Coronavirus: Great Western Railway reduced services

[whole diary]

[grahame]

I fear that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Journey Check is so overloaded that it puts one off. Compare that with SWR^» (South Western Railway - about), who have clearly adapted theirs to the new timetable. As a result the few changes there are can be readily seen.
Is this huge number because the new timetable has not been uploaded to their website?

JourneyCheck should switch to reflecting changes from the new 'key person' timetable by the end of the week. This is the text on the GWR page - been saying "7 to 10 days" since it first was published which I think was just before the weekend - the danger of giving a relative rather than an absolute date!

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. 

[TaplowGreen]

………..so the journey planner isn't currently reliable either?

[stuving]

………..so the journey planner isn't currently reliable either?

Journey planners do know about disruptions - they have access to real-time data about train running. This is on top of the VAR and STP (including VSTP) updates to the timetable itself. This is a bit of the description of that "Webservice" from NRE^‡(resolve):

4.4 Disruptions Webservice

Through this service the Online Journey Planner consolidates the three different sources of disruption information into a single service. The webservice combines contextual information from Knowledgebase, with delay and reason code information from Darwin and the online journey planner. Requests about disruption can be made to the service on a ‘per station’ or ‘line of route’ basis. The enquiry will return an answer regarding any and all the disruptions affecting that station or line of route at the given time.

I think that means that NRE's OJP^▸ (Online Journey Planner) does know about these disruptions, so it should reflect them in its displays for ordinary users, and the Webservice makes the same information available to other users, potentially including OJPs. Whether and how they use it, or whether they do the same thing for themselves using the industry feeds (Darwin, or its sources) I have no idea.

[Marlburian]

Passing Pangbourne Station around 1000 today I popped in to get a copy of Metro and read it in the sun on Platform Four. There were just four cars parked outside the booking-hall and none in the car park. Perhaps some of the cars belonged to the three guys in hi-viz kit on the platform. Two were chatting to each other at close range - no social distancing there.

There was no-one waiting for the Didcot train and when it arrived I saw only one passenger on its eight coaches. When I left to continue my walk, the Reading train was due in ten minutes, with just one passenger awaiting it. The two hi-viz guys were still chatting though, to be fair, it doesn't take me long to read Metro.

[nickswift99]

The empty car park might be because the council run car park by the village hall is now free.

[Electric train]

Perhaps some of the cars belonged to the three guys in hi-viz kit on the platform. Two were chatting to each other at close range - no social distancing there.

Front line railway workers are deemed essential workers and is recognised that cannot maintain social distancing to carry out their tasks and therefore putting their health at risk.  An example of when they cannot maintain the 2 metres is travelling in vehicles working on some equipment.

So please don't judge them too harsh

[Marlburian]

But surely no need for them to stand a foot apart chatting to each other face to face for at least seven minutes?

[sprinterguard]

Seems like GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have given up with the emergency timetable today.

[Electric train]

But surely no need for them to stand a foot apart chatting to each other face to face for at least seven minutes?

Agreed and is contrary to NR^» (Network Rail - home page) brief to its staff

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

Passing Pangbourne Station around 1000 today I popped in to get a copy of Metro and read it in the sun on Platform Four.

Platform 4? It's only got a Platform 1 and 2. 

[froome]

Passing Pangbourne Station around 1000 today I popped in to get a copy of Metro and read it in the sun on Platform Four.

Platform 4? It's only got a Platform 1 and 2. 

Self isolation obviously working wonders. 

[eightonedee]

Insert Quote
Quote from: Gordon the Blue Engine on Today at 12:46:00 pm
Quote from: Marlburian on Yesterday at 02:29:04 pm
Passing Pangbourne Station around 1000 today I popped in to get a copy of Metro and read it in the sun on Platform Four.

Platform 4? It's only got a Platform 1 and 2.

Self isolation obviously working wonders.  Grin
{like}
Posted on: Today at 12:46:00 pm

He's living in a Tilehurst, Goring or Cholsey world, assuming that the platform by the relief up line is 4 like it is elsewhere - and probably as it was before the mainline platforms were removed from Pangbourne in (I think) the 1970s (?)

[IndustryInsider]

Seems like GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have given up with the emergency timetable today.

From Monday the drivers (and I presume TM^‡(resolve)'s) normal workings have been altered to reflect the emergency timetable with the reduced amount of work needing to be covered consolidated into existing diagrams.  That means only about half of the staff numbers will be needed to cover the revised timetable, which will mean a lot of sickness will be able to be absorbed with no cancellations.  An awful lot of work was required by the planning department to make these short notice changes.

To avoid the scenario we had last week where excess staff were filling up the messrooms, overflowing into emergency messrooms and not doing any work, many that have not been allocated work will be told to stay at home during their shift, but be ready to come into work if needed. 

[Marlburian]

Insert Quote
Quote from: Gordon the Blue Engine on Today at 12:46:00 pm
Quote from: Marlburian on Yesterday at 02:29:04 pm
Passing Pangbourne Station around 1000 today I popped in to get a copy of Metro and read it in the sun on Platform Four.

Platform 4? It's only got a Platform 1 and 2.

Self isolation obviously working wonders.  Grin
{like}
Posted on: Today at 12:46:00 pm

He's living in a Tilehurst, Goring or Cholsey world, assuming that the platform by the relief up line is 4 like it is elsewhere - and probably as it was before the mainline platforms were removed from Pangbourne in (I think) the 1970s (?)

Tilehurst world!* I forgot that mainline trains can't/don't stop at Pangbourne, hence the minibus services from Tilehurst in the late evening.I do catch local services from Pangbourne, Goring and Cholsey back to Tilehurst occasionally but just wait on the obvious platform.

Incidentally why were the mainline platforms removed? To give a bit more space for fast-running 125s?

* Or perhaps in a time warp, and I had returned to the old days when there were four platforms at Pangbourne. I do retreat to the past now and then, and after a day researching the Great War wrote a cheque dated "1914" - the bank returned it to me. A couple of minutes after the leaving the station, I passed the houses known as the Seven Deadly Sins and wonder if they pre-dated the railway and if they did, then the owners must have been truly peed off by the railway being built. In fact they were erected in 1896. Perhaps not the best location now, with trains speeding past at the back and a busy main road out front.

[eightonedee]

Incidentally why were the mainline platforms removed? To give a bit more space for fast-running 125s?

That's my recollection, when the track was I think "banked" and realigned in anticipation of 125 mph running. If I am wrong, I have no doubt someone on this forum will put me right!