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GWR Dec 19 timetable

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JN114

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All Swansea crews sign the vale (or at least nearly all) - The issue is the availability of Swansea crew, and where these turns could normally be covered by Paddington or Bristol drivers; today they can’t because of the diversion.
 
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Weekender

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New timetable and enhanced frequency equals new rolling stock diagrams. What has been running between London and Cheltenham until now was just IETs in use instead of HSTs every couple of hours.

Sundays are indeed a mess at the moment but that's down to whether staff needed to operate that route are going to turn out. You could lay on a shuttle dmu but if there's nothing to connect with at Swindon, or a long wait due to Bristol and South Wales route cancellations, then it isn't going to help much.



If it's not Christmas party night again next Saturday - which we have been informed is a key factor this weekend - then maybe more people will turn out. Otherwise I assume more inducements will be offered.

A post on the GW Passengers' Forum suggests an issue on South Wales services has been not enough people volunteering who had route knowledge of the Vale of Glamorgan line for diversions in South Wales today.
When you posted this morning that Oxford and North Cotswolds line had a normal service I assumed then that the Oxford depot parties had been arranged for next Saturday, post 951 suggests that assumption was correct.
 

WelshBluebird

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New Bristol-London express services start tomorrow then. Those of you making journeys on any of these services tomorrow, I am absolutely green with envy! I've been waiting nearly 20 years for services like this to be introduced/re-introduced! But as mentioned, circumstances have meant that I won't be able to travel as intended on these services tomorrow! Will have to wait till Friday 3rd January till I can get one of these services!

I will look on Realtimetrains tomorrow with interest to see how my intended services performed. The 0853 Bristol Temple Meads-London Paddington and the 1800 London Paddington-Bristol Temple Meads - running NON-STOP to Chippenham!

Not tomorrow, but on Tuesday I'm aiming to be on the 1915 Paddington to Temple Meads via Parkway, non stop until Parkway.
 

father_jack

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"JIMM said"

In the Thames Valley they seem to have more volunteers than needed today, as there are hourly extras running each way between Paddington, Reading and Didcot, on top of the Cotswold Line services and the new extra London-Oxford fasts (which all call at Didcot on Sundays), and the remaining Paddington semi-fast services sharing the reliefs with TfL east of Reading.


Well that's rubbish, cherrypicking a positive out of the rubbish, a few drivers have done a few VSTP 1Z DOO PAD DIDCOT trips, not much good if you're going further west.
 

II

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When you posted this morning that Oxford and North Cotswolds line had a normal service I assumed then that the Oxford depot parties had been arranged for next Saturday, post 951 suggests that assumption was correct.

Oxford's was yesterday - but the depot was still fully covered today. A combination of the double-time offer and the inability to throw Sunday's away that can't be covered because they are all GWR grade drivers. Worcester's was three weeks ago. There is scope to get both Reading and Oxford depots to sign more routes to lessen the effect of HSS grade driver shortages on Sunday's, so it will be interesting to see if that path is ever taken.
 

irish_rail

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jimm

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"JIMM said"

Well that's rubbish, cherrypicking a positive out of the rubbish, a few drivers have done a few VSTP 1Z DOO PAD DIDCOT trips, not much good if you're going further west.

In what way is a statement of fact "rubbish" or "cherrypicking"? I must have missed the bit where I suggested the Didcot extras had anything to do with journeys further west.

What is also a statement of fact is that there were next to no crew issues on GWR's Thames Valley and Oxford/Cotswold services, the Bristol suburban and interregional routes or West Country local services.

So please let's not pretend that there were cancelled trains all over the GWR network - the issues were on services meant to be crewed by staff from a limited number of depots.
 

Pete_uk

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First weekday services today! Good luck everyone!

Also, a few of the early Cheltenham Paddington services being 5 car will make them a bit cosy.
 

jamesb84

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Niche question here on Weekday 1... does anyone have any indication of what the diagrams look like for the Tarka Line for morning commute?

We're now "blessed" with 2 trains arriving into EXC before 0900 (I know... 1tph, how spoilt we are) and with the cascade, we're supposedly getting class 158s.

However, train crews were advising passengers as recently as last week that there would still be Pacers and 2-car services in peak times. So, does anyone know how that's ended up? I'd guess the 0720 departure from BNP is the busier, and therefore class 158 3-car diagram, but can anyone confirm?

Thanks,
James.
 

Lewlew

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I'm on the 0628 Padd to Cheltenham train and we've just been cautioned between Slough and Burnham due to a "track defect". Looks like it's affecting both mains and reliefs in both directions.

Could be a fun morning peak for the new timetable.
 

Pete_uk

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I'm on the 0628 Padd to Cheltenham train and we've just been cautioned between Slough and Burnham due to a "track defect". Looks like it's affecting both mains and reliefs in both directions.

Could be a fun morning peak for the new timetable.

I was wondering why it lost time. (Keeping an eye on it all from work)
 

TheBigD

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Niche question here on Weekday 1... does anyone have any indication of what the diagrams look like for the Tarka Line for morning commute?

We're now "blessed" with 2 trains arriving into EXC before 0900 (I know... 1tph, how spoilt we are) and with the cascade, we're supposedly getting class 158s.

However, train crews were advising passengers as recently as last week that there would still be Pacers and 2-car services in peak times. So, does anyone know how that's ended up? I'd guess the 0720 departure from BNP is the busier, and therefore class 158 3-car diagram, but can anyone confirm?

Thanks,
James.

0721 ex Barny is shown as 3 car 158956 this morning.
 

jamesb84

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0721 ex Barny is shown as 3 car 158956 this morning.

Thanks BigD! If that service runs as a 158 3-car every day then I'll be a happy commuter... particularly if the 0621 from Barnstaple takes some of the early-start college students away. Primarily though, it's about getting rid of those Pacers. Apologies to anyone with an attachment to them, but the reliability of them on GWR branches is in the gutter, particularly the door pneumatics and heaters with either "core of the earth" or "arctic winter" settings.
 

Fast Track

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Unfortunately GWR now have many cancellations and trains into Paddington running around 20plus minutes late
 

Envoy

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If the GWR do not have enough drivers competent with the Vale of Glamorgan diversionary route, can’t they just get a local TfW driver to sit alongside them between Cardiff & Bridgend?
 

JonathanH

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If the GWR do not have enough drivers competent with the Vale of Glamorgan diversionary route, can’t they just get a local TfW driver to sit alongside them between Cardiff & Bridgend?

...and are there any 'local TfW drivers' spare on a Sunday? Who is going to pay for them to undertake the additional work on an ad hoc basis?
 

Jimini

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I’m on the delayed 0918 now and everything between Twyford and Maidenhead towards London is crawling along the UR line at the moment.
 

Wilts Wanderer

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Looks like Network Rail have massively dropped the ball with the first morning peak destroyed. Bet there’s some red faces in Control, big own goal...
 

cactustwirly

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Looks like Network Rail have massively dropped the ball with the first morning peak destroyed. Bet there’s some red faces in Control, big own goal...

Well obviously the times are now completely different, so the well rehearsed 2 track railway plan doesn't apply anymore.
 

Wilts Wanderer

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Well obviously the times are now completely different, so the well rehearsed 2 track railway plan doesn't apply anymore.

There has been a lot of work put into developing new contingencies for disruption. I guess today they’re being put to the test earlier than was hoped...
 

Dren Ahmeti

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Well obviously the times are now completely different, so the well rehearsed 2 track railway plan doesn't apply anymore.
What didn’t help is that the failure - an axle counter failure - needed a line block to replace the rail head, and so that would mess up any 4-track railway, even if they were passing signals at danger.
 

Wilts Wanderer

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Things have noticeably picked up this afternoon. The 1445 Paddington-Weston SM managed a 71-min non stop run from Paddington to Bristol Parkway, arriving 3 minutes early.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y94340/2019-12-16/detailed

Edit - although has lost time passing through Bristol which is presumably still recovering from the morning’s disruption. Now approaching Weston SM approx 8 mins down.
 
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Jamesrob637

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Things have noticeably picked up this afternoon. The 1445 Paddington-Weston SM managed a 71-min non stop run from Paddington to Bristol Parkway, arriving 3 minutes early.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y94340/2019-12-16/detailed

Edit - although has lost time passing through Bristol which is presumably still recovering from the morning’s disruption. Now approaching Weston SM approx 8 mins down.

48 minutes from Reading to North Bristol is good going, although I am led to believe HSTs achieved this in the 1980s - mind you there were fewer trains back then!
 

Class 33

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New Bristol-London express services start tomorrow then. Those of you making journeys on any of these services tomorrow, I am absolutely green with envy! I've been waiting nearly 20 years for services like this to be introduced/re-introduced! But as mentioned, circumstances have meant that I won't be able to travel as intended on these services tomorrow! Will have to wait till Friday 3rd January till I can get one of these services!

I will look on Realtimetrains tomorrow with interest to see how my intended services performed. The 0853 Bristol Temple Meads-London Paddington and the 1800 London Paddington-Bristol Temple Meads - running NON-STOP to Chippenham!

Oh I see the 0853 service from Bristol was cancelled! If I was due to get that service today as originally intended, I'd have been absolutely gutted that that service was cancelled. And I would have had to get on the 0900 service with the all too familiar stopping pattern of Bath Spa, Chippenham, Swindon, Didcot Parkway, Reading, and London Paddington! My ticket wouldn't have allowed me to travel on the next EXPRESS service which wasn't until 1020! So that would have been a disappointing outbound journey to London for me this morning having to get just one of the normal services!

The 1800 service I would have got though. Departed London Paddington 1 minute late, but arrived Bristol Temple Meads bang on time at 1927.

Roll on Friday 3rd January and my journey on the 1824 service to London calling enroute at Bristol Parkway only. Hope it doesn't get cancelled like the 0853 service this morning!
 

Scottychoo

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Oh I see the 0853 service from Bristol was cancelled! If I was due to get that service today as originally intended, I'd have been absolutely gutted that that service was cancelled. And I would have had to get on the 0900 service with the all too familiar stopping pattern of Bath Spa, Chippenham, Swindon, Didcot Parkway, Reading, and London Paddington! My ticket wouldn't have allowed me to travel on the next EXPRESS service which wasn't until 1020! So that would have been a disappointing outbound journey to London for me this morning having to get just one of the normal services!

The 1800 service I would have got though. Departed London Paddington 1 minute late, but arrived Bristol Temple Meads bang on time at 1927.

Roll on Friday 3rd January and my journey on the 1824 service to London calling enroute at Bristol Parkway only. Hope it doesn't get cancelled like the 0853 service this morning!
You really need to get out more(apart from your fast trip to Bristol)
 

Mitchell Hurd

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Hello all. Virtually just now I was looking at Tiger train times for the 20:06 London Paddington train from Oxford (ex-19:44 from Banbury) and it says 9 coaches. If anyone knows the carriage allocation better than me, is this booked for a 9-car?

If it is then that's handy as it will mean probably a less than half full train to Oxford.

I might think of going to Banbury to experience an IET from here once the clocks go forward. To avoid the crush on the Voyagers, I'll escape it by catching the 16:24 stopping train from Oxford.

I'm impressed that from Banbury back to Oxford that there's the IET at 19:44 then the Bournemouth train at 19:55, the stopping train at 20:07 then the XC Reading train at 20:19. Not bad!
 
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