21 October 2016 - 19:03 Paddington to Penzance terminated at Reading

[whole diary]

[Pb_devon]

Interesting as all this discussion is, could someone with contacts in GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) obtain an official response?

[John R]

Interesting as all this discussion is, could someone with contacts in GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) obtain an official response?

Official response to what? Whilst there are some very helpful contacts with GWR people, I don't think they are beholden to the Coffee Shop to provide a comment, let alone an official response. If a passenger affected complains directly to them, then that would be a different matter. 

[chrisr_75]

Alternatively for a quicker (instant if there is the will) fix just manage the boarding and don't let Reading passengers board the 1903 - is that beyond the wit/capability of the ticket gates/staff?

It's a great idea, but having seen how deeply nasty people can be when they can't do something which they believe they have some god given right to do, controlling boarding is probably more trouble than it's worth, especially if most of the problem is gone at the next stop or two.

Best bet is just to remove the Reading/Newbury stops completely. It worked an absolute treat for the 19:15 to SWA^» (Swansea - next trains) during the Reading remodelling and it's not like there aren't other services available for commuters. Anyone wishing to travel west at that time from Reading (not many in my experience of travelling to S.Wales, certainly in comparison with the numbers joining at PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains), but I accept that could be different for Devon/Cornwall) can pick up an earlier westbound train and change to the Devon/Cornwall service further down the line or travel into Paddington. Some sort of easement for advance or off-peak tickets to Devon/Cornwall on the earlier services might assist this.

[Tim]

Are those all the trains that Paddington can send out?

Not sure why the additional capacity has to necessarily start at Paddington.  Start it at Reading or Swindon if Paddington isn't up to the job. 

[grahame]

Interesting as all this discussion is, could someone with contacts in GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) obtain an official response?

Official response to what? Whilst there are some very helpful contacts with GWR people, I don't think they are beholden to the Coffee Shop to provide a comment, let alone an official response. If a passenger affected complains directly to them, then that would be a different matter. 

Agreed, John R.

This is a forum for passenger discussion and not a conduit for inputs to GWR.   You / we shouldn't expect them to answer a question that we haven't asked them.    Having said which, if any member has raised this issue with GWR, it would be most useful if they could share the answer received here.

A while ago, we had a "Meet the manager" session with Ben Rule, a director of GWR, here on the forum and it was a great success; perhaps another such session should be considered?

Where issues come up that have a significant bearing on the work I do for the TransWilts CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership) / for passengers and potential passengers on that line, I do have access to those "contacts within GWR" that Pb_devon mentions, and can often obtain background or official information to aid the discussion and explain issues - and at times help formulate changes for the common good.   However, evening departures from Paddington to the west country are outside my geography.   As well as individuals asking questions more "officially" there are other CRPs, rail user groups, etc ... and safety nets such as Transport Focus too.

[IndustryInsider]

A while ago, we had a "Meet the manager" session with Ben Rule, a director of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), here on the forum and it was a great success; perhaps another such session should be considered?

As you may know Ben Rule now works for Cross Country, so you'd need to find another willing director.   

[broadgage]

" Dear sir, I was sorry to hear that on your recent journey you suffered crowding followed by the train terminating before the advertised destination.
Our services are very popular and can become crowded at popular times, we recommend that you book a seat if travelling at busy times. Seat reservations are free of charge when purchasing your ticket.

As regards the train terminating short of the advertised destination, this was due to the sudden and unexpected in-availability of a safety critical member of train crew. Your safety is our highest priority at all times and we would never run a train if it was not safe to do so.
Alternative transport, including additional services was arranged at short notice. I regret the delay that you suffered whilst awaiting this.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are investing billions of pounds in a large fleet of new state of the art electric trains. These will offer faster and more reliable journeys, with millions of extra seats. The first of these new trains will enter service within about 12 months, and offer a step change in passenger comfort with more seats, an electronic seat reservation system, and an enhanced at seat catering offer available to all passengers.

Thank you for your recent communication, passenger views are important to us, and assist in further improving the overall passenger experience."

Just to save them the trouble, I have written the letter for them!

[JayMac]

Perfect response broadgage!

Even getting in the perpetual lie that it is GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) making the capital investment.

[TaplowGreen]

I have submitted the following to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) which I think covers most of the points we have made in the discussion and will advise when (if) I get a response;

I am writing in respect of the 1903 Paddington to Penzance service on Fridays. Rather than focus on the specific events of 21st October where the service was terminated at Reading, I would like to enquire as to what measures are being considered to mitigate the regular and extreme overcrowding which is a feature of this service every Friday, and specifically so around holiday periods. In answering my enquiry, please bear in mind that I do not wish to receive a standard cut and paste response citing new rolling stock over the next couple of years etc, I would like something addressing the issues around this service which have been ongoing for years.

1) The service is supposed to be pick up only at Reading on Fridays. Why is this not enforced and why are Reading customers allowed to board? What is being done to address this, in terms of programming the gateline and or instructing staff accordingly?

2) Why do you not use boarding management to ensure the safety and wellbeing of customers on such a service which is well known to be hideously overcrowded? (please do not cite regulations stating that there is no limit to the number of people who can be safely carried).

3) Why not make this service reservation only, with perhaps a small number of additional people being allowed to board?

4) Do you restrict the number of "cheap" Advance purchase tickets on this service? If not, why not?

5) What consideration has/is being given to removing stops at Reading and Newbury on this service on Fridays? (Bearing in mind that there are numerous alternatives)

6) Can the 1945 and/or 2035 services to Plymouth be extended to Penzance on Friday to relieve pressure on the 1903? If not, why not?

7) Where the last service of the day to Cornwall is cancelled as it was (at Reading) on the 21st October, what is your contingency plan for getting people home "Long distance"?

Finally, as an organisation committed to excellent customer service, I am sure that GWR management are actively pursuing measures to mitigate the situation on this service so please detail these if they are not covered by my questions above.

I look forward to your response.

[chrisr_75]

I am curious to find out how accurately broadgage has predicted the response that TaplowGreen will (may) receive?! 

[IndustryInsider]

I seem to remember in the mid 1970's travelling on a Paddington - Penzance service. It was not a Sleeper Service,
as it was all seated accommodation. Left Paddington about 2300, arriving Penzance about 0800. No buffet, but a wheeled trolley with a tea-pot. Might have been pre-HST^▸ (High Speed Train) days as it was Loco and coaches. Perhaps some of our
mature members could help out with the details.

According to my 1974/5 timetable, there were up to four overnight services between London and Penzance on weekdays:

• A 23:35 train ran on Fridays only from 14th June to 27th September with seated accommodation only arriving Penzance at 08:35.  That must be the equivalent to the one you remember Henry? 
• There was also a 23:45 arriving at 09:05 which had sleeper accommodation as far as Exeter and seating only beyond.
• And then there was the 'proper' sleeper at 00:55 arriving at 07:50. 
• Finally, there was the rather curious 19:30 from Paddington which terminated at Plymouth at 23:48, except on summer Friday nights when it sat at Plymouth for three hours before continuing on to Penzance for an 05:07 arrival.  That would certainly have been a test of stamina!

By contrast, the last proper through daytime train was the 17:30 'Golden Hind' arriving at 23:10.  That didn't stop at Reading, so the last direct day train from Reading was at 16:03 (17:26 on Fridays).

Travel patterns have certainly changed immensely since those days!

[Andy]

Might South West Trains be interested in capitalising on this extra demand by running a Waterloo-Plymouth/Penzance service Friday on evenings?   

[ellendune]

Might South West Trains be interested in capitalising on this extra demand by running a Waterloo-Plymouth/Penzance service Friday on evenings?   

Is there any reason to suppose that SWT^▸ (South West Trains) have any more capacity to run extra trains out of Waterloo on a Friday Night that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) do at Paddington?

[TaplowGreen]

Might South West Trains be interested in capitalising on this extra demand by running a Waterloo-Plymouth/Penzance service Friday on evenings?   

Cracking idea......the old Southern Line? My Father used to do that trip back & forth to Plymouth many years ago when he was a student in London.

I reckon SWT^▸ (South West Trains) would jump at the chance - and a bit of real competition may make FGW^▸ (First Great Western) raise their game!

[broadgage]

Given suitable rolling stock, I see no reason why some of the current waterloo to Reading services could not be extended to say Taunton. The present DC^▸ (Direct Current) electric trains would not be suitable of course.

I doubt that any such extended services would be very popular as they would be very slow between Waterloo and Reading, and cant realistically be accelerated as they exist primarily to serve the many intermediate stations.

The other option would be a new service from Waterloo into "western" territory, perhaps via Salisbury. Given some new or cascaded diesel trains, that should be doable.
Indeed, many services ran from Waterloo during engineering work.

For any such scheme to work, a relatively small number of maximum length trains would be needed. A few short trains wont provide much extra capacity, and I doubt that paths could be found for more than a few services.