2018 cancellation and amendment log

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Looks like an epidemic.  Three separate diagrams ... samples from each

12:51 Great Malvern to Weymouth due 17:10
12:51 Great Malvern to Weymouth due 17:10 will be terminated at Yeovil Pen Mill.
It will no longer call at Thornford, Yetminster, Chetnole, Maiden Newton, Dorchester West, Upwey and Weymouth.
This is due to a member of on-train staff being taken ill.

17:11 Westbury to Warminster due 17:20
17:11 Westbury to Warminster due 17:20 will be cancelled.
This is due to a member of on-train staff being taken ill.

17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:17
17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:17 will be cancelled.
This is due to a member of on-train staff being taken ill.

[phile]

Looks like an epidemic.  Three separate diagrams ... samples from each

12:51 Great Malvern to Weymouth due 17:10
12:51 Great Malvern to Weymouth due 17:10 will be terminated at Yeovil Pen Mill.
It will no longer call at Thornford, Yetminster, Chetnole, Maiden Newton, Dorchester West, Upwey and Weymouth.
This is due to a member of on-train staff being taken ill.

17:11 Westbury to Warminster due 17:20
17:11 Westbury to Warminster due 17:20 will be cancelled.
This is due to a member of on-train staff being taken ill.

17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:17
17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:17 will be cancelled.
This is due to a member of on-train staff being taken ill.

The 1728 Warminster to Bristol TM^‡(resolve) (Return of 1711) starting Westbury.   I smell a rat linking it to the cancellation of the Trans Wilts service

[bobm]

Due to the Newbury closure the 17:36 is formed from a train which runs empty from Bath Spa.

It looks that train left Bath but only went as far as Bathampton loop and then shunted back to form the service to Bristol Parkway which should have started from Westbury at 16:19.

[Trowres]

I have a recollection of seeing that manoeuvre used on another day fairly recently.

[bradshaw]

Curiously, the 12.51 ex Great Malvern was terminated at Yeovil Pen Mill but it’s return working, the 17.30 ex Weymouth was started from Westbury. So the former returned ecs to Westbury DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) sidings as the 5Z80.
Presumably the member of staff who became ill was the guard and the train could not proceed and was taken back to Westbury.

[grahame]

Yesterday - 07:02 Melksham to Swindon at 07:15 (normally at 07:19 but changed due to engineering). People delighted to be dragged out of bed 20 minutes earlier jus to wait for the normal time 

Today, that train

06:44 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 09:05
06:44 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 09:05 has been delayed at Swindon and is now 25 minutes late.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

Not (I suppose) a TransWilts issue but still part of the general malaise and non-adherance to published timetables on services that run on and through the TransWilts.  No clue as to the real cause of the delay - just a statement that suggests it's a knock-on from other problems which are not specified.

[bradshaw]

The 06.30 Cheltenham to London was cancelled throughout (RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website)), problem with train. If the crew were on this train, that could be the reason, with another crew having to be sourced.

[TaplowGreen]

07:33 Westbury to Swindon due 08:15
07:33 Westbury to Swindon due 08:15 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

08:53 Swindon to Westbury due 09:41
08:53 Swindon to Westbury due 09:41 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

[grahame]

07:33 Westbury to Swindon due 08:15
07:33 Westbury to Swindon due 08:15 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

08:53 Swindon to Westbury due 09:41
08:53 Swindon to Westbury due 09:41 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

Yep, here we go again ... first two trains also changed / missing Melksham; first train there 10:02 and no note on journey check of any alternative plans.

05:17 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:09
05:17 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:09 will be diverted between Chippenham and Trowbridge.
It will no longer call at Melksham.
It will be delayed due to the diversion and is expected to be 7 minutes late.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

07:04 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 09:05 will be diverted between Trowbridge and Chippenham.
It will no longer call at Melksham.
It will be delayed due to the diversion and is expected to be 9 minutes late.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services at Melksham
Due to a fault with the signalling system at Melksham all lines are blocked.
Train services running through this station may be cancelled or diverted between Trowbridge and Chippenham. Disruption is expected until 12:00 15/10.

[bobm]

To note Journeycheck was updated at 06:45 to advise road transport had been ordered to and from Melksham for the cancelled services.

[grahame]

To note Journeycheck was updated at 06:45 to advise road transport had been ordered to and from Melksham for the cancelled services.

Cancellations to services at Melksham

Due to a fault with the signalling system at Melksham all lines are blocked.

Train services running through this station may be cancelled or diverted between Trowbridge and Chippenham. Disruption is expected until 12:00 15/10.

Customer Advice

During this disruption if you wish to use local buses as an alternative means of transport and the local bus is not accepting Great Western Railway tickets please keep the bus ticket and send it, together with your rail ticket, to us for a refund.

Road transport has been requested but our providers are struggling to resource transport currently.
Last Updated:15/10/2018 07:15

[grahame]

09:46 Westbury to Swindon due 10:32
09:46 Westbury to Swindon due 10:32 is being delayed at Westbury and is now expected to be 10 minutes late.
This is due to this train being late from the depot.
Last Updated:15/10/2018 09:49

Compared to the 4 trains that were supposed to call at Melksham earlier but did not, this is a minor issue!

First train of the day ... at a commuter town of 25,000 ... now expected at 10:14.   Please don't count passengers on this evening's return 17:36 from Swindon and tell me numbers are down ... of course they will be! 

[SandTEngineer]

Looks like its a track circuit/axle counter failure on the branch.  Don't understand why it would take until 1200 to fix.....

[Phantom]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-45864908

Rail passengers have been delayed on more than half of all services from 10 of Britain's busiest stations this year, research has found.

Manchester Oxford Road took the "undesirable crown" of performing worst, according to Which?

It found York, Gatwick Airport and Birmingham New Street all saw less than 40% of trains arrive on time.

A rail commuter in London said people face "a daily battle simply to get from A to B".

Which? said even small delays could have "a knock-on effect" on passengers' ability to complete their journey.

The consumer group looked at services at the 10 busiest stations in London and the 20 busiest outside the capital from the start of January until the end of September.

Dire knock-on effects
Using data from performance tracking site On Time Trains, the group found 68% of services were delayed at Manchester Oxford Road, rising to 77% during peak times.

The city's two largest stations, Piccadilly and Victoria, also suffered a high percentage of late services.

A Which? spokesman said the "timetable chaos earlier this year", caused by the implementation of new schedules by train operator Northern, had had "dire knock-on effects for [Manchester] passengers' personal and professional lives".

The data also showed the percentage of service cancellations at each station.

London King's Cross saw the highest rate of cancellations - 6% - while Manchester Oxford Road and Gatwick Airport were once again among the worst performing.

Highest percentage of delayed services
Manchester Oxford Road - 68%
York - 65%
Gatwick Airport and Birmingham New Street - 60%
Bristol Temple Meads 58%
Manchester Piccadilly - 56%
Clapham Junction and Sheffield - 54%
Manchester Victoria - 51%
Woking - 50%

Highest percentage of cancellations
London King's Cross - 6%
Manchester Oxford Road, Gatwick Airport, Cambridge - 5%
Bristol Temple Meads, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria, Edinburgh Waverley, London Bridge, London Paddington, London St Pancras - 4%