Waterloo to Addlestone... or is is Weybridge?

[CNash]

As a daily passenger on the SWT Waterloo-Weybridge service via Brentford, I've always wondered why the departure boards on the Waterloo concourse say that the train terminates at Addlestone, while the train itself (correctly) says it terminates at Weybridge. Can anyone shed any light?

 

[Matt Taylor]

Because anybody travelling from Waterloo to Weybridge would surely get the direct service. Same with the Waterloo to Portsmouth via Eastleigh which used to be advertised to Cosham.

 

[Oracle]

Probably so that the great unwashed who do not know better don't go to Weybridge the Long Way Round as against straight along the LSWR main line. The same is the case with stopping trains from Poole to Waterloo indicated to Farnborough Main, and I think in the past Southern from Southampton to 'East Croydon'. The service to Guildford via Ascot used to be indicated to Aldershot at Feltham. Same reason applied...possibly better to go to Clapham J and down.

 

[swt_passenger]

As a daily passenger on the SWT Waterloo-Weybridge service via Brentford, I've always wondered why the departure boards on the Waterloo concourse say that the train terminates at Addlestone, while the train itself (correctly) says it terminates at Weybridge. Can anyone shed any light?

It's because there are better journey opportunities to Weybridge via the main line. They do something similar with the out and back services via the Kingston loop, the station PIS and onboard destination displays change gradually during the trip.

Meanwhile on the mainline, the up Waterloo stoppers are displayed as Farnborough at stations west of Southampton, as they are overtaken.

 

[thefab444]

The Poole stopping services are displayed as Farnborough at all stations west of Eastleigh except Southampton Central (presumably due to Megatrain), Totton and Ashurst New Forest.

The service to Guildford via Ascot used to be indicated to Aldershot at Feltham.

I believe they are now indicated as Frimley at Waterloo, but revert to Aldershot (they no longer run to Guildford) beyond Vauxhall.

 

[swt_passenger]

The Poole stopping services are displayed as Farnborough at all stations west of Eastleigh except Southampton Central (presumably due to Megatrain), Totton and Ashurst New Forest.

Yes - and they seemed to take a while to decide what to finally display at Southampton, they did go through a Farnborough phase a while back. I hadn't ever noticed Farnborough at Parkway, funnily enough, but don't get there often.

What I find odd is that they do nothing similar with the displayed destination in the down direction, although it's difficult to work out what would be best. Brockenhurst maybe?

 

[Nick O. Teen]

Similarly, at Reading, Paddington stoppers are shown as terminating at Ealing Broadway. Reading stoppers from Padd are shown as Twyford.

 

[Oliver]

And some KX to Cambridge stoppers are show as destination "Foxton".

 

[Oracle]

Brockenhurst maybe?

Think so... and the stoppers are advertised as Farnborough Main on the DMI and by PA at Ashurst.

WRONG! It's Brockenhurst...apologies! Yes they do say Waterloo. Duh!

 

[Fuzzy Logic]

And some KX to Cambridge stoppers are show as destination "Foxton".

Indeed. Just the slowest one each hour (the semi-fast doesn't get overtaken). In the opposite direction the stoppers are on the boards as services to Finsbury Park.

 

[thefab444]

Think so... and the stoppers are advertised as Farnborough Main on the DMI and by PA at Ashurst.

That's new then as they certainly used to be Waterloo. Likewise, Parkway definately used to display Farnborough but that might have been changed recently.

If they used false destinations on the down Poole stoppers at Waterloo, then logic suggests Hinton Admiral as that is the last station they serve where there is not a faster direct train. If you wanted to take connections into account connections, then Southampton Central would be the best choice. Other candidates could be Ashurst (Beaulieu Road for trains that stop there), Pokesdown or Parkstone.

Personally I prefer the use of announcing/displaying the trains as "stopping service to" rather than using false destinations, which cause confusion if the station PA/screens show Farnborough, yet the train PA/screens show Waterloo!

Similarly, at Reading, Paddington stoppers are shown as terminating at Ealing Broadway. Reading stoppers from Padd are shown as Twyford.

The Oxford stoppers at Paddington are usually shown as their last stop prior to Oxford, so generally Radley or Didcot Parkway, though the latter should really be displayed as Cholsey as there are many faster trains available to Didcot. I don't think there are any trains that stop at Appleford/Culham but not Radley.

 

[Lampshade]

The same reason the Kingston Loop services are advertised as 'Strawberry Hill' as opposed to Wimbledon. It's to get people on the quicker mainline services rather than the suburban all shacks services that would be overtaken. I've used that Weybridge service via Hounslow before, it's tediously slow hock:

 

[tbtc]

Same up here with the Poppleton services advertised at Leeds, and the Burley Park ones advertised at York (the service via Harrogate is direct, but takes a lot lot longer than the fast ones via Garforth)

The Sheffield - Manchester Pacer (taking approx 90 mins vs 60 mins on TPE/ EMT) is usually shown as "Local Service" rather than Marple (or whatever).

 

[thefab444]

I've used that Weybridge service via Hounslow before, it's tediously slow

Indeed, it wasn't so bad when it used to be fast Feltham > Hounslow > Brentford > Putney > Clapham > Vauxhall > Waterloo, but now it is all shacks, there's hardly any point running a direct through service.

 

[CCF23]

this happens on c2c at fenchurch street, limehouse, west ham, barking and upminster where a train to southend central via grays is shown on the boards and announcements as going to stanford-le-hope as there are quicker trains that go via basildon to southend

 

[Via Bank]

That's new then as they certainly used to be Waterloo. Likewise, Parkway definately used to display Farnborough but that might have been changed recently.

If they used false destinations on the down Poole stoppers at Waterloo, then logic suggests Hinton Admiral as that is the last station they serve where there is not a faster direct train. If you wanted to take connections into account connections, then Southampton Central would be the best choice. Other candidates could be Ashurst (Beaulieu Road for trains that stop there), Pokesdown or Parkstone.

Personally I prefer the use of announcing/displaying the trains as "stopping service to" rather than using false destinations, which cause confusion if the station PA/screens show Farnborough, yet the train PA/screens show Waterloo!

+1. All the major PIS systems are capable of it, so it's a mystery why (as far as I can tell) no TOCs use that facility. SWT experimented with it earlier this year, but that policy seems to have been mysteriously reverted now.

Surely it shouldn't be that hard for a PIS to be able to classify services automatically based on the number of stops in relation to others? Or the time to destination?

Then again, we end up with the potential for confusion when the PIS and the train's destination screens disagree: SWT have taken to displaying things like "Poole (stopping service)" or "London Waterloo (semifast)" on the 444/450s' destination blinds.

This is all well and good out at, say, Hook or Farnborough. But at Brookwood or Woking, for example, it really becomes an "express" service (semifasts stop at Weybridge etc.) Unless the Guard or Driver were to change these manually en-route, a passenger could easily get confused when the service announced as the express to Waterloo rolls up displaying "stopping service" on its destination board.

 

[tom1649]

The Sheffield - Manchester Pacer (taking approx 90 mins vs 60 mins on TPE/ EMT) is usually shown as "Local Service" rather than Marple (or whatever).

I used to regularly take the stopping service all the way from Sheffield to Manchester. (I wasn't going to travel on a 158 when I could have a nice atmospheric ride on a 101!) The fact it was always advertised as running all the way through to Piccadilly did catch a few 'intercity' passengers out and a fair number of those looked surprised when a tired looking First Generation DMU turned up in the bay platform at Sheffield. Once you were on board any Class 101 that was it, no PA system so no announcements about all the stops to be made unless you heard the one on the platform.

When the guard came round I just used to tell them that I preferred the scenic route, most didn't even bat an eyelid that I was travelling all the way on the stopping service.

 

[tbtc]

I used to regularly take the stopping service all the way from Sheffield to Manchester. (I wasn't going to travel on a 158 when I could have a nice atmospheric ride on a 101!) The fact it was always advertised as running all the way through to Piccadilly did catch a few 'intercity' passengers out and a fair number of those looked surprised when a tired looking First Generation DMU turned up in the bay platform at Sheffield. Once you were on board any Class 101 that was it, no PA system so no announcements about all the stops to be made unless you heard the one on the platform.

When the guard came round I just used to tell them that I preferred the scenic route, most didn't even bat an eyelid that I was travelling all the way on the stopping service.

The view of the Peak District is certainly nicer through the larger windows of a Pacer than a 158/170/185 - if you have the time to spare.

The awkward thing with the Sheffield situation is that, since the Northern stopper is due to leave a couple of minutes after a fast train (in each direction) there's always that "what shall I do" if you see your fast Manchester train is five minutes late (on the departure board) - to jump on the Pacer, or to wait for the EMT/TPE and hope the signal box allow them to overtake somewhere... you never can tell with the Box though...

 

[aspierail]

In the weekend you have services from Kings Cross to Stevenage via Hertford North however on the departure board it will say Watton at Stone instead.

 

[Stigy]

I find it strange that at Weybridge that train is advertised to Waterloo. Surely it would make more sense advertising it to somewhere like Putney, or Even Feltham!

 

[MikeWh]

Maybe it's because it's obvious it's going the wrong way from there, plus the other side of the bay platform is the proper one for London trains.

 

[Lampshade]

Well it's Waterloo via Brentford, it'd need to be advertised to Waterloo because otherwise there'd be no advertised service to stations on the Hounslow Loop, Wandsworth Town or Queenstown Road.

 

[Stigy]

Maybe it's because it's obvious it's going the wrong way from there, plus the other side of the bay platform is the proper one for London trains.

Obvious to people who know what they're looking at! I'm often asked which direction trains are going to be travelling in.

Well it's Waterloo via Brentford, it'd need to be advertised to Waterloo because otherwise there'd be no advertised service to stations on the Hounslow Loop, Wandsworth Town or Queenstown Road.

Surely advertising it to Putney would still take in to account the 'loop' stations, yet not confuse passengers wishing to go to Waterloo from Weybridge, or even Addlestone/Chertsey.

 

[Capybara]

Indeed. I have heard passengers on the platform at Weybridge being informed which train to get on to go to London as they were unclear. But then this morning (and I have heard it before) the guard announced, immediately on leaving Weybridge, that passengers could get to London quicker by changing at Virginia Water because of the nine-minute wait there. Better advice may have been not to have got on the train in the first place!

 

[will1337]

Indeed, it wasn't so bad when it used to be fast Feltham > Hounslow > Brentford > Putney > Clapham > Vauxhall > Waterloo, but now it is all shacks, there's hardly any point running a direct through service.

Reading trains run via Hounslow at 1826 and 1856 to Waterloo calling at Hounslow, Brentford, Putney and CLJ, it's a shame that there aren't more, it's a tedious journey stopping everywhere. I live very close to Hounslow station and depending on traffic it can be marginally faster to get the 281 to Twickenham and get a fast train.

All trains from Hounslow are advertised as Waterloo as there's about 2 minutes in it going either way around. On the Reading line the loop trains are advertised as Chiswick from Richmond and it moves up a station along stations.