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So really what you're saying (and granted SWR have changed their story more than once) is that SWR were going to be short of drivers anyway and rather than risk cancellations (and the prospect of customers being able to claim compensation) they simply cut the timetable?
It's a win win for SWR - cut the timetable with zero penalty while ensuring that passengers can't claim compensation. Master stroke.
That is what you're inferring, I've simply stated what I've seen and is quite common across most TOCs with this period in terms of annual leave, albeit the highlight here is SWR are in more spotlight understandably due to the introduction of the 701s and that means splitting strained resources between training and running a service of which they've managed to do with a temporarily reduction of services. Either way what ever decision would have been made would have invoked critic , whether they did nothing and let it go to **** massively or reduce service for short term(hopefully) pain, and long term gain, which seems to be the latter.
Swr are short of drivers full stop at the moment with or without holidays. There are quite a lot of trainees but they take time to come through. Blame whoever (dft, fg, covid) but the reduction/pause in recruitment in 2020-2024 is catching up with them.
So really what you're saying (and granted SWR have changed their story more than once) is that SWR were going to be short of drivers anyway and rather than risk cancellations (and the prospect of customers being able to claim compensation) they simply cut the timetable?
It's a win win for SWR - cut the timetable with zero penalty while ensuring that passengers can't claim compensation. Master stroke.
It's far from a risk of cancellations, even with the reduced timetable several 701 worked services have been cancelled for crew related reasons. Attempting to run the full timetable will only make the cancellations more unpredictable, less targeted and disrupt more services (as trains won't be in the right place for the next crew). Reducing the timetable allows more consistent running, picking services with lower impact (though still require some tough decisions as small cuts in middle of day won't materially impact crew requirement) and for training to continue at reduced rate.
While passengers view compensation costs as material, often they are much smaller than people expect. There will be trips that don't happen because of the reduced timetable which will add costs too. However, there will also be millions in other costs avoided by the reduced timetable. The 455 and 458 fleets are having an increasing number of traction related cancellations, getting the 701s in place will improve the experience for passengers longer term.
During the summer timetable itself any newly introduced 701 diagram might have to switch back if different crews/services work it after. There's also the Barnes bridge closure coming up soon which will also alter the diagrams. After the timetable should be in a better position with some crew trained during the period, reduced leave levels being equivalent to several cohorts being trained at once and with training picking back up the proportion of non-701 trained crews will decrease as some will be doing the training rather than working trains.
Watching a report on the great gathering at Derby on BBC breakfast news and along with Classic trains they featured what looked like a 701 in SWR livery as a new train!
Swr are short of drivers full stop at the moment with or without holidays. There are quite a lot of trainees but they take time to come through. Blame whoever (dft, fg, covid) but the reduction/pause in recruitment in 2020-2024 is catching up with them.
We've not even seen the worst of that recruitment freeze, with an average 14-18 month training window too we are still just seeing recruits from the previous government who were heavily mismanaging the railway.
When the retirement frenzy comes in the next 5-10 years there will be serious crew gaps all over the country.
Short term pain, long term gain. Also wouldnt surprise me if SWR/DFTO buckle to public pressure, reinstate services only to backlash in the winter months when the 455s are dropping like flys and not enough drivers trained for the 701s.
I'm amused that people keep saying this. About two years ago, my mate sent me a list of the drop dead dates for the Cardiff 150s. They are spread out over several years. I'm sure a similar list exists for the 455s. By the law of averages, they won't all run out of time or miles at the same time. There might well be pressure from DfT to off lease them ASAP to cut costs but that is not quite the same.
I'm amused that people keep saying this. About two years ago, my mate sent me a list of the drop dead dates for the Cardiff 150s. They are spread out over several years. I'm sure a similar list exists for the 455s. By the law of averages, they won't all run out of time or miles at the same time. There might well be pressure from DfT to off lease them ASAP to cut costs but that is not quite the same.
The main issue with 455s isnt so much just the mileage but the fact that when units fail which is becoming quite regular due to age, depending on the part it might not be able to be reinstated unless a train is readily avaliable to cannibalize from and thats becoming a lesser and lesser pool as more get scrapped.
Watching a report on the great gathering at Derby on BBC breakfast news and along with Classic trains they featured what looked like a 701 in SWR livery as a new train!
Watching a report on the great gathering at Derby on BBC breakfast news and along with Classic trains they featured what looked like a 701 in SWR livery as a new train!
701001 was on site at Derby, though hardly visible (and not mentioned in the souvenir programme!). The end of the unit was hidden behind 33012 (D6515), but there was a fortuitous gap between two other items on display through which carriage 487001 could be clearly seen and identified.
So really what you're saying (and granted SWR have changed their story more than once) is that SWR were going to be short of drivers anyway and rather than risk cancellations (and the prospect of customers being able to claim compensation) they simply cut the timetable?
It's a win win for SWR - cut the timetable with zero penalty while ensuring that passengers can't claim compensation. Master stroke.
Unit 502 is one of the units not in list of Rock Rail charges, so presumably one of those not yet handed over.
There hasn't been any additional charges registered since November, but they do tend to happen in batches, so might be some more handed over since but charge not yet raised.
701001 was on site at Derby, though hardly visible (and not mentioned in the souvenir programme!). The end of the unit was hidden behind 33012 (D6515), but there was a fortuitous gap between two other items on display through which carriage 487001 could be clearly seen and identified.
If you went on the steam / diesel shuttle you would have had a much better view of 701001. Likewise on the test track ride you go past 701003 and see the 3 of the coaches of 701524.
Unit 502 is one of the units not in list of Rock Rail charges, so presumably one of those not yet handed over.
There hasn't been any additional charges registered since November, but they do tend to happen in batches, so might be some more handed over since but charge not yet raised.
Not true. DFTO-owned SWR has much more autonomy than old SWR. The government hasn't ordered it to do anything. SWR has chosen to take this action and its holding company, DfT Operator Ltd, has not blocked it. Whether the SoS or the rail minister actually agree with it is another matter, but it would be awkward for them to step in when they said back in May that SWR would have the autonomy to run the railway as it sees fit and the buck would stop with the MD for any decisions made. The favourite railway game of finding someone else to blame does not apply in this case. The buck stops with SWR.
If you went on the steam / diesel shuttle you would have had a much better view of 701001. Likewise on the test track ride you go past 701003 and see the 3 of the coaches of 701524.
I would imagine the three yet to be accepted are 001, 501 and 502 which I don't believe have yet ventured beyond Derby/Old Dalby/Worksop.
The units which have not yet had charges registered against them by Rock Rail South Western are 001, 007, 008, 010, 059, 060, 501, 502, 503, 504 and 526, however the last registered charges were 12 November 2024 so looks like there are some charges due to be registered against accepted units. See the helpful posts by @Snow1964 on all of this including 14174 and 10877.
701001 was on site at Derby, though hardly visible (and not mentioned in the souvenir programme!). The end of the unit was hidden behind 33012 (D6515), but there was a fortuitous gap between two other items on display through which carriage 487001 could be clearly seen and identified.
701502 has been fully built for ages, and my first record of it is 2/7/20 when it moved from Derby to Old Dalby.
I'd be curious to know where this photo is taken, as I want in every available building that was open to the public, and looked where possible through windows of buildings that were closed.
All I saw was 701001, 701003 and 701524 which were both outside.
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Unit 502 is one of the units not in list of Rock Rail charges, so presumably one of those not yet handed over.
There hasn't been any additional charges registered since November, but they do tend to happen in batches, so might be some more handed over since but charge not yet raised.
Has it ever been to SWR routes, or has it been used as a test bed, and is now back for passenger standard retrofit (although why it took 5 years is questionable unless it was proving software changes and modifications for ages)
Picture below or 701001 at Derby, very visible of on board the 37 train shuttling up and down, or if in that area where the platform for the 37 was.
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701502 has been fully built for ages, and my first record of it is 2/7/20 when it moved from Derby to Old Dalby.
I'd be curious to know where this photo is taken, as I want in every available building that was open to the public, and looked where possible through windows of buildings that were closed.
All I saw was 701001, 701003 and 701524 which were both outside.
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701502 moved Derby to Old Dalby on 2/7/20.
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They were accepting walk ups all day on Friday and were not checking any tickets, same on the 345 on test track.
The 37 was only meant to be every 30 minutes, but they ran it as soon as was full.
I genuinely would love to know where that was then, as I say I went in every available open space.
And all other buildings that were closed, where possible looked through windows and never saw it.
but thanks
