Great Western Coffee Shop

Journey by Journey => Shorter journeys in Devon => Topic started by: The Tall Controller on June 02, 2017, 12:35:47



Title: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: The Tall Controller on June 02, 2017, 12:35:47
Unfortunately all services to/from Okehampton have been cancelled for this Sunday (4 June 2017).

There is a problem with certification of the Dartmoor Railway section of line between Colbrook Junction and Okehampton which severely limits the line speed along this section. The expectation is that services will be up and running again the week after.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on June 02, 2017, 20:15:41
With very grateful thanks for your alerting us to this sad situation, Rob T, I have also taken the opportunity of adding it to our Coffee Shop forum's calendar, to further heighten the profile of this breaking news.

Hope this helps - and best wishes for future Okehampton excursions!  ;) :D ;D



Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: SandTEngineer on June 07, 2017, 16:55:52
The service resumes this Sunday 11 June 2017 to a revised timetable: http://www.dartmoor-railway-sa.org/sundayrover

Mods: Topic Title probably needs amending ;)


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on June 07, 2017, 20:00:09
Mods: Topic Title probably needs amending ;)

Sometimes, I wonder whether certain members of the Coffee Shop forum are just trying to wind me up ... :o

Now done.  ::)



Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: SandTEngineer on June 07, 2017, 21:25:01
Thanks CfN.  At least you got to it early enough so only three posts had to be altered...... ::) :P


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: bobm on June 07, 2017, 21:40:42
Sometimes, I wonder whether certain members of the Coffee Shop forum are just trying to wind me up ... :o

I wouldn't dare! (except when it comes to mixers in alcoholic drinks)  ;D


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: grahame on June 11, 2017, 08:18:02
The service resumes this Sunday 11 June 2017 to a revised timetable: http://www.dartmoor-railway-sa.org/sundayrover

And "revised" this morning.   Here's one of three similar reports on the service

Quote
11:22 Exeter St Davids to Okehampton due 12:19
11:22 Exeter St Davids to Okehampton due 12:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

Seems to be a systemic issue ... we had a nine hour gap on TransWilts on spring bank holiday Sunday due to GWR staff shortages ... six trains lost, which meant that in a day we exceeded our threshold of reasonableness for the month.




Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: bobm on June 11, 2017, 08:22:55
For a similar reason the first westbound service from Plymouth into Cornwall started from Liskeard this morning.

While Sunday working remains voluntary I don't see a solution to this problem in the summer.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: TaplowGreen on June 11, 2017, 09:46:11
For a similar reason the first westbound service from Plymouth into Cornwall started from Liskeard this morning.

While Sunday working remains voluntary I don't see a solution to this problem in the summer.

There's a worrying trend of staff shortages becoming an issue & causing cancellations during the working week too - at least in LTV.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: ellendune on June 11, 2017, 12:01:41
There's a worrying trend of staff shortages becoming an issue & causing cancellations during the working week too - at least in LTV.

Could that be partly due to staff learning new traction?


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: IndustryInsider on June 11, 2017, 12:16:14
Yes it is partly that.  Drivers are spread more thinly over the ground.  I think I said a year or so back that it's a good job in some way that electrification was delayed, and therefore the new trains, were entering service later and at a slower rate than planned.  I don't think GWR had any chance of being organised enough to take on all the training that would have been required in time.  As it is, we're struggling a little with just 387s, let alone the IET's and 365s that should also have been in use by now.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: RailCornwall on June 25, 2017, 20:05:36
The 'All The Stations' team visited today
https://youtu.be/NgdHdiDs53w (https://youtu.be/NgdHdiDs53w)



Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: LiskeardRich on June 25, 2017, 20:21:15
For a similar reason the first westbound service from Plymouth into Cornwall started from Liskeard this morning.

While Sunday working remains voluntary I don't see a solution to this problem in the summer.
Who drove it to Liskeard? Presumably towed by the Looe train, but then again I can't imagine a driver starting a shift at Liskeard.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: marky7890 on June 28, 2017, 02:27:23
For a similar reason the first westbound service from Plymouth into Cornwall started from Liskeard this morning.

While Sunday working remains voluntary I don't see a solution to this problem in the summer.
Who drove it to Liskeard? Presumably towed by the Looe train, but then again I can't imagine a driver starting a shift at Liskeard.

I believe it came from Par, with the Looe unit attached. (Stored at Par chapel siding on Saturday nights).


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: phile on June 28, 2017, 09:15:23
For a similar reason the first westbound service from Plymouth into Cornwall started from Liskeard this morning.

While Sunday working remains voluntary I don't see a solution to this problem in the summer.
Who drove it to Liskeard? Presumably towed by the Looe train, but then again I can't imagine a driver starting a shift at Liskeard.

I believe it came from Par, with the Looe unit attached. (Stored at Par chapel siding on Saturday nights).

Probably Par crew who should have worked the first Newquay which was cancelled.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: RichardB on July 05, 2017, 15:45:54
Problem now solved - train service to run normally from this Sunday (9th)

https://www.devonnewscentre.info/normal-service-to-resume-on-okehampton-sunday-dartmoor-rail-service/


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: LiskeardRich on July 05, 2017, 16:07:07
Is the fix linked to the network rail rail grinder visiting last week for trials?


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: TaplowGreen on July 05, 2017, 17:56:02
Is the fix linked to the network rail rail grinder visiting last week for trials?

Never knew Network Rail ran dodgy "dating" websites? (Or that there was such demand for them in Okehampton?)


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: RichardB on July 05, 2017, 18:14:22
Is the fix linked to the network rail rail grinder visiting last week for trials?

No, it was the need for the five year Safety Certificate to be renewed to allow running at more than 25 MPH.  The rail grinder visiting can only be a good thing though!   



Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: plymothian on August 04, 2017, 10:08:09
Last Sunday's first train out of OKE had 104 passengers on board, the previous week was 114 - the highest loading so far.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: TonyK on August 05, 2017, 22:44:27
Last Sunday's first train out of OKE had 104 passengers on board, the previous week was 114 - the highest loading so far.


They must be fed up of telling people that there's no call for a regular service...


Title: Re: Okehampton summer services
Post by: grahame on May 27, 2018, 08:36:55
Last Sunday's first train out of OKE had 104 passengers on board, the previous week was 114 - the highest loading so far.


They must be fed up of telling people that there's no call for a regular service...

A bank holiday (27th May 2018) ... a day that lots of people just might like to use the service ...

Quote
Train Cancellations
09:01 St James' Park to Okehampton due 09:52
09:55 Okehampton to St James' Park due 10:41
12:12 Okehampton to St James' Park due 13:04

Upthread, reports of (very) good numbers using the service last year.    Those numbers will be hard to sustain in the face of cancellations to the already-infrequent service, even if those cancellations get re-instated later in the day.


Title: Re: Okehampton summer services
Post by: TaplowGreen on May 27, 2018, 10:12:44
Last Sunday's first train out of OKE had 104 passengers on board, the previous week was 114 - the highest loading so far.


They must be fed up of telling people that there's no call for a regular service...

A bank holiday (27th May 2018) ... a day that lots of people just might like to use the service ...

Quote
Train Cancellations
09:01 St James' Park to Okehampton due 09:52
09:55 Okehampton to St James' Park due 10:41
12:12 Okehampton to St James' Park due 13:04

Upthread, reports of (very) good numbers using the service last year.    Those numbers will be hard to sustain in the face of cancellations to the already-infrequent service, even if those cancellations get re-instated later in the day.

It seems to be the South West's turn generally today to cop the majority of cancellations/alterations due to GWR not providing sufficient staffing resource.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: bradshaw on May 27, 2018, 10:39:06

As per last week, so this. However it’s working from Exeter shows cancelled in RTT!

09:55 Okehampton to St James' Park due 10:41 will be reinstated.
It will be started from Exeter St Davids.
It will no longer call at Okehampton, Sampford Courtenay and Crediton.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Would I be correct in thinking that crew are pulled from this service to run another and then GWR have time to find crew for the Okehampton trip?


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: plymothian on May 27, 2018, 20:18:40
The new diagramming means that 3 separate drivers with the relevant route knowledge are needed every Sunday to run the service; there aren't enough trained drivers working to fulfil this.
The first trip of the day has been canned two weeks running because the diagram is uncovered, until they can pull a driver who books on shortly before it leaves St David's to run it (assuming they sign Okehampton) and are willing to change duties.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: TaplowGreen on May 27, 2018, 22:22:34
What a ridiculous situation.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: Timmer on May 28, 2018, 07:56:13
If they don’t have the crew to run them then they should remove the service from the timetable to save people turning up to find the service not running. But we could say that about a lot of GWR services these days. Problem is you don’t know which services are going to be canned until the day you are travelling.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: Adelante_CCT on May 28, 2018, 09:16:36
What a ridiculous situation.

Would you expect anything else from GWR?


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: Timmer on May 28, 2018, 10:13:59
What a ridiculous situation.

Would you expect anything else from GWR?
A more reliable service?


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: Adelante_CCT on May 28, 2018, 10:42:50
What should happen and what we have come to expect are sadly two very different things


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: ellendune on May 28, 2018, 13:26:43
What a ridiculous situation.

What might seem ridiculous in isolation might be the most sensible solution when looked at in the round

Would you expect anything else from GWR?

If you were to say "Would you expect anything else from DfT/NR/GWR" then I could go along with that. Remember the problems at the moment are not just down to GWR.



Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: Adelante_CCT on May 28, 2018, 13:50:52
In general, yes all the above are to blame, but who's decision is it for the Okehampton service? Are GWR being forced to run it, or is it there own decision?


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: bradshaw on May 28, 2018, 14:10:13
They have financial support from Devon County Council, who started running them in 1997.


Title: Re: Okehampton summer services
Post by: grahame on May 28, 2018, 14:32:43
They have financial support from Devon County Council, who started running them in 1997.

I wonder what happens between Devon County Council and Great Western Railway when a supported service is cancelled, and how that compares to what happens between the Department for Transport and Great Western Railway when a service in the franchise / management contract is cancelled. 


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: ellendune on May 28, 2018, 18:40:13
In general, yes all the above are to blame, but who's decision is it for the Okehampton service? Are GWR being forced to run it, or is it there own decision?

They are being paid to run it. Also DfT have made statements asking GWR to look into providing more services.

However the point I was making is that a shortage of drivers and stock generally is not just down to GWR but for reasons explained elsewhere the actions or non actions of NR and DfT have also contributed. The extent to which this affects Exeter crew I do not know. 


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: plymothian on May 28, 2018, 19:46:22
The make up of the diagram using 3 drivers instead of 2 or 1 as in previous years is entirely down to GWR.


Title: Re: Okehampton services - Summer 2017
Post by: devonexpress on June 16, 2018, 12:03:16
Its going to get a whole lot worse very soon  ;)



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