2023 - Train update and amendment log - Swindon <-> Westbury

[whole diary]

[Mark A]

I have just been to the Transport Focus meeting in Bristol.  And the one thing they keep coming up with is that the key thing the passenger want is reliability.   We don't have it ... next train 2 hours after the one I had planned ...

Put me in mind that on the day of the meeting Transport Focus were tweeting about Highways undertaking to ensure road disruption was cleared within a 2 hour horizon as there was otherwise a risk of people heading to Bristol Airport by car and missing flights - and coupling that with the decision quite a few years ago to... was it pull the railway's local mobile operations manager in from their workstation at Bath Spa to the likes of Parkway, resulting in additional disruption when they needed to travel to site when there were issues. I may have that completely wrong, it's hardly a role that is public facing despite its importance.

Also thinking of a particularly galling two hour delay at the start of a long journey early one Saturday morning at Bath while the railway found someone to take responsibility for the decision that a lorry hadn't structurally clouted the arch that leads to the area behind Bath Spa Station. (The vehicle had certainly clouted the masonry but lets say that the masonry wasn't particularly concerned...)

Mark

[grahame]

I have just been to the Transport Focus meeting in Bristol.  And the one thing they keep coming up with is that the key thing the passenger want is reliability.   We don't have it ... next train 2 hours after the one I had planned ...

Put me in mind that on the day of the meeting Transport Focus were tweeting about Highways undertaking to ensure road disruption was cleared within a 2 hour horizon as there was otherwise a risk of people heading to Bristol Airport by car and missing flights ...

Transport Focus covers road these days - adde to their portfolio when they changed from "Passenger Focus".   And during the meeting they made specific reference to road delays to Bristol Airprort too.

I think it was Marcus Jones of Network Rail who was telling us of changes in how repairs to (?) points and signals were prioritised - or not - at the moment and that a points failure just outside Penzance was given the same priority as a points failure just outside Paddington, whereas that's changing so that there will in future be more priority on busier places.    On the face of it, sounds like good news for the Thames Valley threat about ongoing problems, and yet I worry that problem where there are relief and main lines don't lead to a total stoppage of traffic, whereas a point out at Penzance ....

And I'll really worry if point and signalling issues between Chippenham and Trowbridge take even longer to fix

[bobm]

I understood the thought behind prioritising the response to infrastructure failures but I didn't see the relevance of the particular example quoted.  The same group of technicians is hardly going to have to decide whether to go to Paddington or Penzance to fix something.  Unless of course there are plans to centralise maintenance crews?

[bobm]

No services on the single line due to today’s industrial action but might have been problematic anyway.  Axle counter failures led to pilot working for a few freight services using the line.

[grahame]

18:27 Frome to Swindon due 19:33

18:27 Frome to Swindon due 19:33 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Trowbridge, Melksham, Chippenham and Swindon.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

19:42 Swindon to Westbury due 20:25

19:42 Swindon to Westbury due 20:25 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Further Information

If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay

More and more, I get the feeling that Delay Repay is not enough.  What passengers want is the ability to get home at the time tha they had planned, or close to it, reliably and with little fuss or worry.  Getting their fare back is no compensation for being home on the next train 110 minutes later!

[bobm]

It looks like, today at least, their wish has been granted.  Both services were reinstated in full just after 7.15 this morning.

[ChrisB]

Can't disagree, Graham - One needs a taxi substitute if that would get you back earlier than the next train would

[grahame]

05:11 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:07

05:11 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:07 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Gloucester, Stonehouse, Stroud, Kemble, Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

Might look like an obscure service - almost 10 users last week when I used it at Melksham (06:36) and those and not typically optional / leisure users.   Noting that JourneyCheck does not mention any alternatives; next train 09:10.   An example of why so many people do not (yet?) use the train here - passenger journeys 75k per annum, when it should be 175k - so more than double what it is based on analysis of local catchment and comparison with otherwise - like towns.

The rail industry and government (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), NR^» (Network Rail - home page), DfT^» (Department for Transport - about), LTA^▸ (Local Transport Authority)) should be ashamed of this sort of thing.  See the thread elsewhere ( http://www.passenger.chat/27697 for transport scholars) in which people tell of why they do NOT use Melksham Station.

[grahame]

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05

Facilities on the 20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05.
Will be formed of 2 coaches instead of 3.

No problem at that time on a Monday.  Concern if it was the Saturday train coming up from Weymouth

[grahame]

15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59

15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59 has been delayed at Swindon and is now 27 minutes late.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

[grahame]

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.
Further Information
We've asked our road transport provider for a minibus to run between Westbury and Swindon calling at Melksham and Chippenham. We'll update this message once we have more information.
We're sorry for the disruption to your journey this morning.

If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay
Last Updated:28/07/2023 04:00

[TaplowGreen]

Mon, 31 July 05:11 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:07

Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:07 will be terminated at Westbury.

It will no longer call at Dilton Marsh, Warminster, Salisbury, Romsey and Southampton Central.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47

Facilities on the 06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47.
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 2.

[grahame]

05:11 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:07

05:11 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:07 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Dilton Marsh, Warminster, Salisbury, Romsey and Southampton Central.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

12:17 Westbury to Swindon due 12:59

12:17 Westbury to Swindon due 12:59 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

So that's a gap from 09:46 to 14:19 in trains from Westbury to Swindon.  Pretty awful on a line on which an appropriate service would be hourly.