Chalk & Cheese

[whole diary]

[FGW My Second Home!]

Compare these 2 journeys.

Mon 28th Dec, 10:30 service off Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddingtion. Train manager was polite and courteous throughout journey, very visible checking tickets after each schedule stop. Informative info for connections at Swindon, Didcot Parkway & Reading (our service ran a few minutes early to these stations which allowed customers to make earlier connections all of which were explained by the TM^‡(resolve)). Overall experience was good, just as it should be^

Sat 2nd Jan, 18:00 service off London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads. Departed 10 minutes late due to delay with inbound service. Train Manager apologised but was rather pre-occupied with the large number of Swindon Town  customers on their way home from their FA cup match in London. The service made up some of the time but was further delayed after leaving Chippenham due to a brokendown train at Bath Spa. Arrived 12 minutes after published time of 19:39. Made my way from Platform 15 to Platform 8 for the (recognised) onward connection (19:55) to Taunton, only to find the dispatcher and Conductor closing the doors and sending the train off down the line (despite my shouting to hold the train which caught the attention of the Conductor as he turned to see where the shout had come from). I sought to engage with the train dispatcher as to why hadn^t been able to hold the train for those handful of passengers who were off the late running service. What I got by way of a response was that of a ^typical jobs worth^ all he was interested in was ensuring the local service got off on time. I enquired whether there had been any communication about the late running service and got a rather sheepish answer that he wasn^t interested about that particular service and any customers who might have wanted to continue their journey. I was not alone in wanting to make this connection and the way the other customers were treated was equally sloppy. Overall experience, very poor from a member of staff who quite frankly seemed disinterested.

[devon_metro]

I appreciate this is being very pedantic but the train is actually scheduled to leave at 1953 on Saturdays, your train from London in at 1939. I was under the impression that BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) was a 15 minute connection? Please correct me if i'm wrong.

On advance tickets before we've been scheduled an hours wait at Bristol in the evening from a train from Southampton, despite the fact an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) was due to depart 5 minutes after we arrived. It does seem barmy, luckily we arrived early and it was a nice cross platform interchange for an HST to Yatton.

[JayMac]

BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains). Minimum connection time 10 minutes.

Particularly poor form of the despatcher (coupled with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Control and signallers) not to hold the Taunton service though, if they knew the ETA of the inbound from Paddington.

Looks like a couple of minutes would've made all the difference. No inconvenienced passengers, and importantly no need for compensation from FGW for the hour delay to onward journeys.

Holding the local for just a couple of minutes would also not have made that service officially delayed. On the 1953 ex BRI (Sat) there are no pathing problems at Bristol, Weston, Uphill or Cogload.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Comments, complaints and claims for compensation from FGW^▸ (First Great Western) may be made here: http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/ContactUs.aspx 

[Super Guard]

BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains). Minimum connection time 10 minutes.

Particularly poor form of the despatcher (coupled with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Control and signallers) not to hold the Taunton service though, if they knew the ETA of the inbound from Paddington.

Looks like a couple of minutes would've made all the difference. No inconvenienced passengers, and importantly no need for compensation from FGW for the hour delay to onward journeys.

Holding the local for just a couple of minutes would also not have made that service officially delayed. On the 1953 ex BRI (Sat) there are no pathing problems at Bristol, Weston, Uphill or Cogload.

Have to agree with all of that.  This is what really irks me at times... a bit of common sense and being proactive would have made a World of difference 

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks, Donkey Guard. 

[IndustryInsider]

Particularly poor form of the despatcher (coupled with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Control and signallers) not to hold the Taunton service though, if they knew the ETA of the inbound from Paddington.

Looks like a couple of minutes would've made all the difference. No inconvenienced passengers, and importantly no need for compensation from FGW for the hour delay to onward journeys.

Have to agree with all of that.  This is what really irks me at times... a bit of common sense and being proactive would have made a World of difference 

Here here, gents. An obsession with delay statistics sometimes does more harm than good, and sadly the pressure from line managers not to incur delay minutes for areas under their responsibility, means some new despatch staff seem to be indoctrinated into the 'must blow my whistle 40 seconds before and make sure wheels are moving on time' mode - whatever the circumstances!

[Henry]

 Certainly at Newton Abbot their have been connection issues with the Paignton branch.
  To be fair, some of the workings only have a 4 minute turn around at Paignton, to connect with XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise))/FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Paddington services on their return to Newton Abbot.

 I suppose it is all to easy to 'throw your toys out of the pram' at the platform staff without knowing the facts.

[JayMac]

I don't think the OP^▸ (Original Poster / topic starter) 'threw his toys out of the pram', Henry. Seems quite justified to me to enquire of the desptcher why the local service couldn't've been held.

[Super Guard]

Particularly poor form of the despatcher (coupled with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Control and signallers) not to hold the Taunton service though, if they knew the ETA of the inbound from Paddington.

Looks like a couple of minutes would've made all the difference. No inconvenienced passengers, and importantly no need for compensation from FGW for the hour delay to onward journeys.

Have to agree with all of that.  This is what really irks me at times... a bit of common sense and being proactive would have made a World of difference 

Here here, gents. An obsession with delay statistics sometimes does more harm than good, and sadly the pressure from line managers not to incur delay minutes for areas under their responsibility, means some new despatch staff seem to be indoctrinated into the 'must blow my whistle 40 seconds before and make sure wheels are moving on time' mode - whatever the circumstances!

Although a quick call to West Control to ask them if it was ok to hold the local service for a delayed incoming connection, would have then taken any delay responsibility away from the Station, (assuming there was not another service within an hour, I don't see why they'd say no).

But yes the whole wheels moving on :00 obsession seems to be one of 'the things' at present.

[Chris from Nailsea]

They'll be checking the colour of the socks worn by staff next ... 

[Btline]

I've described a similar incident on these boards before. Except in my case, staff at W'ster F Street announced that a connecting train would be held at Shrub Hill. It was waved off while the stampede of passengers (myself included), who had run over the footbridge to catch it, were a matter of feet away! Most of these passengers (myslef included) went to get a complaint form. The reply was full of lies, a fact that made my blood boil.

It seems that today's railway is not run for the passengers, but for the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company).

[signalandtelegraph]

It seems that today's railway is not run for the passengers, but for the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company).

The TOCs shareholders 

[TrainSpy]

This one always confuses the hell out of me...why oh why do people complain that somehow NOT holding a train - usually full of people killing themselves to get home on time - for a handful of people is bad customer service.

Just. Don't. Get. It.

And crikey - a train leaving at .00 - surely you dont mean on time?? What on earth is the world coming to!

[Super Guard]

This one always confuses the hell out of me...why oh why do people complain that somehow NOT holding a train - usually full of people killing themselves to get home on time - for a handful of people is bad customer service.

Just. Don't. Get. It.

And crikey - a train leaving at .00 - surely you dont mean on time?? What on earth is the world coming to!

Let's be clear this wasn't peak rush hour Friday evening out of London... It was Saturday night, and a group of passengers needing their onward connection held for at most 2 minutes.  As was established there would have been a clear path out of Bristol and enough make-up time over the journey to Taunton to ensure "OT" arrival, not hurting the statistics.

Although i've said there is an obsession with :00 departures, while services should be running on time to the second, the obsession that this should happen, and throwing all other Customer Service out the window I cannot accept - especially when compensation would then be paid to all those late running passengers.

The thing that "irked" me most was that all the dispatcher cared about was "my train leaves on time, end of."  I'm sorry, we are supposed to work as a team "Putting Customers First".  As i've posted previously, one phonecall to Swindon Control to ask, "do we hold the local service for the late HST^▸ (High Speed Train) or send it on time, as there are connecting passengers?" puts the issue to Control.  If they say yes, then Stations can wipe their hands of any delay.  If Control say NO, and BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) hold it anyway, then that's for them to explain, and yes you send the train way on-time.  That said, if the dispatcher has had no communication from the Duty Manager at BRI and likewise nothing from the TM^‡(resolve) of the delayed service from London to say there are connecting passengers, then dispatchers cannot be mindreaders of situations - although as an old dispatcher, I would always check the Arrivals boards knowing what would connect to make sure nothing was late and many times rang Control myself about holding trains as the Duty Manager wouldn't be monitoring the situation.