Coronavirus: Great Western Railway reduced services

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

There’s still a few 10-car services running about (as well as 9-car ones) but 5-cars is plenty on all the trains I’ve seen.

[PhilWakely]

There’s still a few 10-car services running about (as well as 9-car ones) but 5-cars is plenty on all the trains I’ve seen.

Whilst a 5-car may be plenty in terms of numbers travelling, I believe that consideration is being given to giving pax the space required - in other words, if a particular seat is occupied, don't sit in the seats around them.

[patch38]

I think that "everything has all gone to pot" at Brimpsfield

"They don't know whether they are coming or going at Paddington."

Sorry, I couldn't resist folowing broadgage off topic into our favoured world of 70s TV drama 

[rogerw]

Still no details yet about next weeks services

[stuving]

Still no details yet about next weeks services

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s page on this says:

We are working hard to enter all the changes into online and digital timetables, and these should all be updated in the next seven to ten days. From then individual journeys can be checked on www.gwr.com/travel-updates/check-your-journey. 

That page is unfortunately not dated - but as the changes were announced yesterday, they are essentially not promising even to have done that by the day before.

However, there was an e-mail from NRE^‡(resolve) to railcard holders that said this:

New train times will be available from midday Sunday 22 March. Please check National Rail for more information and before you set out.

That doesn't say "in the Online Journey Planner", but they do mean that as they do include a link to it.

For reference, here are NRE's own page on COVID-19 generally, and GWR's updates page (which does not cover the timetable itself).

[grahame]

This morning ...

08:20 Westbury to Swindon due 09:03 will be cancelled.
This is due to a short-notice change to the timetable.
Further Information
Following discussions with Government and the wider rail industry, Great Western Railway is reducing services to reflect national advice against non-essential travel, while maintaining services critical to keeping key workers moving during the current situation.

Also gone ...

Train Cancellations
08:20 Westbury to Swindon due 09:03
08:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 10:07
09:01 Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach due 09:36
09:12 Swindon to Westbury due 09:52
09:15 Exeter St Davids to Exmouth due 09:50
09:21 London Paddington to Oxford due 10:18
09:29 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 11:00
09:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 11:11
09:31 Gloucester to Taunton due 11:43
09:32 London Paddington to Gloucester due 11:23
09:34 Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth due 11:54
09:39 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads due 10:15
09:42 Exeter St Davids to Bristol Temple Meads due 11:16
09:50 Exeter St Davids to Exmouth due 10:18
09:55 Exmouth to Paignton due 11:32
10:05 Gloucester to London Paddington due 11:56
10:21 London Paddington to Oxford due 11:19
10:23 Exmouth to Exeter St Davids due 10:56
10:44 Westbury to Swindon due 11:28
10:55 Oxford to London Paddington due 11:54
10:58 Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach due 11:33
11:21 London Paddington to Oxford due 12:19
11:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 13:07
11:32 London Paddington to Gloucester due 13:22
11:37 London Paddington to Newbury due 12:17
11:38 Bristol Temple Meads to Gloucester due 12:28
11:41 Swindon to Westbury due 12:21
11:53 Paignton to Exmouth due 13:19
11:55 Oxford to London Paddington due 12:54
11:55 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads due 12:33
12:04 Taunton to Bristol Temple Meads due 13:08
12:15 Exeter St Davids to Exmouth due 12:50
12:16 Gloucester to London Paddington due 13:59
12:21 London Paddington to Oxford due 13:22
12:27 Newbury to London Paddington due 13:13
12:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 14:09
12:55 Oxford to London Paddington due 13:57
12:57 Exmouth to Paignton due 14:20
13:15 Bristol Temple Meads to Taunton due 14:13
13:21 London Paddington to Oxford due 14:19
13:23 Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach due 13:58
13:24 Exmouth to Exeter St Davids due 13:56
13:29 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 14:59
13:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 15:06
13:32 London Paddington to Gloucester due 15:20
13:37 London Paddington to Newbury due 14:17
13:38 Bristol Temple Meads to Gloucester due 14:28
13:55 Oxford to London Paddington due 14:57
14:08 Weymouth to Bristol Temple Meads due 16:29
14:12 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads due 14:52
14:15 Exeter St Davids to Exmouth due 14:50
14:16 Gloucester to London Paddington due 15:59
14:21 London Paddington to Oxford due 15:19
14:27 Newbury to London Paddington due 15:11
14:29 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 16:09
14:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 16:09
14:50 Westbury to Swindon due 15:34
14:55 Oxford to London Paddington due 15:54
15:00 Paignton to Exmouth due 16:19
15:04 Penzance to Bristol Temple Meads due 19:16
15:15 Taunton to Severn Beach due 16:58
15:21 London Paddington to Oxford due 16:20
15:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 17:09
15:32 London Paddington to Gloucester due 17:22
15:37 London Paddington to Newbury due 16:17
15:38 Bristol Temple Meads to Gloucester due 16:29
15:46 Swindon to Westbury due 16:26
15:55 Oxford to London Paddington due 16:54
16:15 Gloucester to London Paddington due 17:59
16:20 London Paddington to Oxford due 17:23
16:24 Exmouth to Exeter St Davids due 16:57
16:29 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 18:02
16:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 18:08
16:35 Newbury to London Paddington due 17:28
16:40 Gloucester to Bristol Temple Meads due 17:29
16:55 Oxford to London Paddington due 17:55
17:12 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads due 17:52
17:28 Bristol Temple Meads to Weston-Super-Mare due 18:01
17:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 19:06
17:32 London Paddington to Gloucester due 19:21
17:38 Bristol Temple Meads to Gloucester due 18:28
17:38 London Paddington to Newbury due 18:17
17:51 Oxford to London Paddington due 18:56
18:15 Gloucester to London Paddington due 19:56
18:16 Weston-Super-Mare to Severn Beach due 19:30
18:21 London Paddington to Oxford due 19:19
18:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 20:09
18:30 Newbury to London Paddington due 19:15
18:55 Oxford to London Paddington due 19:54
19:29 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 21:04
19:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 21:05
19:32 London Paddington to Gloucester due 21:19
19:42 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads due 20:22
19:55 Oxford to London Paddington due 20:53
20:16 Gloucester to London Paddington due 21:59
20:29 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare due 22:44
21:29 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 23:01

and reduced in journey ....

09:07 London Paddington to Bedwyn due 10:23
09:07 London Paddington to Bedwyn due 10:23 will be started from Reading.
It will no longer call at London Paddington and Maidenhead.
This is due to a short-notice change to the timetable.

Other Train Service Updates
09:07 London Paddington to Bedwyn due 10:23
09:27 Bedwyn to London Paddington due 10:41
09:55 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington due 12:09
10:00 London Paddington to Plymouth due 13:43
10:05 London Paddington to Newbury due 11:01
10:29 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare due 12:33
10:40 Bedwyn to London Paddington due 11:53
11:07 London Paddington to Bedwyn due 12:12
11:29 London Paddington to Paignton due 15:05
11:53 Newbury to London Paddington due 12:53
12:05 London Paddington to Newbury due 13:02
12:29 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare due 14:29
12:38 Bedwyn to London Paddington due 13:50
13:06 London Paddington to Bedwyn due 14:12
13:53 Newbury to London Paddington due 14:51
14:05 London Paddington to Newbury due 15:02
14:39 Bedwyn to London Paddington due 15:50
14:55 Plymouth to London Paddington due 18:38
14:57 Exmouth to Paignton due 16:21
15:07 London Paddington to Bedwyn due 16:12
15:29 London Paddington to Taunton due 18:04
15:46 Newbury to London Paddington due 16:44
16:05 London Paddington to Newbury due 17:02
16:41 Bedwyn to London Paddington due 17:52
17:05 London Paddington to Bedwyn due 18:12
17:29 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare due 19:38
18:05 London Paddington to Newbury due 19:02
18:29 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare due 20:32
18:58 Taunton to London Paddington due 21:38
19:05 London Paddington to Bedwyn due 20:24

[froome]

And yet, my local station, Oldfield Park, which has an hourly service during the week, which in normal times isn't sufficient, has on Sundays some hours with more than one service (and on others none). One particular anomaly which I've never understood is that we have a 13.18 train and a 13.24 train, both going to Salisbury. One is an SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) service to London Waterloo (none of these stop here during the week), and the other is what would have been a Portsmouth service (again none of these stop here during the week). I assumed one or both would be cancelled today, but lo, both are running.

[grahame]

And yet, my local station, Oldfield Park, which has an hourly service during the week, which in normal times isn't sufficient, has on Sundays some hours with more than one service (and on others none). One particular anomaly which I've never understood is that we have a 13.18 train and a 13.24 train, both going to Salisbury. One is an SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) service to London Waterloo (none of these stop here during the week), and the other is what would have been a Portsmouth service (again none of these stop here during the week). I assumed one or both would be cancelled today, but lo, both are running.

There are a number of - err - anomalies about today.  Let's be generous and call them rushed decisions, based I suspect on what's easy to slim out rather than where remaining (and key travelling) customers are.  As from tomorrow morning, all SWR services passing through Oldfield Park on their way to Bristol are withdrawn for the indefinite future, and whether they return soon enough for SWR drivers to be able to drive them without a route refresh or not, I wouldn't like to guess.

My reading is that speed will no longer be the key.  I would be surprised to see any trains that run fast through Reading or Swindon still running, and perhaps Cardiff to Portsmouth will call at just about every station (except Pilning, I'm afraid) to Southampton.  Connection at Westbury off trains every two hours to Weymouth, all stations again. Fantasy suggests those Weymouth trains start back at Swindon are are overtaken at Westbury, offering a tw hourly, two way set of connections.

With the characterisation of fewer and more-stop trains, Keynsham and Oldfield Park at "peak" times might see the London to Bristol service calling too. 

We shall see - I fear that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) doesn't have the luxury of a big pool of timetablers who have key knowledge of all the various flows, and we may see solutions which priorities getting *something* changed over getting things changed to suit the changed customer flows.

[Marlburian]

... We shall see - I fear that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) doesn't have the luxury of a big pool of timetablers who have key knowledge of all the various flows, and we may see solutions which priorities getting *something* changed over getting things changed to suit the changed customer flows.

How did the railway companies cope in the Second World War with bombs and priority movements of troops and supplies affecting timetables, and with very poor communication systems. (A rhetorical question.)

They seem to have done very well before and at the start of the First World War, using small stations (eg Patney & Chirton, Lavington, Warminster) to move thousands of men and their equipment within a two- or three-day timescale for manoeuvres. Contemporary newspaper reports nearly always commend the efficiency of the industry and local station staf.

Then there were the mobilisations at the start of both wars, Dunkirk and D-Day.

[TaplowGreen]

460 cancellations listed, mostly for tomorrow. Looks like a virtual shutdown.

[grahame]

460 cancellations listed, mostly for tomorrow. Looks like a virtual shutdown.

Easiest way to see roughly what is still running is to look at the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) page at https://www.gwr.com/travel-updates/live-network-updates/disruption-information .

460 sounds like a lot ... but how many services a day do GWR normally run?  I think I have seen a figure somewhere over a thousand.

[plymothian]

Updated timetable has made it on to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s online journey planner but not National Rail.

[grahame]

Updated timetable has made it on to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s online journey planner but not National Rail.

RealTimeTrains HAS been updated.   As an example here are remaining trains tomorrow at ... you will have guessed ... Melksham

[bobm]

I’m not sure RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) has been completely updated.  It’s still showing the sleeper for example.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/L97219/2020-03-22/detailed

[grahame]

I’m not sure RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) has been completely updated.  It’s still showing the sleeper for example.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/L97219/2020-03-22/detailed

"Read with Caution" at the moment.  I thinks I've seen "updating online for Monday's services" and that sleeper is a Sunday departure.  Is it still shown for Monday night??