But no buses offered as an alternative. Breach of Franchise (again)
It patently is not a breach of franchise. It will have been agreed with Merseytravel.
In any event, it’s not a franchise.
But no buses offered as an alternative. Breach of Franchise (again)
True; it's a concession:It patently is not a breach of franchise. It will have been agreed with Merseytravel.
In any event, it’s not a franchise.
If there is evidence that Merseyrail have broken this agreement, it would be interesting to hear it. But without that evidence, it would be reasonable to assume Merseytravel are aware of the plans and have approved them. An FOI request could be sent to Merseytravel if there is any doubt.Merseyrail is currently run as a 50/50 joint venture company between Serco and Abellio, which has a 25-year concession agreement with Merseytravel. The concession started on 20 July 2003, with review dates every five years.
The closing of city centre stations seems a new thing, I don't recall it happening in prior years. James Street is perhaps understandable being a lifts-only station, but I don't understand the logic of the other decisions. It seems counter-intuitive when the stations could share the burden.
The stations could share the burden, but the trains can't. E.g., what would happen on the Wirral Line platform at Central, if the train was already full after Lime St?The closing of city centre stations seems a new thing, I don't recall it happening in prior years. James Street is perhaps understandable being a lifts-only station, but I don't understand the logic of the other decisions. It seems counter-intuitive when the stations could share the burden.
Yes totally sensible idea unless they had Chester /Ellesmere port going from Lime St and New Brighton/West Kirby going from Central for example. They could then run more trains (subject to stock being available) as both could have simultaneous dwell time before moving on. But I guess stock is the problem and it's better to concentrate resources at one location.The stations could share the burden, but the trains can't. E.g., what would happen on the Wirral Line platform at Central, if the train was already full after Lime St?
Lime Street will be overwhelmed by passengers using the main station therefore closing the low level station makes sense. The plan separates passengers into 3 different groups which under the circumstances seems like a good way to manage the crowds. No idea why the OP thinks its a breach, its clearly a plan agreed by the relevant authorities. There is no chance normal dwell times will be kept which means some stations need to be skipped to keep to the timetable.
OK it’s a concession not a franchise in the normal sense and I agree closing certain stations in the city centre is a good idea to maintain crowd control. I also suspect Merseytravel will have approved it.
Also, shutting some stations to ensure a robust timetables would be OK IF they offered alternative transport. So shutting stations like Capenhurst is OK because there’s a worry that that the trains won’t manage the 5 min turnarounds at Chester is fine but run Rail replacement buses instead. Instead, Merseyrail are saying to passengers getting to Chester and wishing to travel to Capenhurst..”make your own way at your own expense”. Not acceptable.
How are you supposed to interchange between the Northern and Wirral lines though if you can't/don't want to walk between stations?The only city centre station they are closing is James St (as you said due to access issues).
The decision to make Moorfields the terminus for Northern Line trains and Liverpool Central for Wirral Lines again makes sense because it keeps the lines separate and stops fans overwhelming the stations, as both have platforms that arent that wide.
You can change at Moorfields for Wirral Line trains and vice versa via the Loop Line, you just cant get a Northern Line train to Central or get a Wirral Line train to Moorfields - I agree that its not ideal but its the best that Merseyrail can do.How are you supposed to interchange between the Northern and Wirral lines though if you can't/don't want to walk between stations?
In particular Central can't cope with crowds. Until it gets gutted and a second island built, which I suspect might well happen at some point, they'll have to keep closing it for major events. It's not quite Piccadilly P13/14, primarily because it's served by trains with doors at thirds and with adequate capacity, but it's a problem in a PTI sense because the platforms get so busy.
Agreed. There should at least be a taxi on demand to Hooton from Capenhurst and from Bromborough Rake to Bromborough. Most people wouldn't bother but it would at least be something.
The 2005 parade was mental, all transportation in Liverpool City Centre will be in chaos today. It seems to be a reasonable plan to deal with a very difficult situation. Some people will always complain!
Exactly. There’s an important point of principle here.
Merseyrail get a complaint about a Morrissey Poster and act immediately, folk complain about the service and offer an idea for an alternative and ignore the complaint.
Interesting one is if a PRM turns up at Lime Street on a mainline service and wishes to go to a station on the Wirral and they get no assistance. That could be interesting.