South Wales local services - Pembroke, Fishguard, Swanline, etc.

[whole diary]

[Jez]

I travelled on the Cardiff Bay line today and it was a pacer (142). Is the 121 out of service again already, or perhaps because it was a busy Saturday they decided to put a pacer on for extra capacity? Seemed to be a lot of pacers in use today in the Cardiff/Valleys area as well as the daytime swanline/pembroke dock and the daytime fishguard.

The 1455 from Swansea-Cardiff (Manchester) which i caught up to Cardiff was a 158 - is this one booked 158 as it almost always seems to be on a Saturday.

[anthony215]

yes i think the 14:55 is now booked for a class 158.

the 15:00 from Swansea to Carmarthen/Milford Haven has a habbit of a class 158 turning up on it at times.

noted yesterday a class 142 & 153 working in multiple on the Ebbw Vale - Cardiff route. ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) had a few problems yesterday with at least 2 of their class 150's i know 1 was booked to work the 17:20 Cardiff - Holyhead service not too sure what was wrong with it but 1 of teh engines did not seem to be too healthy. I left the station before it left but i read online last night that   a class 150 was taken off 1 of the ebbw vale diagrams to work the 17:20 Cardiff to Holyhead with the other set being sent back to Canton.

[phile]

142 + 153 combination booked 18 35 cardiff to Ebbw Vale Saturdays.    142 was off 17 17 ex Treherbert as booked but working vice 150.    153 booked on this off 17 10 Swansea Swanline

[Jez]

It was the 1155 Swansea-Manchester that was a 158 yesterday, not sure about the 1455. Also one of the swanlines was a pacer, i think that might be booked on a Saturday now.

What is running Pembroke Dock these days - both Weekdays and Saturdays? Are all diagrams 2 car, either pacers, 150s or 2x153's on both weekdays and weekends for the summer?

[phile]

14 55 Swansea Saturdays booked 158.  Swanline booked Pacer Sats.     Pembroke Docks High Summer 2 x 153, and 2 Pacers.

[Jez]

Thanks.

2 x 150s on the extra train from Cardiff to Builth Road.

[anthony215]

Thanks.

2 x 150s on the extra train from Cardiff to Builth Road.

Pitys its not a loco hauled train.

[paul7575]

Is that in the alternative railway which is run with no regard to cost for the benefit of trainspotters? 

Paul

[phile]

I do not know what took place today but usually the normal Heart of Wales trains are worked by 150 + 153 to strengthen in place of just the Dogbox

[JayMac]

Is that in the alternative railway which is run with no regard to cost for the benefit of trainspotters? 

Paul

This is Wales we're talking about. Where they already run one loco-hauled vanity service with no regard to cost. 

[paul7575]

Ah yes - the special service for the wives and girlfriends...

Paul

[Rhydgaled]

Is that in the alternative railway which is run with no regard to cost for the benefit of trainspotters? 

Paul

Surely it would be for the benefit of passengers too, not just trainspotters. With a shortage of rolling stock anyway, putting several 150s onto the HOWL would likely result in services normally being 150s instead being formed of a 153 or Pacer. Strengthing one area has knock on impacts elsewhere unless the stock used for the strengthening isn't normally used, eg. Arriva's non-premeir LHCS^▸ (Locomotive Hauled Coaching Stock). It can't be all that expensive to use LHCS on the HOWL extras, they've done it before.

[anthony215]

And the WAG^» (Welsh Assembly Government - about) is paying all that money for the trains, surely they should make sure they get value for their money.

Hopefully whoever gets  the next welsh franchise will get a long enough term so that they will be more willing to invest in new rolling stock.

[animationmilo]

Whats been on pembrokes and down this area this week

[Hafren]

It's been high summer for a couple of weeks, so strengthening on weekdays as well as weekends. When I've passed the 6.42 CDF^» (Cardiff - next trains)-PMD it's been a single Pacer (normally 2x 15x, was 2x Pacer for high summer last year) - so I wonder what is being used to form the 9.00ish CMN-SWA^» (Swansea - next trains), which is usually detached from it at Carmarthen.

The 153s seem to have been doing unusual things. On a couple of occasions there's been a 153 sitting at Swansea around 7am. One day there was a pair of them running empty through Bridgend around 8am - not sure what it would have been doing! Yesterday 153s were used on Cheltenham-Maesteg, at least in the evening. I would guess that when resources are stretched by summer strengthening, there is more ad hoc use of units.

Last Saturday the 16.30ish from Pembroke Dock was 2x153, and the other 2 diagrams were Pacers. A few weeks ago the 16.xx was a 150, so a good sign that only 2 Pacers are booked; all 3 Saturday diagrams were Pacers all summer last year.

Slight hitch on the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) recently! The platforms at Tenby are at the Carmarthen end of the loop. So a down HST will stop past the end of the platform, with the rear 6 cars platformed (C-F in normal formation), so that it is clear of the points and token section. Sometimes they stop short first, to drop off bikes, and then draw forward before releasing the doors. Yesterday it was announced that A&B wouldn't be platformed, with nothing about stopping for bikes first, and then it stopped with the power car at the end of the platform, i.e. with A-F platformed. The TM^‡(resolve), who was at the doors between B & C, got off and spoke to the driver as he walked up, with a lot of pointing towards the stop board, but people just got off and they left it in that position, with first class off the platform. People who had queued up to move up to coach C must have been confused to see their coaches fully platformed!

Are there still problems with 175 availability? For a couple of weeks the first Milford-Manchester was regularly short-formed, making it a bit 'cosy' by the time it reaches Cardiff just before 9am! Monday before last it was a 2 car with no reservation labels, and being around the start of the holidays, there were several families going to Blackpool, who were unable to find their reserved seats. One person in particular was ranting quite a lot about not being able to take the right ("guaranteed") seats... even though he and his family had found seats, albeit with the baby on the mother's knee. He was going on about having to sit like that for the next 4 hours; it never seemed to occur to him that a lot of people might get off quite soon, given that the train arrives at Cardiff just before 9am!

The conductor came through later on, and responded well to his complaint. He ended up turfing people out of unlabelled reserved seats so the groups could sit together, and managed to keep everyone calm despite the crowding and certain people being potentially a bit difficult, so good service there where he could have just done nothing. Fortunately after that 3 car sets were used every day for almost a week... until last Monday, when it was a 2 car again, but fortunately with reservations marked. (I've no idea since then as I've moved back to the 7.28...)

One thing that strikes me is that there are not often announcements to explain short formations. On a 150 on Cardiff-Portsmouth recently, people were tutting about the silliness of providing a 2 car train on such a busy journey. Perhaps the conductor could have pointed out that it wasn't booked for 2 cars, with the 150 being a substitute, and they're quite lucky that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) found a replacement set at all - short form is better than cancellation!