I see we are back to 15-minute stops at Manchester Victoria now that the Liverpool-Newcastles make two stops via Chat Moss.
Yes indeed. I think the timetable is consistently dreadful across all regions.
Thanks for the reality check. I had not realised any were out on Friday !. I did not se any I looked for in RTT and assumed the strike was probably comprehensive enough.
Actually. This over the top cut back in stock might work in the favour of the Mk5s. The sooner TPE is seen to be very short of stock then the sooner TPE (DfT) might be persuaded to sign a new contract for the Mk5s. I think we have to hope the noise issue is er unheard !.
Sadly I suspect once the Mk5s have gone, they will be gone. Just look at Southern which lost the 313s + 455s without replacements. Or even XC with all the overcrowding issues they have (soon to be made worse when the HSTs get retired).
They’ve been no better or worse than many other fleets. The reason they seem worse is down to the utterly inept and woeful WorstGroup management of the TPE operation.
What noise issue? Changing the Scarborough TMD work to daytime solved the problem.
The Class 68 locomotive with the ETS switched off is actually quieter than a Class 185.
I think people are very, very slowly realising that growth is a dirty word across all industries and not just rail. This country is certainly being dismantled however you look at it.
Yes, I’d very much agree with all of that.
I can see the DfT in all this to be honest.
The 802’s (19 of them) aren’t heavily diagramed at present if I am right in thinking.
3 coaches at Hitachi Newton Aycliffe.
I see that from December the final Edinburgh - Newcastle service is extended to Liverpool.
There's currently just 13 diagrammed weekdays so I suspect its 3 on the two hourly Newcastle - Picc service which go in December anyway. The 397's should cover the WCML diagram so plenty of 802 slack to reinstate the 4tph York/Leeds/Manchester timetable without the MkV's once traincrew are trained up.
Thank you for the info, most appreciated.
Yes a lot of successful effort has gone into making the use of the 68s+Mk5s less intrusive at Scarborough. I don't know how much of a penalty that has been on operations ?.
I sense that the use of TPE Mk5s was getting more successfully organised and all that effort to make it so is being thrown away just when it might be coming to fruition.Yes, I’d very much agree with all of that.
I would contend that it’s a huge shame and an opportunity missed that the Class 68/Mk5A sets have not been seen as a great tool with which to grow the passenger market over the Pennines.
For the avoidance of doubt, I’m also a generally positive person, which is why I’m seriously considering giving up on railways
I agree. I think there has been a lot of work put into the Class 68/Mk5A sets.
We had these years ago between Glasgow and Edinburgh - first top-and-tail 27s then 47s plus DVT. I don't recall reading of major problems with those.At least they have been a return to the "retro" concept of push-pull loco-hauled trains - loco-hauled relief trains next?
Even an HST is effectively a top-and-tail class 43 operation. They seem to have been a blinding success in their almost 50 year service. But then along came these pesky underfloor noise and vibration making devices !.
Yes..... DMUs should be slowly phasing out to modern locos or electric solutions. Even the 1xx number range has nearly ended.
Exactly my sentiments, they seem to be simply throwing in the towel somewhat. Yet I'm sure many of us will still not be surprised if/when the reduced timetable starts to fall apart as punters shoehorn onto the remaining TPE capacity and timings are lost. As I've said over on the December 2023 thread, it feels very much like a dial back to previous years when the service was simply appalling and getting a space on some trains was nothing short of a combination of the dark arts and brute force. I for one will be going even further out of my way to avoid TPE as the service gets worse. And as the 185s move into their effective middle ages things might just get worse still.
Has there been any official publication to support this claim, or is it a (probably accurate) guess?
Am I correct in saying in addition to crew competency, the diagram also serves as a way of getting a set to Craigentinny for maintenance?
No; it's a Craigentinny-Craigentinny diagram. 802s haven't routinely visited Manchester Airport on North route services since the pre-Covid timetable.