2020 - TransWilts cancellation and amendment log

[whole diary]

[grahame]

07:03 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 09:05
Facilities on the 07:03 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 09:05.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Will be formed of 2 coaches instead of 3.

Perfectly fine prior to Swindon (until we fill the second carriage  ); likely to be very busy from Swindon, but then this was only a 2 car until recently.

[grahame]

2M09 0517 Westbury to Swindon
This service is cancelled.
This service was cancelled due to a problem with the train (M8).

06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:08
06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:08 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge.
This is due to a fault on this train.

The 06:36 Melksham to Southampton has always been one of the more reliable trains, but that's the second cancellation already this year.  No more of a flag than "one to watch" at the moment.  A train that had a history of underuse when the following train was not until 19:18, it has developed a loyal, if quieter than other trains, user base.

[phile]

2M09 0517 Westbury to Swindon
This service is cancelled.
This service was cancelled due to a problem with the train (M8).

06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:08
06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:08 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge.
This is due to a fault on this train.

The 06:36 Melksham to Southampton has always been one of the more reliable trains, but that's the second cancellation already this year.  No more of a flag than "one to watch" at the moment.  A train that had a history of underuse when the following train was not until 19:18, it has developed a loyal, if quieter than other trains, user base.

Unit now comes off Westbury to work additional 2M09 whereas came off Glo-ucester previously

[grahame]

2M09 0517 Westbury to Swindon
This service is cancelled.
This service was cancelled due to a problem with the train (M8).

06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:08
06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:08 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge.
This is due to a fault on this train.

The 06:36 Melksham to Southampton has always been one of the more reliable trains, but that's the second cancellation already this year.  No more of a flag than "one to watch" at the moment.  A train that had a history of underuse when the following train was not until 19:18, it has developed a loyal, if quieter than other trains, user base.

Unit now comes off Westbury to work additional 2M09 whereas came off Glo-ucester previously

Indeed yet ... which is a good reason to flag it up as "one to watch" ... it switches from being a key lever in the whole train-pattern machine to a service which is off to one side, and has few knock on operational effects if it doesn't run from Swindon to Westbury.  Of course, passengers joining at Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge are just as badly effected by its cancellation whether it's a key operational lever or "merely" a service that's provided to help people travel.

That 2M09 you mention - the 05:17 Westbury to Swindon - was a train that I - I will admit - have anticipated being hard to get up in passenger numbers even into double figures.    I may have been unduly pessimistic there - a report this morning tells me that there were ten passengers on it when it arrived in Swindon.   Good - especially as we know that traffic takes some time to grow when a new service is added.

Now that we have an early up train at Melksham - 05:33 to Swindon - please can we have a corresponding and balancing late night train back?   There appear to be three trains terminating at Westbury after 9 p.m. and only one restarting ... so the train resources is there to add a round trip.  And as an educated guess, I would be suggest that a 23:15 off Swindon might be significantly busier that the 05:17 off Westbury.

[grahame]

06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:08
06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:08 will be terminated at Salisbury.
It will no longer call at Romsey and Southampton Central.
This is due to heavy rain flooding the railway.

Makes sense ... Salisbury to Portsmouth running via Eastleigh this morning, and perhaps SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) "Romsey 6" running as "Romsey 5" - Salisbury, Dean, Mottisfont, Romsey, Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh and stations to Southampton Central.

[bobm]

Later revised to terminate at Romsey.

[grahame]

08:44 Swindon to Westbury due 09:25
08:44 Swindon to Westbury due 09:25 has been delayed between Swindon and Chippenham and is now 13 minutes late.
This is due to heavy rain flooding the railway.

[bobm]

09:45 Westbury to Swindon due 10:33

09:45 Westbury to Swindon due 10:33 was terminated at Chippenham.

It will no longer call at Swindon.

This is due to heavy rain flooding the railway.

11:05 Swindon to Westbury due 11:46

11:05 Swindon to Westbury due 11:46 will be cancelled.

This is due to heavy rain flooding the railway.

[bobm]

Although Journeycheck hasn't caught up yet, it seems from looking at OpenTrainTimes that the 11:05 will in fact start from Chippenham (which makes sense given the incoming working terminated there).

[grahame]

09:45 Westbury to Swindon due 10:33

09:45 Westbury to Swindon due 10:33 was terminated at Chippenham.

It will no longer call at Swindon.

This is due to heavy rain flooding the railway.

11:05 Swindon to Westbury due 11:46

11:05 Swindon to Westbury due 11:46 will be cancelled.

This is due to heavy rain flooding the railway.

I thought it was just the next line up that as flooded - or is Dauntsey Bank giving problems as well?

They could really do with a "bay" reinstated at Chippenham - platform face is there and even with "wrong" line running from Thingley East.  As is stands, southbound gap (from Chippenham) from 08:59 to 13:29.


[Stop Press]

Although Journeycheck hasn't caught up yet, it seems from looking at OpenTrainTimes that the 11:05 will in fact start from Chippenham (which makes sense given the incoming working terminated there).

Phew(ish) . Hope they've found somewhere for it to wait.

[bobm]

The 08:44 was delayed while the driver reported the water levels were rising.

The down line is now closed with services using the reversible up line.

This means the Westbury service can wait at platform 1 at Chippenham as it is effectively a siding from there to Thingley as the down line is closed from Wootton Bassett Junction to Chippenham.

[Celestial]

Looking at OTT^▸ (Open Train Times website) maps the down line is now closed between Wootton Bassett and Chippenham.  So only one line open out of four west of WB Junction.  That means the Melksham train can wait at Chippenham, but presumably the closure is causing chaos with the main line services.

Edit: bobm beat me to it whilst I was posting!

[bobm]

Particularly for South Wales services.  They are being diverted via Box because of the flooding on the usual route.  They are then being further delayed snaking through the single line section between Wootton Bassett and Thingley. 

The 08:48 from London Paddington to Swansea left Swindon 43 minutes late and is expected to be nearly 90 minutes late by the time it gets to Bristol Parkway.

Swindon Station's three through platforms are all occupied by westbound services.

[grahame]

Particularly for South Wales services.  They are being diverted via Box because of the flooding on the usual route.  They are then being further delayed snaking through the single line section between Wootton Bassett and Thingley. 

An interesting mess ... from my comfortable armchair today  , I wonder if South Wales services that haven't yet got west of Reading or east of Bath Spa should go via the Berks and Hants ... South Wales to / from Swindon passengers changing at Bath Spa.   Or via Kemble and Gloucester?

[Celestial]

Fortunately it has just re-opened, with a queue of three trains lining up to use it.