Severn Beach line - timetables, engineering work, closures, incidents (merged topics)

[whole diary]

[martyjon]

21/09/2007

07:23 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads due 08:00
This train has been cancelled. This is due to resourcing difficulties.

Replacement road transport will be provided.


Presumably the outward working to Severn beach was also cancelled for the same reason.

[Lee]

21/09/2007

07:23 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads due 08:00
This train has been cancelled. This is due to resourcing difficulties.

Replacement road transport will be provided.


Presumably the outward working to Severn beach was also cancelled for the same reason.

From an FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) member :

The 0722 Severn Beach to Temple Meads was CANCELLED yesterday.

I couldn't believe it, as this one's never been cancelled, given it's always so busy.

The info point at Redland was saying "The time is 0740. This station is Redland. From the station forecourt." And then cut off.

I texted Traintracker (25p!) which said the train was cancelled, so told people on the platform. About 30 or so people walked off looking angry, some going home, some towards where the number 8/9 bus stops. A taxi minibus pulled up at about 0755 beeping it's horn, and about 10 or so people gathered round the front door and got on. I am assuming this was the replacement service.

[Lee]

Letter to Bristol City Council from an FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) member :

Dear Cllr

I live in Henleaze and am a daily commuter between Redland and Temple Meads, and was very much looking forward to the improved service between Avonmouth & Temple Meads from December 2007. It is therefore extremely dissapointing that we have heard this is to be further delayed until May.

Since the council budgeted for this from the start of the year, why did it not enter into discussions with First Great Western earlier? At the Passenger Focus meeting in Bristol earlier this month, Alison Forster claimed they were to get 12 new train units from December, and they'd already recruited new employees.

Why must long suffering passengers wait over a year since the money was first announced?

I would also be interested to know what station improvements that are planned over the next year, will the Council apply to the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) for Access for All funding to get information screens and automatic announcements on local stations like authorities in the former West Midlands county did?

[Lee]

From FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) (24/09/2007) :

The 0645 was 23 minutes late today , and turned round at Avonmouth rather than serving Severn Beach.

[Lee]

Quotes from Andrew Haines (link below.)
http://thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144936&command=displayContent&sourceNode=144919&contentPK=18457761&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch

"My understanding is that there's now general agreement that it can't be done for December."

"I don't think there was ever a commitment for it - we said we would look at it."

See the Bristol City Council document contained in the link below.
http://www.treeleaf.co.uk/bcc1.pdf

It is dated 3 April 2007 , and clearly states that agreement had been reached , in principle , with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to provide an additional train unit to increase service frequency on the Severn Beach Line from the December 2007 timetable change.
 
This is also listed in the 'What has been agreed so far?' section of the same document.

[Lee]

I am going to remain mindful of the Coffee Shop rules and state that this is only a well - informed rumour (as told to me) :

"It seems that Cllr Brown, (Lib Dem Exec. Transport until May 1) might have been blown off course by the May Election.

On April 11 or 17, (FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) has a copy of the document) Colin Knight completed the negotiations with First. Cllr Brown, possibly on the election trail, was too tired to sign it off."

If true then this is one of the reasons that the 40 min frequency service will not operate from December 2007.

[Lee]

We at the Coffee Shop believe in following these matters up , so read on :

Yesterday (28/09/2007) I joined FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) in delivering flowers , chocolate and 'get well soon' cards to First Great Western Station Manager Mike Holmes at Bristol Temple Meads (Mike , to his great credit , happily chatted away and posed with us for photographs.)

I then gave a short talk which emcompassed the lack of the promised improved service on the Severn Beach line from December 2007 , Gateway To The Future (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=357.msg1034#msg1034) and ended by mentioning other FGW^▸ (First Great Western) issues (including Melksham / TransWilts) and what I felt needed to be changed.

We then met with Bristol City Council's executive councillor , for transport , Mark Bradshaw. Mark was one of those (like Andrew Haines) who claimed that there was never an agreement to provide the 40 minute frequency Severn Beach Line service from December 2007.

I put the Physical Environment Scrutiny Commission Severn Beach Line Update , written by Colin Knight , presented on the 3 April 2007 , and contained in the link below , to him.
http://www.treeleaf.co.uk/bcc1.pdf

In it , it is clearly stated that "Agreement has been reached , in principle , with First Great Western (FGW) to provide an additional train unit to increase service frequency on the Severn Beach Line from the December 2007 timetable change." The "What has been agreed so far?" section of the same document states "To introduce the higher frequency with the December 2007 timetable change."

Mark was a member of the Physical Environment Scrutiny Commission at the time , and thus would have read the above document.

His response was to say that perhaps there had been a misunderstanding between council officials and First Great Western along the way somewhere.

I was also struck by something else he said :

Bristol City Council's main aspiration for December 2007 , is to ensure that the timetable isnt any worse.

As well as this , he claimed that he knew for sure that FGW had been making serious efforts to source the extra train required. Unfortunately , he was unable to tell us which ROSCOS FGW had been negoiating with , or which class of unit they were after.

However , we did get two firm commitments from him :

1) Bristol City Council will do everything they can to reach a watertight , legally binding agreement with FGW to provide an extra train to allow the 40 minute service to start from May 2008 , with appropriate performance and reliability targets (note - no guarantee that it definately will start from that date.)

2) FOSBR has been invited to advise the council on railway matters , their views will be taken seriously , and not just paid lip service to , as they were in the Severn Beach Line Development Plan (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=311.msg877#msg877

Talking of the Severn Beach Line Development Plan , not much progress seems to have been made on its main focus of station improvements. Some train stations in Bristol have been 'virtually abandoned' , according to Campaign For Better Transport (link below.)
http://thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145365&command=displayContent&sourceNode=145191&contentPK=18517304&folderPk=83726&pNodeId=144922

Remember the quotes below?

From my inbox :

Went to Avonmouth station this evening, it looks very nice and the white boarding on the Bristol platform now looks much nicer. There is also a local area & bus connections map by the station entrance.

The Avonmouth station improvements (click on http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=498.msg1610#msg1610) look good. The "heads in silouette" artwork is very effective , and the hanging flower baskets are a nice touch.

Both the local area & bus connections map and the hanging flower baskets have disappeared.

[martyjon]

Not very enticing for home going shop workers particularly from Clifton Down and Night Clubbers intending on a night out in Bristol to rely on this service.

18:08 Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach due 18:45
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.


19:22 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads due 20:00
This train has been cancelled. This is due to train crew having been unavailable earlier.

[Lee]

Not very enticing for home going shop workers particularly from Clifton Down and Night Clubbers intending on a night out in Bristol to rely on this service.

18:08 Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach due 18:45
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.


19:22 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads due 20:00
This train has been cancelled. This is due to train crew having been unavailable earlier.

Quote from an FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) member :

"Are they trying to put people off travelling on Saturdays?"

Here is a letter from another FOSBR member , sent to Andrew Haines this morning :

Dear Mr Haines,

This morning the 0741 ran 18 minutes late, which might be regarded as an improvement on last Monday, when it was completely cancelled, but from the point of view of someone starting work at 0800, 18 minutes late is effectively a cancellation. At 0703 it was shown on the internet as 11 min late, at 0720 as 18 min late. At this point I decided to get the car out and drive my wife to Clifton.

At 0755 the information point at Sea Mills station had moved on to declaring the next inbound train to be the 0840, with no mention of the still to arrive delayed 0741. Shortly afterwards it changed to failing to provide any response.

This left the thirty passengers waiting without any obvious source of information, apart from accepting the invitation on the new notices on every lampost to pay for a text message from traintracker. Fortunately, despite the damp morning, the forecast rain and drizzle held off, so that the disappearance during the summer of the second platform shelter was not on this occasion of importance.

Since the operation of the service under the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) franchise has deteriorated to the point that it no longer seems to fit within the parameters corresponding to the national rail network we will on this occasion refrain from requesting compensation.

[Lee]

An FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) summary of the meeting with Mark Bradshaw can be found in the link below.
http://www.fosbr.org.uk/Bradshaw.htm

Quote from FOSBR Chair Peter Gould :

"This is pure Alice in Wonder Land. We have to run hard to keep still, while important documents magically disappear down the back of the filing cabinet."

[Lee]

Letter to David Bishop , Head of Planning , Transport & Sustainable Development at Bristol City Council :

Dear Mr Bishop,

In an interview in the Evening Post (21/9/07), Andrew Haines, Managing Director of First Great Western, said ^My understanding is that there^s now general agreement that it (40 minute service) can^t be done for December. 

I don^t think there was ever a commitment for it - we said we would look into it^.

Surely after the money had been committed by Bristol City Council, even though matters of rolling stock, staff and access had to be finally determined before a contract was signed or payment made, there must have been an agreement in principle between Bristol City Council and First Great Western to run the enhanced service that was expected in December.

FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) asks for copies of relevant correspondence to be sent to the above address because we believe FGW^▸ (First Great Western) had ample notice to provide the service.

FOSBR and rail users are amazed that Mr Haines was able make the above statement in the Evening Post.

Yours sincerely

Julie Boston (FOSBR)

[vacman]

I notice that from December the Beach line service is slightly improved in the morning peak with the addition of 2 or 3 extra trains to/from Avonmouth but nothing in the evening peak though!

[Lee]

I notice that from December the Beach line service is slightly improved in the morning peak with the addition of 2 or 3 extra trains to/from Avonmouth but nothing in the evening peak though!

I do fear that this might be as far they go with service improvements though. A 40 minute frequency service would require different timings on different hours , and as you can see from the quote below , FGW^▸ (First Great Western) were struggling to path December 2007 trains on the main line section.

Mind you , according to the previous draft copies of the FGW December 2007 Timetable that I have , they had to change which services called at Stapleton Road & Lawrence Hill at least twice , plus their timings , because they were having real problems with pathing. This is illustrated by the small print at the bottom of page 11 of the link below (Andrew Griffith's 22 May 2007 analysis , which starts from page 10.) :
http://www.wellho.net/wccfoi/wccfgw3.pdf

"Pathing problems preclude the northbound service from calling at Lawrence Hill and Stapleton Road; instead these calls are included in the Cardiff service."

Also , similiar pathing problems have probably caused the radical change in Severn Beach Line timings (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/Dec%2007%20Bristol%20to%20Severn%20Beach%20Mon%20-%20Fri.pdf

[Lee]

Reply to the above letter from the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Customer Services Team :

I was disappointed to hear about the disruption to your journey from Sea Mills to Bristol Temple Meads, on 1 October 2007. We do our best to make sure our customers travel safely and arrive on time so I am very sorry you had a problem. The delay was caused by the late arrival of inward stock.

I have checked the details for you and I'm afraid we cannot offer you compensation this time. As our Passengers' Charter explains we do give compensation for a delay of an hour or more, but the delay on your service was less than that.

I am really sorry that you had problems with the information at Clifton Down on this date. We expect all our stations to give out up-to-date information when customers need it, especially if there's any disruption.

I'm afraid though that there is an occasional problem with the automated address system. It happens when the train passes over points on the track and activates it. So the train may pass one checkpoint on time, but then have a problem before it reaches the next one. If the system doesn't pick this up accurately it can lead to the displays showing the wrong arrival time. We've already built in several software upgrades to the system to help with this.

I am sorry that the effects of a technical problem meant that you had the wrong information. I know how frustrating it can be and we are working to put it right.

If there is an error on the automated system, our station staff should broadcast the right information. These announcements are based on regular updates from the control room, so they should be accurate. Sometimes our staff are waiting for information to get to them, but we should always be keeping you up-to-date, even if it's only to say that we are waiting for more information ourselves.

To improve the flow of information, we've now merged our control room with the Network Rail's. It means we find out more quickly about what has happened and what the situation is. This means we can give you more accurate, timely and frequent updates.

I note your comments regarding the shelter on platform 2 at Clifton Down and I am very sorry that you are unhappy at its removal. This is clearly not up to our usual standard and I do apologise.

We take this very seriously as it directly affects you as a customer. So I have logged what happened as a complaint against the station. That means the Regional Station Manager will see the details in our regular report and can take any action to improve the situation for the future.

I am extremely sorry that you have experienced repeated delays and cancellations. We have brought forward a full refresh of the trains we inherited when we took on the franchise. This includes internal improvements and a full mechanical overhaul. The first of these updated units is now in service and all our trains will be undergoing this upgrade.

We have also changed our maintenance arrangements to improve the medium- and long-term quality of our service. This took longer than we'd hoped for but this is now working well. We knew that many of the trains needed extra work, and our depot staff work very hard to turn everything round on time.

I realise that these improvements may not be much comfort as your train was delayed, and I am very sorry indeed. I hope that you will see some major improvements over the next few months, and that all your future journeys with us will run on time.

[martyjon]

05/10/2006.


10:35 Bristol Temple Meads to Avonmouth due 11:00
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

11:03 Avonmouth to Bristol Temple Meads due 11:30
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.