ATW/Keolis Amey Wales stock shortages

[krus_aragon]

Upthread there's mention of sanding having ceased in 2016. Why?

According to evidence given by James Price of TfW (to the Economy & Transport Committee down at the Senedd), it was a network-wide change of approach by Network Rail(? IIRC). The belief is that autumns got worse in Wales than elsewhere because the new method of just waterblasting suited areas where stock is fitted with wheelslip protection, but the fleet inherited from ATW had the lowest proportion of WSP provision in the UK.

 

[Gareth Marston]

Currently on a slightly crowded 4 car TfW out of New St and had one nice gentleman suggest that this train should be reserved for passengers only to Shrewsbury and anyone beyond there should wait, as they are obviously not commuters so not important!!
It is so crowded that on leaving Wolverhampton there is no one standing!!

You have to remember that there's been a drop in footfall caused by the current cancellation/short formation crisis. We've taken a big hit here at Newtown the last few weeks much of it due to misinformation/misunderstanding/gossip - as you know there are people in the Llanidloes areas who will happily spread such stuff on social media. Ive not been able to walk down the street/go to a shop/go into a pub in town without someone coming up to me a with a version of the "Ive heard all the trains have been replaced by buses" story or my absolute pet hate "the internet says..."

This is what TfW are putting out (and theirs signs up in Caersws)
https://www.journeycheck.com/tfwrai...rations overview 301.pdf?webMessageId=1138909

Aberystwyth-Machynlleth-Shrewsbury
The following services are affected:
06:25 Shrewsbury-Aberystwyth will be cancelled
06:30 Aberystwyth-Shrewsbury will be cancelled
08:30 Aberystwyth-Birmingham International will start at Shrewsbury
10:29 Shrewsbury - Aberystwyth will be cancelled
12:30 Aberystwyth -Shrewsbury will be cancelled
Road transport will run in lieu of cancelled trains.

Which is very clear to railwayman however Joe Public are not understanding what it says.
Firstly like all Journey Check systems it lists cancelled trains not the ones that are running - Joe Public doesn't understand that 80% of the trains are running as normal.
Secondly it lists services effected, again Joe Public cant equate this to times from their stations - Ive had several people facebook /phone us believing that it tells them the 0630 or 0830 train from Caersws to Birmingham is cancelled....which are the 0530 and 0730 ex Aberystwyth to Birmingham International which are running as scheduled.

It could be some time after services go back to normal before traffic levels return.....

 

[Gareth Marston]

According to evidence given by James Price of TfW (to the Economy & Transport Committee down at the Senedd), it was a network-wide change of approach by Network Rail(? IIRC). The belief is that autumns got worse in Wales than elsewhere because the new method of just waterblasting suited areas where stock is fitted with wheelslip protection, but the fleet inherited from ATW had the lowest proportion of WSP provision in the UK.

He was fairly candid and open with the immediate technical reasons behind the problems and also puled the rug on his political masters attempts to shovel the blame on Arriva. ATW didn't invest in WSP but were having the South Wales Valleys treated by Network Rail with (sandite ???) up to Autumn 2015 and wheel flats were not a "big" problem. ATW then had two autumns to do (2016 & 2017) with water cannon only and no WSP - no TOC would have spent money on WSP with 2 years left on a contract.

Who knew that and when?
Was it flagged to Welsh Government?

 

[Llanigraham]

The crazy part about hs comments, Gareth, was that he then admitted that he was retired!

Agreed about the lack of understanding about what is or isn't running, which is why I have tried to to post each week on the 2 main Llani FB pages listing what IS running as trains. To be honest it is mainly one vociferous individual shouting and she refuses to listen to facts, even from her neighbour who certainly does know what is going on.

Friends at Machy seem to be saying that they can see some light at the end of the tunnel and that things should be improving in the near future, with atleast one extra service coming back into use.

 

[Bletchleyite]

So, is it just Sandite that's been stopped, not one shot sanders and the likes?

 

[krus_aragon]

So, is it just Sandite that's been stopped, not one shot sanders and the likes?

I'd been wondering that (but didn't ask in as many words).

 

[Cardiff123]

I'm guessing NR stopped using sandite with their RHTTs as a cost cutting measure?
What other reason would there be if it was known that the Welsh fleet, and the Valleys in particular, would suffer as a result?

 

[CambrianCoast]

Travelled along the North Wales Coast a few times over the past week and adhesion seemed really poor between Conwy and Penmaenmawr. The 158s I travelled on seemed to struggle to take power and crawled most of the way between the two points with even the gentlest attempts of the driver to take power causing pretty bad wheelslip.

 

[Gareth Marston]

Rural Areas still suffering from cancellations next week

https://www.journeycheck.com/tfwrail/

We apologise for the current changes to timetabled services and the decreased capacity of our trains. We are doing everything possible to improve this regrettable situation.

Due to an unprecedented number of trains suffering from damage caused by the effects of Autumn, Transport for Wales will be operating an amended timetable until further Notice.

Service changes for Monday 03rd - Friday 7th December can be found here

Service changes for Saturday 8th December can be found here

Service changes for Monday 10th - Friday 14th December can be found here

For all real time running information please visit www.journeycheck.com/tfwrail/

 

[Gareth Marston]

Prince Charles played safe and brought his own steam train

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46481578

Commuters at Cardiff central station were greeted by the sight of Prince Charles after he arrived for a royal visit by steam locomotive.

 

[Oscar46016]

Prince Charles played safe and brought his own steam train

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46481578

And a spare loco!

 

[krus_aragon]

Rural Areas still suffering from cancellations next week

https://www.journeycheck.com/tfwrail/

The Saturday timetable is looking a lot healthier.

I wonder if the bold red text stating that "a normal service" is planned for Milford Haven has anything to do with the questions raised by Joyce Watson last week...

 

[krus_aragon]

Prince Charles played safe and brought his own steam train

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46481578

And a spare loco!

A shame he didn't offer to share one of them with Cardiff's commuters

 

[CambrianCoast]

This situation is beyond a joke now. When was there actually a train running on the Conwy Valley line last?

 

[Dai Corner]

This situation is beyond a joke now. When was there actually a train running on the Conwy Valley line last?

Somebody posted a picture of a 6 car 150 (2 car locked out of use) at Newport heading for Holyhead on Facebook earlier today. Whether that was for lack of 175s or a way of getting repaired 150s back to North Wales I don't know.

 

[PHILIPE]

Somebody posted a picture of a 6 car 150 (2 car locked out of use) at Newport heading for Holyhead on Facebook earlier today. Whether that was for lack of 175s or a way of getting repaired 150s back to North Wales I don't know.

Probably a shortage in the North

 

[CambrianCoast]

Somebody posted a picture of a 6 car 150 (2 car locked out of use) at Newport heading for Holyhead on Facebook earlier today. Whether that was for lack of 175s or a way of getting repaired 150s back to North Wales I don't know.

Fingers crossed! Cancellations on the Cambrian Line this evening “due to shortage of train crew”. What next...

 

[krus_aragon]

Somebody posted a picture of a 6 car 150 (2 car locked out of use) at Newport heading for Holyhead on Facebook earlier today. Whether that was for lack of 175s or a way of getting repaired 150s back to North Wales I don't know.

They wouldn't use three 150s to replace a 175, so they must be moving them up North.

The Borderlands line should have returned to normal service as of today; that requires two units. I'd suspect some of that train was detached at Chester. Though with units being sent to wheel lathes everywhere, there's no guarantee that all three were returning to service.

 

[Oscar46016]

I saw the other day a 6 car pacer in Cardiff - presume it was ecs or test of some sort?

 

[33017]

I saw the other day a 6 car pacer in Cardiff - presume it was ecs or test of some sort?

Depends when it was. Not uncommon for 6-cars to work up to either Rhymney or Treherbert at the end of day for morning services.

 

[krus_aragon]

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Journeycheck states the only cancellations planned for tomorrow are the Conwy Valley services. Then "As of Monday 17th December, a full Transport for Wales services is expected to operate on all routes"

 

[Llanigraham]

Gareth has reported we are bak to a full timetable on the Cambrian from Saturday 15th; yipee!

 

[PHILIPE]

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Journeycheck states the only cancellations planned for tomorrow are the Conwy Valley services. Then "As of Monday 17th December, a full Transport for Wales services is expected to operate on all routes"

And also tomorrow, according to Journey Check, Cardiff Valley services decimated with multiple cancellations/part cancellations due to shortage of conductors. During this week also, when West Wales services were planned to return to normal, following stock shortages, in the evening, along came cancellations due shortage of guards.

 

[krus_aragon]

And also tomorrow, according to Journey Check, Cardiff Valley services decimated with multiple cancellations/part cancellations due to shortage of conductors. During this week also, when West Wales services were planned to return to normal, following stock shortages, in the evening, along came cancellations due shortage of guards.

i hadn't scrolled that far down the page!

 

[Cardiff123]

And also tomorrow, according to Journey Check, Cardiff Valley services decimated with multiple cancellations/part cancellations due to shortage of conductors. During this week also, when West Wales services were planned to return to normal, following stock shortages, in the evening, along came cancellations due shortage of guards.

Why is there such a big shortage of guards? Weren't ATW recruiting guards on behalf of TfW in the last 6 months or so of their franchise?
I could understand if it was Sunday, but Saturdays are inside the working week?

The penultimate Saturday before Christmas as well. Things at TfW Rail really are getting much worse before they get better. I feel for the people staffing TfW Rail twitter tomorrow. Might as well just set up an automated apology to respond to every angry tweet.

 

[sw1ller]

Why is there such a big shortage of guards? Weren't ATW recruiting guards on behalf of TfW in the last 6 months or so of their franchise?
I could understand if it was Sunday, but Saturdays are inside the working week?

The penultimate Saturday before Christmas as well. Things at TfW Rail really are getting much worse before they get better. I feel for the people staffing TfW Rail twitter tomorrow. Might as well just set up an automated apology to respond to every angry tweet.

Probably because half of them are now on driver courses??? I’m all for recruiting from within, but when you start 18+ guards on driver courses and start 18+ people on guard courses to cover for them only 3 months in advance, there’s gonna be some crossover!

 

[craigybagel]

Probably because half of them are now on driver courses??? I’m all for recruiting from within, but when you start 18+ guards on driver courses and start 18+ people on guard courses to cover for them only 3 months in advance, there’s gonna be some crossover!

AFAIK there's been a lot less movement with trainee drivers in the South then there has been in the North, and it's in the South where most of today's problems seem to be. And to be fair, given how many drivers in the North are moving to other TOCs if they didn't take on trainees, including from within, they'd have a massive shortage there soon enough.

I suspect to be honest the issue here is that Saturday's in December are absolutely awful to work as a conductor and that nobody really wants to do Rest Day Work on them any more - and at the same time anybody who can put in Annual Leave will have done so.

 

[PHILIPE]

Northern's 150221 and 150268 hired today to work Llandudno to Manchester diagram. This seems to be the first time since TFW took over from ATW that this has happened on a Northern strike Saturday.

 

[Cardiff123]

Are any fully PRM'd TfW 150s back in service yet? Any news on 150284/285 that have been pictured in workshops?
What's the situation with the 158s? How many of those are done?

 

[6Gtraincrew]

I think there are six 158's done so far. No 150's completed yet.