Trivia: Parallel moves (signalling)

[IanXC]

It is often quoted that only one train can depart Bradford Interchange at any given time; there being no provision for Parallel moves.

That has had me thinking about the locations where they can be accommodated. Clearly almost all the London terminals will have this, but are there any more surprising examples?

One that is always a surprise to me when witness to it is Hull Paragon, 1 towards Beverley and 1 towards Brough. At quite some speed too!

 

[Skie]

The 07:00 to Euston departs Lime Street at the same time as the Northern service to Wigan North Western, and they tend to run alongside each other for the entire length of the Lime Street cuttings before the Northern service stops at Edge Hill.

Same thing happens at 07:42 with the Norwich and Manchester Victoria services.

 

[takno]

Mill Lane Jn at Bradford effectively sees the platform lines merge into a single two track railway briefly before branching off in different directions. This wasn't the case as built, and I think came about with the rationalization in 1973. I would guess on the wider network that where the platforms are bi-directional it's more common to be able to have parallel moves than not.

 

[HarleyDavidson]

Guildford you can sometimes have 3 simultaneous departures northbound, 1 towards London Road, 1 towards Woking and 1 towards Ash/Reading.

You can also have 2 simultaneous down departures too, although this only happens when it's quiet or occasionally towards the end of the peak period.

 

[snowball]

Mill Lane Jn at Bradford effectively sees the platform lines merge into a single two track railway briefly before branching off in different directions. This wasn't the case as built, and I think came about with the rationalization in 1973.

From the Enhancements Delivery Plan:

In addition the programme will deliver the following:
• Bradford Mill Lane Capacity – infrastructure improvements to provide
parallel moves at Bradford Interchange to/from Leeds and Halifax.

 

[fairysdad]

Probably never used in practise, but given that at least one of the two lines between Exeter St Davids and Exeter Central is bi-directional...? Maybe.

Departure-wise though, EXD probably has seen an Exmouth/Waterloo departure from platform 1 at the same time as a southbound departure from 3 or 4. They're not parallel for very far though - just to the end of the platforms!

 

[Dai Corner]

Only 29 chains as far as Bristol East Junction, and usually from opposite sides of the station so not that parallel in the mathematical sense, but there are simultaneous departures from Bristol Temple Meads towards Bath and Bristol Parkway on every hour and half hour for most of the day.

 

[Nippy]

Plenty of options around Reading for it. Admittedly some are only 1 signal section though.

 

[Jimini]

Leytonstone westbound on the central line too for a fair bit until the tracks merge.

 

[Ianno87]

Ely is good fun.

About xx16 in most hours, see:
-The Stansted-Birmingham XC service depart northbound from Platform 1 via the Down line
-The Liverpool-Norwich EMT service depart from Platform 3 wrong-direction on the Up line

They then drag race each other to Ely North Jn!

 

[Minilad]

Southampton Central on the up through the tunnel. Doing that move bang road is a bum tightener I can tell you!

 

[Joseph_Locke]

The new layout at Bolton theoretically allows for a move from Blackburn into 1 a the same time as a northbound move through 5, a southbound move through 3 and one waiting for 1,2 or 3 at the south end.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Llandudno Junction sees Bangor / Holyhead departures from platform 3 leaving at the same time as Llandudno departures from platform 2 (bay) and run just a short distance alongside each other until the Llandudno train heads onto the branch, sometimes the same happens in reverse but not very often have I seen this.

Chester also sometimes sees Shrewsbury / Birmingham and South Wales bound trains leave platform 2 at the same time as a North Wales Coast bound train from platform 3

 

[philthetube]

On the metropolitan line / Chiltern at Harrow on the Hill four trains can depart north at the same time,

Platform 1/2 towords Rickmansworth on the fast
Platform 3/4 Watford/Rickmansworth local
Platform 4/5 into the siding
Platform 5/6 Uxbridge

I can't imagine there are many 6 platform stations where this can happen.

 

[AndrewE]

I thought that this was the norm across the network (where there is more than 1 line signalled for the move.) I would have said it's more likely that the constraint applies mostly where the track has been short-sightedly over-simplified. I don't think a parallel move has to be in the same direction, so single lead junctions between two double track lines are another example of capacity compromised for cheapness.

 

[BantamMenace]

Ely is good fun.

About xx16 in most hours, see:
-The Stansted-Birmingham XC service depart northbound from Platform 1 via the Down line
-The Liverpool-Norwich EMT service depart from Platform 3 wrong-direction on the Up line

They then drag race each other to Ely North Jn!

Similar at Peterborough with a Leicester bound and northbound ECML service. The DMU usually has the upper hand before turning for Stamford.

 

[MichaelAMW]

On the metropolitan line / Chiltern at Harrow on the Hill four trains can depart north at the same time,

Platform 1/2 towords Rickmansworth on the fast
Platform 3/4 Watford/Rickmansworth local
Platform 4/5 into the siding
Platform 5/6 Uxbridge

I can't imagine there are many 6 platform stations where this can happen.

Nottingham heading west. (Five platforms, really, since one of them only faces the other way.)

 

[Dai Corner]

Although there are no simultaneous departures timetabled trains can leave platform 1 at Newport for Cardiff on the Down Relief and Platform 2 on the Down Main and theoretically run side by side all the way.

On a major event day fairly recently (EUFA Cup?) up trains were timetabled to depart Cardiff Central and arrive at Newport simultaneously on the Main and Relief lines. I don't know if it happened in reality as the timetable tends to go out of the window and trains are dispatched once they're full.

 

[150219]

It is often quoted that only one train can depart Bradford Interchange at any given time; there being no provision for Parallel moves.

That has had me thinking about the locations where they can be accommodated. Clearly almost all the London terminals will have this, but are there any more surprising examples?

One that is always a surprise to me when witness to it is Hull Paragon, 1 towards Beverley and 1 towards Brough. At quite some speed too!

Aylesbury used to have three diagrammed parallel moves all in the same direction, with a move from the sidings to P3, an arrival into P2 from Amersham and an arrival into P1 from P. Risborough, but little tweaks to the timetable as the years progressed have removed it.

 

[swt_passenger]

Southampton Central on the up through the tunnel. Doing that move bang road is a bum tightener I can tell you!

Done that a couple of times now, (only as a passenger though) and in the down direction as well. Even then it feels weird going through the tunnel on the wrong side...

 

[Lrd]

Done that a couple of times now, (only as a passenger though) and in the down direction as well. Even then it feels weird going through the tunnel on the wrong side...

Used to do it on the down quite often on the "Salisbury 6" service if it was delayed by a couple of minutes and the Pompey stopper got let in front at St Deny's.

 

[pompeyfan]

I’d assume Fratton and Southsea count for this bit of trivia.

2 up services from Fratton, 2 down services, and you could in theory have 2 (possibly even 3, not sure on exactly point Work) up services departing from Southsea simultaneously.

 

[Trainfan344]

Norwich quite often sees an train leave towards Trowse Swingbridge as a unit departs to the local branches.

 

[iantherev]

Probably never used in practise, but given that at least one of the two lines between Exeter St Davids and Exeter Central is bi-directional...? Maybe.

Departure-wise though, EXD probably has seen an Exmouth/Waterloo departure from platform 1 at the same time as a southbound departure from 3 or 4. They're not parallel for very far though - just to the end of the platforms!

I’ve been on a Basingstoke SWR train which has left P3 at the same time as a late running GWR Barnstaple -Central train from P1.

 

[SeanG]

You can get this at Newcastle. I think there are 3 departures at 0700

 

[hick]

Clapham Junction platforms 1&2, and more unusually Dalston Junction southbound

 

[xotGD]

There are parallel arrivals and departures at the west end of Leeds pretty much constantly. Yesterday my arrival into P17 was running alongside a TPE into P15 on the next track.

 

[HarleyDavidson]

Southampton Central on the up through the tunnel. Doing that move bang road is a bum tightener I can tell you!

You woose.

Nowt wrong with that one, did it loads of times when I was down there, I'd still be happy to do it today.

The one that threw me as going from Platform 1 at Central and going down the up fast to Millbrook FLT before crossing over to the down main. That was a really weird feeling and quite unnatural.

 

[dk1]

Ely is good fun.

About xx16 in most hours, see:
-The Stansted-Birmingham XC service depart northbound from Platform 1 via the Down line
-The Liverpool-Norwich EMT service depart from Platform 3 wrong-direction on the Up line

They then drag race each other to Ely North Jn!

The XC will always win if neck & neck as it has a 10mph advantage over the North Junction.

 

[ABB125]

Worcester Foregate Street is effectively 2 single lines for each route to Shrub Hill/Droitwich. Both are bi-directional, and I have seen trains depart in the same direction simultaneously on both tracks.