Great Western Coffee Shop

All across the Great Western territory => Across the West => Topic started by: grahame on August 12, 2026, 17:41:26



Title: Hot weather - changes for 13th August 2026
Post by: grahame on August 12, 2026, 17:41:26
Sharing for GWR and Network Rail

Quote
Ahead of tomorrow's (Thursday 13 August) anticipated hot weather and the accompanying amber weather warning, our teams are working together to ensure the vast majority of planned services operate as usual. We are advising customers to check before they travel and carry water, and we're very grateful for their patience and understanding during this period.

We are also planning some reductions in service to help minimise further disruption and reduce the stress on rail infrastructure in the extreme heat. This includes:
* In the Thames Valley, we anticipate changes to our stopping services between London and Reading/Didcot Parkway, with trains not calling at Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford.
* Services between Truro and Falmouth will be reduced to hourly from half-hourly.
* The Okehampton branch will not operate, with replacement buses running instead. Services on the Barnstaple line will run as usual.
* The local stopping service between Bristol and Salisbury will not run. Cardiff/Bristol-Portsmouth services will continue to run as usual
* The shuttle service between Bristol Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood will not run. Tickets will be valid on local bus services.
More information is available on our dedicated webpage at www.gwr.com/weather, and we've also issued a joint media release which you can read here: https://news.gwr.com/news/gwr-and-network-rail-advise-customers-to-check-before-travelling-as-new-amber-weather-warning-issued

Any help you can give to make your networks aware would be much appreciated, and as ever if there's anything we can do to help, please don't hesitate to get in touch.


Title: Re: Hot weather - changes for 13th August 2026
Post by: grahame on August 13, 2026, 08:20:12
Sharing for GWR and Network Rail

Quote
* The local stopping service between Bristol and Salisbury will not run. Cardiff/Bristol-Portsmouth services will continue to run as usual


As far as I can see - not quite as usual.  The cancellation of the local services withdraws almost all services (certainly daytime ones) at Avoncliff, Dilton Marsh and Freshford.   Correct in the circumstances, the Cardiff to Portsmouth trains will be making extra calls at  Avoncliff and Frsehford.  However, it appear that they are not calling at Dilton Marsh - at least according to JourneyCheck.  Which is an oddly unbalanced decision, considering that the walking area catchment of Dilton Marsh probably exceeds the walking area catchment of Freshford and Avoncliff combined.


Title: Re: Hot weather - changes for 13th August 2026
Post by: TaplowGreen on August 13, 2026, 12:11:16
Sharing for GWR and Network Rail

Quote
Ahead of tomorrow's (Thursday 13 August) anticipated hot weather and the accompanying amber weather warning, our teams are working together to ensure the vast majority of planned services operate as usual. We are advising customers to check before they travel and carry water, and we're very grateful for their patience and understanding during this period.

We are also planning some reductions in service to help minimise further disruption and reduce the stress on rail infrastructure in the extreme heat. This includes:
* In the Thames Valley, we anticipate changes to our stopping services between London and Reading/Didcot Parkway, with trains not calling at Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford.
* Services between Truro and Falmouth will be reduced to hourly from half-hourly.
* The Okehampton branch will not operate, with replacement buses running instead. Services on the Barnstaple line will run as usual.
* The local stopping service between Bristol and Salisbury will not run. Cardiff/Bristol-Portsmouth services will continue to run as usual
* The shuttle service between Bristol Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood will not run. Tickets will be valid on local bus services.
More information is available on our dedicated webpage at www.gwr.com/weather, and we've also issued a joint media release which you can read here: https://news.gwr.com/news/gwr-and-network-rail-advise-customers-to-check-before-travelling-as-new-amber-weather-warning-issued

Any help you can give to make your networks aware would be much appreciated, and as ever if there's anything we can do to help, please don't hesitate to get in touch.


According to the Met Office the temperature in Truro is currently 24 degrees, expected to reach a maximum of 25 degrees today.

Does this really constitute "extreme heat"?


Title: Re: Hot weather - changes for 13th August 2026
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on August 13, 2026, 14:26:58
Hmm.  From the BBC live (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cr89n5n0jp2vt):

Quote
Temperatures top 36C in England as amber extreme heat warning expanded



Title: Re: Hot weather - changes for 13th August 2026
Post by: old original on August 13, 2026, 17:50:07
Sharing for GWR and Network Rail

Quote
Ahead of tomorrow's (Thursday 13 August) anticipated hot weather and the accompanying amber weather warning, our teams are working together to ensure the vast majority of planned services operate as usual. We are advising customers to check before they travel and carry water, and we're very grateful for their patience and understanding during this period.

We are also planning some reductions in service to help minimise further disruption and reduce the stress on rail infrastructure in the extreme heat. This includes:
* In the Thames Valley, we anticipate changes to our stopping services between London and Reading/Didcot Parkway, with trains not calling at Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford.
* Services between Truro and Falmouth will be reduced to hourly from half-hourly.
* The Okehampton branch will not operate, with replacement buses running instead. Services on the Barnstaple line will run as usual.
* The local stopping service between Bristol and Salisbury will not run. Cardiff/Bristol-Portsmouth services will continue to run as usual
* The shuttle service between Bristol Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood will not run. Tickets will be valid on local bus services.
More information is available on our dedicated webpage at www.gwr.com/weather, and we've also issued a joint media release which you can read here: https://news.gwr.com/news/gwr-and-network-rail-advise-customers-to-check-before-travelling-as-new-amber-weather-warning-issued

Any help you can give to make your networks aware would be much appreciated, and as ever if there's anything we can do to help, please don't hesitate to get in touch.


According to the Met Office the temperature in Truro is currently 24 degrees, expected to reach a maximum of 25 degrees today.

Does this really constitute "extreme heat"?

I suspect the reduction in service on the Falmouth branch is not directly heat related as there was a half hourly service yesterday until 23.30 and it was just as warm during the day, it was probably because they needed to use one of the 150s on the main line in place of a 175.


Title: Re: Hot weather - changes for 13th August 2026
Post by: lbraine on August 13, 2026, 20:43:44
Here a question for someone on GWR operations (I hope):

On the day that you cancel trains
On the day that you run less trains
On the day that you terminate trains short

How, for the love of God, do you have the audacity to peddle the excuse that for to a lack of drivers a service is being cancelled.

(And before someone jumps on me and give the tired old ‘wrong driver in wrong place’ excuse I am particularly vexed about local services from Reading where the damn trains are stabled. And yes there are loads of them in the train yard sidings at the moment)

 


Title: Re: Hot weather - changes for 13th August 2026
Post by: lbraine on August 13, 2026, 20:57:33
I apologise. Nothing to do with Drivers.

After a 90 minutes wait for anything local down the Thames Valley the Reading announcer says: ‘this is due to more trains that normal needing maintainence due to the hot weather’

I can only presume it must before hotter west of Reading and hence the limited number of trains running need to be protected, and hence the curtailing of trains from London at Reading.

Clearly GWR thinks its passengers are idiots



This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net