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Merseyrail strike timetable (no service on strike days)

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karlbbb

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The down platform at Maghull has a main aspect signal in the Up direction, so trains can simply reverse in the platform and use the crossover south of the station to get to the Up line.
Ah thank you - signals not shown on the sectional appendix so didn't think about that! Much simpler, then.
 
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jamesst

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For the strike day on 27th july-
Hourly services between approx 0730 and 1830 on the Southport, Ormskirk, Kirkby, West Kirby and New Brighton lines & an hourly service between Rock Ferry and Liverpool.
No services past Rock Ferry towards Chester/Ellesmere Port or on the Hunts Cross line (different signal boxes)..

Slightly later start to service on 28th June. This time unable to fill the gap with replacement buses due to the ongoing Arriva bus strike.
 
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M60lad

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Have Merseyrail got a contract with Arriva to supply the Replacement Buses? Surely there's other operators such as Happy Al's or Helms/Aintree Coachline that would be only be to happy to supply vehicles/drivers now the Schools have finished for Summer?
 

D821

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For the strike day on 27th june-
Hourly services between approx 0730 and 1830 on the Southport, Ormskirk, Kirkby, West Kirby and New Brighton lines & an hourly service between Rock Ferry and Liverpool.
No services past Rock Ferry towards Chester/Ellesmere Port or on the Hunts Cross line (different signal boxes)..

Slightly later start to service on 28th June. This time unable to fill the gap with replacement buses due to the ongoing Arriva bus strike.
July, you mean.

I've booked the car in for its MOT that day and had been planning on gettingt train home, looks like I'll be walking!
 

jamesst

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Have Merseyrail got a contract with Arriva to supply the Replacement Buses? Surely there's other operators such as Happy Al's or Helms/Aintree Coachline that would be only be to happy to supply vehicles/drivers now the Schools have finished for Summer?

Yeah the contract is with Arriva who can -&have- subcontracted out to Happy Als, Stagecoach, Peoplesbus etc in the past, im assuming a lack of drivers now.
July, you mean.

I've booked the car in for its MOT that day and had been planning on gettingt train home, looks like I'll be walking!

Yeah sorry, July! Early start this morning!!
 

507020

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For the strike day on 27th july-
Hourly services between approx 0730 and 1830 on the Southport, Ormskirk, Kirkby, West Kirby and New Brighton lines & an hourly service between Rock Ferry and Liverpool.
No services past Rock Ferry towards Chester/Ellesmere Port or on the Hunts Cross line (different signal boxes)..

Slightly later start to service on 28th June. This time unable to fill the gap with replacement buses due to the ongoing Arriva bus strike.
What’s different this time that allows Sandhills/the network to be open at all, albeit running a 1/4 service for only part of the day on some, not all lines? Does the Arriva bus strike put additional pressure on it to be open, otherwise the region would be left with no buses OR trains at all?
 

jamesst

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What’s different this time that allows Sandhills/the network to be open at all, albeit running a 1/4 service for only part of the day on some, not all lines? Does the Arriva bus strike put additional pressure on it to be open, otherwise the region would be left with no buses OR trains at all?

Network rail have trained more staff basically
 

507020

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Network rail have trained more staff basically
I see that for the hourly service running today they intend to omit Birkdale. My understanding of the infrastructure is that a limitation requires all trains to stop at Birkdale in the southbound direction under all circumstances, as the signal will not be cleared until the only automatic level crossing on the line at Crescent Road is closed.

Omitting Birkdale would not only result in a SPAD, but stopping there has no time penalty and it is one of the busiest stations on the line. The issue is obviously not station staffing because Merseyrail staff are not on strike, so I don’t know why they’ve bothered running an hourly service which is unusable.

I note that the hourly Kirkby services are serving all stations except Sandhills and Ormskirk and Wirral services are serving more stations than Southport.
 

jamesst

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I see that for the hourly service running today they intend to omit Birkdale. My understanding of the infrastructure is that a limitation requires all trains to stop at Birkdale in the southbound direction under all circumstances, as the signal will not be cleared until the only automatic level crossing on the line at Crescent Road is closed.

Omitting Birkdale would not only result in a SPAD, but stopping there has no time penalty and it is one of the busiest stations on the line. The issue is obviously not station staffing because Merseyrail staff are not on strike, so I don’t know why they’ve bothered running an hourly service which is unusable.

I note that the hourly Kirkby services are serving all stations except Sandhills and Ormskirk and Wirral services are serving more stations than Southport.

Yeah skipping Birkdale was a bit of a mystery with having to stop anyway.
As for the skip stops all that was allowed to run was hourly on all lines (that Sandhills cover) using as few paths as possible.
I'm guessing as the stand in signallers become more familiar with the Sandhills panels then a few more paths may become available in future action.
 

507020

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Yeah skipping Birkdale was a bit of a mystery with having to stop anyway.
As for the skip stops all that was allowed to run was hourly on all lines (that Sandhills cover) using as few paths as possible.
I'm guessing as the stand in signallers become more familiar with the Sandhills panels then a few more paths may become available in future action.
Skipping Birkdale is more mismanagement than a mystery. The stopping pattern was decided by someone who doesn’t understand the infrastructure. In the northbound direction, not stopping at Birkdale actually increases the signallers workload because there isn’t much time to close Aughton Road level crossing via CCTV.

Stopping at both Blundelsands & Crosby and Waterloo which are right next to each other, rather than e.g. Bootle New Strand or Ainsdale was a bit of a mystery though. If a slightly reduced journey time could run an hourly service with only a single unit or 2, then it might make sense, but I’m assuming the choice of stations doesn’t make any difference to the journey time unless they need to time level crossings so attention can be given to Maghull etc.
 

jamesst

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Skipping Birkdale is more mismanagement than a mystery. The stopping pattern was decided by someone who doesn’t understand the infrastructure. In the northbound direction, not stopping at Birkdale actually increases the signallers workload because there isn’t much time to close Aughton Road level crossing via CCTV.

Stopping at both Blundelsands & Crosby and Waterloo which are right next to each other, rather than e.g. Bootle New Strand or Ainsdale was a bit of a mystery though. If a slightly reduced journey time could run an hourly service with only a single unit or 2, then it might make sense, but I’m assuming the choice of stations doesn’t make any difference to the journey time unless they need to time level crossings so attention can be given to Maghull etc.

See what happens in the next strikes, it was an improvement over what ran last time anyway!!
 
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