Some recent posts from this topic have been moved to Frequent Posters Club, due to concerns from our members over the terminology used in them.

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=29501.0

 

Natural knowledge. I have always used my free travel facilities.

 

I might have wondered about Oxford - Marylebone - 205

 
It's certainly the way I would have thought of going in those circumstances too - although I wouldn't know how long it would take - and whether I would have caught a particular Eurostar - without sitting down & working it through.
Has to be quicker than DID->RDG->Ealing Broadway & Underground

 

Sensible alternative ... but not what I would have thought of.   How did you come up with that - natural knowledge of did something / someone waymark you to it?

 
I was waiting at Didcot for that service when it was announced as being cancelled at Reading. Managed to catch the 387s in front to Reading then via the land of the stabiliser rail to Vauxhall for the Blunderground to Kings Cross and my Eurostar to Brussels.

 


The gateline at Swindon was open.   On board there were no ticket checks, let alone a look at reservations.   However there were no issues with capacity.

The only snag was the broken rail at Acton Main Line - so I never actually got to Euston with the train terminating at Reading!   Fortunately there was a service back to Swindon within ten minutes.

As an aside all the screens on the platform (as above) and onboard the displays and announcements coped with London Euston.  However the platform announcements just left an embarrassing gap every time the terminus should have been mentioned.

 
I poste on Sunday morning about a defective rail around Acton way - this meant the first 0833 to Penzance was cancelled, and the next few services ran late.
Was wondering how 'reservations only' were policed.

 

How did it all go on Sunday at Euston?

 
There is England v the Republic of Ireland at Wembley today which may attract a few and England rugby yesterday.

 

......two more off the GWR crew shortage Bingo card! 

 

Christmas shopping with their back-pay, along with using up annual leave I suspect

 

Would have formed the second departure (0903 to Swansea, after the 0834 to Penzance) - but was 'promoted' owing to the 0834 being cancelled owing to a broken rail at Acton.

 
Today's (Saturdays) cancellation map looks more like a typical Sunday.

Saturdays have been steadily deteriorating with Sundays simply a shambles.

Is this the level of service we can now expect every weekend?

No school holidays/football matches or any other of the usual excuses that I'm aware of?

 

Gets the first train into Euston for a Westbound departure.

 
Oh.  That'll be useful - for someone. 

 
There is also a single Oxford to Euston service at 0754, calling at Didcot only.

 
One tph will go to EUS from both the west country & Swansea.

Other services, including others from closer to London from the west country (think Exeter) and Wales (think Cardiff) will go to Reading, so Reading can be reached from all stations. Those that go to Reading connect into slow(er) trains to Ealing or Waterloo.

 
I imagine it will largely being used as a general deterrent to travel on those services rather than being rigorously enforced at gatelines on the day.

 

Having seen the Euston stampede on more than one occasion that is truly a scary prospect if they are going to be checking tickets & reservations before boarding,  and let's face it if they don't it's hardly worth telling people it's reservations only.

 

The term "simply not fit for purpose" has become something of a catchphrase, to be used when someone in authority knows something is wrong, but also understands their complete inability to do anything about it.  As a phrase, it's simply not fit for purpose.

In this case, it had to be used because the other standard option, "this is a mess left by the last lot to sort out" wouldn't work. The mess was left by the now-present lot for the last lot to sort out, in the full knowledge that 14 years is too short a time to change agreements between unions and multiple train operating companies plus National Rail. Let's see what happens, but I can't seen a sudden resolution any time soon.


It's simply not fit for purpose.

 
I think (hope!) I have managed to undo those random quote marks in your post, eightonedee.

CfN. 

 
Apologies - somehow my whole post above has got wrapped up as a "Quote" and I cannot unravel it - perhaps I should become a GWR message draftsman.......

 

I have read this several times to try to understand what it is saying. Does this mean that no long distance trains from Devon, Cornwall and South Wales will stop at Reading, but those from everywhere else (Cotswolds, Bristol, Hereford/Worcester) will? But are these "the majority" of long distance trains? And what is a "long distance train"? London to Oxford, or Banbury, or Swindon, or Westbury? Should passengers from Reading or changing there - (for example coming in from Gatwick) and going to South Wales or Devon and Cornwall go somewhere else and change?

And in light of the concern and publicity about crowding at Euston (which presumably will still also be coping with its usual Sunday traffic to Birmingham, the North West and Scotland), wouldn't it be sensible to give passengers a stop at Reading (especially as it now has the through platform capacity) so they can change for Waterloo or Ealing Broadway as alternatives, or if they cannot book in advance?

As for - this looks like "we are a bit of a shambles because we cannot sort out our systems for something we have known about in advance for months"

You have to carry on right to the end to get the "only travel if necessary" message. This surely is the main message. It should be at the beginning - the message should -

 1- start by saying that considerable disruption caused by major engineering works means Only travel to London by GWR if absolutely necessary.

 2- Go on to advise passengers with alternative routes to London that they should use them if possible - from Oxford and beyond should travel to Marylebone, passengers from Reading or Exeter and beyond should consider trains to Waterloo.

 3 - Explain clearly which other services will run to and from Reading and which will go to Euston, and what you should do if your train terminates from, or starts at Reading.

Wouldn't that be clearer and better?

 

Yes, Westbound too. One of the key purposes of "reservations only" if to ensure that passengers travelling from London are given that extra alert as they book and reserve to stop them turning up as usual at Paddington having made the assumption ...

 

Does this apply to any GWR journeys departing Euston too?

I have a vision of the scene at Euston, already unsafe*, whereby the platform is as usual announced at short notice & the resulting stampede is stopped in its tracks and backed up by Gateline staff trying to check reservations as well as tickets, and the inevitable arguments with those that don't have one.

* I've checked with my Boss and I won't be sacked for stating that!

 

Especially in the UK setting where even long distance trains aren't running as dedicated high speed services and provide the local service especially on the periphery. I assume reservations only will only be properly enforced towards the London end (if at all) but going by the letter rather than spirit does the person popping into Cardiff or Plymouth "need" to reserve? Even if that's not going to be a problem it is technically saying they do and that's potentially off-putting.

Also it removes flexibility to replan given that delays and cancellations have been promised on this occasion, which will mean potentially two loads of reserved passengers on the next train, and perhaps soemone on a flexible ticket could usually choose to avoid that train. Maybe the Eustons will be "protected" from this but there's no guarantee of this.

 

Elizabeth Line running a reduced service too on Sunday.

 

Is this a dangerous precedent - a move away from the turn up and go railway/ In the past I have seem occasional national franchise services that have been "reservation only" but there have always been alternative train not too long before or after that have served the same stations.

 
Early heads up: https://www.gwr.com/sunday-disruption

 
I’m slightly, just slightly mind, encouraged that there was an acknowledgment from the SoS that there is an issue with GWR, that they are aware of it and are working with GWR to address it.

 
Yes, that's how 're-nationalising the railways' will solve all of the problems. 

 

So basically, nothing will change.  Expect more disruption and industrial action.

 
It is well worth reading the whole thread referred to above - which started when the Secretary of State Louise Haigh made a statement on the progress that the set up of GBRailways was making through Parliament.

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/our-progress-in-overhauling-the-railways

 
Quote from yesterday's (11 Nov) Parliamentary debate (relates to GWR staffing

 Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con) -  View Speech -  Hansard -
 -  - Excerpts
It has recently been brought to my attention that in Great Western Railway, which serves my constituency in Devon, drivers do not have contracts that ensure a seven-day-a-week service—the contracts do not include Sundays, so trains are regularly cancelled. In fact, four trains were cancelled yesterday, so one lady had been forced to catch the first train today instead. What plans does the Secretary of State have to equalise driver contracts under Great British Railways, to ensure that routes such as Paddington to Devon are fully staffed seven days a week, so that she can fulfil her promise to passengers?

 Louise Haigh Portrait Louise Haigh -  View Speech -  Hansard -
 -  - Excerpts
The hon. Lady is absolutely right, and unfortunately that is the picture across too much of our railways. The workforce terms and conditions are simply not fit for purpose. Part of our inheritance is that we do not have a workforce that can deliver a modern and efficient railway. We are working with Great Western Railway to address that egregious issue, and we will come back to the House shortly to set out our progress.

Later in the debate...

Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD) -  View Speech -  Hansard -
 -  - Excerpts
GWR, which serves my Bath constituency, has been performing in the most disappointing way, to say the least. Especially on Sundays, cancellations and delays are the new norm. Engineering works are among the problems, but the train driver shortage is the biggest problem. What exactly will resolving what the Secretary of State calls the rest day working issue mean for my constituents? When does she expect them to see tangible change?

 Louise Haigh Portrait Louise Haigh -  View Speech -  Hansard -
 -  - Excerpts
The problem across the entire railway is that we do not have sufficient drivers or staff, so too many parts of the railways are reliant on rest day working agreements. We should not have to rely on people volunteering to come on shift in order to run a Sunday service, but unfortunately that is the case at Great Western Railway. We will not be harmonising contracts or terms and conditions at Great British Railways, as we have established, but we need to get drivers and conductors on modern terms and conditions that reflect the railway that we need. We are attempting to address the specific issue at Great Western Railway; as I say, we will come back to the House soon with an update on progress.

https://parallelparliament.co.uk/debate/2024-11-11/commons/commons-chamber/rail-performance

 
Next Sunday (17/11/24) could be interesting.  Ealing Broadway to Paddington will be closed and services diverted into Euston, so I can see a couple of scenarios....

- many 'bashers' may be stranded when (if) they reach Euston; or
- some drivers will want the opportunity of going into Euston, so rostering won't prove difficult.

 
More train crew isn't the answer unless Sundays are correctly rostered in the working week. Not committed Sundays and therefore enforced overtime but as part of the base roster.

It would also help if the staff weren't travelling around then working a train for 30 minutes before another crew change.

As I've stated previously this problem is only 30 years old...

 

Which is why I've looked at a modest reduction and not an elimination.   The easy things to sort out are those with a single cause / weak point, but we have many issues; in this case I'm thinking that perhaps 60% to 70% are down to crew and it's a good place to start.

 

Perhaps.  But we reassured from some sources that on a day by day basis they're only a handful of crews short across the whole area, so who to believe?   By the way I costed "25 more crewS" [of 2] rather than "25 more crew"

 

Erm…that 25 more crew on the books would barely make any difference?

 
Not all the delay repay claims are related to staff shortages. Infrastructure failures, especially those impacting peak services, are likely to result in a significant percentage of those claims, not least of which because regular travellers will be used to claiming.

 

About £80,000 per day ...

Put another way ... £30 million a year. If it costs £300k per annum to employ a train crew, that's 100 train crews.   Let's say they had 25 more crews, which is many more than they say they need, would that allow them to halve the delays.  Looks to me like they'll end up £7.5 million better off ... what have I missed?

 
According to the GWR website, they’re paying out between £2m to £3m a month in delay repay.

 

I suspect there'll be fewer people claiming delay/repay pretty soon as they'll be travelling by other means knowing that they can't rely on GWR on Sundays.

It's just possible then, when revenue starts to tank, that all concerned will wish they'd tried a bit harder to reach a solution.

 
Absolutely, but that is reliant on people claiming delay repay. How many don’t? I suspect it’s quite a lot.

Meanwhile, started the day with 23 cancellations, now up to 75 

 

Again, he shouldn’t need to find solutions….. there’s only one and that’s increasing the rate of pay for Sunday’s.  Obviously someone somewhere is not agreeing to that happening.  At the moment, there’s probably a huge amount being paid out in delay repay, replacement coaches and taxis so presumably someone is cutting off their nose to spite their face.

 

The two websites agree, depending on the search parameters input - ask National Rail for options from Penzance to Plymouth and the trains listed are shown as running; but for journeys beyond Plymouth onto Paddington they come up as cancelled, as the journey requested can’t be completed.

 
According to GWR Journeycheck 1518 Penzance to Paddington cancelled with 1618 & 1755 both terminating at Plymouth.

According to National Rail all three are cancelled throughout - which should be believed?

(Both agree it's due to crew shortage though)

..........can add the 1650 to that list too according to NR

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/journey-planner/?type=single&origin=PNZ&destination=PAD&leavingType=departing&leavingDate=101124&leavingHour=14&leavingMin=00&adults=1&extraTime=0#O

 

Who's going to replace them?

 

I genuinely hope Hopwood is taking the approach suggested by his PR team in order to find solutions, rather than simply sitting back saying "DfT problem".

I guess it's worth bearing in mind as well however, that these highly paid managers in GWR must be conscious that their sinecures are coming to an end given the new Government's commitment once existing contracts expire, and it's only natural for their motivation to slip somewhat in these circumstances as "dead men walking" - so to speak!!!

 

As I understand it, the contract does also include a measure of disruption / unreliability that's allowed, accepting that things will never be 100%.  Delay attribution calculations are done so that GWR are not financially liable (for example) for a failure to run services when the tracks are flooded, and this attribution can get silly at times - if a train hits a small bird it is treated differently to a train hitting a big bird.   I have asked one of the managers concerned what the measure of disruption actually allowed is, and understand that it varies; I also got the message that I am probably not bright enough to understand the algorithm used even if I were told.  I may not have got that message quite as it was intended, mind you.

 

That relates to the pre-pandemic contract. The new post-pandemic contract does not have these stipulations, just a timetable that has to be operated, if everything like staffing is adequate, which it obviously isn't - so as a-driver states correctly, it is for the DfT to find a solution that works.

And Armistice Day is MONDAY this year, not tomorrow.

 
Just a reminder of the position from the GWR PR machine......

We’re also looking at what interim measures we could take to help improve colleague availability on Sundays and are talking to the Department for Transport about what may be possible as any changes require their approval. Mark Hopwood, our MD, is clear that the current situation is unsustainable, this is a top priority for the business to look to resolve and that most importantly our customers should expect us to run the advertised timetable.

That reads to me that GWR acknowledge at least some ownership of the issues sits with them, notwithstanding it may need DfT signoff - so what are these proposed changes?

There's also the small matter of this event tomorrow............I wonder what provisions are being made?

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24707925.gwr-set-armistice-day-event-paddington-station/

 

In a way, GWR don't operate the contract stipulated by DfT because there is a published DfT Business requirements specifying first and last trains and frequency for each route, associated with the contract, and that is not being met.

Possibly the contract daftly (DfT-ly ?) makes it cheaper to not operate minimum, and accept any penalty, than trying to deliver it.

 
Don't wish for what may be a disaster for rail....another Beeching-esque report. The DfT tasking GBR to organise the timetable after nationalisation is complete that breaks even.

 

Still, as we've been told, the new Government, "Nationalisation" & GBR will sort it all out and the railways will move onto broad, sunlit uplands with unprecedented levels of efficiency, reliability, customer service and satisfaction.................won't they? 

 

Sadly it is that simple.  GWR effectively just manage day to day operations as stipulated by their contract and are paid a set fee to do so.  If the contract prevents them running the timetable then that's an issue the DfT needs to resolve with agreement with GWR.  The fact the issue with crewing availability has persisted for so long without comment or action from the DfT tells you exactly who is responsible, add to that, the same issue occurs on Northern Rail who is operated by DOHL.  If the DfT had any intention of resolving the issue they would have done so with Northern Rail by now.

 

I don't believe, sadly, that it's as simple as either of those views, though both have a strong element of truth in them.  Six of one, half a dozen of the other - with neither organisation putting the customer service at an appropriately high priority.  Or, perhaps, they are both of the view that the "customer" is the other organisation in their marriage and they look after and defend their partner and stand by them to the virtual exclusion of others?

 

GWR don’t need to put pressure on the DfT.  GWR operate under the terms of a contract stipulated by the DfT. 
If the DfT are unhappy with what’s being provided it is down to the DfT to find and fund a solution.

 

So, GWR are actively putting pressure on the DfT to allow them to hire more crews?

Any evidence of this from Hopwood & a response from Haigh?

Any evidence of any other solutions being sought by GWR? Even if only temporary?

 
But surely it’s wrong to be advertising a timetable to the public that you have next to no chance of ever being able to operate?

Sure, it’s been bad for many years, longer than this thread has been going, but when GWR are putting out messages like they have these past few weeks, the timetable needs revising.

 

There's a BIG difference between XC's *temporary* timetable - finishing in 10 days time - and a GWR Sunday timetable that would be anything other than temporary, until their DfT masters allowed them to hire more crews, and get them trained up. How long might that take? So this will continue, even if the DfT take the keys back early.

 
You’re not the only one who’s not impressed: https://x.com/paulcliftonbbc/status/1854958328557814099?s=61

 
I’m cross with GWR because they surely must know full well that they cannot operate the current Sunday timetable due to staffing issues, which I know is out of their hands, but won’t produce a revised timetable that they have a much better chance of operating.

 
It's particularly disappointing, bearing in mind Sunday is Remembrance Sunday.  Many veterans, members of their family and others, will be wanting to travel to attend parades and services.

That is a very poor show by GWR - and I'm not generally known for criticising them in public. 

 
Here we go again!

When are GWR going to stop messing passengers about every weekend, admit they simply cannot run the timetabled service anymore and do what Cross Country have done and issue a revised more reliable timetable to give people more certainty that their train will actually run?

This is ridiculous every Friday saying we can’t run the scheduled service on Sunday but can’t tell you what’s running until Sunday morning. It’s pathetic. Do GWR realise how stupid it’s making them look? Government really needs to step in here. This has gone on for far too long.

From X https://x.com/gwrhelp/status/1854933641421287845?s=61

 

In fairness, we’ve been barely made stage 1 and haven’t done so for decades.  The people who can do something are aware…… they just turn a blind eye and ignore the issue, issues that have been staring them straight in the face for the past couple of decades.

 

News is about what is not the norm.  The norm is now a service that does not run run to the timetable and it is not news (*)

"Save the Train" has - yes - it still applies - four stages

1. Make people who can do something aware and acknowledge there is a matter that needs to be dealt with
2. Get it worked out what needs doing and how it should / will be done
3. Get it done
4. Monitor  it, promote it, tune it, make sure it remains done and keep at having it stay done

Lots of overlapping matters but let's try "Is our public transport network fit for future purpose and use?".

In general across the UK passenger train and bus network, we are at stage 1 indeed getting it well through it as most people acknowledge there's an issue. Some people are working on stage 2. We have a long way to go but we're getting to a point where it's becoming common knowledge that something must be done.

"Save the Train" was/is to work out what's an appropriate train service through Melksham.  There is an activity flow that's tuning it to a clockface hourly service ... with a shorter term action to tune it to providing the current timetabled service and isn't just a hopeful timetable. It's at stage 4.

(*) - but yet this forum has been getting busier with news talk all year - at a time when it should be fading into history with modern social media of a new generation of system it is not ...

 


"Mark Hopwood, our MD, is clear that the current situation is unsustainable" - Given this, I am sure we will notice a step change very soon! 

 
Mottisfont.

Hope I don't start any arguments about "significance".

Needed to find somewhere to spend six hours on a very grey November day.

 

Stratfield Saye, possibly?

Err, no: that's not National Trust.  Sorry. 

 
Trowres Jr. was attending an event in London yesterday, planned months ago, so "do not travel" was not an option. Given that it was impossible to rely upon anything actually running on GWR, the decision was made to trek across Wiltshire to catch a SWR service at Andover. ( Nice to have Salisbury totally blocked on the same day as Swindon-Didcot  ).

Of course, Trowres Jr. needed picking up later in the day, so Trowres spent the intervening hours visiting the nearest significant National Trust location. Not bad, but not how I had intended to spend the day. 108 extra car miles.

SWR managed to run the required trains... just about. I noted several later trains to/from Andover in the evening were cancelled.

Quite amazing how this sort of disruption has become normalised / not newsworthy.

 
Heard from my contact leaving the country. They took the train from Swansea to Reading that departed Bath 13:42, very full and standing on arrival at Bath, standing room only.

Then bumped into two ex-neighbours heading home, who'd been booked on to the 14:05 from Paddington. That was cancelled: they caught the 14:50 which left at 15:23 but did have seats for them, and did get them in a little before the last Sunday bus runs up the hill here.

Mark

 

Isn’t the 23:33 running?

 

I'm sure that'll work like a dream

 

Paddington to Cardiff with a change at Worcestershire Pa ... oh no ... blocked west of Reading.    Take a train headed to the South West and change at Westbury (if it calls there) or Taunton if it doesn't?

 

1750, 1850,1905, 1950, 2050, 2205 Paddington-Bristol all cancelled.

Any idea what GWR are going to do in order to get their customers home to Bristol? (And beyond?)

 

This is indeed fun ...  writing at 16:00 looking at  Bath Spa. The next Paddington train at 16:43 is cancelled and for London the offering is:


It's ...
15:23 from Swansea, due Paddington today at 19:26 (would be 9 trains for an hourly service)
on a weekday it would be
15:23 from Swansea, due Paddington at 18:14 (7 trains for an hourly service)

 

I feel sorry for anyone trying to travel between Paddington - Bristol/Cardiff/Swansea today. It seems absolutely chaotic.

 
Thanks - love the map and also, your post a useful refresher on how much you've built in to that.

Now feeling sorry for the poor 12:38 from Swansea to Paddington - it managed to have both ends of its run cancelled, it ran only between Cardiff and Bristol.

Mark

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C63122/2024-11-03/detailed

 

You are correct - but then the intent has been to provide a Quick Look.   It doesn't handle line updates, and once a whole area is Red / Blue / Grey there's not much scope to add anyway.

Links such as http://www.firstgreatwestern.info//better/map.html?stn=CDQ will take you to the page for the station with the three letter code described, and links onwards from these will take you to many different trackers.  There'e also a map (below) if you go to that page and scroll down so you can click elsewhere to navigate around.

 

According to National Rail the last direct London-Bristol service will be the 1705.

 
It feels as though the Coffeeshop disruption map's data sources are a bit overwhelmed and the actual situation is worse on the ground. Several of the hourly services from Bristol have been running 60 - 90 minutes late. GWR advising at short notice earlier that there will be no Paddington to Bristol service after 18:00 but perhaps something will be found. This must make for a long day for everyone, staff who are working it included.

Mark

 
............and on top of staff shortages, "short notice changes to the timetable" etc we now have this......

Cancellations to services between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central

Due to engineering works not being finished on time at Severn Tunnel Jn the line is closed. Disruption is expected until 11:00 03/11.

Train services between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central may be cancelled or delayed.

Customer Advice
We are currently experiencing disruption between Cardiff Central and Bristol Temple Meads due to engineering works not being finished on time, as a result services will be disrupted between Cardiff Central and Bristol Temple Meads.
.
Network Rail technicians are on site and estimate the service will be moving again at approximately 11:00.
.
We re working with our providers to source Road Transport. Please check back shortly.
.
We are sorry for the delay to your journey.

Cancellations to services between Swansea and London Paddington via Cardiff Central

Due to engineering works not being finished on time between Swansea and Port Talbot Parkway all lines are closed. Disruption is expected until 10:45 03/11.
Train services between Swansea and London Paddington via Cardiff Central and Bristol Parkway may be cancelled or delayed.
.

 
Update from GWR:


I realise this isn’t just about train crew and is also about resources. Today’s service can be best described as an absolute mess and don’t think that ‘a normal service’ is running to/from the Southwest either. There are cancellations on this route too, some of which aren’t showing on Journeycheck but are listed as cancelled on RTT.

 
From GWR.com

 
Hi Mark, yes, Bristol/Bath going via B&H to Reading.

 
This sounds as though Bristol/Bath have trains to Reading, running via the Berks and Hants, yes? (Asking for someone* who is leaving the country**)

Mark

*Not me.

**Temporarily.

 

Didcot becomes a terminus on Sunday. A quick check shows it will have GWR train services for North and South Cotswolds and XC train services to Manchester.

Buses will be running to Reading (XC and GWR) and Winchester (XC)

 
No trains running from Salisbury (in any direction) on Sunday 3rd. Waterloo services starting/terminating at Andover.

A considerable chunk of Circle/District lines closed this weekend, so not the best time to be relying on public transport. 

 
Seems as though no trains stop at Didcot this Sunday....

From the BBC

 

From https://www.gwr.com/disruption-3-nov

 
Reading predictions on other forums that this coming Sunday is expected to be the worst yet for crew shortage cancellations/general chaos.

 

That is outrageous gaming of the system, although eerily similar to what I did on leaving the Civil Service.

 

I have "liked" that - but I am going a step further and posting a message to say I "like" it.    There are enough staff overall if you like to look at it like that, but not in the right place at the right time, nor with the right training and with the right availability. Ergo - there are not enough staff available in practise  ... to run the services in the published timetable.

 

Staffing levels vary from depot. Some are significantly overstaffed, some are slightly understaffed, so it’s a case of having the right staff, but not necessarily in the right depot.
Then there’s training backlog, then add to that individuals who are off on long term sick, maternity & paternity leave, failed medicals, operational incidents and staff availability can significantly reduce beyond what has been allowed for with spare cover.

Driver wise, from what I’ve been told, there’s a significant number of depots on GWR that operate with minimal RDW, maybe one or two drivers a day with a number of trainees still in the system to come through.

The changes to pensions occurs in July with the new rate of pay being reflected for final salary pensions. That’s when a significant exodus could occur, I think ex BR drivers only need to give 4 weeks notice, and that’s why there’s been a big recruitment programme over the last few years which has resulted in some depots being overstaffed.

 
Indeed - but GWR Director stated that they had more than enough staff to run the timetable!

If there is a need for RDW, then they absolutely haven't & they ought to be challenged on this. Fine to rely on it to cover sickness or other absences, but not as a general rule.

And therein lies the difference. If they are relying on RDW, then they do not0 have sufficient staff, whatever a Director might state to us.

 
It’s just a mix of everything. It’s also December link planning time which takes some more drivers away from the cab. And with large back pay sums in bank accounts drivers don’t feel the need to do more overtime right now.

The amount of drivers who are working rest days every day is staggering. It’s far more than you’d think. A few of the regular ones might not want to this week with half term, and this is the result.

 
It feels that way. The wheel of excuses as to why GWR don’t have enough staff to operate the planned timetable.

The best one of the year for me was the football and GWR actually admitting this was a reason for having to cancel services. That absolutely took the biscuit for me.

 
Could sickness not be renamed as "More staff than usual needing repair"?