Arriva Xc service Birmingham to Cardiff via chepstow

[warwickshire]

Also worth a mention is the xc cross country service mainly two hourly from Birmingham to Cardiff. With services quite full to full and standing at times and only TWO coaches. What dosent help on this route via chepstow either is that tfw do have a hourly service Cardiff to Gloucester which no longer goes to Cheltenham spa. Which would have been more than useful for the gap in between for a change at Cheltenham Spa for Birmingham. Which in fact is quite poor for those travelling from Cardiff to Birmingham direct. Only other option at mainly odd hours is via Bristol Parkway. Anyone else who has been inconvenienced this way.

 

[30907]

If offpeak services are regularly full and standing at present then XC should be taking action.

Meanwhile, the service via Parkway (or Temple Meads, which NRE is showing me) is hourly. The TfW service wouldn't provide a useable connection at Cheltenham as XC aren't running the relevant Bristol-Birmingham train.

 

[warwickshire]

If offpeak services are regularly full and standing at present then XC should be taking action.

Meanwhile, the service via Parkway (or Temple Meads, which NRE is showing me) is hourly. The TfW service wouldn't provide a useable connection at Cheltenham as XC aren't running the relevant Bristol-Birmingham train.

Notably the 1840 from Cardiff Central has been busy and a two car. Might be quiter now with the latest covid 19 situation. However xc really should be running at least the 1745 service especially as peak services from Cardiff are not there. Notably on this route its good to see a good turnout for travel from Worcester Parkway the new station on the route to Cheltenham and Gloucester. Also get on at Gloucester a fair number at around 1950 on the ex 1840 from Cardiff Central. However due to usage on xc services from Worcester to Cheltenham and Gloucester and Cardiff xc do have a good market for Cardiff and do no need in time to address this. However maybe gwr from its Worcester services from shrub Hill etc. Might have lost a fair few customers to xc instead using the new Worcester stn. But xc in my view should at least run a few more from Cardiff especially the 1745 which gives travellers better choices for coming back from Cardiff ie 1840 to late and 1645 just a little to early.

 

[Class 170101]

I expect there is no revenue in it for them as even though the trains are full and standing (if as described is to be believed) ORCATS ensures limited revenue to XC.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Furthermore, travelling via Bristol Parkway, the northbound XC departs about nine minutes before the IET from Swansea/Cardiff arrives, so not ideal at all.

 

[py_megapixel]

They will be recieving some more centre cars for their Turbostars in the near future which should ease the capacity a bit... I believe at the end of it there will be only 6 2-car units left and hopefully someone at XC will see sense and diagram all of them as doubles... OP is right that the current situation between Birmingham and Cardiff is dire and badly needs sorting out.

 

[stj]

Regarding TfW no longer serving Cheltenham, is this temporary due to current situation?

 

[Max]

I took this service a few weeks ago and it was 4 car, but that was on Saturday. Surprised that a M-F evening peak would only be diagramed for 2 cars (thought the temporary timetable on XC was specifically designed to avoid this?).

XC are also not running the daily Cardiff-Manchester via Bristol Voyager, which leaves an annoying 1 hour gap in the morning peak between Cardiff and Bristol.

 

[stj]

I took this service a few weeks ago and it was 4 car, but that was on Saturday. Surprised that a M-F evening peak would only be diagramed for 2 cars (thought the temporary timetable on XC was specifically designed to avoid this?).

XC are also not running the daily Cardiff-Manchester via Bristol Voyager, which leaves an annoying 1 hour gap in the morning peak between Cardiff and Bristol.

I am surprised this service has not been given to GWR by now.They must have enough units to cover it.

 

[PHILIPE]

I am surprised this service has not been given to GWR by now.They must have enough units to cover it.

Part of the reason was that, at least at the time, GWR didn't have enough units to cover it and was a DFT specification. A Voyager also provides more peak time accommodation at that time..

 

[stj]

Part of the reason was that, at least at the time, GWR didn't have enough units to cover it and was a DFT specification. A Voyager also provides more peak time accommodation at that time..

It was very busy with workers for the MOD at Abbey Wood but they are at home for the time being.

 

[Alfie1014]

This appears to be one of the areas where the COVID timetables between TOCs aren’t terribly well coordinated. Another example is between Cambridge and Stansted Airport in the afternoon peak, when no XC services run beyond Cambridge meaning a gap with no through trains from 16:50 and 19:47, just the very same times that GAs Norwich Service also stops running through. Connections are available changing at Bishops Stortford but journey times nearly double as a result.

 

[sprinterguy]

I took this service a few weeks ago and it was 4 car, but that was on Saturday. Surprised that a M-F evening peak would only be diagramed for 2 cars (thought the temporary timetable on XC was specifically designed to avoid this?).

The 18:45 Cardiff - Nottingham is diagrammed to run as a 3-car during the week, and as far as I can see has done so each day since the start of last week at least. You're quite correct that, as far as I am aware, there are no XC 170 services currently booked to run as single 2-car units Monday - Friday.

 

[warwickshire]

The 18:45 Cardiff - Nottingham is diagrammed to run as a 3-car during the week, and as far as I can see has done so each day since the start of last week at least. You're quite correct that, as far as I am aware, there are no XC 170 services currently booked to run as single 2-car units Monday - Friday.

When I caught throughout the first week off September Tuesday to Thursday after travelling on tfw Pacers it was a two car. However this week on Tuesday the 22nd September it was a three car with seat reservation on so must have been booked from Monday 14th September onwards as a three car

 

[sprinterguy]

When I caught throughout the first week off September Tuesday to Thursday after travelling on tfw Pacers it was a two car. However this week on Tuesday the 22nd September it was a three car with seat reservation on so must have been booked from Monday 14th September onwards as a three car

Ah fair enough, must have been a recent change then. Surprises me as I thought that the current temporary timetable had been in place for longer than that, but I have difficulty keeping track of the ever changing situation.

 

[warwickshire]

Ah fair enough, must have been a recent change then. Surprises me as I thought that the current temporary timetable had been in place for longer than that, but I have difficulty keeping track of the ever changing situation.

The temporary timetable has been in place since July. However in last fortnight or so it has become a three car and now seat reservations are on the train as well and more staff are on the train especially cleaning it up from one to two ie one constantly general cleaning and other one cleaning and concentrating on reqular updating off seat reservations seats.

 

[Dr Day]

The September XC timetable on this stretch has 'permanently' removed many of the Chepstow/Lydney calls, due to the need for additional dwell time elsewhere to accommodate social distancing. Anyone on here any experience of whether this additional dwell is needed in practice or are trains arriving early and sitting waiting departure time at Gloucester/Newport?