South Western Railways Waterloo - Bristol services axed

[whole diary]

[grahame]

As from 17th January 2022, the hourly services from London (Waterloo) to Exeter are only running as far as Salisbury, where passengers from London and other stations east of Salisbury are required to change trains (20 minute wait) for the onward service which is reduced in frequency to once every 2 hours, though there are a couple of through trains in the "rush hour".

This is far too big a topic to have under the "Waterloo - Bristol services axed" thread, so I have split off posts from this thread - please see http://www.passenger.chat/25879

Yet having split the topic off anew, there are, surely, patterns to be noted and parallels considered in the activities of SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) in how they are treating passengers from west of Salisbury - be they from Trowbridge or Axminster, Bristol or Exeter, to London and to intermediate stations such as Clapham Junction and Basingstoke.

[Mark A]

South Western Railway having announced a date at which their services will return to 'Pre-omicron' levels 21st February - aside from the fact that this feels as though it lags levels of returning passengers rather than anticipating them, I must set to one side that the first omicron cases turned up around the 24th November so on that basis they should really include other casualty of Covid, the Bristol to Waterloos. (OK, that's not First Group that's the government, and I'm really hoping that in due course, along with a couple of other things :-) it turns into an election issue.)

[grahame]

South Western Railway having announced a date at which their services will return to 'Pre-omicron' levels 21st February - aside from the fact that this feels as though it lags levels of returning passengers rather than anticipating them, I must set to one side that the first omicron cases turned up around the 24th November so on that basis they should really include other casualty of Covid, the Bristol to Waterloos. (OK, that's not First Group that's the government, and I'm really hoping that in due course, along with a couple of other things :-) it turns into an election issue.)

I put your point to the Regional Manager at South Western Railway, asking if the timetable being re-introduced was the one that was running pre-Omicron until (i.e. before 24th November) through to 10th December - which is how their statement read.

Sadly, the timetable being re-introduced is the one from mid December, well, well into Omicron (not pre-Omicron). He writes:

With regard to the pre-Omicron timetable I can confirm this is the one that applied from the timetable change in December 21, i.e. excluding Bristol.

[grahame]

South Western Railway having announced a date at which their services will return to 'Pre-omicron' levels 21st February ....

Unfair considering the weather issues, but it has been pointed out to me that this promise has not been kept ... services this morning are not at the level they were at the start of December, nor at the level they were at mid December ...

Cancellations to services on all routes
Due to severe weather some lines are blocked.
What's Going On:
Train services running across the whole South Western Railway network may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
What We're Doing About It:
Storm Franklin will cause severe disruption to our network today and we are urging you not to travel.
Storm Franklin expected to lead to high level of incidents across the network
50mph speed limit will cause delays and cancellations
Customer safety and welfare the top priority
Tickets booked for travel on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday will be accepted on Tuesday.
Since Fridays winds of over 90mph, Network Rail have cleared more than 50 fallen trees from our network. We still face challenging weather conditions as the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for Storm Franklin until the end of today. With the wind direction expected to change it is very likely that more trees will come down during Storm Franklin, having been weakened over the last two days.
With strong winds forecast, there will be a 50mph speed restriction across the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) network on Monday to protect the safety of our customers and colleagues, causing delays and cancellations to services. We also anticipate further line blockages due to fallen trees and we urge you not to travel as we regrettably are unable to guarantee replacement travel services will be provided during this challenging time.
We're sorry for the disruption that this is causing and thank you for your patience as we deal with the ongoing severe weather.
Tickets for travel on Friday 18th, Saturday 19th, Sunday 20th or Monday 21st February will be accepted for travel on Tuesday 22nd February. If you are travelling on an advanced ticket on Tuesday 22nd February, please try to travel at a similar time to your original booking.
If you wish to rebook your journey at another time you can do so with no administration fee. If you have tickets dated for travel on Friday 18th, Saturday 19th, Sunday 20th or Monday 21st February and decide not to travel, you will be able to obtain a refund with no administration fee. This may be able to be completed at your local Ticket Office but it depends on the type of ticket you purchased and where you originally purchased your ticket. You must apply for a refund within 28 days of the ticket's expiry date. More information on ticket refunds can be found here: www.southwesternrailway.com/contact-and-help/train-ticket-refunds
For the latest information visit https://www.journeycheck.com/swr/
For more information about how we work with Network Rail to combat delays caused by poor weather conditions, you can visit Network Rails Delays Explained here: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/looking-after-the-railway/delays-explained/

[Mark A]

The linked article suggests that SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) has commissioned research to identify "The top literary hotspots in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)" and rated them 1 to 9. It moved me to consider each with regards to through trains from Bristol / Bath.

While SWR does still serve London (Number 1 in the charts) the other two on the list that they *did* serve  -Bristol at number 9 and Bath at number 5 - the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) pressured them into dropping those two from their network.

Turning to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), from Bristol, by direct trains they once served Oxford (Number 4) and in May will cease to serve Brighton (Number 3).

It's probably appropriate to give a nod to Wales and West's long vanished service to Liverpool (6 in the list)

And also perhaps, for Bath, Edinburgh (Number 2 in the list and pre-Covid, served by a single through train courtesy of Crosscountry). Also, an honourable mention to the Bristol - Edinburgh sleeper, lost at privatisation when it had a steady 50000 passengers a year.

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/city-bridgerton-set-crowned-top-6885377

[REVUpminster]

In my attic I have a Graham Farish N gauge model of a 158 Alpha train that ran from Paignton-Southampton?? along the south coast. Who can remember this train and who operated it?

I did once due to Engineering works on a Saturday Waterloo- Paignton/Plymouth 159 service diverted via Southampton and it ran so late it was reversed early at Newton Abbot.

[bobm]

Just to note for the record, the petition closed with 6,572 signatures.

[grahame]

Just to note for the record, the petition closed with 6,572 signatures.

Signatures by Constituency (this is the top of the list)
1,617 - Chippenham
1,496 - South West Wiltshire
469 - Bath
333 - North East Somerset
145 - Somerton and Frome
119 - Bristol West
103 - Devizes
98 - North Wiltshire
97 - North West Hampshire
88 - Salisbury
69 - Bristol South
67 - Kingswood
50 - Bristol North West
49 - Basingstoke
42 - Bristol East
30 - Woking

Signatures by Region (this is the top of the list)
5,025 - South West
553 - South East
395 - London
90 - East of England
59 - East Midlands

[Mark A]

Very sorry that the petition wasn't enough to secure the Waterloo train service - and also very pleased that Graham was moved to create it in the first place as it has recorded data that's useful for the future.

Even in the few months that's elapsed since the service ceased, economic challenges, and people's economic circumstances have changed considerably and the need for these trains has if anything increased. It's a loss to individuals, to communities and to the rail industry that interchange at Salisbury is now so poor.

Mark

[Mark A]

In view of the often poor connections offered at Salisbury, I've asked South Western Railway to change the routeing guide to permit  travel from Waterloo to Bristol via Southampton. (Not sure when it ceased to be a valid route, does anyone know?)

Mark

[paul7575]

In view of the often poor connections offered at Salisbury, I've asked South Western Railway to change the routeing guide to permit  travel from Waterloo to Bristol via Southampton. (Not sure when it ceased to be a valid route, does anyone know?)

Mark

It was quite a few years ago, (since found a 2013 discussion in railforums.co.uk).

IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly) a whole load of the routes and maps were “fixed” shortly after someone unwisely insisted to a train guard that according to the maps he could use a Basingstoke to Fareham ticket via Salisbury…

Is Waterloo to Bristol via Southampton quicker than the normal route?  Is the 2 tph Waterloo to Salisbury ever returning?

The NRES^▸ (National Rail Enquiry Service) journey planner suggests Waterloo to Salisbury via Southampton is only permitted with a higher price “via Southampton” ticket.  Their info box says it can only be used via Southampton, which seems odd as it’s a higher price than the any permitted…

Paul

[Mark A]

Is Waterloo to Bristol via Southampton quicker than the normal route?  Is the 2 tph Waterloo to Salisbury ever returning?

Thanks for this. Via Southampton is sometimes no slower. In the evening, there's a three hour slot from 18:20 to 21:20 when the connections at Salisbury are sufficiently dire that the National Rail journey planner advises travel via Southampton - but then if return fares are selected, states 'No fares available'. It's happy to sell an advance fare via Southampton - how an advance fare is available for connecting trains on a route that's supposidly not valid is another matter.

Also, did SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) previously have a blanket ban on the use of off peak return halves of tickets in the evening peak? The National Rail site seems to think this no longer applies & SWR's web site in the way it describes peak travel ticket restrictions... it could be better.

Mark

[paul7575]

Is Waterloo to Bristol via Southampton quicker than the normal route?  Is the 2 tph Waterloo to Salisbury ever returning?

Thanks for this. Via Southampton is sometimes no slower. In the evening, there's a three hour slot from 18:20 to 21:20 when the connections at Salisbury are sufficiently dire that the National Rail journey planner advises travel via Southampton - but then if return fares are selected, states 'No fares available'. It's happy to sell an advance fare via Southampton - how an advance fare is available for connecting trains on a route that's supposidly not valid is another matter.

Also, did SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) previously have a blanket ban on the use of off peak return halves of tickets in the evening peak? The National Rail site seems to think this no longer applies & SWR's web site in the way it describes peak travel ticket restrictions... it could be better.

Mark

My understanding is that yes, advance fares do exist outside the routeing rules, and always have.

When SWR started they didn’t have any blanket evening restrictions on “Offpeak” fares, but they did initially continue with SWT^▸ (South West Trains)’s evening restrictions on the “Super-Offpeak”.   The latter didn’t allow departure from Waterloo, Vauxhall or Clapham Jn between 1600 and 1900.

Paul

[Mark A]

In view of the often poor connections offered at Salisbury, I've asked South Western Railway to change the routeing guide to permit  travel from Waterloo to Bristol via Southampton. (Not sure when it ceased to be a valid route, does anyone know?)

Mark

SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) customer service have responded that the routing point calculator is broken with a technical issue, no timeframe to fix but will be reinstated on their web site once sorted. 

Mark

[Mark A]

Resource listing the top issue in all parliamentary constituencies. Too much to hope that for Chippenham, it's 'Economy' rather than 'Gis Trowbridge back its Waterloo trains'.

Press release
https://twitter.com/chrishanretty/status/1520057621109166080

Data (in a Google Doc)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oGsSNopxoRwbG2sVJpAY4a8kKYVZxlmcfVVcyGdJUv4/edit#gid=0

Mark