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First 'Cancelled' Western

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Nat the Ned

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OK, available on FGW's website at the moment is the following list of cancellations for tomorrow:

<from website>
14:16 Southampton Central to Cardiff Central due 17:25
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
12:00 Cardiff Central to Brighton due 16:15
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
12:50 Bristol Temple Meads to Weston-super-Mare due 13:26
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
12:44 Penzance to Plymouth due 14:40
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
12:50 Bristol Temple Meads to Weston-super-Mare due 13:26
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
14:12 Westbury to Southampton Central due 15:23
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
12:31 Southampton Central to Westbury due 13:39
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
11:41 Weston-super-Mare to Bristol Temple Meads due 12:17
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
10:40 Filton Abbey Wood to Weston-super-Mare due 11:25
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
10:00 Cardiff Central to Southampton Central due 13:23
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
08:25 Southampton Central to Cardiff Central due 11:23
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
07:23 Warminster to Cardiff Central due 09:21
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
07:05 Westbury to Southampton Central due 08:17
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
10:00 Plymouth to Penzance due 12:02
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
07:45 Penzance to Plymouth due 09:45
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
11:06 Westbury to Southampton Central due 12:23
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
09:31 Southampton Central to Westbury due 10:39
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
06:10 Par to Penzance due 07:17
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
05:30 Cheltenham Spa to Swindon due 06:30
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
07:04 Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central due 09:05
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
09:40 Weston-super-Mare to Filton Abbey Wood due 10:23
This train has been cancelled.
08:40 Filton Abbey Wood to Weston-super-Mare due 09:25
This train has been cancelled.
07:40 Weston-super-Mare to Filton Abbey Wood due 08:27
This train has been cancelled. This is due to a broken down train.
06:53 Bristol Temple Meads to Weston-super-Mare due 07:28
This train has been cancelled. This is due to an earlier broken down train.
07:16 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa due 08:23
This train will be started from Gloucester. It will no longer call at: Swindon, Kemble, Stroud and Stonehouse. This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.
Back to top
</from website>

Of course it would be unfair to slag FGW off for this, most management are off until New Year so there isnt anyone available to come up with an unbelievable excuse to why this isnt their fault....

On the same sort of theme c2c (a TOC that can run a railway) has issued the following statement. This is what you get from a TOC that listens and understands what passengers want...

Meanwhile over at FGW we are still having difficulty working out how to run a bath let alone a train company.......


..
 
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theblackwatch

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On the same sort of theme c2c (a TOC that can run a railway) has issued the following statement. This is what you get from a TOC that listens and understands what passengers want...

c2c, also having a shortage of stock (due to a 357 being n Czech, and another 2 being out of traffic with damage) have also hired in a pair of Class 321s to cover for the stock shortage. Fancy doing something like that!!
 

Tom C

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Not quite sure if the statement c2c issued was entirely true.

c2c staff even told them that the timetable was "unworkable" yet they still implemented it. It was a complete disaster from the first day with trains dangerously overcrowded so I am rather cynically saying that c2c have changed it because they have to rather than it being as a result of pressure from the punters who were probably thinking that a company called LTS had taken over again.

As for First well I am surprised that people are surprised. As far as I am concerned from top to bottom they are a shower of **** and should be stripped of all their work.

So expect them to win the Midlands franchise.
 

Tom C

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Out of interest, what is so drastically different about c2c's new timetable?

Basically there were eight trains which started at Laindon in the morning which ment took a lot of local traffic from West Horndon, Upminster etc etc however c2c changed this so that all but one started at Shoebury which ment by the time the trains reached Laindon and West Horndon they were full to bursting and the situation was simular in the evening peak with everything running through to Shoebury meaning every train leaving Fenchurch Street was full to bursting.

On the first day c2c were not helped by a signal failure plus two 12 car trains sitting in East Ham as failures meaning short formations or cancellations however c2c still refused to say they were at fault on normal days even though trains were being delayed by up to 5/10 minutes with people trying to squeeze onto the trains.

Most of the passenger pressure came from passengers at Laindon and West Horndon who were furious that now they could not get a seat every morning and in times of disruption were lucky to get on the train at all.

I do remember years ago that LTS were trying to avoid using Upminster in the mornings so people were forced to use the District Line however I think that got nipped in the bud pretty quickly.

Well FGW are at the stage where they 'have to' do something to sort this out, but they are far to arrogant to admit anything that has happened is a fault of their own. We are suffering from dangerously overcrowded trains that leave as many people behind as they pick up. Customers are getting a tad peeeeed off with the 'wait for the next one' staff reply, as thats normally just as packed or more than likely cancelled. Anyway with the list of Saturdays cancellaions still getting longer I'll just sit back and dream it was still Wessex Trains days when the top and tail peds would no doubt be out for a spin

Know exactly what you mean as we have a simular (if not quite so bad) situation on Thameslink with short formed trains. First said we would have a wonderful new winter timetable yet it is exactly the same with First sitting back and just saying its all Southerns fault. They said they were looking at "practical solutions" for short term stock hire but nothing has come of it and judging by the situation at Great Western I doubt nothing will until Southern finally find someone elses garbage to replace the 319's.

Why oh why can't we just have Thameslink back again so we can just borrow 319's whenever the mood takes us :D
 

devon_metro

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It's a shame farce group can't take a page out of C2Cs book. The old timetable was excellent!
 

Techniquest

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F**K...Just lost my post...Took me a long time to write an excellent post like that...Time for a summary then...

- It is easier with a relatively enclosed network like c2c to be able to reintroduce an old timetable compared to FGW with its enormous network.

- FGW's network spreads for hundreds of miles, and interferes with several TOCs around it (Central Trains at Gloucester and Newport; Arriva Trains Wales all around South Wales, especially at Newport; Virgin XC at Reading, Oxford, Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth; South West Trains at Bristol, Exeter SD and Guildford; Southern at Gatwick Airport for examples I can think of)

- This makes it rather difficult to reintroduce a better timetable, as that would no doubt screw up and around with other operators' timetables and operations.

- I am, of course, not defending FGW for their mass cancellations. If they hadn't given vital units to Arriva Trains Wales, the list would certainly be much shorter, if not non-existant. FGW insist on being foolish though, so lists like this will probably be a much more common feature from now on.

- I too wish Wessex Trains was back. We would not be having such huge cancellations, and if we did we'd have the 31s and MK2s doing some work to try and make up for some of them.
 

Woody

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Neither First nor Great,just a complete shambles.GNER today FGW tommorrow.Looks like the Dft is still going to achieve what it set out to do when it published the original draft FGW timetable,destroy the rail system in the west of England.:thefinge: :thefinge:
 

AlexS

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- This makes it rather difficult to reintroduce a better timetable, as that would no doubt screw up and around with other operators' timetables and operations.

They managed to introduce a worse one easily enough.

Everyone on about the 31s and Mk2s, don't forget it was Wessex who cancelled that one, rather than First.
 

Techniquest

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No, I believe that was due to the SRA not providing any more funding for them.

As for producing a worse timetable, I have no idea how they got away with that. I think it's time we stopped having female MDs in First Great Western...
 

Dennis

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No, I believe that was due to the SRA not providing any more funding for them.

As for producing a worse timetable, I have no idea how they got away with that. I think it's time we stopped having female MDs in First Great Western...

Please don't be sexist. That statement should read I think it's time we stopped having an ineffective MD in First Great Western...
 

87015

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Everyone on about the 31s and Mk2s, don't forget it was Wessex who cancelled that one, rather than First.

Wessex still used the set over Bank Holidays and other events up to at least August BH 2005, believe it was on lease/hire until March 2006, when First took over... Not my area of local knowledge though, can someone confirm?
 

Jim

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Wessex still used the set over Bank Holidays and other events up to at least August BH 2005, believe it was on lease/hire until March 2006, when First took over... Not my area of local knowledge though, can someone confirm?


They were still on lease ready for Summer 2006, but it didn't happen, first didn;t use the buggers, instead they used a 2 car 150 on the "main" diagram
 

Dennis

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The last recorded use I have of them is on 26/11/05 when they were used to provide extra capacity. Since then, the coaches have languished in Westbury, gradually being repainted on one side only by the local artists. The 31's themselves have long since departed and seem to have cropped up on numerous assorted workings, passenger and freight.

As far as I know, the loco and coaches were only retained after the summer Saturday Weymouth work as a contingency measure, the lease expiring when FGW acquired the franchise.

One thing that amazed me recently was the condition of the ex Virgin coaches which were used during the recent Dartmoor Valley Gala, despite a long period out of use, these coaches provided perfectly acceptable passenger accommodation. Just pointing out that reactivation of stored coaching stock is not beyond the realms of possibility...

Clearly FGW (and just about every other TOC in the land) have decided the cost and possible reliability issues associated with LHCS outweigh the potential customer benefits.
 

devon_metro

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Happy New Year From fGW

Edit: Why does it not lay it out likle the fgw website :?

Line incidents

Line problem between Truro and Falmouth Town. Train services between Truro and Falmouth Town are being disrupted due to a staff shortage. Delays can be expected. Line problem between St Erth and St Ives. Train services between St Erth and St Ives are being disrupted due to a shortage of servicable trains. Delays can be expected. Line problem between Liskeard and Looe. Train services between Liskeard and Looe are being disrupted due to a shortage of servicable trains. Delays can be expected. Service incidents

12:07 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington due 14:47 This train has been cancelled. This is due to an earlier train fault. 08:18 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids due 10:57 This train has been cancelled. This is due to a train fault. 10:36 Worcester Shrub Hill to Taunton due 13:07 This train will be terminated at Bristol Temple Meads. It will no longer call at: Nailsea & Backwell, Yatton, Worle, Weston-Super-Mare, Highbridge & Burnham, Bridgwater and Taunton. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains. 09:52 London Paddington to Hereford due 12:54 This train has been reinstated. 13:38 Taunton to Cheltenham Spa due 15:46 This train will be started from Bristol Temple Meads. It will no longer call at: Taunton, Bridgwater, Highbridge & Burnham, Weston-Super-Mare, Worle, Yatton and Nailsea & Backwell. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains. 17:29 Newton Abbot to Gunnislake due 19:01 This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains. 19:05 Gunnislake to Plymouth due 19:50 This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains. 16:44 Plymouth to Gunnislake due 17:29 This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains. 12:19 Gunnislake to Plymouth due 13:04 This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains. 11:30 Plymouth to Gunnislake due 12:15 This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains. 20:32 Westbury to Cardiff Central due 22:20 This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains. 15:19 Swindon to Westbury due 16:01 This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains. 22:06 Bristol Temple Meads to Gloucester due 22:55 This train has been cancelled. This is due to a shortage of servicable trains.
 
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Tom

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Because the WYSIWYG editor can't port over tables to the forum.
 

Techniquest

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Please don't be sexist. That statement should read I think it's time we stopped having an ineffective MD in First Great Western...

Meh, it's all gone downhill since the females came on board with FGW. I don't remember things being this bad with a male MD!
 

Sprog

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Meh, it's all gone downhill since the females came on board with FGW. I don't remember things being this bad with a male MD!

Common Julian, play fair

The issue is far more complicated than Alison Forester.

As i seem to be constantly repeating on here, it is the DfT who are mostly at fault, not First.

I have an interesting theory, in relation to the recent revelation that there are intentions to replace most West of England branchline servies with busses.

Basically, it would appear that the DfT are doing a 'stealth' Beeching 2.0 and using the TOC, in this case FGW, as a sheild!!! And First are even paying the Government for this 'privilage' :o

We must ask ourselves, after the Western Region has been mutilated, which region is next!!?

Consider and Discuss :?:
 

Mojo

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Yes, but whilst some of what has happenned over the past month was down to the DfT, it is FGW's fault they have a lack of serviceable trains.
 

Sprog

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Yes, but whilst some of what has happenned over the past month was down to the DfT, it is FGW's fault they have a lack of serviceable trains.

Yes........to an outsider with a very simplistic view who only knows basic facts.

Other factors are: DfT (ohh look, theres that name again), Arriva Trains Wales and Transpennie Expresses maintenance, or lack of....:roll:, ROSCOs and their excessive/restrictive leasing charges.

Try telling that to me and my fellow employees around the Network that!

The fact is, we are working our socks off to try and sort things, on the 'ground' underneath the damn trains and the managment - both Fleet HQ and Swindon.

At the end of the day, you are all blaming First, but ask yourself this question,:

We are 100% in the Sh!tter at the moment, and simply, why would First, or any company, want to do this to themselves!????
 

Techniquest

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Common Julian, play fair

The issue is far more complicated than Alison Forester.

As i seem to be constantly repeating on here, it is the DfT who are mostly at fault, not First.

I have an interesting theory, in relation to the recent revelation that there are intentions to replace most West of England branchline servies with busses.

Basically, it would appear that the DfT are doing a 'stealth' Beeching 2.0 and using the TOC, in this case FGW, as a sheild!!! And First are even paying the Government for this 'privilage' :o

We must ask ourselves, after the Western Region has been mutilated, which region is next!!?

Consider and Discuss :?:

First of all, I am being fair, in the sense that I've seen FGW go from one of the most respected TOCs in the country to one of the top five (seeing Virgin and GNER top it by some way) right down through the last few years as one of the least respected, worst performing TOCs in the country. What reasons are we given for the worst service in the world? Let's take a moment to think about them:

DfT/SRA putting restriction after restriction on them. Right-o, fair enough if the DfT says no to something First don't have much power to change that. As the biggest operator in the country you'd expect them to be a little less wussy when it comes to fighting the Dft though. Still, at the same time the DfT know nothing about rail operations, especially one as complicated as the Western Region, so crap decisions can be expected from a pro-road organisation.

Next up we've got Network Rail, constantly blamed for poor infrastructure and long engineering posessions. Yet at the same time we are told a lot that NR are doing a lot of work to fix up the network and that delays from both parties are being reduced all the time.

Then of course you've got the rolling stock. 180s have had a terrible time, but they've had YEARS to get it sorted. Then the HSTs get in the firing line for being so old. 30 year old rolling stock still in mainline service is impressive, and you should expect the poor things (originally expected, remember, to retire from the frontlines after 10 years to secondary use and branch lines. Imagine a HST up the Marches...) to now be collapsing from exhaustion. Another reason to get HST2 progressing now...

On the same subject, Arriva, TPX and Canton are constantly blamed for poor maintenance. First had some control with TPX for some time now, if they were unhappy with maintenance they could have done something about it. But they didn't. If they were also so unhappy with Canton, why didn't they do something about it? Time now to really get it on and fix them properly then. As Nat the Ned says, it's been long enough to sort the problems out!

Now we are given staff availability as an excuse. Oh come on, this would have been easy to sort out, if they had asked for people to work for them to solve the lack of crew I'm sure they'd have gotten them.

Of course, you've also got a lack of rolling stock as an excuse. OK, so explain why the f**k they sent 150/2s to Arriva? Why are there absolutely no plans to bring in stock from somewhere else to help cover the shortage?

No, there's so many excuses for FGW. One they've not used yet is 'This is due to terrible management practices within the DfT and First'. When that is used we'll finally get the truth. Until then, FGW will sink even further in the opinions of commuters, leisure travellers and enthusiasts. It sickens me to think how bad they've gotten in the three and a bit years I've been a fan of FGW. That changes now, I refuse to tread further into 2007 as an FGW fan. I've stuck with them in fanship terms for long enough, they stink as a TOC. Childish you may call me, but hey.

Oh, and as for playing fair with regards to suggesting a return to male MDs, tough. My opinion on that is standing firm.
 

Max

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Other factors are: DfT (ohh look, theres that name again), Arriva Trains Wales and Transpennie Expresses maintenance, or lack of....:roll:

Hmm, yet I'm sure that Transpennine Express didn't have to cancel hundreds of services because of 'lack of serviceable units'. There are many TPE 158 sets still operating up here with no problems. Sounds like a load of corporate rubbish to me!
 

Mojo

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First are well known for blaming everyone else for their problems. They blamed the local authority here in Bristol when they got fined £110,000 for poor bus performance a few yrs ago.

It won't be long before they come up with "a big boy did it and then ran away" ;)
 

Woody

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What is the source of these revelations regards the bustitution of the Devon and Cornwall branches.
 

Bonemaster

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Its all very easy to blame the person at the top but they only know what they are told what they know by middle and local management and if the MD comes out with some jewels then its only communicating what is told to them and the implication that women cant manage its rediculous some of the best managers I have worked for have been women and its the men who are adverse to change.

As for the Dft, the flawed way that our railways were privatised meant there had to be a centralised controling body, the SRA who took a more backseat approach was hardly sucessful, whereas the Dft who are taking a hands on approach and attempting to ensure that the best levels of service are maintained in there own way are not exactly the most well thought of either.

Things will only improve when we go one of two ways, allow railway companies to run a railway themselves, without the need for a regulatory body, stock leasors, network rail, or alternativly renationalise it and have a central body to control everything
 
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