After the timetable change - what next? (Qn.2 5/11/2019)

[whole diary]

[Red Squirrel]

We wish GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) well in their major timetable change in December, but almost inevitably little snags may arise in the practical experience of running the new schedules. Other longer term changes are being touted / suggested too. For example, there was a question about running later trains, more frequent services on the Severn Beach line, and a report on joining up and improving services from Southampton to Swindon and from Yeovil to Bristol.

What plans do you have in place to deal with immediate issues that arise, further tuning in May 2020, and for the next operating contract phase ("DA3") which is scheduled to run from next year to 2022 or 2024?

[MarkHopwood]

We are fully confident that the timetable will work well in December.  We have a robust contingency plan in place to deal with any issues that may arise.

We are anticipating and planning for a short term dip in performance as customers and colleagues adjust to the new timetable.  This is only natural given the scale of the changes.

May 2020 will see some further limited improvements, and these are still to be confirmed.

DA3 discussions are ongoing for future timetables beyond May 2020 and we look forward to being able to announce proposed future improvements when we have finished negotiations with the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about).

[didcotdean]

I note that some of the long-advertised service patterns for the new timetable will not actually be brought into operation in December, and in some respects represent a backward step. An example I am thinking about is the loss of a direct regular interval service from Didcot weekdays to South Wales which seemed to happen late in the process; I am sure that there are more that affect others here. Is any effort available to achieve these expected patterns in future timetables?

[MarkHopwood]

You are right that the loss of direct Didcot to South Wales services was a relatively late decision but it has had wider industry support as it was part of a plan which helps creates two freight paths an hour between Didcot and Swindon.

Perhaps more importantly the revenue flows between Bristol/Bath and Didcot (Oxford) are much greater than South Wales and your summary omitted to mention that we are going to a half hourly service at Didcot Parkway all day on that route.

It is our hope the half hourly fast Bristol trains will operate from May 2020.

[didcotdean]

I guess I can take that reply as a 'no' then

Although I haven't seen it stated before the specific change I mentioned had been at least driven in part by revenue considerations rather than a hitherto unforeseen operational limitation & I welcome the candour on this.

[MarkHopwood]

Indeed but since revenue is driven by passengers it also reflects the fact we have chosen to stop the trains at Didcot which will benefit the greatest number of passengers and where the size of potential passengers is greatest.

Ultimately, a timetable is a compromise and sometimes we take decisions with the most overall benefit but I know better than anyone we can’t please everyone all the time.

The role of freight trains brings another dimension to the discussion and Network Rail has an obligation to ensure our timetable is developed on a way that still ensures there is capacity for freight.

On balance I think we have the best answer in the circumstances but I recognise the issue with Didcot to South Wales.

[Celestial]

I wonder how much of the revenue attributed to Didcot is "real", and how much is due to splitting tickets. Just a thought!