Trains that wait for a portion to be attached

[samogers]

Think this is in the right place, mods please move if necessary.

The other day, I boarded a service from Lewes to London Victoria. At Haywards Heath, this train is due to attach to a service from Littlehampton. So, my service (from Eastbourne) arrives at Haywards Heath 1 minute early.

But it doesn't leave for thirty minutes because there is disruption at hove and the Littlehampton portion was delayed. It then causes problems for the service from Brighton to Bedford which cannot be looped due to the ex Eastbourne service occupying the loop platform. This then causes problems to the train due to overtake the Bedford service as well the ex Ore service running 30 minutes after the Eastbourne service as there are no free platforms so it has to wait at Keymer Junction, therefore blocking the Lewes line.

Why did my train wait thirty minutes for the other portion? Surely, it would have made sense not to wait as the Littlehampton portion was late? Could anyone explain why it waited (and caused disruption to three other services including the BTN to VIC express) instead of continuing to London? Also, has this happened to anyone before?

(I understand waiting if a portion is 5 minutes late but half an hour? A bit excessive?)

 

[Anvil1984]

I guess the most obvious one is tbat two trains combined require 1 set of crew, two sets separate require 2. The crew already in the platform might not have enough hours to take the whole set forward and the set in the delayed set might be booked to go all the way woth combimed set

 

[Peter Mugridge]

These are also rather complex diagrams; when the sets next come down from Victoria they split again, but one portion takes longer to come back than the other portion and ends up joining on to a different up service, so there is a need to keep the units on diagram.

In addition, it's not just a question of the crew hours - I'm pretty sure ( and no doubt SarahJ can give a more detailed answer on both points ) that the crew coming off one of the joining trains works back from Haywards on another split.

 

[455driver]

In addition, it's not just a question of the crew hours - I'm pretty sure ( and no doubt SarahJ can give a more detailed answer on both points ) that the crew coming off one of the joining trains works back from Haywards on another split.

That is the way our Alton/Basingstokes work on a Sunday, splitting/attaching at Woking. The driver on the Basingstoke portion works through and the drivers on the Alton portions just do the detachment, work Woking to Alton, return and attach, get off, walk over to platform 5 for the next arrival and do it all again.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Probably train crew working (thus bot leaving a portion with no traincrew potentially) and likely need to get a maximum formation to London for the return (peak) journey where the extra set and seats required.

 

[andy19_64]

Just to add to the above is also what time of day this happened as most of the time the trains will come back down and split but on the build up to the evening peak they will run back down as 12 car formations but not splitting at Haywards Heath and going complete to LA or Eastbourne.

On very rare occasions at Horsham if the back portion is well late control will send the front portion if it is the same crew working it and will then terminate the rear portion at Horsham when it arrives. The train is then put in the sidings and will come out later to make it's correct working back to Bognor. The problem this causes is that from London it could well be just 4 cars coming back down and as you can imagine it could be very cozy.

 

[crewmeal]

Don't forget all the shunting that's required at Edinburgh when attaching and detaching portions of the Caledonian Sleeper to form a 16 coach train to and from London. They must have it down to a fine art so as not to wake the passengers.

 

[Rich McLean]

Often when Turbo's work the Cotswold, they attach to a portion at Oxford. If the Cotswold portion is running late, the unit at Oxford goes forward RT, while the train of the Cotswold line terminates at Oxford. However, this rarely happens during the week now due to the 180s, but can and still does happen at Weekends

 

[najaB]

They must have it down to a fine art so as not to wake the passengers.

It usually wakes me up on the down (Northbound) train, but rarely on the up. Probably because I'm in deeper sleep at 1am on the up train as opposed to 4am for the down.

 

[samogers]

Just to add to the above is also what time of day this happened as most of the time the trains will come back down and split but on the build up to the evening peak they will run back down as 12 car formations but not splitting at Haywards Heath and going complete to LA or Eastbourne.

On very rare occasions at Horsham if the back portion is well late control will send the front portion if it is the same crew working it and will then terminate the rear portion at Horsham when it arrives. The train is then put in the sidings and will come out later to make it's correct working back to Bognor. The problem this causes is that from London it could well be just 4 cars coming back down and as you can imagine it could be very cozy.

It was about 9:30 and my train from Eastbourne was formed of 8 cars

 

[Engineer]

Don't forget all the shunting that's required at Edinburgh when attaching and detaching portions of the Caledonian Sleeper to form a 16 coach train to and from London. They must have it down to a fine art so as not to wake the passengers.

On down to Fort William always wakes me up around 0400, as waiting 67's stabled on next running line to sleeper formation are moved to collect their portions.

 

[Kite159]

The SWT service to Waterloo from Bristol normally waits at Salisbury for the Exeter set to arrive to go to Waterloo as one set.

Or even a set starting at Salisbury waits for the Exeter train to be attached.

 

[lev441]

London Midland used to do this at Northampton on their Birmingham New Street - Euston trains.. not sure if this is still done though..

 

[Crossover]

London Midland used to do this at Northampton on their Birmingham New Street - Euston trains.. not sure if this is still done though..

Since Project 110 saw the Crewe - Euston services the Birminghams joined up with go via Weedon, I don't this now happens anymore

 

[LBSCR Times]

The SWT service to Waterloo from Bristol normally waits at Salisbury for the Exeter set to arrive to go to Waterloo as one set.

Or even a set starting at Salisbury waits for the Exeter train to be attached.

Or if the Exeter is running late, then it will drop in to the next Salisbury local, with another unit restarting the Up Exeter at its booked time from Salisbury.

 

[merlodlliw]

The 0700 VT from Wrexham waits 15 mins or so for a hook up with the Holyhead section on Chesters platform four, similar at Crewe when two VTs join up,one from the lakes the other from Holyhead all voyagers

 

[andy19_64]

Due to an operating incident on the coast today the rear portion of the 15.20 Bognor/Southampton to Victoria was running 28 mins late. What we ended up doing was pinching the 15.30 Horsham - London Bridge service and attaching it to the Bognor portion for a RTD (well almost) and then used the the Southampton portion when it arrived to make the LBG service which departed about 12 late.