Wiliam Henry Smith would be turning in his grave if he saw how his shopfront at Oxford Station was doing in comparison to the other outlets and facilities there. 



 

 

 

 

I suspect the fifth platform will need to be operational before an hourly Bristol service can be considered. 

Avanti West Coast to cut services to save money


The company usually runs 248 daily services on the affected routes - Image © Avanti West Coast

One-in-seven rail services will be cut on Avanti West Coast's busiest routes following a government request to reduce expenditure, the operator has said.

About 38 daily weekday services will be removed from timetables during a six-week period from 20 July. The company usually operates 248 daily services on the affected routes, which connect London Euston with Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, via the West Coast Main Line.

Avanti West Coast said it had proposed removing some services with lower demand in response to a request from the Department for Transport (DfT) to cut costs. A spokesperson for the DfT said: "This will save taxpayers money while still meeting passenger demand for seats."

The spokesperson also said: "The Secretary of State has accepted Avanti's short-term proposals to amend its weekday summer timetable, when passenger numbers are considerably lower and many trains run with large numbers of empty seats."

Avanti West Coast - a joint venture between FirstGroup (70%) and Italian state operator Trenitalia (30%) - predicted the move would cause minimum disruption to passengers and not reduce revenues.

All train services operated under DfT contracts are being transferred to public ownership. But companies such as Avanti West Coast - which has yet to lose its services - have their finances heavily influenced by the DfT.

This is because of contracts introduced in March 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: "From 20 July to 28 August we will be operating an amended timetable between London and Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester on weekdays.
 To ensure minimal impact to those travelling between the affected dates, these changes will only affect routes on which we operate more than one train per hour - during typically less busy periods of the day - maximising alternative journey options. We'd like to encourage customers planning to make journeys during this time to plan ahead, and thank them for their understanding."

Affected services are being removed from online ticketing services before becoming available for purchase.

Avanti West Coast temporarily slashed its timetables in August 2022 in an attempt to reduce short-notice cancellations after a sharp decline in the number of drivers voluntarily working overtime on rest days during industrial disputes across Britain's railways. It has since boosted its capacity beyond pre-coronavirus levels.

The operator said the latest reduction in services was not because of a lack of resources.

Office of Rail and Road figures show government funding of the rail industry's operations was £11.9bn in the year to the end of March 2025. That was down 7% from £12.7bn during the previous 12 months, but remained 47% above the total of £8.1bn in 2019/20. Last year's spending represented 46% of the industry's costs, with fares revenue funding the vast majority of the rest.

In January 2024, Avanti West Coast apologised after taxpayer funding was described as "free money" during an internal meeting with managers. Novara Media, which first reported the incident, published an image showing a presentation slide with the title: "Roll-up, roll-up -get your free money here!" Another slide explained how train operators are paid bonuses by the government even if services are not run completely to schedule, under the service quality regime.

The Rise and Fall of Britain's Strangest Railway

Of all the railways the Victorians built, only one was ever laid on the sea bed. The Seashore Electric Railway (a.k.a. 'Daddy Long-legs') was a train-boat-pier hybrid, allowing passengers to enjoy England's coast from above the waves. But the route was plagued by a harsh coastal environment and financial struggles, lasting just a few years before being left abandoned—one man's wild invention that eventually clashed with reality. Let's take a look at the Seashore Electric Railway's origins, construction, operational challenges, and what eventually happened to Britain's strangest railway.

Why did you have a foghorn in your holiday caravan?

Mark

There's also the previous thread on this subject, when last month's strikes were announced - so were those for May (now Cancelled) & June (now moved). That subject line may need an edit too.

https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=31740.0

Thank you, Industry Insider for that insight;   Oxford station seemed to be creaking at the seams.  A single footbridge with a "silly little" lift and no refreshment on the far side. Queues for the ladies on both platform 4 and in the main station building.  And this was *not* supposed to be the rush hour, nor would I expect a May Monday to be the busiest

From the BBC:


It is interesting how the 'official line' of the train drivers' union ASLEF differs from the stance of the RMT: open criticism, actually.

Several posts refer to the problems with IET reliability, is this now admitted to be a problem ? I thought that the official view was they are fine, and so much better than the HSTs. A significant number of forum members seem to back the official view.

I thought it was only me, and a few others who held differing views.

The return train also had to await a platform, and left somewhat to my surprise from platform 4, 3 minutes late then had to wait to cross over to the line towards Didcot leaving it 7 or 8 minutes late for the rest of the journey.

"The dispute is not over and more strike action will follow if we fail to make sufficient progress."

The RMT also brought forward planned strikes in June, which were due to take place on the 16 and 18.

They are now set to start on Tuesday June 2 and Thursday June 4.