-used one...

[grahame]

From GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) on Facebook, 2 hours ago.

https://www.facebook.com/gwruk/photos/a.10150211411466806/10156150613126806/?type=3&theater

If you’re leaving @GlastoFest today we do have extra trains running. You can wash your wellies at Castle Cary station before boarding and shoe covers are available if you need them to help keep our trains clean and comfortable for everyone.

I can't imagine there being too much mud this year ...

Nice to know they have staff to run extra trains but not the regular ones in their contract ... (reference to loss of entire morning's TransWilts services due to lack of staff)