Sorry, I should have been clearer that there were trains running off route. RTT never shows off-route trains, since it can only show reports against a timetable. Even LiveRail, which can show some off-route trains, does not list them under off-route stations. It can only show the diversion in place of the originally intended route.

So RTT continues to show an off-route train progressing along its timetabled route, with no report for the bit it has diverted round. If you look a station (or timing point) on the section that was diverted round, this train still appears listed but will show no report. Of course a "no report" is not evidence of anything, since reports go missing for all sorts of reasons.

 
Not helpful for this case now but even if a train isn’t shown on RTT they usually do appear on signalling maps like Open Time Trains.  You can often then work out what it is from the headcode.

 
Could have been these - both left SWI around the and would have run non-stop on diversion through Chippenham:

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:Y21977/2025-04-10/detailed#allox_id=0 - left SWI 1729

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:Y21978/2025-04-10/detailed#allox_id=0 - shows 'pass' SWI 1723 but actually must have stopped as it was there a while when I was keeping an eye on it and ended up behind the above one

 

 
Not definitely - didn't spot any occupants as they passed through, but even the slower trains were moving reasonably quickly so I can't say for sure.

 
I've just been caught up in the knock-on delays. Were they definitely empty or just lightly loaded? Paddington-Swansea trains were diverted through Chippenham. It looks like some were held for some time at Swindon - perhaps awaiting crew, or maybe awaiting decision on whether or not the main line would reopen, or even awaiting slots between other trains. As a result of these waits at Swindon several ended up running through in close succession, so perhaps the first one had mopped up passengers and those behind were fairly empty.

Perhaps some had terminated at SWI for the same reason, and were running ECS to move out of the way. I note that a number of the Wales axis trains had started short at Reading; I suppose it's possible that one of the the 'second in the hour' Cardiff trains was part-cancelled and moving out of the way as well.

RTT won't have shown these if looking at Chippenham, as they were off their timetabled route. A search for those passing Wootton Bassett might offer more clues, as for a while the majority of trains running west would have ended up going through Chippenham.

 

but presumably they would have stopped if they had been 'normal' services? They all should stop AFAIK, unless the decision was taken to skip some stops to make up time - hopefully the passengers were suitably warned if that was the case

 
You'd do better to look at JourneyCheck:

Or in RTT at Bristol Parkway there's a mass of red "cancel" and delay, while at Reading several trains can be found that show "no report" from BPW to Wootton Bassett Junction. So the trains through CPM may have been ECS, or just virtually empty because so few passengers managed to make use of them.

 
I suspect after a number of signalling issues and a fatality at Stapleton Road today there were some positioning moves to get sets back into the right place.   These last minute moves do occasionally appear on RTT after the event but not always.

 
Interesting, that's it, ok, so I don't know why it isn't showing any ECS movements

 

Thanks Chris - I can see a 'detailed' option, but that doesn't show anything - am I doing it wrong?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1owIBDxb7cTPhw6JJY-P0jqoG49zJh9OC/view?usp=drive_link

(Tried to insert image... failed...)

 
RealTime Trains in Extended mode will tell you....

 
On my way back from Bristol (1700 London Paddington) to Melksham this vening, I had the usual change at Chippenham to pick up the 1750 Westbury service. But what was unusual was that while waiting at Chippenham, 4 what looked like empty IETs passed through in the space of about 15 mins, 2 in each direction.

3 were 9 carriage combinations, going at a steady pace, while one was a 5 carriage, heading towards Bath/Bristol, and that was really motoring. Seemed a bit odd; you get the occasional freight train passing through around that time, but I don't remember ever seeing an empty IET, never mind 4.

There was (or had been) a points failure somewhere down the line in the London direction, and the Paddington-Taunton service was cancelled. Don't know if that explains it.

Anyone know what was going on?