May 2021 Timetable Change

[dk1]

Just downloaded the new NRT and have started to look at a few tables I follow.
One of the first things I noticed is that Greater Anglia have done away with all of their request stops, and all calls at these stations are now full stops.
Table 13 - Brampton (Suffolk)
Table 15 - Buckenham and Berney Arms
Table 17 - Shippea Hill, Lakenheath and Spooner Row

Has been the case since March 2020. I wonder if it will become permanent.

 

[Ianno87]

Has been the case since March 2020. I wonder if it will become permanent.

Presumably a Covid thing to avoid having to seek out the guard? I'm guessing on current schedules the improved performance of the 755s helps compensate for the additional stops.

 

[dk1]

Presumably a Covid thing to avoid having to seek out the guard? I'm guessing on current schedules the improved performance of the 755s helps compensate for the additional stops.

Oh yes & we can still trundle along under line speed & still have to wait time everywhere. Was brought in when guards stopped going through & has not changed. Maybe change back from December if things continue to improve.

 

[Jamesrob637]

EMR reinstate the missing services to Liverpool at 11:42 and 18:42 from Manchester so the Hope Valley Line now enjoys 2 fast trains per hour all day, over 90% of which are booked 4-car or 6-car.

 

[Bald Rick]

So Northern would be running a perfect Sunday service if Covid hadn't come along?

Well perfect is a bit optimistic, but yes had Covid not happened Northern (and many other TOCs) would be in a much better place for traincrew and would be running a normal service or thereabouts.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Well perfect is a bit optimistic, but yes had Covid not happened Northern (and many other TOCs) would be in a much better place for traincrew and would be running a normal service or thereabouts.

But as stated, the Sunday service on many Northern routes was diabolical even pre-COVID. Think it's to do with rest days etc.

 

[Bald Rick]

But as stated, the Sunday service on many Northern routes was diabolical even pre-COVID. Think it's to do with rest days etc.

But, as stated, that was 14 months ago. The issue was a shortage of train crew, which needed lots of rest days to cover. And, understandably, getting people in to cover on Sundays is more difficult. Had it not been for Covid then 14 months worth of extensive traincrew training would have been completed, and the Sunday position would be much better.

 

[bunnahabhain]

EMR reinstate the missing services to Liverpool at 11:42 and 18:42 from Manchester so the Hope Valley Line now enjoys 2 fast trains per hour all day, over 90% of which are booked 4-car or 6-car.

I believe all EMR services now apart from the last one and 1M60 which terminates at Piccadilly are booked for 2 x 158 (according to the crew diagrams).

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Well perfect is a bit optimistic, but yes had Covid not happened Northern (and many other TOCs) would be in a much better place for traincrew and would be running a normal service or thereabouts.

Some TOCs like EMR and GA seem to have managed to get drivers trained on new stock so it seems a mixed bag but appreciate there are number of factors at play in the current environment that constrain them. Thing is what is Northerns game plan to deal with the situation as presumably without outright removal of social distancing further improvements look limited. Perhaps they ought to fess up but seems as govt operated anything negative isn't permitted.

 

[dk1]

Some TOCs like EMR and GA seem to have managed to get drivers trained on new stock so it seems a mixed bag but appreciate there are number of factors at play in the current environment that constrain them. Thing is what is Northerns game plan to deal with the situation as presumably without outright removal of social distancing further improvements look limited. Perhaps they ought to fess up but seems as govt operated anything negative isn't permitted.

I can confirm that GA has absolutely stormed ahead with it. Only the first few months following the original lockdown did it hamper things but ever since we have romped through training.

 

[Bald Rick]

Some TOCs like EMR and GA seem to have managed to get drivers trained on new stock so it seems a mixed bag but appreciate there are number of factors at play in the current environment that constrain them. Thing is what is Northerns game plan to deal with the situation as presumably without outright removal of social distancing further improvements look limited. Perhaps they ought to fess up but seems as govt operated anything negative isn't permitted.

I’m afraid it all comes down to local agreements with ASLEF, which in itself depends on the local state of industrial relations. GA were one of the TOCs that trialled the bubble arrangement for social distancing so got ahead of the game.

 

[craigybagel]

To be fair, I think most TOCs have managed to carry out some degree of training, but I don't think any of them have been able to train at the same rate as they would in normal circumstances. Also, some TOCs (like Northern) were already struggling for staff numbers even before Covid, so the current issues are only going to magnify things. If Northern were barely keeping their head above water 2 years ago, they're going to be finding it even worse now.

 

[sjm77]

According to Table 15 GA are offering a counter buffet service of hot and cold snacks, sandwiches etc on the 19:02 Norwich - Lowestoft, but only from it's penultimate stop at Oulton Broad North. Thankfully the timetable is well padded at 8 minutes so a few punters could be served.

 

[306024]

According to Table 15 GA are offering a counter buffet service of hot and cold snacks, sandwiches etc on the 19:02 Norwich - Lowestoft, but only from it's penultimate stop at Oulton Broad North. Thankfully the timetable is well padded at 8 minutes so a few punters could be served.

Pre ordered fish and chips delivered from the local chippy

Well that is certainly an unusual data glitch. Meanwhile table 11 is a complete mess of squiggly lines. Presumably the computer can’t cope with producing two tables split by date on 12 September.

 

[Minstral25]

I've spoken to a colleague and it looks like there is a Network Rail error with downloading this train and it is being investigated.
1R13 Definately should be running at 0836 and it is hoped to get it into journey planners overnight

Seems to have appeared in timetables now

 

[yorksrob]

Well, at least now Northern's rural routes will actually get a usable train service, some two months after we were all officially allowed outside (better late than never I suppose).

 

[Alfie1014]

Pre ordered fish and chips delivered from the local chippy

Well that is certainly an unusual data glitch. Meanwhile table 11 is a complete mess of squiggly lines. Presumably the computer can’t cope with producing two tables split by date on 12 September.

Yep Table 11 gives some of the worst SNCF dated tables a good run for its money! At least it gives the game away when ‘normal‘ services levels will resume! That said I’m not sure they’ll last until then without any peak uplift from the current level?

The peak services from 12 September has got a couple of interesting changes, one is the 16:17 LIV St to Witham (the former Pritti 317 working) gets extended and combined with the former 17:26 Colchester to Walton to give an extra if very slow (2 hours and 6 mins), though peak service to the smaller branch stations. And the fastest journey times to Colchester (43 minutes down road) are on Sundays with the 11:00, 18:00 and 19:00 from Liv St!

It‘ll be interesting to see how they manage to cover all the 745 diagrams based on current availability and whether they can save a diagram on the Norwich’s as the turnarounds at LIV St aren’t shortened enough to be stepped up from today?

The Stansted service is shown not fully restored with it being every 30 minutes through the day with odd extra services giving 3 trains an hour in some hours, pretty much as today.

Though oh for a good editor to tidy up all the odd off pattern times, some Norwich ups at xx:30 some at xx:32!

 

[PHILIPE]

TFW have re-instated the overnight "lodge" trains.

0030 Cardiff Cen to Hereford
0523 Hereford to Cardiff Cen

 

[David Goddard]

Further good news for Manea:
Additional calls are made by Cross Country on Mondays to Fridays at 0826 & 1626 to Peterborough & Birmingham and at 1036 & 1836 to Cambridge & Stansted Airport, meaning that XC now serve the fenland station with four trains in each direction on each weekday.
These combined with the GA service provides an hourly service for parts of the day, particularly to Peterborough between 0600 and 0900. In the reverse direction, there are three trains from Peterborough to Manea between 1716 and 1813.

In the same table, all Cross Country trains have ceased to call at Audley End.

 

[Bikeman78]

I can confirm that GA has absolutely stormed ahead with it. Only the first few months following the original lockdown did it hamper things but ever since we have romped through training.

Despite extensive travels on Greater Anglia I cannot recall a single cancellation owing to lack of train crew. Aside from the three peak Cambridge fasts and Stansted Express, the West Anglia goes back to full timetable tomorrow. Great Eastern retains the reduced timetable although it was back to the full peak timetable (apart from Norwich) for some months at the end of last year.

 

[dk1]

Despite extensive travels on Greater Anglia I cannot recall a single cancellation owing to lack of train crew. Aside from the three peak Cambridge fasts and Stansted Express, the West Anglia goes back to full timetable tomorrow. Great Eastern retains the reduced timetable although it was back to the full peak timetable (apart from Norwich) for some months at the end of last year.

It’s only the DfT holding back the full service everywhere. We have copious amounts of spare traincrew.

 

[LowLevel]

Some TOCs like EMR and GA seem to have managed to get drivers trained on new stock so it seems a mixed bag but appreciate there are number of factors at play in the current environment that constrain them. Thing is what is Northerns game plan to deal with the situation as presumably without outright removal of social distancing further improvements look limited. Perhaps they ought to fess up but seems as govt operated anything negative isn't permitted.

EMR have got plenty of drivers and guards trained very successfully on new stock but getting new drivers trained up and out driving trains with a decent route card has been far more of a struggle. To date the method of work has been to have drivers learning routes with a mentor in a bubble but by it's nature as diagrams don't often contain a whole day's work on one route that has been a slow and inefficient way of doing it. At depots like Nottingham with a varied route card that has left a lot of new drivers with very little productive route knowledge.

Unless they've pulled something significant out of the bag recently there may well be upcoming disruption due to driver availability.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

The Network Rail new electronic railway timetable is now available for downloading

Electronic national rail timetable - Network Rail

As in previous years they have omitted from table 65 the 19.02 (until 10th September)/19.07 (from 13th September) from London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street. As per previous years both are shown in table 91, the Crewe to Liverpool services. I think this has now been going on for the last five or six years, certainly well before Virgin lost the franchise. Certainly the UK ghost train as far as Network Rail are concerned.

Tables 65 and 81, and probably many more, are practically unreadable as they are for the whole period (May-December), while the timetables for Avanti and TfW change radically on September 12.
That's if you believe they will actually change (more likely for Avanti that TfW, I think).
So most pages have a double set of wavy lines for many trains, covering the different routes and stopping patterns.
Tables for the two separate periods should have been presented.
In September, Voyagers resume the full North Wales service*, and Avanti's Scottish services resume their normal routes and stopping patterns.
TfW shows a full coast line service including the through Cardiff services.

* still very poor to non-existent on Sundays

 

[bramling]

Further good news for Manea:
Additional calls are made by Cross Country on Mondays to Fridays at 0826 & 1626 to Peterborough & Birmingham and at 1036 & 1836 to Cambridge & Stansted Airport, meaning that XC now serve the fenland station with four trains in each direction on each weekday.
These combined with the GA service provides an hourly service for parts of the day, particularly to Peterborough between 0600 and 0900. In the reverse direction, there are three trains from Peterborough to Manea between 1716 and 1813.

In the same table, all Cross Country trains have ceased to call at Audley End.

Still showing as “unadvertised call” in the system. A Covid-related thing still?

 

[boyaloud]

Anyone know what's happening with the Manchester to London thrice-hourly Avanti services ? Will they ever return? Also Cross country twice hourly from Manchester to Birmingham?

 

[jfollows]

Anyone know what's happening with the Manchester to London thrice-hourly Avanti services ?

Download the eNRT (https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/the-timetable/electronic-national-rail-timetable/) and you will see the answer, which several of us have already commented on in this thread also, that this is currently in the timetable from 13th. September.

 

[73128]

Anyone know what's happening with the Manchester to London thrice-hourly Avanti services ? Will they ever return? Also Cross country twice hourly from Manchester to Birmingham?

the Manchester to Bristol and Newcastle to Reading XC appear unlikely to reappear before December, if then. One effect of them running frequent but short trains pre-Covid, and not extending all the sets to 6 vehicles with a pantograph car as was proposed a few years ago.

 

[dk1]

I see ‘The Norfolkman’ is making a return to join ‘The East Anglian’ on the GEML from 13th September. Both will be Norwich in 90 services.

 

[Bald Rick]

I see ‘The Norfolkman’ is making a return to join ‘The East Anglian’ on the GEML from 13th September. Both will be Norwich in 90 services.

How long before this gets revised to ‘The Norfolkperson’ ?

 

[dk1]

How long before this gets revised to ‘The Norfolkperson’ ?

Haha you can just see it