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Journey by Journey / Shorter journeys in Devon / Re: Devon delays 2024
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on: February 22, 2024, 08:43:33
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Stagecoach supplied a double decker for a 0625am all stations to Exeter and a 0640 non stop to Exeter this morning. Doesn’t appear to be many other road vehicles although I imagine some might appear once school runs are out of the way.
Those are scheduled RRBs▸ due to scheduled ongoing overnight resignalling works.
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Labour to renationalise train operators with no compensation
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on: February 05, 2024, 09:45:45
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In all likelyhood, the difference we will see will be dictated by the whims of the government at the time and thus changes every 5 years.
Currently, we have one of the most anti-rail PMs in office. I don't believe there will be wholesale reform of fares, services or stock under any government spending plan. If the railways were fully nationalised today, the service would probably be remarkedly worse than it is.
And I don't really understand why Mick Lynch wants to see the railways fully under government control. Disputes will become more frequent as public servants. Or maybe that is why.
Nationalisation is therefore not a panacea.
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Journey by Journey / Shorter journeys in Devon / Re: Devon delays 2024
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on: January 20, 2024, 08:26:01
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Alterations to services between Paignton and Exeter St Davids via Newton Abbot Due to a fault with the signalling system between Newton Abbot and Paignton fewer trains are able to run on some lines. Disruption is expected until 11:00 20/01. Train services between Paignton and Exeter St Davids via Newton Abbot will be revised. Customer Advice Due to a fault with the signalling system we are only able to run a shuttle service between Paignton and Newton Abbot. - We regret passengers will be required to change at Newton Abbot for onward journeys.
Alterations to services between Exmouth and Paignton via Exeter St Davids Due to a fault with the signalling system between Newton Abbot and Paignton fewer trains are able to run on some lines. Disruption is expected until 11:00 20/01. Train services between Exmouth and Paignton via Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot will be revised. Customer Advice Due to a fault with the signalling system we are only able to run a shuttle service between Exmouth and Exeter St Davids. - We regret to advise passengers will be required to change at Exeter St Davids for onward journeys.
Fault (currently) rectified. Data signal failure meant signalling lost between Preston Sands - Newton Abbot & Dainton Tunnel.
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: Call for rail fare simplification
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on: January 20, 2024, 08:06:36
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Fares simplification is always going to lead to a rise one way or another, because simplification it's not simple.
Starting point: Anytime fares - always will be expensive as it's the nature of the beast. Now there is an argument for shrinking the peak period, no journey starting at 04.30 in the morning should be classified as peak! If "peak" became, say 07.00-09.00, then someone leaving Plymouth on the 04.55 is arriving into Paddington at 08.35, bang on peak passenger flow in a now heavily loaded train. So do you add graduated fares that take account of this peak period?
Similarly do we keep a (universal?) evening peak period? Currently someone travelling to Cornwall can travel on an off-peak ticket on a "peak train" as it takes longer to get there, do we make them wait? Do we abolish evening peak and that same person is now unable to board a train at 17.00 due to evening commuters?
Simplifying off peak.
We have 1 off peak ticket that starts at a universal time (say 09.00). Problems: day trips become more expensive as all OP▸ tickets are valid for return for 30 days or longer trips become more expensive as you need to buy 2 singles as returns are only valid for 1 day. Someone travelling from Penzance to Scotland arrives in Scotland after 8pm as they have to start their journey later. You can already see pitfalls in a Melksham - Paddington journey, where the 10.02 with an arrival at 11.35 jumps straight to super off-peak, as the previous train at 08.02 is peak.
1 ticket 1 journey.
Already happening where some off-peak tickets in Devon have been abolished and the only available is an Anytime. Ticket is naturally more expensive compared to what it was.
Simplifying/abolishing routing
Currently, I can buy a ticket from Plymouth to Manchester routed Any Permitted or via Hereford. If we abolish routing, can I then have a jolly via Southampton, Canterbury, Durham...? Making every route any permitted would still need a routing guide to determine what is permitted and what would that be? Any sensible route between two stations or just the quickest, in both cases cheaper fares on more round about routes would disappear?
Pence per mile
Someone travelling from Exeter to Portsmouth Arms is now paying nearly the same as someone travelling Exeter to Taunton. And Cardiff - Holyhead is now slightly more expensive than London - Preston. How much will the longest journey on a single train (734 miles) be?! Admittedly, from an end-user perspective, weighting could be added to more heavily used routes and no-one would be any the wiser.
1 train, 1 journey
A frequent complaint is over-crowding and "overselling" tickets. So do we go compusory reservations and abolish walk-up fares? It would be a nightmare in practice but if that's what the will of the loudest people is.
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Journey by Journey / Plymouth and Cornwall / Re: Liskeard closed - signal person taken ill
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on: January 11, 2024, 18:57:15
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Surprised to see the Looe train cancelled. Would have thought that once it took the token first thing in the morning, it could run up and down the branch without a problem.
The Looe branch is split in two: Liskeard - Coombe Junction and Coombe Junction - Looe. Liskeard to Combe is worked by token, which is left in/withdrawn from the token machines at either end. The train is then locked into Coombe Junction - Looe under staff working. This leaves Liskeard - Moorswater available as the points at Coombe Junction are left in the Liskeard - Moorswater position. The locking and release of the token requires the signaller to be informed. It is perfectly legitimate (though now, practically, never) to have another train in the section between Liskeard ground frame and Coombe Junction whilst a train is stood at either Liskeard platform, or traversing Coombe Junction - Looe.
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption elsewhere - ongoing, since Oct 2014
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on: December 17, 2023, 09:23:55
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As a life long railway engineer since 1978 and on Western TV area since 2007, I find it embarrassing that our infrastructure appears to be as fragile as apparently it is. What I find worse is that internally within the business nothing appears to be getting said as how the situation is being addressed. today, the Chief Executive was urging members of staff to complete the diversity and inclusion survey.......
I too was a lifelong railway engineer. If to-day's managers are incapable of devising systems to safely evacuate electric trains before the batteries run out you need either better batteries or better management. It's worse, there IS a system - the Elizabeth line had extensive evacuation drills - but it takes too bloody long for everyone to decide to actually put it into practice. There's always a 'just one more thing' to try to fix the root cause before someone sighs and says 'I suppose we'd better think about evacuation'.
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Updates to GWR TVMs
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on: December 15, 2023, 20:43:13
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GWR▸ TVMs▸ are being updated (should have been by now) to allow purchase of tickets to/from other stations ie you are no longer limited to buying a ticket with origin of where the TVM is, but you can purchase Anywhere to Anywhere.
They were also meant to be able to sell car parking tickets for stations with car parks that are run by APCOA▸ , but that has been pushed back to January next year.
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