Update from Passenger Focus
The additional carriages leased in to ease the capacity problems created by the timetable change last December are being returned to Northern Rail at the end of this week. Eight units are going back but FGW have leased in an additional 12 units to replace them so they will have more than enough carriages to service the new timetable which starts next Monday.
I have been concerned at the amount of short-forming of trains that has been occurring in this area over the past couple of months and have taken this matter up directly with the new Chief Operating Officer in the company. He is fully aware of the issues affecting our part of the route particularly the Cardiff/Portsmouth short-formings which have a significant impact on cross-Bristol routes during peak times. As a result of my intervention, I am hopeful that a ‘spare’ unit will be stabled at Westbury from next Monday onwards to cater for breakdowns or shortages which may occur during the morning peak. This will provide the facility for the ‘spare’ to in-fill if there are problems with the allocated train heading towards Bristol.
I have also managed to persuade the company to strengthen its contingency plan in respect of stopping High Speed trains at Oldfield Park and Keynsham during the morning peak IF local services have failed and passengers are left stranded at those stations. This contingency has been used a lot more this year and I will be monitoring its use as the new timetable unfolds.
What would be extremely useful for me would be if you could report back occasions where you have been left stranded at Oldfield Park due to the cancellation of a local service and then suffered the frustration of seeing a High speed train flying past on its way to Bristol. A short e mail would suffice and would then allow me the opportunity to make an early challenge to the company as to why the contingency plan was not used.(Note : readers please post a comment on the blog and I will forward to Passenger Focus)
Sometimes they may decide not to stop as there may be another local service a few minutes behind it. This is fine as long as there is sufficient capacity on the following train to pick up the total number of passengers waiting at Oldfield Park. If there are occasions where this happens and passengers are left behind then please let me know asap.
Mike Greedy
Passenger Focus
I have been concerned at the amount of short-forming of trains that has been occurring in this area over the past couple of months and have taken this matter up directly with the new Chief Operating Officer in the company. He is fully aware of the issues affecting our part of the route particularly the Cardiff/Portsmouth short-formings which have a significant impact on cross-Bristol routes during peak times. As a result of my intervention, I am hopeful that a ‘spare’ unit will be stabled at Westbury from next Monday onwards to cater for breakdowns or shortages which may occur during the morning peak. This will provide the facility for the ‘spare’ to in-fill if there are problems with the allocated train heading towards Bristol.
I have also managed to persuade the company to strengthen its contingency plan in respect of stopping High Speed trains at Oldfield Park and Keynsham during the morning peak IF local services have failed and passengers are left stranded at those stations. This contingency has been used a lot more this year and I will be monitoring its use as the new timetable unfolds.
What would be extremely useful for me would be if you could report back occasions where you have been left stranded at Oldfield Park due to the cancellation of a local service and then suffered the frustration of seeing a High speed train flying past on its way to Bristol. A short e mail would suffice and would then allow me the opportunity to make an early challenge to the company as to why the contingency plan was not used.(Note : readers please post a comment on the blog and I will forward to Passenger Focus)
Sometimes they may decide not to stop as there may be another local service a few minutes behind it. This is fine as long as there is sufficient capacity on the following train to pick up the total number of passengers waiting at Oldfield Park. If there are occasions where this happens and passengers are left behind then please let me know asap.
Mike Greedy
Passenger Focus
Labels: first great western, oldfield park, overcrowding, trains
posted by www.loial.co.uk at 4:18 AM
1 Comments:
I have some questions on this :
1) Mike Greedy says that 8 units are going back but Andrew Griffiths (FGW Regional Manager for the Severn / Solent area) says that 10 are going back. Who is correct?
2) How can it be that FGW "will have more than enough carriages" if they are trying to divert Bath - bound passengers away from the local services and onto HST's in the evening peak?
3) I am most interested in Mike Greedy's "intervention" which (apparently) has ensured that "a ‘spare’ unit will be stabled at Westbury from next Monday onwards to cater for breakdowns or shortages which may occur during the morning peak."
Is his obviously growing influence anything to do with the fact that Passenger Focus is funded by the Department for Transport , I wonder?
Recent comment from Rail minister Tom Harris :
"The Department continues to listen to the representations of Passenger Focus and has invited them to take a greater role in commenting on the specification of future franchises."
Wouldnt the next logical step be for the DfT to "invite" Passenger Focus to "comment" on rolling stock allocation?
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