2018 cancellation and amendment log

[whole diary]

[bobm]

Just to complete a miserable working week - the 18:48 left Swindon 37 minutes late on its way to Southampton via Melksham and Westbury.

[grahame]

Looks like no trains Saturday or Sunday ... Saturday was to be trains Westbury to Chippenham and then buses, Sunday was to be buses.  Threat / expectation of poor weather and lack of extra resource to clear junctions to operate points is reason given for the lack of Saturday trains. 

Described on Facebook as follows:

I have been alerted that due to poor forecast weather on Saturday / Sunday, in association with the diversion of all London to Bristol and South Wales trains via Trowbridge, there will be "no service between Westbury and Chippenham tomorrow" as "NR^» (Network Rail - home page) unable to provide staff for points at Thingley junction and Bradford junctions". Message to me late last night, so means no Saturday trains. Slight paraphrasing in my quote.

Suggest check with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) in the morning for travel plans. Buses planned for Sunday anyway - and may be set up for Saturday / in both cases if it's considered safe with the weather. Sorry - very embarrassing; rail industry locally is failing to provide the level of consistent reliable service that it should and falling over with a bit on snow. Discussion for later - this post is to alert potential passengers.

Snowy picture from 2 weeks ago to help promote this post - I really can't put up a picture of a train! TransWilts doing its utmost to press for performance improvement - but we can only seek to persuade and promote improvements - we have no position of enforcement. The last week has been exceptionally difficult - we do look forward to a much better week to come, and based on engineering plans we have some hope that much better will be delivered when trains return on Monday.

Better share the picture too:

[grahame]

05:17 Gloucester to Westbury due 06:53
05:17 Gloucester to Westbury due 06:53 will be cancelled.
This is due to severe weather.

07:04 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 09:05
07:04 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 09:05 will be cancelled.
This is due to severe weather.

07:33 Westbury to Swindon due 08:19
07:33 Westbury to Swindon due 08:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to severe weather.

08:49 Swindon to Westbury due 09:42
08:49 Swindon to Westbury due 09:42 will be cancelled.
This is due to severe weather.

[TaplowGreen]

Alterations to services between Swindon and Westbury
Due to severe weather between Swindon and Westbury the line towards Melksham is closed.
Train services running through these stations have been suspended. Melksham will not be served. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

[grahame]

Alterations to services between Swindon and Westbury
Due to severe weather between Swindon and Westbury the line towards Melksham is closed.
Train services running through these stations have been suspended. Melksham will not be served. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Customer Advice
If you are travelling between Trowbridge and Chippenham, your ticket is valid via Bath Spa.

THANK YOU, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) ... (see "Frequent Poster" thread ... really bad practise when this doesn't happen when trains not running to the biannual printed timetable and people are surcharged!)

And if you're going using the intermediate station at Melksham, bus service x34 is running - though it does not go anywhere near the station in Chippenham after the first coupld of inbound buses until the 15:15 outbound.   Goodness only knows about fare acceptance or about buses from GWR.

[grahame]

After some suggestions that trains would resume with the 09:48 off Westbury .. it appears not. Cancelled
09:48 ex WSB^» (Westbury - next trains)
10:47 ex SWI^» (Swindon - next trains)
11:47 ex WSB
12:47 ex SWI
according to Journey check.

On the ground reports of confusion as to what's happening from Trowbridge!

[grahame]

After some suggestions that trains would resume with the 09:48 off Westbury .. it appears not. Cancelled
09:48 ex WSB^» (Westbury - next trains)
10:47 ex SWI^» (Swindon - next trains)
11:47 ex WSB
12:47 ex SWI
according to Journey check.

On the ground reports of confusion as to what's happening from Trowbridge!

Delays to services at Westbury
Due to a fault with the signalling system at Westbury some lines are blocked.
Train services running through this station may be delayed by up to 60 minutes. Disruption is expected until 12:00 19/03.
Further Information
An update will follow within the next 2 hours.
Last Updated:19/03/2018 10:12

and

Alterations to services between Swindon and Westbury
Due to severe weather between Swindon and Westbury the line towards Melksham is closed.
Train services running through these stations have been suspended. Melksham will not be served. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Customer Advice
Limited road transport is in operation. If you are travelling between Trowbridge and Chippenham, your ticket is valid via Bath Spa.
Further Information
An update will follow within the next 2 hours.
Last Updated:19/03/2018 09:58

and 12:20, 13:29, 14:04, 15:18, 16:21 and 17:36 all cancelled.    First trains of the day - 18:32 from Westbury and 18:48 from Swindon? 

[grahame]

First trains of the day - 18:32 from Westbury and 18:48 from Swindon? 

Nope - the 18:48 from Swindon (that's the 17:41 from Cheltenham Spa) now reported

17:41 Cheltenham Spa to Westbury due 19:30
17:41 Cheltenham Spa to Westbury due 19:30 will be cancelled.
This is due to severe weather.

In better news, the freight loops at Hullavington (near Chippenham on the Swindon to Parkway line) are back in use, so the better weather is coming our way!

[grahame]

Sings - "When will I see you trains again ...."

I had planned to be on the 06:36 from Melksham tomorrow (Tuesday) morning ... headed for an appointment in Swansea at 10:00.  Phone call to check to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) ... "that train is currently showing as cancelled due to severe weather. If the weather improves overnight it might be re-instated".  Gobsmacked.

I asked about alternatives ... apparently their may be a bus, but the connecting train at Trowbridge won't be held.

Suggestion I call again - "we're here from 6 O'Clock in the morning" ...

Final whips of snow here are melting away ... road traffic is normal ...

For regular travellers, I'm told that at least one of the morning trains going the other way - up to Swindon - is expected to run according to the data that S** - who's based in Cheshire - has on her system.

[grahame]

Tonight ...

18:32 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
18:32 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21 has been cancelled.
This is due to severe weather.

[phile]

Tonight ...

18:32 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
18:32 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21 has been cancelled.
This is due to severe weather.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Twitter told somebody at approx 1730 that it was hoped that services would soon resume, so it appears the snowdrifts blocking the line between Thingley Junction and Bradford Jcn are still there

[grahame]

Full service back on 20th March - to my knowledge all 18 trains ran for the 3rd day this month.

15 on the 06:46 when it arrived into Trowbridge  (15/5)
15 on the 20:06 when it left Swindon (16/7)

Two sub-standard loadings

I suspect the 06:36 off Melksham was quiet because no-one knew if it was running ... even late the previous evening, "GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)" in Cheshire told of bad weather and to check with them when they came on duty at 6 a.m.

And the 20:06 off Swindon may have been missing a few connecting passengers ... although the 20:00 Bristol was expected at 20:03 on the board pictured, you can't believe everything you read ... Real Time Trains gives an eventual time for it of 20:33

Impassioned plea from customers  to me (as community rail person) - "We rely on the TransWilts trains ... can you DO something".   Well - I am trying; I'm understanding some of the issues that GWR have, but in school report form i would have to be "often put the effort in, but sometimes could do better - and a little more effort could make them do a lot better. But they're not dealt the easiest hand either".

[grahame]

22nd March 2018

Train Cancellations
12:20 Westbury to Swindon due 13:03
13:29 Swindon to Westbury due 14:12

13:29 Swindon to Westbury due 14:12 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.
Further Information
Passengers for Westbury should travel via Bath Spa.

[bobm]

Both now re-instated.

[grahame]

12:20 Westbury to Swindon due 13:03
12:20 Westbury to Swindon due 13:03 will be reinstated and will now run as scheduled.

13:29 Swindon to Westbury due 14:12
13:29 Swindon to Westbury due 14:12 will be reinstated and will now run as scheduled.

Found a driver - thank you