ECML Dec 2010 Timetable

[Lee_Again]

For those who have not seen this yet...

http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/ecml-nr-scl2-timetable-161009.pdf

 

[philjo]

Don't think much of that.
How are you supposed to get from Stevenage to Newark, York, Darlington, Newcastle etc? No through services are shown to Hull from Stevenage either.
At present, there are several morning services northbound to Newcastle, Leeds & hull - a sizeable number of passenagers get on to these each weekday morning.
You can't even get a non-FCC service to Peterborough - you have to get the Leeds service & change at Doncaster with a 26 minute wait for another service north.

 

[Aictos]

Looks interesting, one thing I did understand was the Kings Cross to Lincoln services were being timed for HST operation but alternative traction may be used ie Class 180s.

Come to think of it, what route will they be taking to get to Lincoln?

 

[Pumbaa]

First through Edinburgh train has been pushed back to 0700, arriving at 1120. Now that's backwards progress.

It also shows, the Virgin service takes on average only 10mins longer than East Coast, for a journey that is 60 miles longer?

 

[MCR247]

But it only gets you in 11mins later. Although missing all stops south of york :@

 

[me123]

The East Coast Mainline shall no longer serve Glasgow, it seems. Makes sense to someone, but you've completely severed a direct link between Glasgow and the North East and lost an entire commuter route from Motherwell to Edinburgh. Nice going :roll:

 

[Bittern]

The East Coast Mainline shall no longer serve Glasgow, it seems. Makes sense to someone, but you've completely severed a direct link between Glasgow and the North East and lost an entire commuter route from Motherwell to Edinburgh. Nice going :roll:

No more 225s in Glasgow?! NO! :cry:

 

[John @ home]

The East Coast Mainline shall no longer serve Glasgow, it seems. ... you've completely severed a direct link between Glasgow and the North East and lost an entire commuter route from Motherwell to Edinburgh.

It seems likely that both Glasgow - North East and Motherwell - Edinburgh will be provided by CrossCountry.

The development of a proposed timetable package has now been endorsed by the DfT to identify ... the potential transfer of some long distance services between Edinburgh and Glasgow between the Inter‐City East Coast operator and CrossCountry.

While I would much prefer to travel in ECML Mk 4 stock, this change may provide a better match of demand with capacity.

John

 

[merlodlliw]

any chance of the WCML stuff?

would be appreciated

 

[The Planner]

WCML was re-written for Dec 08, it wont get a re-write until at least 2012, probably 2014.

 

[stut]

Hmm, not impressed - the connections from East Anglia are pretty poor. Looks like easyJet will be getting a lot more of my business...

 

[merlodlliw]

WCML was re-written for Dec 08, it wont get a re-write until at least 2012, probably 2014.

Thanks planner, any news on the Wrexham tracks yet?,

 

[jamesontheroad]

The East Coast Mainline shall no longer serve Glasgow, it seems. Makes sense to someone, but you've completely severed a direct link between Glasgow and the North East and lost an entire commuter route from Motherwell to Edinburgh. Nice going :roll:

I quite agree. Evidently written by someone sitting in an office in London who doesn't appreciate that not all ECML journeys are about going to/from London, although I guess if I (as a frequent Glasgow - East Anglia traveller) am inconvenienced by another change in Newcastle or York I must be in the minority.

 

[gordonthemoron]

the last train from Edinburgh to London is earlier too

 

[87015]

I quite agree. Evidently written by someone sitting in an office in London who doesn't appreciate that not all ECML journeys are about going to/from London, although I guess if I (as a frequent Glasgow - East Anglia traveller) am inconvenienced by another change in Newcastle or York I must be in the minority.

Exactly the same as what happened on the West Coast, although I presume no stations are having the majority of their IC services removed on the East.

 

[The Planner]

Written by a train planner with over 30 years experience in Leeds to be exact, and would have been working from a spec provided by the Dft... the Dft are of the opinion that biggest flows are to the capital and thats where the money is believed to be, blame them, not us.

 

[googolplex]

That'll be slightly irritating for me travelling from St Neots to Dundee (travelling south should be alright as the direct train still stops at Stevenage).
With the new timetable I'll have to travel from St Neots to Peterborough, then from Peterborough to Doncaster/York and then from Doncaster/York to Edinburgh - or from Peterborough to Edinburgh and then Edinburgh to Dundee.
Should be fun with a big suitcase - it might be easier to fly with easyjet from Luton then (it costs roughly the same)!

 

[Spaceflower]

not change at KX? or just Peterbrough and York?

Mind it is odd that major interchanges such as Doncaster and Peterbrough have been ommitted from the Aberdeen service.

 

[me123]

It seems likely that both Glasgow - North East and Motherwell - Edinburgh will be provided by CrossCountry.While I would much prefer to travel in ECML Mk 4 stock, this change may provide a better match of demand with capacity.

I would agree with this. It provides the North East with a better link to Glasgow, and includes a direct Glasgow-Leeds service. BUT the crosscountry service is still only two token trains a day in each direction!!!

And it is ridiculous that an entire commuter corridor has been eradicated.

 

[Spaceflower]

Me123, what is a token train?

 

[Lee_Again]

Not a single train from Stevenage to Edinburgh; yet three in the opposite direction. Quite strange.
No London arrivals in Edinburgh before 11.20 (no chance of a full business day trip), yet pre 10.00 the other way (quite easily do a full day).
No trains to Glasgow. Is it just the North West that goes there? What about the North East and East?

 

[MCR247]

Well the first into EDB now is 11.09. No big deal really apart from the 07.00 is non stop to York, missing out anyone going from Nottingham/Grantham/Peterborough

 

[A60K]

Me123, what is a token train?

A very basic service, often provided for political reasons rather than according to passenger demand.

 

[Spaceflower]

A very basic service, often provided for political reasons rather than according to passenger demand.

Thanks for that. I wonder why theyve scrapped the Glasgow services? Surely they can't be short of traction? Probably so the timetable 'works'?

 

[gingerheid]

Looks like the realistic way from Cambridge to W Scotland is going to be either easyJet or bus to MK and VWC.

 

[Spaceflower]

If GC are listening, I propose an extension of their Bradford service to Glasgow via the S&C. How very nostalgic. Probably totally unrealistic but so what......
(The purpose of that last sentence was to deactivate all those geeky clones who were about to not so kindly remind me of the impracticalities of such a proposal)

 

[Bittern]

Gah. I love seeing the 225s at Central. I love the sound they make the most. **** if I have to go to Edinburgh to see and hear them! Is there any chance of this changing before the timetable takes effect?

 

[paul1609]

Looks like the realistic way from Cambridge to W Scotland is going to be either easyJet or bus to MK and VWC.

Depends whereabouts in West Scotland your destination is. If it was a station with a service to Queen Street the NXEC service was always irrelevant as it was much easier and quicker to change to Scotrail at either Waverley or Haymarket.
I reckon the DFT have got it right on this occasion, I never understood the logic of a full Mk 4 set being used to trundle via an indirect route between Edinburgh and Glasgow for the benefit of a handfull of passengers from Motherwell.
On the couple of occasions Ive used the service I ve had a coach to myself past Edinburgh.
I reckon it should have been cut back as soon as the VHF timetable started.

 

[Spaceflower]

Interesting Paul. I thought it would be well used by Edin-Glas traffic, by traffic from the NE as well as the eastern counties? Obviously not!

 

[evil_hippo]

I'd like to see a connection time exemption at York that allowed transfer from NXEC to NXEC with five minutes, thus making official the five-minute connection between the train from Edinburgh and the two-hourly York to London stopping service. This would very much soften the blow for Edinburgh to Lincolnshire/East Anglia connections, and in fact would be an improvement for Retford, Grantham and Newark.

This would be entirely practical and wouldn't lead to missed connections, as the fast train to London would naturally be dispatched first at York in the event of a slight delay.

includes a direct Glasgow-Leeds service.

For what I recall was two years, we had such a thing! It ran limited stop via the most direct (and cheapest, for walk-up fares) route, via Appleby. Changing at Carlisle still makes a lot more sense than a voyager all the way around the coast.

If GC are listening, I propose an extension of their Bradford service to Glasgow via the S&C. How very nostalgic. Probably totally unrealistic but so what......
(The purpose of that last sentence was to deactivate all those geeky clones who were about to not so kindly remind me of the impracticalities of such a proposal)

I'm afraid I'm going to have to be a geeky clone, whatever one of those is, and point out a particularly extreme physical barrier to this happening. Namely the half-mile gap in railway tracks between Bradford Interchange and Bradford Forster Square.