Great Western Coffee Shop

I see from a link of the GWR website here:

 https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/train-times

that several trains are cancelled or terminated early from now "until further notice", including the 11.50 PAD to WOP that was handy if you wanted to go to a show in London. Anyone got any idea if this is likely to be permanent?

The 22:50 PAD-WOP (is that the one you meant?) is least likely to return IMHO as it was a very recent addition to the timetable - 21:48 used to be the last train down the North Cotswold Line from Paddington for many, many years, until a later service operated to Moreton-In-Marsh on Fridays only (from 2027ish?).

Will surely find out for sure next Thursday 10th at our next Stakeholder meeting for the North Cotswolds…..

I doubt you’ll find out anything for sure…probably just a commitment that everything will be kept under review going forward.

Would be useful to have back on a Fri/Sat night, the rest of the week I’m not so sure.

Thanks for the input. My reading of the 22.50 PAD-WOF was that past Oxford it was essentially an empty stock move to get the set to where it needed to be for the next day. Interesting, on a Saturday night - when the need for it is more logical -  it didn't run.

Shame if they don't bring it back - for a short space of time it was nice not to have to drive to Banbury or LMS to pick up the Chiltern line.

Yes indeed.  Some of the Covid related cancellations, necessary at the time, seem to be slowly turning into semi-permanant and possibly permanent cancellations as some people feared.

The new GWR PDFs suggest that the full service is being restored from the May timetable change, including the 22.50 from Paddington, as well as the 04.49 and 22.00 from Hereford. Good news if so.

Good news.  Slightly surprising given other operators and routes are still way off resumption of a normal timetable.

An unexpected change from December:

The evening Oxfordshire Halts train will continue ECS from Moreton to Evesham, and then form an 18.51 passenger service (usual stops) back to Oxford, rather than turning at Moreton.

Does this give the opportunity for the Down Refuge Siding at Moreton in Marsh to be abolished?

At present, the 1703 from Didcot arrives at 1811 and is run into the Down Refuge where it sits for 50 minutes prior to trundling out again to form the 1910 to Oxford

Why would you abolish it? It could be of use to give flexibility in the future.

Yeah, very handy in case of a breakdown.  Can’t see a great deal of value in extending the halts train to Evesham mind you.

I would not abolish it.

But that hasn't stopped the wholesale taking-out of useful or potentially useful sidings, loops and connections over the years.  A row about this with the powers that were, on the Western Region many years ago, is why I left BR.  I more recent years replacement of infrastructure that had been removed, to reinstate operational flexibility, has been a great cost.

I just couldn't really think of any other reason for this timetable change.  Are there really that many passengers from Evesham and Honeybourne wanting to travel to Oxford of an early evening that they can't be accommodated on the existing 1824 or 1941 up trains from Evesham?  Is there really a need for an 1851 ex Evesham?

It gives the train something to do for 50 minutes. </irony>