Great Western Coffee Shop

A new year, but an old story



I am suspecting that return trips from Swindon to Westbury will also be cancelled in due course

Yep - just added (or is that subtracted?)

Much better [than previous days] in that bus times are on the online journey tracker

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/20210101_01.jpg)

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/20210101_03.jpg)

Though with the odd unrealistic timing (or a new-fangled warp speed bus!)

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/20210101_02.jpg)

From Trowbridge, instruction says that "Customers travelling between Westbury/Trowbridge and Chippenham/Swindon, may travel via Bath Spa. Tickets routed 'Via Melksham' will be honoured via Bath Spa today." but GWR's system still sells you the higher price ticket unless you take the bus ...

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/20210101_04.jpg)

MUCH better overall.   

"Three cheers" will be my report when it's the train it's supposed to be ... but at least the times of the buses are now published and (I would hope in a couple of hours) will appear on the online tracker - and that makes the service findable and useable ... we're now better - from a passenger viewpoint - than no cheers - shall we say 1.5. That will rise to 2 cheers if the "you may use the "via Melksham" fare gets amended to an offer to actually sell that fare for journeys at similar times to the cancelled trains.

Noting too "Disruption is expected until 23:59 03/01" so - hopefully - that means that we'll be back to trains on Monday ...

Good to see buses appearing alongside replaced trains on the trackers including http://melksh.am/trains . It also appears that the bus leg from Trowbridge to Westbury has had some time added and is now practical.   Probably as good as we'll get today - THANK YOU GWR for putting replacement measures in place; not how we wanted to start 2021, but it is usable.

Computer view:
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/20210101_05.jpg)

Phone view:
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/20210101_06.jpg)

Good to see trains running today ... map overlay showing which stations have ticket machines for a change!

from http://www.mrug.org.uk/newcomer.html :
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/20210102_02.jpg)

from http://new.passenger.chat/map/_CAADAACCAA.jpg :
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/20210102_01.jpg)

Not strictly true - but the end result the same.   A unit failed in the sidings at Westbury blocking in the unit for the 05:17.  This was resolved in time for the return working to start at Westbury for Southampton.   

The failed unit has been sent for repairs and a Portsmouth service was split to provide a unit for the 07:05 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa via Melksham and Swindon.

The 17:50 Gloucester to Southampton Central service (via Swindon) service will be starting at Westbury as the unit for the service at Gloucester has a fault.

Hmmm ... an amendment rather than a cancellation - and perhaps an un-amendment (reversal of a previous amendment we missed?)?

They were advertised as unavailable for about ten minutes.

Sadly, a none-issue at present passenger volumes. 

For the absence of doubt, we don't usually have a train on the TransWilts quite that late at night anyway, though we would LOVE one.

I suspect it's that late tonight to allow for a connection from Swindon as our services are cut back to Chippenham to leave capacity at Swindon during engineering works for other ("more important") services.  Don't get me wrong - no problem with the changes that have been publicised ahead of time.

Now ... from Real Time Trains I see at Melksham:
In other words - an empty train headed up to form that 22:04 off Chippenham. It's usual for the 21:36 off Swindon which the 22:04 off Chippenham replaces tonight to be fed by an empty train.  Why on earth does it not take passengers (this and every) Saturday?   A final train in passenger service at about half past six from Westbury on normal Saturdays ruins any day out opportunities to the south - simply have to come back too early!

Not this time.  The main line closure this weekend is extended from the last two weeks to run from just west of Didcot to just east of Chippenham.   South Wales services are diverted via Bath and West of England via the Berks & Hants.

The only train services using Swindon are those to and from Cheltenham Spa.

There is a shuttle to Bristol Temple Meads from Chippenham.

No great issue for most of the very few passenger around at present.  Would love to have that 19:32 as a regular train at normal times as I suspect it would make a day out in Weymouth possible on a Saturday!

"If you are travelling to or from Melksham, we are currently sourcing replacement road transport."
Shouldn't be a problem for once ... first train is a bus on Sundays anyway!

Looks like the problem is very localised - here's the GWR map of cancellations and short runs:

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow20210114_2.jpg) (http://new.passenger.chat/map/_CABDAACCAA.jpg)
Click on map for a current update

Meanwhile, from Melksham, a new Captcha - "click on all the boxes that include a fir tree and snow" ...
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow20210114_1.jpg)

Railway line closed by a weather forecast - but buses can run on the roads?  ???

Snow the other end of the line too...

(http://www.mbob.co.uk/rforum/sn1.jpg)

(http://www.mbob.co.uk/rforum/sn2.jpg)

It's spread a bit:

I wonder what effect this has had on the engineering work (and on the crew working at Wokingham Junction as well) this weekend.

Looks very much like this:
(https://i.ibb.co/jDWDVDW/4eog97uxmma61.jpg)

There has been a meeting....

(http://www.mbob.co.uk/rforum/sn3.jpg)

Seriously though, the issue for the TransWilts is the points at Bradford Junction.  There is a concern should they fail - or stick in the wrong direction - because the Avon Valley line is being used by diverted South Wales services which are travelling via the Berks & Hants route and then to Bath because of the engineering work at Swindon.

Road replacement transport has been organised for Melksham but although now improving, the road conditions are not good either. 

The points will be inspected shortly and it is possible TW train services may resume this afternoon.

Update:   TransWilts service will now resume with the 13:56 from Chippenham to Westbury via Melksham.

Yes, I suspected so. 

Every cloud has a silver lining though ... and it HAS given me the opportunity to test out the Melksham RUG live train departure system under data stress.

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow20210114_4.jpg)

Yes - reasonably happy with that, especially benchmarked again the TransWilts App which fails to give reasons or a clue that there are road alternatives, though I will confess it looks far prettier.  (See edit below - 2.1.21)

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow20210114_5.jpg)

EDIT - 2nd Feb 2021 - to add the following:

This post / message has been reported as including "disparaging comments about TransWilts" which I have been asked to remove. I have referred the matter on to the moderator team as I am so closely involved. They have concluded "All you were saying is that the TransWilts app does not give as comprehensive information as the MRUG site. They could always upgrade the app" and not found anything disparaging in what I said. Based on that, the post stays in place. But please let me explain a bit further ...

The comparison between the data provided between the TransWilts App and the MRUG web page highlights a different balance between what they have chosen to include in their feed and what I chose for MRUG. Some people will just want to know "cancelled", others will want to know why and what alternative is on offer. It is my personal view that a reason should be given - my Dad was very wise and I learned from him when "saying no" ...
- express regret
- give reason
- suggest alternative
... and the MRUG page does the 2nd and 3rd of those. Writing the page for MRUG, I have chosen not to add an apology; automated apologies can feel insincere - especially where it might be repeated many times, and it in the case of something designed for viewing on a phone eats up screen space that I judge better used for alternatives and an explanation of the reason. My call; TransWilts have made a different call on what to include. Good to offer customers / passengers a choice.

For the record the 13:01 shown as cancelled above is now running but around 15 minutes late. 

Indeed - actually starts a train earlier:

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow20210114_c.jpg)

or

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/snow20210114_d.jpg)

Edit - 2nd February 2021 - to add

This post / message has been reported as including "disparaging comments about TransWilts" which I have been asked to remove. I have referred the matter on to the moderator team as I am so closely involved. They have concluded "a factual report on your justifiable complaint about their not correcting information on their site/app which was months out of date and causing you harassment and damaging your reputation.  If your complaints were sent to the wrong person they should have passed them on promptly" and not found anything disparaging in what I said.

I am choosing to remove the detail of the hurt and damage caused, for which I have received an apology from a director of TransWilts, from this public post. I am doing so in the interest of ongoing working relationships with the team at TransWilts, and the removal should be taken neither as any indication of incorrect posting on my part in the first place, nor as a precedent for future edits.

Was then delayed at Westbury and was 16 late.

Looks like the unit from that has now failed at Swindon

A freight train has failed on the single line.  The rescue loco has just arrived to haul it clear.

In the nick of time to allow the 11:06 from Swindon to run...  :o

.

A failed freight train at Hawkeridge Junction was to blame for this morning's problems.  It also delayed the 07:37 from Westbury to Swindon by nearly 40 minutes.

NOT a huge issue ... we keep an eye on this service in particular though on School days - let's just say that out of Swindon when the schools were in last Autumn it was the busiest train of the day.  Normally 3 cars, reduced to 2 it becomes the most overcrowded on GWR ...

Track circuit failure at Thingley Junction been causing intermittent problems all afternoon.

Also the following two trains ... I admit to saying "Oh sh*t" out loud when I saw changes flagging up between Westbury and Swindon.  I am somewhat relieved having taken a closer look that my comment was very accurate to the issue, which just a wee one to my mind.

Nice choice of colour to represent toilet issues.  :)

Keeping eyes open ... it does not say anything about Westbury to Swindon ...

... but of course the disruption extends to there too ...

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/dly20210409.jpg)

... and the CUSTOMER information says sod all about alternative arrangements for this line ... "DELAYED" just leaves people hanging.  No advice as to what to do, nor when there will be an update if they don't yet know.

Edit to add ... at 05:45, Real Time Trains is still showing the 05:17 Westbury to Swindon waiting at Platform 2 at Westbury. That's the 05:33 at Melksham.

We learn a lot about what could be done at times of disruption.  No reason why Westbury to Bristol services should not serve Melksham and Chippenham rather that Bradford-on-Avon, Avoncliff and Freshford from time to time.   Mind you, the timing from Chippenham to Bath Spa strikes me as optimistic.

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/mkm_20210409_bth.jpg)

GWR Journey Check shows that the first two up from Weymouth are diverted through Melksham, calling there on the way.

Not a problem but this will be busier later in its journey

And this looks like the replacement bus cancelled too??

Looks like the train has been re-instated?

The 09:45 certainly has - it is just leaving the single line at Thingley.

Both school trains later in their journeys and if the schools are back, could crowd magnificently.  If schools are still out, no problem!

Updated with more information. Good to have the extra data.

For the record ...


... loads of these all day.  No problem at all ...

Ironic to think that 15 years ago, we were fighting proposals to cut Portsmouth-Cardiff services from 3 coaches back to 2, and TransWilts services from an then-adequate but could-be-better 5 a day down to 2 at useless timings.

Indeed, Lee ...  On Saturday last, we had rail replacement buses and I was alerted to the use of a double deck bus on the route.  Knowing that we still have very low usage because people have been pushed away from public transport by covid, and that rail replacement buses generally put off the sort of leisure / optional travellers we have, I confess to thinking this was going to be a bit wasteful.   Turns out I was wrong and whoever planned it was right ... the double deck bus was needed; a single deck would not have been enough ...

(http://grahamellis.uk/images/mtge83.jpg)

See also http://grahamellis.uk/blog117.html

2 car v 3 car - not an issue at the moment, though (from limited reports) thank goodness we don't have a 153 any longer.   New metrics as to what are quiet and busy bus and train services; Lisa and I made 4 bus journeys yesterday to the far side of Bath.  And on-train capacity may be good for the most parts, but already some local concerns, including here in Wiltshire.

I wonder if there's been a general shift to using bigger buses. Last month during an "RRB Sunday" at Wokingham, they were using only double deckers and I counted five waiting around. In the past they would only be used for busier routes, and on Sunday were often not needed at all.

Is this all about extra space for Covid - which would be odd given the lower passenger numbers due to the same cause? Or is there a factor due to the limited number of suitably accessible coaches available?

Why so many at Wokingham wasn't clear at the time, based on the timetable. As you can see, there isn't really room for five big vehicles in the (still pretty new) "road mode" area. They have had to take over half the taxi rank and the entrance to the main car park. And last month I found six there!

With the requirement for wheelchair access becoming an insistence, many of the coaches that were used in the past cannot be used any more, and we are seeing fleets of modern buses turning up, from cities where weekend bus services are thinner than weekday ones.

With regard to the specific and surprising heavy loading of the Westbury to Chippenham bus pictured at Melksham, I noted that most of the passengers were travelling through.   On a normal day, a significant part of the Westbury / Trowbridge to Chippenham / Swindon traffic changes trains in Bath - it takes longer, it costs more, but it runs frequently - no waiting two and a half hours for the next service.  But last Saturday, Westbury to Bath and Bath to Chippenham were both replaced by buses too, which will have pushed people who hd to make the journey onto the direct bus - bus into and out of Bath would have been painful!!!

And this evidence and reason rather suggests that if the normal train frequency was increased up to an hourly service, passenger numbers would rocket as you would have taken away the reason so many people make the best of a poor job and dogleg via Bath.

Could do with double track ....

And all subsequent trains to the 17:36 ex Swindon.

But it is three coaches rather than two.

Were it consistently three coaches (and were we at MRUG and the CRP allowed to, and actually working in tandem) we could make a really good job of growing and marketing.  In fact, if that bracketed condition were met, we could be helping make the services a darned sight busier than they are for the benefit of the railway, it's financial position, prospects.  For the benefit of congestion, dirty air and climate (longer term stuff), and for the benefit of the customers - existing and new.

P.S. That's three passenger coaches I'm talking about ... rather than two passenger coaches and a battery car.  Though that would be more sustainable than the current 2 or 3 car diesel.

Left Swindon on time, and arrived a couple of minutes late at Westbury (following a freight train over the single line).

Often hard to know what the alerts really mean.   A couple of minutes late is no problem in there parts provided it does not lead to a missed connection.


I don't there anything at Swindon for that to connect into!  :-\

The TransWilts service used the down (reversible) line between Thingley and Wootton Bassett, being shown on TIGER as being platformed at Chippenham concurrently with the Bristol-Swindon IET. Both connected at Swindon with a Swansea-Paddington train.

Missed logging the cancellation of the 07:35 Westbury to Swindon - that was 'replaced' by the extra 08:45 above.   The stock for the cancelled train arrives at Westbury from Bristol just before it heads out for Swindon; tree blocking line at Keynsham this morning clearly put paid to those plans today.

07:35 Westbury to Swindon due 08:17
07:35 Westbury to Swindon due 08:17 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault with barriers at a level crossing.

08:45 Swindon to Westbury due 09:26
08:45 Swindon to Westbury due 09:26 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault with barriers at a level crossing.

But we don't HAVE any level crossings .... oh - wait - our line is working and can be passed to "more important" trains which could (at the least) be polite enough to stop along the way and make up the journey opportunities they have stolen.

Picking up the "freewheeling" comments from yesterday, good ole railway - telling people operationally that the train is cancelled, but not telling them how to travel instead:

And four more gone ...

Better now with CUSTOMER information ....

Further information published on the line update, but not with the individual train cancellation details

Due to a fault with barriers at a level crossing disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Train services between Westbury and Swindon via Melksham have been cancelled.
Additional Information
Owing to a problem with a level crossing at Kintbury on the line between Westbury and Reading, some long-distance services are being diverted via the line between Westbury, Chippenham and Reading. The single line between Westbury and Chippenham limits the number of trains we can run over this section and we are unable to run the local stopping train services alongside the long-distance train services.

Customers with tickets routed 'via Melksham' may travel on train services via Bath Spa.

Road transport has been arranged to run between Westbury and Chippenham:

Departing Westbury 09:45, departing Trowbridge, 10:03, departing Melksham 10:18.
Departing Westbury 12:17, departing Trowbridge, 12:35, departing Melksham 12:50.
Departing Westbury 14:16, departing Trowbridge, 14:34, departing Melksham 14:49.

Road transport has been arranged to run between Chippenham and Westbury:

Departing Chippenham 09:10, departing Melksham 09:30, departing Trowbridge 09:45.
Departing Chippenham 11:40, departing Melksham 12:00, departing Trowbridge 12:15.
Departing Chippenham 13:40, departing Melksham 14:00, departing Trowbridge 14:15.

Times are subject to traffic conditions. Please see station signage for the location of the rail replacement bus stop.

This happens because the company took Bristol to Taunton off a lot of their drivers so Melksham is now there only option.

People were complaining on Twitter of waiting up to three hours and of a lack of information.   All GWR were saying they were waiting info as to when they might be on the move instead of providing an estimate

Potential problems.

Points failure at Wootton Bassett junction.

The 14:16 from Westbury to Swindon is in a queue to get through and is already 45 minutes late.  Obviously affects the return working which was due to leave at 15:14.

Good call to turn that one round at Chippenham?

Great connection from Swindon onto it at Chippenham for an on time departure, but not so good a connection off of the inward working if you wanted to go to Swindon.  I guess more would be doing the former than the latter?

Historically, the 17:36 off Swindon has been the busiest of the day.  Provided that people arriving at Swindon were directed to the 17:33 to Taunton (and anyone from London on that train for Melksham / Trowbridge / Westbury was told to stay on), it was a good call. On the up journey it was just over 40 minutes late into Chippenham and passengers for Swindon had a wait / 52 minutes late into Swindon in the end. Had it carried on to Swindon, assuming a clear run, it would have been about 20 minutes late on the return journey and then back on time on the next round trip.

On balance probably a good judgement call.  Just shows the considerations that have to be taken into account.  As you say, it’s important that the 17:33 from Swindon was given as the alternative.

Surely anyone on the train from London would be better changing at Chippenham for Melksham/Trowbridge/Westbury in any event, to avoid the hike from platform 4 to platform 2 at Swindon? I know I would, even at the cost of a few minutes longer sat on an IET seat  ;)

I was caught up in all this. 45 minute delay on the 16:25 Westbury to Swindon (or in my case, Melksham) train, which in the end only went as far as Chippenham - a wise decision on behalf of the operators I felt. The delay getting into Trowbridge meant that a large number of apparently illiterate young ladies got on and expressed considerable surprise once it was past the junction that it wasn't actually heading for Bath, but hey ho - all being well they got into Chippenham in time to catch the 17:45 train to Bath.

In the "micro" case of this particular train, yes. And I took a look and it's what the journey planner gives too.

However ...

For occasional travellers using different trains at different times of day, simplest advice is "Get the first train that calls at Swindon and change there".  That means that people can take Cardiff / Swansea / Carmarthen / Cheltenham Spa train from London, as well as Bristol / Weston / Taunton via Bristol services from London and have a consistent change they always use.  In the opposite direction , advice from Melksham is always "change at Swindon" - a choice of many more onward services (especially good if there is disruption) , and also a consistency of changes in both directions.

.

I was caught up in this.  The 15:03 from Westbury was delayed waiting for a Cardiff Portsmouth service to arrive and detach two of its six coaches. These had been borrowed to strengthen the South Wales service because of the Championship play off final involving Swansea.

This arrived nearly 15 minutes late.  The rear two then formed the Swindon service leaving 25 minutes late.  It was then delayed at Bradford Junction waiting for a southbound train to clear the single line.

We arrived into Chippenham nearly half an hour late.  It was only as the train pulled in the decision was made to terminate it there.

Its cause wasn’t helped by the fact the unit (158 749) was only running on one engine.

158 749 limping back to Westbury with the 16:18 from Chippenham

(http://www.mbob.co.uk/rforum/2M29.jpg)

Also the 09:07 Westbury to Weymouth and the 16:10 Weymouth to Bristol Temple Meads. These latter two are not the peak Weymouth trains - they are the trains that arrive in Weymouth from Bristol at 11:55, and return from Weymouth at 17:53.   The engineering poster at Melksham, yesterday, still showed trains replaced by buses today from Yeovil to Weymouth; I suspect that particular poster only reaches a few people, but the message was a lot wider at one time (on the platform at Yeovil on a special poster last weekend, for example) so it may have had a quelling effect on demand.

Another factor in quelling demand would be no train to Weymouth from Bristol TM in the morning this summer.

You either have to make your own way to Bath to catch the 9.17 to Westbury where you have a 40 minute wait for the 10.21, or the 8.34 from Bristol Parkway to Swindon where again you have a 40 minute wait for the train to Weymouth.

Both options hardly satisfactory with a car probably being involved to get you to either Bath or Parkway at that time of day, in which case you might as well drive to Weymouth especially if you have kids in tow.

Half term week - so should not be a problem (loads very heavily for the school run from Swindon)

Two cancellations today ... Melksham calls:


I was at the station to pick up a visitor from the arrival at 11:30 and return him for the 14:32

Quite busy - I counted 14 on the platform just before the 11:30 arrived, and at least 5 people got off.
Exactly the same on the platform - 14 people - prior to the train arriving, and three got off.

Good to see it getting busier again - and these are trains that are not typically the busy ones, with numbers counted at an intermediate station.

also

See also http://www.passenger.chat/25131 - looking deeper at this for our regular contributing members.

I got caught up in all this returning from Westbury to Melksham at 16:24. The train got as far as Trowbridge, whereupon all the Melksham passengers were invited to leave the train as it was no longer going via that route (presumably passengers for Chippenham and Swindon would be asked to change at Bath). The train pulled out 6 minutes late, minus about 8 people. Spoke to the Help Point who (a) told us the station was staffed on Platform 1 and to ask someone there for help [it wasn't staffed - the entire place was locked up - and anyway we were all stood on Platform 1] then (b) suggested we got a train to Swindon and would be able to return to Melksham that way [not true, besides which it would have left passengers in an even worse predicament], (c ) suggested we waited for the next direct service [also got cancelled] then when pushed hard the gentleman informed us that [d] road transport would definitely be arriving in ten to 15 minutes time, sir. 30 minutes later there was no sign of it. I flagged down a passing taxi [there weren't any of those on the station forecourt either] and took the hit, but there's probably still people waiting for the promised road transport at Trowbridge even now....

I will take this up with GWR.

Just to note the 17:36 from Swindon did run via Melksham with a pilot man for the single line.

Into the GWR system ... I have an acknowledgement and it's being taken up further to be looked at.  Premature, as I write, to comment on the quality and effectiveness for the future of that follow up.  Prompt acknowledgement appreciated - would be nice if something was done to consign this sort of story to history, rather than (as it has been) be part of a repeated pattern.

I'd recommend putting in a claim to GWR for your taxi fare as there were so many points of failure on their part.

No problem ... two's plenty at that time of the evening - at the moment  ;D

So far this month ...

1st - 5 cancelled (at Melksham)
2nd - 2 cancelled
3, 4, 5 - OK
6th - 1 cancelled
7th - 2 cancelled

10 out of 113 - Cancellation rate 9%.  You might find little negative customer feedback at present if 9% of the trains on a frequent flow (e.g. on the Picadilly line in the middle of London) were lost, but where the advice cannot be "catch the next one, which will be along in a few minutes", a cancellation rate of even 2% should be an embarrasment to the train operator, as should service failure most days in any week.

It's been alluded to on another thread in the context of the final, but one wonders if there may be a correlation between tonight's events at Wembley and a crew shortage tonight?

Transwilts isn't the only branch affected.

Clearly if it IS coming home, it isn't travelling by train.

#Back home they'll be thinking about us
When we are far away
Back home they'll be jammimg the help points
For every train delayed
They'll share every minute we've wasted
Out there we will see schedules devastated
And we'll post up to the CoffeeShop
For the boys back home

Back home they'll be watching and waiting
As we divert via Bath
Back home they think we are heading for Melksham
You must be 'aving a laugh
Once more we'll be willing to trust
That there may or may not be a bus
To take us back to grahame's manor house
And the boys back home

They'll see as they're watching and praying
That we put our hearts in our delay repaying
Until the dispatcher's whistle blows
For the boys back home#

This afternoon's 16:25 ex-Westbury and the all important 17:36 ex-Swindon were also briefly cancelled before being re-instated.

Good (that it was re-instated).   But I do hope that by designating 3 out of 17 trains as "all important", the rail industry (including the local CRP) feel that they have provided successfully provided a service if the three run, even if other services are cancelled.  I am concerned about lowering the bar though, so that the "did a good job" box gets ticked if just three trains run rather than all seventeen, and I sense a move toward that lower bar when words like "all important" are used.  They are the most important, maybe, but they are not all important!

Damn - I knew I should have done "Three Trains" rather than "Back Home"...

One of three services running short formed too:


Standard comment here has been that a train shorter than planned (i.e. 2 carriages rather than 3) has been no great problem - however, traffic has been starting to build back up.  I was near the station (litter picking!) at Melksham at 11:30 on Thursday and observed the Westbury train calling. Middle of the day, always one of the quieter trains, yet 8 people waiting on the platform and at least three got off - lots of through passengers too from (poor, it must be said) observation through the windows.   Past form suggests that for every person getting on / off at Melksham, there are two through passengers - so we're looking at a loading of perhaps 30 passengers.  At two carriages, 15 per carriage, and this (remember) what is just about the quietest of the day.   Me thinks we need 3 carriages (and a better frequency of trains!) as the regular offering pretty darned soon.

Journeycheck now updated to confirm road replacement transport will be available.

Cancellations so far this month ...
1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 15th

On a service that runs every 30 minutes, that may be acceptable. On a service with gaps of up to 150 minutes, every cancellation to a service that people had planned to use serious disrupts their day / routine, and has them asking "is there something better I should use".

Things go wrong occasionally, but this is not occasional or new (this forum started in January 2007 with this issue).  The TOC have plenty of experience of cancellations on this line, so should be experienced in looking after displaced patterns when it happens.  Sadly, experiences such as that reported by Phil earlier this month suggests that lessons may have been learned over the years, but they have only given a partial improvement on how these things are handled.

Real solution?  Run trains reliably.

The equivalent service was cancelled at one point yesterday only to be reinstated later.

Seems today has been reinstated as it has gone from the cancellation list.

Puts people off, though ... a proportion of people make / plan / check their journeys and day online - especially where the service has a poor record and re-plan if their train within a thin service is shown as cancelled.   

And for today ...


So that's a gap from 06:11 to 11:05 in departures from Swindon for Melksham, Trowbridge and Westbury.  Swindon's A to Z:

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/azswi_20210716.jpg)

15:03 Westbury to Swindon due 15:49
16:03 Swindon to Westbury due 16:45

Cancelled.

This is due to a points failure.

Missed one ...

20:20 ex Westbury and 21:13 ex Swindon both re-instated.

A cheer - but not three.  I wonder how many people are put off their day's plans by such cancellations and re-instatements.  People are recommended to check their trains ahead of their trips - good advice. For day returns (which most of our Melksham journeys are), a check in the morning revealing problems in the evening will cause many to abandon their day out before it starts.

I am trying - desperately hard at the moment - to avoid this thread becoming like the old Hogrider which may have been effective in South Hampshire, but I felt was an uncomfortable approach for the TransWilts line.  Hogrider in days gone by was a listing of SWT operational reductions example (just a typical day) from ((here)) (http://www.shrug.info/Hogrider140/HOGRIDER%20140%20PART%202.html)


We ain't that bad ... but then we ain't got a timetable anything like as big either.

From this morning



Thank goodness it's running from Swindon to Westbury.
From Swindon - if not at 06:11, next train would be at 08:45 - 154 minutes later

But then ... from Westbury to Salisbury
From Westbury - not at 06:54 but 08:03 - 69 minutes later

And from Salisbury to Southampton
From Salisbury - not at 07:35 but 07:50 - 15 minutes later

There is a heavy "turnover" of passengers at both Westbury and Salisbury on this train - some from Swindon, Chippenham and Melksham are inconvenienced by the cancellation south of Westbury.  There is a significant Trowbridge to South of Westbury flow, and there's a lot of folks who join the train at Warminster - which should be staffed at this time of day - ticket sales at least?

South of Salisbury, the train provides an extra peak service into Southampton and has a heavy school flow on it. Probably holidays by now, and in any case "wait - another one will be along in quarter of an hour" - which IMHO makes cancelling this leg of the journey much better than cancelling the Swindon to Westbury leg. 

Missing?   Advice for passengers at Westbury, Dilton Marsh and Warminster about their alternative travel options and suggestions.  Such things take time to enter on "the system" no doubt ... but I note the message has been there unaltered for four hours, so that should be time enough?  If the staff who provide customer advice are self-isolating and working from home, they should be able to VPN in and do it from there, surely?

But GWR make it really hard ...


In Melksham terms
... 14:32 to Swindon cancelled, next train 16:41 - 129 minutes later
... 15:39 to Westbury cancelled, next train 18:01 - 142 minutes later
There may be alternatives planned for passengers, but nothing about that on JourneyCheck!

Have to admit, I chose to drive from Melksham to work in Westbury today. I've normally commuted by train for the past 3 years, but it's become so ridiculously unreliable of late that if I have anything planned that I need to get home for before 7.30pm I am forced to take the car. I finish work at 3.30 so in theory I could get the 18:39 even if the 16:25 is cancelled, but I just daren't now.

THANK YOU ...

Has the display screen at Melksham Station (the only one that shows replacement buses) been fixed?  Reported out of order several months ago, conventional requests have failed to get if fixed, so I'm asking unconventionally (and in public) here.  Extreme measures, but then extreme measures are needed when even the most faithful like Phil daren't use the train ...

Though I had better check ... just popped down to the station

Here's the display screen where I expect to see all trains and replacement buses listed. Still bust.
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/mkm_20210721_1.jpg)

Here's the platform screen which shows trains from that platform only - so don't expect the buses there.
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/mkm_20210721_2.jpg)
With just a two line display (no scrolling to 3rd and 4th trains), no clue as to next train (nor any buses).
Pedant in me chuckles at "Calling at Chippenham and Swindon" when the whole point of a train being cancelled is that it will not be calling at Chippenham or Swindon!


Did a quick rubbish check while I was at the station. Since I replaced one of the bags on Sunday (when the station was a real mess - looked like there had been a wine and cider party the day before!), there HAS been a lot more rubbish left - but  thank you everyone - in the proper place this time!

grahame - What kind of impact would you say this is having on passenger numbers, and how are the (un)reliability/cancellation stats looking compared to the years leading up to December 2006?

Slight compensation - the diverted 17:36 London Paddington to Paignton called at Swindon at 19:04 and Westbury at 19:40.

I am afraid I must highlight the word "slight".  Here are the ten flows within the TransWilts area and I have highlighted the one that the diverted express served.

Swindon to Chippenham
Swindon to Melksham
Swindon to Trowbridge
Swindon to Westbury
Chippenham to Melksham
Chippenham to Trowbridge
Chippenham to Westbury
Melksham to Trowbridge
Melksham to Westbury
Trowbridge to Westbury

That's a simplification.

* Swindon to Chippenham and Trowbridge to Westbury have other services at about that time and there were good fallbacks. 

* Swindon to Westbury itself was substituted, but Swindon to SOUTH OF Westbury broken - with the starting short run train leaving Westbury at 19:37 (noting that the train from Swindon arrived at 19:40!) - was broken for a few minutes.

* Swindon itself to Westbury was substituted, but NORTH OF Swindon for Westbury broken. Through passengers will have arrived in Swindon at 19:09 off the next train (Cheltenham Spa to London) ... noting that's 5 minutes after the express to Westbury left.

* Passengers from Swindon  and Chippenham to Trowbridge could have arrived at 20:00 (change at Bath Spa) and from Chippenham to Westbury could have arrived at 20:08 (i.e. 32 minutes late). In the circumstances, "via Melksham" tickets would have been accepted, but I wouldn't like to guess whether prospective passengers were informed of that.  And with a 32 minutes late arrival, they could then get some money back.

There is an order or magnitude more passengers around / using the line that there were in the lead up to December 2006, and the impact on passenger numbers is significantly more than in December 2006 / early 2007. What a shame on a line that was the fastest-growing star on GWR's crown, and which needs so little relative attention to make it grow again. Expect Melksham as a town to grow dramatically over coming years - lots of houses being built as I write ...

The comparison is not an easy one, though. We are in an unstable journey number environment at present, with covid restrictions, changes to those restrictions, and changes to people's habits and reasons for travelling too.  Commuter train numbers are decimated; some of the off peak services, though, have (or had) bounced back - at times there being more passengers leaving and joining these trains at Melksham even than before coronavirus - some amazing flows noted. But that leisure traffic, I would guess, is both weather dependent and seasonal.

I can also report that with our traffic moving from commuter (have to use the train to get to work and put up with the hassles, same people every day) to leisure (optional journeys, lots of different people), our passengers can be much more easily put off, and there are far more people involved to tell all their friends and family what a problem they have had.  There are three further factors ....

1. The typical occasional passenger is less informed about the details of travel in times of disruption and needs better support at such times - and our poll on this site says that such customer support is more in need of improvement that just about any other GWR facet.

2. At Melksham, there has been an improvement in the last couple of months with the opening of the Hub, with passengers in panic / cancellation mode sometime popping in there and the cafe manager providing a human voice to speak to; not advertised, but I know of occasions that **** has been helpful - thank you. But this week, the hub has been closed - Covid "ping" related, but "until further notice" as publicised has a very negative feeling about it, and you would have thought that someone (other staff member? operating company director? volunteer?) could be found to sit in.

3. Also from Melksham, people are driving to Chippenham and Westbury rather than parking at Melksham. "If I have to pay to park, I may as well pay at a station with a frequent service" I have heard, or even "if I'm driving out of Melksham, I may as well drive all the way to my destination - parking there is easier now as there are plenty of spaces".  There is also a passenger loss issue there because of penalties being levied on people who make a mistake in parking. I took a number of irate calls over last winter when my name was erroneously published as a TransWilts contact (even though I resigned 3 years ago). Those calls ceased when my name was eventually taken off the web site, but in the past couple of weeks I have heard of several more, and current, people upset at being "fined" and I believe there is an ongoing problem - witness signs on the Hub door (when it's open) saying something like "please ask us if you need help with parking".

GWR wrote to me on train reliability (on 18th July) "The government have at the moment said this policy will be in place until mid August despite lifting restrictions tomorrow so we are in for a difficult few weeks yet."  The question of which services to cull which I asked has not been addressed, and I'm not holding my breath.  The Hub has been advertising for an extra staff member - and indeed as someone who's run a business in Melksham that included daily catering, I can appreciate that they do need a team of at least 3 or 4 people who can open/run the place if they want it to be robust in hours. Car parking penalties - I have been assured these are teething troubles and a few people will try it on and make a lot of noise at first - "it will pass". But that was a while back and it doesn't appear to have passed yet.
 
Lee - I hope that provides you with a view of the impact on passenger numbers on the current problems at Melksham as I see them;  the data above is my view, from the best of my information but I am very happy to be filled in further and post follow ups emailed by none-members, and to correct any errors.  I am not speaking of through traffic; my personal travel is slashed at present to the extent of my own data being spotty and unworthy of repetition.

And to return this thread to normality ...


It really doesn't matter ... That train's peak loading is Swindon to Stroud for school traffic and when the schools are open, a drop to 2 carriages in recent months has made it the most overcrowded train on GWR - but the schools are on summer break at the moment.  The other big traffic has been commuters into Swindon, and into Gloucester.

On a bright note, I am delighted to note the step in the right direction of a though train from Salisbury, Warminster and Dilton Marsh to Chippenham and Swindon.  Warminster to Chippenham / Swindon at that time of the morning is really useful (well, not sure how it is post-covid) - though journey in place of previously unreliable connection.

Pity it's that 15:14 off Swindon on POETS day!   That's the train that really built up slowly on when introduce in December 2013, but has since powered along and really built up a good clientele and is especially popular on Fridays.

"If you are going to criticise, Graham, be constructive and suggest alternative".   OK - "if you MUST cancel that train, put some alternative transport in place or tell people what they can do.  You have had five thirteen hours already since posting the above to describe what passengers can do instead."

Here's a suggested template (note - there are arrangements with Faresaver and TransWilts that need to into place, and a switched off screen at Melksham turned back on, for this to work)

 

I have steered clear of adding comments on what passengers with cycles and dogs to / from Melksham should do.

Edit - changed - "You have had five hours to ... tell passengers what to do" into "You have had thirteen hours to ... tell passengers what to do"

NP

Following up the edit by posting the change for members who rely on "recent posts" and "unread posts" ...

16:25 ex-Westbury now reinstated but the 14:16 was cancelled.

Good news for Phil - assuming he didn't see the cancellation this morning and drive instead!

I'm afraid I drove. Sorry! Fingers crossed for Monday...

Phil, I would likely have made exactly the same decision with the train showing "Cancelled" when I woke in the morning, and double so with the lack of proper passenger care when it happened last week.   Sadly but rightly, you have provided real evidence that the current spate of cancellations is severely damaging line use and customer credibility, even amongst our most ardent of supporters.

JourneyCheck suggests 9 minutes late at Melksham too, but really a "no problem" and thank you for removing that tree and running the train.

Followed by

Getting unconfirmed reports of a combine harvester convoy heading towards the newly reopened Hub Cafe...

NP - just logging.  Presumably the 05:17 Westbury to Swindon was also just 2 carriages.

And this one IS a problem ...


Last train of the day ... only advice from GWR on Journey Check is about delay-repay, as if that absolves them of responsibility to get people home ...

The lunchtime out and back from Westbury were briefly cancelled before reinstated five minutes later.

Let's look at this train in four segments

17:50 Gloucester to Swindon
Next train - 18:14 (24 minutes later). 17:50 is (or was pre-covid) quite an important commuter service

18:52 Swindon to Westbury
Next train 20:45 (113 minutes later). Late commuter train from Swindon; first for 76 minutes too.

19:37 Westbury to Salisbury
Next train 20:06 (29 minutes later). Getting quiet by this time of the evening

20:06 Salisbury to Southampton
There's a train just in front (10 minutes earlier) and another 29 minutes later.  Very quiet train when I have used it.

Why, oh why, cancel the section where there's nothing before or after it for well over an hour, but then run some other bits ...  (yes, I know I will get operational answers ... I'm suggesting that the choice made is crazy as far as customers are concerned ...). 

Of these four sub-trains priorities should be IMHO
1= 17:50 Gloucester to Swindon
1= 18:52 Swindon to Westbury
3 19:37 Westbury to Salisbury
4 20:06 Salisbury to Southampton

18:52 ex Swindon and 20:06 ex Westbury now reinstated.

Not really, and yes.  At least better info and alternative arrangement that are more passenger considerate for the first of those - thank you to whoever provided that extra data.

It would was reinstated at 16:36 before being cancelled again in its entirety at 17:15.  Immediately thereafter it was then booked to start from Westbury rather than Gloucester.  I missed the latter two changes.

I appreciate that GWR are having staffing and organisation problems at present, but this sort of moving feast really makes it hard for passengers (customers) to plan how they will use the product they have bought.   Not totally sure what the solution is, but as it is, people are put off trains that later run.   The alternative information offered yesterday, later in the day, was good - but what we really need is a system with a reliability which removes the need for such information in the first place.

Sounds good until someone out of area sees that, and wonders where said designated stop is.
Designated stops will be different at most stations of course.
Too much information to list every station designated stop, so not sure what the answer to that one is.

I have added "check station signs" to concerns.  The only full departure screen at Melksham Station has been switched off for months.  The second sign (on the platform) only lists trains at that platform; it may say "Cancelled" but it never tells you there's an alternative bus.   Reported multiple times ...

NP (unless there's a connection north of Cheltenham you were hoping to catch)

No problem there. Just catch the Cardiff - Birmingham service at Gloucester

Thanks, Bob ... updated a few minutes ago:


I'm actually headed home and was booked onto that train ...

I was on the reverse of that - scheduled 16:25 service Chandlers coach from Westbury through to Swindon. Interesting chat with the coach driver. Coach just back from its only trip of the last 16 months - all the way to Spain for a compulsory wheelchair lift to be fitted, cost the company £30k per coach. All of its drivers furloughed, no other income. He had no idea how Chandlers are still going - they have no school contracts either. Our driver was cutting his hedge in Chapmanslade when he got the call at 3:45 to go to Westbury. Got to Melksham at around 10 past 5 (half an hour late) so it's probably not reached Swindon yet.

I had a much briefer chat with him at Chippenham, where he arrived at around 17:30 and dropped off a good handful of people ... asked him if he was headed back to Melksham - "yes, eventually, after I've been to Swindon"; Chippenham Station staff had told me 18:10 for the coach, which I think was distinctly optimistic - probably more like 18:30 after his round trip to Swindon. So that would have been 18:50 rather than 18:01 at Melksham.  Real Time Trains doesn't track Rail Replacement Buses, so that's just an educated guess.

My plan had been to arrive in Swindon at 16:57 (from Cheltenham Spa) and catch the 17:36 to Melksham for 18:01.   Warned of the cancellation ahead of time, I connect at Swindon into the 16:58 Bristol train (very tight!!!) and got to Chippenham for 17:15, on via the last Faresaver bus of the day at 17:36, 18:04 into Melksham Market Place.   Warned by the barrier staff at Chippenham that my rail ticket would not be accepted on the bus (stupid restriction as both trains and buses are essentially government contracts now!) I swiped my old foggies pass and contributed an extra shekel to the Pickfords.

Nine trains, three buses and two taxi journeys today.   Only the last leg went wrong; sadly, had I been asked to bet on which leg wouldn't work before the day started, that's would have been my first choice.

Just to clarify.  It hasn’t been “switched off” - which suggests a deliberate act - it has failed.  Various departments are looking at it to establish why it isn’t working but none have yet come up with a fix which is frustrating and it should have been fixed by now.  However it hasn’t - and won’t be - forgotten.

Dare I suggest that this would not have happened at one of the main stations on the network, and certainly not at Paddington?

Thank you, Bob.   But I do have to suggest that the person who wrote the advice to "check the station signs" was not aware, or perhaps had forgotten, or felt that Melksham wasn't important enough to offer correct information and wrote just for everywhere else.  ;D ;D

Information on why it's not working had not been previously provided - just "thank you for letting us know - [we'll look at it / we're working on it]" (edit - pm sent with details / "back after software upgrade" hinted). The WebTIS screen - which used to provide the information to people by the station gate - has been covered by a notice common to many (all?) such screens across the GWR area. That switch off is - judging by that pattern of behaviour by the TOC - a deliberate act.  Without any feedback, I and passengers really knew no better "why" when the other screen went off, while the other display on the same pole still works ... and does it really matter why ... there has been no live information about rail replacement buses, other alternative arrangement, or longer view beyond next two scheduled trains, for months ...

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/halfdata_20210729.jpg)


You took words out of my mouth as I wrote!

Do you remember the days when summer weekend day trips trains into Weymouth were 5 carriages, or even an HST?

July summary

520 trains scheduled to call at Melksham in July
- 46 of them were cancelled
- 54 of them were "significantly late" using GWR definition - 5 minutes or more
- 340 of them were on time
- the remaining 80 were late, but less than 5 minutes late

Of the 474 that ran, around 10 (pairs we logged on 7th, 15th, 18th, 23rd and 27th July) were announced online as cancelled, but were later re-instated.

This performance is significantly below industry targets, and makes it hard to promote public transport use where one of the key things people are looking for is reliability.

Further detail, analysis, and outcomes at http://www.passenger.chat/25297 in our "Transport Scholars" area.  If you wish to be added to the Transport Scholars area, please send me a personal message or "like" this post, which I will monitor for the next 3 days.

Deja Vu ... looking back through some very old threads!

If you were hoping to get the 16:25, into Swindon at 17:08, you'll get there instead at 18:10 - 62 minutes late.  I note they're not talking about ticket acceptance in that direction, but I suspect they would accept a "via Melksham" ticket in practice.

If you were hoping to get the 17:36, into Westbury at 18:17, you'll get there instead at 18:32 (15 minutes late) if you arrived early enough at Swindon to catch the train that normally runs ahead of the cancelled one.   If you are one of these people who arrives at the station last minute, you would not get to Westbury until 19:04 - that's 47 minutes late.

Yes, that DOES run via the TransWilts line ... the number of passengers remaining on the train at Swindon is relatively few (lots off and on there while it reverses).  And there's another Gloucester - Cheltenham service about 20 minutes later.

Thank you for running the TransWilts section. ;D

"Thank you for running the TransWilts section." - ditto!

Hugely appreciate the extra passenger-friendly data being provided, but one cheer not three - really the trains should be run, eh, and not so frequently cancelled.

Noting that Swindon arrival for diverted passenger is an hour and six minutes after the schedued train time, and the Westbury arrival is 37 minutes after the scheduled train time - these delay on a journey which normally takes no longer than 45 minutes.

Both now re-instated.

Good. Two cheer not three level - still put people who are flagged up on changes, or happen to have checked ahead (as recommended by GWR) off using the train.

While it was cancelled, I was picking up on
and mapping the advice.

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

Arriving from the town on foot (marker 1) people go to the platform (marker 2) to find the train cancelled.  They go out into the pick up and drop  off car park to check on the whole-station (not just platform) screen (marker 3) - reported as working again yesterday after 3 months out of order and are redirected to the onward travel poster (marker 4) which tells them where the bus will call (it's marker 5).

Very silly suggestion scenario - I'm sure no-one will do that.  But a bus stop flag on the rail replacement bus stop that SAYS "Rail replacement buses call here" would be really useful.  There has (sporadically) been an onwards travel poster in the pickup / drop-off car park (not sure if it's there at the moment), and a timetable near the station gate too ...

And less than half an hour after grahame posted as well...I have "Hail The Chief" cued up and ready to play  ;D

Hold that thought............

15:45 Chippenham to Westbury due 16:35
Additional 15:45 Chippenham to Westbury due 16:35 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

That is the replacement bus being cancelled now the train is running again.

Let the music play.

In that case, should it not be "due to a lack of shortage of train crew"? Or even "due to fewer train crew being unavailable than usual"?

Thank you.

Reminds me of the o-l-d graphic we had of train journey times v bus journey times.  45 minutes by train v 90 minutes by bus, even when the bus is not routed and stopping to pick up and drop off people between stations.

(http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/tbt.jpg)

and I also found

(http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/twb.jpg)

and

(http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/twa.jpg)

I remember creating those timetable proposals together with you on your whiteboard at Well House Manor in the mid 2000s!

What is remarkable is just how close we were with the Westbury to Swindon suggestion with what's running (crew, rolling stock, infrastucture permitting) these days.

From Westbury

200x         202x
proposed   actual

05:45   05:17
           07:05
07:45   07:37
09:45   09:45
12:45   12:16
14:45   16:16
16:45   16:25
18:45   18:39
20:45   20:06
22:45

From Swindon

200x         202x
proposed   actual

06:45   06:11
08:45   08:45
10:45   11:06
13:45   13:15
15:45   15:14
17:45   17:36
           18:52
19:45
           20:45
21:45

This is one heck of a log for a little local line with less than 10 trains each way!





Two significant cancellations with "use the help point at the station" instructions, suggesting that there's no replacement transport booked but rather it's being done on the fly; the "15:41 Swindon to Frome due 16:31 will be reinstated. It will be started from Westbury." is misleading.  Just the last 9 minutes of the 50 minute journey; George Orwell would be proud of the doublespeak!

Slightly late run and short forms not an issue. Lack of promotion this summer (post covid, shocking reliability figures, Bristol engineering) makes 2 carriages adequate.  That is NOT to say the trains will be quiet - just that two will do.

And today's cancellations are ...

Missed one!

20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05
20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 22:05 will be started from Swindon.

It will no longer call at Westbury, Trowbridge, Melksham and Chippenham.
This is due to train crew being delayed by service disruption.

06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:08

06:11 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:08 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Thanks ... here we (don't) go ... again!

I believe the earlier Westbury - Swindon service was cancelled too.

Thanks, yes, it was, though I was not up quite that early this morning to "see" it.  A long evening last night, far past my bed time, saving the Melksham Assembly Hall ... http://grahamellis.uk/blog222.html ...

OK ... section with the longest wait (18:52 to 20:45 off Swindon) still running.   29 minute wait for passengers from Westbury headed south.  south from Salisbury, there's also an SWR service 9 minutes earlier.

and by the looks of things, re-instated.

For the record, the Gloucester to Westbury section was later reinstated.

Bus connection provided from Westbury on to Southampton.

Thank you


Yuk! 

Noting significant concern from DILTON MARSH at all the cancellations that are happening there; a noticeable part of their sparse service is provided by the extended TransWilts trains at 06:11 and 18:52 from Swindon, and their return workings from Southampton. 

Whilst there's no other passenger trains through Melksham (on the Swindon - Westbury leg), there ARE other services from Westbury to Southampton, and I wouldn't have thought it beyond the wit of train control to add an extra stop on one of these when the TransWilts extensions are cancelled south of Westbury.   But then ... the folks in train control are looking after thousands of journeys, tens of thousand of individual stops - so perhaps we should flag up to them .... if you cancel a train due to call at Dilton Marsh, please stop one of the Portsmouth to Cardiff (and Cardiff to Portsmouth) trains there to give the passengers a [real/rail] alternative..  The stops are already made by a handful of these trains, early morning and evening - no reason not to do so in place of a cancelled TransWilts extension.

Is Dilton Marsh moving towards an even greater percentage cancellations than Melksham?

What alternative arrangements are there for customers to and from there?

Reinstated now

Sounds like common sense.

Err ... surprised at 5 cars in the first place.

14:47 Westbury to Swindon due 15:29
14:47 Westbury to Swindon due 15:29 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

13:41 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:51
13:41 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:51 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

I wondered who would take up the mantle.........  ;D

Thank goodness we have made the very blunt (and heart-breaking) decision at the Melksham Transport User Group NOT to promote train use to new leisure travellers from our station this summer. 

I would be embarrassed to have to explain what had gone wrong on something we suggested, and with cancellations more days than not - leaving 4 HOUR gaps between trains per typical connection, likely to do more harm to long term prospects than any good from working days.

For sure, we can be sympathetic to a shortage of staff due to covid. But that sympathy has to be tempered by problems explained for other reasons in previous years.  Tempered further by a feeling that staff numbers had been reduced to just enough to run a fair-weather service if everything was OK with no contingency. And tempered by us noticing that someone who has to decide which services to cancel thinks it's OK to leave 4 hour gaps on our line, while running trains 30 minutes apart elsewhere.

I travelled from Melksham yesterday.
... on a wet Saturday.
... in the opposite direction to the major flow from the town.
And that 2 car train was busy - around 100 passengers.  We are NOT short or passengers, even if not promoting

How much of a success? Well - the 2014 to 2016 trial (and beyond) were a one carriage train, with a challenge to get 20 users on the average train to, from or through Melksham.   Ladies and Gentlemen at GWR and the DfT,  we have met your aspirations 5 times over in spite of the issues with the service.  Please have the good grace to step up the reliability of our service, in line with other lines, such that we don't have any longer wait at Melksham than there would be at Warminster or Stroud or Furze Platt in the event or a cancellation.   Levelling up, please!

And today after I wrote that.


That's the Melksham to Weymouth day out ... I am so glad I'm not having to explain to people that I have encouraged to take a great trip why they've had a pretty grotty bus ride (and I wonder if they would have made the connecting train).   I would be embarrassed.

If there were another train 30 minutes or an hour behind, it would be a sensible back.  As it is, the "insurance plan" of limited buses is inadequate beyond belief.

I dare say quite a few had a long bus ride home. Hope they put enough buses on to cover both the 16:10 and 17:53. See http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=25378.msg310543#new

Personally, I’d have stayed for the last train of the day, the 20:09 but I suspect that train was pretty busy tonight.

And today's cancellations are ...

Just added

At least it's running on the TransWilts section - otherwise it would have been the second cancellation in a row and left a gap from quarter past three to quarter to nine from Swindon.

16:41 and 17:36 will now run.

17:50 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 20:36
17:50 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 20:36 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Dilton Marsh, Warminster, Salisbury, Romsey and Southampton Central.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Not a cancellation but quite a delay:

That's usually the 06:11 from Swindon (06:36 at Melksham) - not scheduled to run from Swindon today because it's a Bank Holiday; similar lack of 05:17 from Westbury to Swindon (05:33 at Melksham).

The whole question of bank holidays, service changes on them, and indeed weekend changes is an interesting one. Our (Lisa and I) first day full day back from Holiday yesterday - Bank Holiday Sunday. Never the less, a great deal of activity and it gets increasingly hard to tell weekdays and weekends apart.

497 trains scheduled to call at Melksham in August 2021. 339 ran on time and 84 were slightly late - that's 423 "good" trains - an 85% performance measure. A further 38 ran significantly late, and the final 36 were cancelled - that's a 7.2% cancellation rate when the target is just 1%.

At least nine of the trains that ran were reported via online systems as being cancelled, but were later re-instated. As passengers are advised to "check before they travel", a train reported as "cancelled" but which then runs is as good as cancelled to the customer ... so that's really 45 cancelled - a cancellation rate of 9.1%

There ARE signs of the cancellation rate coming down later in August (another week or two of data needed to be sure that's a lasting change), and noting that there has been somewhat better alterative bus services than there have been in the past.  Long way to go on getting information out about the buses, and at times having them run even close to train times - I know of one that was an hour after the train was due, and with no real time data on the buses not really useful.  The real solution, of course, is to run the trains as they're supposed to run.

Some TransWilts service extensions (south of Westbury, north of Gloucester) also cancelled - short running services that did call at Melksham. In most cases, other trains were available within a reasonable time. No problem when cancelled outbound from Melksham. Inbound, connection misses are as bad as cancelling the train at Melksham - only such train noted was the 06:54 from Salisbury.

Person hit by train is NOT on the TransWilts ... we've been taken over by important trains again.  But in all seriousness, this availability is why our line survived in passenger use and we appreciate these things happen occasionally (dynamic loop or redoubling would be nice, mind you!)

Noting much better customer information that we have been used to - THANK YOU - even if a 13:56 arrival gets pushed back over an hour to 15:01 ...


Oh dear ... again, better customer follow up than in the past.  But really cancelling the last train of the day is less than fortunate

 
14:10 was 19 minutes late.   We need a second track  ;D

Quick as a flash they are both re-instated and two others briefly cancelled are also back!

BBQ cancelled due to last minute sausage shortage?

Thank you!   Hope not too many people got put off their day trips while they were shown as cancelled!

To me, that is the essence of the problem.
Journeycheck shows x,y,z are cancelled.
Why should I then have to keep on checking back to see if it's reinstated or short running, etc.

Easier to say 'Sod it, I'll drive, or go another day'.

Jeeze - I was just on the phone chatting with an MTUG member about our decision NOT to have a stall at the River and Food festival at the weekend.   It was heartbreaking not to have a stand there; the MTUG decision was based on not wanting to marking what is a less than reliable service at present to newcomers who would be put off by significant disruption (and a single cancellation IS significant on such a sparse service).  Cancellations rather vindicate the decision - hate to "target" others, but could not the train for the 10:11 Westbury to Warminster have been commandeered, resuming its path at Warminster soon after 12 O'Clock?   Extra stops at DMH on 2 CDF->PMH and 1 PMH->CDF train and no big gaps left.

The 10:02 at Melksham has been one of the busiest trains of the day of late, picking up lots of people at Trowbridge and around 20 at Melksham. It is an unfortunate cancellation to say the least.

From Melksham log at http://www.mtug.org.uk/record.html (because I missed the earlier one on Jouneycheck!)

and

16:41 Frome to Swindon due 17:34

16:41 Frome to Swindon due 17:34 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Trowbridge, Melksham, Chippenham and Swindon.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Thanks for spotting that ... and, inevitably the return:

Oh dear ... missed it on the way up on Journeycheck, ... looking back it was 30 minutes late at Melksham

Delayed by 11 minutes in the end.  That in turn delayed the southbound service (17:50 ex Gloucester) by seven minutes while it waited for the single line.

No alternative offered.  Next train from Melksham to Swindon not until 12:33, to Westbury 13:40.  One of the most popular trains of the day these days.  No 5 car train on the CDF-PMH line that could drop a 2 car unit to help out?? Journey check not showing anything running short length on that line or to Weymouth either.

As an intending passenger travelling from a non staffed station (i.e. Melksham!), and no working information screen - how would I know the train is cancelled?
As a senior, I don't do Twitter, so wouldn't tweet.
I do faceache and of course this forum.
However, most of the travelling 'social' public wouldn't, so would be waiting a very long time for the next train.

That certainly wouldn't encourage me to use the train any further, and would pass on my frustrations to friends, etc.

18:35 Westbury to Swindon due 19:17
18:35 Westbury to Swindon due 19:17 will be cancelled.

This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Now reinstated

In the end shown as "cancelled" on Real Time Trains ... and Lulu and I took the c-a-r up to Chippenham for the Great Global Greyhound walk - 76 hounds in Monkton Park and the High Street

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/gggw2021_0.jpg)

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/gggw2021_1.jpg)

I presume the walk was sponsored by a certain nail salon  ;)  ;D

Nope - we don't take sponsorship here.  They should thank their lucky stars for the free advertising.

I've heard that Graham's toenails are looking amazing this morning however......

And today's cancellations at the moment are ...

They weren’t cancelled for long - both now running as scheduled….

Are the station toilets open in Weymouth these days for when people get there?

Apparently the toilets at the station are available whilst the ticket office is open (0840-1800)..............I can imagine a considerable surge when the train pulls in! (so to speak!)

From National Rail:

So ... does that mean that people arriving after 2 hours on the loo-less train have to ask to use the station toilet?  Unclear to me if there are sort of first class and second class toilets - first class with radar key (soap, toilet seats, etc) and second class (hole in the ground standard) - or only the radar ones?

I think National Key etc refers to disabled toilets?

One would imagine that there are also "regular" Gents/Ladies toilets available. Perhaps GWR Twitter could confirm for you?

Yes- see this link (https://www.bluebadgecompany.co.uk/blogs/disability-topics/radar-keys-locked-disabled-toilets-explained) for full explanation.

Stats for September 2021 from http://www.mtug.org.uk - Melksham Transport User Group

500 scheduled services
25 cancelled (exactly 5% - so 95% ran)
38 more significantly late (so ppm 87.5)
97 slightly late
1 record not counted for percentages - Bus with no real time logging

Cancellations log:


Early good signs of things getting better - no issues for 10 days on the log - although we did have several services reporting as being cancelled and later re-instated, which puts passenger off for the whole day.

I met with chair of MTUG yesterday and we are starting to softly advertise to potential new users in time for half term.

I had an apologetic person from GWR on the phone to me yesterday regarding a customer complaint I put in last June (!) about cancellations on the route; firstly to apologise for the delay, and secondly seeking my assurance that I thought things had improved since then. And I admitted they have - the last two weeks have been trouble free.

Although I did notice the service that gets into Swindon just before 8 is running ten or more minutes late this morning, so I may well have spoken too soon....

Real Time Trains showing it as pretty much on time, though somewhat inconvenient ...

Zero advice for passengers on what to do and fourth cancellation at Melksham for the day out of Seventeen - 23.5%

I assume the person missing was the guard as the train, frustratingly, ran empty from Swindon to Westbury via the single line.

Looks like this is having quite an effect......short running etc.

Cancellations to services at Westbury
Due to engineering works not being finished on time at Westbury all lines are blocked.
Train services running through this station may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 10:00 03/10.

- No alternative advice offered

- No alternative advice offered

I had potential plans to visit a friend in Dorchester or Weymouth today - thank goodness that is now on another day!

I'm loosing track today!

In the end both trains ran full route.

Sardines from Swindon!

I think I missed the original break ... just seen the repair!

Come December, this train will be the only survivor of the GWR "extras" to Southampton, with the lunchtime train from Westbury and the evening peak train from Gloucester via Swindon both withdrawn south of Warminster.  GWR's services via Southampton will be limited to the Portsmouth Harbour service, and a daily train onward to Brighton (two back!)

Was briefly expected to be starting late due to congestion (the Brighton to Bristol Parkway was running late), which cleared in the nick of time!

Hmmmm ... probably OK at this time of year, through this is the train I was on into Swindon last Sunday and it was getting pretty busy.  Certainly one where mask wearing will make a difference!

The 09:40 may not call at Castle Cary.  Overnight the footbridge to platforms 2 and 3 has been found to be unsafe and some early down services will not be calling there.

Is CLC that little used a station that alternatives are provided ad-hoc and no-one is [sent] there to help passengers?   I think we come back to "staffing levels below what is needed for proper customer service" discussions again!

Footbridge now re-opened.   So obviously someone was sent there to fix it.

Train through TransWilts - though short run far, far away

 

On train signalling system? When did the TransWilts get ETCS?!

Looking elsewhere I've read it's a problem with a defective signalling cable that was found during overnight inspection. Points can't be moved and a couple of signals have gone dark.

As a result the 08:45 (albeit late) and the 11:05 ex Swindon were both re-instated.

... and the following are now cancelled:

Seems a bad day generally for crew shortage cancellations and short runs.....ie the 1704 Paddington-Penzance is now starting from..........Plymouth.  ::)

Half term.

Quite.....when the schools are off and people could be encouraged to travel for leisure......by train!

They could be, but for the fact that the parts of the SW have some of the highest Covid rates in the country, which may also be behind the staff shortages.  The Pandemic is not over whatever Boris says. 

October 2021 ... 512 services scheduled, 490 show as running and calling at Melksham, of which 352 registered "on time".   Here is the rogue's gallery:


Very much using automated tools today - I have the raw data if I need to go back.   Cancellation rate around 4% (works out at 3.7% or 4.3% depending on what actually happened in the three "--" cases) which is hugely improved on the 8% type of figure we have seen, but still needs attention to get it below 2%.

Almost certainly all week ... I will only follow up further should things change north of Westbury.

1315 now running as scheduled.

Both trains ended up being reinstated.

Thanks. Forgive me giving two cheers not more.

No cheers - train does not turn up, but not flagged as cancelled
One cheer - train announced as cancelled, and indeed does not run
Two cheers - train announced as cancelled, but gets re-instated and runs in the end
Four cheers - train runs as scheduled.

"Three cheers" is clearly so last year, darling...

Update at 12:35:

That's the one that runs via Swindon and Westbury.

Crush Crowding again north of Swindon??

I tried to catch this train yesterday, even got to sit on it for a few minutes before the train was taken out of service, this was because the whole of the 'northern side' of the front carriage, including the side windows, was completely covered with an unauthorised silver and yellow paint scheme courtesy of a local graffiti artist, and the driver declared it couldn't be used as he couldn't see out of his cab's side window. We ended up using the stock that arrived in Swindon at about 0955

Oh dear ... and welcome back, Rob S.

Shows as 20 late off Swindon at 10:00, 12 late into Weymouth.  I wondered what had happened

Back to old habits - leave a four hour gap on the TransWilts rather than an hour gap elsewhere, and I would have hoped for a rail replacement bus to have been provided without having to call for it.  Sad.

Shouldn't be an issue this afternoon ...

For November:

326 trains "On time"
154 services delayed, cancelled or not logged
14 services cancelled
4 buses shown as "On time" but not actually real time tracked

Total of 498 services
2.8% cancellation rate

The reasons for cancellations where known:
20:22   Cheltenham Spa   reason:   --
18:10   Westbury   reason:   --
21:12   Westbury      a shortage of train crew
18:55   Swindon      train crew being delayed
15:39   Westbury      a shortage of train crew
14:32   Swindon      a shortage of train crew
15:39   Westbury      a shortage of train crew
14:32   Swindon      a shortage of train crew
12:33   Swindon      a fault with the signalling system
11:30   Westbury      a fault with the signalling system
06:36   Westbury      a shortage of train crew
05:33   Swindon      a shortage of train crew
12:33   Swindon      a problem currently under investigation
11:30   Westbury      a problem currently under investigation

17:50 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 20:36
17:50 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 20:36 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Gloucester, Stonehouse, Stroud, Kemble, Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge.
This is due to a fault on this train.

Trying to think where our level crossing might be ...

Hungerford?

Midgham

From Journeycheck

After effects from:


Better logging on JourneyCheck than it was earlier ...


Yes, I know, the line only survived the 1970s because of its use as a diversion route but, my, I wish we had the capacity or the ability to switch (when it's in use for that purpose) to switch over to timings to planned alternatives that continue to provide a local service too - calls on the modified long distance semi-fast services at the intermediate stations?   The local train at 2 or 3 cars is shorter than the 5 car (4.5 passenger accommodation) regional ones - but the carriages are just as busy or at times busier and the extra stops really would not be inconveniencing "the many" for "a few". Now more like "a little more delay for some to prevent really significant delay to others" - that's the TransWilts success that could be so much better nurtured with just a little customer-tuned adjustment on days like today.

I think DfT/SWR recently sent you a message that, if the railways were ever really run with the customer in mind, they certainly aren't now.

Fourth day out of nine so far in December with cancellations ... and the base service on this line is so infrequent that each and every cancellation means serious disruptions to people's schedules - in none of these cases is it "there will be another one along in half an hour ..." but rather "yikes - what do we do now?"

Points failed at Thingley Junction. 1315 Swindon to Westbury has just diverted via Bathampton Junction. Next round trip will clearly be disrupted too.

Indeed ...

It sat at Chippenham for over half an hour before diverting.

So today

21:12   Westbury      a shortage of train crew
20:22   Cheltenham Spa   On time   -
19:17   Southampton Central   On time   -
18:55   Swindon      a shortage of train crew
18:01   Westbury      train crew being delayed by service disruption
16:41   Swindon      train crew being delayed by service disruption
15:39   Westbury      a points failure
14:32   Swindon      a points failure
13:40   Westbury      a points failure
12:33   Swindon   On time   -
11:30   Westbury   11:32   --
10:02   Swindon   On time   -
09:10   Westbury   On time   -
07:51   Swindon   On time   -
07:20   Cheltenham Spa   On time   -
06:36   Southampton Central   06:37   --
05:33   Swindon   On time   -

Melksham times, train destinations. 17 scheduled, 10 ran - that's 41% cancellation, for multiple reasons (the later cancellations were reported long before the points failure, so cannot have been in consequence from it).

and the inevitable ...

Last day south of Warminster ... almost as if it's going very, very reluctantly!

And so it should  ;D

That look asymmetric - but then there are some very odd workings on a Saturday evening where (in theory, anyway) the northbound service finishes at half past six but the last southbound train doesn't reach end of journey until nearly 10 O'Clock.

The 18:35 from Westbury was cancelled at 09:50 today but then re-instated just under an hour later along with the 19:34 from Swindon.

So that's both "peak" services - the ones that GWR have registered as key services (of which there are just three a day) - 07:20, 07:50 and 18:01 at Melksham) cancelled, and just a "phone for help" alternative on offer.  Northbound gap, 05:33 to 10:02, southbound 06:36 to 11:31

I appreciate this is the first day of a "work from home if possible" phase but, really, no better way to spend out crew than to cancel the two successive main trains? 

The Salisbury to Cheltenham was started late from Westbury at 0730, so has ended up almost (not quite, I grant) running in the pathway of the 0737 Westbury - Swindon.

0946 Westbury - Swindon
1106 Swindon - Westbury

Both cancelled due to train crew being delayed.

I was asked (FB) about the cancellations - Covid or new timetable? - pointing out the gap from the 05:33 through to lunch time.

All four now re-instated.

But unfortunately 1217 Westbury to Swindon diverted, not calling at Melksham. Signalling fault on the single line.

The later services missing out Melksham too.

All four ran, but only the 1416 Westbury to Swindon went via Melksham.

1625 Westbury to Swindon has gone via Melksham, but delayed after Trowbridge.

1736 Swindon to Westbury
1834 Westbury to Swindon
Both showing as cancelled presently.

What's going on at Westbury? Not only the Transwilts services cancelled but loads of others too. And yet according to the website there's a good service across the network....

(http://terrascope.co.uk/images/Services1.jpg)

That will make for an arrival into Westbury at 18:57 (if a tight connection "makes" at Bath) or 19:04.

In these circumstances, a "via Melksham" ticket (£8.20 for the cancelled train) should be accepted via Bath Spa - for which an "any permitted" single ticket on the train you are being redirected to would cost £16.40; I assume this arrangement is still in place, though it seems to have slipped off the customer information and passenger need to know.

Noting the routing dispensation - wasn't there (still isn't) on the earlier services, but I can't imagine GWR getting upset with anyone who travels via the alternative route because they've not provided the train that's in the timetable!   Of course, whether they sell walk up tickets at "via Melksham" fares to people who are diverted via Bath is another matter.

Nope - they'll tell you your "via Melksham" ticket will be accepted, but charge you twice that amount if you buy off the web site.

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/hifare_20211215.jpg)

I'm currently looking forward to what I fully expect to happen on Christmas Eve. I've already bought my rather dear First Class Advance from Neath to Melksham (and a comparatively bargainous Standard Anytime Single from Melksham to Frome). 0640 from Neath, 0845 from Swindon. What could possibly go wrong?  ;D Worst comes to the worst, I get diverted to Bath (and phone for a lift, rather than any more messing around) and GWR somehow work out how to excess me for staying in First between Chippenham and Bath after they cancel the 0845.

I do admire your courage & faith that GWR will get you home on Christmas Eve under current circumstances.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

1217 Westbury-Swindon
1315 Swindon-Westbury
1416 Westbury-Swindon
1514 Swindon-Westbury

- cancelled, crew shortage.

In 1970 I had a friend whose father was in Western Region operations.  On Christmas Eve he sent every train out double headed to ensure that a breakdown would not prevent services. 

Is someone out there making a determined effort to try to get to the 30th page on this thread before the year is out?

(just to be clear - someone in the rail industry, not the unfortunate contributors to this forum who have undertaken the sad task of keeping us informed of the problems, including changes of information issued to passengers, on this service)

10:45 Westbury to Swindon due 11:31 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Sadly, no, not the contributors on the forum.  There are times that the pedant in me skips over JourneyCheck reports of things like formation changes, and consolidates multiple cancellations into a a single post.

Where a line has a train service multiple times per hour, a cancellation or two every couple of days is something that most passengers can live with even if not happy about it.  Where a line only has one train every several hours, any and every cancellation has a serious impact on passengers - both on the day of the cancellation, and in their trust in the rail industry to provide a reliable service on future dates, and they will look for alternatives.

MONDAY 20th December - one more which slipped the net yesterday  :(
1750 Gloucester - Warminster was cancelled throughout (as shown on RealTimeTrains)

Thanks for that ... pretty depressing at the moment.

Edit to add - 34 out of 340 services scheduled so far the month cancelled for crew reasons alone.

I consider myself the most loyal and patient of customers but even I'm not using the TransWilts to commute to and from work (MKM - WSB) this week. I found during the past three weeks or so that I could usually get in OK, but either had to leave early to get the "last train" (a lunchtime service, with everything after that showing as cancelled) or rely on the invariably helpful station staff at WSB to find me a taxi to MKM - which I twice abandoned on the outskirts of Melksham and walked home in the dark, rather than sit in ring-road traffic for an additional 20 minutes just to get to the station and join up the dots. I'm lucky: I have the option of using the car if I want to. For most of the year round I choose to use the train as I consider myself very fortunate to have the service available and played a very small part in fighting to save it once long ago; but quite frankly it's too unreliable to be any use to man nor beast right now. Whether or not I'll return to the train in the spring remains to be seen.

07:37 Westbury to Swindon due 08:19
07:37 Westbury to Swindon due 08:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

08:45 Swindon to Westbury due 09:26
08:45 Swindon to Westbury due 09:26 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

We aren't the only ones - here are other issues this morning:


We do seem, though, to have consistency one of the worst records and, time and time and time again, huge gaps between services.


Makes me weep.  Don't know what to do.

It's not you. Railway companies generally need to stop the piecemeal cancellation approach and run provisional timetables along with develop a plan to restore services. Also, the DfT needs to not even dare think of using the reduction in passenger numbers as an excuse for unstructured permanent cuts to services. Lastly, the minister of state for transport, every time he dares stand up and talk about the £96 billion investment in rail for the north? That needs challenging by everyone else in the room.

Mark

I do.

I have been reviewing the Option 24/7 TransWilts Pilot Area Bus Network for 2016 (http://option247.uk/pilot_01.pdf) (EDIT to fix link)

What I noticed was how well it still stands up today. Therefore, I am going to look at adapting it to form a Wiltshire Base Bus Network for 2022 that can withstand reduced or removed Covid grant funding.

The basic idea would be where in 2016 we looked at profits and the savings from a more efficient network cross-subsidising, and in some cases improving services, and enabling the reduction or removal of Wiltshire Council funding, in 2022 I will look at Wiltshire Council funding mixed with the £671k Subsidised Bus Service Fund award and the savings from a more efficient network underpinning, and in some cases improving services, and thus withstanding the reduction or removal of Covid grant funding.

That way we can create a Wiltshire Base Bus Network for 2022 that we can then enhance with whatever Bus Service Improvement Plan funding we are allocated, and move on with Bus Back Better more or less as originally planned.


Whatever else people might think of us, they can't say we are not innovative in TransWilts-land. Therefore, why not transfer control of Westbury-Swindon rail services to an interim local management team that includes Option 24/7 and Wiltshire Council representation, with a view to integrating them with the TransWilts Pilot Area Bus Network under a Comité De Lignes-style arrangement (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=24638.0) for the longer-term.

There you go, fixed that for you. Andrew Haines has grahame's phone number, and we will be expecting the call imminently.

Vive la Transwilts!  ;)

07:37 Westbury to Swindon due 08:19
07:37 Westbury to Swindon due 08:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

And predictably, the train’s return trip at 08:45 from Swindon to Westbury also cancelled.

Well you would have thought so - but as of now there is no mention on Journeycheck and the screens at Swindpn are showing it as running.  No sign of an empty stock move to provide for a service either.

RealTimeTrains link - cancelled due to unknown cause  https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:L88360/2021-12-23/detailed (https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:L88360/2021-12-23/detailed) Where does the unit come from for the next round trip I wonder?

Finally reported as cancelled on Journeycheck at 08:36

Answering my own question, off the back of the Worcester to Weymouth train.

Thank you for that ... I would have guessed otherwise (from the sidings) ... but these things change around.

This is filling me with confidence, as I'm meant to be getting that train tomorrow. Here's to ending up in Bath...

The unit for that train is formed from the 06:40 Bristol Temple Meads to Westbury service. Since the timetable change it is also the driver from that train as well. If the 06:40 from Bristol is disrupted it doesn't bode well for the 07:37 from Westbury as both another driver and another unit have to be found.  :-[

Having checked, the 06:40 from Bristol appears not to have run today.

I got to know - a little - Andrew when he was MD of Great Western Railway. That was long before he took on the wider role of Great British Railways. And I have a huge respect for him.  He has a mountain of issues to confront, which it would take me until Christmas to list, and I do not envy him that mountain.

In the UK, we have a number of strong community, local, regional expertise and that community, outside of the conventional rail industry, Horseferry Road and political sphere could bring that expertise to help with perhaps radical progress if only it were allowed.  You jest, Lee, about Andrew Haines calling  and elsewhere I comment about asking Mark A to take on a role.  You yourself have more than a little to offer (and indeed you are doing so on the buses) and I could find some really excellent others - no shortage of candidates, many of whom are likely to be reading this (and I hope will know I am hinting at them!)

But ... it does require some brave decisions, and trust and a free reign to get on and do the darned job from those who have perhaps over-managed to the extent they have stifled improvement.  There are some really excellent people, but some work in really constraining systems.

Hope no one was travelling from Melksham to Severn Beach today.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:SVB/2021-12-23/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt