2022 - TransWilts cancellations and amendments log

[whole diary]

[grahame]

16:25 Westbury to Swindon due 17:08
17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19

17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[Phil]

16:25 Westbury to Swindon due 17:08
17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19

17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Noooooo! There goes my train home again.

Not exactly easy to get a bus from Westbury to Melksham of an evening either...

[grahame]

20:45 Swindon to Westbury due 21:26

20:45 Swindon to Westbury due 21:26 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

[grahame]

And (the first of) today's cancellations ...

12:17 Westbury to Swindon due 13:03
13:15 Swindon to Westbury due 13:56

13:15 Swindon to Westbury due 13:56 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Additional Information
Replacement road transport has been requested to run between Chippenham and stations Westbury.

Please check the stations Onward Travel Information poster and wait for the replacement road transport at the designated stop.

The replacement road transport may run later than the advertised train times owing to the additional time taken by road between stations and the time required for loading and unloading at each stop.

Customers at Swindon and Chippenham with tickets routed 'via Melksham' travelling to Trowbridge or Westbury should travel on the 13:29 Bristol Temple Meads service from Swindon (13:41 from Chippenham) and change at Bath Spa for the 14:03 service towards Frome which calls at Trowbridge (14:25) and Westbury (12:31).

No - wait - the 05:17 from Westbury and 06:11 from Swindon have already been cancelled as well - a regular cancellation at present so that all the other services can run reliably.  What a let down!

[ChrisB]

Has the crew been nicked to run additional Cheltenham services? If so, that should have notified in advance.

[brooklea]

17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to flood water making the railway potentially unsafe.

18:34 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21 will be cancelled.
This is due to flood water making the railway potentially unsafe.

Alterations to services between Reading and Westbury
Due to flood water making the railway potentially unsafe between Reading and Westbury some lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 30 minutes or diverted between Reading and Taunton. Disruption is expected until 18:30 16/03.

Not been a good day on (and off) the TransWilts…

[Trowres]

The Melksham route not blocked, but being used by diverted B&H^▸ (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) services. Westbound 1C88 passed through Melksham and (around 17:30) Trowbridge.

Meanwhile, the preceding westbound train, 1C86 has reversed at Woodborough and is now (17:34) running back towards Reading.

[PhilWakely]

I know this is a pointless question that probably has already been posed many times, but..... "In the event of a local service being cancelled to allow the route to be used for diversionary purposes, why can the diverted service not call additionally at Westbury, Melksham, Chippenham and Swindon?"

You read on Journeycheck many a time that "service xx:xx from somewhere to elsewhere will call additionally at..... This is because a train has been cancelled"

Surely GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) cannot claim that the extra stops will add too much time to the already delayed service?  The IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) are equipped with SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening), so that would not be a problem.

[grahame]

The Melksham route not blocked, but being used by diverted B&H^▸ (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) services. Westbound 1C88 passed through Melksham and (around 17:30) Trowbridge.

Meanwhile, the preceding westbound train, 1C86 has reversed at Woodborough and is now (17:34) running back towards Reading.

We are - VERY - patient when these things happen, but frankly patience wears thin.  When are they going to redouble like the Kemble line (which was singled at the same, but has now been redoubled)?  It's getting silly!

[bobm]

The Melksham route not blocked, but being used by diverted B&H^▸ (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) services. Westbound 1C88 passed through Melksham and (around 17:30) Trowbridge.

Meanwhile, the preceding westbound train, 1C86 has reversed at Woodborough and is now (17:34) running back towards Reading.

Only the westbound (down) line is closed at Lavington due to flooding.  Up trains are still able to use the route.

[bobm]

I know this is a pointless question that probably has already been posed many times, but..... "In the event of a local service being cancelled to allow the route to be used for diversionary purposes, why can the diverted service not call additionally at Westbury, Melksham, Chippenham and Swindon?"

You read on Journeycheck many a time that "service xx:xx from somewhere to elsewhere will call additionally at..... This is because a train has been cancelled"

Surely GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) cannot claim that the extra stops will add too much time to the already delayed service?  The IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) are equipped with SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening), so that would not be a problem.

Does it come down to crew competency?  As well as the train being capable do the crew have to be too.   If so it might be something that could be included once the backlog of training has been reduced.

[grahame]

I know this is a pointless question that probably has already been posed many times, but ..... "In the event of a local service being cancelled to allow the route to be used for diversionary purposes, why can the diverted service not call additionally at Westbury, Melksham, Chippenham and Swindon?"

You read on Journeycheck many a time that "service xx:xx from somewhere to elsewhere will call additionally at..... This is because a train has been cancelled"

Surely GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) cannot claim that the extra stops will add too much time to the already delayed service?  The IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) are equipped with SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening), so that would not be a problem.

It has been asked many times.   Sadly, GWR can and do claim it adds too many extra delays (and their noses look, to me, to grow longer each time they do so).   They also tell us that the times the diverted trains are passing through may not be close to the times of the trains they've cancelled and question whether they would be an appropriate substitute.

[PhilWakely]

Sadly, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) can and do claim it adds too many extra delays (and their noses look, to me, to grow longer each time they do so).   They also tell us that the times the diverted trains are passing through may not be close to the times of the trains they've cancelled and question whether they would be an appropriate substitute.

Surely, common sense would suggest that you don't cancel a service that would not have any impact on a diverted service ?

[IndustryInsider]

It has been asked many times.   Sadly, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) can and do claim it adds too many extra delays (and their noses look, to me, to grow longer each time they do so).   They also tell us that the times the diverted trains are passing through may not be close to the times of the trains they've cancelled and question whether they would be an appropriate substitute.

I think there is an element of that.  If you were to add four extra stops to a long distance train it will add 5-10 minutes to what might already be a very considerable delay, as well as add a couple of minutes as the diverted train goes through the single line section.  However, I do think that should be looked at in detail by GWR as an option and not just dismissed.

Does it come down to crew competency?  As well as the train being capable do the crew have to be too.   If so it might be something that could be included once the backlog of training has been reduced.

Crew competency shouldn't be an issue, if the crew sign the route, they should also sign the stations on that route.  You might need to add Melksham to the SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening) database on IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) (the others are already on it, including Trowbridge), but other than that a briefing notice would probably be a good idea, but nothing more.

[bobm]

A diverted Plymouth service is going to call at Swindon at around 18:30 and then Westbury at 18:58 but not currently Chippenham - which currently has no service because of a separate incident near Bristol.