Extra unannounced station stops

[whole diary]

[IanL]

Background, the 0643 from Hereford to Paddington calls at Charlbury at 0835 with next stop being Oxford, this has been the case for this train for at least the last 10 years ie no timetabled stop at Hanborough although occasionally it will make an announced stop if an earlier train has been cancelled.

This morning for the second time in as many months no announced additional stop, TM^‡(resolve) busy checking/issuing tickets and train decelerates to a smooth stop at Hanborough, empty platform, help screen showing next train is a service to Hereford in 50mins time. TM looks up from what he is doing with a hassled look, rushes to the end of the carriage, I presume opens door panel, signals driver and we pull away, TM returns to middle of carriage, doors not unlocked at any point.

We were already running 5min late at CBY, but nearly 8min by OXF^» (Oxford - next trains) with no other obvious pauses.

[ChrisB]

As it was yesterday. Likely to have had the same driver as yesterday this morning, probable confusion over yesterday;s extra stop & put in one this morning too.

[devon_metro]

If the driver stops at a platform by mistake he can not depart until he has the all clear from the guard (due to the fact that HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) are slam doors and any number of doors could have been pulled 'on the catch').

[MrC]

If the driver stops at a platform by mistake

Bear in mind that if there's a red at the end of the platform the driver may not have much of an option! What happens if you do stop out of course at a platform can depend on the stock and the relevant rules and company policies.

When we still drove slam door stock it was pretty normal when you knew you had a red at the end of a platform to try and avoid actually stopping as there could be quite a delay if the guard was unaware of what was happening (especially so if they were in a portion of the train that wasn't on the platform).

[IanL]

No signals at Hanborough, and agree that once the train has stopped the TM^‡(resolve) has to signal doors closed and ready to depart which can be delayed if not expecting this and is busy elsewhere. However from something that hasnt happened to me in 9+ years, to twice in a couple of months (and to others if I read ChrisB's entry correctly) then all of a sudden driver error is causing delays.

[Don]

Drivers get a bit of paper with stops and times on it for their train.  As two have stopped, maybe the bit of paper has changed and now incorrectly shows the train as stopping there.

Is the same driver likely to make the same mistake two days in a row?

[ChrisB]

Wasn't a mistake on day one, but an added stop to cover the previous cancellation. That was done via a stop-order on the day.

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

With regard to unannounced station stops and in particular Hanborough on the second morning HST^▸ (High Speed Train) from Hereford. These stops come into play under FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s recovery plans whereby if the earlier 2-car stopper service is cancelled, the following HST from Hereford will stop at Hanborough to pick up any passengers. Unfortunately FGW has had nothing in its recovery plan to advise the passengers waiting just before 08.00 for the stopper that the next HST will in fact stop at around 08.40 to pick them up. In consequence the people waiting move away from the station but the HST stops and there is often no one left to board the train. The new CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) screen is never updated to show this extra stop and in the past no voice announcement has been made other than that the stopper has been cancelled. National Rail Enquiries have also in the past never been notified of this special stop so if you use the help phone you are told that the next train will be in two hours + time at 10.16! Teresa Ceesay (Cotswolds Line Station Manager) now has access to the new voice CIS whereby any member of staff can make remote announcements over the little CIS speaker phone from their mobile phone if suitably trained and with access to the password. She has promised to use it in future if she is on duty (and I think she will, as she is very diligent), and if she is not, a FGW staff member at nearby Charlbury ticket office is asked to use it. We will see if this works in the future!

[IanL]

I agree with CLPG^» (Cotswold Line Promotion Group - about) that this does occur when the stopping service does not run for whatever reason, but this is usually announced by the TM^‡(resolve). On the two occasions I mention above, the stopping service did run as normal and the TM was obviously unaware that the extra stop was going to be made.

Completely agree that the lack of announcements about extra stops means that once the stop is made no passengers remain at Hanborough to be picked up.