"Cancellations on all routes" 24-26 June 2026

[whole diary]

[REVUpminster]

I remember a few years ago 143s and 150s had bottled water on board so the guard could give to passengers. A lot of it was stored at Paignton.

[BBM]

Last week I was on a delayed train in Austria with non-functioning a/c when a member of onboard staff unlocked a cupboard near my seat to reveal a large stash of bottled water which was then distributed among passengers. That wouldn't happen here I'd guess because operators would rather use the space to cram in more seats.

[John D]

Have mentioned this elsewhere, but it's worth noting that a lot of the "more trains than usual needing repair" excuse would appear to be due to insufficient aircon in drivers' cabs.

Really in south we should be specifying equipment that can cope with 35c and work properly, 35c is not unheard off number of days each year.   

High 30s are rare, might not cool to ideal 21c, but should be able to knock at least 13c off ambient temperature if designed to cope at 35c

I wonder what temperature the a/c equipment in 158, 166, 175s were specified for, I am guessing something nearer 30-32c,  but that should still drop temps into 20s, or is it simply just not being maintained well enough to do what it was designed for and can't drop temperature and remove humidity.

[JohnM]

Bristol Temple Meads yesterday evening:
[Image from here is not available to guests]
 

And the 17:00 Paddington service shown as on time (1.5 mins before departure) which I was intending to catch was subsequently delayed, and we were advised to board the 17:12 Oxford service. I was only planning on getting to Chippenham to catch the 18:00 to Melksham, but that was also cancelled, so I got off at Bath and caught the 272 Melksham bus. The bus had to wait for a minute in Box because it was ahead of schedule

The Paddington train eventually departed 19 mins late, not far behind the Oxford service.

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services between Par and Newquay
Due to severe weather between Par and Newquay fewer trains are able to run.

The temperature in Newquay is 18 degrees

Cancellations to services between Truro and Falmouth Docks
Due to severe weather between Truro and Falmouth Docks fewer trains are able to run on some lines.

We are running an amended service during the severe heat event in line with the Met Office red weather warning.

The temperature in Truro is 18 degrees and expected to rise to 22-23 degrees today. There is no weather warning in place.

[REVUpminster]

No trains to Newquay, Looe, one train for Okehampton and Falmouth, short forms at Paignton with no xcountry there since Tuesday and no arrival from Paddington today.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have done a good job of scaring the passengers off. They not worried if they don't come back. Where will the management be in December?

[eightonedee]

That wouldn't happen here I'd guess because operators would rather use the space to cram in more seats.

If only.... During the latter part of my commuting career, seats were removed from 2-car class 165s for some cycle/luggage storage that looks unsuitable for either function, and seats were also removed from the middle coaches of class 166s for additional wheelchair space - not a problem to provide it, by why not replace it with tip-up seating that can be used when (as on the majority of journeys) there are no wheelchair users on board. I think that these are DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)/ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road, formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) requirements, as is the continued use of 5-across seating on our relatively restricted sized trains, compared to the rest of Europe.

[grahame]

Cancellations to services between Par and Newquay
Due to severe weather between Par and Newquay fewer trains are able to run.

The temperature in Newquay is 18 degrees

Cancellations to services between Truro and Falmouth Docks
Due to severe weather between Truro and Falmouth Docks fewer trains are able to run on some lines.

We are running an amended service during the severe heat event in line with the Met Office red weather warning.

The temperature in Truro is 18 degrees and expected to rise to 22-23 degrees today. There is no weather warning in place.

As written in a Friends post on social media a couple of hours ago:

Lecce - Brindisi - Bari - Barletta - Foggia - Termoli - Pescara - Ancona - Pesaro - Rimini - Bologna - Modena - Milano.  The train I am on is calling at this catalogue of Italian cities - not that I have time to see any of them as we stop for a few seconds only. It is, perhaps, a typical long distancce express, with only a sprinking of passengers on board when I joined it at Brindisi, but now as we approach Ancona it's "every seat taken".  I knew that would be the case, as it's a "reservations only" train and the reserved seat plan had meagre pickings when I booked 48 hours ago. Staying on all the way to Milan and thinking of interesting comparisons to Cross Country trains in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).   We avoid Rome, just like the UK's Cross Country services avoid London.

Lecce - Ancona - 596 kms; Ancona - Bologna - another 202 kms; Bologna - Milano - another 215 kms; Total 1013 kms - virtually the same as London to Ullapool (port for the Outer Hebrides, well beyond Inverness).   Haven't been to Milan for - err - 21 days doubt it has changed.  Seriously, a city in which I have never left the station and even this time it's just overnight and a couple of hundred yards from the station.

Hot, late, but running here in Italy - here is the latest

[John D]

I realise thread header is 24-26 June, and today is 27 June

But GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are continuing the cancellations on all routes banner on their website this morning

The front page of this site is showing
122 cancellations
67 part route
17 reformed

Not great as few days ago message was defer your journey to Friday onwards, so should be expecting both normal Saturday passengers AND some of the deferred passengers.   So if anything should be boosting services, not cancelling them.

[TaplowGreen]

I realise thread header is 24-26 June, and today is 27 June

But GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are continuing the cancellations on all routes banner on their website this morning

The front page of this site is showing
122 cancellations
67 part route
17 reformed

Not great as few days ago message was defer your journey to Friday onwards, so should be expecting both normal Saturday passengers AND some of the deferred passengers.   So if anything should be boosting services, not cancelling them.

Indeed - I get that it's still going to be hot in the London/Thames Valley area today but a large proportion of today's cancellations are citing "severe weather" in areas where there are no "severe weather" issues, crew shortage and "More trains than usual needing repairs at the same time"

[John D]

I realise thread header is 24-26 June, and today is 27 June

But GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are continuing the cancellations on all routes banner on their website this morning

The front page of this site is showing
122 cancellations
67 part route
17 reformed

Not great as few days ago message was defer your journey to Friday onwards, so should be expecting both normal Saturday passengers AND some of the deferred passengers.   So if anything should be boosting services, not cancelling them.

Indeed - I get that it's still going to be hot in the London/Thames Valley area today but a large proportion of today's cancellations are citing "severe weather" in areas where there are no "severe weather" issues, crew shortage and "More trains than usual needing repairs at the same time"

That's my gripe too, we are now within normal summer temperature range, not severe or red anymore, so weather related excuses are wrong now.  Should be using other excuses (or getting act together and returning to normal).

Similarly it is now 12 hours since the red area expired, so why are they still not using certain points during normal summer temperatures in Thames valley.  When there use was suspended should have been a plan to restore within hours of red weather ending.  Explanations to the public (and to many staff) of why things haven't been returned to normal seem to be abysmal.

Cancellations now up to 146, part route 76, so both going up, not down as weather improves, something is badly wrong.  Are they having a meltdown 

[bobm]

Certainly you would think the number of short notice cancellations should be reduced.  However I suspect there is a backlog of units stopped in depots with faults which developed over the last few days and still require fixing. 

[Electric train]

Certainly you would think the number of short notice cancellations should be reduced.  However I suspect there is a backlog of units stopped in depots with faults which developed over the last few days and still require fixing. 

Although there has been a drop in temperature it is still high still mid to high 20's C, track for example may still be at risk of buckling 

[IndustryInsider]

Similarly it is now 12 hours since the red area expired, so why are they still not using certain points during normal summer temperatures in Thames valley.  When there use was suspended should have been a plan to restore within hours of red weather ending.

Probably because there is still an Amber 'Extreme Heat' warning in place over the Thames Valley.  The current temperature in Hampstead, London is +32c and climbing (according to a weather station I monitor) and it's over +30c in most of the Thames Valley area.

Network Rail will have accurate ground temperature predictions and readings which will determine when and where the KRS^▸ (Key Route Strategy) is implemented.  I would imagine ground temperature is a more important metric in that decision than the air temperature...either way, it's still blinking hot, above normal summer temperatures, and in line with temperatures where the KRS has been routinely implemented in recent years.

Further reading is here:  https://railweatheracademy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/HotWeatherManagement_TheApproach_v1.0-1.pdf

By the way, you won't find me defending the pretty appalling (and very predictable) service offered up this week - just trying to explain why certain operational decisions have been made.

[REVUpminster]

Went to Exeter from Paignton on 1012 xcountry and difficult to get a seat because of reservations along the route as four lads and their cans of beer found out.  The blinds were all drawn down as the guard didn't know if the air conditioning could cope.

On my way back a Barnstaple train was cancelled so a two hour gap. My Paignton train was 2 car  150 and was packed from Central, but a lot alighted here. The guard left a packet of bottled water in the vestibule at Dawlish Warren where we waited for a passing train as she could not get through the train until Torre to check tickets and she gave some water away to those that wanted it at Torquay. Not much had been taken on route.

A lot of trains cancelled or short formed but still giving away water.