How do they plan Heworth - Sunderland?

[Gathursty]

This section of track sees Metro trams, Northern trains and the odd Virgin and Grand Central train too.
Are the trams planned for first and the trains fitted around or vice versa?
What happens to the services behind if there is a delay or problem with a tram or train in this section?

 

[yorkie]

What happens to the services behind if there is a delay or problem with a tram or train in this section?

I'm not sure I fully understand the question, but I understand light rail Metro and heavy rail trains are kept two blocks apart from each other.

 

[swt_passenger]

The Metro have a Network Rail track access agreement just like a TOC does. There’s also freight on the route. Network Rail set the timetables and their signallers control the route between South Hilton and Pelaw on a day to day basis just like any other. There is a location where Metro trains can be looped and overtaken, but I haven’t heard of it being regularly used.

Metro times at Sunderland seem to run at a fairly exact clockface 12 mins apart in both directions, I’d assume therefore that there must be a potential path in between each Metro path for any other possible users of the line? In other words an hourly Northern service will leave Sunderland a few minutes ahead of a Metro, but not catch up the previous Metro before it turns off at Pelaw Metro Junction.

Realtimetrains shows how freight & mainline passenger services fit in in terms of overall running times.

So it seems at first glance Metro doesn’t need to be flexed to make space for other operators, so that just leaves what happens if something is late...

PS, they aren’t trams...

 

[transmanche]

This section of track sees Metro trams, Northern trains and the odd Virgin and Grand Central train too.
Are the trams planned for first and the trains fitted around or vice versa?
What happens to the services behind if there is a delay or problem with a tram or train in this section?

Just to re-iterate what others have noted, really.

Metro trains run 5 trains an hour (a regular 12-minute service), with Northern operating a single hourly train in each direction. (Before Metro, there were four trains an hour, a regular 15-minute service - with two express and two stoppers.) LNER operate a single fringe of service in each direction (with associated ECS moves to/from Heaton) whilst Grand Central have ECS moves to/from Heaton or Pelaw Goods loop.

As far as delays go. Sometimes Grand Central services arrive late and block the platform at Sunderland, thus delaying the Metro by a few minutes.

More often it's the Metro that is off-timetable, and this can occasionally mean that a Northern train catches up with a Metro and has to run at caution until Pelaw junction (where the Metro leaves Network Rail infrastructure).

 

[Gathursty]

Many thanks for your informative replies.

I didn't frame one of my questions so clearly so I will try again.

If a Metro, Virgin, Northern or GC train was stuck at a random point South of Pelaw Junction or at or North of Sunderland station are there any crossovers or loops to get around it?

I didn't feel any pointwork underneath as I used the route yesterday.

I presumed Metro was a tram based operation with the overheads. I will now call them trains. Could I also call Metro a TOC though?

 

[Kite159]

Track diagram is here:
http://www.opentraintimes.com/maps/signalling/sunderland

There are a few crossovers and a loop which can be used. I believe there is padding with the service at Sunderland so the northbound Northern service can be a few minutes late without it losing its path on the shared section.

 

[Ianno87]

From a train planning point of view, Nexus bid for paths from Network Rail as per their Track Access Agreement just like everybody else.

In practice, I would presume Northern etc pretty much work around taking the 12 minute Metro pattern as fixed and weave around that when working out their bid. Similarly, if Metro wanted to change their timetable, they'd probably have to form a working party with other participants to accommodate everybody.

 

[swt_passenger]

...If a Metro, Virgin, Northern or GC train was stuck at a random point South of Pelaw Junction or at or North of Sunderland station are there any crossovers or loops to get around it?
[...]
I presumed Metro was a tram based operation with the overheads. I will now call them trains. Could I also call Metro a TOC though?

I thought there were loops, (at East Bolton) as I mentioned in my first reply, but I see it is only a single up direction (southbound) loop.

Yes, you can call it a TOC for the purposes of its operation south of Pelaw. It’s listed as such in the national timetable with the TOC code TW.

 

[transmanche]

From a train planning point of view, Nexus bid for paths from Network Rail as per their Track Access Agreement just like everybody else.

In practice, I would presume Northern etc pretty much work around taking the 12 minute Metro pattern as fixed and weave around that when working out their bid. Similarly, if Metro wanted to change their timetable, they'd probably have to form a working party with other participants to accommodate everybody.

The plan seems to be a simple one. Northern trains towards Newcastle depart Sunderland at xx:30: the closest Metro departures are at xx:23 and xx:35. So the Metro has a 7-minute start on the Northern train - by the time the Metro reaches the Pelaw Metro junction, the Northern train is only about 3 mins behind.

In the reverse direction, Northern services generally arrive at xx:00, with the preceding Metro departing at xx:59 to South Hylton.

 

[DanNCL]

Many thanks for your informative replies.

I didn't frame one of my questions so clearly so I will try again.

If a Metro, Virgin, Northern or GC train was stuck at a random point South of Pelaw Junction or at or North of Sunderland station are there any crossovers or loops to get around it?

I didn't feel any pointwork underneath as I used the route yesterday.

I presumed Metro was a tram based operation with the overheads. I will now call them trains. Could I also call Metro a TOC though?

With the exception of the line through St Peters none of it is bi-directional so failures usually result in a service suspension for a while. There is one loop, at East Boldon, but that can only be accessed from the Sunderland bound line. In the last 16 years I've been on a Metro unit looped there only once, so it's rare for Metro units to be looped, but does very occasionally happen.

There are crossovers at Brockley Whins, East Boldon, St Peters and both sides of Sunderland station. There's also the Tyne Dock branch which diverges at Brockley Whins. The latter junction is usually noticeable from the Metro units I find.

I guess they probably could be considered a TOC, but it really depends on one's definition of a TOC.