VXC 2 Voyager/Super Voyager units...

[AlexS]

They are generally told something along the lines of 'Due to the rear unit of this train being required to form a northbound service, it will be detached from the train at Birmingham New Street, please move to the front unit of the train if you are having an onward journey.' usually around Smethwick Rolfe Street kind of area.

This usually leads to the train being delayed, and generally skipping stops afterwards (case in point, last summer down to Bournemouth, the train didn't call at Coventry, Leamington, Banbury, Oxford or Didcot, it ran fast to Reading, probably because it was already now full to bursting, and 15 mins late, bearing in mind it was advertised as calling at these places at the previous station (Wolverhampton)).

 

[RJ]

Southern do that sometimes, cut stops out of the Brighton slows. It's usually due to a lack of coaches.

 

[Sprog]

Normally there is an announcement at Hull saying something like 'please travel in the front portion of the train only', but this was not given out on this occassion. Just shows how nessecary it really is

Passengers are lemmings.....of course its nesserary!

 

[ChrisM]

Re Reading: Doubled up units generaly don't work to Reading beacause doubles have to take up a through platform. Terminating ones normally use Platform 7 which can't take 2 sets. Ones for Bournemouth/Southampton/wherever normally use Platform 3 which also can't take a double. That's AIUI.

To Bournemouth they use a through platform at Reading,from Bournemouth they use a bay platform.
Seen 2 couple (or at least try) at Southampton but that was ECS.

 

[Techniquest]

They are generally told something along the lines of 'Due to the rear unit of this train being required to form a northbound service, it will be detached from the train at Birmingham New Street, please move to the front unit of the train if you are having an onward journey.' usually around Smethwick Rolfe Street kind of area.

This usually leads to the train being delayed, and generally skipping stops afterwards (case in point, last summer down to Bournemouth, the train didn't call at Coventry, Leamington, Banbury, Oxford or Didcot, it ran fast to Reading, probably because it was already now full to bursting, and 15 mins late, bearing in mind it was advertised as calling at these places at the previous station (Wolverhampton)).

Non-stop New Street to Reading?! NICE!!! Would have loved to be on that service!

Although advertising a Voyager calling at Didcot at Wolverhampton, that wants sorting out, as no service in the timetable for VT2 calls at Didcot Parkway, although a few are routed non-stop through the station.

 

[Andrew]

By "last year" though, Alex may have meant a couple (or more) years ago when XC did call at Didcot.

 

[Techniquest]

Possibly, but it is a little confusing.

Never knew that VXC ever called at Didcot! Swindon, yes, via Cheltenham, but not Didcot! Or was this when it was 47-haulage from Paddington to New Street?

 

[Andrew]

From May-Sep 1999 Table 51 M-F...
0524 Manchester Bournemouth calls Didcot Parkway 0837.
0620 Preston Brighton calls Didcot 1040
0817 Manchester Bournemouth (The Pines Express) calls Didcot Parkway 1143 (one of the few - and now non-existant - trains that didn't serve Reading)
0620 Edinburgh Bournemouth (The Dorset Scot) calls Didcot 1334
1510 Liverpool Poole calls Didcot 1839
1710 Manchester Paddington calls Didcot 2042
1810 Liverpool Paddington calls Didcot 2140
1915 Manchester Paddington calls Didcot 2242

They did it until at least 2002 (I have the Thames Trains guide then though, not the NRT. I may have the VT guide somewhere...)

 

[AlexS]

I put Didcot in by accident - the service, if you are interested, was the 1038 Virgin Voyager from Wolverhampton to Bournemouth originating at Manchester Piccadilly in August 2003.

 

[Techniquest]

I stand corrected then!

 

[RJ]

Just got on an empty Super Voyager at Croydon. It's not calling at Reading, which is strange. No evidence of a WCML diversion either.

Edit: Just found out it is going via the WCML.