Swindon play off final no trains

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

A report on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) South Today suggested that some supporters may decide to drive to Didcot Parkway to catch a train. Good luck to them, as most of the normal service will have been diverted away from there.  To be fair, the BBC did report that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) would be laying on road transport between Swindon and Reading.

.......I think the challenge will be sourcing sufficient road transport, but they do seem to be pulling out all the stops.

[didcotdean]

Indeed there is a measly one fast train and one slow per hour to London on that day from Oxford. Half what is generally provided when trains can't come from Swindon. There may be some DID^» (Didcot Parkway - next trains)-RDG^‡(resolve)-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) shuttles added.

[Adelante_CCT]

Indeed there is a measly one fast train and one slow per hour to London on that day from Oxford. Half what is generally provided when trains can't come from Swindon. There may be some DID^» (Didcot Parkway - next trains)-RDG^‡(resolve)-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) shuttles added.

Yes there is 1tph DID-RDG-PAD, down as a turbo (probably 5 car), wether anything extra is done for the Swindon Pax remains to be seen.

[bobm]

Seems fans of Swindon's opponents, Preston North End, will also have problems due to engineering work on the West Coast Mainline.

Ever so slightly embarrassing for Preston's sponsors ..... Virgin Trains.

[TaplowGreen]

Seems fans of Swindon's opponents, Preston North End, will also have problems due to engineering work on the West Coast Mainline.

Ever so slightly embarrassing for Preston's sponsors ..... Virgin Trains.

Pretty embarrassing situation for the railways all round I'd say.

.......well getting home from Wembley is no longer a worry for myself and other Plymouth Argyle fans after last night, but good luck to Wycombe who beat us, and also to Swindon Town/Preston - and good luck to their fans trying to travel to Wembley to support them!

[johoare]

I am actually going to this match as my brother supports Swindon.. It's also my very first ever football match.. Luckily I don't have to travel from Swindon and also live close enough to travel direct to Wembley from Wycombe or Beaconsfield (and there don't appear to be any engineering works on that line fortunately) 

[grahame]

Pretty embarrassing situation for the railways all round I'd say.

I don't think the railways embarrass all that easily. But marketing wise it is unfortunate in the same way that the lack of trains on Boxing Day is, in that it shows how people can manage perfectly well without trains.

This is a huge game this year for both Preston and Swindon, but for one or other it's the portent of things to come - people will go to Wembley as perhaps this first support for the team and will likely start to follow whoever gets promoted.   What a pity their first trip will involve less than showcase services, as it will put many off just at the point they could be captured as regular passengers at the start of something.   However, the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) have been dealt a limited hand and the potentially excellent marketing and extra business for the next year really won't effect the infrastructure provider who have limited capacity to zero at Swindon in the first place (for understandable reasons!)

[TaplowGreen]

Pretty embarrassing situation for the railways all round I'd say.

I don't think the railways embarrass all that easily. But marketing wise it is unfortunate in the same way that the lack of trains on Boxing Day is, in that it shows how people can manage perfectly well without trains.

   However, the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) have been dealt a limited hand and the potentially excellent marketing and extra business for the next year really won't effect the infrastructure provider who have limited capacity to zero at Swindon in the first place (for understandable reasons!)

True - they seem quite shameless!!! -I wonder what (if any) pressure FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have put on NR^» (Network Rail - home page) over the Swindon issue, especially over the revenue they are likely to miss out on, and to what extent NR compensate TOCs in these circumstances?

[ellendune]

True - they seem quite shameless!!! -I wonder what (if any) pressure FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have put on NR^» (Network Rail - home page) over the Swindon issue, especially over the revenue they are likely to miss out on, and to what extent NR compensate TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) in these circumstances?

They are between a rock and a hard place. I don't think you really understand how much postponing the works is likely to cost. The contractor will need compensating for:

• hired plant that cannot be used elsewhere at such short notice;
• personnel who cannot be deployed elsewhere at such short notice;
• the costs of replanning the work to another time;
• the costs of delaying the other work that depended on this work being completed on time (further plant and personnel costs as well).

In addition they would have to consider that:

• specialist plant is not standing idle waiting for hire, it is allocated well in advance and may not be available at another time;
• there is a shortage of key skilled personnel - especially signalling resources. Not using those resources will delay further stages of this project and potentially also other projects. The skills may not be available at the new time so the delay may be much further than just a few days.

The result would more than likely be further delays to the already delayed GW^▸ (Great Western) modernisation programme and a further increase in the already escalated cost.

If the extra business was going to be a few ^10's millions is might just be worth it.  I suspect the increased costs of the GW improvements programme would far outweigh any increased track access charges. 

[TaplowGreen]

True - they seem quite shameless!!! -I wonder what (if any) pressure FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have put on NR^» (Network Rail - home page) over the Swindon issue, especially over the revenue they are likely to miss out on, and to what extent NR compensate TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) in these circumstances?

They are between a rock and a hard place. I don't think you really understand how much postponing the works is likely to cost. The contractor will need compensating for:

• hired plant that cannot be used elsewhere at such short notice;
• personnel who cannot be deployed elsewhere at such short notice;
• the costs of replanning the work to another time;
• the costs of delaying the other work that depended on this work being completed on time (further plant and personnel costs as well).

In addition they would have to consider that:

• specialist plant is not standing idle waiting for hire, it is allocated well in advance and may not be available at another time;
• there is a shortage of key skilled personnel - especially signalling resources. Not using those resources will delay further stages of this project and potentially also other projects. The skills may not be available at the new time so the delay may be much further than just a few days.

The result would more than likely be further delays to the already delayed GW^▸ (Great Western) modernisation programme and a further increase in the already escalated cost.

If the extra business was going to be a few ^10's millions is might just be worth it.  I suspect the increased costs of the GW improvements programme would far outweigh any increased track access charges. 

An eminently fair explanation, and one which would be better received by thousands of frustrated Swindon fans than "The lines closed, there are replacement buses.....hopefully".............it will also be interesting to consider what effect the NR strike, now confirmed as 24hrs from 5pm 25th May will have?