2024 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury

[whole diary]

[a-driver]

I'm shocked...............I'm sure you wouldn't wish to suggest that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) would be anything other than 100% honest with their valued and respected customers? 

Journeycheck/greatwesternrailway:

17:03 St Ives to St Erth due 17:14 will be cancelled.
This is due to heavy rain flooding the railway.

One service each way lost due to flooding? Or would you rather believe RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website):

This service was cancelled due to a planning error (TA).

Depends how far you want to trace back a delay?

The TM^‡(resolve) for that round trip from St. Erth to St. Ives travels on 1A96, the 16:15 from Penzance which was 32 minutes late arriving at St. Erth, so if it had run it would have been with at least a 10 minute delay. 

The 16:15 from Penzance was delayed by late arrival of the inward working from London, which was delayed by the flooding.

A lot is also down to how delays and cancellations are coded and recorded in the system, the cause of delay or cancellation is taken from that attribution code.  You have no option to manually enter a Freeform or custom delay cause.  It has to go under a code.

The Melksham services are coded under the root cause of the problem, flooding.  There is no attribution code to state “cancelled to allow other services to run”.  It’s generally advisable to stick to one cause of delay or cancellation, normally the root cause, rather than issues a series of different messages which can lead to confusion and an accusation of it being made up!  When you stick to the root cause it paints a more accurate picture of how many delay minutes have been caused by that incident. 
The great advantage of X is it provides an opportunity to explain delays/cancellations in more detail. 

[TaplowGreen]

All now re-instated.   Staff have been to site between Melksham and Bradford Junction and carried out repairs.   There were initially delays in finding staff, such have been the demands on permanent way staff over the last few days.

Looks like most (if not all) have been cancelled again, according to Journeycheck & National Rail.

[Mark A]

Even the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) are reporting the line between Westbury and Swindon is closed:

Westbury to Swindon railway line closed due to flooding
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-68693214

Statements from the railway of the sort "The Westbury to Swindon railway line is closed ..." aren't very helpful as there's no such thing, the messaging would be better if it related to the train service rather than the route run by the service.

The use of "Both lines are blocked" is another puzzler, and wouldn't it be good to retire the orphan phrase "More trains than usual needing repairs" unless its qualified by the cause e.g. "The weekend's weather damaged many of our trains and therefore more than usual need repairs."

Much of this messaging often comes across as 'The railways are generally crap' which isn't the case. Perhaps GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) needs an internal discussion, reset its style of communicating and improve this at a stroke.

A good example: Network Rail Scotland's messaging on the Easter break, even if it uses the mysterious "Improve your railway", starts by emphasising the positive. From Twitter:

"The vast majority of Scotland's Railway isn't affected by our #EasterRailWorks this year, but if you travel from Glasgow Central or on the West Coast Main Line, check your journey - we're spending £12.6 million to improve your railway."

Mark

[TaplowGreen]

Latest message on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Twitter (about 1530)

Due to a fault with the signalling system earlier today between Westbury and Swindon, fewer trains are able to run on the line.

Train services running through these stations have been cancelled. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

[grahame]

Awful connection where I am (not on the mainland of Europe at the moment) but I can get Journey check which says:

14:52 Westbury to Swindon due 15:35

14:52 Westbury to Swindon due 15:35 is being delayed at Westbury.
This is due to train crew being delayed by service disruption.

[grahame]

Awful connection where I am (not on the mainland of Europe at the moment) but I can get Journey check which says:

14:52 Westbury to Swindon due 15:35

14:52 Westbury to Swindon due 15:35 is being delayed at Westbury.
This is due to train crew being delayed by service disruption.

Started 23 minutes late, 13 minutes late on the return journey - glad it ran. Yet another little example, perhaps, of staff scheduling being done to the "n-th degree" of refinement which works well until something disturbs the planned pattern, and then the ripple effects spread far and wide.

[grahame]

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Dilton Marsh, Warminster and Salisbury.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[GBM]

Delays to services between Swindon and Westbury via Melksham
Due to flooding at Melksham trains have to run at reduced speed. Disruption is expected until 11:15 03/04.
Train services between Swindon and Westbury via Melksham may be delayed.

[grahame]

Thu, 4 April 14:19 Westbury to Swindon due 15:01
Thu, 4 April 15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59

04/04/24 15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59 will be cancelled.
This is due to industrial action.

[TaplowGreen]

16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:08
16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:08 will be cancelled.
This is due to industrial action.

17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:20
17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:20 will be cancelled.
This is due to industrial action.

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06
17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Gloucester, Stonehouse, Stroud, Kemble, Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge.
This is due to a fault on this train.

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05
20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05 will be terminated at Swindon.
It will no longer call at Kemble, Stroud, Stonehouse, Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa.
This is due to industrial action.

[grahame]

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06
17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Gloucester, Stonehouse, Stroud, Kemble, Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge.
This is due to a fault on this train.

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be reinstated and will now run as scheduled.

[grahame]

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47 is being delayed at Ashchurch For Tewkesbury.
This is due to a points failure.

Technically a disruption to one of the trains that's scheduled / travelled our line, though I suspect that the number of passengers from south of Swindon to north of Cheltenham Spa on board was/is limited.

[grahame]

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be cancelled.
This is due to industrial action.

[TaplowGreen]

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05
20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05 will be cancelled.
This is due to industrial action.

[grahame]

Due to industrial action, the only trains scheduled to run today are:
Services at 07:45 and 16:23 from Westbury to Swindon
Services at 08:45 and 17:35 from Swindon to Westbury
All 4 trains calling intermediately at Trowbridge, Melksham and Chippenham at which they are the only passenger trains scheduled to call today.

Complete timetable for Westbury:
07:45 to Swindon (starts here)
08:10 to Salisbury (from Castle Cary)
(09:26 arrival from Swindon)
10:57 to Frome (from Salisbury)
11:43 to Southampton Central (from Frome)
16:23 to Swindon (starts here)
(18:18 arrival from Swindon)
19:58 to Yeovil Junction (from Salisbury)
23:12 to Salisbury (starts here)

Complete timetable for Swindon:
(08:28 arrival from Westbury)
08:45 to Westbury
(17:08 arrival from Westbury)
17:35 to Westbury