Night Riviera - merged posts, ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Adelante_CCT]

I know they are not before 08:00 but you do also have the 08:11 and 08:33 both from Bristol, these would be more suitable for being in a meeting/the office by 09:00

[John R]

Indeed, the 0833 arrival is a pretty fast service leaving Temple Meads at 0634. It was introduced a couple of years ago, so its popularity could be an indication of potential demand.

[grahame]

Indeed, the 0833 arrival is a pretty fast service leaving Temple Meads at 0634. It was introduced a couple of years ago, so its popularity could be an indication of potential demand.

I will possibly be on that train on Monday morning, and will let you know.   Problem is lack of connection into it from Wiltshire ...

[Adelante_CCT]

Yes, the 06:09 from Bath is the furthest east passengers can start from in order to catch that train.

[grahame]

Indeed, the 0833 arrival is a pretty fast service leaving Temple Meads at 0634. It was introduced a couple of years ago, so its popularity could be an indication of potential demand.

I will possibly be on that train on Monday morning, and will let you know.   Problem is lack of connection into it from Wiltshire ...

Pretty well loaded 5 car (I think - I was in "F") Voyager - say around 200 people.  Probably about 100 from Bristol, with a good business from there / Taunton / Tiverton into Exeter and lots of people both off and on there.   Probably carried about 300 passenger journeys in total.

Dearth of taxis at Plymouth ... but that's another story - lots dropping people off but then driving off (for their next booked fare?) without taking anyone from the queue.   However, much of the traffic did appear to be commuter - I would guess at 50 to 60 from Bristol.

[TaplowGreen]

Thanks Grahame that's very interesting - work takes me to Bristol quite frequently these days, I may stay over and give that one a go for my next trip home to Plymouth - shorter trip and earlier arrival.

As for the taxi shortage - quite surprising, normally lots on the rank at North Road but it was school run time I guess........either that or perhaps they were busy taking everyone to their 0900 meetings? 

[grahame]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) aren't the only ones to have sleeper reliability issues ...

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) News - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-34812382

RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) union members working on the Caledonian Sleeper rail service are to be balloted on industrial action.

The RMT said the service, which links Inverness and Fort William with London, has been suffering from defects such as broken toilets and fire alarms.

This has led to delays and cancellations, the union said.

[TaplowGreen]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) aren't the only ones to have sleeper reliability issues ...

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) News - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-34812382

RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) union members working on the Caledonian Sleeper rail service are to be balloted on industrial action.

The RMT said the service, which links Inverness and Fort William with London, has been suffering from defects such as broken toilets and fire alarms.

This has led to delays and cancellations, the union said.

    .......RMT contemplating strike action? Surely not? 

[ChrisB]

Wasn't the fleet refurbed when the new franchise came in?

[phile]

Not that I know of.   The Scottish Government awarded the Sleeper Contract to Serco who are no really noted for being the best !!!  Maintenance was moved from Inverness to Alstom Depot at Polmadie (Glasgow) and went down the pan.

[ellendune]

I doubt if they would have done much of a refurbishment as the fleet is supposed to be replaced as part of the new franchise. 

[ChrisB]

|Ahh, that's it....so when is that happening?

[alexross42]

Problem with the Sleeper service this morning due to it hitting a maintenance trolley on the track that had been 'deliberately' placed across it:
http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Plymouth-train-crashes-stolen-trolley-delaying/story-28291324-detail/story.html

More questionable journalism from Plymouth Herald - apparently 'Between Redruth and Truro' is 'shortly after Plymouth'...

A PLYMOUTH train has crashed into a trolley which had been stolen and laid deliberately over the railway line.

The maintenance trolley - used by rail staff working on the line - was struck by the London Paddington to Penzance service shortly after it left Plymouth this morning.

Passengers on the train were told that the trolley, which is understood to be used by workers to carry equipment, had been left deliberately "across the line."

The crash - which did not injure anyone - brought rail services in Cornwall to an abrupt halt this morning.

The trolley was left on the line between Redruth and Truro this morning and struck by the sleeper service at about 7.20am.

One passenger said the train came quickly to a halt, but "there was no loud bang or anything like that."

The passengers were told there was no damage to the train and one said a member of staff had told him the collision "chewed up a lot of metal."

He said that the locomotive pulling the sleeper service carriages was fitted with a device similar to a snow plough, which pushed the mangled trolley out of the way.

However, had the trolley been struck by one of the smaller trains it could have done a lot of damage to the unit.

A team of engineers were quickly on site to assess whether there was any damage to the train.

Great Western Railway said there delays of up to 30 minutes on trains between Plymouth and Penzance as a result of the collision but the situation is now believes to be returning to normal.

[TaplowGreen]

Can anyone advise what happened to the down sleeper last night? Stuck at Reading for hours?

[bobm]

Problem with the class 57 loco.

It couldn't be repaired at Reading so an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) was sent from Old Oak Common to take over the service.