I hope that you're right, and that would be sensible if the timetable reduction is short term. But it has been said on these forums, by apparently well-informed posters, that there is little chance of the missing service being restored any time in the foreseeable future. The loss of season ticket income has hit revenue too severely.
The other problem, at least in the down direction, was that the journey planner wouldn't show the fast train to Wightlink connection as it was a shorter time than the minimum, meaning it showed every connection as more than one hour. In practice, as you're aware but intending passengers might not have been, if you're in the front coach you can make the connection in around a minute from the train door. I'm not sure whether or not that's still an issue with the current timetable.
I've stopped using the FastCat because of this!
Yes there is no platform 2. While there may have been in 1984, its certainly not been there for at least 20 years.
During weekday peak hours, 4tph down the Portsmouth Direct is restored, e.g. check out the departures from Waterloo from 1700 to 1800.
This one:
That's not much use to those of us who don't travel in the peak though
Brockenhurst -
Pre Thameslink 2000 I used to love the fast down peak Hastings trains. Despite all the announcements, Oyster wielding Metro Scum would insist on crowding the mainline trains vestibules to London Bridge. I loved the despair on their faces as the train left Waterloo East. ".. the next station is High Brooms. Even better was they had to wait an hour there for the next train back to the smokeThat's not much use to those of us who don't travel in the peak though
Peak hours always had variations on the normal pattern, including through Portsmouth trains running via Guildford New Line, presumably to avoid congestion on the main line.
I once almost got caught out by one of those when travelling to Woking in the morning peak. Being used to all off peak trains calling at Woking, when I got to the station early I boarded the train before the one I'd intended, without checking its calling pattern. Fortunately I heard the "next station Clapham Junction" announcement at Guildford in time to bale out.
Romsey isn’t electrified. Not likely at all.
It's a shame they don't run every other train fast between St Denys and Swanwick, perhaps with an additional call at Netley or Woolston but I don't think it's necessary as I believe they're getting a regular Southern call soon. This would probably allow for two diagrams vice three, and provide an additional fast Southampton to Portsmouth link alongside the crowded GWR Cardiff services, and it's not as if the likes of Bitterne, Sholing and Hamble are particularly busy.
It is frequently used to turn around late-running services. If anything it does not have enough.
Ah right thanks. That makes sense.
Platform 2, at least, is reversible. Not sure about the others.
At the last resignalling they altered the S&C to effectively make P3 an equally fast route from Fratton East towards Portsmouth Harbour, ie it’s the main down line with the straight route into Southsea high level P2. So in normal practice down services are split between final destinations of Harbour or Southsea on the approach into Fratton. It also means a late running service heading towards Southsea low level can easily be overtaken.
Is there much advantage for harbour trains overtaking P&S trains here? It's only about 2 mins to P&S from Fratton. They could overtake there.
That's really interesting thanks. I live in East Lancs but have done the journey to Pompey more times than I can remember, visiting family in North End.
Journey planners are still insisting on ignoring the normal connections between Wightlink’s catamarans at both Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde Pierhead, rendering them useless for sensible planning (and surely putting off prospective travellers). Combined with the 35+ minute connection with the fast Waterloo trains at the harbour for most of the day, it produces some staggeringly slow itineraries. Someone travelling from the island will be expected to have spent the best part of two hours waiting for the approved connections on both sides of the Solent before their train from the Harbour even starts to move.