TfW train shortages. What could have been done better?

[Bluejays]

So what if your comment was not specific to Cardiff, you are getting substantially better services on lines down there generally. Maybe youn can try not being able to commute to school or work for 31 days, then get class 230s for just 4 days that run late or are cancelled due to 40+ min delays. They then don't then run between Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Then on their first day back today, it is 20mins late starting and 48min late at the destination, then taken out of service for the rest of the day, having run half a diagram. I can only hope 175 return soon so we can once again have our 150s back, that some contributers are now enduring south of Shrewsbury

We don't get substantially better services down south. Sounds like you just have a massive chip on your shoulder.

 

[Techniquest]

So what if your comment was not specific to Cardiff, you are getting substantially better services on lines down there generally. Maybe youn can try not being able to commute to school or work for 31 days, then get class 230s for just 4 days that run late or are cancelled due to 40+ min delays. They then don't then run between Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Then on their first day back today, it is 20mins late starting and 48min late at the destination, then taken out of service for the rest of the day, having run half a diagram. I can only hope 175 return soon so we can once again have our 150s back, that some contributers are now enduring south of Shrewsbury

Change the record will you? Good grief it's stuck on the same bit over and over again

We don't get substantially better services down south. Sounds like you just have a massive chip on your shoulder.

I'm in total agreement, although I'd probably upgrade that to a crater on both shoulders.

 

[DLAYKEGER]

We don't get substantially better services down south. Sounds like you just have a massive chip on your shoulder.

When you have had trains on just 6days since the start of March and only one day was as per the timetable ( a Sunday), you have a right to complain, when buses take double (or 3 times) the time, and you can't commute to work or school.
On four of those six days they ran a 2 hourly service, for just part of the day (no evening trains) which mostly ran late, or so late, we had 4 hour gaps between the train (this being a singular refurbished ex London Underground train that can't keep to time) . Alternatively the train is curtailed mid sfternoon due to a fault. Then yesterday after no trains for 3 days (Good Friday to Easter Sunday) , our train was finally back. This was 20mins late starting and 40+ mins late after just 4 stations, (about 15mins apart) ending up 48 mins late at the destinaton,. This is not great for a service that takes an hour normally. The return train was cancelled, and no further trains ran yesterday. Today the scheduled 2 hourly trains showing yesterday have been removed from RTT.

If you can find me a worse service, with the exception of the Marston line in the midlands in the UK, I will agree with the chip on my shoulder comment. I can only hope more 175 come back soon so we can get some 150s back on our line and a normal ish service resumed.

 

[Dai Corner]

If you can find me a worse service, with the exception of the Marston line in the midlands in the UK, I will agree with the chip on my shoulder comment. I can only hope more 175 come back soon so we can get some 150s back on our line and a normal ish service resumed.

Newport-Crosskeys.

 

[Caaardiff]

When you have had trains on just 6days since the start of March and only one day was as per the timetable ( a Sunday), you have a right to complain, when buses take double (or 3 times) the time, and you can't commute to work or school.
On four of those six days they ran a 2 hourly service, for just part of the day (no evening trains) which mostly ran late, or so late, we had 4 hour gaps between the train (this being a singular refurbished ex London Underground train that can't keep to time) . Alternatively the train is curtailed mid sfternoon due to a fault. Then yesterday after no trains for 3 days (Good Friday to Easter Sunday) , our train was finally back. This was 20mins late starting and 40+ mins late after just 4 stations, (about 15mins apart) ending up 48 mins late at the destinaton,. This is not great for a service that takes an hour normally. The return train was cancelled, and no further trains ran yesterday. Today the scheduled 2 hourly trains showing yesterday have been removed from RTT.

If you can find me a worse service, with the exception of the Marston line in the midlands in the UK, I will agree with the chip on my shoulder comment. I can only hope more 175 come back soon so we can get some 150s back on our line and a normal ish service resumed.

The borderlands has certainly been given the rough end of the timetable cuts. The ambition was clearly for the line to run with 230s, which are obviously not performing.

It's not only the borderlands suffering. People are wedged into 2 carriage trains for 3-5 hours into someones armpit and pay over £100 for the privilege. They are also hard done by.
But the same repetitive posts over different threads are becoming tiring.

 

[DLAYKEGER]

Newport-Crosskeys.

So you are trying to tell me Crosskeys with 27 services stopping yesterday with a few cancellatoon has a worse service. That means in one day that it has had roughhly the same number of calls as my station has had in over a month (if you exclude the one day the Sunday service actually ran to timetable in March), and both stations have similar passenger numbers.

If you mean you have to change trains and can't get there direct from Newport at the moment, that is a diferent matter, as you can still get between both stations by train by changing, which I have to do daily to get to my final destination. By the look of it, the line seems to be getting new trains when it is reinstated, which is also a plus. As such, I think you need to look harder to find a worse service.

 

[Dai Corner]

So you are trying to tell me Crosskeys with 27 services stopping yesterday with a few cancellatoon has a worse service. That means in one day that it has had roughhly the same number of calls as my station has had in over a month (if you exclude the one day the Sunday service actually ran to timetable in March), and both stations have similar passenger numbers.

If you mean you have to change trains and can't get there direct from Newport at the moment, that is a diferent matter, as you can still get between both stations by train by changing, which I have to do daily to get to my final destination. By the look of it, the line seems to be getting new trains when it is reinstated, which is also a plus. As such, I think you need to look harder to find a worse service.

You can change at Cardiff Central, but it takes an extra 30 mins, at least, and costs more.

As for the rolling stock, it's been downgraded from 170s to 153s. The Flirts will be nice when we get them, I agree. I don't know how they compare with 197s.

 

[Llanigraham]

So what if your comment was not specific to Cardiff, you are getting substantially better services on lines down there generally. Maybe youn can try not being able to commute to school or work for 31 days, then get class 230s for just 4 days that run late or are cancelled due to 40+ min delays. They then don't then run between Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Then on their first day back today, it is 20mins late starting and 48min late at the destination, then taken out of service for the rest of the day, having run half a diagram. I can only hope 175 return soon so we can once again have our 150s back, that some contributers are now enduring south of Shrewsbury

You seem to be (purposely?) ignoring the number of complaints I read in various Welsh press releases about problems, delays, and cancellations across South Wales.
And we are suffering similar on the Cambrian.

 

[DLAYKEGER]

You seem to be (purposely?) ignoring the number of complaints I read in various Welsh press releases about problems, delays, and cancellations across South Wales.
And we are suffering similar on the Cambrian.

Not purposely, I live in NW England, so would have little access to the South Wales based media, nor do I watch Welsh regional TV, as our default is BBC NW and Granada, like a lot of of pepple in North East Wales. I will however read Deeside.com, Wrexham Leader, Daily Post for updates.

All I know is when I look up issues highlighted on the Cambrian and in South Wales, the issues bare little comparison to the non availability of trains on the borderlands since early March, This has been caused by the 175 debacle, that led to 150s being removed, for the 175 routes. I am not saying you don't have issues, but maybe people South of Wrexham are not getting the full picture from media published in yoursub region.

 

[Jez]

Not purposely, I live in NW England, so would have little access to the South Wales based media, nor do I watch Welsh regional TV, as our default is BBC NW and Granada, like a lot of of pepple in North East Wales. I will however read Deeside.com, Wrexham Leader, Daily Post for updates.

All I know is when I look up issues highlighted on the Cambrian and in South Wales, the issues bare little comparison to the non availability of trains on the borderlands since early March, This has been caused by the 175 debacle, that led to 150s being removed, for the 175 routes. I am not saying you don't have issues, but maybe people South of Wrexham are not getting the full picture from media published in yoursub region.

I wonder if Granada Reports and Central News (and the BBC regional news in the West Midlands and North) have had any coverage of the lack of 175s given large parts of these regions have TFW services not just Wales itself. Its been the top story on BBC Wales Today at least once and mentioned a few other times on ITV and BBC News in Wales.

 

[DLAYKEGER]

I wonder if Granada Reports and Central News (and the BBC regional news in the West Midlands and North) have had any coverage of the lack of 175s given large parts of these regions have TFW services not just Wales itself. Its been the top story on BBC Wales Today at least once and mentioned a few other times on ITV and BBC News in Wales.

I very much doubt it, as trans pennine express and avanti are the problems in the Manchester area where BBC NW and Granada newsrooms are both based. As suuch that issue gets aired due to Andy Burnham being vocal. Whilst 175 are probably getting prioritised by a South Wales based BBC newsroom. Out of interest, have BBC Wales run any stories about how lines that had 150 trains taken off them to replace the 175s on the mainlines, have been / or are still getting affected?

 

[Llanigraham]

Not purposely, I live in NW England, so would have little access to the South Wales based media, nor do I watch Welsh regional TV, as our default is BBC NW and Granada, like a lot of of pepple in North East Wales. I will however read Deeside.com, Wrexham Leader, Daily Post for updates.

All I know is when I look up issues highlighted on the Cambrian and in South Wales, the issues bare little comparison to the non availability of trains on the borderlands since early March, This has been caused by the 175 debacle, that led to 150s being removed, for the 175 routes. I am not saying you don't have issues, but maybe people South of Wrexham are not getting the full picture from media published in yoursub region.

The internet has plenty of articles about what is happening to rail travel in Mid and South Wales, so there is more than adequate access to this.

 

[Jez]

I very much doubt it, as trans pennine express and avanti are the problems in the Manchester area where BBC NW and Granada newsrooms are both based. As suuch that issue gets aired due to Andy Burnham being vocal. Whilst 175 are probably getting prioritised by a South Wales based BBC newsroom. Out of interest, have BBC Wales run any stories about how lines that had 150 trains taken off them to replace the 175s on the mainlines, have been / or are still getting affected?

Just general reports about the 175s being out of service and other trains being moved from other lines to replace them. Not specific about which lines had trains moved however.

 

[ValleyLines142]

So what if your comment was not specific to Cardiff, you are getting substantially better services on lines down there generally. Maybe youn can try not being able to commute to school or work for 31 days, then get class 230s for just 4 days that run late or are cancelled due to 40+ min delays. They then don't then run between Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Then on their first day back today, it is 20mins late starting and 48min late at the destination, then taken out of service for the rest of the day, having run half a diagram. I can only hope 175 return soon so we can once again have our 150s back, that some contributers are now enduring south of Shrewsbury

I don't really know where any of this has come from to be honest, nor see any relevance.

All I was commenting on was about the number of 158s in Cardiff! Not about anything else!