Combine that with the stabling points, The depots can be at the extreme ends of lines and therefore if you don't run trains that far, you also struggle to get staff back 'home' and get trains stabled overnight.
100% agree with this. It often puts me off using Merseyrail. I appreciate leaf fall might need some extra time but they have put so much padding into the timetable that you are often early. Chester doesn't need another platform, 7B works perfectly when Merseyrail plans their timetables properly.
It isn't 8tph in the peaks that I know of. Stays the same through the day at 6tph and reduces to 4 tph at night.
Merseyside passes are valid on all of the Merseyrail network but passes issued outside of Merseyside can only be used on the buses.
There's an operational argument that depots on commuter-type routes should be at the outer ends because most of the trains leaving the depot in the morning will be taking people into the city so will go straight into service, with vice versa applying in the evening. It's also more likely that crews will be living in suburban areas (or at least was before London prices went crazy). But I suspect the cost and difficulty of finding a suitable site outweighs any operational issues.
It also gives the maximum number of Merseyrail passengers direct links to longer-distance services at South Parkway.
Also the airport
Could this be done by making the overcrowded 17:15 from Liverpool limited stop from Birkenhead to Hooton, thus moving passengers for the intermediate stations from that train onto the quieter trains either side? I realise it would just catch up the stopper in front, the idea isn't about running a fast Chester per se but to manage the crowds.
) but I would only support these if they could be wholly overlaid, i.e. they didn't require any adjustment whatsoever to the base Takt, not even a minute here or there. This might work by sending them out 1 minute in front of the "base" service. But then if you're going to do that (which means you've got a spare unit to do it) you might as well just couple them together and run a 6/8 car service instead.
Doors opening both sides might be an issue on a 3rd rail line, unless the 777s have the same extending steps that the Anglian Stadler units have. It would still potentially increase the risk of trap & drag incidents too.
Yes, that might make some sense (though there's now the TfW service if you want to do Liverpool-Chester quicker) but Merseyrail demonstrates the benefits of a consistent, simple, all day Takt (you basically have to remember one number and be able to add multiples of 15 to it and it gives you the entire timetable including connections, pretty much) and I would not be in support of anything that weakened that.
The one thing I'd possibly concede to would be a few semifast peak extras as the Swiss do (the land of the Takt
And will boom when eventually through services to North Wales and Shrewsbury/Cardiff are introduced
I was surprised by how quickly it had picked up. I certainly prefer it to Merseyrail because it's more scenic and it feels faster with you not stopping every 30 seconds. Much more interesting sights. I do wish the Saveaway was valid on it, even if it was sold as a Saveaway + TFW via Runcorn as then I would use it a lot more. When going on a Saveaway day in Merseyside, I am stuck and have to use Merseyrail.
