New Oxford - Bristol Service Starting Sept 14th 2024

[whole diary]

[grahame]

No ticket checks and at at Oxford the exit gates near the footbridge were open so no revenue check on whole outbound journey.

I can understand your concern at that - but yet is there a need to check tickets on every journey? A random sprinkling of tickets checks should deter unpaid travel and you will find that very much the way it's done across many countries. Because people who will be inclined to try for a free journey don't know which trains / checks will be on, they will tend to minimise the risks they take and pay, anyway, for services on which it turns out there are no checks.  It just "feels" wrong when you buy a ticket and it's never checked.

Another thought / question - was your ticket checked during the return journey?  Noting that (and I'm using Melksham which is my knowledge point) Melksham to Oxford off peak day return is £20.80  and Oxford to Melksham super off peak single is £18.60 - if I manage to defraud the railway on the way up, all I'm saving is £2.20 when I get my ticket to come back - not worth the risk.

I would love to see - I think - stronger but occasional enforcement - however, the complexity of the current fare system that even the staff don't always understand has me worried about enforcing on people who have made a mistake and broken the rules.

[John D]

No was just a sunny day, but our split tickets were mix of off peak day returns and anytime day returns.  So no real control of volumes sold.

Incidently we had to stand Bath-BoA^» (Bradford-on-Avon - next trains) on return because it was just a 3car turbo with people already standing when it arrived at Bath, and was very busy with rugby fans as match had recently ended at Bath.  And yes had one of those pointless counted place reservations that basically get you a bit of standing space.

More a case of weekend leisure journeys can see more passengers when good weather is forecast, but GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) doesn't have sufficient stock to lengthen trains.

[IndustryInsider]

Thought I would give my experience of using the service (early October).  Travelled from Bradford on Avon (change at Bath), ticket split at Chippenham

Bit of scrum at Bath, reservations not working (train manager said not programmed)...
The destination displays also displaying Reading.   Apparently since announcing the service in January haven't yet found time to add the route to train computers !

The latest database update (that included added Melksham to the SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening) station list) included generic headcodes for these services, so if the journey and reservations don't load the destination and calling points should now display and announce properly - provided the Driver or TM^‡(resolve) enters them.

[Mark A]

Thanks. That rather shows how capacity-constrained the railways are, that a one day a week service can be reinstated after a gap of some years and promptly fills standard class in a 5 carriage IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) full and standing. It's dire, the cost of the infrastructure that could be bringing in far more income but there's often not the capacity in the trains or the variety of services to attract and carry an increase in passenger numbers.

Mark

[grahame]

Thanks. That rather shows how capacity-constrained the railways are, that a one day a week service can be reinstated after a gap of some years and promptly fills standard class in a 5 carriage IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) full and standing. It's dire, the cost of the infrastructure that could be bringing in far more income but there's often not the capacity in the trains or the variety of services to attract and carry an increase in passenger numbers.

Mark

The really interesting thing with infrastructure limits is that the running of a 9 car IET rather than a 5 car one, or a 5 car train rather than a 3 car one (BTH^» (Bath Spa - next trains) to BOA) would make very little difference indeed to the number of trains that could pass over the line, or the number of train drivers and train managers needed,   For sure, there aren't enough trains available on lease to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to run full length, there may not be enough siding to park them at night or staff to service them, and I AM aware that a long train has to run at reduced speed for longer when going through junctions and around corners - but it could be done.

[Richard Fairhurst]

Though even SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening) isn’t a panacea - the reason we apparently have never had 2x5 IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) on the Cotswold Line, despite expensive platform lengthening, is platform-end signal siting.

[grahame]

12:03 Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads due 13:12
12:03 Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads due 13:12 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

15:14 Bristol Temple Meads to Oxford due 16:31
15:14 Bristol Temple Meads to Oxford due 16:31 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.