All Cross Country trains "Sold Out" this Saturday?

[Howardh]

Trying to get from Birmingham to Manchester and every CC train is sold out, (Sat 19th Aug) according to Northerns ticket engine.
Are they on strike, or is the timetable not ready (engineering?) Otherwise I'll book Avanti or LNW.

Edit: no issues with booking XC on Avanti site...very puzzling why Northern say they're sold out.

 

[Peterthegreat]

Trying to get from Birmingham to Manchester and every CC train is sold out, (Sat 19th Aug) according to Northerns ticket engine.
Are they on strike, or is the timetable not ready (engineering?) Otherwise I'll book Avanti or LNW.

RMT strike on XC on Saturday.

 

[Howardh]

RMT strike on XC on Saturday.

Ok, does that mean all xc trains are cancelled? Note that Avanti booking site have the them as running!

Can use LWM to Crewe then Northern at a push.

 

[Peterthegreat]

Ok, does that mean all xc trains are cancelled? Note that Avanti booking site have the them as running!

Can use LWM to Crewe then Northern at a push.

Not necessarily. At the moment they are assessing what they can run. I suspect a limited service will operate.

 

[Howardh]

Not necessarily. At the moment they are assessing what they can run. I suspect a limited service will operate.

I'll buy a standard return to cover me rather than an advance. If they have a timetable published midweek I'll try and grab an advance + seat.
Pity they say "sold out" rather than "not yet available" with explanation.

 

[Starmill]

Advance tickets are usually not available once a strike has been announced.

 

[Adam Williams]

Pity they say "sold out" rather than "not yet available" with explanation.

Yes, it's very poor at the moment the amount of information that's provided to customers under these circumstances.

 

[mikeg]

Dont say XC are jumping on the semi compulsory reservation bandwagon too? It seems they are. This is getting ridiculous.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Dont say XC are jumping on the semi compulsory reservation bandwagon too? It seems they are. This is getting ridiculous.

Not normally, they have just done it for the strike so they can block sales until they know what they are selling.

 

[Howardh]

So if I get myself a straightforward return (any Off Peak train) if XC do turn up I'm good to board? And can I do Birmingham > Manchester via Rugeley - would that be allowed?

 

[Bletchleyite]

So if I get myself a straightforward return (any Off Peak train) if XC do turn up I'm good to board? \

Yes (also true of the TOCs that claim compulsory reservation - the only one it's not true of is the Caledonian Sleeper where you are likely to be turned away if you didn't reserve). Just no guarantee that what runs will be what is presently in the planners.

And can I do Birmingham > Manchester via Rugeley - would that be allowed?

Don't know, but what itinerary were you thinking of? There are no direct trains from Rugeley to Manchester.

If you want to know if something is Permitted get an itinerary for it on NRE using via points and check it doesn't say you need multiple tickets, but make sure what you're checking is exactly what you're going to do.

 

[Howardh]

Yes (also true of the TOCs that claim compulsory reservation - the only one it's not true of is the Caledonian Sleeper where you are likely to be turned away if you didn't reserve). Just no guarantee that what runs will be what is presently in the planners.



Don't know, but what itinerary were you thinking of? There are no direct trains from Rugeley to Manchester.

If you want to know if something is Permitted get an itinerary for it on NRE using via points and check it doesn't say you need multiple tickets, but make sure what you're checking is exactly what you're going to do.

Looking at the map, Birmingham - Rugeley via Walsall then Crewe and change to Manchester. Thinking trains might not be as busy going that way rather than direct to Crewe or Manchester. menas changing twice, but Avanti want me to do that Birmingham/Stafford/Crewe so still two changes (if there's no XC alternative).

West Midlands rail map

https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/media/4052/download?inline

 

[Bletchleyite]

Looking at the map, Birmingham - Rugeley via Walsall then Crewe and change to Manchester. Thinking trains might not be as busy going that way rather than direct to Crewe or Manchester. menas changing twice, but Avanti want me to do that Birmingham/Stafford/Crewe so still two changes (if there's no XC alternative).

West Midlands rail map

https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/media/4052/download?inline

I'd go with Birmingham-Crewe direct on LNR. These are hourly 8 car sets and start at New St so you can board early to ensure a seat. The Trent Valley LNR service can get quite busy.

It does appear Rugeley is permitted, though. Try searching on NRE for "via Rugeley Town", but not this week as there's engineering work, I'm struggling to get it to display this week, but I randomly selected Thursday 21st September and it does. xx15 arriving (xx+2)44 changing at Rugeley TV and Crewe.

 

[boiledbeans2]

Does anyone know roughly what service level will be running on the Reading - Birmingham section for XC?

I was planning a trip out this Saturday 19 August, as it's the first Saturday for a long time without any sort of industrial action (ASOS or 7am-7pm timetable). Turns out it's not the case.

The backup would be GWR + Chiltern, but I expect those services would be rammed if XC don't run anything.

Luckily, I haven't bought any tickets yet so I can still change my plans.

 

[Snow1964]

Pity they say "sold out" rather than "not yet available" with explanation.

That's my gripe too.

Sold out implies don't bother to look later, as will not be anything further added.

 

[Watershed]

So if I get myself a straightforward return (any Off Peak train) if XC do turn up I'm good to board?

Yes - as with other TOCs who've instituted fake "compulsory" reservations, if you can physically fit on the train, you're good to go!

And can I do Birmingham > Manchester via Rugeley - would that be allowed?

Yes, that's permitted. Changing at Lichfield, Tamworth or even Nuneaton is also permitted. Changing at Nuneaton isn't as silly as it might sound, as there's now a direct Avanti train each hour to Manchester (via Stoke) calling there throughout most of the day. This stop was introduced in the December timetable change.

That being said, changing at Crewe for a fast train to Manchester (no need to use a Northern stopper - Avanti and TfW will still be running normally) is likely to be the quickest option, other than any direct XC services that happen to be running. There are 2 fast(ish) trains an hour from Birmingham to Crewe, and from Crewe to Manchester.

 

[Howardh]

Yes - as with other TOCs who've instituted fake "compulsory" reservations, if you can physically fit on the train, you're good to go!


Yes, that's permitted. Changing at Lichfield, Tamworth or even Nuneaton is also permitted. Changing at Nuneaton isn't as silly as it might sound, as there's now a direct Avanti train each hour to Manchester (via Stoke) calling there throughout most of the day. This stop was introduced in the December timetable change.

That being said, changing at Crewe for a fast train to Manchester (no need to use a Northern stopper - Avanti and TfW will still be running normally) is likely to be the quickest option, other than any direct XC services that happen to be running. There are 2 fast(ish) trains an hour from Birmingham to Crewe, and from Crewe to Manchester.

Sounds like I'll get home then! Thanks!

 

[Alex365Dash]

Sounds like I'll get home then! Thanks!

XC have indicated that direct Birmingham - Manchester services will still run that day hourly from 0701-1701.

Does anyone know roughly what service level will be running on the Reading - Birmingham section for XC?

I was planning a trip out this Saturday 19 August, as it's the first Saturday for a long time without any sort of industrial action (ASOS or 7am-7pm timetable). Turns out it's not the case.

Mostly hourly, first train from Reading 0715-1615 last (0815 starts Oxford 0839, 1114 & 1214 run 1 minute earlier).

Hourly in the other direction, first train from Birmingham is at 0703-1603 last (0703 terminates at Oxford, some services continue to Southampton bi-hourly).

 

[boiledbeans2]

Mostly hourly, first train from Reading 0715-1615 last (0815 starts Oxford 0839, 1114 & 1214 run 1 minute earlier).

Hourly in the other direction, first train from Birmingham is at 0703-1603 last (0703 terminates at Oxford, some services continue to Southampton bi-hourly).

Many thanks, so a fairly normal service on the Reading - Birmingham section, except that it ends rather early.




========== Auto-merge has merged my post above (posted on 15/9) and the post below (posted on 20/9) ==========

Many thanks, so a fairly normal service on the Reading - Birmingham section, except that it ends rather early.

Travelled on XC this Saturday. To XC's credit, at least they operated 9-car trains on the Reading - Manchester route, so it wasn't so bad.

Though on the return journey, as it was after XC had shut down, it was a long and slow journey back home on the Chiltern and then GWR stopping service. During the 1 hour wait while changing trains at Oxford, I overheard a passenger talking on the phone, saying that next time she'd drive instead!