Paddington to Bristol <-> service updates and amendments - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[grahame]

16:30 Bristol Temple Meads - London Paddington
This train has been cancelled because of a broken down train earlier today

[Thought I'd start a topic similar to the one in TransWilts for this sort of thing; is that ok? Did look for an existing one but couldn't spot it.]

Thanks for your suggestion, matth1j. 

I'm sure I can find some related posts to merge here, which will then offer our readers a more definitive source of such information, all in one specific topic.

CfN. 

I am noting this thread as a "service update and amendment log".   Yes, it makes total sense to keep the disruption reports that we post in one place, but yet at the same time I am concerned that on a line with so many services that it's going to be impractical for us / members to maintain as a complete log.

10:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 12:09

Facilities on the 10:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 12:09.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 9. There are no reservations on this service.

Additional Facilities Information
Please use any available seat according to the class of travel on your ticket. If no seats are available, we would be grateful if you could make sure that those who need them most are able to use them.
-
Alternatively, you can travel on either of the two GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services that are immediately before or after this one. Your ticket will be valid for travel on these GWR services at no additional cost. You can see how many coaches our services have with the 'Live Times' feature on the GWR app, or speak to staff for further information.

Would it be more practical for this thread to be "Service updates and amendments" without the term "log" which suggests that every change might be noted?

I am - severely indebted - to members and friends here for all the help given on the Swindon to Westbury log - THANK YOU, and long may that continue.  I am impressed by the work done on the North Cotswold board and that is a really useful log too - I am amazed how much / well that is updated; perhaps I shouldn't be, bearing in mind just how many people use that service.  And perhaps my fears of the Paddington to Bristol (where there are 50 services a day to monitor rather than 9 or 29) being a bit less than a log are needlessly worrying?  Thought / comments / inputs sought, please?

[matth1j]

The 17:00 Bristol Paddington is missing out Bath and Chippenham (my destination) due to trespassers near Chippenham I think they said.

Announcement made at about 17:00, hence a bit of a panic, and I'm now on a packed Weymouth 17:06 service to catch the 17:45 bus at Bath (to get to Melksham, home).

[grahame]

The 17:00 Bristol Paddington is missing out Bath and Chippenham (my destination) due to trespassers near Chippenham I think they said.

Announcement made at about 17:00, hence a bit of a panic, and I'm now on a packed Weymouth 17:06 service to catch the 17:45 bus at Bath (to get to Melksham, home).

Wise choice. From the 17:30 ex Bristol, it's unlikely you would have caught the 17:50 at Chippenham (though JourneyCheck says that's running late). The 18:59 from Chippenham to Melksham is cancelled due to lack of staff, and so the next train look like it's at 20:29 ... 20:39 into Melksham.   Good example of where robust local knowledge sorts out the mess.  Trespassers on the line "cannot be helped" - though we could question that assertion.  Crew shortage - AGAIN - is firmly a failure to provide by the train company - AGAIN.

[ChrisB]

I am noting this thread as a "service update and amendment log".   Yes, it makes total sense to keep the disruption reports that we post in one place, but yet at the same time I am concerned that on a line with so many services that it's going to be impractical for us / members to maintain as a complete log.

Would it be more practical for this thread to be "Service updates and amendments" without the term "log" which suggests that every change might be noted?

Thought / comments / inputs sought, please?

Agree with you on this, and especially should it start a precedent. Drop the word 'log', and maybe reword to indicate all & any disruption on the line in question can be recorded in just one thread, but please don't make members start monitoring every disruption....my 2p worth.

[matth1j]

The 17:00 Bristol Paddington is missing out Bath and Chippenham (my destination) due to trespassers near Chippenham I think they said.

Announcement made at about 17:00, hence a bit of a panic, and I'm now on a packed Weymouth 17:06 service to catch the 17:45 bus at Bath (to get to Melksham, home).

Wise choice. From the 17:30 ex Bristol, it's unlikely you would have caught the 17:50 at Chippenham (though JourneyCheck says that's running late).

RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) shows that the Westbury train actually left Swindon on time. Initially after jumping on the Weymouth train I thought I'd made the wrong decision, that I could have stayed on the 17:00 Paddington service and caught the Westbury train before it departed Swindon instead of at Chippenham. But RTT also shows that the on-time Westbury train left Swindon 3 minutes before the Paddington train arrived. It also shows that the 17:30 Paddington missed the Westbury service at Chippenham by 10 minutes, so wise/lucky choice indeed.

[grahame]

Seven formation changes on London <-> Bristol (some beyond) services this morning. I am not going to list them all.   Here is the first though

05:10 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 07:37

Facilities on the 05:10 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 07:37.

Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 9. There are no reservations on this service.

Additional Facilities Information

Please use any available seat according to the class of travel on your ticket. If no seats are available, we would be grateful if you could make sure that those who need them most are able to use them.
-
Alternatively, you can travel on either of the two GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services that are immediately before or after this one. Your ticket will be valid for travel on these GWR services at no additional cost. You can see how many coaches our services have with the 'Live Times' feature on the GWR app, or speak to staff for further information.

For at least half of its journey, there will be plenty of seats even at 5 carriages.  This is the only train of the day that provides a through service from Bradford-on-Avon and our county town of Trowbridge to London, where it picks up at 05:36 and 05:42 and, frankly, feels "parliamentary" - not much used by anyone making that journey. It runs at a time not many people want to make the journey, takes a very long time about it, and the matching through return train at the end of the day was withdrawn north west of Westbury some years ago (HST^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) era).

[Worcester_Passenger]

Sunday November 2

Successive trains had been cancelled this evening:

02/11/25 18:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 19:58 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:01/11/2025 23:28

02/11/25 19:00 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 20:32 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:01/11/2025 23:28

But now sense has prevailed:

18:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads due 19:58 will be reinstated and will now run as scheduled.
Last Updated:02/11/2025 16:37

[matth1j]

Just noticed that National Rail is reporting the 15:30 Bristol - Paddington as 'delayed by animals on the railway', expected departure 15:43.