Cotswold Line - 2018 cancellation and amendments log

[whole diary]

[charles_uk]

According to RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website), the 0511 from Worcester SH was 72 minutes late into PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains). It looks like it was stuck between Twyford and Maidenhead for about 50 minutes, presumably due to the signalling issue which was mentioned on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) JourneyCheck.

The 4:47 Hereford to Paddington service which was already 40 late at Oxford also got further delayed and arrived at Paddington 59 minutes late.

[charles_uk]

A few more of varying degrees of inconvenience:

12:09 Hereford to London Paddington due 15:27 has been previously delayed but is now 30 minutes late from Oxford.
This is due to train crew being delayed by service disruption.

15:14 Hereford to London Paddington due 18:38 will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.
It will no longer call at Hereford, Ledbury, Colwall, Great Malvern, Malvern Link and Worcester Foregate Street.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

15:22 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 17:29 will be terminated at Oxford.
It will no longer call at Reading, Slough and London Paddington.
This is due to a shortage of train drivers.
Last Updated:27/02/2018 15:12

[brcw2]

The 1421 from Paddington ground to a halt just past Wolvercote Junction: broken horn means it's now proceeding at caution and will probably terminate at Moreton-in-Marsh.

[charles_uk]

And today:

04:47 Hereford to London Paddington due 07:52 will no longer call at Didcot Parkway.
It has been delayed between Hereford and Worcester Shrub Hill and is now 24 minutes late.
This is due to earlier engineering works not being finished on time.

and left Oxford 42 late after being held at Charlbury to let the 05:47 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street through the single track first.

07:10 Moreton-in-Marsh to London Paddington due 08:51 will be started from Oxford.
It will no longer call at Moreton-in-Marsh, Kingham, Charlbury and Hanborough.
This is due to engineering works not being finished on time.

Seems GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) doesn't need assistance from the Beast from the East.

[charles_uk]

Appreciating that the weather may well impact upon today's service, for the record:

05:47 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 08:15 was terminated at Evesham.
It will no longer call at Pershore, Worcester Shrub Hill and Worcester Foregate Street.
This is due to a fault on a train in front of this one.

06:53 Worcester Foregate Street to Didcot Parkway due 08:28 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

07:10 Moreton-in-Marsh to London Paddington due 08:51 will be started from Oxford.
It will no longer call at Moreton-in-Marsh, Kingham, Charlbury and Hanborough.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

[grahame]

Appreciating that the weather may well impact upon today's service, for the record:

It's "statistically correct" to continue to collect the data in extreme circumstances - performance targets are set below 100% for the very reason that allowance needs to be made for extraordinary happenings - such as earthquakes at Evesham and blizzards at Blackwater.   But these "couldn't have guessed that" or "should we spend a billion for one day every 10 years" situations are ones where zero finger pointing is in order if the situation gets resolved in a sensible tie.

[charles_uk]

Services certainly taking a battering today. Watching the down services and thinking about getting home later this afternoon, I've picked up on the following:

10:22 London Paddington to Hereford due 13:47 will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.
It will no longer call at London Paddington, Slough, Reading, Oxford, Hanborough, Charlbury, Kingham, Moreton-in-Marsh, Honeybourne, Evesham and Pershore.
This is due to severe weather.

11:22 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 13:44 has been cancelled.
This is due to severe weather.

12:21 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill due 14:38 will be cancelled.
This is due to severe weather.

[Worcester_Passenger]

Well, the snow meant that services on Thursday March 1 and Friday March 2 certainly were taking a battering, as Charles_UK describes.

It might be worth trawling through RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) to establish what actually ran, just as a record of how bad things can be when the snow gets in the way.

And today, Saturday March 3, the whole line is out of action:

Due to severe weather between Oxford and Hereford all lines are blocked.
Train services running through these stations will be cancelled. Disruption is expected until 23:59 03/03.
Customer Advice
Ticket acceptance has been arranged with CrossCountry, Chiltern Railways, Virgin West Coast and West Midlands Railway for customers travelling between Worcester Shrub Hill and Hereford. Customers travelling at intermediate stations between Oxford and Worcester Shrub Hill are advised not to travel, replacement road transport cannot be provided due to the severe weather conditions.
Further Information
An update will follow within the next 5 hours.
Last Updated:03/03/2018 00:10

[Worcester_Passenger]

But things are improving:

Due to severe weather between Oxford and Hereford all lines are blocked.
Train services running through these stations will be cancelled. Disruption is expected until 12:00 03/03.
Customer Advice
Ticket acceptance has been arranged with CrossCountry, Chiltern Railways, Virgin West Coast and West Midlands Railway for customers travelling between Worcester Shrub Hill and Hereford. Customers travelling at intermediate stations between Oxford and Worcester Shrub Hill are advised not to travel, replacement road transport cannot be provided due to the severe weather conditions.
Further Information
An update will follow within the next 5 hours.
Last Updated:03/03/2018 06:41

[charles_uk]

It might be worth trawling through RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) to establish what actually ran, just as a record of how bad things can be when the snow gets in the way.

From what I can tell, the last down service onto the Cotswold Line was yesterday's (2 March) 09:21 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street. GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) had advised that "due to predicted heavy snow the last London - North Cotswolds train will depart at 14:22" but that service was cancelled later on.

[Worcester_Passenger]

Spoke too soon:

Due to severe weather between Oxford and Hereford all lines are blocked.
Train services running through these stations will be cancelled. Disruption is expected until 16:00 03/03.
Customer Advice
Ticket acceptance has been arranged with CrossCountry, Chiltern Railways, Virgin West Coast and West Midlands Railway for customers travelling between Worcester Shrub Hill and Hereford. Customers travelling at intermediate stations between Oxford and Worcester Shrub Hill are advised not to travel, replacement road transport cannot be provided due to the severe weather conditions.
Further Information
An update will follow within the next 5 hours.
Last Updated:03/03/2018 11:42

[IanL]

Still no trains either way in Charlbury today (sunday) so three days now, luckily the roads are open.

A few years ago (2010?) when we had bad snow the train kept running while the roads were closed.

[IndustryInsider]

Still no trains either way in Charlbury today (sunday) so three days now, luckily the roads are open.

A few years ago (2010?) when we had bad snow the train kept running while the roads were closed.

There is planned engineering meaning buses Oxford to Hanborough today, and because sets have been badly displaced there are no Turbos to run the planned service from Hanborough onwards (and no easy way of getting them there due to the engineering blockade), so a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) shuttle service is running instead between Moreton and Worcester using the one train rather than the two that would otherwise have been needed.  I understand some direct Oxford to Moreton buses are running to compensate.

In addition, the line between Colwall and Ledbury is still closed due to snow drifts.

[IanL]

Unfortunately with no trains  towards Oxford the very limited buses are running to Hanborough, thence another bus to Oxford. Add in the weight restriction on the Charlbury bridge and buses are not a good option due to the long way around on minor roads.

[IndustryInsider]

I think that’s why direct Oxford to Moreton buses were running for at least some of the day.