• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Are there any examples where an alternative route is taken if the service is delayed enough?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Ze Random One

Member
Joined
30 Apr 2011
Messages
213
Thameslink Sevenoaks services are often diverted via Orpington if there are delays.
This can recover 10-15 minutes.
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Parallel

Established Member
Joined
9 Dec 2013
Messages
3,927
Very occasionally GWR high speed services divert between Reading and Taunton if running late, not calling at Bristol, Bath, Chippenham and Swindon. This is rare but I have seen it reported on JourneyCheck a couple of times.
 

Llama

Established Member
Joined
29 Apr 2014
Messages
1,955
Northern Calder Valley trains sometimes also sent up to Halifax to reverse, to go to/from Leeds via Greetland.
 

mm333

Member
Joined
28 Aug 2008
Messages
567
Location
53.8331°N 1.7734°W
The 2330 LNER from Kings Cross-Leeds is booked to go a circuitous route (taking 50 minutes) round West Yorkshire after leaving Doncaster. If it's running late and the main line through Wakefield Westgate is open, it can be sent that way, which takes 25-30 minutes.
 

AMD

Member
Joined
6 Dec 2017
Messages
604
Liverpool to Manchester (Cheshire Lines) services can and have been diverted over the Chat Moss route.
West coast services can be diverted in the Glasgow area - via Kings Park which avoids Rutherglen and via Holytown which avoids Motherwell.
 

snookertam

Member
Joined
22 Sep 2018
Messages
774
Liverpool to Manchester (Cheshire Lines) services can and have been diverted over the Chat Moss route.
West coast services can be diverted in the Glasgow area - via Kings Park which avoids Rutherglen and via Holytown which avoids Motherwell.

Unlikely to run via Kings Park if late as WCML is quicker, although would do so if any blockages on the WCML via Rutherglen. Out of interest someone might know which drivers know that diversionary route - is it only Glasgow drivers or do Preston drivers sign it too?

Late services to/from Dumbarton Central, Balloch and Helensburgh may on occasion divert via Yoker or Singer when late if path lost on own booked route.
 

Silverlinky

Member
Joined
3 Feb 2012
Messages
680
LM/LNR trains south of Rugby to Euston can skip the Northampton loop if delayed too far. It probably happens more now the services often start from Liverpool/Rugeley.

This is actually a very rare occurrence, in fact I haven't heard of a diversion due to late running for a long time. It is more likely they are diverted that way due to problems between Rugby and Northampton on the "new line".

The issues are that a large number of these services have a crew change at Northampton, and the fact that no Birmingham, Coventry or Crewe Drivers sign the route via Weedon. Only Bletchley and Northampton Drivers sign this route.
 

edwin_m

Veteran Member
Joined
21 Apr 2013
Messages
24,793
Location
Nottingham
A few years ago I was on a Nottingham-Leeds, bridge strike at Chesterfield so rang my colleagues to say I'd be late. It was diverted from the scheduled Barnsley route to run non-stop via South Kirkby and went from about 20min late to moreorless on time on arrival.
 

Philip

On Moderation
Joined
27 May 2007
Messages
3,646
Location
Manchester
Here's one...supposing there is a signal failure at Hazel Grove, blocking both lines whatever the cause. Would trains arriving from the Disley Tunnel route take the original route via Cheadle Heath and then reverse at Northenden Junction in order to access Stockport?
 

Tomnick

Established Member
Joined
10 Jun 2005
Messages
5,826
Here's one...supposing there is a signal failure at Hazel Grove, blocking both lines whatever the cause. Would trains arriving from the Disley Tunnel route take the original route via Cheadle Heath and then reverse at Northenden Junction in order to access Stockport?
I doubt there’s many, if any, passenger drivers who sign the route that way, nor would it be justified for the relatively tiny probability of a problem occurring on the relatively short section between Hazel Grove and Edgeley. Diverting via Romiley is the normal way out of it, with plenty of options to get passengers to/from Stockport.
 

Tetchytyke

Veteran Member
Joined
12 Sep 2013
Messages
13,305
Location
Isle of Man
After fatalities/knitting collapses on the ECML north of Newcastle I've seen HSTs get diverted via Carlisle.
 

Scotrail314209

Established Member
Joined
1 Feb 2017
Messages
2,346
Location
Edinburgh
Unlikely to run via Kings Park if late as WCML is quicker, although would do so if any blockages on the WCML via Rutherglen. Out of interest someone might know which drivers know that diversionary route - is it only Glasgow drivers or do Preston drivers sign it too?

Late services to/from Dumbarton Central, Balloch and Helensburgh may on occasion divert via Yoker or Singer when late if path lost on own booked route.

I believe Preston also sign it as there have been diversions through there on a Saturday, and a near normal service has ran. Another one is that they will divert via Hamilton if there are any issues through Uddingston.
 

greyman42

Established Member
Joined
14 Aug 2017
Messages
4,894
The 2200 Kings Cross - Newcastle usually takes a 'diversion' between Doncaster and York through Knottingley and Church Fenton. If it is significantly late it takes the direct route providing there is no engineering taking place.
 

driver_m

Established Member
Joined
8 Nov 2011
Messages
2,248
WCML Scottish services via New St will go via the Trent Valley if they are badly delayed in order to get to their end destination on time or just slightly late.
 

mp01

Member
Joined
20 Jun 2010
Messages
132
Often happens on the Cardiff Valley Lines if there is a problem or congestion which sees trains between Radyr and Cardiff Central and vice versa that should run via Llandaf diverted via the City Line.
As happened this evening when a train broke down at Cathays.
 

dgl

Established Member
Joined
5 Oct 2014
Messages
2,390
Not very regular at all but at least one train was routed via Westbury and Yeovil Pen Mill when the WoE line was closed west of Salisbury last week.
 

satisnek

Member
Joined
5 Sep 2014
Messages
886
Location
Kidderminster/Mercia Marina
Doesn't LM serve Stone once an hour in each direction? Are passengers at the station forced to wait for another hour if LM service skips that station?
Stone is the one station which loses out - there are XC services between Stafford and Stoke, while EMT offer an alternative for stations from Stoke to Crewe inclusive. That's why I mentioned in another thread that Stone must have the UK's Worst Train Service. Rugeley Town may top it but the difference is that it's not the only station serving Rugeley.
If there are problems at Oxford/on the Cotswold Line - or a train has been badly delayed leaving London or Hereford and will hamper the paths of other services on single-line sections of the Cotswold Line - services between Worcester and London are sometimes diverted to run non-stop between Reading and Worcester via Swindon, Stroud and Cheltenham.

These miss out stops at Oxford and various stations between there and Worcester Shrub Hill, depending on the calling pattern of the service in question, but some diverted trains have been known to make a special stop at Didcot Parkway to allow Oxford passengers to change trains there, if this can be done without delaying other services.
Never experienced this, sounds like fun!

The other week an XC service from Nottingham ran directly from Beeston to Willington via the Donington route (apparently as a result of a points failure, so I don't know whether it was to make up time or because it had no choice). Passengers for Derby were instructed to leap across to a northbound service at Burton, which arrived simultaneously. Those already at Derby presumably had to catch a later train.
 

Tomnick

Established Member
Joined
10 Jun 2005
Messages
5,826
The other week an XC service from Nottingham ran directly from Beeston to Willington via the Donington route (apparently as a result of a points failure, so I don't know whether it was to make up time or because it had no choice). Passengers for Derby were instructed to leap across to a northbound service at Burton, which arrived simultaneously. Those already at Derby presumably had to catch a later train.
There was one that did that, in the early evening IIRC, a couple of weeks ago. If it was the same one, it was due to a points failure at Sheet Stores Jn., no normal detection in the facing points, so no access towards Derby.
 

satisnek

Member
Joined
5 Sep 2014
Messages
886
Location
Kidderminster/Mercia Marina
There was one that did that, in the early evening IIRC, a couple of weeks ago. If it was the same one, it was due to a points failure at Sheet Stores Jn., no normal detection in the facing points, so no access towards Derby.
Yes, that was the one. Thinking about it, it would have been the Bank Holiday Monday. It was shown as running a few minutes late at Willington but turned up more or less on time.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top