GWR daily cancellations

[father_jack]

Lots of delayed and worried passengers at Liverpool Street today who have missed their booked trains due to the GWR weather related problems. Told those I saw not to worry and to just jump aboard as word had got out about the disruption that way.

As someone from the western region thank you for looking after our customers/victims. Unfortunately a lot of others in the industry go out to make the "experience" more worse as the passengers go along though.

 

[dk1]

As someone from the western region thank you for looking after our customers/victims. Unfortunately a lot of others in the industry go out to make the "experience" more worse as the passengers go along though.

Our pleasure mate. No need to stress those poor passengers when it wasn’t their fault.

 

[brad465]

Lots of delayed and worried passengers at Liverpool Street today who have missed their booked trains due to the GWR weather related problems. Told those I saw not to worry and to just jump aboard as word had got out about the disruption that way.

Has there always been a large market regarding passengers using both the GWML and GEML in one journey? I can see a big market arising now due to the Elizabeth line now linking them directly, but that still sounds like a large number of passengers doing intercity at either of both ends.

 

[dk1]

Has there always been a large market regarding passengers using both the GWML and GEML in one journey? I can see a big market arising now due to the Elizabeth line now linking them directly, but that still sounds like a large number of passengers doing intercity at either of both ends.

Yes very much so. Funny you say that as someone who rarely uses rail told me yesterday they will now use trains in future between Ipswich and Carmarthen due to not only the excellent EL but also GWRs 2-hourly through trains nowadays.

 

[Sleepy]

Has there always been a large market regarding passengers using both the GWML and GEML in one journey? I can see a big market arising now due to the Elizabeth line now linking them directly, but that still sounds like a large number of passengers doing intercity at either of both ends.

There could be a lot more travellers but GWR dislike Advance tickets from GE land for example Norwich to Plymouth you'll find hardly any availability (try a search in late November). Only very early morning or evening services have a quota it seems !!! But DfT think everything is wonderful because we've created Advance fares for silly journeys like Norwich to Stowmarket ???

 

[Ashley Hill]

As a VERY regular user of this train I've never heard 'Midnight' used. 'Beds' yes because that makes sense...it may have been years ago but not now.

Also referred to historically as The Waker and The Owl.

 

[Towers]

Also referred to historically as The Waker and The Owl.

I had to read “waker” twice there…

 

[Pat31]

A lot of cancellations around Bristol today, not a good day. Apparently a signalling failure between btm and weston.

 

[MontyP]

65 cancellations showing in Journey Check for GWR today, is this now the new normal for a Sunday or is there a specific reason why it is so bad today?

 

[Western 52]

Pretty normal for GWR at weekends. I travel through Bristol most weekends and rarely do my plans work out. Cancellations and trains not doing their full route are the main issues. Yesterday though I actually managed an itinerary which went to plan!

 

[Snow1964]

Pretty normal for GWR at weekends. I travel through Bristol most weekends and rarely do my plans work out. Cancellations and trains not doing their full route are the main issues. Yesterday though I actually managed an itinerary which went to plan!

Yes, not just Sundays, happens on Saturdays too (and during the week)
This weekend the canx started early with 06:05 from Salisbury.

As for Bristol area, the most recent report shows 8.46% cancellations in that sector

https://www.gwr.com/-/media/gwr-sc-website/files/about-gwr/what-you-can-expect/our-performance/GWR-Periodic-Web-Report-P2506.pdf

 

[Parallel]

Sundays are diabolical on GWR. Does anyone know why they are so short of staff on recent Sundays? I always thought high-summer was traditionally worse due to the school holidays and annual leave being taken.

 

[chrisp37]

A shortage of train crew between Truro and Falmouth Docks means that the line is closed. As a result, no trains are able to run between these stations.

Not good …

 

[Sporty60]

Nothing to do with England playing Finland on tv I suppose.

 

[dk1]

Nothing to do with England playing Finland on tv I suppose.

Doubt it although there may be a very slight connection.

 

[WelshBluebird]

Today had been utterly atrocious. Was travelling from Exeter to Bristol and pretty much GWR service along that route was either cancelled, severally delayed or terminated early / started short. Ended up getting ticket acceptance on XC (which itself wasn't actually advertised, had to ask on twitter and at Exeter to confirm). By my count this has meant that the brand new Ashley Down station (which is served by the south West to Cardiff stoppers on a Sunday) only got two northbound services today!

 

[irish_rail]

Issue is a lack of incentive to work the Sundays to the crews who are voluntary. Working overtime in the week is more lucrative from a financial perspective when compared with Sundays. Also, the drivers who can opt whether or not to work Sundays are the HSS (high speed in old parlance), yet the company persist in making the HSS driving turns terrible on a Sunday. For example at Plymouth, most of the HSS Sunday turns involve being messed about none stop to and from Laira. Just one, yes one turn driving up to London. It's little wonder staff vote with their feet and chose not to work. The back pay being expected later this month probably doesn't help either.

 

[Western 52]

GWR have cancelled all their booked services west of Swansea today. Imagine if you had to rely on this service....

 

[Benjwri]

GWR have cancelled all their booked services west of Swansea today. Imagine if you had to rely on this service....

To be fair given there are alternatives with TfW, I would say it’s better than cancelling in areas where there is only GWR.

 

[Kite159]

To be fair given there are alternatives with TfW, I would say it’s better than cancelling in areas where there is only GWR.

Agreed, better to cancel the services where customers can use TfW as an alternate to use the resources on services only provided by GWR.

 

[Sly Old Fox]

Sundays are diabolical on GWR. Does anyone know why they are so short of staff on recent Sundays? I always thought high-summer was traditionally worse due to the school holidays and annual leave being taken.

GWR recently massively increased the payment for working rest days, so people would rather work a rest day than a Sunday now, as they earn a lot more for giving up a day off and don’t have to work on a Sunday.

 

[dk1]

GWR recently massively increased the payment for working rest days, so people would rather work a rest day than a Sunday now, as they earn a lot more for giving up a day off and don’t have to work on a Sunday.

And also a cracking payout is coming next week. Although always popular, the usual overtime offering isn’t quite so popular right now.

 

[Sly Old Fox]

And also a cracking payout is coming next week. Although always popular, the usual overtime offering isn’t quite so popular right now.

Yes indeed. A number of drivers are worried about topping £100k for the year, and with the tax implications that follow may well decide not to do as much overtime between now and April.

 

[dk1]

Yes indeed. A number of drivers are worried about topping £100k for the year, and with the tax implications that follow may well decide not to do as much overtime between now and April.

Darn taxman

 

[Route115?]

My sister is travelling from Gatwick Airport to Guildford owing to engineering work and two successive trains are cancelled. Not good.

 

[Jimini]

Yes indeed. A number of drivers are worried about topping £100k for the year, and with the tax implications that follow may well decide not to do as much overtime between now and April.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — chuck it in your pension pot and keep your salary south of £100k!

 

[dk1]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — chuck it in your pension pot and keep your salary south of £100k!

I have maxed my BRASS out for the last 20 odd years. Is there any other way of avoiding this?

 

[Jimini]

I have maxed my BRASS out for the last 20 odd years. Is there any other way of avoiding this?

Not a railway man here, so can't help on that front chap, sorry.. All I know is that when negotiating the £100k <> £125.1k pay band, it pays (sorry) to overpay elsewhere to keep your net pay just shy of £100k to avoid the 60% fun and games / tapering.

 

[Snow1964]

I have maxed my BRASS out for the last 20 odd years. Is there any other way of avoiding this?

Its possible to do a lumpsum into a private pension, many of the big life assurance / pension providers offer these.

Unlike workplace pensions, where employer will advise HMRC of the employee contribution, you need to claim the value of amount you contribute into the private pension on your self assessment. Forgotten the box number it goes into, but there is a section on tax reliefs and one box is for (non employment) pension contributions, which from memory is first box. I think you have to add 20% because the pension provider will claim basic rate tax relief (but I think the note explains what to do on self assessment form)

Remember if you have to wash/launder any work clothes with company name or logo on it there is a box in same tax relief section for that too. Why pay more tax than have to.

 

[dk1]

Not a railway man here, so can't help on that front chap, sorry.. All I know is that when negotiating the £100k <> £125.1k pay band, it pays (sorry) to overpay elsewhere to keep your net pay just shy of £100k to avoid the 60% fun and games / tapering.

Ah understood. I do try to keep everything tax free but seem to have done all I can on that front

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Oct 2024 ==

Its possible to do a lumpsum into a private pension, many of the big life assurance / pension providers offer these.

Unlike workplace pensions, where employer will advise HMRC of the employee contribution, you need to claim the value of amount you contribute into the private pension on your self assessment. Forgotten the box number it goes into, but there is a section on tax reliefs and one box is for (non employment) pension contributions, which from memory is first box. I think you have to add 20% because the pension provider will claim basic rate tax relief (but I think the note explains what to do on self assessment form)

Remember if you have to wash/launder any work clothes with company name or logo on it there is a box in same tax relief section for that too. Why pay more tax than have to.

Is that not what BRASS is? Didn’t think I could avoid anymore.