That is still *way* down on total customers mentioned by Graham on other routes - and the operators WILL take number of customers affected into account when cancelling/altering services. Of course those services carrying the fewest customers will suffer the biggest brunt of cancellations

 

Dangerous to read too much into one month's figures - but in April TransWilts passenger numbers were up on April last year and April 2019.   I think that is the first time it has got above pre-pandemic levels.

 
And now:

 
20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 21:46
20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa due 21:46 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

 

Believe me, they're neither that devious...nor that clever!

 

With 26% cancellations and nothing else for a number of hours, are we surprised that passenger numbers are so low - though they are typically way, way above the target numbers when the service was introduced  .

Not looking for the lowest common denominator.   Looking for an operation that runs well over 95% of the services it promises in the timetable rather than 74%

 
It also carries at least half of the number of customers of te other routes mentioned.

 
I did the same thing last month. Highly recommended

 

Oh - I agree with you ... I was imagining the cascading that might go on ...

 

It's a good question.   I would argue that the ability to handle extreme heat is actually better than it was 5-15 years ago, despite that heat arriving more often.  I don't recall any really major issues* over this heatwave so far, and my memory of 5-15 years ago was that whenever the temperature hit 30 degrees there was a high likelihood the service would collapse completely.

You could spend a whole heap of money replacing things with higher tolerances, but does that offer good value for two to three spells over 30 degrees each summer?

And is Chicago or Vienna much more immune to weather related incidents?  Or do we just not hear about them?

I don't have much experience of either, other than a visit to Vienna in the early 1990s, but a quick Google brought up the following...

https://metra.com/Service-disruptions

https://www.visahq.com/news/2026-01-13/at/bb-issues-nationwide-travel-warning-as-ice-storm-knocks-out-inter-city-rail-links/

* By which I mean complete cessastion of services on the trunk GWR routes


Much too early to draw any conclusions either way. 

In terms of comparisons with the TransWilts I don't think there is any interface with either the trains or the staff that work each route, so the only impact they might have on each other is the shared tracks between Thingly Junction and Swindon...and obviously more trains running over a route increases the chances of knock-on delays.

 

With so many problems on other services that show resources stretched, reasons like "not enough working trains" and "not enough working staff" for cancellations of the service that's just ten days old brings something of a wry smile.   Issues which are hightened by extreme weather are more forgiven.

But yet ... the Bristol <-> Oxford service has been doing very well compared to certain others ...

... and I can't help wondering if some of those cancellations which were cause by lack of a working train or lack of working staff would have actually been cancellation if GWR wasn't so stretched to make the new service reasonably reliable. Are they trying to spread things too thinly? 

 

It might be (very) hot for May, but late July / early August is on average the hottest time of year.   We are not in the high 30s

Does ask a big question though, what temperature should be the stress point.  I would argue that anything failing at the moment is either not maintained well, or was under specified.   

Have to accept that temperatures in low to mid 30s are not uncommon in recent years, and really should be able to be handled without failing.

GWR territory is not like somewhere like Chicago or Vienna where temperatures vary from about -25-20c to +40-45c.   So why our equipment is allowed to be so fragile is not clear to me.

 

Is that ten days into the new service before the first cancellation?  After the hottest ever temperatures recorded in May and easily the hottest Bank Holiday Monday on record (including the August one)? 

With exceptional heat comes all sorts of additional stresses on the GWR service which as we know is already fragile.

Literally a meltdown I would say!

 

There are four sets of barriers at Chippenham - in the ticket office, on the disused platform, in the north side car park at the entrance to the old heritage bridge, and on the top landing of the new bridge with steps and a lift down to the platform.

You may enter the station at three out of the four, and you may leave at three out of the four.  It's not obvious 

 
Thanks for this, you've motivated me to log this with Network Rail as the entire location needs a visit followed by an intervention.

As for the road verges, county boundaries in that part of the world are bananas - probably reflecting some terrible battles or other... and the location's actually in Wiltshire so I've logged it with them too.

Mark

 

Ah, that page from First has been augmented on the fly,  it's now gained maps.

I hear what you say about it being difficult to reach everyone - and Faresaver did start putting something out earlier than did anyone else.

The scale of this justified a staffed information desk at Bath Bus Station though - there's been no information provided  there about the alterations prior to the day the disruption began. First's drivers haven't been issued with an overview of things either so aren't able to effectively answer enquiries from customers as to how to use the revised bus network.

(There's something to be said for a sort of accessible 'Petit Train' service in cities like this one, but empowered to use pedestrianised areas and skewed to transport rather than tourism...)

From an accessibility point of view, the provision overall is poor - there will be users of the services who are unable to walk half a mile between bus stops and no advice has been given on workarounds. There really needed to have been buses additional to the usual network to bridge some of the gaps  in the network which will be there for the next six months.

Mark

 


Two of many staff shortage cancellations today that I noticed across the network

 

Poor approach signage at western (A36) side.   

Never a problem other way as there is warning just before roundabout before Winsley village, and good visibility of the bridge itself that side.

Basically traffic heading north on A36 approaches Limpley Stoke (road) viaduct and is faced with a sign saying 7.5t if turn left, 18t if carry on along A36, or turn right (with no warning of low bridge).

There is then a warning sign, under multiple other signs just before a narrower stone bridge on a corner.  Needless to say virtually impossible to read that far if driving and watching the corner.

Then road runs alongside the railway, this bit had the former Camerton branch, but is now just vegetation overhanging the road.  Network Rail could easily erect a warning sign facing the road on their land (but haven't).   

Because Network Rail haven't cut the vegetation (and this is where a track was lifted, so quite a few metres from live railway), and allowed it to protrude into the road, it cuts the sightlines of the warning signs on the bridge to about 10-15m before the bridge.  The road does sharp corner under the bridge.

There used to be extra deck span for branch track, the concrete pads and different brickwork are clearly visible.  It would be easy to install a physical beam in this area (but again hasn't been done, because presumably bridge hasn't been hit enough yet to justify it)

Sort of smacks of safety of bridge being deemed less than cost of extra signs, and a vegetation crew with a battery hedge trimmer to cut the obscuring the warning signs vegetation etc.  Cost first, safety second.

 
Judging by the number of cancellations in and around the Thames Valley area (amongst others) today due to "crew shortage", it would seem that BBQ season is underway!

 
26th May - Harwich to Arnhem - via Stena Ferry, the Rotterdam Metro, and Dutch Railways. 

Ferry worked a treat - walk on, walk off, lovely ship, lovely staff, even border control folks nice, and quick.  Biggest issue of the day - lifts out of order at Schiedam Centraal which left us marooned on the platform (we caught the next train onwards) and also at Rotterdam Blaak (where we struggled via escalators). The result of the Schiedam incident was a change of plans - we ended up in Blaak where we had a magic meal, but also meant we were some 2 hours down by Arnhem.

 
Oh dear ... teething troubles for the new service, or is GWR / NR locally in meltdown?  Journeycheck is reporting 40 cancellations across the GWR operated services this morning, and a further  21 updates which look like they're largely short runs (cancellations for some).

 
09:03 Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads due 10:11
09:03 Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads due 10:11 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

11:18 Bristol Temple Meads to Oxford due 12:29
11:18 Bristol Temple Meads to Oxford due 12:29 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

13:03 Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads due 14:15
13:03 Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads due 14:15 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

15:04 Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads due 16:13
15:04 Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads due 16:13 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

 
Big "thank you" for that report, Mark ... which I have shared onto Facebook / MTUG group to let people have a further idea and note.  It's always difficult to reach a full customer base - especially where you have a whole series of operators each dealing with their own services / customers without there being a single easy authoritative source.

First Bus do have an update at https://www.firstbus.co.uk/bristol-bath-and-west/news-and-service-updates/updates/manvers-street-bridge-street-bath-road which includes a map and details / links for each of their services.

 
If you happen to be in Melksham this evening ...

Travel and Transport account for a high proportion of our greenhouse gas generation, and we do well to consider the effect of that  on our ongoing environment - what we leave for our children and grandchildren.

In Melksham, and across much of The West, our trains and buses remain fossil fuelled.  Now that's far better than us all taking individual petrol or diesel vehicles - for energy use, congestion, and indeed the exclusive financial and medical nature that limits who can drive.   However - still an issue to be considered.



Promoted for the Melksham Environment Group - full flyer at https://mkmeg.org.uk/peb.pdf - other screenings un the area:
10th June - Trowbridge Old Town Hall
11th June - Warminster Athenaeum
26th June - Market Lavington Community Hall

 

Walking back this morning, we took a slightly different route and it was much more obvious.  Where we joined up with out walk out to the Premier Inn of last night, we noted the absence of a sign which would have been a HUGE help. I also noted that the walking directions took us around 2 sides of a square where the (horrid, main) road ran across the middle ... and judging by the worn out grass on the verges of that road, people frequently short cut it.   As with so many places, its works if you know it.  Asa newcomer I saw the challenges.

Similar challenge in Arnhem tonight - and again it will be be easier to get back to the station in the morning.

 

 

Or the Braille notice that says "Do not touch!"