Request Stops

[Smethwickian]

There used to be a fair number of them on the North Warwickshire Line to Stratford-upon-Avon, however they're all mandatory stops now.

No they're not. The Lakes, Wood End, Danzey and Wooton Wawen remain request stops. LM timetable leaflets, the NRT and platform announcements all confirm this.

 

[The Planner]

Odd when they have ½ minute dwells, defeats the object really.

 

[swcovas]

A number of stations on the Heart of Wales line such as Llandybie, Ffairfach and Llangadog are request stops in one direction but not in the other as it is necessary to operate level crossing equipment before leaving the station. Approaching from the other direction the equipment trips automatically. It makes an irritating contribution to overall journey time. At Llandovery which is not a request stop the train even has to stop before the level xing, operate the barriers then enter the station.

 

[181]

If there is somebody to get off the Guard doesnt do anything and the driver will stop, if there is no-one to get off the guard will give 2 buzzes on the bell as the train approaches the station, the driver will slow down to see if anyone wants to get on and if there is will give one on the buzzer back to the guard, if nobody to get on the driver will give 2 buzzes back and take power.

A couple of years ago I asked to get off at Falls of Cruachan, and the guard phoned the driver from the back cab and said 'stop at the Falls, please'. Maybe passengers there are rare enough that the default assumption is that there are none.

 

[richard1976]

A number of stations on the Heart of Wales line such as Llandybie, Ffairfach and Llangadog are request stops in one direction but not in the other as it is necessary to operate level crossing equipment before leaving the station. Approaching from the other direction the equipment trips automatically. It makes an irritating contribution to overall journey time. At Llandovery which is not a request stop the train even has to stop before the level xing, operate the barriers then enter the station.

same as at Tal-y-Cafn on the conwy valley line

 

[Quakers Yard]

And very near Gunnislake too.
There's loads of request stops in Wales.
A while ago most Valley stations were request stops at night too partly owing to
behaviour

 

[Darren R]

Odd when they have ½ minute dwells, defeats the object really.

All the request stops on the East Lancashire Line (Preston to Colne) also have the standard half-minute station dwell times too. I sometimes wondered what the point was, then I read this post....

Originally Posted by 455driver
The request stop is a way of making an unworkable timetable workable.

....and suddenly it all made sense!

 

[455driver]

A couple of years ago I asked to get off at Falls of Cruachan, and the guard phoned the driver from the back cab and said 'stop at the Falls, please'. Maybe passengers there are rare enough that the default assumption is that there are none.

Sometimes the guard will ask the driver to stop at <a station> before the train sets off, some would say that the guard is delegating the responsibility onto the driver, I wouldnt but some would!
Some passengers will also ask the driver to stop at <a station> as they board the train as well.
As long as one of the traincrew know to stop the train it doesnt really matter either way.

 

[The Planner]

All the request stops on the East Lancashire Line (Preston to Colne) also have the standard half-minute station dwell times too. I sometimes wondered what the point was, then I read this post....
....and suddenly it all made sense!

I dont believe that is the case or would work as the TOC would soon start getting the delay minutes. The North Warwicks has had its timetable re-jigged for the 172s so it would still work if they were open stops.

 

[davidgiles]

An unusual situation exists on the Looe Valley line, where Coombe Halt acts as a request stop even though it's nit shown as one

Very few trains are scheduled to call at Coombe Halt, but where they are timed to it's scheduled as a mandatory stop. In practice, one has to request Coombe Halt specifically or the reversal will take place at the junction. I was most irritated to miss out on my few chains of track, having deliberately travelled on a train due to call there and been thwarted :/

 

[richw]

An unusual situation exists on the Looe Valley line, where Coombe Halt acts as a request stop even though it's nit shown as one

Very few trains are scheduled to call at Coombe Halt, but where they are timed to it's scheduled as a mandatory stop. In practice, one has to request Coombe Halt specifically or the reversal will take place at the junction. I was most irritated to miss out on my few chains of track, having deliberately travelled on a train due to call there and been thwarted :/

Not quite correct, if driver sees nobody waiting they don't pull forward to the platform, almost certainly will know if any passengers are going there.

 

[davidgiles]

So people on the train have to request the stop, despite it not officially being a request stop. That's what happened to me, anyway.

 

[David Goddard]

Sometimes the guard will ask the driver to stop at <a station> before the train sets off, some would say that the guard is delegating the responsibility onto the driver, I wouldnt but some would!
Some passengers will also ask the driver to stop at <a station> as they board the train as well.
As long as one of the traincrew know to stop the train it doesnt really matter either way.

That's interesting to know. What do the regulations say?

Not quite correct, if driver sees nobody waiting they don't pull forward to the platform, almost certainly will know if any passengers are going there.

Does this not then mean that the stop has been missed (i.e. in the same sense as a through train not stopping at a station)?

 

[swcovas]

I've a few basic questions about request stops, I did have a quick search but didn't get any clear answers:

1. Are there recent examples of stops that have gone from request to regular status?
   
   
   
   
   .

1. 
   
   Yes, Gowerton.

 

[Buttsy]

I had an incident in Scotland last summer when I requested a stop at Durinish and kept teh guard in sight throughout the run from Kyle. He remembered, but the driver didn't so I had to get out the rear door and drop onto the platform ramp after the driver was reminded of the stop and just pulled up in time. I have the feeling that had he totally overshot, I'd have been told by the guard to clamber down and be careful walking back to the station...

 

[cuccir]

The top 10 request stops based on the 2011/12 usage figures

1. Llwyngwril (39738)
2. Lympstone Commando (38616) - probably inaccurate?
3. Conwy (38136)
4. Aspatria (30078)
5. Corkickle (29294)
6. Dalston (28766)
7. Foxfield (27698)
8. Perranwell (27030)
9. Clunderwen (24812)
10. Umberleigh (23786)

Interesting - I was going to give Foxfield and Aspatria as two examples of stops that always seem to get used. On the Cumbria Coast Line I'd say that on most of my journeys along it that the train stops at the vast majority of request stops, usually skipping only 1 or 2 along the route.

 

[455driver]

That's interesting to know. What do the regulations say?

In what way?

The passengers are supposed to tell the guard, who will then tell the driver, but as long as the train stops then it doesnt really matter who is told.

 

[najaB]

I have the feeling that had he totally overshot, I'd have been told by the guard to clamber down and be careful walking back to the station...

I wonder what the rules say about setting back to the platform in this situation?

 

[swcovas]

I wonder what the rules say about setting back to the platform in this situation?

I wondered the same recently when we went thru Llanwrda on a down train on the HOWL.

The train slowed for the xing before the station and then accelerated thru the station when the guard went hot footing down the train to the driver's end because someone had wanted to alight. We had to reverse a good a hundred yards or so back to the station and the look on the driver's face as he made his way down the train to the opposite end left me in no doubt that it was the guard's failure to inform him and not him forgetting to stop!!!

 

[crispy1978]

My wife and I travelled up to Thurso in 2008 I think it was, and the train stopped at every location en-route despite a lot being listed as request stops.

We then travelled up again last year, and it only stopped at the ones where requests were made.

Also - the Cambrian Coast Line - the conductor tends to come through the train once the train splits at Dovey Junction and asks people where they are travelling to, listing the request stops (we stopped at Penychain for example), and used to buzz the driver if they needed the stop.

 

[driver9000]

I wonder what the rules say about setting back to the platform in this situation?

As long as proper permission is received from the Signaller and the move won't exceed 400 metres or pass over an automatic level crossing that isn't under local control a train may return to a platform after an overrun.

 

[najaB]

Thanks driver9000, I was wondering if the driver would need to get permission or not.

As a random thought - would it be any different in absolute block areas since there shouldn't be any other trains involved?

 

[Llanigraham]

I wondered the same recently when we went thru Llanwrda on a down train on the HOWL.

The train slowed for the xing before the station and then accelerated thru the station when the guard went hot footing down the train to the driver's end because someone had wanted to alight. We had to reverse a good a hundred yards or so back to the station and the look on the driver's face as he made his way down the train to the opposite end left me in no doubt that it was the guard's failure to inform him and not him forgetting to stop!!!

I'm sure the Rule Book says 400yds with the permission of the signaller, and as long as the route is set and locked.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Thanks driver9000, I was wondering if the driver would need to get permission or not.

As a random thought - would it be any different in absolute block areas since there shouldn't be any other trains involved?

Certainly is the rule for AB!

 

[Parallel]

Yes, Gowerton.

I believe Gowerton is still a request stop on a few services - the 1040 Holyhead - Llanelli service which is scheduled to call at Gowerton on request at 16:34. I'm not sure about weekend services.

 

[D1009]

As long as proper permission is received from the Signaller and the move won't exceed 400 metres or pass over an automatic level crossing that isn't under local control a train may return to a platform after an overrun.

The Heart of Wales line is signalled by NSTR (= No signalman token, remotely monitored) controlled by Pantyffynnon. Given the topography of the line and the lack of radio coverage I'm not sure it's practical for drivers to obtain permission from Pantyffynnon box in that situation, so I'd imagine they are allowed to set back a short distance without permission.

 

[O L Leigh]

Sometimes the guard will ask the driver to stop at <a station> before the train sets off, some would say that the guard is delegating the responsibility onto the driver, I wouldnt but some would!
Some passengers will also ask the driver to stop at <a station> as they board the train as well.
As long as one of the traincrew know to stop the train it doesnt really matter either way.

I've always taken the default view that I will stop whether I've been requested to do so or not. I can't imagine that there would be many driver managers who wouldn't be quick to "ping" someone for a failed-to-call, even at a request stop, so I ensure that my backside is adequately covered. Mind you, whenever I've stopped at Manea there has always been at least one person who wanted to get on or off the train.

I've had guards buzz me up to ask me to stop at Manea and, on one occasion when I was delayed, one buzz me up to suggest that I not stop in order to claw back some time. However, on that day a passenger had already come to the window to ask me to stop at Manea, so I overruled him. The point is that any passenger wanting to use a request stop should tell someone on the train, whether it be the driver or the guard.

O L Leigh

 

[Darren R]

Originally Posted by The Planner;
I dont believe that is the case or would work as the TOC would soon start getting the delay minutes. The North Warwicks has had its timetable re-jigged for the 172s so it would still work if they were open stops.

The delay minutes frequently do start to add-up on the East Lancs Line - but very rarely is it because a Pacer-load of passengers have turned up at Pleasington!

Actually the half-minute booked station dwell-times at the request stops reduce delays - a train running a few minutes late makes up half a minute of that delay at each request station at which it doesn't stop. And timings at the ends of both single-track sections are very tight between passing trains!

 

[swcovas]

The Heart of Wales line is signalled by NSTR (= No signalman token, remotely monitored) controlled by Pantyffynnon. Given the topography of the line and the lack of radio coverage I'm not sure it's practical for drivers to obtain permission from Pantyffynnon box in that situation, so I'd imagine they are allowed to set back a short distance without permission.

I wondered if that was the case because in the incident I mentioned earlier (Post #49) the driver was out and off to the other end of the unit pretty damn quickly and I can't imagine he spent time phoning Pantyffynon.

 

[najaB]

I wonder if this would be the case in RETB areas like the Far North line - the driver already has the token so that section of track is his/hers?

 

[Tetchytyke]

On the Cumbria Coast Line I'd say that on most of my journeys along it that the train stops at the vast majority of request stops, usually skipping only 1 or 2 along the route.

Certainly between Whitehaven and Carlisle they stop more often than not, especially at Aspatria and Dalston. Both are fairly big villages so I'm surprised they're not permanent stops, 455driver's comment on timetabling probably explains it.