Well, in an entirely predictable manner, my morning commute today from Piccadilly via Bolton has been completely shat on, with all but a couple of trains cancelled.
Then again, what’s new
Then again, what’s new
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Predictions for how new timetable will cope on May 20th and 21st
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If it doesn’t affect London, it doesn’t matter
Agent_Squash
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Probably because Northern/TPE didn't make a complete mess of it - cancelling their brand new services...
1N53 0618 Saltburn to Carlisle was cancelled at Newcastle apparently due to a shortage of crew and so is the 1N58 0946 Carlisle to Newcastle
Posted on another stub too, but it's a complete disaster on the Oxted line for TL this morning. Only about 3 services actually ran! Two early morning & the 0815 .The 0716 was started from Hurst Green as it was 34 minutes late going southbound.
Victoria services largely ok but very busy as a result!
Victoria services largely ok but very busy as a result!
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dk1
Veteran Member
Having a quick look at Farringdon this morning it doesn't look too bad & far from the doom & gloom the press & certain fb sites would have you believe. Ok there are a few cancellations & one train is delayed by 9mins but that is hardly a melt down. All in all it's a far better morning on Thameslink than I had expected.
Few problems between Chorley and Manchester Pic this morning:
Sourced from: https://twitter.com/MartinThomasHar/status/998449353885876225
Sourced from: https://twitter.com/MartinThomasHar/status/998449353885876225
Failed Unit
Established Member
Great northern is a bigger disaster than normal this morning. Not many have made it to the core.
LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
The first passenger Pendolino has just reached Blackpool North.
Err ... what. So far at 10:00 since the beginning of service a grand total of three Peterborough-Horsham trains have managed to make it into the core. Judging by how many Horsham-Peterboroughs are cancelled where I am, it might be even less going the other way.
And these cancelled trains aren't including the ones that were "cancelled in advance" i.e. not here for two weeks.
Warwick
Member
Why not hold the 08.28 arrival from Reading at Reigate for four minutes? It's less frustrating for passengers to be held at a station than outside a station.
bramling
Veteran Member
You must have had even lower expectations than most of us!
I’d say massive numbers of cancellations, massive late running, and other recovery measures like starting/turning short - on a morning where not much else went wrong - a pretty major disaster. The passengers have a right to expect business as usual no matter how radical a timetable change, especially when there have been many years to plan for this and all the factors are firmly within the control of the railway industry.
Unacceptable, but then the arrogance exhibited by some people connected with GTR and the Thameslink Programme sums up the whole thing quite well really. We’ll see how long the chaos lasts, but given how vital a commuter route GN is, as well as carrying many key workers from the Home Counties into London, it won’t be politically acceptable to continue this mess for long.
So much for all the planning and modelling we were told about. No wonder certain people have been so defensive about it all...
Idon'tKnow
Member
0720 from LTV towards Birmingham was actually 3 carriages as per the new timetable 
(People left on the platform after Chester Rd)
(People left on the platform after Chester Rd)
Warwick
Member
Really excellent idea to make platform 2 into a bay. This might be a catalyst for someone to see sense and reconnect the London end to the rest of the world to at least let a standing train be shunted north out of the way- although given the lunacy that affects Network Rail the siding has probably been removed.
dk1
Veteran Member
Teething troubles then today. Well it will probably take a while longer to sort itself out. Such a huge logistical challenge not helped by the weekend chaos. Let's hope for daily improvements.
dk1
Veteran Member
Unlike many, today was bathed in glory for Virgin Trains.
Marton
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Also Nunthorpe to Hexham, although it seemed to do a shunt move in nunthorpe, even though the middlesbrough nunthorpe service was cancelled too.
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/NNT/2018/05/21/0200-0159?stp=WVSC&show=all&order=wtt
dk1
Veteran Member
Excellent stuff & good to see them getting far more involved in the local commute too. Not all the doom & gloom some would have the nation believe today
Looks like I chose a good 3 weeks to "work from home" with my ankle in a cast!
Was it greeted by a very welcoming team of platform staff?! Did they let it stop?
roversfan2001
Established Member
Would be a shame if it carried on towards the seafront...it'd cause thousands of pounds worth of improvements
it'd cause thousands of pounds worth of improvements
Haha!
Looks like the clowns at NR/TPE/whoever are still playing silly buggers and terminating late running trains at Man Picc platform 13 vice the Airport rather than Oxford Road/Victoria/anywhere else.
If you cause a single minute overtime on the central Manchester stretch you get hauled over the coals but it seems to be acceptable to complete empty stock station duties at random 'to protect the service' on a long distance train full of luggage, a trolley etc while stopping the job for nearly 10 minutes for anyone else.
I've lost count of the number of times I've been held at Castlefield to let a late running 1Mxx in front which has then been cancelled into Piccadilly putting 15 minutes into my on time train which can easily translate into 30 minutes to an hour depending on other traffic elsewhere later in its 5.5 hour journey.
Now we have the other sets coming from the Ordsall Chord it's even worse. There needs to be a ban on late running TPEs being spun in the through platforms at Picc and messing everyone else's trains up.
If you cause a single minute overtime on the central Manchester stretch you get hauled over the coals but it seems to be acceptable to complete empty stock station duties at random 'to protect the service' on a long distance train full of luggage, a trolley etc while stopping the job for nearly 10 minutes for anyone else.
I've lost count of the number of times I've been held at Castlefield to let a late running 1Mxx in front which has then been cancelled into Piccadilly putting 15 minutes into my on time train which can easily translate into 30 minutes to an hour depending on other traffic elsewhere later in its 5.5 hour journey.
Now we have the other sets coming from the Ordsall Chord it's even worse. There needs to be a ban on late running TPEs being spun in the through platforms at Picc and messing everyone else's trains up.
bramling
Veteran Member
I have visions of Branson turning up for a photo shoot and being marched off the station by the door brigade. That is the sort of thing which would happen at Blackpool North, unless they’ve used the closure time for some people-skills training?!
185143
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I strongly agree. Nothing should be being spun on 13/14 at Piccadilly at all, ever. It's just too congested.
Tell I've had two days of using the new timetable.
Yesterday I and the usual minor delays.
Today I boarded the 7:17 from Haywards Heath. Was it a mistake on my part? In hindsight yes. I should have got the 7:26
A Gatwick Express had a door fault at Gatwick Airport and as it was the train in front we got stuck behind it.
Eventually after 14 minutes we were routed into platform 5. Not sure why we had to wait 14 minutes to be able to use platform 5. Nothing on real time trains suggests it was in use. That doesn't mean it wasn't in use of course. I assume it's bi-dircetional.
We got so far into it and then stopped. After a minute or so the driver pulled forward. We had been informed of that in advance. I imagine it's not a move done too often by them. That's fair enough. Less acceptable might be why it took so long to be allowed to use platform 5.
By now other trains had been able to overtake us. Noteably the 7:26 from Haywards Heath, which used platform 3 at Gatwick and even the 7:31, which goes to Cambridge and used platform 1.
Obviously the crossover to platforms 1-3 occurs much ealier. Interesting that the crossover to platform 5 doesn't.
Hiwever just because the Cambridge service overtook us into Gatwick Airport and left first, abet 6 minutes down in their timetable, doesn't mean they got to East Croydon first.
The 7:26 Haywards Heath service departed Gatwick Airpot on time got to East Croydon at about 8:02, just 5 minutes late.
The 7:31 however got to East Croydon 27 minutes late, desire leaving 2 minutes before my delayed train. Not sure which route they took or how they went from 6 minutes late to 27 minutes between Gatick Airport and East Croydon. Now I imagine that will stuff up the service north and back. Drivers will be out of place too. In fact stations between Finsbury Park and Cambridge have been cancelled.
At Gatwick itself, suddenly the door fault was fixed so we had to wait for the non stop Gatick Express to depart. We left 20 minutes late, having only been 2 minutes late at Three Bridges.
By the time we reached East Croydon we were now 24 minutes late.
Lots of other delays too although mostly 10 minutes or under so doesn't wouldn't warrant a general mention.
Actually I see there is reports of an issue between Gatwick Airport and Redhill. There was an earlier points failure at Redhill, which is why both have been linked together.
In the usual style National Rail Enquires live depature board for the service I'm on says it's been delayed due to a I'll door fault. No fault is on the train in front and not us.
Update:
Finally I got to Raynes Park where I had a choice of getting a bus or another train. Either required another ticket. Unfortunately when I looked up the bus to see how long it would take, it kept just giving a choice of which destination I wanted and then no timing info. So helpful.
I then tried Google Maps but due to the poor mobile data receiption, I'm with O2 so expect this, it wasn't loading. Of course there isn't any WiFi at Raynes Park.
So I opted for the bus as it is slightly closer to my destination. Abet if the traffic is bad, it would take longer. It has to be significantly longer though for me to do it.
Now stuck at a bus stop whilst we even out the service so not my day. At least it wasntw 10 miniutes with another bus on the same overtaking us. Yes that did happen to be last year, whilst a bus was waiting to regulate the service. Haha.
Yesterday I and the usual minor delays.
Today I boarded the 7:17 from Haywards Heath. Was it a mistake on my part? In hindsight yes. I should have got the 7:26
A Gatwick Express had a door fault at Gatwick Airport and as it was the train in front we got stuck behind it.
Eventually after 14 minutes we were routed into platform 5. Not sure why we had to wait 14 minutes to be able to use platform 5. Nothing on real time trains suggests it was in use. That doesn't mean it wasn't in use of course. I assume it's bi-dircetional.
We got so far into it and then stopped. After a minute or so the driver pulled forward. We had been informed of that in advance. I imagine it's not a move done too often by them. That's fair enough. Less acceptable might be why it took so long to be allowed to use platform 5.
By now other trains had been able to overtake us. Noteably the 7:26 from Haywards Heath, which used platform 3 at Gatwick and even the 7:31, which goes to Cambridge and used platform 1.
Obviously the crossover to platforms 1-3 occurs much ealier. Interesting that the crossover to platform 5 doesn't.
Hiwever just because the Cambridge service overtook us into Gatwick Airport and left first, abet 6 minutes down in their timetable, doesn't mean they got to East Croydon first.
The 7:26 Haywards Heath service departed Gatwick Airpot on time got to East Croydon at about 8:02, just 5 minutes late.
The 7:31 however got to East Croydon 27 minutes late, desire leaving 2 minutes before my delayed train. Not sure which route they took or how they went from 6 minutes late to 27 minutes between Gatick Airport and East Croydon. Now I imagine that will stuff up the service north and back. Drivers will be out of place too. In fact stations between Finsbury Park and Cambridge have been cancelled.
At Gatwick itself, suddenly the door fault was fixed so we had to wait for the non stop Gatick Express to depart. We left 20 minutes late, having only been 2 minutes late at Three Bridges.
By the time we reached East Croydon we were now 24 minutes late.
Lots of other delays too although mostly 10 minutes or under so doesn't wouldn't warrant a general mention.
Actually I see there is reports of an issue between Gatwick Airport and Redhill. There was an earlier points failure at Redhill, which is why both have been linked together.
In the usual style National Rail Enquires live depature board for the service I'm on says it's been delayed due to a I'll door fault. No fault is on the train in front and not us.
Update:
Finally I got to Raynes Park where I had a choice of getting a bus or another train. Either required another ticket. Unfortunately when I looked up the bus to see how long it would take, it kept just giving a choice of which destination I wanted and then no timing info. So helpful.
I then tried Google Maps but due to the poor mobile data receiption, I'm with O2 so expect this, it wasn't loading. Of course there isn't any WiFi at Raynes Park.
So I opted for the bus as it is slightly closer to my destination. Abet if the traffic is bad, it would take longer. It has to be significantly longer though for me to do it.
Now stuck at a bus stop whilst we even out the service so not my day. At least it wasntw 10 miniutes with another bus on the same overtaking us. Yes that did happen to be last year, whilst a bus was waiting to regulate the service. Haha.
Last edited:
LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
An odd thing about my Chat Moss TPE train to Liverpool on Tuesday.
Running 20 late it got stuck behind the Crewe-Liverpool stopper at Rainhill.
I wondered if they would be clever and loop the Crewe at Huyton to let us past.
But in fact they looped the TPE on the slow, while the Crewe made its stops on the fast.
Saves a platform alteration I suppose, and the crossovers are quite fast.
I am also surprised how little use is made of Oxford Road P3 to loop/reverse trains.
It normally sees just the up Llandudno each hour.
Maybe it is getting more use this week!
ValleyLines142
Established Member
Used that ATW service a few times and it's usually full and standing from Crewe to Manchester.
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