Network rail timetable no longer on paper : options ?

[Justin Smith]

I am a big fan of printed timetables but, unfortunately, the "Bradshaw Middleton" timetable is no longer printed.
If the face mask mandate on trains is dropped I may be getting a rover ticket this summer sometime but I do not have a smart phone.
On a previous thread someone said you can download the entire NR timetable, is that still available ? And how often is it updated ?
I could buy a small lap top to take with me and put it on that. Has anyone any idea what the smallest laptop which would work with the NR timetable is ?
I know I could use a tablet but I prefer a laptop, it's more user friendly than a small tablet.

 

[splashoutradio]

There may be more, but here are a couple of options that I use when it comes to national PDF timetables.

• The "classic" National Rail Timetable, published by network rail can be found at: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/the-timetable/electronic-national-rail-timetable/
• An independent equivalent is available at: https://timetables.fabdigital.uk/gbrtv1/
• There's some missing bits in the South East, but www.railwaydata.co.uk/timetables is also an option.

Personally, I have all three on a tablet, but it's worth pointing out that the National Rail publication isn't always known for its accuracy, unfortunately.

 

[Bevan Price]

I am a big fan of printed timetables but, unfortunately, the "Bradshaw Middleton" timetable is no longer printed.
If the face mask mandate on trains is dropped I may be getting a rover ticket this summer sometime but I do not have a smart phone.
On a previous thread someone said you can download the entire NR timetable, is that still available ? And how often is it updated ?
I could buy a small lap top to take with me and put it on that. Has anyone any idea what the smallest laptop which would work with the NR timetable is ?
I know I could use a tablet but I prefer a laptop, it's more user friendly than a small tablet.

Electronic national rail timetable - Network Rail

The electronic National Rail Timetable (eNRT) is a long-term timetable for planners that covers services on the national rail network.

www.networkrail.co.uk

Usually updated twice a year, but not sure how often other changes / corrections are made.

Cannot comment about laptop versus tablet choice - for one thing, it depends on how clearly you can read the text. Laptop will be more weight to carry, and how often will you need to recharge the battery. If you have a printer, you could print paper copies for the lines you are most likely to use.

 

[181]

The (formerly Thomas Cook) European Timetable is still available on paper as well as in electronic form, and includes the UK among many other countries, albeit maybe not at the level of detail that you'd want. See https://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu/.

A few years ago South Western and Great Western used to publish their own timetable books, but I don't know whether this is still the case (I wouldn't be surprised if not).

 

[D365]

I could buy a small lap top to take with me and put it on that. Has anyone any idea what the smallest laptop which would work with the NR timetable is ?
I know I could use a tablet but I prefer a laptop, it's more user friendly than a small tablet.

A "starter" HP or Lenovo laptop would work fine I'm sure. Best idea would be to start a thread under General Discussions to get recommendations on specific models.

 

[Watershed]

With the frequency that train services are changing at the moment, most printed/PDF timetables will be out of date by the time they are published.

I would just look at a journey planner personally.

 

[pdeaves]

See also https://timetables.fabdigital.uk/gbrtv1/ (there's a thread about it at https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...ail-timetable-what-do-you-think-of-it.219222/)

 

[splashoutradio]

With the frequency that train services are changing at the moment, most printed/PDF timetables will be out of date by the time they are published.

I would just look at a journey planner personally.

To add to this, if it's the offline element that you're looking for, the Eurail/Interrail app has offline timetable data for Great Britain. It's updated monthly(ish), so there's still the chance it has become outdated when you use it, but arguably it'll be more upto date than most PDFs.

Eurail/Interrail Rail Planner - Apps on Google Play

Enjoy an easy Interrail or Eurail trip with our offline trip planner & timetable

play.google.com

 

[Justin Smith]

Thanks for your info everyone.
One can plan a journey from home using the journey planner, but, when out on a rover, things can change as I'm sure we all know, that's the problem.
I can remember when IO was originally supposed to do an out and back to Newcastle via York. I think my service back was cancelled so I quickly looked through my TT and realised I could get back via Carlisle and the S&C !

 

[Hadders]

Thanks for your info everyone.
One can plan a journey from home using the journey planner, but, when out on a rover, things can change as I'm sure we all know, that's the problem.
I can remember when IO was originally supposed to do an out and back to Newcastle via York. I think my service back was cancelled so I quickly looked through my TT and realised I could get back via Carlisle and the S&C !

That's where a journey planner like Fastjp on a smartphone comes in. Excellent when you have to re-route on the move. Especially if you add in Real Time Trains/Open Time Trains/Trasky for real time running information.

Seriously, rather than buying a laptop I'd look for a good value smartphone.

 

[D6975]

That's where a journey planner like Fastjp on a smartphone comes in. Excellent when you have to re-route on the move. Especially if you add in Real Time Trains/Open Time Trains/Trasky for real time running information.

Seriously, rather than buying a laptop I'd look for a good value smartphone.

I take a small tablet with me when I'm out and about. I find a smartphone screen too small.

 

[David Goddard]

We bought a basic Windows "netbook" when we did an all line rover in 2012. Not that heavy at all and downloaded the pdf timetable to it so we had it with us all of the time. Also used it to keep our journey log, and get online along the way (using the train wifi or a usb dongle)
Worked a treat

 

[Justin Smith]

There may be more, but here are a couple of options that I use when it comes to national PDF timetables.

• The "classic" National Rail Timetable, published by network rail can be found at: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/the-timetable/electronic-national-rail-timetable/
• An independent equivalent is available at: https://timetables.fabdigital.uk/gbrtv1/
• There's some missing bits in the South East, but www.railwaydata.co.uk/timetables is also an option.

Personally, I have all three on a tablet, but it's worth pointing out that the National Rail publication isn't always known for its accuracy, unfortunately.

I am going on an EM Rover next week and am trying to plan the itineraries but doing so using the NR Journey Planner is a bit awkward. Is the linked to NR timetable accurate at they moment ? That said I could plan the itinerary with that then check it I suppose, but I'm also planning to print out some pages from the odd timetable and take them with me.
Further problem, when I downloaded the whole timetable you appear to have to open each TT individually, is that right ? Also none seem to open ! If I click on the PDF icon I get the message "We can't open this file, something went wrong, please refresh"

 

[MikeWM]

I am going on an EM Rover next week and am trying to plan the itineraries but doing so using the NR Journey Planner is a bit awkward. Is the linked to NR timetable accurate at they moment ? That said I could plan the itinerary with that then check it I suppose, but I'm also planning to print out some pages from the odd timetable and take them with me.

It's... fairly accurate. Obviously there have been many temporary/not-so-temporary changes since May (on EMR in particular!). There are 'temporary' PDFs on the EMR website that you could download.

Further problem, when I downloaded the whole timetable you appear to have to open each TT individually, is that right ? Also none seem to open ! If I click on the PDF icon I get the message "We can't open this file, something went wrong, please refresh"

They haven't produced a 'single volume' for some years now - I've moaned about that on here from time to time. I combine them all into one volume using Acrobat before putting it on my tablet/phone.

I had no issue opening them when I downloaded this in May, so can't really help you out there, sorry.

 

[Justin Smith]

It's... fairly accurate. Obviously there have been many temporary/not-so-temporary changes since May (on EMR in particular!). There are 'temporary' PDFs on the EMR website that you could download.



They haven't produced a 'single volume' for some years now - I've moaned about that on here from time to time. I combine them all into one volume using Acrobat before putting it on my tablet/phone.

I had no issue opening them when I downloaded this in May, so can't really help you out there, sorry.

It seems to print out on my work PC, not sure why there should be a difference as they're both on Windows 10 but there we go !

 

[Peter749]

To add to this, if it's the offline element that you're looking for, the Eurail/Interrail app has offline timetable data for Great Britain. It's updated monthly(ish), so there's still the chance it has become outdated when you use it, but arguably it'll be more upto date than most PDFs.

Eurail/Interrail Rail Planner - Apps on Google Play

Enjoy an easy Interrail or Eurail trip with our offline trip planner & timetable

play.google.com

Are all local services on the Interrail planner or is it just a few?

 

[splashoutradio]

Are all local services on the Interrail planner or is it just a few?

They all seem to be on there. I've used the app when traveling on small branch lines out in the sticks, and never had an issue.
The app also has a nifty function where you can log your journeys and it'll plot them on a map (albeit a little roughly,) and give information on miles travelled (again, roughly)

 

[Peter749]

They all seem to be on there. I've used the app when traveling on small branch lines out in the sticks, and never had an issue.
The app also has a nifty function where you can log your journeys and it'll plot them on a map (albeit a little roughly,) and give information on miles travelled (again, roughly)

Thanks for the info - I will try it this week