Two-coach Oxford-London fast train

[whole diary]

[81F]

I was tempted by the sunny weather to a day trip to London yesterday, Sunday 29 June 2014. The first FGW^▸ (First Great Western) service was advertised as 0855 from Oxford. I bought my ticket and was on the platform a few minutes before departure time. Two coaches were provided for the service: all seats were already occupied and 40-50 passengers were standing. The driver announced that departure would be delayed by overrunning engineering works, so I got off and waited on the platform rather than standing on a train going nowhere.  All the time more people were joining the train.
      At 0907 the signal cleared and a very packed train departed. I waited on the platform and joined the delayed 0901 stopper which left at 0913. This was formed of FIVE coaches, 2 + 3, and as far as Slough I sat in comparatively solitary splendour in a comfortably air-conditioned carriage which only got full at West Drayton. Train was due at Paddington at 1047, actually arrived 1105.
     I felt really sorry for those passengers, many evidently visitors to this country, who were packed into that two-car set for a journey of more than an hour, and am left wondering why FGW offer such an appalling service on a Sunday. There were lines of 165s parked at Reading as we went past.  Or couldn't they have at least redistributed the seven coaches at Oxford at the start of service so that instead of 2 then 5, the services were formed of 4 then 3 cars respectively.
     I shall seriously consider using the M40 coach next time.

[Network SouthEast]

At the weekends fast Oxford to Paddington services are usually five or six coaches long. I suspect that one of the these things happened to your train.

1: The 08:55 was booked to attach to another train en-route at Reading, from Reading depot.
2: The 08:55 was booked to attach to another train on arrival at Paddington (so would spend the rest of the day as a 5 or 6 car).
3: The set was due to leave Oxford as a 5 or 6 car, but a fault (perhaps a last minute one) on a set prevented this happening.

[didcotdean]

I have experienced all the carriage variations on this service.

There used to be an earlier train than this but it was so frequently disrupted by planned or overrunning engineering I guess it has been dropped. Similarly there used to be a 0745 from Didcot to London originating from Bristol, but this now doesn't stop there or at Swindon either - probably so it can run alternative routes as required. A bus service is provided about half an hour earlier.

Sunday mornings still seems to be run around the convenience of railways rather than people who want to use them. Maybe there is much more demand these days - I have seen people surprised using them for the first time when they are packed - although they aren't every week.

[grahame]

Sunday mornings still seems to be run around the convenience of railways rather than people who want to use them. Maybe there is much more demand these days ...

The is indeed much more demand.  In 2011, First ran an 07:30 Westbury to Swindon run for an experimental 7 weeks which ended up with up to 68 people into Swindon.  Talking to users on this train, they were predominantly not summer-only seasonal.   Furthermore, publicity was very limited indeed, as the return working (08:20 Swindon to Westbury and Weymouth) was quickly loading beyond forecast, and could easily have gone beyond the number of people who could get on the train.

For 2014, we asked for that same pattern again, but have "only" been given an 08:30 / 09:20, which started just last month and is already [last weekend] over the average passenger count needed for year 3 (08:30 up) and is at twice the year 3 level (09:20 back).   We're likely to have seriously busy times in the school holidays, and very upset users when these trains cease in October.   Again, we asked for "all year", but ...

I know I'm in the London - Didcot and Oxford board, but these are indicators that help confirm a pattern and a need right across.   I would like to see a train every 2 hours from around 07:30 on Sundays until mid evening.

[ChrisB]

Network Rail are *very* protective of their SAt night / Sunday morning closures for maintenance! It's *not* a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) fault this time.

Chiltren squeezed 20 minutes out of NMR this year on the line south of Banbury *providing the train left in a southwards direction without any shunting movements*....and NR^» (Network Rail - home page) said that was a BIG concession!

[bobm]

One of the biggest constraints on the GW^▸ (Great Western) Mainline at the moment is the work at Reading.  Most Sundays all lines through the station are closed between 2 and 8am. 

However it is not only the later start times which are a problem - there are often longer journey times too.  This coming Sunday (6th July) the first train from Swindon (the 08:20 (07:40 ex Bristol Temple Meads)) is timetabled to take 1 hour and 38 minutes to reach London Paddington.

[grahame]

Network Rail are *very* protective of their SAt night / Sunday morning closures for maintenance! It's *not* a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) fault this time.

That certainly agrees with what I was told with regards the TransWilts element;  the train operator, the community and the sponsoring council would all have preferred an 07:30 by a big margin.

Ironic, really ...

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/StrategicBusinessPlan2008/Move_towards_a_seven_day_railway.pdf

The rail industry share of the weekend transport market is much lower than the weekday share. Rail is therefore not maximising its potential as a world class public service and business. This is becoming a real reputational issue the rail industry.

Network Rail aspires to run a railway that is not routinely disrupted by engineering work and that offers a consistent service up to seven days a week, when there is demand.

In order to maintain consistency of approach throughout Network Rail and the industry we have developed the following principles that describe the effect on the timetable, possessions and productivity as a result of 7 day railway implementation
^ a demand led timetable that offers consistent services on each of the 7 days a week:
* designed to utilise the full railway network capacity between 0600 and 2200 hours; providing half capacity timetable operating between 2200-0600 with the other half available for engineering work. Trains will be timed to operate over slower of the 2 tracks on 4 track sections and over single line or via a diversionary route on 2 track sections. This does not actually deliver half capacity, but the demand for this period on average is estimated to be only 5% of the total demand

^ a possession access regime that minimises its impact on the customer. This will include:
* phased reduction in the duration of weekend possessions during CP4^▸ (Control Period 4 - the five year period between 2009 and 2014): moving towards the ultimate goal of a maximum of 8 hours on routes where there is the demand;

As we're now in CP5^▸ (Control Period 5 - the five year period between 2014 and 2019), shouldn't we be able to have the last Saturday train off the TransWilts by 22:00, and so have it available for an 06:00 if there is demand on Sunday morning?  There isn't demand - yet - though.   I'll settle for an 08:30 returning in December after a brief break (if that's a *must*) and moving it to 07:30 in May 2015  

[ChrisB]

They're moving.....dinosaur slowly.....

[IndustryInsider]

I was tempted by the sunny weather to a day trip to London yesterday, Sunday 29 June 2014. The first FGW^▸ (First Great Western) service was advertised as 0855 from Oxford. I bought my ticket and was on the platform a few minutes before departure time. Two coaches were provided for the service: all seats were already occupied and 40-50 passengers were standing.

At the weekends fast Oxford to Paddington services are usually five or six coaches long. I suspect that one of the these things happened to your train.

1: The 08:55 was booked to attach to another train en-route at Reading, from Reading depot.
2: The 08:55 was booked to attach to another train on arrival at Paddington (so would spend the rest of the day as a 5 or 6 car).
3: The set was due to leave Oxford as a 5 or 6 car, but a fault (perhaps a last minute one) on a set prevented this happening.

From memory that is booked a as 3-car as it's the first train and starts from Oxford.  I'll check the diagrams and confirm when I get chance.  That's usually enough in terms of people from Oxford getting a seat (as 81F quotes the 40 or 50 standing would then all have be seated), but it's full and standing by the time it gets to Paddington.  As NSE^▸ (Network South East) eludes to, most trains are now 5 or 6 cars which is a big improvement on a few years ago, when, for example, the first train off the Cotswold Line was a 3 car Turbo all the way through.  It now leaves Oxford with 6 cars and pretty much all seats are taken - indicative of the huge growth on the route over the last ten or so years.

[Southern Stag]

It looks like after working the 0855 Oxford-Paddington the unit stables at Paddington all day in Platform 13 which would probably explain why it is one of the few services not booked for 5 or 6 carriages.

[didcotdean]

I know it has been 5 on one occasion I have been on it, but maybe that was unusual.

[grahame]

They're moving.....dinosaur slowly.....

From that earlier document I quoted by Network Rail, dated 1st April (!) 2008

The last decade has seen a change to travel patterns with an increase in demand for weekend and off peak travel and the need to supply regular train services over all 7 days of the week. Our current strategy of undertaking long possessions of the line at weekends to undertake all types of engineering work is no longer acceptable.

Independent studies have shown that the revenue loss through the disruption to weekend passenger services is significant and also the rail freight industry reports that there would be an increase in freight revenue if services could operate on 7 days a week.

It has been assessed that by the end of Control Period 4 (CP4^▸ (Control Period 4 - the five year period between 2009 and 2014)) there could be additional revenue of ^105 million per annum (based on ^58 million for passenger operators and ^47 million gross for freight operators).

When does control period 4 end? 

At least the agreement seems to be there on the need to move.   It's currently highly frustrating to have eliminated all-day trip leisure customers over many lines for half the weekend.   At least it's getting better. On the TransWilts until last December, our first train was at 17:25.   Then it changed to 10:47 - better, but still not a real full day.   And in May it went to 08:41 ... and within a few weeks, that train's loading above the average needed for year 3.   Sadly, that train only runs until early October ... we have asked for it back in December, but can currently hear a pin drop in amongst the lack of answers thus far.

[eightf48544]

2 coach on I think the 19:48 ex Padd which we saw at Slough last night.

If not that train one of the first stop Slough ones.

[Network SouthEast]

2 coach on I think the 19:48 ex Padd which we saw at Slough last night.

If not that train one of the first stop Slough ones.

The 19:48 from Paddington is first stop Maidenhead, which is a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) to Worcester Shrub Hill via Gloucester.

The 19:50 from Paddington is first stop Slough, which is a Turbo to Banbury.

[eightf48544]

That's the one.