New Timetable

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

South Western's new timetable acknowledging that current demand for SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) services passenger continues to remain below the network’s available capacity.

"In the last six months, overall customer numbers have stabilised at around 69 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with peak travel at only 53 per cent" - must be creating a huge hole in the finances.


https://onthewight.com/south-western-railway-announce-new-winter-timetable/

[Surrey 455]

Unfortunately they have halved the number of trains via Epsom since pre-pandemic so the trains that run now are a lot busier than they used to be, and they reduced the number of carriages from ten to eight.

[grahame]

I note:

London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour (via Eastleigh) services call at Farnborough and Fleet in the PM peak providing three trains per hour to these stations
Improved distribution of services of fast services from London to Twickenham, Feltham, Staines
Improved distribution of services from London to Portsmouth in the off-peak. Giving faster journey times to London from Liss and Liphook

My understanding is that a number of SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) services were chopped for / during Covid, leaving an uneven and gappy service - I recall instances of a couple of trains in the hour, but close together and then a long gap.  "Improved distribution" strikes me as evening this out - making the reduced service more palatable but permanent.    The extra calls at Fleet and Farnborough will (of course) slow those services for people passing through that part of Hampshire ...

[grahame]

I note:

London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour (via Eastleigh) services call at Farnborough and Fleet in the PM peak providing three trains per hour to these stations
Improved distribution of services of fast services from London to Twickenham, Feltham, Staines
Improved distribution of services from London to Portsmouth in the off-peak. Giving faster journey times to London from Liss and Liphook

My understanding is that a number of SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) services were chopped for / during Covid, leaving an uneven and gappy service - I recall instances of a couple of trains in the hour, but close together and then a long gap.  "Improved distribution" strikes me as evening this out - making the reduced service more palatable but permanent.    The extra calls at Fleet and Farnborough will (of course) slow those services for people passing through that part of Hampshire ...

Taking a look at SALISBURY, I note that SWR are still providing just one train an hour to Waterloo, not the two they had hoped to provide from the timetable change, and that they may have had a look at improving the connection from the Bristol direction to London - sure, they may have had a look but as far as I can see there's still a 50 minute wait eastbound and a 58 minute wait westbound, so they haven' actually changed anything.

[Clan Line]

................ so they haven' actually changed anything.

'fraid they have.....  The 0748 through service to WAT via WSB^» (Westbury - next trains) & WMN^» (Warminster - next trains) has vanished and the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) website shows that a change is now required on the 1148, which I don't think is correct. The National Rail website still shows this as a through service, which the timings appear to confirm.  BUT ..........  the really useful through service from WAT to WMN & WSB at 0750 remains 

[Mark A]

Ugh, so they have. Loss of the 06:58am from Bath connecting at Westbury into a 7:40 from Westbury into Waterloo at 9:53. In it's place, a 7:35am departure from Bath arriving Waterloo at 10:28 - it's actually a little faster, but involves changing twice on the way and you've lost that morning time.

Oh well, it's the 6:09 from Bath, changing at Salisbury. Or rather, it's not as while that actually gets you to Waterloo before 9 the arrival time means that it's not one to which advance ticket sales are allocated.

Having said that, SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)'s advance ticket allocation horizon and availability are more obscure than some TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company). I can't think why, given the ongoing covid hit and that money for many people is a lot tighter, their business is recovering so poorly, though it might just possibly be that it's a lot more expensive to travel with them than it was pre-covid.

Mark

[WSW Frome]

I am not sure all the gloom expressed above is fully justified. If one looks at Realtime Trains for January (OK still provisional?) most/all of the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) via FRO^» (Frome - next trains)/WSB^» (Westbury - next trains) services remain. I have not been through these one by one and some now seem to be BSK^▸ (Brake Standard Corridor (carriage)) terminators or starters which could even be an "improvement?" The through WAT services are still shown to join/divide at SAL.

The 06.39 BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) to 07.27 WSB, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) service is also shown which connects into the through WAT service. So not quite so grim!

[Mark A]

Ah, so it is, as you say, a small amount of gloom lifted. Considerable gloom still surrounds any services returning in the evening, mind, and even more surrounds the plight of Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon.

Having settled on 15th December to test the timetable, the 7:40 from Westbury to Waterloo is not running that week, which led me to think that in the new timetable it had ceased to run for good.

(Save that it goes awol from the timetable itself, not sure how passengers discover that a train isn't running on a particular date as, checking SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)'s web site for the euphemistic 'Planned improvements', this doesn't feature)

Mark

[IndustryInsider]

Taking a look at SALISBURY, I note that SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) are still providing just one train an hour to Waterloo, not the two they had hoped to provide from the timetable change…

Largely returning to a 2tph service from this December’s timetable change.

[bradshaw]

More details here

https://www.southwesternrailway.com/other/news-and-media/news/2023/october/south-western-railway-improves-west-of-england-timetable-with-more-direct-services

. South Western Railway’s new timetable comes into effect on Sunday 10 December, with more West of England services extended to and from London the following day
Recovery in customer numbers sees weekday services that once terminated at or started from Basingstoke restored to direct services
Two trains per hour are restored between Andover, Salisbury and London Waterloo along with direct, off-peak services between Overton, Whitchurch, Grateley and London Waterloo
Customers as far as Exeter and Yeovil will also benefit from improvements
SOUTH Western Railway’s (SWR^» (South Western Railway - about)) December 2023 timetable will increase the number of direct, weekday services to and from London Waterloo on the West of England Line.

Direct services on the line that connects London Waterloo with Salisbury, Yeovil Junction and Exeter St Davids were reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those reductions almost halved the number of direct, off-peak services between London Waterloo, Andover and Salisbury, while customers travelling off-peak from London Waterloo to Overton, Whitchurch and Grateley must currently change at Basingstoke and wait up to 30 minutes for an onward connection.

However, following an increase in customer numbers, SWR is introducing a new timetable from Sunday 10 December that will see ten services on the West of England Line extended to and from London Waterloo on weekdays.

There will be more services to Basingstoke while Salisbury and Andover will once again see two trains per hour to and from London Waterloo, with off-peak direct services restored to Overton, Whitchurch and Grateley.

Two services will be extended to London Waterloo from East Devon, providing customers between Honiton and Basingstoke with two, and customers between Exeter and Honiton with one, additional direct service to the capital.

Customers travelling to Yeovil will also see an uplift in direct services. SWR is the only operator to provide direct services between London and the Somerset town, and customers will soon have three extended, direct services to Yeovil Junction, and two to Yeovil Pen Mill, per weekday.

Timetable changes for services to London Waterloo from:

Honiton at 0620, calling at all stations to Basingstoke and additionally at Woking, arriving at London Waterloo at 0918
Exeter St Davids at 0641, calling at all stations to Basingstoke and additionally at Woking and Clapham Junction, arriving at London Waterloo at 1020
Gillingham (Dorset) at 0918 and 1618, calling at all stations to Basingstoke and additionally at Woking
Salisbury at 1047, 1147, 1247, 1347, 1747 and 2052*, calling at all stations to Basingstoke and additionally at Woking
Timetable changes for services from London Waterloo to:

Yeovil Junction at 0950 (via Westbury) and 1550, calling at all stations from Basingstoke to Salisbury and additionally at Clapham Junction and Woking
Salisbury at 1050, 1150, 1250, 1450 and 2250, calling at all stations from Basingstoke to Salisbury and additionally at Clapham Junction and Woking
The 1438 Basingstoke to Gillingham will start at London Waterloo at 1350 and terminate at Salisbury at 1520, calling additionally at Clapham Junction and Woking
Yeovil Pen Mill at 1851
Salisbury at 1950, calling at all stations from Basingstoke to Salisbury and additionally at Clapham Junction

[grahame]

For those of us looking to travel from West Wilts to Waterloo without having to spend an age in Salisbury it looks like

Arrive at :35 (on the train from Cardiff) and leave on the :47 to London
Arrive at :05 (on the local from Bristol) and leave on the :21 to London (the express from Exeter)

Arrive at :20 on the slower train from London and leave on the :42 toward Cardiff
Arrive at :47 on the express from London and leave on the :07 (on the local to Bristol)

Some trains running some hours only

[IndustryInsider]

For those of us looking to travel from West Wilts to Waterloo without having to spend an age in Salisbury it looks like

Arrive at :35 (on the train from Cardiff) and leave on the :47 to London
Arrive at :05 (on the local from Bristol) and leave on the :21 to London (the express from Exeter)

Arrive at :20 on the slower train from London and leave on the :42 toward Cardiff
Arrive at :47 on the express from London and leave on the :07 (on the local to Bristol)

The 'express' from London usually arrives at :44, and the difference between the 'express' and the 'slower' trains is only around 7 minutes coming from Waterloo, and only a couple of minutes heading into Waterloo.  I'd probably describe both as 'Semi-Fasts'.

I guess you could summarise that connections towards London are pretty much perfect (allowing for defensive scheduling, mobility issues, luggage etc.), but less so on the way back?

[grahame]

I guess you could summarise that connections towards London are pretty much perfect (allowing for defensive scheduling, mobility issues, luggage etc.), but less so on the way back?

I would almost go further and say "remarkably good all round, considering the randomness with which I suspect they have appeared". Not withstanding that you lose around 40% of your passengers if you make them change in the middle of a journey / loose the power of the through service, and I suspect this flow is far more prone to that issue than most