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

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

A vaguely philosophical, or possibly unnecessarily pedantic, question; might a majority of the aforementioned cancellations be better described as an absence of train crew?

Certainly the word "shortage" makes it feel (to me, anyway) that the reasons are technical in nature and it dumbs down the severe and ongoing issues we have, and the utterly heartbreaking effect of customers (or, rather, on customers and the potential customer base) and those of us who want to befriend the railways and foster their success.  How on earth can we motivate ourselves, and ask our friends and contacts to trust our advocacy of rail, when the service provided leaks like a colander?

Having missed the last "Meet the Manager" due to work commitments, were these issues and the subject of crew "shortage" on the agenda, and what was Mark Hopwood's response?

Certainly feels like it's the #1 issue just now (not just on the Transwilts), whether induced by industrial action or simply a failure of the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) to recruit and retain enough staff to fulfil their commitments.

I have read through the numerous responses to my question and in summary the answer seems to be "No" - thanks all! 

[TaplowGreen]

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

09:46 Westbury to Swindon due 10:34
09:46 Westbury to Swindon due 10:34 will be cancelled.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

11:05 Swindon to Westbury due 11:47
11:05 Swindon to Westbury due 11:47 will be cancelled.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

[grahame]

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

09:46 Westbury to Swindon due 10:34
09:46 Westbury to Swindon due 10:34 will be cancelled.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

11:05 Swindon to Westbury due 11:47
11:05 Swindon to Westbury due 11:47 will be cancelled.
This is due to train crew being delayed.

But the two evening trains have been re-instated (or at least no longer shown as cancelled on JourneyCheck)

How are people supposed to plan and implements their days with this sort of thing going on?

[grahame]

15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59

15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.

[grahame]

19:40 Weymouth to Swindon due 22:01

19:40 Weymouth to Swindon due 22:01 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Weymouth, Dorchester West, Maiden Newton, Chetnole, Yetminster, Thornford, Yeovil Pen Mill, Castle Cary and Frome.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

That will be interesting for any of the 35 people who joined the opposite working at 09:10 at Melksham this morning on the way to Weymouth.   I think there is a train half an hour later from Weymouth to Westbury - hope GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) gave a good supply of buses there!

Well ... I've heard back from passengers who went to Weymouth for a family day out ... and it would appear that customer care was not in place ... later train as expected, but then long wait at Westbury for taxis giving a compound lateness of 90 minutes.  And with information and planning along the way that left the passengers feeling stressed, but also complimentary about the operational staff they met along the way.

[TaplowGreen]

06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:07

06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:07 will be started from Trowbridge.
It will no longer call at Swindon, Chippenham and Melksham.

It will be delayed at Trowbridge and is expected to be 5 minutes late.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:07

06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:07 will be started from Trowbridge.
It will no longer call at Swindon, Chippenham and Melksham.

It will be delayed at Trowbridge and is expected to be 5 minutes late.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Looking at Real Time Trains, this service was supposed to appear out of thin air at Swindon - no ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) showing that I could see, and not starting back from Gloucester as it usually does because of planned engineering.  A Trowbridge start indicates it came down from Bristol to enter service there;  should have doubled back at Swindon if GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) provided the service to plan, or Chippenham if they were short on time.  As it is, first southbound train at Melksham now at 09:10 rather than 06:36

[IndustryInsider]

Looking at Real Time Trains, this service was supposed to appear out of thin air at Swindon - no ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) showing that I could see, and not starting back from Gloucester as it usually does because of planned engineering.

Looks like a planning error.  The sort of thing that has always happened from time to time, but is increasingly common at the moment due to the general shambles the industry is in.

[TaplowGreen]

16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:08

16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:08 will be starting late from Westbury.
This is due to a broken down train earlier today.

[TaplowGreen]

09:52 Westbury to Swindon due 10:36
09:52 Westbury to Swindon due 10:36 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

11:04 Swindon to Westbury due 11:48
11:04 Swindon to Westbury due 11:48 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

[grahame]

The 09:10 at Melksham this morning (the Weymouth train) turned up with 2 carriages not 3.  Full and standing ... I have exact figures to follow.   Not sure what's happened to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s promise of a three car on this one; may seem a small issue in the big picture, but there are hundreds of people from Swindon, Chippenham and Melksham looking for a pleasant train ride for a day at. the seaside and many are new or newly returned to rail.

[Mark A]

The blogger 'IansVisits' was bitten by a three carriage train from Waterloo followed by a... missed connection at Salisbury. He will have caught the 7:10  Exeter train from Waterloo, 3 carriages, which actually got going at 7:29, perhaps everyone knows it has a 20 minute wait at Salisbury.

Its Realtime trains trace looks odd, because once it neared Salisbury it was recorded as simultaneously east of Tunnel Junction (with the Warminster connection occupying the platform ahead of it at Salisbury) and also at Tisbury loop - having called at Salisbury and gained additional 3 carriages (at the point at which the overcrowding from Waterloo will have likely eased).

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:L21693/2023-08-19/detailed#allox_id=0

Ian then waited 40 minutes or so and presumably caught the 09:45 from Salisbury to Cardiff, running slightly late, but not quite late enough to afford a connection from the 9:50 Exeter train close behind it. Ian would have arrived at  Warminster at 10:09 and, until he saw the length of the bus queues, might have ruefully pondered on the attractions of Warminster's one through train of the day from Waterloo, the 08:50 departure, which though it also had only three carriages, left on time and remained so throughout. Indeed, he might have admired it from his vantage point in the queue for buses  as it called at the station at 10:49.

It'll be interesting to hear how his return journey goes.

Mark

[Mark A]

... the attractions of Warminster's one through train of the day from Waterloo, the 08:50 departure, which though it also had only three carriages, left on time and remained so throughout. Indeed, he might have admired it from his vantage point in the queue for buses  as it called at the station at 10:49.

Update, the Waterloo - Warminster through train ran full and standing:

https://twitter.com/msolwilliams/status/1692821404255719713

Mark

[grahame]

The 12:07 Westbury to Swindon left at 12:46 ... "train late from depot".  I was catching it at Trowbridge ... story to be written up this evening.  Only getting as far as Chippenham when I left it at Melksham - by that time 41 minutes late. 23 passenger on from Trowbridge, 3 off at Melksham and a further 14 joined.

[TaplowGreen]

16:35 Westbury to Swindon due 17:17
16:35 Westbury to Swindon due 17:17 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

17:44 Swindon to Westbury due 18:25
17:44 Swindon to Westbury due 18:25 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.