SWR sprinter in Reading during the week

[FlyingPotato]

This doesn't concern the Sunday Service from Reading to Salisbury as I know about and have travelled on it.

Recently I've been seeing that there is now an evening SWR sprinter service from Salisbury to reading on weekdays. It comes into reading around 9 then goes to Basingstoke as an ECS move. Does anyone know why?
Is it linked to the Sunday hourly service

I've posted a RTT link as well to it

Realtime Trains | 1J66 1847 Salisbury to Reading | 30/07/2024

Real-time train running information for 1J66 1847 departure from Salisbury to Reading on 30/07/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[ollie_hunt1660]

This doesn't concern the Sunday Service from Reading to Salisbury as I know about and have travelled on it.

Recently I've been seeing that there is now an evening SWR sprinter service from Salisbury to reading on weekdays. It comes into reading around 9 then goes to Basingstoke as an ECS move. Does anyone know why?
Is it linked to the Sunday hourly service

I've posted a RTT link as well to it

Realtime Trains | 1J66 1847 Salisbury to Reading | 30/07/2024

Real-time train running information for 1J66 1847 departure from Salisbury to Reading on 30/07/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Appears to run in place of the slow service to Waterloo after dividing from a service to Westbury, maybe something to do with pathing on the SWML and to not block a platform at Basingstoke.

 

[Kite159]

There has been a weekday appearance of sprinters at Reading since the Sunday services started. From memory it's the 18:47 Salisbury to Reading which calls all stations to Basingstoke (and returns to Salisbury depot ECS via Winchester) and the 19:47 Salisbury to Reading which calls at Andover only as the villages calls get put onto the train from Exeter. That returns to Basingstoke ECS to form the 21:38 Basingstoke to Salisbury train, a service which would be ever so useful if it was put into passenger service at Reading considering I suspect most days it's not the busiest of trains from Basingstoke considering nothing from London connects into it

Most likely for staff route knowledge.

 

[OliverH68]

Yeah this is for route knowledge & covers both sides of Reading too (1J70 goes into 15 via the Down Feeder Relief). These 2 trips have been in the timetable since December 2023. There was a later trip before then.