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Rail replacement bus frequency between Three Bridges and Haywards Heath

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infobleep

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This evening I need to catch a rail placement bus from Three Bridges to Haywards Heath but will have over a 20-minute wait due to a lower frequency in bus services compared to most than other hours and I was wondering why they might run a lower frequency.

This is the frequency per hour
05:00-05:59 x2
06:00-06:59 x3
07:00-07:59 x2
08:00-14:59 6 per hour every hour
15:00-15:59 x4
16:00-18:59 x6 per hour every hour
19:00-19:59 x4
20:00-20:59 x5
21:00-21:59 x6
22:00-22:59 x6 originally but 1 cancelled
23:00-23:59 x4
0:00-0:59 x4
01:00-01:59 x1
02:00-02:59 x1

Only trains before 08:00 and after 23:00 have the same frequency or lower, along with the 15:00-15:59 period.

Does anyone have any thought as to why they might have a lower frequency between 15:00-15:59 and 19:59? Given there are higher service provisions on either side of those hours, I wouldn't have expected fewer buses.

Do less people tend to travel between those hours? I don't think they run fewer trains during those hours on a normal Sunday.
 
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JonathanH

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Does anyone have any thought as to why they might have a lower frequency between 15:00-15:59 and 19:59? Given there are higher service provisions on either side of those hours, I wouldn't have expected fewer buses.
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...21-10-10/0200-0159?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt suggests the frequency is the same all day - eg xx00, xx15, xx30, xx45 to Brighton and xx29, xx59 to Lewes - there aren't fewer buses in the 15:00 to 15:59 period.

The Lewes buses https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...21-10-10/0200-0159?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt run at xx29 and xx59 except at 2104 instead of 2059 and then later when the frequency starts to reduce to one an hour, explaining the change between 2000 and 2059 then 2100 and 2159.

Is the issue a discrepency in the arrival times at Haywards Heath which means that some buses in the 1500-1559 / 1900-1959 hours don't show on NRE?

There are also buses every ten minutes direct from Three Bridges to Brighton. It appears quite intensive to me.
 
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infobleep

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https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...21-10-10/0200-0159?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt suggests the frequency is the same all day - eg xx00, xx15, xx30, xx45 to Brighton and xx29, xx59 to Lewes - there aren't fewer buses in the 15:00 to 15:59 period.

The Lewes buses https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...21-10-10/0200-0159?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt run at xx29 and xx59 except at 2104 instead of 2059 and then later when the frequency starts to reduce to one an hour, explaining the change between 2000 and 2059 then 2100 and 2159.

Is the issue a discrepency in the arrival times at Haywards Heath which means that some buses in the 1500-1559 / 1900-1959 hours don't show on NRE?

There are also buses every ten minutes direct from Three Bridges to Brighton. It appears quite intensive to me.
I didn't check Real Time Trains, only National Rail Enquiries and I was looking at the live departure board for Three Bridges to Haywards Heath. I would have expected all buses to show up.

Maybe some buses weren't inputted but are actually running.

Edit: That is indeed the case. I mean buses running but not showing up. Sont know the reason. The 19:45 doesn't show on National Rail Enquiries. I thought all passenger trains shown on Real Time Trains would show up on National Rail Enquiries as if it wasn't on NRE then it wouldn't be on RTT, so I didn't think to check the other site.

Due to it not showing up, it was saying that it would take 55 minutes to reach Haywards Heath, once I had got off the incoming train from Cambridge.

That to me seemed excessive given the train only takes 10 minutes between the two towns. I do appreciate the car route is slower than the train but it wouldn't be 55 minutes slow.

However there is a bus running earlier. It just didn't show up for some reason.
 
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JonathanH

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That to me seemed excessive given the train only takes 10 minutes between the two towns. I do appreciate the car route is slower than the train but it wouldn't be 55 minutes slow.
The bus route via Balcombe from Three Bridges to Haywards Heath isn't a fast route as the A23 goes some way to the west.

Balcombe gets a bus every 15 minutes as a result of being on the road between the two when it only gets a train every hour on a Sunday normally.
 

infobleep

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The bus route via Balcombe from Three Bridges to Haywards Heath isn't a fast route as the A23 goes some way to the west.

Balcombe gets a bus every 15 minutes as a result of being on the road between the two when it only gets a train every hour on a Sunday normally.
The bus did indeed depart packed at 19:45. They could skip Balcombe and travel via a different faster route and only have 1 bus an hour to Balcombe but I doubt it's worth doing and it depends on bridges along the different routes.

Still, the queue for the bus I got on, was much shorter than for the fast bus to Brighton and I will be home earlier than officially stated in the journey planner.
 

Mcr Warrior

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Travelling via Balcombe on the rail replacement bus on a Sunday night always seems to be a bit of a schlep, but whichever way you do go, the roads from Three Bridges towards Haywards Heath, other than partly along the M23/A23, aren't the best on a double decker.
 

30907

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I didn't check Real Time Trains, only National Rail Enquiries and I was looking at the live departure board for Three Bridges to Haywards Heath. I would have expected all buses to show up.

Maybe some buses weren't inputted but are actually running.

Edit: That is indeed the case. I mean buses running but not showing up. Sont know the reason. The 19:45 doesn't show on National Rail Enquiries. I thought all passenger trains shown on Real Time Trains would show up on National Rail Enquiries as if it wasn't on NRE then it wouldn't be on RTT, so I didn't think to check the other site.
Very strange - I checked NRE journey planner at almost the same time as JonathanH and the 1945 was showing.
 

infobleep

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Very strange - I checked NRE journey planner at almost the same time as JonathanH and the 1945 was showing.
Very odd indeed. I even checked the app from Balcombe and it didn't show up. I didn't check the Web Site but then I'd expect the app to match the Web Site and I was on my mobile.

I didn't take any screenshots so have no evidence now.
 

JonathanH

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The bus did indeed depart packed at 19:45. They could skip Balcombe and travel via a different faster route and only have 1 bus an hour to Balcombe but I doubt it's worth doing and it depends on bridges along the different routes.
There isn't a faster route from Three Bridges station to Haywards Heath station than that through Balcombe though is there? (I note it isn't the way the Metrobus 271 or 272 go but they have other traffic objectives on the way.)
 

Sussex Ben

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There isn't a faster route from Three Bridges station to Haywards Heath station than that through Balcombe though is there? (I note it isn't the way the Metrobus 271 or 272 go but they have other traffic objectives on the way.)
Not an obvious one which is also suitable for double deckers. In a former life as a train planner for Southern, we used to allow 25mins for runs via Balcombe but 30mins for non-stop runs to give drivers enough time to go via the A/M23 if they wanted to avoid all of the low branches on the Balcombe route (I note that these all appear to be shown at 30mins regardless of route now).
 

infobleep

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There isn't a faster route from Three Bridges station to Haywards Heath station than that through Balcombe though is there? (I note it isn't the way the Metrobus 271 or 272 go but they have other traffic objectives on the way.)
Bo you are right. There isn't. The route I am thinking off would involve the brick bridge just past the Ouse Valley Viaduct and even then you pass by Balcombe. That bridge might be too low for the double decker buses.
 

Mcr Warrior

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There isn't a faster route from Three Bridges station to Haywards Heath station than that through Balcombe though is there?
Very occasionally in the past, I've been on a rail replacement bus from Three Bridges that has travelled down the A23 to the A272 junction and then into Haywards Heath, thus omitting Balcombe and all the low branches hitting the bus top deck on the B2036. Not sure, though, if it was any quicker that way!
 
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