Chaos 30/10/2007.

[whole diary]

[martyjon]

Line problem in the Pangbourne area.

Train services between Reading and Didcot Parkway are being disrupted due to over-running engineering works in the Pangbourne area.Engineers are working as fast as possible to restore services to normal. Short notice alterations, cancellations and delays of up to 30 minutes can be expected.

Direct train services between London Paddington and Cardiff Central are suspended in both directions, customers travelling to/from Cardiff Central are advised to travel on the direct train services between London Paddington and Swansea in both directions. Customers travelling from Cholsey, Goring & Streatley, Pangbourne and Tilehust are advised to start journies at Reading or Didcot Parkway. Replacement road transport is in operation between Pangbourne and Reading in both directions.


Service incidents

07:52 Oxford to London Paddington due 09:12
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Cholsey, Goring & Streatley, Pangbourne and Tilehurst.This is due to over-running engineering works.


08:55 Oxford to London Paddington due 10:30
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Pangbourne.This is due to over-running engineering works.


08:22 Oxford to London Paddington due 10:00
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Cholsey, Goring & Streatley, Pangbourne and Tilehurst.This is due to over-running engineering works.


09:00 London Paddington to Oxford due 10:28
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Tilehurst, Pangbourne, Goring & Streatley and Cholsey.This is due to over-running engineering works.


08:30 London Paddington to Oxford due 10:02
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Pangbourne.This is due to over-running engineering works.


07:28 Banbury to London Paddington due 09:46
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Pangbourne.This is due to over-running engineering works.


07:23 Oxford to London Paddington due 09:11
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Pangbourne.This is due to over-running engineering works.


06:44 Banbury to London Paddington due 08:59
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Pangbourne.


06:33 Oxford to London Paddington due 08:29
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Cholsey, Goring & Streatley, Pangbourne and Tilehurst.This is due to over-running engineering works.


06:17 Oxford to London Paddington due 08:10
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Pangbourne.This is due to over-running engineering works.


07:00 London Paddington to Oxford due 08:41
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Tilehurst, Pangbourne, Goring & Streatley and Cholsey.This is due to over-running engineering works.


06:50 London Paddington to Oxford due 07:46
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Slough and Reading.This is due to over-running engineering works.


07:48 London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa due 10:03
This train will be started from Swindon.It will no longer call at: London Paddington and Reading.This is due to over-running engineering works.


06:30 London Paddington to Oxford due 08:14
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Pangbourne.This is due to safety checks having been made earlier.


06:00 London Paddington to Oxford due 07:31
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Tilehurst, Pangbourne, Goring & Streatley and Cholsey.This is due to over-running engineering works.


05:06 Oxford to London Paddington due 06:44
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Pangbourne.This is due to over-running engineering works.


07:15 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington due 09:26
This train will be terminated at Swindon.It will no longer call at: Reading and London Paddington.This is due to over-running engineering works.


10:00 London Paddington to Paignton due 13:45
This train has been diverted.It will no longer call at: Didcot Parkway, Swindon and Chippenham.This is due to over-running engineering works.


09:00 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 10:47
This train has been diverted.It will no longer call at: Didcot Parkway, Swindon and Chippenham.This is due to over-running engineering works.


07:38 Paignton to London Paddington due 11:41
This train has been diverted.It will no longer call at: Chippenham and Swindon.This is due to over-running engineering works.


08:00 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 09:46
This train has been diverted.It will no longer call at: Didcot Parkway, Swindon and Chippenham.This is due to over-running engineering works.


09:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 10:41
This train has been diverted.It will no longer call at: Chippenham and Swindon.This is due to over-running engineering works.


07:00 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 08:46
This train has been diverted.It will no longer call at: Didcot Parkway, Swindon and Chippenham.This is due to over-running engineering works.


05:22 Plymouth to London Paddington due 09:41
This train has been diverted.It will no longer call at: Chippenham and Swindon.This is due to over-running engineering works.


07:10 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 08:55
This train has been diverted.It will no longer call at: Bristol Parkway, Swindon and Didcot Parkway.This is due to over-running engineering works.


06:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 07:41
This train has been diverted.It will no longer call at: Chippenham and Swindon.This is due to over-running engineering works.


07:30 London Paddington to Oxford due 09:14
This train has been cancelled.This is due to over-running engineering works.


08:00 London Paddington to Oxford due 09:28
This train has been cancelled.This is due to over-running engineering works.


06:02 Oxford to London Paddington due 07:40
This train has been cancelled.This is due to over-running engineering works.


07:33 Oxford to London Paddington due 08:29
This train has been cancelled.This is due to over-running engineering works.


I make that 30 services disrupted.

Note the alterations to the 0710 BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) - PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains), should be plenty of seats on this service today for passengers from Reading, that'll calm down the passengers from Oxford and stations between there and Reading.

[Jim]

Guess the work was onthe slow lines then

[Timmer]

Must be a major over run as they are diverting services via the Berks and Hants long into the morning. Yes its a long list of alterations but would be longer if they included the cancelled London-Cardiff services.

[martyjon]

Guess the work was onthe slow lines then

WAS and still is.

[Timmer]

Guess the work was onthe slow lines then

WAS and still is.

And its a major overrun according to National Rail alterations page also affecting Virgin XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) services:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_bulletins/today.html
Overrunning engineering work in the Pangbourne area, between Didcot Parkway and Reading
 
Last Updated: 07:16
Route Affected: Oxford / Swindon, Didcot Parkway, Reading & London Paddington
TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)/s Affected: First Great Western, Virgin Trains
Description: Services between Didcot Parkway and Reading are being disrupted due to overrunning engineering work in the Pangbourne area.

Trains between Cardiff Central and London Paddington departing at xx:55 and between London Paddington and Cardiff Central departing at xx:15 will not run.

Trains between Taunton / Bath Spa / Bristol and London Paddington will be diverted and not call at Chippenham, Swindon or Didcot Parkway.

No trains will call at Pangbourne - a replacement bus service will operate between Pangbourne and Reading.

All other services are subject to cancellation and delay.

The disruption is expected to last until at least 12:00.
Updates: 06:18 Virgin Trains services from Birmingham that are scheduled to terminate at Reading will terminate at Oxford. All other Virgin Trains services will call at Reading as normal but will be subject to delay.
 

[martyjon]

Virgin services scheduled to terminate at Reading are terminating / starting back at Oxford, other VXC^▸ (Virgin Cross Country - former franchise) going through with delays.

Bring out the Fat Controller.

[Jim]

Now 47 updates on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) site

[martyjon]

Now 47 updates on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) site

I thought TONIGHT was the night for all the Ghosts and Gouls to be out.

[Lee]

Now 47 updates on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) site

I thought TONIGHT was the night for all the Ghosts and Gouls to be out.

Two quotes which lead us nicely on to the latest Economy Klaus offering.....
http://firstlatewestern.blogspot.com/2007/10/halloween-world-record-for-first-great.html

[devon_metro]

You mention on the slow lines, but the 0738 from paignton certainly doesn't use the slow lines after Didcot!

[martyjon]

You mention on the slow lines, but the 0738 from paignton certainly doesn't use the slow lines after Didcot!

The fast lines were needed to run the services that normally use the slow lines.

This was a saving grace for FGW^▸ (First Great Western) in this mornings chaos, FGW didnt have to report of so many train cancellations ;-

due to a crew member being unavailable
due to a fault on the train which cannot be fixed
due to a delay on a previous journey

This is one day when blame can be attributed to Network Rail, Lock, Stock and Barrel.

[Lee]

Bath Chronicle article (link below.)
http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=163490&command=displayContent&sourceNode=163316&contentPK=18833928&folderPk=89126&pNodeId=163047

[Timmer]

All in all it looks like FGW^▸ (First Great Western) did a pretty good job in managing this small crisis which was not of their making. What a change from previous times when things have gone wrong and chaos rained. It was almost if the customer didnt matter but that seems to have changed since Andrew Haines took over.

[Jim]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) did IMO^▸ (in my opinion) cope well

[martyjon]

As members will probably have guessed from my posts, I AM a fierce critic of FGW^▸ (First Great Western) but I must admit that their handling of the situation yesterday was exemplorary. This was in no small part due to the decision to suspend the Paddington - Cardiff services so that a number of HST^▸ (High Speed Train) sets were available to be stepped up and the extra crews that were thus available by this decision to keep the services running in the face of a barrage of late running inbound services.

It all goes to prove that trying to run a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) with barely sufficient stock to cover the committed services is a bit of a poisoned chalice.

Whilst not wishing for the incident to be repeated, it was fortunate that for passengers from the West there was a diversionary route but what if the situation had occured between Westbury and Bathampton Junction or Westbury and Wilton Junction. At the particular time of the day many coach proprietors would have been unable to provide road replacement transport due to commitments to provide school transport.

The previous watch did appear to be 'penny pinching' but what of the future. IF FGW does not make sufficient profits to pay the preminum payments to the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) and their contribution to the general profits of First Group as a whole for the shareholders to be paid the stated dividend growth, it will be the passenger that will eventually have to pay through higher fares because I cant see the board reversing their stated dividend policy, lose too much face.