Charlbury station - facilities, services, improvements and incidents - merged posts

[whole diary]

[Andy W]

43 minutes it's possible!
 
Not sure I'd like it in the rear coach of Loco hauled stock!

I make 43 mins for 63 miles 18 chain an average of 88.25MPH

  Cracking good cheese this Gromit 

  Don't spare the horses 

In the days when the Cathedral Express was such and not downgraded to the Cathedrals Semi-Fast it ran non-stop from Oxford to Paddington. That was before First took over the Thames franchise & decided long distance travel is a lower priority. Not sure what the timing was then.

But if it can make the service more reliable, which is what most passengers rate the railway on then it's probably a sensible thing to do.

The most 'relaible' service seems to have been when the padding was at it's most excessive just prior to re-doubling. II do you have access to the punctuality figures out of interest.

[EBrown]

The cynic in me says - Great more slowing down on an already slow route!

Why be cynical? Performance is down, by increasing timetabled journey times performance goes up. Win win for First; absolutely no gain for passengers (except their trains may arrived when timetabled).

Not sure I'd like it in the rear coach of Loco hauled stock!

If you take the (fastest) timetabled train from PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) to RDG^‡(resolve) which is 24 minutes to cover the 35 miles and 73 chains the average speed comes out at 89.8mph.

I like the idea of an Oxford fast that skips Slough, currently the fastest timetabled train is 1P56 which takes 56 minutes - sadly:

• That train also stops at Slough which slows it down (1.5 minute TTd dwell time)
• There is also 5 minutes of allowances.

So it's quite feasible if Slough was canned and the allowances were removed that the train made it in around 47-48 minutes.

[JayMac]

The problem is, that if you adjust the timings downward of 1P56, it then comes into pathing conflict with 1A85 from Plymouth to Paddington.

Once you attempt to speed up one service that runs on the (at near capacity) main line between Reading and Paddington you have to consider all the other services it my come into pathing conflict with.

[Richard Fairhurst]

I like the idea of an Oxford fast that skips Slough, currently the fastest timetabled train is 1P56 which takes 56 minutes

I thought the fastest train was the 17.22 from Paddington which takes 53 minutes. 1W07, for those who (unlike me) understand these things! (Previous post on Cotswold Line timings.)

[bobm]

The problem is, that if you adjust the timings downward of 1P56, it then comes into pathing conflict with 1A85 from Plymouth to Paddington.

Once you attempt to speed up one service that runs on the (at near capacity) main line between Reading and Paddington you have to consider all the other services it my come into pathing conflict with.

Just to re-inforce the point.  I frequently catch 1A85 - the 12:55 from Plymouth - and I cannot remember a time when it has run straight off the Berks & Hants into the station.  It always gets held at Reading West, or even occasionally, further back at Southcote Junction.  Putting another train into the mix isn't going to improve things.

[EBrown]

I thought the fastest train was the 17.22 from Paddington which takes 53 minutes. 1W07, for those who (unlike me) understand these things! (Previous post on Cotswold Line timings.)

I was referring to this:

43 minutes it's possible!

Which was referring to this:

I remeber hearing that Oxford - Paddington was once timetabled for 43 minutes on some of the crack expresses?!

Perhaps your sarcasm would be appropriate if, I don't know, you read my post because OXF^» (Oxford - next trains) -> PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) is not the same as PAD -> OXF.


Bignosemac, you are completely correct. I was more talking hypothetically given the current timetable, but that certainly isn't clear in anyway and I hadn't really considered other paths [other than they can be moved ]!

[Richard Fairhurst]

Perhaps your sarcasm would be appropriate if, I don't know, you read my post because OXF^» (Oxford - next trains) -> PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) is not the same as PAD -> OXF.

No sarcasm was intended. I am baffled as to why you've taken such a combative tone.

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

The original Cotswold Line timetable provided by Daft at the time of the current FGW^▸ (First Great Western) franchise award did leave Slough out of the CL services. However many of the commuters from Slough to London like to sit in an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) instead of a Turbo, as most of us do, so the Slough stop was reinserted after they complained to Daft. From my not very frequent observations I do not think many people getting off CL trains at Slough originate from the CL. Many will have boarded the CL train at Oxford or Reading for the journey to Slough. Again from my infrequent observations I think a stop at Didcot would please more CL users than the Slough stop but I appreciate that more Didcot stops on trains from the Oxford direction would be difficult to path because of the need to cross so many lines often when other trains would be in the way and CL travellers not wanting to alight at Didcot would no doubt complain that it would lenthen their journey time. The timetablers just cannot please everyone.

[JayMac]

and I hadn't really considered other paths

Unfortunately, those who compile the timetable have to, otherwise we'd have two trains scheduled to be in the same place at the same time. 

[stebbo]

Autotank and Smokey should have ridden class 50s on the up Cathedrals Express in the 1970s. A tad slow on timing from Oxford to Paddington at 54 minutes on the Up Cathedrals Express but good fun round the curve at Didcot and through Reading on the old fast line.

[Metric]

The 07.15 fix is not working, but I suspect this is no surprise to those who use the service.

In fact since the re-timing to 07.12, the very existence of an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) at Charlbury at 0712 has been a 50/50 affair. The absence of a train is shown as 'cancelled' but FGW^▸ (First Great Western) tell us that it is a partial cancellation which now runs on time but starts at Oxford! Slightly Orwellian use of English I think.

I'd be interested to know of others who have experience of this service before and after the re-timing.

Any insights also appreciated from those who understand this better than I.

A service to London around 0700-ish is great as you can get to London before 0900 without getting up with the lark on a regular basis.

[bobm]

There will be others on here who will have more informed opinions than I can offer - but may I welcome to the Coffee Shop nonetheless.

I did notice today that while the train managed to start at Charlbury this morning it was delayed for over an hour after getting trapped behind the failed 07:44 from Henley on Thames in the Maidenhead area.

[Metric]

I should add that I am not a train expert at all... but have always liked railways .. so live in hope. Several of the partial cancellations of the new-0712 have been non-single line related. Its simply been that the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) was u/s (we were told) at Oxford... This week on Wednesday we had an icicle in a tunnel as the reason for a delayed earlier train which infuriatingly left Charlbury going South as I turned into the new (and enlarged) car park. Shame that service could not have been delayed (but I'd expect that is just not practical) and become an 0712... (does sound a bit selfish!). I have to admit to considering going East and joining the Chiltern commuters from Banbury which I find sad.... but my own ability to be at work anywhere on time is suffering.

[Metric]

So some engaged customer service feedback from FGW^▸ (First Great Western) - for which thank you - and I'm told that the 0712 was booked out of Charlbury 19 times to date in March, but actually left Charlbury on 15 occasions. I was simply unlucky as it looks as if I was on all of them. In a sad way I looked at my iphone where I photograph the departure screens when trains get delayed or cancelled and spotted a similar hit rate in Feb, but I'm told there were some additional failures in Feb when the train ran at 0715.

Knowing the hit rate feels good but does not make the service any better.

[CLPGMS]

According to  the Raildar website, the 0712 has departed from CBY at the following times since 4th March:

4th  - 0713.  5th   - 0712.  6th   - 0713.  7th -  07.12.  8th -  0712.
11th - 0713.  12th - 0711.  13th - 0724.  14th - 0712.  15th - 0713.
18th - 0712.  19th - 0712.  20th - cancelled (left OXF^» (Oxford - next trains) 0734). 21st - cancelled (left OXF 0734). 22nd - 0711.
25th - 0714.  26th - 0714.  27th - cancelled (left OXF 0734). 28th - 0713.  Not scheduled to run on 29th.

The 4th cancellation in March, mentioned by Metric, was on Friday 1st when the train should gave departed at 0715.  Again, the train started at Oxford on time at 0734.