Storm Frank: impact on West Coast and Highland Mainlines

[dk1]

My



What's

WBQ
EDB
WAC
YRK
GLC
LON
CAR

?

Yes, I know, does everyone reading this?

Looks pretty straight forward station abbreviations to me. Most interested in UK railways would understand.

 

[Zoidberg]

Looks pretty straight forward station abbreviations to me. Most interested in UK railways would understand.

What about the Forum Rules on the use of such?

 

[The Prisoner]

Apologies - worked many years ago on CRS!!

Warrington Bank Quay - WBQ
Warrington Central - WAC
Carlisle - CAR
Glasgow Central - GLC
Edinburgh - EDB
York - YRK

LON - any guesses?!

 

[dk1]

What about the Forum Rules on the use of such?

Perhaps it's time to relax them for such things. We all use these now for rail enquiries on mobile devices.

 

[najaB]

Perhaps it's time to relax them for such things. We all use these now for rail enquiries on mobile devices.

OT, I know, but many people either don't know them or use the wrong ones!

 

[dk1]

OT, I know, but many people either don't know them or use the wrong ones!

True. Don't get me started on BNS for Brum

 

[The Prisoner]

Have edited the original post for those offended by use of CRS codes.

 

[Zoidberg]

Have edited the original post for those offended by use of CRS codes.

You hit a raw nerve. I have an abhorrance for abbreviations where the expanded form is not first introduced.

 

[LeylandLen]

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Perhaps it's time to relax them for such things. We all use these now for rail inquiries on mobile devices.

I like to use a telephone and speak to a human when inquiring about train times; am I unique? I do not think so ....

 

[dk1]

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


I like to use a telephone and speak to a human when inquiring about train times; am I unique? I do not think so ....

Some still prefer it. Very time consuming I find but each to their own.

 

[Philip Elliott]

Nothing on real Train Times yet.
I wonder what the arrival times are and how they align with the departures/arrivals to / from the south

xx.34 arrival for connection into xx.46 to Euston via Trent Valley (arrivals from the south at circa xx.49 for connection into xx.00)

 

[Mag_seven]

The service will operate 07:00-19:00 on weekdays and Saturdays with a later start, still to be confirmed, on Sundays.

Why finish the shuttle so early at 19.00 - that means if you leave Euston on or after the 1630 service its a bus from Carlisle to Glasgow.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I like to use a telephone and speak to a human when inquiring about train times; am I unique? I do not think so ....

I always prefer to use an IT system myself in preference to talking to someone who is trying to use the same IT system on my behalf, often with a poor connection to the other side of the world with no local knowledge.

On the other hand, 0151 709 9696 knew their stuff. The rot set in the day National Rail Enquiries was started in the late 1990s. Now it's utterly useless.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

VT East Coast are now not allowing VT West Coast tickets to travel Glasgow Central - Edinburgh - London.

Says who? The text on virgintrains.co.uk appears to say that they still are doing, though I imagine given the horrendous overcrowding it's been causing they may well pack in once the hourly shuttle is in operation.

Does anyone know how the shuttle is being resourced? Are they cutting the North Wales services back to Crewe in order to free up a couple of Voyagers? Or are they hiring in or loco hauling Pendolinos? Or are there sufficient Voyagers anyway?

 

[Blindtraveler]

I was wondering the same thing.

 

[The Prisoner]

VT East Coast are now not allowing VT West Coast tickets to travel Glasgow Central - Edinburgh - London.

Says who? The text on virgintrains.co.uk appears to say that they still are doing, though I imagine given the horrendous overcrowding it's been causing they may well pack in once the hourly shuttle is in operation.

Say Virgin Trains. The text is misleading. Their twitter feed is stating that only people with an Edinburgh - London ticket can now used East Coast. West Coast passengers originating in Glasgow must travel via Carlisle and brave the bus/shuttle

https://twitter.com/LizzibethT/status/684837242225987585

This ^ shows both a customer asking if they can go that way and VT's frustration that they can't...despite both companies being "Virgin"

Let's face it....very few people would travel from London to Edinburgh directly up the West Coast, so basically it's a couple of waving fingers from Virgin East Coast to Virgin Trains.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Let's face it....very few people would travel from London to Edinburgh directly up the West Coast, so basically it's a couple of waving fingers from Virgin East Coast to Virgin Trains.

Passengers from MKC, of whom there are quite a few, can go via London as well I believe.

OTOH, that piece of text is appalling. It doesn't say what it claims it says at all.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Looked again at sleasyJet for January this time - and prices still aren't that high - around £55 each way for the next few days to Edinburgh. Some Glasgow fares are a bit high though.

 

[The Prisoner]

Passengers from MKC, of whom there are quite a few, can go via London as well I believe.

OTOH, that piece of text is appalling. It doesn't say what it claims it says at all.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Looked again at sleasyJet for January this time - and prices still aren't that high - around £55 each way for the next few days to Edinburgh. Some Glasgow fares are a bit high though.

The text is hideous beyond belief. It is serving only to confuse and baffle. Plenty of people have commented on their twitter feed that it also only deals with London, Birmingham and Glasgow really - no advice if you are traveling from the likes of Crewe, Preston. Milton Keynes etc.

During times of disruption like these someone needs to get these TOCs together and bang some heads. Clearly VT are being left high and dry by others with acceptance being removed pretty much all round on advance tickets. Ticket acceptance therfore is obviously a goodwill thing in these times....it really shouldn't be optional and a plan should be in place to a) protect the customer and b) auto compensate those TOCs who are forced to share some burden.

 

[380101]

Virgin to run hourly shuttle service from Glasgow to Carlisle via Dumfries. Hope it eases people's pain.

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-35240697

Shuttle left at 1752 from Central this evening - 2 x 221. I was the 1742 Carlisle service- they held us at Kilmarnock to allow the virgin train to pass us on the middle road. I was then 15 late departing Kilmarnock and due to it being AB between Killie - Dumfries I ended up 19 late overall by the time I got to Carlisle.

 

[Chrism20]

Let's face it....very few people would travel from London to Edinburgh directly up the West Coast, so basically it's a couple of waving fingers from Virgin East Coast to Virgin Trains.

You would be surprised at how many actually do it these days.

I done it three times in December due to the WC first class fare being less than the EC standard for the times I was travelling.

I was astonished that there were quite a few done the full run.

 

[Llanigraham]

Perhaps it's time to relax them for such things. We all use these now for rail enquiries on mobile devices.

But not every railway worker does use them!!
Signallers certainly don't.

 

[Ianmel1969]

I notice one or two saying EC trains are horrendously overcrowded at the moment. Are Virgin still putting out seat reservations or is just one massive bun fight for a seat. I'm on the 0930 KX to Edinburgh Friday week with a 1st advance, so I am hoping it might be a bit quieter.

 

[The Prisoner]

Virgin & Transpennine have both tweeted that I am still fine to travel Warrington Central - York - Edinburgh rather than brave bus hell with a Warrington Bank Quay - Edinburgh 1st Advance (!). Have screen grabbed their tweets for when the train manager tries to charge an excess

From what you read on their websites ticket acceptance on this route isn't in place.........and I know a bit about the railways....what must Joe Public be making of all this?

 

[BRX]

Yesterday I travelled from Inverness to London. This journey involved two tickets which would normally have taken a route through both of the closed lines.

Return portion of off peak return from inverness to glasgow
Advance from glasgow-Euston (this was purchased after new year despite the line already being closed - i was surprised they were still on sale).

The advice on NRE when I bought the advance and also on the day before we travelled was that VWC tickets would be accepted on VEC.

So we went from Inverness to aberdeen and picked up the direct Aberdeen-kings cross HST there. Whether this was allowed with that combination of tickets is perhaps open to interpretation but I reckoned it was a reasonable route in the circumstances so was prepared to risk the possibility of an argument on the way.

In the end our tickets were only checked soon after leaving Aberdeen. I showed our inverness to glasgow portion and this was accepted without comment. Never had to show the VTWC advance in the end as we weren't asked but reading this thread this morning I wonder if we were lucky in that.

Part of the reason we decided to pick up the london train in aberdeen rather than edinburgh was that I suspected it might be very busy leaving edinburgh, so getting on at the beginning meant we could get ourselves some seats.

In actual fact although the train left Edinburgh in the evening peak around 1730 it wasn't especially busy. Still quite a few free seats.

 

[47271]

Cancellations due to flooding between Aberdeen and Inverurie starting to appear.

http://floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodupdates/info/group-id/4864

A SEVERE FLOOD WARNING has been issued for Inverurie.

This means that extensive flooding is expected to properties and businesses including those in Port Elphinstone, along Old Canal, and Inverurie Paper Mill. The Waste Water Treatment Works and railway line will also be significantly affected. Many roads, including the B993, will be impassable in and around Inverurie.

 

[LeylandLen]

T
During times of disruption like these someone needs to get these TOCs together and bang some heads. Clearly VT are being left high and dry by others with acceptance being removed pretty much all round on advance tickets. Ticket acceptance therfore is obviously a goodwill thing in these times....it really shouldn't be optional and a plan should be in place to a) protect the customer and b) auto compensate those TOCs who are forced to share some burden.

Surely, in emergencies such ad these) the PM ( or one of his cronies, sorry Ministers, such as the Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin ,transport minister) should call a COBRA meeting with the relevant heads of TOCS to decide whats best for the 'customers' of the TOCs ; to find out the problems with moving rolling stock around, and lay down some agreed rules about tickets etc. After all, Mr Cameron (and his ministers )has the power to summon the head of the Environment agency away from his holiday in a 'dry' warm and sunny Barbados to parliament to answer questions in front of MPs .

 

[jamieintercity]

Trains are now cancelled between dundee and Aberdeen due to flooding between Laurencekirk and Montrose and between inverkeilor and arbroath.

 

[najaB]

Trains are now cancelled between dundee and Aberdeen due to flooding between Laurencekirk and Montrose and between inverkeilor and arbroath.

Hopefully there's no damage that takes longer than overnight to fix or that'll be Aberdeen and Inverness cut off from the railway network.

 

[6Gman]

Virgin & Transpennine have both tweeted that I am still fine to travel Warrington Central - York - Edinburgh rather than brave bus hell with a Warrington Bank Quay - Edinburgh 1st Advance (!). Have screen grabbed their tweets for when the train manager tries to charge an excess

From what you read on their websites ticket acceptance on this route isn't in place.........and I know a bit about the railways....what must Joe Public be making of all this?

Yesterday afternoon the station announcer at Mcr Picc was emphatic that TPE tickets to Scottish destinations were valid only via Carlisle and "not via any other route".

 

[Solent&Wessex]

Yesterday afternoon the station announcer at Mcr Picc was emphatic that TPE tickets to Scottish destinations were valid only via Carlisle and "not via any other route".

The same today, too.

Which of course isn't entirely correct.

Some anytime and off-peak tickets which allow travel via York can be used via York without problem.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yesterday afternoon the station announcer at Mcr Picc was emphatic that TPE tickets to Scottish destinations were valid only via Carlisle and "not via any other route".

Is the issue there East Coast, or are fTPE being as officious and inflexible as usual and refusing an easement on their own trains?