Could anything be done to improve the reliability of the 7:12 Guildford to London Bridge?

[infobleep]

Could anything be done to improve the reliability of the 7:12 Guildford to London Bridge, without scrapping it or changing its starting point to somewhere else?

In the last 100 days it has not run fully between Guildford and London Bridge, if in a few rare cases at all, 15 times.

It's arrival within 5 minutes of its arrival time is 49%. Most wouldn't go that way to London Bridge but if you use Sutton as the destination instead it becomes only 14. However, if you start it at Effingham Junction then it shoots up to only 5 that didn't get to London Bridge or 4 that didn't reach Sutton.

In contrast the 6:39 Guildford to London Bridge has only had 2 cancellations.

If the 6:39 is cancelled you can get the 6:58 and change at Epsom. If the 7:12 is cancelled, the next train to Epsom isn't until 7:58, as there is no 7:28 to Epsom. The alternative is the 7:10 to Dorking and changing there, not that it allows you to connect with the 7:12 further up.

The service that makes up the 7:12 should arrive in at 7:06, leaving just 6 minutes to turn it around. Prior to it there is a 7:04 arrival from Waterloo (7:02 in the working timetable). Should this train be 3 or more minutes late, which isn't inconceivable, they mostly terminate the 7:12 short. Today it departed Effingham Junction on time but due to the 7:04 running late and losing further time between London Road (Guildford) and Guildford, no doubt due to the 7:03 departure, which at some point needs to cross its path, the 7:06 arrived 3 minutes late. Once 3 minutes late arriving it invariably seems to then depart 4 minutes late at 7:16.

There has been times when the 7:06 arrival has departed Effingham Junction just 2 minutes late and it's been delayed departing Guildford too.

Would it be possible to retime the arriving train at all? The 6:39 is formed off an empty coaching stock service. It's due to arrive in at 6:02 but today arrived in at 5:44, as it did on Monday. So the service has plenty of time to recover from delays, prior to being sent out. Could they do something similar with the 7:06 arrival or are too many other trains in the way?

 

[PHILIPE]

There are a lot of trains up and down the country that fall into this category.

 

[DarloRich]

Yes: Either invest billions in new infrastructure, signalling, stations and trains OR cut the number of trains and persuade fewer people to travel.

I am not trying to be funny saying that but in many places, especially London commuter land, those are the options. The network is full.

 

[infobleep]

Yes: Either invest billions in new infrastructure, signalling, stations and trains OR cut the number of trains and persuade fewer people to travel.

I am not trying to be funny saying that but in many places, especially London commuter land, those are the options. The network is full.

I appreciate it's full but there use to be an 7:22 I, as think it may have been and an 8:12. I'm not sure if they got delayed as much. The issue is the tight turn around times and trains arriving and departing from Guildford that need to cross paths.

I am also sure it occurs elsewhere but I don't travel on those lines so don't have the evidence to hand, so cannot quote examples.

Every time a train gets terminated short it costs some organisation money. Surely the TOCs don't want to keep paying out when this happens. The less they pay in costs for trains stopping short or skipping stations the better.

I appreciate this isn't South Western Railway but Mark Hopwood of that company did say they wish to end skip stopping. He also said it wouldn't happen overnight.

I can't see how they can do this but he made the claim and I'd hope he and others know more than myself in such matters.

I don't know or can't remember if the Southern timetable changes into Guildford were worked around the revised South Western Railway timetable that never happened so far.

 

[MontyP]

Cut it back to Sutton or Epsom? Journeys from every other station west of there are quicker via Waterloo. How many through passengers use these oddities that are left over from the days of a far less frequent service?

 

[swt_passenger]

Cut it back to Sutton or Epsom? Journeys from every other station west of there are quicker via Waterloo. How many through passengers use these oddities that are left over from the days of a far less frequent service?

We had a thread a couple of years ago with an SWR insider predicting complete withdrawal of these because they couldn’t fit into the future SWR timetable, and I’m sure diversion to somewhere like Epsom Downs was mentioned.

 

[infobleep]

Cut it back to Sutton or Epsom? Journeys from every other station west of there are quicker via Waterloo. How many through passengers use these oddities that are left over from the days of a far less frequent service?

There are a few who travel to places like Sutton or Epsom and I'd hate to see the services go without a 7:28 Guildford to Waterloo via Epsom replacement. Saying that there isn't an 8:28 Guildford to Waterloo via Epsom service.

I use to houseshare with someone who commuted to Croydon and they use to get the old trains to West Croydon. At that stage I think only a handful remained. Not much fun for them when one was cancelled.

I was kind of expecting the London Bridge trains to go but then I was expecting a different SWR timetable and maybe because that didn't happen yet they remain. I like the fact they are still running but accept it probably won't be forever.

 

[TEW]

We had a thread a couple of years ago with an SWR insider predicting complete withdrawal of these because they couldn’t fit into the future SWR timetable, and I’m sure diversion to somewhere like Epsom Downs was mentioned.

I think Dorking would be the most likely place they would be diverted to, some of the other peak time London Bridge trains already extend there.

 

[swt_passenger]

I think Dorking would be the most likely place they would be diverted to, some of the other peak time London Bridge trains already extend there.

That would presumably be better to keep interchange at Epsom possible.

 

[London Trains]

Cut it back to Sutton or Epsom? Journeys from every other station west of there are quicker via Waterloo. How many through passengers use these oddities that are left over from the days of a far less frequent service?

Not sure cutting it back would work, given it is part of the regular timetable between Epsom and London Bridge. Running it from Dorking with the addition of a 7:28 Guildford to Waterloo via Epsom which would have cross platform connections at Epsom would make the most sense.

 

[infobleep]

Not sure cutting it back would work, given it is part of the regular timetable between Epsom and London Bridge. Running it from Dorking with the addition of a 7:28 Guildford to Waterloo via Epsom which would have cross platform connections at Epsom would make the most sense.

It just needs South Western Railway to have the ability to run a 7:28 or maybe it doesn't, given these previously two moved Southern trains in the timetable and no South Western Railway 8:28 existing, let alone a 7:28. I do appreciate it was probably done with the intention of South Western Railway having made the timetable changes the didn't happen.

It's all academic right now as shortly it will probably not run for other more pressing reasons. It was 3 minutes late departing today, 3 yesterday and 2 on Tuesday. On Monday it started short at Effingham Junction. All this and a reduction in the number of passengers travelling.