Oxford commuters put on 'trial' with crazy idea to save delays...

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Well, the trial seems to have survived day one.  A couple of drivers 'forgetting' to go all the way to the end of the platform, but the vast majority did.  Some puzzled looks from the punters as they trapsed down the platform to the footbridge.  I expect those puzzled expressions will turn more angry as they begin to realise it's not just a one-off!

[inspector_blakey]

Are the drivers who 'forget' (try to exercise a bit of initiative and common sense?) going to find themselves on the sharp end of a 'please explain'...? I hope not but suspect they probably will eventually.

[IndustryInsider]

The details of trains that stop in the right wrong place are being logged and so persistant martyrs offenders will no doubt be spoken to.

[IndustryInsider]

A bit of a Blue Peter job with the stitching as I didn't have my camera with a panoramic mode, but here's a mid-afternoon arrival at Oxford complete with a hundred or so poor souls being made to walk down the length of the platform unnecessarily.  Fortunately it wasn't raining. 

The trial has been in effect for a week now, and I've yet to see a single example of where a train has been bought in behind to save these massive ammounts of delays minutes that you'd need to justify this crazy idea.

[JayMac]

Bonkers!

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

So is there a separate track circuit to tell the Oxford signalman that the terminating turbo has drawn down far enough to bring a train in behind? Or is supposed to pop out of his cabin and have a look?

This issue links in with my earlier posts about freight trains being given priority over Oxford stoppers (up and down).  If Network Rail could actually manage to produce a timetable that worked - ie trains (freight and passenger) could run to time - then the stoppers wouldn't arrive late at Oxford.  If trains are consistently running late, then find the cause and deal with it.  If this requires a change to the timetable, then that is what should be done.

I despair of FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s management for their obsession with saving lost minutes at the expense of customer service - whether it's imposing a long and unneccesary walk exposed to the elements for passengers arriving at Oxford on down stoppers, last minute platform changes at Reading with trains departing before pasengers can get there, etc. 

Does FGW actually care about its passengers? Or are lost minutes more important?

[ChrisB]

I suspect that XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) has priority over FGW^▸ (First Great Western) slows. THerefore can request that the slows get even later to let their trains pass, adding even further to FGW delay minutes.

So it's that or what we've got.

[IndustryInsider]

Does FGW^▸ (First Great Western) actually care about its passengers? Or are lost minutes more important?

Lost minutes in this case it would seem - though as I've pointed out none are getting saved anyway!.  Anger, bewilderment and resentment are building amongst the staff and passengers.  Still no heavy rain to really piss people off!

[bobm]

I understand from another forum that although the idea behind this was to stop XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) services being delayed they haven't signed up to the trial so their services still pull up in the middle of the platform.  Therefore if the roles are reversed a FGW^▸ (First Great Western) turbo cannot come in behind it.  Can anyone confirm that?

[IndustryInsider]

Yes, I think it's mentioned earlier in the thread, only terminating FGW^▸ (First Great Western) services are affected.

[JayMac]

Is this a case of headcode hierarchy? XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) services being 1Xxx and the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) turbo terminators being 2Xxx?

[IndustryInsider]

Nope.  There's plenty of Class 1 FGW^▸ (First Great Western) terminators that are also affected.  It's purely that they didn't want to get totally lynched by making passengers boarding trains walk/stand out in the elements.

[ChrisB]

That bit makes sense, I guess....

[IndustryInsider]

I'd have given them until 7am on day one if they'd dared to try that!

[willc]

There are posters around the station making very clear it is only FGW^▸ (First Great Western) terminating services that are affected, which describes the trial as a joint effort involving FGW, XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) and Network Rail. Should you have thoughts on the arrangement, you are invited to pass them on to the station staff...

Another nonsense that has resulted from this is the dispatchers having to go all the way up to the end of the platform to check a Turbo is empty, walking back down the platform to their office next to the footbridge, then re-emerging moments later to go all the way back up there when the following Cotswold Line service - ie the trains that in reality are usually the ones delayed by terminating services, wherever they stop on the platform - is an HST^▸ (High Speed Train).

And should the glorious moment arrive when a Voyager actually does roll in behind a terminating Turbo, it will still have to sit waiting for the dispatcher to trudge back down to the footbridge area to check the doors are closed before the XC service can be sent on its way.