Major alterations to services, 16-17 Sep and Sunday Mornings September-November

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

Is that one of the 'major alterations to services' being discussed here? 

[JayMac]

Virgin weekend first offer as bad as GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway). Only Virgin East Coast still offers a sandwich (not bad either. Just had one!).

Snack tray including sandwich or wrap on Virgin West Coast at weekends.

[Trowres]

Snack tray including sandwich or wrap on Virgin West Coast at weekends.

But is that sandwich exhaustively tested to ensure no unsafe interactions under forseeable circumstances, and that receivers are suitably immunised?

[insider]

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere...apologies if so...

Have heard on very good authority that the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") commissioning work for this blockade has NOT taken place. A source has claimed that the safety case paperwork was not completed in time. Or something to that effect. Decision was made to run the advertised service and not attempt to run trains even though this may have been a possibility.

Again Source says is that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) is fuming at NR^» (Network Rail - home page). And the upcoming planned sunday morning blocks may need to be changed. The techs will still need a repeat block of this weekend but no one has any idea when this will be?

The January launch date for 387 to Rdg / Did is unlikely.

This information is only rumour and may be unfounded but have heard similar reports from various GWR sources. Watch this space, as I can only assume someone from GWR or NR will have no choice but to issue a press release?

[Timmer]

Again Source says is that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) is fuming at NR^» (Network Rail - home page).

GWR are in NO position to be fuming at anyone after their performance on the Cardiff-Portsmouth line over the weekend. Between them NR and GWR are running the GW^▸ (Great Western) line like a bunch of amateurs. The only ones who are entitled to be fuming around here are their long suffering passengers and the staff who have to put up with the management of both organisations.

I have no evidence of how trains that were diverted over the weekend managed but I would imagine they were pretty full. Certainly for the train crew that did work Cardiff-Portsmouth this weekend I would imagine they had to deal with rammed trains and annoyed passengers who couldn't complete their journey on the train they were on.

[CyclingSid]

This might explain the comment I got at the ticket office in Reading on Saturday, that I thought I understood that they were going to repeat the closure. Thought I was imagining things, but perhaps not.

[BBM]

The work to raise the parapets on Butts Hill Bridge in Sonning Cutting is still ongoing (it certainly hadn't been completed this morning) so presumably they can't switch on the power until that's finished? Maybe there's other examples of unfinished works?

[Timmer]

Looking a tweets posted on UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Rail Forums the energisation over the weekend appears to have been a success 

[Timmer]

More testing required Sunday mornings through to early November:

https://www.gwr.com/travel-updates/planned-engineering/reading2017

[stuving]

More testing required Sunday mornings through to early November:

https://www.gwr.com/travel-updates/planned-engineering/reading2017

Looking August's revision of the EAS, the longer Sunday closures (from 24 September to 22 October until 12:25) were already planned before then, while the two shorter ones (29 October and 5 November until 10:25) are more recent additions.

[grahame]

Awful lot of buses around this Sunday morning:
(resolve)/2017/09/24/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt" target="_blank">http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/RDG/2017/09/24/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt

and nothing long distance from Paddington until 11:57
(Paddington (London) - next trains)/2017/09/24/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt" target="_blank">http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/PAD/2017/09/24/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt

Seem to be trains from the west to / from Oxford and Didcot in the morning, nothing to Wales either
(Swindon - next trains)/2017/09/24/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt" target="_blank">http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/SWI/2017/09/24/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt

[Timmer]

Bad news if you need to travel to London on Sunday mornings for the next few weeks.

[ChrisB]

Extra hour+ via Oxford & Chiltern to Marylebone

[Timmer]

Extra hour+ via Oxford & Chiltern to Marylebone

Yup nothing direct to London. Feel for anyone trying to get from South Wales to London with work also taking place between Cardiff and Bristol Parkway.

(Have updated the title of this thread to reflect the additional line closures through Reading on Sunday mornings over the next few weeks)

[bobm]

An extreme case - but taken from a journey planner for 1st October

Swansea to London Paddington
08:08 Train Swansea to Cardiff
09:12 Bus Cardiff to Bristol Parkway
10:30 Train Bristol Parkway to Swindon
11:11 Train Swindon to Didcot Parkway
11:40 Bus Didcot Parkway to Reading
12:33 Train Reading to London Paddington

5 changes and 4 hours 58 mins journey time.

You could leave at 09:19 and arrive at 13:19 (just six minutes later than the above) with two changes - a bus from Cardiff to Bristol Parkway and then a train to London.