Cotswold Line redoubling: 2008 - 2011

[whole diary]

[Don]

At least frozen points or token failures won't be problem tomorrow morning.

[willc]

Snow seems to have put paid to work until next year.

Instead, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) brings you perhaps the slowest trains ever to operate on the Cotswold Line, running to the timings of the replacement buses. I hope they have turned out sets with the cab heating in good nick for all that sitting around at stations waiting time. Full marks to FGW and Network Rail for doing it, though I don't imagine the tm will be rushed off their feet selling and checking tickets.

23:02 Oxford to Worcester Shrub Hill due 02:16
An additional train service has been planned to operate as shown 23:02 Oxford to Worcester Shrub Hill due 02:16 run on 20/12/10.
This service will operate as a train instead of the 23:02 replacement bus service to Worcester Shrub Hill, calling at: Hanborough, Charlbury, Shipton, Kingham, Moreton-in-Marsh, Honeybourne, Evesham, Pershore and Worcester Shrub Hill.
Last Updated: 20/12/2010 20:58

23:03 Worcester Shrub Hill to Oxford due 02:06
An additional train service has been planned to operate as shown 23:03 Worcester Shrub Hill to Oxford due 02:06 run on 20/12/10.
This service will operate as a train instead of the 23:03 replacement bus service to Oxford, calling at: Pershore, Evesham, Honeybourne, Moreton-in-Marsh, Kingham, Charlbury and Oxford.
Last Updated: 20/12/2010 21:05

PS: There are some new pictures one of my colleagues took down at Hinksey Sidings in Oxford on Friday here http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/pictures/oxfordshire_galleries/cotswoldline2009/page/1/ along with some of mine already I had posted elsewhere.

[IndustryInsider]

Full marks to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) and Network Rail for doing it

Send them both to detention!

Snow Disruption - Tuesday 21st December 2010

Heavy snowfall is affecting our train services. We intend to run the full advertised train service, with the following alterations:

North Cotswolds Route:

Rail Replacement cancellations:
Please be aware that the following planned road replacement transport is unable to operate.

21:31 Oxford to Great Malvern via all Stations
23:02 Oxford to Worcester Shrub Hill
20:40 Worcester Foregate St. to Oxford
23:03 Worcester Shrub Hill to Oxford

 We are unable to operate any additional train services in lieu of these cancelled services.

[/size]

Meanwhile, the link on the website's front page for tomorrows altered service is currently linking to the service for the remainder of today (including the above passage), and makes no mention of tomorrow at all. 

[Richard Fairhurst]

The bit for tomorrow is further down the page. The only Cotswold Line service mentioned is "0517 Great Malvern - London Paddington ^ Cancelled".

[IndustryInsider]

The bit for tomorrow is further down the page.

It is now.  It wasn't when I originally posted!   

Similar service to today, but to their credit the Oxford-Paddington's I mentioned yesterday have been partly reinstated to give an hourly service.

[willc]

Full marks to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) and Network Rail for doing it

Send them both to detention!

Snow Disruption - Tuesday 21st December 2010

Heavy snowfall is affecting our train services. We intend to run the full advertised train service, with the following alterations:

North Cotswolds Route:

Rail Replacement cancellations:
Please be aware that the following planned road replacement transport is unable to operate.

21:31 Oxford to Great Malvern via all Stations
23:02 Oxford to Worcester Shrub Hill
20:40 Worcester Foregate St. to Oxford
23:03 Worcester Shrub Hill to Oxford

 We are unable to operate any additional train services in lieu of these cancelled services.

[/size]

I wonder if a single passenger actually bothered to venture out last night anyway? Most of the area is currently hunkered down for the night by mid-evening, with Moreton-in-Marsh very quiet indeed the past couple of nights by the time FGW has deposited me home. Probably makes more sense to send the train crews and signallers home to their beds.

[Richard Fairhurst]

I'd agree that the 11pm "45 minutes to Charlbury" special is probably a little unnecessary for most people, but I'm very disappointed in the cancellation of the 9pm. I'm coming back down from Burton-on-Trent this evening and the latest I can leave - if everything runs to plan - is 5.49pm. That's not great.

[willc]

I take your point Richard, but on Monday they did not run trains in place of the 9pm pair of buses, only the later pair. And if Stagecoach still doesn't feel able to run a bus down to Charlbury - never mind the need to go on to the likes of Kingham on roads which haven't been touched by gritters - are FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s coach contractors likely to take a different view?

It might be nice to think that they could run trains in special timings but don't forget that the crew diagrams for the next six months have been drawn up specifically to take account of the late-night closures, with Worcester conductors now on the 17.22 and 18.22 to get them home for the day, while it looks like Bristol are crewing the 17.50, which now runs back to Swindon from Worcester.

And the problems caused by the weather must be making it 10 times harder to ensure there are crews in the right places at the right time. Tonight at Oxford, it took a good five minutes or so to find a driver to take out the 19.16 to Banbury.

[Richard Fairhurst]

I actually got back to Oxford early enough to (in theory) get the 18.54 to Charlbury, but that was cancelled. The 19.21 turned up at around 19.40 and was experiencing a fault with the braking system. The driver fixed this only for it to reoccur at Hanborough, so after consultation with Swindon he was told to override it and proceed to Worcester at 40mph... with the next HST^▸ (High Speed Train) following behind. We got into Charlbury an hour late; I dread to think what time it limped into Worcester.

To be honest I think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are doing a sterling job in the conditions. Having travelled with both FGW and XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) in the last week it's pretty clear who's going the extra mile. Let's hope XC's new owners introduce a bit of Teutonic rigour!

[Toiletdriver]

I actually got back to Oxford early enough to (in theory) get the 18.54 to Charlbury, but that was cancelled. The 19.21 turned up at around 19.40 and was experiencing a fault with the braking system. The driver fixed this only for it to reoccur at Hanborough, so after consultation with Swindon he was told to override it and proceed to Worcester at 40mph... with the next HST^▸ (High Speed Train) following behind. We got into Charlbury an hour late; I dread to think what time it limped into Worcester.

To be honest I think FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are doing a sterling job in the conditions. Having travelled with both FGW and XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) in the last week it's pretty clear who's going the extra mile. Let's hope XC's new owners introduce a bit of Teutonic rigour!

Wrong, an AWS^▸ (Automatic Warning System) problem.
PS Thanks for the praise, ended with 2hrs 30 min unwanted overtime last week, just by completing my rostered bit of driving.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm 

Sorry to hear about your un-volunteered-for overtime, Toiletdriver - but I do hope you have a good Christmas break.

CfN. 

[willc]

Wrong, an AWS^▸ (Automatic Warning System) problem.

Which I had noted in the snowy/wintry conditions thread in Across the West. And the train manager did mention that the faulty "safety system", as he described it, was linked with the brakes, in the course of explaining to passengers what was going on.

[Toiletdriver]

Hmm 

Sorry to hear about your un-volunteered-for overtime, Toiletdriver - but I do hope you have a good Christmas break.

CfN. 

Thanks, but I don't celebrate this time of year, I hate it with a vengence!

[willc]

Now that the thaw has cleared away the snow I went out for a look at the western end of the redoubling zone today.

Looks like the new cable route is nearing completion between Moreton-in-Marsh and Evesham, with just the areas either side of Littleton & Badsey level crossing and just east of Evesham station the main ones with much work still to do. There are gaps here and there in other places, such as Aston Magna curve and lids still to go on ducting in places but that's about all. Still no sign of new rails from Clayfield level crossing into Evesham. Few pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/sets/72157624136810327/

Apparently the lost week's worth of work before Christmas on the Oxfordshire section should not hold things up, as some leeway had been built into the schedule to allow for delays due to the weather.

[IanL]

First lot of ballast laid and tamped last night, starting at Charlbury and working west.