Rolling stock now oldest since 2001 ... GWR oldest diesels of the lot!

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

The Cardiffs have additional stop(s) and are slower.

[chrisr_75]

I used the Swansea/Cardiff train to London Padddington for 5 years, commuting from BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains) to RDG^▸ (Rail Delivery Group, or Reading station, depending on context).

In the morning, the train was never busy until Swindon and in the evening seats where usually available from Swindon.

So, a 10 carriage train with 5 carriages restricted for Wales should be ok.

My original idea was never to replace all trains to from Wales, Coltswolds, Bristol and Southwest with split trains but to add flexible capacity to service all the main branches of the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) network frequently. Regular 10 carriage trains will still be the back bone of the network in most places, but I don't think anyone could justify a 10 carriage train from Swansea to London every 30 minutes, or even an hour.
 

My most recent use of BGN-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) (last used frequently in 2014) always had heavy loadings (typically just odd seats here and there unoccupied) from SWA^» (Swansea - next trains)/NTH/PTA^▸ (Passenger Transport Authority)/BGN through to CDF^» (Cardiff - next trains)/NWP regardless of the time of day and was close to full from BPW-PAD (standees from Didcot/Reading), similar reverse pattern on return journeys up to the 20:15 departure from PAD which tips out at BPY, but oft does a decent pickup in CDF for destinations to SWA. My experience would suggest 5 cars could only ever work in the very early morning or very late evening parts of the timetable and even then would, imho, be a retrograde step.

[chrisr_75]

The Cardiffs have additional stop(s) and are slower.

Really? Where else other than Reading, Didcot, Swindon, Bristol Parkway and Newport could they stop?! There is a single service (which I think is an early morning Swansea starter) that goes via Bath, but otherwise it's the same stopping pattern for Cardiffs and Swanseas, with the obvious exception of the stretch from CDF^» (Cardiff - next trains)-SWA^» (Swansea - next trains)...

Or did you miss the essential 'will' in referring to future IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project. This will offer more capacity on routes, save money, give a consistent and safe service and meet customer requirements. Intended to replace HSTs.) services?

[ChrisB]

Didcot - Swansea's don't generally stop, so are quicker to CDF^» (Cardiff - next trains)

[didcotdean]

Alternate up Swansea trains also stop at Didcot off-peak. Even the Red Dragon does.

[grahame]

The Cardiffs have additional stop(s) and are slower.

Really? Where else other than Reading, Didcot, Swindon, Bristol Parkway and Newport could they stop?! There is a single service (which I think is an early morning Swansea starter) that goes via Bath, but otherwise it's the same stopping pattern for Cardiffs and Swanseas, with the obvious exception of the stretch from CDF^» (Cardiff - next trains)-SWA^» (Swansea - next trains)...

Or did you miss the essential 'will' in referring to future IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project. This will offer more capacity on routes, save money, give a consistent and safe service and meet customer requirements. Intended to replace HSTs.) services?

The 05:18 Paddington to Swansea and the 23:30 Paddington to Cardiff both serve Chippenham, Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads in place of Bristol Parkway; the 05:18 additionally serves Filton Abbet Wood.

Conjecture for the future might be for the "Cardiff electrics" to make an extra stop at one of Slough, Maidenhead or Twyford, and there are aspirations for a Wantage and Grove station where the most desired journey would probably be to Reading and London.   Wantage and Grove have a combined population of 18,000

[chrisr_75]

Didcot - Swansea's don't generally stop, so are quicker to CDF^» (Cardiff - next trains)

I've been on plenty of Swansea services that have a planned stop at Didcot. Clicking through todays timetable it appears the Didcot stop is fairly random, sometimes on the xx:45 from Paddington, sometimes on the xx:15 and I think it is dropped completely for a few services through the morning and evening peaks (presumably London bound AM, Wales bound PM).

A Didcot stop appears to add 6-7 minutes to the journey time from PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-CDF.

[Tim]

Conjecture for the future might be for the "Cardiff electrics" to make an extra stop at one of Slough, Maidenhead or Twyford, and there are aspirations for a Wantage and Grove station where the most desired journey would probably be to Reading and London.   Wantage and Grove have a combined population of 18,000

Not sure why it would be sensible to use an intercity service to shuttle people from Slough/Maidenhead/Twyford to London or Reading when Crossrail will be set up precisely to do that? 

[grahame]

Not sure why it would be sensible to use an intercity service to shuttle people from Slough/Maidenhead/Twyford to London or Reading when Crossrail will be set up precisely to do that? 

If you're an MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) looking to retain your Henley-on-Thames seat, might it make sense for you to show your constituents how much you care by winning them a nonstop service to Twyford that connects with the branch shuttle?   I've spotted that many current evening commuters prefer to catch the 17:06 and change rather than wait for the direct 17:12, or catch the 18:05 and change rather than wait for the direct 18:10 (I have not travelled on the 17:12 or 18:10, so no comment on number who prefer the direct train.

[Adelante_CCT]

Taking an extra 25 minutes, and arriving home 30 minutes later probably has something to do with it.

Of course the non-stop Twyford/Maidenhead/Slough service has been discussed elsewhere before and I'm sure will continue to do so for quite a while yet.

[Surrey 455]

Not sure why it would be sensible to use an intercity service to shuttle people from Slough/Maidenhead/Twyford to London or Reading when Crossrail will be set up precisely to do that? 

If you're an MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) looking to retain your Henley-on-Thames seat, might it make sense for you to show your constituents how much you care by winning them a nonstop service to Twyford that connects with the branch shuttle?   I've spotted that many current evening commuters prefer to catch the 17:06 and change rather than wait for the direct 17:12, or catch the 18:05 and change rather than wait for the direct 18:10 (I have not travelled on the 17:12 or 18:10, so no comment on number who prefer the direct train.

The MP for Henley now is John Howell. I've no idea if he has any post in Govt. Before him it was Boris Johnson who replaced Michael Heseltine.

[Tim]

Not sure why it would be sensible to use an intercity service to shuttle people from Slough/Maidenhead/Twyford to London or Reading when Crossrail will be set up precisely to do that? 

If you're an MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) looking to retain your Henley-on-Thames seat, might it make sense for you to show your constituents how much you care by winning them a nonstop service to Twyford that connects with the branch shuttle?   I've spotted that many current evening commuters prefer to catch the 17:06 and change rather than wait for the direct 17:12, or catch the 18:05 and change rather than wait for the direct 18:10 (I have not travelled on the 17:12 or 18:10, so no comment on number who prefer the direct train.

ok.  I hadn't appreciated the connection point.

[Oxonhutch]

I see that a 180 sat down at Twyford this morning. Following from another recent failure in traffic I would think that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) might be glad to see the back of them soon.

Nice trains but quite unreliable.

[TaplowGreen]

I see that a 180 sat down at Twyford this morning. Following from another recent failure in traffic I would think that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) might be glad to see the back of them soon.

Nice trains but quite unreliable.

Aren't they pretty much the newest trains that GWR operate?

[IndustryInsider]

Aside from the new Class 387s, yes.