Train driver forgot to stop at Didcot Parkway. (BBC News 12/03/2010)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Rail operator First Great Western has apologised to passengers after a train driver forgot to stop at Didcot Parkway on Wednesday night. Dozens of passengers were affected by the mistake which meant they had to wait 30 minutes at Swindon station before returning to Didcot. The company blamed "driver error" but added that the driver was checked after the incident and deemed fit for duty. An investigation into the matter is being carried out.

Christopher Proctor, 37, from Abingdon, was one of the passengers on the 1815 Paddington to Swansea service. He said: "I was surprised when the train went shooting through Didcot Parkway because it's a scheduled stop on the service. It went through at full tilt and then slowed down when I guess the driver realised what they'd done. We heard a pre-recorded message over the Tannoy along the lines of 'could the train manager please contact the driver'. We then had a very sheepish train manager apologise over the Tannoy, citing 'unforeseen circumstances' as the reason for not making the scheduled stop."

Mr Proctor estimated that up to 150 passengers were affected.

A First Great Western spokesman said: "We apologise for any inconvenience caused to customers who wished to get off the train at Didcot.  The incident was down to a driver error and the driver was met at Swindon, where he was checked and deemed fit for duty. We do take this sort of thing seriously and a full investigation will be carried out, which will take up to 28 days to complete."

[Mookiemoo]

Yep - made the five live 2030 news bulletin as well!

As I posted elsewhere

[Btline]

Whilst this is serious, and mustn't happen again, I hope the penalty for the driver isn't too harsh, as it seems like a genuine error.

[devonian]

Been on a XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service that forgot to stop at Dawlish - ok, it wasn't a 30 minute wait at Teignmouth to get a train back but still, surely this sort of thing happens a bit more often than is worthy of headline news?

[Oxman]

It happens regularly. Sometimes because the driver has an incorrect diagram, sometime because the driver misreads the diagram or simply forgets. Usually, its a local stopper, so the inconvenience is minimal. In this case, an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) in the evening peak, the number of passengers affected made it newsworthy, I suppose.

Any driver that misses a stop is met at the next convenient station and his/her diagram and fitness for duty are checked. It doesn't usually directly result in any form of punishment.

[ChrisB]

There was a Meet the Manager at Didcot that day - fortunately (or unfortunately for the passengers), it finished (at 7) before they got back to Didcot.....

[Super Guard]

There was a Meet the Manager at Didcot that day - fortunately (or unfortunately for the passengers), it finished (at 7) before they got back to Didcot.....

Wonder if Amended Diagram was issued to driver.... 

[readytostart]

Had a couple of fail to calls in my FSR^▸ (First Scot Rail) days, taken less seriously than a SPAD^▸ (Signal Passed At Danger) or overshoot, schedule or train lists should detail calling points, or at FSR it was the driver who got a stop list and the guard who had to check the working timetable and jot down the stops. I would personally speak to the driver and mention anything out of the ordinary.
Problem solved now, same stops, every day, every shift, every week! Except my one echo on a Saturday and my half three starter!

[12hoursunday]

Whilst this is serious, and mustn't happen again, I hope the penalty for the driver isn't too harsh, as it seems like a genuine error.

don't speak too soon. Didcot along with Slough are regular failed to call locations for FGW^▸ (First Great Western) HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s. I am really surprised that this incident has made the news seeing as it wasn't the first and won't be the last. There are drivers that have missed statons Slough one of them more than once.

Funny, a driver who approached Didcot on the up main slowly because the signal was on only to max it when it came off made the comment " I wonder why all the punters started moving forward to the edge of the platform!"

[JayMac]

There has been many a comment on other fora about this 'non-story'. It is evident from those in the industry that 'failed to call' happens on more than a few occasions and that drivers aren't punished for doing it - just a check on their fitness for duty at the earliest opportunity. Many comments also express surprise that the story made the news at all.

Inattentiveness leading to a 'failed to call' could just as easily be inattentiveness leading to a SPAD^▸ (Signal Passed At Danger) - a far more serious matter. I believe a FTC should be investigated, at least internally by the drivers employer and a record made of the FTC and the reasons given, with possible disciplinary action should it happen again within a certain timeframe.

And lets not forget the inconvenienced passengers......

[Toiletdriver]

And of course the minor fact that the train concerned was crossed over to 3 at Swindon, an up train was held a few minutes for the delight commuters to get back to Didcot in the quickest time possible.
Any praise for FGW^▸ (First Great Western) control please?

[JayMac]

Nope. Rectifying a situation caused by an innattentive driver doesn't deserve praise. 

Didcot pax were 45 mins later getting home than they should've been.

[devon_metro]

Nope. Rectifying a situation caused by an innattentive driver doesn't deserve praise. 

It does, maybe not to the driver, however control did not cause the driver to miss the stop, so they should be praised for what they did. Otherwise with an attitude like that they might as well let it into platform 4, with the next train to Didcot in Platform 1, meaning the longest walk for passengers...

[JayMac]

"Oops.... missed Diddy. Not to worry, Control'll sort it out for me"

Praising Control for sorting out the balls-up only reinforces the attitude that a missed stop is an acceptable operational occurence. Inattentiveness can kill.....

[IndustryInsider]

"Oops.... missed Diddy. Not to worry, Control'll sort it out for me"

Praising Control for sorting out the balls-up only reinforces the attitude that a missed stop is an acceptable operational occurence. Inattentiveness can kill.....

I think that's a little harsh.  Nobody's suggesting that anything was sorted out, only that a potentially worse outcome was mitigated by the actions from Control.  They should have done something like that, and they did, but I have known many similar situations when nothing has been done.  If, in my driving days, I had missed a stop like that I would have felt a very guilty conscience (not least for putting my on-train colleagues in a very awkward situation), and certainly not that it was anything acceptable.  However, I would have rested a little easier knowing that everything possible had been done to sort out my error.