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Avanti WC down the pan again

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SCDR_WMR

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Was the 'incident' on the main line, or the Euston - Watford d.c. line? If it was on the main line, why was the d.c. line also affected - and vice versa?
It was on the Up Fast Mainline, the person was hit at linespeed and therefore forensics needed access to all lines for a portion of the time simply due to the potential 'spread' of the impact.
 
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It was on the Up Fast Mainline, the person was hit at linespeed and therefore forensics needed access to all lines for a portion of the time simply due to the potential 'spread' of the impact.

Thanks for the quick response. I used to live in that area, so knew it well.
 

leomartin125

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Avanti once again making life difficult for passengers today (29/12) by cutting many services short due to lack of train crew, but the main issue is overcrowding on trains. Many of the Liverpool services today were 9 coaches vice 11, and subsequently were full and standing. I spoke with Avanti on Facebook Messenger about the future of services out of Liverpool and the prospect of these 9 coach 390s becoming 7 coach 807s but they simply didn't want to comment on this stating they have "no information to share at this time" - a very politician like response. Can anyone confirm if the plans for the Liverpool services still stand at reducing the coaches from 9/11 to 7? If so, there will be some dark times ahead as things will only get worse for them...
 

Bletchleyite

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Avanti once again making life difficult for passengers today (29/12) by cutting many services short due to lack of train crew, but the main issue is overcrowding on trains. Many of the Liverpool services today were 9 coaches vice 11, and subsequently were full and standing. I spoke with Avanti on Facebook Messenger about the future of services out of Liverpool and the prospect of these 9 coach 390s becoming 7 coach 807s but they simply didn't want to comment on this stating they have "no information to share at this time" - a very politician like response. Can anyone confirm if the plans for the Liverpool services still stand at reducing the coaches from 9/11 to 7? If so, there will be some dark times ahead as things will only get worse for them...

It's supposed to be 2tph, I forget if it was both 7 or one 7 and one 9, but the idea is a capacity increase.
 

Huntergreed

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It's supposed to be 2tph, I forget if it was both 7 or one 7 and one 9, but the idea is a capacity increase.
I’m fairly sure it was one 7 and one 9, with the first stop Liverpool South Parkway being the 7 and the first stop Runcorn being a 9 (or 11).
 

Boodiggy

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It was on the Up Fast Mainline, the person was hit at linespeed and therefore forensics needed access to all lines for a portion of the time simply due to the potential 'spread' of the impact.
Also stops passengers on DC trains seeing anything upsetting.
 

leomartin125

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It's supposed to be 2tph, I forget if it was both 7 or one 7 and one 9, but the idea is a capacity increase.
Capacity increase, like the Victoria line introducing an extra train per hour and shortening each train to 7 coaches. I'm not sure that will have the effect that Avanti think it will have, perhaps you just end up with two overcrowded trains rather than just one. Any idea when the 2TPH will be coming into place? Next May? Next December? Or undecided?
I’m fairly sure it was one 7 and one 9, with the first stop Liverpool South Parkway being the 7 and the first stop Runcorn being a 9 (or 11).
I've heard Liverpool South Parkway be mentioned a few times, would be interesting to see Avanti stop there as they are usually pathed in following a TPE from Saltburn/Cleethorpes that also stops there. Not entirely sure that Liverpool John Lennon has the demand that warrants Avanti to stop there also, I rarely ever see people at that station with luggage to signify that they have just flown in or are about to fly out. I am just hoping that the evidence that shows that today's trains of 9/11 cars being overcrowded proves a point that reducing the number of carriages will definitely not have a positive impact.

Many thanks for your help guys!
 

SCDR_WMR

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I rarely ever see people at that station with luggage to signify that they have just flown in or are about to fly out. I am just hoping that the evidence that shows that today's trains of 9/11 cars being overcrowded proves a point that reducing the number of carriages will definitely not have a positive impact.
You've not been on my trains then! Whilst it's never busy when compared to say Manchester Airport or Birmingham International stations, a good amount of people use LNWR services in both directions with luggage, though mostly small carry-on type luggage rather than multiple large cases
 

Jamesrob637

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I’m due to do a meeting in London next month. An advanced single there and back is less than £150 and a travelodge is around £80. An anytime return is just shy of £400, so my attitude is that if I go down the day before and have a night in a hotel, I arrive fresh and relaxed and ready to go, not frazzled from using the British transport system and I’ve still saved the company nearly £170. I can’t do Teams calls or phone calls from the train, but I can’t do teams in the car either. I can do email, research, training or various other tasks, so productivity wise, the train edges the car out. Hence, I only travel in work time, unless there’s a chance of getting home at a reasonable time!

Good call: hope you have a good trip. Might even be the same week as my trip!
 

Peter0124

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What time will the second London-Liverpool depart (currently xx:43), as the xx:13 is taken by Manchester, and a xx:16 by Birmingham.
 

AndrewE

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I was going to say "look at RTT:" until a month or two ago they had an hourly "Q" path in from Liverpool to Euston for Avanti, either calling at LPY or with 3 minutes pathing time there... but most have vanished now.
See https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C27722/2024-02-21/detailed for a surviving example.

I am deeply pessimistic about Liverpool either getting a second train an hour or even getting a guaranteed 11-car pendolinos once an hour!
With the LNR trains all being only 4-cars now (the ones I saw on Weds, mostly F&S) we know which bit of the UK the DfT doesn' give a toss about...
 

SCDR_WMR

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I was going to say "look at RTT:" until a month or two ago they had an hourly "Q" path in from Liverpool to Euston for Avanti, either calling at LPY or with 3 minutes pathing time there... but most have vanished now.
See https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C27722/2024-02-21/detailed for a surviving example.

I am deeply pessimistic about Liverpool either getting a second train an hour or even getting a guaranteed 11-car pendolinos once an hour!
With the LNR trains all being only 4-cars now (the ones I saw on Weds, mostly F&S) we know which bit of the UK the DfT doesn' give a toss about...
LNWR is a mix of 4 and 8 depending on the day/time. I'm working an 8 car right now.
 

AndrewE

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LNWR is a mix of 4 and 8 depending on the day/time. I'm working an 8 car right now.
that's really useful (at 2300 on a weekday/non-bank holiday) evening.

I bet the people fighting to get off the 4-car 1234 BHM-LIV on Wednesday would have been be pleased to know that too, it was 3 minutes overtime at Crewe as people with suitcases fought their way off and then others were still running up and down the train trying to get on long after it should have departed. The only good thing was that it didn't leave anybody behind.

For once I was glad I was going to Chester on a diesel Voyager unit instead!
 

JamesT

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Avanti once again making life difficult for passengers today (29/12) by cutting many services short due to lack of train crew, but the main issue is overcrowding on trains. Many of the Liverpool services today were 9 coaches vice 11, and subsequently were full and standing. I spoke with Avanti on Facebook Messenger about the future of services out of Liverpool and the prospect of these 9 coach 390s becoming 7 coach 807s but they simply didn't want to comment on this stating they have "no information to share at this time" - a very politician like response. Can anyone confirm if the plans for the Liverpool services still stand at reducing the coaches from 9/11 to 7? If so, there will be some dark times ahead as things will only get worse for them...
Are you bearing in mind that each coach of a Class 807 is longer than those of a 390? So despite having two coaches fewer, a 807 has only 16 fewer seats than a 390/0 (453 vs. 469).
 

Peter0124

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Could they get away with having just one first class coach out of the 7 with the rest standard? Even if the end coach was first class plus half of the next coach.
 

SCDR_WMR

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that's really useful (at 2300 on a weekday/non-bank holiday) evening.
It's (was) a Friday night! Very much peak traffic out of Lime St, a 4 car would not have sufficed.

The company can't win can it? Surely Friday-Sunday is when 8 cars ARE needed, no?
 

AndrewE

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It's (was) a Friday night! Very much peak traffic out of Lime St, a 4 car would not have sufficed.

The company can't win can it? Surely Friday-Sunday is when 8 cars ARE needed, no?
It is, I'm afraid that I have lost touch with what day of the week it is over the holiday period! Very glad to hear that some trains are 8-cars, but after my recent observations it seemed that all were now 4. And mostly very full or seriously overcrowded, as i said.
What proportion of those trains that you work are actually 8 cars?
(p.s. neither LNR or TfW seem to show train lengths on RTT, I don't care about actual unit numbers but them not showing this is a pain.)
 

Merseysider

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Going from Birmingham to Oxenholme this afternoon.

1207 cancelled past Crewe.
1307 “sold out” - so anyone on the other cancelled trains may be put off.
1407 cancelled.
1507 (my train!) actually running
1607 cancelled.
1707 cancelled past Preston.

Yet National Rail is stating “Avanti: Good service”

Good luck anyone travelling with Avanti today… :lol:
 

dk1

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Going from Birmingham to Oxenholme this afternoon.

1207 cancelled past Crewe.
1307 “sold out” - so anyone on the other cancelled trains may be put off.
1407 cancelled.
1507 (my train!) actually running
1607 cancelled.
1707 cancelled past Preston.

Yet National Rail is stating “Avanti: Good service”

Good luck anyone travelling with Avanti today… :lol:

Buy an extra Lottery ticket lol
 

leomartin125

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Are you bearing in mind that each coach of a Class 807 is longer than those of a 390? So despite having two coaches fewer, a 807 has only 16 fewer seats than a 390/0 (453 vs. 469).
That's good to know that an already full and standing 390/0 Pendolino will be replaced by a train that, by your own admission, has "16 fewer seats than a 390/0" and therefore, unless they double the frequency and the opposite train is a 390/0 or 390/1, we will end up with more severe overcrowding than we have now.
 

AJDesiro

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That's good to know that an already full and standing 390/0 Pendolino will be replaced by a train that, by your own admission, has "16 fewer seats than a 390/0" and therefore, unless they double the frequency and the opposite train is a 390/0 or 390/1, we will end up with more severe overcrowding than we have now.
According to the NRC, an 807 has 374 seats in standard and 40 seats in first class. A 390/0 has 370 seats in standard, and 99 seats in first class (so an 807 has more standard class seats than a 390/0), so for the vast majority of passengers, there are actually more seats in standard on an 807 (it's also worth noting that 143m of an 807 is standard class, with 144m of a 390/0 being standard class).

If/when the planned increase to 2tph on Liverpool happens, it will be run by an 807 (for the one that stops at South Parkway, i.e. the current regular path), and a 390 (on a new path, stopping at Runcorn, Lichfield T.V. and Tamworth). This gives a total capacity of 744 standard class seats per hour, and 139 first class seats per hour, which is, of course, a rather major increase in capacity, and will certainly be welcomed.
 

AndrewE

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TfW does have KYT (Know your train) and therefore RTT does show carriage numbers for TfW.
so it does... maybe there was a glitch the last time I was looking for the TfW info.
Anyway, I agree that Avanti are crap. Cancellations, starting or terminating short everywhere is just not good enough on the Premier Line. I wonder what the economic cost to the country is of all this?

Like TPE with its silly minimalist route knowledge strategy, the Avanti concentration on so few depots is also a catastrophe. Using staff from a depot at Carlisle might be slightly less "efficient" and more "expensive" in the short term, but we can see the consequences of the current policy almost all of the time nowadays. I think the penalties for not running timetabled trains should be really punitive, but of course it would only be the taxpayer that loses out anyway! (as AWC staffing seems to be governed by the Treasury.)
 

SCDR_WMR

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so it does... maybe there was a glitch the last time I was looking for the TfW info.
Anyway, I agree that Avanti are crap. Cancellations, starting or terminating short everywhere is just not good enough on the Premier Line. I wonder what the economic cost to the country is of all this?

Like TPE with its silly minimalist route knowledge strategy, the Avanti concentration on so few depots is also a catastrophe. Using staff from a depot at Carlisle might be slightly less "efficient" and more "expensive" in the short term, but we can see the consequences of the current policy almost all of the time nowadays. I think the penalties for not running timetabled trains should be really punitive, but of course it would only be the taxpayer that loses out anyway! (as AWC staffing seems to be governed by the Treasury.)
Exactly this, given the rather large sum spend on crew accommodation at Crewe which had been ready to go for some time, yet cannot be opened, Avanti should be in a better position than they currently are.

The Crewe depot would presumably have helped to release Preston staff to work north where the don't currently during disruption
 

Llandudno

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According to the NRC, an 807 has 374 seats in standard and 40 seats in first class. A 390/0 has 370 seats in standard, and 99 seats in first class (so an 807 has more standard class seats than a 390/0), so for the vast majority of passengers, there are actually more seats in standard on an 807 (it's also worth noting that 143m of an 807 is standard class, with 144m of a 390/0 being standard class).

If/when the planned increase to 2tph on Liverpool happens, it will be run by an 807 (for the one that stops at South Parkway, i.e. the current regular path), and a 390 (on a new path, stopping at Runcorn, Lichfield T.V. and Tamworth). This gives a total capacity of 744 standard class seats per hour, and 139 first class seats per hour, which is, of course, a rather major increase in capacity, and will certainly be welcomed.
2 trains per hour to/from Liverpool will definitely be welcome - but will it actually happen!
 

RailWonderer

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Really? Worse than charging £400 for a ticket then cancelling two consecutive trains and cancelling the last train back and making no alternative provision and making people, who have already paid £400, pay more to sort themselves out? Standing is a problem many train travellers dream of.
That's not good either but at least you get delay repay plus a taxi journey paid for.

so it does... maybe there was a glitch the last time I was looking for the TfW info.
Anyway, I agree that Avanti are crap. Cancellations, starting or terminating short everywhere is just not good enough on the Premier Line. I wonder what the economic cost to the country is of all this?

Like TPE with its silly minimalist route knowledge strategy, the Avanti concentration on so few depots is also a catastrophe. Using staff from a depot at Carlisle might be slightly less "efficient" and more "expensive" in the short term, but we can see the consequences of the current policy almost all of the time nowadays. I think the penalties for not running timetabled trains should be really punitive, but of course it would only be the taxpayer that loses out anyway! (as AWC staffing seems to be governed by the Treasury.)
Reliability through increased depots and driver route knowledge has to be recognised as a crucial way to increase resilience and reliability in the timetable, but the DfT far as I am aware see cost savings as more important than running a functioning service. It's funny how the money supposedly freed from HS2 has disappeared.
 
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jagardner1984

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There was reference upthread to a “one and back” from virgin days. So is a standard working day for an Avanti driver or TM based at Polmadie

ECS to Glasgow
GLC to PRE
Break
PRE to GLC
Either ECS to Polmadie or some other transport back there ?

It would seem rather more efficient to keep people closer to their home bases and do a couple more workings, but perhaps there reasons why this doesn’t make sense ?
 
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