Norwich -Cambridge

[Sleepy]

According to MP George Freeman (source BBC) the journey time should be reduced to 90 mins max. ?? erm think he needs a newer timetable as a quick search shows lots of sub 75 mins trips (10th Dec) :roll:

 

[tbtc]

According to MP George Freeman (source BBC) the journey time should be reduced to 90 mins max. ?? erm think he needs a newer timetable as a quick search shows lots of sub 75 mins trips (10th Dec) :roll:

MPs say the funniest things

One of our ones in South Yorkshire claims that the local HS2 station being at Meadowhall rather than Sheffield City Centre will add half an hour to journey times (despite Meadowhall being an eight minute train ride from central Sheffield with nine trains an hour). Clueless!

 

[tsr]

As an aside regarding what MPs and politicians claim...

I read that a political spokesperson (or someone with a similar job title) claimed Coulsdon South station was "isolated" the other day.

As it happened, my train was arriving at said station, which is just to the south of a busy part of the outer South London town, as I read that. I laughed so much that the thirty-five-or-so passengers leaving my coach of the train looked at me with some concern.

Apparently, they also claimed that you might have to change two or three times between London Victoria and Reigate, including at Coulsdon South. Oddly enough, you probably only need to change a maximum of once - at East Croydon or Redhill.

 

[eastdyke]

According to MP George Freeman (source BBC) the journey time should be reduced to 90 mins max. ?? erm think he needs a newer timetable as a quick search shows lots of sub 75 mins trips (10th Dec) :roll:

This looks to be a misquote. The political aspiration is for Norwich - London to be 90 mins max.
George Freeman is MP for mid-Norfolk, the constituency has just 3 stations on the National Network, Attleborough, Spooner Row and Wymondham on the Breckland Line that connects Norwich and Cambridge etc..

A more accurate report can be found in the Norwich Evening News:

http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news...tions_between_norwich_and_cambridge_1_1735564

...
The manifesto forms part of the Rail Prospectus for East Anglia, created by a four county alliance of political and industry leaders and co-ordinated by New Anglia, calling for improvements to the region’s trains over the next 20 years, which have been described as “not fit for purpose.”

The prospectus calls for train journey times between Norwich and London to be reduced from the current two hours to 90 minutes, extra train capacity on East Anglian routes and improved punctuality.

Commuters south of Ipswich can go .......

 

[Sleepy]

Well as Simon Burns Transport Minister happens to be MP for Chelmsford will next franchise starting in 2016 (maybe !) see Chloe Smith and her Norfolk/Suffolk chums get their way ? Maybe Mr Burns will look after Essex Commuter Man and send 321 stock to Norwich (joke) - interesting times ahead

 

[Eagle]

Maybe Mr Burns will look after Essex Commuter Man and send 321 stock to Norwich (joke)

This already happens...

 

[Bald Rick]

According to MP George Freeman (source BBC) the journey time should be reduced to 90 mins max. ?? erm think he needs a newer timetable as a quick search shows lots of sub 75 mins trips (10th Dec) :roll:

Someone is getting Cambridge and London mixed up.

Although this is the same MP who seriously suggested a high speed line Cambridge - Norwich a couple of years ago.

 

[Pugwash]

Well as Simon Burns Transport Minister happens to be MP for Chelmsford will next franchise starting in 2016 (maybe !) see Chloe Smith and her Norfolk/Suffolk chums get their way ? Maybe Mr Burns will look after Essex Commuter Man and send 321 stock to Norwich (joke) - interesting times ahead

I don't think you will find Simon Burns cares about his consituants enough to be bothered about improving transport for them, he has a huge majority and knows he will get elected whatever he does and says.

 

[dk1]

BBC Look East tonight quoting it can take 1h39m. Very few services take anything like that. Most direct trains do the run in around 1h19m & even from 1h12m by catching the hourly EM/XC services with 1 easy 6 minute connection at Ely. I did it in 1h08 with 5 stops a couple of weeks back following a late start, a further short delay at Ely NJc & a very on the ball guard . Well it was my last bit

 

[rdwarr]

Isn't 75min less than 90min?

 

[dk1]

Back in 2002 at the launch of the re-started Norwich-Cambridge service the headline journey time was 70 minutes. In those days however, Anglia did not stop services at Brandon (just look at the increase in passengers here now) & also something that is lesser known is that they did not want to call at Attleborough. That seems crazy with this stations usage but the idea was for competitive journey times with at-seat catering provided on all services from Norwich right up until 19.00.

 

[Trainfan344]

BBC Look East tonight quoting it can take 1h39m. Very few services take anything like that. Most direct trains do the run in around 1h19m & even from 1h12m by catching the hourly EM/XC services with 1 easy 6 minute connection at Ely. I did it in 1h08 with 5 stops a couple of weeks back following a late start, a further short delay at Ely NJc & a very on the ball guard . Well it was my last bit

Going to say, did Lowestoft to Cambridge during the summer, missed our +5 connection at norwich onto the direct train due to us arriving 5 minutes down and leaving us a +0 connection, so we hopped on the EM Service, and XC don't serve norwich...

 

[eastdyke]

Going to say, did Lowestoft to Cambridge during the summer, missed our +5 connection at norwich onto the direct train due to us arriving 5 minutes down and leaving us a +0 connection, so we hopped on the EM Service, and XC don't serve norwich...

They do when you miss the +5 connection for Cambridge and catch the EM to Ely. Had to do it myself last Saturday when I couldn't exit the rammed dogbox quite quckly enough ...

 

[dk1]

Going to say, did Lowestoft to Cambridge during the summer, missed our +5 connection at norwich onto the direct train due to us arriving 5 minutes down and leaving us a +0 connection, so we hopped on the EM Service, and XC don't serve norwich...

I didnt say XC did serve Norwich.

It is an hourly connection out of the xx.57 ex-Nrw at Ely providing 2 trains every hour in the up direction between the two. Doesnt always work in the down direction due to tight timings.

 

[Trainfan344]

I didnt say XC did serve Norwich.

It is an hourly connection out of the xx.57 ex-Nrw at Ely providing 2 trains every hour in the up direction between the two. Doesnt always work in the down direction due to tight timings.

Misunderstood what you meant.

 

[Oliver]

Back in 2002 at the launch of the re-started Norwich-Cambridge service the headline journey time was 70 minutes. In those days however, Anglia did not stop services at Brandon (just look at the increase in passengers here now) & also something that is lesser known is that they did not want to call at Attleborough. That seems crazy with this stations usage but the idea was for competitive journey times with at-seat catering provided on all services from Norwich right up until 19.00.

The Cambridge - Norwich service was one of a series of remarkable innovations from GB Railways; Hull Trains, GBRf, etc. Where are their likes now?

 

[eastdyke]

The Cambridge - Norwich service was one of a series of remarkable innovations from GB Railways; Hull Trains, GBRf, etc. Where are their likes now?

Looking at my Summer 1955 T/T, there were around 10 services each way on a weekday. Journey time was around 2hours +/- 10 mins. Many were all shacks Norwich - Cambridge and ran as through trains to Liverpool Street.

Only 1 station has since totally closed on the route (Hethersett) although 5 of the remaining stations see no real 'service' today.

 

[ainsworth74]

The Cambridge - Norwich service was one of a series of remarkable innovations from GB Railways; Hull Trains, GBRf, etc. Where are their likes now?

They couldn't offer high enough premiums when their franchises came up for renewal so lost out to the likes of NX who were willing to offer high premiums (sometimes too high). The DfT (and Treasury) don't care for companies that will be innovative they care only for the ones that promise to give them the most money.

 

[cle]

Perhaps a local service could operate - from Norwich either to Cambridge or Peterborough perhaps covering March etc... and then a faster service which could continue to Stansted and remove the Audley End stop on XC.

 

[Jonny]

MPs say the funniest things

One of our ones in South Yorkshire claims that the local HS2 station being at Meadowhall rather than Sheffield City Centre will add half an hour to journey times (despite Meadowhall being an eight minute train ride from central Sheffield with nine trains an hour). Clueless!

Door-to-door (rather than point-to-point)?

 

[dk1]

Perhaps a local service could operate - from Norwich either to Cambridge or Peterborough perhaps covering March etc... and then a faster service which could continue to Stansted and remove the Audley End stop on XC.

Unfortunatley March would still have a 40mph speed limit & losing Audley End would deprive XC of a share of the farebox.

 

[HSTEd]

MPs say the funniest things

One of our ones in South Yorkshire claims that the local HS2 station being at Meadowhall rather than Sheffield City Centre will add half an hour to journey times (despite Meadowhall being an eight minute train ride from central Sheffield with nine trains an hour). Clueless!

9 trains per hour approximates to roughly one every seven minutes.

Seven mintues and an eight minute train ride is 15 minutes.

15 minutes plus 15 minutes for the connection (since there will undoubtedly be all sorts of faffing around and people don't like to cut things fine in this sort of thing, especially as it will not be a simple Sheffield-Meadowhall shuttle, and when advance purchase tickets are at stake) and you have your half hour figure.

 

[34D]

Doesnt always work in the down direction due to tight timings.

And the subway

 

[dk1]

And the subway

You should see my Olympian sprint under there sometimes.

 

[Waverley125]

surely the obvious answer is to electrify Ely-Norwich and run the second hourly fast Kings Cross-Cambridge train as Kings Cross-Norwich (calling Brandon, Thetford, Attleborough & Wymondham)

 

[jopsuk]

A more useful electric Cambridge-Norwich service would extend to Stansted, all stations from Cambridge southwards, in the opposite half hour to the XC service

 

[Tottenham Flyer]

A more useful electric Cambridge-Norwich service would extend to Stansted, all stations from Cambridge southwards, in the opposite half hour to the XC service

NX were going to going to do that on the December 2011 timetable change, but it was going to be a Stansted - Ely service (using a 4 car 379) running on the opposite half hour to XC. Thats why the xx58 and xx28 departures from Liverpool St - Cambridge were swapped round (xx58 is now the semi fast and xx28 is now the stopper). But the extra service never came about because XC apparently got rather upset about it because it would take away too much revenue from them.

 

[jopsuk]

Aye, I'd heard about that- it really is rather frustrating that a dispute over revenue distribution is allowed to win over improving the service for passengers

 

[cle]

Yes it's completely pathetic and depressing. I hope the relevant MPs are on it.

 

[jopsuk]

well it hasn't returned for this year- no doubt partly due to the tighter stock useage under GA due to sending the 317/7s off lease