Cotswold Line - 2018 cancellation and amendments log

[whole diary]

[jdw.wor]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are reporting a "Good service". How in all conscience can they morally do that with the situation on the North Cotswold line?
Any excuse explaining that the trains they are running are on time etc.etc and therefore it is a good service should be treated with the contempt it deserves.
As an ex BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) operations manager I have given up trying to defend GWR.

[Worcester_Passenger]

Later, things have changed:

12:42 London Paddington to Hereford due 16:01 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

14:42 London Paddington to Hereford due 17:56 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Customers are advised to catch the next available train service.

15:42 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 18:05 will be reinstated.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 10.

16:34 Hereford to London Paddington due 20:04 will be reinstated.
It will be started from Oxford.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 10.

18:26 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 21:00 will be reinstated.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 10.

18:30 Hereford to London Paddington due 22:13 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

21:42 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill due 00:16 will be started from Reading.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

This does mean that there is a train in what otherwise would have been a four-hour gap.

[1st fan]

10 down to 3.............is that a record?


15:42 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 18:05 will be reinstated.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 10.

They needed to finish that statement off so it reads as follows:

"Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 10 and these will be rammed to the gunwales"

If my experience is anything to go by.

[Timmer]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are reporting a "Good service". How in all conscience can they morally do that with the situation on the North Cotswold line?
Any excuse explaining that the trains they are running are on time etc.etc and therefore it is a good service should be treated with the contempt it deserves.
As an ex BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) operations manager I have given up trying to defend GWR.

I don’t know how anyone could defend the level of service that’s been served up to North Cotswolds passengers these past few weeks, it’s not been fit for purpose. Could Mark Hopwood hand on heart say his company is providing what people are paying good money for?

[charles_uk]

Just the one cancellation declared so far:

05:28 Hereford to London Paddington due 08:27 has been cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

[Richard Fairhurst]

09.21 from Paddington to Worcester cancelled too, and the 12.00 return.

Edit: And the 10.22 Paddington to Hereford, and the 15.14 return. 12.09 from Hereford caped at Shrub Hill.

Edit 2: 16.22 Paddington-Malvern, 17.52 Paddington-Worcester, 19.42 Malvern-Paddington, 20.59 Worcester-Paddington all cancelled.

Both the CLPG^» (Cotswold Line Promotion Group - about) and Charlbury Town Council have written to Mark Hopwood asking what the ---- is going on (in politer language, no doubt).

Edit 3: 19.22 Paddington-Hereford also cancelled. Unbelievable.

[charles_uk]

Issues already reported in other sub-forums but cable theft meant the 05:28 & 06:42 Hereford to Paddington services were started from Worcester Foregate Street.

The signalling problems in London delayed the 05:47 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill (which was terminated at Evesham) which then had knock-on effects on the single track just north of Oxford, delaying the 07:10 Moreton-in-Marsh - Paddington, 06:53 Worcester Foregate Street to Didcot Parkway (which was terminated at Oxford) and the 06:42 (not from) Hereford to Paddington. And I've just noticed the 09:54 & 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington services are both starting from Worcester Foregate Street, again, as a result of the signalling issues.

[Worcester_Passenger]

And a special warm welcome for the 16:22 Paddington - Great Malvern, running for the first time this year.

[IndustryInsider]

As a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) rather than an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train).

[charles_uk]

As a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) rather than an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train).

However, the 15:22 Paddington to Great Malvern was a Turbo (as it has been every day this month) although GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s Twitter team advised it was due to become an HST this week.

[phile]

09.21 from Paddington to Worcester cancelled too, and the 12.00 return.

Edit: And the 10.22 Paddington to Hereford, and the 15.14 return. 12.09 from Hereford caped at Shrub Hill.

Edit 2: 16.22 Paddington-Malvern, 17.52 Paddington-Worcester, 19.42 Malvern-Paddington, 20.59 Worcester-Paddington all cancelled.

Both the CLPG^» (Cotswold Line Promotion Group - about) and Charlbury Town Council have written to Mark Hopwood asking what the ---- is going on (in politer language, no doubt).

Edit 3: 19.22 Paddington-Hereford also cancelled. Unbelievable.

I hope that the parties who have written to Mark Hopwood have more success than I did.   I E-Mailed him direct to ask for a Public statement to be issued to apologise for and explain the cancellations due to train crew shortages, especially at weekends, and the more than usual number of trains under repair which has now become the norm.
I received a reply, not from the MD, but from Customer Services with a standard reply saying this will be investigated and a reply will be sent in due course.   Mark Hopwood is hiding.

[charles_uk]

A couple of cancellations just announced:

13:22 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 15:41 has been cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

and the return

15:51 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 17:59 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

From a selfish point of view, it's sort of good news as the 13:22 can cause a degree of congestion in the early evening rush hour from Oxford if it's running late.

[Worcester_Passenger]

And for today:

06:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 09:37 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

09:54 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 12:28 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[Witham Bobby]

Sorry - this is an observation, rather than an addition to the event log ...

What a way to run a railroad?

Cotswold Line passengers are ill-served by "GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)".  I suppose the much vaunted upcoming new timetable (well, vaunted in the Evesham Journal, if that qualifies) will just mean "GWR" have even more trains to pick from when they're randomly cancelling services because they refuse to pay for proper resources, like having enough staff, or, y'know, trains that work properly.

I worked on BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) including a spell as signalman at Moreton in Marsh.  I can say there was no occasion I can recall when a train service got cancelled throughout.  On the Cotswold line, it now happens multiple times per week.  Cancelling a train in the London area may not have a great impact in that area; there are very likely other services for passengers' journeys.  But out here in the sticks, cancelling a train can mean a huge gap in the service.

I know I'm not the only one from the Evesham area who, needing to be in London, will drive to Oxford Parkway or Warwick to take a Chiltern service.  At least I can be fairly confident of getting there and back without hassle.

"GWR" need to either buck their ideas up, or hand the route over to an operator who actually cares about running trains

[Worcester_Passenger]

Sunday January 14, at 05:10:

09:35 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 12:25 will be started from Reading.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.
Will be formed of 2 coaches instead of 8. First class not available. Catering is not available. There are no reservations on this service.

Facilities on the 13:15 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 16:04.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.
Will be formed of 2 coaches instead of 8. First class not available. Catering is not available. There are no reservations on this service.

15:42 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 18:05 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

18:26 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 21:00 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.