It’s been synonymous with the Midland Main Line over the years. 2 & 3-car 170s being a particular low point. Then along came Meridians in various sizes. Now 5-car Hitachi units are under construction apparently so they can run in multiple & that’s the longest accepted on the route.
Frequency is however far far greater these days. BR at one time offered a 45 minute frequency St.Pancras to Leicester with alternate trains going forward to Nottingham or Sheffield every 90mins.
A low point in terms of capacity.
seems to have already happened if you ask me - far less cheap advance seats seem to be in the system at times I want to travel than would have been the case pre 'end of HST' - both 1st and 2nd class. I find myself increasingly booking via ECML (Grantham) - which has the benefit of not having to put up with the worn and scruffy interior state of the 222 fleet.
does not seem to be happening though. It may be that other travel patterns have changed. I was on trains on MML on Saturday and all very busy (with people standing) in 5 car units. Inadequate train lengths for the services in my view.
The Norwich trains are extremely busy as I can well vouch for with only the excellent 745s & to an extent Covid providing some breathing space. The loco-hauled sets where frequently full & standing peak & off-peak. It’s an extremely well used route hence the retention of onboard cafe bars too. I am not convinced that the third off-peak train will ever happen though.
I accept that the London-Norwich route is busy and needs these long trains, but so is the MML line and the places served much larger and more important than most places on the Anglia main line, but MML passengers are crammed into inadequate 4 and 5 car trains and look like being so for the foreseeable. It is the same parent company that runs both and I find it difficult to comprehend how they could have bid for both franchises but with such a disproportionate capacity between the two routes and allowed to get away with it.
I suppose it’s just completely separate in the same way it differs from Scotrail & LNWR. The latter doesn’t even provide catering on long distance routes now. EMUs on the Corby helps with the shorter distance stations that end of the route & I suppose it has XC helping out between Derby & Sheffield. Also with only 4 platforms at St.Pancras it seems it has to be operationally led so trains can share platforms here.
I'd say it was to do with the financial climate as perceived by Abellio's bidding teams.
Ditto but worse
Yes, a two car train (or four car at best for some of the route) linking Norwich and Liverpool and all the key places in between, especially when you compare and apply this to the same scenario in some European countries and the long and frequent Intercity type trains with plenty of seats over fully electrified routes that link equivalent series of key towns and cities in countries such Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands etc
Thing is though that when it was more Intercity (5/6 coaches long) it only ran once a day in each direction.
Peterborough City Status - only since 1541 (took a while - cathedral was up by 1118 )
Oh yes i know only the SW-NE is currently running but in normal & pre-Covid times it operates two & to be fair it should reintroduce the Second hourly train this December at the latest but XC is still dragging its heels. That however has been well discussed on other threads.
Looks like only a single service via Doncaster so looking at May now if then.
Stagecoach was only disqualified at the same time as Abellio was awarded the contract. In any case, they'd be held to whatever bid they put in and wouldn't have the opportunity to withdraw and change it just because they no longer had any competition.
There's obviously a weakness within the regulations. Such long distance services should not be allowed with such small, short formed, totally unsuitable and inadequate trains....it's a disgrace. Many a time, travelling northbound, and changing at Peterborough, I have watched across the platform, an EMR ex Norwich for Liverpool pitch up with just two carriages, with people awaiting to board a service that is already full and standing........ Cattle Class........ thanking my lucky stars that I am not one of the pax trying to board.....
With both Nottingham services now stopping at Kettering and running non stop between there and London, a significant proportion of those Kettering passengers who 'should' be transferring to the 8 car 360 service will probably gravitate to the non stop service instead, made worse by both Nottingham services now only being a 4 or 5 car 222/180 instead of one of them being an 8 car HST, as used to be the case. Some Wellingborough passengers may also opt to use Kettering instead because of the half hourly non stop service.
