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

[whole diary]

[Lee]

03/11/2007 :

18:22 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads due 19:00
This train has been cancelled.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Road replacement will be in operation.

17:08 Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach due 17:45
This train has been cancelled.This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Road replacement will be in operation.

These trains will now run but only between Bristol Temple Meads - Avonmouth.

It would appear that this train didnt run after all. See link below.
http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146238&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146064&contentPK=18873018&folderPk=100268&pNodeId=145795

Passengers were apparently put on a minibus at Bristol Temple Meads at 1700 , which didnt reach Avonmouth until 1900.

[Lee]

Quote from Insider (link below) :
http://indefenceoffirstgreatwestern.blogspot.com/2007/10/im-back.html

"I don't know about this passenger survey on Severn Beach. It's possible that one was carried out, they are from time to time, although my oersonal belief is that they do not achieve much and that more is learned from consultation from the line working group.

Sometimes the surveys do not achieve very much, as appears to be the case here and I agree that they are likely to cause contention when they are carried out in this manner. I'll look into it."

[Lee]

More FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) / Haines correspondence :

Dear Mr Haines,

I thank you for your recent correspondence and in particular for your commitment to both improved reliability and consistent passenger information.

I understand from other passengers that both failed again yesterday. The 0840 was cancelled, and no admission of this ever appeared on the National Rail Train Tracker systems which remained at No report* status throughout the round trip, as below.

: Wednesday 7 November 2007 08:29:01 Bristol Temple Meads 08:30 No report* First Great Western
: Wednesday 7 November 2007 08:59:02 Avonmouth 09:00 No report* First Great Western

[Lee]

From an FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) member (08/11/2007) :

I turned up to catch the 10:20 from Montpelier and had a choice of a train OR a taxi!

Seems the taxi was still out collecting passengers from the 08:40 cancellation at this late stage. Some passengers took the taxi, I waited for the train, which turned up spot on time as advertised on the net and announced on the Info System.

Needless to say, sending a taxi iis just a gesture. Not all the pasesengers would have fitted in it.

[Lee]

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

Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR) will use the Joint Transport Forum to demand a written contract on the promised 40 minute service between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth Station from May 2008 ^ 2011.

The Forum, organised by the West of England Partnership, takes place on Friday 16 November (@Bristol from 10am ^ 4pm) and has an item on rail.  Although the agenda has no details, we understand that the two speakers will concentrate on the Severn Beach Line.

[Lee]

Further FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) member / Haines correspondence :

Dear Mr Haines,

I have just returned from Sea Mills station leaving my wife at a bus stop hoping that a First Group bus in the right general direction will appear. She will inevitably be late for work.

This morning the 0741 was shown slipping steadily from 6 to 13 min late, then being turned short at Avonmouth, at which point we decided that it would be sensible to go to the station. On arrival at the station we discovered that the information point message was that the train was cancelled, also the 0829 outbound but not the 0840 inbound, which is the return of the 0829. (The 0840 is now showing cancelled.) The info point recommended phoning the national enquiry number about alternative transport. This number apparently only produced a statement about adverse conditions but no offer of alternative transport. Since the first train of the day had run throughout the line I assume that the adverse conditions were entirely within FGW^▸ (First Great Western).

The signalman had no information from FGW.

The failure to run the train, the lack of alternative transport and the lack of information are completely unacceptable and suggest a complete collapse of the FGW operating organisation.

It is plain that the train never left Temple Meads and so the succession of revised timings was completely erroneous. It is clear that this was known well in advance and that alternative transport could have been organised. It is also clear that the information at 0741 that the 0840 would run cannot have been correct, even at that time and that the suggestion to phone the national enquiry number about alternative transport was spurious.

Since the train tracker system reported the 0703 as 13 min late without any qualifying asterisk it appears extremely likely that incorrect information about the progress of the train was fed into the train tracker system.

(Tuesday 13 November 2007 07:03:01 Bristol Temple Meads 07:03 07:16
First Great Western)

We request compensation at standard rates for the cancellation of this service and additionally for my wife's bus fare which I believe will be about four pounds.

Yesterday the evening train was at least 12 min late.

[Lee]

Further FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) member / Haines correspondence :

Dear Mr Haines,

I have just returned from Sea Mills station leaving my wife at a bus stop hoping that a First Group bus in the right general direction will appear. She will inevitably be late for work.

This morning the 0741 was shown slipping steadily from 6 to 13 min late, then being turned short at Avonmouth, at which point we decided that it would be sensible to go to the station. On arrival at the station we discovered that the information point message was that the train was cancelled, also the 0829 outbound but not the 0840 inbound, which is the return of the 0829. (The 0840 is now showing cancelled.) The info point recommended phoning the national enquiry number about alternative transport. This number apparently only produced a statement about adverse conditions but no offer of alternative transport. Since the first train of the day had run throughout the line I assume that the adverse conditions were entirely within FGW^▸ (First Great Western).

The signalman had no information from FGW.

The failure to run the train, the lack of alternative transport and the lack of information are completely unacceptable and suggest a complete collapse of the FGW operating organisation.

It is plain that the train never left Temple Meads and so the succession of revised timings was completely erroneous. It is clear that this was known well in advance and that alternative transport could have been organised. It is also clear that the information at 0741 that the 0840 would run cannot have been correct, even at that time and that the suggestion to phone the national enquiry number about alternative transport was spurious.

Since the train tracker system reported the 0703 as 13 min late without any qualifying asterisk it appears extremely likely that incorrect information about the progress of the train was fed into the train tracker system.

(Tuesday 13 November 2007 07:03:01 Bristol Temple Meads 07:03 07:16
First Great Western)

We request compensation at standard rates for the cancellation of this service and additionally for my wife's bus fare which I believe will be about four pounds.

Yesterday the evening train was at least 12 min late.

A speedy same - day reply has been received :

Thank you for your email which Andrew Haines has read and asked me to respond on his behalf. I am sorry that you and your wife were inconvenienced this morning and I appreciate the frustration caused.

The Severn Beach line was affected by slippery rails this morning. This poor adhesion was caused by leaf fall, which as you may know, creates a very slippery service akin to black ice and slows trains for safety reasons. This led to a number of cancellations with services not completing their full journey. Decisions were made at short notice, but I agree more should have been done to ensure that accurate information was provided and I apologise.

Onward road transport should be provided if there is no rail service within the hour. This is not something that can be sourced through National Enquires and I am sorry that you were told this by the Info Point. Our Customer Services office opens at 0700 and you can contact them directly on 08457 000 125 (option 4). They will take your number and call you back after checking with Control about alternative arrangements. Please do not hesitate to call us if you are in a similar situation at any time and we will do our best to help. Where taxis or buses are not provided we will be able to advise on the current rail service and explain why road transport is not being organised. There will also be occasions when we will be be to authorise taxis and I am sorry that this has not been made clear before.

I have arranged for a ^10.00 rail travel voucher to be sent to you to cover your rail tickets and your wife's bus fare. Please let me know if there were any further costs.

Thank you again for the email and again I am sorry for the delay and the confusion.

Yours sincerely

Jane Jones
Customer Services

The aforementioned FOSBR member has a question for forum members :

"Do I really believe this? Where, between Temple Meads and Sea Mills, all urban, is the tree cover really dense enough to cause slippery leaf problems?"

[vacman]

It was paged out today about rail head conditions on the Beach line, and that the service was temporarily suspended because of it.

[Lee]

Further FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) question :

"If as reported, the first train ran and was to time, what changed subsequently or suddenly to cancel the next two services?"

[Jim]

Further FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) question :

"If as reported, the first train ran and was to time, what changed subsequently or suddenly to cancel the next two services?"

Well, it is reported here as loosing 11 mins out and 16 back!

[vacman]

Take it that the offending unit was a bendy bus (143)? they're not the best units on poor rail head conditions!

[Jim]

they're not the best units on poor rail head conditions!

You can say that again!

[Lee]

1. FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways), as part of the Severn Beach Line Working Party, have been kept informed of the results of ongoing negotiations between the City Council and First Great Western. The financial elements of these negotiations have not been disclosed but FOSBR have been updated on a regular basis on both the ability to provide the additional service and timetables for the service. The City Council will continue to inform FOSBR of any material developments, as and when they occur.

2. The extra services for the Severn Beach Line do fall outside of the franchise specification. However it still needs DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) approval as all use of rolling stock needs to be agreed with DfT. FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have confirmed that DfT have approved the additional rolling stock for the Severn Beach Line.

Both the Council and FGW are resolved to providing this service in May 2008. We will be able to provide absolute confirmation as soon as contractual details are finalised. 

3. FGW have acquired 12 units to replace the 11 going off lease. As such they have in effect already procured an additional unit, which they intend to use on the Severn Beach Line. Although this extra unit will be available in December, it is required for route training and to substitute for units being refurbished.

The 12 units FGW have acquired are class 142s; 11 of these are being deployed in Devon, which meets their franchise requirement for that area. Without City Council funding, only 11 units would have been acquired. 

4. The City Council will have a signed contractual agreement with First to ensure that this additional unit is available for providing an enhanced service on the Severn Beach Line from May 2008. We are still negotiating the final details of that agreement. 

5. The first draft May 2008 timetable showed that not all trains are able to call at all stations, due to pathing difficulties. The Council has asked FGW to review the timetables to ensure that all stations are served.

6. The draft May 2008 timetable includes 1 train to Severn Beach every 2 hours throughout the day. In total the draft timetable has 11 trains running through to Severn Beach. The existing pattern is that a total of 7 trains run through to Severn Beach, at the beginning and the end of the day.

7. Negotiations are ongoing but the City Council is seeking to include some element of the contract that equates payment levels to performance related indicators.

As you know, the December 2007 timetable includes 3 additional return journeys on the Severn Beach Line in the morning peak. The City Council has pressed FGW to ensure that these additional services call at all stations on the line, including Lawrence Hill and Stapleton Road. With the exception of the 0746 departure from Temple Meads, this has been achieved. We are therefore delighted that some service improvements will be seen in December.

The City Council is also committed to establishing a widely representative project group to plan and deliver station and information enhancements on the Severn Beach Line for May 2008. I hope that FOSBR will be represented on this group.

[Lee]

From the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website :

Train services between Bristol Temple Meads and Severn Beach are being disrupted due to a problem currently under investigation in the Clifton Down area.Engineers are working as fast as possible to restore services to normal. Short notice alterations and cancellations can be expected.

[vacman]

Was a land slip I believe?