Ouch, hadn't looked further down the line, but if that is the case that is pretty poor. I see a few regulars on the current services who are doing Preston to Adlington in particular.
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Northern timetable plan for May 2018
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Ouch, hadn't looked further down the line, but if that is the case that is pretty poor. I see a few regulars on the current services who are doing Preston to Adlington in particular.
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Well Congleton gains an extra early morning service to Stoke (2 services in the space of 10 minutes) but loses 1 morning train to Manchester at 0730 and 1 return service at 1721 M-F.
There's some real oddities (and some good news):
0538 Manchester - Stoke
0617 Macclesfield - Manchester starts out as the new empty working via Alsager and Kidsgrove where it reverses to allow for route knowledge retention.
0724 Stockport to Macclesfield
1258 Stoke to Manchester misses out Stockport
The calling pattern after Stockport varies and timings shift at certain times throughout.
Possibly the worst is the limited sunday service on the Stoke line which is now very popular in the morning and afternoon (especially post-summer) adding calls at Heaton Chapel and Levenshume.
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Just over 10,000 passengers a year trounces Battersby's 1,660! For context, Battersby was the 84th least used station in the UK last year.
Puffing Devil
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IIRC Battersby is an old junction and a turnaround point anyway, so easy to reverse and park a unit.
lyndhurst25
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Looks like the first Leeds to Lancaster service on a Sunday morning is now making a connection onto the first train to the Cumbrian coast at Carnforth. In the provisional timetable it just missed it just missed it. 
I can see there being some angry passengers, especially as the Manchester departures from Cheadle Hulme are xx:24 (from Crewe) and xx:37 (from Stoke.)
We've had that with Mid-Cheshire services on Saturdays as well. The majority of services used to be 2 car and they were full and standing leaving Stockport, so no room for Heaton Chapel and Levenshulme passengers. According to the chairman of MCRUA Mid-Cheshire Saturday services are to go back to 2 car in May with just occasional strengthening for some special events.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
What on earth is the point in terminating trains at Buckshaw Parkway?!
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
One could easily have the impression they want to kill off demand from Mauldeth Road (50 bus), Burnage (50 bus), East Didsbury (tram) and Gatley (not sure) so they can justify closure. A proper local service is needed rather than overserving Manchester Airport with through trains carrying mostly fresh air.
If you look at the timings I imagine this is more to give Great Ayton (Population 5000) an evening peak service from Boro. Battersby being the end of token section probably just a logical turn around point.
Apparently it is to save a DMU. Presumably so that they can send it on the hourly Alderly Edge, where DMUs will take over from EMUs...
On a Saturday the 1358 from Stoke-on-Trent calls at Kidsgrove, then all stations until Bramhall, then Heaton Chapel, Levenshulme and Manchester Piccadilly.
I would love to know who thought that one up!
It will be very unpopular cutting Levenshulme and Heaton Chapel down from 4 to 3 services per hour too. There are some very significant cuts or reductions in quality as a result of this timetable change, no denying it.
It actually only saves one DMU set, and it creates a tight turnaround at Preston. I'm sure there are better places to save a DMU.
Why is there going to be a DMU shortage anyway, with all these 150s arriving?
Have you missed all the December 2017 enhancements that haven't been implemented yet? 20 or so cascaded DMUs from other DMUs is not enough to implement them. The DMUs need to be freed up from the Bolton line as well.
Not sure why you've picked on Alderley Edge. There's loads of places getting either additional DMUs, keeping DMUs that were supposed to be freed up or getting DMUs due to bi-modes being delayed.
There are more than enough 319s currently based in the North West to cover the existing duties. In the last couple of years or so the only times I have seen diesels on a 319 duty have been on Sundays, i.e. the day when the least number of 319s are scheduled for service, and only on one of those occasions was it a 2-car. So whatever the reason for the DMU appearances, it couldn't be said to be down to a 319 shortage, as such.
I could be mistaken, but I don't believe that the timings in RTT reflect the franchise commitment and therefore are still not complete, although much more so than they were. Manchester to Stoke currently http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/sea...-2359?stp=WVS&show=pax-calls&order=wtt&toc=NT doesn't reflect the requirement for 4 trains 16:00 to 18:59.
Indeed. Much as it's a lot of change, I really see this as an interim timetable until the rest of the proposed changes can be brought in. Electrification needs to be complete, 769s arrive, and the rest of the cascaded stock plus the new stock be delivered. There is a lot of change still to come for sure.
Let's be honest the whole timetable looks like planners have done what's easiest in a short time frame than what's best.
The Chester service could have been extended to Wigan in the absence of 769s being available, then DMUs would have been available to run the extra Greenbank services.
There's both paths and EMUs to allow additional Macclesfield-Manchester stoppers to run but the paths they originally got were for Macclesfield to Blackpool.
Buxton got it's extra services ahead of other routes because there's fewer pathing conflicts on the Buxton line, not because Hazel Grove-Buxton urgently needs 2tph at off-peak times.
Well, actually, I have. There seems to me to be an awful lot of reshuffles proposed (partly, but not entirely, connected to electrification of Manchester - Preston - Blackpool), but very little in the way of 'enhancements'. Perhaps, to save me wading through page after page of forum entries, you could provide a brief summary of what the proposed enhancements are.
Take it you weren't near Liverpool or Manchester a few weeks ago just after we had the heavy snow. At that point most 319s were faulty or already undergoing scheduled maintenance or 769 conversion so Wigan-Liverpool was pretty much the only route 319s were operating on for a couple of days.
Could you give me the relevant dates, please?
The list is very long but some of the enhancements that were due last December include more services on the Harrogate, Retford, Hope Valley, Buxton and Mid-Cheshire lines, extensions of Calder Valley services to Chester and Manchester Airport, reinstatement of an hourly Airport to Cumbria service for most of the day. There's various other, some in the North East and quite a lot in the Bradford area but I forget which ones were scheduled for 2017 and which ones were scheduled for 2019.
No I can't but based on what you've said in your own posts I'm sure you'd certainly notice if you were here and all services between Liverpool and Manchester Airport were suspended due to a shortage of available units.
I notice the unit off the second morning Chester to Stockport is still going to do an ECS to Hazel Grove and then run a service to Manchester at 09:10, despite the fact they'll be a 323 operated service at 09:21!
Also has anyone noticed the Buxton service running on the Ordsall Chord: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y22144/2018/05/21/advanced
Also has anyone noticed the Buxton service running on the Ordsall Chord: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y22144/2018/05/21/advanced
Looks rather like it. Danby might be marginally useful for walkers and possibly connections with Moorsbus (if that survives!). There's also an odd Nunthorpe-Boro ecs mid morning to get a unit out of the way.
Flyingsprinter
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Seems odd to me the Calder valley is getting Manchester vic to York (which is only an odd one way service with no return) and Selby services, which aren’t franchise requirements and aren’t getting the promised airport services which is a franshise requirement.
Even the limited services to oxford road have been scrapped. I get that due to delayed electrifications and cascades there is limited desiel traction, but reductions in services doesn’t seem to make sense.
Even the limited services to oxford road have been scrapped. I get that due to delayed electrifications and cascades there is limited desiel traction, but reductions in services doesn’t seem to make sense.
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The Airport extension of a Calder Valley service isn't a franchise requirement until the December 2019 timetable change. The off-peak Oxford Rd extension was just a way of putting a service on the Ordsall Chord that didn't require an additional unit at the time, they'll be no point to it once TPE are running a half-hourly Victoria to Manchester Airport service.
Kieran1990
Member
Understandable to Harrogate extras aren’t happening from May.
Thought they’d have re-hashed the evening pattern out on the Harrogate loop. Hourly all shacks from 19:29 dept. The 20:30 is know for being a tight squeeze out of leeds!
Great to seee Leeds-Knottingley going half hourly!
Thought they’d have re-hashed the evening pattern out on the Harrogate loop. Hourly all shacks from 19:29 dept. The 20:30 is know for being a tight squeeze out of leeds!
Great to seee Leeds-Knottingley going half hourly!
markydh
Member
Yup. There’s now pretty much a train every 20 minutes between Newcastle and Metrocentre which is much better than the original timetable!
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