grahame
« Reply #30 on: November 26, 2017, 20:21:31 »
So on one hand we have passengers complaining that GWR▸ are pulling services to add 24 additional trains to Bath, and on the other, passengers complaining that 24 additional trains are not enough.
You have a fair point. I suspect they would get a lot more positive hearing about the cancellation of other trains if train cancellations were very rare, and notified as part of the plan. Happens for the Gold Cup and for Glastonbury ... if a train's missing from the travel planner for one Saturday and/or Sunday weeks in advance, so be it.
By the way - I think part of the (London to) Bath problem yesterday may have been a reduction of services - normally every half hour, I think they were running just once an hour?? (And I do wonder what base the '24 extra' was measured against!)
Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
Timmer
« Reply #31 on: November 26, 2017, 21:57:46 »
I too would love to know what the ‘24 extra services’ were. They weren’t counting the Swindon to Bristol shuttles were they? They always run when the line between Swindon and Didcot is closed.
Timmer
« Reply #32 on: November 26, 2017, 22:06:10 »
Not everyone necessarily has the option to take time off in the way you suggest, that's an incredibly blasé attitude.....we all know that the railways are totally unable to cope with well publicised events causing increased demand, whether it's major sporting events, Maundy Thursday etc etc, that's what needs to be addressed, not attempting a fundamental shift in customer behaviour.
Blasé maybe. However it’s been well known for a number of years that Bath cannot cope with the sheer volume of numbers who come to the Christmas market particularly at weekends. Many would know this from previous years so cannot complain if they had to queue to get on a train at the end of the day or couldn’t find a place to park.
Not often I will defend
GWR▸ , but the operation is well run at Bath Spa and well staffed. I will be critical that a number of trains were cancelled both yesterday and today due to lack of crew!
grahame
« Reply #33 on: November 26, 2017, 23:24:37 »
Not often I will defend GWR▸ , but the operation is well run at Bath Spa and well staffed. I will be critical that a number of trains were cancelled both yesterday and today due to lack of crew!
Agreed.
Silly thing about cancelling the local train on a line where expresses are running is that there is a way of killing two birds (or meeting two flows) with one stone (or train)
17:31 Penzance to London Paddington due 23:28
Stops - Trowbridge and Meksham - in the bevy of
HSTs▸ running through this weekend and the whole thing could have been done cleanly and released a further couple of crews. And we could have done some real positive marketing if planned ahead. Trains already stopping at Chippenham and Swindon, and diverted HSTs have been known to stop before. Just not today ...
Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
martyjon
« Reply #34 on: November 27, 2017, 07:13:21 »
I too would love to know what the ‘24 extra services’ were. They weren’t counting the Swindon to Bristol shuttles were they? They always run when the line between Swindon and Didcot is closed.
Probably a
'knowledgeble' reporter who logged onto
RTT» , selected
Bath Spa , deselected
WTT▸ and
VAR and counted the number of
ZULU's displayed without bothering to investigate further why there were so many extra services between Swindon and Bristol only.
Red Squirrel
Administrator
Hero Member
Posts: 5456
There are some who call me... Tim
« Reply #35 on: November 27, 2017, 11:18:23 »
For how many more years will we be told "manana, manana"?
although I do wonder when "Manana, manana" etc etc is going to end
the constant "manana manana"
the same as always - "Manana Manana"
What frustrates a lot of people is the "manana, manana".
.............manana, manana, manana.............
"Manana Manana"
..............one more "Manana Manana" type response and I will probably find him and insert a GWR▸ whistle somewhere painful.........
.....I heard nothing other than the usual "Manana" platitudes from the usual sources
- the GWR mantra is always "Manana Manana" -
" and numerous variations of "Manana Manana" by First/GWR/the railways/TG for years,
Sharon, I think that bloke with a speech impediment wants a banana!
Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
JayMac
« Reply #37 on: November 27, 2017, 14:28:49 »
Me too! Although that link isn't working for me. So...
VIDEO
"A clear conscience laughs at a false accusation."
Sixty3Closure
« Reply #38 on: November 27, 2017, 18:56:17 »
A bit like TG i've long given up on believing in manana manana but I did have a vague hope that the service would stop getting worse which is what seems to be currently happening. Short formed train going in today from Twyford to Paddington and this evening two of the very few fast services home to Twyford cancelled.
johnneyw
« Reply #39 on: November 27, 2017, 19:44:05 »
A bit like TG i've long given up on believing in manana manana but I did have a vague hope that the service would stop getting worse which is what seems to be currently happening. Short formed train going in today from Twyford to Paddington and this evening two of the very few fast services home to Twyford cancelled.
Are we seeing the consequences of earlier forum discussions about
GWR▸ having to relinquish rolling stock before delayed cascaded stock replaces them?
grahame
« Reply #40 on: November 27, 2017, 20:07:54 »
A bit like TG i've long given up on believing in manana manana but I did have a vague hope that the service would stop getting worse which is what seems to be currently happening. Short formed train going in today from Twyford to Paddington and this evening two of the very few fast services home to Twyford cancelled.
Are we seeing the consequences of earlier forum discussions about
GWR▸ having to relinquish rolling stock before delayed cascaded stock replaces them?
We may be seeing some of that, compounded by more that usual maintenance engineers quitting to go to Hitachi at the same time.
Tight on trains, and those that are still around taking longer from being stopped for some reason to restarted.
Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
Trowres
« Reply #41 on: November 27, 2017, 20:20:43 »
... Again why do people insist on travelling to the market on a weekend? If you are that keen on visiting sheds full of expensive items, take a day off during the week when there is less people around. Much more enjoyable experience.
I did that, and went to Salisbury (which has its own shedfest) on a weekday. Much more civilised...until two sick 158 units resulted in a 35 minute journey home taking 140 minutes.
But I'm really looking forward to next year's improvement when the 158s are replaced by trains about one year younger with no inter-unit gangway. Worth all the disruption.
eightf48544
« Reply #42 on: November 28, 2017, 10:31:50 »
Not sure about jam tomorrow at the moment it seems to one step forward two steps back.
Phantom
« Reply #43 on: November 28, 2017, 12:32:09 »
The big question is whether all this pain is worth it in the long term? I think time will say it will be and in a few years the GWML▸ will have a service to be proud of - totally transformed from what we had at the start of this year in virtually every respect. Jam tomorrow is quite rightly not currently cutting it with many though!
As a commuter of over 20 years I look forward to this - but as always will believe it when I see it
broadgage
« Reply #44 on: November 28, 2017, 13:03:01 »
If those visiting the shed festival had decided to travel in the week rather than at weekends, overcrowding and delays might have been similar.
Some on this forum might then have blamed the customers for travelling on busy days.
A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.DMU▸ is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
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