Current Issues

Tickets Failing to Operate Barriers

We are receiving frequent reports of tickets sold on trains not operating the barriers at stations for which they are valid. If you are able to replace such tickets please send them in to the membership address so that we can provide the evidence to FGW.

There are occasional reports of tickets from local booking offices failing, but this could be due to other factors. Please take care not to place your tickets next to mobile phones, headphones or any magnetic materials.

Overcrowding

According to DfT figures First Great Western operated the ten most overcrowded trains in the London and South-East area during the autumn of 2010. These included trains from Maidenhead and Bourne End.

Since the introduction of Chiltern's Main Line timetable in September overcrowding has been reported on trains from High Wycombe, Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross. This is unlikely to be alleviated before more refurbished Mk.III loco-hauled trains become available next year.

CIS on Trains

New information systems are now being rolled out on FGW Class 165/6 units. There are still some teething problems with these and trains are often showing the wrong "next station". Also if units with different systems are coupled together the system in the rear unit will not be working.

Platform staff are not permitted to use on-train public address systems, for instance if no driver can be found. In any case they can't do so becuase a driver’s key is required to make the cab operational. However a forthcoming update to the new system will allow on-train announcements to be made directly from the control centre.

Class 165/6 Refresh

Two units will be out of action at any one time for interior refresh. We understand that the first Class 166 Express unit is now undergoing refresh and will have a new air conditioning system installed at Wabtec in Doncaster. Some Class 165 units still need to be fitted with the new CIS.

Bourne End Bridge

The MMPA has been pressing Network Rail (NR) to carry out preventative maintenance on Bourne End Bridge in order to prevent further deterioration. Repainting was scheduled in 2009 but was not carried out because of administrative bungling and there is no budget for it in the present Control Period up to March 2014. NR claims that the bridge is structurally sound.

Marlow Station

We are pleased to announce that the new shelter at Marlow has now been installed. However the cycle hoops have not been provided and we consider that the existing cycle shelter does not have sufficient security. We are continuing to press for Sheffield hoops to be installed undedr the existing shelter.

Help Points

We are pleased to announce that all the help points on the Marlow branch are now operational. However pressing the middle button initiates a mobile call which is forwarded to a call centre in India, and the agent answering it does not have accurate information about the location of trains. There have been problems with the power supply at Bourne End, and damage caused by vandals.

Cookham Station

We are pleased thet acryllic panels have now been fitted to the shelter at Cookham.

Cycle hoops have been provided at Cookham but not where we agreed. They are positionned such that any bikes chained to them will obstruct pedestrian flow along the platform.

Car Park Charges

MMPA is concerned that the operators are using above RPI increases for car parking to boost their profits. This comes on top of hefty fare increases in January. Recently (July) we have noticed that the time at which the cheaper rate starts has been put back from 10:00 to 16:00 on weekdays.

Bucks Transport Budget Consultation

The MMPA is responding to this consultation on plans which would see a reduction in Sunday and evening bus services except where the operator thinks they are commercially viable. There would also be a reduction in expenditure on promoting bus services.

Token Failures

The biggest cause of delay during the second half of 2010 was token failure. The branch is still equipped with token instruments that date from Great Western Railway times, which have to interface with modern equipment at Bourne End. The token instruments are essential to the safe working of the single line sections between Maidenhead and Bourne End, and Bourne End and Marlow.

Although there are no plans to replace the token instruments at the present time, we hope that Network Rail will take the opportunity to upgrade the line when the signalling is transferred from the Slough panel to the new Thames Valley Signalling Centre at Didcot.

Timetables

Although some improvements have been made there are still some near misses resulting in long waits for branch line trains. This is particularly bad in the Reading direction. It is bad public relations for branch line trains to be pulling out just as potential connecting trains arrive at the adjacent platform.

In particular we have raised the near miss between the 1746 Maidenhead-Marlow and the 1637 Oxford-Paddington which departs Maidenhead at 1747. There is no operational reason why the 1746 should not be delayed by two or three minutes to make the connection, since it waits a long time at Marlow and clears the Maidenhead to Bourne End section well before the following train needs to enter it. This would reduce the journey time from Oxford by 30 minutes making the route more attractive to passengers who might desert to Chiltern once its service via Bicester commences.

Heathrow Misconnect

The current timetable continues the misconnect between the FGW off-peak trains connecting with the branch trains and Heathrow Connect trains to Heathrow at Hayes & Harlington. It is quicker and cheaper to catch the 140 bus from Hayes to the airport.

London & SE Route Utilisation Strategy

As a member of the stakeholder group, the MMPA has responded to Network Rail’s London and South-East Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS). This is a second generation RUS which supersedes (sits on top of) the route-specific first generation RUSes. It is primarily concerned with getting people into and out of London in the peak hours. It contains a number of proposals to deal with such issues as shortage of platforms for longer trains at Paddington, such as including integrating Heathrow Express with Crossrail.

Crossrail

We are concerned that plans to build a new platform 6 at Maidenhead for the Marlow branch will make interchange much more difficult for branch line passengers. Instead of a cross-platform interchange with up services pasengers will always need to cross via a footbridge or subway, and have a muych longer walk. This will add minutes to connection times. The new platform will be completely unnecessary if Crossrail is extended to Reading.

Electrification

We welcome electrification of the Thames Valley services between Paddington and Reading, Oxford and Newbury. However this will turn the branch lines into isolated diesel operations. It would be better to electrify to Bourne End and Henley with an alternative solution such as the Parry People Mover between Marlow and Bourne End. This would facilitate a 30 minute interval service on the branch throughout the day as well as through trains to London.

Update: the Government has now announced that the Great Western Main Line will be electrified to Cardiff and via both routes to Bristol Temple Meads.

High Speed Two

Update: The Department for Transport’s consultation on HS2 is now underway with a mobile exhibition unit visiting a number of locations along the route. MMPA believes that HS2 should be built, but does not express a view on routeing through the Chilterns. We note the proposals for an interchange with the Great Western lines, Crossrail and Heathrow Express at Old Oak Common. This also offers opportunities for interchange with the London Overground and Underground lines through Willesden Junction. The additional stop for Thames Valley passengers will increase journey times but this will be offset by the increased connectivity. We believe that the interchange should also be provided with the West Coast Main Line at Willesden.

Heathrow Western Access

We are concerned that BAA’s Airtrack scheme to link Heathrow to Reading via Staines leaves Slough, Maidenhead, Twyford and the branch lines with no direct service to the airport. In addition local councils along the Airtrack route have raised objections because of the increased barrier-down time at level crossings. MMPA is pressing for Heathrow Western Access to be implemented.

Update: BAA abandoned the Airtrack scheme in April mainly because of the problems described above, and because the comprehensive spending review meant that there would be no government funding for the scheme. Instead BAA will look at alternatives including a direct connection with the Great Western Main Line.