Thames Valley services from December 2019 - GWR press release

[whole diary]

[Adelante_CCT]

Really? Currently on Reading to Didcot it's still the same inconveniently irregularly spaced service - arrival times at Goring spaced as follows from 17-06 to 20-06 as follows- all being gaps in minutes-

10-21-32-12-17-31-25-8-24.

And of course most of my North Downs connections at Reading seem to dump me there to catch the longest gaps. Six in two hours - is it too much to suggest one every 20 minutes might make a much better and more convenient service?

Whilst it may not be set in stone, the offer of services to Goring at the times you mention look to be worse from December. Starting with the 17:05 arrival the gaps in minutes are:  33-32-26-9-26-25-7-27 (20:10 arrival)

It would appear that whilst the so-called semi-fast services are speeded up between Paddington and Reading on account of having less stops, it simply waits time at Reading until its current booked path. A nice example here of a 14 minute wait at Reading in the middle of the day, with others simply dragging there heals (or should that be wheels) between Reading and Slough

[IndustryInsider]

Whilst it may not be set in stone, the offer of services to Goring at the times you mention look to be worse from December. Starting with the 17:05 arrival the gaps in minutes are:  33-32-26-9-26-25-7-27 (20:10 arrival)

There’s definitely a few discrepancies there to be added/altered.  Looking a bit further down the line at Heyford, currently there is no peak time service listed from Oxford listed as stopping which can’t be the case. 

The first peak train from Oxford, that currently comes from Reading at 17:01, isn’t listed, despite the return working from Banbury being listed.  It has to get there somehow!

[ChrisB]

THis is the problem of using RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) as any guide, because services will get omitted/

[Adelante_CCT]

Whilst it may not be set in stone, the offer of services to Goring at the times you mention look to be worse from December. Starting with the 17:05 arrival the gaps in minutes are:  33-32-26-9-26-25-7-27 (20:10 arrival)

There’s definitely a few discrepancies there to be added/altered.

Whilst I hope for eightonedee's sake (and others) that you are correct II in that alterations are to be included, I don't see any additions that need to appear. The pattern above includes the half hourly from Paddington and the additional 4 that originate from Reading, the biggie being the 17:01 to Banbury becoming the 16:10 to Oxford (and then no doubt going on to Banbury later on). Even less room for manoeuvre of course with the new Didcot Fasts using the relief line between Reading and Didcot and as things stand nearly all XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) services are routed on the reliefs, including the xx:15 mentioned up thread.

[IndustryInsider]

We’ll have to wait and see - the train that forms the current 17:01 is still running into 13B at Reading (16:07 ex Oxford) with no listed ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) or passenger move after it.  So the 16:10 may well just be an additional as it has an ECS move off the depot listed for it?

Many services are still under negotiation with NR^» (Network Rail - home page).

[eightonedee]

My blood pressure is already rising....

This may speed up my retirement plans!

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) is not showing a regular pattern of XR^▸ (Crossrail) starters/terminators at Maidenhead in either peak or off-peak from December, as envisaged in published draft timetables. 

Are the timings for this part of the service yet to be finalised, or will it wait until the XR’s go through London and don’t need main line platform space at Paddington?

[IndustryInsider]

Indeed, those extras along with anything else to West Drayton/Heathrow won’t be running until the tunnels open.

[ChrisB]

I'' told by the timetable gurus that bids/offers are still being made across the timetables, and no timetable is yet set in stone on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website). This gets mentioned every new timetable and yet is generally ignored.

[IndustryInsider]

I guess that’s because it’s probably at least 95% complete, so a pretty accurate idea can still be gleaned.

[IndustryInsider]

Whilst it may not be set in stone, the offer of services to Goring at the times you mention look to be worse from December. Starting with the 17:05 arrival the gaps in minutes are:  33-32-26-9-26-25-7-27 (20:10 arrival)

There’s definitely a few discrepancies there to be added/altered.

Whilst I hope for eightonedee's sake (and others) that you are correct II in that alterations are to be included, I don't see any additions that need to appear. The pattern above includes the half hourly from Paddington and the additional 4 that originate from Reading, the biggie being the 17:01 to Banbury becoming the 16:10 to Oxford (and then no doubt going on to Banbury later on). Even less room for manoeuvre of course with the new Didcot Fasts using the relief line between Reading and Didcot and as things stand nearly all XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) services are routed on the reliefs, including the xx:15 mentioned up thread.

The 17:01 Reading to Banbury service is now listed on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website):

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y95497/2019/12/16/advanced

Interestingly, it is first stop Goring & Streatley.  That may still change of course as there are several amendments still to be made - a 57-minute gap is currently showing until the next train from Reading after the 17:01, which obviously won't be the case.

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

A few days ago RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) was showing a 1626 GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) stopper from Padd – Didcot Parkway which called at Ealing Broadway at 1634 and which formed a 1726 Reading – Didcot Parkway stopper.  This would of course have filled the gap from Reading after the new 1701 (missing out Tilehurst and Pangbourne is I assume a NR^» (Network Rail - home page) blip which RTT has faithfully reproduced)
 
This 1626 ex Padd has now disappeared from RTT.  Obviously there’s work in progress here.

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

It makes you wonder if there is enough justification for running an all stations Oxford – Reading turbo in the peak hours.  They’re timed close to the electric Didcot – Padd services, and take up a valuable path especially when NR^» (Network Rail - home page) chooses to path the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise))’s and other non-stop trains on the RL’s amongst the stoppers and freights (the capacity of the 4 track section Reading – Didcot is maximised if fast trains go on the ML’s and slow trains go on the RL’s).

Also, the benefit of a through train from say Goring – Oxford is rather lost if it sits in Didcot for 11 minutes (as the currently-timed 1701 Reading – Banbury does).  You can see NR’s problem – the 1701 has got to clear Didcot East before the 1643 Padd - Didcot fast (which runs RL from Reading) and the 1715 XC Reading – Manchester (also RL).

Looking at RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) there appears to be a ML path available for the 1715 XC (but like all armchair experts I don’t have all the relevant information).

As has been said before, timetabling the RL’s between Didcot and Padd is not straightforward.  There will be even less flexibility for timetabling on the RL’s west of Reading when the full XR^▸ (Crossrail) service starts up with its rigid clockface service (and I still can’t see how 3000 tonnes stone trains and long FL’s can fit in amongst 12 tph XR’s between Airport Junction and Acton).

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

Well its T – 12 weeks until the timetable change, and still no trains showing from Reading to Tilehurst and Pangbourne between the 1652 and 1758 departures.  And we still have this ridiculously oddly timed 1701 Reading – Banbury Turbo which omits Tilehurst and Pangbourne and then sits in Didcot for 11 minutes.

[IndustryInsider]

There’s a 17:25 ex Reading showing in the bid documents calling all stations to Didcot.  There’s two versions of it, one a stopper from Paddington at 16:26, the other a semi-fast at 16:50.  I would imagine neither has been accepted as of yet.  One thing for sure is that the gap will definitely be filled with something or there will be a breach of the SLC^▸ (Service Level Commitment) (Service Level Commitment). 

The 17:01 will be first stop Goring offering a 4-5 minute time saving for Goring and Cholsey passengers- but not much use for Tilehurst and Pangbourne ones.  I guess it’s to free up a freight path behind, but Pangbourne would have been a better choice than Cholsey.