SWR service changes due to Salisbury Accident

[whole diary]

[grahame]

I have tried to correlate SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) service changes by station

Dean and Mottisfont - no service (stated as no buses)
Chandler's Ford - buses every two hours (seen posts that say from lunchtime!)
Swaythling - four trains per DAY
Romsey - one train per hour (to Portsmouth, serves Redbridge and Millbrook)
St Denys - one train per hour each way on Southampton to Portsmouth line
   (three trains per DAY on main line via Eastleigh)

Grateley - no service (not sure about buses)
Andover - one train per hour to Basingstoke, one per day to London
   (connection time 12 minutes at BSK^▸ (Brake Standard Corridor (carriage)) to / from the PMH to WAT train)

In summary - just one diesel train shuttling up and down between Andover and Basingstoke out of the whole raft normally running to the east of Salisbury.  Is that really enough to help keep customers engaged, or would SWR rather be all electric ...

[JayMac]

SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) have maps and bus timetables on their website. Attached below.

Ticket acceptance remains in place for reasonable routes with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and London Underground, and between Reading and Southampton with CrossCountry. I would expect this will remain in place until the line reopens.

Validity for already purchased tickets dated for use between 31st Oct - 4th Nov is extended to 6th November. I don't think there will be another extension - most, if not all, who delayed their travel will have completed it by now. Those intending to travel will be made aware of the disruption at the point of purchase.

[ChrisB]

I don't think they will need to keep customers 'engaged', it's only a fortnight's closure (at worst), rather than another epidemic.

[ChrisB]

Validity for tickets dated for use between 31st Oct - 4th Nov is extended to 6th November. I don't think there will be another extension - most, if not all, who delayed their travel will have completed it by now.

I asked National Rail that question on twitter & they responded that SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) are currently reviewing this and likely to extend. Once decision made, National Rail will update their web page.

[bobm]

XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise))'s Sunday services this weekend from Reading to Southampton are diverted via Guildford rather than Basingstoke.  There is bus replacement between Reading and Basingstoke.

[grahame]

I understand why SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) are running buses from Salisbury to Andover, but why are they running through trains from Andover to Waterloo like they normally do?  Passengers from places like Honiton and Axminster, usually with through trains, now have
* Train to Salisbury
* Bus to Andover
* Train to Basingstoke
* Train to Waterloo
which strikes me as one change more than is necessary ...

[JayMac]

Presumably because they don't have sufficient units east of Salisbury. And no way to get them there without requesting assistance from drivers from other TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company)/FOCs^▸ (Freight Operating Company) who have route knowledge. Drivers are in short supply at the moment.

[ChrisB]

And even if they get them east of Salisbury, presumably they need to return to Salisbury for fuelling/servicing them?

[paul7575]

And even if they get them east of Salisbury, presumably they need to return to Salisbury for fuelling/servicing them?

They can theoretically fuel them at Fratton, but it’s over two years since SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) went there, so there’s probably route knowledge issues as well.  But it’s probably a basic lack of stock at the moment.

[PhilWakely]

Presumably because they don't have sufficient units east of Salisbury. And no way to get them there without requesting assistance from drivers from other TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company)/FOCs^▸ (Freight Operating Company) who have route knowledge. Drivers are in short supply at the moment.

And even if they get them east of Salisbury, presumably they need to return to Salisbury for fuelling/servicing them?

this is how............. 



The location should be instantly recognisable.



edited to add a caption to the image

[JayMac]

The location should be instantly recognisable.

Is this a quiz?

Taunton? 

[JayMac]

All alternative reasonable route options remain in place.

Ticket date use has also been extended to 15th November 2021.

Updated information From SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) (as at 0555 07/11/2021):

What's going on
Due to urgent repairs to the railway between Salisbury and Andover all lines are blocked. Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day on 15/11/21.

What We're Doing About It
Following Emergency services responding to an incident at Fisherton Tunnel near Salisbury Station, urgent repairs are now being carried out. This means that at present all lines between Salisbury and Andover and Salisbury and Romsey are blocked.

Lines in the area will remain closed, affecting our trains between Exeter and Basingstoke and Great Western Railway (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) trains between Westbury and Portsmouth. Whilst specialist teams continue their investigations, we urge you not to travel on this part of the network.

If you have tickets dated between 31st October and 15th November, they can be used at any time during these dates.

If you do need to travel, we will keep you moving as best we can. If you decide to travel on this route, your journey will take longer than planned and part of your journey may be made by replacement transport. Some early morning trains will also not run or run an amended timetable. Please ensure you check your journey before you travel.

The following replacement buses are in service today to assist with your journeys:

Between Salisbury and Basingstoke. Calling at Salisbury, Grateley, Andover, Overton and Basingstoke:

- XX:40 from Salisbury to Basingstoke, starting at 06:40
- A 05:05 service from Basingstoke to Salisbury.
- XX:50 from Basingstoke to Salisbury, starting at 07:50

Between Salisbury and Eastleigh. Calling at Salisbury, Romsey, Chandlers Ford and Eastleigh:

- XX:08 from Eastleigh to Romsey, starting at 08:08
- XX:08 from Romsey to Eastleigh, starting at 08:08
- XX:08 from Salisbury to Romsey, starting at 09:08
- XX:38 from Romsey to Salisbury, starting at 08:38

You can also use your ticket, at no extra cost, on the following services:

-Great Western Railway on any reasonable route
-London Underground on any reasonable route
-CrossCountry between Reading and Southampton Central
-XelaBus routes X6 and X7 between Eastleigh and Chandlers Ford

If you have paid for your own taxi to travel due to this disruption, then this can be claimed back from our Customer Services team.

The above quoted RRB^▸ (Rail Replacement Bus) times appear to be for today (Sunday 7th November) only. There may well be a different timetable tomorrow.

[Mark A]

Travelling Bristol to Waterloo, the through trains aside, connections at Salisbury being at certain times of the day so bad, the National Rail site will offer a connection at Southampton instead. Occasionally an advance through fare will be listed using that route. How bad do the connections at Salisbury need to be before the routing guide accepts a routing via Salisbury and Southampton, anyone?

[paul7575]

Travelling Bristol to Waterloo, the through trains aside, connections at Salisbury being at certain times of the day so bad, the National Rail site will offer a connection at Southampton instead. Occasionally an advance through fare will be listed using that route. How bad do the connections at Salisbury need to be before the routing guide accepts a routing via Salisbury and Southampton, anyone?

Is this in the right thread?  With no trains Salisbury to Southampton because of this accident this route wouldn’t be any use at the moment.  I thought it’s not that long since Waterloo to Salisbury via Southampton was removed from the routeing guide though?

[Mark A]

Probably not in the right place... and thanks for the info that Southampton may have been removed from the routing guide relatively recently.