Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 07:35 29 Mar 2024
- Bus plunges off South Africa bridge, killing 45
- Easter getaway begins with flood alerts in place
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
29th Mar (1913)
Foundation of National Union or Railwaymen (*)

Train RunningCancelled
06:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington
07:20 Reading to Gatwick Airport
07:22 Newbury to Bedwyn
07:49 Bedwyn to Newbury
08:13 Newbury to Bedwyn
08:46 Bedwyn to Newbury
09:00 Gatwick Airport to Reading
09:54 Bedwyn to Newbury
10:22 Newbury to Bedwyn
11:29 Newbury to Bedwyn
11:57 Bedwyn to Newbury
12:52 Bedwyn to Newbury
Short Run
04:54 Plymouth to London Paddington
05:23 Hereford to London Paddington
05:33 Plymouth to London Paddington
05:55 Plymouth to London Paddington
06:37 Plymouth to London Paddington
07:03 London Paddington to Paignton
07:24 Exmouth to Paignton
07:38 Bristol Temple Meads to Penzance
07:40 Bristol Temple Meads to Westbury
08:35 Plymouth to London Paddington
10:35 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
12:15 Penzance to London Paddington
Delayed
23:45 London Paddington to Penzance
05:03 Penzance to London Paddington
06:05 Penzance to London Paddington
07:10 Penzance to London Paddington
08:03 London Paddington to Penzance
08:15 Penzance to London Paddington
09:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
09:37 London Paddington to Paignton
10:04 London Paddington to Penzance
11:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 29, 2024, 07:46:32 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[82] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[76] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[74] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
[67] Return of the BRUTE?
[57] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[46] 2024 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: 1 [2]
  Print  
Author Topic: Ramblings on a rover  (Read 3232 times)
rogerw
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1336



View Profile
« Reply #15 on: October 09, 2018, 10:41:44 »

A great start to the final day. My train into Paddington arrived 15 late and I missed my proposed 1000 to Edinburgh by 1 minute. Now travelling north on the 1030. My plan was to travel out via the east coast returning via the west coast. Unless I want to be travelling back by the last train of the day (not really  Sad ) it looks like east coast both ways
Logged

I like to travel.  It lets me feel I'm getting somewhere.
rogerw
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1336



View Profile
« Reply #16 on: October 10, 2018, 08:58:57 »

A quick check of the timetables showed that a return by the west coast was not an option.  The journey north went well as far as Newcastle. Then  the wind struck! A stop at Belford was followed by the news that a speed restriction was in place as far as Berwick due to high winds. A further stop at Berwick followed by further slow running saw us 16 late through Dunbar.  With a 16 minute connection into my preferred southbound service the spectre of the last train home was looming large.  However a helpful dose of recovery time saw us into Edinburgh only 13 late and a quick dash between platforms 2 & 19 (one long platform) saw me on board with less than a minute to spare.  A straightforward trip south with delays caused by the winds recovered by Kings Cross allowed an easy connection into the 2045 from Paddington and home.
When I have the time I will post a full analysis of the week.
Logged

I like to travel.  It lets me feel I'm getting somewhere.
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40691



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #17 on: October 11, 2018, 06:28:24 »

Roger, huge "Thank you" for the log / descriptions;  so useful to have a comparative picture from across the UK (United Kingdom) rather that purely in our own region.   What can you tell us about train loading (though I suspect you'll be giving us a first class view)?  How do on-train announcements, and seat reservation systems, work across the companies?
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
rogerw
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1336



View Profile
« Reply #18 on: October 11, 2018, 21:20:26 »

Loadings in 1st class were mixed although generally as expected with peak workings busier than off peak.  I did not visit standard class except when moving down the train to a more advantageous position towards the end of a journey to make tight connections so cannot comment on loadings.  However on more than one occasion there were announcements on trains telling standing passengers where seats were available. Two of my reservations did not appear, but on the whole reservations seemed to be working well although I did not notice any on GWR (Great Western Railway).  On one TPE (Trans Pennine Express) service the lack of reservations was apologised for with the explanation that the late running of the inbound service did not give time for the reservations to be put in place unless the departure of our service was delayed by 10 minutes. In my view a sound decision.  On board announcements were generally good although there was the annoying mixture of 24 hour and 12 hours clocks on more than one service.  Some quite jovial announcements on TPE where the usual list of things not to leave on the train was extended to include things like your nearest and dearest.
Logged

I like to travel.  It lets me feel I'm getting somewhere.
rogerw
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1336



View Profile
« Reply #19 on: October 11, 2018, 21:47:42 »

Now for the statistics. 
As my intention this year was primarily to sample long distance travel my use was weighted quite heavily in favour of the major operators.  I travelled a distance of 5807 miles with 38 journeys, using 8 TOCs (Train Operating Company).  One journey was cancelled, operated by Hull Trains who seem to be having reliability problems again with their 180s.  The breakdown was GWR (Great Western Railway) (16), LNER» (London North Eastern Railway - about) (11), VT (Virgin Trains - former franchises) (4), GTR & TPE (Trans Pennine Express)(2), ScR & ATW (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC)) (1).  Problems during the week resulted in the number of LNER journeys increasing by 3 and those by VT decreasing by 2 and loss of the HT (Hull Trains) journey and a Northern Trains Journey.  In addition the strike on Northern meant I used 2 less of their trains and another additional LNER train.
Punctuality was generally acceptable with 26 trains arriving on time or up to 5 minutes late (67%), 6 trains 6 - 10 minutes late (15%), 4 trains 10 - 20 minutes late (10%) - 2 GWR, 1 LNER & 1 ATW, and 3 more than 20 minutes late (8%), all LNER.  One of the latter I would have missed had it departed on time as my incoming service was 42 minutes late.  The greatest delay was 62 minutes.  Delay claims have been submitted to LNER (2) and GWR(1) where a 16 minute late arrival at Paddington made me miss my service from Kings Cross and resulted in a 66 minute late arrival in Edinburgh.
Overall, an enjoyable but tiring week with few major issues that could not be worked around.
Logged

I like to travel.  It lets me feel I'm getting somewhere.
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: 1 [2]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page