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Author Topic: Maundy Thursday - 29 March 2018  (Read 5016 times)
rogerw
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« Reply #15 on: April 19, 2019, 17:42:21 »

Also  remember that this year Easter falls at the end of the school holidays and people are probably already away.  Last year the reverse was the case.
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« Reply #16 on: April 19, 2019, 19:58:25 »

No posts this year, regarding the big Maundy Thursday getaway and usual overcrowding issues?  I assume it went reasonably well?  Certainly very few shortforms listed on HSS (High Speed Services) services despite the air leak in the Cotswolds this morning reducing the fleet availability. 

Problems look like they have migrated to LNER» (London North Eastern Railway - about) ... Chronicle Live

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LNER 'will not tolerate abuse' as angry bank holiday passengers complain about overcrowded trains

On one of the busiest days on the railway, passengers have been complaining about not being able to get a seat on LNER services
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« Reply #17 on: April 19, 2019, 22:29:34 »

No it hasn’t been a good day on the ECML (East Coast Main Line) with Euston being closed for Engineering work. More on this:
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/uk-travel-news-train-delays-railway-hs2-virgin-london-underground-a8878546.html
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« Reply #18 on: April 20, 2019, 00:14:20 »

TG may be right that many people have decided to go by road (though, to be fair, I saw no real horror stories there either, despite plenty of doom and gloom predictions), but I think 'rogerw' might have provided a more likely reason in how the Easter school holidays have fallen for most of the UK (United Kingdom).  So that, in conjunction with extra capacity, probably provides much of the answer.

I guess we'll know more at the end of the weekend, but let's hope it's a sign that GWR (Great Western Railway) have turned a bit of a corner capacity wise.  Certainly when the HSS (High Speed Services) fleet is being provided as planned there has been quite a seating uplift on previous years when the HST (High Speed Train) fleet was providing the predominant traction.
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« Reply #19 on: April 20, 2019, 14:10:28 »

Yep. Pretty much given up trying to go to Carmarthen by train. The M4 was very busy late Thursday evening so people are heading away.
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« Reply #20 on: April 20, 2019, 20:54:36 »

So, it’s Easter, prime BBQ weather, and the majority of drivers can still opt out of Sunday’s if they so wish.  Tomorrow will be a good test of driver availability and the likelihood of another summer of regular Sunday shortages.
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« Reply #21 on: April 21, 2019, 09:11:09 »

So, it’s Easter, prime BBQ weather, and the majority of drivers can still opt out of Sunday’s if they so wish.  Tomorrow will be a good test of driver availability and the likelihood of another summer of regular Sunday shortages.

Have the pay incentives for Sunday working been improved since last year?
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« Reply #22 on: April 21, 2019, 10:02:52 »

No change to incentives on Sundays since last year.
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« Reply #23 on: April 21, 2019, 15:42:46 »

Very few cancellations today then.  Positive signs that the high summer will be much better than the last few years for crew availability.  Mind you, that might not last into next year when many more Sunday services are planned to run with 'Sunday's in the working week' not expected for drivers until the following December.
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« Reply #24 on: April 21, 2019, 15:55:59 »

Very few cancellations today then.  Positive signs that the high summer will be much better than the last few years for crew availability.  Mind you, that might not last into next year when many more Sunday services are planned to run with 'Sunday's in the working week' not expected for drivers until the following December.

It has to be said ... it depends where you're looking from.   4 out of 13 services at my local station cancelled - that's 30.7% of the service.   Unlucky, or setting the pattern here for another year?

I would agree that - averaged out - it did look much, much, much better than a typical Sunday last year.  Perhaps we should send someone a postcard from Melksham to remind them that cancelling successive services that only runs every 2 hours anyway may be operationally convenient, but it totally kills the day out and gets the train service a really bad name ... pulling one service every 2 hours our of a half hourly service would be far less damaging as people would have alternatives!
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« Reply #25 on: April 21, 2019, 16:25:20 »

Very few cancellations today then.  Positive signs that the high summer will be much better than the last few years for crew availability.  Mind you, that might not last into next year when many more Sunday services are planned to run with 'Sunday's in the working week' not expected for drivers until the following December.

II as someone who has a good inside track, what do you put this down to? This time last year and throughout the summer it was chaos on Sundays - if there's no additional incentive for the drivers to work Sundays this year, it'd be interesting to know why so many more of them appear willing to work?

(…..could it be that GWR (Great Western Railway) have stopped subsidising burgers and sausages for their staff, or has there been an outbreak of vegetarianism in the ranks, with a consequent reduction in BBQs?)  Smiley
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« Reply #26 on: April 21, 2019, 17:44:20 »

I think in the main that it’s due to two things.  Firstly the bulk of the driver traction training for new and cascaded trains is now complete.  More drivers are able to drive more types of train than last year.  Secondly more drivers are generally available as the company has recruited more to be able to cover all the extra trains due to come into being at the end of the year - and with one eye on the extra drivers that will be needed the following December when Sunday shifts should come in to the working week.  Also of course there’s no World Cup.  Wink

Hopefully that’s enough to tip the balance this year, though we should be careful not to think it’ll be plain sailing over the summer, even though today has been most encouraging.

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« Reply #27 on: April 21, 2019, 17:51:23 »

So does this mean that the TransWilts is at the very top of the can list, if its one of very few service groups to still have a significant part of its service yanked out?
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« Reply #28 on: April 21, 2019, 18:26:41 »

Well it depends on which depots are short, but I guess it probably is, just like Greenford, Worcester to Malvern, Severn Beach and others are also more likely to be sacrificed. 

There are arguments for, and against, in that TransWilts services have overlaps at both ends of the route where other services are provided, yet the crucial bit in the middle has none and typically large gaps until the next TransWilts service.
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« Reply #29 on: April 21, 2019, 19:44:54 »

So does this mean that the TransWilts is at the very top of the can list, if its one of very few service groups to still have a significant part of its service yanked out?

Well it depends on which depots are short, but I guess it probably is, just like Greenford, Worcester to Malvern, Severn Beach and others are also more likely to be sacrificed. 

There are arguments for, and against, in that TransWilts services have overlaps at both ends of the route where other services are provided, yet the crucial bit in the middle has none and typically large gaps until the next TransWilts service.

Occasionally, things will go wrong ... and I think people understand that.   It's when the map at the top of these pages comes up with a single blue sponge on the TransWilts and it's not "oh dear what's happened" but rather "on no - not again!" that lead me to post quite strongly this morning.   

We've had years of this ... to the extent that the GWR (Great Western Railway) MD last summer promised to take steps - not to put thing right - but simply to bring the TransWilts (and three other poor performers) up to the general level.

For Sundays ... not sure I "buy" the comparisons, but if I do, let's extend them on passenger effect ...
* Greenford does not run on a Sunday.  No problems.
* Worcester to Malvern - different crews for each service (?) (so not total loss) and there are other operators.
* Severn Beach - two trains on the line cut to 1 - maximum delay 1 hour.
* TransWilts - first train due Melksham 08:26. First train called 12:52 for Swindon - 4 hours and 26 minutes after due.
   - first train due Melksham 09:51. First train called 14:04 for Westbury - 4 hours and 13 minutes after due.
So pulling TransWilts is in a different league in its effect on passengers.

On the normal (5 station) service, there are 10 possible journeys.  True that 2 of them have other direct trains, and more frequent, and we have never counted those in our justification cases.  And half of the other are possible via a Bath Spa dogleg which (sometimes) connects.

Please forgive me finding this a little depressing.  The service was the fastest growing in GWR land, but last year dropped slightly - and that was because service was decimated or totally lost on an extra 55 days over the previous year.  Plenty of growth still to be had - won't put the full case here - but to grow it needs a reliable train service and, yet again, we start seeing what looks like the start again of a repeating pattern.  I really hope it's not.
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