2022 - TransWilts cancellations and amendments log

[whole diary]

[grahame]

So that's the first five TransWilts services cancelled this morning.

* BOTH northbound peak commuter trains into Chippenham and Swindon CANCELLED
* BOTH southbound trains used by commuters to Trowbridge and Westbury CANCELLED

* First arrival into Swindon 10:33 - normally the fourth train on a very sparse timetable
* First arrival into Westbury 11:47 - normally the third train on a very sparse timetable

This means that people have woken to a train service useless for commuters.   Alternatives? ...

Further Information

If you hold a valid single, return, or weekly ticket, you will be able to claim compensation for delays of 15 minutes or more. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).com/DelayRepay

To be clear, that is a refund you will be able to claim, and not compensation.  If you lose your job, miss an interview or a flight because of GWR's failure to run to timetable and provide an alternative, they will not compensate you for your losses.   They are not even running a replacement bus to make up for their inability to provide trains like they used to, nor making arrangements with the bus company that runs the closes service to the line to carry you or telling you about that option.   Shame on GWR!

Made all the more galling by the very, very few cancellations elsewhere on the GWR system, and that fact that multiple trains that are on the line at the same time are both out, indicating this is not just a case of one member of their staff calling in sick. It looks like it could be a systemic decision to sacrifice the line.

[Timmer]

Looking at other services cancelled/running short, it looks like the crew issue could be at Westbury. Not the first time this has happened during school holidays at Westbury and probably not helped by covid.

[bobm]

Bit of everything this morning.

Driver shortages at both Westbury and Gloucester
A serviceable set blocked in the sidings at Westbury by another unit with locked brakes
A third set removed from traffic due to no working toilets and a fitter in the midst of working on them

The question remains about replacement road transport.  If there was any it wasn't advertised.  I know getting road transport arranged in the morning peak can be difficult but with the schools off it might have been easier.

Looking forward, with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) no longer serving Brighton, Fratton drivers will learn the Melksham route to add another option when looking for crew.

[grahame]

Bit of everything this morning ...

I think I hit something of a raw nerve with my post this morning ... long chat on the phone with the line manager.   On one hand, everything transpired against them this morning ... on the other hand, everything transpires against them all too often.  But as it's so many different things, no easy fix.

I am mindful of other unusually unreliable services we were mindful of this time last year, such as the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) service from Bristol and Bath to Waterloo, and the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services east of Portsmouth to Brighton, and how we learned - rather late in the day and without consultation in the proper sense - that they were ending. I was assured that there are no such plans for the Swindon to Westbury service - assured but to be reassured I personally need to see an end to one set of problems after another ... a morning where six out of perhaps 400 morning services run by GWR were cancelled, and three of those were on the TransWilts, together with two other "part route"s that were scheduled on the line.

There are through trains scheduled this summer from Swindon to Weymouth and back on Saturdays.  Better than previous years, where we had the direct train to Weymouth that we had asked for in the morning but then a wait of over an hour at Westbury on the way back.   I have asked GWR to let me know in a couple of weeks if they'll be a marketable product, or something we fear to promote through lack of reliability.

[bobm]

..and now a shortage of signalling staff threatened two more TW services - but both now re-instated.

[grahame]

..and now a shortage of signalling staff threatened two more TW services - but both now re-instated.

There is a whole general topic of one thing / reason given after another over years which make the service incredibly unreliable ... and reliability is key to - err - people relying on a service!

[grahame]

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05
20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05 was 20 minutes late but is expected to be on time from Gloucester.
This is due to a problem currently under investigation.

[grahame]

05:17 Westbury to Swindon due 05:59
05:17 Westbury to Swindon due 05:59 will be cancelled.
This is due to engineering works not being finished on time.

06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:09
06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:09 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge.
This is due to engineering works not being finished on time.

[grahame]

21:07 Swindon to Westbury due 21:49

21:07 Swindon to Westbury due 21:49 will be starting late from Swindon and is expected to be 25 minutes late.
This is due to train crew being delayed by service disruption.

[bobm]

Not shown on Journeycheck but Tiger is suggesting the 07:30 replacement bus from Westbury to Swindon has been cancelled.

[TaplowGreen]

17:44 Swindon to Westbury due 18:25 will be cancelled.

This is due to a member of on-train staff being taken ill.

[grahame]

Not shown on Journeycheck but Tiger is suggesting the 07:30 replacement bus from Westbury to Swindon has been cancelled.

I can confirm that ...

17:44 Swindon to Westbury due 18:25 will be cancelled.

This is due to a member of on-train staff being taken ill.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have "prioritised" the service that leaves Westbury at around 07:30 and the service back just after 17:30 - recognising them as key services that should have high quality reliability in a sea that's been all too mediocre.  They've not exactly covered themselves with glory in even this very limited aspiration of late.  Last minute sickness is understandable - this morning's issued, as posted in public elsewhere by a regular passenger is not.

What a farce on Sunday 17th Easter Sunday.
The first service should have been a bus replacement leaving westbury 730am.
No bus turn up and even though it was advertised apparently they forgot to booked the bus.
No usable taxi replacement either as it was 2 hours wait for a taxi

[bobm]

While any cancellation is regrettable (and more) the commitment to the “service which leaves Westbury at around 07:30 and the service back just after 17:30” applies to weekday services. 

[grahame]

While any cancellation is regrettable (and more) the commitment to the “service which leaves Westbury at around 07:30 and the service back just after 17:30” applies to weekday services. 

Yes, I know the very limited extent of the extra commitment. We have commuters on 7 days a week though, and with the next Sunday service "temporarily" suspended for three months now ... next service from Westbury to Swindon at 12:45, so the 07:30 is pretty important!

But really I thought GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s commitment / contract was to run the full service and not just a handful of "special case" services ...

[grahame]

18:34 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
20:45 Swindon to Westbury due 21:26

20:45 Swindon to Westbury due 21:26 will be cancelled.
This is due to the train driver being taken ill.