London to The West - arrangements from 11th May 2021

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time at London Paddington fewer trains are able to run on all lines. Disruption is expected until the end of the day on 11/05/21.

Train services between London Paddington and Plymouth via Taunton and Exeter St Davids have been cancelled or revised. Pewsey will not be served.
Customer Advice
.
Whilst Pewsey railway station will not be served by any train services, road transport will operate between Pewsey and Newbury.
.
With effect from Tuesday 11th May 2021 - CUSTOMERS INTENDING TO MAKE LONG DISTANCE JOURNEYS ON THIS ROUTE ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO CONSIDER DEFRRING THEIR JOURNEY UNTIL A LATER DATE. CUSTOMERS WHO DO INTEND TO TRAVEL LONG DISTANCES ON THE ROUTE SHOULD BE AWARE THAT MOST JOURNEY TIMES WILL BE CONSIDERABLY EXTENDED, AS THOSE SERVICES THAT DO OPERATE ARE LIKELY TO BE EXCEPTIONALLY BUSY, CONNECTIONS CANNOT BE GUARANTEED AND IT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE TO COMPLETE LATE NIGHT JOURNEYS AT ALL AS A RESULT.
.
We have had to adapt many of our High Speed service timetables into a series of separate shuttle services. This has been done to ensure that we are able to advertise and operate a limited but robust service using the resources that we have available to us. As a result, certain journeys which were previously through services will now require one or more changes of train to cover the same journey which may make them unattractive to those with large amounts of luggage or to anyone with mobility problems.
.
All of the through train services between London Paddington / Reading and Taunton / Exeter St Davids / Plymouth / Penzance, in both directions, have been withdrawn (a few of these services will operate between Plymouth and Penzance only utilising other carriages).
.
The local train services in Devon and Cornwall are not affected and will continue to operate as scheduled; it is only the through services to / from London Paddington which have been withdrawn.
.
CrossCountry train services between Bristol Parkway / Bristol Temple Meads and Taunton / Exeter St Davids / Plymouth / Penzance will continue to operate as normal and GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) ticket holders may use these services. However, there are no through train services between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads or Bristol Parkway so to connect into those services from London Paddington will require at least one other change of train.
.
South Western Railway (SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)) do offer a service to and from Exeter St Davids on which GWR tickets will be accepted. Whilst this would afford a connection at Exeter St Davids into / out of train services to destinations in Devon and Cornwall there are currently NO through services between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids as an amended (Covid) timetable is in operation on that route so SWR services to / from Exeter St Davids only operate as far as Salisbury where connecting trains are available to London Waterloo, Westbury, Southampton, Portsmouth, etc. so that route may afford some journey options for those customers who would otherwise have used GWR services and changed at Westbury.
.
In addition to the revised train service arrangements GWR ticket holders may utilise the following First Kernow local bus routes, should they assist with individual journeys -
Route A17 Penzance - St Erth / St Ives
Route T1 Penzance - St Erth / Hayle / Camborne / Redruth / Truro
Route T2 St Ives - Carbis Bay Hayle Camborne Redruth Truro
Route 27 Truro - St Austell
Route 87 Truro - Newquay
Route 91 Truro Newquay
Route U1 Truro - Penryn - Falmouth
Route U2 Redruth - Penryn - Falmouth

[TonyK]

RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) shows that CrossCountry is operating:
1Z14 leaving Plymouth at 0534, arrive Swindon 0909
1M41 leaving Paignton 1014 arrive Swindon 1239
1V59 leaving Swindon 1630 arrive Paignton 1952
1Z33 leaving Swindon1930 arrive Plymouth 2236

all via Bristol Temple meads

So Devon isn't completely cut off.

[grahame]

RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) shows that CrossCountry is operating:
1Z14 leaving Plymouth at 0534, arrive Swindon 0909
1M41 leaving Paignton 1014 arrive Swindon 1239
1V59 leaving Swindon 1630 arrive Paignton 1952
1Z33 leaving Swindon1930 arrive Plymouth 2236

all via Bristol Temple meads

So Devon isn't completely cut off.

Also other CrossCountry services to Bristol, and GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Bristol/Cardiff - Exeter/Paignton/Plymouth/Cornwalls.

[Jamsdad]

And the Penzance sleeper is still running so not ALL though Paddinton-Cornwall trains have been withdrawn.

[grahame]

From JourneyCheck

Friday 14 May
.
An hourly service will run between London Paddington and Plymouth.
.
Local trains in Devon and Cornwall are not affected and will continue to run as normal.
.
CrossCountry trains between Bristol Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads, Taunton, Exeter St Davids, Plymouth, and Penzance will continue to run as normal. GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) customers can use these services.
.
South Western Railway (SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)) run trains to/from Exeter St Davids and London Waterloo station which GWR customers can use.
Replacement road transport services are conveying passengers between Pewsey and Newbury in both directions until further notice.

South Western Railway are conveying passengers between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids in both directions until further notice.

London Underground are conveying passengers between London Paddington and London Waterloo in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for Great Western Railway rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.

[grahame]

Saturday 15th May 2021

Most GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) long distance services between London Paddington and Penzance via Exeter St Davids & Plymouth are expected to operate

[Sleepy]

Friday 28th May almost all services from Paddington to the West are showing online as fully booked. What arrangements are GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) putting in place for those that turn up without a reservation eg. purchased walk up tickets from TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) / on board another TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) en route to Paddington ?

[broadgage]

I doubt that any specific arrangements have been made.
Advising people to book, and then later announcing that most trains are fully booked, is primarily to manage expectations and handle complaints.

Customer ---------"I had to stand for hours"
GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)----------------"our trains are very busy at holiday times and we therefore recommend booking, accommodation for passengers without bookings will be limited"

[ChrisB]

I suspect that where reservations are possible, the booking engine/ticket office are required to offer a reservation or say 'sold out' for any such service. Advances are only available 6 weeks out at the moment.