Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
 No recent travel & transport from BBC stories as at 08:35 02 May 2025
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]		 tomorrow - Walk to Pilning
10/05/25 - BRTA Westbury
10/05/25 - Model Railway Show, Calne
13/05/25 - Melksham TUG / AGM

On this day
2nd May (1999)
Last special train to Weymouth Quay (link)
Train RunningCancelled
07:59 Gatwick Airport to Reading
Short Run
07:00 Worcester Shrub Hill to Didcot Parkway
07:12 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
08:45 Swindon to Westbury
09:21 Carmarthen to London Paddington
09:49 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
•
PollsOpen and recent polls
Open to 08/05 09:07 Steam Excursion - or diesel excursion with a featured steam section?
Open to 07/05 09:27 Should train, bus and coach operators be required to accept cash
•
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
•
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
•
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
•
Train companiesSelect from:
GWR
SWR
XC
Chiltern
TfL
TfW
WMR
Southern
• Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple Meads • Bath Spa • Chippenham • Swindon • Didcot Parkway • Reading • London Paddington • Melksham
Exeter St Davids • Taunton • Westbury • Trowbridge • Bristol Parkway • Cardiff Central • Oxford • Cheltenham Spa • Birmingham New Street
May 02, 2025, 08:43:19 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[94] A very easy riddle
[81] Steam excursion - except there's much more diesel than steam!
[73] Low passenger numbers due to train unreliability
[46] In memory of the Weymouth Harbour Tramway on the anniversary o...
[38] Warmest day of year as UK temperature hits 24.9C - April 2025
[37] Spain / Portugal power outage
 
News: A forum for passengers ... with input from rail professionals welcomed too
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Great Western Coffee Shop > Journey by Journey > South Western services (Data Manager: JayMac) > Commuters quit jobs as chaos on South Western Railway becomes too much for them
Pages: [1]
« previous next »
  Print  
Author Topic: Commuters quit jobs as chaos on South Western Railway becomes too much for them  (Read 1291 times)
TaplowGreen
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 8644



View Profile
« on: February 04, 2020, 17:46:43 »
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2020-02-04/commuters-quit-jobs-as-chaos-on-south-western-railway-becomes-too-much/

Pretty damning.

Includes an interview with Hopwood who frankly looks like he's in desperate need of a holiday himself, I suspect he wishes he'd stayed where he was!
Logged
Timmer
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 6624


View Profile
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2020, 19:11:22 »
Quote from: TaplowGreen on February 04, 2020, 17:46:43
Includes an interview with Hopwood who frankly looks like he's in desperate need of a holiday himself, I suspect he wishes he'd stayed where he was!
I don’t think he had a lot of choice. If the boses at First HQ▸ (HeadQuarters) say you go over to SWR» (South Western Railway - about) and sort the mess out then off you go.

I know it’s only an interim role but who would want to take it on? The SW mainline is creaking at the seams with NR» (Network Rail - home page) at times struggling to keep it together. Barely a day goes by without something going wrong.

The question is will First still be running the GW» (Great Western - used as an abbreviation for the area / lines under the Great Western franchise, as opposed to FGW which includes "First", the company operating them too. For tickets - about) lines in a few months time for Mark Hopwood to return as MD? I think they will as Dft have got enough issues with other failing franchises to deal with. Sure the GW isn’t without its problems, but is a model of railway perfection compared to many other lines at the moment.

Two franchises now under OLR with possibly one or two more to follow is damning on the franchise based system. And where is the much heralded Williams report whilst all this goes on? Are the government sitting on it?
Logged
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 13351


View Profile Email
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2020, 20:43:20 »
To be released this month, I understand. Along with decisions on Direct Awards/management contracts for GWR▸ (Great Western Railway) & XC▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise))
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
« previous next »
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the 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 the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules via admin@railcustomer.info. Full legal statement (here).

Jump to top of page • Jump to Forum Home Page