The map this morning is NOT showing the cancellations and the short runs from Truro towards Falmouth.  I AM aware - the cancellations / short runs are not showing up on our data feed, which is usually pretty accurate (which is why this thread has been so quiet for so long!)

 

Ah yes - in fact "Reading Bus". which isn't a station at all!. Patched.

 
It is amazing how after all these years we still find the odd station not on the database.

Today it appears to be Kintbury.   The rail replacement buses tonight and tomorrow are not able to call there due to flooding in Station Road.

 
Another incident this morning with the Scilly Isles which seemed to be the temporary home of Heathrow Terminal 5

relocated to

All caused by a spurious space in a data file ... and what looks like three Heathrow Express trains out of service!

 

But Scillonian III is stablised. However, that can only reduce roll, rather than eliminate it, and as her roll does start off as "way too much" it's not going to end up as "not much".

 
Not yet - the Scillonian 3, in service from 1977, is still serving the route. Appledore must have done a good job when it built her.

(Edit) Concerning stabilisers, she has them. It might be that they increase her draught, as I seem to recall she deploys them when the water is a certain depth. She usually runs into St Marys via the channel between the mainland and St Agnes, which is deep, but at certain states of the wind and tide can safely use the shallow channel north of the mainland, which saves time, and in come the stabilisers for that.

Mark

 
Yep - but haven't they replaced the vessel with a stabilised version?

 
It also sailed all year 'round except for a couple of weeks in November for it's annual service. Even in January it  was two or three times a week......  uumm bag please

 

They do now have the option of two flight companies (unless the weather is bad, when passengers are all transferred to the Scillonian!).

 
As to what happened, the story I heard was that after one particular epic 12 hour crossing in terrible weather, the combined tourist associations of everywhere bandied together and told them:

"You can't be doing this any more. Cease with the heroic approach, yes, you're getting people to where they want to be but after they leave, they never return to Scilly."

Mark

 
Time was when the Scillonian sailed regardless of weather.
Occasionally spending the night anchored off in the bay!
Something happened (slightly before 'elf n safety) and if the forecast wasn't good, she didn't sail.
Went on her as a relief sometimes. Was fortunate not to suffer mal-de-mer at any point, and there were a few good rough ones.

 
I knew the old eurotunnel TBMs would come in useful. Avoids chucking up on the Scillionian

 
I'm aware that Heathrow Terminal 5 is relocate to St Mary's ...

 
Issue noted with trains to the Scillies this morning.    I have limited access today and just need to make a note of the clues to fix over the weekend (by which time the immediate display issue will have passed with the running of the trains anyway.

For the moment - please note that Heathrow Terminal 5 has NOT been relocated to St Mary's on an island west of Penzance!

 

Well it was the 70th anniversary of the Great North Sea storm which ended with over 300 people being drowned along the east coast. So maybe Bridlington being cut adrift in the sea isn't that surprising.

 
Seems we are not alone.



At least GWR don't serve Bridlington.

 

And I have now looked up the OS reference and Latitude and longitude for Okehampton itself and put them in.   Maybe the town centre not the station, but that'll do pending the next repaint / refresh job of the nationwide data.

 

Yeah ... I have just "doctored" Okehampton so that it's now pretending it's Crediton rather than St Mary's, as an interim measure.   ....

 
Massive cancellations to/from the Scillies for the last few days.
Mind you, with the amount of rain we've had, it's amazing they haven't sunk with the weight of falling water....

 

And I have taken the opportunity to update my library of sample feeds to include a set where there are Okehampton problems so I can test a fix even on a day it's running right!

http://new.passenger.chat/map/current.php?settings=AAAACAAAAA

 

Yes, and on my "to fix" list - rather than awaiting the next data revision from my sources, perhaps I should manually work out and add the data - may not be today as I have a huge list of "small" things like a failed gas supply, visa issues and more. 

 

Looking at today's map, I am guessing that Okehampton is still missing?

 
Is Okehampton on the map?

 
That is fine just thought I would log.  No hurry.

 

Thanks .... yeah ... I have spotted that.   Fastnet and Scilly far less common than they were on the old system, but harder to fix on the new.  Noted - please live with it today - sorry.

 
Terminal 5 needs to be added to the map. At the moment it assumes everyone going to T5 also has a train flight to somewhere WSW of Lands End cancelled as well!

 

Interesting ... does not show on map as back from Liskeard, but an unusual style of text for our reverse engineering.  Is there usually a service calling at Menheniot that late of a Sunday evening?

 
Please let me know of any campaigns or heritage line in our area I have missed, or extra sites or threads I should refer to. 

I have chosen initially to draw the line and show only those heritage lines where the prime reason for the visit is the ride, and only those campaigns / new lines and services where a new station, new route, or massive service increase is the objective; extra platform aspirations (Chippenham, Westbury, Salisbury) are for the moment below the radar.

Should any member have the time and inclination to provide a major extra data set extension I would be delighted to give you format details and be very thankful.  Rest of Wales, and of England, might be useful.

 

This morning - a cancellation from St Budeaux Ferry Road, and that wasn't in the old basic map ...

I have switched (perhaps a bit premature) to the new code I have been writing / testing ...
* Click on the map and you should get a bigger version on a new page
* Click on THAT BIGGER MAP and you should get individual station details near to where you clicked
* Nearest station details gives you a summary of station facilities, links to current departure boards for that station and links to maps of the station area.

Below the larger map you'll find all sorts of controls you can play with - so if you want to even highlight all stations with ATMs you can do so.  You can also choose to display heritage lines and potential (re)opening campaigns on the map, and then click on them for links to lead you to more data too.  The idea of putting a map of those together came from "Reopen" where the author is working to an alphabetic listing - I thought a map would be a good idea and suggested it ... sounded from the response like it was not on his agenda.

 

Clicking on the map now brings it up larger in a new window ... a temporary measure as I have other plans now that it is geographic based under the hood.  Font stays black. unless others shout louder in the opposite direction!

 
I think we all know the problems with algorithms!

Like the black font.

Is it possible to make the map clickable such that a larger image comes up?   On a phone you can zoom in but the facility would be useful on a PC.

 
The map has been showing place names for a few days where the number of services reported has been less than 10.  I have amended that to showing place names if the number of place names for end points to be reported is less that 10. 

Today, there are 10 reformed trains between Reading and Basingstoke and under the first test algorithm, that meant all place names were left off to avoid clutter.   But there are now 7 place names being reported, even though there are some 15 trains being reported.   The fun of looking for the best compromise in algorithms ...

I am aware that at times, place names will run into each other even with just small numbers being reported.  The algorithm I've used is a fairly basic one, with the place name defaulting to being slightly above and to the right of the place,  with an exception that it's shifted to the left if the place name would otherwise have run off the right of the map.

For a short test - name switched from being in grey to being in black.   Thoughts / comments??

 

Best so far ... since "alteration" could as a description could have suggested it included trains making EXTRA stops - for which we have a separate colour and label.

 
As a label, one I've heard that might cover all those is "part route".

 
Yes - perhaps Alteration might be a better heading.

As I say we could get into the trap of over complicating what is a useful quick visual guide.

To repeat your phrase Graham, what do others think?

 

Definition: I have used the term "short run" for trains which are running, but not serving all the stations they were timetables to call at. If you're able to come up with a better headline word for that, it could be easily enough changed. Was "Alteration" your proposal?

It would be possible (give me a few hours on a day of plenty of sample train changes) I suspect to pick out just those that include "started from" or "terminated at" in their descriptions, labelling them as "short run"s and taking the remaining trains within the current group as "skipping stops".   Also a need to be aware of trains that fall into both new groups ... the Plymouth to Paddington train that gets diverted away from Pewsey and Newbury due to yet another freight train failure ... ends up being diverted along the single line via Melksham (why, or why, is that still single?) then terminated at Reading because of the congestion delays it suffered.

Inputs welcome ... at present, a short run from Brighton to Hove (missing out all stations to Great Malvern) shows up with just the same strength of message as a short run from Weymouth to Worcerster Shrub Hill that fails to finish the trip to Worcester Foregate Street.

 
Just a question about terminology.   The 08:00 from Paddington to Plymouth is shown as a short run.  It has been diverted via Hullavington because of a broken rail at North Somerset Junction and so missing Chippenham and Bath Spa.  To my mind that is an alteration rather than a short run.   A short run to me would be if the service was stopping short - ie Exeter St Davids.  Or am I trying to over complicate the simple message we are trying to convey?

 

I spent most of yesterday updating key elements my old "wellho.net" work site on the new server - there's lots of software there written in the days of PHP 4 and MySQL 3.23 - already updated to PHP 5 but now a further leap to PHP7.   And I am taking the opportunity not just to convert but also to take advantage of developments where it's easy to do.   That means that the cancellation map that I generate on that site has had substantial changes under the bonnet though only a couple of those changes will effect what's displayed.

Discrepancies between the Dft and JourneyCheck naming of Statiions (Is it St.Ives or St Ives, Exeter St.David's or Exeter St Davids) will lead to the occasional wild vector over the next few days - which I will jump in and fix.   Bringing these wild vectors back in area, they will no longer take passengers to the Fastnet Rock, but rather to The Scillies!

 
Yes I picked that up when I zoomed in.  Certainly a thought for the future.

It reminded me of the first time I ever saw a colour television.  Went to a friend's house and saw Michael Fish doing the weather forecast the with sea blue and the land green.  Amazing what you take for granted now.

 

You may have seen something like this:



I briefly changed the map underlay to see what it would look like.   The old map is ... yeah ... old and there are new things we can do.

My brief test reminded me that the locations shown on the current map are not quite to scale.   So that meant that Paddington moved to somewhere in the East End, Cardiff to Portsmouth trains turned into Flatholm to Hayling Island services, and that short runs such as Slough to Windsor would shrink into invisibility at the scale we use.   I am not totally turned off the idea of moving towards geographic coverage (thoughts from others are welcome) but it needs a bit more thought and probably an exercise of revising all potential train termini.

 
Was it my imagination or was the sea on the cancellation map blue earlier today?

 
I agree it is a very useful guide.

Oh and quite a number of the issues apply to me - on my way to Penzance!  Currently sitting at Honiton waiting for the single line.

 
"Nice" example this morning showing many of the colours;  new system running well.



Missing colours from this example - brown for loo issues, grey for "other" - typically re-instated trains now running as normal.

Note ... a difficult morning
- points failure at Westbury
- tree on the line between Exeter and Yeovil Junction
- line closed for engineering works between Taunton and Exeter
- weather limiting speeds in The West

 
I fear members may be getting slightly frustrated with me making ongoing dynamic changes to the display - a few more changes made in the last few minutes; I have removed zero reports.   That means that is there are no cancellations, you will no longer see "Cancelled 0" in the top left, etc.

As I write, the map shows
Cancelled: 2
Short Run: 2
Added:2
with - in all cases - the reporting text shown in the same colour as the lines on the map in that category
and it is NOT showing
Delayed: 0
Reformed: 0
Loo Issues: 0
Other: 0
("Other" tends to pop up for things like "Will now run as scheduled" ... I'm taking a look each time I see it)

There may be fewer vectors on the map that the total of the counts, because a train might be (for example) both missing out some stops (hence "Short Run") and making additional calls (hence "Added"). In such cases, the vector on the map will show the "most disruptive" colour.

Should every one of the reports be 0, you will see a report across the top of the map:
"No reported service changes at present"

 

It is now 

 

Needless to say Yeoford is not on the database.

 

During the Beast from the East, Journeycheck advised passengers at (specifically for some reason) Pinhoe, Whimple and Feniton to take care when using the footbridge becausae of icy conditions underfoot.

 

One I saw on journeycheck read the lifts are being serviced at Bath Spa and passengers are requested to use the footbridge.

 

I'll use the stairs then...

 

It doesn't even attempt to make head, tail, or anything between of single station reports.

 
What does it make of this nonsense!


 

 
Still tuning the map ... the word "other" pops up if the software can't recognise the reason for a report ... I have seen a couple of "will now run as scheduled" reports, and this - err - gem which is there as I write:

 
An illustration of why trains might show up in the wrong colour ... I am keeping my eyes open for reports such as this one and looking to fine tune the reports without creating new oddities.


The drawing of the lines is pretty good and the colours helpful.  You'll need to drill down if there are red / magenta / green services shown in your area to get a full flavour.  You can (educated guess) be pretty sure that blue (delay), orange (formation change) and brown (trouble with toilets) are running ...

And edit to add - from a report I have just seen:
Toilet facilities are available as normal. Disabled toilet facilities are available as normal.
... sorry, that will be reported as "issue with toilets"

 
I have added colour coding to our delay map at the top of every page - as follows:

Red - Service Cancelled throughout
Magenta - Service missing some stations
Dark Blue - Service Delayed

Green - Additional service or calls
Orange - Formation Change
Brown - Toilet issues

Where multiple issues apply to a train, the most serious matter (highest up the list above) will be used.  If there is no keyword in the report, you'll get:

Light Blue - Something else

I have also added counts onto the map ... cancelled, short and delayed.  There's a limit to how much data I can put there; already concerned at too many colours getting confused with each other.  A key might be useful, but again short on space.  Follow the "Train Running" link below the map for the full journey check data we're using.

 
Fastnet Rock strikes agains - sorry folks.  From JourneyCheck


And "Reading Bus" Station isn't in my database!

Edit to add ... and fixed manually.  I put it halfway between Reading West and the main Reading station.  A darned sight more accurate than off the Irish Coast!

 
As we've read on this thread, it can also be notoriously incorrect at times as well as changes are not always updated as the day goes on (or has that problem been addressed perhaps?).

 

I will tell our "applet" where WOP is ... in. few minutes ... currently showing at Fastnet Rock - sorry.

EDIT TO ADD ... fixed:

For newcomers to this thread and our map, it shows trains that are cancelled, running short, or have formation of other changes as currently notified on Journey Check. The "Train Running" link shown just below the map on our pages will take you to journey check so that you can "knife and fork" through data for your area.

For simplicity, the lines shown on the map are drawn as the crow flies for the entire journey - so very much diagrammatic!  Lines thickened where multiple services concerned. It's a great way to spot quickly if there are issues in or near your area - looking at the example above, Devon and Cornwall clean except for one Plymouth / London service.  Couple of modified services to  / from Cardiff - Westbury and London.  Few problems on the North Cotswold by the look of it, and something going on with Reading / Didcot / Oxford / Banbury.   No "blue-out" catastrophes.

Readers please bear in mind that a "service change" can be anything from a delay of a few minutes to a cancellation and (for those who have been around for many years) that the reason it can look far worse than it used to is that this modern electronic age brings news from far places to our eyes where 20 years ago we wouldn't  have known, living in Wiltshire, that there was a problem at Paignton ...

 
It's getting bigger!

 

Of course, silly me. 

 

It's the effect of crude offsetting where multiple services on a flow are to mapped; it effects service between points that are diagonally offset from each other (SW, NW, SE, NE) rather than between points above / below or left / right of each other (N, S, E, W).

 
Has someone drawn a nit comb on the map?

 

Mortimer added to map!

 

Indeed. But also because even having made changes to the timetables to cope with engineering works, further changes are being made on the morning to cope with other problems too!

 
Cam & Dursley only required because of the Gloucester closure this week

 

And this morning we have a train failing to start at Cam & Dursley ... also added to the map!

 
Langley and Iver added to our train start and end locations for the cancellation map at the top of these pages - sorry about the misleading lines to the Fastnet Rock a few minutes ago!

 

Certainly get that issue as well!

 
Additional service - 22:08 Parson Street to Bristol Temple Meads.   Map didn't know where Parson Street was and guessed it was somewhere near the Fastnet Rock.  I have told out server otherwise, however ...


That problem still persists and I'm pretty sure it's at "their" end ... as I have tried multiple locations and multiple methods to get the data, including manual browsing, and they all exhibit the issue.

 
There seems to be some problems with the JourneyCheck feeds at present - they're sometimes correct and at other times saying there are on cancellations or changes when we know that there are.   It look to me as if there's a problem with one of a series of parallel back-office servers feeding out zeros rather than real data.

An unfortunate consequence, as well as Journey Check failures, is that out map at the top left is sometimes saying "n o problems" when it should be reporting issues.   As far as I can tell, the problem does NOT effect the feed that I'm using for "next departure" links at the top of these pages.

 

It probably was ... I have added Weston Milton to the terminations our maps know about.

 
We have another,,,, would it be Weston Milton?

 
Always find it amazing that after all this time we are still finding stations that have never appeared on the map before.

 
Pewsey has been moved from the Fastnet Rock (according to our cancellation map) to somewhere between Westbury and Bedwyn!

 

Well, give them my regards. 

 
Sadly, "Broadway" in Didcot is probably one of the shabbiest streets in south east England outside Greater London, even though it's now just a few paces away from the recent Orchard Centre which has at least brought a  selection of national chain stores to Didcot.

Thatcham Broadway is not exactly glamorous either...

 
Didcot itself might lack a West End, but it does have a Broadway. Actually named after the one in New York as well. Supposedly to become the heart of the 'cultural spine'  of the Garden Town too, whatever that means.

 

Not right, it's to the left of Didcot 

 
To the west of Didcot Parkway by about a couple of hundred meters.

 
Looks like I should add "Didcot West End" to my map.   To the west of Didcot, right??

 

I think this has arisen because these are "shadow services" and were entered as if ECS - ending in the sidings (today's was STP, tomorrow it's VAR and (Q)). A passenger service wouldn't do that, it would terminate in a platform and a separate ECS move would then take it out - that way the sidings never appear as if stations. These services then appear in the list of service changes in a clumsy attempt to correct the first problem.

I suspect it ran as scheduled, just a few minutes late, i.e. into P4 at Oxford then to the down-side sidings, so as to cross to the up side, then via the Up Main (through) line and on to Didcot, where it reentered passenger service. I don't think there are ever any reports for RTT to use from the sidings, so in this case absence of evidence isn't evidence at all.

 

Sadly I have been as a passenger.

Not sure if I have mentioned this before, but about 15 years ago I was headed to somewhere on the Cotswolds line, and was sat in the front of a two part turbo. No signage or announcements were made at or before Oxford, and as we departed we were routed into the sidings, thought it a bit strange but just assumed we were being held because of a delay of an eastbound costwold service.

A moment later the driver walked through and asked why we were still on board and that the rear x coaches were headed towards Worcester and we should have been notified at Oxford. The driver radioed through and a few minutes later we were routed back across the main lines and into the bay platform at Oxford so we could be dropped off.

It was a while for the next Cotswold service so jumped on a southbound XC and went to Gatwick for the day instead

 

Yes that's correct - it's basically the location where trains reverse on either the Goods Loop or Relief Line at that location, behind SB924 or SB926 signals.

 
Maybe no fancy (or nice) resturants in Didcot but we do have a theatre (https://www.cornerstone-arts.org/), so we are not complete heathens. 

I believe that Didcot West End (and that map seems to confirm it) is the line(s?) adjacent to the multiple storey monstrosity (car park) that is currently being built on the Foxall Road car park site.

 
A fancy restaurant?  Not in Didcot.   

Didcot West End is a legacy of the old Didcot West End Box:  https://www.s-r-s.org.uk/html/gwa/S166.htm

 

Oh gawd - have they added a whole new layer of places onto the systems.

"Didcot West End" strikes me a confusing - I can just imagine someone looking to travel to "Didcot West End" to eat a meal in a fancy restaurant before going on to the theatre!

 
Didcot West End as well

 
I was on that train and I don't think it went to the Down Carriage Sidings because it appears to have returned to London as 1Z41 from Platform 3 (it arrived in platform 4) 8 minutes later. I am assuming it can head back towards London without having entered the sidings.

 

Noting that our cancellation map at the head of these pages thinks that Oxford Down Carriage Sdg is somewhere near Fastnet rock.

I'm seeing this as a data feed error (I don't recall a passenger station at "Oxford Down Carriage Sdg") and I will leave the data in error until the problem goes away after the train has run (or not run).   Should this be a repeated glitch that spoils the map again at a later date, I will look at adding a fix.

 

More cancellation maps than usual needing repair? 

 

Big blue-outs again in Cornwall today - no cancellations; they indicate 1 car rather than 2 on the St Ives and Newquay branches


If you click on the "Train Running" link blow the map, you'll get a new tab with full details from Journey Check which shows the details, even if other sources don't

I would be surprised if the use of a 153 on these lines today (or indeed this week) is going to cause severe overcrowding.   We remain in a tight stock flux situation, with a trickle of 150/1s and HSTs out of the franchise, with more turbos than usual undergoing service and mods to make them suitable for use in The West, with IETs trickling in, and with 2+4 castles somewhat later than had been planned.

I took a look yesterday at colour coding the map (as we used to do), but the current data feed format means that would require significant time / work on my past;  too much else going on I'm afraid to do something that would be nice but isn't vital, and a great danger of ending up with something broken.   If it ain't bust, don't fix it - HOWEVER our data feed is an old technology one, and one of these years the disruption map may break.

 
Ah, I was intrigued by that large blue blob as well, and the thick line between Cardiff and Portsmouth. I checked that on NR and GWR's websites and all was shown as running normally, so I assume those are also reduced formation trains rather than cancellations?

 

The Sterth to Stives line has a single 153 on it rather than a 2 car, and as it runs every half hour each way it's giving us a blue-out.

For January (but NOT beyond and into half term) a single carriage on some of the Cornish branches will in all honesty cope with traffic offered;   I'm not sure what was running there this time last year, but I have noted that our cancellation map is sensitive to 2 car trains becoming 1 - even where one car was the norm as recently as this time last month.

 
What's happening in Cornwall at the moment? Are there a lot of short workings or cancellations?

 

About 95% of the time cancellations were read and changes were blue (and at one time formation changes were a lighter blue). However, getting up from 95% to 99.9% proved illusive, and it was felt better to supply a little less but accurate information rather than more information but sometimes wrong.

 
I maybe imagining it, but did cancellations used to be a different colour line? Now all the same colour, blue.
Would be better if cancellations were a different colour.

 
And I have just pulled Radley in from somewhere near the Fastnet Rock to somewhere between Didcot and Oxford.  Certainly a new place for a service to start ... I wonder how many more possibles are still missing ...

 
Very many thanks for your 'behind the scenes' work on producing that upgrade, grahame! 

 

OK ... there's something back - haven't (yet?) split amends from cancels, but at least gives a quick idea.   May be buggy - I am watching it ...

 

Oh fun ... quite a bit of work for me to fix that, including installing some extra software on the server!

 
Due to a change in our data feed, information is at present not being provided.

No e.t.a. to fix - just be aware that I'm aware!