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In my post about the Cotswold Line service on 3 October, I said "last autumn's Cotswold Line service was dire and early signs are it could be the same again this year". As has just been posted in a separate thread, today we have the first slippery rails of the season. There's a thread for Thames Valley disruption in the Across the West sub-forum which is a very useful record of problems that occur on a seemingly regular basis. I'm wondering whether there is a case for a similar thread for the Cotswold Line (not that I'm suggesting the line is unique in having more than its fair share of disruption).

Anyway, at the risk of duplicating the previous thread, today's slippery rails took out a big chunk of the morning service:

05:11 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington cancelled;
04:50 Hereford to Paddington left Evesham 71 late and 82 late by Oxford;
05:28 Hereford to Paddington diverted via Swindon;
07:10 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington started on time but 15 late at Oxford having been held by late running 05:47 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street;
06:53 Worcester Foregate Street to Didcot arrived at Oxford 39 late.

Campden Bank, unsurprisingly: "Trains travelling towards London Paddington / Oxford from Hereford / Worcester (in this direction only) will not call at Honeybourne until approximately midday", according to JourneyCheck.

With thanks for your comments, charles_uk, we on the moderator team will be happy to keep an eye on those various topics and do a bit of 'moving and merging' - if it becomes appropriate / necessary.

CfN.  :)

Similar problems happening this morning with delays of around 15mins /pr diverting

"Due to slippery rails at Honeybourne fewer trains are able to run on the line towards Oxford.

Train services running through this station may be revised. Honeybourne will not be served. Disruption is expected until 11:00 06/10."

and the 05:28 Hereford to Paddington diverted via Swindon again

I am aware there's a danger this could turn into my own personal GWR rant thread. And I accept failing trains are to be expected from time to time. In isolation these would just be an irritation but in the context of the autumn service on the Cotswold Line, they do begin to form a pattern. Anyway, this afternoon:

13:22 Paddington to Worcester Foregate was terminated at Moreton-in-Marsh due to slippery rails (and return run cancelled in its entirety);

and

14:22 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 16:44 will no longer call at Slough.
It has been previously delayed but is now 19 minutes late from Oxford.
Will be formed of 2 coaches instead of 5.
This is due to a fault on this train.

and

15:49 London Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh due 17:25 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.
(resulting in return run also being cancelled)

Cancellations due to slippery rail head conditions during the day and into the evening peak as well, 1646 OXF to CBY cancelled.

1749 reported elsewhere to be a turbo

Whist waiting for my local bus just after lunch today I noted a leaf buster unit being hauled by a Freightliner 66 heading in the Worcester direction and wondered !

Never used to have so many adhesion problems in the days of steam because the engines carried their own supplies of sand which could be deployed from the footplate whilst in motion. Additionally manual signal boxes had supplies of sand usually kept in the signal box fire buckets and signalmen would hand sand known troublespots in the vicinity of their boxes whilst more distant spots were hand sanded by the local linemen.

Perhaps it's time to consider bringing back the sandite trains in some form or other.

HSTs have jerry cans full of sand stored in the power car.  Last resort stuff, and didn't work in the case of the first up train on Wednesday morning.

Two scheduled services didn't run on the Cotswold Line today:

06:52 Paddington to Great Malvern terminated at Oxford due to shortage of drivers, and return 09:58 Great Malvern to Paddington started from Oxford

1649 only a 3car turbo vice an HST again

A number of morning services 15 minutes or so late into Oxford this morning due to slippery rails, and for second time in four days 15:49 Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh (and the 17:32 return from Moreton-in-Marsh) cancelled due to a train fault.

And no notice from GWR of the cancellation - my usual 1500 status update email from them didn’t mention the cancellation - and still no news. Could have had an extra 30 minutes at work

Maybe no email but journey check had it well in advance

The whole point of the email is to avoid me having to look myself!

They have helpfully told me the 1749 is short-formed though - hope I won’t be around long enough to see that

Another scheduled service failing to run on the Cotswold Line:

"20:22 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 23:05 will be terminated at Oxford.
This is due to a shortage of train crew."

Three more this morning

0511 ex-WOS has a fault near Moreton in Marsh
0528 ex-HFD diverted via Stroud
0512 PAD-MIM & return terminated/started OXF

The 0606 ex-Charlbury (0511 ex-WOS) finally rolls in at 0706 - still waiting to leave as I write this at 0723.

We're waiting the delayed Worcester service in the opposite direction which didn't even leave Oxford until 0710 - surely someone would have had some sense to hold that to allow the first London train through the single line section - I think lots gave up and just drove over the Oxford Parkway.

I guess I just need to pray for more delays to ensure I get a discount on my season ticket renewal as no compensation otherwise for me!

0511 finally got to Oxford 80 minutes late and was to be terminated at Didcot.

and the following 0450 Hereford - Paddington 73 late by the time it got to Oxford.

Only nine working days into October and there has been significant morning disruption on four of those days.

Just picked up on this...

"Delays to services between Evesham and Moreton-In-Marsh

Due to a fault with barriers at a level crossing between Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh all lines are blocked.

Train services running through these stations are returning to normal but some services may still be delayed. Disruption is expected until 12:00 13/10.

Last Updated:13/10/2017 11:32"

Not sure how much actual disruption has been caused but the 09:58 Great Malvern to Paddington was started from Worcester Shrub Hill and is currently running about an hour late.

Insignificant in relation to problems many are suffering as a result of Storm Ophelia but for the record:

05:28 Hereford to Paddington delayed by congestion. Half an hour late into Oxford (and now 48 late at Ealing Broadway, presumably caught up in the latest Paddington signalling issues)

and, inevitably:

07:10 Moreton-in-Marsh to London Paddington due 08:51 will be started from Oxford.
It will no longer call at Moreton-in-Marsh, Kingham, Charlbury and Hanborough.
This is due to congestion.

First train this morning cancelled (06.06 from Charlbury) - on the one day this year I drag myself up at this ungodly hour!

A number of issues today:

05:47 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street terminated at Oxford (and return 08:26 WOF:PAD started at OXF) due to shortage of train crew.

10:59 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 13:30 will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.
It will no longer call at Great Malvern, Malvern Link and Worcester Foregate Street.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.

11:22 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 13:57 was terminated at Oxford.
This is due to a fault on this train.

14:25 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 16:59 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

(and 15:21 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington on Wed 18 Oct also cancelled due to staff shortages).

Slippery rails and broken down trains this morning:

05:11 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 07:30 has been delayed between Honeybourne and Moreton-in-Marsh and is now 20 minutes late.
This is due to slippery rails.

05:47 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 08:16 has been cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

07:10 Moreton-in-Marsh to London Paddington due 08:51 will be started from Oxford.
It will no longer call at Moreton-in-Marsh, Kingham, Charlbury and Hanborough.
This is due to a broken down train earlier today.

08:26 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 10:57 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on a train in front of this one.

Just noticed from Realtime Trains that the 05:11 Worcester Shrub Hill - Paddington service was cancelled again, this time "due to a problem with the traction equipment".

From JourneyCheck:


Same applies to 18:35 return.

That's going to be a little cosy. Luckily the following 15:49 Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh has eight coaches...  oh wait:

15:49 London Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh due 17:25 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

For some reason the 05:28 Hereford to Paddington, which was already a little late, was delayed for a further ten minutes between Moreton-in-Marsh and Ascott-under-Wychwood. The resulting congestion seems to have caused noticeable delays on all the following services: 07:10 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington departing Oxford 21 late; 06:53 Worcester Foregate Street to Didcot Parkway 35 late at Oxford; and the 06:42 Hereford to Paddington has just left Charlbury 13 late.

Slippery rails?

It was because of a level crossing problem (I was on the train - but no notice at Charlbury as the Information displays aren’t working)

That's now showing on National Rail Enquiries Live Departure Board (quoted below) but nothing on GWR JourneyCheck.

"Delays of up to 15 minutes can be expected to trains through Moreton-in-Marsh due to a fault with barriers at a level crossing."

According to the Train Manager, there was a signal not working at the Bruern Crossing, so trains were being talked across on caution.

Service has been reasonably reliable over last week. However:

15:22 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 17:58 has been cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

and presumably return run will also be cancelled.

This November does seem to be much better than last year. There's been a number of mornings when the 05:28 Hereford to Paddington has been running late which has delayed the following 07:10 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington and 06:53 Worcester Foregate Street - Didcot Parkway services. And the 04:50 Hereford to Paddington was started from Didcot this morning, missing out the Cotswold Line in its entirety.

The main problem recently has been the 13:22 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street. It was terminated at Oxford, arriving an hour late, after developing a fault on 9 November. And for the last three days, it has been late onto the single track beyond Evesham causing knock on delays to a number of afternoon services through Oxford, culminating today in the 15:49 Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh being terminated at Oxford with the return 17:32 service from Moreton-in-Marsh being started at Oxford.

This evening I was on the 1549, got kicked off at Oxford. I think the train sat briefly in a siding before travelling empty to charlbury to start what would have been the 1732 from Moreton. Frustrating after being crammed on the all stops class 180 (1622 from Paddington)

Second day running 04:50 Hereford to Paddington was started from Didcot due to a "problem with the traction equipment (MD)" according to Realtime Trains.

And just the thing for a Friday afternoon:

14:22 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 16:44 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers. (and the return 17:28 from WOF).

Will be snug on following 15:22 Paddington - Great Malvern service (which looks likes it'll be late out of Oxford again due to usual congestion from late running 13:22 PAD:WOF!)

Snug was not quite the word that sprang to mind (and, yes, it was delayed at Wolvercote Jn).  In carriage A, there were at least a couple of people who were on the phone to arrange to be picked up from Charlbury as there was little chance of them getting through to carriage C to get off at Hanborough.

And today (Saturday November 18) JourneyCheck is reporting


This seems a bit weird - can anybody explain what happened here?

Looks to be a timetable planning error.  Oxford was not included as a passenger stop.

Here's a theory:

It's in the timetable as an HST, stopping at Oxford. It's showing in RTT as some Turbos, splitting at Oxford. So I guess it's got changed in internal systems to show as an operational, not a passenger, stop by mistake.

If that means some public information, such as journey planners, shows it not stopping then Jurneycheck may want to show the correction. They not know the reason, or may see no point in trying to explain it to passengers. So it goes down as "under investigation".

For third day running, a morning peak London bound service cancelled:

06:42 Hereford to London Paddington due 09:45 will be cancelled.
This is due to engineering works not being finished on time.

It's so sad when I read that and think "is this really news?".   Yes - it is news, or it certainly should be - but yet we have become so softened to a lack of trains when we need them (even if they are in the timetable) that we sometimes just shrug our shoulders.

From my inbox this morning, due to lack of a (different) train:

I'd intended to catch that one. Fortunately (?) my insomnia meant that I picked that up in the middle of the night. Ended up catching the one in front - though that's more expensive.

Though it was your choice to travel on an earlier service, I think you might have a case to make a claim on the difference in fare because your normal cheaper fare train was cancelled. Might be worth claiming.

And as with last Friday, 14:22 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street cancelled.

"14:22 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 16:44 has been cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train."

Sardine-time again on the 15:22 Paddington to Great Malvern.

When there's only an hourly service, cancellations do matter - and they seem to be becoming a more frequent occurrence.

I'm not having a good day - I'm on the 15:22 from Paddington.

Before Charles comments  :)

Thursday Nov 23:

06:52 Paddington - Great Malvern cancelled from Oxford to Great Malvern.
09:58 return from Great Malvern to Paddington cancelled throughout.
Realtimetrains reports this as due to "a problem with the traction equipment".

Appreciate it's been a difficult day with the event between Didcot and Swindon, and the resulting knock-on effects but:

19:22 London Paddington to Hereford due 22:57 has been cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

followed by:

20:22 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 23:05 is being delayed at London Paddington.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

The latter service is now expected to depart 25 minutes late, but I'm curious as to how more trains than usual needing repairs can delay a train.

"Stepping up"?   In other words, shorter times and quicker turnarounds at Paddington platforms as trains go out on earlier services than were intended in the working timetable, reducing the number of trains needed in service by one as there's one less sitting at Paddington at any time.

1722 Pad to Hereford (an HST) also unusually stopped at Combe and Finstock. Not sure why as these are normally only served by the previous stopping service, Nb the HST didn't stop at the other small stations that are also served by the stopper.

The previous stopper was a 3-car Turbo vice 180 so couldn’t call as no SDO fitted.

For the fourth time in seven days the 04:50 Hereford to Paddington was cancelled: "this service was cancelled throughout due to a problem at the depot (MU)" according to Realtime Trains.

Same service

Me again!

15:49 London Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh due 17:25 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

and the return 17:32 MIM:PAD

I don't think it's my imagination but there seems to have been a noticeable increase in the number of cancellations on the Cotswold Line over the last couple of weeks.

I've been following this thread and it really does seem that (notwithstanding a pretty ropey service across all areas), the Cotswold line seems to be suffering more than most.

Yeah It's the line I use the most so it doesn't surprise me at all  ::). 

Monday November 27

10:22 Paddington - Hereford
15:14 Hereford - Paddington

HST replaced by a 3-car Turbo.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.
First class not available. Catering is not available. There are no reservations on this service.

Monday November 27

Not a good day.


realtimetrains is reporting it as having left Evesham 34 minutes late at 15:36 - and having passed Ascott only 8 late at 15:43.

7 minutes for 26 miles is impressive, but unlikely.

It was unlikely:

And the 15:49 Paddington - Moreton-in-Marsh is being terminated at Oxford, "due to a broken-down train".

Return working, 17:32 to Paddington, being started from Oxford.

and:

15:21 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington expected to be 67 late at Oxford
15:50 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington "delayed" atm

and

17:49 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill due 20:05 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train. (is this the same unit as the 14:25 Great Malvern to Paddington?)

That's "reinstated", but not as we know it, Jim.
And the return working, the 19:44 from Great Malvern, will be started from Oxford.

Meanwhile, my other half, who is on the 14:25, has just rung to tell me that they've come back to Evesham, where they have transferred to what is the 15:14 Hereford, formed today of a Turbo.

The 15:14 from Hereford is not simply the train behind them. The current situation is:

Train
1P57 14:25 GMV-PAD 15:02 at Evesham.
Left Evesham 34 late. Returned to Evesham at 16:52.
Has now gone to Worcester, empty.

1P61 15:21 WOS-PAD 15:35 at Evesham.
Left Evesham 12 late. Left Moreton 72 late.
Terminated at Reading at 18:20, some 85 late.

1P63 15:50 WOF-PAD 16:08 at Evesham.
Left Evesham 8 late. Left Moreton 55 late.
Arrived Paddington at 19:06, some 67 late.

1P65 15:14 HFD-PAD 16:25 at Evesham.
Left Evesham 45 late.
Arrived Paddington 19:41, some 72 late.

Edited later to add final arrival times.

Presumably the 15:49 Paddington - Moreton has been truncated at Oxford so as to allow all three late-running up trains to get out through the single line between Charlbury and Oxford and get back to Paddington as fast as possible.

So, in effect, three out of four down services from Oxford along the Cotswold Line have been cancelled between 16:30 and 19:00?

16:46 Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh
17:25 Oxford to Great Malvern
18:50 Oxford to Worcester Shrub Hill

15:21 from Worcester forms the 17:49 from Paddington.
14:25 from Malvern forms the 17:22 from Paddington

Madame, who was supposed to arrive at Paddington at 16:59, eventually got there at 19:41.

It's impressive, being 2:42 late on a journey that is scheduled to take 2:16.

Meanwhile, just to complete the record of today's disasters,

Shambles doesn't quite cover it really. My mum was due to be coming back on an afternoon service today. Fortunately she switched to a morning service because she was looking after the grandchildren after school.

One observation from yesterday's chaos: how is it possible that a single train breaking down mid-afternoon can cause major disruption for the rest of the day? Slightly rhetorical question as I understand that adding stretches of single track and resulting stock displacement into the mixture, you are going to get a lot of knock-on problems but, even so, the impact did seem excessive.

My interpretation would be that it was a 'perfect storm' situation - that the 14:25 GMV-PAD broke down at exactly the wrong time and place.

The afternoon timetable from Worcester towards Oxford is a bit odd - the vagaries of the timetable mean that there's departures from Shrub Hill at 14:43, 15:21, 15:54 and 16:05 (all HSTs). Our usual timetable is hourly-ish - in the morning we get London-bound departures at 05:36, 06:19, 07:32 and 08:39 (with the 'halts' train at 06:55).

Now, the 14:25 GMV-PAD got to Evesham but had some sort of a problem there. It eventually left 34 late at 15:36. In which case it should have arrived at Moreton at 15:55.

Presumably everybody thought that it was now OK, so the 15:21 WOS-PAD followed it, passing Norton Junction (according to realtimetrains) at 15:30. It arrived at Evesham at 15:44 and left at 15:48.

Now, I don't know how the signalling is organised between Evesham and Moreton, but evidently it's possible for this train to leave Evesham heading east before the one in front has reached Moreton.

Meanwhile, the one in front is having problems - "limping along" according to my other half. And eventually it grinds to a halt in the middle of nowhere and (presumably) the driver gets on the phone to the signallers at Evesham and Moreton, who (presumably) tell Control. Let's suppose that Control find out about this at 16:06.

At which point, whoever is on the Control desk looks to see what's happening behind the dead train, realises that the 15:50 WOF-PAD passed Norton Junction at 16:05 and utters [expletive deleted] - they've now got two trains trapped behind the dead one.

The driver manages to get the dead one going sufficiently to be able to go back to Evesham, using the crossover at Honeybourne to get over to the down line and out of the way of the two that are trapped behind it.

At this point, the sensible thing to do would've been to get the passengers off the dead train while it reversed at Honeybourne, so that they could be picked up by the next one behind. But that one isn't due to stop at Honeybourne, so Control may have decided that that plan wouldn't work. And indeed, the one behind that isn't due to stop there either (though you would think that the Evesham signaller could instruct the driver). Either way, the passengers are taken back to Evesham.

And by the time they get there, the two trains behind have got going and have cleared off towards Oxford. You now have a pile of (grumpy?) passengers at Evesham.

But, we have a third train behind. It's the 15:14 from Hereford to Paddington, departing Shrub Hill at 16:05. Under normal circumstances I would expect that one to have been sent round by way of Cheltenham and Swindon so as to avoid the whole grisly mess. But these aren't ordinary circumstances. This train should be an HST but has been replaced with a Turbo - and I'll bet you're not allowed to send Turbos round by way of Cheltenham and Swindon.

So the 15:14 from Hereford gets sent into the trap as well. It passed Norton Junction at 16:14 (so the idea of going the long way round may not have had a chance anyway). But at least it was available at Evesham to rescue the stranded passengers.

I do hope that Control is conducting a proper post-mortem - and I do hope that they don't just shrug their shoulders and pass it off as a 'perfect storm'.

Two suggestions:

1. More redoubling of line needed;

2. ROSCO's to have 'spot hire' stock available.

Yes

A few questions come to mind

a) How many?
b) Where would they store them?
c) Who would have both the traction and the route knowledge to get them to the right place and then use them on the service?
d) What sort of notice would be required to get them to the right place - would it be too late?
e) How much would the ROSCO have to charge to make them pay?
f) Would that be too much for TOC's to hire them

what I don't understand with the lack of available trains (HSTs) is that GWR are introducing new trains so surely there is some excess capacity? I know some are moving to Scotland - but these are short formed units?

I am fed up with having 7 carriage HSTs - what is going on? At least they used to substitute a 1st class carriage - much better than nothing, and much better when no one else knew it was freely available!

I think I might have chosen a good day to take off work...

Entirely predictable - Madame is coming back from London today.

RTT is reporting

    1P51 12:09 HFD-PAD just left Charlbury, 43 late.
    1W25 12:22 PAD-WOS cancelled between Oxford and Worcester.
    1P61 15:21 WOS-PAD cancelled likewise.
    1W27 13:22 PAD-WOF just left Oxford, 34 late - which sounds like good news.

A couple of London bound services currently being delayed: the 09:58 Great Malvern to Paddington appears to be stationary in the Worcester area about an hour late at present, and the 10:59 GMV-PAD has yet to start.

The 08:21 Padd'n - Hereford is being terminated at Shrub Hill, and the return working, the 12:09 Hereford - Padd'n will be started from Shrub Hill.

I'd've thought that sending it back to Padd'n, pretending to be the now-delayed 10:59 from Great Malvern, would've been a good idea.

Signalling problems at Foregate Street.

... which have now been sorted out.

09:58 Great Malvern - Paddington, which had been trapped in Foregate Street, left Shrub Hill at 12:17 some 122 minutes late. According to JourneyCheck it will run non-stop to Oxford. Arrived Oxford at 13:00, having taken 43 minutes for the 57 miles = 80 mile/h.

10:59 Great Malvern - Paddington has been started from Foregate Street (?) and left Shrub Hill at 12:33, some 71 late.

12:06 Foregate St - Paddington was started from Shrub Hill at 12:19, 9 minutes late.

It has to be said that we don't often suffer from signalling problems - which may be something to do with the old-fashioned systems that are in use.  I suspect that this one may have involved that new-fangled electricity.

Impressive - Oxford in 43 minutes. Pretty much 80mph station to station. Btline will be gutted to have missed it.

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C29337/2017/12/01/advanced

and yet again:


Third time in six days GWR have failed to run this service (and the return) on the Cotswold Line.

I suppose we should be grateful for some degree of advance notice:

Let's hope the following one to Moreton runs tonight!

And this afternoon's treat  >:(:

... followed by

and the return:

Would it not be more sensible to not stop at Maidenhead this evening?

This whole "more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time" excuse is ridiculous, it now seems to be Business as Usual, they've been trotting it out for months on end now.

I really feel for people on the Cotswold Line, LTV is dire enough but these long distance cancellations/short forms/delays now seem to be a daily occurrence affecting far less frequently served destinations.

Hmmm.  ::)

In the relatively recent past, the Conservative MP for Witney (who travelled by train) would probably have had something to say to GWR on the subject.

And the Conservative MP for Maidenhead would most certainly have had a lot to say on the subject - for example, see http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=15199.0

However, these days, she doesn't generally travel by train, but instead is driven from her home to the office in London - the wrong way around roundabouts (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-berkshire-42143612/prime-minister-s-convoy-goes-wrong-way-at-roundabout).  ::)

Make of that what you will.  It's all in the public domain.  ;)

I get the impression that GWR do not really want to be operating the Oxford to Worcester/Hereford line looking at the recent service or lack of service, (is it to far north of the patch for them)? Perhaps the franchise should be offered to chiltern trains as they now operate to and from Oxford, also they have a depot just north of Worcester at Kidderminster!!

Service tonight already looking pretty terrible. The last train from Oxford (22.51) is cancelled. Previous train is terminating at Worcester and not going on to Malvern. The late night Worcester-Evesham round trip is cancelled too. All attributed to "a shortage of train drivers".

And today, Sunday December 10, it's the weather:

I can completely understand

But I'm slightly nonplussed by

This train is showing on RTT as having stopped at Oxford. Ominously, it passed Wolvercote Junction at 10:36 (39 late) but, as of 11:48, had yet to reach Ascott.

It's being followed by an IET (train 5Z25). This passed Wolvercote at 10:56 and also has yet to reach Ascott.

Later...

08:42 Paddington - Hereford passed Moreton at 13:22, some 176 minutes late.
It has given up at Worcester Shrub Hill after getting there 195 late.

And the IET passed Moreton at 13:44, some 165 late.

Everything else now cancelled.

Quite heavy snowfall.  Four inches or so at Oxford and I expect you can add another couple of inches at least the further you head towards Birmingham.  No surprise to see the more rural routes closing.

Today's service has been trying to recover from stock not being in the right place for today's start. The morning's trains towards London were started from Worcester Shrub Hill.

But this one is rather special, and is not obviously weather-related:

Oooh, err.  :o ::) :-X

A few bits and pieces this morning:

Generally

and specifically





It does seem that the services starting/terminating at Moreton-in-Marsh have been especially hard hit over the last couple of days for one reason or another.

[later edit] Realtime Trains suggests that neither the 06:42 Hereford to Paddington nor the 06:53 Worcester Foregate Street to Didcot Parkway services made it onto the Cotswold Line at all.

It looks as if it was the halts train (06:53 Foregate Street - Didcot) that broke down, between Shrub Hill and Norton Junction, so as to block both the Oxford and the Cheltenham lines.

And that resulted in the 06:42 Hereford - Paddington giving up at Shrub Hill.

The next one to London is the 08:26 from Foregate Street, which turned round at Evesham.

The 09:58 from Malvern has been cancelled throughout.

So the first one to run through looks like the 10:59 from Malvern. Which is a 3-car Turbo.

So nothing from Shrub Hill towards London between 06:19 and 11:22. Nothing on JourneyCheck about ticket acceptance via Birmingham. Instead, "road transport is operating to Oxford".

A corresponding set of cancellations and short workings on the Worcester - Cheltenham line.

And sure enough:

And repeating myself:


today we have:



The choice of excuses seems almost random.

Groundhog Day on the North Cotswold Line.

Performance figures for this route when they are released are going to look very bad for various reasons.

And with the Adelantes leaving GWR on Sunday, I fear things are going to get worse before they get better.

Possibly needs to be a new thread but that's going to be interesting. Does that mean, for example, the 14:22 PAD:WOF & 15:22 PAD:GMV will become three car turbos and the 16:22 PAD:GMV a two car one in the short-term?

And we have to assume the 15:49 (HST) will be cancelled as normal (or culled at Oxford!)

I can't wait

GWR's Twitter team have said "there is nothing to indicate that the 15:49 service won't run as scheduled all the way to Moreton-in-Marsh at present." They also reassured me yesterday evening that this morning's 07:10 MIM:PAD was expected "to run as scheduled."

Do bear in mind that this is the same Twitter team who will assure you that full crews are rostered for each and every timetabled service........... ::)

They can only ever tell you what’s on the screen at the time.

......at least someone got a lie-in.....

05:11 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 07:28 has been cancelled.
This is due to this train being late from the depot.

The train was stuck in the sidings as the person responsible for operating the ground frame decided it wasn’t safe to do so due to ice and snow underfoot.

I do have some sympathy with that decision: all railway staff are constantly encouraged to think, "If you can't do it safely, don't do it".

Saturday December 16

Once again, a new use of the word "reinstated".

Sounds like the Virgin Trains/Virgin Cross Country use of "re-timed" back when I was at university. As used in a sentence "the 16:00 Virgin trains service to Dundee has been re-timed. This train will now arrive at 17:15". I queried what that meant and realised from the answer that it was just another way of saying the train would be late. No strike or any special weather conditions to speak of to justify this either.

Winding down towards the Christmas break now and a present from GWR:


and, more predictably:


with the helpful suggestion:


[2.55pm edit] Seems to be a fluid situation in GWR land as it's now:

I think one or two more 180s have now departed to Grand Central, so that might explain how 5 cars has become 8.

And presumably why:

I saw the Class 180 for this service running from Paddington to Reading as ECS. Presumably there was no train manager available from Paddington to work the doors. Took sometime at Reading for someone to open the doors as announcements were being made to please stand clear. Would have saved a lot of disruption if these units could be worked DOO - even only in extremis.

It would, and we know this will at least be an option on the IETs that are about to replace them.  What the unions will have to say about that is a different matter.

I tend to pay less attention to off-peak trains but there are a few holes in today's service:


and the earlier down service similarly affected.

And:


and the return 15:21 from Worcester.

Still, no short-formations as yet...

But

This is the first train on which cheap tickets are valid. The next one is an hour later and only goes to Great Malvern.

Curiously, no mention of the 16:22 Paddington - Great Malvern.

And today we have two return trips operating with 2 coaches instead of 5:

    05:47 Padd'n - Foregate St and 08:26 return
    06:52 Padd'n - Malvern and 09:58 return

Meanwhile, the cancellation of last night's 19:22 PAD-HFD meant that there wasn't a train at Hereford for the 04:50 to Padd'n this morning. The stock left St Philip's Marsh as ECS at 01:30, but had to travel by way of Swindon and the Severn Tunnel.

The first of those was a HST yesterday, so booked for 5 carriages with 8 yesterday and 2 today.  I think it's going to be a bit of a lottery on what turns up on the Cotswold Line over the next few months until the IETs get established!

10 carriage HST?  ;)

And another two return trips now:

14:22 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street & return 17:28 WOF:PAD
16:22 London Paddington to Great Malvern & return 19:44 GMV:PAD

all "will be formed of 2 coaches instead of 5". Interestingly JourneyCheck isn't even bothering to give a reason for the change from the normal number of coaches.

Well, there's a surprise.

I only know what I read online or see in person.

The real reason the services previously worked by 5 car class
180 and are now not, is that the units have gone to get ready for Grand Central trains, who have been waiting for them for some time.

The IET 800's which were at one time promised for December, are now promised for January.
So I guess until they show up, this is how it will be? (HST's also having been reduced by sending some to Scotland.)

<irony>You are clearly not up to date with modern procurement practices.  Modern thinking is that you don't worry if the contractor can actually deliver as you have put all that risk on them in the contract so its their problem! Simple!

As far as DfT are concerned therefore the services are running just fine and any problems you experience are just a figment of your imagination</irony>

A warm welcome to the forum Malvern hill.

Yes we are very much in the midst of rolling stock leaving due to contractural agreements before the new replacement rolling stock has come on stream. As usual, it’s the passenger who suffers.

I very much feel for those who use the North Cotswold Line of late. The service has not been good at all.

Clearly GWR is having to manage with what it's got at the moment. It seems to be that all the substitutions are two coach Turbos replacing five coach 180s (and I understand the 16:22 Paddington - Great Malvern halts service cannot be anything else). Presumably the Cotswold Line is only getting two coach units because GWR is having to spread its existing Turbo fleet even more thinly and there are no spare three coach units.

Looks like it could be a fun evening. National Rail Enquiries is showing the 15:22 Paddington to Great Malvern has been "delayed by overcrowding". Wonder what stock GWR have got lined up for the 16:22...

I am not going to be happy if they can't provide a decent service tomorrow past Oxford.

Quelle surprise:

"Facilities on the 16:22 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 19:25. This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time. Will be formed of 2 coaches instead of 5."

1722 cancelled from Paddington (starting at Reading) because of late running trains ahead of it???

Certainly not the sardine can that is the 1622, which seems to be ok!!

Just glad I didn’t bother with the journey today

Could be cozy on the 17.15 Carmarthen train being held until 17.20 to convey passengers for the 17.22 starting at Reading.

At least they’ve done something, although not much of a wait for the 1749 (unless that’s dumped too)

And the 17:15 is a 10-car IET so the additional seats will make it a little more bearable.

GWR have done well to keep the rolling stock it has. It got a lease extension on the HSTs and the 180’s all transfered to Grand Central some time ago. Grand Central then subleased then back to GWR.... and I doubt they done that on the cheap!

A couple more weeks of pain and then I think we will see significant improvements in reliability. It’s just a shame that, with the cutting back of the electrification programme, the potential won’t really be seen

And today's bumper bundle...
All of these are 2 coaches instead of 5.

Plus

At the risk of asking an unpopular question - how many of these do our Cotswold line user members expect will be overcrowded?  I wouldn't even like to start to guess where loading levels will be on trains today - will everyone be making a mad get-away, or will they have gone yesterday / be going tomorrow / will the rush be spreading over three days?

In the area I'm more familiar with, I can pick on certain trains which (when run at diagrammed length) still have 2 seats free for every seat occupied.  Granted there are others where there are 40% more people than seats ... wondering which of these scenarios the Cotswolds will / would be today?

Spread over three days it appears, judging by how comparatively quiet yesterday was.  I would guess that today will be the busiest of the three though.

Oh Great!

Well, that was... fun?

14.25 from Oxford to Great Malvern (13.21 from Paddington). Booked for a 3-coach Turbo and that was what turned up. It's a busy train any Saturday - there's a two-hour gap in service beforehand - but I've never seen it like today. I didn't take a picture but a couple of people on Twitter evidently did:

https://twitter.com/fliss_fliss/status/944571033377484800
https://twitter.com/michaelbeddoes/status/944576500652761088

Apparently passengers were detrained at Paddington (presumably those bound for Thames Valley stations) and requested not to board at Slough and Reading. At Oxford the train manager asked for Hanborough, Charlbury and Shipton passengers to leave the train and taxis would be laid on.

We chose to stay on (betting that the train would still stop at Charlbury) because we had our 18-month old with us - we wouldn't want to travel with him in a taxi without a child seat at any time, but particularly not from Oxford to Charlbury, where the drivers rarely know the lanes north of Woodstock and have a habit of hurtling round them at unsuitable speeds (been there, done that).

The train manager, Sara from Worcester, was absolutely marvellous - a real credit to GWR. She went up and down the train at each stop checking that everyone who was trying to get off was able to do so; she brought our little one two bottles of water and made sure that he had somewhere to sit; and she asked passengers to open all the doors at each station to help get some cool air into the train.

It'll get better in January when there's a new service to fill the 2-hour Saturday gap, and the IETs can't come soon enough. But the Cotswold Line is not a great place to travel right now.

Currently on the 16:21 HST to Hereford and I think standard is full. 1st is not full although still busy. Train Manager is a real star and if GWR lose her they'll have a serious loss on their hands.

Just for the record, the morning 6.50 from Paddington to Gr Malvern and therefor 9.58 return from GM
which used to be class 180, I've just seen on the Slough webcam today as a 7 car HST.

And now today 2 January 2018  we have the Class 800 IET