Have the well-documented problems of getting to the sailing Olympics been solved?
Given SW Trains recent admission that it cannot run any more trains to Weymouth, (or even just longer ones), during the Olympic period because the railway’s power supply was insufficient it appeared this evening (Thursday) that someone has come up with a solution!
Parked at Weymouth station to greet the 6pm commuters on platform 3 was a Battle of Britain class steam locomotive and a full set of authentic carriages. No electricity required, it appeared that this solution could also haul twice the number of carriages as the conventional modern electrics while serving dinner at the same time. Now that’s the way to get to the sailing Olympics.
Sadly this was a one-off otherwise I would have cancelled my local accommodation and commuted.
Instead this was a chartered train service from London to Weymouth and back. Unfortunately the steam option also proved just as unreliable as the conventional electric method after the A2 locomotive, (same class as the record breaking Mallard for those that care about such things), broke down shortly after leaving for London and had to limp back to Weymouth. Its passengers were delivered back to London by a conventional electric train.
This must have cheered up the managing director of SW Trains whose surprising recent admission as to the shortcomings of the Weymouth rail service appears to have another twist if the comments of one of the SW Trains employees that I was talking to are correct.
It turns out that SW Trains lost its bid to provide more trains during the Olympic period to supplement the existing service using diesel engines at each end of a string of carriages, to Cross Country trains who will be providing the extra trains to bulk up the service using their diesel trains.
Was this why the MD of SW Trains was advising people not to travel to Weymouth by train?
Surely not.