First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

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First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

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Lee

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First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« on: July 29, 2006, 03:19:52 PM »

Reference - http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/Rev%20Dec%20TTs/SX%20-%20Cardiff%20-%20Bristol%20to%20Weymouth%20-%20Portsmouth%20-%20Brighton.pdf

The timetable appears to show a service to Cheltenham Spa departing from Southampton at 1827. I believe this to be an error and that the 1827 Southampton - Westbury service and the 1935 Westbury - Cheltenham Spa service have been placed in the same column. If anyone connected with First happens to be reading this and knows different , then Graham would probably appreciate an e-mail.

The early morning Gloucester - Westbury service is scheduled to arrive in Westbury at 0702. It is then expected to form the 0702 Westbury - Cheltenham Spa service. A turnaround time of 0 mins is simply NOT feasible , as the general view is that at least a 5 min turnaround time is desirable at any station. If the Gloucester - Westbury service runs late , then it is very likely to be terminated at Swindon , and NOT serve Swindon - Westbury. A significant number of "revisions" of this nature would have a serious impact on passenger usage figures , which would already be low due to the reduction in the service level and the inconvenient timings of the remaining trains.

Connection is feasible to stations between Westbury - Southampton by catching the 0646 from Melksham and changing at Westbury. However , there is only a 3 minute wait , which is tight. Connection is also feasible from Frome onto the 0702 Westbury - Cheltenham Spa service (5 mins wait) but passengers from Salisbury , Warminster and Dilton Marsh have to wait 31 mins at Westbury as their train arrives at 0631.

If you catch the 1908 from Melksham , there is a 20 min wait at Westbury for a train to Frome and a 33 min wait for a fast Southampton train or a 42 min wait for a stopping Southampton train. There is a 2 minute connection at Westbury from the Southampton - Westbury shuttle onto the 1935 Westbury - Cheltenham Spa service.

If the unit that forms the bulk of the Southampton - Westbury "shuttle" services is withdrawn in December 2007 , then the following stations will lose the services listed below. It should be remembered that Derek Twigg has personally guaranteed that South Western Franchise services will call at Dean & Dunbridge from December 2007 , but has not said how many. Extra South Western Franchise services are also planned between Southampton - Romsey.

Bristol Temple Meads , Keynsham , Oldfield Park , Bath Spa , Freshford , Avoncliff , Bradford - On - Avon and Trowbridge - 2 services lost.

Southampton Central , Romsey , Dunbridge , Dean , Salisbury , Warminster , Dilton Marsh and Westbury - 10 services lost.

In the final FGW December 2006 timetable , Dilton Marsh has 21 services in total and Dean & Dunbridge both have 20 services in total.

The new timetable poses a problem for Dilton Marsh , which is not on the Southampton - Salisbury route and therefore not covered by the new South Western Franchise , and to a slightly lesser extent Dean & Dunbridge. The decision to replace the Swindon - Southampton service , which would have required a decreasing level of subsidy over the coming years , with a 1-year £1 million (reported price) subsidised Southampton - Westbury shuttle will put greater pressure on these stations to record an impressive and rapid rise in passenger figures , which they will have to acheive with a less effective route. Unless the way that the DfT uses its figures is reformed , service level cuts could well be on the cards from December 2007 for all 3 stations.

As for freight , it is my view that , because the above stations have recieved the level of service that they have in the final 2006 timetable , intermodal freight trains are unlikely to appear in significant numbers on the Melksham line until December 2007 at the earliest , when the Bristol - Waterloo and Southampton - Westbury services are due to be withdrawn. There is , however , a greatly increased likelihood that extra stone trains from the Mendip Quarries will be scheduled via Melksham from December 2006 especially as Track Access Grants for this route have been approved.

As far as Melksham is concerned , my view is that as the service that it has recieved is virtually unpromotable (not to mention almost unusable) the only way to safeguard the future of Melksham station is to somehow get the cuts reversed and a suitable service put in place. ALL available avenues need to be (quickly) explored in order to achieve this.


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Graham Ellis

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2006, 07:24:55 PM »

That's good work from you, Lee .... agreed that all routes for Melksham need to be explored. Not only has our service here been slashed by the DfT's bovver boys, but then the 'clever' timetablers have taken the crumbs that were left and thrown them in the mud. Did they listen to the consultaton inputs we made concerning timing? I don't know, but I do know that the only changes from the draft to 'final' have been in the opposite direction to our timing inputs.

I've been reading (posts and emails) suggesting that the line would make a loss next year with five or eight trains on it. Me thinks it would make even more of a loss with two trains running at the times stated. SLC2 was said to require a train arriving in Swindon in the morning peak off the line, and another returning in the evening peak. We have neither ... in my view the timetable fails to meet even the dreadful minimum standard the SRA laid down.

There seem so real odd timings further South too ... am I imagining things, or do Dean and Dunbridge get pairs of trains an hour apart then an enormous gap? I can't help feeling that there's to omuch operational convenience and too little thought for the passengers around. Mind you ... it's been suggested that us folks from these parts are nice and quiet and will put up with inconvenience without complaining ... so perhaps people WILL travel from Frome to Swindon with changes at Westbury and Bath, rather than direct.


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Nick Field

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #2 on: July 29, 2006, 10:31:43 PM »

Lee thanks for posting up that useful information about the timetable. I agree the service is virtually unpromotable and unusable. As Graham points out and I have said in other posts this timetable does not even meet the SRA minimum of a commuter service arriving at Swindon and out of Swindon in the peak. My question is can this be challenged now? is the SLC2 now redundant? There must be at least some way of challenging the timings we have got for the two trains per day as they do not meet the SLC2?


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aik4on

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2006, 09:47:23 AM »

I feel the timings should be formally challenged as, by any stretch of the imagination, the two services are not 'peak'. As I understand it, providing an SLC2 compliant timetable is a franchise condition. Therefore, if the timetable is not SLC2 compliant, FGW is in breach of its franchise conditions. (Saying this, I do not know what the official definition of 'peak time' is for the purposes of SLC2 compliance).

FGW do have a franchise compliance manager and it is his job to ensure that the firm meets its franchise commitments r perhaps an approach to the DfT's Peter West is preferable?

On another matter, Graham please forward your email to me as an instant message through this forum. I'm afraid the email address I list on here is a disposable email address which I never access (this is something I use when signing up for any forum or bulletin board, etc, to prevent spam.)


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Graham Ellis

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2006, 10:39:29 AM »

Quote from: aik4on on July 31, 2006, 09:47:23 AM

Very tempting, and could well be worthwhile. I'm rushed off my feet, though. Aik4on - you seem to know the right people and understand this issue ... is this something you could do on behalf of all the users who'll be effected by this change and keep the posted via this forum and / or other routes? Thanks!

Quote

On another matter, Graham please forward your email to me as an instant message through this forum. I'm afraid the email address I list on here is a disposable email address which I never access (this is something I use when signing up for any forum or bulletin board, etc, to prevent spam.)

I'm going to answer that on the "help and assistance" board ... brings up a couple of issues of general interest.


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aik4on

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2006, 10:49:03 AM »

I regret that this is not something I'm able to do!


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Graham Ellis

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #6 on: August 04, 2006, 11:01:45 AM »

If you talk with train operators, they'll tell you that they do NOT usually hold connections at junctions, as the delay caused to the customers on the train who are not making the connection would typically outweigh delays compounded for the cobbecting passengers, and that holding a train would also lead to a propogation of the delay onto the connecting line. However an expection is made where a connection is being made into the last train of the day.

This means that at present, the 17:43 departure from Swindon to Melksham, Trowbridge, Westbury and beyond will NOT be held if the London trains are running late, but as from December, the 18:42 departure WILL be held if 'The Paddington' is late. So far so good, but it might also mean that anyone who commutes to Swindon and is having to hang around an extra hour to get home may also find their homeward journey is delayed more often than at present ....


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Lee

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #7 on: August 13, 2006, 03:17:01 PM »

Here is a further analysis based on trains that both depart and arrive at selected "Wessex" stations between 0700 - 0900 & 1700 - 1900.

PATCHWAY

Current Timetable :

Patchway - 0738 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0751.
Patchway - 0838 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0850.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1720 - Patchway - 1731.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1822 - Patchway - 1833.

From December 2006 :

Patchway - 0838 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0852.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1724 - Patchway - 1736.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1824 - Patchway - 1836.

KEYNSHAM & OLDFIELD PARK

Current Timetable :

Keynsham - 0740 - Oldfield Park - 0747 - Bath Spa - 0750.
Keynsham - 0828 - Bath Spa - 0836.
Keynsham - 0847 - Oldfield Park - 0854 - Bath Spa - 0858.
Oldfield Park - 0726 - Keynsham - 0733 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0741.
Oldfield Park - 0737 - Keynsham - 0744 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0752.
Oldfield Park - 0748 - Keynsham - 0755 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0804.
Oldfield Park - 0816 - Keynsham - 0824 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0835.
Oldfield Park - 0824 - Keynsham - 0832 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0841.
Bath Spa - 1710 - Oldfield Park - 1712 - Keynsham - 1720.
Bath Spa - 1810 - Oldfield Park - 1812 - Keynsham - 1820.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1708 - Keynsham - 1714 - Oldfield Park - 1721.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1722 - Oldfield Park - 1731.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1740 - Keynsham - 1747 - Oldfield Park - 1754.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1807 - Keynsham - 1814 - Oldfield Park - 1821.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1840 - Keynsham - 1847 - Oldfield Park - 1854.

From December 2006 :

Keynsham - 0711 - Oldfield Park - 0718 - Bath Spa - 0721.
Keynsham - 0811 - Oldfield Park - 0818 - Bath Spa - 0821.
Oldfield Park - 0706 - Keynsham - 0713 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0721.
Oldfield Park - 0731 - Keynsham - 0738 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0745.
Oldfield Park - 0750 - Keynsham - 0757 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0805.
Oldfield Park - 0806 - Keynsham - 0813 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0821.
Oldfield Park - 0824 - Keynsham - 0832 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0839.
Bath Spa - 1703 - Oldfield Park - 1706 - Keynsham - 1713.
Bath Spa - 1717 - Oldfield Park - 1720 - Keynsham - 1728.
Bath Spa - 1803 - Oldfield Park - 1806 - Keynsham - 1813.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1704 - Keynsham - 1711 - Oldfield Park - 1718.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1722 - Oldfield Park - 1732.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1748 - Keynsham - 1755 - Oldfield Park - 1802.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1804 - Keynsham - 1811 - Oldfield Park - 1818.

AVONCLIFF & FRESHFORD

Current Timetable :

Avoncliff - 0730 - Freshford - 0732 - Bath Spa - 0745 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0804.
Avoncliff - 0750 - Freshford - 0752 - Bath Spa - 0807.
Avoncliff - 0758 - Freshford - 0801 - Bath Spa - 0813 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0835.
Avoncliff - 0836 - Freshford - 0838 - Bath Spa - 0851.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1708 - Bath Spa - 1726 - Freshford - 1735 - Avoncliff - 1737.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1740 - Bath Spa - 1758 - Freshford - 1807 - Avoncliff - 1809.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1807 - Bath Spa - 1825 - Freshford - 1834 - Avoncliff - 1836.

From December 2006 :

Avoncliff - 0711 - Freshford - 0715 - Bath Spa - 0728 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0745.
Avoncliff - 0731 - Freshford - 0734 - Bath Spa - 0747 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0805.
Avoncliff - 0746 - Freshford - 0749 - Bath Spa - 0803 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0821.
Avoncliff - 0806 - Freshford - 0809 - Bath Spa - 0822 - Bristol Temple Meads - 0839.
Avoncliff - 0831 - Freshford - 0835 - Bath Spa - 0847.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1704 - Bath Spa - 1721 - Freshford - 1731 - Avoncliff - 1734.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1748 - Bath Spa - 1806 - Freshford - 1815 - Avoncliff - 1818.
Bristol Temple Meads - 1804 - Bath Spa - 1821 - Freshford - 1831 - Avoncliff - 1834.

MELKSHAM

Current Timetable :

Melksham - 0745 - Chippenham - 0801 - Swindon - 0818.
Swindon - 1743 - Chippenham - 1759 - Melksham - 1809.

From December 2006 :

Melksham - 0717 - Chippenham - 0730 - Swindon - 0750.

DEAN , DILTON MARSH & DUNBRIDGE

Current Timetable :

Dean - 0719 - Dunbridge - 0724 - Romsey - 0730 - Southampton Central - 0740.
Dilton Marsh - 0716 - Warminster - 0723 - Salisbury - 0745 - Romsey - 0807 - Southampton Central - 0818.
Dilton Marsh - 0823 - Warminster - 0830 - Salisbury - 0849.
Dunbridge - 0806 - Dean - 0812 - Salisbury - 0825.
Southampton Central - 1727 - Romsey - 1738 - Dunbridge - 1744 - Dean - 1750 - Salisbury - 1803 - Warminster - 1825 - Dilton Marsh - 1830.
Southampton Central - 1840 - Romsey - 1851 - Dunbridge - 1856.
Salisbury - 1706 - Dean - 1719 - Dunbridge - 1724.

From December 2006 :

Dean - 0719 - Dunbridge - 0724 - Romsey - 0730 - Southampton Central - 0740.
Dilton Marsh - 0708 - Warminster 0713 - Salisbury - 0737 - Dean - 0750 - Dunbridge - 0756 - Romsey 0802 - Southampton Central - 0815.
Dilton Marsh - 0809 - Warminster - 0815 - Salisbury - 0840.
Dunbridge - 0806 - Dean - 0811 - Salisbury - 0824.
Southampton Central - 1827 - Romsey - 1839 - Dunbridge - 1844 - Dean - 1850.
Salisbury - 1739 - Dean - 1752 - Dunbridge - 1755.

Here are some points worth noting :

1) There is a planned reduction in the number of trains serving Patchway during these times.

2) There is a significant planned modification of Keynsham & Oldfield Park services during these times.

3) There is a planned INCREASE in the number of trains serving Avoncliff & Freshford during these times , despite the populations that they serve being smaller than that of many of the stations on this list. However , possibly to compensate for this , First have reduced the frequency of services to both stations at other times of the day (as they have done with every other station on this list.)

4) From December 2006 , in common with Swindon - Melksham commuters , passengers for Dean , Dilton Marsh & Dunbridge will have to wait an extra hour for an evening train home from Southampton or Romsey. Dilton Marsh passengers will also have to wait an extra hour for an evening train home from Salisbury or Warminster.

5) Dean & Dunbridge passengers will have to wait an extra 33 minutes for an evening train home from Salisbury.

6) As has been mentioned elsewhere on this site (http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=36.msg1129#msg1129) there appears to be no service to/from Pilning station whatsoever from December 2006. I believe that this error has yet to be rectified.

Once again , if anyone connected with First happens to be reading this and wishes to comment , then Graham would probably appreciate an e-mail.


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Lee

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2006, 04:41:05 PM »

From December 2006 , Portsmouth - Cardiff trains , once they have terminated at Cardiff , will then turnaround and form Cardiff - Bristol - Westbury - Weymouth / Southampton services. This will also happen vice versa.

You will have noticed that there is a new section of the final December 2006 timetable. This is Cardiff - Barry - Rhoose (Cardiff Airport.) No trains from this timetable are scheduled to run on this section from December 2006 (The route is currently served by Arriva Trains Wales.)

At some point , the Portsmouth - Cardiff service will have to be extended to Rhoose (Cardiff Airport.) This will require an extra unit and will also turn the Portsmouth - Cardiff service into a self - contained operation.

I rather suspect that this is why trains are not being extended to Cardiff Airport from December 2006.

There is a growing interest in improving train services in South Wales (link below.)
http://archive.southwalesargus.co.uk/2006/2/1/79998.html

This June 2005 article by Christian Wolmar mentions the issue of funding Welsh passenger train services. It also explores other issues that I think have become very relevant just over 1 year after it was written.
http://www.christianwolmar.co.uk/articles/rail/516.shtml

Here is a list of the very few stops in Portsmouth - Cardiff services that are due to be made from December 2006 at the stations listed in the post directly above this one.

Towards Portsmouth :

Dilton Marsh - 2201
Dean - 2243
Dunbridge - 2249

Towards Cardiff :

Dunbridge - 0806
Dean - 0811
Dilton Marsh - 0746
Avoncliff - 0806
Freshford - 0809
Oldfield Park - 0824
Keynsham - 0832


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Lee

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #9 on: August 17, 2006, 10:33:07 AM »

Here is a quote from the Greater Western Franchise Agreement , also now publicly available from the Department for Transport's Public Register :

"1. EXTENSION OF PORTSMOUTH-CARDIFF SERVICES TO SERVE CARDIFF AIRPORT

Description, Objective and Specification.

1.1 This is a Priced Option to change the Service Level Commitment to amend the SLC2 by extending the current Portsmouth to Cardiff Central Service to Rhoose station with effect from the Timetable Change Date in December 2006, with the extension to be funded by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) through a separate funding agreement to be entered into between the Secretary of State and WAG.

1.2 Where this Priced Option is called after the signature of the Franchise Agreement, it is conditional on the Franchisee being able to secure before the date of the Timetable Conference in February 2006 an option to an additional Class 158 unit at the price specified in the Financial Model, unless the Secretary of State agrees to fund any incremental price (which will in turn be funded by WAG).

1.3 If the Secretary of State elects to call this Priced Option, he shall attach to the written notice he serves pursuant to paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 (Priced Options) of the Terms, a Service Level Commitment that takes account of the extension of the current Portsmouth to Cardiff Central Service to Rhoose station with effect from the Timetable Change Date in December 2006.

1.6 Provided the Secretary of State has called this Priced Option by the 31 January 2006, the Franchisee shall procure that this Priced Option is implemented on and from the Timetable Change Date in December 2006.

1.9 The Secretary of State may call this Priced Option up to and including 31 January 2006."

The question that I would ask would be this :

Has the priced option been called? If not , then why include a Cardiff Central - Barry - Rhoose section (albeit blank) in the final FGW December 2006 timetable?


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Lee

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #10 on: August 19, 2006, 10:10:25 AM »

How much would it cost to exercise this priced option?

Here are some quotes from the Greater Western Franchise Agreement :

"1.2 Where this Priced Option is called after the signature of the Franchise Agreement, it is conditional on the Franchisee being able to secure before the date of the Timetable Conference in February 2006 an option to an additional Class 158 unit at the price specified in the Financial Model, unless the Secretary of State agrees to fund any incremental price (which will in turn be funded by WAG)."

"1.4 Where this Priced Option is called in accordance with its terms and the condition specified in paragraph 1.2 is met, the price for this Priced Option payable by the Secretary of State to the Franchisee, subject to adjustment in accordance with Schedule 9 (Changes) of the Terms to reflect any Change that occurs prior to its exercise, shall be as set out in the Financial Model and corresponds to the adjustments set out in the table below. That price shall be indexed in accordance with the principles set out in Schedule 8.2 (Annual Franchise Payments) of the Terms.

Where text has been omitted from the document this is because the Director General Rail has approved a request from FGW for the text to be excluded in accordance with section 73(3) or 73(4) of the Railways Act 1993 (as amended)"

Date of exclusion 27.7.2006

"1.5 The Target Revenue set out in Appendix 2 will be subject to adjustment by the application of the following increments (expressed in real terms) where this Priced Option is called and becomes unconditional in all respects:

Where text has been omitted from the document this is because the Director General Rail has approved a request from FGW for the text to be excluded in accordance with section 73(3) or 73(4) of the Railways Act 1993 (as amended)"

Date of exclusion 27.7.2006

Both sections of the text were excluded the day before the final First Greater Western December 2006 timetable was published.


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Lee

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #11 on: August 20, 2006, 12:51:40 PM »

Here are a couple more quotes from this section :

"1.3 If the Secretary of State elects to call this Priced Option, he shall attach to the written notice he serves pursuant to paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 (Priced Options) of the Terms, a Service Level Commitment that takes account of the extension of the current Portsmouth to Cardiff Central Service to Rhoose station with effect from the Timetable Change Date in December 2006."

"1.7 If and to the extent that the Franchisee is not able to secure a Timetable enabling it to operate railway passenger services that comply with the Service Level Commitment issued pursuant to paragraph 1.3 as a result of not being able to obtain the timetable development rights that it requires for that purpose:

(a) the provisions of paragraph 10 of Schedule 1.1 (Service Development) of the Terms shall apply; and

(b) the Threshold Amount shall be zero for the purposes of paragraph 10.7 of Schedule 1.1 (Service Development) of the Terms."

My other question would be this :

Does a blank section of the timetable count as a secured timetable?


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Lee

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #12 on: September 03, 2006, 01:26:07 PM »

Has Derek Twigg doomed Dilton Marsh?

Here is part of an answer to a recent Parliamentary Written Question (link below.)
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2006-06-27b.78371.h&s=transport+speaker%3A10258#g78371.q0

"To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria were used in making the decision to reduce services on the (a) Salisbury to Southampton and (b) Reading to Brighton lines."

"The decision to change these services was made during the replacement process for the South Western franchises. The replacement process offers the opportunity to review current service levels, and to assess whether value for money is delivered for passengers and taxpayers by their operation."

"The South Western franchise has specified that there will be a regular half-hourly service operating between Salisbury and Southampton. This will be formed of the existing Cardiff-Portsmouth hourly service, and a new hourly service that has been created by extending the current Romsey-Totton operation; this creates a net increase in services between Salisbury and Southampton despite a small reduction in Greater Western trains."

Letter from Derek Twigg (link below.)
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/melkshamrailway/145_Letter_from_Derek_Twigg.html

"First Great Western have agreed to run the Westbury to Southampton "shuttle" service until December 2007. Mr Ellis suggests that this might be extended to Swindon. He acknowledges that this might need extra rolling stock, however, it is a cost that we could not reasonably justify."

If we take the above to be correct , then Dilton Marsh will be left with the following services from December 2007 :

Towards Cardiff :

0627 , 0727 , 0746.

Towards Westbury :

2324.

Towards Portsmouth :

2201.

Would you consider this to be a viable service?


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Lee

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Re: First Great Western December 2006 Timetable Analysis

« Reply #13 on: October 17, 2006, 11:23:01 AM »

Quote from: Lee on July 29, 2006, 03:19:52 PM

National Rail Enquiries (Click on http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ and check for yourself) is insisting that the service to Cheltenham Spa departing from Southampton at 1827 is NOT an error. If this is indeed the case , then I would suggest that this is very bad news.

1) The 1827 will have spent the day providing Southampton - Westbury shuttle services. Also , it is a direct contravention of SLC2 , which does not allow Southampton - Swindon services. Without going into the complexities , I have made Graham aware of the date (via e-mail) that I believe SLC2 was changed.

2) The 0702 Westbury - Cheltenham Spa service will NOT have been sourced from the Stroud Valley. It will , in fact , have been provided by a WESTBURY BASED unit. I will leave you to decide whether this squares with the quote below.

Quote from: Graham Ellis on August 07, 2006, 03:18:42 PM

The movement of the morning train yet earlier, and the evening train yet later, in spite of our consultation inputs for the reverse, looked like a slap in the face for Swindon to Melksham, Trowbridge and Westbury passengers. On my "blog" a couple of days ago, and in email too, I asked for the real reasons behind this - a bit of honesty - and I'm delighted to have received and answer from Andrew Griffiths. He writes.

As a quick glance at the timetable will show, we've had to resource the Melksham service using the Stroud Valley unit - which is why the timings can't me moved as we all would like. With two sections of single line and a busy mainline in between pathing is very constrained.

Andrew, THANK YOU for your honesty. And THANK YOU for confirming that you, too, would like to be providing us with a train at a more appropriate time.

I'm aware that the service was resourced from the Stroud Valley back in the days prior to Wessex trains, but since then it's been resourced from the Southampton / Westbury end. I don't yet understand why they've had to go back to supplying the train via the Stroud Valley with (as Andrew says) issues of single track from Swindon to Kemble as well, when there's trains of the type that will serve our line buzzing up and down through (and terminating at) Westbury all the time. There's even a Southampton to Westbury shuttle that could be extended through.

3) The early morning Gloucester - Westbury service , scheduled to arrive in Westbury at 0702 , will then form the 0705 Westbury - Southampton service. This unit will then spend the rest of the day providing Portsmouth - Cardiff services.

4)

Quote from: Graham Ellis on August 04, 2006, 11:01:45 AM

"Great" news , Graham. The 1842 departure actually arrives in Swindon from the Stroud Valley at 1830 , thus waiting a handy 12 minutes , just in case the London Paddington - Weston - super - Mare service (which will be due into Swindon at 1825) is late. This train will then form the remaining Westbury - Southampton services.


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