NEW MAY TIMETABLE

[Triumph]

All the new crew and stock diagrams are now being released for the May TT, which may go down in history as the timetable change that never operated.

 

[Whistler40145]

Indeed, I’d be very surprised if the current timetable doesn’t extend into 2021

 

[Clarence Yard]

All the new crew and stock diagrams are now being released for the May TT, which may go down in history as the timetable change that never operated.

Not all - some TOCs have been unable to complete the crewing.

The May timetable will probably be loaded as live and then STP'd out so it can be initiated later, either in part or in whole when circumstances allow. And even then there will have to be an 8-12 week lag just to complete all the crewing.

It is the December timetable that is in real problems now as work on it by NR has effectively ceased. There is a meeting today to discuss whether May 2020 can run past December 2020 and the Dec 2020 Timetable can be held over (in the main) to become the May 2021 timetable.

 

[Whistler40145]

Not all - some TOCs have been unable to complete the crewing.

The May timetable will probably be loaded as live and then STP'd out so it can be initiated later, either in part or in whole when circumstances allow. And even then there will have to be an 8-12 week lag just to complete all the crewing.

It is the December timetable that is in real problems now as work on it by NR has effectively ceased. There is a meeting today to discuss whether May 2020 can run past December 2020 and the Dec 2020 Timetable can be held over (in the main) to become the May 2021 timetable.

It will be very interesting to know, especially if the December 2020 timetable is implemented next May as they’ll be services that run at a reduced frequency during the Winter and some services that are normally run only during the Summer

 

[pdeaves]

It will be very interesting to know, especially if the December 2020 timetable is implemented next May as they’ll be services that run at a reduced frequency during the Winter and some services that are normally run only during the Summer

I expect that, if this happens, it will be a summer timetable 'based on' the winter timetable so not an exact Dec 2020 clone.

 

[Glenn1969]

I think the May and December timetables might both be hit by Covid 19 related changes but time will tell

 

[30907]

It will be very interesting to know, especially if the December 2020 timetable is implemented next May as they’ll be services that run at a reduced frequency during the Winter and some services that are normally run only during the Summer

I thought the summer-only trains (such few as there are) were planned into the December timetable - or is that no longer the case?

 

[Whistler40145]

I thought the summer-only trains (such few as there are) were planned into the December timetable - or is that no longer the case?

I’ve absolutely no idea

 

[BrianW]

There was a thread on this back in the pre-Covid days ...
May 2020 timetable changes

Discussion in 'Allocations, Diagrams & Timetables' started by Johnny Lewis, 2 Jan 2020.

I understood at that time that the May T/t was so 'ready to roll' ...
I still find it hard to believe that the existing temporary arrangements can't/ won't be 'rolled forward', with possibly more reductions.
Who would be a timetabler at the moment?

 

[The Planner]

Who would be a timetabler at the moment?

Yeah....

 

[Bald Rick]

Yeah....

Chin up Lad!

 

[306024]

Who would be a timetabler at the moment?

Or a diagrammer, or a roster clerk, or a train crew supervisor.

This may be a crisis but I’d suggest following the Hatfield derailment was worse for planners. If you don’t know how long it will take to get from A to B from one day to the next you’ve really very little to go on.

The May timetable runs until December so although all bets are off it is conceivable at the moment that it may apply later in the year. Meanwhile everyone planning future alterations is basing them on the May 20 timetable base data, so rolling forward the Dec 19 timetable would pull the rug from under them and undo an awful lot of work already done.

 

[Class 170101]

I'd expect May 20 to apply later in the year but perhaps only from September, obviously hopefully it will be earlier so we can at least have a 'summer'. Whether NR have the resources to implement a December 2020 change will be interesting.

 

[Bald Rick]

I'd expect May 20 to apply later in the year but perhaps only from September, obviously hopefully it will be earlier so we can at least have a 'summer'. Whether NR have the resources to implement a December 2020 change will be interesting.

The start of the May timetable surely depends on the withdrawal of the ‘stay at home’ message, and when people start going back to work, visiting friends, relatives, going on holiday etc.

December 20 won’t just be about NR resources, but about the whole train planning community, plus all the other things that have to happen for a new timetable where services are subject to major change - driver training being perhaps the best example.

 

[Class 170101]

The start of the May timetable surely depends on the withdrawal of the ‘stay at home’ message, and when people start going back to work, visiting friends, relatives, going on holiday etc.

December 20 won’t just be about NR resources, but about the whole train planning community, plus all the other things that have to happen for a new timetable where services are subject to major change - driver training being perhaps the best example.

This is true my gut feeling tells me though that the railways (amongst other things) will be unwound before people are allowed back to their offices. Holidays will be more local this summer as the virus moves and infects around the world following a similar curve of those countries ahead of us (eg China) compared to where we are now and those further behind (eg USA) will be open (much) later in the year.

 

[Eloise]

Whatever happens come first day of the new timetable in May the base will be May 20. The timetable that runs from the start of May20 will likely be heavily amended via the Short Term Planning process until things get back to normal.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Whatever happens come first day of the new timetable in May the base will be May 20. The timetable that runs from the start of May20 will likely be heavily amended via the Short Term Planning process until things get back to normal.

Which is the right choice. Doing a big data change to roll Dec 2019 forward at this late stage would have meant falling into a similar trap to that which caused much of the May 2018 debacle. From timetable planning perspective May 2020 has already ‘happened’; enforcing a rollover would have created an extra change and enormous workload at a time when everyone’s timetabling resources are being stretched and NR in particular are struggling to keep normal processes going.

 

[xydancer]

Surprised to say the least, but this morning I've been sent the first draft pdfs of the May 2020 National Rail Timetable (tables 66 & 68) that I cast my eye over for them.

 

[Eloise]

I'm not surprised as that ultimately is the May 20 base plan. What no-one really knows yet is when it'll be up and running in full.