York - kings Cross stoppers.

[greyman42]

What has happened to the 1402 York - Kings Cross stopper this week? Have any more of the stoppers been withdrawn?

 

[berneyarms]

The current week timetable is on the LNER website:

https://www.lner.co.uk/globalassets/lner-temporary-weekday-timetable-11-to-15-january-2021.pdf

 

[clagmonster]

As far as I am aware, the 11:06 Kings X - York and 14:02 return haven't run since the December 2020 timetable change. All other York stoppers are still running.

 

[DannyMich2018]

The current week timetable is on the LNER website:

https://www.lner.co.uk/globalassets/lner-temporary-weekday-timetable-11-to-15-january-2021.pdf

I used to live in Grantham in the 2002-2004 period and looking at the timetable journeys have got longer-King's Cross -Peterborough was at times as little as 46 mins, some here taking 50 mins even non-stop ones, there seems to be quite a few mins adding here and there, no wonder punctuality is getting better due to these slack schedules! I presume due to more trains since then time has had to be added to schedules?

 

[Bald Rick]

I used to live in Grantham in the 2002-2004 period and looking at the timetable journeys have got longer-King's Cross -Peterborough was at times as little as 46 mins, some here taking 50 mins even non-stop ones, there seems to be quite a few mins adding here and there, no wonder punctuality is getting better due to these slack schedules! I presume due to more trains since then time has had to be added to schedules?

The base running time start to stop (non stop) from KX to Peterboro’ is 44 mins, to which a minimum of 2 minutes of allowances are usually added (1 engineering, 1 performance), making 46. There are plenty of services timed to make the trip in 46 minutes.

Where services are booked to take longer, that will usually be because additional pathing time has been added to fit it in with other services.

Note that LNER services are still operating on the running times of the Class 91s, which is one of the reasons punctuality has improved. (There being no passengers also helps!j When the recast happens to take the benefit of the better acceleration of the 800/801s, timings will come down a little, particularly for services that have more station calls. Kings Cross remodelling will also take half a minute out IIRC.

 

[Railperf]

The base running time start to stop (non stop) from KX to Peterboro’ is 44 mins, to which a minimum of 2 minutes of allowances are usually added (1 engineering, 1 performance), making 46. There are plenty of services timed to make the trip in 46 minutes.

Where services are booked to take longer, that will usually be because additional pathing time has been added to fit it in with other services.

Note that LNER services are still operating on the running times of the Class 91s, which is one of the reasons punctuality has improved. (There being no passengers also helps!j When the recast happens to take the benefit of the better acceleration of the 800/801s, timings will come down a little, particularly for services that have more station calls. Kings Cross remodelling will also take half a minute out IIRC.

Kings Cross to Peterborough can be achieved in 43 mins flat out - fastest recorded time in the Railway Performance Society archives is 41min 43sec.
Nowadays it is difficult to run early as there will usually be a train pathed from the down slow on to the two track section at Digswell Viaduct.
Similarly on the up main line - the regulation of closely pathed trains from both the up fast and up slow through the two track section - guarantees some sort of slow down or delay here.
The stoppers usually stop at Stevenage too - but the slack timings - plus some long station dwells do mean it is easy to run early and then catch up a Thameslink service approaching Peterborough. The three-track sections north of Huntingdon allow a 125mph train to catch those 100mph Class 700's v quickly. Why on earth were they not designed for 110mph minimum?

 

[Bald Rick]

The three-track sections north of Huntingdon allow a 125mph train to catch those 100mph Class 700's v quickly. Why on earth were they not designed for 110mph minimum?

Because it doesn’t make much difference. In the Down direction, the only stretch where the 700s and long distance services share the line it is 100 or 105mph anyway. It’s different on the up on the three track section, there’s nearly 10 miles where they share the line. However the difference in time on that is about a minute (given the 700s are slowing for the Huntingdon stop), making them 110 would save less than 25 seconds. It’s also much easier to regulate from Peterboro in the up - assuming sensible regulation policies apply. Effectively an up 700 needs to depart Peterboro 4 minutes in front of an up LNER that also calls at Peterborough, or 6 minutes in front of one that doesn’t, to avoid delay to the LNER.

 

[Railperf]

Because it doesn’t make much difference. In the Down direction, the only stretch where the 700s and long distance services share the line it is 100 or 105mph anyway. It’s different on the up on the three track section, there’s nearly 10 miles where they share the line. However the difference in time on that is about a minute (given the 700s are slowing for the Huntingdon stop), making them 110 would save less than 25 seconds. It’s also much easier to regulate from Peterboro in the up - assuming sensible regulation policies apply. Effectively an up 700 needs to depart Peterboro 4 minutes in front of an up LNER that also calls at Peterborough, or 6 minutes in front of one that doesn’t, to avoid delay to the LNER.

Every second counts on today's right time railway. Intetesting to see LNER reporting banner repeaters fitted at Woolmer Green on the up main line to reduce delays and saving around 8 to 10 seconds when following a slower service.
But then that time can be lost where the 115mph LNER seevice is again behind a late running 100mph limited Class 700 or 387 from Welwyn G.C going south. Bizarrely the 387s are designed for 110mph running but limited to 100mph due to pantograph settings for Cambridge to Kings Lynn OLE. Not quite the joined up railway.

 

[Bald Rick]

Every second counts on today's right time railway.

Every second counts, but you need minutes to build a business case.