Great Western Coffee Shop

So this evening the 2318 Gtw to Rdg has been cancelled and the 2334 Rdg to Gtw has also been cancelled. I am at Redhill station where I am told a bus will be provided to take me and others to Dorking. Its unacceptable for either ir both last trains to be cancelled.

It is indeed, but there's a deafening silence as to why it's happening from GWR or what they are doing to address it - lots of late night cancellations out of Paddington last night too.

Personal view - last trains on any lines should have considerable more protection from cancellation than other trains, especially on a line where the service is hourly or better.   That applies even if the last train is normally quite lightly loaded.

There are exceptions - for example if a line needs to be closed early for an overnight possession for emergency engineering works which need longer that the usual nighttime gap (you may loose first train as well).

The scenario yesterday (both here and on LTV) was that earlier trains ran, but the later services were decimated. All because of crew shortages which GWR are not inclined to explain.

A side effect of the last Reading to Gatwick being cancelled is that the first service from Gatwick this morning also didn't run.

I feel for those passengers who turn up at unmanned stations late at night when the last train is cancelled. I suppose they can use the Help Points. I travel on the last train between Redhill and Dorking Deepdene maybe 3 or 4 times a year, and you do get 1 or 2 passengers joining at Reigate or Dorking Deepdene.

On Friday evening, the bus replacement did turn up but there was no-one joining at Reigate or Deepdene, the bus arriving at the latter station at around 10 past midnight, 25 minutes or so after the scheduled train that it was replacing