The Prisoner
Member
- Joined
- 22 Aug 2012
- Messages
- 336
Looking at late night TfW Manchester to Chester and vice versa services the 2225 Manchester Airport to Chester service calls at Bank Quay at 2322, the 2109 Birmingham International to Manchester Piccadilly via Chester service calls in the opposite direction at 2350.
Then the 2320 Manchester Airport to Holyhead service stops at all the usual stations between Manchester and Chester (Newton-le-Willows, Earlestown, Runcorn East, Frodsham and Helsby) but doesn't call at Warrington - the biggest intermediate stop, passing by at 0008, just 18 minutes after a service has stopped in the other direction. The 0026 Manchester Piccadilly to Chester has the same stopping pattern passing through Bank Quay without stopping.
Early morning the 0351 and 0455 Chester to Manchester Airport takes in all the usual stops and misses Warrington Bank Quay. The 0525 Manchester Airport to Chester service is the first to call in either direction at 0619.
I appreciate this will be down to station opening hours - obviously closure hours are 2350 (last service of the day - the TfW service mentioned above) to 0557 (first Avanti service of the day). But surely as a town of over 200,000 services shouldn't be shuffling through and not stopping for the sake of 18 minutes extra opening (2320 Airport to Holyhead) which would link up Manchester, Warrington, Chester and North Wales.
Appreciate many of the other stops served will be unmanned, but how much would it cost for a couple of members of staff to stay open and allow these services to stop? And why even bother running services that fail to serve the largest intermediate stop on the route (Warrington is double the size of Chester).
Just odd.
Any other examples of services skipping the big stations, but serving the much smaller ones?
Then the 2320 Manchester Airport to Holyhead service stops at all the usual stations between Manchester and Chester (Newton-le-Willows, Earlestown, Runcorn East, Frodsham and Helsby) but doesn't call at Warrington - the biggest intermediate stop, passing by at 0008, just 18 minutes after a service has stopped in the other direction. The 0026 Manchester Piccadilly to Chester has the same stopping pattern passing through Bank Quay without stopping.
Early morning the 0351 and 0455 Chester to Manchester Airport takes in all the usual stops and misses Warrington Bank Quay. The 0525 Manchester Airport to Chester service is the first to call in either direction at 0619.
I appreciate this will be down to station opening hours - obviously closure hours are 2350 (last service of the day - the TfW service mentioned above) to 0557 (first Avanti service of the day). But surely as a town of over 200,000 services shouldn't be shuffling through and not stopping for the sake of 18 minutes extra opening (2320 Airport to Holyhead) which would link up Manchester, Warrington, Chester and North Wales.
Appreciate many of the other stops served will be unmanned, but how much would it cost for a couple of members of staff to stay open and allow these services to stop? And why even bother running services that fail to serve the largest intermediate stop on the route (Warrington is double the size of Chester).
Just odd.
Any other examples of services skipping the big stations, but serving the much smaller ones?