SWT Engineering work this weekend

[joncombe]

Does anyone know what is happening with South West Train this weekend? The SWT website warns that major engineering work is taking place this weekend. For example that all lines are closed at Woking on Sunday and that you should check times on the National Rail website. Yet the Journey Planner on both the National Rail website and SWTs site show that trains are running from Woking (e.g. to Basingstoke) and the journey time (18 minutes).

 

[abn444]

Does anyone know what is happening with South West Train this weekend? The SWT website warns that major engineering work is taking place this weekend. For example that all lines are closed at Woking on Sunday and that you should check times on the National Rail website. Yet the Journey Planner on both the National Rail website and SWTs site show that trains are running from Woking (e.g. to Basingstoke) and the journey time (18 minutes).

The SWT site says that the details for Sunday haven't been put into the journey planners yet and it also says the bus services around Wimbledon on Saturday haven't been put onto the planners yet either. I have no idea why it still isn't there though, given how close it now is to the time.

 

[Kite159]

Oh great, there goes my plans for Sunday going up in smoke.

I wonder how many other passenger's plans will also change or get caught out* when they eventually get round to inputting the engineering work onto the journey planners :roll:

*after-all it is a reasonable assumption that some passengers looking for a day trip to London would have checked train times to make a reasonable plan/buying tickets if necessary** only to roll into their local station come Saturday or Sunday to find trains only running as far as Basingstoke [even the NRE site doesn't warn of the pending closures]

**Would passengers be able to claim money back if delayed for longer than an hour if they buy them before the works are inputted into the various systems?

 

[joncombe]

Oh great, there goes my plans for Sunday going up in smoke.

I wonder how many other passenger's plans will also change or get caught out* when they eventually get round to inputting the engineering work onto the journey planners :roll:

Well I can only echo your sentiments. I thought engineering work was supposed to be planned about 3 months in advance (before they start selling AP tickets). Until fairly recently SWT used to put PDF timetables on their website for weekend engineering work. Now they don't, and it seems they can't even be bothered to update the journey planner either now.

I did notice earlier in the week the NRE site was showing an alert next to all SWT journeys that "It is not yet clear how engineering work will effect this service". Now that has gone so I hoped it was up to date, but it seems not.

I need to travel from London and find that now all the connecting train times have changed (and not for the better).

 

[joncombe]

The SWT site says that the details for Sunday haven't been put into the journey planners yet and it also says the bus services around Wimbledon on Saturday haven't been put onto the planners yet either. I have no idea why it still isn't there though, given how close it now is to the time.

Where do you see this? I am clicking the banner at the top of the website "Major engineering work on South West Trains 4 & 5 March". It does not say anything about the times not being available, just tells you to check first.

 

[Kite159]

Well I can only echo your sentiments. I thought engineering work was supposed to be planned about 3 months in advance (before they start selling AP tickets). Until fairly recently SWT used to put PDF timetables on their website for weekend engineering work. Now they don't, and it seems they can't even be bothered to update the journey planner either now.

I did notice earlier in the week the NRE site was showing an alert next to all SWT journeys that "It is not yet clear how engineering work will effect this service". Now that has gone so I hoped it was up to date, but it seems not.

I need to travel from London and find that now all the connecting train times have changed (and not for the better).

If I look on NRE for the weekend, I get no little yellow triangle warning about the future engineering works, instead getting the little green tick under status [which in the mind of anybody looking will suggest all is well and it will take the usual 80 minutes to reach London on Sunday from Andover]


I guess rail replacement buses from Basingstoke to Guildford via Woking with a couple services getting diverted via the Guildford New Line?

 

[wimbledonpete]

I'm trying to get times from Vauxhall to Motspur Park - National Rail Enquiries is not giving me nothing whatsoever for all day.

 

[Kite159]

NRE (& RTT) are showing the buses for the Saturday but still a "regular service" on the Sunday

 

[wimbledonpete]

All I get for VXH to MOT at 11am on Saturday is:

There are no outbound journeys available on the day you selected, we have returned the next available journey (00.19 from Vauxhall on Sunday morning - straight through apparently so that'd be a bonus...)

 

[Kite159]

All I get for VXH to MOT at 11am on Saturday is:

There are no outbound journeys available on the day you selected, we have returned the next available journey (00.19 from Vauxhall on Sunday morning - straight through apparently so that'd be a bonus...)

Nothing is showing on RTT at all for Motspur Park on the Saturday

 

[Bill Badger]

I've been following the updates (or lack of them) on this dogs dinner of planning for some weeks, as I've had a complicated weekend of travelling planned for sometime and the information provision has been very slow and has presumably been made worse by a very late decision to do works between Wimbledon and Surbiton on Saturday The latest it says for Sunday is the following:

Revised timetables will run for nearly all South West Trains services.
Details have yet to be input to Journey Planners and passengers should enquire for individual journeys nearer the time.

Which was useless a month ago and is ridiculous now.

I've basically given up on knowing how I can travel so have sorted a lift for Saturday paid for over night accommodation for the Saturday night and will keep my fingers crossed there is some sort of rail replacement bus on Sunday to come home in the evening.

 

[Bill Badger]

....and be warned the weekend 25/26 March appears to have something similar planned.

 

[abn444]

Where do you see this? I am clicking the banner at the top of the website "Major engineering work on South West Trains 4 & 5 March". It does not say anything about the times not being available, just tells you to check first.

If you click on the banner and scroll down to the links near the bottom and click on them you should be able to find the information I mentioned. Bill Badger has already put a quote from it on here.

 

[wimbledonpete]

Nothing is showing on RTT at all for Motspur Park on the Saturday

Coming up from Folkestone so I'll just get Thameslink to Wimbledon from St Pancras then get the 131 and walk from West Barnes Crossing. Lift back on Sunday, luckily.

 

[Joe Paxton]

...
Which was useless a month ago and is ridiculous now.

This is absolutely pathetic.

Here's a direct link to the page where it says "passenger's should check nearer the time".

How has this happened?

 

[GW43125]

....and be warned the weekend 25/26 March appears to have something similar planned.

6th-7th May has closures between Worting Jn and Winchester. XC have already got the new times in the system but SWT just tell us to check back nearer the time. As I need to book advances, that's of nil use.

 

[Kite159]

Buses are now showing on RTT for the Sunday.

I suspect those 2car 165 services to Reading will be busier than normal from Basingstoke

 

[Bill Badger]

Recommended journey Guildford to Farnborough on Sunday!

Train 08:35 Guildford [GLD] Woking [WOK] 08:42 0h 07m
South West Trains service from Portsmouth Harbour to London Waterloo

Train 08:47 Woking [WOK] Basingstoke [BSK] 09:06 0h 19m
South West Trains service from London Waterloo to Exeter St David's

Train 09:16 Basingstoke [BSK] Farnborough (Main) [FNB] 09:37 0h 21m
South West Trains service from Basingstoke to London Waterloo

Walk 09:42 Farnborough (Main) [FNB] Farnborough North [FNN]
09:59 0h 17m

 

[alastair]

Recommended journey Guildford to Farnborough on Sunday!

Maybe I'm missing your point, but surely direct FGW service Guildford/Farnborough North at 0752 or 0952 taking just 17min would be a better option?

 

[PHILIPE]

Everything should have been in place 12 weeks ago unless it is Emergency Engineering Work

 

[Bill Badger]

Maybe I'm missing your point, but surely direct FGW service Guildford/Farnborough North at 0752 or 0952 taking just 17min would be a better option?

Absolutely that is what you should do; the point I was making was that the information on the Journey Planner is wrong!

Since I checked a couple of hours ago it has changed again and is now showing a mormal Sunday service either the direct service to Farnborough North, or with a change at Woking to another train. The warning about SWT Services not being entered has gone too now, somehow I just don't believe this either.

 

[The Planner]

Informed traveller deadline is 12 weeks and TOCs bid at 18 weeks normally. Engineering work unless it is late notice is normally defined much further out at DPPP and CPPP (confirmed period possession plan)

 

[theironroad]

Everything should have been in place 12 weeks ago unless it is Emergency Engineering Work

I saw a couple days ago that the saturday wimbledon to surbiton block is due to 'urgent bridge repairs'.

the woking - basingstoke sat and sun works was pre-planned.

 

[hassaanhc]

The diversions from this engineering work on Saturday mean no direct services from Hounslow towards Feltham. The 2tph to/from Twickenham is running, as are the Reading/Windsor via Richmond services, but as it is quicker to change at Twickenham instead of Whitton (therefore doubling back through Whitton), WebTIS journey planners showed no results at all. This was checked a couple of days ago, so maybe I should check again, but I doubt it has changed.

 

[Three-Nine]

Times now appear to be in planners for the Sunday but do take some care as there appear to be what may be errors - for example, there is a direct 16:15 Waterloo - Exeter service shown for the West of England route when all other services are changing between Guildford and Basingstoke for buses on that route, so I am presuming that particular service timing is an error.

 

[pompeyfan]

Times now appear to be in planners for the Sunday but do take some care as there appear to be what may be errors - for example, there is a direct 16:15 Waterloo - Exeter service shown for the West of England route when all other services are changing between Guildford and Basingstoke for buses on that route, so I am presuming that particular service timing is an error.

Perhaps it's via Guildford, Havant, Southampton, Salisbury (tin hat time!)

 

[Kite159]

Times now appear to be in planners for the Sunday but do take some care as there appear to be what may be errors - for example, there is a direct 16:15 Waterloo - Exeter service shown for the West of England route when all other services are changing between Guildford and Basingstoke for buses on that route, so I am presuming that particular service timing is an error.

Most likely it is one which escape being deleted from the planners.

The question is why has it taken so long for details to appear on the various journey planners if it is routine engineering works? (As in 3 days before hand)

 

[Taunton]

The web site linked above https://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/p...ering-works/3682EC310FD24D0E956442A6D2E8AF69/ now says

CHeck your journey
The altered train and bus services have now been input to the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner. Please confirm your journey details if you originally obtained them before Friday 2 March.

Um ..... 2 March is a Thursday.

 

[DelW]

The web site linked above https://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/p...ering-works/3682EC310FD24D0E956442A6D2E8AF69/ now says


Um ..... 2 March is a Thursday.

So, not late at all, they're already planning 2018's alterations...

 

[GW43125]

So, not late at all, they're already planning 2018's alterations...

Would be nice if they could finish this August before they start next March!