Hmm. Hopefully not Oct 31st related shenanigans.

Mark

 

.....and the taxpayer picks up the bill.....https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/17/record-compensation-payouts-passengers-uk-train-delays

 

Just arrived at Paddington - 06:30, which is 86 minutes late and a substantial delay/repay claim for all the passengers on board who will be hugely inconvenienced by this late arrival in the capital.

 
21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:04

31/10/24 21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:04 has been delayed at St Austell and is now 119 minutes late.
This is due to passengers causing a disturbance on this train.

 
Now reinstated to run, as booked, from London Paddington.

 
Tonight's westbound sleeper will start from Reading rather than London Paddington due to a shortage of staff.

 
Delay repay is excellent on the sleeper as most people are quite happy arriving late but are still entitled to a refund!

 
Or at least as far as Truro where there is also a staffed waiting room.

 
Best for those Bodmin Parkway passengers last night would have been a timely instruction to take the service down to Penzance where their beds were, but an instruction like that is fraught with uncertainties.

Mark

 

It's not the passengers travelling on the train who I'd be concerned about - I've caught the sleeper from Bodmin Parkway in the past, and the idea of waiting there for nearly two hours doesn't appeal.

 

It wasn't - 05:38 rather than the planned 05:04 into Paddington.

What a disaster for all those passengers travelling on the train who were rushing to appointments and connections in London ...  ... at least there would be some acknowledgment of this very serious hold up though delay repay ...

 
Left Penzance 115 down, currently 100 down at Fairwood Junction.
Wondering if it will be capped at Reading.

 
Night of Monday September 9:
Currently +116 at Plymouth.

 

Not a normal Sunday though.  I expect it will be quite quiet tonight.

 
... and on a Sunday. 

 
Now reinstated.

 
21:15 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:05
21:15 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:05 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

 
21:15 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:05

18/08/24 21:15 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:05 is being delayed between Swindon and Didcot Parkway and is now expected to be 132 minutes late.

This is due to the emergency services dealing with an incident.

 
It arrived into Reading nearly two hours and 15 minutes late.

It was slightly delayed in west Cornwall following a late running train which had been held at St Erth awaiting police.  Apparently three teenagers had been running wild in one coach of a 158 and vandalised a toilet in the process.

The real problems began at Hemerdon, east of Plymouth, and it was nearly an hour late by Totnes.  It then didn’t leave Exeter St David’s until gone 4am, nearly three hours late.  Some time was clawed back by sending it via Newbury instead of Bristol and Swindon as planned.

It’s the second night running the up service has had problems.  Thursday night’s train was nearly an hour late by Truro but managed to recoup half that by London Paddington.

 
21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:09
16/08/24 21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:09 will be diverted between Taunton and Reading and terminated at Reading.

It will no longer call at London Paddington.
It has been previously delayed, has been further delayed at Exeter St Davids and is now 172 minutes late.
This is due to a fault on this train.

 

Service beyond the call - thank you CfN!

 
Thanks, grahame.

It gets even better, though.

Bearing in mind the known limitations of the Coffee Shop forum's search facility, I have enjoyed an evening trawling through historic posts relating specifically to the Night Riviera and combined them all here.  We now have 1858 posts on the same subject, sorted in chronological order and with their original post headings preserved whenever possible.

If someone wanted to write a book about the Night Riviera, here would be a good place to start! 

Hope this helps, CfN. 

 

It is indeed ... over 1000 messages posted!   Thanks for the move and merge, Chris

 
Amazing how much ground we have covered about two trains a day, six days a week in almost 10 years.

 
There were two topics covering the Night Riviera, on two different boards, and they were both active, causing some duplication of posts.

I've therefore taken the opportunity to move the topic from our general 'across the West' board (where things tend to be buried in the sheer number of topics) to our more specific 'London to the West' board, and I've merged the posts from both here.

Original topic headings have been preserved, for clarity, so hopefully this will become our definitive reference on this subject.

Hope this helps, as ever. CfN. 

 
8 hours through the night in a standard class IET seat........forget compensation, those customers deserve medals.

 
Current thread running on this http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=15037.new;topicseen#new

 
23:45 London Paddington to Penzance due 07:54
23:45 London Paddington to Penzance due 07:54 will be terminated at Plymouth.

Oh no it isn't!

Running though to Penzance, on time departure from Plymouth, with the 0533 departing on time, ahead of the sleeper.

 
There's some lovely Class 68s likely going spare after Transpennine Express gave up their sublease from Direct Rail Services. Why don't GWR hire them in?

I understand driver training, depot facilities and route proving would need to be done but they're a better long term bet than continuing with the Trigger's Broom 57s.

 

They’ve had a good spell of reliability recently, just been the last few weeks and one particular loco that’s been causing issues. The problem is they’re operating with no spare locos

 

Not happening of course, but what was wrong with the idea of a couple of HST power cars on the end of a rake of coaches ... I will get my coat ...

 
They desperately need replacing, failing too often. But as we always say here….oooooozzz gonna pay for it!

 
Sleeper woes tonight - up Sleeper substituted with IET and down Sleeper terminating at Plymouth 

 
That would really suck especially if you didn’t get a first class seat. I think it might actually be a locomotive issue.

 
21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:04
Facilities on the 21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:04.
This is due to a shortage of trains because of extra safety inspections.
Will be formed of 5 coaches.
Additional Information
Due to a maintenance issue we are unable to operate this evenings Sleeper service between Penzance and London Paddington.

We have arranged for this service to be operated by one of our regular Intercity Express Trains which will offer a Standard and First Class seating service only. There will be no accommodation facilities.

If you are affected by this change to your journey and have not been contacted by our dedicated team concerning your travel arrangements, please contact our Customer Services team on 03457000125.

AND
23:45 London Paddington to Penzance due 07:54
23:45 London Paddington to Penzance due 07:54 will be terminated at Plymouth.
It will no longer call at Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Lostwithiel, Par, St Austell, Truro, Redruth, Camborne, Hayle, St Erth and Penzance.
This is due to a broken down train.
Further Information
We're sorry for the disruption to your journey.
-
If you're travelling to Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Lostwithiel, Par, St Austell, Truro, Redruth, Camborne, Hayle, St Erth or Penzance, please change at Plymouth and join 05:33 from Plymouth to Penzance.

Fri, 12 July 05:33 Plymouth to Penzance due 07:29
12/07/24 05:33 Plymouth to Penzance due 07:29 will be starting late from Plymouth and is expected to be 15 minutes late.
This is due to the train departing late to maintain customer connections.

 
Some images appearing on X/Twitter

https://x.com/firstgw_00/status/1811011476636725717?s=61&t=VlafMC5gF9tidw36b1Y8JQ

 
Just went out for a run and as I crossed the Tamar bridge I was totally unprepared to see it being hauled  backwards across the RAB by a castle class set!

And what's the one thing I don't take with me when out running.....yes, a phone!

 

Pretty chaotic at both the Penzance/Paddington end today.

 
Been disruption in Cornwall this morning after the down sleeper expired just past Truro.    Almost all trains into and out of Penzance have been cancelled since 8 o'clock.

 
Berks and hants line closed. Driver didn’t sign diversion route. Had to wait for someone who signed the route to arrive and accompany

 
Went through Melksham in daylight and due into Paddington just after 8am.

 
Bit of a lie-in this morning!

21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:04

08/07/24 21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:04 has been previously delayed, is being further delayed between Taunton and Reading and is now expected to be 142 minutes late.

This is due to a problem currently under investigation.

 

From memory, the Class 08 shunters were speed limited at 25mph.  Yes, actual limiters.  They probably could not have gone much faster than this anyway, but they were designed in the era of non-braked vehicles and shunting them, or running short local trips with them could have presented problems on any downhill bits - too much overspeed and the side-rods could have been thrown off

The ver=y similar looking Class 09 shunters were geared differently, and had a limited top speed of 29mph, if I recall correctly.  These were a bit more useful on local trip work.  The Taunton footplate crews loved to hate the diagrams that took them to Bridgwater on the 09 pilot loco to collect or drop off the nuclear flask traffic.  Only a few miles, but it took a while

 
According to Realtime Trains at the time, it wasn't.  I did look out of curiosity.

 
Would have been embarrassing if Rishi had travelled on this service.

Just wondering if the service he was on was top 'n tailed all the way, or even double headed 'just in case'.

 
I am not sure about speed limited - in that any artificial restriction is needed.   They are designed for working on depots and have a top speed of 15-20mph at full whack.

 
I take it the shunter(s) are speed limited then - sort of like road tractors.

 
This morning's sleeper arrival from London was over 90 minutes late after problems near Redruth.   The loco developed problems and was declared a failure. 

At one stage plans were formulated to use the 08 shunter from Long Rock to rescue it but that would have taken an hour each way.   However eventually the train was able to limp into Redruth station to let passengers off.  The stock finally reached Penzance just before 10am.

 

The helicopter he flew back on wasn't taken down by truck. It will have been chartered by Conservative party HQ, and probably used for some of the hangers-on for the outbound leg. It is just possible that one of the Cornish charter firms would have been used.

 
I’m sure there would have been an alternative mode of transport that flies on standby to take the PM down to Cornwall the following morning had the sleeper been canned.

 

..and these days you don't even need a first class ticket to guarantee a solo berth.

 

A politician's choice of transport is never going to please everybody. Even the humble bicycle has its critics, given the huge outlay of energy in mining the metal and forging the steel, the colonial history of rubber for tyres, and the extinction-level threat to us all posed by a can of 3 in 1. A helicopter is a pragmatic tool in the life of a senior politician or royal, giving greater security than a motorcade and saving precious time. David Cameron began his premiership walking to Parliament, but gave in when he realised how many police had to be deployed compared to when he went by bulletproof ministerial car. Whatever one may think of the individual, the cost purely in financial terms of a senior minister being attacked far outweighs that of a chartered chopper. So what were the alternatives?
Car - would have to be followed by at least two others for advisors, a police escort, plus coaches for the press pack. Several hours in transit, during which he can't be anywhere else. Effectively a full day out, which for a minister during an election campaign is a no-no.
Train - Mr Sunak cleverly sneaked in the journey down without anyone twigging, thus managing a sleep. He could hardly catch the delayed 1750 back to Paddington once the cat was out of the bag, though. He would need close protection, aides, advisors etc with him, and probably a BTP presence on every platform along the route. There would be a possibility of a conversation such as "I'm sure we can reach a peace deal, Mr Biden/Netanyahu/Putin, but I'm about to enter Whiteball tunnel."
Don't go to Cornwall - might as well write the headlines yourself - "PM SNUBS COUNTY AGAIN - Local man says he's outraged (we think that's what he said)". Forget it.
Private plane - unless it's Grant Shapps and his US-registered Saratoga which could manage Lands End airport, it would have to be from Newquay, and presumably to RAF Northolt or London City. That adds additional steps, including through London traffic, which would lose the time gained by the higher speed of a fixed wing craft. A business jet would be more expensive than a helicopter. Which leaves:
Helicopter - expensive, noisy, but point to point and out of reach of all but the most determined miscreant. From the cost, deduct three single 1st-class fares from Penzance to Paddington at £224.40 each, and it isn't too bad after all.

 

Good job this fifn't happen the other way on Tuesday.

 
Sleepless night for those travelling tonight...............


21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:08
Facilities on the 21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:08.
This is due to the train for this service having broken down.

Additional Facilities Information;

Due to a resourcing issue we are unable to operate this evenings Sleeper service between Penzance and London Paddington.

We have arranged for this service to be operated by one of our regular Intercity Express Trains which will offer a Standard and First Class seating service only. There will be no accommodation facilities.

 

If he's going to be stabbed in the back, it will have to be a decent knife - Global at the very least, preferably in a quality presentation case.

I couldn't care less what price clobber the PM and future PM wear. Neither is a pauper, and if they want to help the economy by paying more VAT on clothing than I do, fine by me. Other people on their salary dress similarly, and the normal daytime outfit of suit and tie invariably costs a packet for any front bench politician of any colour.

 

Local TV showed him exiting the sleeper at Penzance - with him saying "It was an experience"

 

Not surprising, helicopters are expensive and burn a lot of fuel. Useful for medical and other emergencies but routine use should be discouraged. Climate emergency ?

 
Not unexpected during an election campaign but Sunak's next mode of transport from Cornwall was a chartered helicopter. This hasn't gone down well in some quarters.

 

... as happened to Boris Johnson, when Michael Gove (at least metaphorically!) stabbed him in the back, withdrawing support at the last moment. 

 


I must pay my Taylor a visit  iykyk.

 
We often catalogue delays on the West of England sleepers but some long journeys on the Caledonian Sleeper last night due to problems on the West Coast Main line

Euston to Fort William 13:48 (due 11:00) (16 and a half hours after leaving London)
Euston to Aberdeen 10:35 (08:40)
Euston to Inverness - cancelled at Edinburgh
Euston to Glasgow 09:32 (07:18)
Euston to Edinburgh 09:31 (08:30)

Fort William/Aberdeen/Inverness to Euston 12:37 (08:00)
Glasgow/Edinburgh to Euston 09:36 (07:15)

 

£750? That’s chicken feed, Macron is protected by £8k umbrellas.


https://zambianobserver.com/chaos-as-french-secret-service-rush-to-protect-president-emmanuel-macron-with-8000-umbrella-after-hes-pelted-with-tomatoes-following-his-re-election/

The website for them is here https://www.parapactum.com/en/

 

I do think we should have a degree of sympathy for Rishi over this - it may well be that this is a special re-enforced back pack fitted with a bullet proof lining to save him from being stabbed in the back now (or later) by people who have been close to him but feel he has let them down in some way and are perhaps looking to usurp his position.   

 
I'm slightly disappointed.

Finn and I took the Night Riviera just over a week ago. We weren't waved off by Mr Hopwood.

Finn slept soundly. I did too until the Reading stop when some idiot decided all the slam doors had to live up to their name and be slammed shut. Note to GWR Sleeper staff/Reading dispatchers: It is possible to close the doors on Mk3 carriages relatively quietly.

My sleep was aided by a couple glasses (well, plastic beakers) of an agreeable Port in the lounge car.





https://youtu.be/lwLgJj8t8jc?si=csLHNSz-UKkw7ujP


My backpack cost £19.99. From one of those cheap luggage shops dotted around central London. Served me well for over 5 years. Getting a little careworn now but I've no plans to replace it with a £750 one.

 

It would have to be either the Prime Minister, or broadgage. 

 

The Daily Mirror must be struggling a bit if that's all they can find to criticise the PM for.  I certainly wouldn't have known it cost that much so don't feel it's rubbing people's noses in it.  On the other hand I'm baffled by how it could possibly be worth that much and find myself questioning the judgement of anyone who buys one, but that doesn't seem the be the point they're trying to make.

 

Perhaps this helps explain the dramatic rise in the value of thefts from trains off Paddington 

 
The sleeper crews knew a VIP was due this week, just not who. 
They were told to limit the amount of food given out on Monday and Tuesday to ensure there was enough breakfast stock for this.

 
Daily Mirror - Rishi Sunak wears £750 backpack to one of country's poorest areas

 

The stark difference between campaigning and delivering

 

Private helicopter not working, I suppose.

 
Lucky it wasn't the down sleeper in trouble as if I understand the video on my twitter stream there was someone notable enough on it to be greeted by the Mark Hopwood.  https://x.com/PolitlcsUK/status/1795603512552001697

Video here https://x.com/i/status/1795603512552001697

 

Yes. Most of that recovery was due to significant waits at Swindon and Reading in the original schedule, and leisurely timing from Reading to Paddington.

There are 4 "peak" trains from Westbury to London (Paddington) in the morning and 4 "peak" arrivals back, and I have to wonder if one of them might be better running as the sleeper was supposed to do last night via Swindon, providing a through service at least an hour after the obnoxiously early and slow 05:41 Trowbridge to London, and a balancing return service too.

Timings including last night's run suggest that a service calling at Trowbridge, Melksham, Chippenham, Swindon, and Didcot in place of the slowest of the peak trains - which has few passnegers west of Bedwyn - would not be that much slower between Westbury and Reading. It would open up new travel opportunities, restore a direct, through and usable Trowbridge to London and return servive (kching - income opportunity), and also Melksham to London, Frome to Swindon, Westbury to Didcot for Harwell and Oxford, and so forth.  Care to be taken in upper Kennet valley and at Pewsey in making adjustmnts; there is plenty of "bums on seats" capacity on those trains in that area, but there is a need to not leave a timetable gap or to force extra change(s) on people.

 
The other side of the coin is the two dozen people who were stuck on the broken down train for two hours.

The 15:55 Plymouth to Penzance ground to a halt near Camborne.   When efforts to fix the fault failed the units from the St Ives branch were sent to rescue the passengers.

As for the sleeper it went via Newbury rather the planned route via Melksham and Swindon and halved its delay arriving into Paddington 97 minutes late.  Once again the loco to bring it back to Reading was sent on ahead to save time by avoiding the need to couple it to the train on the up journey.

 
21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:08

27/05/24 21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:08 has been delayed at Penzance and is now 185 minutes late.

This is due to a broken down train.

.......Nice lie-in for some I guess.....plus a full refund!

 
Last night's Up Sleeper was delayed for nearly two hours due to a fatality on the line in Cornwall.

Faced with that amount of delay the service has often been terminated at Reading with passengers forced to change onto other services to reach Paddington.  However today the train continued into London and didn't even have to wait for the second loco to be coupled to the rear at Reading.   The light loco was sent on ahead and held in Royal Oak sidings before being joined to the train in platform 1 in Paddington to bring the empty coaches back to Reading Traincare Depot.

 
00:55 Reading to Penzance due 07:54
00:55 Reading to Penzance due 07:54 will no longer call at Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Lostwithiel, Par, St Austell, Redruth, Camborne, Hayle and St Erth.
It has been delayed between Reading and Exeter St Davids and is now 125 minutes late.
This is due to a fault on this train.

126 minutes late into Plymouth.
Showing non stop Plymouth to Truro thence non stop to Penzance.

 
He would also fit through the window. 

 
Finn, unlike me, is able to go through the night without needing to widdle!

Somewhat worse at the moment as I'm taking on more liquid than usual due to kidney stones. They're being blasted in a couple days.

TMI?

 
This is putting me in mind of a Saturday at Temple Meads a few years back, and suggests that HSTs had both central door locking and opening windows on the doors, and I can't recall if that was the case, but I saw what I saw.

A Paddington to Newquay HST drew up, out climbed an unaccompanied alsation for a leg stretch (and only a leg stretch it seemed).

Unfortunately the doors of the train then locked before the dog was back on board, at which point the owner appeared at the drop windows - to gaze with great concern at the german shepherd - with the dog astutely picking up that something was amiss and returning the concern.

A couple of robust but gentle members of the public, realising what had happened, and having quickly checked the alsatian for temperament, picked him up and to his evident surprise but with only mild resistance, bundled him back into the train through the open droplight, and they all hopefully lived happily ever after.

Mark

 

The Queen Mary 2 has a lampost and a (US) fire hydrant fitted, simples !

 

Several 5+ minute stops en route.

 

Dangle him out of the window? (preferably rear end first)

 

What happens if the dog needs needs to relieve itself ? Cant really take it outside on a train.

 
Readers might be interested in this update on the latest incarnation of the Nightjet sleeper services.  Innovative I thought.


https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/nightjet-new-generation.htm?fbclid=IwAR0w7V8iHiME85cytKqfkFMS7-9n45a2ehalm_rCJWrdfnd-rZjskOFa7zk

 
I plan to be travelling on the Night Riviera at the end of this month (October 2023).

I'm much heartened to see that dogs are now permitted to travel in the GWR sleeper berths for an additional £30. Previously they were only permitted to travel in a pet carrier in the guards van.

 
Yes, he's comparing it very favourably with the Caledonian Sleeper: a 'Simple' product well delivered and not sold as an experience in itself.

From his video, design, lighting, colour, ambience and surfaces cleaning including exterior glass looks to be very well handled on board the night riviera and he gives the favourable impression that given the general hush and lack of vibration, he wasn't particularly aware that the sleeper was moving.

Mark

 
Another good You Tube review from the excellent Scot, Steve Marsh - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkFG9-nHMh0

Spoiler alert - a satisfied customer, notwithstanding the passenger lounge at Penzance being closed, and considered it better than the Caledonian Sleeper too.

 

 

If it had power problems, it's probably to get a run up the hill out of Lostwithiel.

 
23:50 London Paddington to Penzance due 07:54
08/10/23 23:50 London Paddington to Penzance due 07:54 will no longer call at Lostwithiel.
This is due to a fault on this train.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:L51049/2023-10-08/detailed#allox_id=1

Seems to have a stop/start trip down overnight. Late/on time/late.
Why non stop at Lostwithiel I wonder.

 
The expense being added to your sleeper fare though. (see Scottish sleeper fares)

 
I suspect that there is a demand for other sleeper services. The environmental costs of flying and driving are increasing concerns, and trains are the obvious alternatives, preferably electric trains.
Use of a sleeper train saves the expense and the energy use of a hotel stay.

 

Where is the demand for a Penzance to Glasgow sleeper? How much would it cost? .......and oooooooooooos gonna pay for it?

Do you think the DfT would commit to the necessary subsidy similar to that which keeps the Night Riviera going?

 

I might pay good money for such a railtour, but would be less impressed if expecting a sleeper by a reasonably direct and punctual route. In view of the relatively early morning arrival of the sleepers, minor delays of up to say 30 minutes are in my view of little consequence for most passengers, and longer delays of up to an hour arguably acceptable.

Railtours are noted for the provision of booked seats, padded seats, buffet cars, proper first class and other facilities that are considered unreasonable to provide on new trains.

 

Link not working for me
Here's the long link version https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/couples-journey-ruined-sleeper-train-8685049

 
From Cornwall Live


(Continues in link)

 
Left Reading slightly early at 04:15 and was into Paddington ahead of schedule too.

 
On time into Reading. but.
As of this time, still sat at Reading.
0A50 came onto the back of 1A50 as scheduled, but the train hasn't departed.

 
21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:04
15/08/23 21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:04 will be delayed at Swindon.
This is due to passengers causing a disturbance on this train.

Only 8 down on departure Swindon.