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Can you join two trains together with passengers?

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Deepgreen

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Yes - and I think you're talking about units, rather than individual carriages. The former is common, but the latter is probably now limited to the Caledonian Sleeper. It happens a great deal on the UK network, especially in my area of Surrey (although a little less than before recent timetable changes). BTW, the title has "to" instead of 'two'. I must admit I'm surprised that an 'established member' needed to ask this, but we are all always learning.
 
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jamesst

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Depends on the toc. Merseyrail passengers must be detrained first, the only exception being when assisting a failed train outside of a platform
 
EE Andy b1

EE Andy b1

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Yes Virgin WC Class 221s couple and uncouple with passengers, no problems normally.
It's the best way of serving several destinations using a single path over a particular busy line.
 
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6Gman

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Bletchleyite said:
LNR will do it with passengers on at Northampton but not at Euston...
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Perhaps it's considered ideal to do it with empty trains, which can be done more easily at termini rather than at intermediate calls?
 
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Llama

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Northern stipulate that an announcement must be made prior to attaching warning passengers of sudden movements, but no restriction exists. I tend to do the attaching from the empty set if one set has punters on and one doesn't (unless operational reasons preclude me doing that).
 
37047

37047

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Common at Cambridge - units on the King's Lynn - King's Cross service split/join with passengers onboard.
 
Roger100

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swt_passenger said:
...and it’s one of many.

This subject comes up almost as often as datum plates...
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But with 497 pages of threads one can be excused for not doing an exhaustive search.

I've been on GWR 387 units that coupled at Paddington before allowing passengers off. But uncoupling is, maybe, a different matter due to the need to safely seal off the passenger access between each 4-car unit, e.g. avoiding danger to passengers moving between the units.
 
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swt_passenger

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Roger100 said:
But with 497 pages of threads one can be excused for not doing an exhaustive search.

I've been on GWR 387 units that coupled at Paddington before allowing passengers off. But uncoupling is, maybe, a different matter due to the need to safely seal off the passenger access between each 4-car unit, e.g. avoiding danger to passengers moving between the units.
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You can’t uncouple without staff present at what would have been the intermediate gangways. I don’t think your “safety” factor is real. Preparing the cab/gangway area to now be the end of the unit requires manual intervention, outer doors closing and locking, hinged cab equipment to be repositioned, the door to the train switched to crew operation etc etc.

Although the OP didn’t actually ask about splitting, it is also done routinely with passengers present on both portions of a train.
 
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supervc-10

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SWR do it a lot with 158/159s at Salisbury. There is often a 3-car unit waiting at Salisbury and the 3-car coming up from Exeter couples up at the platform before continuing towards Waterloo.
 
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snookertam

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I think it may be in (or was previously in) the Rule Book that passengers should be detrained, but it does happen at certain locations as a scheduled move. Whether that is done with special dispensation or it's no longer in the Rule Book I'm not sure.

It's a scheduled move at places like Crianlarich, Fort William, Dundee, Kilmarnock and possibly others in Scotland. However, I've seen drivers being asked to do it as an unscheduled move and they've insisted on the passengers being detrained first, citing the rule book.
 
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talldave

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In answer to the thread title - no, you have to use a proper train coupler ;)!!!
 
Class455

Class455

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It always happens at Purley with trains to/from Caterham and Tottenham Corner attaching and detaching there and passengers remain onboard the train, but the doors are closed on both units while the attachment and detachments are taking place, not just on the rear unit that's coupling up
 
Jozhua

Jozhua

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Liverpool to Norwich seperates 4 car 158's into two 2 car 158's at Nottingham!

I presume it also couples together again at Nottingham with passengers on board.
 
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swt_passenger

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Jozhua said:
Liverpool to Norwich seperates 4 car 158's into two 2 car 158's at Nottingham!

I presume it also couples together again at Nottingham with passengers on board.
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That’s not quite the same as the OP’s question, one unit will be going out of service, or entering service.
 
FrodshamJnct

FrodshamJnct

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EE Andy b1 said:
Yes Virgin WC Class 221s couple and uncouple with passengers, no problems normally.
It's the best way of serving several destinations using a single path over a particular busy line.
Click to expand...

Yep - this happens at Wolverhampton at 0945 on the Glasgow to Euston (2 x 5-car units couple together).
 
Cheshire Rover

Cheshire Rover

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I've been on a Virgin Voyager at Crewe that has been coupled up to another whilst passengers were on board. They just shut all the doors to prevent anyone boarding or alighting and got on with it.
 
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