Channel 5 documentary, 'The Railway: First Great Western'

[whole diary]

[GBM]

Superb episode, well done that production team.  Let's hope the rest in this series is of such high a quality.
Regret MasterChef has had to be removed from the record list - to Mrs GBM horror, can only record two at a time, BUT she has been assured MC can be viewed on the TV via iplayer.

[BerkshireBugsy]

I'd forgotten about the new series but because Mrs BB was recording Masterchef and watching some jungle program I was digging around free view on another TV and found the c5 program.

Ok I can cope wth the logic of recording masterchef but as for recording "I'm a celebrity.." What a waste of electrons !

[TaplowGreen]

Superb episode, well done that production team.  Let's hope the rest in this series is of such high a quality.
Regret MasterChef has had to be removed from the record list - to Mrs GBM horror, can only record two at a time, BUT she has been assured MC can be viewed on the TV via iplayer.

...........sound advice, if I'm feeling brave I will try that line on Mrs TG next week!!! 

[ChrisB]

Here's the synopsis from FGW^▸ (First Great Western), episode by episode

Episode One (TX date 4 December, 20:00, Channel 5)
The second series of Channel 5^s observational documentary series The Railway - First Great Western kicks off in dramatic style.

We see the impact of the conveyor belt of Atlantic storms which battered the South West at the start of the year when it knocked-out the rail artery into Cornwall, as savage currents and tumultuous waves dragged away seawall and ballast materials.

But there were huge challenges looming elsewhere on the network too. Flooding in the Maidenhead area took-out signalling, and water levels on the Somerset Levels rose dangerously high and turned the area into a vast lake, making it impossible to run train services.

In the Swindon Control, cameras were there to capture the joint Network Rail / FGW team during the worst impact of weather on services in the history of the Great Western Route.

In these times the FGW Control team led by Operations Manager Dave Slater, is seen operating under tremendous pressure, and colleagues on London Paddington station are also seen trying to help customers against a backdrop of worsening services. Most customers seem to understand though that these are truly difficult times.

MD Mark Hopwood makes an appearance to meet Theresa May at Maidenhead.

Understandably, much of the programme is devoted to Network Rail and their efforts to maintain and restore service against a very difficult background. Look out for the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) engineers^ genuine amazement that water levels are so high on the Somerset Levels.

Also in Episode 1 we see the impact of the tube strike on Ealing Broadway and the measures we need to take to cope with a massive surge in customers who usually hop on a tube. Station Manager Dean Haynes has obvious concerns about the health and safety risks associated with having so many people on the station.

And do look out for DSM Gary Brownlie^s object lesson in keeping disgruntled customers upbeat in challenging times by calling on his personal resource of great cheer.


Positives
^   Viewers are left in no doubt about who manages the infrastructure, which is a strong message.
^   FGW colleagues (and NR^s too) conduct themselves with integrity. They give a strong impression of caring about the job and the service to customers
^   FGW and NR are seen as working hand-in-glove to get passengers to where they need to be

Negatives
^   The network is fragile, particularly where it is exposed to flooding, the sea and Atlantic storms
^   Cornwall is said to have lost some ^20 million a day while the railway was out at Dawlish
^   There is no contingency route into Cornwall apart from Brunel^s old coastal route


Episode Two (TX Date 11 December, 20:00, Channel 5)
The welcome return of familiar FGW faces from the first series of The Railway - First Great Western are to be seen in the second episode of the second series, which offers a diverse view of the Western Network early in a most unusual year.
The programme follows Six Nations rugby fans aboard FGW services with Train Manager Jodie Edwards appearing in control and cheerful as ever.
And Simon Jeffries, previously followed on Paddington Station as DSM, is seen diving into a new similar role on Reading station where the impact of massive signal failure at Maidenhead caused by flooding is being felt by disgruntled customers.
Also on the programme we see FGW's operation on Cardiff Central station where over 40 thousand fans converge for the Six Nations Wales/Scotland match. The effectiveness of the queuing system in front of the station, which allows customers to depart on a first -come-first-serve basis, is apparent. With so many people and so much alcohol consumed, the need to keep people safe is vitally important. Dave Bailey is FGW's well-established man on the station and it is refreshing to see how calm he remains throughout these hectic scenes.
Back with the weather theme, we see the difficulties caused by the rift in rail in at Dawlish with HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) in need of service being stranded on the wrong side. So they put power cars and carriages onto low-loaders to haul them by road to the FGW depot at Old Oak Common.
Elsewhere in the programme driver Tom X talks us through his amazement at the amount of water to be seen on the Somerset Levels; we look at a night servicing shift at Taunton; and follow new DSM for Paddington station, Joseph Holmes, as he faces his first challenges to keeping his customers on the move.
Finally Network Rail provides a rare glimpse inside Whiteball Tunnel during essential maintenance to stem the ingress of water which threatens to bring down the roof. Mounted on a train, impressive new concrete spraying equipment creates a new lining for the tunnel.
Positives
^   FGW and partners ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) use tried and tested techniques to keep huge crowds flocking from the Millennium stadium in Cardiff moving in a fair and safe way.
^   FGW is prepared to make every possible effort to keep customers safe despite challenges like the Dawlish track being washed away
^   Regular, planned maintenance often involving innovative techniques keeps the railway safe and extends the life of the old infrastructure
Negatives
^   There is no alternative route into Cornwall
^   In times of disruption to the infrastructure it is a challenge to keep customers happy

Episode Three (TX Date 18 Dec, 20:00, Channel 5)

Episode three offers another mixed bag of stories which together help build a picture of life on the modern railway.

And at Cheltenham, station manager Richard Morrish operates a safe and fair system of queuing for customers wishing to catch buses to the race track and again, much later for those wanting to get home by train.

As evening progresses, many of those turning up at the station display increasing signs of alcohol consumption, so the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) are a welcome presence. 

We get the sense of very long days for Richard and the station team, and of their relief when the last trains have finally departed and  shutters are rolled down for another day.

Also in Episode three we get an update on how work is progressing at Dawlish, where in addition to rebuilding the station, track and seawalls, a land-slip caused by excessively wet conditions threats to dump 355,000 tons of rubble and soil onto the track.

Still in Dawlish, ballast loss was a major issue in the severe storms, so NR have developed a technique to stop this happening to the replacement ballast by literally glueing it in place.

Elsewhere, Train Manager Jay Choudray is seen "living the dream" as he puts it, by dispensing good cheer on the line between Reading West and Gatwick in an interesting branch-line segment.

And the customer relations team offers insight into the world of Twitter, which is a growing element of the team's work. They also give some examples of the many customer concerns they will get in a typical day.

Positives
^   FGW and partners NR and the BTP place  high emphasis on rail safety
^   FGW highly focused on customer service in testing circumstances
^   FGW provides additional services for major events

Negatives
^   Our customer relations team may be seen as being slightly flippant about custom concerns
^   The Dawlish coastal stretch of track is vulnerable to the ravages of the elements, and there is no alternative route
^   Despite providing extra services for Cheltenham Festival, some customers still don't think there are enough

Episode Four (TX date TBC)
The fourth and final part of Channel 5's The Railway - First Great Western offers another interesting and varied collection of stories from across the Western route.
We see how work is progressing rapidly at Dawlish where the reopening of the line after is eagerly anticipated after two months out of action. Network Rail, the station team and the volunteer Friends of Dawlish station are all making making final preparations to receive the first passenger services.
Paddington's Lost Property service is also explored in some depth in the programme, and we see the efforts made to reunite customers with precious items left on trains.
In Weston-super-Mare services are still heavily affected by the closure of the line through the Somerset Levels due to flooding and that means bus replacement services. As fate would have it, cameras are on hand the first time there is insufficient capacity on the last coach home for people who have come to Weston for a night out. So the team have to organise taxi services to get somewhat disgruntled customers to their destinations.
The Pullman service gets a deserved spotlight in the programme as the team set off from London Paddington on another trip heading for the West Country. To add to spice to their busy schedule, an international food critic is looking forward to sampling the menu. No pressure for the team then!
In Plymouth it is engine change time for an HST power car at Laira depot, which should delight the audience, as engineering sequences have proved popular so far.
And finally, we return to Dawlish where Premier David Cameron is on hand to mark the huge sense of occasion afforded by the reopening of the coastal route, much to the relief of everyone involved.
Positives
^   There is a huge sense of pride in working on the railway
^   FGW and its partner Network Rail invest a great deal of effort in keeping the railway running to time for customers
^   FGW still operates a Pullman service
Negatives
^   Bus replacement services, which are operated by outside contractors can sometimes cause problems for customers if they don't run exactly to time
^   The coastal route between Exeter and Newton Abbot is vulnerable to the ravages of the elements

[Thatcham Crossing]

Very good first episode.

They obviously had very good access at Dawlish, which enabled us to get a really hands-on view of NR^» (Network Rail - home page) trying to assess the situation, as it was happening.

Good coverage of the flood chaos in the Thames Valley aswell, with inputs from Theresa May (Maidenhead MP^▸ (Member of Parliament)) and FGW^▸ (First Great Western) MD Mark Hopwood.

Good coverage of the developing chaos in the Control Room at Swindon also.

All in all, it came across as factual and not too sensationalist which gets my vote.

[didcotdean]

Here's the synopsis from FGW^▸ (First Great Western), episode by episode

...
Episode Three (TX Date 18 Dec, 20:00, Channel 5)

... And the customer relations team offers insight into the world of Twitter, which is a growing element of the team's work. They also give some examples of the many customer concerns they will get in a typical day.
...
Negatives
^   Our customer relations team may be seen as being slightly flippant about custom concerns

Surely not

[tomL]

Didn't realize I walk past this everyday on the way to work. Quite strange knowing that behind a row of office windows is entire control of the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) network. 

[NickB]

Here's the synopsis from FGW^▸ (First Great Western), episode by episode

...
Episode Three (TX Date 18 Dec, 20:00, Channel 5)

... And the customer relations team offers insight into the world of Twitter, which is a growing element of the team's work. They also give some examples of the many customer concerns they will get in a typical day.
...
Negatives
^   Our customer relations team may be seen as being slightly flippant about custom concerns

Surely not

Shows what an accurate documentary it is   

[JayMac]

Was that former French rugby player Thomas Castaignede I saw near the beginning of episode 2?

In First Class with a mix of Welsh and French rugby fans on the train to Cardiff with Jodie as TM^‡(resolve).

[Rhydgaled]

When the were showing the class 43s and mrk4s being moved by road, they seemed to suggesting only Plymouth depot could handle the regular maintenance and the entire fleet had to be cycled through that depot.

I can understand them moving a few sets by road if the optimal timetable given the circumstances required a different number of sets on either side of the breach to where they had happened to end up, but surely Old Oak, Bristol and Landore could handle maintainance of the sets unable to reach Plymouth?

[JayMac]

Certain heavy maintenance tasks can only be carried out at certain depots. There's also the question of space.

[JayMac]

It would seem that Cheltenham Spa is the station to be at for FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s comedy department. Nearly every staff member featured on tonight's episode (series 2 episode 3), covering the Cheltenham Festival, did their best to mug comically for the camera.

Led ablely by Station Manager Richard Morrish. Nice guy, even if his sense of humour isn't to everyone's taste. I've had a few interactions with him in recent years when he was a DSM at Bristol TM^‡(resolve). Always engaging, always listening. Good to see he's got his own patch to manage these days.

Just needs to sort out the engrained antipathy from the staff to anyone with a camera (who isn't part of a film crew  ) at CNM^» (Cheltenham Spa - next trains).

[Rhydgaled]

The conductor on the Reading-Gatwick service was making alot of joke anouncments. Do they act like that all the time or just creating material for the TV programme? Interesting they refered to him as a 'train conductor', when on the PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) services last week they had 'train managers'. Is that a distinction FirstGW makes or just the TV being inconsistent? Also, they had him boarding a 150/0 then the 'return trip' was a Networker Turbo. Is there something with the staff rosters or with the editing of the programme?

[BerkshireBugsy]

The conductor on the Reading-Gatwick service was making alot of joke anouncments. Do they act like that all the time or just creating material for the TV programme? Interesting they refered to him as a 'train conductor', when on the PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) services last week they had 'train managers'. Is that a distinction FirstGW makes or just the TV being inconsistent? Also, they had him boarding a 150/0 then the 'return trip' was a Networker Turbo. Is there something with the staff rosters or with the editing of the programme?

I haven't watched this episode but will find it on catchup. I used to travel on that line regularly so it will be interesting to see if I remember any of the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) staff

[IndustryInsider]

Interesting they refered to him as a 'train conductor', when on the PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) services last week they had 'train managers'. Is that a distinction FirstGW makes or just the TV being inconsistent?

We have Train Managers, Conductors and Senior Conductors.  But a fair chunk of them like to be known simply as 'The Guard.'