Trivia: Stations which have seen a reduction in services since 1996

[thenorthern]

Looking at an old Virgin Trains route map I notice that Hartford was once served by both the London-Liverpool trains and Virgin Cross Country as well as the Birmingham-Liverpool Central CityLink services.

Now however Hartford only served by one of the half-hourly Birmingham - Liverpool London Midland services which is a reduction of both the number of trains stopping there are the destinations for which the Hartford can reach.

Other stations which have seen a reduction in the number of trains stopping are Longport, Nuneaton, Polesworth and Tamworth Low Level (I think).

Also there is Sinfin North, Sinfin Central, Pendleton and Etruria all of which have closed since 1996 however with Wedgwood, Barleston and Norton Bridge all of which I think are getting a more frequent service with the rail replacement buses than they were with mainline trains.

Can anyone think of any more stations that receive less services than they did before privatisation?

 

[nicobobinus]

Angel Road in north London, has gone down from 1tph for most of the day Mon-Sat (with a few extra peak trains) to 1-2tph peak hours and early evenings only, Mon-Fri only. Also all bar one train runs to Stratford now instead of a London terminal, although the opportunity for interchange to other services is plentiful at both Tottenham Hale and Stratford.

In spite of this, and the poor location of the remodelled station entrance, the annual entry/exit figures for the station have gone up fivefold in less than ten years, and the parallel bus route struggles to cope with loads for large parts of the day.

 

[bramling]

Looking at an old Virgin Trains route map I notice that Hartford was once served by both the London-Liverpool trains and Virgin Cross Country as well as the Birmingham-Liverpool Central CityLink services.

Now however Hartford only served by one of the half-hourly Birmingham - Liverpool London Midland services which is a reduction of both the number of trains stopping there are the destinations for which the Hartford can reach.

Other stations which have seen a reduction in the number of trains stopping are Longport, Nuneaton, Polesworth and Tamworth Low Level (I think).

Also there is Sinfin North, Sinfin Central, Pendleton and Etruria all of which have closed since 1996 however with Wedgwood, Barleston and Norton Bridge all of which I think are getting a more frequent service with the rail replacement buses than they were with mainline trains.

Can anyone think of any more stations that receive less services than they did before privatisation?

Winchelsea, Doleham, Three Oaks - which used to have an hourly service.

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Grimsby Town used to have loads more trains to Lincoln.
To Aberystwyth via Birmingham. Cut between 2004-06.
In 1990 we had a decent service to Gainsboroug now Saturdays only.
In 1980s we had East Coast HSTs running.
Also in 1990s the Barton line was hourly, not sure when it was cutback.

Different trains stopped at Grimsby Docks other than just Barton liners.
And now the only good service is at risk of being cut in 2016.

 

[Tony2215]

Adderley Park (first local stop after Birmingham New Street) is now only served hourly in both directions, previously was half hourly up to about 2008.

 

[thenorthern]

Before Midland Mainline didn't some London-Sheffield/Nottingham trains stop at St Albans?

Cardiff Central has has lost most Cross Country trains since privatisation but I think overall more trains are stopping there.

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

After EMT got the Midland mainline Barnsley, Burton and Matlock have lost all services towards London.
Recently Bolton lost most TPE trains to Wigan.
Teesside Airport must of had better services in 1996.

 

[thenorthern]

Teesside Airport must of had better services in 1996.

I don't think it did, I think Teeside Airport Station (Or Tees-Side Airport as it was then known) has has a poor service for many many years.

 

[tbtc]

Interesting idea for a thread (since a lot of the basket case stations/ parliamentary services have been pretty much untouched since privatisation, so no actual reduction). Many stations that have lost a variety of destinations (e.g. Liverpool Lime Street) have gained an overall number of services (in the case of Lime Street, the extra Chester services more than make up for the number of through services to Cardiff/ Edinburgh/ wherever).

IF we are just talking number of trains stopping there since 1996 (and ignoring the different destinations that used to be reached by a direct service etc) then I'd nominate the three stations between Meadowhall and Barnsley.

Whilst Meadowhall and Barnsley have both seen an increase in number of trains stopping, the three trains per hour from Meadowhall to Barnsley used to stop at every intermediate station.

Now there are four trains an hour from Meadowhall to Barnsley, but two are non-stop which means only two trains per hour now stop at Chapletown and Wombwell - and only one train per hour now stops at Elsecar (i.e. it's lost two thirds of it's services in the timeframe that the OP suggested).

Chapletown ought to be prime rail territory, given that the train is faster than the bus/driving to Meadowhall and Sheffield - plus there's a lot of people in the area who've bought houses for the convenience of the M1 to Leeds - but it only gets two slow trains an hour, less than in 1996.

I think that there was a token daytime service from Knottingley to Goole in ATN days, rather than just the one-a-day peak service nowadays, so the intermediate stations have lost some calls.

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

I don't think it did, I think Teeside Airport Station (Or Tees-Side Airport as it was then known) has has a poor service for many many years.

Teesside is what I said not Teeside. It's just hard typing dashes on my phone. I just assumed it must of had a good service once... did it??

 

[87015]

London Bridge to Peckham Rye has gone from 8tph to 4tph all day.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

(tph figures are each way)
Moston - from 2tph to 1tph (about 18 months ago?)
South Bermondsey - from 6tph to 4tph (when the Inner South London line was terminated)
Redhill-Tonbridge - not 100% on this one but I think it went from 2tph to 1tph when it transferred from SE to Southern
Bellshill - 2tph to 1tph with the Lanark rejigging this month

 

[TukayAway]

Before Midland Mainline didn't some London-Sheffield/Nottingham trains stop at St Albans?

Pretty sure they stopped during the late 80s or thereabouts.

 

[thenorthern]

Teesside is what I said not Teeside. It's just hard typing dashes on my phone. I just assumed it must of had a good service once... did it??

The last year that British Rail usage figures are available (1997) it had 55 passengers per year using it. Someone will probably be able to give a better answer on this than me but I think that shortly after it opened in 1971 it was realised that the station wasn't going to attract many passengers so the parliamentary service was introduced, I think for a very short time in the 1970s there was a shuttle bus from the station to the airport but it was lightly used and withdrawn.

Another station that I think had more National Rail trains pre-2002 is Sunderland however as the city is now served by Tyne and Wear Metro there are more rail-based services serving Sunderland Station than ever before.

I am not sure how trains along the chase line ran before but I think there were more trains that terminated at Hendsford which no longer run.

 

[adrock1976]

A notable station that has seen reductions in its service is Motherwell.

All Intercity services heading to and from Carlisle, Preston, Birmingham, and London used to always call here - since the 2008 timetable change hardly any Intercity WC services call now, which has led to the crazy situation of passengers from Hamilton/Motherwell/Wishaw/Shotts/Bellshill having to travel into Glasgow Central to double back and pass through Motherwell without stopping, making the journey time longer in comparison to before the 2008 timetable change.

Furthermore, Motherwell sees its local service to Partick and points west cut from 4 tph to 3 tph at the December timetable change.

In peace

Adam

 

[MidnightFlyer]

A notable station that has seen reductions in its service is Motherwell.

All Intercity services heading to and from Carlisle, Preston, Birmingham, and London used to always call here

When was that then? I can remember the pre-2008 timetable and there was perhaps only two or three more calls per day in each direction on the Glasgow-Birmingham / London axis than there is now. Certainly not everything called there...

Edit - just checked - in 2006, 4 of the 9 daily London-Glasgow services called at Motherwell (and vice versa).

 

[adrock1976]

The last year that British Rail usage figures are available (1997) it had 55 passengers per year using it. Someone will probably be able to give a better answer on this than me but I think that shortly after it opened in 1971 it was realised that the station wasn't going to attract many passengers so the parliamentary service was introduced, I think for a very short time in the 1970s there was a shuttle bus from the station to the airport but it was lightly used and withdrawn.

Another station that I think had more National Rail trains pre-2002 is Sunderland however as the city is now served by Tyne and Wear Metro there are more rail-based services serving Sunderland Station than ever before.

I am not sure how trains along the chase line ran before but I think there were more trains that terminated at Hendsford which no longer run.

It was 1989 when services along the Chase Line were reinstated. These initially operated as a shuttle service between Walsall and Hendesford, operating Mondays to Saturdays only.

In the mid 1990s, the service was extended from Hendesford to Rugeley Town, and further extended to Rugeley Trent Valley and Stafford at the end of the 1990s, before recently being cut back from Stafford to Rugeley TV. Also at this point, the frequency was doubled to every 30 minutes and also running to and from Birmingham, calling at Bescot and Tame Bridge Parkway.

I travelled on this route when it was reopened in 1989 when I was residing in the West Midlands. I have the return ticket at home somewhere that was from Broad Lane (the last station in the PTE area - before the extension to allow special fares) to Hendesford.

I am intending to cover the section of track between Hendesford and Rugeley TV when I am next in the West Midlands.

In peace

Adam

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Stafford-Rugeley TV was cut in December 2008. Half-hourly lasted until 2011 (I think), as I believe Staffs CC contributed to it, and when that financial backing vanished, so did the extra trains. They still operate on Saturdays however I think.

 

[thenorthern]

Stafford-Rugeley TV was cut in December 2008. Half-hourly lasted until 2011 (I think), as I believe Staffs CC contributed to it, and when that financial backing vanished, so did the extra trains. They still operate on Saturdays however I think.

Indeed they do, they were cut in 2010 and there is still half-hourly on Saturdays and in the Morning Peak. It was Centro paying for the extra trains which they felt it was unfair to spend so much on a service that only 3 of the stations were in the West Midlands. In terms of destinations I think Walsall has lost some since 1997 but with the Walsall to Wolverhampton via New Street trains it may have overall gained more.

This was a news article about them being cut.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-10696119

Styal station has seen a reduction in services but I am not sure how many on a trend that started with the opening of Manchester Airport station in 1993.

 

[12CSVT]

Bedford, Wellingborough and Kettering to Leicester was cut by 50% so EMT could cart fresh air between St Pancras and Corby every hour.

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Bedford, Wellingborough and Kettering to Leicester was cut by 50% so EMT could cart fresh air between St Pancras and Corby every hour.

EMT aren't doing a good job. Like I said above Barnsley and Burton were also cut. Why does Corby deserve a better service than them? I wonder if the station reopening was bad for the Midland mainline.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

EMT aren't doing a good job. Like I said above Barnsley and Burton were also cut. Why does Corby deserve a better service than them?

Because both Barnsley and Burton were peak extras only: they have multiple other services per hour provided by other operators, Corby has nothing ergo needs to be catered for by EMT. Corby opening and the cutting of the peak only services to Burton and Barnsley aren't correlated you know...

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Because both Barnsley and Burton were peak extras only: they have multiple other services per hour provided by other operators, Corby has nothing ergo needs to be catered for by EMT. Corby opening and the cutting of the peak only services to Burton and Barnsley aren't correlated you know...

But the reduction of trains to Leicester that I was replying to was.
See 12CSVT's post above.

I was just pointing out EMT have made services worse for many.

 

[tbtc]

AIUI the OP is talking about "number of departures at a station", rather than "number of different places that you could get at least one direct train a week to from a station" which is a totally different thing.

Since Operation Princess (etc), we've seen a lot of places lose the kind of "one a day" direct links that BR used to provide... and gained a more regular service to local destinations.

Grimsby Town used to have loads more trains to Lincoln.
To Aberystwyth via Birmingham. Cut between 2004-06

What was the frequency from Grimsby to Lincoln in the past? I don't remember it being much better than every other hour (which is what it broadly is nowadays)

After EMT got the Midland mainline Barnsley, Burton and Matlock have lost all services towards London.

Matlock sees the highest number of departures that I think it's ever had (clock face hourly, used to be an awkward to remember irregular timetable in Central Trains days).

Barnsley sees more services than I think its had in my lifetime - with the increase to four/ hour on the Sheffield corridor.

Recently Bolton lost most TPE trains to Wigan

Bolton has more services nowadays than 1996 - with up to four an hour to Preston, three an hour to Wigan, hourly to Blackburn (half hourly at peak times) = eight/ hour to Manchester

A notable station that has seen reductions in its service is Motherwell

As far as I can see, Motherwell has seen an increase in daily departures - e.g. the Lanark route is half hourly nowadays, the semi fast to Edinburgh (via Carstairs) is a to more frequent than I remember it (e.g. in GNER days)

Motherwell sees its local service to Partick and points west cut from 4 tph to 3 tph at the December timetable change

...replaced by significantly faster services into Glasgow Central (High Level) - i.e. not a reduction in overall departures (just different destinations

Bedford, Wellingborough and Kettering to Leicester was cut by 50% so EMT could cart fresh air between St Pancras and Corby every hour.

Departures between those stations and Leicester were pretty irregular in 1996, from what I can remember.

They were increased to half hourly under Midland Mainline (with the new 170s) and then rejigged with EMT - but still retaining the number of London services (just that some of them now run to Corby instead of Leicester), so I don't think that this is a genuine reduction (in line with the OP's definitions)

On the subject of that neck of the woods, when half the Wimbledon/Sutton services started terminating at St Albans (instead of Luton), did that mean an overall reduction in departures at Luton compared to 1996? (or did the full eight/ hour not run through to Luton in 1996?)

EMT aren't doing a good job. Like I said above Barnsley and Burton were also cut

Barnsley was just a couple of services and only lasted around a decade (no direct London service in 1996).

Burton - London is much faster via a change at Tamworth (now that there's a regular service through the Trent Valley).

Whilst EMT have removed these token services they've doubled the Sheffield - London service, they've acquired more stock to run the services, they are putting resources on things like direct trains to the Lincoln Christmas Market in December/ Skegness in the summer. Big improvements for most people.

 

[tsr]

Brighton, Gatwick Airport, Redhill, East Croydon and Kensington Olympia (etc.) no longer have any services towards the North/North-West of England (although East Croydon & Kensington Olympia do retain the useful Southern services to Milton Keynes Central, which provide one-change options for quite a few large destinations). This not only impacts on longer-distance journeys but also various shorter cross-London options. For example, changing at Clapham Junction and Watford Junction - both busy stations where changes could usefully be avoided - are often now compulsory steps for a lot of routes, and routes feeding into the Brighton Mainline area, such as those from Tonbridge, are even worse off. Of course, curiously, Brighton does still have its fairly long-distance FGW services to the very heart of their operating areas, which can only be a good thing. Now, I'm not saying the XC services should be reinstated as they were, but I have long suggested that shorter options to link the South Coast to the WLL and WCML would be gladly accepted by many - probably including the station staff at Clapham Junction, et al! Many people will happily put up with one change on a journey but would be pretty annoyed at two or three.

 

[adrock1976]

AIUI the OP is talking about "number of departures at a station", rather than "number of different places that you could get at least one direct train a week to from a station" which is a totally different thing.

Since Operation Princess (etc), we've seen a lot of places lose the kind of "one a day" direct links that BR used to provide... and gained a more regular service to local destinations.



What was the frequency from Grimsby to Lincoln in the past? I don't remember it being much better than every other hour (which is what it broadly is nowadays)



Matlock sees the highest number of departures that I think it's ever had (clock face hourly, used to be an awkward to remember irregular timetable in Central Trains days).

Barnsley sees more services than I think its had in my lifetime - with the increase to four/ hour on the Sheffield corridor.



Bolton has more services nowadays than 1996 - with up to four an hour to Preston, three an hour to Wigan, hourly to Blackburn (half hourly at peak times) = eight/ hour to Manchester



As far as I can see, Motherwell has seen an increase in daily departures - e.g. the Lanark route is half hourly nowadays, the semi fast to Edinburgh (via Carstairs) is a to more frequent than I remember it (e.g. in GNER days)



...replaced by significantly faster services into Glasgow Central (High Level) - i.e. not a reduction in overall departures (just different destinations



Departures between those stations and Leicester were pretty irregular in 1996, from what I can remember.

They were increased to half hourly under Midland Mainline (with the new 170s) and then rejigged with EMT - but still retaining the number of London services (just that some of them now run to Corby instead of Leicester), so I don't think that this is a genuine reduction (in line with the OP's definitions)

On the subject of that neck of the woods, when half the Wimbledon/Sutton services started terminating at St Albans (instead of Luton), did that mean an overall reduction in departures at Luton compared to 1996? (or did the full eight/ hour not run through to Luton in 1996?)



Barnsley was just a couple of services and only lasted around a decade (no direct London service in 1996).

Burton - London is much faster via a change at Tamworth (now that there's a regular service through the Trent Valley).

Whilst EMT have removed these token services they've doubled the Sheffield - London service, they've acquired more stock to run the services, they are putting resources on things like direct trains to the Lincoln Christmas Market in December/ Skegness in the summer. Big improvements for most people.

Regarding Motherwell, I was solely focusing on the post 2008 timetable change in regards to the traditional Intercity West Coast services southbound to Carlisle/Preston/Birmingham/London, which has seen those services cut.

In peace

Adam

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Tbtc. I was stating stations where the service got less trains at any point since 1996. The reduction could of happened and then been improved years later couldn't it? I'm certain Grimsby to Lincoln was every 45-80 mins in the late 90s. Is there a Timetable archive? As that would be very useful for these threads.

 

[satisnek]

Willington?

 

[thenorthern]

Carstairs I think has got less trains stopping there than it did in 1996, I think Pilning has as well but it never had many trains stopping there anyway.

Lincoln may have had more trains before but I don't know about that one.

 

[LowLevel]

Telford and Wellington had 3 trains per hour (2 fast, 1 stopping) which was cut to 2 because of capacity issues into Birmingham from Wolverhampton. The local stations do much better though with an hourly 2 to 4 car 170 lash up instead of the ex BR irregular service that was a mix of local 153s and the like with the odd stopping longer distance train.