Train travel yesterday.

[the other bob wilson]

Having had my booster ten days ago, I decided to do what I wouldn’t have done before that and caught the train to yesterday’s game. I’d been wary of getting on a packed train at Ninian Park to travel to Cardiff central after the match, but it was just as bad on the train down from Treherbert - it was just two carriages and soon filled up to that extent that it was too crowded for many of those waiting at Llandaff station to get on.

Then, when I got off at Cardiff Central there were notices alerting travellers as to widespread cancellations on Valley Line trains which I learned was down to a lack of guards and it was impossible to tell whether scheduled trains would be running until about an hour before they were due to leave. I must admit that, with a train to Treherbert waiting to leave a few yards away from me, I was minded to jump on it and go straight back home, but I was assured that if I went to the game, I’d definitely be able to get home, but it maybe later than planned.

After the game, I decided to wait at the ground for a while and catch the second train to leave Ninian Park at a quarter to six only to find that the earlier one was cancelled and that turned out to be a bit of a waste of time, but the good news was that the scheduled train from Cardiff Central to Treherbert was running and, although crowded for much of the journey, it was as bad as the one to Cardiff had been earlier.

However, it seems to that a lack of guards hardly is something that would be seasonal brought on by Christmas (I suppose it might have something to do with Covid?) and so is it a normal occurrence now to have so many trains cancelled? If it is, it’s another case of things not working as well as they once did in this country (eg A and E in Cardiff, empty shelves in supermarkets, a shortage of lorry drivers, no power to people for nine days at least etc. etc) - is the UK slowly going to pot?

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Having had my booster ten days ago, I decided to do what I wouldn’t have done before that and caught the train to yesterday’s game. I’d been wary of getting on a packed train at Ninian Park to travel to Cardiff central after the match, but it was just as bad on the train down from Treherbert - it was just two carriages and soon filled up to that extent that it was too crowded for many of those waiting at Llandaff station to get on.

Then, when I got off at Cardiff Central there were notices alerting travellers as to widespread cancellations on Valley Line trains which I learned was down to a lack of guards and it was impossible to tell whether scheduled trains would be running until about an hour before they were due to leave. I must admit that, with a train to Treherbert waiting to leave a few yards away from me, I was minded to jump on it and go straight back home, but I was assured that if I went to the game, I’d definitely be able to get home, but it maybe later than planned.

After the game, I decided to wait at the ground for a while and catch the second train to leave Ninian Park at a quarter to six only to find that the earlier one was cancelled and that turned out to be a bit of a waste of time, but the good news was that the scheduled train from Cardiff Central to Treherbert was running and, although crowded for much of the journey, it was as bad as the one to Cardiff had been earlier.

However, it seems to that a lack of guards hardly is something that would be seasonal brought on by Christmas (I suppose it might have something to do with Covid?) and so is it a normal occurrence now to have so many trains cancelled? If it is, it’s another case of things not working as well as they once did in this country (eg A and E in Cardiff, empty shelves in supermarkets, a shortage of lorry drivers, no power to people for nine days at least etc. etc) - is the UK slowly going to pot?

Much of it is down to Covid. There are similarities with the bus industry where there are driver shortages.

[JumpersforGoalposts]

I was on the train yesterday and did notice at Central post match that every "local" service was absolutely rammed.
What seems ridiculous to me is that with a shortage of staff and less services running they don't manage to get additional carriages onto the services that do run.

[the other bob wilson]

I was on the train yesterday and did notice at Central post match that every "local" service was absolutely rammed.
What seems ridiculous to me is that with a shortage of staff and less services running they don't manage to get additional carriages onto the services that do run.

[WJ99mobile]

Much of it is down to Covid. There are similarities with the bus industry where there are driver shortages.

I don't get it - is there ANY industry without shortages?

[poc]

Having had my booster ten days ago, I decided to do what I wouldn’t have done before that and caught the train to yesterday’s game. I’d been wary of getting on a packed train at Ninian Park to travel to Cardiff central after the match, but it was just as bad on the train down from Treherbert - it was just two carriages and soon filled up to that extent that it was too crowded for many of those waiting at Llandaff station to get on.

Then, when I got off at Cardiff Central there were notices alerting travellers as to widespread cancellations on Valley Line trains which I learned was down to a lack of guards and it was impossible to tell whether scheduled trains would be running until about an hour before they were due to leave. I must admit that, with a train to Treherbert waiting to leave a few yards away from me, I was minded to jump on it and go straight back home, but I was assured that if I went to the game, I’d definitely be able to get home, but it maybe later than planned.

After the game, I decided to wait at the ground for a while and catch the second train to leave Ninian Park at a quarter to six only to find that the earlier one was cancelled and that turned out to be a bit of a waste of time, but the good news was that the scheduled train from Cardiff Central to Treherbert was running and, although crowded for much of the journey, it was as bad as the one to Cardiff had been earlier.

However, it seems to that a lack of guards hardly is something that would be seasonal brought on by Christmas (I suppose it might have something to do with Covid?) and so is it a normal occurrence now to have so many trains cancelled? If it is, it’s another case of things not working as well as they once did in this country (eg A and E in Cardiff, empty shelves in supermarkets, a shortage of lorry drivers, no power to people for nine days at least etc. etc) - is the UK slowly going to pot?

i think it is, after waiting for 45 mins on the phone friday againfor the doctors to be told we are two doctors short call back next weekeverything seems f**ked, im a year late waiting for treatment in hospital

[Mario Miethig]

I got the train from Caerphilly yesterday. Only 4 carriages and we were literally packed in there like sardines. People trying to get on at the stations between Caerphilly and Queen Street had virtually no chance of getting on. Wouldn’t be surprised if I get covid from that experience.
Didn’t realise they were short staffed so less trains, as I also caught the train for City’s last home Saturday game, which was the same day Wales were playing Rugby and there were no issues with over crowding that day.

[JamesWales]

As someone who gets the trains in South Wales daily and has done for years, I was initially excited by the arrival of TfL and the end of Arriva Trains.

They are equally shite mind. And I do have sympathy with the pandemic and Drakefords never ending work from home mandate which must destroy revenue, but still..

There seems to be a lack of strategy and some dubious practical decisions. And I've worked with them on some stuff and theres a lot of people doing things behind the scenes very very slowly.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

I was on the train yesterday and did notice at Central post match that every "local" service was absolutely rammed.
What seems ridiculous to me is that with a shortage of staff and less services running they don't manage to get additional carriages onto the services that do run.

Not always that simple.

Every hour there's a train that goes from Merthyr to Bridgend on the Vale of Glamorgan line. It returns to Aberdare, back to Barry Island then onto Merthyr again.

Suppose it hasn't got a train crew to take over in Central to get it to Merthyr. You could then add it to the next Merthyr train. However, it might have a train crew when it arrives next in Central on the way to Bridgend, but if you've attached it to another service then there is no train available and so there's even more disruption.

[JumpersforGoalposts]

Not always that simple.

Every hour there's a train that goes from Merthyr to Bridgend on the Vale of Glamorgan line. It returns to Aberdare, back to Barry Island then onto Merthyr again.

Suppose it hasn't got a train crew to take over in Central to get it to Merthyr. You could then add it to the next Merthyr train. However, it might have a train crew when it arrives next in Central on the way to Bridgend, but if you've attached it to another service then there is no train available and so there's even more disruption.

Indeed almost certainly not "simple", but clearly beyond the capabilities of the managers of these services.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Indeed almost certainly not "simple", but clearly beyond the capabilities of the managers of these services.

Beyond the capabilities of the manager of these services but within the grasp of a poster on this messageboard.

I look forward to your proposals in how extra carriages can be added ad hoc without affecting further services. You seem to know how it all works. Glad to have your expertise on here.

[dembethewarrior]

Not always that simple.

Every hour there's a train that goes from Merthyr to Bridgend on the Vale of Glamorgan line. It returns to Aberdare, back to Barry Island then onto Merthyr again.

Suppose it hasn't got a train crew to take over in Central to get it to Merthyr. You could then add it to the next Merthyr train. However, it might have a train crew when it arrives next in Central on the way to Bridgend, but if you've attached it to another service then there is no train available and so there's even more disruption.

[dembethewarrior]

Indeed almost certainly not "simple", but clearly beyond the capabilities of the managers of these services.

Or the stock at their disposal.

They can't just throw carriages out there either, they have maintenance schedules etc. It's not as simple as one man getting it all wrong.

[JumpersforGoalposts]

Or the stock at their disposal.

They can't just throw carriages out there either, they have maintenance schedules etc. It's not as simple as one man getting it all wrong.

So are you saying the services not running due to crewing issues message was just nonsense to cover up the fact they fecked up their maintenance schedules?

[UNDERHILL1927]

Ridiculous yesterday, got two Ubers in the end. Just can't trust the fecking trains

[dembethewarrior]

So are you saying the services not running due to crewing issues message was just nonsense to cover up the fact they fecked up their maintenance schedules?

No, that was in reply to asking why they can't just lump on extra carriages during service.

[dembethewarrior]

Ridiculous yesterday, got two Ubers in the end. Just can't trust the fecking trains

What's wrong with all the 7s or all the 3s? ****ing uber? Posh student ****

[UNDERHILL1927]

What's wrong with all the 7s or all the 3s? ****ing uber? Posh student ****

Uber is far cheaper and easier to arrange, even for a 41 year old 😀

[dembethewarrior]

Uber is far cheaper and easier to arrange, even for a 41 year old 😀

was only pissing around.

Don't think we get uber in the valleys just pray for a taxi

[UNDERHILL1927]

was only pissing around.

Don't think we get uber in the valleys just pray for a taxi

Haha I know mate. More likely to get a unicorn than a train that runs at the moment

[dembethewarrior]

Haha I know mate. More likely to get a unicorn than a train that runs at the moment

Ain't caught one for a while tbh

[dembethewarrior]

Beyond the capabilities of the manager of these services but within the grasp of a poster on this messageboard.

I look forward to your proposals in how extra carriages can be added ad hoc without affecting further services. You seem to know how it all works. Glad to have your expertise on here.

Made me chuckle that did

I did 6 months down in Canton at arriva it's not as pkain sailing as the public seem to imagine it to be.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Made me chuckle that did

I did 6 months down in Canton at arriva it's not as pkain sailing as the public seem to imagine it to be.

I know more about the bus industry from family working in it. It's hilarious sometimes when you hear passengers talking about bus failings. Not a clue!

[Jordi Culé]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59518933

Nothing to worry about, it’s all in hand.

[the other bob wilson]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59518933

Nothing to worry about, it’s all in hand.

Well, either the situation has completely changed in the last four months or he's not got a bloody clue.

Reading some of the replies on this thread, it's almost as if some think we should be grateful to have any trains at all - my own view is that TTL should never have got close to being awarded the contract if what I saw on Saturday is the best they can offer even after making an allowance for Covid.

I'm pretty sure I'm right in thinking that, unlike other Valley Line routes, the service from Treherbert to Cardiff Central only operates along that route and does not go on to places like Barry, Bridgend and Penarth like others do. Therefore, for that service anyway, I see no reason why they could not ensure that all trains running on a Saturday three weeks before Christmas consisted of four carriages.

I turned up at Treherbert station on Saturday at around midday to catch my first train in over a year and, having given up on trying to buy a ticket from the non responsive machine on the platform, groaned to myself when I saw that the approaching train only had two two carriages. Pre Covid, I used to use such trains to get to matches regularly and knew how crowded a two carriage train got, so I was expecting it to be bad, but it turned out to be worse than any I caught pre Covid - if I knew that a two carriage train was too small for the requirements of this particular service, why on earth didn't the person who authorised such a small train?

The line to Treherbert is a single track from Porth onwards apart from at Ystryd station which has two platforms where trains can pass each other. Invariably, this leads to short delays while the other train makes its way to the only place where they can pass, but there was none of that on Saturday on either journey because there was not another train coming from the other direction - like so many others, it had been cancelled.

I was on one of the new trains for both journeys and in terms of getting squashed like sardines (that Tory councillor in the link is spot on based on my experience on Saturday), they are no different from the old ones - as mentioned in my first post, people gave up trying to get on the train at Llandaff because it was so crowded.

Is it unreasonable to expect a size of train which is able to fit demand? Is it reasonable to expect advertised trains to actually run and not be cancelled at short notice?

As for masks, I'd say about seventy five per cent of passengers were wearing them and that the huge majority of those who weren't were under thirty - I'm not too bothered about the possibility of catching Covid having had my booster ten days before travelling, but, if I can describe it this way, I've not been in a more Covid friendly situation than when I was on that crowded train from Treherbert on Saturday (to be fair, the other three trains I caught weren't as bad as the first one).