Great Western Railway addresses “disgraceful” Sunday service issues

Great Western Railway [GWR] has issued an apology for ongoing Sunday service disruptions, which passengers have labeled “disgraceful.” For several weeks, routes connecting Wales and London have experienced considerable delays and cancellations. GWR specifically advised against train travel to Bath on the second-to-last Sunday before Christmas. Passenger Paul Owen commented, “It’s a joke and clearly the service is not fit for purpose.” GWR attributed the strain on its resources to a combination of voluntary Sunday working arrangements for crews, unforeseen engineering projects, and recent severe weather. The company also stated that a resolution “is not going to happen anytime soon.” Dan Panes from the network expressed, “I’m really sorry for anyone that’s been caught up with the challenges that we’re seeing on Sundays,” adding that much of the disruption was “out of our control.” On the BBC Bristol Facebook page, passenger Paul Owen recounted his experiences: “Used the train four times and three times I’ve been left either stranded or had the journey significantly disrupted.” Andrew Musty also posted, “It’s disgraceful that GWR is advising passengers not to travel to Bath by train on one of the busiest Sundays before Christmas.” Steve Austin, a GWR organiser for the train drivers union Aslef, clarified that Sundays are not typically part of many drivers’ standard working week; instead, these shifts are offered as overtime. He elaborated, “You give someone the opportunity to choose whether they come in or not, then they’re always going to choose to have the weekend at home with their family, especially when it’s that close to Christmas.” Mr. Austin further stated, “It’s frustrating at the moment, because management just don’t seem interested in running the service.” Aslef has advocated for the inclusion of Sundays in the standard working week for the past two decades. However, the union noted that implementing this would necessitate hiring a substantial number of drivers. Nonetheless, Mr Pane explained that merely increasing recruitment would not resolve the problem, as even an additional 10,000 staff members whose working week does not include Sundays would still require overtime to ensure service delivery. While GWR operates a full service on Sundays, the company confirmed that most drivers retain the option to choose whether they work on that day. Mr Panes indicated that approximately 60% of staff possess this choice. He described this as “a challenge facing most of the railway industry.” For the majority of GWR’s 200-year history, a sufficient number of employees consistently volunteered to work on Sundays. However, Mr Panes explained that this situation has changed considerably following the Covid-19 pandemic. Several drivers informed the BBC that a recent pay agreement has reduced their need for the additional income earned from working on their rest days. This agreement included a component of backdated pay covering the preceding two years, resulting in drivers receiving a lump sum in their autumn payslips. Furthermore, it has historically been more difficult to encourage drivers to work voluntary overtime in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The disruptions in recent weeks are not solely due to a shortage of crew but have also been compounded by recent storms and engineering works announced at short notice. Another impending issue is a “retirement bulge” among drivers: the average age of drivers has been steadily increasing, and the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) projects that one in three drivers nationwide will retire within the next ten years. Mr Panes stated that GWR is collaborating with the government and industry partners to “work it through,” acknowledging that “it will take some time to fix.” Bruce Williamson from the campaign group RailFuture remarked, “It’s not a satisfactory situation where the train operators are saying ‘don’t use the trains’.” He added, “Clearly, something is very wrong there.” Referring to the popular Bath Christmas market, he commented, “People rely on the trains as a better alternative, and if that alternative is not available, that’s very, very frustrating and and bad for business in Bath as well.” Mr Williamson also highlighted, “In spring, rail fares will go up again by above inflation, and all of this is driving people off the railways and and onto the roads, adding to more pollution and more congestion.” Liz Montague, commenting on Facebook, mentioned she would have to collect her daughter, who depends on trains, from work, adding: “So much for trying to reduce car emissions and yes I have a diesel! Disgusting. Employ more staff!!!!” “A lot of the problems in the railways go back to long term underinvestment, historical working practices, the consequence of privatization,” Mr Williamson observed. Mr Austin, from the rail union Aslef, noted that the problem is intensifying. He stated that those who do work on Sundays are “suffering the wrath of the passengers that are being stranded.” Mr Austin continued, “They don’t want to be coming into work on a Sunday if they’re going to have to deal with the passengers being angry at the company’s ineptitude of putting the service on.” Mr Panes confirmed that GWR is offering incentives for staff to work on Sundays and that 22 and 29 December appear “more robust,” though some disruption could still occur. He concluded, “So we’re always encouraging customers to check before they travel, particularly, unfortunately, with Sundays at the moment.”