Are Class 171s the only class that can do 1 car de-select? IE both sets of doors open in the coach that is alongside the platform? (Three Oaks and Doleham on Marshlink)Yet on other operators (GWR) it happens (Dilton Marsh, Avoncliff) with local door only with tiny platforms, and in Scotland with Beauly/Conor Bridge
This is really disappointing news and I feel for Tony, who runs the independent ticket office/café. I am hopeful the council will be able to organise grants during the period of bustitution.
WMR have been unreliable for a while now for us - I've ended up "stranded" in Leamington before now when the last train of the day has been cancelled.
Particularly now - when the science would suggest that minimising transport time and allowing for social distancing as much as possible is a good thing - RRBs and/or directing folks to the 11/X17 are objectively worse.
Is it just me, but it always seems that whoever operates the "West Midlands & stoppers on towards Euston" franchise always seems to do at best an underwhelming, and at worst, a spectacularly inept job of it?
For instance, I'm (fortunately) not a user of either the Bedford - Bletchley or Watford - St. Albans Abbey lines, but both seem to be regular candidates for complete withdrawal of service.
And now Kenilworth.
We are used to it. At the moment our line ( Marston Vale) is used for stock transfer runs and little else. it has been that way for much of COVID. However, grumbling aside if you have limited resource due to a vast pandemic causing staff absence which service do you prioritise? Rural branch lines that can be easily replaced by buses or services on the core WCML?
it is an easy choice really.
Quite. Especially with the Nuneaton-Coventry-Leamington service which, aside from the RRBs, has very frequent and comprehensive paralleling bus services nearby or at every station, to cater for every need.
As you say, an easy choice.
The bus isn't a big problem for this journey, Kenilworth to Leamington and Coventry are frequent and short journeys while Coventry to Nuneaton is about 40 minutes by bus and also very frequent. Out of the routes to cut this one is one of the better ones in the WMT network.Depends on how they weighted the decision, is moving someone on to the frequent bus for the shorter journey more disadvantaged than someone making the long distance one who may decide to not make it all if the frequency is less and has no other option? The issue with Kenilworth wasn't down the rail industry per se, it was substantially third party driven.
An easy choice doesn't make it the right choice.
If you're short of staff, you can cancel one diagram of main line trains out & return, and passengers might have to wait half an hour for the next one. If you instead choose to cancel the branch line diagram, you lose the entire service for half the day. Or all day in the case of Kenilworth.
Considering how much effort it took and how unbelievably long it took to get that station re-opened (years and years) it must be hugely disappointing for anyone who has now come to rely on it. The modern railway industry just seems to give up too often and much too easily; if we're not careful, one day a politician in Westminster is going to use all these examoples of bustitution as a excuse to close railways completely.
An easy choice doesn't make it the right choice.
If you're short of staff, you can cancel one diagram of main line trains out & return, and passengers might have to wait half an hour for the next one. If you instead choose to cancel the branch line diagram, you lose the entire service for half the day. Or all day in the case of Kenilworth.
Considering how much effort it took and how unbelievably long it took to get that station re-opened (years and years) it must be hugely disappointing for anyone who has now come to rely on it. The modern railway industry just seems to give up too often and much too easily; if we're not careful, one day a politician in Westminster is going to use all these examoples of bustitution as a excuse to close railways completely.
If you have to run rail replacement buses then the NUCKLE makes a lot of sense as it is relatively short and fast, frequent bus services already run. It isn't ideal but it doesn't inconvenience many passengers.An easy choice doesn't make it the right choice.
If you're short of staff, you can cancel one diagram of main line trains out & return, and passengers might have to wait half an hour for the next one. If you instead choose to cancel the branch line diagram, you lose the entire service for half the day. Or all day in the case of Kenilworth.
Considering how much effort it took and how unbelievably long it took to get that station re-opened (years and years) it must be hugely disappointing for anyone who has now come to rely on it. The modern railway industry just seems to give up too often and much too easily; if we're not careful, one day a politician in Westminster is going to use all these examoples of bustitution as a excuse to close railways completely.
If you have to run rail replacement buses then the NUCKLE makes a lot of sense as it is relatively short and fast, frequent bus services already run. It isn't ideal but it doesn't inconvenience many passengers.
When did they introduce 172s onto the branch?Correct post March. Before March during the peaks it was rammed.
Since 2019When did they introduce 172s onto the branch?
I not sure how unbelievably long it took to get the station re-opened has any bearing on the decision
The roads between the stations are pretty good.but what's the road congestion like in Coventry & Leamington?
Warwick station is quite far from the centre of Warwick itself. It also never closed. If you are talking about Warwick Parkway that is further out from Warwick and more serves that general area, not Warwick specifically, and exists because it has far more car parking spaces than Leamington and Warwick, its intended for people to park their car and go on a trip to London or Birmingham.Warwick has no doubt had buses to these places for decades, but it didn't stop them wanting their station back did it?!
I mentioned it because it just feels like a breach of trust by the railway to me. Vast amount of effort by lots of local people and councils to get a station back in their town after years of trying, extra expense to make provision for track doubling which the railway (or the DfT?) then decided it wasn't going to do anyway, only for a complete cancellation of the train service seemingly at the drop of a hat.
Yes of course I know that there's hardly anyone travelling at the moment, but that applies to large sections of the network. Others have rightly pointed out that replacement buses are running, but what's the road congestion like in Coventry & Leamington? Buses are often an inferior replacement for trains; Warwick has no doubt had buses to these places for decades, but it didn't stop them wanting their station back did it?!
Perhaps The Planner could clarify his comment about how the decision was made: "third party driven"? As I'd expect, he clearly knows more about this than I do!
When did they introduce 172s onto the branch?
The roads between the stations are pretty good.
Warwick station is quite far from the centre of Warwick itself. It also never closed. If you are talking about Warwick Parkway that is further out from Warwick and more serves that general area, not Warwick specifically, and exists because it has far more car parking spaces than Leamington and Warwick, its intended for people to park their car and go on a trip to London or Birmingham.
RTT shows the bus as running until the end of Feb. Does what happens after that depend on whether we are still in lockdown?
Which depot provides the train crew?
Both Leamington and Cov (link 1 only)
Logically, if Birmingham area had sufficient train crew, they could've covered the diagrams using different DMUsBoth Leamington and Cov (link 1 only)
There are very small numbers of passengers using trains in general at the moment, and particularly on this line. It is true that more could be run by replacement buses, but if that means the staff are going to be paid for sitting around then I doubt it would be a more economical option.
I still don't know what this vast amount of effort has got to do with a temporary substitution of service, by buses, due to staffing shortages during this pandemic? Hopefully sufficient custom comes back after the pandemic to warrant a reinstation of train service.
Logically, if Birmingham area had sufficient train crew, they could've covered the diagrams using different DMUs
More likely to be classed as a service that WMR don't want to runThey don't sign the route. Used to get a few of their drivers on the branch when doing 153 handling as it was a single unit whereas the Rugeleys were coupled to a 170 but that's about it.
The Planner alludes to a 3rd party playing a part in this decision. He's/She's correct. It's not completely down to train crew, even December's reduction wasn't.
More likely to be classed as a service that WMR don't want to run
No, you've misunderstood my point. I'm not advocating that more routes should have their train service removed in favour of buses; quite the opposite. What I was questioning was why this particular line -and also as it turns out DarloRich's Bedford to Bletchley route- have been singled out? (perhaps you've answered that if usage really is that much lower than elsewhere).
As for your comment about "sufficient custom coming back after the pandemic to warrant a restoration of train service", that's the worry isn't it? Much easier to permanently remove something that's not actually there anymore, than cut a train service that still runs. And that's why I still think as a general principle that when you're short of traincrew you should slightly thin the main line service rather than suspending the entire train service on branches.
I was on about the station saga about getting it built and open, people moan about NR as it is but Kenilworth is a fairly good example of third party isn't necessarily better. The timetable aspect is WMTs decision.I mentioned it because it just feels like a breach of trust by the railway to me. Vast amount of effort by lots of local people and councils to get a station back in their town after years of trying, extra expense to make provision for track doubling which the railway (or the DfT?) then decided it wasn't going to do anyway, only for a complete cancellation of the train service seemingly at the drop of a hat.
Yes of course I know that there's hardly anyone travelling at the moment, but that applies to large sections of the network. Others have rightly pointed out that replacement buses are running, but what's the road congestion like in Coventry & Leamington? Buses are often an inferior replacement for trains; Warwick has no doubt had buses to these places for decades, but it didn't stop them wanting their station back did it?!
Perhaps The Planner could clarify his comment about how the decision was made: "third party driven"? As I'd expect, he clearly knows more about this than I do!