Why does this page exist?

This page is brought to you by the Save the Train team who are campaigning for the restoration and retention of an appropriate train service linking the major population centres of Wiltshire - Swindon, Salisbury, Trowbridge, Chippenham and Melksham.

When First took over in April, 2006 we had a service of 10 trains a day and usage was growing rapidly. We now have just two round trips a day - from Swindon at 06:18 and 18:45, frequent cancellations, and a buy-on-the-day return fare from Melksham to London is no longer available for under 50 pounds - it will cost you over 100 pounds.

We're told that we have an excellent case for improvements - but all we get at each December timetable change is drafts and discussions that proposed something that is a step forward, and a FINAL timetable imposed that is - well - crap, and even that isn't run reliably!

The blame doesn't lie only with FGW, and we do have some optimism - expand the story ... here

Here are some of the recent / current problems over the FGW area as a whole:

20100209	10:42	Gloucester	14:08	Weymouth	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	10:00	Penzance	15:24	London Paddington	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	09:53	Exmouth	11:35	Barnstaple	short working, infrastructure issues, knock-on effect
20100209	09:52	Exeter St Davids	10:23	Exmouth	-
20100209	09:28	Exeter St Davids	10:36	Barnstaple	-
20100209	09:00	Brighton	14:37	Great Malvern	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	08:53	Exmouth	10:35	Barnstaple	short working, infrastructure issues, knock-on effect
20100209	08:45	Westbury	10:32	Gloucester	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	08:43	Barnstaple	10:19	Exmouth	short working, infrastructure issues, knock-on effect, bus/taxi running
20100209	08:33	St James' Park	08:41	Exeter St Davids	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	08:23	Paignton	09:50	Exmouth	short working, infrastructure issues, knock-on effect
20100209	07:25	Bristol Parkway	08:36	Westbury	short working, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	07:20	Exeter St Davids	08:14	Paignton	-
20100209	07:15	Exmouth	08:44	Paignton	short working, infrastructure issues, knock-on effect
20100209	07:07	Paignton	08:21	St James' Park	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	07:01	Portsmouth Harbour	08:20	Brighton	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	06:46	Exmouth	08:14	Paignton	short working, infrastructure issues
20100209	06:45	Frome	08:46	Cardiff Central	short working, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	06:44	Bristol Temple Meads	07:33	Westbury	complete cancellation, rolling stock issues
20100209	06:30	Exeter St Davids	09:44	London Paddington	short working, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	06:28	Cardiff Central	09:54	Portsmouth Harbour	extra stop(s), rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	06:25	Westbury	06:35	Frome	complete cancellation, rolling stock issues
20100209	06:20	Weston-Super-Mare	08:44	London Paddington	extra stop(s), rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100209	06:12	Exmouth	08:08	Barnstaple	short working, infrastructure issues, knock-on effect
List above is typical length for a 99.5% (better target) running rate for a 48 hour report such as this. Any cancellations, short or skip stop workings below show a performance below that target.
20100209	06:11	Exeter St Davids	07:06	Paignton	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	21:48	London Paddington	00:16	Worcester Shrub Hill	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	21:37	London Paddington	01:39	Swansea	otherwise altered, catering change, staffing issues
20100208	21:25	Plymouth	22:40	Exeter St Davids	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	21:04	Exmouth	21:34	Exeter St Davids	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	21:01	Frome	21:11	Westbury	complete cancellation, staffing issues
20100208	19:32	Paignton	21:01	Exmouth	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	19:22	London Paddington	22:54	Hereford	short working, rolling stock issues, bus/taxi running
20100208	17:55	Exmouth	19:30	Paignton	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	17:48	Plymouth	18:58	Exeter St Davids	complete cancellation, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	17:30	Gunnislake	18:53	Liskeard	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	17:28	Swansea	20:32	London Paddington	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	16:55	Exmouth	18:30	Paignton	short working, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	16:42	Plymouth	17:28	Gunnislake	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	16:34	Reading	17:54	Gatwick Airport	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	16:13	Paignton	17:51	Exmouth	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	16:10	Exeter St Davids	17:35	Plymouth	complete cancellation, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	16:00	Penzance	21:21	London Paddington	extra stop(s), rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	15:53	Exmouth	17:20	Paignton	short working, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	15:45	Gunnislake	16:30	Plymouth	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	15:43	Barnstaple	17:22	Exmouth	otherwise altered, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	15:13	Paignton	16:50	Exmouth	short working, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	15:11	Hereford	18:30	London Paddington	short working, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	15:03	Gatwick Airport	16:23	Reading	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	14:53	Exmouth	16:35	Barnstaple	short working, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	14:43	Barnstaple	16:19	Exmouth	extra stop(s), rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	14:23	Exmouth	15:51	Paignton	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	14:22	Paignton	15:50	Exmouth	complete cancellation, rolling stock issues
20100208	14:06	London Paddington	19:34	Penzance	extra stop(s), rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	14:00	Penzance	19:24	London Paddington	extra stop(s), rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	13:53	Exmouth	15:35	Barnstaple	short working, rolling stock issues
20100208	13:45	London Paddington	16:43	Swansea	otherwise altered, catering change
20100208	13:43	Barnstaple	15:19	Exmouth	extra stop(s), rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	13:34	Reading	14:50	Gatwick Airport	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	13:13	Paignton	14:50	Exmouth	short working, rolling stock issues
List above is typical length for a 99% (lower target) running rate. Any cancellations, short or skip stop workings below show a performance below that lower target.
20100208	13:03	Newquay	13:52	Par	complete cancellation, rolling stock issues, bus/taxi running
20100208	12:54	Penzance	15:41	Gunnislake	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	12:47	Paignton	16:29	Cardiff Central	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	12:43	Barnstaple	14:19	Exmouth	extra stop(s), rolling stock issues
20100208	12:23	Exmouth	13:58	Paignton	short working, knock-on effect, root cause not identified
20100208	12:13	Paignton	13:50	Exmouth	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	12:11	Par	13:01	Newquay	complete cancellation, rolling stock issues, bus/taxi running
20100208	12:03	Gatwick Airport	13:19	Reading	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	11:30	Cardiff Central	14:54	Portsmouth Harbour	reinstated
20100208	11:06	London Paddington	14:36	Plymouth	extra stop(s), rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	10:53	Exmouth	12:35	Barnstaple	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	10:34	Reading	11:50	Gatwick Airport	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	10:30	London Paddington	12:15	Bristol Temple Meads	reinstated
20100208	10:23	Exmouth	11:51	Paignton	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	10:22	London Paddington	13:45	Hereford	short working, rolling stock issues
20100208	09:54	Severn Beach	10:31	Bristol Temple Meads	short working, staffing issues, bus/taxi running
20100208	09:34	Exeter St Davids	12:42	Penzance	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	09:33	Exeter St Davids	12:18	Cardiff Central	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	09:31	Shalford	10:17	Reading	extra stop(s), rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	09:13	Paignton	10:50	Exmouth	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	09:07	Gatwick Airport	10:23	Reading	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	08:33	Redhill	10:01	Reading	skipping stop(s), rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	08:30	Bristol Temple Meads	10:14	London Paddington	-
20100208	07:40	Paignton	11:38	London Paddington	infrastructure issues
20100208	07:34	Reading	09:01	Gatwick Airport	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	07:25	Bristol Parkway	08:36	Westbury	short working, rolling stock issues
20100208	07:15	Exmouth	08:44	Paignton	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	07:09	Didcot Parkway	07:53	Bicester Town	short working, infrastructure issues
20100208	07:07	Paignton	08:21	St James' Park	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	07:06	Newton Abbot	07:29	Paignton	infrastructure issues
20100208	06:51	Portsmouth Harbour	10:42	Cardiff Central	reinstated
20100208	06:29	Exeter St Davids	07:11	Exmouth	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	06:26	Bristol Temple Meads	11:25	Penzance	rolling stock issues
20100208	06:12	Exmouth	08:08	Barnstaple	infrastructure issues
20100208	06:11	Exeter St Davids	07:06	Paignton	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	06:07	Frome	08:09	London Paddington	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	06:00	Penzance	09:21	Exeter St Davids	short working, infrastructure issues
20100208	05:56	Gatwick Airport	07:29	Reading	extra stop(s), rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100208	05:40	Plymouth	10:14	London Paddington	short working, infrastructure issues
20100208	05:31	Gatwick Airport	06:58	Reading	complete cancellation, rolling stock issues
20100208	04:34	Reading	05:54	Gatwick Airport	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	23:45	Newbury	00:17	Reading	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	22:32	Fareham	00:02	Westbury	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	22:15	London Paddington	23:37	Newbury	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	21:37	London Paddington	01:39	Swansea	otherwise altered, catering change, staffing issues
20100207	21:30	Swindon	22:44	Weston-Super-Mare	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	20:30	Bristol Temple Meads	21:10	Swindon	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	20:07	Oxford	21:51	London Paddington	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	19:45	London Paddington	21:37	Bristol Temple Meads	-
20100207	19:30	Swindon	20:11	Bristol Temple Meads	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	19:08	Cardiff Central	22:23	Fareham	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	19:03	Bicester Town	19:30	Oxford	complete cancellation, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect, bus/taxi running
20100207	18:35	Oxford	19:00	Bicester Town	complete cancellation, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect, bus/taxi running
20100207	18:30	Bristol Temple Meads	19:10	Swindon	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	18:24	Worcester Foregate Street	21:03	London Paddington	infrastructure issues
20100207	17:44	London Paddington	19:27	Oxford	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	17:30	Swindon	18:12	Bristol Temple Meads	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	17:30	London Paddington	18:10	Reading	-
20100207	16:42	London Paddington	19:30	Great Malvern	infrastructure issues
20100207	16:33	Hereford	20:01	London Paddington	extra stop(s), infrastructure issues
20100207	16:30	Bristol Temple Meads	17:10	Swindon	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	16:28	Worcester Shrub Hill	19:02	London Paddington	short working, rolling stock issues
20100207	15:32	Fareham	18:54	Cardiff Central	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	15:18	Reading	16:18	London Paddington	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	14:30	Swindon	15:11	Bristol Temple Meads	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	14:15	London Paddington	15:10	Reading	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	12:51	Weston-Super-Mare	14:10	Swindon	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	12:07	Oxford	13:50	London Paddington	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	11:08	Cardiff Central	14:22	Fareham	rolling stock issues, knock-on effect
20100207	10:30	Swindon	12:31	Weston-Super-Mare	otherwise altered, catering change, rolling stock issues, knock-on effect

In order to keep up to date on train reliability, the Save the Train team has learned how to monitor performance ... and the techniques we use for Melksham (population 24,000 - train service cut to 2 a day each way by First) can be applied elsewhere too. We do hope to improve the reporting and statistics from this page in the near future - at the moment, use it with care as we have a few details to resolve and in any case we can only be as good as our sources.

In the table above, we report on 129 different service(s).

Status 'short_run': 26 Status 'altered': 17 Status 'catering': 16 Status 'extra_stop': 12 Status 'canned': 11 Status 'reinstated': 3 Status 'skip_stop': 1

Reason given 'stock': 98 Reason given 'infrastructure': 16 Reason given 'staff': 4 Reason given 'not_identified': 1

Replaced by road services: 7

What service level SHOULD be achieved? FGW run about 8500 services a week. With a weak target that 99% of them run their complete scheduled route, that means you should see 85 or less cancellations or short workings listed per week on average, which works out at 24 or less such services shown on this page which presents reports that are less than 48 hours old only. With a more reasonable 99.5% target, you should see 12 or less cancellations / short workings in any list above. Current running rate 98.44% (38 trains cancelled or not calling at all scheduled stations) Target running rate 99.5% or better (12 trains or fewer cancelled or running reduced routes)

For further information on First Great Western services, visit their official site. There's also a discussion forum run by passengers (and wannabe passenger).

For contact information, see the Save the Train web site or email the site admin.

This is a test page ONLY and it will tend to present optimistic figures that are showing a brighter picture than really exists.
Known issues:
Only limited status conditions are monitored
Some trains that run past midnight are double-reported
"Planned Cancellations" notified 24 hours ahaed are NOT shown
Failures on route do NOT show

Information from public sources presented by the Save the Train Campaign