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

Train RunningCancelled
15:14 Swindon to Westbury
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
17:24 Newbury to Bedwyn
17:36 Swindon to Westbury
18:04 Bedwyn to Newbury
18:26 Newbury to Bedwyn
18:37 Westbury to Swindon
18:55 Bedwyn to Newbury
19:02 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads
19:24 Newbury to Bedwyn
19:55 Bedwyn to Newbury
20:13 Swindon to Westbury
20:49 Newbury to Bedwyn
21:16 Westbury to Swindon
21:16 Bedwyn to Newbury
21:53 Newbury to Bedwyn
22:03 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads
22:25 Bedwyn to Newbury
22:30 Swindon to Westbury
22:47 Newbury to Bedwyn
Short Run
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
15:28 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
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
18:29 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
18:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
19:04 Paignton to London Paddington
19:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
20:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
20:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
21:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
23:17 Bedwyn to Reading
Delayed
10:04 London Paddington to Penzance
12:03 London Paddington to Penzance
12:15 Penzance to London Paddington
13:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
13:15 Plymouth to London Paddington
13:50 London Paddington to Great Malvern
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
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Author Topic: A View From The DfT  (Read 3777 times)
Lee
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« on: January 31, 2008, 03:18:46 »

This has been received by an FOSBR (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) member. It is written by Judith Shepherd, a DfT» (Department for Transport - about) civil servant who members of the Coffee Shop team have "liased" with in the past :

Quote
Thank you for your e-mail of 23 December to the Secretary of State, about the performance of First Great Western (FGW (First Great Western)) train services during the Christmas holiday period. I have been asked to reply.

I am sorry to hear about the unsatisfactory service encountered by members of your family while travelling with FGW rail services. Department for Transport (DfT) officials have had an early meeting with Andrew Haines, who has recently taken over responsibility for First Great Western. The worst problems experienced earlier this year appear to have been resolved. While this is encouraging, the Department continues to look for further improvements to FGW's performance to match the significant improvements seen elsewhere in the rail industry.

First Great Western is, as part of their franchise, undertaking a refurbishment programme which will cover the majority of the fleet. The works to refurbish the trains operating over the Gloucester to Swindon route has started, and the first units will be re-entering the service shortly. The High Speed Trains ('HST (High Speed Train)') are receiving new engines and other improvements and the rest of the FGW fleet are to receive a series of reliability modifications. 

Over and above the contractually committed improvements in its franchise agreement, FGW has also offered a Recovery Programme comprising 40 specific additional actions. The actions cover strengthening the management team, including the recruitment of a new Engineering Director from First ScotRail, additional operational staff, engineering improvements, timetable changes, capacity enhancements and customer service improvements.

We are now seeing record levels of train patronage. In the most recent full year, (2006-07), the railways saw annual growth in passenger journeys accelerating to 7.5 per cent, up from 3.6 per cent in 2005. This takes the number of passenger journeys to well over 1.1 billion, and their highest level for 60 years, making our railway the fastest growing in Europe.  To cope with these ever increasing passenger numbers, we are taking steps to increase capacity on the railway.

On 24 July, we published a White Paper on Delivering a Sustainable Railway which sets out the funds we intend to make available for the railway in the medium term - in this case, for the period from 2009 to 2014 - together with the improvements we expect the rail industry to deliver in return.  It outlines the additional rail capacity the government proposes to buy ^ an additional 1300 new carriages - to meet the recent and forecast growth in demand for rail travel. The additional carriages will go to the routes and services with the worst crowding problems. I am enclosing a copy of the Press Notice which announced the publication of the White Paper and explains its content in a little more detail.

The Department for Transport (DfT) does not set the required number of trains or carriages in any given franchise. Ultimately the responsibility for the day-to-day safety and welfare of passengers using the railway rests with the Train Operating Companies (TOC (Train Operating Company)).  They can ^ and they are expected to ^ run more trains and carriages if they are needed. TOC^s have to ensure that demand is met at the busiest timeof day and during the busier holiday season.

Ministers and senior officials continue to emphasise the importance of improved performance to both FGW and Network Rail at a senior level. Both FGW and Network Rail have assured Ministers that they are working hard to improve the performance of train services. The Department will, of course, continue to monitor performance of the FGW franchise to ensure that commitments given to Ministers and the public are met and that further improvement to service is provided to passengers in future.

I hope this is helpful.

Yours sincerely,

Judith Shepherd

Rail & National Networks Ministerial Liaison Team
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Vous devez ĂȘtre impitoyable, parce que ces gens sont des salauds - https://looka.com/s/78722877
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