Casualties of COVID - the emergency cuts of the 20s

[Mitch in Notts]

Whitwell and Langwith & Whaley Thorns are now only served by alternate Robin Hood Trains with a bus substitute calling at the missing hour.

 

[DelW]

On the Portsmouth direct, normal 3tph (2 fast, 1 stopper) has been cut to 2tph (1 of each) for the foreseeable future. (IIRC when SWR took over, they promised 4tph, but if so it never happened).

Travelling by train is a pretty miserable experience at the moment - not just the service cuts but masks, the hectoring tone, being ordered around like a recalcitrant 6 year old - you must wear masks at all times, keep left, don't sit there, no there's no catering etc. The roads are quiet, much nicer to go by car instead!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Unsurprisingly looks like TPE's South Pennine won't be going to Manchester Airport any time soon. There never were all that many going through and I wonder if this will be a longer term casualty of COVID. Until more return to flying it will hardly matter and must make it easier to operate a reliable service over the normally busier rest of the route.

Thank goodness for that.

I have a suggestion for a casualty of COVID to go with that - mothball the Ordsall Chord (run a Parly over it or something to keep it open for later when P15/16 have been built). It has literally caused nothing but trouble.

8tphpd on Castlefield, and it might be reliable again.

 

[geoffk]

I don’t see why, it’s a natural place for the services via Hyde Central to terminate, which is no doubt partly why an odd stub has managed to survive in the first place.

As hs been said elsewhere, Rose Hill via Bredbury is a possibility for tram train (but almost certainly not an official policy), with New Mills/Sheffield trains rerouted via Hyde.