Total Weekend Closure of Reading 14-15 October

[whole diary]

[grahame]

I guess that it why there is an arrangement with OBC to use their coach service between Oxford and London, although that will require people to walk to/from Gloucester Green. Although I have only seen this from OBC twitter not GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)!

Is it an arrangement, or is it marketing by the Oxford Bus Company looking to demonstrate their product to potential customers - railway keeps the fare.   If it is such a demo, then the separation of Gloucester Green from Oxford Station is a good thing, as it'll be passengers to / from Oxford more than long distance ones who will try the bus.

[TaplowGreen]

I guess if all else fails people can spend their time usefully watching the "Famous Five" advert whilst waiting for 3 hours in a queue for a replacement bus?

[Timmer]

Good to see the Famous Five have been removed off the first image that appears on the front page of the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) website to be replaced with a much larger 'Orange army' image and better informed headline about this weekend's work. Should have been done a week ago.

[didcotdean]

Is it an arrangement, or is it marketing by the Oxford Bus Company looking to demonstrate their product to potential customers - railway keeps the fare.   If it is such a demo, then the separation of Gloucester Green from Oxford Station is a good thing, as it'll be passengers to / from Oxford more than long distance ones who will try the bus.

I think you are right that the lack of mention of this by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) could indicate that this is in reality a competitive initiative by OBC to gain future business on their coaches by in effect giving people a free ride (from their perspective) this weekend. Their message is somewhat ambiguous as to whether it applies to all rail tickets or just ones specifically Oxford-London only.

[Timmer]

Is it an arrangement, or is it marketing by the Oxford Bus Company looking to demonstrate their product to potential customers - railway keeps the fare.   If it is such a demo, then the separation of Gloucester Green from Oxford Station is a good thing, as it'll be passengers to / from Oxford more than long distance ones who will try the bus.

I think you are right that the lack of mention of this by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) could indicate that this is in reality a competitive initiative by OBC to gain future business on their coaches by in effect giving people a free ride (from their perspective) this weekend. Their message is somewhat ambiguous as to whether it applies to all rail tickets or just ones specifically Oxford-London only.

Then I guess you could then also claim a refund on your rail ticket afterwards as well.

[Timmer]

Chiltern are saying this on their website. Already recognising that, even with extra seats, they aren't likely to be enough of them.

Network Rail will conduct emergency electrification works in the Reading area over the weekend of 14-15 October 2017.

Although the Chiltern network will not see closures, this will still have an impact on the route particularly on the Oxford-London Marylebone line, including services at stations between Haddenham and Thame Parkway and London where these trains call.

We have added 8684 extra seats over the weekend to manage demand, however, Chiltern Railways will be the only route between Oxford and London this weekend so services are expected to be busy.  In addition, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services from the west country are planned to terminate at Oxford which will lead to increased passenger flows through this location.  Queuing systems will be in place at Oxford and London Marylebone; please leave extra time for your journey.

Customers travelling to/from Bicester are encouraged to use Bicester North station.  Customers travelling to/from Haddenham & Thame, Princes Risborough and High Wycombe are asked to avoid trains calling at Oxford for a more comfortable journey.

Customers travelling from Northolt Park or South Ruislip are encouraged to travel from Gerrards Cross station.

Customers travelling to London Marylebone from Bicester Village, may be required to board shuttle buses from Bicester Village station to Bicester North station, for trains into London Marylebone.

As well as the above there is also a sporting event at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 14 October. Customers returning to Oxford, Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Haddenham & Thame Parkway, South Ruislip, West Ruislip and Northolt Park, may have to wait longer for their return journey after the game.

On Saturday a reduced service will operate on the Marylebone - Amersham - Aylesbury line during the afternoon and evening. Additionally, during this period, buses will replace trains between Aylesbury and Aylesbury Vale Parkway.

Well done to Chiltern for stepping in at such short notice. I'm sure the taxpayer Network Rail will well compensate them for their efforts in helping to mitigate the inconvenience caused. Gosh they even provide revised timetables pdfs, something GWR stopped doing a long time ago.

[grahame]

From Wales Online this morning - though I have seen similar wording elsewhere.

Trains between south Wales and London will be suspended this weekend for what is thought to be the first time ever, because Network Rail is undertaking "emergency engineering work" at Reading.

My bolding.

To me, the term "emergency engineering work" means that there's a problem such that trains wouldn't be able to run properly within the very short term if the works weren't done.  And I see / hear no evidence for that to be the case. What we have is "engineering works that are part of a longer term upgrade plan added to the schedule at short notice in order to keep that longer term upgrade on schedule".  Of course, that doesn't have a soundbite ring to it. Not sure what I would say to keep it shorter - "Additional unforeseen engineering requirements"?

[ChrisB]

To me, that term means work scheduled within a couple of weeks of the date, and not in the 'diary' of planned works. ie emergency scheduling was necessary at (very) short notice.

[Western Pathfinder]

Package on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Points West in Breakfast this morning ,which was the first time that I had heard mention of this on the local news, however the works were being referred to as happening at Didcot Parkway
Can anyone shed some light ?.

[PhilWakely]

Just had it confirmed by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) that their tickets will be honoured by Chiltern between Oxford and London Marylebone over the weekend.

Not sure whether this has been mentioned back up the thread, but it should be noted that South Western Railway will NOT be allowing travel between Exeter/Salisbury and Waterloo for anybody with Advance tickets from the South West this weekend.

[Timmer]

I guess it could be deemed an 'emergency' from the point of view of someone's job if electric services through Reading don't start on time. Though in these days of total lack of accountability for when things go wrong/delays etc, I doubt it.

[IanL]

I was at Paddington on Tuesday evening waiting for the last Cotswold line train of the evening, or rather waiting for the platform announcement to be made, the information points had no information about this at all, the info tv screens were advertising various sunday closures in the bristol and cardiff areas, but not a single screen with the reading closure information, There may have been posters elsewhere but I didn't see any by the ticket office or the two information points (which were unattended)

[IndustryInsider]

Not sure about the screens at Paddington but there’s been frequent (and very loud!) announcements about it.

[stuving]

I was wondering when the "big media" (if they still count as that) of the TV and national press would take notice. I was expecting what usually happens; in effect to wait until it's imminent and then say "shock horror chaos - and no notice!". The fact that they would have been the best way to provide that notice earlier doesn't work on them, because it's not new before it is chaos.

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) South were doing just that this morning, going so far as to say "no trains through Reading as emergency work is announced". That (and the phrase a few days' notice) certainly leaves the impression it was announced yesterday, not a week before. Of course NR^» (Network Rail - home page) has only a limited scope for directly informing the public, since it's GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) who run the trains (or try to cope if they can't) and have the machinery in place for giving that information. Maybe GWR could have got the news out quicker, but I can see that they had a big problem trying to improvise a set of plans and work out at what stage those plans were fixed and could be announced.

There was a guy from NR saying on-screen it was better to screw up this weekend than put off everything that depends on the juice running. But it was a brief quote, with no explanation; it was Paul Clifton who explained it was a mess, and due to the earlier weekend's work not being completed then.

[stuving]

At Reading yesterday there were several posters at the entrance, though just the standard poster-board size, and on walls that are a bit to one side not where you are looking. They are, however, quite eye-catching. But should its headline not say "no trains from Reading to anywhere much"?

There were stand-up boards upstairs on the deck, but they had NR^» (Network Rail - home page) warning posters about the electrics being live. There was also a line of text, only on the platform displays (where it isn't shown most of the time) - but that referred to emergency works and an "amended timetable", which is a bit of an understatement.