Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 13:15 29 Mar 2024
* Delays at Dover as millions begin Easter getaway
- Attempted murder charge after man stabbed on train
- KFC Nigeria sorry after disabled diner refused service
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
29th Mar (1913)
Foundation of National Union or Railwaymen (*)

Train RunningCancelled
12:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
13:15 Swindon to Westbury
13:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
13:21 Newbury to Bedwyn
13:48 Bedwyn to Newbury
14:12 Newbury to Bedwyn
14:19 Westbury to Swindon
14:57 Bedwyn to Newbury
15:14 Swindon to Westbury
15:22 Newbury to Bedwyn
15:28 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
15:50 Bedwyn to Newbury
15:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
16:15 Newbury to Bedwyn
16:23 Westbury to Swindon
16:55 Bedwyn to Newbury
17:36 Swindon to Westbury
18:37 Westbury to Swindon
20:13 Swindon to Westbury
21:16 Westbury to Swindon
22:30 Swindon to Westbury
Short Run
10:55 Paignton to London Paddington
12:35 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
13:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
13:42 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
13:55 Paignton to London Paddington
14:36 London Paddington to Paignton
15:42 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
16:35 London Paddington to Plymouth
16:50 Plymouth to London Paddington
17:03 London Paddington to Penzance
17:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
18:03 London Paddington to Penzance
18:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
19:04 Paignton to London Paddington
20:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
21:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
Delayed
08:03 London Paddington to Penzance
08:15 Penzance to London Paddington
09:10 Penzance to London Paddington
10:04 London Paddington to Penzance
10:20 Penzance to London Paddington
11:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
12:03 London Paddington to Penzance
12:15 Penzance to London Paddington
13:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
13:15 Plymouth to London Paddington
14:03 London Paddington to Penzance
14:15 Penzance to London Paddington
15:03 London Paddington to Penzance
15:15 Plymouth to London Paddington
16:03 London Paddington to Penzance
16:15 Penzance to London Paddington
etc
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 29, 2024, 13:32:50 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[153] 2024 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury...
[97] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[53] Travel for free on the m2 metrobus - Bristol - 4,5,6 April 202...
[41] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[38] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[37] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1] 2
  Print  
Author Topic: Broken down train at Hanwell 03/05  (Read 13258 times)
BBM
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 634


View Profile
« on: May 03, 2013, 20:16:56 »

From what I can gather from a combination of FGW (First Great Western) Journey Check and Real Time Trains as well as Twitter feeds from a couple of people stuck on the affected service, tonight's 1B69 1745 Paddington to Swansea has failed blocking the Down Main at Hanwell. As at 2015 the train is still there immobile with people tweeting that a promised rescue loco has failed to materialise and the buffet has run out of food and drink. Any idea why the train has failed and why it's taking so long to get a rescue loco? (Presumably a Class 57 from OOC (Old Oak Common (depot))?)
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40692



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2013, 20:35:26 »

This week ... I've travelled from Melksham to Farnborough (Hants) and back twice, and from Melksham to London (Paddington) and back twice.

Journeys to and from Farnborough have been on time or within a few minutesm, and no connections have been missed.  Not bad going for a journey that's involved up to three changes of train.  Score - four out of four.

Journeys to and from London have not been so good.  On the first journey, the first train was delayed by around 30 minutes due to the failure of another train, and this meant that a connection missed.   The second journey was good. On the third journey, the first train was again delayed - a problem with the train, and it was clear the connection would be missed (and the chap on the help point confirmed that), so I drove to a station with a more frequent service and caught a train from there - I simply can't afford to be unreliable on a daily basis for my customers.  I'm now on the fourth journey; I'm on the 20:00 from Paddington to Chippenham.  It's 20:30 and we've not yet got as far as Old Oak Common. Our Conductor tells us this is due to a failed train, there is heavy congestion, and he doesn't know when we'll get to Bristol.  Score - one out of four.

Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
johoare
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 2818


View Profile
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2013, 21:29:46 »

I was on the 19.48 from Paddington.. I must have just missed bumping into you Grahame, and will have been on the train ahead of you I guess..  I was nearly an hour late getting back to Maidenhead in the end.. Hope you get/got back eventually
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40692



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2013, 23:04:43 »

Thanks , Jo.  Home at 22:35.

Due off Paddington at 20:00. Actually left 20:20
Pass Acton Main Line 20:41
Stop Ealing Broadway 20:51 - 20:56
Pass Slough 21:05
Stop Reading 21:22 - 21:24
Stop Didcot 21:41 to 21:42
Stop at Swindon 21:58 - 22:00
Arrive Chippenham 22:12

Had I been on the 17:45 off Paddington - the train which failed - I would have detrained from that at Ealing Broadway and joined the 20:00.

The 17:45 is the train that has a connection to Melksham and is due into Swindon at 18:38.  We got to Swindon at 21:58 ... but the train in the bay said "Cheltenham Spa" on the front of it!


Excellent job of keeping us informed by the train manager / rest of the onboard team who, however, couldn't get through the train.  "Reported Full and Standing" said the display at Chippenham station at 22:12 - that's very late for a train to be so busy.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2013, 23:24:14 by grahame » Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
JayMac
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 18896



View Profile
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2013, 23:36:17 »

1745 failed near Hanwell due to a brake fault in the leading power car, 43145. Driver was initially going to change ends and set back to Ealing Broadway to detrain the passengers. This was not possible, so a rescue locomotive  was sent from Old Oak Common to drag the set at very low speed to Ealing Broadway. Supposition on my part but the delay in sourcing the rescue loco could have been down to the lack of an available driver.

Both the 2000 to Bristol and 2015 to Swansea made stops at Ealing Broadway to collect the passengers who were detrained from the failed set.

Not an ideal way to end the week for the passengers or FGW (First Great Western).
Logged

"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

- Sir Terry Pratchett.
BBM
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 634


View Profile
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2013, 13:31:38 »

Unfortunately Simon Calder, the senior travel editor for The Independent newspaper, just happened to be on that train and has written about his experience in today's edition:

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/simon-calder-no-happy-ending-to-the-great-escape-from-paddington-8610861.html

Quote
No happy ending to 'The Great Escape' from Paddington

Few trains these days have names, but the 5.45pm each Friday night from Paddington to Swansea deserves to be called The Great Escape. It is packed with commuters heading home from work, augmented by Londoners escaping the capital to weekend hideaways from Gloucestershire to the Gower. Except last Friday night, that is. At the height of the bank holiday weekend getaway, seven miles and seven minutes outside London, the emergency brakes went on and stayed on. More than 500 passengers stopped escaping and began several hours of incarceration.

Apologetic staff walked through the train. They explained what had gone wrong, and what was being done to fix it. They dispensed bottles of water, advised about onward connections and handed out forms so passengers could claim the stipulated compensation for stewing in west London rather than strolling in west Wales.

Did they heck.

As the delay slowly erased a perfect summer evening, the train staff were nowhere to be seen. During the hiatus, only two accurate announcements were made, both by the lady in the buffet. About 80 minutes into the standstill, she said: "We have run out of all alcohol except Arkell's Bitter and spirits." (Clearly the Friday night crowd has a thirst for lager, cider and wine.) And two hours after the sudden halt: "We have run out of sandwiches and hot food" ^ whereupon some of the hungrier passengers started gastronomically evaluating other travellers in case the need arose for Andes‑style improvised dining.

'Never apologise, never explain'

An InterCity train blocking the main line west from London on one of the busiest days of the year is a problem best tackled swiftly. The solution was close at hand: to borrow a locomotive from the Old Oak Common depot just three miles away and hook it up to the afflicted train so the obstruction could be moved and its passengers liberated. But for two hours nothing happened, except that the stricken train became something of a museum piece. Every now and again, a westbound train hurried past on the slow line, its passengers smugly aware that by choosing to travel later than 5.45pm they would arrive at their destination much earlier.

By now, life on board was turning feral, with First Great Western seemingly adopting the corporate motto "Never apologise, never explain".

In the absence of accurate on-board information on anything other than the stock levels at the buffet, some passengers tried phoning National Rail Enquiries. A waste of time and money: staff in the call centre told them the stranded 5.45pm had been cancelled and they should travel instead on the 6.15pm, which had long ago whizzed past the window.

In these modern times, the traveller turns to Twitter to try to find out what is going on. Amelia Walker tweeted: "The longer this train is delayed, the drunker I'm going to get." Not with the buffet running dry, you're not, Amelia.

As trains heading into London became embroiled in the farce, MellyM found herself stationary at a station and tweeted: "It's bad enough I'm always late for work because of your services, but tonight you're making me late for Beyonc^. I hate you, FGW (First Great Western)."

Even more poignantly, Mark Sugden mourned: "You and your faulty trains are ruining my honeymoon before it's even begun."

First Great Western comes a dismal last

At the time the train was due to be departing west from Bridgend towards Swansea, it finally started moving east towards Ealing Broadway. The plan was that trains would be stopped at this suburban station to pick up the stranded passengers. "There will be a duty manager available to answer your questions," was a promise that proved as empty as the buffet.

Three trains whooshed past without stopping, before one finally paused for the lost souls. Then the fun started. Two peak-time trains into one don't really go, particularly if a carriage on the replacement train is marked "Vehicle is not in use" because of a power failure. With even standing room running out, some rebellious passengers snuck into the darkened, empty carriage and sat down ^ until the train manager threatened to call the police if they did not leave.

Sue Evans, the director of communications for First Great Western, later told me: "I'm really sorry our customers were delayed on Friday evening. We should have got everyone moving more quickly. Failures of this kind are rare. We got some engineers out straightaway, as they initially believed they could find and fix the problem. After an hour they found they couldn't, and we sent the rescue locomotive."

Travellers understand that things often go wrong in unexpected ways. What counts is how the organisation responds. On this occasion, the train operator failed its passengers dismally. Last word to William Davies, who tweeted: "First Great Western trains are the worst form of transport known to mankind #better off walking."
Logged
Red Squirrel
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 5191


There are some who call me... Tim


View Profile
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2013, 13:59:18 »

Unfortunately Simon Calder, the senior travel editor for The Independent newspaper, just happened to be on that train...

Why 'unfortunately?' Which is better: to cover this kind of thing up and pretend it didn't happen, or to scream from the rooftops "this is not good enough!"
Logged

Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
trainer
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1035


View Profile
« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2013, 16:36:47 »

Perhaps 'unfortunate' for FGW (First Great Western) who would have preferred less publicity for the sorry incident.
Logged
BBM
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 634


View Profile
« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2013, 18:48:09 »

Perhaps 'unfortunate' for FGW (First Great Western) who would have preferred less publicity for the sorry incident.

That was my thinking!
Logged
Chris from Nailsea
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 17865


I am not railway staff


View Profile Email
« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2013, 19:41:37 »

A couple of points from me, if I may:

- Completely irrelevant picture used to illustrate that article;

- Do we know that Simon Calder was actually on that particular train - his article merely quotes other sources such as twitter.
Logged

William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
JayMac
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 18896



View Profile
« Reply #10 on: May 11, 2013, 19:54:18 »

I don't think that picture is irrelevant.

It's the folk from the failed train after being deposited at Ealing Broadway. Waiting on the up main platform for another westbound HST (High Speed Train) to make its additional call. Although not going where they wanted to go, I'm sure that seeing a half empty Heathrow Express service speed through was salt in the wounds.

The picture was originally posted on twitter.
Logged

"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

- Sir Terry Pratchett.
Chris from Nailsea
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 17865


I am not railway staff


View Profile Email
« Reply #11 on: May 11, 2013, 20:24:13 »

Ah - not in Simon Calder's own pithy article in the Independent, then?  Wink
Logged

William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Network SouthEast
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 492



View Profile
« Reply #12 on: May 11, 2013, 20:49:49 »

Whilst it may seem harsh that when the passengers were detrained at Ealing Broadway they had to see three trains pass through before one stopped, it should be noted the practicalities of issuing special stop (and not to stop) orders.

Usually this is done by staff at the previous staffed station. On 3rd May, I expect that with the congestion of trains the first three through after the passengers had been detrained would have already left Paddington station.

It is also possible for the signaller to contact the driver of a train en-route, but this depends on the driver being in a position to answer a call on their radio and even then the time needed for control to contact NR» (Network Rail - home page) control and then contact the signaller to contact the driver, so again with so many trains in the area it is not always practical to stop what might seem to the public as the first available train.
Logged
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 12334


View Profile Email
« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2013, 20:57:26 »

Very true.

This is the kind of info FGW (First Great Western) twitter should have been putting out in answer to complaints/suggsstions on there that those teains could have stopped. Difficult maybe to get into 140 characters, but the gist could have been put out.

Just a thought, Ollie....
Logged
Red Squirrel
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 5191


There are some who call me... Tim


View Profile
« Reply #14 on: May 11, 2013, 21:04:38 »

My point is that, whatever the technicalities, the punters should be kept informed of:

1. What's gone wrong;
2. How 'the railway' intends to fix it;
3. How long it will take to fix it.

If the plan isn't working, and there are to be further delays, repeat this list from the beginning.

In these days of mass communications, there can be no excuse for not letting the passengers know what's going on. People will put up with a lot if you just let them know where they stand.



Logged

Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1] 2
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page