VTWC cancellations - weekend of 1st & 2nd July

[Mag_seven]

Just picked up on VTWC Twitter feed that there are a whole rash of alterations and cancellations tomorrow and Sunday due to "an unexpected number of drivers unwilling to work a rest day". From what I can gather from RTT, one out of three Manchesters, one out of three West Midlands are cancelled tomorrow. In addition the bulk of Euston Glasgow via Brum services will only operate between Euston and Preston. Situation looks quite fluid so expect some of these to be reinstated as the situation re drivers becomes clearer in the morning.

 

[dk1]

Yes I noticed that. Very unusual for VTWC. Whos upset them then?

 

[Blindtraveler]

The fact the Scottish School Holidays have just started is a coincidence no????

 

[Mag_seven]

The fact the Scottish School Holidays have just started is a coincidence no????

That might affect the Glasgow Brum services north of Preston but does not explain the Manchester and West Midlands cancellations.

 

[dk1]

Of course it is anybody's total right to refuse overtime whenever they want to. Just strange they've all done it at once. Not heard of any industrial issues but maybe a colleagues disciplinary? Just a guess.

 

[455driver]

I see its saying its the drivers fault for not working overtime rather than saying its the companies fault for not employing enough staff in the first place! :roll:

 

[sjoh]

Maybe they're all going to the demonstration tomorrow...

 

[Mojo]

Isn't going to be a good day, a suicidal person has left the Wcml shut since about half past 8 with no trains moving in the Rugby area since then because of it.

 

[All Line Rover]

Does it take more than four hours to catch them, or have trains started moving again (contrary to what train time websites seem to be indicating, although the VTWC website itself is devoid of information)?

 

[matt]

Does it take more than four hours to catch them, or have trains started moving again (contrary to what train time websites seem to be indicating, although the VTWC website itself is devoid of information)?

Still no movement. I've been sat at Rugby for nearly 3 hours now.

 

[All Line Rover]

Still no movement. I've been sat at Rugby for nearly 3 hours now.

Goodness. No mention on the Virgin Trains app of trains being cancelled. No headline banner on the Virgin Trains website warning of severe disruption!

According to Virgin Trains JourneyCheck, only four services are currently affected. Have the people managing this information feed gone home for the evening?

 

[theironroad]

Goodness. No mention on the Virgin Trains app of trains being cancelled. No headline banner on the Virgin Trains website warning of severe disruption!

According to Virgin Trains JourneyCheck, only four services are currently affected. Have the people managing this information feed gone home for the evening?

Seems to be quite a lot of current info on vtwc journey check with 3+ hours delays

 

[bb21]

Does it take more than four hours to catch them, or have trains started moving again (contrary to what train time websites seem to be indicating, although the VTWC website itself is devoid of information)?

Once negotiators are on the line, it is often outside the industry's control how long it takes.

I had trains stranded for 3 hours+ in a suicidal person incident last year. Once power is off and line block taken, you can do as much "liaising" you want, it is still often not in your hands.

 

[All Line Rover]

View attachment 33480

Seems to be quite a lot of current info on vtwc journey check with 3+ hours delays

They weren't there when I posted at 00:15. Only the 22:00, 22:30, 22:45 and 23:30 departures were visible.

 

[voyagerdude220]

I see 9M48 (05:50 departure), 9M51 (08:00 departure), 9M53 (10:00 departure), 9M55 (12:00 departure), 9M57 (14:00 departure), 9M59 (16:00 departure) and 9M61 (18:00 departure) from Glasgow Central to London Euston via Preston and Birmingham New Street are all cancelled north of Preston, due to driver shortages.

The same can be said for an equivalent number of London/Birmingham to Glasgow services, which are terminating at Preston northbound.

 

[AndrewE]

I see 9M48 (05:50 departure), 9M51 (08:00 departure), 9M53 (10:00 departure), 9M55 (12:00 departure), 9M57 (14:00 departure), 9M59 (16:00 departure) and 9M61 (18:00 departure) from Glasgow Central to London Euston via Preston and Birmingham New Street are all cancelled north of Preston, due to driver shortages.

The same can be said for an equivalent number of London/Birmingham to Glasgow services, which are terminating at Preston northbound.

Nothing at all about this on National Rail Enquiries disruptions page either. So only 2-hourly through trains from the West Midlands and Crewe to Lancaster and northwards today...

 

[Mag_seven]

Nothing at all about this on National Rail Enquiries disruptions page either. So only 2-hourly through trains from the West Midlands and Crewe to Lancaster and northwards today...

Looks like Branson and Souter are trying to keep it quiet by simply "burying" the changes on JourneyCheck and Twitter.

 

[All Line Rover]

Looks like Branson and Souter are trying to keep it quiet by simply "burying" the changes on JourneyCheck and Twitter.

Just following London Midland in that respect, though it is misleading to claim on the Virgin Trains homepage "All routes - no issues".

I'm unimpressed by the cancellations of xx:55 Manchester to London services, leaving Wilmslow without a direct service to London for 3+ hours.

Normally only the xx:15 via Stoke is cancelled, which still leaves Stoke with the xx:35.

Liverpool was also without any trains to London this morning for more than three hours - between 07:20 and 10:30.

 

[All Line Rover]

Looks like Branson and Souter are trying to keep it quiet by simply "burying" the changes on JourneyCheck and Twitter.

Just following London Midland in that respect, though it is misleading to claim on the Virgin Trains homepage "All routes - no issues".

I'm unimpressed by the cancellations of xx:55 Manchester to London services, leaving Wilmslow without a direct service to London for 3+ hours. Normally only the xx:15 via Stoke is cancelled, which still leaves Stoke with the xx:35.

Liverpool was also without any trains to London this morning for almost three hours - between 07:50 and 10:30.

And it seems that the Birmingham to Edinburgh trains are not calling additionally at Penrith or Oxenholme to compensate for the lack of calls by cancelled Birmingham to Glasgow trains. So no train from Birmingham to Penrith until 12:15 (first should be at 07:15), and no train from Birmingham to Oxenholme between 10:15 and 16:15. A simple solution would be to call all Euston to Glasgow (non-stop to Warrington) trains at Crewe, where passengers from Crewe can board, as can passengers from Birmingham and Wolverhampton having travelled to Crewe using London Midland.

 

[mikestone1952]

I only picked this up yesterday because both sets on the 16.43 Euston-Edinburgh went through, and I was checking to see if the booked Wolverhampton attachment this morning was cancelled to balance (It was). Nothing on journey check.
;
There really does need to be another category of cancellation so that trains cancelled in these circumstances so that the CIS shows cancelled rather than just ignoring them.

 

[ag51ruk]

Just following London Midland in that respect, though it is misleading to claim on the Virgin Trains homepage "All routes - no issues".

I'm unimpressed by the cancellations of xx:55 Manchester to London services, leaving Wilmslow without a direct service to London for 3+ hours.

Normally only the xx:15 via Stoke is cancelled, which still leaves Stoke with the xx:35.

Liverpool was also without any trains to London this morning for more than three hours - between 07:20 and 10:30.

A train ran in roughly the path of the 7.20 from Liverpool - the previous service ran just over an hour late, and made an extra stop at Nuneaton. The 7.20 was actually cancelled

 

[AndrewE]

A simple solution would be to call all Euston to Glasgow (non-stop to Warrington) trains at Crewe, where passengers from Crewe can board, as can passengers from Birmingham and Wolverhampton having travelled to Crewe using London Midland.

They couldn't possibly do that- it might a) show that it's do-able and b) leave passengers - and maybe Regulators - with the expectation that more Anglo-Scottish services should call at Crewe!

n.b. They can't even run the curtailed service: 9M57, the 1617 Preston to Euston started 26 minutes late awaiting traincrew!

Still nothing on National Rail Enquiries disruptions page either. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/indicator.aspx shows "Good service" for virgin trains: what liars!

 

[gka472l]

A train ran in roughly the path of the 7.20 from Liverpool - the previous service ran just over an hour late, and made an extra stop at Nuneaton. The 7.20 was actually cancelled

0720 did run, the 0645 ended up nearly running in the path of the cancelled 0747......0847 cancelled and 0947 left around 1030, 1047, 1147 & 1247 departed on time and the 1347 ended up being the 1447

 

[ag51ruk]

0720 did run, the 0645 ended up nearly running in the path of the cancelled 0747......0847 cancelled and 0947 left around 1030, 1047, 1147 & 1247 departed on time and the 1347 ended up being the 1447

Ah, sorry - I was on the 6.45 as it left Crewe, thought that was the 7.20

 

[Kite159]

Could be fun at Manchester tonight, the 18:55 & 19:35 are showing on journey check as cancelled leaving the last train being the 20:35 to Euston.

Funny if you look on the virgin website the service status is "no reported issues"

 

[dk1]

Still nothing to say what it's all about though. Last nights paraphernalia added to the chaos granted but so many refusing all at once is unusual unless been upset by something or someone.

 

[AndrewE]

a family member who was travelling to Lancaster on 9S47, the 1010 ex Crewe this morning said the guard specifically told him his Virgin advance ticket would not be valid on any other operator's trains after the train was caped at Preston and he would have to wait for the next Virgin service, then went to great lengths to tell everyone the same again over the PA system...

Luckily the Virgin people at Preston had more sense ("Just jump on the next train that's going!") and the TPE guard was quite happy too.

That's not the way to reassure people or gain the loyalty of infrequent travellers, regardless of whatever reason lies behind the problem.

 

[ivanhoe]

I see its saying its the drivers fault for not working overtime rather than saying its the companies fault for not employing enough staff in the first place! :roll:

So do we employ more drivers and stop all overtime? Seems okay to me but will you guys be happy?

 

[All Line Rover]

They couldn't possibly do that- it might a) show that it's do-able and b) leave passengers - and maybe Regulators - with the expectation that more Anglo-Scottish services should call at Crewe!

They have done it in the past where engineering works resulted in a reduced service operating north of Preston. As I recall, Crewe tended to be a 'pick up only' / 'set down only' stop on these occasions.

 

[All Line Rover]

A guard I was speaking to today thought the disruption to be a knock-on from last night. So is today's disruption really a veiled form of industrial action, or is it a case of so many staff being displaced last night (and this morning!) that too few substitutes are available?