Missing/wrong train information on National Rail/FGW website?

[whole diary]

[James Vertigan]

I've just booked a seat via the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website on the 07:36 Paddington service on November 13 which says it gets to Tiverton Parkway at 10:52, I went onto the National Rail site to look at the route the train would take and its possible departure platform, but for some reason the train is not listed on the National Rail site (or at least I can't find it!).

The only information I can seem to find on the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) site is there is a train leaving at 07:12 on which you have to change and then there's the 08:18 direct service - I'm definitely looking at the right day, so why can't I find the train I've booked myself on? The 13th November still falls under the current timetable doesn't it?

[JayMac]

Hmm... can't see an 0736 departure at all from Paddington on a Saturday. There is the 0730 via Bristol which would would mean a change at Taunton....

Confused 

[fatcontroller]

There is the 08:18 from Paddington on 13/11/10 which is direct to Tiverton arriving at 10:52 ??

[willc]

Two points:

1 Did you enter 'via Taunton' in the search, as doing this does bring up an 07.36 departure?

2. The engineering alterations for November 13 include the following notice, which may well explain why it's 07.36 instead of 07.30:

Saturday 13 November   LONDON PADDINGTON TO BRISTOL, PLYMOUTH, SWANSEA & CHELTENHAM SPA

On Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 November 2010 a revised timetable will be in operation on the following routes due to track improvement work between Didcot Parkway and Swindon:

London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads, Weston-super-Mare, Exeter St Davids and Plymouth.
London Paddington to Cardiff Central, Swansea and Carmarthen.
London Paddington and Cheltenham Spa
Train times will be changed and journey times will be extended due to trains being diverted via alternative routes.

[James Vertigan]

I didn't enter via Taunton, because I didn't think I needed to as the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website says the 07:36 is a direct train to TVP, but I just tried entering via Taunton on the National Rail site and it still doesn't bring up this 07:36 train - am I doing something wrong? I ticked the box to confirm the via Taunton part...

Will this mean I have to change at Taunton as the FGW site assured me the 07:36 was a direct train to TVP.

[Brucey]

I can't get the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website to show the 07:36 when I enter PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) - TVP, however it shows up when searching for London - TVP

[James Vertigan]

Well I picked up my tickets this morning on the way into work and its all there on the ticket, Paddington-TVP, Saturday 13th November 07:36... so I'm still confused as to why it's not appearing on the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) website. I suppose I could query it at Paddington tonight in the Advanced Travel ticket office or somewhere, but I'm not confident I'll get any sense!

[JayMac]

As willc said, there is engineering work that day. However not on the route the 0818 is due to take, so it seems weird that it is due to leave PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) 42 minutes earlier.

Doubly strange that it only appears in FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s booking engine if you specify London (Any) as your departure station. There is a direct train to TVP around 0800 that day. The question is; is it departing 0736 and going very slow or is it departing 0818 and running to schedule? If it's the former then I can only assume it is B&H^▸ (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) as far as Westbury then diverted via Trowbridge to Bristol (can't be via GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) to Bristol as that line is closed between Didcot and Swindon) thence onward to the south-west. No way of checking that as FGW's booking engine does not show calling points. I've tried forcing WebTIS (East Coast) and NRE^‡(resolve) to show this train but neither will admit it exists.

I strongly recommend checking with FGW at the earliest opportunity. There appears, on the face of it, to be a timetabling/booking system error.

[James Vertigan]

As willc said, there is engineering work that day. However not on the route the 0818 is due to take, so it seems weird that it is due to leave PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) 42 minutes earlier.

Doubly strange that it only appears in FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s booking engine if you specify London (Any) as your departure station. There is a direct train to TVP around 0800 that day. The question is; is it departing 0736 and going very slow or is it departing 0818 and running to schedule? If it's the former then I can only assume it is B&H^▸ (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) as far as Westbury then diverted via Trowbridge to Bristol (can't be via GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) to Bristol as that line is closed between Didcot and Swindon) thence onward to the south-west. No way of checking that as FGW's booking engine does not show calling points. I've tried forcing WebTIS (East Coast) and NRE^‡(resolve) to show this train but neither will admit it exists.

I strongly recommend checking with FGW at the earliest opportunity. There appears, on the face of it, to be a timetabling/booking system error.

OK, like I said I'll check tonight on the way home at Paddington in the Advance Travel ticket office, or if I get no joy there, I guess I may have to contact FGW Customer Service. I've printed off my confirmation email as proof as well as having the tickets as I collected them this morning.

[James Vertigan]

Mystery solved! It was an erroneous departure! The lady in the Advance travel ticket office at Paddington this evening said the 07:36 was a summer train! How on earth it ended up in the booking system in November is beyond me - she seemed a bit baffled too! So I've now been given a retimed ticket for the 08:18. 

[JayMac]

Aha!! Of course the 0736 is the summer Saturdays HST^▸ (High Speed Train) to Newquay. Indeed a bit of a booking system fupp up. Even when it is running it doesn't call at TVP!

Maybe worth dropping a line to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Customer Services so they can remove this spurious train!! You could point out how annoying it would've been for you to turn up in good time for the 0736 only to discover you had an Advance Purchase ticket for a non existent train.

[James Vertigan]

Aha!! Of course the 0736 is the summer Saturdays HST^▸ (High Speed Train) to Newquay. Indeed a bit of a booking system fupp up. Even when it is running it doesn't call at TVP!

It would be good if it did, although if it was a train that did exist and departed at 07:36, I'm sure it would have got to Tivvy a little earlier than the advertised 10:52! Personally, I was surprised that the 08:18 service ran on a Saturday, I always thought this was a weekday only service!

[Louis94]

It's only weekdays only in the summer. In the winter on a Saturday it forms a connection from the 1140(?) London train from Exeter which runs non-stop to reading same as on weekdays. However during the summer it dosent run as the train that would form it goes down to paignton (0835 from paddington). And tiverton and taunton go without a train to London for an hour or 2 (this train fills in the gap on weekdays and winter Saturdays). On summer saturdays other stations on the berks and hants also lose out, but not all as some get extra trains calling from Plymouth and Cornwall like castle Cary, westbury, pewsey and newbury.