2022 - TransWilts cancellations and amendments log

[whole diary]

[Mark A]

The driver of the vehicle died. Police appealing for information.

https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/news/2022/05/fatal-collision-in-standerwick-under-investigaton/

[Gaz]

First trip to the office for 26 months today, took the 9am from Chippenham to Trowbridge, planned to get the 12:23 back but guess what, cancelled, somethings never change! So, off to Bath Spa and the Paddington service to Chippenham.

[grahame]

15:05 Westbury to Swindon due 15:49
16:03 Swindon to Westbury due 16:44

16:03 Swindon to Westbury due 16:44 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

Yesterday - at least 3 trains through Melksham cancelled or show as such - we suspect one may have been re-instead. Another 25 minutes late having come up "delayed" on the platform with no indication of how long for, then displaying "no trains are expected at this platform" before going back.

A call on the help button to ask about alternatives to the 13:30 to Westbury told us to wait for the 15:37 and there was no alternate transport being arranged.

But that was the old timetable - senior GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) management have advised me that it IS worth marketing thins like day trips to Weymouth as from the new timetable starting today; issues have been largely resolved and it should now be alright with resources released and retrained, for example.

I look at today's maps for GWR as a whole and note a whole load of cancellations but TransWilts (all be it with the first service as a bus) and the Heart of Wessex AOK.    Do forum members feel that our problems on these line are fixed as from now, in spite of what look like significant issues elsewhere?

[IndustryInsider]

Do forum members feel that our problems on these line are fixed as from now, in spite of what look like significant issues elsewhere?

What's your definition of 'fixed'?

[grahame]

Do forum members feel that our problems on these line are fixed as from now, in spite of what look like significant issues elsewhere?

What's your definition of 'fixed'?

90% reliability of trips to Weymouth was the line we drew in our request for advice as to whether we should market to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).  In other words, if people from Melksham want a day out in Weymouth, the trains or bus alternative should run and connect as per the timetable on 9 days out of 10. If a journey is a bit late (no problem with up to perhaps 30 minutes late at destination) that's understood - these things happen and it's not a failure.

[IndustryInsider]

It’ll be interesting to see if that reasonable target can be achieved this year.  I wouldn’t like to bet on either way to be honest.

[grahame]

08:11 Warminster to Swindon due 09:07

08:11 Warminster to Swindon due 09:07 has been delayed at Warminster and is now 35 minutes late.
This is due to engineering works not being finished on time.

[grahame]

Anyone from Swindon, Chippenham or Melksham headed for a day out in Weymouth - lovely day ...

The 09:14 from Swindon left very late.  It called at Melksham at 10:13 (33 minutes late) and got to Westbury at 10:29 - which was a bit unfortunate because the Weymouth train had left five minutes earlier, and there isn't another one until 12:28 - so instead of arriving in Weymouth before lunch, day trippers won't be there until two in the afternoon.

Before planning the marketing of Saturday and Sunday trips this summer, I asked GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) if they anticipated 90% of day trips to be good ones - all trains running, and passengers arriving in both directions within half an hour of timetable.  Looks like a failure on the very first Sunday train - root cause looks like "overrunning engineering works" at Warminster so that's OK for GWR - they can attribute to Network Rail.

[GBM]

Anyone from Swindon, Chippenham or Melksham headed for a day out in Weymouth - lovely day ...

The 09:14 from Swindon left very late.  It called at Melksham at 10:13 (33 minutes late) and got to Westbury at 10:29 - which was a bit unfortunate because the Weymouth train had left five minutes earlier, and there isn't another one until 12:28 - so instead of arriving in Weymouth before lunch, day trippers won't be there until two in the afternoon.

Before planning the marketing of Saturday and Sunday trips this summer, I asked GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) if they anticipated 90% of day trips to be good ones - all trains running, and passengers arriving in both directions within half an hour of timetable.  Looks like a failure on the very first Sunday train - root cause looks like "overrunning engineering works" at Warminster so that's OK for GWR - they can attribute to Network Rail.

Surely the Weymouth train could have been held to ensure a connection if GWR were serious about "A grand day out"!

[TaplowGreen]

20:24 Westbury to Swindon due 21:06

21:25 Swindon to Westbury due 22:05

Cancelled due to a shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

Surely the Weymouth train could have been held to ensure a connection if GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) were serious about "A grand day out"!

I would have hoped so ... hard to tell from Real Time Trains but the ongoing service to Weymouth appears to have had odd bits of slack here and there in its timing.  Without being there, hard to know if it needed those tiny bits for passenger duty or was waiting time. A service passed at Maiden Newton coming the other way, but really it's another frustrating near miss at Westbury.

[grahame]

08:45 Swindon to Westbury due 09:26
08:45 Swindon to Westbury due 09:26 will be diverted from Chippenham.
It will no longer call at Melksham.
This is due to a late running freight train.

Jeeze - I'm picking up tickets at the station and using this to connect all though south ... looking for "Plan B".   Nothing on Journeycheck to tell me what to do.

[grahame]

08:45 Swindon to Westbury due 09:26
08:45 Swindon to Westbury due 09:26 will be diverted from Chippenham.
It will no longer call at Melksham.
This is due to a late running freight train.

Jeeze - I'm picking up tickets at the station and using this to connect all though south ... looking for "Plan B".   Nothing on Journeycheck to tell me what to do.

Phone call to National Rail Enquires ... will be calling me back about alternative arrangements - hopefully before I have to make a decision and leave home.   Complexity of the tickets to pick up at the TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine).  Chap on phone asked me if anyone else was planning to catch that train - well, there normally are but how the ** would I know?

[Mark A]

That's poor. It would be informative to have contact from passengers intending to make that connection and who were let down by the train not being held.

Mark