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Avanti West Coast cancellations

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Bletchleyite

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I'm actually booked in First......not that it bears any relationship to the "First" that I'm used to,but it's slightly better Standard, and it was cheap, so I thought I'd treat myself. But that doesn't really mean anything with no seat reservations. Maybe I'll give it a few weeks to see how things go and then cancel if nothing has changed. It's a bit too late to book an alternative destination now.

It's slightly worse Standard unless you get a /2. Likely to be full of people with Standard tickets too.

Best seats are in my view the extra legroom Standard table by the cab end.
 
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Moonshot

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Is it fair to assume that something like 50% of the pendolino fleet are going into warm storage somewhere?
 

dk1

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Is it fair to assume that something like 50% of the pendolino fleet are going into warm storage somewhere?
Highly unlikely. Will need rotation for mileage purposes just the same as during the pandemic. Plenty of hot spares.
 

dk1

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Looks like replies to their announcement on Twitter have been switched off. Wonder why? :rolleyes:
 

Failed Unit

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WMT aren't only getting people switching because Avanti are rubbish, they're switching because Avanti are refusing their money!

(I wonder if EMR are seeing significant "refugees" via the Hope Valley and Sheffield? Not as cheap though).
As one who is in a position to do such a detour, I nervous about doing this - Although LNER is better for where I actually live.

LNER - Doncaster great.
TPE - Doncaster - Manchester - don't feel confident in that yet.

LNER - Leeds OK
TPE / Northern over Pennies better.

For London EMR is seriously short of capacity. So I suspect driving is now king (even if it is to someone still in the North with a decent service such as Luton or Northampton.)
 

raveon

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Highly unlikely. Will need rotation for mileage purposes just the same as during the pandemic. Plenty of hot spares.
But hopefully no need for Voyagers to be running on fully wired diagrams.
 

HamworthyGoods

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But hopefully no need for Voyagers to be running on fully wired diagrams.

The ones which do are too retain traction competency at depots which would normally only work Pendolinos but need Voyager knowledge to allow for diversions off the wires, else there will be a separate thread on this forum why can’t trains be diverted etc.
 

Cowley

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Just a reminder that this thread is to discuss day to day cancellations and the effects on services.

All of the other discussions need to be in here:

 

Leisurefirst

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My 09.30 Euston to Glasgow Central tomorrow is still running apparently but the first two are cancelled at 05.31 & 07.30.
Wonder if everybody will be squeezed onto the 08.30 or if my 09.30 will be rammed with displaced travellers too?
Best try and get there early!
 

SJN

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Real Time Trains website currently showing no Avanti services at all on Saturday from Euston. Is this correct or is the timetable being uploaded today?
That’s the Aslef (drivers) strike on Saturday so very likely that there’s no trains.
 

WelshBluebird

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Here is what’s had been sent to staff today.
A letter from the current MD about implementing an emergency timetable, and again reiterating that crew are on unofficial strike action.
Talk about ironic. Think carefully before accusing colleagues. Maybe he needs to head his own advice?
 

duncanp

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Off topic for this thread, but my Avanti service to London this morning wasn't cancelled, and it was on time.

Not only that, but my return train is running as well.

We should be able to take such things for granted, rather than treating a train that is running as per the timetable as the exception rather than the rule.
 

Moonshot

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Off topic for this thread, but my Avanti service to London this morning wasn't cancelled, and it was on time.

Not only that, but my return train is running as well.

We should be able to take such things for granted, rather than treating a train that is running as per the timetable as the exception rather than the rule.
Isn't that the idea of reducing the timetable to just 4 tph? A more robust resilient timetable? Which passengers can trust?
 

duncanp

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Isn't that the idea of reducing the timetable to just 4 tph? A more robust resilient timetable? Which passengers can trust?
You would hope so, but only time will tell how Avanti perform.

But the downside of this reduced timetable is more overcrowding.
 

Huntergreed

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I must admit I’m less than optimistic for the 4tph timetable.

The main reason being, North of Preston the timetable remains largely the same (it’s currently 1 Glasgow per hour and one Edinburgh per 2 hours, that will not change) which inevitably means more cancellations and disruptions.
 

Bletchleyite

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I must admit I’m less than optimistic for the 4tph timetable.

The main reason being, North of Preston the timetable remains largely the same (it’s currently 1 Glasgow per hour and one Edinburgh per 2 hours, that will not change) which inevitably means more cancellations and disruptions.

Didn't think of that, but yes, they should absolutely drop it to 1tph (all stations north of Preston) and drop Edinburgh.
 

Huntergreed

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Is there a specific issue unique to services north of Preston?
Not compared to the rest of the network, but they are currently quite unreliable.

The fact they are not changing will simply mean they will continue to be unreliable, further worsening their reliability (and sending the company reputation into the mud even further)
 

Bletchleyite

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Is there a specific issue unique to services north of Preston?

A lot of the cancellations do appear to be north of Preston, yes. And it doesn't seem that anything substantive* done by Preston depot has been reduced at all (post COVID; I know the Brum-Glasgow isn't running but it hasn't run since 2020 if I recall) - they still have 2tph to London and 1.5tph northbound.

* It appears the Blackpool turnarounds have gone, but they're just for operational convenience anyway.
 

92002

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1M13 12:32 Glasgow Central to London Euston due 17:11 will no longer call at Penrith North Lakes and Oxenholme Lake District.

It has been delayed at Carlisle and is now 25 minutes late.

This is due to an unusually large passenger flow
Which was advised as a group of 70 schoolchildren joining at Carlisle.

It was already a busy train, being a 9 car set. Also carrying passengers from an earlier cancelled TPX service.
 

Huntergreed

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It was already a busy train, being a 9 car set. Also carrying passengers from an earlier cancelled TPX service.
Avanti seem to have a bad habit of putting a 9-car on the first service after a cancelled train (which they know will be busy).

Leaving Glasgow on Saturday, the previous TPE and few Eustons had been cancelled. There was a 9 car 390 on platform 1 and an 11 car on platform 2. Of course they sent the 9 car, and had to declassify it!
 

Bletchleyite

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Leaving Glasgow on Saturday, the previous TPE and few Eustons had been cancelled. There was a 9 car 390 on platform 1 and an 11 car on platform 2. Of course they sent the 9 car, and had to declassify it!

It'd not be a terrible idea to declassify Standard Premium at the moment, perhaps keeping 2 coaches of "proper" 1st, at least on 11 cars. Though it de-facto is if my experience is anything to go by - I've now used it 3 times and been charged for it once - if the train is overcrowded or very late they just don't bother, and there's no facility to pay for an SP upgrade online or at a booking office (only to buy a dedicated Advance), it can only be paid on board.
 
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AndrewE

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Didn't think of that, but yes, they should absolutely drop it to 1tph (all stations north of Preston) and drop Edinburgh.
except that the Edinburghs a) run very well loaded in my experience and b) serve the capital city and c) (since the termination of the BHM - GLA trains at Preston and the non-reinstatement of Crewe stops in the Eus-GLA direct trains) give the only through service from the midlands to Scotland.
It would surprise a lot of London-focussed people just how many passengers feed into these Anglo-Scottish trains from the Welsh marches and the N midlands. Without them you condemn a lot of pax to 3- and 4-change journeys.
 
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