Pompey/Soton - Cardiff today 3/11/07

[whole diary]

[spike]

Apparantly is was all going pete tong again today at Southampton, the 1710 left people behind and then the influx of Southampton football fans made the 1810 full & standing, not sure if people were left behind on that one.

Anyone know anymore?

My mate was not happy when he eventually got to Bath 4 hours after leaving Christchurch (usually 2hrs 10m).

[Jim]

Soton were playing BCFC today weren't they?

[spike]

No, Charlton. (And lost in the last minute, typical Saints!)

[Lee]

Quote from the Save The Train Forum :

What on earth was going on with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) on Saturday 3 November?  Arriving in plenty of time for the 14.47 from Salisbury to Southampton we found that the 14.08 was sitting on the platform (it was 14.28), the 14.30 was cancelled and the 14.47 was cancelled with noise that previous trains had also suffered a similar fate.  We had to get to Southampton for 15.30 so we had no choice but to leap on the delayed train which we were encouraged to do.  It was, needless to say, packed to the hilt.  There was an apology for the 'inconvenience' but no reason given.  The train was so packed it was impossible to get to the guard to buy the ticket we had arrived in plenty of time at Salisbury to purchase.

On arriving after further delay at Soton, we explained the situation and were faced with an accusatory jobsworth who insisted on knowing why we had not bought a ticket.  I explained the situation, that it was now or never and we needed to travel and so he begrudginly sold us a ticket but refused to sell us a cheap day return and stung us for the standard day return (^8.60 each) while at the same time seeming to sympathise with the situation but claiming he 'had to follow the rules'.  I challenged him politely and asked if situations beyond the control of a passenger are taken into account in the rules and there was no reply save for a mumble of 'I'm just doing my job'.  On asking for a FGW complaint form he pushed a photocopied leaflet into my hand. 

I always arrive at a station in plenty of time to buy a ticket but in these circumstances if I had waited I would still in be Salisbury a full hour or more later (who knows even if the 1530 ran on time) and I've have missed a meeting.  As it was I was lucky we were not fined for the hell of it.  While I realise the fault did not lie with the staff at Southampton, some understanding of the implications of what had happened would not have gone amiss.

[Lee]

More from the Save The Train Forum (08/11/2007) :

I'm really quite lucky..  All three of my most recent trips using FGW^▸ (First Great Western) services have either been severely delayed or cancelled.

Today being the third.  I awaited the 1810 Southampton to Salisbury service (onto Cardiff).  Cancelled due to Crew Shortages.

I awaited the next 1827 Southampton to Salisbury service (onto Cheltenham Spa via Melksham and Chippenham).  Cancelled due to a member of staff not 'available' at Westbury.

I finally got on the 1840 which ran 15 minutes late by the time it reached Salisbury owing to extra stops at Dunbridge Mottisfont and Dean.

On returning home I found a letter from FGW regarding the first of the three cocked up journeys I have recently made.  Let me quote the last sentence:

"Once again I am sorry for the disruption to your journey.  I hope than whenever you travel with us it will be completely trouble free."

Bless.

I do wonder.  For example, did the 1827 Southampton to Cheltenham Spa today, 08/11/07, end up running from Westbury instead?  Does anyone know?  It certainly wasn't able to start at Southampton and there was not even a unit waiting but a firm message that the problem was caused by a member of staff unavailable at Westbury on a preceding service.  Did it turn up at Melksham I wonder?

I do wonder.  For example, did the 1827 Southampton to Cheltenham Spa today, 08/11/07, end up running from Westbury instead?  Does anyone know?  It certainly wasn't able to start at Southampton .....

It's shown according to my logs as being 10 minutes late at Melksham, and I noted in the very long log of changes that it was going to start from Romsey.  Thats probably what happened, although the only was to truely know if a train ran and when it turned up is to go down to the station and watch it through!

[Lee]

Here is the response from FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to my complaint about the above-described journey and one on a previous Saturday where we were forced to quickly get on a very delayed train as two of the subsequent ones were cancelled.  It is a sympathetic reply but did not answers three direct questions I had posed:

1) What is the cause for persistent train crew shortages?
2) What exactly happened on these journeys to cause the cancellations and delays?
3) How is it to be addressed?

Response via email 16 November 2007.
---
Thank you for your email of 13 November 2007. I was sorry to learn of the delays you have encountered when travelling between Salisbury and Southampton Central. I understand the frustration and inconvenience that this must have caused.

We are determined to provide a safe and reliable service and are making progress in dealing with delays but we recognise that there are areas where we need to do better.

On 3 November, the 1447 service was cancelled due to mechanical problems. As part of our service recovery plan, we are introducing additional mobile engineers. This will mean that mechanical problems will be rectified more quickly and fewer services will need to be cancelled. We are also replacing our HST^▸ (High Speed Train) engines as part of our refresh programme. These are more reliable, as well as being more environmentally friendly. In addition their improved acceleration will mean we are more quickly able to return to full speed should we be delayed by speed restrictions.
[Note: no reason given for the 1430 that was also cancelled and the woefully delayed 1408 that we were herded onto]

As you were unable to buy your chosen tickets or obtain a railcard discount, I am happy to offer you Rail Travel Vouchers as a gesture of goodwill to cover the difference in ticket cost. So that we award this, please forward your original journey tickets to the address above quoting the reference number provided.

[ ]

I understand that you were told the 1810 [13 Nov]service was cancelled due to staff shortages; our records show it was cancelled due to another late running service. We are aware that services are sometimes delayed or cancelled due to staff shortages. We do have "spare" staff and wherever possible they will replace the rostered crew. As part of our updated service recovery plan, we are increasing the number of stand by Train Managers and Drivers in the London Thames Valley area. This will reduce the need to cancel a service, as more back up staff will be available.

Despite these measures, there will be some occasions when we are unable to provide replacement staff at short notice.

[In fact as we all know there are more than 'some' occasions this has happened recently]

Our Passengers' Charter explains that the compensation you have requested is only available when you are delayed by more than 59 minutes and I regret that it is not due on this occasion. We view the failure to provide any aspect of our advertised service with concern and I have logged your comments, which will be reported to the appropriate managers.

I can assure you that we welcome all customer feedback and thank you once again for bringing this matter to our attention.
---

[Lee]

Response from a Save The Train Forum member :

We are also replacing our HST^▸ (High Speed Train) engines as part of our refresh programme. These are more reliable, as well as being more environmentally friendly. In addition their improved acceleration will mean we are more quickly able to return to full speed should we be delayed by speed restrictions.

They don't half pad these letters out with a load of bollocks, don't they! Whilst the new engines are indeed more environmentally friendly and more reliable, this is mainly because the power output from them has been derated so that it is the same as the old engines they are replacing so there's no 'improved acceleration' at all - the only slight improvement (and I do mean slight) will come from the reduction in some sets from 8 trailers to 7.

[Conner]

Response from a Save The Train Forum member :

We are also replacing our HST^▸ (High Speed Train) engines as part of our refresh programme. These are more reliable, as well as being more environmentally friendly. In addition their improved acceleration will mean we are more quickly able to return to full speed should we be delayed by speed restrictions.

They don't half pad these letters out with a load of bollocks, don't they! Whilst the new engines are indeed more environmentally friendly and more reliable, this is mainly because the power output from them has been derated so that it is the same as the old engines they are replacing so there's no 'improved acceleration' at all - the only slight improvement (and I do mean slight) will come from the reduction in some sets from 8 trailers to 7.

What use was the bit about HST engines in that letter about West trains.

[Lee]

What use was the bit about HST^▸ (High Speed Train) engines in that letter about West trains.

My thoughts exactly. I dont see how the following part of the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) response was relevant to the original complaint either :

Response via email 16 November 2007.
---
Thank you for your email of 13 November 2007. I was sorry to learn of the delays you have encountered when travelling between Salisbury and Southampton Central......

.......As part of our updated service recovery plan, we are increasing the number of stand by Train Managers and Drivers in the London Thames Valley area.

[Timmer]

What use was the bit about HST^▸ (High Speed Train) engines in that letter about West trains.

Oh it does annoy me when they keep on banging on about the HST engines/ stock refurb when it has absolutely nothing to do with the problems experienced on services that don't ever see HSTs operating such as the Cardiff-Portsmouth line. This isn't the first time we've seen this come up on letters/emails from FGW^▸ (First Great Western) about routes that are not operated by HSTs.

Come on FGW sort it out. Now you've got refurbed 150's and 158's coming online you can start bragging about those instead on routes on which these trains operate. It will make your letters look a lot more genuine and caring towards the person you are writing to if you talk about the stock that runs on their line.