May 2021 Timetable Change

[dk1]

How come in the May timetable some of the Newquay branch trains don’t stop at the halts? They do again in September. Pity no through trains to
London or the north.

Strange that Newquay gets nothing yet Torbay has as many or more.

 

[JRT]

How come in the May timetable some of the Newquay branch trains don’t stop at the halts? They do again in September. Pity no through trains to
London or the north.

I remember that years ago, many of the Newquay branch services in summer were replaced by “big” trains from London/the North (Cross Country) so couldn't stop at the halts.

 

[Bald Rick]

Strange that Newquay gets nothing yet Torbay has as many or more.

Isn’t it driver training?

 

[PHILIPE]

Strange that Newquay gets nothing yet Torbay has as many or more.

They do stop as Request stops when I looked.

 

[dk1]

They do stop as Request stops when I looked.

Not with long distance trains if you are talking intermediate request stops.

Isn’t it driver training?

Not sure. Will have to dig a bit for some info.

 

[Kite159]

I remember that years ago, many of the Newquay branch services in summer were replaced by “big” trains from London/the North (Cross Country) so couldn't stop at the halts.

As I would imagine the bulk of the halts would be local door only if GWR wanted to run say a pair of 150s for added space, and with not calling anywhere helps speed up the service.

---------

I would also imagine trains to Torbay would be more popular than trains to Newquay, owing to the slowness of the Newquay branch. Also easier to fit in as Paignton is double track, whereas Newquay is single track with a couple passing loops.

 

[REVUpminster]

Strange that Newquay gets nothing yet Torbay has as many or more.

Newquay population: 22,000
Torquay: 65000
Paignton: 50,000
With Brixham added Torbay is bigger than Exeter.

Paignton is always included in the London D timetable to Plymouth and Penzance as well as having it's own D1 local with Exmouth.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

Strange that Newquay gets nothing yet Torbay has as many or more.

Driver route learning is the key for Great Western certainly - Paignton the High Speed Crews go to daily, Newquay they haven’t been to since summer 2019.

As noted elsewhere there is generally a shortage of traincrew resource nationally and the West Country is already seeing busy trains; I doubt it would go down to well to temporarily reduce Cornish Mainline services to provide the crews to route learn to Newquay. Looks like it’ll have to wait another year.

 

[dk1]

Driver route learning is the key for Great Western certainly - Paignton the High Speed Crews go to daily, Newquay they haven’t been to since summer 2019.

As noted elsewhere there is generally a shortage of traincrew resource nationally and the West Country is already seeing busy trains; I doubt it would go down to well to temporarily reduce Cornish Mainline services to provide the crews to route learn to Newquay. Looks like it’ll have to wait another year.

Yes it does seem the many TOCs have found the training/route learning/refreshing far more challenging than others during the pandemic. Of all the excellent destinations in the South West Newquay would be at the bottom of my list but I know it’s very popular with many, this year especially if accommodation bookings at other UK hot spots are anything to go by.

 

[DDB]

The May timetable page that EMR have been accidentally advertising for weeks before it went life has finally appeared.

https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/may21

It just consists of a box you can put in station name to find out the changes and the answer you get is wrong!

Both Spondon and Attenborough say not impacted by changes when in fact they get at least double the services and those services that are unchanged have different final destinations!

 

[class26]

Newquay population: 22,000
Torquay: 65000
Paignton: 50,000
With Brixham added Torbay is bigger than Exeter.

Paignton is always included in the London D timetable to Plymouth and Penzance as well as having it's own D1 local with Exmouth.

But I would say visitors to Newquay generally are younger and therefore less likely to have a car than the Torquay set.

 

[Ianno87]

But I would say visitors to Newquay generally are younger and therefore less likely to have a car than the Torquay set.

And are also less likely to care about changing at Par.

 

[DDB]

There is a nugget of information on York the weekend services are listed as suspended due to staff training (presumably route knowledge lapsed) but there is an aim to reintroduce them at some point.

• The limited EMR Intercity weekend service to and from York will be suspended as part of the May timetable change. Unfortunately, this is due to limitations on staff training due to Covid. We will keep this under review and reintroduce these services when it is possible.

 

[irish_rail]

Driver route learning is the key for Great Western certainly - Paignton the High Speed Crews go to daily, Newquay they haven’t been to since summer 2019.

As noted elsewhere there is generally a shortage of traincrew resource nationally and the West Country is already seeing busy trains; I doubt it would go down to well to temporarily reduce Cornish Mainline services to provide the crews to route learn to Newquay. Looks like it’ll have to wait another year.

Afraid this isn't the case. Everyone at Plymouth signs Newquay still as we have a daily turn taking 150s there . So taking an 802 to Newquay wouldn't be an issue. The issue perhaps lies with the company rather using us doing never ending shuttling to and from Exeter and so dont want to allocate a driver to a Newquay train incase that leads the SW mainline short.

Paignton however no one at Plymouth goes to at present so may present more of a problem or else they will just rely solely on Exeter drivers to do those trains.

Not really any point in trying to make sense of any of it!

 

[PHILIPE]

TFW Timetable now on Website and is virtually the current (December 2020) one carried forward. It is a COVID Timetable with some reductions especially in the Cardiff Valleys, Pembroke Docks cut back to Carmarthen instead of Swansea and the first and last Conwy Valleys haven't returned. The Cardiff Valleys cannot cope in the peaks now with a reduction in services and TFW Twitter tell people "Staff are Working Round the Clock to provide Capacity". In other words nothing that isn't running as of today is coming back soon

 

[Goldfish62]

TFW Timetable now on Website and is virtually the current (December 2020) one carried forward. It is a COVID Timetable with some reductions especially in the Cardiff Valleys, Pembroke Docks cut back to Carmarthen instead of Swansea and the first and last Conwy Valleys haven't returned. The Cardiff Valleys cannot cope in the peaks now with a reduction in services and TFW Twitter tell people "Staff are Working Round the Clock to provide Capacity". In other words nothing that isn't running as of .today is coming back soon

So just LNER and SWR left to publish timetables. Accordingly to the latter we're still in lockdown...

 

[swt_passenger]

The May timetable page that EMR have been accidentally advertising for weeks before it went life has finally appeared.

https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/may21

It just consists of a box you can put in station name to find out the changes and the answer you get is wrong!

Both Spondon and Attenborough say not impacted by changes when in fact they get at least double the services and those services that are unchanged have different final destinations!

EMR pdf timetables were already available a few days ago, 19th as per post #836. They are at the bottom of this page:

Timetables | EMR

Find times for EMR trains, for wherever you need to travel on our network.

www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk

I remembered we were discussing about how the minimal Leeds service was hard to find in them.

 

[Deerfold]

EMR pdf timetables were already available a few days ago, 19th as per post #836. They are at the bottom of this page:

Timetables | EMR

Find times for EMR trains, for wherever you need to travel on our network.

www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk

I remembered we were discussing about how the minimal Leeds service was hard to find in them.

They were. But they weren't at the page that was being advertised for them.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

In the knowledge of what this country has had to endure since March 2020 and still on going, should any of us be at all surprised that after months of temporary timetabling operation due to the pandemic, that an arbitary "new timetable publishing date" cannot be all that we would wish for?

 

[berneyarms]

So just LNER and SWR left to publish timetables. Accordingly to the latter we're still in lockdown...

No - plenty more.
See post 915 above.

TFW Timetable now on Website and is virtually the current (December 2020) one carried forward. It is a COVID Timetable with some reductions especially in the Cardiff Valleys, Pembroke Docks cut back to Carmarthen instead of Swansea and the first and last Conwy Valleys haven't returned. The Cardiff Valleys cannot cope in the peaks now with a reduction in services and TFW Twitter tell people "Staff are Working Round the Clock to provide Capacity". In other words nothing that isn't running as of today is coming back soon

Where are the pdf timetables on the TfW site?

I can’t see them on either timetable page (they have two!).

Could you post a link to where they are please?

 

[gledhill56]

Have TPE put up timetables in any format yet or is going to be a case of wait until the day after the changes again?

 

[Jamesrob637]

Timetable N16 ( N16 Liverpool to Manchester Piccadilly via Warrington Central.  16 May — 30 May ) is only dated May 16 to May 30 and doesn't show them, but they appear in timetable N21, which also has services to "Winderemere".

They're in RTT from the 1st of June.

 

[43074]

There is a nugget of information on York the weekend services are listed as suspended due to staff training (presumably route knowledge lapsed) but there is an aim to reintroduce them at some point.

The idea was they would be diverted via Pontefract Baghill and Church Fenton rather than the route currently via Doncaster, so it isn't so much route retention as new route learning that would be required to reintroduce them. Understandably not a priority in the grand scheme of things when there's training to be done on 360s and 180s in the meantime for mainline crews.

 

[paulmch]

Looks like 2 of the 3 daily GA services from Kings Lynn to Liverpool Street won't be coming back until September. I wonder if it's to do with route knowledge, as they seemed fairly well-used the few times I used them when they were still running between lockdowns.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

And just one train to/from Penzance daily. I wonder if we'll ever see the return of the Aberdeen to Penzance service.

It exists on Saturdays - leaving at 08:20 arriving at 21:39.

 

[berneyarms]

Have TPE put up timetables in any format yet or is going to be a case of wait until the day after the changes again?

As per my post 915 abovethe following have yet to post timetable pdf files:

LNER
Transpennine Express
Scotrail
Great Northern
Thameslink
Southern
South Western Railway
London Overground
Merseyrail

 

[PHILIPE]

No - plenty more.
See post 915 above.


Where are the pdf timetables on the TfW site?

I can’t see them on either timetable page (they have two!).

Could you post a link to where they are please?

www.tfwrail.wales/timetables/may-2021-timetables?fbclid=IwAR3KfgQdkIgNKVZWzUF6r4JEX36WMjb9CJbcYohb6N4D-qgNvhHrAeODZfc

I only discovered it through the link which I picked up by being passed on in FB. The TFW Website can be a minefield to navigate when you want to find something

 

[berneyarms]

Thanks!

 

[Class 466]

One thing I've noticed is that from May FAV-RAM goes up to 3tph for most of the day with the reintroduction of a decent fast mainline service - https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C02065/2021-06-17/detailed
Seems odd that this route sees a service increase whilst others in Kent see a reduction. It's good to finally see an all day fast RTR - BMS service once more though!

 

[eastwestdivide]

One thing I've noticed is that from May FAV-RAM goes up to 3tph for most of the day with the reintroduction of a decent fast mainline service - https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C02065/2021-06-17/detailed
Seems odd that this route sees a service increase whilst others in Kent see a reduction. It's good to finally see an all day fast RTR - BMS service once more though!

Maybe they're expecting more staycation daytrippers to Whitstable and Thanet?