EMT's York - St. Pancras service, 22/03.

[Mugby]

According to RTT, this train departed from York on time but was cancelled from Doncaster to St. Pancras due to a 'Problem with the train'

However, it apparently ran between Sheffield and St. Pancras, departing at 1900. It's timed to stand 15 minutes in Sheffield on arrival from York.
How could it be cancelled from Doncaster but resume it's correct timing at Sheffield and continue as normal?

 

[ainsworth74]

How could it be cancelled from Doncaster but resume it's correct timing at Sheffield and continue as normal?

They nabbed a set that had arrived from St Pancras at 1840 and was booked to go ECS to Derby and ran it in service as 1Z77 in the same path as 1C77. So from Sheffield it was a different train just running in the path of the original York to St Pancras service.

 

[Mugby]

Ah thanks, that was a bit of good customer service from EMT then!

Wonder what happened to the passengers who were on the cancelled service at Donny though?

 

[Timrud]

Was there a local train to Sheffield they could jump on to connect?

 

[Qwerty133]

Ah thanks, that was a bit of good customer service from EMT then!

Wonder what happened to the passengers who were on the cancelled service at Donny though?

No good customer service about it, simply common sense. The service has a full crew change at Sheffield in any case unless something has changed so it'd be completely stupid not to run the service when they have a spare unit and the scheduled crew in the right place.

 

[Robertj21a]

No good customer service about it, simply common sense. The service has a full crew change at Sheffield in any case unless something has changed so it'd be completely stupid not to run the service when they have a spare unit and the scheduled crew in the right place.

Excellent all the same. The railways are often blamed (sometimes rightly) for lacking in basic common sense.

 

[Timrud]

EMT handling very well as usual

 

[Deafdoggie]

A slight tangent. I’ve not used the York service, but have used the summer Saturday Scarborough service, and often wondered why it sits so long at Sheffield in both directions? Why not arrive earlier going north, and leave later heading south from Scarborough/York? As the crew appear to stay with it in York/Scarborough doesn’t it make it a rather expensive service to run, as you’re paying them to be out all day, but not actually running a train for most of it

 

[The_Train]

No good customer service about it, simply common sense. The service has a full crew change at Sheffield in any case unless something has changed so it'd be completely stupid not to run the service when they have a spare unit and the scheduled crew in the right place.

Train Operating Companies just can't win with some people can they? Do something bad and it's poor customer service, they hate passengers blah blah blah but do something good and it's just common sense.

Good on EMT for slotting this service in and keeping as many passengers as possible on the move

 

[_toommm_]

A slight tangent. I’ve not used the York service, but have used the summer Saturday Scarborough service, and often wondered why it sits so long at Sheffield in both directions? Why not arrive earlier going north, and leave later heading south from Scarborough/York? As the crew appear to stay with it in York/Scarborough doesn’t it make it a rather expensive service to run, as you’re paying them to be out all day, but not actually running a train for most of it

Departures to London throughout the day are xx:29 and xx:00, so I suspect for continuity at Sheffield and for ease once it gets down to the congested Luton area, it's easier to have it depart at xx:00 just like the rest of the day.

 

[Spartacus]

EMT are pretty good at swapping faulty sets out, though they do have an advantage over many long distance operators in that they don't normally run over great distances and have well placed depots for doing so.

 

[bunnahabhain]

A slight tangent. I’ve not used the York service, but have used the summer Saturday Scarborough service, and often wondered why it sits so long at Sheffield in both directions? Why not arrive earlier going north, and leave later heading south from Scarborough/York? As the crew appear to stay with it in York/Scarborough doesn’t it make it a rather expensive service to run, as you’re paying them to be out all day, but not actually running a train for most of it

The driver actually swaps over so is scheduled to pass back and work something else, but it is a nice day out for the TM who gets to work SHF-YRK/SCA and return. TMs are Sheffield based who sign North of Sheffield but all of the drivers are Derby based.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

The driver actually swaps over so is scheduled to pass back and work something else, but it is a nice day out for the TM who gets to work SHF-YRK/SCA and return. TMs are Sheffield based who sign North of Sheffield but all of the drivers are Derby based.

According to the summer timetable the EMT Scarborough service gets there at 1110 and doesn't come back till 1703. Does the TM really get paid to wander round Scarborough for the best part of six hours?

 

[Spartacus]

According to the summer timetable the EMT Scarborough service gets there at 1110 and doesn't come back till 1703. Does the TM really get paid to wander round Scarborough for the best part of six hours?

Might well do, with a travelling time around 2 hours between Sheffield and Scarborough swapping him or her would take over 4 hours so you’d be saving less than two hours work time, which might be eaten up with breaks and prep work anyway, and leave you with potentially a train but no crew in Scarborough if there was any disruption.

 

[Deafdoggie]

According to the summer timetable the EMT Scarborough service gets there at 1110 and doesn't come back till 1703. Does the TM really get paid to wander round Scarborough for the best part of six hours?

When I did the journey in previous years, it is always the same TM out and back, the catering alights and rejoins at Sheffield (different person!) and there is no catering Sheffield Northbound till it is back at Sheffield Southbound. But I still do not understand why the train sits at Sheffield, it could leave earlier from Sheffield Northwards, and leave Scarborough/York later South. But instead it sits at Sheffield.

 

[bunnahabhain]

When I did the journey in previous years, it is always the same TM out and back, the catering alights and rejoins at Sheffield (different person!) and there is no catering Sheffield Northbound till it is back at Sheffield Southbound. But I still do not understand why the train sits at Sheffield, it could leave earlier from Sheffield Northwards, and leave Scarborough/York later South. But instead it sits at Sheffield.

It is effectively a relief service so has to fit around all of the other trains which will have standard hourly paths I expect.

 

[tsr]

According to the summer timetable the EMT Scarborough service gets there at 1110 and doesn't come back till 1703. Does the TM really get paid to wander round Scarborough for the best part of six hours?

It wouldn’t be the longest scheduled break on record, but must come close. (I’ve certainly known a few train crew duties to have breaks of around 3 or 4 hours, or combinations of PASS trains and taxis which add up to that, which is almost as bonkers.)

Might well do, with a travelling time around 2 hours between Sheffield and Scarborough swapping him or her would take over 4 hours so you’d be saving less than two hours work time, which might be eaten up with breaks and prep work anyway, and leave you with potentially a train but no crew in Scarborough if there was any disruption.

It’s a fair question, though, given it seems to be mentioned “up thread” that the drivers swap.

 

[Deafdoggie]

Possibly, once at Scarborough, I can see it is a fair way back. But during the winter when in York, surely it makes more sense to run the service back, and then run another up to York for the return?

 

[MML]

Another anomaly is the Sunday service only used to return as far south as Leicester.
So for a weekend in York or Scarborough, you could travel north from London on Saturday, but only return as far south as Leicester on Sunday evening.

Presumably they want the empty stock in Derby Sunday night.

 

[ainsworth74]

Another anomaly is the Sunday service only used to return as far south as Leicester.
So for a weekend in York or Scarborough, you could travel north from London on Saturday, but only return as far south as Leicester on Sunday evening.

As far as I'm aware the market is not London - York/Scarborough. York is far better served by LNER and Grand Central and Scarborough is much quicker via LNER/GC with a change onto TPE. The target market is very much people from Leicester/Derby/Sheffield looking for a day out in York/Scarborough. There is little, if any, through traffic from London as far as I'm aware.

 

[LowLevel]

As far as I'm aware the market is not London - York/Scarborough. York is far better served by LNER and Grand Central and Scarborough is much quicker via LNER/GC with a change onto TPE. The target market is very much people from Leicester/Derby/Sheffield looking for a day out in York/Scarborough. There is little, if any, through traffic from London as far as I'm aware.

They do some cheap advances York/Doncaster to London on a Sunday especially in first class as it's a 7 car 222 with plenty of room.

The 5 car that runs on a Saturday is much busier however with consequently fewer advances over the full journey (it's often full throughout).

 

[ainsworth74]

The 5 car that runs on a Saturday is much busier however with consequently fewer advances over the full journey (it's often full throughout).

Full with passengers to/from stations north of Sheffield to/from London though?

 

[LowLevel]

Full with passengers to/from stations north of Sheffield to/from London though?

No, full of passengers travelling to stations roughly towards Kettering or so with healthy numbers joining en route from Sheffield. It's often full and standing from Leicester.

I mentioned that because the 7 car on Sunday does see a reasonable amount of through traffic on account of having 3 first class vehicles and therefore plenty of opportunity to flog cheap advances to the non time critical.

The capacity isn't there on the 5 car in high summer as it's full anyway (often with staff!).

I use the Sunday service from York a few times a year and there are always through passengers to London on it. The outward obviously starts at Leicester so doesn't apply.