Great Western Coffee Shop

Leaf fall certainly seems an issue today on the North Downs Line. The pull away from Sandhurst on 2V50 was very slippy and additional time was given to stopping at Crowthorne. Considering the accumulated delay to this service today I can only summise that these problems were prevalent between Dorking and Guildford too.

SWR started their leaf-fall timetable on 7th October. This advances departures from Reading by three minutes, shortening the turn-round dwell by that much. Last year GWR also had one from the same date as SWR, advancing their Reading departures by two minutes. That only began a few years ago, and this year they didn't bother. Possibly they came to the same conclusion as the rest of us: given the generally poor timekeeping on this route who's going to notice? Or, in other words, if the dwell at Reading can be shortened by two minutes in the autumn, why not do it all the time?

After last year's efforts it is not surprising.

One of my regular morning trains, the 8-20 Reading to Shalford, was re-timed to leave at 8-18. Unfortunately the incoming service whose stock formed the service was re-timed to arrive at Reading at 8-19!

The 08:20 to Shalford:

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/tardis.jpg)

from here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TARDIS#/media/File:Tardis_BBC_Television_Center.jpg) Collective Commons License

I think SWR are possibly pushing their luck with a poster at Basingstoke (and possibly elsewhere) which appears to say, a quick glance on making a connection, leaves no problem we have it covered.

This is the poster CylingSid was referring to. The text is a standard spiel about why leaves are a problem, to explain the modified timetable. The headline is certainly a hostage to fortune. Do you think they produce these posters the same way newspapers work - the headlines are added by the equivalent of sub-editors, perhaps in marketing?

There needs to be a sub-headline:

"But the RMT might."