In the interests of continuity and clarity for ease of future reference, I have moved and merged a few posts, all relating to this event, here.

I hope this helps.

CfN. 

 

But acknowledging a situation is not the same as being "what we do", is it?  Words not deeds.

Fair enough - if GWR acknowledge there's a problem but didn't commit to dealing with in in their customer-centred approach, it rather paints a picture to me.  They say they are going to focus service manager more on "disruption support" but don't commit to actually reducing the disruption / lack of reliability.  Treating the symptoms and not the underlying causes and - yes - you may well suggest that they are not authorised to deal with the causes ...

 
The staffing situation was acknowledged - as was requiring a 7day railway, as already noted.

 
Looking through the slides from the GWR Community rail conference, I came upon this:



To me, something is missing, and it's a biggie ...

* Providing a safe and reliable service that takes customers where and when we say we will

I have no issues with safety.  I do with reliability ...

I wasn't at the conference - can anyone who was there re-assure me that it was clear that "putting the customer first" included running the services they advertise, with people able to plan ahead and know that a train will turn up more or less on time except in very exceptional circumstances?

 
The slides from the day have been copied to me and are mirrored for logged in members at
https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/mirror/gwr_cdc_2025.pdf

I also have copied of nearly 130 pictures taken on the day - not sure what or how to share those.

 

Indeed. As I am retired and don't have a career to worry about, it's easy for me to point out the real culprit as I see it, and even to suggest that the culprit might be strongly co-ercing others to do their bidding.  The word "bullying" came to my mind, but that might be going too far.   

MH and  GWR are in a very awkward position as indeed are many many others who's funding stream is heavily government / DfT based.

 
As I suspect MH might be job hunting within the next 12 months, rocking the boat as you suggest might not be the wisest idea?

 

Indeed ... it [was/could/should have been] a wonderful opportunity to bring the issues to the public attention of the man from the ministry. And perhaps for GWR to quantify in public the sort of costs versus the sort of gains made in the fare box as people do not abandon the train.    But of course the DfT is the boss and isn't it tempting just to say "yes sir" and "we will help propagate your words" to the boss, and that may help in your job protection or you even having a job when things are re-organised.

 
Same problem in that the DfT signs off on all costs. Graham, you know this.

 

Well ... he could have addressed the problems of getting staff and a reliable service on the other six days in the week and explained why after all these years they haven't achieved it.   With Hendy and customers in the room, that might actually have brought something to the pinpoint attention of Lord Hendy who is, after all, very much more a public transport person and advocate than we've had in the past.

 
With Hendy in the room, and the DfT on the hook as we know for any & all additional costs on the railway, MH did refer a couple of times to the need to get a 7 day railway. In the circumstances, about as much as he could address?

 

?? - I suspect you are reading or I am quoting somewhat out of context.

My contacts (and there are several in Wiltshire and Somerset who were there) did find the day very useful and gave no indication of the whole being a waste of their time.  Indeed they said the networking was most useful.

The criticism was more a disappointment at GWR's failure to adequately address the issues of service reliability. I wasn't there so I have no view - but reliability does need to be urgently addressed on the ground, and in writing "urgently" and "on the ground" you have a conundrum for the conference organisers.   Nothing urgent that's effective on the ground has been done for years, and what good would a longer section at the conference giving explanations (excuses?) and making (over?)optimistic promise actually do?

 
Another space for someone else then who does want to attend - there's plenty out there wanting to network

 


One of my contacts at the Community Rail conference yesterday reports

 

Looks like the train has been uncancelled ... let's see what's said today - mind you, I have heard so much on the topic of cancellations in past years that I'll only believe that they are down to an reasonable level when we actually see trains on the line, consistently, at all the times in the timetable, week in and week out.  Words are cheap - "you can fool all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time - but you can't fool all of the people all of the time".

By the way - there will be rare occasions when a train is logged as cancelled but then re-instated, but they should be rare.  This is a major disruption to people who have replanned their day based on the initial report - they have cancelled / reformed their plans. 

 

That needs to be a GWR invite I'm afraid as numbers are of necessity limited.   I'm pretty sure reports will appear on the Coffee Shop - indeed if I manage to connect (two connects pretty poor here) I'll tell you about it. I have chosen today as a non-travel day for the purpose.

Edit to add - as backup, I should also receive a recording to watch when better connected ... this hostel seems to have WiFi with a traffic limiter, so the Coffee Shop with its "thin" design works well but other things don't!

 
Perhaps questions for the GWR "VIPs" at the Community event tonight - along with asking why we are now moving from a situation where they don't provide sufficient staff to run their services at weekends, to a place where we have weekday, peak services regularly cancelled for the same reason, and what are they doing to address it? 

 
Hi Grahame

Can you supply a link to the community rail conference.

Thank you.

 
I'm a VIP - I need to get home this evening

 

I expect it will run tomorrow to get VIPs home from the GWR community event. That's the train that after the community rail conference in 2018 - also held in Swindon - that was so full and standing the train manager had to walk along the outside and shout to people standing in the aisle to squeeze up.   I remember that day and event well.