Early Train

[Fedupnorthern]

Interesting events last night, unless it affected you of course (which it did for me).

Southport train from Oxford Road leaves at 1727 and is due to leave Deansgate 1733. How that takes 6 minutes I don't know.

Last night the Deansgate pause was missed out and train departed 3 mins early. 2 minutes earlier than I arrived at the station.

Clearly those strike days have had a detrimental impact on staff who can no longer remember what they are supposed to be doing.

What chance of communicating this on delay repay? To me the train didn't arrive and I had at least a 30 minute journey extension. No scope to reflect that on the form though.

Happy New Year.

 

[LowLevel]

Realtime Trains | 2W24 1727 Manchester Oxford Road to Southport | 09/01/2023

Real-time train running information for 2W24 1727 departure from Manchester Oxford Road to Southport on 09/01/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

The train is logged as leaving early, send a complaint to Northern with photos/screenshots of your tickets and a screenshot from RTT and I'm sure they'll process it for the appropriate amount of compensation.

The train would be treated as having failed to call at Deansgate provided the TOC are aware.

 

[L401CJF]

LowLevel beat me to it, I'd write a complaint rather than try delay repay.

 

[Fedupnorthern]

Thank you. I shall see where it goes. Hopefully the email will also impress on Northern traincrew the need to ensure that it doesn't regularly happen.

 

[Class800]

Thank you. I shall see where it goes. Hopefully the email will also impress on Northern traincrew the need to ensure that it doesn't regularly happen.

Arriving one minute before your train is also cutting it rather fine. Yet there shouldn't be early dispatch. Just likely human error. Writing to customer services is the best way forward

 

[Fedupnorthern]

Arriving one minute before your train is also cutting it rather fine. Yet there shouldn't be early dispatch. Just likely human error. Writing to customer services is the best way forward

Thank you. I am well within my rights to arrive one minute in advance. I suspect the absence of a lot of traincrew over recent weeks means that they aren't on top of their jobs. Another side effect of the strikes.

 

[LowLevel]

Thank you. I shall see where it goes. Hopefully the email will also impress on Northern traincrew the need to ensure that it doesn't regularly happen.

It certainly doesn't regularly happen, but it does very occasionally happen. The crew involved will no doubt have the matter brought to their attention and be advised to take care over their timekeeping. It is something the TOCs have always been quite hot on.

Sometimes you can be lead on though - I stopped at a station the other week and as luck would have it noticed that the departure board clocks were 2 minutes fast, if I'd not been happening to glance at my watch at the time and decided to cross check I'd have left early too. I've also been issued diagrams with the wrong times on which again I've only noticed through luck.

It'll certainly be looked into and you'll be compensated though.

Thank you. I am well within my rights to arrive one minute in advance. I suspect the absence of a lot of traincrew over recent weeks means that they aren't on top of their jobs. Another side effect of the strikes.

I doubt it. Day one after any period of absence is a risk factor for having an incident but that applies whether it's your weekend off or a strike week.

 

[Class800]

Thank you. I am well within my rights to arrive one minute in advance. I suspect the absence of a lot of traincrew over recent weeks means that they aren't on top of their jobs. Another side effect of the strikes.

I won't comment on that and will let the customer services department decide if that is reasonable or not as it is lower than the minimum connection time for Deansgate. The connection time is strictly for interchange but gives a give as to a reasonable time to arrive.

 

[SteveM70]

I won't comment on that and will let the customer services department decide if that is reasonable or not as it is lower than the minimum connection time for Deansgate. The connection time is strictly for interchange but gives a give as to a reasonable time to arrive.

Given Northern have posters advertising (I think - been a while since I’ve been in Manchester) “doors can close up to 40 seconds before departure time”, a minute is certainly tight but also shouldn’t be an issue

 

[Benjwri]

Given Northern have posters advertising (I think - been a while since I’ve been in Manchester) “doors can close up to 40 seconds before departure time”, a minute is certainly tight but also shouldn’t be an issue

I would say it's pretty tight, but doable. I wouldn't mention how far before the train you arrived when talking to Northern though. Mentioning you only arrived one minute before is asking to be told you were too close, whereas if you don't mention it they're likely to see it left 3 minutes early and just compensate without asking.

 

[30907]

Southport train from Oxford Road leaves at 1727 and is due to leave Deansgate 1733. How that takes 6 minutes I don't know.

Purely for info:
it leaves platform 5 to allow the next train to occupy it. It then has to wait at Deansgate because said next train comes off the Warrington route and blocks it.
Only last night the signaller allowed your train to go first, actually delaying the train from Warrington slightly. So not just the train crew's mistake.

It appears to be the same for other Southport trains, since the new timetable, and new timetables catch staff out as well as passengers. And as historically trains have not been timetabled to wait at Deansgate AFAIK, there is a risk it might happen again, and you might consider it worth arriving a couple of minutes earlier.

Not that this affects your complaint in any way.

 

[Driver2B]

Arriving one minute before your train is also cutting it rather fine. Yet there shouldn't be early dispatch. Just likely human error. Writing to customer services is the best way forward

Where's the "thumbs up" button?!