Super quick turnaround

[bnm]

My train last evening was the 1900 Paddington to Bristol TM.

The incoming set for this service was in at 1837 from Cheltenham Spa.

The Bristol service was called for boarding at 1849.

I watched the turnaround process on Platform 1 and I was impressed with how efficient it was. A full litter pick, seat reservations, window labels, some tanking, and catering stock loading all done in 12 minutes.

Well done to GWR and their contractors. A most efficient operation.

 

[onlinespotting]

Sometimes if a virgin train from Euston arrives late at man pic they have a 3-5 min turnaround, literally boarding as soon as arriving passengers have alighted and departing (almost) straight away, not sure if they bother with the litter pick though all reservations are electronic

 

[najaB]

Sometimes if a virgin train from Euston arrives late at man pic they have a 3-5 min turnaround, literally boarding as soon as arriving passengers have alighted and departing (almost) straight away, not sure if they bother with the litter pick though all reservations are electronic

I can't remember since it's been a while since I was last on one of their services - do GWR make as much use of on-train cleaning staff as Virgin Trains?

 

[northernchris]

Virgin are quick at turning round services at Leeds, quite often there's around 10 minutes between the train arriving and boarding commencing

 

[EM2]

I've seen EMT do seven minutes at St Pancras.

 

[Welshman]

I've known some pretty slick turn-rounds at Euston, especially with Voyagers, as I suppose the ability to step up/swap sets is more limited than with pendolinos.

Which is good for Virgin's efficiency, but a challenge for anyone with heavy luggage trying to get from the concourse to the country end of platform 18 in five minutes or so!

 

[notadriver]

Sometimes litter pickers get on a stop before the terminus and alight at the same stop on return to save time.

 

[PermitToTravel]

Sometimes if a virgin train from Euston arrives late at man pic they have a 3-5 min turnaround, literally boarding as soon as arriving passengers have alighted and departing (almost) straight away, not sure if they bother with the litter pick though all reservations are electronic

Seen this before at Manchester Piccadilly, it's very impressive. Last time the first class host told me that he hadn't had time to count the stock in the trolley, so just ordered loads of booze just in case. The crew were very very generous

 

[dk1]

IC sets should turn round at Liv.St. In 8mins else you get questions.

 

[BestWestern]

My train last evening was the 1900 Paddington to Bristol TM.

The incoming set for this service was in at 1837 from Cheltenham Spa.

The Bristol service was called for boarding at 1849.

I watched the turnaround process on Platform 1 and I was impressed with how efficient it was. A full litter pick, seat reservations, window labels, some tanking, and catering stock loading all done in 12 minutes.

Well done to GWR and their contractors. A most efficient operation.

They are very good! That's not overly unusual though, you've not seen that before, BigNose? Did it convey booked seat reservations did you notice?

 

[paul332]

I once caught an AGA train at Norwich turned round in 4 minutes due to an earlier failure necessitating stepping-forward. Very impressive.

 

[route:oxford]

Sometimes if a virgin train from Euston arrives late at man pic they have a 3-5 min turnaround, literally boarding as soon as arriving passengers have alighted and departing (almost) straight away, not sure if they bother with the litter pick though all reservations are electronic

Yes, you can tell by the state of the lavatories.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

GWR train managers often do reservations and a bit of litter-picking between Ledbury and Hereford ready for the return journey, though obviously this is a sight easier than a Paddington arrival would be as Ledbury-Hereford on an HST is usually pretty lightly loaded.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Sometimes if a virgin train from Euston arrives late at man pic they have a 3-5 min turnaround, literally boarding as soon as arriving passengers have alighted and departing (almost) straight away, not sure if they bother with the litter pick though all reservations are electronic

VT have travelling cleaners that do the litter pick on board, so no need to do it at the destination if in a hurry.
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Sometimes if a virgin train from Euston arrives late at man pic they have a 3-5 min turnaround, literally boarding as soon as arriving passengers have alighted and departing (almost) straight away, not sure if they bother with the litter pick though all reservations are electronic

At Picc there isn't really a boarding call as such as the platforms are open and display is not suppressed, so it's the passengers that initiate this themselves.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Do VTs traveling cleaners service the bogs other than a bin empty?

 

[bnm]

They are very good! That's not overly unusual though, you've not seen that before, BigNose? Did it convey booked seat reservations did you notice?

As I said in the OP, seat reservations put out. Mine was there when I boarded! And whilst I've travelled through Paddington countless times, I've never taken the time to watch the turnaround of a set. This was P1 so easy for me to walk up and down.

 

[306024]

IC sets should turn round at Liv.St. In 8mins else you get questions.

Back in the 1980s 10 minutes used to be achievable at Liverpool St, including uncoupling the loco on the stops and attaching one to the other end. For real slick operation though the Jazz service would take some beating.

 

[BestWestern]

As I said in the OP, seat reservations put out. Mine was there when I boarded! And whilst I've travelled through Paddington countless times, I've never taken the time to watch the turnaround of a set. This was P1 so easy for me to walk up and down.

Apologies, read the OP and then left it too long before posting...

Particularly difficult when P1/8/9 as quite a number will board prior to announcement of the service.

Of course, having said that, the 'other end' of the line (Temple Meads ) is also graced with some fairly speedy train prep staff. However, unlike Paddington, they do generally have the luxury of the train being locked up.

 

[Starmill]

Do VTs traveling cleaners service the bogs other than a bin empty?

Not usually - this is often done at Euston.