Great Western Coffee Shop

I happened to be at Westbury yesterday (headed elsewhere) and noted the departure of the regular train and the Weymouth Was-ard ...a couple of observations about provision (or lack of it) for the flow for a day out on the beach on this (overcast) summer Saturday ...

From Westbury yesterday:
06:54 - Cancelled
09:33 - Two carriages, full, standing and indeed "denied boarding" at Westbury with the train manage suggesting to some people on the platform that they wait for the following train "just 20 minutes behind".
09:54 - Three carriages - only around a half of the seats (average) looked occupied as the train left Westbury with rear carriage sparse.
I did not wait around for the 10:37 ... but then I see that as post-peak; people headed out for the day tend to be well on their way before then.

To compare to a typical 2017 high summer Saturday:
06:54 - Two carriages
09:33 - Five carriages
09:54 - Eight carriages, typically promote ahead of the previous train where the market can be lead.

So yesterday we had 15 carriages down to 5.   And of those 5 two were already very uncomfortable-looking as the train oft Westbury. Goodness only knows what it got like south of Yeovil, which in previous years has generated a major flow south to the seaside.    And goodness only knows what the arrangements were for the trip home.

Edit to add ... yesterday's 09:33 at Westbury:
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/wsb_20180819.jpg)
Bear in mind that already on board were passengers from Bristol, Bath, Bradford-on-Avon, Trowbridge and intermediate stations too.  And it still had to pick up from places such as Frome and Yeovil.

Not forgetting also that the SWR offering from Yeovil to Weymouth was non-existent yesterday.

Add to that the 2050 Bristol Weymouth terminated at Westbury for onward bus replacement, adding hours to the journey. No guard
It must have been galling to see it disappear to the west, running ecs to Weymouth

I would imagine those heading for the English Riviera from London/the South East yesterday felt much the same.

It’s a shame because the HST was a great benefit on the line, and it was in a place that was needed. The route should be 5 or 6 car Turbos, but GWR is a mess at the moment so many reasons why not.

Turbos provide lower comfort quality, and I remember traveling one Saturday two or so years ago and people were commenting on how it’s “comfy” “better than the last time we came” comparing with a 150 or 158, and they do not have 3x2 seating.

If the IETs were cleared it would have been great to be able to operate them across areas of the network that may be busy that would normally be operated by commuter or regional trains but there you go, what a shame.

Never went on it myself, but my understanding was that the HST used on summer Saturdays to Weymouth was rarely full, and I seem to remember reading an article saying that it sat at Weymouth station belching out fumes all day prior to the journey back?

There is no smoke without fire, but you certainly cannot believe everything you read.   It was certainly a solution to the problem it was initially instigated to sort out, but really wasn't perfect.  But then for about 14 days maximum out of 365, you cannot expect perfection - especially when the vagaries of the weather and seasonality and events conspire to make your loadings go up and down like a yoyo.

It would seem that a solution to this was found:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-36557083

Never was Weymouth Station anyway!!

Two, sometimes three, HSTs sit all night at Worcester with one of their engines running and that’s every night of the week!  Not for too much longer of course, but whether Hitachi will permit 800/2s to stable there is currently a bit of a sticking point!

I've just had a complaint from a Bristol resident about trains idling for "nearly 15 minutes" as they wait on the double-tracked section outside Clifton Down station waiting for the Redland train. I guess the cumulative impact of trains every 40 minutes doing that might be as bad as one sitting once a week for five hours, but if GWR think they couldn't shut down a 5 hour idle  (until there was a complaint) what hope is there for fifteen minutes??

Tina

Was in Jersey Sidings

I would guess that the 15 minutes is when there's significant disruption?   "Should get much better with reliability and that will come with 4 tracks ..." should you believe that.   Seriously - 15 minutes indicates a massive problem with the service if it's more than once in a blue moon.

Of course, if the line were to be electrified ...