07:24 Reading to Waterloo Removed

[whole diary]

[Adelante_CCT]

The 07:24 from Reading which arrives Waterloo at 08:44, I would have thought one of the busiest trains during rush hour, has been cancelled until December from Monday 28th September as part of SWTs^▸ (South West Trains) refurbishment programme.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/business/reading-rush-hour-trains-london-10110952

I can't see any mention of this on the SWT website (though whether there is local publicity I do not know) so I hope regular passengers have been informed. Will certainly be an even tighter squeeze for commuters on the alternative services over the next few months.

[grahame]

The 07:24 from Reading which arrives Waterloo at 08:44, I would have thought one of the busiest trains during rush hour, has been cancelled until December from Monday 28th September as part of SWTs^▸ (South West Trains) refurbishment programme.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/business/reading-rush-hour-trains-london-10110952

I can't see any mention of this on the SWT website (though whether there is local publicity I do not know) so I hope regular passengers have been informed. Will certainly be an even tighter squeeze for commuters on the alternative services over the next few months.

Reading to Waterloo trains run at :12 and :42 from Reading ... with this single extra peak train that breaks the pattern.  So I suppose it's the logical one to "pull" ... "first train to go" very much like the 06:40 Bristol to Paddington ...

[paul7575]

The 07:24 from Reading which arrives Waterloo at 08:44, I would have thought one of the busiest trains during rush hour, has been cancelled until December from Monday 28th September as part of SWTs^▸ (South West Trains) refurbishment programme.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/business/reading-rush-hour-trains-london-10110952

I can't see any mention of this on the SWT website (though whether there is local publicity I do not know) so I hope regular passengers have been informed. Will certainly be an even tighter squeeze for commuters on the alternative services over the next few months.

It's on the journey check pages found by clicking on 'Live Train Information', in the General Updates box.

Not quite as intuitive as could be.

Paul

[stuving]

It's on the journey check pages found by clicking on 'Live Train Information', in the General Updates box.

Not quite as intuitive as could be.

Paul

Indeed - it appears under "General Updates", entitled "Important Changes to our Monday to Friday Timetable". As just two trains are involved, and will be cancelled, it would be easier to find under "Other Train Service Updates" - where similar items do appear - or even "Train Cancellations", and identifying the trains involved. 

The downloadable posters, as well as the printed ones, still show the train. There is no correction on the selector page for the timetables, though another short-term change (Raynes Park-Waterloo trains skipping Clapham Junction) is there.

Today I found this poster at Wokingham, inside the station, but none at Reading (the odd angle is to minimise reflections). Of course the change starts next Monday, so regular travellers needed to be told by tonight at the latest. I hope there was more warning at Virginia Water, as the train running just ahead of this one (uniquely) doesn't call there and the following ones are slower.

[Surrey 455]

The downloadable posters, as well as the printed ones, still show the train. There is no correction on the selector page for the timetables, though another short-term change (Raynes Park-Waterloo trains skipping Clapham Junction) is there.

That Raynes Park service is probably a continuation of the trial started a few months ago

[Adelante_CCT]

Clearly some people didn't know

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/chaos-south-western-train-reading-10154602

[patch38]

Gosh. I'm going to change careers and get a job as a local-rag journalist. Here's my schedule for the day:

1. Find a stock photo of something vaguely resembling what I am writing about.

2. Write two lines of linking text.

3. Cut and paste 97 tweets.

4. Get more tea and wait for next assignment.

[grahame]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-34614221

South West Trains is reinstating its rush-hour service from Reading to Waterloo, after cutting it last month to speed up a ^275m carriage upgrade.

The removal of the 07:24 service had caused dismay among passengers, who tweeted of the "chaos" it would cause.

The train company thanked commuters for their "patience" and said the service would resume on 26 October.

[stuving]

This time it did make "Other train service updates"

The 0724 Reading to London Waterloo service will be reinstated from the 26 October 2015

Thank you for your patience over the last few weeks whilst we have been working to improve our train fleet and increase capacity across our network.  We are pleased to be able to tell you that we will be reinstating the 0724, Reading to London Waterloo service from Monday 26 October.  As we're now operating our Autumn timetable, this service will depart Reading at the slightly earlier time of 0721. More information about the Autumn timetable, and train times can be found on our website or at your local ticket office.
Last Updated :22/10/2015 11:14

[paul7575]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-34614221

South West Trains is reinstating its rush-hour service from Reading to Waterloo, after cutting it last month to speed up a ^275m carriage upgrade.

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) have missed a word or two out there, completely ruining the meaning.  It reads as though the entire peak service was cut...

Paul

[stuving]

This does seem to have been a very sudden decision. There is nothing on display at Reading, and at Wokingham there is a letter stuck to the window - but it's a reduced photocopy of the original "changes from September 28th" poster.

[paul7575]

Perhaps they were just caught out by Wabtec actually finishing a couple of conversions earlier than anyone expected...

Paul