Realtime Trains: ‘Passed another service here’

[Bayum]

I’m looking at the following service: 1W50 - RTT, 1W50 on RTT.
It says at Dorchester ‘this service passed another service’. I’ve seen a few people recently identifying a lot of information from RTT but I’m not sure how to find the service that was passed here in this example, or as last night which offending train was causing issues around Manchester. Occasionally, I’ve seen RTT say, ‘Following service ABCD’ but not much else.

Ideas for any of the above?

 

[eastwestdivide]

Is it to do with waiting for one in the other direction off the single line to the east?

 

[Peregrine 4903]

Its an activity code that is added to a stop to indicate that the train is waiting at that location to let another train pass.

As its just an activity code, it not linked to a particular train and sometimes they are added incorrectly meaning that while it might state that 'Passed another service here' there is actually no service that the train is overtaking.

 

[Bayum]

Its an activity code that is added to a stop to indicate that the train is waiting at that location to let another train pass.

As its just an activity code, it not linked to a particular train and sometimes they are added incorrectly meaning that while it might state that 'Passed another service here' there is actually no service that the train is overtaking.

So if it did pass a train, would that show up in the service history or would I have to try and find trains that have stopped in that area and Sherlock it?

 

[Peregrine 4903]

So if it did pass a train, would that show up in the service history or would I have to try and find trains that have stopped in that area and Sherlock it?

You would have to try and find the trains themselves, that overtook the train with the 'Passed another service here'.

There is no specific link.

 

[30907]

So if it did pass a train, would that show up in the service history or would I have to try and find trains that have stopped in that area and Sherlock it?

In this case you click on the entry for Dorchester S and look at the entries that appear. In this case 2W03 0615 Brockenhurst to Weymouth has just left the single line from Moreton, and the same note appears in its schedule.

It seems to be slightly different when a train is looped for overtaking - eg at Blea Moor:
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:H18837/2022-06-18/detailed
the freight has the annotation, but the overtaking passenger service doesn't.

 

[swt_passenger]

I believe this is quite long-standing thing. The code is for an overtaking move, but the text implies it should be used by the overtaking train. “Passed BY another service here” would read correctly.

In this example below a freight is sitting in Wallers Ash Loop between 0620 - 0639, (on the SWML), to be overtaken by a passenger service, (1W51), but the note still implies 4E34 is the train that’s doing the pass.

Realtime Trains | 4E34 0527 Southampton W Docks (Gbrf) to Doncaster Iport Gbrf | 06/06/2022

Real-time train running information for 4E34 0527 departure from Southampton W Docks (Gbrf) to Doncaster Iport Gbrf on 06/06/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Watershed]

I believe this is quite long-standing thing. The code is for an overtaking move, but the text implies it should be used by the overtaking train. “Passed BY another service here” would read correctly.

In this example below a freight is sitting in Wallers Ash Loop between 0620 - 0639, (on the SWML), to be overtaken by a passenger service, (1W51), but the note still implies 4E34 is the train that’s doing the pass.

Realtime Trains | 4E34 0527 Southampton W Docks (Gbrf) to Doncaster Iport Gbrf | 06/06/2022

Real-time train running information for 4E34 0527 departure from Southampton W Docks (Gbrf) to Doncaster Iport Gbrf on 06/06/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

It can have either meaning. If a train sits in a loop or in a platform waiting to be overtaken, you'd use the A code. Similarly if, like here, a train waits for another conflicting service (e.g. off a single line), then the A code is appropriate. If the route is generally single track (as on the West Highland Line for instance), then you'd use X at the loops where trains cross.

The application of A and X activity codes is somewhat sloppy but the RTT description "passed another train here" is simply wrong on several levels - firstly it implies that the train has passed another train (when in fact there is no guarantee of this, and it is shown even on future schedules). Furthermore, as stated above, that is not the only reason the A code might be used. Really it ought to be shown as something like "train stops for pathing reasons", as that's the only description that can be accurately applied across the board. @Tom?