Shortage of train crews on Great Western Railway since September 2017 - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[grahame]

More optimistic from the top of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).com:

Urgent Timetable update 6 May.  Services on Sunday 6 May will operate as advertised

Confirmed by clicking on that as a link which tells me

.... Services on Sunday 6 May will operate as advertised.

Advertising is, however, changing ... I appreciate this is just 4 out of 45 cancellations, with 17 other services cut short.   Not been through them all, but mostly are "shortage of train crew".    Most losses are Bristol based / scheduled to go no nearer to London that Swindon or Salisbury, so for people in the Thames Valley it may be "as advertised" ... whichever advert that is.

16:20 Westbury to Swindon due 17:05
16:20 Westbury to Swindon due 17:05 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

17:28 Swindon to Westbury due 18:11
17:28 Swindon to Westbury due 18:11 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

18:39 Westbury to Swindon due 19:22
18:39 Westbury to Swindon due 19:22 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

19:53 Swindon to Westbury due 20:36
19:53 Swindon to Westbury due 20:36 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[Timmer]

Indeed, very much the turn of local West services to take the hit today with IC^▸ (Inter City) services looking much better today.

Slight concern the 1610 from Weymouth is starting at Westbury this evening. Have a feeling the Heart of Wessex line is going to be very busy today. There was a report of not being able to board trains yesterday such was the demand.

[TaplowGreen]

More optimistic from the top of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).com:

Urgent Timetable update 6 May.  Services on Sunday 6 May will operate as advertised

Confirmed by clicking on that as a link which tells me

.... Services on Sunday 6 May will operate as advertised.

Advertising is, however, changing ... I appreciate this is just 4 out of 45 cancellations, with 17 other services cut short.   Not been through them all, but mostly are "shortage of train crew".    Most losses are Bristol based / scheduled to go no nearer to London that Swindon or Salisbury, so for people in the Thames Valley it may be "as advertised" ... whichever advert that is.

16:20 Westbury to Swindon due 17:05
16:20 Westbury to Swindon due 17:05 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

17:28 Swindon to Westbury due 18:11
17:28 Swindon to Westbury due 18:11 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

18:39 Westbury to Swindon due 19:22
18:39 Westbury to Swindon due 19:22 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

19:53 Swindon to Westbury due 20:36
19:53 Swindon to Westbury due 20:36 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

The Thames Valley "service" to London today involves a bus from Maidenhead to High Wycombe and then a train to Marylebone, at least Chiltern are more reliable I guess.

[martyjon]

The Thames Valley "service" to London today involves a bus from Maidenhead to High Wycombe and then a train to Marylebone, at least Chiltern are more reliable I guess.

I suppose the bus journey to High Wycombe from Maidenhead is shorter than from Maidenhead to Ealing Broadway.

[grahame]

The Thames Valley "service" to London today involves a bus from Maidenhead to High Wycombe and then a train to Marylebone, at least Chiltern are more reliable I guess.

I suppose the bus journey to High Wycombe from Maidenhead is shorter than from Maidenhead to Ealing Broadway.

Maidenhead to High Wycombe is another of those broken rail links that should never have been broken ... along with Bere Alston to Crediton (gone 50 years and a day) and Oxford to Cambridge.

[NickB]

It would certainly save me and GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) a lot of money in taxi refunds if the link still existed. It would also make Marlow semi-accessible and greatly reduce the number of residents who drive to either Maidenhead or the Met/Central Line on a daily basis.

[paul7575]

Maidenhead to High Wycombe is another of those broken rail links that should never have been broken ... along with Bere Alston to Crediton (gone 50 years and a day) and Oxford to Cambridge.

The more I read about this, separate Oxford to Bletchley and Bletchley to Cambridge services appear to have been the normal operation, it was hardly ever a through service while open.  I think the use of the term Varsity Line conjures up some sort of end to end traffic that was more about modern rose tinted hindsight than historically accurate...

Paul

[grahame]

"Meltdown Monday"

The day the rail industry belatedly planned engineering works and scheduled trains ... then within hours of them being due to run changed them again because they find (taken by surprise?) that they don't have the crew available.

Is this a lack of joined up thinking, a false dream of a a great crew room full of staff, incompetence, or planned to let people down in two more gentle steps rather than one big step?

Other Train Service Updates
06:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 11:02
07:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 12:02
08:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 13:02
08:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 13:50
09:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 14:02
09:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 14:50
10:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 15:02
10:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 15:50
11:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 16:02
11:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 16:50
12:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 17:02
12:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 17:51
13:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 18:02
13:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 18:51
14:29 Swansea to London Paddington due 19:02
14:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 19:50
15:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 20:02
15:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 20:50
16:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 21:02
16:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 21:50
17:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 22:02
17:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 22:50
18:24 Swansea to London Paddington due 23:02
18:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 23:50
19:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 00:52
21:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 02:16

In each case

14:57 London Paddington to Swansea due 19:50 will be started from Reading.
It will no longer call at London Paddington.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

and customer advise

Cancellations to services between Swindon and London Paddington
Due to a shortage of train crew between Swindon and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or diverted to and from Reading. London Paddington will not be served. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Customer Advice
It has not been possible to resource sufficient additional road transport to operate between Reading and London due to other replacement road transport commitments. Therefore, the following advice stands for customers travelling to or from London:

Travel towards London Paddington:

A limited, non-stop train service will operate between Swindon and London Paddington. These will principally be services that originated in the West of England, Devon and Cornwall. These services are anticipated to be exceptionally busy; customers are strongly advised to only travel on these services if they already hold a reservation.

The majority of train services originally advertised to operate South Wales - Swindon - London Paddington will be diverted from Swindon and terminate at Reading. They will not serve Oxford or London Paddington.

Upon arrival at Reading customers are advised to travel on the XX05 Reading to Basingstoke service; and change at Basingstoke for South Western Railways' XX43 or XX57 Basingstoke to London Waterloo service.

The journey time from Reading to London Waterloo; including changing trains at Basingstoke is approximately 90 minutes.

South Western Railway have kindly agreed to accept GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) tickets for these journeys.
Cross Country have also kindly agreed to accept GWR tickets for journeys between Reading and Basingstoke.

---

Travel from London Paddington:

A limited, non-stop service will operate between London Paddington and Swindon. These services will principally continue to destinations in the West of England, Devon and Cornwall. These services are anticipated to be exceptionally busy; customers are strongly advised to only travel on these services if they already hold a reservation.

The majority of train services originally advertised to operate London Paddington - Swindon - South Wales will be amended to start from Reading. After the departure of the 07:57 London Paddington to Swansea there will be no direct services from London to South Wales.

Customers travelling from London to South Wales are advised to make their way to London Waterloo and travel on the XX39 South Western Railways' service from London Waterloo to Poole, and change at Basingstoke for the XX36 Great Western Railway service from Basingstoke to Reading; or the XX49 Cross Country service from Basingstoke to Manchester Piccadilly; then change at Reading for onward rail connections to South Wales departing Reading at XX20.

The journey time from London Waterloo to Reading; including change trains at Basingstoke is approximately 80 minutes.

South Western Railway and Cross Country have both kindly agreed to accept GWR tickets for these journeys.

---
Additional Information
Due to high volumes of engineering works across the country; delays have been encountered in the Railway Industry producing timetables for this bank holiday weekend (Saturday 5th to Monday 7th May).

As a result, this has affected Great Western Railway's ability to prepare, plan and run many of the train services initially advertised to run over the weekend. Insufficient train crew are available to meet the demands of the timetable originally planned to run. It has also impacted the quality of information available on some journey planners used by customers.

Customers travelling between Swindon and Reading, and Swindon and London Paddington on Monday should only travel if absolutely necessary. Customers who decide not to travel on these routes will be eligible for a full refund of their fares; and should visit out refunds page for further details.
Further Information
An update will follow within the next 2 hours.
Last Updated:07/05/2018 05:18

[TaplowGreen]

Incompetence gets my vote Graham.

[Timmer]

Why are GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) sending people via Basingstoke and not Reading-Waterloo which is running four services an hour today.

No rugby at Twickenham today.

[grahame]

The more I read about this, separate Oxford to Bletchley and Bletchley to Cambridge services appear to have been the normal operation, it was hardly ever a through service while open.  I think the use of the term Varsity Line conjures up some sort of end to end traffic that was more about modern rose tinted hindsight than historically accurate...

Paul

I can recall a timetable from the latter years of the line showing around 4 services each way per day going through; doesn't sound like many at all, until you look at other service frequencies at around that time - I was looking at Pewsey the other day and that had just two trains each way per day, Barnstaple (and Ilfracombe) were two and three hour gaps, etc.   I do not have a date / reference to hand though (Physical separation from the paperwork this week!) ... will have a look next week / scan and upload if I remember or am reminded!

[bobm]

Why are GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) sending people via Basingstoke and not Reading-Waterloo which is running four services an hour today.

No rugby at Twickenham today.

May be at SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)'s request - they have signalling problems near Twickenham

Due to a signalling problem between Feltham and Clapham Junction fewer trains are able to run on some lines.

What's Going On:
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 5 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 11:00 07/05.

What We're Doing About It:
We have been made aware of a signal failure near St Margarets which has resulted in a signal being out of use. As a result, some trains travelling from Reading towards London Waterloo will be diverted via Hounslow.

As a result, a reduced service will operate between Feltham and Clapham Junction via Richmond. Network Rail, who own and maintain the railway infrastructure, are on site working to rectify the fault. However, until the problem is fixed, trains may be delayed or altered at short notice.


To help you complete your journey, your ticket will be accepted on London Bus services between Feltham and Richmond by any reasonable route.

[SandTEngineer]

..at least its one of those good explanations as to what has gone wrong (again).

[bobm]

What it doesn't say is the signal was showing a single yellow and a green.....

[SandTEngineer]

What it doesn't say is the signal was showing a single yellow and a green.....

Oh, a WSF (Wrong Side Failure).  That will take a few hours to test then.....