Total Weekend Closure of Reading 14-15 October

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

For the Famous 5 - what a marvellous adventure with japes galore!

On a less rambunctious note, I am scheduled to work in London on the Saturday. I shall be interested(*) to find out how long the bus from Mortimer to Reading, followed by a bus from Reading to Slough and then the train into Paddington will take.

Technically they will get me from A to B and possibly even back to A again, but that's still not likely to be what I would expect for north of nine grand a year.

(*) probably not, really.

You may be better off changing at Reading for a train to Waterloo which is unaffected by the blockade. Be interesting once the journey planner is finally updated which route is going to be quickest for you.

I don't know why GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are not mentioning services are running to Waterloo for customers travelling to London from Reading on the page which gives details of this late notice blockade.

[Timmer]

I've changed my Sunday afternoon PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains)-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) reservation to the 0948 on Monday 16th - no charge.

Wise move TG. Glad to see you weren't charged extra.

Looking at this in a bit more detail, it's going to be passengers travelling to/from the Southwest that will be most inconvenienced by this blockade with services starting/terminating at Theale/Newbury with no way of going any further other than on a bus.

Passengers travelling from Bristol and South Wales will have direct services to Oxford where they can change onto a Chiltern train to Marylebone. A longer journey yes but at least still all the way by train.

Feel for those who have bought tickets in Advance, don't hear about this late notice blockade and turn up to find their journey is going to be much longer and may involve a bus.

[stuving]

I don't know why GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are not mentioning services are running to Waterloo for customers travelling to London from Reading on the page which gives details of this late notice blockade.

From NRE^‡(resolve):

Start date
    14/10/2017
End date
    15/10/2017
Route affected
        All routes to and from London Waterloo
Train operator affected
    South Western Railway
Description

    Engineering work is taking place between London Waterloo and Queenstown Road, closing some lines.

    While the work is taking place, fewer trains than usual will run to and from London Waterloo.

    An amended service will run on Saturday and Sunday. The majority of services will be retimed and run with amended calling patterns.

    Some services will be amended to start / terminate at different stations than usual.

    Check before you travel:

    These changes are not currently shown in the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner, please check back nearer to the time of travel

[Timmer]

Ahhh some more late notice engineering work to throw in the mix. Currently showing on Realtime Trains as a service running every half an hour between Reading and Waterloo under the VAR indicator. Depending on when NRE^‡(resolve) posted what you have posted here stuving will determine whether what's currently showing is now correct or not.

What a way to run a railway.

[phile]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) website reporting that Journey planners should be updated by Thursday 12th two days before the blockade. I'm sure that's a worse case scenario but still not good.

Somebody might check their journey out on Wednesday so are they going to check again each following day in case things may have changed and then turn up on the day to find their plans have gone all pear shaped.

[Adelante_CCT]

Depending on when NRE^‡(resolve) posted what you have posted here stuving will determine whether what's currently showing is now correct or not.

According to the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) engineering page it has various alterations but no mention of Reading/Windsor so I'm assuming they are running as planned

[stuving]

Ahhh some more late notice engineering work to throw in the mix. Currently showing on Realtime Trains as a service running every half an hour between Reading and Waterloo under the VAR indicator. Depending on when NRE^‡(resolve) posted what you have posted here stuving will determine whether what's currently showing is now correct or not.

What a way to run a railway.

Yes, referring to "currently" in something undated is at least unhelpful, if not stupid. Timestamping the items on NRE would also help for their GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) information: they still have an old notice (with London-Oxford trains stopping at Maidenhead) as well as the new one (with London-Oxford trains not running at all).

[Timmer]

Revised train/bus times for travel on Saturday 14th are now available to view on Journey planners and sites such as Real Time Trains, Open Train Times etc.

Just one example for you: Bath-London in the main sending you to Vauxhall changing at Swindon for bus to Reading, then train to Vauxhall. Journey time around 3hr40.

OR to Paddington changing at Westbury for a train to Theale, bus to Slough, then train to Paddington. Journey time around 3hr20.

Via Oxford, which would be the way to go to avoid travelling on a bus and only one change, is not showing on Journey planners probably owing to length of journey compared to the examples shown above.

[ChrisB]

Not showing because they've not lifted the ticket restriction that prevents travel via Oxford as a valid route.

2H35 typically, changing @ Swindon & Oxford (services from Bath terminating @ Didcot). So an hour quicker, but unless they raise an easement, very few, (possibly deliberately owing to capacity, even if Chiltern ran full length, 7car trains) will realise

[Timmer]

Not showing because they've not lifted the ticket restriction that prevents travel via Oxford as a valid route.

2H35 typically, changing @ Swindon & Oxford (services from Bath terminating @ Didcot). So an hour quicker, but unless they raise an easement, very few, (possibly deliberately owing to capacity, even if Chiltern ran full length, 7car trains) will realise

Services at xx.13 past the hour from Bath are running through to Oxford with services at xx.43/46 to Didcot.

Good point about the ticket restriction. I'm sure that will change next week otherwise why would GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) run services from Bristol/South Wales through to Oxford if not to connect with Chiltern services to London?

[grahame]

Good point about the ticket restriction. I'm sure that will change next week otherwise why would GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) run services from Bristol/South Wales through to Oxford if not to connect with Chiltern services to London?

Limited turning capacity at Didcot??

[John R]

It would still be a bit perverse not to allow travel via Oxford, particularly if trains are terminating there and there is then a through service to London. 

[stuving]

Good point about the ticket restriction. I'm sure that will change next week otherwise why would GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) run services from Bristol/South Wales through to Oxford if not to connect with Chiltern services to London?

Limited turning capacity at Didcot??

And what as Crosscountry doing? Their own site says:

Engineering Work Affecting Bournemouth – Reading – Didcot Parkway

On Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 October there will be some short notice changes to train services in the Reading area.

To support Network Rail’s completion of an important part of the electrification work taking place as they invest in modernising the Great Western Main Line, CrossCountry’s train services from the Midlands and North will terminate at Didcot Parkway, where alternative road transport will be available between:

    Didcot Parkway – Reading
    Didcot Parkway – Basingstoke
    Didcot Parkway – Southampton Central (calling at Winchester)

As engineering work was already taking place between Southampton and Basingstoke, road transport was planned to be, and still is, operating on these days between:

    Winchester – Basingstoke

Oddly, that doesn't actually say what trains they are not (or are) running where. Terminating at Didcot means that XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) will monopolise platform 4, GWR use 3 and 5 (one for each route). Platforms 1&2 are not being used, for some reason I can't see - no possession booked.

The NRE^‡(resolve) page covers both XC and GWR, but the XC content is only:

CrossCountry replacement buses will run between Southampton Central and Didcot Parkway.

No mention there of the buses to Basingstoke - of course GWR are running some of them too. And with that closure to the south, at Basingstoke SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) will have buses to Eastleigh as well.

[phile]

Journey Planner offers a journey time if just under 5 hours from Cardiff to Paddington instead of 2, with 3 changes.
Train to Swindon (Swansea to Oxford) running via Gloucester, bus to Reading and then another bus to Maidenhead, changing to a train for the last straight.

[Trowres]

Birmingham-Southampton is possible by train ( on "current" information  ) with a change at Bristol Parkway, as the Cardiff-Portsmouths are starting at Parkway.

A few minutes slower than via the Didcot-Southampton bus...