2018 cancellation and amendment log

[whole diary]

[bobm]

Asks another question - is the direct train to Southampton Central now restored?

[JayMac]

Asks another question - is the direct train to Southampton Central now restored?

Funny that its become a through service today only when there's a need to cancel. Every other day this week and next it was/is two seperate services.

Looks like deliberate manipulation by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to massage cancellation statistics. One cancelled service instead of two.

[grahame]

Asks another question - is the direct train to Southampton Central now restored?

Funny that its become a through service today only when there's a need to cancel. Every other day this week and next it was/is two seperate services.

Looks like deliberate manipulation by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to massage cancellation statistics. One cancelled service instead of two.

It was showing as a change to split earlier this week on Journeycheck ... think it's entered as split as a daily change about a week ahead but has got missed at least once.  Suspect oversight not massage.

The 06:10 off Swindon used to be a joke and loss to Westbury wouldn't have been a problem except to the only user.   You're now looking at a couple of dozen passengers, and busy too (with nothing for another hour) south of Westbury - typically loads to about 60 passenger though this week (being half term) it is around 30 passengers (and it appears today, one driver!) down.

[JayMac]

It was showing as a change to split earlier this week on Journeycheck ... think it's entered as split as a daily change about a week ahead but has got missed at least once.  Suspect oversight not massage.

Poor oversight is just as bad.

Or maybe the rostering problem was known about earlier this week - couldn't find enough staff for today. So the change was made to make it a through service knowing that it was likely to be cancelled.

Whatever the reason, just one more example of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s incompetence. The truth is that it makes no difference to the inconvenienced passengers whether it's cock-up or conspiracy.

TransWilts has done a fantastic job cultivating passenger growth, despite GWR doing its best to turn people off rail travel.

Here's a thought. Overcrowding here and elsewhere was becoming a real concern of passengers. By making the service unreliable you turn folk away. Overcrowding problem goes away...

[bobm]

Looks like a train did start from Westbury to Southampton at 07:01 - it is now on its way back from Southampton to Great Malvern.

[grahame]

12:47 Swindon to Frome due 13:41
12:47 Swindon to Frome due 13:41 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Frome.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

14:04 Frome to Swindon due 15:03
14:04 Frome to Swindon due 15:03 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Frome.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

[grahame]

Here we go again ....

18:32 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
18:32 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

20:06 Swindon to Westbury due 20:49
20:06 Swindon to Westbury due 20:49 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

18 journeys in a  day ... 4 cancelled between Swindon and Westbury, and two more running short.   First train from Swindon 149 minutes after it should be, last train 84 minutes before it should be ...

[Timmer]

As these are the last trains of the day on the Transwilts, will road transport be provided?

[grahame]

As these are the last trains of the day on the Transwilts, will road transport be provided?

The 20:06 is the last train of the day ... and passengers for Melksham who request it should be offered alternative road transport  from Chippenham.   

Passengers from Swindon and Chippenham to Trowbridge and Westbury will be advised to travel via Bath Spa.   The first train after 20:06 from Swindon will be at 20:30, getting to Westbury at 21:36 (v 20:49 scheduled); passengers arriving at Swindon early for the 20:06 may not be so badly delayed, as the 20:00 from Swindon has a fast connection from Bath Spa.

Passengers from Melksham will probably need to use the help point ...

All this will of course be crystal clearly told to all prospective passengers 

Although the 18:32 is the last train on a Saturday (you may remember my tale of woe from last weekend) there is a further train northbound about an hour later.

[grahame]

It always strikes me as utterly incredible how the absence of one properly qualified person (to drive a train) can inconvenience so many, and can require so may others to help sort it out too!

[bobm]

Very late advice but the 12:47/14:04 appear to have been reinstated.

[grahame]

Very late advice but the 12:47/14:04 appear to have been reinstated.

Real Time trains says

This service was cancelled between Frome and Frome due to unknown cause ().

 

14 minute delay at Westbury - I suspect awaiting driver - but far better to run it than not.    I do worry about just how much traffic (and passenger confidence) is lost when a train is cancelled and re-instated. Taking my travel experiences over the last seven days into account, I note that some 50 years ago, Dr. B. Ching would have found these excellent times to do his passenger counts.

[Adelante_CCT]

passengers arriving at Swindon early for the 20:06 may not be so badly delayed, as the 20:00 from Swindon has a fast connection from Bath Spa.

But will passengers arriving at Swindon on the 19:00 from Paddington be provided with this info before it's too late?

[grahame]

passengers arriving at Swindon early for the 20:06 may not be so badly delayed, as the 20:00 from Swindon has a fast connection from Bath Spa.

But will passengers arriving at Swindon on the 19:00 from Paddington be provided with this info before it's too late?

Or could let them use this one as it's being diverted 

19:03 London Paddington to Penzance due 00:45
19:03 London Paddington to Penzance due 00:45 will be diverted between Reading and Taunton.
It will no longer call at Newbury.
It is being delayed between Reading and Taunton and is now expected to be 26 minutes late.
This is due to a broken down train.

Pretty unhappy tonight at Westbury - see Berks and Hants board ... just terminated a broken HST^▸ (High Speed Train) at platform 1 by the looks of things ...

[grahame]

passengers arriving at Swindon early for the 20:06 may not be so badly delayed, as the 20:00 from Swindon has a fast connection from Bath Spa.

But will passengers arriving at Swindon on the 19:00 from Paddington be provided with this info before it's too late?

Here is the advise offered ...

20:06 Swindon to Westbury due 20:49
20:06 Swindon to Westbury due 20:49 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.
Additional Information
Customers at Swindon and Chippenham travelling to Trowbridge or Westbury should travel on 20:32 Weston-super-Mare service from Swindon (20:46 from Chippenham) and change at Bath Spa for the 21:07 service towards Weymouth which calls at Trowbridge (21:28) and Westbury (21:36).

Customers travelling to Melksham should change at Chippenham and speak to station staff.

Customers at Melksham will be provided road transport from the station car park.

And that is hugely better / more thorough than information / advise I've seen before - thank you whoever added it