Most places are open on NYD. Shops etc. are all open just like Boxing Day. A half hourly service (15 minutes through core) would likely be suitable, but obviously on Boxing Day it needed to be a Saturday service due to the match. If the match wasn't on I'd say a Boxing Day service should be reduced to Sunday service till 1830 (as it normally would be).
In my view, the service should run throughout NYE and NYD 24 hours.
NYE Start of Service till 2000 - Saturday service (Every 12 minutes)
2000-0130 - Every 20/30 minutes (10/15 through core)
0130-0430 - Hourly (30 through core)
0430-1800 - Every 20/30 minutes (10/15 through core)
1800-End of Service NYD - Hourly (30 through core)
There will be events that people wish to attend on NYD, the fact buses and Northern aren't running supports the idea of running a fringe service. Only Blackpool trams and Glasgow subway aren't operating on NYD, so all of the others must seem to have a good reason to operate a sunday service on NYD?
I believea Saturday service during the festive period is a waste of money, like other networks a Sunday service may be of better use; the trains I saw yesterday were pretty much empty. I'm saying compared to other networks, especially NET, Metro is lagging behind, a later service on NYE and a service on NYD is which I advocate for due to the sheer number of people attending events on that evening. Once again, other networks, which are much smaller are providing this service so there must be demand for it.
Like anyone who moans, it's only from a megalomaniac perspective; a service on NYD would be greatly helpful for me!
Not all systems run a full Sunday service on NYD, and it's not only TWM which has an early finish on NYE, and this is a system which is in a bigger location than NET is...
Anything factual about this one? I'm not too sure but i don't remember wage increases being particularly great for any public sector service, including Metro for a long while; so why would this change? Metro staff have a lot of grievances with Nexus but I don't know of any mooted strikes, unless I'm a bit behind!
There's no justification for a service. The Shops aren't open. The retail in Eldon Square and the Metrocentre are closed. A few supermarkets are on limited hours. There no connecting bus service. There's no football at Newcastle or Sunderland.
Even the Monday to Friday service from today to Friday is questionable. Most trains were carrying air.
I was on 4088 yesterday and they look to be trailing/rolling out a new form of emergency door release stickers and instructions. The doors now feature green labels indicating where the releaser is on the left door and the right door has a sticker indicating that it is the door that is released in an emergency. The labels next to the release lever now features 4 step instructions and some fancy pictures. Should be more accessible for those who need them in an emergency.
I've noticed them myself. Been running around like that for a week or two now. Guessing it's just a trial, but when I looked it definitely made it a whole lot simpler. My only issue was the amount of stickers we now have everywhere and they just looked too big. The emergency door could probably do with a small sticker which just has a character sliding the door or something and then on the other door nothing. It just looks tacky to have the massive signs across the top. People will probably ignore them anyway. Something like I've attached would probably be more suitable but adapted to say push and slide.
All comes down to Nexus in the end. 3/4 life refurbishment should have been done earlier, work on the actual mechanical parts of the train below the floor should have been carried out instead of a few new panels and new paint.
Remember that Nexus specify the timetable. If they were interested in improving the maintenance regime they could have cut some of the peak shorts long ago, but would rather fine DB for any delays and lack of serviceable trains as a result. Again, they have already planned to do this when they take over in April.
Also, Nexus have overspent on a lot of their own projects (North Shields and now Central Station). They are losing money elsewhere in the business, and also farebox revenue is down this financial year.
So is it April we'll see the revised timetable that's been mentioned?
The timetable really doesn't make any sense in the first place. For example, if you look at 118, which is a peak extra in the evening and out from the depot for just about 4 hours. It runs in service from the depot to Monkseaton. It follows a St James train so picks up fresh air. From Monkseaton it then follows another South Shields train. Similarly, later on it follows another St James train. Never normally gets more than half full at most.
116 seems to be cancelled so often now, it's becoming quite a novelty to see it actually running, though it was today!
I was half expecting it to be cancelled today with at least two major failures this morning but it went out.
Are you able to give any clue as to what the cause of some of these major failures are (is it the same type of problem, or unrelated?)
First one at Jesmond apparently a fault with the intermediate couplers. Obviously if the couplers in the middle have a fault, the brakes apply and the train comes to a stand. Depending on what the fault is, you can either fix it in a few minutes, or due to the curved track at Jesmond, the train has to be split and moved as two separate cars. The same has happened a few times at Jesmond.
OHL trips can be a number of different faults so hard to generalise. Normally it is caused by a flashover in the traction motor, meaning current drawn is more than normal and the breakers trip in the substation. So if the power is reapplied and it trips again, then the pan has to be dropped on the affected car.
609 reverts back to danger once a train is in the section ahead. The signal at West Jesmond can be held by the signaller for a number of reasons. However what is likely is during disruption:
A) Better to have a train on a platform so passengers can get off/be detrained if needed.
B) If the train has to be turned at old Jesmond station, this can only be done without passengers. If the train was held at 609 and had passengers on, and a train was stuck at Jesmond platform 1, you would no longer have the option of turning trains back.
From what I am hearing 5th February is when the timetable will change.
From what I am hearing 5th February is when the timetable will change.
OHL trips can be a number of different faults so hard to generalise. Normally it is caused by a flashover in the traction motor, meaning current drawn is more than normal and the breakers trip in the substation. So if the power is reapplied and it trips again, then the pan has to be dropped on the affected car.
609 reverts back to danger once a train is in the section ahead. The signal at West Jesmond can be held by the signaller for a number of reasons. However what is likely is during disruption:
A) Better to have a train on a platform so passengers can get off/be detrained if needed.
B) If the train has to be turned at old Jesmond station, this can only be done without passengers. If the train was held at 609 and had passengers on, and a train was stuck at Jesmond platform 1, you would no longer have the option of turning trains back.
From what I am hearing 5th February is when the timetable will change.
New times are now appearing on the Nexus Journey Planner from 5th February
Interesting that they've cut a lot of the peak extras to West Monkseaton out, the 1759, 1810 and 1822 peak extras from Haymarket have all been scrapped.
Pretty poor, given that Coast passengers have seen their annual MetroSaver go up by £120 in two years.
Yeah, it appears that 157, 117 and 118 terminate at SGF instead; is congestion bad at that time though?
Why can't a train with passengers not head onto the single track at Jesmond and head back towards West Jesmond? Can't be a safety issue as the driver can change ends fairly easily one would assume.
Thanks for the info, something must have been up that day! Is the green aspect null now? I've never seen it.
None of the unrefurbished cars have run before Christmas, although a full set of trains has been going out over the past few days which means that there is enough to cover for the 4001/02/40/83 being stuck at the depot.
Fingers crossed it's a sign that they are being phased out and will only be used where necessary as extra services.