Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 11:15 29 Mar 2024
* Attempted murder charge after man stabbed on train
* Easter getaway begins with flood alerts in place
* KFC Nigeria sorry after disabled diner refused service
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
09:30 Weymouth to Gloucester
10:55 Bedwyn to Newbury
11:05 Swindon to Westbury
11:29 Newbury to Bedwyn
11:57 Bedwyn to Newbury
12:17 Westbury to Swindon
12:52 Bedwyn to Newbury
13:15 Swindon to Westbury
14:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
14:19 Westbury to Swindon
15:14 Swindon to Westbury
16:23 Westbury to Swindon
16:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
17:36 Swindon to Westbury
18:37 Westbury to Swindon
20:13 Swindon to Westbury
21:16 Westbury to Swindon
22:30 Swindon to Westbury
Short Run
08:35 Plymouth to London Paddington
09:37 London Paddington to Paignton
10:35 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
10:55 Paignton to London Paddington
13:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
13:42 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
13:55 Paignton to London Paddington
Delayed
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
09:10 Penzance to London Paddington
10:00 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads
10:04 London Paddington to Penzance
10:20 Penzance to London Paddington
11:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
12:15 Penzance to London Paddington
13:15 Plymouth to London Paddington
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, 11:26:57 *
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
[132] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[56] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[52] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[51] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
[46] Return of the BRUTE?
[32] 2024 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury...
 
News: A forum for passengers ... with input from rail professionals welcomed too
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1] 2 3
  Print  
Author Topic: GWR line closures this Sunday  (Read 3244 times)
Richard Fairhurst
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1204


View Profile Email
« on: July 29, 2022, 23:05:34 »

GWR (Great Western Railway) have confirmed there will be no service at all on the north (Oxford-Worcester) or south (Swindon-Gloucester) Cotswold lines this Sunday. From https://www.gwr.com/strike:

Quote
Sunday 31 July

Trains will continue to be disrupted. Please make alternative travel arrangements and only travel if absolutely necessary.

There will be no service on the following routes:

Swindon to Gloucester
Oxford to Worcester/Hereford

I don't think I've known this in 20+ years of living on the (North) Cotswold Line - the TOC (Train Operating Company) just deciding to give up providing a service when there's no strike or engineering reason.

I do understand that drivers are going to choose not to work overtime on Sunday given that they have a rare opportunity to enjoy a weekend off. But it's entirely GWR's decision to concentrate cancellations here rather than running (say) a 1tp3h service and chopping a couple of Bristol services as a result. There are no buses to Charlbury on a Sunday, and I'm guessing probably not many from Kingham, Moreton et al either; so if you want to go somewhere, let's hope you have a car.
Logged
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 12334


View Profile Email
« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2022, 23:15:52 »

Also, the lateness of these specific closure notices (overnight last night, the trains were in the journeyplanners yesterday!) means many will have travelled out today for the weekend thinking they’d be at least some sort of service on Sunday to return on!

I’ve asked GWR (Great Western Railway) to allow travel during Monday’s peak AM service so at least people can return straight to work on time on Monday morning without having to pay more for a peak ticket, otgerwise they won’t be working until after lunch, throughno fault of their own.

GWR shouldn’t have waited until Thursday night to ascertain the number of crew available this Sunday, and should have put out a specific warning on Wednesday latest in my view.

ASLEF» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) knew this would likely happen, hence choosing Saturdays. August 13 is a strike day, so expect similar on Sunday 14th too
Logged
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10096


View Profile
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2022, 01:57:47 »

Seems a bit odd to me.  Oxford drivers work half of the North Cotswold Line trains and can’t just throw in their Sunday’s and their daily alterations sheet shows a full allocation of drivers plus a couple on standby.

Unless they are being reallocated Oxford<>Paddington work because there’s no cover from the HSS (High Speed Services) drivers who can throw their Sunday’s in (with 5 days notice)?  But it seems unlikely to me that all of them would, and there’s only half the number of PAD» (Paddington (London) - next trains)<>OXF» (Oxford - next trains) services anyway.
Logged

To view my GWML (Great Western Main Line) Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/
didcotdean
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1424


View Profile
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2022, 12:12:28 »

I heard a GWR (Great Western Railway) spokesperson (not sure who) mentioned the North Cots Sunday closure on Friday morning during an interview on Radio Oxford. Just in passing so easy to miss and the interviewer certainly didn't pick up this as anything odd to follow up.
Logged
jamestheredengine
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 301


View Profile
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2022, 22:33:01 »

GWR (Great Western Railway) have confirmed there will be no service at all on the north (Oxford-Worcester) or south (Swindon-Gloucester) Cotswold lines this Sunday. From https://www.gwr.com/strike:

Quote
Sunday 31 July

Trains will continue to be disrupted. Please make alternative travel arrangements and only travel if absolutely necessary.

There will be no service on the following routes:

Swindon to Gloucester
Oxford to Worcester/Hereford

I don't think I've known this in 20+ years of living on the (North) Cotswold Line - the TOC (Train Operating Company) just deciding to give up providing a service when there's no strike or engineering reason.

I do understand that drivers are going to choose not to work overtime on Sunday given that they have a rare opportunity to enjoy a weekend off. But it's entirely GWR's decision to concentrate cancellations here rather than running (say) a 1tp3h service and chopping a couple of Bristol services as a result. There are no buses to Charlbury on a Sunday, and I'm guessing probably not many from Kingham, Moreton et al either; so if you want to go somewhere, let's hope you have a car.
Why Bristol? It would be much more effective to cancel the relief lines service between Reading and Paddington. After ail, the denizens of Maidenhead keep messing the railway up: let's close their station for a day. They probably have a bus to Slough and a bus from there to Heathrow for the Piccadilly Line.
Logged

TaplowGreen
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7749



View Profile
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2022, 22:42:20 »

GWR (Great Western Railway) have confirmed there will be no service at all on the north (Oxford-Worcester) or south (Swindon-Gloucester) Cotswold lines this Sunday. From https://www.gwr.com/strike:

Quote
Sunday 31 July

Trains will continue to be disrupted. Please make alternative travel arrangements and only travel if absolutely necessary.

There will be no service on the following routes:

Swindon to Gloucester
Oxford to Worcester/Hereford

I don't think I've known this in 20+ years of living on the (North) Cotswold Line - the TOC (Train Operating Company) just deciding to give up providing a service when there's no strike or engineering reason.

I do understand that drivers are going to choose not to work overtime on Sunday given that they have a rare opportunity to enjoy a weekend off. But it's entirely GWR's decision to concentrate cancellations here rather than running (say) a 1tp3h service and chopping a couple of Bristol services as a result. There are no buses to Charlbury on a Sunday, and I'm guessing probably not many from Kingham, Moreton et al either; so if you want to go somewhere, let's hope you have a car.
Why Bristol? It would be much more effective to cancel the relief lines service between Reading and Paddington. After ail, the denizens of Maidenhead keep messing the railway up: let's close their station for a day. They probably have a bus to Slough and a bus from there to Heathrow for the Piccadilly Line.

You could do that.

Wouldn't make an awful lot of difference as we have the Elizabeth Line serving us now, and their drivers have Sundays in the working week so thankfully that nonsense is no longer an issue   Wink
Logged
froome
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 901


View Profile Email
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2022, 22:53:11 »

GWR (Great Western Railway) have confirmed there will be no service at all on the north (Oxford-Worcester) or south (Swindon-Gloucester) Cotswold lines this Sunday. From https://www.gwr.com/strike:

Quote
Sunday 31 July

Trains will continue to be disrupted. Please make alternative travel arrangements and only travel if absolutely necessary.

There will be no service on the following routes:

Swindon to Gloucester
Oxford to Worcester/Hereford

I don't think I've known this in 20+ years of living on the (North) Cotswold Line - the TOC (Train Operating Company) just deciding to give up providing a service when there's no strike or engineering reason.

I do understand that drivers are going to choose not to work overtime on Sunday given that they have a rare opportunity to enjoy a weekend off. But it's entirely GWR's decision to concentrate cancellations here rather than running (say) a 1tp3h service and chopping a couple of Bristol services as a result. There are no buses to Charlbury on a Sunday, and I'm guessing probably not many from Kingham, Moreton et al either; so if you want to go somewhere, let's hope you have a car.

As these are the two lines that cross the Cotswolds, and also passing through some obvious tourist destinations like Oxford, Cheltenham and Stroud, I would imagine they have a particularly high leisure usage, which would suggest a high demand for summer Sunday services.

So this will inconvenience a lot of potential users.
Logged
Electric train
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4356


The future is 25000 Volts AC 750V DC has its place


View Profile
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2022, 07:48:21 »

GWR (Great Western Railway) have confirmed there will be no service at all on the north (Oxford-Worcester) or south (Swindon-Gloucester) Cotswold lines this Sunday. From https://www.gwr.com/strike:

Quote
Sunday 31 July

Trains will continue to be disrupted. Please make alternative travel arrangements and only travel if absolutely necessary.

There will be no service on the following routes:

Swindon to Gloucester
Oxford to Worcester/Hereford

I don't think I've known this in 20+ years of living on the (North) Cotswold Line - the TOC (Train Operating Company) just deciding to give up providing a service when there's no strike or engineering reason.

I do understand that drivers are going to choose not to work overtime on Sunday given that they have a rare opportunity to enjoy a weekend off. But it's entirely GWR's decision to concentrate cancellations here rather than running (say) a 1tp3h service and chopping a couple of Bristol services as a result. There are no buses to Charlbury on a Sunday, and I'm guessing probably not many from Kingham, Moreton et al either; so if you want to go somewhere, let's hope you have a car.
Why Bristol? It would be much more effective to cancel the relief lines service between Reading and Paddington. After ail, the denizens of Maidenhead keep messing the railway up: let's close their station for a day. They probably have a bus to Slough and a bus from there to Heathrow for the Piccadilly Line.

You could do that.

Wouldn't make an awful lot of difference as we have the Elizabeth Line serving us now, and their drivers have Sundays in the working week so thankfully that nonsense is no longer an issue   Wink

At times of perturbation in the Thames Valley it is often the GWR Reading - Padd local services calling at Twyford, Maidenhead etc that get capped with the Elizebeth Line services taking on all the passengers
Logged

Starship just experienced what we call a rapid unscheduled disassembly, or a RUD, during ascent,”
Worcester_Passenger
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1704


View Profile
« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2022, 08:09:06 »

As far as passenger information is concerned, it's a bit of a shambles today (Sunday).

National Rail Enquiries' database (and RealTimeTrains) has no trains operating Oxford - Worcester, but GWR (Great Western Railway) JourneyCheck (and Grahame's map) is reporting no cancellations.

Though Journeycheck is reporting cancellations on Swindon - Gloucester.

Predictably, my other half, who was going to travel back from London tomorrow, now wants to travel today.  Looks like a long wait at Bristol Parkway.

Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40692



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2022, 08:18:05 »

As far as passenger information is concerned, it's a bit of a shambles today (Sunday).

National Rail Enquiries' database (and RealTimeTrains) has no trains operating Oxford - Worcester, but GWR (Great Western Railway) JourneyCheck (and Grahame's map) is reporting no cancellations.

Though Journeycheck is reporting cancellations on Swindon - Gloucester.

Journeycheck and our feed report only short notice changes.  It would appear that GWR canned the North Cotswold service before the cutoff point and the South Cotswold after.  You'll have noticed that our maps aren't a sea of read on rail strike days, even though GWR are failing to provide many services in their published summer timetable and contract.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Worcester_Passenger
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1704


View Profile
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2022, 09:59:21 »

Journeycheck and our feed report only short notice changes.  It would appear that GWR (Great Western Railway) canned the North Cotswold service before the cutoff point and the South Cotswold after.  You'll have noticed that our maps aren't a sea of read on rail strike days, even though GWR are failing to provide many services in their published summer timetable and contract.
You'd think that GWR would be aware of these deadlines, and that they'd post their changes accordingly.

Meanwhile, what does she do I do about 'Delay Repay' on a day when they haven't bothered operating any trains?
Logged
CMRail
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 400


View Profile
« Reply #11 on: July 31, 2022, 10:46:15 »

I do wonder how busy Worcester-Bristol services are today, considering both Worcester-London and Cheltenham/Gloucester-London services are cancelled, as well as people travelling into Wales from Cheltenham/Gloucester due to the line closure preventing XC (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) and TFW services running
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40692



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2022, 12:34:01 »

There IS a thin shuttle running from Swindon to Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa still ... bedlam at Swindon when we arrived from Melksham on the first train since Friday ... an IET (Intercity Express Train) from London had just arrived at Platform 4 and crowds busy making their way to platform 2 - the west end bay along platform 3 as the Westbury train arrived there and turned around for Weymouth.  Lots of luggage and the train services seem thinned out more drastically than the passengers.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10096


View Profile
« Reply #13 on: July 31, 2022, 13:00:19 »

There IS a thin shuttle running from Swindon to Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa still ... bedlam at Swindon when we arrived from Melksham on the first train since Friday ... an IET (Intercity Express Train) from London had just arrived at Platform 4 and crowds busy making their way to platform 2 - the west end bay along platform 3 as the Westbury train arrived there and turned around for Weymouth.  Lots of luggage and the train services seem thinned out more drastically than the passengers.

The Oxford route is struggling to cope with its one train per hour all being 5-cars.  They're the ones that are usually 5-cars on Sundays as they only run between PAD» (Paddington (London) - next trains)<>OXF» (Oxford - next trains), but are backed up by the (mostly) 9-car trains to and from the North Cotswold Line that are all cancelled today. 

Speaking of backing up, Chiltern used to take some of the passengers of course, but they offer a very unattractive weekend service nowadays with most taking 1h 29m to reach Oxford, often in the hands of 75mph Class 165/0 Turbos.

Very poor from GWR (Great Western Railway) on one of their prime tourism routes.  A strange decision to cancel all North Cots. trains anyway, but no reason why 9-car sets couldn't have been provided for all the trains that are running at the very least.
Logged

To view my GWML (Great Western Main Line) Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 12334


View Profile Email
« Reply #14 on: July 31, 2022, 15:26:24 »

The GWR (Great Western Railway) strike page was not long ago, & maybe still is, showing South Cotswolds as all cancelled for the day. Journeycheck however, showed hourly services - so must have been added overnight. So they should have at least updated their strike page too!

Not so good this time GWR
Logged
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 3
  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