Great Western Coffee Shop

While i was waiting at Bristol TM last night for the 22:54 service to Cardiff central i noticed that the  information board on platform 4 was shwoing a service to Cardiff at 01:34. This service wasnt shown in the FGW  timetable book that i have but a check online showed it.

Now  am i right in guessing that  it was a fault in teh journey planner or something or  have FGW decided to run a overnight train  between Cardiff & Bristol?

I took a photo of the screen  which is  at:

http://anthonyjohn550.photoblog.me.uk/p68763476.html

Are you sure it is not at the start of your book as it would be the first train to run in the morning

I checked an could not find anything although  a service at that time would be good for anyone traveling from Bristol Airport. But wouldn't FGW advertise this service.

Yeah that's the 2330 off PAD.

The 23.xx Paddington-Bristol is extended to Cardiff. Looking quickly through the relevant timetables, it seems to be shown where it should be. I thought the TM stop might be set-down only, which would explain it not being shown on planners, but it appears to be an ordinary stop now.

Some years ago there was a similar service (I used it around 2001 on a Saturday; not sure if it ran in the week). That made 's' stops after Swindon, so if there was any engineering work it could terminate at Temple Meads but connect with a bus at Swindon. That service was withdrawn at some point, but seems to have re-appeared in the last few years, with Newport appearing to be the only 's' stop.

That service is the 2330 from London Paddington, calling all normal stations to Bristol, then Newport and Cardiff Central. Its advertised in Timetable 1 and 2, however not in any of the local timetables. It then returns to Bristol Temple Meads empty (not booked to visit St Phillips Marsh) and forms the empty stock that then forms the 0620 from Weston-super-Mare.

Smart move, not full advertising a service like that.  Then when it is porly used it can be axed to save money.

Cynical, Moi?

Checked the pocket timetable on the firstgreatwesterm website for Cardiff to Bristol and it is there. 

Ok  thanks for the information although i have no idea why it isnt in the timetable book i have. might get another 1

Which 'book' are you talking about?

In timetable book 28, on page 21, it's shown as MX - Service operates Tuesdays to Fridays only.

And at the end of the same timetable it is listed twice, with different timings for Friday Only (FO) and Friday Excepted (FX).

In timetable 2 it is only listed at the end of the day, again with FO and FX timings. No mention of MX there.

 ::) ???

Err ... no: on page 26 in timetable book 28 (Mondays to Fridays) it's shown in two columns in black as the 0134 from BRI, either setting down only at Newport at 0210 or 0200, and arriving at Cardiff at 0231 or 0217.  No note as to whether this difference relates to FO, or FX - in which case, surely these entries in the printed version should be in pink?  ::)

Ahh, I'm looking at the network timetable book and assuming the individual books would be the same. Sorry!

No MX in my book. And the FO and FX are in pink in both the Bristol/Bath to Cardiff and Paddington to Bristol/Somerset/South Wales timetables. Booking engines show the 2330 ex PAD as a runner on Mondays also.

Perhaps paying ^3 for a Network Timetable guarantees greater accuracy?

Timetable errors? Surely not?

 ;) ;D

The MX is in the Bristol-Cardiff local timetable. The stops shown on that timetable are entirely after midnight, so it's shown at the beginning of the day. I would guess it doesn't run on Sunday night, so there's no Monday morning service, hence the MX.

In the HSS timetables, it's shown as a 2330 start, so it's an evening service, running Mon-Fri, with different timings on Friday. Those differerent timings would show up on a Saturday morning in the local timetable.

There's a special module in the Comprehending Tickets & Timetables course on services that run after midnight...

Interestingly, they don't: they only appear on page 26 (the last of the 'Mondays to Fridays' entries), not on page 27 (the first of the 'Saturdays' entries).  ::)