Drop in passenger numbers sees train services cut

[Class 170101]

Are there any stations that will get a better service than normal during emergency timetable operation?

Weeley gets an hourly service to London according to someone elsewhere on this board. (Usually only one or two daily).

 

[Class 170101]

Northern for Monday has a much larger list:

https://media.northernrailway.co.uk/news/coronavirus-travel-information

Monday 23 March:

All services on the following routes cancelled unless otherwise stated:

• Liverpool – Blackpool
• Blackpool – Manchester Airport
• Liverpool – Manchester Airport
• Liverpool – Wigan now 1 train per hour
• Liverpool – Manchester Oxford Road reduced to 1 train per hour
• Liverpool - Warrington Bank Quay
• Preston – Manchester Victoria
• Morecambe – Lancaster (replacement bus in operation)
• Some cancellations will take place on services from Manchester Piccadilly to the following destinations - Hadfield, Buxton and Rose Hill
• Full Manchester Piccadilly – Stoke (fully cancelled)
• Full Manchester Piccadilly – New Mills (Sheffield services will also stop at Belle Vue, Ryder Brow and Strines)
• Leeds to Harrogate FAST services
• Leeds to Nottingham services (replacement buses to operate Dronfield to Nottingham)
• Leeds to Manchester Victoria cancelled, in addition, all Leeds – Chester services will now start and finish at Manchester Victoria. Manchester Victoria - Leeds via Bradford and Wigan - Leeds via Dewsbury will continue to operate.
• Sheffield to Gainsborough Central (Leeds to Lincoln services will make additional stops along the route)
• Sheffield to Doncaster XX25 departure
• Darlington to Saltburn
• Newcastle to Carlisle FAST services
• Hull to Bridlington (to be served by Scarborough services instead)
• Leeds to Lancaster
• Leeds to Knaresborough XX59 services (leaving the XX29 Leeds to York and LNER Harrogate services)
• Leeds to Sheffield FAST services
• Leeds to Lincoln services to run between Sheffield and Lincoln only
• Huddersfield to Castleford
• Huddersfield to Bradford Interchange
• Sheffield – York Cancelled
• Doncaster to Scunthorpe reduced to two hourly
• Newcastle to Morpeth and Chathill (replacement bus to operate)
• First and last services of the day withdrawn on the Whitby branch

Northern really don't help themeselves do they?

If Avanti and TPE can co-operate north of Preston why couldn't Northern asked EMT to serve all stations between Sheffield and Nottingham rather than EMT pass through and Northern run a bus?

The same for Doncaster to Scunthorpe with TPE?

As for LNER services between Leeds and Harrogate they have been cancelled so why Northern think thy are running I don't know.

 

[andyc20050]

From Monday 23 March until Friday 27 March

There will be an amended Saturday timetable across Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern with a reduced half-hourly timetable on Gatwick Express.

Additional Changes on Southern

Therer will be a reduced service between:

• Brighton and Lewes - there will be other services running for customers.
• Brighton and Southampton - customers travelling between Havant and Southampton may need to change at Havant or Fratton. Please check the journey planner before you travel.
• Epsom to London Bridge services - you'll need to change at Sutton for Thameslink services into Blackfriars, or travel with South Western Railway into London Waterloo, changing for London Underground services towards London Bridge

 

[Kite159]

Weeley gets an hourly service to London according to someone elsewhere on this board. (Usually only one or two daily).

You could add in all the stations between Colchester & Thorpe-le-Soken (excluding Wivenhoe) as getting an hourly service to London instead of the usual shuttle to Colchester from Walton.

 

[30907]

Northern really don't help themeselves do they?

If Avanti and TPE can co-operate north of Preston why couldn't Northern asked EMT to serve all stations between Sheffield and Nottingham rather than EMT pass through and Northern run a bus?

The same for Doncaster to Scunthorpe with TPE?

As for LNER services between Leeds and Harrogate they have been cancelled so why Northern think thy are running I don't know.

Major problem with Northern is translating their summary into traveller-friendly mode. Possibly they are also struggling to keep anywhere near on top of things, let alone other operators' services.
That said, the volume of cancellations (seemingly affecting everywhere bar Cumbria and Leeds NW) puzzles me.

BTW:
EMT are serving all stations SHF-NOT 2-hourly as you suggest.
TPE are only running Cleethorpes 2-hourly.

 

[mike57]

In our area Scarborough-York is now every two hours, pretty well rules it out for any remaining commuters. In our village Bempton still has 1 train per hour during the week so our service remains the same, as they are taking off the Hull - Bridlington service. I assume they will add stops to Sheffield - Scarborough service.

 

[Class 170101]

You could add in all the stations between Colchester & Thorpe-le-Soken (excluding Wivenhoe) as getting an hourly service to London instead of the usual shuttle to Colchester from Walton.

The others tend to do slightly better than Weeley, clearly Wivenhoe / Thorpe Le Soken the best of all.

 

[nidave]

Translink is cutting trains back on NI Railways to a Saturday Service from Monday
https://www.translink.co.uk/timetables

 

[Killingworth]

Major problem with Northern is translating their summary into traveller-friendly mode. Possibly they are also struggling to keep anywhere near on top of things, let alone other operators' services.
That said, the volume of cancellations (seemingly affecting everywhere bar Cumbria and Leeds NW) puzzles me.

BTW:
EMT are serving all stations SHF-NOT 2-hourly as you suggest.
TPE are only running Cleethorpes 2-hourly.

Sheffield - Manchester is normally 2 fast per hour, TPE and EMR one each, and one stopping service per hour by Northern, total 3 trains per hour.

From Monday it will be one Northern stopper per hour as normal and TPE every 2 hours going to Piccadilly only.

Travellers are voting to stay away, this is Dore & Totley station's 129 space free car park today, picture taken from the platform entrance. Probably none for the railway, most possibly staff and customers at the restaurant and hairdressers at the bottom end. There was a father and 7 year old son trainspotting on the platform, but not many to spot.

Trains looked empty. Meanwhile, in the Peak District it's being treated like a Bank Holiday with swarms of people meeting up by car to exchange germs from across the nation!

The words of Private Fraser come to mind!

 

[BrianW]

Pte Frazer? So. we're doomed ... Perhaps Cpl Jones apposite: Don't panic ...?

 

[tsr]

South of the core they are rather useful at the moment, north of it very much less so Kentish Town reversal is sensible

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Core was “split” and we had self-contained north and south services at some point, although I’ve not heard any hints or rumours to suggest it. Trying to manage the service across London after the incident at Kentish Town yesterday was awful, with trains scattered all over the shop and insufficient spare crew to cope, due to a number self-isolating (not beyond the levels of TL/GN driver shortages on a summer Saturday, though!).

There can’t be much passenger demand for City Thameslink or Farringdon at the moment, nor the useful cross-London connections. It’s quite feasible to run a Saturday or Sunday service with the Core route closed, and helps recover the service more easily when it goes kaput for random reasons.

North side:
Kings Cross-Peterborough, Kings Cross-Cambridge as now (was meant to be a TL Core service), St Pancras-Bedford.

South side:
London Blackfriars-Sutton/Wimbledon and on the Orpington route, London Bridge Low Level-Brighton (perhaps even peak only on Thameslink, to be quite honest, as the BML is totally devoid of passengers at the moment), and East Croydon-Horsham via Redhill. Not sure you need the Rainham services as all stations apart from Higham have alternatives. Bat and Ball could have a taxi service.

 

[High Dyke]

Northern really don't help themeselves do they?

If Avanti and TPE can co-operate north of Preston why couldn't Northern asked EMT to serve all stations between Sheffield and Nottingham rather than EMT pass through and Northern run a bus?...

EMR have been stopping at Ilkeston and Langley Mill during this week, at the request of Northern; who have agreed to pay EMR the delay bill.

My only gripe about service reduction is that it is designed to help 'key workers' commute to/from work. So with many TOC's operating a 0700 - 1900 timetable, give or take, then how does that help 'key workers' who may start or finish outside of those hours?

 

[LAX54]

Weeley gets an hourly service to London according to someone elsewhere on this board. (Usually only one or two daily).

Indeed will be an hourly service 1st being at 0546, all call at All Stations to Colchester EXCEPT Colchester Town (CLOSED ALL DAY), and then Marks Tey, Kelvdeon, Witham, Hatfied Pev, Chelmsford, Shenfield and Stratford, last being at 2146.
0523 is the first from London, arriving Clacton at 0704, and the LAST is the 2238 from Liverpool Street, arriving Clacton at 0016

 

[C J Snarzell]

First of all apologises if this has already been asked but is the 'Peak time' still in place or has it been wavered?

Got an open return off peak to use to get from York to Manchester in a few days but I'm just mindful if the peak time rules still apply.

CJ

 

[daodao]

The drop in passenger numbers is dramatic, but I expect any increase once the pandemic is over to be much more gradual. Some services will never return, particularly international passenger trains, and others may take several years to be restored.

Given that most economies will be in dire straits by 2021, it would be appropriate to review all proposed/planned infrastructure enhancements and service developments to assess whether they will be needed in future, given the likely reduced future travel demand (for commuting, business and leisure) into the longer term. I am thinking of projects like HS2 and the Manchester Castlefield corridor, future electrification and Eurostar expansion. Some could be expensive white elephants, particularly HS part 2b (beyond Crewe and the eastern leg) and M/c Piccadilly platforms 15/16.

 

[matt_world2004]

Anyone got timetables for GwR services from tommorrow they haven't been uploaded onto citymapper yet or other services

 

[Hadders]

The drop in passenger numbers is dramatic, but I expect any increase once the pandemic is over to be much more gradual. Some services will never return, particularly international passenger trains, and others may take several years to be restored.

Given that most economies will be in dire straits by 2021, it would be appropriate to review all proposed/planned infrastructure enhancements and service developments to assess whether they will be needed in future, given the likely reduced future travel demand (for commuting, business and leisure) into the longer term. I am thinking of projects like HS2 and the Manchester Castlefield corridor, future electrification and Eurostar expansion. Some could be expensive white elephants, particularly HS part 2b (beyond Crewe and the eastern leg) and M/c Piccadilly platforms 15/16.

Large infrastructure projects (e.g. HS2) will be a way of kick starting the economy when the time comes.

 

[jon0844]

After people have been stuck at home for months, they'll be very happy to get back into a crowded train and go back to an office. Being able to moan about train delays will seem like heaven.

Sure, some companies may keep people working from home having (hopefully) seen that it can work, but many will also discover that home working isn't for everyone and, yes, some people aren't productive.

Infrastructure projects must continue.

 

[JN114]

Anyone got timetables for GwR services from tommorrow they haven't been uploaded onto citymapper yet or other services

The detail is still being worked on. There is a route by route summary on the GWR website.

 

[Greybeard33]

Major problem with Northern is translating their summary into traveller-friendly mode. Possibly they are also struggling to keep anywhere near on top of things, let alone other operators' services.
That said, the volume of cancellations (seemingly affecting everywhere bar Cumbria and Leeds NW) puzzles me.

Northern has not yet summarised its emergency timetable on the website. However, some of the changes for Tuesday 24th to Sunday 29th have been loaded and can be viewed on RTT.

From a quick look at services around Manchester, there seem to be quite a few differences from the cancellations for Monday 23rd that are detailed on the website. E.g. Piccadilly to Stoke, Victoria to Preston and Southport to Stalybridge reinstated, but on the other hand Southport to Alderley Edge removed and Piccadilly to Chester via Northwich reduced to 1tp2h.

 

[30907]

First of all apologises if this has already been asked but is the 'Peak time' still in place or has it been wavered?

Got an open return off peak to use to get from York to Manchester in a few days but I'm just mindful if the peak time rules still apply.

CJ

Assume so.
And as we are advised to avoid peak time travel, makes good sense.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Refunding it and not going would make more sense.

 

[WatcherZero]

Peak still in use but a lot of authorities have started waiving the 9:30am restriction on Concessionary passes so that they can travel earlier to Supermarkets having early morning OAP time slots.

 

[MattyLDS]

on the Grand Central WR route they have cut services a day from the usual 4 to just 2, an early and a late service starting from tomorrow i believe

 

[Killingworth]

Large infrastructure projects (e.g. HS2) will be a way of kick starting the economy when the time comes.

And HS2 is a prime target for cancellation when passenger numbers have fallen off a cliff and not recovered. New health facilities and social care might be better prioritised. And all the spending on the unemployed, with masses of empty shops never to reopen. Priorities will change.

There's a world out there that largely doesn't care a fig about railways, airports - or even their local buses. The private car v climate change. Lots of conflicting arguments to come.

 

[InOban]

Last Sunday the 12.11 from Oban had at least 100 passengers. Today, around 20.

 

[Scotrail314209]

ScotRail are running a vast majority of their services. However some are not running at all:

Glasgow Central - Barrhead is having the stops picked up by a Glasgow - Kilmarnock service. Surprisingly the Glasgow - Carlisle service is still running throughout.

 

[js1000]

The silver lining of all of this for the rail industry is that Network Rail and the train companies really need to make hay in terms of reviewing timetables, engineering work, re-liverying trains etc.

The big concern is that passenger numbers (certainly at peak time) are probably going to decline in the coming years as more people WFH and increased number of conference calls once this passes.

Many of the business cases for infrastructure investments in HS2, other lines and new trains will have to be reviewed and in some cases they'll be shot to bits.

A substantial and sustained passenger number decline would not have been factored into many of these forecasts.

 

[snookertam]

ScotRail are running a vast majority of their services. However some are not running at all:

Glasgow Central - Barrhead is having the stops picked up by a Glasgow - Kilmarnock service. Surprisingly the Glasgow - Carlisle service is still running throughout.

Many routes are running a reduced frequency. There's no Cathcart Circle although Newton and Neilston services run in full, including morning and evening peaks - might help with social distancing.... Paisley Canal, Lanark, Maryhill line, Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh via Cumbernauld, Edinburgh/Dunblane all reduced from half hourly to hourly during the day.

Ayr and Gourock are reduced to half hourly from four trains per hour. Ardrossan services only operating to connect with Arran ferry.

No Milngavie to Edinburgh service with a half hourly Helensburgh Central to Edinburgh running only on that route. Shotts line reduced to hourly.

Not sure what is happening with the West Highlands as RTT doesn't look accurate, but it would seem the additional Oban services (ie. the ones that don't split from Mallaig services) are withdrawn.

All commuter services finish around 2000, with last departures from Glasgow Central/Queen Street usually before 2000.

EDIT: I suspect in the coming weeks this may get reduced depending on how this progresses, although I see even in Italy public transport is still operational. Perhaps that is part of the problem.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Many routes are running a reduced frequency. There's no Cathcart Circle although Newton and Neilston services run in full, including morning and evening peaks - might help with social distancing.... Paisley Canal, Lanark, Maryhill line, Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh via Cumbernauld, Edinburgh/Dunblane all reduced from half hourly to hourly during the day.

Ayr and Gourock are reduced to half hourly from four trains per hour. Ardrossan services only operating to connect with Arran ferry.

No Milngavie to Edinburgh service with a half hourly Helensburgh Central to Edinburgh running only on that route. Shotts line reduced to hourly.

Not sure what is happening with the West Highlands as RTT doesn't look accurate, but it would seem the additional Oban services (ie. the ones that don't split from Mallaig services) are withdrawn.

All commuter services finish around 2000, with last departures from Glasgow Central/Queen Street usually before 2000.

EDIT: I suspect in the coming weeks this may get reduced depending on how this progresses, although I see even in Italy public transport is still operational. Perhaps that is part of the problem.

Last High Level departure from Glasgow is the 22:00 to Ayr which will call at all stations. The only West Highland trains that are running are the 08:23 Oban/Mallaig and 12:23 Oban/Mallaig. No 18:21 Oban/Mallaig. The 16:05 Mallaig - Glasgow is running and I'm assuming the 18:11 Oban - Glasgow which joins at Crianlarich is running too.