Trivia: Big City, Sleepy Sunday First Trains Out.

[SN1 19-5]

I was in Plymouth this morning. Been there since about half 10 last night. Roughing it with the locals!

Dissappointed that the station didn'y open until 8am. First train off (mine) was 08:37

Which is the latest Sleepy Sunday start for a major city?...

Late night Saturday arrivals are NOT allowed!

 

[MontyP]

Hull is 0831 (to York)

 

[dk1]

Is Lincoln still quite late & then poorly served for most of the day? I know there are promised improvements in the new East Midlands franchise.

 

[43055]

Is Lincoln still quite late & then poorly served for most of the day? I know there are promised improvements in the new East Midlands franchise.

0847 to Nottingham is the first departure. Its then largely hourly to Nottingham and Sheffield (from 1014) in the day with the odd extra to Newark and Cleethorpes as well.

 

[dk1]

0847 to Nottingham is the first departure. Its then largely hourly to Nottingham and Sheffield (from 1014) in the day with the odd extra to Newark and Cleethorpes as well.

Okay thanks. Better than I recall it used to be.

 

[Glenn1969]

Halifax has a London train at 0746 but no local service until 0853 to Manchester, 0858 to Leeds and 0911 to Huddersfield

 

[dk1]

Even in rural Norfolk we have first Sunday departures from Norwich to...

London 06:52
Lowestoft 07:25
Cambridge 07:30 (when GEML blocked if not 09:03)
Yarmouth 07:36
Sheringham 08:36

East Midlands let the side down with their first departure 09:47 (Summer only for some odd reason & 10:47 during the cold months).

 

[Weekender]

Gloucester’s first Sunday train is the 09:37 to Swindon and the first train to Cardiff isn’t until 10:44

 

[Bevan Price]

Depends on which direction you want to travel.
Stoke on Trent first Sunday departures are
08:57 to London Euston
09:30 Manchester Piccadilly
09:35 Birmingham New Street
10:06 Crewe
14:29 Derby

Stoke/Crewe Sunday service improved this year, thanks to the new Crewe/Stoke/Birmingham services.
The earliest arrival from Derby is still 15:33 (14:40 from Derby)

From Liverpool, if you want to travel to Rainford, Upholland, Orrell or Pemberton, via connections at Kirkby, your first "Sunday" train is on Monday morning
.

 

[Kite159]

Bradford for trains towards Leeds is around 09:12 from both stations on a Sunday morning. I don't think the GC service at 07:57 connects into anything useful heading towards Leeds either [i.e. Mirfield or Wakefield]

-------

Inverness, first service on a Sunday morning is the 09:40 Tain train & 09:40 London train.

Stirling, first Edinburgh train is 09:10, first Glasgow is 09:26. First northbound being 10:11 Aberdeen.

Aberdeen, first train towards Glasgow at 09:22

 

[soccermad]

No Sunday service at all on the Robin Hood Line north of Mansfield Woodhouse

 

[Bletchleyite]

It’s not quite what you were after, but in BR days the first northbound train from Lancaster (other than to Barrow) was about 1500.

 

[PG]

No Sunday service at all on the Robin Hood Line north of Mansfield Woodhouse

I'm certain that in the new EMR franchise there is a commitment to the Sunday service running through to Worksop. Can't remember if it's from the start of Abellio taking over or some time in the future.

 

[swt_passenger]

No Sunday service at all on the Robin Hood Line north of Mansfield Woodhouse

Is there a “big city” hidden somewhere up there?

 

[Kite159]

Is there a “big city” hidden somewhere up there?

The big city is hidden within the mega warehouse for that sports clothing company at Shirebrook

 

[dk1]

I'm certain that in the new EMR franchise there is a commitment to the Sunday service running through to Worksop. Can't remember if it's from the start of Abellio taking over or some time in the future.

It would be at some time in the future.

 

[higthomas]

Depends on which direction you want to travel.
Stoke on Trent first Sunday departures are
08:57 to London Euston
09:30 Manchester Piccadilly
09:35 Birmingham New Street
10:06 Crewe
14:29 Derby

Stoke/Crewe Sunday service improved this year, thanks to the new Crewe/Stoke/Birmingham services.
The earliest arrival from Derby is still 15:33 (14:40 from Derby)

From Liverpool, if you want to travel to Rainford, Upholland, Orrell or Pemberton, via connections at Kirkby, your first "Sunday" train is on Monday morning
.

Wow, sometimes I forget how bad some of the services are on the East Midlands franchise

Living down South I get annoyed that my trains are only every 30 minutes on a Sunday, with a somewhat later 0630 start.

 

[cactustwirly]

Well our Sunday service is very backwards, especially compared to other European countries.
Places like Austria and Germany have basically a weekday service, Austria in particular is a more Christian country than the UK

 

[43055]

Wow, sometimes I forget how bad some of the services are on the East Midlands franchise

Living down South I get annoyed that my trains are only every 30 minutes on a Sunday, with a somewhat later 0630 start.

That would be a amazing service for us, even just a hourly service from 0900 would be good or even two coaches would be better. Even the buses are not much better with most running during the day Monday to Saturday.

 

[Triumph]

London Overground doesnt start running until after 0900 on a sunday.
I think you could say thats a record for the largest City!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Well our Sunday service is very backwards, especially compared to other European countries.
Places like Austria and Germany have basically a weekday service, Austria in particular is a more Christian country than the UK

The problem is the staffing issue. If we could break the back of getting Sunday into the working week, we could get our Sunday service levels to Saturday levels at least from about 0900 to 1900, during which times Sunday basically has the same demands as Saturday.

20 years ago I distinctly remember that most of the shops in Liverpool city centre were shut on a Sunday. Now it's a normal day, just with a narrower window of demand, and justifies the same service.

Even LNR (for they have sinned with their new timetable, in most ways other than this) have recognised that the 3tph Brum service is needed on Sundays as well now.

 

[PP57601]

I was in Plymouth this morning. Been there since about half 10 last night. Roughing it with the locals!

Dissappointed that the station didn'y open until 8am. First train off (mine) was 08:37

Which is the latest Sleepy Sunday start for a major city?...

Late night Saturday arrivals are NOT allowed!

If demand existed, then I'm certain GWR (and other TOC's) would run something earlier.
Additionally, overnight engineering possessions play a big part in Sunday morning start times!

 

[Statto]

Liverpool, Merseyrail doesn't start until around 8am on a Sunday, some first services don't arrive in Liverpool until after 08.30

 

[transmanche]

London Overground doesnt start running until after 0900 on a sunday.
I think you could say thats a record for the largest City!

IIRC, that's only true for the Richmond/Clapham Junction to Stratford route.

On the Highbury & Islington to New Cross Gate route the service doesn't stop running on Saturday night, it continues all night long. The first service that goes beyond New Cross Gate leaves H&I at 06:35.

 

[The Prisoner]

First train on the WCML south from Glasgow towards Carlisle isn't til 0938.

Back in the 90s - as someone eluded to above - there was nothing on a Winter WCML Sunday until around 1500. Remember getting a special from Penrith to watch Carlisle play Birmingham at Wembley in April 95 and it left at around 8am on a Sunday in April to get to Wembley for mid afternoon - went literally all around the houses to avoid possessions and took something like seven hours to get there. It was better in Summer.

By the way - anyone know what that game was famous for?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Even in the summer there was no train north from Preston until quite late on. The DalesRail was there, but (being a pseudo-charter) would not accept regular tickets which were all routed Lancaster, so there were lots of arguments.

 

[Mugby]

There's nothing out of Birmingham New Street until around 0830 on Sundays.

This is not good for Britain's second city and compares very poorly with Manchester Piccadilly for example.

 

[MikeWM]

Ely certainly isn't a *big* city, but its first departure isn't until 0857 (apart from the 0852 to Peterborough which only runs in the summer months) and, whenever I've had to get that, it is full and standing, which strongly implies it needs something earlier. It contrasts very poorly with pretty much everywhere else around (Peterborough, Cambridge, Norwich, Ipswich - even Bury St Eds and Newmarket have earlier trains).

 

[JonathanP]

First departure from Worcester in the direction of Birmingham is 0920, in the opposite direction 0929, which makes it a bit tricky to attend anything which starts before mid morning.

It's alright though, improvements are coming.... in mid-2021. Quite why it takes so long if they already recognise the need, I do not understand

 

[SN1 19-5]

There were a few of us waiting outside the station.

The thing that amused me the most was, taxi drivers started dropping off passengers around 07:30....

Why get everyone out of bed if the train doesn't leave until 08:37? The station doesn't even open until 08:00