ScotRail Service Reductions from 4th January

[Jordan1296]

ScotRail are implementing an emergency timetable on some routes from 4th January until 28th January as they struggle to cope with high levels of staff absence, due to Omicron.

Amended services will apply on the following routes:

Glasgow - Neilston & Newton
The following services are withdrawn:
Cathcart Circle: 0734, 0820, 1614, 1704 & 1723
Glasgow Central - Neilston: 0657 & 1725
Neilston – Glasgow Central: 0741 & 1806

Glasgow - East Kilbride
The following services are withdrawn:
Glasgow Central – East Kilbride: 1633, 1707 & 1733
East Kilbride – Glasgow Central: 0743 & 0811

Ayrshire, Inverclyde & Stranraer
The following services are amended:
0730 Glasgow to Ayr will now call additionally at Miliken Park, Howwood, Lochwinnoch, Glengarnock and Dalry.
1631 Glasgow to Ayr will now call additionally at Paisley Gilmour St ,Johnstone, Miliken Park, Howwood, Lochwinnoch, Glengarnock and Dalry.
1734 Glasgow Central to Ayr will now call additionally at Johnstone, Howwood, Glengarnock and Dalry.
0734 Ayr to Glasgow will now call additionally at Newton on Ayr, Barassie, Dalry, Glengarnock and Johnstone.
0829 Ayr to Glasgow has now been retimed and will depart at 0835.

The following services are withdrawn:
Glasgow Central – Ayr: 0745, 0829, 0900, 0932, 1000, 1030, 1200, 1531, 1640, 1717 & 1747
Ayr - Glasgow Central: 0717, 0741, 0853, 1252, 1452, 1525, 1548, 1624 & 1824
Kilwinning - Glasgow: 0814
Largs - Glasgow Central: 0722
Glasgow Central - Gourock: 0827, 0906, 0925, 0955, 1155, 1355, 1727, 1826 & 1925
Gourock - Glasgow Central: 0625, 0811, 0954, 1054, 1254, 1424, 1454, 1524, 1549, 1724 & 1824

Lanarkshire
The following services are withdrawn:
Glasgow to Lanark: 0650, 0751, 0850, 1550, 1650, 1750 & 1824
Lanark to Glasgow: 0653, 0752, 0852, 1649, 1753 & 1923

Glasgow - Edinburgh (via Shotts)
The following services are withdrawn:
Glasgow Central to Edinburgh: 1703
Edinburgh to Glasgow Central: 0758 & 1658

Glasgow - Edinburgh (via Airdrie & Bathgate)
The following services are withdrawn:
Milngavie – Airdrie: 0753, 0823 & 0853
Airdrie – Milngavie: 0555 & 1628
Milngavie – Bathgate: 1722 & 1754
Bathgate – Milngavie: 0606, 0634, 0704, 1504 & 1534
Hyndland – Edinburgh: 0639
Garscadden – Edinburgh: 1451
Edinburgh - Garscadden: 1803
Dalmuir - Edinburgh: 0552
Edinburgh – Bathgate: 0831, 0849, 0920 & 1853
Bathgate – Edinburgh: 1521 & 1622
Milngavie – Edinburgh: 0653, 0723, 1553, 1623 & 1653
Edinburgh - Milngavie: 0738, 1607, 1642, 1704 & 1738

Glasgow - Edinburgh (via Cumbernauld)
The following services are withdrawn:
Edinburgh to Glasgow: 0633, 0735, 0934, 1637 & 1735
Glasgow to Edinburgh: 0700, 0756, 1656 & 1756

Glasgow - Anniesland (via Maryhill)
The following services are withdrawn:
Glasgow to Anniesland: 0633, 0735, 0833, 1534, 1642, 1738 & 1837
Anniesland to Glasgow: 0703, 0803, 0904, 1607, 1711, 1803 & 1902

Edinburgh - Dunbar & North Berwick
The following services are withdrawn:
North Berwick to Edinburgh: 1756 & 1905
Edinburgh to North Berwick: 1715 & 1817

Edinburgh & Fife
0658 Tweedbank to Glenrothes starts from Edinburgh at 0809
0758 Tweedbank to South Gyle starts from Edinburgh at 0903
1549 Glenrothes to Tweedbank terminates at Edinburgh
1652 Glenrothes to Tweedbank terminates at Edinburgh

Edinburgh & Glasgow - Stirling/Alloa/Dunblane
The following services are withdrawn:
Stirling - Glasgow: 0657, 0749 and 0812
Glasgow - Stirling: 1633, 1706 and 1735
Dunblane - Edinburgh: 0602, 0701, 0759, 0900, 1803, 1900 and 1959
Edinburgh - Dunblane: 0549, 0648, 0746, 1649, 1749 & 1849

Edinburgh - Tweedbank
The following services are withdrawn:
Edinburgh - Tweedbank: 0650, 0751, 1653 & 1756
Tweedbank - Edinburgh: 0658, 0758, 0859 & 1859

A normal service will apply on all other routes.

 

[diamond chap]

Not a very attractive service if you want to travel from Glasgow to Ayr anytime between 0830 and 1030.

 

[dk1]

Not a very attractive service if you want to travel from Glasgow to Ayr anytime between 0830 and 1030.

There are still half hourly stopping trains at xx:04 & xx:34.

 

[route101]

Interesting to see. Its a bit unpredictable at the moment, some cancellations are shown ahead of time but others are short notice like the 1815 to Queen St from Waverley ( The 1845 was a four car 385)

 

[adrock1976]

When I looked at the Scotrail website a few days ago, it has the Glasgow Queen Street - Edinburgh via Falkirk High as a normal service (maybe it was the festive section I had looked at).

That is nonsense, as the normal service is every 15 minutes between 07:00-19:00 and has been since when the Class 170s were introduced in 1998. The present day pandemic timetable is every 30 minutes, which is not a normal service.

 

[route101]

When I looked at the Scotrail website a few days ago, it has the Glasgow Queen Street - Edinburgh via Falkirk High as a normal service (maybe it was the festive section I had looked at).

That is nonsense, as the normal service is every 15 minutes between 07:00-19:00 and has been since when the Class 170s were introduced in 1998. The present day pandemic timetable is every 30 minutes, which is not a normal service.

Strange last Thursday it was every half hourly at peak. There was a 1715 and a 1745 from Queen St.

 

[hexagon789]

That is nonsense, as the normal service is every 15 minutes between 07:00-19:00 and has been since when the Class 170s were introduced in 1998. The present day pandemic timetable is every 30 minutes, which is not a normal service.

Normal for the present timetable - ie normal would indicate not reduced further from every 30 mom's.

Also it hasn't been every 15 mins since 1998, it was 1999 AND the frequency has been cut at least 4 times I'm aware of for a full timetable period due to training, staffing and engineering issues.

Arguably it was overprovision running 8-car 385s off-peak every 15 mins. I never saw them full pre-pandemic even during disruption, though that made it come close.

I don't think at 8-cars it ever needs to go back to 15 mins off-peak unless passenger numbers somehow increase about eight-fold.

 

[InOban]

The 15 minute frequency made it into a turn up and go service with no need to know the timetable.

 

[hexagon789]

The 15 minute frequency made it into a turn up and go service with no need to know the timetable.

And half-hourly departures don't do that? Turn-up and go is something I associate more with a 5 min or better metro not an InterCity/Commuter heavy rail service.

Besides, if it's not carrying the passengers to fill it why resource the extra staff to provide it with associated extra costs.

As I said, if passenger numbers recover hugely then by all means reinstate it; half-hourly at present is quite pragmatic.

 

[adrock1976]

And half-hourly departures don't do that? Turn-up and go is something I associate more with a 5 min or better metro not an InterCity/Commuter heavy rail service.

Besides, if it's not carrying the passengers to fill it why resource the extra staff to provide it with associated extra costs.

As I said, if passenger numbers recover hugely then by all means reinstate it; half-hourly at present is quite pragmatic.

To makes things clearer, I was not having a gripe about the present pandemic frequency at all - rather it is how it has been phrased on the website as being a normal service, which implies that the 15 minute frequency that has been running for more than 20 years would be restored.

To put it another way, the normal frequency of the InterCity West Coast/Virgin/Avanti from London Euston to Birmingham New Street, and London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly is every 20 minutes to each. The Avanti website has never mentioned that a normal timetable is in operation, as there have been instances of 1tph and 2tph (at broadly 20/40 minutes intervals) running to each since the pandemic.

I am happy with the 30 minute frequency at my nearest station (Croy) on the E&G - in fact, it has never been greater than that as it was the xx00 and xx30 from both Queen Street and Waverley that normally called at Croy, with the present xx15 and xx45 running non stop Queen Street - Falkirk High (which presently make an additional stop at Croy as the xx00 and xx30 are not running).

 

[Jordan1296]

ScotRail have been very quiet publicly about this, but the temporary timetable that was brought into force earlier this month for routes mainly affecting the central belt due to the spread of Omicron and was due to expire on Friday 28th January, has been extended for the time being.

They say that while sickness levels are declining from the peak, their absence rate is still far higher than usually would be expected at this time of year.