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Author Topic: Shortage of rolling stock since September 2017 - ongoing problems, and subsequent discussion  (Read 58286 times)
BBM
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« Reply #45 on: October 13, 2017, 11:21:54 »

For some reason all Heathrow Connects this morning are cancelled 'due to more repairs than usual', something wrong with the class 360s?

A post on the RailUKforums site is saying that a 'significant' number of HC and HEx units suffered pantograph damage yesterday:

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/heathrow-connect-suspended-all-day-13-10-17.155764/#post-3157299
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janes
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« Reply #46 on: October 19, 2017, 22:50:49 »

The last two stoppers from Reading to Oxford are cancelled YET AGAIN tonight! No coherent excuses seem to be being proffered for this outrage.

This continuing level of (non) service is totally unacceptable! The last trains to anywhere should NEVER be the ones to be cancelled, let alone the last TWO trains.

Now got to try and persuade the Reading station staff to call taxis yet again... last time this happened, they ordered 6 but only 3 arrived and we had to wait half an hour! Sometimes they don't even call taxis at all.

With all the money we pay for our season tickets, I expect to receive the service I have paid for (i.e. not to get home at 2am when I had intended to get home at midnight!)
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NickB
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« Reply #47 on: October 20, 2017, 07:17:57 »

As previously mentioned, if GWR (Great Western Railway) don't get this debacle sorted before the Christmas Party silly season there is likely to be a substantial increase in 'public order' offences at Paddington and other hotspots for their staff and BTP (British Transport Police) to deal with.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #48 on: October 20, 2017, 09:49:40 »

I believe that all available drivers are on standby to push the new 800 series whenever they break down which is restricting availability 😉
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NickB
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« Reply #49 on: October 20, 2017, 11:11:37 »

I believe that all available drivers are on standby to push the new 800 series whenever they break down which is restricting availability 😉

Push by hand?   Wink

I think that I saw this on Thomas The Tank Engine once when Gordon got stuck.
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janes
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« Reply #50 on: October 20, 2017, 15:26:27 »

To update you - I arrived at Reading at midnight to find I was no longer eligible for a taxi because these had only been provided at 11:40 to replace the first cancelled train (which, as I pointed out, was the one I had planned to have been on had it not been cancelled from London.... hence why I had had to wait for the next one!)

A replacement bus was provided at 00:45 hours (which was NOT showing on the information screens and was NOT being announced over the tannoy to coincide with the arrival of services from PAD» (Paddington (London) - next trains) containing displaced passengers (finally was announced after managed to obtain assistance from 2 friendly members of staff).

Hence there weren't very many of us on it (many were not prepared to wait, and paid for taxis themselves).

Arrived home at 01:15am (an improvement on last time at least.)

So my questions are:

Why were these services cancelled in the first place?
Why was the replacement bus not showing on the screens?
Why were Reading managers not waiting for each arrival (fast or stopper) from PAD to meet us on the platfiorm and advise us what was happening?
Why were there no timely tannoy announcements (i.e. before people got fed up and left)?
Why did we have to actively go and search for staff to help us when managers surely already knew (from previous occasions this had happened) that people would be needing assistance?

GRRR!!!!
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John R
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« Reply #51 on: October 20, 2017, 15:34:10 »

To update you - I arrived at Reading at midnight to find I was no longer eligible for a taxi because these had only been provided at 11:40 to replace the first cancelled train (which, as I pointed out, was the one I had planned to have been on had it not been cancelled from London.... hence why I had had to wait for the next one!)

Whilst the whole sorry saga is totally unacceptable, that point stands out as deliberately going out of their way to make life difficult for passengers.
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WelshBluebird
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« Reply #52 on: October 20, 2017, 15:54:09 »

Why were there no timely tannoy announcements (i.e. before people got fed up and left)?

Specifically regarding tannoy announcements, not sure if what the situation is at Reading but when I complained to a member of staff at Bristol Temple Meads about the lack of tannoy announcements later at night (though this was only 11.15pm) I was told "what do you expect at this time of night" as apparently there are not enough staff on duty at that time to have someone actively "man" the annoy.
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froome
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« Reply #53 on: October 20, 2017, 16:02:55 »

Why were there no timely tannoy announcements (i.e. before people got fed up and left)?

Specifically regarding tannoy announcements, not sure if what the situation is at Reading but when I complained to a member of staff at Bristol Temple Meads about the lack of tannoy announcements later at night (though this was only 11.15pm) I was told "what do you expect at this time of night" as apparently there are not enough staff on duty at that time to have someone actively "man" the annoy.

Your typo is very relevant to the thread!  Undecided

At Temple Meads I'm not sure which is worse, that they have no announcements when they would be so helpful late at night, or having two or more announcements at the same time, as often happens during the day, which ensures you can't hear either properly.
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broadgage
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« Reply #54 on: October 20, 2017, 16:11:26 »


-----

So my questions are:

Why were these services cancelled in the first place?
Why was the replacement bus not showing on the screens?
Why were Reading managers not waiting for each arrival (fast or stopper) from PAD» (Paddington (London) - next trains) to meet us on the platfiorm and advise us what was happening?
Why were there no timely tannoy announcements (i.e. before people got fed up and left)?
Why did we have to actively go and search for staff to help us when managers surely already knew (from previous occasions this had happened) that people would be needing assistance?
GRRR!!!!

IMHO (in my humble opinion), the services are cancelled due to lack of basic competence in engaging enough staff. I doubt that lack of rolling stock is the problem late at night when the service is less intensive.
Replacement bus not advertised because it would encourage people to use it, and expect buses in future.
Managers at Reading, and elsewhere tend to hide at times of disruption.
No announcements, because again it would encourage future demand for buses.
I believe that there is a policy to minimise provision of buses and taxis due to the expense, and the extra staff time taken up in arranging same.
Best to do nothing if possible, and if not possible to do nothing, then do as little as possible as late and as slowly as possible, and DO NOT advertise it.
With a bit of luck the wretched passengers will give up asking.

But never mind it will all get much better when the new trains arrive Smiley
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A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
Timmer
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« Reply #55 on: October 20, 2017, 17:21:45 »

A warm welcome to the forum janes. Disappointed to read about the poor service that you are having to put up with trains out of Reading late at night. Sadly this is nothing new with regards to these last late night trains with this having been discussed elsewhere on this forum before. Apologies I am unable to find it right now.

I would suggest writing to GWR (Great Western Railway) to get compensation and to let them know about the poor level of service experienced.

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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #56 on: October 20, 2017, 17:52:29 »

A warm welcome to the forum janes. Disappointed to read about the poor service that you are having to put up with trains out of Reading late at night. Sadly this is nothing new with regards to these last late night trains with this having been discussed elsewhere on this forum before. Apologies I am unable to find it right now.

I would suggest writing to GWR (Great Western Railway) to get compensation and to let them know about the poor level of service experienced.



If I were you janes I'd email Hopwood direct, his address is pretty easy to find......cc it to a newspaper too & you'll get a far quicker response than using the bog standard GWR address, most likely you'll wait months for a cut/paste reply that way (if at all)........it comes under GWR's odd concept of Customer Service, along with your experience at Reading!
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Adelante_CCT
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« Reply #57 on: October 20, 2017, 18:13:14 »

Quote
GRRR!!!!

Perhaps that should be GWRRRR!!!
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janes
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« Reply #58 on: October 20, 2017, 18:18:26 »

Thanks or the sympathy guys!

BTW (by the way) I'm not actually a "newbie", rather a "returnee", as I gave up on the forum a while back due to login issues (which now seem to have been resolved during my absence Smiley).

I just want to emphasise that I have no criticism at all of the staff who did eventually assist us last night (and on the previous occasion) who could not have been more helpful - my issues are with the invisible management and complete absence of joined-up thinking! (& this was not by a long chalk the worst case of the latter I have experienced in similar circumstances!)

Re the tannoy - the excuse I was given was that they did not want to announce it until the bus had actually arrived (presumably in case it went AWOL (Absent Without Leave).... like 3 of the taxis did last time!).....

Interestingly the bus driver seemed to think he may need to pick up passengers at the intermediate stations to Oxford - surely it is highly unlikely that anyone would be waiting for a bus they did not know existed at a time much later that the advertised train departure that they would have been intending to catch!
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stuving
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« Reply #59 on: October 20, 2017, 18:34:35 »

Why were these services cancelled in the first place?

The official listed reason (on Real Time Trains) for the first cancellation, the 23:45 ex Reading, was "an issue with the train crew (TG)." I believe TG encodes "[a]waiting driver".

For the second cancellation, the 00:27 ex Reading, the reason listed is "a delay not investigated (OU)." While that's unhelpful, the code does explicitly label it as Network's Rail's responsibility.
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