Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption elsewhere - ongoing, since Oct 2014

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

Whichever way you try to spin it, it's appalling, as those of us who have to put up with it on a daily basis will testify.

[NickB]

It's also worse than 2014, which was pretty bad and recognised as such by all parties.

"It's getting better" is a lie. My motto of recent years, and not just about fgw, is 'just because you say it twice doesn't make it true' and this, as with many things these days, is a perfect example.

[broadgage]

It certainly seems to be getting worse and not better.
And some reports suggest that it is the new parts of the signalling causing significant problems, so will it carry on getting worse as more is renewed ?

And with the electrification works so badly behind schedule, we presumably have many more years of electrification related delays to look forward to.

And of course once the electrification is done, we can add weather related overhead line problems to the traditional signal failures and track defects.

I am glad that I am less reliant on trains than in the past.

[JayMac]

I am glad I'm not in the past when there was a less frequent service, unwelcoming stations, poor customer service, no compensation, crap rolling stock, a worse safety record, managed decline...

I try to avoid wearing these:

[ellendune]

I am glad I'm not in the past when there was a less frequent service, unwelcoming stations, poor customer service, no compensation, crap rolling stock, a worse safety record, managed decline...

I seem to recall being told that when Swindon panel was installed in the 1960's the service for Swindon was one train every two hours.  Is this correct?

[Oxman]

Whichever way you try to spin it, it's appalling, as those of us who have to put up with it on a daily basis will testify.

I do not do spin. I attempted to explain where this number may have come from. Its a perfect example of uninformed journalism which, on this forum, we are pretty good at recognising. Your experiences may indeed be appalling, but fuelling a debate with accusations of spin will not help.

[grahame]

I am glad I'm not in the past when there was a less frequent service, unwelcoming stations, poor customer service, no compensation, crap rolling stock, a worse safety record, managed decline...

I try to avoid wearing these:

Interesting article on how things were in the early days - Daily Mail

From risking hypothermia in open-top carriages to sparks setting clothes on fire, not to mention steam engines blowing up and overworked drivers falling asleep on the job, being a passenger on the Victorian railways was a very risky business, as writer SIMON BRADLEY reveals in a fascinating new book ...

[BerkshireBugsy]

I spent 3 days travelling from Thatcham to Aylesbury by rail this week (thanks again for the ticket advice guys) and got caught up in delays on a couple of days.

The first one - Tuesday I think - was because the service  from Aylesbury left a few minutes late due to an issue with the incoming service. Now a "few minutes later" on it's own isn't a problem to me but the knock on effect was that the service then got stuck behind a LUL^▸ (London Underground Ltd) service ( I believe) further down the track. This turned into a 20 minute delay which meant I missed my service out of Paddington

The second day was the one that we discussed a bit earlier in this thread where there were more signalling problems etc

I suspect those of use who frequent this forum have our opinions on whether other contributors are glass "half full" or "half empty" people but I do take my hat off to those who commute on a daily basis week in week out but  I guess the answer is simple in a lot of cases...you may not have any choice..

[ellendune]

I would also ask whether those who commute long distances by car have it any better?  I suspect not. 

[BerkshireBugsy]

I would also ask whether those who commute long distances by car have it any better?  I suspect not. 

I totally agree. There are a couple of things which favour rail travel even during these trying times.

1) The logical route from Thatcham to Aylesbury is via the A34 which is notorious for delays. It only takes one incident to cause major problems - this is made worse several times over if the incident is on one of the up-hill stretches of the road as it takes a long time for the lorries to get speed back up

2) Although an alternative route is via the M4/A404M this means enduring the daily delays on the M4 which (from memory) starts queueing about 630 am in the morning

3) It's less risky falling asleep on the train

4) I can listen to my music or watch video on the train without causing a risk to others or myself

5) It's company policy to use public transport wherever possible

So despite the delays normally it's the choo choo for me!

[TaplowGreen]

I am glad I'm not in the past when there was a less frequent service, unwelcoming stations, poor customer service, no compensation, crap rolling stock, a worse safety record, managed decline...

I try to avoid wearing these:

That's rather like saying the patient's condition is unchanged but they are now in a shinier hospital.

As for customer service, how many rail companies made the latest Customer Service Index top 100 companies list? (clue: none of them) - as for compensation, it's derisory for season ticket holders and generally only payable after an hour's delay for other tickets, far too long. There are still huge issues around lack of management of major delays/events and giving accurate information when they take place, and the latest delay/massive projected overspend on electrification speaks volumes........and for all this, customers pay the highest fares in Europe alongside massive subsidies from the taxpayer. I've been using NSE^▸ (Network South East)/TT/FGW^▸ (First Great Western)/GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) for over 20 years and any improvements are marginal - no rose tinted spectacles here, can't comment on the age of steam I'm afraid.

[IndustryInsider]

I seem to recall being told that when Swindon panel was installed in the 1960's the service for Swindon was one train every two hours.  Is this correct?

There's many a methodology you could use, but using Swindon to London as an example, in 1965 the off-peak service at Swindon was generally an hourly service between Bristol and London, an hourly service (with the odd two hour gap) between South Wales and London and a Gloucester to London train roughly every four hours.  So, an average of about 2 per hour.  Taking 1986 (the golden era to some!) as an example it was still about 2 per hour - no two hour gaps in the South Wales trains but fewer direct trains to Gloucester (just three each day!).  Today it's roughly an average of 4.5 per hour and the planned frequency come the IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) timetable will actually reduce that to 4 per hour as more trains are planned not to call.

[TaplowGreen]

Back on topic, and welcome to the new week! (ongoing since last night)


Cancellations to services between Reading and Slough 


Due to a fault with the signalling system between Reading and Slough fewer trains are able to run on the London bound relief line.

Impact
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 mins or revised. Some stations between Reading and Slough will not be served. Disruption is expected until 14:00 26/10.

[ellendune]

More specifically @GWRHelp on Twitter advises:

Due to signalling problems services to London Paddington will not call at Taplow or Burnham. Customers are advised to travel via Maidenhead

[bobm]

Shouldn't that be via Slough?