2023 Delays and Cancellations

[whole diary]

[Witham Bobby]

Some delays yesterday because a van struck a barrier at the Bruern level crossing (between Ascott-under-Wychwood and Kingham).  I was on the 1053 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill which was held-up for six minutes whilst the driver was being instructed to pass AW200 (the Bruern home signal) at danger.  According to the train manager on our train, this process was taking up to 15 minutes earlier in the morning

[charles_uk]

There were various issues with the early morning services yesterday (6 September) due to a track defect.

Realtime Trains suggests that both the 05:14 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington and 05:23 Hereford to Paddington services were sent via Swindon (the latter certainly didn't run along the North Cotswolds line) meaning the 06:43 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington was the first train of the day. Fortunately, it wasn't a short formation!

Adding to the confusion, the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and National Rail apps weren't showing the progress of the services. The 06:43 WOS^» (Worcester Shrub Hill - next trains):PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)'s first sign of life on Realtime Trains was after it departed Charlbury 8 minutes late.

[Witham Bobby]

Seems to me the will on the part of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to run trains to and from Hereford is hanging by a thread.  The timetable says one thing, but reality day-to-day is often very different

11:52 London Paddington to Hereford due 14:41 will be terminated at Worcester Shrub Hill.
It will no longer call at Worcester Foregate Street, Malvern Link, Great Malvern, Colwall, Ledbury and Hereford.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

15:18 Hereford to London Paddington due 18:29 will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.
It will no longer call at Hereford, Ledbury, Colwall, Great Malvern, Malvern Link and Worcester Foregate Street.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[Richard Fairhurst]

5-coach IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) on the Oxfordshire Halts stopper this morning. Admittedly I haven’t caught this train for ages but I wasn’t expecting that!

Looks like the Hereford and Malvern starters both started short at Shrub Hill though…

[Witham Bobby]

Looks like 2E77 0510 Oxford to Worcester Shrub Hill has been replaced the last two mornings by 5E80 0543 Oxford Up Carriage Siding to Worcester Shrub Hill.  GThe latter was on-time leaving the sidings this morning, and substantially late thereafter.  I can't image too many potential passengers will have been inconvenienced

[Worcester_Passenger]

Looks like 2E77 0510 Oxford to Worcester Shrub Hill has been replaced the last two mornings by 5E80 0543 Oxford Up Carriage Siding to Worcester Shrub Hill.  GThe latter was on-time leaving the sidings this morning, and substantially late thereafter.  I can't image too many potential passengers will have been inconvenienced

It is described on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) as

This service was cancelled due to the planned cancellation (was not planned to operate) (PD).

[Witham Bobby]

A very sad event has led to ...

1W31 and corresponding 1P42 return being caped

15:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 18:26 will be cancelled.
This is due to a person hit by a train earlier.
Last Updated:13/09/2023 15:28

19:05 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 21:24 will be cancelled.
This is due to a person hit by a train earlier.
Last Updated:13/09/2023 15:28

[Worcester_Passenger]

From JourneyCheck:

08:51 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 11:14 has been cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Last Updated:14/09/2023 09:01

11:57 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 14:22 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Last Updated:14/09/2023 09:01

[Worcester_Passenger]

From JourneyCheck:

13:16 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 15:22 has been cancelled.
This is due to a safety inspection of the track.
Last Updated:18/09/2023 13:18

13:18 Hereford to London Paddington due 16:22 will be diverted between Worcester Shrub Hill and Reading.
It will no longer call at Worcestershire Parkway Hl, Pershore, Evesham, Honeybourne, Moreton-In-Marsh, Kingham, Charlbury, Hanborough and Oxford but will call additionally at Cheltenham Spa and Didcot Parkway.
It will be delayed at Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to a safety inspection of the track.
Last Updated:18/09/2023 14:12

Other delays being flagged up.

[Worcester_Passenger]

15:17 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 17:24 was started from Worcester Shrub Hill and will be terminated at Reading.
It will no longer call at Worcester Foregate Street and London Paddington.
It has been delayed at Worcester Shrub Hill and is now 55 minutes late.
This is due to a safety inspection of the track earlier today.
Last Updated:18/09/2023 16:26

17:57 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 20:07 will be started from Reading.
It will no longer call at London Paddington.
This is due to a safety inspection of the track earlier today.
Last Updated:18/09/2023 16:26

[Worcester_Passenger]

Cancellations to services between Worcester Shrub Hill and Oxford
Due to a safety inspection of the track between Honeybourne and Moreton-In-Marsh the line towards Oxford is blocked. Disruption is expected until 19:45 18/09.
Train services between Worcester Shrub Hill and Oxford may be cancelled.

Customer Advice
We're sorry for the delay to your journey.

There is a fault affecting the Oxford bound track between Honeybourne and Moreton-in-Marsh. Network Rail have staff on site who are working to repair it. Until this is done, we cannot run trains between Worcester Shrub Hill and Oxford. A limited service may be able to operate between Moreton-in-Marsh and Oxford.

Last Updated:18/09/2023 19:32
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16:32 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 19:29 will be diverted between Evesham and Reading and terminated at Reading.
It has been delayed at Evesham and is now 105 minutes late.
This is due to a safety inspection of the track.
Last Updated:18/09/2023 19:43

17:26 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 19:54 will be terminated at Worcester Shrub Hill.
It will no longer call at Worcestershire Parkway Hl, Pershore, Evesham, Honeybourne, Moreton-In-Marsh, Kingham, Shipton, Charlbury, Oxford, Didcot Parkway, Reading and London Paddington.
This is due to a safety inspection of the track.
Last Updated:18/09/2023 17:45

18:02 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 20:30 will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill and diverted between Worcester Shrub Hill and Reading.
It is being delayed at Worcester Shrub Hill.
This is due to a safety inspection of the track.
Last Updated:18/09/2023 18:10

19:05 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 21:24 will be started from Worcester Foregate Street and diverted between Worcester Shrub Hill and Reading.
It will be delayed at Worcester Foregate Street.
This is due to a safety inspection of the track.
Last Updated:18/09/2023 19:18

[Worcester_Passenger]

Yesterday's problems with the track between Honeybourne and Moreton-in-Marsh affected Oxford-bound trains:

1P30 13:16 Shrub Hill - Paddington : cancelled throughout
1P04 13:18 Hereford - Paddington : diverted via Stroud
1P34 15:17 Foregate Street - Paddington : started from Shrub Hill 53 late. Cancelled after arriving at Reading 63 late.
1P05 15:18 Hereford - Paddington : 21 late by Moreton, arrived Paddington 11 late.
1P38 16:32 Great Malvern - Paddington : started 25 late, arrived Evesham 21 late and then reversed so as to divert via Stroud. Cancelled after arriving Reading 152 late.
1P39 17:26 Foregate Street - Paddington : cancelled after arriving at Worcestershire Parkway 18 late.
1P40 18:02 Foregate Street - Paddington : started from Shrub Hill 24 late. Diverted via Stroud.
1P42 19:05 Great Malvern - Paddington : started from Foregate Street and diverted via Stroud.
1P44 19:45 Great Malvern - Paddington : started from Shrub Hill 26 late. Diverted via Stroud.
1P46 20:56 Foregate Street - Paddington : cancelled after Shrub Hill and ran empty to Paddington via Stroud.
1P06 22:00 Hereford - Paddington : ran normally.

JourneyCheck did not mention rail replacement buses.
No trains ran from Evesham towards Oxford from 16:47 to 23:12.
A couple of down trains were turned round at Moreton so as to maintain London-bound services at 18:49 and 19:08.

[Worcester_Passenger]

Alterations to services between Worcester Shrub Hill and Great Malvern
Due to urgent repairs to the railway at Worcester Foregate Street fewer trains are able to run. Disruption is expected until 10:45 20/09.
Train services between Worcester Shrub Hill and Great Malvern will be revised. Worcester Foregate Street will not be served.

Additional Information
We've been advised that due to safety concerns over the structure of a stairwell, platform 1 at Worcester Foregate Street station has had to be closed. Trains to/from Great Malvern or Hereford are still able to run however, but not calling at Worcester Foregate Street.
We apologise for the disruption to your journey today.

Last Updated:20/09/2023 10:21

[Worcester_Passenger]

05:23 Hereford to London Paddington due 08:24 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Last Updated:26/09/2023 00:29

[Witham Bobby]

15:23 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 17:47 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.
Last Updated:27/09/2023 14:56

18:02 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 20:30 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.
Last Updated:27/09/2023 14:56