Well according to Aslef a remedy is being sort to make them a little more driver friendly. Otherwise drivers will soon be dropping like flies with shin splints, knackered knees , back issues etc etc. For every 80x drivers sake, I hope a decent solution is forthcoming.
Thanks for the detailed explanation. However surely it would have been cheaper and easier to order more 9 cars for GWR for the routes you mention instead of the ridiculous situation of having 10 cars with double the number of staff required. As well as the risk of short forms, and inevitable overcrowding we are now seeing.
Indeed. Combined population of Devon and Cornwall is about 1.2 million. Thats without the large tourist swells from April to October , plus around Christmas and Easter. And ALL of those populations are within catchment area of a railway station served by the GWR WofE trains, making the far south west in many ways similar to a very large metropolitan city in terms of potential passengers. GWR generally does its best , but I guess the Dft isn't as enthusiastic about worrying about the south west compared with the North etc. Generally, in the north, users have more competition and someone living in say Huddersfield may choose to head to London via the WCML or ECML or even MML.
Of course it would, but I think its a case of hindsight being a wonderful thing! We are stuck with this now, and as I said further up thread, we need to get used to the new norm of short trains, along with daft 10 car trains with two sets of crew! And yet the Dft like to blame the staff for being unproductive!!!!!!......
The only surprise is its only 110 percent? The trains are utterly rammed, and much busier these days than pre 2019 as far as I can see. The IETs have been a success in the south west in that clearly they have increased footfall, its just a shame Hitachi aren't always up to providing the trainsets.
A 10 car only needs one driver and one guard. The only duplication is the buffet crew and even then there can often be just one in each half.
But the 10 cars also cost more in terms of drivers to shunt, couple, uncouple etc, even if just on depot and not in service. And id argue that one trolley staff member is still costing money, money that apparently the railway just doesn't have according to Dft and Tory government. Multiply that one staff member on every 10 car set, throughout the day , over a month we are talking quite a lot of extra staff.
But on the plus(-ish) side, at least 2x5 car gives the option of short-forming trains in the event of unit shortages, and still running services rather than cancelling them
As a minimum you need a driver, guard, and a lead host for the front set. However unless you have a driver, guard, ATE, 2x trolley stewards and 2x 1st class hosts, then you cannot offer a full service to all passengers.
Small comfort to those trying to wedge themselves onto the five car, and the crew being abused as a result. I bet if you asked the passengers what their solution would be to the issue of unit shortages, they would tell you to have enough spare cover so that unit shortages don't result in short-forms.
Naturally. I wasn't suggesting that short-forms are an ideal solution, just pointing out that they do at least keep the service running.
Trouble is, the railway forgets thr general public is more concerned about getting a seat than whether or not the train has underfloor engines . In an ideal world, if we could start again, build a massive fleet of basic carriages , no engines, just decent seating and have a fleet of locos, electric and bi mode which can haul said carriages about. In summer, more carriages can be added to Cornish and Scottish services, whilst in winter, fewer carriages may be used , and fuel thus saved.
I believe that is an average for both operators.
Both GWR stats presumably skewed by the transfer of Paddington suburban services (lots of shortish distance runs carry ing lots of passengers) to TfL. Don’t know what overall difference it makes.
Other than the HST services, most XC in Devon would have been 4 of 5 car back in 2019 and the overlap is between XC and GWR is mainly Taunton to Plymouth, but from discussions in this thread it appears the trains are crowded from London/Reading to the south west
It’s London to Devon/Cornwall that’s 110%. Not impacted by XC.
Overcrowding and high prices on XC will result in many people going via London rather than using direct services.
You would need runaround loops at every terminus ( and signalling), extra training, staff and time to uncouple the loco each time
Well in winter when commuting is higher you'd move them onto that kind if work. I'm thinking of locos and stock that the entire network traincrew would sign and it could literally be used where it was needed. I agree run round loops etc isn't ideal, so I'm thinking some form of DVT solution would be needed. Yes extra training at first, but once everyone trained it would be far less complexity than the current training requirements for various train types.
Absolutely. Lots are forced to avoid XC due to the astronomical prices of getting from the south west to the north , or are put off by the fun size trains. If XC were half decent it would take some of the strain off GWR.
Why not have an engine at both ends, and call them HSTs?
Exactly this. I do when I'm heading up north. Crosscountry From Plymouth to anywhere north of Bristol are eye watering at best. Even splitting doesn't seem to work so I go via London with via options ticked.
If only......
What First originally proposed for HST replacement, but of course Daft had other ideas. HST2 , if nationwide would have been transformational provided it evolved to be electric or diesel.
And arguably they would’ve taken a similar view to the amount they needed, they’d fail just as much because of greater technology for safety, and we’d have the same issues.
I agree, though it's been a problem for over 2 decades. Only a minor contribution to post-COVID growth in London - Devon/Cornwall passenger numbers. SWR London - Dorset / Devon also at record highs.
Let’s be even more honest - they’re not going to get a replacement for decades. I think they will last their planned 30 years, but I can see a refurbishment coming relatively soon that shrinks the generous legroom and table frequency to increase capacity, as well as removing the first class section in the composite coach of five car sets. If this were to also address the seat comfort, it would probably be a preferable situation, even with the short forms.
Would they be able to remove the stupidly large kitchens? At least in 5 cars. Or would that require some kind of testing?
